b་•bb.9་་ཅར If haughty and felf-righteous Ifrael fill the world with the loud acclamations of "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we, the church, the church; we are God's peculiar people, his portion, his chofen heritage;" yet the Moft High can take his leave of Jerufalem, as he did of Shiloh, and caft the people out of his fight; and though they were to him once externally for a name, a praise and a glory; yet they fhall become like a rotten girdle, that is good for nothing; yea, God will even dash them in pieces one against another, and will not pity nor spare them, because, notwithstanding their high pretenfions, their hearts are far from him. Chorazin and Bethfaida had mighty works done in them; they were highly favoured with the prefence, the preaching and the miracles of Jefus, yet, because of their unbelief, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for them, Capernaum, which was exalted to heaven in privileges, for the like ftupid infenfibility, fhall be caft down to the loweft hell in punishment.. The feven Afian churches may lose their splendor, be diminished and brought low. Laodicea thought herself rich and increased with goods, dignified with able preachers, fplendid gifts of the Spirit, found doctrine, and glorious privileges, on which accounts fhe judged herself more in favour with God than than all the reft, and became vain and fecure to that degree, that the threatening denounced against her is, "Thou art so offenfive to me, that I will fpue thee out of my mouth." ༈༔ To be in the favour of God is a matter of infinite concernment, yet thousands in the world are mistaken about it. When death and judgment come, what discoveries will be made; what an awful disappointment will many meet with; efpecially fuch as expect the favour of God, and admiffion among the faints, on account of a mere outward profeffion, or of fome acts of external obedience! Some will plead their excellent gifts in praying and preaching, for which they have been admired and applauded by men. Some will plead their high preferment in the church; and others fay, "We have eaten and drunk in thy prefence, and thou haft taught in our ftreets." But the great Judge tells us, he will answer them all alike, with these awful words, “I know you not, I will not own you, depart from me, ye curfed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels." It will be in vain for them to reply, "What! must we depart, who were civil with our neighbours, good church-men, orthodox believers, and fober livers!, Muft we depart who heard the word gladly, commended the preacher, practifed many *•བཋེས་ར• many things which we heard, had ftrong convictions, hated fuperftition, were pleaders for God's pure worship, and even took delight in approaching unto Him! Wilt thou not, on all these accounts, grant us favour? Muft we indeed be banished from thee? O most dreadful disappointment! Alas, alas! what a difcovering, difanimating, confounding day will that be to many, who, upon felf-flattering grounds were as confident of being in God's favour as if they had seen their names' in his book! They would by no means be beaten off from this vain confidence; but they will now fee themfelves to have been wofully deluded by Satan, and their own deceitful hearts, when it is too late to cry for mercy. The confideration of this deeply affects the minds of upright minifters. Their hearts ache, and their fouls mourn in fecret, on account of the pride and ftupidity of felf-deceivers. If we tell them there. is danger; if we bid them fearch and deal plainly with their hearts, they look upon us as enemies, by raifing in them unneceffary terrors, and giving falfe alarms. Some even deride our earnest endeavours, and bid us look to ourselves; for they know they are fafe, and as high in God's favour as the best of us, though their whole temper and their walk give juft ground of fufpicion, that their hearts are not right in the fight of God. We are under the fad necef neceffity of leaving thofe, with painful fears that we shall never fee them numbered with the faints at God's right hand, in the day when he maketh up his jewels. Since the danger of being deceived is fo great, and the consequences fo awful, of what importance, my dear reader, is a real sense of interest in the divine favour! Ought it not to be fought with the greatest and most earnest folicitude? While men live in profperity and affluence, and enjoy abun dance of worldly comforts, they may live in a kind of fecurity; drowning the noife of conscience, and lulling themselves asleep in the cradle of eafe; yet a day is coming which shall burn as an oven, when all the proud and the profane fhall be as ftubble, and the day fhall confume them, and leave them neither root nor branch. Their worldly wealth fhall perish, and their delufive hopes give up the ghost, when the heavens fhall be diffolved, and the earth tremble under their feet. O what will God's favour, and the fmiles of the Redeemer's love be worth in that day, when he fhall call the dead out of their graves, and command them to ftand forth, that they may hear their final sentence of abfolution, or of condemnation, according as their state shall be! Then, O then to have the favour of the Lord, the great Judge of heaven and earth, will be worth more than it is poffible for language to express! The 3རར་་རས The Almighty will presently fummon us hence by his meffenger death, the king of terrors, and fay to us, "This night fhall thy foul be required of thee; thou muft go hence, and give an account of thy stewardship! O then what will a well-grounded hope of intereft in God's favour be worth to us! Such a confidence is indeed of great importance to us while we live, whatever be our circumftances in outward refpects. In profperity, what can give reft to the capacious mind, which is ever looking beyond fublunary things for fatisfaction? His favour alone can do it, the letters of whose name, in the Hebrew language, are called quiefcent, even the great JEHOVAH. In adverfity, there is ftill greater need of the divine favour. When he giveth quietnefs, who then can make trouble? But when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? In the day of calamity, God's favour is most seasonable, when it frequently happens that the favour of men is withdrawn, and all things look dark about us. What a fovereign fupport in trouble is the light of God's countenance! It is indeed light in darkness; it is life even in a dying hour. Hence it is, that the children of God have earneftly desired and fought some tokens of his love, while they have been in this vale of tears. Let others think lightly as they please, of this their importunity, the divine word gives encouragement to it. |