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xxx. 15, 18, 19.) That in as weak and as polluted nature as could be selected from the vast infinitude of worlds, He had completely vindicated his great Father's honour, by publicly demonstrating to the beholding universe, that the most feeble, most depraved nature could illustrate perfection amidst the most piercing trials. By having been himself delivered up unto the power of darkness in this degraded nature, and having triumphed over that power, He had destroyed that power for through his merits and unfailing intercession in the recovered nature with his Almighty Father, means of escape were offered: and that He now is come to judge the assembled universe in that once frail, now glorified nature, which achieved these great exploits: a nature now more precious than fine gold; even a man more precious than the golden wedge of Ophir. (Isa. xiii. 12.) A nature tenderly touched with the feeling of infirmities, having been tempted in all points to which probationary beings could possibly be exposed, yet without sin. That not one probationary being now placed before his dreadful judgment-seat but must acknowledge that the law of God was in clear characters emblazoned on their hearts; and the commands of the all-wise Creator delivered forth, accompanied with such evidence that they came forth from God, that none but evil or misguided hearts could possibly resist. I pleaded with I pleaded with my Father to spare the fruitless fig trees, that I might dig and dress them; and not a being here whom I must now reject, whose conscience does not

testify that they wilfully refused my grace. I warned them of this day, that I should come in clouds with ten thousands of my saints, to execute judgment upon those whose fruit was withered, who were twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea foaming out their shame, wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever; and to convince all that are ungodly of their ungodly deeds, which they ungodly have committed, and of all their hard speeches, which ungodly sinners, murmurers, and complainers, walking after their own lusts, their mouths speaking great swelling words, have spoken against me: told them that my chariots were as whirlwinds, my horses swifter than eagles; and published this affliction, exhorting them to wash their hands from wickedness, that they may now be saved. (Jer. iii. 13, 14.) And that when the worlds that should begin to vanish away were finished, then would I show these tokens, that they should altogether see the awful records opened before the firmament, that those who then escaped should witness my salvation. (2 Esdras vi. 20, 25.) And "what could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it?" (Isa. v. 4.) For I take pleasure in my saints: I now will beautify the meek, and deck them with salvation. (Ps. cxlix. 4.) Come, ye blessed of my Father, ye poor and meek in spirit, yours is the heavenly kingdom; you mourned and wept for sin; but now you will be comforted: hungered and thirsted after righteousness; you now shall be full filled.

Ye blessed, pure in heart, ye now shall see your God; ye blessed peace-makers are now the children of your God; you for your righteousness have often been reviled and persecuted by wicked generations speaking against you all kind of evil falsely, for my sake; but now rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward: blessed are ye merciful, ye now obtain my mercy; soon will you now sit down with me at the great marriage supper, and shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of my Father.

Far different is the doom for you on my left hand-far different the sentence your fatal choice now compels me to pronounce. How oft would I have gathered you together under my fostering wings; how often did I strive to break you from your sins, and melt your hardened hearts ? and ye would not. Behold, now you are left desolate. The prince you served, bound in resistless chains, you now see stand before me; the pampered lusts you served, reign in you unrestrained. I counselled you to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mightest be rich, (Rev. iii. 18,) but my golden precept you utterly despised; you did not do to others as you would have had them do to you. Your characters and conduct are the direct reverse of my prescribed word: haughty and high in spirit, you are wholly unfit for my blessed heavenly kingdom; your unrepenting hearts never shed a tear for sin; you hungered and thirsted after carnal, not after heavenly joys, and could not taste the latter; your impure hearts can never be presented to a pure and spotless

God. You were peace-breakers, instead of being peace-makers; you never can become the children of the God of love; you were the persecutors and revilers of the sons of righteousness, speaking all kind of evil of them falsely for my sake, but now you will bewail and gnash your teeth with pain for offending one of my gentle ones, who put their trust in me. You have been unmerciful, implacable to those within your power: therefore He that made you will not now show you mercy: He that formed you will now show you no favour. (Isa. xxvii. 11.) The precious time I gave you to work out your salvation, and lay up heavenly treasure, has been consumed in speaking idle, ofttimes injurious words against your fellow travellers: selfish, ungrateful, unkind, tyrannic, oppressive, fraudulent, unjust, unprofitable, designing, hypocritical, making lies your refuge, hiding yourselves in falsehood. (Isa. xxviii. 15.) I now appoint your portion with the hypocrites full of malice, envy, hatred, revengeful, hateful, and hating one another, you now are fit associates for hell's accursed sovereign and his malign compeers; you are punished now with everlasting destruction from my presence, and from the glory of my power. My angels shall bind you hand and foot, and cast you down with the proud fettered monarch and his infernal legions in the unbottomed pit. You now will sink, together with the blazing ruins of worlds you loved too well, far, far beneath the boundaries of this once bright starry pavement, into the burning lake prepared for the devil and his apos

tate angels-into the reserved perdition of all ungodly men. Your evil desires, furious passions, stubborn resentments, sinful lusts, might once have been destroyed-they now will ever gnaw -these worms will never die—the fire of angry passions will never be quenched in hell.

"Under yon boiling ocean, wrap'd in chains,
You'll there converse with everlasting groans,
Unrespited, unpitied, unrepriev'd,

Ages of hopeless end."

MILTON.

One last horrific act of judgment still remains to pass on you, hell's great arch impious sovereign, and your foul host of fiends. Behold, I the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will lop your boughs with terror: your high ones of stature shall be again hewn down. (Isa. x. 33.)* For this is the day of cruel wrath, and of my fiercest anger: I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. (Isa. xiii. 11.) Thou shalt drink at my hand the cup of fury; thou shalt drink the dregs from

* The reason of our so long dwelling on this tremendous subject is for the purpose of collecting the various scriptural passages which prophesy concerning it, into one and the same address; which, as the subject matter of which it is composed is almost, if not entirely, selected from the sacred volume, behoves us to regard with seriousness, awe, and the most heartfelt gratitude the divine almighty Redeemer, who has delivered us from the wrath to come on the blessed terms of faith in his power and will to save, and obeying his precepts, (even our imperfect obedience,) for his righteousness atones for all sins excepting wilful ones, and obtains free and abundant entrance into his heavenly kingdom.

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