derived their pedigree from Adam? where had been manifested your confidence in your heavenly Father, if sense had not seemed to contradict the promises? This was the design of my infinite wisdom, that your way to the crown should be through all manner of trials, afflictions, and oppositions. Great was your agony with devils, with wicked men, with your inbred corruptions, with many external disasters; even unto hunger, thirst, nakedness, and sore trouble for your daily bread and should it not have been thus? for, if no enemies, no fighting; if no fighting, no victory; and if no victory, no triumphing: is not here a golden chain of wonderful wisdom and love? Possess for ever this glorious kingdom, my valiant ones, a kingdom ordained for you most freely and absolutely, without respect to work or excellence : yet, possess it by way of conquest my free grace, given to you in time, do I crown with this eternal and exceeding weight of glory all this kingdom is for every one of you, as if there were none else; all of you are possessors of all things. I have redeemed you from eternal wrath, misery, and sinning; I have purchased all things for you; I have prayed to my Father, that you, whom he had given me, might be for ever with me where I am, to behold my glory, which he hath given me; for he loved me before the foundation of the world. These, lo, all these are your portion. Earth was a portion for the bastards only; and therefore I divided it most largely amongst them, casting crowns and principalities, and the greatest earthly things of time, to the vilest of them. To indulge : your childishness, I gave sometimes to some of you large portions of the earth; for many ends, known only to myself, and for giving you a breathing time, lest the spirit that I had made should have been brought to nothing but earthly portions were only fit for base spirits; poor and empty were the donations I vouchsafed upon them, in comparison of this. When I give to you, I give like a King indeed: when I have ascended up on high, and led captivity captive, Eph. iv. 8, I share no less among my friends than everlasting, ever-flourishing kingdoms and principalities; and this is the manifestation of free love, before the corner-stone of the earth was laid: here, as everywhere, does my absolute sovereignty shine. I am Alpha and Omega,' Rev. xxii. 13. No cause of my actings without myself: by me, through me, and for me are all things: for you have I chosen vessels of glory and honour, that on you I might show forth that infinite bounty, love, and compassion that dwells in me." already judged and filled with the dread Lion of the tribe of Judah. 58. Reprobates are How does our holy One fill the condemned; and all senses of cursed reprobates with his their faculties are dreadful voice, wherewith ten thouful roarings of the sand worlds might be shaken to nothing! How does the Lion of the tribe of Judah roar forth! Be eternally confounded, from my amiable presence, vile wretches, you are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day long. Your soul abhorreth me, and my soul abhorreth you. Betwixt us this unquenchable hatred shall increase throughout eternity; as your hellish violence and monstrous abominations do increase, eternally will I kindle the flames of my fury upon you. Did such a madness possess you, so as to think you might escape my avengeful hand? And knew ye not yourselves, bits of creatures, rebelling against me, the Omnipotent Sovereign of all things? Let your own selves accuse yourselves of your crimes against me, the boundless Original of all excellences, loveliness, and sweetness, which you experienced: ungrateful wretches! did you prefer, and love, and desire only yourselves? shall the creature be set up above the Creator? Yourselves are intolerable torments to yourselves: for you behold your vileness as it is. Did you not think, because of my silence, that I was like to your base selves? But now I will eternally reprove you, and set your sins before your eyes now you see your wretchedness. What think you of your holding the truth in unrighteousness? so that you became vain in your imaginations, and your foolish heart was darkened; professing yourselves wise, you became fools, "and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God" into the vain fancies of your desperately deceitful hearts, Rom. i. 21--23; still looking upon Him as one like yourselves. What think you of delighting more in created enjoyments, than in me, the Fountain of all? Your affections bended most to nothings and vanities; the Fountain of all blessedness you abhorred. Did you not say, Let him depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of his name? What profit is there in serving him? Job xxi. 14, 15; what pleasure in being in his fellowship? yea, "what a weariness is it!" Mal. i. 13. Let us have earthly enjoyments, and we desire no more: these are the only things we delight in. What think you, that you are born enemics, haters of me from your very first original? With your first breathings of life, did you breathe forth malice against your Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor; and what can you do eternally, but roar with your malicious blasphemies? It is my pleasure, that upon you be manifested the glory of my avenging justice: as I have sworn, so have I performed, that “ every knee shall bow to me,' "Rom. xiv. 11. You stiffnecked wretches, would ye not yield to the sceptre of my government? I will make you stoop, and lick the dust, like serpents, under my feet. I alone will be exalted, "and my glory will I not give unto another," Isa. xlii. 8. Would you not be the actual instruments of my glory? I will eternally make you the passive proclaimers thereof your cursings and howlings shall set me on high, even proclaim the glory of my spotless holiness, throughout all ages. Cursed creatures, whom my hands formed to serve, and obey, and glorify me; shall I not recompense your hatred and rebellion upon your own heads? I am of purer eyes than to behold iniquity: triumph I not? I, the righteous Lord, love the righteous; my countenance doth behold the upright but the wicked, and him that loveth violence, my soul abhorreth, Psa. xi. 5, 7. According to my absolute sovereignty, might I have made out of you any thing I pleased; but thus have I done, that the glory of my spotless holiness might eternally shine forth: but as I said, so have I done; and it is known whose word stands, yours or mine. Said you, in the stoutness of your hearts, "Our lips are our own, who is lord over us?" Psa. xii. 4. We are lords, we will no more come unto thee. And shall you not find, to your eternal misery, who is the great Former and absolute Sovereign of all things? And you, the vilest of all vileness, to whom most lovingly I offered my heart, my blood, my life, my kingdom, and all things; and yet you slighted and neglected all, as things of no great excellence: O mine enemies, mine enemies! slain and destroyed ye shall be eternally before mine eyes. I have no enemies like you, unto whom I most condescendingly revealed my will, appointing your lot within the pale of the church. I have found you, O mine enemies, you haters of my holiness, and despisers of mine excellence, who, at the most, loved "a form of godliness," but denied "the power thereof," 2 Tim. iii. 5. Did I rise up early and late, crying unto you? did I beseech, entreat, weep and groan over you, that you would come out from your vain conversation, and partake of a blessed communion with my Father and me? and shall I not cause you to howl, and roar, and weep, and gnash your teeth, in utter darkness for ever and ever? Have I not entreated long? should I wait for ever upon creatures madly furious against me? I have sworn by my holiness, that after death there shall be no more forbearance; the word hath gone out of my mouth, it cannot be recalled: I am not a man, that I should change. I appointed a time for every thing; a time of forbearance, and a time of |