heard a voice from heaven, addreffed to us in the following ftriking words, Ifa. ii. 10, 11. "Enter into the rock, and "hide thee in the duft, for fear of the Lord, and for the "glory of his majefty. The lofty looks of man fhall be "humbled, and the haughtinefs of men fhall be bowed "down; and the Lord alone fhall be exalted in that day." One who hath fo known God, will perceive, that there can be no more proper reply to objections, on the part of man, to the divine procedure, than that of the apostle Paul, Rom. ix. 20. "Nay, but, O man, who art thou that re“pliest against God?"

3. A difcovery of the glory of God ferves to point out the danger of fin. It is the hope of impunity, that emboldens the finner to tranfgrefs, and to perfift in his tranf greffions. For this reafon, we find the fcriptures, in general, attributing the impenitence of finners to these two great fources, ignorance and unbelief, Pfal. xiv. 1. "The "fool hath faid in his heart, there is no God." And, in verse 4. "Have all the workers of iniquity no know"ledge?" that is to fay, fuch bold rebellion in their conduct plainly difcovers the atheifin of their hearts. To the fame purpose, Pfalm x. 11, 13, "He hath faid in his "heart, God hath forgotten; he hideth his face; he will "never fee it.Wherefore doth the wicked contemn "God? He hath faid in his heart, thou wilt not require "it." But a difcovery of the divine glory, at once deftroys the foundation of this ftupid fecurity, and impious prefumption. It realizes the very being of God more than before, as is plainly implied in the words of Job: I bave heard of thee with the bearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee. seeth thee. It makes his prefence fenfible, and teaches us, that "all things are naked before him." Sa that there is no hope of lying concealed. It fets before us his holiness and juftice; that he is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. So that, while his nature continues the fame, the guilty and impenitent cannot poffibly obtain pardon. Above all, it fets before us the terror of his power, which is infinite and boundlefs; fo that nothing can be more vain, than for the finner to hope either to efcape

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Agreeably to all this, we find, that, in the holy fcrip. tures, in which God hath been pleased to make himself known to us by external revelation, it is by afferting, and, as it were, displaying, and producing to view, the glory of his infinite perfection, that he endeavours to deter us from fin, and animate or encourage us to duty. When God gave the law to the children of Ifrael, he gave them, at the fame time, a display of his greatness and majesty in a very awful manner. To exprefs his fovereign authority, and the abfolute propriety he had in them, he introduces it with thefe words: "I am the Lord, thy God, "which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the "houfe of bondage." You may alfo remember, how of ten, in appointing the feveral Mofaic conftitutions, these fignificative words are repeated, I am the Lord. In the fame manner, to imprefs his people with a sense of the evil of fin, as committed against fuch a God, he declares his own abfolute dominion, Mal. i. 14. "But curfed be "the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and vow. "eth and facrificeth to the Lord a corrupt thing; for I am "a great King, faith the Lord of hofts, and my name is "dreadful among the heathen."

When he would give his people a deep conviction of the folly and danger of secret fins, he fets forth his omnifcience and omniprefence, Jer. xxiii. 23, 24. "Am Ia "God at hand, and not a God afar off? Can any hide "himself in fecret places, that I fhall not fee him? faith "the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? faith the "Lord." When he would exprefs the danger of obftinacy and disobedience, he gives a very lively idea of his infinite power, Jer. v. 22. "Fear ye not me? faith the "Lord will ye not tremble at my presence, which have "placed the fand for the bound of the fea, by a perpetual "decree, that it cannot pass it; and though the waves "thereof tofs themfelves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pafs over it."

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The very fame thing he doth to encourage the truft of his own people, Ifa. xliv. 6. "Thus faith the Lord, the "King of Ifrael, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hofts, I "am the firft, and I am the laft, and befides me there is

"no God." When he would make us fenfible, that, if we continue in fin, it is impoffible for us to escape punishment, what a terrible reprefentation does he give of his dreadful and irrefiftible vengeance? Prophecies of Nah. i. 5, 6. "The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, "and the earth is burnt at his prefence, yea, the world, "and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his "indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his "anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks "are thrown down by him."

Thus we fee, that God, in fcripture, reveals the glory of his own nature, as the effectual means of reftraining us in the commiffion of fin, or turning us from it; and plainly fuppofes, that nothing but ignorance of him can encourage finners in their rebellion. Neither can it be denied, that when there is an inward and powerful discovery of these truths to the mind, it must lead us to repentance, and lay us proftrate before his throne, in obedience and fubmiffion. Who, that knoweth the Almighty, will run upon the thick boffes of his buckler? or will not rather ufe this dutiful language of Job, chap. ix, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. "I know it is fo of a truth; but how fhould man be just "with God? If he will contend with him, he cannot an"fwer him one of a thousand. He is wife in heart, and "mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against "him, and hath profpered? which removeth the moun"tains, and they know not; which overturneth them in "his anger; which shaketh the earth out of her place, "and the pillars thereof tremble."

4. In the last place, a view of the divine glory tends to leads us to repentance, as it fets forth his infinite mercy, and affords encouragement to, as well as points out the profit of repentance. Juft and proper conceptions of God cannot be given us, without including his great mercy. This bright perfection fhone, even on Mount Sinai, through all the terrors of that legal dispensation, Exod. xxxiii. 18, 19. "And he faid, I befeech thee, fhew me "thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness to "pafs before thee; and I will proclaim the name of the "Lord before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I

"will be gracious, and will fhew mercy on whom I will fhew mercy." Exod. xxxiv. 5, 6, 7. "And the Lord "defcended in the cloud, and ftood with him there, and "proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord pass"ed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord "God, merciful and gracious, long-fuffering, and abun. "dant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thoufands, forgiving iniquity, and tranfgreffion, and fin." Without the knowledge of this amiable attribute, all the other perfections of God would fignify little to bring us to true repentance. Without this, they carry nothing in them but unmixed terror to the guilty. Without this, therefore, the confideration of his infinite holiness and purity, his inflexible juftice, and almighty power, would only ferve to drive us further from him, by throwing us into abfolute defpair. But when, to all the other perfections of God, we join his infinite mercy, the true knowledge of him ferves not only to deftroy criminal prefump. tion, but to animate to dutiful fubmiffion. Thus the Pfalmift expreffes himfelf, Pfalm cxxx. 3, 4, "If thou "Lord, fhouldeft mark iniquities, O Lord, who fhall "fland? But there is forgivenefs with thee, that thou "mayeft be feared." Here you may obferve, that, when he fays, "there is forgivenefs with thee, that thou mayest "be feared," he not only means, that there is encourage. ment to ferve God, but that his mercy itfelf leads to that filial reverence which is fo effential a part of true penitence. The greatnefs and mercy of God happily confpire in melting the heart of the finner. There is an expreffion of fingular beauty, Hof. iii. 5. "Afterward fhall "the children of Ifrael return, and feek the Lord, their "God, and David, their King; and fhall fear the Lord, and his goodnefs, in the latter days."

This leads me to obferve, that it is in the gofpel of our Lord and Saviour, Jefus Chrift, that we have the brighteft and cleareft difplay of divine mercy. It is in Chrift, that we have the true and faving difcovery of the glory and perfections of God, And it is particularly in him, that we have an united illuftration, and joint difplay of greatnefs and goodness, of majefty and mercy. In the under

taking of our bleffed Redeemer, we have a very clear and affecting view of those perfections, that fhew the evil of fin, and the danger of the finner. Never did the holiness of God fhine brighter, or his hatred and indignation against fin, appear with greater terror, than when the fword of his juftice was drawn out against the man who is his fellow. When God fwept away a polluted world by an univerfal deluge; when he overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah by fire and brimftone from heaven; when the earth opened her mouth, and fwallowed up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Thefe were terrible proofs of his hatred of fin, of the juftice and holinefs of his nature. Yet were they, after all, but faint evidences, in comparison of what were given, when "he who was in the form of "God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, "-was found in fafhion as a man, and became obedient "unto death, even the death of the cross."

But, at the fame time, in this great event, hath he not magnified his love? Rom. v. 8. "But God hath com. "mended his love towards us, in that while we were yet "finners, Chrift died for us." How fhall we think or fpeak on this unfathomable fubject? Chrift Jefus is the fruit of the Father's everlafting love to finners of mankind. How great the giver! how unfpeakable the gift! how mean and worthlefs the objects of his love! God is love. Power, wifdom, holinefs, and juftice, fhine, indeed, in the doctrine of the crofs. But, above all, grace and mercy prevail," and reign through righteousness unto "eternal life." What a melting view to every convin ced finner! Zech. xii. 10. " -They fhall look upon me "whom they have pierced, and they fhall mourn for "him, as one that mourneth for his only fon, and shall "be in bitternefs for him, as one that is in bitterness for "his first-born." Muft they not, with Job, abhor themselves, and repent in dust and ashes? This is a circumftance frequently taken notice of with regard to the gofpel converts. Jer. xxxi. 9. " They fhall come with weeping; and with fupplications will I lead them." Jer. v. 4, 5." In thofe days, and in that time, faith the Lord, the children of Ifrael fhall come, they, and the