"and our fortress. He shall deliver us from the 66 snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pes"tilence. He shall cover us with his feathers; and "under his wings shall we trust. His truth shall "be our shield and buckler. We shall not be "afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day, nor for the pestilence that "walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that "wasteth at noon-day."* Be of good cheer, then, all ye, who have fled to him for refuge, as the rock of Israel. He will take away the sting, and break the violence of every calamity. And ye, who have not yet trusted in' "him, be exhorted to call upon him, while he may be found; lest afterwards he "laugh at your cala mity, and mock when your fear cometh."+ Are the afflictions incident to life so few in number, as to excite in you no dread of their arrival; or so easy to be borne, as to need no alleviation when they come? Can the most rigid temperance, or the utmost exertions of prudence, protect you from the common accidents of life, the surprizes of acute disease, the ravages of famine, pestilence, and war. or from the irresistible waste of years, as they roll along. Yea, though you should have the probability of living many days, and of rejoicing in them all, yet "remember the days of darkness, for they "shall be many."‡ Be wise, then, in time; and secure for yourselves protection against the hour of need. The Lord Jesus now offers himself to be your" hiding place; to preserve you from trouble; "and to compass you about with songs of deliverance."§ See that ye refuse not when he calls. * Psalm xci. 2—6. ́† Prov. i. 26. + Eccl. xi. 8. § Psalm xxxii. 7. "Those who come unto him, he will, in no wise, "cast out."* to come. But gather into one heap all the misery that embitters human life, it is light, when weighed in the balance, with that indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, prepared for transgressors in a future world. Present misery may be endured, if not hopeless. Man can even rejoice under it, if he can look forward, with assurance, to happiness But if no security can be given, that the penalties which conscience forebcdes, when this life is closed, shall be averted, there is no consolation which can alleviate the pain of present evil; and no consideration, which can remove the horror excited by the prospects of futurity. That Christ, therefore, may be a sufficient hiding place for us, from every specious of distress, it is necessary that he should also be a covert from the dread of wrath to come. We have to shew, then 2. That Christ is a covert, and a hiding place, from the storm of everlasting wrath, beyond the grave. Here the Saviour appears in his most glorious character, his high mediatorial office. This is the subject, which we are this day assembled to commemorate the subject of all our hope, and joy, and praise. It is the theme of the believer's song, in the house of his pilgrimage; and it shall be that of his highest strains, when he stands before the throne above. Attend, then, for a little, to the awful tempest of vengeance which hung over us, and to the means by which Jesus shields his people from its fury. Man, in his original state, was liable neither to the * John vi. 37. endurance of present pain, nor to the dread of future ill: but by violating the reasonable command, which his Maker had given him, as the test of his obedience, and the badge of his dependence, he forfeited all right to his native happiness, and incurred the penalty denounced against transgression: while, at the same time, by yielding to unworthy motives, and admitting the prevalence of unholy passions, his nature became corrupt; and transmitting itself to his posterity, has involved them also in corruption, and in its necessary consequences, guilt and wo. Thus "all the world has become guilty be "fore God."* But sin must be followed by punishment; and its awful penalties cannot be repealed. The divine law prescribes them; and it cannot be changed. The dishonour cast upon the divine government cannot otherwise be repaired. The glory of the divine perfections requires their infliction for the existence of infinite purity and justice would otherwise be questionable; and their immutability would be disproved. Hence "the wrath of "God is revealed against all ungodliness and un"righteousness of men :"+ and scripture assures us, that the Lord" will by no means clear the guilty." Nay, in our own consciences we feel the sentence of death. Their voice, indeed, may be stifled for a season; but they will not always leave us in quiet. When the prospect of dissolution strikes us, in the death of others; when the bitterness of personal disappointment, or the anguish of disease, reminds us of the instability of life, they will awake in their strength, and set before our eyes, like the hand writing on the wall before the Chaldean king, the +Ibid. i. 18. Exod. xxxiv. 7. Rom. iii. 19. record of condemnation. "Thou art weighed in "the balance, and art found wanting:"* and like his, our countenances shall change, and our thoughts shall trouble us. But if the dread of divine vengeance be terrible, what must that vengeance be, when actually endured! The mouth of inspiration labours to find expressions to describe it; and shadows it forth by figures taken from the most dreadful objects. It is a "worm" which "dieth not;" and a "fire" which "is not quenched." It is "utter darkness ;"-" the lake, which burneth "with fire and brimstone ;"-" the wine of the "wrath of God, poured out, without mixture, into "the cup of his indignation ;"-" torments, of "which the smoke ascendeth up for ever and "ever." Such are the horrible images employed to represent the future punishment of sinners. Nor, if we attempt to describe it more literally, shall we find reason to think these images too strong. Its first bitter ingredient is the sense of happiness lost, irrecoverably lost: the next, that the loss is owing to the criminals themselves. Unheard of and irremediable misery completes the doleful mixture; and the certainty that it shall be everlasting, renders it utterly intolerable. Within, are weariness, and terror, and conscience ever gnawing. Without, are the companions of their guilt, and partakers of their punishment, regarding them with rancorous hate, and incessant reproach; and their abode is in the blackness of darkness, separated for ever from the regions of bliss, by a gulf impassable. But, sinners, is there any atonement Dan. v. 27. ↑ Mark ix. 44. Matt. viii. 12. Rev. xiv. 10, ¶ Ibid. 11. which you can offer, such as may screen you from the punishment of your guilt? To that, the sacrifice of thousands of rams, and ten thousand rivers of oil, is not equal. Nay, the fruit of your body will not be accepted, for the sin of your soul. How, then, shall ye be able to escape? or whither will ye flee from the thunderbolts of incensed justice, directed by infinite power? Will ye hide yourselves in the dens and caves of the earth? All things are naked and open before the eyes of him, with whom ye have to do. Will ye call on the rocks and the mountains to fall on you, and hide you from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb? The mountains fly away, and the hills melt like wax, before the God of the whole earth. Will you dare to plead mercy from the hitherto despised Jesus? His countenance is now clothed with the stern severity of the judge; and his language is, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire."* 86 Is there, then, no hope of deliverance from the wrath to come? no refuge from the destroying tempest beyond the grave? As all have sinned, shall all be condemned? And when the great day of the Lamb's wrath is come, shall none be able to stand? Yes, men and brethren, there is hope: a refuge is provided, whose foundation is the rock of ages; and beneath which, no wind or tempest can assail us. The only begotten Son of God is our refuge. The fellow of the Lord of hosts is our He is our strong tower. hiding place from the "wind," and our covert from the tempest" of eternal wrath. 66 66 Matt. xxv. 41. |