som them from the power of the grave; 0 death, I will be thy plagues, O grave, I will be thy destruction.)

Since Christ has ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, and must reign till he makes his enemies his footstool, and the last enemy destroyed is death, who is destroyed in the resurrection of the dead, we are to consider that heaven is God's throne, and the earth is his footstool (Matt. 5: 34, 35); and since heaven and earth are kept by his word in store, as Peter informs us, (2 Epist. 3,) reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men, also the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works therein shall be burnt up; then will the streams be turned into pitch, and the dust into brimstone, and the land into burning pitch, which shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; no one shall pass through it for ever and ever. But before this comes to pass, all those who embrace Christ shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall be forever with the Lord. 1 Thess. 4: 17.

For Noah had first to enter the ark before the flood came over the ungodly and swept them all away (Gen. 7): Lot had first to leave

Sodom before the Lord destroyed it with fire and brimstone. Gen. 19: 22. So also the children of God must have taken their departure out of this world into their Father's kingdom, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, before the earth and the elements are changed and the ungodly hear the sentence, Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Matt. 25. Then will his enemies be laid at his footstool; for the earth is his footstool, from which, being changed, a smoke shall go up for ever and ever.

When he has, in the resurrection of the dead and in the judgment, put all his enemies under his feet, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. 1 Cor. 15: 27, 28. Remember, he does not say, he has released or exalted his enemies, but he has put them under his feet, that they may no more have it in their power to persecute him, or despise his saints, in whom he has ever suffered persecution. Luke 10: 16.

Then will God wipe away all tears from the eyes of the righteous, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away, and he that sitteth on the throne maketh all things new; as Peter says, We, according to his promise,

look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 2 Peter 3: Is. 65: 17, chap. 66: 22.

13

God's son.

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and God will be his God and he shall be But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death. Rev. 21.

Now is fulfilled all that God has spoken, threatened, and promised by the mouth of all his prophets, yea by Christ himself; for now unto the righteous is paradise opened, the tree of life is planted, the time to come is prepared, plenteousness is made ready, a city is builded, and rest is allowed, yea, perfect goodness ahd wisdom, the root of evil is sealed up from them, weakness and the moth is hid from them, and corruption is fled into hell to be forgotten; sorrows are passed, and in the end is shown the treasure of immortality. Therefore it was said to Esdras, Ask thou no more questions concerning the multitude of them that perish. For when they had taken liberty, they despised the Most High, thought scorn of his law, and forsook his ways. Moreover they have trodden down his righteous, and said in their heart, there is no God, yea, and that knowing they must die. For as the righteous shall be comforted, so thirst,

pain, and torment are prepared for them. Esdras 8. Luke 16. O how blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Rev. 22: 14.

ས.

Come then, ye sinners, who spend your time in the gay and volatile pleasures of the world, open the book of your conscience, and reflect upon your impure, carnal, and ungodly lives, and consider the end of the same, and after the end the judgment, and after the judgment the long vista of eternity, when time shall be no longer, as was sworn by the mighty angel. Rev. 10: 6, 7. Remember that every duration that comes to an end is a time; it may continue a thousand, ten thousand, or a hundred thousand years, yet if there is a limit set to it, it is a time. But after the sound of the last trump and the voice of the archangel, there shall be time no longer, no more time to draw to an end, no more time for repentance and salvation. For if a man lives a hundred years, it is to to eternity as a drop of water to the whole sea. O dreadful eternity! Endless ages replete with horror to the damned; on the contrary, O joyful eternity! Ages of extatic bliss to the saints in heaven. O! who then will be so foolish as to sell, like Esau, his birthright for a morsel of terrestrial pleasure, and,

thereby, lose the everlasting benediction. Gen. 25: 33, and 27: 30. Heb. 12: 16, 17. O, should not one's flesh tremble for fear when one thinks upon the law of the Lord, (Ps. 119: 120); should we not tremble, like Belshazzar, when with an awakened conscience, we read the holy scriptures, (Dan. 5,) and see the threatenings pronounced by God against all sinners. Oh God! grant that all may see this, before the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain. Eccl. 12: 6.

O ye sons of men! with bruised and contrite hearts, and suppliant hands, draw nigh unto the crucified Savior, and learn wisdom; follow his counsel, and humble yourselves at his feet; let your implacable and revengeful hearts be circumcised, and your cupidity be changed into liberality; lay aside your folly and arrogance, and forsake your dissolute and licentious lives; employ your tongues no more in cursing, swearing, and jesting, but use them in supplication, prayer and entreaty for your salvation: consume your time no longer in reading unprofitable books, but search the holy scriptures, and give ear to the words of God, having the same ingrafted in you, which is able to save your souls. James 1: 21. If you have strife and contention among you, seek peace and reconciliation, and let not the sun go down on your wrath (Eph. 4: 26); for you know not wheth