MEDITATION CXIX.

THE EXPECTED CHANGE.

Jan. 10, 1762, Lisbon River.

WHATEVER horrors may be set the carnal and secure, when their gloomy moments come on apace, yet no prospect affords me equal pleasure to that of my last change; and I have exceeding great cause to rejoice, when I compare what I now am and suffer, with what I shall then enjoy and be. Now my joys are mostly future, and in expectation, for I walk by faith, and live on hope; but then they shall be present, and in possession, for I shall dwell in light, and feed on fruition. Now I am daily struggling with death and sin, but then I shall eternally triumph over both. Now I toil along a tiresome road, but then I shall walk above these skies in the very heavens. Now mine eyes rove from vanity to vanity; but then they shall see, yea, fix on the King in his glory, on the King of kings in his divinest glory. Now I dwell among fire-brands, and surrounding sinners daily give me pain; but then I shall dwell among the armies of redeeming love, see angels and archangels increase the throng, cherubims and seraphims join the song,and not one sinner among all the hosts of light. Now I bewail myself often as a frail inhabitant of feeble clay; but then I shall find myself possessed of all the vigour of immortality, of all the briskness of eternal life. Now I am often puzzled about the providences of my lot; but then I shall approve, and see a divine beauty shining through the whole conduct of providence, in the light of glory. Now,in the noblest subjects my ignorance often leaves me greatly in the dark; but then shall I know, and

that even as I am known. Now I have foes without, and foes within, the sin of my nature, and the idols of my heart, enemies from earth and hell to grapple with; but then, triumphing over every foe, I shall sing the conquest of the Captain of my salvation, the victories of the divine Conqueror, and never cease from this interesting, this unexhausted theme. Now sometimes, from the precious ordinances and sacred courts of God I am debarred for a time; but then shall I be a pillar in the temple of God, and go no more out, but always worship at his throne. Now the cruel hand of death comes among my friends and familiars, and leaves me like a sparrow on the house-top alone, or a pelican in the wilderness mourning; but then not one of all the numerous inhabitants shall so much as say, "I am sick," because they are an assembly of sinless ones. My Sun often conceals himself, so that I go mourning without him; but then in the light of his countenance, in the brightness of his glory, shall I walk on for ever. Now I am crawling along the road of life in company with fellow-worms, who dwell in cottages of clay, and are crushed before the moth; but then, dignified with his divine similitude, I shall dwell with the Ancient of days, and enjoy the dearest and most intimate communion with Jehovah and the Lamb for ever. Now my time is wasting away, and I am not far, yea, for aught I know, am very near my latter end; but then an endless eternity shall be mine, and my bliss be as durable as desirable, as permanent as pleasant. O! then, who would not prepare and wait for a change that is so pregnant with glory and bliss?

MEDITATION CXX.

ARGUMENTS FOR FAITH IN GOD.

Jan. 22, 1762. Under sail for England.

THE Noblest way to glorify God, is to be strong in the faith, like Abraham, the friend of God; and as this confers most honour on the divine Promiser, so it conveys the greatest quietness to the soul. But, as I am more fearful than many of the faithful, and cannot attain to that confidence in God that the most part of believers have, let me strengthen my faith by the scriptures of truth, which can never be broken.

First, then, these sacred records hold out a chain of the nearest and dearest relations between God and the happy soul that has an interest in him. He is a Judge, the Judge of all the earth; and can I dread wrong judgments at his hand? He is the orphan's stay, the strength of the poor, and the stranger's shield; what then may not the orphan, the poor, and the stranger expect from him?

Again, he is a Father; and what may not I expect from such a Father, who, in the tenderest manner has said again and again, "Son, all that I have is thine;". a Father, who has heaven and earth at his disposal, and the hearts of all men in his hand-a Father, whose divine affection infinitely exceeds that of the best of the name to his most engaging son, or of the most loving mother to her most amiable babe ;-a Father, whose wisdom knows infinitely well both what and when to give; whose eyes and ears are continually open to their calamities and complaints; whose love waits to bestow, and is, as it were, impatient to be gracious; whose promise is no dead word, but living,

and pregnant with good ;-a Father, who has given the most amazing instance of love, in that he kept not back his Son, but delivered him up for us all; and if he gives me his salvation, gives me the graces of his Spirit, promises me his heaven and his glory, in a word, gives me himself, what will he with-hold, what will he deny ?

Surely, I have hitherto had too mean thoughts of the goodness of God, and looked on the promises as only fair words, when they are very faithfulness and truth; yet I may assure myself with as much certainty as the sun is in the heavens, that all the promises of God shall have their full, their perfect, their complete accomplishment toward me, and at the time that is most proper in the eye of Infinite Wisdom. Henceforth no doubt shall disturb my breast; I will patiently wait on the Lord, who not only promises great things, but performs whatever he promises; knowing assuredly that though now I too much imitate murmuring Israel in the wilderness, yet, like them, when I arrive at the land of promise, the Canaan above, I shall profess before the whole assembly of bliss, that there hath not failed any good thing whereof the Lord had spoken, or given promise-all is come to pass.

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MEDITATION CXXI.

THE TRAVELLER AT HOME.

September 7, 1776.

THESE many years have I dwelt in my native country, and in mine own house. Through the perils of war, the dangers of the sea, extremity of cold in one part, and scorching heat in another, have my life and health been preserved, to my own surprise, while numbers saw their native land no more. But, as a traveller, what have I seen? Just sin and vanity in every land, grief and pain in every breast, the fruits of the fall, and the havoc of the curse in all nations.

I dwell in mine own house, and bless the bounty of Providence, which, from floating on a restless ocean: has given me a settled habitation. But I look forward, and see that I have a long, an interesting, an awful journey before me, not from one kingdom to another, but from one world to another. Hence (not forgetful of all his mercies that prevented me in all my wanderings) to lay up my treasure in the better country, to prepare for my approaching change, to improve for my future society, and to ripen for heaven and glory, shall employ the remainder of my life, that I may finish my course with joy. Amen.