glorious name upon them. When Julian the Apostate was slain, (and confessed at whose hand he received his fatal blow,) then Libanius, his scoffing sophister, had his question, What is the carpenter's Son now doing? (which a little before he had put to a Christian, in derision of liis Saviour,) thrown into his teeth to the confusion of his face, and found the Christian's answei", that he was making a coffin for his master, proved more true than he was aware of. It cannot but be a joyful day to a saint, who prizeth tlie honour of his God above his own life, when he sees even the wicked, tliat before denied a providence, and thought all events were thrown out of blind fortune's lap, as if the world v/ere but a lottery, whei'ein every one had his portion by chance, now forced, by the re- markable appearances of God's power and wisdom, in saving his people, and destroying his implacable enemies, to confess, ' Verily there is a reward for the i-ighteous, verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth;' Psa. Iviii. 11. This exaltation of the glorious name of God, every saint doth and should aim at in the prayers wherein he imprecates vengeance : ' Let them be confounded and troubled for ever ; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish ; that men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over the earth,' Psa. Ixxxiii. 17.
Section JI.— Now, from this imprecatory prayer, there is, — First, Matter of comfort to the saints against those direful imprecations which the wicked woi'ld throweth out against them. The saints in this sense are a cursed people. The wicked form the greatest part of the world; the church is a little flock, but her enemies a huge herd : and Cain will hate and kill Abel to the end of the world ; the same spirit that was in him remaineth in his seed. Sometimes when the church of God flourisheth, and hath the sun of outward prosperity on her side, they may cry Hosannah in the crowd, ' But when they bless with their mouth, they curse inwardly with their heart.' A wicked man cannot wish well to a saint, as a saint ; neither can a saint bless the wicked as such : Psa. cxxix. 8, ' Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the Lord be upon you : we bless you in the name of the Lord.' They do, indeed, desire their conversion, and therein wish them well, but in the wicked way they are at present, they cannot bless them : so the wicked desire the saints would come over to their party, do as they do, and then they would applaud them : but let the saints keep close to God, and refuse to run into riot and excess with them, and they are sure to meet with their curse and imprecation ; it is not their unblamable and peaceable walking will free them from their wrath and fury ; Jer. xv. 10, 'I have neither lent on usury, nor have men lent to me on usury ; yet every one of them doth curse me.' But fear not thou, who art a saint, their imprecations; this is but like false fire in the pan of an uncharged gun, it gives a crack, but hurts not ; God's blessing will cover thee from their curse : ' Let them curse, but bless thou,' Psa. cix. 28. When the viper flew out of the fire iipon Paul's hand, the barbarians expected that he should drop down dead, but it proved no such matter. Thus the enemies of God and his people have expected, one generation after another, that the church, which hath been always laden with their curses, should perish under them, but it lives yet to walk over all their graves. Alas ! poor wretches, what is your imprecation worth ? Truly, as your blessing can do no good, neither can yom- curse do any harm, till you can get God to set his seal, and say amen to it. Did our Saviom* so sharply rebuke the rash request of his disciples, calling for fire to fall on those whom they thought deserved it : — and will he gratify the lust of your devilish fury against his own dear people, by pouring on them what you blasphemously desire of him ? Will nothing serve you but to have God execute those whom you condemn ; and those, his dear children, for nought else, but because they dare not be as wicked as yourselves? Go, bid the tender mother imbrue her hands in the blood of her sweet babe, that came out of her womb, and now lies at her breast ; or the husband betray and deliver the wife of his bosom into the hands of miu-dercrs that wait for her life ; would these be errands to make the messenger that brings them welcome to the loving mother or husband ? But if any such monsters among men are to be found, remember he is a God whose nature is unchangeable, and whose covenant with his people is inviolable. How was fxod courted by Balak and Balaam with altar after altar, from ])lacc to place, but all to no purpose; Deut.xxiii. 5, ' Nevertheless the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam,
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