behold the entire building of his Church comjjlete in all its parts, not a stone wanting, or out of the place ordained for it ; yea, he sees also every individual stone formed and fashioned accord- ing to his sovereign will, and fitted perfectly for the situation which in his eternal counsels he has appointed it to fill. To a common eye all may appear at present a scene of confusion : but to him who seeth all from the beginning, all is in perfect order as far as it has advanced ; and the whole edifice is, as it were, already prepared as a meet habitation for the God of heaven11.
Say then, Whether there be any ground for the complaint which we have been considering? Can God have forsaken his people, when he is ever present with them ? Can he have forgotten them, when he is incessantly carrying on his work in their hearts ? He may, it is true, for wise and gracious pur- poses, so veil himself, that they shall not immediately behold him ; but he can no more forget his redeemed people, than he can forget the interests of his beloved Son, or the honour of his own perfections. This he has stated in the fullest manner, for
the comfort of his people1 and, whether we believe it
or not, he will accomplish every jot and tittle of it in its season. As he has no inducement to falsify his word, so he will not, -" he cannot, deny himself15."]
Address —
1. Those who have forsaken and forgotten God — [Hear ye the complaint which God utters ; " Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire ? yet my people have forgotten me, days without number1." Alas ! how true is this of multitudes amongst ourselves ! Though " He is the fountain of living waters, yet have we forsaken him, and hewn out to ourselves cisterns that can hold no water™." We have even laboured to blot out the remembrance of him from our minds : and so thoroughly have we succeeded in this impious attempt, that, as the Searcher of hearts himself testifies, " God is not in all our thoughts"." Every vanity has been harboured in our minds ; but we have found there no room for God : in short, we have lived " without God in the world0." What astonishing wickedness is this, that when God has been follow- ing us with invitations and entreaties all our days, saying to us, " Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways ; for why will ye die, O house of Israel ? " we have " refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped our ears that we should not hearp." This however cannot always continue: God "will
h Eph. ii. 20—22.
* Isai. liv. 7—10, 17.
k 2 Tim. ii. 13.
1 Jer. ii. 32.
m Jer. ii. 13.
n Ps. x. 4.
0 Eph. ii. 12.
p Zech. vii. 11.