that account: for "God will open for them rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys : he will make the wilderness a pool of water, and dry land springs of water1." What hinders then, but that we should partake of all those mercies ourselves ? If we really believe, as all profess to do, that the enjoyment of them will exalt man so highly in the latter ages of the world, and bring down, as it were, a heaven upon earth, surely we should now aspire after a foretaste of that heavenly feast; and " not give rest unto our Godm," till he " bring us to his banqueting-house, and till his banner over us be love"." To entertain an idea of the Millennium being a state of inconceivable felicity, and not to seek those graces and consolations which constitute its happiness, is a grievous incon- sistency. Let all then be consistent : and now take their por- tion at that glorious feast which is spread for them in the Gospel, even " the feast of fat things, of fat things full of mar- row, of wines on the lees well refined0 ]
Address —
1. To those who think of religion as a source of
melancholy —
[Does it wear that aspect in the passage before us? or can language be found to depict it in more lovely colours ? Verily, if the transformation of a wilderness into the garden of the Lord be a joyful change, then is religion a source of unmingled joy and blessedness. But it may be said, that repentance and mortification of sin are painful works. True ; but whence do they proceed ? not from religion, but from sin, which must be repented of, and must be mortified. We are diseased, and must be cured, before we can enjoy health in our souls. If we were diseased in body, and needed a painful course of medi- cine, or the amputation of a limb, would any one ascribe our pains to health ? Health would supersede the necessity of such a process : and when the soul is brought to the enjoyment of God's presence, and the possession of his image, it shall " have beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment
of praise for the spirit of heaviness" Let this erroneous
notion then be put away; and let religion be regarded in its true light, as an anticipation and foretaste of the heavenly bliss.]
2. To those who profess to regard religion as a
source of joy —
[You are correct in your sentiments on this momentous subject; but you must remember, that religion is a source of
1 Isai. xli. 17, 18. m Isai. lxii. 1, 7. n Cant. ii. 4.
0 Isai. xxv. 6. The particulars of pardon, peace, &c. may be here again touched upon.