iniquities and abominations : for what our Lord says of us is strictly true, " We have hated both him and his Father m."]
2. What a dreadful place must hell be !
[Here the wickedness of men is restrained by the prevent- ing- grace of God : but in hell it will rage without controul. How will all the miserable spirits then vent their malice ! How will they gnaw their tongues, and blaspheme their God"! May we never know this by bitter experience !]
3. How astonishing is the tender mercy of our God !
[One would suppose that God should feel nothing but indignation against such an ungrateful world. But behold ! he " waiteth to be gracious unto them ;" he sends them offers of pardon ; he even entreats and " beseeches them to be reconciled to him0. O let his goodness lead us to repentance ! Let us cast away the weapons of our rebellion, and bow to the sceptre of his grace. So shall we yet be numbered among the friends of God, and be lively monuments of his mercy to all eternity.]
m ver. 24. n Rev. xvi. 9. ° 2 Cor. v. 20.
John xv. 26. When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which pro- ceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.
THE characters of the most holy men may suffer from envy and malevolence ; but their righteousness often shines forth the brighter afterwards, as the sun obscured for awhile by an intervening cloud. Accord- ing to all human appearances, our Lord's name must either have sunk into speedy oblivion, or been handed down with infamy to the latest posterity. It scarcely seemed possible that the ignominy of his cross could ever be so obliterated as to be succeeded by respect and honour : but our Lord knew that the testimony of the Spirit would assuredly effect this. While therefore he consoled both himself and his Disciples with the reflection, that the causeless enmity of his countrymen was nothing more than a completion of the prophecies, he taught them to look forward to