A GLIMPSE OF GLORY.
and all. Thouſand times bleſſed counſel of eternity! 'That chofe us in him before the foundation of the world: having predeſtinate us unto the adoption of children by Jeſus Chriſt, unto himſelf, according to the good pleaſure of his will, to the praiſe of the glory of his grace; wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved: having made known unto us the myſtery of his will, according to his good pleaſure, which he had purpoſed in himſelf; that in the diſpenſation of the fulneſs of time, he might gather together in one all things, in Chriſt, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.' It was not my purpoſe, dreadful Sovereign, that any ſhould inherit glory through their own obedience; a world of working was but for a time, that this of altogether free grace might ſhine forth more gloriouſly. Free grace's banner is the only pavilion, we ſhould for ever abide under.
How greatly did the devil befool himſelf, in endeavouring to obſcure the glory of his Maker, by the rebellion of man? Was he not herein an inſtrument in the hand of the great Sovereign, whereby he made way for his chief and only purpoſe? What ſhould our bleſſedneſs have been, to what now it is, if we had wanted thee, 'O EMMANUEL, the man of God's right-hand, the very breath of our noſtrils? Our eternal ſong ſhould not have been ſo melodious; the praiſes of free redeeming grace ſhould not have been heard here: 'Glory to the Lamb, that was ſlain, and lives for ever,' ſhould never have been ſung.
No worlds to this world! no happineſs to this happineſs! this is the flower, and top of all poſſible diſpenſations: here is a confluence of innumerable providences, that ſhall never be comprehended
