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they that plow iniquity, and fow wickednefs, reap the "fame. By the blaft of God they perifh, and by the "breath of his noftrils are they confumed." In oppofition to this, Job afferts and maintains his integrity in general, and withal, affirms their opinion to be falfe, for that God, in his juft and fovereign providence, brings af fliction both on the righteous and the wicked. That this is the propofition which he all along endeavors to fupport, is plain, as from many other paffages, fo particularly from chap. ix. 22. "This is one thing, therefore I faid it, he "deftroyeth the perfect, and the wicked."

Thus flood the matter, in difpute, between Job and his friends, in which, though that good man had fupported the truth, on the fubject of divine Providence; yet, in the heat of the debate, and the anguifh of his own fufferings, he had let fall fome expreffions, not only of impatience, but of difrefpect to the conduct of the Lord his Maker. For thefe he was firft reproved by Elihu, and afterwards, with unspeakable force and majefty, by God himfelf, who afferts the fovereignty of his power, and the righteoufnels of his providence. On this difcovery of the glory of divine perfection, the fufferer was deeply humbled, and expreffes a fenfe of his own vilenefs and folly, in the 4th and 5th verfes of the fortieth chapter : Behold, I am "vile, what fhall I anfwer thee? I will lay mine hand. upon my mouth. Once have I fpoken, but I will not "anfwer; yea, twice, but I will proceed no further." And, again, in the beginning of the forty-fecond chapter, concluding with the words of the text.

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It is not improbable, from the beginning of the thirtyeighth chapter, that it pleafed God to give Job fome vifible representation of his glory and omnipotence. This was not unusual, in ancient times, before the canon of the fcripture was clofed. But, no doubt, the difcovery which chiefly affected him was inward and fpiritual, carrying home, with irrefiftible force, the great truths which we ftill find recorded in a manuer inimitably noble and fublime. I bave heard of thee, fays he, by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee. This implies, that, as feeing gives a more diftinct, full, and fatisfying knowledge of

any thing, than hearing of it only by the report of others, the impreffions which he then had of the majefty and glory of God, were far ftronger than any he had ever felt before. -Therefore, fays he, I abbor myself. It filled him with felf-lothing and abhorrence.—And I repent in dust and ashes. This is either, in general, a ftrong expreffion of deep penitence and forrow, of which duft and afhes were anciently the figns; or, perhaps, it has a particular reference to his prefent miserable and afflicted state, defcribed in chapter ii. 8. "And he took him a potfherd to scrape "himself withal; and he fat down among the afhes." As if he had faid, Lord, I am deeply fenfible of the evil of every rafh word, of every rebellious thought. I confefs, that thou haft afflicted me in truth and faithfulness; and that, in this low and defolate condition, it becomes me to lay my hand upon my mouth, and to repent of that guilt which would have fully juftified thy providence in a still heavier ftroke.

The words thus explained, prefent to us this general and most important truth, that a difcovery of the perfection, glory, and majefty of God, has a powerful influence in leading us to repentance; and that the clearer this dif covery si, the more fincere will be our repentance, and the deeper our humiliation. In difcourfing further on this fubject, at prefent, I propofe, only, through Divine affift

ance,

I. To make fome obfervations, at once to illuftrate and confirm the propofition above laid down, as to the effect of a discovery of the glory of God. And, in the

II. And laft place, to make fome practical improvement of what shall be said.

I. Then, I am to make fome obfervations, at once to explain and confirm the propofition juft now laid down, as to the effect of a difcovery of the glory of God. But, before we enter on what is principally intended, I muft intreat your attention to the following preliminary re marks:

1. That this truth will hold equally certain in whatever way the difcovery is made. It may pleafe God to manifeft himself to his people in very different ways. Sometimes it may be in a way wholly, or in part, miracu lous, as in the cafe of Job, Isaiah, and fome others mentioned in fcripture; fometimes by affecting difpenfations of Providence; fometimes by his ordinances, or inftituted worship, accompanied with the operation of his Spirit; and fometimes by this laft alone, without the help or acceffion of any outward mean.

2. I hope it will not be thought improper, that, in reafoning on the influence of a difcovery of the glory of God, I fometimes bring in view the additional manifeftations given us in the gospel, of the divine glory. This, to be fure, could not be fuppofed to make a part of what was difcovered to Job, to whom that myftery, hid from ages and generations, and only opened in the fulness of time, was very obfcurely, if at all known. But the example, afforded us in the text, leads us to a general truth; in the illuftration and application of which, we may make use of all that is known to us of the nature and government of God. The

3. And principal remark is, that, when I fpeak of the influence of a difcovery of the glory of God, I mean an internal and spiritual difcovery, and not fuch a knowledge as is merely fpeculative, and rests in the understanding, without defcending into the heart. There is a common diftinction to be met with in almoft every practical writer, between knowledge merely fpeculative, that fwims in the head, and practical or faving knowledge, that dwells in and governs the heart. That there is fuch a diftinction in fact, experience obliges every man to confefs: but it is extremely difficult to fpeak in a clear and precife manner upon it; to tell wherein it confifts; or to fhow how thefe two forts of knowledge differ otherwife, than by their effects. Yet even to point out their radical difference, feems neceffary to me, who propofe to fhow the happy influence and powerful efficacy of this knowledge, when it is of the right kind.

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For this purpose, my brethren, be pleafed to obferve, that a barren speculative knowledge of God, is that which fixes chiefly on his natural perfections; or, if it be fuppofed to take in fuch as are moral, it is only to reafon upon them as an object of fcience; but the true knowledge of God, is an inward and fpiritual discovery of the amiableness and excellence of his moral perfections; or, to speak more in the fcripture ftyle, to perceive that he is indeed glorious in his holiness. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord "of hofts." This is the language of celeftial adoration, of those who "fee him as he is, and know even as they "are known." The fame, in fome measure, is the view given to every real child of God on earth, and, alone, ferves to diftinguish his children of every rank, and every degree of capacity, from others of an oppofite character. Let me fuppofe a poor Chriftian, weak in understanding, and unaffifted by education, who is witnefs to any extraordinary act of divine power: for example, a thunder ftorm, feeming to rend the heavens afunder, and either laying fome ancient and venerable pile in afhes, or, perhaps, ftriking fome perfons to death, in a manner fwifter than thought; he is immediately affected with a sense of the fovereignty of the Lord of nature, the holiness of every part of his will, the duty of abfolute fubjection in the creature, and the finfulness of every rebellious thought. But, above all, he is ftruck with a fenfe of the malignity of fin, which has introduced fo many natural evils, and, as it were, armed the incenfed elements in their Maker's caufe. Such a person, though he can express his thoughts but very poorly, nay, though he can hardly speak to others with coherence or confiftency, fees much more of God, than he who can reafon on the planetary fyftem; who can trace the beauty, variety, and extent of the Creator's works, and thence infer the neceffity of a felf-exiftent, almighty, and intelligent firft caufe. The one may expatiate on the wonderful works, or the wife purposes, of the Author of nature; the other feels and confeffes him to be God. Alas! my brethren, we fee too often, that knowledge and holiness in us, do not bear proportion one to another. We fee every day examples of the greatest

intellectual abilities, the nobleft natural talents, being abufed to the worft of purposes; for fuch I must always reckon, their ferving no higher end than to adorn and fet off the poffeffor, or burn incenfe to human vanity.-By a discovery, then, of the perfections, majefty, and glory of God, I understand the glory of his infinite holiness; that holinefs which is infeparable from his nature, which shines in all his works, and in all his ways.

Thefe obfervations being premised, let us now confider what influence a discovery of the glory of God hath in producing repentance, and increafing humility. And, in the

ift Place, It hath this effect, as it tends to convince us of fin, and particularly, to bring to light these innumerable evils, which a, deceitful heart often, in a great meafure, hides from its own view. There is, if I may speak fo, a light and glory in the prefence of God which difcovers and exposes the works of darkness. That a view of the divine Majefty has a strong tendency to give us a deep fense of our own finfulness, is plain from many fcripture examples. That of Job, in our text, is one directly in point. Another you have in Ifaiah, ch. vi. 5. where the reflection of the prophet, on a view of the divine glory, is, "Wo is me! for I am undone; because I am a man "of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midft of a people of "unclean lips for mine eyes have seen the King, the "Lord of hofts." Another inftance you may fee in the apostle John, who upon a view of the Redeemer in his glory, was, in a manner, deprived of life, through exceffive fear. Rev. i. 17. "And when I faw him, I fell at "his feet as dead." The only other inftance I mention is of the apostle Peter, who, on the unexpected appearance, or rather from a view of the power of Chrift, manifefted in a miracle, was immediately ftruck with a sense of guilt, Luke v. 8. "When Simon Peter faw it, he fell down at Jefus' knees, faying, depart from me, for I am finful "man, O Lord."

It is not difficult to explain how a view of the divine holinefs tends to difcover and to affect us with a fenfe of our finfulness. Nothing makes any quality appear fo