63 THE SOUL DRAWING NEAR TO GOD. fore I open myheart before him, and I spread open all my inward' powers, for he sees andknows them all, shouldI attempt to con- ceal them." " I behold him in his infinite and inflexible justice, as well as in his all-seeing knowledge ; and I cry out, If thou, Lord, shouledst mark iniquity, O Lord who should stand?" Ps. cxxx. 4. This is the language of the holiest saint getting near to Godhere on earth, as seated upon a seat of judgment. The soul beholds him also as girt with resistless power to execute his own laws; and the thunder of his power, says Job who canunderstand ? xxvi. 14. He has armies of angels, minis- ters of fire, attendants on his tribunal, and swift to execute the sentence of his mouth. The saint sees him thus invested, thus surrounded, and adores and fears before him. The soul beholds him with rewards in one hand, and punishments in the other ; infinité rewards, and infinite punishments ; distributing to the unseen world perpetual blessedness, and perpetual pains. " I behold himarrayed in this glory, saith thesaint, I expect my sen- tence from his lips, from whence eternal blessings, and eternal curses, are dispensed to all the regions of heaven and hell; but he will not plead against me with his great power ; the sentence thatcomes forth from his mouth,I trust, shall be onmy side." 3. He appears as sitting upon a throneof grace. Thema- jesty and judgment that belong to his seat, do not forbid mercy to attend him ; he sits upon a seat of mercy, and there, says Job, the righteous might surely dispute with him; xxiii. 7. and there I shouldbe delivered from his terrors as an avenging God ; there, thoughhe judge me, yet he will plead my cause ; for the same Judge that its upon a throne of glory, has taken upon him to become my Advocate. " There I behold him, says the soul, with millions of pardons for vile transgressors, and with abundant favour for rebels; such a rebel amI, and such a transgressor, and yet there is pardon and grace forme. I behold there riches and raimentfor the poor, the needy, and the naked, and helpfor the weak believer." There goodness appears in the face of God, in all the sweet variety of its divine forms. There appears long- suffering for' Old sinners, and patience for repeated guilt, and pity for the miserable, and free grace for those that deserve nothing but vengeance. All this discovers itself in the face of God, to a soul that gets near him, even to his mercy-seat ; and the soul bows, and wonders, and worships, and makes still nearer ap- proaches, and receivesthe grace, and rejoices inthe salvation. The soul puts in for a share in this mercy with faith and hope, and will not be denied, will not be excluded ; then he uses that holyboldness, that vapp air, or liberty of speech ; Heb. iv. 16. And this is the language of faith, when the soul gets near to God : " Since there are so many millions of pardons with thee
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