BAXTER'S I'AREwELL SEHDION: 521 ed, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that'which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought, that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, Iam against the shepherds, and I will require my flock at theirhands, and cause them to cease from feed- ing the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more ; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth. Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them out, andwill de- liver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And as 1í1r you, O my flock, Behold, I judge between cattle and' between the rams and the he- goats. Is it a small thing to you to have eaten up the good pas- ture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures ? and to have drank of the deep waters, but you must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my flock, they eat that which you have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God unto them, Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cat- tle and the lean! Because ye have thrust MC side and with shouldep, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad," &c. Read the rest. Particular churches may be Scattered to dissolutions but none of the faithful members. 3. And Christ bath returning time, to the souls of his ser- vants which seem to be forsaken by him : "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning;"" Psalm xxx. 5. When he seemeth their enemy, and writeth bitter things against them, he is their surest friend, and will justify them himself from their accusers. Though they may be troubled when they remem- ber God, and their spirit be overwhelmed in them, and their souls refuse to be comforted, and say, Will the Lord cast off forever, and will he be favorable no more ? Is his mercy clean gone forever? Doth his promise fail for evermore ? Hath' God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies ? Yet must we rebuke this unbelief, and say, This is my infirmity ; I will remember the works of the Lord ; surely I . will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate_of ttiyworks, and talk of thy doings;" Psalm lxxvii. The long night tat bath no day, the long winter that hath no summer, is the reward of the ungodly ; but light ariseth to the righteous in his darkness, and " joy to them that are upright in heart ;" Psalm xcii. 4. Light is sown for them, and in season will spring up; Psalm xcvii. 11. The righteousness which was hid from the world by false accusations, and from ourselves by the terrors and mistakes of darkness, will VOL. H. 66
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