546 THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT; oR DISC. X. daemons or devils which were deified by the folly And madness of sinful men ? What new hallelujahs must it put in the mouths of the saints and angels on high, to see the true and living God worshipped by thousands that ,had never before known him, and to see Jesus the Me- diator in all the glories of 'his divine offices admired and adored by those who lately had either known nothing of him,. or been shameful revilers and blasphemers of his majesty ? . And what an unknown delight is diffused through -many of the saints of God now here on earthupon such tidings, not only from the foreign and heathen countries, but even some who have professed christianity, but under gross rnistakes,and miserable fogs of darkness and super- stition ? What an inconceivable and overwhelming plea- sure has surprised a Christian sometimes in the midst of his zealous worshipofGod and hisSaviour, tohear ofsuch (tidings of new subjects in multitudes submitting them- selves to their divine dominion ? - And even in our day,whensoever we hear of the work of grace begun by the ministry of the word, awakeninga drowsy and lethargic soul from its dangerous sleepon the brink Of hell; rousing a negligent and slothful creature from his indolence and carelessness about the things of eternity ; or again, in making a heart soft and . impres- sive to the powers of divine grace, which was before hard as the nether mill - stone; and especially.when mul- titudes of these tidings come together from distant places; as of latewe have heard fromNew-England, and several of those plantations ; from Scotland and several of her assemblies, what additional scenes of heavenly joy and pleasure have been raised `amongst the pious souls, both thosewho relate,' and those who hear them. SECTION VI. " Foretastes of heaven are sometimes derived from the, sense of the love ofGod let in upon the soul:' The spirits above who are surrounded with this blessedness and this love, and rejoice in the everlasting assurance of it, cannot but be filled with intense joy. What can be a greater foundation of complete blessed- ness and delight than the immediate " sensation and assurance of being beloved by the glorious, and supreme, and the all-sufficient being," who will never suffer his favourites to want any thing. he can bestow upon them to
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