'561 SAkETY IN THE GRAVE, [DISe. Xt, that trusted-1 in the wisdom and the promised mercy of .God will not be too urgent or importunate in any of his :desires : It is for want of faith that nature sometimes is in too much haste to die, as Job in some of his expres- .sions appears to have been, or as Elijah perhaps disco- ,vercd himself when he was wandering in the.wilderness disconsolate. and almost despairing ; or as the prophet Jeremiah sufficiently manifested, whenhecursed the day of his birth; or as Jonah was, that peevish prophet, ,iihen he was angry with God for not taking away his life ; but the ground of it was, he was vexed because God did not destroyNineveh, according to his prophecy : These are certain blemishes of the children of. God left upon record in his word, to give us warning of our danger of impatience, and to guard us against their sins and follies. And since we know that God has appointed the seasons of our entrance into death, and into the state of the resurrection, we should humbly commit the disposal of ourselves to the hand of our God, who will bestow upon us the most needful blessings in the most proper season. Do not the spirits of the just made perfect wait in patience for the great and blessed rising day which God . has appointed, and for the illustrious change- of their bo- . dies from corruption and darkness to light; and life, and glory ? God has promised it, and that suffices, and sup- ports their waiting spirits, though they know not thehour. ". The .Father keeps that in his own hand !" Acts i, 7 And perhaps reveals it to none but his Son Jesus, who is exalted tó be the governor and judge ofthe world. There aremillions of souls waiting in that separate state for the accomplishment of these last and best promises, ready to shout and rejoice when they shall see and feel that bright morning dawningupon them. " Wait therefore, O My soul, as becomes a child of God in the wilderness among many trials, darknesses and distresses. He has stripped thee,perhapsof one comfort after another, and thy friends and relatives in succession are called down to the dust; they are released from their . conflicts, and are placed far out of the reach of every temptation ; and it is not thy business to prescribe to God. at what hour he shall release thee also. Whensoever he is pleased to call thee to lay down thy flesh in the dust, gnci to enter into God's hiding-place, meet thou the sum-
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