565 / 674
DISC.
X.1
THE FORETASTE
OF
HEAVEN.
545
in
the name
of
the
Lord
Jesus,
and
by
the Spirit
of
our
;od."
Now
when
the
souls
of
the
saints here
on
earth are
raised
to such
divine contemplations, what
transporting
satisfaction and delight must
arise
from
the
surprising
union and harmony of
the
attributes of
the blessed
God
in
these
his
transactions
?
And especially when the soul
in
the
lively
exercise
of
grace
and
view
of
its own
pardon,
justification, and restored
holiness, looks
upon itself
as
one
of
these
happy favourites
of
the majesty
of
heaven
:
It
cries
out
as
it
were
in
holy
amazement,
" What
a
di-
vine profusion
is
here
of
wisdom
and
power, glory
and
grace,
to
save
a
wretched
worm from
everlasting burn
-
i-ngs,
and
to
advance a worthless rebel to such
undeserved
and
exalted
glories
!"
SECTION
V.
"
The
wonders
of
divine
perfections united
in
the
suc-
cess
of
the gospel"
give
an extasy
of joy
sometimes
to
holy
souls.
Not
only do these
views
of
the united
per
-
fections
of
God,
as they
are concerned
in
the
contriv-
ance
of
the
gospel,
entertain the
saints above
with new
and
pleasurable contemplations,
but
the wonders
of di-
vine
wisdom,
power,
and
grace,
united and harmonizing
in the propagation and
success
of
this gospel, become
a
matter
of
delightful
attention
and survey
to the
saints
on
high.
This
is
imitated
also
in
a
measure
by
the
children
of
God here
on
earth. Have
you
never felt
such
a
sur-
prising pleasure
in
the
view
of
the
attributes
of
God,
his
grace,
wisdom,
and power
in
making these divine designs
so
happily
efficacious
for the
good
of
thousands
of
souls
?
If
"
there
be
joy
in
heaven among the
angels
of God
at
the conversion
of a sinner
;"
Luke
xv. 7, 10.
what
perpe-
tual
messages
of
unknown satisfaction
and delight
did
the
daily and constant labours
of
the
blessed
apostle
Paul
send
to the
upper
world.?
What perpetual
tidings were
carried
to the worlds on high
of
such and
such souls,
converted unto God
from
gross
idolatry, from the wor-
ship
of
dumb
idols,
from
the vain
superstition
of
their
heroes
and
mediator
-gods,
and
from the
impure
and
bloody
sacrifices
of
their
own
countrymen, whereby they
intended
to satisfy
their
gods
for their
own
iniquities
and
to reconcile
themselves to these
invented
gods,
these
VOL.
II.
2
N