DISCOURSE X. 223 angels of God at the conversion of a sinner; Luke xv. 7, 10. what perpetual 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 werecarried to the worlds on high of such and such souls, converted unto God from gross idolatry, front the worship of dam() 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 iniqui- ties and to reconcile themselves to these invented gods, these demons 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 Win, and to see Jesus the Mediator 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 earth upon such tidings, not only from the foreign and heathen countries, but even some who have professed christianity, but under gross mistakes and miserable fogs of darkness and superstition ? What an inconceivable and overwhelming pleasure has surprised a christian sometimes in the midst of his zealous worship of God and his Saviour, to hear pf such tidings of new subjects in multitudes submitting them- selves to their divine dominion ? And even in our day, whenso- ever we hear of the work of grace begun by the ministry of the word, awakening a drowsy and lethargic soul from its danger- ous sleep on the brink of hell, rousing a negligent and sloth- ful creature from his indolence and carelessness about the things of eternity ; or again, in making a heart soft and impressive to the powers of divine grace, which was before hard as the nether millstone; and especially when multitudes of these tidings corne together from distant places, as of late we have heard from New - England, and several of those plantations ; from Scotland and several of her assemblies, what additional scenes of hea- venly joy and pleasure have been raised amongst the pious souls, both those who relate and those who hear them. SECT. VI. " Foretastes of heaven are sometimes derived from the overflowing sense of the love of God let in upon the soul." The spirits above who are surrounded with this blessed- ness 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 blessedness and delight than the imme- diate " sensation and assurance of being beloved by the glorious and supreme, and the all - sufficient being," who will never suffer
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