Heaven upon earth, or, The best friend in the worst of times. Delivered in…

but when the holy God comes a little nearer to him, when he throws off that dark cloud with which he had mantled himself, and when he caused that glorious brightness to break forth upon Job, and made him to see a glance of his Holiness, Wisdom and Justice, then how is he even ashamed and confounded within himself, that he should ever stand so much upon his own justification, Job 42.5, 6. I have heard of thee, by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor my self, and repent in dust and ashes. When he comes to be better acquainted with God, how strangely is his note changed; and I might say, when he was thus abased! how speedily doth God raise him to a wonder. A man may hear of God twenty years together, and yet never abhor himself with dust and ashes, never see any vileness that is in his nature, never be brought off from his own righteousness, never admire that he is kept out of hell! O but when he comes to see God, and to be acquainted with him, how doth he cry out of himself as unworthy to breath in the air, as deserving nothing but wrath; then he hath not a word to say for the goodness of his own heart, now he can say with astonishment! O infinite patience! O unmeasurable goodness! O the depths of Gods love! He must be merciful indeed that can pardon such sins! That must be goodness indeed that can be so to me! That is love with a witness, that can embrace such a loathsome monster? What was it that made Abraham call himself dust and ashes? What made David to say he was a worm and no man? What made Isaiah speak so debasingly of himself? why these were the ⟨p. 186⟩Friends of God, they had visions of that holy One. When is it that the people of God are most ingenuous in their confessions? when do they most freely pour our their souls before God? When is it that they most readily open their soars and desire that they should be searched, but when this great Chirurgeon comes to their chamber? those which before where whole, are now sick, full of plague soars, head and heart sick, dangerously sick, and no whole part in them, they can say more against themselves now, then ever the Minister could; they can aggravate their sins, and lay loads upon themselves;

but when the holy God comes a little nearer to him, when he throws off that dark cloud with which he had mantled himself, and when he caused that glorious brightness to break forth upon Job, and made him to see a glance of his Holiness, Wisdom and Justice, then how is he even ashamed and confounded within himself, that he should ever stand so much upon his ovvn justification,