Isaiah 25:12

REFLECTIONS

READER! how shall we close our meditation on the gospel subject contained in this chapter, in better terms than in seeking grace to catch the Prophet's note, and blessing God, and exalting his holy name, as he did, for such mercies as are here recorded, and with which the Lord comforted his Church and people, in days remote from the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ! Think, Reader! how gracious the Lord is, and was, and ever will be, that he will have his people made happy in the expectation of blessings, as well as in the enjoyment of them! So that by faith, our fathers in the Church, gone before us, lived upon Christ, and feasted on the Redeemer's blood and righteousness, as the souls of his redeemed now live and feast upon him since redemption - work hath been completed; and all, with one heart and one mouth, glorify the same God, and Saviour, for the same precious salvation. Hail! holy, gracious, almighty God and Father! let the souls of all thy people bless and praise thee, in and through the person and work of our adorable Mediator; that from thine own free and everlasting love it is, that thou hast made a feast of fat things in thy Church, thy holy mountain! Yea, Lord, it is thou who hast given us Jesus, thy dear and ever blessed Son, and with him thou hast given all things.

Hail! thou blessed Immanuel! thou art strength to thy poor, a feast to thy hungry, a garment to thy naked; yea, everything, in life, in death, in time, and to all eternity! It is thou, blessed Jesus, who in our nature hath conquered sin and all its dreadful consequences, and fully, and finally, and completely taken away their rebuke, and wiped away all tears from off all faces.

Hail! thou blessed and eternal Spirit! by whose gracious teachings these precious things are made known to us, and by whose divine influences our hearts are brought both to believe and to rejoice in them! Blessed be thy holy name, for the discovery that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it!

Lord! add one blessing; more to the numberless blessings contained in this chapter, if agreeable to thy holy mind and will; and cause the heart of him that writes, and him that reads, to know their own personal interest in the blessings themselves. Oh! for grace here, that in glory hereafter, we may join that rapturous song: Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord, we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation! Amen.