Page:The rock of wisdom.djvu/107

 19 c. "The Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, This is the ordinance of the Lord which the Lord hath commanded, saying, speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke." You all may see that water of separation is a purification for sin. Whom. is he that loveth mercy and can forgive his brother when he sins against him? Have you got grace to forgive until seventy times seven? O! let us look at this number of times—490 times. "The Lord said unto Moses make thee a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass.—And the Lord said my presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest." Phil. 1: 21. The fruits of their faith and true worship in Christ's sufferings, and daily praying to him for their increase in grace, and knowledge, when to some, how ready lie is to glorify Christ either by his life or death. O for fortitude to stand in the door of persecution; "for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Rev. 14: 13. "The lamb standing on Mount Zion with his company of angels and ministers, to preach the gospel, the fall of Baylon, and now the fall of the world and the great hope of righteousness. And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, write blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth: yea, saith the spirit, that they shall rest from their labor and their works do follow them. The great vanity of human persuits, and the lovers in the works of pleasure, thought the wise man, would be better than the fool, yet both have one event, the vanity of human labor, in leaving it they know not to whom. Here we may see the great wisdom of God, by the necessary change of times, vanity is increased, God's works are excellent, his desire of service to his people, and from the abuses of human judicatures, God's judgments are suspended, so that the wicked may look out for their reward, and for every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven, a time to be born and a time to die; and now let us not be troubled about the time we shall live: how long or how short: there is only one thing needful; let us, in God's name, try