The Hundred and Thirteenth Sacrament, June 3, 1739

Just as I went in to the ordinance, those words accidentally, or rather providentially, occurred to me: “Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, 0 Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.” Zeph. iii. 4, 15. I observed the exhortation and the ground of it: the exhortation to joy, and that of an extraordinary nature, “To sing, to shout, to be glad with all the heart.” Our joys in this world are allayed, there is a great mixture of sorrow in them all, and a speedy end of all the things that we rejoice in. There is little reason to be glad with all the heart here, and rather, a prudent reserve should be maintained. But it is not so now; herein we may dilate our souls; we may sweetly open our hearts wide to joy, if we have this foundation for it. Addressing the believers, it is said,” He

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hath taken away thy judgments.” Not thine afflictions, they continue; but the sting is taken out, because the sentence of destruction is reversed; and then, if there is no condemnation, how light other things may sit! O Lord, correct me, but not in thine anger. “He hath cast out thine enemy.” I know not, and I am not very solicitous to know, to what enemy this immediately refers; the great enemy is expelled, Satan, falling like lightningr from heaven; the accuser of the brethren is cast out. “The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee.” God is become our King. O pleasant thought! “The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice!” He is still in the midst of thee; he dwells with thee, thy Sovereign evermore. It was a great privilege to dwell in Zion, where God visibly resided. His special presence is of far greater importance: separate that, and the cloud had been but a vapour. “Thou shalt not see evil any more;” not unmingled evil, not such as thou hast formerly seen — no more return to that condemnation, to that captivity: and thou shalt ere long be raised above the sight of all evil, whether of sin or of punishment. Look around, and see what evil pains thy heart, and wounds thy eyes; it shall then be entirely and for ever done away. Let us encourage ourselves in the Lord our God to believe this, reviewing the promises again and again, with greater confidence and joy.

In breaking the bread, I remarked, The covenant, how sure! If you had promised me any thing, I should think it safe: can Christ forget to remember? can he want power and faithfulness?

I addressed myself to God before taking the cup, as in self-dedication, and then spoke to the

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spectators: Is there not one of you that loves Christ? — is there not one who desires him? not one who would devote himself to him? Yes, surely there are many. Come, then, and welcome.