14

LIFE OF REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.

ing on the 17th of May, of which he was found guilty and sentenced to pay one hundred marks, and not to be released until they were paid. He declared in court "that whatever he was charged with, he was guilty of nothing but doing his duty." He however continued in prison a whole year, and during that trying period improved his time to the greatest advantage, both to himself and his fellow prisoners. After his release he was even more zealous in propagating the gospel, till his exertions brought on an illness which disabled him from continuing to perform such duties. In 1665 he was again apprehended while at prayer, and with some of his friends was committed to prison for sixty days. Such confinement increased his disorder, and he rapidly became worse, till in the month of November, 1668, he was released from his sufferings at the premature age of thirtyfive.

The Rev. JOSEPH ALLEINE was a man of fervent and unaffected piety, of an amiable temper, and courteous conversation; his intellects were solid and good, and his affections lively. He died as he lived, universally respected and beloved.

THE

SAINT'S POCKET BOOK.

GOD SPEAKING FROM MOUNT GERIZZIM, &C. &C.

CHAP. 1.

The Voice of the Herald, before the Great King.

O ALL ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, come; see and hear; gather yourselves together unto the proclamation of the Great King. Hear, you that are afar off, and you that are near! He that hath an ear to hear, let him him hear. I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Let every valley be exalted, and every mountain be made low, for the glory of the Lord is to be revealed." Go through, go through the gates, prepare the way, cast up, cast up the high-way; gather out the stones, lift up the standard for the people; for the Lord proclaimeth salvation to the ends of the earth. Tidings! tidings, Oye captives! Hear, all ye that look for salvation in Israel; "behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people. Blessed news! Prepare your ears and hearts!

The Lord hath commanded me, saying, "Go unto the people, and sanctify them; let them wash and be ready; for the Lord is coming down upon mount Sion, in the sight of all nations; not in earthquakes and fire, not in clouds and darkness, not in thunderings or burnings, rending the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces." He speaks not to you out of blackness, and darkness, and tempests: you shall say no more, "Let not God speak to us, lest we die." He cometh peaceably; the law of kindness is in his mouth, he preacheth peace; peace to him that is afar off, and to him that is near. Behold, how he cometh, leaping upon the mountains; he hath passed mount Ebal;a-no more wrath or cursing; he is come to mount Gerizzim, where he standeth to bless the people. As Mordecai to his nation, he writeth "the words of truth and peace, seeking the welfare of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed."

Behold how he cometh! clothed with flames of love, with bowels of compassion, plenteous redemption, and multiplied pardons.

Hearken therefore, O ye children, hearken to me. To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the joyful sound, the trump of jubilee, the tidings of peace, in the voice of the everlasting gospel, you fall down before the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever.

à Deut. xi. 20. xxvii. 12, 13.

Arise, and come away; prepare, prepare you; hear not with an uncircumcised ear; you are not upon a common thing. Behold the throne is set; the throne of grace, where majesty and mercy dwell together. From thence will the Lord meet you; from thence will he commune with you; from the mercy-seat, from between the cherubims, upon the ark of the testimony. Lo, the Lord cometh out of his pavilion, the mighty God from Sion. His glory covereth the heavens, the earth is full of his praise. A fire (of love) goeth before him; mercy and truth round about him; righteousness and peace are the habitation of his throne. He rideth on his horses and chariots of salvation; the covenant of life and peace is in his mouth.

Rejoice, ye heavens; make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Let the sea roar, the floods clap their hands, and the multitudes of the isles rejoice. Stand forth, the host of heaven; prepare your harps, cast down your crowns, be ready with your trumps; bring forth your golden phials full of odors, for our voice will jar, our strings will break, we cannot reach the note of our Maker's praise.

Yet let them that dwell in the dust, arise and sing. Bear your part in this glorious service: but consider and attend. Call out your souls, and all that is within you; lift up your voices, fix your eyes, enlarge your hearts, extend all their powers; there is work for them all. Be intent and serious, you cannot strain too high.

Come forth, ye graces, beset the way; be all in readiness. Stand forth, faith and hope. Flame, O love! Come, ye warm desires, and break with longing: Let fear, with all veneration, do its obeisance. Joy, prepare thy songs; call up all the daughters of music, to salute the Lord as he passeth by. Let the generation of the saints appear, and spread the way with boughs and garments of salvation, and songs of deliverance. Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God, your captains, your elders, your officers, with all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the stranger that is within thy 'camp, from the hewer of wood to the drawer of water, that thou shouldst enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day; that he may establish thee to-day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn.

I have done my errand. The messenger of the morning disappeareth when the orient sun cometh forth out of his chambers. I vanish: I put my mouth in the dust. The voice of the Lord! The soft and still voice! O my soul, wrap thy face in the mantle, and bow thyself to the ground, and put thee into the clift of the rock, while Jehovah proclaimeth his name, and maketh all his goodness to pass before thee.

b Deut, xxix. 10 to 13.