Satan have never, for a moment, ruffled the tranquillity, or disconcerted the plan, of the great God. In no instance has he been overmatched in no design has he been disappointed- in no benevolent effort has he failed. "With omniscient eye he has ever beheld his unshaken counsels, and with almighty hand he has rolled on his undisturbed decrees." They will see that when the raging dragon cast out of his mouth "waters as a flood," to overwhelm the church, He who "dwelleth in the high and holy place" has looked down, with placid serenity, on the foam and dashing of the billows; and, whenever the interest of his Zion required it, he said, "Peace, be still," and "there was a great calm." They will see that he has always had Satan under his control, and that, as in the case of Job, where Satan could not touch his property, nor touch his person, but when God saw it wisest and best to suffer it to be done, so, in every age, he has had his "hook in Satan's nose, and his bridle in his lips," and has restrained and controlled him at pleasure. They will see that the Almighty could have "bound Satan, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him," as easily before he first came to the garden of Eden, as at the commencement of the latter-day glory. (Rev. xx. 13.) But he did not. He saw it wisest and best, on the whole, to suffer the fall of man to take place, having determined, by this means, to make the universe of created beings sensible of the instability and mutable nature of all creatures, and fasten on their minds a deep and everlasting conviction of their absolute dependence on the one immutable God; designing also to send his beloved Son, and in his suffering and death

to show forth the immeasurable wisdom and power, truth and justice, love and mercy, of the uncreated One. They will see that, from the first morning of creation, the Lord has sat on his holy throne, and has held, with almighty hand, the reins of universal dominion; has “done according to his pleasure in the armies of heaven,” and among the inhabitants of the earth; none have been able to baffle his designs, or defeat his purposes. Those eyes that "neither slumber nor sleep" have constantly been "in every place." The hand of the Lord has been stretched out in all the earth; and, while kingdoms and empires, and all the weighty concerns of the universe, have been upon his hands, he has carefully attended to the minutest matters. He has clothed the lilies, fed the young ravens, hearkened to the cry of the widow and the fatherless, attended to the wants of the little sparrow, and numbered the very hairs of the head of his children. They will see that, from first to last, he has moved every wheel, controlled every event, disposed of every being, and directed every atom, so as to promote, in the highest degree, the glory of his great name, and the joy of his holy kingdom. And although it was Satan's malevolent aim, when he seduced the human family, to rob God of his glory, and fill his kingdom with ruin, yet He who is " wonderful in council, and excellent in working," has so managed all events, that in the end God is more glorified, and his kingdom more exalted, in holiness and happiness, than could have been if angels had never revolted, and man had never fallen! Thus the "head

of the old serpent is bruised," his aim

totally defeated,

his hopes all overthrown.

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!"

All the inhabitants of heaven will gaze, with ineffable delight, on the wonderful counsels and perfect works of God. They see that he has "done all things well;" that such is the infinite perfection of that plan which he formed before the foundation of the world, that if all were now to be done over again, not one jot, not one tittle, could be altered for the better. Their satisfaction is unbounded. They prostrate themselves before his throne. "We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who art, and wast, and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned!"

Millions of ages roll around. The saints and angels, cherubim and seraphim, and all the happy family of the great God, make astonishing advances in holiness, in happiness, and in knowledge. Again they review the history of our world; and still, in all the management of God, from first to last, they behold boundless perfection, beauty, and glory. Still they gaze with increasing rapture on the wonderful work of redemption, transcendently glorious amidst all the works of God - a tall column of light, streaming from the summit of Calvary above creation, and throwing its radiance to the utmost boundaries of Jehovah's dominions. They look down; and still they see the "roaring lion," that so long fought against the cause of God, utterly overthrown, bound in chains, and buried deep among the ruins of his kingdom. They look up; and they behold immortal victory still perching on the standard of Immanuel. Still they behold the banner of the Son of God waving in everlasting triumph over

all the empire of the Almighty. Amen! Hallelujah! "And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great; and I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth." (Rev. xix. 5, 6.)

THE MILLENNIUM.

66 'They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah xi. 9.)

THE church of God in our world has, for many ages, passed through the deep waters, and through fiery trials. Satan has, for a long season, led the nations at his will. Barefaced impiety has stalked undaunted through the earth, and flung defiance at Heaven. To support and cheer the hearts of his children during this season of spiritual desolation and darkness, God was pleased, at an early day, to pledge his word to the church, that he would grant her a brighter day; that a period should come when Satan should be bound, and the whole earth be filled with the knowledge of the Lord.

This was clearly implied in that notable promise, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." The head is the seat of intelligence, and, as such, the seat of counsel. By "bruising the serpent's head," is evidently meant giving an entire defeat to the counsels of the old serpent.

"In

The promise to Abraham more fully announced God's design to make his church triumphant. thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Abraham believed God. Wonderful instance of the power of faith! He stood in the midst of a revolted