the Gospel were never intended by our Saviour as the Rewards or Motives of our Obedience but only to eâ—courage and support us in our Pilgrimagâ— in this World that if we seek first tâ—â— kingdom of God and his righteousness 〈◊〉 we give up ourselves to the Obediencâ— of the Gospel and live upon the Hopes oâ— unseen Things and lay up Treasures iâ— Heaven all other things shall be added 〈◊〉 us God will provide what is needful for our passage through this World whateveâ— Difficulties and Discouragements we may meet with from Men. The design of the Gospel is to take ouâ— Hearts from this World to teach us noâ— to lay up for ourselves Treasures on Earth but in Heaven not to love this World nor the things that are in the World anâ— therefore it is impossible that Temporâ—â— Blessings should be a Gospel-Motive nothing in this World can be a Motive unless we love the World and therefore thiâ— can be no Motive of the Christian Religion which teaches us not to love the World unless the love of the World caâ— be a proper Motive and Argument to make us despise it and live above it And therefore I confess I have sometimes wished that there had been less stress laid upon the Temporal Rewards and Advantages of Vertue to perswade Men to Religion and upon the Temporal Evils and Miseries of Sin to discourage Men from it for this is not always true and if it were it is an Argument which will perswade no Men and if it did it cannot advance them to the heights and perfections of a Christian Vertue and therefore is no Gospel-Motive As for Instance Some Vertues are very healthful prolong our Lives and prevent a great many painful and mortal Diseases which the contrary Vices expose Men to such as Temperance and Chastity other Vertues are very proper Methods of Thriving in the World such as Diligence Prudence Justice others give us Reputation and Honour advance us to Rule and Empire and Publick Trusts Now this is sometimes true and sometimes not as the State of the World now is as I shewed you before that whatever natural Efficacy Vertue may have to make Men happy or Vice to make them miserable this may be in a great measure defeated by the external Circumstances of our Condition in this World and therefore this can never be a Motive that is it cannot be a reason why we should choose Vertue because it is not always a reason nay is as often a reason for Vice as for Vertue and if it be a good reason for one I cannot see why it should not be a good reason for the other for if it be a reason at all it is a reason for that side on which at present it is whether that be Vertue or Vice Indeed these Temporal Advantages of Vertue are not so much Reasons for Vertue as against Vice and that too only against such Vices or such Degrees and Instances of Vice as are destructive to Mens Health or Fortunes or Reputation however this Reason be it what it will will reach no farther than to such a degree of Vertue as will contribute to a happy and prosperous Life in this World and therefore will not raise us above this World will not teach us to despise Riches and Honours and Bodily Pleasures nay is not consistent with a mean Value and great Indifferency to present Things and therefore it cannot make us Christians and is a very improper Argument to perswade Men to be Christians it never made a Christian yet and never will do And therefore let us not think to conquer the Deceits and Flatteries of the World and the Flesh with such Arguments as these which have no strength â—n them which are more apt to make Men fond of this World then to conquer â—t But this is our victory which overâ—omes the world even our faith the hope â—nd fear of unseen Things or a Future â—udgment when God will eternally reward good Men and punish the wicked This is an Argument in all Times and in â—ll Conditions it will make us despise the World when it Smiles and Flatters and â—corn its Frowns Here are Hopes too big â—or this World and Fears too great and â—owerful for its Fears such Hopes as can â—upport us under the greatest Sufferings â—uch Fears as can imbitter all the sweets of Sin and therefore let us keep the Future â—udgment always in our eye let us fetch our Supports and Comforts from thence â—et us oppose these Hopes and Fears against all Temptations for here is our strength â—ll other Arguments are easily baffled but nothing can answer the Argument of Eternal Life and Death SECT VII Third Inference To refer all Iudgmenâ— to GOD. III. IF GOD will certainly Judge the World let us refer all Judgmeâ—â— to God or as St. Paul speaks Therefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord come who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will maâ—â— manifest the counsels of the hearts aâ—â— then shall every man have praise of God 1 Cor. 4.5 Nothing is more indecenâ— nor more dangerous than for Men whâ— must be judged themselves to take Godâ—â— Work out of his hands and to assume 〈◊〉 Praetorian Power to Judge Acquit anâ— Condemn whom they please without expecting the Judgment of God to Judge is God's Prerogative and he will Judge the World And what hast thou to do 〈◊〉 judge another man's servant to his owâ— master he shall stand or fall Why 〈◊〉 much hast to prevent the Judgment oâ— God by our rash ignorant uncharitable Judgments Judgment will come time enough for us all and therefore judge nothing before the time This is so common a Fault and does so much Mischief in the World and yet is so very unreasonable considering a Future Judgment that it will be of great use to Discourse it more particularly and if it be possible to Correct this Miscarriage which is one of the greatest Plagues of Humane Society It is very obvious to ask here What is the Fault of this Is there any living in the World without judging of Men and Things Must we not say that he is a very bad Man whom we see do very bad things Must we not distinguish between Vertue and Vice and between good and bad Men Must we not make good Men our Friends commend and imitate their Vertues and reject the Conversation of the wicked and beware of Knaves and Men of ill Principles and Designs And is it not necessary then to distinguish between good and bad Men that is to judge who are so Must we wholly refer the Punishment of Wickedness and the Rewards of Vertue to the Day of Judgement and because God will Judge the World must not Princes and Magistrates execute Justice and separate between the Pure and the Vile This is so very unreasonable so inconsistent with the wise Conduct and Government of our Lives and a prudent Care of ourselves so destructive to
if an ordinary Judge of Assize be lookt on with so much Reverence and Awe what is the Glory and Majesty of an Universal Judge How will all the World fall and bow and tremble before him who with the Word of his Mouth can sentence them to Eternal Life or Death This is his Father's glory for he is the Natural Lord and Judge of the World and from him he receives this Authority to Judge the World The Father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgment to the Son That all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father 5 John 22 23. To this Glory he is now advanced and we must now Obey and Reverence and Adore him as our Judge but it will give a visible Majesty to him when he thus comes in the Glory of his Father when the astonishing Glory of his Person is still made more Glorious and Majestick by the Authority of a Judge But his Retinue is very glorious also and adds to the Terror and Majesty of his Appearance for he shall come attended with Myriads of holy Angels bright and glorious Beings who incircle his Person and are the Witnesses and Ministers of his Justice We know a splended Retinue adds greatly to the Glory of a Prince or Judge a Multitude has something great and awful in it especially when this Multitude are all his Dependants Servants and Ministers and more still when every one of this Multitude are most excellent and glorious Creatures the Beauty and Perfection of the Creation whose single Glories we cannot now bear the sight of without great Apprehension and Amazement and what a mighty Prince is he who comes attended with the whole Host of Heaven who leave their heavenly Mansions to wait upon their Lord and to adorn his Triumphs But this glorious Retinue of Angels is not meerly for Pomp and State but they are the Ministers of his Justice and therefore are called his mighty Angels or the Angels of his Power 2 Thess. 1.8 And what a powerful Judge is he who has all the Powers of Heaven attending him to execute his Vengeance on Men and Devils This glorious Judge shall at the last Day come down from Heaven for thither he ascended after his Resurrection from the Dead and there he must continue till he comes to Judge the World but then the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God 2 Thess. 4.16 I see no reason why this should not be understood literally of an audible Voice and Shouting and an audible sound of the last Trumpet to summon all Mankind to Judgment for this makes the Appearance more solemn and awful and thus God descended on Mount Sinai when he gave the Law With thundrings and lightnings and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud so that all the people that was in the camp trembled 19 Exod. 16. And if he gave the Law with the sound of a Trumpet why not Judge the World with it too This Shout is the shouting of the holy Angels begun by the Voice of the Archangel in their descent with Christ and signifies what such Shoutings do among Men either great Joy and Exultation or Alacrity and Courage thus Men shout for joy when any thing happens which highly pleases them thus Souldiers shout when the Signal is given for Battle Thus when our Lord shall say Come ye holy Angels go down with me to Judge the World they will shout for joy that that day is come which will put a final end to the Kingdom of Darkness when the Devil and his Angels and all wicked Men shall be cast into the Lake of Fire and good Men rewarded and crowned and received into the immediate Presence of God in Heaven For this is matter of Joy to all holy Angels to see the final Conquest of all the Enemies of CHRIST'S Kingdom to see the Triumphs of Justice to see all Impiety and Wickedness shamed condemned and punished and the World cleansed from the Pollutions of it to see their numbers encreased by the advancement of good Men into Heaven who will now be united to their Company and joyn with them in singing Halelujahs to Him that sitteth on the Throne and to the Lamb for if there be Joy in Heaven at the Repentance of one Sinner what Exultation and Acclamations will there be to see the whole number of GOD'S Elect raised again with glorious Bodies and receive that Kingdom which was prepared for them before the Foundations of the World When our Lord shall say Come ye holy Angels and be the Ministers of my Justice and execute my Vengeance upon a wicked World upon the Devil and all bad Men and gather together mine Elect from the four Corners of the Earth with what Shoutings will they receive their Commission with what Alacrity and Courage will they execute it for so our Saviour himself represents it that the Angels are not meerly Attendants of State but his Officers and Ministers whom he employs in Judging the World thus he expounds the Parable of the Tares 13 Mat. 41 42 43. He that soweth good seed is the Son of man The field is the world the good seed are the children of the kingdom but the tares are the children of the wicked one The enemy that sowed them iâ— the devil the harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are the angels As therefore the tares are gathered and burnt in the fire so shall it be in the end of the World The Son of man shall send forth his angels and they shall gather forth out of his kingdom all things that offeâ—â— and them which do iniquity and shall cast them into a furnace of fire there shall be â—â—iling and gnashing of teeth Then shall the righteous shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father And thus he expounds the Parable of the Net that was cast into the sea and gathered of every kind Which when it was full they drew to shore and sat down and gathered the good into vessels and the bad they cast away So shall it be at the end of the world the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just and shall cast them into the furnace of fire there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth v. 47 48 49 50. What is meant by the trump of God with which Christ descends from Heaven is hard to say only thus much we know that it is such a Trumpet at the sound of which the Dead shall rise as St. Paul expresly tells us 1 Cor. 15.51 52. Behold I shew you a mystery We shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed And therefore this last Trump seems to be what our Saviour calls the Voice of the Son of
Future Judgment makes this necessary 3 dly Let us then consider how this matter may be reconciled that we are saved by Grace and justified by Faith in Christ and yet must be judged by our Works And this is very easily done for we shall be judged by our Works according to the Gracious Terms of the Gospel The Faith of Christ was never intended to give us a liberty in sinning or to excuse us from the necessity of a holy life and as far as the necessity of holiness is reconcilable with the Grace of the Gospel so far our being judged by our Works is reconcilable with our being saved by Grace upon the same Terms that the Gospel promises Pardon and Forgiveness we shall be pardoned at the Day of Judgment whatever the Gospel promises to reward shall be rewarded at the Day of Judgment and thus we are judged by Grace and by Works too This is easily understood by those who know any thing of the Gospel of Christ and therefore I shall at present but just mention it The Gospel of Christ promises Pardon of sin to true Penitents who are heartily sorry for their sins abhor themselves for them make restitution for the Injuries they have done to Men beg God's Pardon in the Name and Mediation of Christ and amend their Lives for Christ has made atonement and expiation for such Sinners and therefore at the Day of Judgment no Man shall be condemned for such sins as he has heartily repented of and reformed and this is to be judged by Grace as well as by our Works for the Law prescribes our Duty but promises no Pardon no not to Penitents this is owing to the Grace of God through the Merits and Mediation of Christ but though the Grace of the Gospel pardons true Penitents yet the same Gospel threatens eternal damnation against impenitent Sinners The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness To them who are contentious and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil And therefore impenient Sinners will be judged and condemned for their sins at the last Day by the Mediatour of the Covenant of Grace for the Gospel itself condemns them Thus the Grace of God that bringeth salvation and hath appeared unto all men teacheth us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world And therefore without holiness no man shall see God Heaven is the Reward only of good Men who live in the Exercise of all Christian Graces and Vertues and therefore good Men must be judged must be rewarded according to their Works and yet this is Gospel-Grace too for such a glorious Reward as Heaven is above the Merit of the most perfect Vertue in this World The best Man cannot challenge such a Reward from the Justice of God and therefore it is owing to Gospel-Grace the wages of sin is death but eternal life is the gift of God not the merit and desert of our Works through our Lord Iesus Christ. Especially when we consider that this great and perfect Reward is bestowed upon a very imperfect Vertue the Obedience of the best Men is very defective stained and sullied with Human Weaknesses Indiscretions Follies Ignorances Mistakes indecent Surprizes of Passion or coldness and flatness of Devotion and too often interrupted with wilful and scandalous sins such as nothing but Grace can pardon and therefore much more nothing but Grace can reward and therefore good Men are judged by Grace and rewarded by Grace though according to their Works We are all Sinners we are all obnoxious to the Justice of God would he be extream to mark what is done amiss but since a perfect Vertue is not to be expected from Mankind in this lapsed state God is pleased to accept of sincerity instead of perfection and through the Merits of Christ and Faith in his Blood to account him a righteous Man who sincerely loves and fears him and obeys his Laws though with the Weaknesses and Infirmities incident to Humane Nature So that our being judged by our Works signifies no more but that we are distinguished by the Good or Evil we do into good or bad Men according to the favourable allowances of the Gospel and then bad Men receive the just desert of their sins and good Men receive those Rewards not which they have merited but which the Grace of God and the Merits of Christ have prepared and purchased for them This is a plain account how Christians may be judged by their Works and yet saved by Grace and by Faith in Christ and the righteousness and equity of the last Judgment seems to entitle Heathens themselves thô they have no Covenant Right to it to some degrees of this Grace for I cannot think that God in judging the World will deal more rigorously and severely with Heathens than he will with Christians that he will demand most where he has given least which is contrary to our Saviour's Rule of Judgment and therefore I cannot but hope that Christ in judging of their Works will make the same favourable allowances to them which the Gospel makes to those who do believe in Christ that is to say that he will allow of the Repentance of a Heathen if it were sincere and hearty and did reform his Life as well as of the Repentance of a Christian that he will overlook the same Defects and Imperfections in the good Actions of Heathens who lived vertuous Lives who worshipped the One true God and observed the natural Rules of Sobriety Justice and Righteousness that he will in the Actions of Christians That if any Heathen should be found equally vertuous with the meanest Christian who shall be finally saved that Heathen at least will not be damned and indeed would seem to have reason to complain of unequal usage if he should St. Paul tells us both with respect to Jews and Heathens as well as Christians That God will judge the secrets of men by Christ Iesus according to the Gospel And if the Gospel be the Rule of judging all Mens Actions they must be all equally judged with respect to the Good or Evil of their Actions and be judged as the Gospel judges I grant the Heathens had no promise of Pardon upon their Repentance but yet all Mankind believed so well of the Goodness and Mercy of God that they hoped for Pardon upon their Repentance thus we find the Ninivites did and they had it and indeed it was this perswasion that taught them to pray to God and to offer Sacrifices which had been insignificant things had they not been perswaded that God both could and would pardon sin when Sinners repent Nor have the Heathens any Covenant Title to Salvation and yet they were generally perswaded that good Men shall be rewarded and the
self-evident Consequence that if God govern the World he will judge it that is reward every Man according to his Works for the principal Act of Government is to Judge and it is impossible he should be a wise and just Governour who does not judge The difference between the Providence of God or his present Government of the World and a Final Judgment is no more but this That they have different Ends and therefore must have different Rules and Measures but they are both God's judging the World and therefore if God begins his Judgment of Mankind in this World there is no reason to doubt buâ— he will finish and perfect his Judgment in the next if he judges Mankind now aâ— far as is proper to the state of this World it is a sufficient reason to believe that iâ— the next World he will exercise such act of Judgment as are proper for that State The great Ends of Providence in thiâ— World are the Preservation of Human Societies the Incouragement of Piety anâ— Vertue and the Discouragement of Vicâ— to keep Men under Discipline to lay Râ—â—straints upon their Lusts and Passions 〈◊〉 wean them from the love of this Worlâ— to exercise their Graces their Faith and Patience and Charity and by the different methods of Kindness and Severity as his own Wisdom judges best and fittest to reclaim the wicked and the wandering Prodigals and to advance good Men to greater degrees and perfections of Goodness the end of God's judging Mankind in the next World is to allot Men such Rewards and Punishments as are proportioned to their Works and Deserts to bestow Eternal Life on good Men and to execute the threatning of Eternal Death upon bad Men which is the Final Conclusion and Consummation of Judgment and if God judges all Men in this World as far as is necessary for this World it is reasonable to think that he will perfect his Judgment in the World to come Now it is plain he does the first as will appear from particulars He corrects the Miscarriages of Publick Government Publick Injustice and Oppression a Publick Contempt of God and of Religion and of all things sacred a General Corruption of Manners and an Inundation of Wickedness such Nations seldom escape long without a severe Scourge unless God makes use of them to scourge other Nations as wicked as themselves but a Righteous and Religious Nation which preserves Justice among Men and the Knowledge and Reverence and Worship of God is the Darling and Favourite of Providence and is blessed with all prosperous Successes both at Home and Abroad So the wise Man tells us That righteousness exalteth a nation but sin is the reproach of any people Thus it is apt to do of itself but the Divine Justice and Providence takes care that it shall do so for though every particular good Man is not rewarded nor every particular bad Man punished in this World yet God governs Kingdoms and Nations by a more equal and steady Justice for indeed publick Societies are the principal Objects of his Rewards and Punishments in this World because the good Government of Mankind depends so much upon it the Vertues or Vices of private Men have but a narrow influence and can do but little good or hurt but publick Government is a publick Good or Mischief and the Disorders of it are like an Eclipse of the Sun which brings Darkness upon the World and therefore such a very wicked Nation is seldom long unpunished or a righteous Nation oppressed And this is a visible Exercise of God's Judgment in this World in rewarding or punishing Kingdoms and Nations which are the great Wheels of Providence whereon the regular Motion and good Government of the World depends as I observed to you before that God governs the World by erecting Humane Governments and therefore is more especially concerned to govern them Thus in order to discourage Wickedness and to encourage true Piety and Vertue which is another End of Providence it is not necessary that God should reward every good Man or punish every bad Man in this World some few great Examples of such Rewards and Punishments are sufficient to this purpose especially if they are so many and so frequent that no bad Man can promise himself Impunity even in this Life nor any good Man have reason to despond or distrust Providence and as many Complaints as there are of the Prosperity of bad Men and the Sufferings of the good yet every Age and every Country nay almost every Village will furnish us with so many Examples of miserable Sinners and of the visible Rewards of Vertue as are abundantly enough to make all considering Men reverence the Divine Justice and Providence and therefore God exercises as great as frequent as visible Acts of Judgment as the State of this World requires Especially when we consider that this World is a State of Discipline a School of Vertue where we must learn to govern our Passions and Appetites to conquer vicious Habits and to live above the Body and the Pleasures of it to forgive Injuries to love Enemies to Suffer patiently to be contented with a Little to trust Providence to live by Faith and Hope of unseen Things now such a State as this will not admit of an exact Distribution of Rewards and Punishments Bad Men must not always be punished for their Sins because sometimes External Prosperity and a Sence of the Divine Goodness may work more kindly on them or if they be punished their Punishments must be rather Corrections than Acts of Justice that is they must not always bear proportion to their Deserts but to their Cure as a Father corrects his Child not so much to punish his Fault as to reform it And for the same reason good Men must not always be prosperous for they may need Adversity to exercise encrease and brighten their Vertues and to make them greater Examples to the World or if God sees fit to reward them it must be in such instances and such proportions as they can bear not always what they may deserve but what will be for their good Thus God governs the World with great Justice and Judgment as far as the State of this World requires and admits and what reason then is there to question whether God will judge Mankind in the World to come His Exercise of Justice and Judgment in this World proves that he is the Jâ—dge of the World not an idle and unconcerned Spectator of Humane Actions that he interests himself in the Affair of Mankind is solicitous to make all his Creatures happy is an Enemy to Wickedness and to wicked Men but the Friend Protector and Father of good Men and if God be the Judge of the World why should we think that he will not judge it nay if he actually execute Justice and Judgment in this World why should we think that he has reserved no Acts of Judgment for the next World which is a more
of our Saviour for any Temporal Inconvenience which attends it or to think that the best sence of the Christian Law which is most for the Ease and Comfort of this present Life This may serve for the Proof of a Future Judgment for if this will not prove it nothing will There are indeed another sort of Arguments to prove it but they principally relate to the Person of our Judge or who shall be our Judge viz. The Son of Man Christ Jesus who is God Incarnate and to which St. Paul refers 17 Acts 31. That God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead but I shall defer that till I come to speak of the Person of our Judge SECT VI. The Improvement of this Doctrine in some Practical Inferences as 1. To live as it becomes those who shall certainly be judged 2. To keep our Eye upon a Future Iudgment for the Government of our Lives HAving thus proved the Certainty of a Future Judgment both from Reason and Scripture before I proceed it is necessary to consider how we must improve this Belief for the Government of our Lives for that is the onely end of Faith and Knowledge and if we be never the better Men for our Faith we may as well be Infidels and this I shall do in these following Particulars I. To live as it becomes those who shall certainly be judged I suppose I need noâ— prove this Consequence That those who must be judged ought to live as those who must be judged for if Judgment be of any concernment to us I am sure it is of great concernment to prepare ourselves for Judgment And if we must be judged for Eternity Judgment is of as great concernment to us as Eternal Life and Death Nor is there any great difficulty to know how those Men ought to live who must be judged every Man knows this without a Teacher who will give himself leave to think A Steward a Factor a Labourer any Person who is liable to the Censure and Judgment of a Superiour who will call him to an Account knows what he is to do to prepare his Accounts and there is no greater Mistery in preparing ourselves for God's Judgment than for the Judgment of Men. But because all Men will not consider things as they ought though they be never so plain and obvious I shall briefly suggest some Rules to you which you must all acknowledge very reasonable at the first hearing and which if well observed would make us lift up our Heads in the Day of Judgment and expect it without Astonishment and Terrour 1. If we must be judged it becomes us to act with great Consideration and Advice Rafhness Precipitancy Inadvertency to do we know not what in a Heat and Impetus without considering whether it be good or evil right or wrong does not become those who must be judged To be judged is to be called to an account to give a reason for what we do and therefore we ought to consider what reason to give before we do it We must be judged by a Rule as you shall hear more hereafter and therefore we ought to live by Rule too which no Man can do who does not consider well what he does before he does it It will be no Plea at the Day of Judgment to say That we did not consider what we did that we lived without Care without Thought without Observation for this is not an allowable Plea for a reasonable Creature much less for one who knows he must be judged For why did you live without Thought without Consideration had you not the power of Thinking of Reasoning of Considering and did not God give these Powers and Faculties to you to direct and govern your Lives did he not make you reasonable Creatures that you might consider and live by Reason and is it any Excuse then for a reasonable Creature that he lived and acted without Reason and a wise Consideration of things This is the great Degeneracy of Humane Nature the abuse and corruption of those Natural Powers which God haâ—h given us the Source of all the Evils that are in this World and therefore can be no Excuse much less when we know that God will judge us and require a reason of our Actions for not to consider our own ways when we know God considers them and will require an account of them is a contempt of his Judgement for did we reverence our Judge we must consider and yet how many mad extravagant wicked Actions are there daily committed which those who do them never think why they do them nor what reasonable account they can give of them either to God or Man Some Men are very â—ond of what they call a Frolick that is to lay aside all Thought and Consideration and to give themsâ—lves up to the government of 〈◊〉 very sudden and unaccountable Fancy and the more wild and extravagant it is the more entertaining without any regard to Vertue or Vice to Decency and Honour the least thought of which is a Prophanation of these Bedlam Misteries they drink themselves drunk in a Frolick blaspheme GOD and his Son JESUS CRIST and his most holy Religion abuse Wives and Virgins murder innocent People and affront all they meet in a Frolick but it is ridiculous to imagine if we must be judged that such Frolicks as these shall be allowed in the Account or pass for Cyphers and empty Scenes of Life to signifie no more than they were intended for that because we choose at such a time to act without Reason and Consideration therefore GOD should demand no Reason nor Account of such Actions And yet a very great part of the World tho' they do not run into such outragious Frolicks as these are yet their Lives are little better than a train of incoherent and independent Fancies and Humours they live without Thought or any wise Design any extempore Project has them which starts up in their Minds or strikes their Fancies they scarce know what they have to do the next day nor how they spent the last But is this a Life for Men who are to be judged Others there are who give themselves up to the government of their Passions which are so vehement and impetuous and always in so much hast that they will neither hear Reason nor allow any time for it and then no wonder if they do such things as they can give no good account of when their Passion is over Others are more fixt and resolved in their way they have chose such a course of Life as they like best and they are resolved to pursue it and that nothing shall put them out of it and therefore they resolve against thinking too lest that should disturb them and give check to their Enjoyments they will neither lissen to their
former Agâ— give us an account of very terrible Judgâ—ments which God then executed upon the World and yet we see the Final Judgement is deferred and we know not hoâ— long it may be deferred still but though the general Judgment may be a great way off yet our particular Judgment may be very near God may quickly cut us off and put an end to our Account and when the Judgments of God are in the World we have reason to expect it at least so far as to be prepared for it Proxiâ—â—â—ardet Vcalagon when we see the Judgements of God sweep away so many Thousands round about us who not long since lived as secure and unconcerned for Danger as we do when we see the Clouds hover and rowl about the Heavens charged with Thunder and Tempest Who knows where the Storm will break next and who shall feel the Violence of it And therefore the Judgments of GOD which are in the Earth will give all considering Men such a present Sence of a Future Judgment as a threatning Sickness will do Present Judgments may suddenly cut us off and send us into the other World unprepared for a Final Judgement and there is no preparing for it there and then these present Judgments may prove Final to us So that those who live in such an Age as this will be utterly inexcusable if they forget their Account which they have such terrible Admonitions of let us make this use of present Judgments to awaken a more lively and vigorous Sence of a Future Judgment in us and that will make us good Men and secure our Eternal Happiness and is the best way to prevent any Publick Calamities of our Country which we may fear or to preserve ourselves from being involved in them CHAP. II. Concerning the Time of Iudgment SECT I. Concerning a Particular Iudgment at the Time of every Man's Death II. LET us now consider the Time of Judgment God hath appointed â— day wherein he will judge the world iâ— righteousness Now this plainly refers to that General Judgment when all Mankind shall be summoned before the Tribunal of CHRIST to be judged according to their Works But before I speak to this it will be necessary to take notice of what we commonly call a Particular Judgment which is supposed to pass upon all Men as soon as they go out of these Bodies The received Opinion is That when any Man dies he is immediately called to Judgment and receives his Final Sentence which is immediately executed on him that a bad Man is sentenced to Hell and sent immediately thither that a good Man is received into Heaven and enjoys the Beatifick Vision from the time of his going out of this Body But I must confess this has always appeared a great Difficulty to me we live in such an inquisitive Age as will not allow us to affirm what we cannot prove and indeed no honest Man ought to do so for it forfeits any Man's Authority and weakens the Credit of Religion when that which has no proof or at best is very uncertain is taught with as great assurance as that which is most certain and unquestionable in Religion and yet no wise Man will oppose and contradict a received Doctrine though he were satisfied it were a Mistake when there are no evil Consequences attend it For my part I must honestly profess that I neither dare affirm nor deny this Particular Judgment in the sence in which it is commonly understood for there are some Passages in Scripture which seem to look both ways and since I cannot decently avoid saying something of it I shall fairly represent to you what Intimations there are in Scripture about this matter for there is no other way of knowing this and I dare teach no more than what the Scripture teaches 1. Now in the first place thus much is very plain in Scripture that good Men when they die are translated to a place of Ease and Rest and Happiness and bad Men to a place of Misery and Punishment which I suppose is what Men mean by a Particular Judgment for this is a kind of Judgment tho' it be not performed with all the pompous Solemnities of Judgment to allot Men their different states of Life according as they have behaved themselves in this World The Parable of Dives and Lazarus is very express to this purpose 16 Luke 19 c. There was a certain rich man which was cloathed in purple and fine linnen and fared sumptuously every day And there was a certain begger named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores And it came to pass that the begger died and was carried by the Angels into Abraham's bosom the rich man also died and was buried And in hell he lift up his eyes being in torment and seeth Abraham afar off and and Lazarus in his bosom That this relates to the state of good and bad Men immediately after Death is very evident especially from that Request which the rich Man made to Abraham to send Lazarus to his Father's House For saith he I have five brethren that he may testifie to them lest they also come into this place of torment Which shews that Lazarus was in Abraham's Bosom and Dives tormented in Hell or Hades while his Brethren were living and revelling on Earth and therefore this can't relate to a General Judgement but signifies that State they entred into as soon as they died and though what is generally said that we must not argue from Parables is very true as to particular Circumstances of the Story which are the Ornaments and Embellishments of Parables yet it is as true that we must argue from the principal Scope and Design of them and then we may certainly conclude from this Parable that good and bad Men as soon as they die are in a State of Happiness and Misery otherwise there is no Foundation for this Parable for why should one be sent from the Dead to inform the Living what Punishments bad Men suffer in the next World if they suffer nothing till the Day of Judgment which is not yet for in this case such a Messenger could not be an Eye witness of the Punishment of Sinners which is the only thing that is supposed to give such Authority to his Testimony I do not remember any other such express Text for the immediate Punishment of Sinners as soon as they go out of these Bodies and one such Text as this is enough but there are many Texts to prove that good Men when they die go immediately into a State of Happiness not only Lazarus was carried by the Angels into Abraham's Bosom but Christ promised the Thief upon the Cross that that day he should be with him in Paradise and St. Paul tells us That to be at home in the body is to be absent from the Lord but when they are absent from the body they shall be present with the Lord That is when they die when they
a Sight as all of you who saw it cannot but confess it was what will it be to see the whole World on Fire and yourselves incompassed in the Flames of 〈◊〉 to see all those tempting Objects all the Instruments of your Pleasures all the Riches and Glory of the World which were the Fuel of your Lusts now turned into a devouring Fire to torment you to expiate those Flames they kindled in your Souls by sensible and material Flames Who would make this World his Portion and Inheritance who considers the end of it It looks charmingly indeed at present it invites and caresses and lays Baits and Snares for us but if we will have the World for our Portion it must be our Portion too at the Day of Judgment and consider how you shall like its Courtship when it incircles you with Flames and Smoke and Darkness those who choose this World for their Portion can never remove out of it and therefore must be contented to share Fortunes with it to smile when it smiles and to burn when it burns With what Triumph will good Men at that Day see themselves out of the reach of a burning World They betimes made their Escape out of this World as foreseeing its approaching Ruin they were not of the World while they lived in it but disintangled their Affections from this World while their Bodies were confined below And such Divine Souls whose Conversation was in Heaven as soon as they get loose from these Bodies ascend far above this Sphere of Corruption out of danger either of being tempted or being hurt by this World With what Triumph will they behold God erect a new World for them to inhabite create a new Heaven and new Earth where he will place his Throne and Tabernacle and dwell among them and be their God! What bad Man can hear these things without Terrour and Amazement What good Man does not long for this happy Day for this Marriage of the Lamb when the new Ierusalem shall come down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband 21 Revel 2. 3. That the Day of Judgment is at the end of the World proves that this Judgment is final and irreversible because this present state of Things is come to an end and as this puts a final Conclusion to this World so to all accounts relating to it This World is a changeable Scene but the next World is eternal and therefore as good and bad Men are disposed of in the next World they must continue for ever This World will be destroyed and therefore bad Men can never return into it again to act over a new part and to correct the Sins and Follies of their former Lives as Origen conceived they should after a long time of Punishment when the fleshly Principle is thoroughly subdued by the Torments they have suffered Which Opinion how much mercy and good nature soever there may be in it has not the least countenance from Scripture nor any foundation that I know of in Reason when the World where they lived and where they sinned is at an end I think there is an end also of their acting any new part in it And that new World where good Men shall dwell in the immediate Presence of God shall last for ever there is no death no pain no crying for there can be no sin there there is no Devil no World to tempt and nothing within to be tempted they enter clean and pure into that holy Place and the immediate Sight and Presence of God will eternally keep them so Had we no positive Revelation of the Eternity of Rewards and Punishments it were yet reasonable to conclude that if the Day of Judgment put an end to this World without putting an end to good or bad Men but only translating them to a new state of Happiness or Misery that their Happiness or Misery must last as long as that new State does and their Sentence can never be reversed without a new Day of Judgment and therefore if this be the last and final Judgment good and bad Men must then enter upon an unalterable and eternal State of Happiness or Misery and this is the most comfortable and most terrible Consideration of all How will the Souls of good Men rejoyce in God their Saviour when they shall see themselves possest of an eternal and unchangeable Happiness when this mutable Scene is vanished and they have an abiding City whose Builder and Maker is God when they can look forward to Eternity without fearing Death or any Change or Diminution of their Happiness which may encrease to Eternity and be always new and fresh but can never admit of any interruption or allay But I will not pretend to describe the Confusion the Distraction the Raging Despair of those wretched Sinners who shall be condemned to Everlasting Fire who see an end of all their Happiness and but the beginning of their Miseries in a Fired World our Thoughts cannot reach this now we have no Passions yet big enough for such a Misery Eternal Torment Blessed JESU have Mercy upon us and let the present Fear and Dread of it preserve us from ever knowing what it means If you should ask me When the end of the World and the Day of Judgment will come I must confess to you I do not know for our Saviour has before told us Of that day and hour knoweth no man not the angels in heaven nor the Son but the Father only That we are not concerned to know when this shall be nay that God has very wise Reasons to conceal this from us I have shewed you before I shall now add 1. That it is not likely to be yet 2. That how long soever it be delayed we have great reason at present to provide for it Especially 3. when we are sure that the time now hastens after so long an expectation of it I. That it is not likely to be yet In St. Paul's time some Christians were in great apprehension that the Day of Judgment was near and it seems were in a terrible Fright about it but the Apostle thought fit to correct this Mistake and that with some Earnestness as if it were a Mistake of ill consequence and so indeed it might have proved if not to them yet to those who followed who observing their Mistake about the Day of Judgment confuted as all such Mistake are by the Event might have concluded that the whole was a Mistake and that there should be no Day of Judgment because it did not come when it was expected and therefore the Apostle thought fit to warn them against it Now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Iesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him That ye be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us as that the day of Christ is at hand 2 Thess. 2.1 2. And to satisfie them
in this he does not undertake to tell them when the Day of Judgment shall be for that he did not know but only tells them That there must come a falling away first and that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God And this Man of Sin not being then revealed it was plain that the Day of Judgment could not so suddenly come as they expected And now we find by Story that it was some Ages after this before the Man of Sin was revealed After this St. Iohn wrote his Book of the Revelations and did we thoroughly understand that though we should not certainly know the precise time of Judgment yet we should know how many things are still to be done before the Day of Judgment for that contains an entire Prophesy of the Christian Church from the beginning of it to the end of the World And though I will not pretend to understand those Mysteries especially what is there called the thousand Years Reign of Christ upon the Earth which whatever it signifie seems to be before the end of the World and the final Judgment yet we certainly learn from thence that the Man of Sin must be destroyed before the last Judgment and if this be the Popish Hierarchy as I doubt not but it is it is plain this is not done yet and I wish his final Overthrow be so near as some learned Men think it is But I think there is another Prophesy of St. Paul himself which has not been accomplished yet which must receive its accomplishment before the Day of Judgment and we see no prospect of its present accomplishment I mean the Conversion of the Iews and the Re-union of them to the Christian Church This we have an account of in 11 Rom. which whatever some learned Men imagine I can by no means think has received its just accomplishment by those few Iews which were converted by the Preaching of the Apostles and the Destruction of Ierusalem for Verse 15. he tells us If the casting away of the Iews is the reconciling of the world that is if the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles upon the obstinate Infidelity of the Iews what shall the reconciling of them be but life from the dead That is the Conversion of the Iews shall be a new Life to the Gentile World a new Resurrection of Christianity among us But was ever any such thing done yet In Verse 25 26. he tells them For I would not brethren that ye should be ignorant of this mystery lest ye should be wise in your own conceits that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in And so all Israel shall be saved as it is written There shall come out of Sion the deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Iacob Now has any such thing yet been done has all Israel or the generality of the Iews been converted to Christianity and yet the Apostle assures us this must be done by Vertue of God's Covenant with Abraham As concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake God so ordered it that by their Infidelity the Gospel should be preached to the Gentile World yet as touching the election they are beloved for the fathers sake As the Posterity of Abraham Isaac and Iacob whom God chose as his peculiar People For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance God will never wholly reject the Posterity of Abraham whom he hath chose for his People but will still establish his Covenant with them and that God has now rejected them for their Infidelity is no argument that he will never own them again for so he had rejected the Gentiles for their Unbelief but now has received them again into his Church upon their Faith in Christ and thus he will again graft the Iews into his Church if they abide not still in their unbelief v. 30 31. which the Apostle prophesies they shall not For as ye in times past have not believed God yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief even so have these also now not believed that thro' your mercy they also may obtain mercy Now such a Conversion as this of the Iews I think has not been yet and therefore must be expected before the Day of Judgment and the end of the World which shews that the end of the World will not be yet and how long it may be deferred we cannot tell II. How long soever the end of the World and the Day of Judgment be delayed yet we have great reason immediately to prepare for it for indeed this Life is the only time we have to prepare for it Death puts an end to our account for Eternity for we shall be judged according to what we have done in the Body whether it be good or bad and the final Sentence shall pass on us according to that state which Death finds us in which seems to be the reason why our Saviour warns us always to be upon our watch As not knowing at what hour our Lord will come for whatever the intermediate State be how long soever it be between Death and Judgment yet our account is the same and to be surprized by Death before we are provided for it is the same thing as to be surprized by Judgment 24 Matth. 42 43 44. Watch therefore for ye know not at what hour your Lord doth come But know this that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up Therefore be ye also ready for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man cometh Which if it concern all Christians must relate to the Hour of Death as well as to the Day of Judgment And therefore flatter not yourselves that Judgment is a great way off when you know not how near Death is which will finish your Account The State of bad Men is very miserable as you have already heard as soon as they go out of these Bodies and they are reserved for the terrible Judgment of the great Day and though the Day of Judgment is not yet is it not a terrible thing to be certainly reserved for it which how long soever it be delayed has an Eternity to follow III. But if the near approach of the end of the World and the Day of Judgment be considerable it is certain that is not far off neither the World has continued now some thousand Years and if the time of Christ and his Apostles were the last Days after sixteen hundred Years we must be pretty near the end of the last Days We have a nearer prospect of Eternity then those had who lived some thousand Years ago at least if they had known how long this World would have continued but though they might not think it would have continued so long we know now that
if our Saviour will judge us it is dangerous to neglect so great Salvation That God did not intend meerly to fright Sinners with his Threatnings is evident from the Sufferings of our Saviour he could not save us without making Atonement and Expiation for our Sins and if he must undergo the Curse of the Law if he must suffer Death to redeem Sinners it is certain Sinners must have died if Christ had not died for them as St. Paul argues If one died for all then were all dead for would God have laid the Punishment of our Sins on Christ if he had not intended to execute the Curse of the Law against Sinners would he have delivered up Christ to Death for us if he had not intended that Sinners should die without a Sacrifice And when the Saviour of the World who came to lay down his Life for us to â—edeem us from the Curse of the Law threatens everlasting Destruction against impenitent and unbelieving Sinners what reason have we to hope that he will not execute his Threatnings those who are not redeemed by his Death must die themselves and it cannot be otherwise expected but that he who died to save us will execute the Sentence of Eternal Death on all those who will not be saved by him When he comes to Judgment he will remember the Shame and Agony the Infamy and Torments of the Cross which he under went for Sinners and this will make him revenge the Contempt of his dying and suffering Love he suffered for Sin once and though he were the Son of God he bowed and sweat and died under the weight of it but all this is despised by Sinners and goes for nothing and now he will die no more for them but they shall die for themselves shall feel the weight of God's Wrath themselves shall sweat and groan and die under it to Eternity II. It is very fitting and congruous that the Man Christ Jesus who is the Saviour should be the Judge of the World and that upon three Accounts 1. This is a very fitting Reward of his Humiliation and Sufferings 2. It gives great advantage to the Future Judgment that the Son of Man is the Judge of Mankind 3. It adds to the Glory and Triumph and Terrour of that Day to have a visible Judge 1. The Glory and Authorâ—ty of a Judge is a very proper and fitting Reward of Christ's Humiliation and Sufferings He became Man to save Mankind though he was in the form of God and thought it not robbery to be equal with God yet he made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross 2 Phil. 6 7 8. This was a very low Condescension for the Son of God to conceal his Eternal Majesty under so mean a Disguise of Flesh and Blood to become Man as we are to submit to all the Weaknesses and Infirmities of Humane Nature to choose a low and mean Fortune to be treated with Contempt and Infamy and to die a painful and accursed Death upon the Cross. All this he submitted to in Obedience to his Father's Will for the Redemption of Mankind but it was not fitting this Son of Righteousness should always lie under an Eclipse he must break forth at last with a new and surprizing Glory the World must see what a great and excellent Person he was who came to visit them in great Humility who took upon him the form of a servant and was despised and rejected of men a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief and therefore God hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name That at the name of Iesus every knee should bow both of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Iesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father V. 10 11. Christ is now exalted to the right Hand of God as a Reward of his Humiliation and Sufferings and appears in the true Glory of an Incarnate God but his Glory is now visible onely to the blessed Inhabitants of Heaven those who despised him persecuted him spit on him nailed him to the Cross those who in all Ages since have derided the Crucified Jesus and scorned his Religion and Worship see nothing of his Glory but when he comes to Judge the World then his Glory and Power shall be visible to all this will put an end to the Reproach of the Cross and turn it into Surprize and Wonder when they shall see what a glorious Person he is who submitted to so infamous a Death When he came into the World he appeared as other Men do as mean as the meanest Men clothed with a mortal Body of Flesh and Blood without any external Splendor of Birth or Fortune to recommend him but when this Son of Man shall return again to Judge the World his external Appearance will then be glorious so bright and transplendent that he will Eclipse the Sun as the Sun does the lesser Lights of Heaven then God will be as visible in him as Man was on Earth and shine through Humane Nature as the Soul does through the Body that an Incarnate God will be as visible as a Man Humane Nature will no longer veil and conceal the Glory of the Godhead but shall bear all the visible Impressions of the Deity and appear with the awful Majesty of God and this is a proper Reward for his mean appearance on Earth for when God becomes Man though there may be wise Reasons why he should conceal himself in Humane Nature for a while yet it cannot and ought not to be always so but if God becomes Man he will at one time or other make his Glory visible to all the World in Humane Nature It was a low and vile submission for the Son of God to be arraigned as a Male-factor before Pontius Pilate to be falsly accused unjustly condemned made a Mock King buffetted scourged reviled with the most bitter and insulting Scorn and nailed upon the Cross betwixt two Thieves but the Scene will be changed when he comes to Judge the World when his Crown of Thorns shall be bright Rays of Glory when the Wound in his Side and the Print of the Nails in his Hands and Feet shall be Springs and Fountains of Light when his Cross shall be turned into a Triumphant Charriot and Throne of Judgment and his Judge and Accusers and all the Enemies and Despisers of his Cross shall stand trembling before him this is the Triumph of the Crucified Jesus this is the Reward of his Infamy and Death and a proper Reward it is to make him the Judge of the World who was judged and condemned himself by Sinners The firm belief and perswasion of this now that God has made him the Judge
whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead 17 Acts 30 31. While Men were ignorant of the other World or had only some uncertain Reports of it mixed with fabulous Stories to increase and nourish Superstition their wickedness was very pitiable and shall meet with a more favourable Judgment but we can now pretend Ignorance no longer and therefore now God commands us to repent Upon this Principle it is that our Saviour upbraided those cities wherein most of his mighty works were done because they repented not Woe unto thee Chorazin woe unto thee Bethsaida for if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes but I say unto you it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of Iudgment than for you And thou Capernaum who art exalted unto heaven shalt be brought down to hell for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom it would have remained until this day but I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee 11 Mat. 20 21 22 23. Those mighty Works our Saviour wrought in these Cities were such powerful Convictions as rendred their Infidelity inexcusable and that aggravated their Condemnation And for the same reason our Saviour threatens that unbelieving Generation who saw all his mighty Works and heard his admirable Wisdom which was so much beyond whatever was seen or heard before The men of Niniveh shall rise in judgment against this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Ionas and behold a greater than Ionas is here The Queen of the South shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold a greater than Solomon is here 12 Luke 41 42. The greater the Preacher is the greater Works he does and the greater Evidence he gives of his Divine Authority still the guilt and condemnation proportionably increases and then the Infidelity of those who live in a Christian Nation and the Wickedness of professed Believers who have so much greater certainty of the Rewards and Punishments of the next World than either Chorazin or Bethsaida or Capernaum then had exceeds them all and their Punishments will proportionably exceed Thus the Gospel has fully acquainted us with the whole Dispensation of Grace in the Redemption of the World by our Lord Jesus Christ That God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life 3 John 16. That Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purifie to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works 2 Tit. 14. That he has made atonement for our sins by his Blood That herein God hath commended his love towards us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us that when we were yet enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son 5 Rom. 8.10 And we know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ that though he was rich yet for our sakes he became poor that we through his poverty might be rich 2 Cor. 8 9. Here is a new Scene of Grace and Love opened which the World was unacquainted with before which presents us with new Arguments and lays new Obligations on us to serve God Arguments and Obligations so endearing so powerful that one would think Human Nature could not resist them could not get loose from them If we will not reverence the Authority of God yet how can we resist his Love If it be not enough to entitle God to our Service that he made us shall we deny his Purchase too When he has bought us with a price the inestimable Blood of his own Son Ought not the love of Christ to constrain us Could he do any thing more for us than redeem us from Death and Hell Could he redeem us at a dearer rate than with his own Blood When he could get nothing by it but the pleasure and satisfaction of making us happy and the glory of being the Saviour of Sinners It is a reproach to Humane Nature to think that such Love as this should not convert the World and subdue Mankind to the Obedience of God It is plain this gives God a greater Right to us than meer Creation and therefore gives every sin of Christians a double guilt if Heathens sinned against their Maker Christians sin against their Maker and their Saviour too And to sin against Love against suffering redeeming forgiving saving Love is a very different thing from sinning against Authority We may call it folly or madness to disobey our Soveraign Lord who can and will punish our Disobedience but to abuse to affront to grieve Love is not the sin of Men though too many Men are guilty of it but of a diabolical Nature I have nothing to say of it but that it is the greatest provocation in the World and all Men think so and thus much worse the sins of Christians are than the sins of Heathens But the Love of God and the Grace of Christ are not the only motives and arguments which our Redemption by the Death of Christ furnishes us with but there are a great many other and such powerful ones as must greatly aggravate our guilt to sin against them There is not a greater preservation against sin than to have a just sense of the Evil of it and a thorough Conviction of God's irreconcileable hatred and displeasure against it and that he will certainly punish it Now indeed Nature does in some measure teach this the Reason of Mankind condemns it Modesty preserves us from some sins Natural Aversions from others till both the Modesty and Aversions of Nature are conquered by a Custom of sinning but then on the other hand the inclinations of Flesh and Blood very strongly tempt us to some sins which are very grateful to Flesh and Blood and to other sins to gain opportunities to gratifie those inclâ—â—ations and when Men taste the sweets of sin and find the present advantages of it this bribes their Reason to speak more favourably of it and to attribute the shame and aversions of Nature to Education and Popular mistakes Thus though men have a natural Sense of God's displeasure against sin and natural Conscience threatens the Judgments of God against sinners yet the experience of the World tells us that most Men flatter themselves that God may be appeased and reconciled to them without forsaking their sins not only the Heathens but even Iews themselves thought this might be done by their sacrifices and the other external rites and ceremonies of their Religion as appears from the frequent complaints of