29. They knew it seems there was a time of Torment appointed for them but it was not yet and yet there was then some place of Confinement for them which is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Deep whatever that signifies whither they were unwilling to go and therefore when Christ cast them out of the Man whom they had long and furiously possessed they beg of him that he would not command them to go into the Deep 8. Luke 31. I shall only observe farther That the Devils are said to believe and tremble Now what is it they believe and what is it they tremble at but the last Judgment and that terrible Condemnation which they then expect and therefore they are not under it yet for Faith respects what is absent and future and Fear does not respect what we suffer at present but what we expect But these are great Mysteries which we cannot now understand but thus much we do understand that if these fallen and apostate Angels have not yet received their final Punishment but are only reserved in Chains of Darkness till the Judgment of the great Day there is less reason to think that wicked Men who are to be punished with the Devil and his Angels should immediately go to Hell as soon as they go out of these Bodies and therefore whatever is meant by those Flames wherein Dives was tormented it is not the last Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels As for good Men those Expressions of Scripture of their going to Paradise especially of their going to Christ or being present with the Lord seem to bid very fair for their going directly to Heaven where Christ is but the Primitive Christians understood them otherwise that Paradise and Abraham's Bosom was a place of Ease and Happiness but not Heaven that no Man ascends into Heaven till after the Resurrection which Ireneus and Tertullian prove from the Example of Christ to which we must be conformed for Christ himself did not ascend into Heaven till after the Resurrection but as his Body rested in the Grave so his Soul went into the State of Souls departed and when he arose again then he ascended into Heaven and thus they say we must do also When we die our Souls shall live in those places which God has prepared for separate Souls and when we have re-assumed our Bodies we shall be admitted into the highest Heavens whither Christ is ascended and this seems very reasonable that we should not ascend into Heaven into the immediate Presence of God which signifies our perfect Reconciliation to him without our Bodies the want of which is an argument of our Apostasie and his Displeasure and all the Marks of his Displeasure ought to be removed before we appear in his immediate Presence But is not Christ in Heaven and how then can good Men be present with the Lord after Death if they do not immediately ascend into Heaven Now as for this they tell us That the Souls of just Men in Paradise have the sight and conversation of Angels and Archangels and the Vision or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of our Saviour which they think is what is meant by being present with the Lord though they did not affirm that no good Men did immediately ascend into Heaven when they died but expressly taught that all Martyrs did who died for the Name and Religion of Christ and this was the thing which made them in that Age so fond of Martyrdom that they thought all Martyrs ascended directly into Heaven And if they could have proved this as it is plain they believed it that Martyrs did immediately ascend into Heaven and that other Christians did not who would not have coveted to die a Martyr Thus I have very fairly and truly represented this Matter and that no Man who has not so carefully considered this may take Offence at it I shall 1. shew you how useful this Doctrine is at this time And 2. that it gives no discouragement to Vertue nor any encouragement to Vice 1 st As for the first we may consider In the first place That in such an Age as this wherein we have to deal with so many Atheists and Infidels we ought to take care to make Religion reasonable and intelligible for if we do not they expose it to Scorn and Ridicule and both harden themselves in their own Infidelity and corrupt others and therefore we must take care of representing any thing absurdly and inconsistently Now to say that Men who are already judged and either condemned or absolved and actually sent to Hell or to Heaven should be solemnly judged over again and condemned again to Hell or advanced to Heaven sounds oddly to such Men but if the Scripture does not expresly teach such a Doctrine we are at liberty not to teach it especially if we can give another Account of it which seems as agreeable to Scripture and more agreeable to the Reason and Understanding of Mankind 2. Some there are who observing that Mankind shall not be judged till the Day of Judgment conclude that there is no intermediate State but that the Soul sleeps with the Body till the Day of Judgment A very Foolish and Unphilosophical Opinion for we may as reasonably think that the Soul dies as that it sleeps in a state of Separation if the Soul be a spiritual Substance distinct from the Body it may live and act without it and it is as easie and reasonable to defend the Mortality of the Soul as its sleeping for if the Soul must sleep when it is separated from the Body it must sleep for ever if it never be re-united to the Body again that is it must live and die with the Body for such a sleep as this is not meerly an Image of Death but Death it self But from what I have now discoursed it appears that though there be a great distance between Death and Judgment yet the Soul does live and act is happy or miserable in the mean time 3. This Notion does very great Service also against Popery For 1. it gives an account of a middle State without Purgatory This has greatly imposed upon unlearned Men that the Advocates of Popery have proved from the Ancient Fathers that they owned a middle State which was neither Heaven nor Hell and then presently conclude that this must be Purgatory Now it is very true the Ancient Christians did own a middle State between Death and Judgment which was neither Heaven nor Hell but yet never dreamt of a Popish Purgatory they believed bad Men were in a State of Punishment as soon as they left these Bodies but not in Hell and that good Men were in a State of Rest and Happiness but not in Heaven but they never thought of a place of Torment to expiate the Temporal Punishment due to Sin when the Eternal Punishment is remitted which is the Popish Purgatory and the most barbarous Representation of the Christian Religion though the most profitable
too to the Church of Rome that ever was invented 2. This utterly overthrows the Worship of Saints in the Church of Rome at least of all Saints who were not Martyrs for Saint-worship is founded on this Belief that these Saints when they die are received into Heaven into the immediate Presence of God and therefore can there powerfully intercede for us but if these Saints are not yet received into Heaven nor shall be till the Resurrection which was the Faith of the Primitive Christians and seems very agreeable to the Doctrine of theGospel as I have now shewn you then there is an end of the Worship and Interâ—ession of Saints 2 dly This Doctrine neither discourages Vertue nor encourages Vice I cannot indeed say but that Heaven is a much happier place then Paradise and therefore it is more desirable for good Men when they die to go directly to Heaven then to Paradise but yet it is a sufficient encouragement to the exercise of the most perfect Vertues that as soon as we die we shall be carried by Angels into Abraham's Bosom or into Paradise a place of perfect Ease and Rest and as perfect Happiness as can be enjoyed out of Heaven such a Paradise where holy Souls dwell Patriarchs Prophets Apostles Martyrs and Confessors with Heaven at the end of it is a sufficient an abundant Reward for all the most difficult and laborious Services of this Life that Heaven is not yet is no greater Discouragement then that we shall not rise from the Dead till the Day of Judgment that we shall not have our Bodies again till they are awakened by the last Trumpet Bodies which will be bright and glorious as the Sun which will rise with eternal Youth and Strength and Beauty this is a much greater Happiness then to live either in Paradise or in Heaven without our Bodies but this we must stay for and so we may for Heaven and we may be very well contented to wait for Heaven and for the Resurrection of our Bodies in Paradise when we are as happy as Paradise can make us we may very patiently expect the full Completion of our Happiness in the Resurrection of our Bodies and our Admission into the highest Heavens to the immediate Throne and Presence of God Thus though Hell is a place of the most perfect Torment and Misery for it is the Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels and therefore it is much more formidable for Sinners to drop immediately into Hell when they die then to suffer any other State of Punishment between Death and Judgment yet he is a very unreasonable Man who does not think the Day of Judgment time enough to be condemned to Hell and who does not think it Misery enough to fall under the Power of evil Spirits in the mean time If God thinks this Punishment enough methinks Sinners should and those who cannot fear Hell at the distance of the Day of Judgment will not fear Hell tho' it were no farther off than Death those who are not afraid of being tormented as Dives was when they go out of these Bodies will not fear Hell though we allow Hell to be a State of more perfect Misery I am sure Dives thought those Torments so great that they were sufficient to have made his Brethren true Penitents had they known what they must suffer for their Sins as soon as they die and those who will not allow that bad Men are immediately condemned to Hell as soon as they die yet must allow that they may be tormented as Dives was In short if wicked Men do not drop into Hell as soon as they die yet they shall be condemned to Hell at the Day of Judgment and in the intermediate State between Death and Judgment shall suffer all those unknown Miseries which are prepared for wicked Souls till the Day of Judgment and those who will not be perswaded by this will live and die in their Sins though you could convince them that they shall drop into Hell as soon as they die SECT II. That the Day of Iudgment is appointed HAving thus considered the State between Death and Judgment let us now more strictly consider the Time of Judgment and here are several things to be observed and explained I. That the Day of Judgment is appointed He hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world II. That this is a General Day for the Judgment of the whole World III. That this Day of Judgment will be at the End of the World I. That the Day of Judgment is appointed He hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world This is a matter of pure Revelation and can be known no other way for though we have great evidence from Reason that God will judge the World yet to appoint a Day is a free Act of God's Wisdom and Counsel and this must be learnt from Revelation and we cannot have a more express Revelation for any thing than we have for this for St. Paul tells us in plain words that God hath appointed a Day to Judge the World and our Saviour in express words several time refers to this Day as appointed and determined by God In that day many shal say unto me Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy name which refers to some certain Day 7 Matth. 22. And the hour is coming in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice 5 John 28. And of that day and hour knoweth no man no not the angels of heaven but my Father only 24 Matth. 36. Which plainly signifies that the Day is determined and fixed because God knows when it shall be that is he knows when he has appointed it and if it were not appointed it had been no great wonder that neither Men nor Angels know it Now this Consideration that God hath appointed a Day wherein he will judge the World is not without its Use For 1 st This proves the Certainty of a Future Judgement that the Day of Judgement is appointed For we cannot think thaâ— God would appoint a Day to judge the World unless he absolutely resolved to judge it 2 ly This answers the Objection against a Future Judgment from the long Delays of it This St. Peter tells us would be a great Objection in the last Days or towards the end of the World 2 Pet. 3.3 4. Knowing this first that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts and saying Where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation That is consider how old the World now is and how long Mankind have been frightned with the Fears of Judgment many Ages and successive Generations have lived in expectation of it but it is not yet nor any more signs of it then when the World was first made and since it has been so long expected to no purpose it is time to despise
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
they think Patience and Forbearance a greater Fault in them then it is in God who beareth with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction Why are they so unmerciful as to hurry away these poor Wretches immediately to Hell when God is contented to let them live on to let the Tares and the Wheat grow up together till the Harvest Why do they envy them the short and perishing Contentments of this Life when they are to suffer an Eternity of Misery Methinks it should satisfie the most implacable Hatred to know that they must be miserable for ever though their Miseries should be adjourned for some few Years but if this be the Effect of damning Men you may guess that the Cause is not very good though an uncharitable Judgment will hurt no Body but themselves yet it is of dangerous consequence when such rash Judges will be as hasty Executioners too 2. Though the effects of saving Men and voting them to Heaven be not so Tragical as those of damning them yet this has its Mischiefs too when any Party of Men have voted themselves the only true Church wherein Salvation is to be had or the only Saints and Elect People of God then all who will be saved must herd with them and most Men think it enough to secure their Salvation to get into their Number Thus the Church of Rome frightens Men into her Communion by threatning Damnation against all who are out of that Church and this reconciles Men to all their Superstitions and Idolatries for fear of Damnation and encourages them in all manner of Looseness and Debauchery when they arâ— got into a Church which can save them and it has much the same effect when Men list themselves with any Party where they hope to be saved for Company while all the rest of Mankind even those who profess the Faith of Christ are no better then the World and the Ungodly and Reprobates who tho' they may have more Moral Vertues then some others yet have no Grace And the mischief of this encreases when Men are Sainted after death Had it not been for this Trick the Church of Rome had had very few Saints to Worship none but the Virgin Mary and the Apostles whom they might certainly conclude to be in Heaven but as for their other Saints who were the great Founders and Examples of their Superstition they are Saints of their own making just as the Heathens made their Gods and it is the Stories and Legends of these Saints which support the Superstition of the Church of Rome for who dares question the Examples of those who are canonized Saints in Heaven Hac arte Pollux vagus Hercules innixus arces attigit igneas And there are another sort of Men who are not behind-hand with them in this who have a great many more Saints than the Church of Rome though they don't pray to them who send great shoals to Heaven especially if they have been zealous for promoting a Party which hides all other Faults and sanctifies very doubtful Actions and how powerful must the Example of such Saints be to excite others to an imitation of their Vertues In a word when we pretend to send Men to Heaven we make them our Rules and Examples we hope to go to Heaven with all the Faults they had and those who knew them possibly knew a great many what they were eminent for we conclude were great Vertues and fit for our imitation tho' otherwise of a doubtful and suspicious Nature There is not a more dangerous thing than to make any Man our Rule and Example and yet that we necessarily do when we send him to Heaven for who would not think himself safe in imitating those whom he believes to be in Heaven And if we consider at what rate both the Church of Rome and others make Saints we must needs be sensible how infinitely dangerous this is to Mens Souls To conclude this Head Let us judge charitably of all Men and hope well according to the different reasons we have to hope but let us leave their final State to God neither peremptorily damn nor save them it is to be feared that Humane Judgment has sent many Men to Heaven who will never get thither and to be hoped that many Men shall meet with a more favourable Sentence in the next World than they do in this God is the Judge of the World and he will certainly judge us and there is no Inconvenience in staying till the Day of Judgement to see what Mens final Sentence shall be but very great Mischief in pronouncing a rash and hasty Judgment our selves SECT VIII Fourth Inference To refer all Difficulties to the Day of Iudgment IV. IF God will Judge the World let us refer all Difficulties to the Day of Judgment It must be confessed that there are very great Difficulties in Providence such as the wisest Men cannot understand and I can by no means say it is a Fault for Men to search into Providence and to be very inquisitive into the reasons of it for what can more become a reasonable Creature then to study the Works of God and what Works more worth our study then the Divine Providence and the wonderful Mysteries of God's governing the World But the Difficulty is to set Bounds to the Curiosity of Mankind to teach them to study Providence with the Modesty of Creatures and with the just Reverence which we owe to God whose Wisdom is infinite and unsearchable to be contented to discover what we can to admire and adore the Wisdom and Goodness and Justice of Providence in what is plain and there is enough plain to exercise our devout Meditations to be matter of our Praise and Thanksgivings anda sure foundation of our Trust in God And this wise and good Men are contented with but most Men take least notice of what is plain as if that were of no use and not worth notice but puzle their thoughts and lose themselves in those vast Depths and Abysses which no Humane Understanding can fathom To Correct this Miscarriage would do great service to Religion would give great peace and satisfaction to Mens minds and prevent a great many scandalous Disputes about the Divine Providence and therefore if I discourse this a little more at large then my present Argument requires I hope it will be no great Fault Now to set Bounds to our Curiosity and to make us Modest in our Inquiries into Providence I shall shew you I. How dangerous it is to search too narrowly into the Secrets of Providence II. How unreasonable it is to disturb our Minds with such Difficulties as we cannot answer III. That what cannot be known in this World it is time enough for us to know in the World to come IV. That we have all the reason in the World to believe that what we cannot know in this World will be made very plain and easie at the Day of Judgment I. As
such matters as we can give no account of there may be plain Reasons assigned why no account can be given of them in this World 1. As for the first it is easie to give many Instances of it There are many things which Mankind greatly complain of and for which they think themselves very hardly used by God which upon a true Estimate of things considering the corrupt State of Humane Nature are greatly for the Happiness of the World and though they were inflicted as Punishments by God yet have an excellent temperament of Wisdom and Goodness This I have formerly shewed you as to that Sentence of Death which God pronounced against Mankind after the Fall of our first Parents Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return and as to his shortning the Lives of Men after the Flood and I shall now give another Instance in that Curse God pronounced upon the Earth for the Sin of Man to which we owe most of that Pain and Toyl and Labour which is under the Sun and most of the Miseries and Calamities of Humane Life and if in this also the Wisdom and Goodness as well as the Justice and Severity of God appears I hope it will convince us how reasonable it is to be modest in our Censures of Providence and to conclude that God is equally wise and good in those things which we do not understand The Justice of this is very evident for when Man who was the Lord of the Creation had rebelled against God it was very just for God to punish him and the most proper Punishment which he could inflict on him next to his own Mortality was to Curse those Creatures which were made for his use and delight as God told Adam when he had eaten the forbidden Fruit Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife and eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee saying Thou shalt not eat of it cursed is the ground for thy sake in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee and thou shalt eat the herb of the field In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread until thou return to the ground for out of it wast thou taken for dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return 3 Gen. 17. For I need not tell you this Curse upon the Ground was no punishment to the Ground which was sensible of no hurt but to Man who was to live upon it it defaced the Beauty and Glory of the Creation and entailed a toilsome and painful Life on him it made his Food less wholsome and more hard to come by and whereas all Creatures before were in perfect subjection to Man according to the grand Character of the Creation Have dâ—minion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moveth on the earth 1 Gen. 28. Now we find by experience that they have cast off this Yoke and very often revenge the Quarrel of their Maker upon apostate Man Thus Man fell from the Glory and Happiness of his Nature and yet if we wisely consider things we shall find excellent Wisdom and Goodness even in this Curse For Man having corrupted himself the best State he could be put into was an industrious and laborious Life to force him to work hard to get his living and to earn his Bread with the sweat of his Brows which was the necessary and immediate Effect of God's cursing the Ground that whereas before the Earth would have supplied Man with all things for his Necessity and Delight without his care and labour now it would not yield its Increase of itself but brought forth Briars and Thorns And as difficult a State as this is it was very fit for fallen Man 1. A laborious Life is of great use to subdue the fleshly Principle and to prevent the opportunities and occasions and temptations to Sin The experience of the World tells us that nothing more corrupts Mens Manners than Idleness the Flesh grows rampant with Sloth and Luxury and Time it self is so uneasie and troublesome when we have nothing to do that Men rather chuse to be wicked then to be idle and therefore God who foresaw the Degeneracy of Mankind by the Fall hath provided work for us that with the sweat of our Brow we must eat our Bread 2. This does not only imploy the Bodies but the Minds of Men Puts them upon the study of Philosophy and the invention of Arts and Sciences upon observing the Works of Nature and Dependence of Causes and Effects to observe the Motions of the Heaven the Sun and Moon and Planets thereby to know the Seasons of the Year and to fix the time of their return it is this Necessity to which we owe the most useful Discoveries in Nature which is not only very beneficial to the World but a very delightful Entertainment and the most natural Ornament and Perfection of our Minds 3. The Necessities of Humane Life are the foundation of Humane Societies and make Men combine together for mutual Help and Comfort for though Man is a sociable Creature and delighted with Humane Conversation yet in this degenerate State nothing is a greater endearment than our mutual Dependence upon each other that we cannot live single and apart because we want a great many things which the Skill and Labour of other Men must supply us with Now this obliges us to the exercise of all friendly and sociable Vertues brings us under Government without which Humane Societies cannot subsist and this lays great Restraints upon the Lusts of Men and by a strict Discipline trains them up to the practice of Moral Vertues which is a good means to correct the Degeneracy of Humane Nature it inspires us with Principles of Love and Humanity of Justice and Charity and softens and polishes our Natures by the mutual Endearments of Conversation it makes us Friends to Mankind gives us a sence of Injuries and an Abhorrence of them and which is more then this it gives publick Countenance and Encouragement to Religion for Publick Government must encourage Religion because Religion is its greatest Defence and Support and this makes some Men sincerely Religious and Devout and forces some external signs of Honour from those who have little sence or reverence of a Deity which though it does no good to them is for the advantage of the World So that this Curse in the necessary Consequences of it is the greatest Blessing to Mankind which is an abundant Justification of the Wisdom and Goodness of God in it A more easie State of Life did better become a State of Innocence but since the Fall such an easie careless unconcerned Life would have sunk him lower into Sensuality and made his Recovery more desperate and hopeless It were easie to give many Instances of this nature to justifie the Divine Wisdom and Goodness in such passages of
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
the hands of wicked Spirits for the Devil is the Prince of the Power of the Air the great Tempter of Men while they live and their Tormenter when they die whoever is so far rejected by God as to be delivered up to the power of wicked Spirits without any restraint on their Malice and Cruelty as wicked Men are when they die need no other Punishment till the Day of Judgement when they together with the Devil and his Angels shall be cast into utter Darkness where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth for ever more We know what cruel Tyranny the Devil exercised upon the Pagan World who so devoutly worshipped him and what then must the Case be of those wretched Souls who are delivered to him by God as their Jaylor and Tormentor till the Day of Judgment I will not say this is the Case though it seems no improbable Account oâ— it but if it be and thus it may be before Christ comes to judge the World you must all confess that to have the Devil for our Tormentor is the very next degree to being tormented with the Devil and his Angels But yet this is not a final Judgment the last Sentence is not pronounced against them and though I doubt not but most bad Men as certainly know what their Doom will be as the Devils themselves do yet there is reason to think that some bad Men as bad Men we see are very apt to flatter themselves with vain Hopes in this World and may do so in the next for ought we know are still in hopes of finding Mercy at the Day of Judgment when Christ comes to judge the World for if they knew themselves under a final and irreversible Sentence there can be no account given why at the last Day they should put in any Plea for themselves or sue for Mercy and yet thus our Saviour represents it In that day many will say unto me Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name cast out devils and in thy â—ame done many wonderful works And then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity Matth. 22 23. And thus in the Description of the last Judgment when he shall say to them on the left hand Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels For I was an hungred and ye gave me no meat I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink I was a stranger and ye took me not in naked and ye clothed me not sick and in prison and ye visited me not Then shall they answer him Lord when saw we thee an hungred or a thirst or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister unto thee 25 Matth. 41 42 43 44. Now it is not imaginable that these Men at the last Day of Judgment should make any of these Plea's had they been judged and condemned and the final Sentence passed on them before The sum is this That Mankind shall not be finally judged till Christ comes to judge the World but yet good Men are in a State of Happiness and bad Men in a State of Punishment and Misery that very good Men as they are happy at present so they have the joyful Expectations of the Day of Judgment when they shall be finally rewarded and received into the immediate Presence of God in Heaven and that very bad Men besides the Miseries which they at present suffer have the terrible Prospect of a Future Judgment when they know they shall be condemned to endless Miseries 3. There is this farther to be added That according to that account the Scripture gives us of this matter though bad Men shall be miserable and good Men happy as soon as they go out of these Bodies yet bad Men shall not be condemned to Hell nor good Men received into Heaven till the Day of Judgment There is no great difficulty in proving this since the Rewards of good Men and the Punishments of the wicked that is their final Rewards and Punishments or Heaven or Hell are throughout the New Testament referred to the Day of Judgment This our Saviour expresly tells us 13 Matth. 41 42 43. The Son of man shall send forth his angels that is at the end of the World v. 39. and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and them which work iniquity and shall cast them into a furnace of fire there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth Then shall the righteous shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father But there is no need of any other Proof of this but that at the Day of Judgment good Men shall be received into Heaven and bad Men condemned to Hell 25 Matth. And if good Men were in Heaven before it is very strange that they should be brought out of Heaven to be judged and to be received into Heaven again with greater Authority and Solemnity and if bad Men were in Hell before it seems as strange that they should be fetched out of Hell to be more solemnly condemned thither again this would be thought a very odd kind of Proceeding among Men and we have no reason to suspect this of GOD's Judgment As for bad Men they are to be cast into the Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels and therefore it is not likely they should be cast into this Fire before the Devil himself is and yet the Scripture assures us that at present he is the Prince of the Power of the Air the Spirit that now worketh in the Children of Disobedience 2 Eph. 2. And St. Peter tells us That God spared not these angels that sinned but cast them down into hell and delivered them into the chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment 2 Pet. 2.4 which is very ill translated for if they were cast down into Hell how are they reserved for the Day of Judgment for what worse Judgment can they undergo than to be cast into Hell But the words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 casting them down into Chains of Darkness for so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies only to cast down that is those Angels who formerly inhabitated the AEthereal Regions where there was perpetual Light were for their Sin cast down into this darksome Region of Air where the clearest Light is Smoke and Darkness in comparison with those brighter Regions from whence they fell for the Devil is the Prince of the Power of the Air and they are called Chains of Darkness because by the Decree of God they can go no farther cannot ascend higher to those Regions of Light again and here they are reserved till the Judgement of the last Day While our Saviour was on Earth it is plain that these evil Spirits were not confined to Hell for they possessed the Bodies of Men and very much complained that Christ came to torment them before their time 8 Matth.
clothed him with their own Weaknesses and Passions made him either a Tyrant and a Devil or such a tame easie fond Being as Men may make bold with without danger others prophane his Name corrupt his Worship or neglect and despise it some think themselves too big to serve God others too little to be observed by him some ridicule his Laws others take no notice of them and there are very few who are sincere Worshippers of him and acknowledge and submit to his Authority and Power and when God has been so much dishonoured in the World I think it is very fit that when he judges the World he should vindicate his own Glory make it publick and visible and force all his Creatures to own and confess it and the most effectual way to do this is by summoning all Mankind before him and judging them according to their Works Thus we see what reason there is with respect to God why he should not judge Men singly and send them privately and silently to Heaven or Hell but appoint a general Day of Judgment II. There is great reason for this too with respect to Men both to good and to bad Men for this is part of the Reward of Vertue and of the Punishment of Vice Many good Men have been used with the utmost Contempt and Scorn if they cannot comply with their Company and do as their Neighbours do if they boggle at popular and fashionable Vices they are gazed on as so many Comets and Prodigies and would be contented to be gazed on were they as far out of the reach of danger too as those Meteors are some call them Fools others Knaves and Hypocrites and treat them accordingly and is it not fit that God should vindicate these Men who have suffered Infamy and Reproach for his sake that he should publickly own them applaud and reward their Vertue And what a glorious Vindication is this if we can but have patience to expect it what a little contemptible Scene is this World nay this little Corner of the World where we live for whether we be praised or reproached it is likely we are never heard of out of the Parish and Neighbourhood or City oâ— Kingdom where we live and can't we be contented to let a whole Parish or City or Kingdom despise us to be publickly owned by God in the General Assembly of Men and Angels Good Men do a great many good actions privately which few or none are conscious to but God and themselves and therefore they lose the Praise which is due to such secret Vertues in this World but our Saviour has promised that such Men shall have praise of God that if we Pray and Fast and give Alms in secret Our Fâ—ther which seeth in secret shall reward 〈◊〉 openly 6 Matth. And this is a great encouragement to the practice of the moâ—â— secret Vertues that we shall be openly towarded for them Good Men are many times great Sufferers in this World are not only reproached but persecuted lose their Estates their Liberties their Lives foâ— Christ's sake and though God has strictly forbid them to avenge themselves yet he will execute Vengeance on their Enemies and do it publickly and make them the Spectators and Witnesses of it On the other hand Wickedness is many times very glorious and triumphant in this World is so far from suffering Shame which is the just Reward of it that it is applauded and courted and the greatest Prodigies of Wickedness are adored for their prosperous Villanies but yet Shame is the just Reward of Sin and it must have it at one time or other and nothing can more effectually cast Shame and Contempt upon Sinners then a General Judgment when they shall be publickly arraigned and condemned in the great Assembly of Men and Angels This will confound the most glorious Sinner who never blushed before for though while bad Men are supported with Power or are the most numerous Party and can out Vote and out Laugh the rest of the World they can secure themselves against the sence of Shame yet when they appear before such a Judge and have their Villanies exposed to all the World when they are stript of their Riches and Honours and Power and see all their Admirers and Companions past Laughing and Flattery and themselves despised and scorned by God and his holy Saints and Angels and condemned to everlasting Miseries it will then be impossible for them any longer to glory in their Shame Confusion will then cover their Faces and it would be thought very mercifâ—l to be damned privately without seeing their Judge and being exposed to publick Scorn and Censure Thus there are a great many wicked things done privately and concealed from the Eyes of Men and many times gildeâ— over with a form and counterfeit appearance of Religion and such secret Villaiâ— not only escape publick Shame but 〈◊〉 thought very extraordinary Men and great Saints now it is very fitting that such Men also should have their Masquâ— and Disguise taken off and be exposed to the View of the World just as they are and this God will do in that Day wheâ— he will judge the Secrets of Mens Hearts and bring to light the hidden Works oâ— Darkness And then what will it avaâ—â— them to pass for Saints in this World when at the Day of Judgment they shalâ— be known and be doubly scorned botâ— for their Wickedness and for their Hypocrisie What a severe Aggravation will it be of the Condemnation of the Wicked to see good Men whom they despised and persecuted whose Lives they thought Folly and Madness now owned and rewarded by God as our Saviour speaks To see them come from the East and from the West from the North and from the South and sit down with Abraham Isaac and Iacob in the kingdom of God and themselves sâ—ut out This will be a confounding Sight at that Day and as little as such Men now value Heaven to see the bright and dazling Crowns of those blessed Saints will pierce their Souls and wound them to Eternity This justifies the Wisdom of God in appointing a general Day of Judgment to reward good Men and to condemn the wicked but there is one good natured Objection against this which respects good Men for there are few good Men but may have some very wicked Relations who yet are very dear to them and how can they bear to be Witnesses of their final Condemnation to hear that Sentence pronounced on them Go ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels We tremble at the thoughts of it now and one would think it should over-cast the Glory of that Day to such blessed Saints to see such a terrible Execution upon those who were so dear to them but this is such a Mistake as the Sadduces Objection against the Resurrection concerning the woman who had had seven husbands whose wife she should be of the seven at the resurrection for they
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
with all the Festival Expressions of Joy will not immediately turn him out of his Family to seek his Fortune No Christ has shed his Blood for us all and the more he saves the greater Reward he has of his Sufferings the more numerous his Train and Retinue of redeemed Souls is and Numbers add to the Glory of the Triumph this may convince all Mankind how merciful our Judge will be and if we must be judged at all could God do more for us then to appoint the Man Christ Jesus who is our Saviour to be our Judge But then consider on the other hand what a terrible thing will it be to be condemned by the Man Christ Jesus the Saviour of the World What Tumults and Convulsions of Thoughts must such Sinners labour under they must be Self-condemned they must feel all the Agonies of Guilt and Despair for if they could reasonably excuse themselves or the most merciful Man in the World could excuse them their Judge would excuse them too I know not how to bear the thoughts of this the very imagination of it amazes and confounds me to be damned is a tolerable Punishment in comparison of being damned by the Saviour of the World And might I have been saved will such a Sinner say did my Saviour who is now my Judge a terrible Judge shed his his Blood for me did he purchase Heaven for me and does he now condemn me to Hell and deservedly too against his own inclinations though he lose the Purchase of his Blood by it O Wretch that I am might I have been saved and must I be damned and damned by the Saviour of the World What Fury and Passion will accompany these thoughts is not to be expressed by words and I pray GOD none of us may ever feel it 3. Another thing which made it so fitting and congruous that the Son of Man should Judge the World is that he will be a visible Judge It is very fitting the World should be visibly judged for without this all the Pomp and Triumph of Judgment nay some of the principal Ends of Judgment are lost God judges the World in so publick a manner to convince the World of his Power and Justice and Goodness in the final Destruction of all bad Men and the final Rewards of Vertue and therefore this must be a visible Judgment and then there must be a visible Judgment-seat and a visible Judge a visible Glory and Power bad Men must know for what they are judged and see the Hand that executes Vengeance on them or for ought I know they might go Atheists and Infidels to Hell and see no more of God in a fired World then they do in Plague or Sword or Famine or such other Judgments as God sends upon the Earth they might curse their hard Fate but neither accuse themselves nor own the Divine Power and Justice and could they sink into Hell without owning the Being and Justice of God or acknowledging their own Guilt and Deserts and accusing themselves as the Authors of their own Misery and Destruction God would lose the Glory of his Justice and Power and Hell itself would be a very tolerable place to Sinners there would be Fire there to burn them but no Worm to gnaw their Consciences no inward Furies to torment them the Justice of the last Judgment which will stop the Mouths of Sinners and make them confess their own Guilt and Deserts will make the Flames of Hell so furiously rage and devour So that it is necessary that the last Judgment should be executed by a visible Judge that it may not be thought the Effect of Chance and Accident or Fate but the Result of the Divine Wisdom and Counsel that the World may see and know that God is come to Judge them and to take Vengeance on all the Workers of Iniquity and this also makes the Son of Man a very proper Judge of Mankind because he is a visible God and can appear in a visible Glory and as visibly Judge the World as any Earthly Prince or Judge when he ascends the Judgment-seat This will be the Glory of that Day to see the visible Appearance of the Son of Man in the Clouds of Heaven attended with Myriads of Angels to his Throne of Glory where he sits incircled with the Heavenly Host and all Mankind standing before his Tribunal expecting their final Doom from his Mouth Good Lord how will such a Sight as this affect us could we but paint a lively Image and Representation of Judgment upon our Fancies how would it warm our Hearts how would it disparage all the pompous Pageantry of this World how would it revive the Spirits of good Men inspire them with Courage and Resolution with Zeal and Activity in serving Christ looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearance of the great God and our Saviour Iesus Christ What terror would the thoughts of it strike into Sinners how would it cool the heat of Lust how would it make their Countenance change and loosen the Joynts of their Loyns and make their Knees knock one against another like the Hand writing upon the Wall while they are carousing in their full Bowls and drinking away the Thoughts of God and Judgment Who can possibly conceive the Joy and Exultation of that Day when good Men shall see their Lord coming in the Clouds of Heaven clothed with a Humane Body but bright and glorious as the Sun a Body which still retains the Marks of his Sufferings and the Tokens of his Love How will it transport us to see him whom our Soul loveth to see him whom we have so passionately longed and desired to see to see him whom we love though we have not seen him To see him I say not as the Shepherds did a poor helpless Infant wrapped in Swadling-clouts and lying in a Manger to see him not arraigned for a Malefactor nor hanging in a shameful manner upon the Cross but to see him in all his Majesty and Glory to see him a Triumphant Conqueror and Judge to see him with Crowns and Laurels in his hands and in him to see the Certainty of our Faith the Completion of our Hopes the Rewards of our Patience and Sufferings and our final Conquest over Death and Hell O joyful Day when this Royal Bridegroom shall come in the Glory of his Father to meet his Spouse the Church to conduct her to his Father's House there to see and there to partake in his Glory and never to part more Methinks I see holy and devout Souls in the highest Raptures and Extasies of Joy embracing and comforting one another at the appearance of their Lord Here comes the Blessed Jesus it is he himself the true Image of God the very Brightness of his Father's Glory This is that blessed Day we have so long expected and hoped for let us go forth and meet him let us hasten into the Embraces of our Saviour He is come to Judgment but let those
to have their whole Lives to unlive again to abhor themselves for what they have done and to look forward with trembling into the other World for such late Penitents generally carry the Marks of their Repentance in Shame and Sorrow to the Grave with them All this Young Men may prevent if they will but think of Judgment in their Youth and govern their Lives under a sence of it This will make them remember their Creator in the days of their youth and consecrate their tender Age to his Service it will preserve them from youthful Lusts from all enormous Crimes and give them the humble Assurance and Confidence of dutiful Children in their Addresses to God when they draw near a conclusion of their Lives they review their past Victories over the World and the Flesh with the securest Triumphs The little Follies and Indiscretions and Miscarriages which the best Men are subject to will keep them humble and teach them to trust only in the Merits and Intercession of Christ but when they have made it the whole business of their Lives to please God though with the common Weaknesses and Infirmities of Humane Nature they feel great Peace of Mind and assurance of the Love of God and the nearer their Work is to an end the more securely they triumph What a happy State shall we think this when Death and Judgment are in view to feel so sweâ—â—â— Calm in our Breasts to have so joyful a Prospect before us And who would not think of Judgment when he is young that the hope and expectation of it may be the Comfort and Support of Age that then he may review his past Life not to undo what he has done but to tast the Pleasures and to reap the Rewards of it in present Peace of Mind and great Hopes 2 ly There is another Advantage which Young Men may make of the early thoughts of Judgment which old Sinners have lost and can never retrieve by all their Repentance viz. To make great Advances and Attainments in Piety and Vertue which will greatly augment their Reward Men who sin on till old Age though they prove true Penitents at last can never recover this for their time is past and their youthful Strength and Vigour spent and the Scene of Action over they can never re-call thirty or forty Years past in which if they had improved their time well they might have done great Service to God and to Religion and great good to Men but those who are beginning their Lives if they start right at first and pursue an even and steady Course of Piety and Vertâ—â— if they keep the Future Judgment and the next World always in their Eye what Improvements will they make what rich Treasures and glorious Rewards may they expect from that Righteous Judge who will render to every Man according to his Works The most that a Penitent can expect after a long Life spent in Wickedness and Folly is to get to Heaven and it is infinite Mercy in God to accept of such Penitents but the bright and dazling Crowns are reserved for those who have spent their Lives well and glorified God on Earth and finished the Work he gave them to do such Men will triumph at the Conclusion of their Race and Warfare as St. Paul did I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness I know this will not affect those Men now who love their Sins and desire to keep them as long as they can they will be very well satisfied if they can but get to Heaven at last how mean soever their Station be there for they are not so desirous to go to Heaven as to escape Hell and if they can but keep out of Hell it is all they hope for but Men must have a greater Spirit a more Divine and Generous Temper of Soul before they can get to Heaven If ever they prove true Penitents the loss of so many opportunities of doing Good and the loss of any degrees of Glory they might have had will both shame and afflict them I am sure the greater Rewards we expect in the other World the greater degrees of Glory and Happiness the greater will our Joy and Triumph be Are not Men in this World as fond of Happiness as they are afraid of Misery Does not a great Mind despise little things and aim at what is great And is there not as much reason to aim at the highest Happiness we are capable of in the next World as well as in this This is the noble Prize I would propoâ—e to Young Men You are now beginning your Race your Day is but in its Dawn if you rise with the Sun and work hard all day and spend your whole Lives in God's Service what a great deal of work will you do and what a proportionably great Reward will you have This you will do if you make the Thoughts of Judgment familiar to you this will keep a constant Guard upon your Actions this will excite and quicken your Industry this will make you stedfast unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord as knowing that your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. CHAP. VI. For what we shall be Iudged VI. LET us now enquire What we are to be judged for And the general Answer to this is very plain That we must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to what he hath done whether it be good or bad 2 Cor. 5.10 That is we shall be judged for all the Good and Evil we have done This is obvious to all Men and acknowledged by all who believe a Judgement and it may be thought impertinent to prove that we shall be judged for such or such particular Crimes when it is universally confessed that we shall be judged for all But as I observed under the former Head though all Men who believe a Future Judgment profess also to believe that all Men shall be judged yet some Men are very apt to forget it and to flatter themselves that they shall escape better than others so it is here Though Men will in general acknowledge that we must give an account of whatever we have done in the Body yet there are a great many things which in themselves are very great Crimes and yet many Men think there is no account to be given of them I shall not instance in particular Sins though a great many such there are which few Men take any great notice of but shall confine myself to what is of a more General Nature for Particulars would be endless I. First then we must remember we shall be judged for our Ignorance which some Men are so far from suspecting that they take Sanctuary in their Ignorance to Skreen them from the Judgment of GOD. If they can but keep out the Light they
have peace with God through our Lord Iesus Christ. By grace you are saved tbrough faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God not of works least any man should boast Not by works of righteousness which we have done but by grace hath he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost But then it is as plain on the other hand that God will render to every man according to his deeds that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive the things done in the body according to what we have done whether it be good or bad That Christ will condemn all wicked Christians whatever their Faith be Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven Many will say to me in that day Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name cast out devils and in thy name done many wonderful works and then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity What shall we say then to this matter both these Propositions must be allowed to be undoubtedly true We are justified by Faith we are saved by Grace without the Works of the Law and we shall be judged according to our works and shall receive what we have done in this body whether good or evil That is we are justified by faith justified freely by God's grace through the redemption which is in Christ Iesus and through faith in his blood and yet shall be condemned at the last Judgment if we live wickedly This is a matter of very great consequence to be plainly stated because a great many Christians encourage themselves in sin with vain hopes and eternally perish by a presumptuous Faith and Reliance on Christ. I. Now in the first place that whatever mistakes or misapprehensions Men may have about the nature of Faith and Justification may not endanger their Souls by encouraging them in sin I observe that we must reconcile the Doctrine of Justification by Faith without Works to our being judged by our Works not expound away the Doctrine of our being judged according to our Works to reconcile it to our Notions of Justification by Faith And there are manifest Reasons for this 1. Because it is as expresly taught in Scripture that we shall be judged by our Works as it is that we are justified by Faith and therefore we must not oppose our Justification by Faith to our being judged by our Works for that is not to expound Scripture but to confute one Scripture Doctrine by another to prove that we shall not be judged by our Works though the Scripture says we shall because the Scripture also teaches that we are justified by Faith without Works Now if it be allowable to reject any Scripture Doctrine or to confute one Doctrine by â—â—other we may with as good reason 〈◊〉 them both by each other and belâ—â—â—â— neither for if they can't be reconciled but we must deny one our being judged by our Works does as plainly prove that we are not justified by Faith without Works as Justification by Faith proves that we shall not be judged by our Works We must distinguish between expounding and reconciling Scripture and confuting it and therefore whatever we believe about Justification by Faith we must still confess we shall be judged by our Works For 2. There is great reason to expound Justification by Faith by our being judged by Works because when we are told in Scripture That God will render to us according to our deeds that every man must receive the things done in his body according to what he hath done whether it be good or bad These are plain proper expressions without any Figure or Metaphor in them and therefore are capable of no other sence than what the words at first view signifie We shall receive what we have done if we have done good we shall be rewarded if we have done evil we shall be punished good Men shall be received into Heaven and all wicked Men even wicked Believers as well as wicked Infidels shall 〈◊〉 cast into Hell this every Child understands to be the meaning of these Words and no other sence can be made of them and therefore since this is so plainly and so frequently taught in Scripture whatever we believe else we must believe this if we believe the Scripture But now when we read of being justified by Faith without Works every word is capable of very different sences and we know is expounded very differently by learned Men according to the different Hypothesis they intend to serve by it and then we must confess it is not so certain what is meant by Justification by Faith without Works as what is meant by being judged according to our Works at least so much must be allowed that we must prefer that sence of Justification by Faith which agrees with our being judged by our Works before any other interpretation which contradicts or overthrows this plain sence of a Future Judgment As for instance Some by justifying understand making just and righteous that to justifie the ungodly is to make a wicked Man good by the power and efficacy of Faith but then to justifie the ungodly without the Works of the Law or to make a wicked Man good without good Works does not found very well and therefore others more reasonably and more agreeably to Scripture understand justifying in a forensick sence for absolving acquitting declaring and accounting Men just and righteous and treating them as such that is imputing righteousness to them though in a strict and proper sence they are not inherently righteous And then this forensick Justification may either signifie our being justified at Baptism when by the profession of our Faith we are incorporated by Baptism into Christ's Church and are made the Members of his Mystical Body and have all our sins washed away in his Blood and come pure and innocent out of the laver of Regeneration and thus the most ungodly Sinners are justified by Faith in Baptism without Works or any antecedent righteousness of their own or else this Justification may be extended to the Future Judgment that at the last Day of Account we shall be justified acquitted absolved rewarded by Faith without Works but this does not agree very well with our being judged and receiving according to our Works the Scripture expresly teaches that we are justified by Faith without Works and that we shall be judged by our Works but never saith we shall be judged by our Faith which seems to make a great difference between being justified and being judged for if we are justified without Works and judged by our Works justified by Faith without Works but not judged not acquitted and rewarded by Faith without Works to be justified and to be judged cannot signifie the same
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
have Treasure in Heaven 19 Mat. 21. What is the meaning of this Does the Gospel preach Merit to us must we merit forgiveness by forgiving must we purchase Heaven with our Money Every body sees that this can be no Purchase because there is no Proportion in the value but though Charity cannot merit our Pardon yet it deserves some favour to be shewn it and God will be merciful to those who shew mercy though our Alms and Works of Charity cannot merit Heaven yet they make us Friends as our Saviour speaks and such Friends as will receive us into Everlasting Habitations They will make God and Christ our Friend who will bestow Heaven on us not as the Merit of our Works but out of Grace and Favour which such Acts of Charity deserve This is a plain account why our Saviour in the last Judgment takes notice of no other Works but Acts of Charity and shews us how we may be judged by our Works and pardoned and rewarded by Grace and if this will not convince us of the necessity of Charity it is in vain to urge any other Arguments 2 dly Another Rule and that a very righteous Rule of Judgment is that God will judge us according to our Receipts as our Saviour expresly tells us To whomsoever much is given of them shall much be required and to whom men have committed much of him they will ask the more 12 Luke 48. As for the righteousness and equity of this our Saviour's Appeals to the Practice of Mankind they think it very reasonable to ask the more of him to whom they have committed much And we have no reason to complain of God if he deals with us as we think it just and reasonable to deal with one another There is no need to prove the righteousness of this Rule which all Men own and confess but the consequence of it deserves to be considered by Christians who have received so much more from God than the rest of Mankind have done for by this Rule at the Day of Judgment more will be required of us than of the rest of the World as we have received more Very few Christians seem to think of this they pity the rest of the World who they say are under the Law and a Covenant of Works by which no Man can be justified who is a Sinner as all Men are and therefore their Salvation is desperate but a little matter will save a Christian if he be a true Believer if they are but sorry for their sins and confess and bewail them before God as often as they commit them and trust in the Merits and Righteousness of Christ nay if they do but retract their wicked Lives with some dying Groans and Resolutions of living well when they know they can live no longer if they wish they had lived better when they come to die and promise that they would live better if they could live over their Lives again this will secure their Salvation and this is the glorious Priviledge they enjoy by being Christians this is Gospel-Grace this is the Purchase of Christ's Blood But not to enter into this Dispute which I have said enough of already certainly these Men are mistaken and these vain hopes will deceive them if our Saviour's Rule be true That to whom much is given of them shall be much required For has not God given more to us than he has to the rest of the World And is that a reason why he should ask less Let us briefly consider what God has done more for us than he has done for the rest of the World and see whether what God has done more for us does excuse us from any part of our Duty or rather whether it does not exact a more perfect Vertue from us The Gospel of Christ has given us a more perfect knowledge of the Will of God and of our Duty to him nay has given us a more perfect Law and Rule of Life has in many instances advanced our Duty above what the Law of Nature or the Law of Moses required at least above what the generality of Men thought they did require Now is this a reason why God should excuse us from doing our Duty because we know it better than other Men Or why God should expect less from us than from other Men because we know more This is directly contrary to what our Saviour tells us That servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes but he that knew not and did things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes 12 Luke 47 48. This seems a hard saying that he which knew not should be beaten at all but our Saviour does not by this understand a total ignorance but an imperfect knowledge which will excuse Men from such parts of their Duty as they were ignorant of if this ignorance was not their own fault but the more we know the more is our Duty enlarged and therefore as our Knowledge increases our Account must encrease with it and that will increase our punishment if we know the Will of God and disobey it Is there any use of Knowledge but to direct our Lives And could God then intend any thing in revealing his Will to us but that we should obey it The Jews had these vain Conceits they boasted in Circumcision and in their Knowledge of the Law and condemned the Heathen World for those sins which they themselves securely committed as if they should be saved in their sins because they knew the Law which forbids them but the ignorant Heathens should be damned for theirs But St. Paul very sharply and sarcastically exposes the folly of this in the Second Chapter to the Romans throughout the whole Chapter which I would desire you seriously to read and consider and then I need add no more about it The Gospel gives us a more abundant assurance of a future State and of the Rewards and Punishments of it than the World had before for life and immortality is brought to light by the Gospel and the more certain our Faith and Knowledge is of another World in all reason it may be expected to work more powerfully upon our Minds to conquer all the Temptations of this Life to terrifie us from every thing that is wicked to make us steadfast unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord as knowing that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord 1 Cor. 15.58 The certainty of Faith is the strength and vigour of the Mind and therefore every new degree of evidence requires proportionable degrees of resolution activity caution and circumspection in doing our Duty and as this is reasonable to be expected so God does expect it from us The times of ignorance God winked at but now commandeth all men every where to repent because he hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness by that man