the Prophets about this matter And though it cannot be denyed but that many Christians deceive themselves with the same vain hopes yet this is much more unpardonable in them because God has given a more undeniable proof of the evil of Sin and his irrecoverable displeasure against it then either Iews or Heathens had For can there be a more certain evidence of the evil of Sin than the Death of Christ He dyed for Sin and as the Apostle speaks condemned sin in the flesh 8 Rom. 3. Not only condemned Sin by his excellent Sermons wise Exhortations sharp Reproofs and terrible Threatnings while he lived in the Flesh but by dying in the Flesh by offering up his Body a Sacrifice for Sin Whatever Christ suffered was not upon his own Personal account but for Sin and therefore what he suffered was the just demerit of Sin or else he ought not to have suffered it in him God shews us what our Sins deserve Infamy Reproach and utmost Scorn and Contempt the Agonies of the Mind the Pain and Torments of the Body and Death it self it was Sin that was Crucified that was exposed to all this Shame and Suffering in the Person of our Saviour and therefore in his Sufferings we have a lively Image of the Evil and Deserts of Sin which is a more convincing and satisfactory Evidence then the fine and subtile Reasonings of Philosophy which some Men cannot understand and which none but purified Minds can feel And though God declared his great love to Sinners in giving his own Son to dye for them yet hereby also he expressed his irreconcileable hatred against Sin Sinners may be reconciled to God by the Death of Christ but Sin never can that is Condemned is Crucified in the Death of Christ. Christ expiated Sin and reconciles Sinners by killing and destroying Sin by putting it to shame and Death upon his own Cross And this is the Method of our reconciliation to God in Conformity to the Death of Christ we must be crucified with Christ must be planted into the likeness of his Death that is we must crucifie Sin in us we must crucifie the flesh with its affections and lusts we must die to sin the body of sin must be destroyed that we may no longer serve sin for he that is dead is freed from sin as St. Paul Argues 6 Rom. and in several other places And do we need any other proof of God's hatred of Sin than that he gave his own Son to be a Sacrifice for Sin that Christ could not expiate our Sins without undergoing that Infamy and Scorn and Pain and Death which is the desert of Sin that the Death and Destruction of Sin is represented in that very Sacrifice which expiates our Sins and must be acted over again in us in the real Crucifixion and Death of Sin before we can have any Interest in the Expiation of Christ's Death And can there be a more powerful Disswasive from Sin than this Thus it is a mighty encouragement to Repent of our Sins and forsake them to be assured of Pardon and Forgiveness if we do Now whatever Reasons Iews and Heathens had to hope for Pardon upon their Repentance it is certain they had not that assurance which the Death and Sacrifice of Christ gives us We have now an express Covenant of Grace and Pardon sealed with the Blood of Christ who is that lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world and God cannot condemn repenting Sinners without denying the purchase of Christ's Blood that precious Blood of infinite Price and Value that Blood which our great High Priest hath carried into the Holy of Holies and which there pleads the Pardon of penitent Sinners at the Throne of Grace God cannot deny himself cannot deny his own Covenant cannot deny his Sons Blood which speaketh better things then the blood of Abel cannot deny our great High Priest who appeareth in the presence of God for us who died for us and now liveth for ever to make intercession for us and he who wants greater security than this must tell us what greater security Sinners can have then the Oath and Covenant of God and the Blood and Intercession of Christ. When I consider this matter with what infinite Wisdom God has contrived the Redemption of Sinners to cure the degeneracy of our Natures and to raise us to a perfect Vertue to bind us faster to himself in those soft and charming Fetters of Love to spur us forward with all the Zeal and Impetus that Hope and Fear and Indignation and Love the Passions and Paroxysmes of a divine inflamed Love can give us it amazes me to think that any Christians should flatter themselves that Faith in Christ will save them without Works that there is less need for them to be so exact and circumspect in their Lives that sin is not so damning a thing now since Christ has made atonement for it and reconciled God to Sinners as it was before Had they no Saviour indeed it would concern them to be very good when they must merit for themselves had they not such a meritorious Sacrifice for Sin and such a powerful High-Priest it would be a very dangerous thing to commit sin but now Christ has Righteousness and Merit enough for us all and we need none of our own nothing but Faith to apply his Righteousness to us Christ has pulled out the Sting of Sin that it cannot greatly hurt it cannot kill a Believer though it may slightly wound him a 〈◊〉 and draw some Tears of Repentance from him and that heals all again This if any thing in the World is to turn the grace of God into lasciviousness to be wicked because God is good to sin because grace does abound whose damnation is just I beseech you for the love of Christ and for the Honour of his Undertaking of his Death and Intercession for us to consider this a little better Consider what the Gospel teaches us to believe of Christ and how absurd and contradictious it is to say that such a Faith will save us without holiness and purity of heart and life Do you not believe 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 Titus 14. And is it reasonable to think that our believing this will save us unless we be redeemed from all iniquity unless we be purified unless we be a people zealous of good works If Christ saves those who are not redeemed from all iniquity who are not purified who are not zealous of good works it is certain he must save those for whom he did not give himself or must save them contrary to his own intention of giving himself for them but however to believe that Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity does not seem to be such a Faith if our Faith be true as will justifie us without being redeemed from all
Providence against all the Reproaches and evil Surmizes of Men for he will appear just when he judgeth and overcome when 〈◊〉 contendeth Let us not disturb our Heâ—â—â— with such Difficulties as we cannot understand now we know enough to believe that God is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works enough to makâ— us devout Worshippers of God and tâ— enquire farther is a dangerous Curiosity like looking into the Ark of God SECT IX â—ifth Inference To affect our Souls with a strong and vigorous and constant Sence of Iudgment V. SInce it is certain that GOD will Judge the World let us endeavour by all means possible to affect our Souls with a strong and vigorous and constant Sence of Judgment The Belief of a Future Judgment is worth little when it ends in Speculation the use of it is to govern our Lives and to prepare us to give a good Account of ourselves to God since we know that he will demand an Account of us but a meer Belief that we shall be judged will not do this unless we affect our Souls with a Sence of Judgment The Experience of the World and our own Experience of ourselves does sufficiently prove this we all profess to believe a Future Judgment and most of us do heartily believe it and yet there are too many among us who give little reason to the World to think they believe it who commit those Sins every day for which they know God will damn them when they come to Judgment which one would think those who believe they shall be judged could never do so 〈◊〉 a meer Belief of a Future Judgment 〈◊〉 not govern Mens Lives but then 〈◊〉 very Men when they are awakened 〈◊〉 a Dread and Fear of Judgment feel 〈◊〉 Vertue and Power of it on their Hearâ— it makes them hate their Sins and 〈◊〉 themselves for them it makes them 〈◊〉 devout and importunate in their Pâ—â—â—ers very sincere and passionate in their Repentance very resolved to forsake all thâ—â—â— Sins and to live a new Life and thâ—â—â—fore if we would have the Belief of a Future Judgment make us good Men 〈◊〉 must not only believe it but affect oâ—â— Souls with a great Sence of it which iâ— true of all the other Arguments and Motives of Religion as well as of a Futurâ— Judgment The proper Enquiry then here is How we shall awaken and preserve such a poâ—erful Sence of Judgment in our Minds Now the only general Direction thâ—â— can be given is Frequently to Thinâ— and Meditate on a Future Judgment foâ— nothing can affect our Minds but ouâ— Thoughts which make the Object present and give us a near View of it 〈◊〉 it is in the Objects of Sence the Eye affects the Heart and excites and moveâ— the Affections more than all the Arguments in the World if we look stedfastly upon a terrible and frightful Object it will strike Terrour into us if upon a pleasant and beautiful Object it will excite Love and Delight if upon a miserable Object it will affect us with a tender Compassion to see Men in great Want and Misery will melt and open that Heart which was hardened and shut against all the Arguments and Motives to Charity and long and frequent Consideration will have much the same effect on us that Sight has Judgment is a terrible thing to bad Men and if they would but seriously think of it it would terrifie them if they would but imagine sometimes that they heard that last-Trumpet sound which will awaken all-Mankind and raise them out of their Graves and summon them to Iudgement that they saw the Son of Man descend from Heaven attended with his mighty Angels to execute Vengeance on all them who know not God and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Iesus Christ that they saw the Earth all in flames about them and Hell opening her Mouth wide to receive them that they saw the Books opened and those Sins recorded which they had forgot and the Secrets of their Hearts disclosed and that they heard that terrible Sentence Go ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels do yâ—â— think that any Man who believes all this and would suffer himself seriously to think of it could bear up against the Terrour of it or that with these Thoughts about him he could court a Strumpet or spend his Time in Revels and Excess or Blâ—spheme God and Ridicule Religion or Cheat his Neighbour or Oppress the Poor and Fatherless or Forswear himself Noâ— we see this cannot be as often as we see â— miserable Sinner whose awakened Conscience distracts him with all these Scenes and Images of Terrour So that serious Consideration would make a Future Judgment very effectual to govern our Lives but the great Difficulty of all is to bring Men to consider and yet one would think it impossible that a reasonable Creature should not consider that he must be judged But so it is and there is no disputing against Experience and yet it is so dangerous and fatal a Neglect that it concerns us to enquire into the Causes and Remedies of it for could we Cure this it would quickly Reform the World give a new Resurrection to Piety and Vertue and secure Men from the Danger and Terrours of a Future Judgement Now there are two apparent Causes of this 1. That the Thoughts of Judgment are very uneasie and troublesome and that makes Men afraid and averse to think of it And 2. that Judgment is out of sight and they have nothing to mind them of it and their Thoughts are so taken up with other matters that they forget it unless they happen to hear a Sermon about it or some accidental mention of it which when they return to their worldly Affairs and Business they quickly forget again 1 st Men are very apt to avoid all Thoughts of Judgment because they are very uneasie and troublesome they startle at the mention of it at least do not love to talk too long nor think too seriously of it for it awakens their Consciences and makes them think what a sad Account they have to give how many things they have done and daily do which they can never answer to God when he comes to Judgment and therefore they choose to live quietly without disturbing themselves with such terrifying Reflections and the amazing Thoughts of what is to come Now methinks it is no hard thing to convince thinking Men of the Danger and Folly of this and to reconcile them to the Thoughts of Judgment For 1. To drive these Thoughts out of our Minds though it may give us present ease yet it will not mend our Accounts nor prevent our being judged God will judge us whether we will think of being judged or not were no Men to be judged but those who think of it there were as much reason to stupifie our Consciences and never to think of Judgment as there is for sick Men to take
and unriddle all the secret Mysteries of it when God comes to judge the World iâ— is to justifie himself as well as to judge Men for what St. Paul says is most properly applicable to the last Judgment Let God be true and every man a liar as it is written That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings and mightest overcome when thou art judged 3 Rom. 4. And St. Iude makes this one great end of the last Judgement The Lord shall come with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon all to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him Jude 14 15. How many such hard Speeches do we daily hear against the Divine Providence and how hard are good Men who know but little of the matter put to it to answer the Cavils and Reproaches of Atheists and Infidels we can indeed say enough in general to vindicate the Divine Wisdom and Justice and Goodness but there are a thousand particular Cases which seem very hard which we can say nothing to because we know nothing of them But when all the World shall be summoned before God's Tribunal all the Ages and Generations of Men we shall then have a perfect History of Providence and that will expound the Reasons of Things which are now obscure when we shall hear how every particular Man every Age and Generation of Men every Country and Nation have behaved themselves and how God dealt with them what Talents they were entrusted with and what Account they give then all Mouths will be stopped and the whole World will become guilty before God 3 Rom. 19. Then we shall see an entire Chain of Providences and all the various and intricate Turnings of the Divine Wisdom in its different Forms and Administrations but still within the Sphere and Circle of Justice and Goodness How shall we then admire God when we shall see all these wonderful and curious Scenes unfolded when we shall observe the gradual and regular Advances of Goodness in the several Ages of the World proportioned to the Wants and Capacities of Men till it came to the full Maturity and Perfection of Gospel-Grace what a delightful Prospect will this be to good Men how will it enlarge their Knowledge encrease their Wonder inflame their Devotions How will it confound bad Men especially all the prophane Scoffers at God and his Providence how will this aggravate and encrease their Torments that they will be forced to admire and justifie God in their own Damnation which must turn all their rage and fury upon themselves This is reason enough why God should judge the World all together to justifie himself to all his Creatures and to make a glorious Discovery of all the Wonders and Mysteries of his Grace and Providence good Men see enough at present to admire and praise God but now as St. Paul tells us We know in part and we prophesie in part but when that which is perfect is come then that which is in part shall be done away When I was a child I spake as a child I understood as a child I thought as a child but when I became a man I put away childish things For now we see through a glass darkly but then face to face now I know in part but then shall I know even as also I am known 1 Cor. 13.9 10 11 12. The Divine Wisdom will never appear so glorious as at the Day of Judgment because it will never be so perfectly known as then when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and admired in all them that believe 2 Thess. 1.10 What good Man would not long to see that blessed Day which will perfect his Soul with the Knowledge and Love and Admiration of God and give him such clear raised and divine Thoughts and Passions as are fit for Heaven and the immediate Presence of God whither he is a going what wise Man will not reselve to be very good that at that Day he may see the Glory of God with out Terrour and Astonishment with all those Raptures and Extasies with which such new and bright Appearances of the Divine Wisdom will fill the Soul 2. God summons all Mankind together to Judgment that Men and Angels may be Witnesses of his equal and impartial Justice We are all equally God's Creatures the Rich and the Poor the Honourable and the Vile and the Prince and the Subject are alike to him and Justice requires that they should be alike that the just Judge of the World should respect no Man's Person in Judgment Now there is no such way to convince all the World that God is an equal and impartial that is a very just and righteous Judge as to judge all the World together for then they themselves may see whether God be partial or not But there is a great deal more I mean by this for the Providence of God in this World is very liable to the Charge of Partiality that he has not an equal Regard to all his Creatures I do not mean with reference to their Fortune and Station in this World that some are Rich others Poor some Princes and Nobles entrusted with great Powers others Subjects and exposed to the Wills and Lusts of Princes for this is more easily accounted for such different Ranks of Men being necessary to good Order and Government in the World but I mean with respect to their Souls and their eternal State that God has not taken equal care to Instruct all Mankind in their Duty to acquaint them with the Danger of Sin and the Rewards and Punishments of the next Life and the Certainty of a Future Judgment and this is too visible to be denied God suffered Mankind to fall into Idolatry and when they had corrupted their Natural Notions of Good and Evil sent no Prophet among them to Instruct them better and when after some Ages he called Abraham out of Vr of the Chaldees and having tried his Faith and Obedience entred into Covenant with him yet he confined his Covenant to his Posterity whom he chose for his peculiar People and took no visible care of the rest of the World and though this was a great Priviledge of Israel above the rest of Mankind yet the Mosaical Law was but a weak and imperfect Dispensation but a Childish Pedagogie and the Iewish Church but in the State of Servants or of an Heir under Age. And though God did at last send Christ into the World to make a perfect Revelation of his Will yet it was towards the end of the World and what a wonderful difference has this made between those who enjoy the Light of the Gospel and the rest of Mankind as if they had not all the same Maker or were not equally his Creatures and yet how little a part of the World is there still which have the Gospel preached
and set the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left then shall the King say unto them on his right hand Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world For I was an hungred and ye gave me meat I was thirsty and ye gave me drink I was a stranger and ye took me in naked and ye clothed me I was sick and ye visited me I was in prison aâ—d ye came unto me Then shall the righteous answer him saying Lord when saw we thee an hungred and fed thee or thirsty and gave thee drink or when saw we thee sick or in prison and came unto thee And the King shall answer and say unto them Verily I say unto you inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me Then shall he say also unto 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 also answer him saying 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 Then shall he answer them saying Verily I say unto you inasmuch as you did it not to one of the least of these you did it not to me This is so remarkable a difference which our Saviour makes between Charity and all other Graces that it concerns us to take notice of it and to enquire what the meaning of it is 1. Now in the first place there is no doubt but our Saviour's intention in this was very powerfully to recommend all Acts of Charity to us since Heaven is the peculiar Reward of Charity and to make us as much afraid of all Uncharitableness as we are of any other the most enormous and flagitious Crimes since Uncharitableness will damn us though we were guilty if that were possible of no other sin And there is great reason to enforce this Duty on us because few Men have so great a sense of the Necessity and Obligations of Charity as they have of Moral Honesty and Justice All Mankind have a natural sense of the great evil of Rapine and Injustice and Murder to defraud Men of their Estates or to take them by force and violence to oppress the Poor the Fatherless and the Widow or to murder the Innocent their Consciences terrifie and scare them with such guilt but they have but little sense of the Obligations to Charity and of the great sin and danger of Uncharitableness they can see Men hungry and thirsty and naked and sick and in prison without ministring to them and though they will acknowledge such Acts of Charity to be very good and commendable yet charge themselves with no guilt for neglecting them but if none shall be saved at the last Day but the kind and the charitable if we shall be condemned at the last Day to that everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels for doing no good though we should do no other evil as we certainly shall if our Saviour gives us a true Account of the Process of the last Judgment this if any thing will make Men sensible how necessary it is to do all the Good they can as necessary as it is to go to Heaven that they may as safely with respect to another World rob and steal and cheat and oppress as not relieve the Wants of the Poor as far as Christian Prudence and Charity directs for they shall be damned for this as well as for the greatest Injustice 2 dly Our Saviour hereby signifies that this Divine Charity is the perfection of all other Christian Graces and Vertues and comprehends them all for it is certain that no Man shall be saved without an Universal Righteousness and yet our Saviour enquires only after Charity as the only mark and criterion of an Universal Righteousness for where that is in sincerity there is a combination of all other Graces Our Saviour tells us That the Love of GOD and Men is the Summ of the whole Law and the Prophets 22 Mat. 36 37 38 39 40. And St. Paul tells us He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law Love worketh no ill to his neighbour therefore love is the fulfilling of the law 13 Rom. 8 9 10. He that loves his Neighbour will do him no hurt but will do him all the good he can And this Divine Love of Men results from the Love of GOD whose Creatures they are and whose Image they bear and therefore includes the Love of GOD as its cause for there is no other Principle of Universal Love and Charity though of particular Friendships there is And therefore St. Iohn makes this the Trial of our Love to God If a man say I love God and hateth his brother he is a liar for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen and this commandment have we from him that he who loveth God love his brother also 1 John 4.20 21. Thus much is certain from this Text that no Man loves God who does not love his Brother and I believe there never was an instance of true Universal Charity without the Love of God but not to make a dispute of that since Humanity and Greatness and Generosity of Mind will in some Men very nearly resemble and counterseit an Universal Charity the Charity our Saviour speaks of is this Divine Charity which flows from the Love of God and Christ when we love Men for God's sake and Christians as the Members and the Brethren of Christ and therefore he accounts all the kindness shewn to them for his sake as done to himself Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me This Divine Charity contains the Exercise of all other Christian Graces where this is no other Grace is wanting it is the universal Habit of Grace the very Nature of God for God is Love and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God and God in him 1 Iohn 4.7 8 9 10 11 12. But on the other hand an uncharitable Man can have no good in him and he has the Seeds and Principles of all Evil. Uncharitableness is owing to Self-love and to the love of this World and where these two are there can be no good but there may be all the wickedness that human Nature is capable of So that this brings the matter to a short issue at the Day of Judgment as our Saviour has here represented it In order to our final Doom and Sentence there needs but this one enquiry whether we were charitable or uncharitable for