pray for and therefore it teaches us Having Food and Raiment there-with to be content But who could be contented with such a scanâ—y Provision while he sees the greater Prosperity of bad Men who dissolve in Ease and Luxury were there not a happy state reserved for them in the next World Where is the Man who would not comply with the Devil's Temptation to fall down and Worship him for all the Kingdoms of the World and the Glory of them were he not to lose a brighter and a richer Crown for it Some times indeed God does bless good Men with great Plenty and Honour but he has no where promised to do so in the Gospel of Christ sometimes he does it not so much to reward good Men for Temporal things are not the proper Rewards of Piety and Vertue as to serve the ends of his Providence in the World he takes care of good Men to supply their wants and necessities here which is all that a perfect Vertue requires but he rewards them hereafter and yet this is not absolutely promised neither for our Saviour teaches us to take up his Cross to expect Sufferings and Persecutions for his Name sake and then we must be contented to want Food and Raiment to part with Houses and Lands and Life itself for his sake and our condition may be so afflicted and calamitous here that it may force us to say as S. Paul does If in this life only we had hope we were of all men the most miserable And who would be the Disciple of Chriâ—â— upon these Terms to suffer so much for him in this World and to gain nothing by it in the next Thus on the other hand there is a terrible Vengeance threatned against wicked Men in the next World Lakes of fire and brimstone blackness of darkness the worm that never dieth and the fire that never goeth out but the Gospel threatens no Temporal Punishments against Sin Bad Men are very often punished in this World when the Wisdom of the Divine Providence sees fit and they very often escape too and are much more prosperous than good Men are here that there is no Threatning in the Gospel to restrain the Impieties of Men but only the Fears of the other World and a Future Judgement and if you take away these you destroy the Gospel of our Saviour 2. Many of our Saviour's Laws are founded on the supposition of a Future Judgment and are extreamly unreasonable if there be no Rewards or Punishments after this Life that if we will but allow him the ordinary Prudence of a Lawgiver a Future Judgment must be the Foundation of his Religion If there were no other Life after this the only Rule of our Actions would be to live as long and to enjoy as much of this World as we can But Christian Religion in many cases will not allow of this and therefore is no Religion for this World were there not another World to follow To begin with the Enjoyments of this World How many Restraints does the Christian Religion lay on us to lessen the Pleasures and Satisfactions of this Life It teaches us a great Indifferency to all the things of this World but how unreasonable is that if this World be our only place of Happiness For who can be indifferent whether he be happy or not It commands us to mortifie our sensual Appetites to crucifie the Flesh with its Affections and Lusts to live above the Pleasures of the Body to pluck out our right Eyes and to cut off our right Hands but what reason can there be to deny our selves any of these Enjoyments as far as is consistent with preserving our Health and prolonging our Lives if we have no expectations after Death nay if Men are contented to live a short and a merry Life what hurt is there in it if death puts an end to them It forbids us to lay up for ourselves Treasures on Earth which were a strange Command were there not greater Treasures to be expected in Heaven It forbids earthly Pride and Ambition an affectation of Secular Honours and Power but why must we submit to Meanness and Contempt in this World if this be the only Scene of Action we shall ever be concerned in for a mean and base Spirit is no Vertue and for the same reason it can be no Vertue to be contented with a low Fortune to be patient under Sufferings which if they will never be rewarded is to be patiently miserable and that is Stupidity and Folly but to have our Conversation in Heaven to live upon the hopes of unseen Things is Madness and Distraction if there be no Heaven no unseen Things for us The Laws of our Saviour require us in some cases to sacrifice the dearest Interests we have in this World and Life itself for his sake which is a sensless and unreasonable Command if he does not intend to bestow a better Life on us If there were no other Life after this no wise Man would forfeit more for any Religion than it is worth in this World and that would reach but a little way in Suffering Nor is our Saviour so unreasonable as to require it upon these Terms but tells us plainly Whosoever will save his life shall lose it and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul 16 Mat. 25 26. The Reasons of most of the Evangelical Commands must be fetched wholly from the other World and a Future Judgement and therefore we should have had the same Evidence for a Judgment to come that we have for the Christian Religion tho' there had been no such express mention made of a Future Judgment I cannot but observe here the true Reason of the Corruption of Christian Morals which are as much corrupted as the Christian Faith is That in expounding the Laws of our Saviour some Men have no other regard but to fit them to the ease and the conveniences of this Life and therefore reject any Interpretation of them which is severe to Flesh and Blood or will hazard their Ease and Fortunes in this World It is sufficient to Confute any Law of our Saviour or to Interpret it away to shew that there are great Temporal Inconveniences in it that to observe such Laws in such a sence would be very injurious to Mens present Interests and deprive them of many Pleasures and Advantages of Life It were easie to give many Instances of this but it shall suffice at present to confess that considering the State of this World and the Propensities and Inclinations of Humane Nature some Laws of our Saviour are very unreasonable were there not a Future Judgment to reward the Severities and Sufferings which good Men must undergo in observing of them and therefore we must have a care of rejecting any plain and express Law
upon all Ages of the World especially since that express revelation which the Gospel has made of it This Instruction our Saviour himself gives us that since we know not the Day of Judgment we should always watch and be ready prepared for it Watch therefore for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come But know this that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up therefore be ye also ready for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh 24 Matth. 42 43 44. And if this was good Advice in our Saviour's days it more nearly concerns us on whom the end of the World is come 4. There is one thing more I shall observe from this Discourse not to be offended though you see Atheism and Infidelity prevail in the World and the true Christian Faith begin to fail and the love of many wax cold thus it must be towards the end of the World and if we now see the beginnings of it it is no great wonder This is indeed a great Temptation to Men who are governed by Examples to hear the first Principles of Religion called in Question and the great Fundamental Articles of our Faith made Matter of Dispute and Controversie nay the plainest Rules of Life ridiculed and exploded but if these things should not be the World would never come to an end God cannot destroy a believing and righteous Nation much less a righteous World a World of Believers and Saints And if it be our Portion to fall into the dregs of Time into these last days when there shall be Scoffers walking after their own ungodly Lusts let us consider that this is no more than was foretold thus it must be towards the end of the World and therefore this ought not to weaken the Credit of Religion no more than the fulfilling of Prophesies does let us remember how Sacred this Faith has been for 1600 Years how many Martyrs and Confessors it has had how God has preserved it against all the Powers and Opposition of the World how it has triumphed over Pagan Idolatries and which is more than that triumphed over the Lusts and Vices of the World in the Exemplary Self-denial Mortification and Divine and Heavenly Conversations of its Professors and this I think is such an Argument of its Divinity as may defend us against the Wit and Rallery and Impudence of professed Atheists and Debauchees who till of late have themselves been the scorn and derision of Mankind SECT III. The Day God has appointed is a General Day of Iudgment II. THIS Day God has appointed is a General Day of Judgment or a Day to Judge the whole World all Mankind shall be summoned before the Tribunal of Christ and be tried and condemned or acquitted in the general Assembly of Men and Angels What an amazing sight will this be to see all Mankind start out of their Graves and appear before their Judge to have one view of the whole Race of Men of all successive Generations from Adam to the end of the World Such an Assembly as never was before never will be till that day and never will be after it Could we look on as unconcerned Spectators at that day what an Entertainment would here be only to see all Mankind together all the Men of Name and Renown whose Fame is recorded in Story who have signalliz'd themselves in their several Ages by their Piety and Vertue and Wisdom and Valour or it may be by their Vices but this will be no time to gratifie our Curiosity when we all meet to receive our final Doom It more concerns us at present to draw another Scene of things and to imagine how differently Men will appear at the Day of Judgment from what they do in this World We shall see all Mankind together rise with their own Bodies just the same Men that they were but yet quantum mutatus ab illo they won't look altogether as they did there will be some change in their Countenance which will betray very different Passioâ—s and give a very different Air and Aspect to them We may easily imagine that Atheisâ—s and Infidels who have disputed very Subtilly and Philosophically against a God and Religion and broke many a 〈◊〉 Jest upon Heaven and Hell will be not a little amazed when they shall see all their Philosophy confuted and their Jests quite spoiled by the appearance of their Judge What surprize and astonishment will then be seen in the looks of secure Sinners who never thought of Judgment but reckoned themselves very safe by banishing the thoughts of it as if God would not Judge them unless they thoughâ— of being judged The brave and the bold Sinners who mocked at Fear especially at the Fear of God as a base and unmanly Passion will not be able to conceal their Fears then but even those mighty Hectors the great Disturbers of Mankind who carried Fear and Terrour in their Looks and made the World tremble before them will then stand trembling before their Judge and call to the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. On the other hand with what triumph will good Men lift up their Heads the poor the despised the persecuted the reproached the vilified Worshippers of the Crucified Jesus and the Disciples of the Cross their Sorrows will then flie away like the Shades of Night at the approach of the Sun their Tears will be dried up and we shall see nothing but secure Joy give Lustre and Brightness to their Looks We are extreamly imposed on by the present appearances of Things Vice looks gay and bold and fearless in this World and Vertue many times as mean and contemptible as Injustice and Oppression can make it that it would be of great use to us sometimes to remove the Scene from this World to the Day of Judgment when all Mankind shall appear together the greatest Appearance that ever was and therefore it is much more considerable how we shall appear then than how we appear in this World But the Enquiry here is why GOD judges all the World at once and summons all Mankind together to receive their final Sentence Now that God will do so is very plain why he does it he has not told us but whoever wisely considers this matter will discover great and excellent ends which may be served by such a publick Judgment and that may satisfie us that there is great reason why God should do it and these may be referred to two general Heads 1. With respect to God himself 2. With respect to Men both good and bad Men. I. With respect to God And this universal Judgment greatly tends to advance the Divine Name and Glory 1. As I hinted to you before this will justifie the Divine Providence and display all the various Wisdom and expound
good way to do this but suppose this fail in some instances or cannot perfectly accomplish what God intended will he give over here and use no other more effectual methods to supply those defects Notwithstanding all these natural Rewards of Vertue good Men while they live intermixed with the wicked may be oppressed by them and made as miserable as all external Calamities and Sufferings can make them and are in great danger oâ— being so unless a watchful Providence secure them the practise and exercise of Vertue will make Men happy both in Soul and Body where the natural effects of Vertue are not hindred and interrupted by external Violence but where they are a good Man though he cannot be called miserable yet may be far enough from being happy nay would truly be miserable notwithstanding his Vertue had he noâ— the assurance of the Divine Protection at present and of glorious Rewards hereafter which support his Spirit and make him happy in the most afflicted Fortune The good Government of our Appetites and Passions will make our Minds chearful and easie Contentment will sweeten a low Fortune and Patience will make our Sufferings light but these would be impracticable Vertues without a firm Trust in God and the expectation of future Rewards for to be greatly oppressed with present Sufferings without the support of greater Hopes will break the most vertuous Mind and make it sink and faint Sobriety and Temperance is the best method to preserve our Health and prolong our Lives but yet good Men may have very weak and distempered Bodies and may inherit the Diseases of their Parents though not their Vices or what care so ever they take to preserve their Lives yet they may be ravished from them Frugality and Diligence and Charity and such thriving Vertues may raise an Estate and Oppression and Injustice may take it away and how glorious soever Vertue be in itself it may be eclipsed and darkened by Envy and Calumny or reproached by a prevailing Faction of Triumphant Sinners and thus Vertue may be deprived of all its natural Rewards if God does not interpose by his Providence for its defence or reserve some more certain Rewards for it in the World to come Thus Sin in its own nature is very destructive as you have heard to the peace and pleasure of the Mind to the health of the Body to our Estates and Fortunes and Reputation in the World but yet some Sinners may feel very little of this a great and lasting Prosperity will so qualifie the natural Malignity of Sin as to make such Men very unsensible of it Pride and Ambition and Covetuousness have little trouble but great pleasure in them when they are gratified with prosperous Successes with a daily Increase of Riches and Honours Envy and Hatred and Revenge are pleasing Passions when Men have their Enemies at their feet and can trample on them at pleasure Though Intemperance and Lust and Prodigality may ruin an Estate Fraud Injustice and Oppression may get one and as hurtful as some Vices are to our Health a cautious Sinner and such there are in the World may be very wicked without injuring his Health or shortning his Life and as infamous as Sin is this may be so concealed and palliated by external Honours that the Sinner shall not feel it nor bad Men see it nor good Men dare take notice of it So that these natural Rewards and Punishments which God has entailed on Vertue and Vice may either wholly or in a great measure be defeated by the great external Calamities of good Men and by the great Prosperity of the wicked and therefore if it be God's Will that good Men shall be happy and the wicked miserable as these natural Rewards and Punishments prove that it is unless he will suffer himself to be defeated in the very end for which he made Man which we can never suppose of so infinitely wise and powerful a Being he must at least in all such cases interpose by his Providence for the protection of good Men and the punishment of the wicked in this World and reserve their final Rewards and Punishments for the World to come Had Man preserved his Innocence and kept his Original State in Paradise Vertue would then have been a reward unto itself and have furnished us with all the internal Principles of Happiness as Paradise did with all the external Provisions and Delights of Nature but since we are thrust into this World where good Men live among the bad exposed to all the accidents of Mortality and injuries of Men though these natural Rewards and Punishments are a great Instrument of Providence still yet it is necessary God should take good Men into his more particular care in this World and translate them to some more perfect State of Happiness since as the World now is it is impossible a Divine Vertue should receive its compleat Reward and Recompense here fo that it seems as demonstrable to me that God governs this World at present and will judge us in the next as that he has made an essential difference between Vertue and Vice and entailed natural Rewards and Punishments on them which are of no use but for the Government of the World and as things now are cannot in many instances attain that end without a Providence in this World and a Judgment in the next 6. These natural Rewards and Punishments of Vertue and Vice are a natural Proof and Evidence of the future Rewards and Punishments of good and bad Men or of a Future Judgment and the reason of it is plain because Piety and Vertue is a happy nature and Sin and Vice a miserable Nature and therefore at one time or other Vertue must make Men happy and Vice miserable Nature will act like itself and produce its proper Effects unless it be hindred by some external Force and whenever that Force is removed it will return to itself again Though the Nature of Piety and Vertue be such as to make a reasonable Creature happy yet we know what it is that either abates or in a great measure destroys the Happiness of good Men in this State they live here in earthly Bodies which have strong sensual appetites and passions and they feel all the pains and pleasures of the Body which makes many acts of Vertue difficult and uneasie in resisting the impressions of Sense and denying the gratification of the Flesh this World is the Empire of Sense every thing in it courts and flatters our Senses and draws off our Minds from the spiritual Delights of Vertue and Religion which are the proper and natural delights of a reasonable Spirit and at best extreamly dull the spiritual sensation and relish of the Soul and make the delights of Religion faint and languid which must proportionably abate our spiritual Pleasures These mortal Bodies want a great many necessaries and conveniences of Life the care of which employs most of our Thoughts and Time and though our
Secular Affairs will furnish us with frequent opportunities of exercising great and excellent Vertues yet the World is apt to gain too much upon us by our constant Conversation with it and as Flesh and Sense prevails so the Spirit loses and if this does not defile the Soul with worldly Lusts yet it takes us off very much from the frequent and vigorous acts of a Divine Life which is the true Happiness of a reasonable Soul But then these mortal Bodies are exposed to great Wants and Sufferings bad Men are injurious and Meekness and Patience and such tame and gentle Vertues incourage their Injuries nay true Piety and Religion itself may be the cause and reason of our Sufferings and when the Body suffers the Soul suffers with it and this stifles the present pleasures and satisfactions of Vertue and nothing can support the Spirits of good Men under such Sufferings but the future expectations of great Rewards So that in this State Vertue alone is not a sufficient reward to itself for either its pleasures are but faint and languid or its sufferings over-ballance its pleasures But yet if we will but suppose a good Man removed into such a State where Vertue and Piety will have its free unrestrained undisturbed Exercise and can produce its natural Effects without any hindrance and interruption then it is demonstrable that Piety and Vertue must make Men happy and this secures the Happiness of good Men when ever they remove out of these Bodies and out of this World When these Bodies and this World can no longer tempt or disturb us with its Pains or Pleasures when the Care and Business of this World can no longer divert and employ our Thoughts when Bad Men can no longer injure us when our Souls are set at liberty to exercise all their Rational Powers when we remove into a World of Spirits and converse only with Spiritual Objects which will as strongly affect our Minds as the things of this World do our Senses then Vertue will and must be a Reward unto itself then the Pleasures of Wisdom and Knowledge and Divine Passions will be ravishing and transporting Thus on the other hand the Nature of Vice is such as to make a reasonable Creature miserable but yet a great Prosperity in this World and a confluence of all sensual Enjoyments may at present palliate and dissemble or suspend these malignant Influences of a vicious Nature may make Men unsensible of the want of true Rational and Divine Pleasures or of the pain and disturbance of sinful Passions may bind up our Reason and Conscience and give such an empire and predominancy to Sense that we can neither understand nor relish any other Pleasures but those of the Body and think ourselves compleatly happy while we have these but if we will suppose such Men stript of Flesh and Sense thrust out of these Bodies and out of this World and there is an end of their sensual Happiness and a sensualized Soul is capable of no other and when all other Objects are removed and such sinful and distempered Minds are brought acquainted with themselves when the Vertue of these Opiates is spent and the Soul recovers its sense again then every vicious Passion proves a Fury then Guilt and Shame and Fear and Despair and raging Remorse act their several Tragedies in such a miserable Soul This is the true Nature of sinful and disordered Passions and thus they must do when they act like themselves and thus they will do when they are let loose upon us in the other World So that the natural Rewards and Punishments of Vertue and Vice that Vertue in its own nature is the Life the Happiness Vice the Death and Misery of a reasonable Soul do necessarily prove that if good and bad Men remove out of this World of Sense into a World of Spirits Piety and Vertue must make Men happy and Vice miserable and we may take it for granted that God will reward a happy and punish a miserable Nature 7. These natural Rewards and Punishments of Vertue and Vice are a great Instrument of Providence as they are a most effectual Antidote and Remedy against Superstition which corrupts the Manners of Men and debauches the World By Superstition I mean all those hypocritical Arts of appeasing God and procuring his Favour without obeying his Laws or reforming our Sins infinite such Superstitions have been invented by Heathens by Iews by Christians themselves especially by the Church of Rome which abounds with them Now these Superstitions do not only spoil all Religion but corrupt Mens Lives and give them great security and impudence in sinning which overturns the good Government of the World For while Men perswade themselves that they may live as they list and commit what Villanies they please and yet escape the Wrath and Vengeance nay obtain the Favour of God both in this World and in the next it sets them free from all Laws and Government and leaves no restraint on them but what the Laws of Men and the Rods and Axes of Princes lay on them But when Men consider that God has so contrived the nature of things that Vertue must make Men happy and Vice miserable they cannot imagine that God can be reconciled to wicked Men unless they think that he will alter the nature of Vertue and Vice for them the Rewards and Punishments the Happiness and Misery of good and bad Men are not now arbitrary things at the disposal of God's arbitrary will and pleasure but God must new make Man again to make good Men miserable and bad Men happy they may as well expect ease in a Fit of the Gout or Stone or Health in the Paroxysms of a Feavor as that a wicked and corrupt Nature should receive the Rewards of Religion and Vertue This is the first Evidence we have of a Divine Providence which governs the World that Divine Justice which is interwoven in the nature of things which has annexed such natural Rewards and Punishments to Vertue and Vice and thereby marked them out for the proper Objects of God's Favour or Vengeance II. Another Evidence of God's Providence and Government is the Institution of Humane Governments for the Punishment of Wickedness and the Rewards of Vertue it is very plain in Scripture that Humane Power and Authority is ordained by God I need only direct you to 13 Rom. for the proof of it though indeed the nature of the thing proves itself if we allow that God made the World for he has made Man such a creature that Humane Government is absolutely necessary and to make Humane Government necessary is a natural Institution of it Man is a sociable Creature who cannot live alone but must unite into Societies and the experience of Mankind proves that Societies cannot be preserved without Civil Government to maintain the Rights and to restrain the Violences and Injuries of Men that if God had not by any direct and immediate Institution set up any
enemy that sowed them is the devil as our Saviour tells such Men Ye are of your father the devil and his works ye do The Servants of the Housholder having informed their Master of what had happened ask him Whether they should go and gather up the Tares But he said Nay lest while ye gather up the tares ye root up also the wheat with them Let them both grow together till the harvest and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers Gather ye together first the tares and bind them into bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn Which he thus expounds The harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are the angels for so our Saviour tells us he must come in the glory of his Father with his Angels who are the Ministers and Executioners of his Justice Aâ— therefore the tares are gathered and burn in the fire so shall it be in the end of the world The Son of man shall send forth his Angels and they shall gather out of hiâ— kingdom all things that offend and theâ— which do iniquity and shall cast them iâ— to a furnace of fire there shall be wailiâ—â— and gnashing of teeth Then shall the righteous shine forth like the Sun in the kingdom of their Father This we must confess was wisely considered by the Housholder not to destroy the Wheat with the Tares but rather suffer them both to grow up together till the Harvest then to pluck up the Wheat before it be ripe together with the Tares and this is as good a reason why God does not destroy all bad Men in this World because good and bad Men are intermixt and all bad Men cannot be destroyed here but good Men must suffer with them as I have already shewed you at large And therefore bad Men cannot be finally punished nor good Men finally rewarded till they are first parted for to root up the Tares here signifies the final Extirpation and Destruction of all bad Men not the casting bad Men out of the Communion of the Church nay not putting Hereticks to Death to which some apply these words which were it reconcileable with the other Laws and with the Genius and Spirit of Christianity as it is not would be as reconcileable with this Parable as the Execution of any other Malefactors is this may be done without destroying the Wheat nay in some cases the Wheat may be preserved by it for the Punishment and Execution of some bad Men is necessary to preserve the Innocent but when the Tares are more than the Wheat grow close together and are intangled in each other as the Interests of good and bad Men are intermixt and interwoven in this World there is great reason to spare the Tares for the sake of the Wheat But the Tares must not expect to escape thus always a wise Housholder in the time of Harvest will order the Reapers to separate between the Tares and the Wheat and then the Tares shall be burnt and the Wheat gathered into the Barn and thus Christ will separate between good and bad Men at the last Judgement and allot them very different Portions All this is very reasonable thus a wise Man will do and therefore this we must expect from the Wife and Just Judge of the World This Parable of the Wheat and Tares which grow together in the same Field represents the mixture of Believers and Infidels the Christian Church and the Men of this World here but the following Parable of the Net v. 47. which was cast into the sea and gathered of every kind represents the mixture of good and bad Men in the Communion of the Christian Church for thus our Saviour tells his Apostles that he would make them Fishers of Men and gave them a Figure of the success of their Ministry in that miraculous Draught of Fishes after they had toiled all the Night and had taken nothing 5 Luke 5.6 which he repeated again after his Resurrection from the Dead 21 Iohn 6 c. So that the Net signifies the Communion of the Christian Church which gathers both good and bad but when this Net is drawn to shore they gather the good into Vessels but cast the bad away that is at the end of the World the Angels shall not only separate between the Church and the World between Believers and Infidels but between good and bad Christians who live together in the same Communion in this World The Angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just and shall cast them into the furnace of fire there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth Thus we see in these Parables our Saviour does not only prove that God will Judge the World but convinces us of the Necessity and Reasonableness of this by appealing to the common Rules of Prudence and Justice among Men Thus all wife and just Princes and Housholders will do destroy Traitors and Rebels revenge the abuse of their Favours call their Stewards to an account reward the Labour and Improvements of faithful Servants and punish the slothful and unprofitable separate the Wheat and Tares at Harvest though they grow up together in the same Field and separate between the good and bad Fish though caught in the same Net and therefore thus God will do who is not less Wise and Just and Holy than Men are And this gives Authority to all-the Arguments for a Future Judgment drawn from the Reason and Nature of Thingâ— thus our Saviour reasons and thus he has taught us to reason for the fundamental Principle on which all these Parables rest is this That whatever is manifestly just and wise and reasonable for Men to do that God will do If this be not true the Parables of our Saviour have his authority but have no reason though the nature of such Parables is an Appeal to the Reason of Mankind and if this be true then we may argue thus in other cases which are equally plain and obvious and are sounded upon the same Reason which gives a kind of Divine Authority to the plain and necessary Dictates of Reason in this matter and then I 'm sure I have furnished you with Reasons enough already for the Belief of a Future Judgment 3. The whole Christian Religion is founded on and adapted to the Belief of a Future Judgment and is a very unintelligible Institution without it and therefore this must be a first Principle to all who call themselves Christians if they understand the Religion they profess as to shew this particularly 1. The chief Promises and Threatnings of the Gospel relate to the other World Godliness indeed hath the promise of the life that now is as well as that which is to come but the Temporal Promises made to a holy and vertuous Life are such as worldly minded Men cannot much value they extend no farther than Food and Raiment to our daily Bread which is all our Saviour has taught us to
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
without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment 5 Matth. 21 22 27 28. For indeed the Thoughts and Passions of the Soul defile the Man they discover the temper and complexion of the Mind This is the conceiving of lust as St. Iames speaks and while Men indulge themselves in wanton lustful proud ambitious spiteful and revengeful Thoughts it is almost impossible but such Thoughts as these will influence their Actions when a favourable opportunity serves and if they do not yet we know what the Mens Hearts are and God who dwells within us and sees our Thoughts will judge the Secrets of Hearts Men who act over the Scenes of Lust and Pride and Revenge in their Minds are as unlike to God who is Essential Holiness Purity Love as those who commit all those Villanies which they only please themselves with the fancy of Our Likeness to God consists onely in the Conformity of our Wills and Affections to him for it is only a Spirit that can be like a Spirit and therefore while our Thoughts and Passions are so contrary and opposite to the Divine Nature God can never own us we are not his Children we are not yet born of God for we have nothing of his Image on us And therefore let us take care of our Thoughts of our Passions and secret Affections for we must be judged for these as well as for our external Actions we may sin with our Minds and Spirits as well as with our Bodies and God who is a Spirit requires the Worship and Obedience of our Minds and Spirits and is as much offended with sinful and impure Thoughts as with wicked Actions VII We shall be judged for our Words too Thus our Saviour assures us 12 Matth. 36 37. But I say unto you That every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned I need not tell you what these idle words are Prophane Atheistical Discourse Blaspheming God and his Providence Ridiculing his Worship and Religion the Doctrines and Precepts of it and those Miracles which were wrought by the Power of the Holy Ghost for the Confirmation of Christianity to which our Saviour particularly refers in this place or Obscene and Wanton Discourse which S. Paul calls corrupt communication which should never come into the mouths of Christians and all Reviling and Reproachful Speeches Slandering Backbiting Railing which our Saviour threatens with Eternal Damnation But I say unto you Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement and whosoever shall say to his brother Racha shall be in danger of the counsel but whosoever shall say Thou fool shall be in danger of hell-fire 5 Mat. 22. And St. Iames with a peculiar respect to such angry reproachful Language tells us If any man among you seemeth to be religious and bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his own heart that man's religion is vain 1 James 26. And yet I need not tell any Man how common this practise is Atheistical Prophane Obscene Reviling Discourses make up the Wit and Humor and Conversation of the Age The brisk and pleasant Talkers would sit like Moops and gaze upon one another without one wise word to say unless you allow them to laugh at God and Religion and all things sacred to make a Mock of Sin to tickle their Fancies with Obscene Jests or Spiteful Reflections for were it ever possible that such Men should have nothing to Laugh at or nothing to Rail at they were undone These Men never think of being judged for their Words and yet there is as much reason we should be judged for our Words as for our Actions Words are the first and most natural Indications of the Temper and Disposition of the Mind For out of the fulness of the heart the mouth speaketh Our Words betray the Atheism and Infidelity the Lust and Wantonness Revenge and Malice and other evil Passions which are within Men are generally more cautious of their Actions than of their Words and they can speak their Minds when they cannot act and therefore may be better known by their Words than by their Actions nay Words do not only betray what is within but shew what the Heart most abounds with for out of the fulness of the heart the mouth speaketh That Men talk of most which is most in their Thoughts and which they are most full of so full that they cannot open their mouths but it runs out There are some Fools that only say in their Hearts There is no GOD. Such Thoughts as these lie low and secret are not come to maturity and perfection yet to be talked but when Men venture to say this with their Mouths when they come to be talking and disputing Fools it is a sign they are very full of these Thoughts and either are Atheists or have a great mind to be so There are a great many lascivious Wantons who yet are very modest in Conversation and will not offend chast Ears with their Wanton Discourse but when Men think they can't be witty nor pleasant Company without larding their Talk with Obscene Jests and putting Modest Matrons and Virgins to the Blush they have arrived at a great perfection of Lewdness And do not such Men deserve to be judged But besides this does any thing do more Mischief in the World than Words as little as some Men make of them Can there be a greater Contempt of God then for Men to Deny his Being to Reproach his Providence to Ridicule his Worship St. Iude tells us That the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints to execute vengeance upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all the hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him Jude 14 15 v. Does any thing more tend to corrupt the Minds of Men then such Words which St. Paul says Eat like a canker 2 Tim. 2.17 and prey upon the very Vitals of Religion What tends more to corrupt Mens Lives then lewd and wanton Talk as St. Paul tells us That evil communication corrupts good manners What makes more Divisions in the World and gives greater Disturbance to Neighbours and Families and private Persons then Slandering and Backbiting and Tale-bearing I am sure St. Iames tells us That the tongue is a little member and boasteth great things Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth And the tongue is a fire a world of iniquity so is the tongue amonst our members that it defileth the whole body and setteth on fire the course of nature and it is set on fire of hell 3 Jam. 5 6. And if Words can do so much Mischief in the World it is very fit that GOD should judge us for them and then it is very fit that we should be
to their Works And this may suffice for the first thing proposed What Natural Evidence we have of a Judgment to come SECT V. The Scripture Proof of a Future Iudgement II. HAving shewn what Evidence we have from the Light of Nature for a Future Judgment let us now consider the Scripture Proofs of it And this might be dispatched in a very few wordâ— by turning you to some plain Texts of Scripture which expresly assert it but â— shall do something more than this which if it be not necessary for the proof of 〈◊〉 Future Judgment yet will be of use for the better understanding the Christian Religion and to rivet this Belief faster 〈◊〉 our Minds that is I shall represent to you those Parabolical Reasonings whereby our Saviour insinuates this Belief into ouâ— Minds and shew you that the whole Christian Religion is founded on and adapted to the belief of a Future Judgement and is a very unintelligible Institution without it 1. Let us consider those plain and express Proofs the Gospel of our Saviour contains of a Future Judgment and some few Texts will be sufficient for this purpose This is expresly affirmed by St. Paul 17 Acts 31. That God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness The Apostle to the Hebrews tells us It is appointed for men once to die and after that the judgement 9 Heb. 27. Our Saviour tells us that we shall be judged 7 Matth. 1 2. Iudge not that ye be not judged For with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged and with what measure ye meet it shall be measured unto you again And v. 22 23. he tells us That in that day that is the Day of Judgment many will say unto me Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy Name and in thy Name have 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 Thus he tells us 16 Matth. 27. The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels and then he shall reward every man according to his works And 25 Matth. 31 c. he gives us a lively Description of the Future Judgment When the Son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy Angels with him then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory And before him shall be gathered all nations and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats And he shall set the sheep on his right hand but the goats on the left And then hâ— Judges them and pronounces their Fiâ—â—â— Doom and Sentence according to theâ—â— Works as it follows in that place 〈◊〉 were easie to turn you to many Texts 〈◊〉 this purpose as every one knows who 〈◊〉 acquainted with the Scripture but theâ—â— is no need of it these few are so expreâ—â— that if we believe the Gospel we must believe that we shall be judged 2. Our Saviour does not only expresly declare this that there shall be a Judgement but insinuates the Belief and Reasonableness of this by some proper Allâ—â—â—ons and Comparisons which is the 〈◊〉 scope and design of many of his Parables As to instance in some of them 1â— Luke 12 c. he tells us of a certain â—ble man who went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return where he describes his own leaving thâ— World and ascending into Heaven to take possession of his Kingdom from whenâ—â— he shall return again at the last Day tâ— Judge the World This noble man called his servants and delivered them ten pounds and said unto them Occupy till I come Bâ—â— his citizens hated him and sent a message after him saying We will not have this man to reign over us This describes our State in this World which is a State of Labour and Industry where we must improve our Master's Money all the advantages and opportunities of doing good to his Service and Glory Now as it is reasonable to expect when such a King returns that he will call his Servants to an Account reward the Diligent and punish the Slothful and destroy his Enemies the same Usage we must expect from our Lord when he returns again he will judge us will reward or punish us according to our Works To the same purpose is that Parable 25 Matth. 14 c. of a Man travelling into a far Country who called his Servants and delivered to them his Goods and at his return rewarded them proportionably to the Increase and Improvement they had made and punished that wicked Servant who hid his Talent in a Napkin The Parable of the unjust Steward who had wasted his Master's Goods and was turned out of his Stewardship for it is founded on the same reason that we are but Stewards of God's Gifts in this World and that God will as certainly call us to an Account for our Stewardship as an earthly Master will 16 Luke 1. The Parable of the Housholder who hired Labourers into his Vineyard and gave them every Man his Peny at night 20 Matth. signifies to us that in this Life we must work in God's Vineyard and finish the Work he has given us to do and that at Evening when this Life ends God will reward us in the next and this we may as certainly and reasonably expect from God as an hired Labourer expects his Wages when he has done his Work The Parable of the King 22 Matth. who made a Marriage for his Son and sent forth his Servants to call them who were bidden to the Wedding but they refused to come and evil entreated his Servants and slew them upon which the King was wroth and sent forth his Armies and destroyed those Murderers and burnt up their City and sent and invited others to the Marriage though it primarily refer to the Destruction of the Iewish Nation for their rejecting their Messias and calling the Gentiles into the Church yet is founded on the same reason that God will punish our Abuse of his Grace and all the Invitations of the Gospel as a gracious but affronted Prince would punish his Subjects in such a case But the Parable of the Wheat and Tares 13 Matth. 24 c. is very observable because it gives an account why God does not destroy all bad Men in this World and yet that he will punish the Wicked and reward the Good in the next World A man sowed good seed in the field and while men slept his enemy came and sowed tares but when the blade sprung up and brought forth fruit then appeared the tares also This our Saviour expounds v. 37 c. He that sowed good seed is the Son of man the field is the world the good seed are the children of the kingdom that is good Christians but the tares are the children of the wicked one that is bad Men. The
of our Saviour for any Temporal Inconvenience which attends it or to think that the best sence of the Christian Law which is most for the Ease and Comfort of this present Life This may serve for the Proof of a Future Judgment for if this will not prove it nothing will There are indeed another sort of Arguments to prove it but they principally relate to the Person of our Judge or who shall be our Judge viz. The Son of Man Christ Jesus who is God Incarnate and to which St. Paul refers 17 Acts 31. That God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead but I shall defer that till I come to speak of the Person of our Judge SECT VI. The Improvement of this Doctrine in some Practical Inferences as 1. To live as it becomes those who shall certainly be judged 2. To keep our Eye upon a Future Iudgment for the Government of our Lives HAving thus proved the Certainty of a Future Judgment both from Reason and Scripture before I proceed it is necessary to consider how we must improve this Belief for the Government of our Lives for that is the onely end of Faith and Knowledge and if we be never the better Men for our Faith we may as well be Infidels and this I shall do in these following Particulars I. To live as it becomes those who shall certainly be judged I suppose I need noâ— prove this Consequence That those who must be judged ought to live as those who must be judged for if Judgment be of any concernment to us I am sure it is of great concernment to prepare ourselves for Judgment And if we must be judged for Eternity Judgment is of as great concernment to us as Eternal Life and Death Nor is there any great difficulty to know how those Men ought to live who must be judged every Man knows this without a Teacher who will give himself leave to think A Steward a Factor a Labourer any Person who is liable to the Censure and Judgment of a Superiour who will call him to an Account knows what he is to do to prepare his Accounts and there is no greater Mistery in preparing ourselves for God's Judgment than for the Judgment of Men. But because all Men will not consider things as they ought though they be never so plain and obvious I shall briefly suggest some Rules to you which you must all acknowledge very reasonable at the first hearing and which if well observed would make us lift up our Heads in the Day of Judgment and expect it without Astonishment and Terrour 1. If we must be judged it becomes us to act with great Consideration and Advice Rafhness Precipitancy Inadvertency to do we know not what in a Heat and Impetus without considering whether it be good or evil right or wrong does not become those who must be judged To be judged is to be called to an account to give a reason for what we do and therefore we ought to consider what reason to give before we do it We must be judged by a Rule as you shall hear more hereafter and therefore we ought to live by Rule too which no Man can do who does not consider well what he does before he does it It will be no Plea at the Day of Judgment to say That we did not consider what we did that we lived without Care without Thought without Observation for this is not an allowable Plea for a reasonable Creature much less for one who knows he must be judged For why did you live without Thought without Consideration had you not the power of Thinking of Reasoning of Considering and did not God give these Powers and Faculties to you to direct and govern your Lives did he not make you reasonable Creatures that you might consider and live by Reason and is it any Excuse then for a reasonable Creature that he lived and acted without Reason and a wise Consideration of things This is the great Degeneracy of Humane Nature the abuse and corruption of those Natural Powers which God haâ—h given us the Source of all the Evils that are in this World and therefore can be no Excuse much less when we know that God will judge us and require a reason of our Actions for not to consider our own ways when we know God considers them and will require an account of them is a contempt of his Judgement for did we reverence our Judge we must consider and yet how many mad extravagant wicked Actions are there daily committed which those who do them never think why they do them nor what reasonable account they can give of them either to God or Man Some Men are very â—ond of what they call a Frolick that is to lay aside all Thought and Consideration and to give themsâ—lves up to the government of 〈◊〉 very sudden and unaccountable Fancy and the more wild and extravagant it is the more entertaining without any regard to Vertue or Vice to Decency and Honour the least thought of which is a Prophanation of these Bedlam Misteries they drink themselves drunk in a Frolick blaspheme GOD and his Son JESUS CRIST and his most holy Religion abuse Wives and Virgins murder innocent People and affront all they meet in a Frolick but it is ridiculous to imagine if we must be judged that such Frolicks as these shall be allowed in the Account or pass for Cyphers and empty Scenes of Life to signifie no more than they were intended for that because we choose at such a time to act without Reason and Consideration therefore GOD should demand no Reason nor Account of such Actions And yet a very great part of the World tho' they do not run into such outragious Frolicks as these are yet their Lives are little better than a train of incoherent and independent Fancies and Humours they live without Thought or any wise Design any extempore Project has them which starts up in their Minds or strikes their Fancies they scarce know what they have to do the next day nor how they spent the last But is this a Life for Men who are to be judged Others there are who give themselves up to the government of their Passions which are so vehement and impetuous and always in so much hast that they will neither hear Reason nor allow any time for it and then no wonder if they do such things as they can give no good account of when their Passion is over Others are more fixt and resolved in their way they have chose such a course of Life as they like best and they are resolved to pursue it and that nothing shall put them out of it and therefore they resolve against thinking too lest that should disturb them and give check to their Enjoyments they will neither lissen to their
the Gospel were never intended by our Saviour as the Rewards or Motives of our Obedience but only to eâ—courage and support us in our Pilgrimagâ— in this World that if we seek first tâ—â— kingdom of God and his righteousness 〈◊〉 we give up ourselves to the Obediencâ— of the Gospel and live upon the Hopes oâ— unseen Things and lay up Treasures iâ— Heaven all other things shall be added 〈◊〉 us God will provide what is needful for our passage through this World whateveâ— Difficulties and Discouragements we may meet with from Men. The design of the Gospel is to take ouâ— Hearts from this World to teach us noâ— to lay up for ourselves Treasures on Earth but in Heaven not to love this World nor the things that are in the World anâ— therefore it is impossible that Temporâ—â— Blessings should be a Gospel-Motive nothing in this World can be a Motive unless we love the World and therefore thiâ— can be no Motive of the Christian Religion which teaches us not to love the World unless the love of the World caâ— be a proper Motive and Argument to make us despise it and live above it And therefore I confess I have sometimes wished that there had been less stress laid upon the Temporal Rewards and Advantages of Vertue to perswade Men to Religion and upon the Temporal Evils and Miseries of Sin to discourage Men from it for this is not always true and if it were it is an Argument which will perswade no Men and if it did it cannot advance them to the heights and perfections of a Christian Vertue and therefore is no Gospel-Motive As for Instance Some Vertues are very healthful prolong our Lives and prevent a great many painful and mortal Diseases which the contrary Vices expose Men to such as Temperance and Chastity other Vertues are very proper Methods of Thriving in the World such as Diligence Prudence Justice others give us Reputation and Honour advance us to Rule and Empire and Publick Trusts Now this is sometimes true and sometimes not as the State of the World now is as I shewed you before that whatever natural Efficacy Vertue may have to make Men happy or Vice to make them miserable this may be in a great measure defeated by the external Circumstances of our Condition in this World and therefore this can never be a Motive that is it cannot be a reason why we should choose Vertue because it is not always a reason nay is as often a reason for Vice as for Vertue and if it be a good reason for one I cannot see why it should not be a good reason for the other for if it be a reason at all it is a reason for that side on which at present it is whether that be Vertue or Vice Indeed these Temporal Advantages of Vertue are not so much Reasons for Vertue as against Vice and that too only against such Vices or such Degrees and Instances of Vice as are destructive to Mens Health or Fortunes or Reputation however this Reason be it what it will will reach no farther than to such a degree of Vertue as will contribute to a happy and prosperous Life in this World and therefore will not raise us above this World will not teach us to despise Riches and Honours and Bodily Pleasures nay is not consistent with a mean Value and great Indifferency to present Things and therefore it cannot make us Christians and is a very improper Argument to perswade Men to be Christians it never made a Christian yet and never will do And therefore let us not think to conquer the Deceits and Flatteries of the World and the Flesh with such Arguments as these which have no strength â—n them which are more apt to make Men fond of this World then to conquer â—t But this is our victory which overâ—omes the world even our faith the hope â—nd fear of unseen Things or a Future â—udgment when God will eternally reward good Men and punish the wicked This is an Argument in all Times and in â—ll Conditions it will make us despise the World when it Smiles and Flatters and â—corn its Frowns Here are Hopes too big â—or this World and Fears too great and â—owerful for its Fears such Hopes as can â—upport us under the greatest Sufferings â—uch Fears as can imbitter all the sweets of Sin and therefore let us keep the Future â—udgment always in our eye let us fetch our Supports and Comforts from thence â—et us oppose these Hopes and Fears against all Temptations for here is our strength â—ll other Arguments are easily baffled but nothing can answer the Argument of Eternal Life and Death SECT VII Third Inference To refer all Iudgmenâ— to GOD. III. IF GOD will certainly Judge the World let us refer all Judgmeâ—â— to God or as St. Paul speaks Therefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord come who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will maâ—â— manifest the counsels of the hearts aâ—â— then shall every man have praise of God 1 Cor. 4.5 Nothing is more indecenâ— nor more dangerous than for Men whâ— must be judged themselves to take Godâ—â— Work out of his hands and to assume 〈◊〉 Praetorian Power to Judge Acquit anâ— Condemn whom they please without expecting the Judgment of God to Judge is God's Prerogative and he will Judge the World And what hast thou to do 〈◊〉 judge another man's servant to his owâ— master he shall stand or fall Why 〈◊〉 much hast to prevent the Judgment oâ— God by our rash ignorant uncharitable Judgments Judgment will come time enough for us all and therefore judge nothing before the time This is so common a Fault and does so much Mischief in the World and yet is so very unreasonable considering a Future Judgment that it will be of great use to Discourse it more particularly and if it be possible to Correct this Miscarriage which is one of the greatest Plagues of Humane Society It is very obvious to ask here What is the Fault of this Is there any living in the World without judging of Men and Things Must we not say that he is a very bad Man whom we see do very bad things Must we not distinguish between Vertue and Vice and between good and bad Men Must we not make good Men our Friends commend and imitate their Vertues and reject the Conversation of the wicked and beware of Knaves and Men of ill Principles and Designs And is it not necessary then to distinguish between good and bad Men that is to judge who are so Must we wholly refer the Punishment of Wickedness and the Rewards of Vertue to the Day of Judgement and because God will Judge the World must not Princes and Magistrates execute Justice and separate between the Pure and the Vile This is so very unreasonable so inconsistent with the wise Conduct and Government of our Lives and a prudent Care of ourselves so destructive to
are so busie and careful in keeping your Books and casting up your Accounts and ballancing your Gain and your Loss and observing how your Stock increases or decays can you forbear thinking that you have a greater and more concerning Account than this the Account of your Life and Actions which if you do not keep God does he has his Records of them and will produce his Books at the Day of Judgment and judge you out of them When you call your Servants or Stewards to an Account how they have improved or embezled your Goods whether they have hid their Talent in a Napkin or traded with it and gained five or ten Talents you should remember that you also are but God's Stewards and must give an Account of your Stewardship and either shall be Stewards no longer but be turned out of your Master's Service and punished for your Negligence or shall receive a Reward proportionable to your Diligence and Gain When we correct our Children or Servants for their Idleness Disobedience or any other Miscarriage or reward their Diligence and Vertue can we forget that we have a Father and a Master in Heaven who curiously observes all our Actions and will judge will reward and punish us according to our Works When we see at Harvest the Wheat gathered into the Barn and the Weeds neglected or burnt should it not mind us what a difference God will make between good and bad Men at the Day of Judgment that though they live intermixed in this World they shall be parted then good Men received into Heaven where God dwells and bad Men banished into outward Darkness where there is Weeping and Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth for evermore The awful Solemnities of Humane Judicatures the Judge sitting on the Bench the Malefactor arraigned at the Bar the Jury the Witnesses the Tryal Condemnation Sentence Execution are lively Emblems of a Future Judgment and methinks should mind Judge and Juries and Witnesses and Spectators of it I have mentioned these few Instances because they are common and familiar and Scripture-Representations of a Future Judgment and so often occur that if we would but as often think seriously of a Future Judgment we should soon attain an habitual Sence of it And possibly my applying them to this purpose now as little an Observation as it may seem may make you think of your great Account when you are casting up your Books or reckoning with your Workmen or taking an Account of your Stewards and Servants and if it should I shall have my end and you will find the benefit of it But there is one thing which is naturally apt to mind us of a Future Judgement and I am sure always ought to do so and is of very near and present concernment to us at this time and that is When the judgments of GOD are in the earth for then as the Prophet Isaiah tells us the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness 26 Isaiah 9. I have already observed to you that the Examples of a just and righteous Providence which governs this World are a good Proof of a Future Judgment for it is an argument that God does take notice of the Actions of Men and concerns himself in the Government of the World and then we have no reason to question whether he will judge the World And when God is actually executing Judgments on the World when he is a judging Kingdoms and Nations when he has unsheathed the Sword and made it drunk with Blood when the Desolations of flourishing Countries the Burning of Towns and Cities the lamentable Slaughter of infinite numbers of People do so loudly proclaim the Wrath and Displeasure of God those who han't a great and awful and terrible Sence of Judgment will never be awakened but by the sounding of the last Trumpet It is this that makes the Judgments of God so effectual to Reform the World not meerly the Fears of present Sufferings of those Temporal Evils and Calamities wherewith God punishes Sinners but that by these visible Tokens of God's Anger by the present sensible Effects of his Justice and Power Men are rouzed and alarm'd into a Consideration of future Vengeance We extreamly weaken the Argument from present and sensible Judgments when we urge it no further then to perswade Men to reform their Lives to remove those Judgments which are upon them this is an additional Argument to reform our Sins to save our Country from Ruin but those who will not reform their Sins to save their Souls will never part with them to save a Nation and therefore the true force of the Argument resolves itself into a Future Judgment God has begun to punish us already in this World for our Sins and unless we repent we must not hope to escape so these Temporal Sufferings are but a Summons to Judgment and it may be are intended to remove us presently into the other World to receive our Reward The Axe is now visibly laid to the root of the Tree and every Tree which bringeth not forth good Fruit is hewen down and cast into the Fire And the visible Execution of GOD's Judgments upon the World will certainly mind us of a Future Judgment and give us a feeling sence of it as it gives us a present and sensible View of God's Justice and Power and a nearer Prospect of it 1. It gives us a present and sensible View of God's Justice and Power And that though he be very good and merciful he is very righteous too and very severe in his Judgments that though he be gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness yet he will not always spare but will awake to visit the heathen and will not be merciful to any wicked transgressors 59 Psal. 5. When we see what Desolations God makes in the Earth how his Judgments like a sudden and mighty Torrent overflow a secure and happy Country sweep away the Inhabitants of it or transplant them into foreign Nations to beg their Bread among Strangers when we see how he sounds an Alarum to War and sets Kingdom against Kingdom and every Man's Sword against his Brother when we observe with what an impartial Hand he strikes that there is no Country no People no Religion escapes that he makes Ambition and Covetuousness correct Superstition and Superstition chastise the Coldness and Formality the loose and licentious Lives of more Orthodox Christians I say when we see such things as these in the World shall we not fear and tremble before that just and righteous Judge Can we forget that GOD will judge the World in Righteousness when we see already such terrible Executions which are onely Preludiums to a Final Judgment 2. These present and visible Judgmenâ— give us a nearer Prospect of a Futurâ— Judgment and Judgment will more seâ—sibly affect us the nearer we see it Not that such Judgments as these prove that the Final Judgment is near at hand foâ— the Records and Histories of
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
have them not but this does not hinder but that they may give an account of their Poverty and those Graces which become a poor and low Fortune They shall not be examined about their Charity when they had nothing to give but they may for their Thankfulness to God and to their Benefactors They shall not be examined how they used their Riches which they had not but they may be how they bore their Poverty whether external Poverty has taught them true Poverty of Spirit Humility Modesty Patience in Want and Sufferings Contentment with a little Submission to the Will of God and a chearful Dependance on Providence for their daily Bread whether they have constantly prayed to God for the supply of their Wants as well as begged an Alms of Men and implored the Help and Assistance of the Rich these are Duties and Vertues which Poverty teaches and which poor Men ought to exercise and therefore which God may challenge from them and Judge them for It is a very wild Imagination to think that Poverty will excuse Mens Pride and Rudeness and Insolence unless it be a Vertue to be Proud when Men have no Temptation to it when they have nothing to be proud of Will Poverty excuse Sloth and Idleness when Men have nothing to live by but their Hands is that a Reason why they should not work When Men are able to work and get their own living is Poverty an excuse for begging and living idly upon the Charity and Industry of other Men when they work hard all day to get Bread for themselves and Families is this a reason to go to the Ale-house and spend it all at night to make themselves Beasts and leave their Wives and Children to starve ought not God and Men to judge them for this But above all things Poverty is the most unreasonable and senseless Excuse for Irreligion for neglecting the Worship of God For certainly if any thing will make us sensible how much we stand in need of God Poverty will Rich Men whose Coffers are full of Treasure who have Goods laid up for many Years are apt to forget God because they think they have no present need of Him they know how to live without him They have no occasion to beg their daily Bread of him who have enough to last their lives and to maintain their Posterity in Luxury when they are gone But methinks poor Men who have no Provisions before hand and know not where they shall have their Bread the next day should be very sensible that they live upon Providence that they have nothing else to trust to and would not any one reasonably expect that such Men would be very devout Worshippers of GOD would pray constantly and heartily to him to take them into his Care when they have nothing but the Providence of God to depend on One would think such Men should above all things take care to please God and to make him their Friend and Patron for if he cast them off they have no other Refuge that is a prophane irreligious Mind indeed whom Want and Distress will not drive to God But what would you have such poor Men do They han't time to spare for their Prayers unless they should spare it from eating or sleeping they must be up early at work and have not leisure for their Devotions as those have who live at ease But did they believe the Divine Prodence it would satisfie them that the time of Prayer is the best spent of any time in the day and contributes more to make a comfortable Provision for them then their hardest Labour for the Blessing of God is more then our Diligence and Labour he can succeed and prosper our Work he can raise up unexpected Friends to us and by some unseen Accident can change the whole Scene of our Lives for a more easie and prosperous Fortune However want of time for Prayer and Devotion is always a pretence and nothing but a pretence to excuse the Indevotion of our Minds a Man who loves and reverences God never wants time for Prayer whatever his state of Life be a poor labouring Man can't every Day spend an Hour at Church at his Prayers but if he have a Mind prepared and disposed for it he can fall upon his Knees and offer up a short Prayer to God as soon as he rises which takes up very little time and though he cannot be long upon his Knees yet he can raise up his Heart to Heaven in short and pious Ejaculations no business can hinder a devout Mind from this and therefore no business can excuse the not doing it and this will be accepted by God when we have no time for more Solemn Prayer So that you see Religion is the Business and ought to be the Care of poor Men as well as of the rich there are Graces and Vertues for them to exercise proper for their state of Life and therefore they shall be judged as well as the Rich and ought frequently to think of a Future Judgment and to live under the constant awe and sence of it The constant sence of a Future Judgement is very necessary for all Mankind to govern their Lives and to prepare their Accounts but besides this it is of the greatest use to poor Men of any other for it will in a great measure help to cure their Poverty or to make it easie In ordinary cases a Man who lives under a constant sence of Judgment cannot be poor to extremity for the sence of Judgment will make him diligent and industrious and honest and frugal and temperate and a devout Worshipper of God which are all thriving Vertues and will not suffer a Man to be miserably poor The diligent hand maketh rich and when it does not make Rich it at least prevents Poverty inflexible Honesty gives a Man Reputation in the World brings him into Business and Employment and that is a way to thrive Frugality and Temperance save what is got and encrease the Store and Reverence and Devotion for God brings down Blessings on them gives success to their honest Labours and we know it is the Blessing of God which maketh Rich. The Experience of the World as well as the Reason of the Thing proves this The miserable Poor are generally the most corrupt and profligate part of Mankind the very Reproach of Humane Nature and if you make any curious Observations about it you will generally find that it is not their Poverty which makes them wicked but their Wickedness makes them poor you shall very rarely see an honest industrious sober pious Man but makes a very good shift to live comfortably in the World unless the Times prove very hard that there is but little Work and Provisions dear or that his Family encreases so quick upon him that he has a great charge of Children before any of them are capable of working for their living and in this case such industrious Men seldom want Friends
him may securely hope and rejoyce in God for whatever other defects the pure Eyes of God may see in him they are all within the Grace and Mercy of the Gospel and therefore cannot hinder either his Pardon or his Reward Thus we see that when Conscience absolutely condemns or when without any doubt or hesitancy it commends acquits and absolves its Sentence is a Divine Oracle and assures us what our Judgment shall be at the last Day if we be then found in such a state But there is a middle state between these two which deserves to be considered when Men are neither so wicked as to be absolutely condemned by their own Consciences nor so good as to be acquitted and absolved which is an uncertain state between hope and fear This is the case of those Men who have been guilty of very great sins which they had lived in many years and though they are very sensible of their past wickedness and heartily sorry for their sins and seriously resolved by the Grace of God to forsake them yet they are not satisfied of the sincerity of their Repentance because they have not with all their Sorrow and Resolutions conquered their Inclinations to sin nor broken the habits of it but are guilty of frequent Relapses and fall into the commission of the same sins again and then repent and resolve again and as time wears off their sorrow for their last Offence their old inclinations revive and a new Temptation conquers again Now such men's Consciences neither absolutely condemn nor absolutely acquit them for the Event is doubtful they are not Conquerors yet and it is uncertain whether ever they will Conquer and therefore their Consciences cannot yet speak Peace to them and yet they are not perfect Slaves and Captives to Sin but contend for their liberty and therefore their Consciences do not absolutely condemn them but as they prevail or yield so their hopes or fears encrease And this also is the case of those Men who if they commit no notorious wickedness yet do very little good nothing that their Consciences can commend them for who worship God rather in compliance with the Custom of the Place they live in than from a vital sence and reverence of God and therefore are not for any Works of Supererogation a little will content them and they are glad of any excuse to lessen that little and all Men who pretend to greater Devotion they suspect of Hypocrisie and some Secular Interests As for Charity though they must own Charity to be a Vertue yet when any particular Act of Charity is pressed on them they never want Arguments to prove either that it is not Charity or that they are not concerned in it whatever kindnesses they do for others are extorted by great importunity and done very thriftily just as Men do what they have no mind nor inclination â—o Now these Men commonly are pretty quiet and secure unless something extraordinary awaken them for they do nothing greatly to terrifie their Consciences nor any thing to please them and therefore their Consciences neither absolve nor condemn Such Men don't well know what to think of themselves nor do they much think of these matters if they be gay and in good humour all is very well if any cross accident disturbs them and makes them thoughtful and fall out with this World or works upon a Melancholly Constitution then they are over-run with black and dismal Thoughts and all the Ministers in the Neighbour-hood are sent for to answer Cases of Conscience and to speak such Comfort to them as their own Consciences cannot and will not speak Now this case our Apostle took no notice of for indeed nothing is to be said to it such Men cannot know by the Judgment of their own Consciences what Judgment God will pass on them because their Consciences pass no certain Judgment on them but when Conscience does give Judgment of us when it absolutely acquits or absolutely condemns us we may depend on it that God will judge us as our Consciences do There are some Objections against this which are easily answered from that plain state of the case which I have now given As to name some There are a great many very bad Men who go on in their sins without any checks and rebukes of their own Consciences much more without being condemned by them and will not God condemn these Men because their own Consciences do not condemn them Yes no doubt but he will for he will condemn all bad Men whether their own Consciences at present condemn them or not But by not condemning the Apostle means acquitting and absolving which these Mens Consciences do not though they do not condemn they do not commend nor absolve neither that is they pass no Judgment at all but are seared and stupified by Atheism or a long Custom in sinning When Conscience does judge and does not condemn God will not condemn neither but there is a great difference between not judging and not condemning and therefore notwithstanding what the Apostle says God may condemn when Conscience does not judge though he will not condemn when a judging Conscience does not condemn And the difference between these two between not judging and not condemning is very evident for it is often seen that Men whose Consciences have given them no disturbance for many years in a course of sin that is have never judged them yet whenever their Consciences are awakened as they are sometimes by severe Providences or at least by the approach of Death then they condemn them and fill them with Terrour and Amazement There are other bad Men who do very wicked things and yet their Consciences are so far from condemning them that they commend and applaud them Nay we know there have been those whose Consciences have indulged them in all manner of wickedness and flatter'd them into an Opinion of their being great Saints and dear to God all the while and will not God condemn these Men because their Consciences do not condemn them but promise them not only Impunity but great Rewards Thus on the other hand many very good Men who to all appearance have lived very innocent and vertuous Lives fall under great Disorders of Mind and not only condemn but pass a final irreversible Sentence upon themselves that they are not only at present in a state of Damnation but that it is impossible for them ever to get out of it and that they must be certainly damned now will God condemn these good Men because their Consciences condemn them I have put these two Cases together because the same Answer will serve both This is not the Judgment of Conscience which St. Iohn speaks of but the Judgment of Opinion and mistaken Notions in Religion or of Melancholly and a distempered fancy The Judgment of Conscience is that Judgment which we pass on our selves from comparing our Lives with the Rule whereby we shall be judged and this Judgment