tremble at Judgment who are afraid of the Judge we are his he has bought us with his Blood he has renewed and sanctified us by his Spirit and now he is come to own us in the presence of Men and Angels to bestow a Kingdom on us to receive us to himself that where he is we may be also and behold his Glory But then on the other hand consider I beseech you what a terrible Sight this will be to bad Men who have laughed at the Fable of a Crucified Jesus and mocked at Future Judgment And is he come will such a Sinner say and must I be judged at last when I thought myself so secure of Judgment Behold I see him and can be an Infidel no longer Lord what Terrour is there in his Looks how do his Eyes flame with Vengeance who can abide the Day of his Wrath How can I appear before him as my Judge whom I would not have for my Saviour what account can I give of my actions who never expected to be called to an account for them what Plea can I make for my self who would never believe who would never be perswaded how shall I bear his Presence and yet whether can I flie from him when he condemns me to whom can I Appeal from the Judge and the Saviour of the World O Wretch that I am who would never believe never think of this Day and now I must be condemned by the Saviour of the World Let these Thoughts then make a deep impression upon our Minds before that Day comes let us remember that the Son of Man will be our Judge he who laid down his Life for us he who now invites us to Repentance he who now promises Pardon and Forgiveness to true Penitents let this teach us to reverence his Laws to imitate his Example to put our whole Trust and Confidence in his Merits and Intercession That when he cometh again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead we may rise with him unto life immortal as our Church teaches us to pray Secondly Let us now consider what Assurance we have that the Man Christ Jesus shall be the Judge of the World and of this St. Paul tells us That God hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead But you 'll say how does the Resurrection of Christ from the Dead prove that he is made the Judge of the World For that any Man rises from the Dead does not prove that he is Judge of the World we shall all rise again the last Day but not to judge but to be judged This is very true and therefore if we knew no more of Christ but only that he rose again from the Dead this would not prove him to be the Judge of the World But we must consider 1. That the Resurrection of Christ is a great and irresistible Proof of the Doctrine which he preached this our Saviour himself appeals to as the last Proof of his Divine Authority Destroy this temple and in three days will I raise it up And thus his Resurrection from the Dead proves that he is the Judgâ— of the World for this he expresly taught his Disciples That God had committed all judgment into his hands that the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels and then shall he reward every man according to his works So that our Saviour plainly declared that God had made him the Judge of the World and God has confirmed his Testimony by raising him from the Dead 2. We must consider also that the Resurrection of Christ was his visible Advancement into his Kingdom then his Kingdom began when he rose from the Dead then all power was committed to him both in heaven and in earth 28 Mat. And that God has thus advanced him was visible to all Men in the Effusion of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost and in those wonderful Miracles which they wrought in his Name Thus St. Peter tells the Iews that the miraculous Effusion of the Spirit was a visible Proof that God had advanced Christ into his Kingdom 2 Acts 33. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear And from hence concludes v. 36. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Iesus whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ. Thus upon occasion of the Miracles the Apostles wrought when they were forbid to preach in his Name St. Peter tells the Sanhedrim The God of our fathers raised up Iesus whom ye slew and hanged on a tree Hiâ— hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance unto Israel and remission of sins And we are his witnesses of these things and so is also the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey him 5 Acts 30 31. So that when Christ rose again he took possession of his Kingdom and he must Reign till he hath put down all Enemies under his Feet that is till he hath judged the World finally condemned all bad Men and rewarded his faithful Disciples and then he shall give up the Kingdom again unto his Father that God may be all in all 1 Cor. 15. But besides this there are two visible Effects of the Resurrection of CHRIST which are plain Presages and Preludiums to a Future Judgment the Destruction of the Iewish Nation and Policy and the Destruction of the Kingdom of Darkness 1. The Destruction of the Iews for their great Sin in Crucifying their Messias This Christ foretold he would do this is the meaning of that Parable of the noble man who went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return But his citizens hated him and sent a message after him saying We will not have this man to reign over us And when he returned he said But those mine enemies which would not that I should reign over them bring hither and slay them before me 19 Luke 12 14 27. And therefore when Christ had foretold the Destruction of the Temple and his Disciples asked him When shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the World Our Saviour intermixes the Prophesie of the Destruction of Ierusalem the Fate of the Iewish Nation and the last Judgment or the end of the World the Destruction of the Iewish Nation being the beginning and the Presage of a Future Judgment 24 Matth. This was a visible Act of his Justice and Power and a fair Warning to the World what all the Enemies of Christ's Kingdom must expect 2. The Overthrow of the Devil's Kingdom in the World is another Presage of a Future Judgment When Christ appeared the Devil had his Kingdom in this World was the God
it cannot continue so much longer there are some Prophesies to be accomplished still but how soon they may be accomplished we know not no Man questions but that the World now grows to an end and therefore it is time for every Man to think of Eternity CHAP. III. Who shall be our Iudge viz. the Man CHRIST IESVS III. LET us now consider who shall be our Judge That man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath giveâ— assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead where are two things to be considered First The Person who is to Judge us Secondly What Assurance we have that He shall be our Judge First The Person who is to Judge us That man whom he hath ordained that is the Man CHRIST JESUS for thus both Christ and his Apostles assure us that God hath appointed him to be the Judge of the World The Father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgment to the Son 5 John 22. The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels and then shall he reward every man according to his works 16 Matth. 27. Thus St. Peter assures Cornelius concerning Christ He commanded us to preach unto the people and to testifie that it is he which was ordained by God to be the judge of quick and dead 10 Acts 42. But there is no need to multiply Texts in so plain a Case it is of more concernment to inquire why Christ who is the Eternal Son of God and a God Incarnate when he is spoke of as Judge of the World is most usually described as a Man or the Son of Man thus He is that man whom God hath ordained and the Son of man nay Christ himself tells us For this reason God hath given him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of man 5 John 27. Now the reason why our Saviour is described as a Man and the Son of Man when he comes to Judgment is because he shall visibly appear in Humane Nature to judge the World and therefore will be and will appear as much a Man as he did when he dwelt on Earth though he will appear also more like a God thus the Prophet Daniel describes it He saw in the night-visions and behold one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him And there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people nations and languages should serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed 7 Dan. 13 14. It is the Son of Man who has this Glory and Kingdom given him and which he must administer as the Son of Man And this seems the true reason why our Saviour so often calls himself the Son of Man not as some imagine with respect to the mean Circumstances of his Appearance in the World for this Phrase The Son of Man no where in Scripture relates to such an external Meanness and Poverty as distinguishes one Man from another but it either signifies no more than a Man or it respects the common Weaknesses of Humane Nature and when this Name is applied to any particular Persons it is never used of mean Men but always of Princes or Prophets But by this Title of the Son of Man our Saviour gives us to understand that he is that Great and Extraordinary Person known by the name of The Son of Man in Daniel's Visions whom God hath ordained to be the Lord and Judge of the World But I shall not pass over this Argument thus but shall more particularly consider the great Wisdom of this how necessary congruous and fitting it is that the Son of Man should Judge the World which will suggest a great many useful Meditations to us Now I shall reduce what I have to say to these two Heads 1. That it is very fitting and necessary that the Saviour of Mankind should be their Judge also 2. And therefore that the Man Christ Jesus who is the Saviour of the World should Judge it I. That it is very fitting and necessary that the Saviour of Mankind should be their Judge also and that upon two Accounts 1. Because the Authority to Judge is essential to the Notion and Authority of a Saviour To save Sinners signifies to save them from their sins which is the true Interpretation of the Name Jesus 1 Matt. 20. And to save them from their Sins is to deliver them from the Punishment of Sin that is from the Wrath of God from the Curse of the Law from Death and Hell to raise them from the Dead and to bestow Immortal Life on them Now there are several Acts must concur to perfect this Salvation but the last concluding and finishing Act is Judgment And he only is a complete and perfect Saviour who has Authority to Judge to Pardon and to Reward God is a Holy and Pure Being and can never be reconciled to Sinners till they are renewed and sanctified which makes it necessary for the Saviour of the World to instruct Mankind in their Duty and by the Power of his Grace to change their Natures and make them Holy as God is since without holiness no man shall see God and therefore he must be a great Prophet and Preacher of Righteousness to turn men from darkness unto light and from the power of Satan unto God God is a very righteous Judge and has threatned Death against Sin and therefore the Saviour of Sinners must make Atonement and Expiation for Sin must deliver us from the curse of the law by being made a curse for us that is must be our Priest and our Sacrifice must die for our Sins and intercede for us with God but all this while a Sinner is not saved till he is finally acquitted and absolved till he is actually delivered from the Curse of the Law and possessed of Eternal Life and Glory all things else are only Preparatory Acts but the Final Judgment perfects our Salvation for he who finally Pardons and bestows Heaven on us is our Saviour Christ might have been our Prophet our Priest and our Sacrifice without being our Judge but he could not have been our Saviour without it and therefore after Christ's Resurrection from the Dead after he had preach'd the Gospel and died upon the Cross to expiate our Sins he tells his Disciples All power is given unto me both in heaven and in earth 28 Matth. And St. Peter tells the Sanhedrim Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins 5 Acts 31. So that he saves by Power he is our Saviour and our Prince and this Power is the Reward of his Obedience and Sufferings Therefore God hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name
Future Judgment makes this necessary 3 dly Let us then consider how this matter may be reconciled that we are saved by Grace and justified by Faith in Christ and yet must be judged by our Works And this is very easily done for we shall be judged by our Works according to the Gracious Terms of the Gospel The Faith of Christ was never intended to give us a liberty in sinning or to excuse us from the necessity of a holy life and as far as the necessity of holiness is reconcilable with the Grace of the Gospel so far our being judged by our Works is reconcilable with our being saved by Grace upon the same Terms that the Gospel promises Pardon and Forgiveness we shall be pardoned at the Day of Judgment whatever the Gospel promises to reward shall be rewarded at the Day of Judgment and thus we are judged by Grace and by Works too This is easily understood by those who know any thing of the Gospel of Christ and therefore I shall at present but just mention it The Gospel of Christ promises Pardon of sin to true Penitents who are heartily sorry for their sins abhor themselves for them make restitution for the Injuries they have done to Men beg God's Pardon in the Name and Mediation of Christ and amend their Lives for Christ has made atonement and expiation for such Sinners and therefore at the Day of Judgment no Man shall be condemned for such sins as he has heartily repented of and reformed and this is to be judged by Grace as well as by our Works for the Law prescribes our Duty but promises no Pardon no not to Penitents this is owing to the Grace of God through the Merits and Mediation of Christ but though the Grace of the Gospel pardons true Penitents yet the same Gospel threatens eternal damnation against impenitent Sinners The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness To them who are contentious and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil And therefore impenient Sinners will be judged and condemned for their sins at the last Day by the Mediatour of the Covenant of Grace for the Gospel itself condemns them Thus the Grace of God that bringeth salvation and hath appeared unto all men teacheth us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world And therefore without holiness no man shall see God Heaven is the Reward only of good Men who live in the Exercise of all Christian Graces and Vertues and therefore good Men must be judged must be rewarded according to their Works and yet this is Gospel-Grace too for such a glorious Reward as Heaven is above the Merit of the most perfect Vertue in this World The best Man cannot challenge such a Reward from the Justice of God and therefore it is owing to Gospel-Grace the wages of sin is death but eternal life is the gift of God not the merit and desert of our Works through our Lord Iesus Christ. Especially when we consider that this great and perfect Reward is bestowed upon a very imperfect Vertue the Obedience of the best Men is very defective stained and sullied with Human Weaknesses Indiscretions Follies Ignorances Mistakes indecent Surprizes of Passion or coldness and flatness of Devotion and too often interrupted with wilful and scandalous sins such as nothing but Grace can pardon and therefore much more nothing but Grace can reward and therefore good Men are judged by Grace and rewarded by Grace though according to their Works We are all Sinners we are all obnoxious to the Justice of God would he be extream to mark what is done amiss but since a perfect Vertue is not to be expected from Mankind in this lapsed state God is pleased to accept of sincerity instead of perfection and through the Merits of Christ and Faith in his Blood to account him a righteous Man who sincerely loves and fears him and obeys his Laws though with the Weaknesses and Infirmities incident to Humane Nature So that our being judged by our Works signifies no more but that we are distinguished by the Good or Evil we do into good or bad Men according to the favourable allowances of the Gospel and then bad Men receive the just desert of their sins and good Men receive those Rewards not which they have merited but which the Grace of God and the Merits of Christ have prepared and purchased for them This is a plain account how Christians may be judged by their Works and yet saved by Grace and by Faith in Christ and the righteousness and equity of the last Judgment seems to entitle Heathens themselves thô they have no Covenant Right to it to some degrees of this Grace for I cannot think that God in judging the World will deal more rigorously and severely with Heathens than he will with Christians that he will demand most where he has given least which is contrary to our Saviour's Rule of Judgment and therefore I cannot but hope that Christ in judging of their Works will make the same favourable allowances to them which the Gospel makes to those who do believe in Christ that is to say that he will allow of the Repentance of a Heathen if it were sincere and hearty and did reform his Life as well as of the Repentance of a Christian that he will overlook the same Defects and Imperfections in the good Actions of Heathens who lived vertuous Lives who worshipped the One true God and observed the natural Rules of Sobriety Justice and Righteousness that he will in the Actions of Christians That if any Heathen should be found equally vertuous with the meanest Christian who shall be finally saved that Heathen at least will not be damned and indeed would seem to have reason to complain of unequal usage if he should St. Paul tells us both with respect to Jews and Heathens as well as Christians That God will judge the secrets of men by Christ Iesus according to the Gospel And if the Gospel be the Rule of judging all Mens Actions they must be all equally judged with respect to the Good or Evil of their Actions and be judged as the Gospel judges I grant the Heathens had no promise of Pardon upon their Repentance but yet all Mankind believed so well of the Goodness and Mercy of God that they hoped for Pardon upon their Repentance thus we find the Ninivites did and they had it and indeed it was this perswasion that taught them to pray to God and to offer Sacrifices which had been insignificant things had they not been perswaded that God both could and would pardon sin when Sinners repent Nor have the Heathens any Covenant Title to Salvation and yet they were generally perswaded that good Men shall be rewarded and the