prove that he shall be judged i. e. that he shall be rewarded or punished for all the good or evil that he does in the World for a wise Being will take care to govern the Creatures which he makes and to govern them in such a way as is agreeable to the natures he has given them and since Man who is a free Agent can be governed only by Hopes and Fears God would never have made Man had he not intended to judge him that is he would never have made such a Creature as can be governed only by the hope of rewards and by the fear of punishments had he not resolved to lay these restraints upon him to reward and punish him according to his works how necessary rewards and punishments are to the Government of Mankind we see in Humane Societies which cannot subsist without them notwithstanding the severest Laws and the severest Executions every Age and every Country produces great Prodigies of Wickedness which no doubt would be much greater and more numerous were there no Laws and Government to restrain them and when the universal experience of Mankind convinces the World of the necessity of Laws and Government why should we think that the wise Maker of Man should not over-awe him also with a sence of his own Power and Justice which is a more effectual restraint than the Rods and Axes of Princes 4. Thus if Man by the condition of his nature be an inferior depending Creature he iâ— by nature accountable to God who is his Soveraign Lord and this is a good argument that he must give an account of himself to God for there is no reason to think that God will not call Man to an account when he has made him by nature accountable to himself for the nature of things is the most certain Rule to know how God will govern them at least the nature of things is a strong presumption unless there be plain and positive evidence to the contrary He who acknowledges that Man is by nature an inferior Creature who is acâ—ountable to God for all his actions must reasonably take it for granted without any further proof that God will judge him and call him to an account for God has declared his intentions to judge him by making him such a Creature as is to be judged and there is no pretence and shew of reason to say that God will not take an account of Man whom he has by nature made an accountable Creature unless we can produce a plain and express Revelation of God's Will that he will not judge Mankind No Man can prove by Reason that God will not judge Mankind for no reason can be good against the nature of things and the nature of things do most reasonably prove a Judgment and therefore we ought to take it for granted that God will judge the World till we see a plain Revelation that he will not This is worth observing because it puts the proof upon those who deny a Judgement where in reason it ought to lie for those who have the reason and nature of things on their side have as good natural evidence as they can have and need seek no farther but those who will believe contrary to the nature of things ought to prove their exemption from the Laws and Condition of their Nature I desire you seriously to consider this and to lay it to heart for it is a very sensible Argument and if well managed will convince you how foolish and unreasonable all your hopes are of escaping the Judgment of God unless you have some secret Revelation of this which the rest of Mankind know nothing of To represent this as plainly and familliarly as I can give me leave to ask you some few questions or rather seriously ask your selves such questions as these Why do I hope that God will not judge me am I not obnoxious to the Judgment of God am I not his Creature and is he not my Soveraign Lord and is he not then my Judge and why should I expect that my Natural Lord and Judge will not judge me Do not Parents judge their Children and Masters their Servants and Princes their Subjects and all Superiors their Inferiors and can I think that God alone who is the Soveraign Lord of all and from whom all inferior Power and Authority is derived should not himself judge his Creatures has God renounced his Authority or is the exercise of it too troublesome to him has he made us accountable Creatures but to give no account has he made us in subjection to himself to exercise no authority over us We had better say that God has made us all soveraign independent unaccountable Creatures which is less absurd then to say that God is our Soveraign Lord but will not judge us that is will not exercise his Soveraign Authority All this seems to be self-evident and to carry its own proof and conviction with it and there is but one Evasion that I know of by the help of which Men flatter themselves still into the Opinion that God will not judge them or at least that it is not evident from the Light of Nature that he will and that is that all this proves indeed that God may judge us if he please but not that he will we are his Creatures and obnoxious to his Power and Justice and this proves that he may judge us if he please but he is under no force and therefore if he please also he may not judge us and while this is possible Men who love their sins are apt to flatter themselves that God will not judge them Now this is no Objection to us Christians who have a plain and express Revelation of God's Will in this point that he will judge the World though it is an additional satisfaction to see that the nature and reason of Things do so well agree with Revelation but however at present I shall set aside Revelation and consider whether what I have now discoursed do not as well prove that God will as that he may judge the World Now to prove this I will only suppose one Principle which I will thank no Man to grant me That what the reason and nature of Things proves ought to be done that God will do for though God is under no force and necessity yet his own Nature is a Rule and Law to him what ought to be done every wise and good and just Being will do and therefore God will certainly do it who is infinite Wisdom and what the nature of Things require to be done that is the prescription of his own Wisdom for he made all things and therefore by giving such natures to his Creatures he has made a Law for himself and sufficiently declared what he intends to do Now let any Man consider what I have already discoursed and tell me whether a reasonable Creature who is a free Agent and under the power and authority of a Superior who prescribes him
have not strawed Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury Take therefore the talent from him And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth 25 Matth. Here we plainly see that this Servant was not punished for spending his Master's Money for he returned him the Talent which he gave him Lo here thou hast what is thine but for not improving it as his other Servants had done He was an unprofitable Servant who had brought no advantage to his Master And thus it is plain Men judge of Servants He is a very wicked Steward indeed who embezels his Master's Goods but he is an unprofitable Servant who makes no Improvements and thus God will judge of us as we think it reasonable to judge of our Servants And good GOD when we consider how many Talents we are entrusted with it should make us tremble to think whaâ— little Improvements we make of them Every thing that is improveable to the Service and Glory of God is a Talent and if we do not improve it to God's Glory and to do good in the World it is a Talent hid in a Napkin or buried in the Earth As to give some short Hints and Intimations of this for a just Discourse about this matter would be too long a Digression Power must be allowed to be a Talent and a very improveable Talent for every degree of Power gives Men great opportunities of doing good some Men move in a high Sphere and can give Laws to those below their very Examples their Smiles or Frowns are Laws and can do more to the Reforming of the World then the wisest Instructions the most convincing Arguments the most pathetical Exhortations of meanner Men. But though few Men have such a Power as this yet most Men have some degree of Power to be sure every Father and Master of a Family has his Authority reaches his Children and Servants and were this but wisely improved it would soon reform the World But how few are there who improve this Talent who use their Power to make those who are under their Authority obedient to God which is the true Use and Improvement of Power Riches I suppose will be allowed to be another very improveable Talent for what Good may not a rich Man do if he have a Heart to do it He may be Eyes to the Blind and Feet to the Lame a Father to the Fatherless and a Husband to the Widow a Tutelar Angel and even a God to Men. And Riches are a Trust and a Stewardship of which we must give an Account To spend them upon our Lusts in Rioting Luxury and Wantonness this is to wast our Master's Goods and to keep them safe without doing any good with them is to hide them in the Earth as the unprofitable Servant did his Talent and if we must be judged and condemned for not improving our Talent for not putting our Lord's money to the exchangers that when he comes he may receive his own with usury as our Saviour tells us rich Men ought to examine their Accounts and see what Encrease they have made of their Talent not how they have multiplied their Gold and Silver but what good they have done with it Once more Wisdom and Knowledge especially the Knowledge of God and of Religion is a very improveable Talent for there is nothing whereby we can more advance the Glory of God or do more good to Men To Instruct the Ignorant to Confirm the Doubtful to Vindicate the Being and Providence of God to Shame and Baffle Atheism and Infidelity to Expound the Doctrines and Laws of our Saviour and Rescue them from perverse Glosses and Comments this makes the Glory of God more visible to the World and serves Mankind in their greatest and dearest Interests it feeds their Souls with Knowledge and Understanding directs them in the Way to Heaven and minds them to take care of their Eternal State This indeed is the peculiar Care and Charge of the Ministâ—â—s of Religion they are the stewards of the mysteries of GOD those whom our Lord has made rulers over his houshold to give them meat in due season 24 Matth. 25. And St. Paul tells us It is required of these stewards that they be found faithful But this is a Talent which those may have in great perfection who are not by Office the Guides of Souls and where-ever it is it must be improved and must be accounted for We may many times do more service to God and more good to Men by giving wise and wholesome Instructions than by giving an Alms This every Man who knows enough to take care of his own Soul can do in some measure and this he must and ought to do as well as he can but so few Men think of this or charge themselves with it as belonging to their Account that it is fit to mind you of it IV. We shall be judged not only for our own personal Sins but in many Cases for the Sins of other Men which we have made our own There are a great many ways whereby we may bring the guilt of other Mens Sins upon ourselves when we tempt and provoke Men to sin by our Authority Counsels Examples when we perswade intice threaten or shame Men into Sin when we neglect our Duty to those who are under our Government do not instruct them better do not forewarn them of the danger they are in of being miserable in this World and in the next when we do not restrain them when we can nor punish them for their Sins when we are Partners with them in their Wickedness or the Instruments of it when we corrupt and debauch their Understandings with the Principles of Atheism Infidelity or Scepticism whatever Wickedness Men are drawn into by these means is chargeable upon ourselves and must be added to our Account as in reason it ought to be for if we are the cause of other Mens Sins we must bear the guilt of them too And if this be so what a terrible Account have some Men to make which they never think of How many have they corrupted by their Examples or Counsels or some other way And how will this aggravate their own Condemnation when they carry a long Train and Retinue of undone Souls to Hell with them That if Men will not be good themselves they ought to take care how they make others wicked this they get nothing by but a double Damnation and they will find it enough to be damned for themselves V. We shall be judged also for our Secret Sins Thus Solomon tells us God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil 12 Eccl. 14. And St. Paul tells us That God shall judge the secrets of men by Iesus Christ according to the gospel 2 Rom. 16. And therefore David
clothed him with their own Weaknesses and Passions made him either a Tyrant and a Devil or such a tame easie fond Being as Men may make bold with without danger others prophane his Name corrupt his Worship or neglect and despise it some think themselves too big to serve God others too little to be observed by him some ridicule his Laws others take no notice of them and there are very few who are sincere Worshippers of him and acknowledge and submit to his Authority and Power and when God has been so much dishonoured in the World I think it is very fit that when he judges the World he should vindicate his own Glory make it publick and visible and force all his Creatures to own and confess it and the most effectual way to do this is by summoning all Mankind before him and judging them according to their Works Thus we see what reason there is with respect to God why he should not judge Men singly and send them privately and silently to Heaven or Hell but appoint a general Day of Judgment II. There is great reason for this too with respect to Men both to good and to bad Men for this is part of the Reward of Vertue and of the Punishment of Vice Many good Men have been used with the utmost Contempt and Scorn if they cannot comply with their Company and do as their Neighbours do if they boggle at popular and fashionable Vices they are gazed on as so many Comets and Prodigies and would be contented to be gazed on were they as far out of the reach of danger too as those Meteors are some call them Fools others Knaves and Hypocrites and treat them accordingly and is it not fit that God should vindicate these Men who have suffered Infamy and Reproach for his sake that he should publickly own them applaud and reward their Vertue And what a glorious Vindication is this if we can but have patience to expect it what a little contemptible Scene is this World nay this little Corner of the World where we live for whether we be praised or reproached it is likely we are never heard of out of the Parish and Neighbourhood or City oâ— Kingdom where we live and can't we be contented to let a whole Parish or City or Kingdom despise us to be publickly owned by God in the General Assembly of Men and Angels Good Men do a great many good actions privately which few or none are conscious to but God and themselves and therefore they lose the Praise which is due to such secret Vertues in this World but our Saviour has promised that such Men shall have praise of God that if we Pray and Fast and give Alms in secret Our Fâ—ther which seeth in secret shall reward 〈◊〉 openly 6 Matth. And this is a great encouragement to the practice of the moâ—â— secret Vertues that we shall be openly towarded for them Good Men are many times great Sufferers in this World are not only reproached but persecuted lose their Estates their Liberties their Lives foâ— Christ's sake and though God has strictly forbid them to avenge themselves yet he will execute Vengeance on their Enemies and do it publickly and make them the Spectators and Witnesses of it On the other hand Wickedness is many times very glorious and triumphant in this World is so far from suffering Shame which is the just Reward of it that it is applauded and courted and the greatest Prodigies of Wickedness are adored for their prosperous Villanies but yet Shame is the just Reward of Sin and it must have it at one time or other and nothing can more effectually cast Shame and Contempt upon Sinners then a General Judgment when they shall be publickly arraigned and condemned in the great Assembly of Men and Angels This will confound the most glorious Sinner who never blushed before for though while bad Men are supported with Power or are the most numerous Party and can out Vote and out Laugh the rest of the World they can secure themselves against the sence of Shame yet when they appear before such a Judge and have their Villanies exposed to all the World when they are stript of their Riches and Honours and Power and see all their Admirers and Companions past Laughing and Flattery and themselves despised and scorned by God and his holy Saints and Angels and condemned to everlasting Miseries it will then be impossible for them any longer to glory in their Shame Confusion will then cover their Faces and it would be thought very mercifâ—l to be damned privately without seeing their Judge and being exposed to publick Scorn and Censure Thus there are a great many wicked things done privately and concealed from the Eyes of Men and many times gildeâ— over with a form and counterfeit appearance of Religion and such secret Villaiâ— not only escape publick Shame but 〈◊〉 thought very extraordinary Men and great Saints now it is very fitting that such Men also should have their Masquâ— and Disguise taken off and be exposed to the View of the World just as they are and this God will do in that Day wheâ— he will judge the Secrets of Mens Hearts and bring to light the hidden Works oâ— Darkness And then what will it avaâ—â— them to pass for Saints in this World when at the Day of Judgment they shalâ— be known and be doubly scorned botâ— for their Wickedness and for their Hypocrisie What a severe Aggravation will it be of the Condemnation of the Wicked to see good Men whom they despised and persecuted whose Lives they thought Folly and Madness now owned and rewarded by God as our Saviour speaks To see them come from the East and from the West from the North and from the South and sit down with Abraham Isaac and Iacob in the kingdom of God and themselves sâ—ut out This will be a confounding Sight at that Day and as little as such Men now value Heaven to see the bright and dazling Crowns of those blessed Saints will pierce their Souls and wound them to Eternity This justifies the Wisdom of God in appointing a general Day of Judgment to reward good Men and to condemn the wicked but there is one good natured Objection against this which respects good Men for there are few good Men but may have some very wicked Relations who yet are very dear to them and how can they bear to be Witnesses of their final Condemnation to hear that Sentence pronounced on them Go ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels We tremble at the thoughts of it now and one would think it should over-cast the Glory of that Day to such blessed Saints to see such a terrible Execution upon those who were so dear to them but this is such a Mistake as the Sadduces Objection against the Resurrection concerning the woman who had had seven husbands whose wife she should be of the seven at the resurrection for they
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
That at the name of Iesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Iesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father 2 Phil. 9 10 11. His Power to save is attributed to his Intercession or Mediatory Kingdom Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make iâ—tercession for them 7 Heb. 25. And in like manner St. Paul attributes our Reconciliation to God to the Death of Christ but our Salvation to his Life that is to that Power he was invested with at his Resurrection from the Dead For if when we were enemies we were reconciled â—nto God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life That is actually delivered from the Wrath of God by the Power and Authority of a Living Saviour 5 Rom. 10. Upon the same account Christ is said to be delivered for our offences and to be raised again for our justification That is finally to Absolve and Justifie us at the Day of Judgment 4 Rom. 25. for we must observe that though Christ by his Death has made a general Atonement and Expiation for Sin and those Men are said at present to be justified who are in a justified State that is who are within the Terms of the Covenant for Justification who are such as Christ in his Gospel hâ—s promised to justifie yet properly speaking no Man is finally justified till he is finally acquitted and absolved at the Day of Judgment till he is judicially delivered from the Wrath of God threatned against Sin and actually sentenced to Life and Glory And if Christ cannot do this for us whatever other Benefits we receive by his Ministry and Death he is not a complete and perfect Saviour for he does not actually save us unless he have Power and Authority to Judge us that is finally to Absolve us from all our Sins and to bestow Heaven on us Which shews that the Saviour of Sinners must be their Judge because we are not actually saved till we are finally judged Moses was not a complete Saviour of Israel because tho' he brought them out of AEgypt yet he left them in the Wilderness but Ioshua was their Saviour and therein a Type of Christ who gave them Possession of the Promised Land 2. But besides the nature of the Thing that our Saviour must be our Judge that is must actually save us there is very great reason it should be so because this gives Authority and Efficacy to all the Methods of Salvation It will make Sinners afraid not to be saved by him when they know that he must Judge them As to shew this particularly It will give great Authority to his Laws and Counsels and great Credit to his Promises and Threatnings 1. It will give great Authority to his Laws and Counsels to remember that our Lawgiver will be our Judge that he who came into the World in Humane Nature to declare the Will of God to us shall come again to Judge us by that Gospel which he preached When God sends his Prophets to us there is great reason to reverence the Authority of God in them but much more when our Judge comes to preach to us himself for we may be sure he will not preach in vain the Laws he preached to us at his first coming shall be the Rule whereby he will Judge us at his second coming Especially when we consider that both our Prophet and our Judge is the Saviour of Mankind We may possibly flatter our selves that when God comes to Judgment he may relax somewhat of the Rigour and Severity of his Laws that he has reserved to himself a liberty of Dispensing with our Obedience to those Laws which by his Prophets he commanded us to Obey but we cannot think that our Saviour would lay any unnecessary Burden on us that he would require any thing of us under the Pain of Damnation but what he expects we should do that he will dispense with the Terms of the Gospel whicâ— are themselves a Dispensation with the Rigour of the Law for there must be an end of Dispensing somewhere unless Grace can dispense away all our Duty and dispense unreformed and impenitent Sinners into Heaven if this could be done there was no reason why the Saviour of the World should have preach'd at all or have given any Laws to Mankind if he would have no regard to them in judging the World but if the Judge of the World become a Preacher it concerns us diligently to hearken to him for whether we will obey his Laws or no we shall be judged by them 2. This gives great Credit to his Promises and Threatnings when they are made by our Judge himself who has Authority to execute them Has Christ promised Pardon of Sin to all true Penitents has he promised to raise our dead Bodies out of the Grave immortal and glorious to bestow a Crown and Kingdom on us then we may depend on it that he will do what he has promised for he who has promised is able also to perform He has Authority to forgive Sins to raise the Dead to receive all his Disciples into Heaven into the immediate Presence of God there to live and to rejoyce for ever and when he who came to save us and 〈◊〉 promised this great Salvation to us has Power to give it when he who has made these Promises has the disposal of Life and Glory and Heaven in his own hands this is a mighty Encouragement to us to be stedfast unmovable always abounding in the Work of the Lord for as much as we know that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. And have not all impenitent Sinners as much reason to expect that Christ will certainly execute that Vengeance on them which he has threatned that he will condemn them to Eternal Night and Darkness to Lakes of Fire and Brimstone where there is Weeping and Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth for evermore For he is the Judge of the World who has Power and Authority to do it and has declared that he will do it and then we have reason to take his word for it Men are apt to shelter themselves from the Terrors of the Law by the Merits and and Mediation and Mercies of a Saviour God indeed is very just and severe a consuming Fire and who can abide his comming But the Blessed Jesus is a merciful and compassionate Saviour He is so infinitely merciful but yet this merciful Saviour has threatned Everlasting Fire against incorrigible Sinners and he is our Judge too and if he will condemn us at the last Day what hope is there for us where shall we find another Saviour to deliver us It seems he is not all Mercy as Sinners are apt to flatter themselves No! he is a Judge and a terrible Judge and
whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead 17 Acts 30 31. While Men were ignorant of the other World or had only some uncertain Reports of it mixed with fabulous Stories to increase and nourish Superstition their wickedness was very pitiable and shall meet with a more favourable Judgment but we can now pretend Ignorance no longer and therefore now God commands us to repent Upon this Principle it is that our Saviour upbraided those cities wherein most of his mighty works were done because they repented not Woe unto thee Chorazin woe unto thee Bethsaida for if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes but I say unto you it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of Iudgment than for you And thou Capernaum who art exalted unto heaven shalt be brought down to hell for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom it would have remained until this day but I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee 11 Mat. 20 21 22 23. Those mighty Works our Saviour wrought in these Cities were such powerful Convictions as rendred their Infidelity inexcusable and that aggravated their Condemnation And for the same reason our Saviour threatens that unbelieving Generation who saw all his mighty Works and heard his admirable Wisdom which was so much beyond whatever was seen or heard before The men of Niniveh shall rise in judgment against this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Ionas and behold a greater than Ionas is here The Queen of the South shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold a greater than Solomon is here 12 Luke 41 42. The greater the Preacher is the greater Works he does and the greater Evidence he gives of his Divine Authority still the guilt and condemnation proportionably increases and then the Infidelity of those who live in a Christian Nation and the Wickedness of professed Believers who have so much greater certainty of the Rewards and Punishments of the next World than either Chorazin or Bethsaida or Capernaum then had exceeds them all and their Punishments will proportionably exceed Thus the Gospel has fully acquainted us with the whole Dispensation of Grace in the Redemption of the World by our Lord Jesus Christ That God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life 3 John 16. That Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purifie to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works 2 Tit. 14. That he has made atonement for our sins by his Blood That herein God hath commended his love towards us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us that when we were yet enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son 5 Rom. 8.10 And we know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ that though he was rich yet for our sakes he became poor that we through his poverty might be rich 2 Cor. 8 9. Here is a new Scene of Grace and Love opened which the World was unacquainted with before which presents us with new Arguments and lays new Obligations on us to serve God Arguments and Obligations so endearing so powerful that one would think Human Nature could not resist them could not get loose from them If we will not reverence the Authority of God yet how can we resist his Love If it be not enough to entitle God to our Service that he made us shall we deny his Purchase too When he has bought us with a price the inestimable Blood of his own Son Ought not the love of Christ to constrain us Could he do any thing more for us than redeem us from Death and Hell Could he redeem us at a dearer rate than with his own Blood When he could get nothing by it but the pleasure and satisfaction of making us happy and the glory of being the Saviour of Sinners It is a reproach to Humane Nature to think that such Love as this should not convert the World and subdue Mankind to the Obedience of God It is plain this gives God a greater Right to us than meer Creation and therefore gives every sin of Christians a double guilt if Heathens sinned against their Maker Christians sin against their Maker and their Saviour too And to sin against Love against suffering redeeming forgiving saving Love is a very different thing from sinning against Authority We may call it folly or madness to disobey our Soveraign Lord who can and will punish our Disobedience but to abuse to affront to grieve Love is not the sin of Men though too many Men are guilty of it but of a diabolical Nature I have nothing to say of it but that it is the greatest provocation in the World and all Men think so and thus much worse the sins of Christians are than the sins of Heathens But the Love of God and the Grace of Christ are not the only motives and arguments which our Redemption by the Death of Christ furnishes us with but there are a great many other and such powerful ones as must greatly aggravate our guilt to sin against them There is not a greater preservation against sin than to have a just sense of the Evil of it and a thorough Conviction of God's irreconcileable hatred and displeasure against it and that he will certainly punish it Now indeed Nature does in some measure teach this the Reason of Mankind condemns it Modesty preserves us from some sins Natural Aversions from others till both the Modesty and Aversions of Nature are conquered by a Custom of sinning but then on the other hand the inclinations of Flesh and Blood very strongly tempt us to some sins which are very grateful to Flesh and Blood and to other sins to gain opportunities to gratifie those inclâ—â—ations and when Men taste the sweets of sin and find the present advantages of it this bribes their Reason to speak more favourably of it and to attribute the shame and aversions of Nature to Education and Popular mistakes Thus though men have a natural Sense of God's displeasure against sin and natural Conscience threatens the Judgments of God against sinners yet the experience of the World tells us that most Men flatter themselves that God may be appeased and reconciled to them without forsaking their sins not only the Heathens but even Iews themselves thought this might be done by their sacrifices and the other external rites and ceremonies of their Religion as appears from the frequent complaints of