God 5 John 25 28 29. Verily verily I say unto you The hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live Which may indeed be understood of a Metaphorical or Spiritual Death and Resurrection that those who were dead in Sin should be raised to a new Spiritual Life by hearing the Voice of the Son of God and believing on him but though our Saviour might intend this sence yet he meant somewhat more by it as appears from what follows Marâ—â— not at this for the hour is coming in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation So that the Voice of Christ shall raise the Dead which may well be called the Trump of God when it shall found through all the World and give a new Life to the Dead and summon 'em to Judgment For this is another very material Circumstance of the Future Judgment that all the Dead both good and bad shall be raised to Life again and appear before the Judgment-seat of Christ that as we must give an account of whatever we have done in this Body whether good or bad so we must re-assume our Bodies again when we come to Judgment I shall noâ— now discourse to you of the Nature or Possibility of the Resurrection which belongs to another Argument but the Man Christ Jesus is the Judge of Mankind he appears in Humane Nature himself cloathed with an Humane Body though infinitely bright and glorious and he comes to Judge Men not unbodied Souls and therefore we must be reunited to our Bodies again for a Humane Soul is not a perfect Man without its Body An unbodied Soul is guilty of none of those Sins for which we must be judged for we must be judged for what we did in the Body the Man sinned and the Man must be judged and the Man must be either happy or miserable for ever Lord with what Horrour and Reluctancy will bad Souls enter into their Bodies again not to enjoy their old beloved Sensualities but to be judged for them when the very sight of their Bodies shall call to mind all the Villanies they acted in them when they must appear before their Judge with all the Instruments of Wickedness about them with those very Bodies whose members they had made servants of uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity with Eyes full of Adultery with Hands stained with Blood or full of Bribes or Rapine with a blaspheming a lying a reviling a perjured Tongue to unite a Soul to such a Body again is like tying a Man to his murdered Friend which will both scare and torment his Conscience and poison him with a noisom Stench The Body which was the Tempter and the Instrument in all this Wickedness will now be a Witness against him and an Instrument of his Punishment too But holy Souls will give a better Welcome to their Bodies Bodies in which the Flesh was subdued to the Spirit which were preserved pure and clean from all sensual Lusts which were the ready Instruments of Righteousness and Vertue which were offered up living holy and acceptable Sacrifices to God which suffered loss and want and torment and death for the sake of Christ good Men would desire to be judged in such Bodies as these which are visible Testimonies of their Faith and Patience and Mortification and Self-denial which are the Members of Christ and the Temples of the Holy Ghost Thus all Mankind shall rise out of their Graves and appear before the Judgment seat of Christ and therefore now let us Contemplate our Lord sitting upon his Throne the Throne of Judgment as he himself tells us 25 Matth. 31. 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 Thus it is described in the Revelations of St. Iohn 20 Revel 13. And I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them What this Throne is or where it shall be placed we are not told but the most probable Conjecture is that this Throne is a bright resplendant Cloud in the form of a Magnificent Throne placed in the Air at some distance from the Earth for he is said to come in the Clouds of Heaven and St. Paul plainly intimates to us that his Throne shall be in the Air when he tells us that those good Men who shall be alive at Christ's coming shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and it is not improbable but this may be near Ierusalem where the Temple of God was where he conversed while he lived on Earth and where he was judged and condemned as a Malefactor and treated with the utmost Scorn and Contempt and nailed in an infamous manner upon the Cross for it seems to add to the Triumph of that Day to appear in all his Glory to Judge the World at that very place when he suffered Shame and Reproach and Death for the Sins of Men and from the hands of Sinners But this is all Conjecture though not without some appearing Probability and therefore I shall build nothing on it The Judge being sat all Mankind appear before him to give an account of their Actions and to receive their finaâ— Sentence Before him shall be gathered 〈◊〉 nations and he shall separate them 〈◊〉 from another as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats 25 Mat. 32. This 〈◊〉 I observed before our Saviour attributes to the Ministry of Angels who separate the Wheat from the Tares and the good Fiâ—â— from the bad for the angels we know 〈◊〉 ministring spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation 1 Heb. 14. and therefore they know how to distinguish between good and bad Men and to separate them from each other This is the last and final Separation good and bad Men shall never meet and intermix with each other after this they live together in this World and conveâ—â— together are united by Relation and Inâ—â—rest are Members of the same Church and Worship God together in the same Holy Communion of Prayers and Sacraments but they must part Company at the Day of Judgment the one to the right Hand and the other to the left Men are very apt to flatter themselves now that they shall fare the better for the Company they keep no Church and no Communion is pure enough for them not that they are so much Holier than their Neighbours but they are of Opinion that God will judge of them by the Church they are of and therefore whatever Church strikes their Fancy most with an appearance of Sanctity and Holiness there they joyn themselves not so much to
if our Saviour will judge us it is dangerous to neglect so great Salvation That God did not intend meerly to fright Sinners with his Threatnings is evident from the Sufferings of our Saviour he could not save us without making Atonement and Expiation for our Sins and if he must undergo the Curse of the Law if he must suffer Death to redeem Sinners it is certain Sinners must have died if Christ had not died for them as St. Paul argues If one died for all then were all dead for would God have laid the Punishment of our Sins on Christ if he had not intended to execute the Curse of the Law against Sinners would he have delivered up Christ to Death for us if he had not intended that Sinners should die without a Sacrifice And when the Saviour of the World who came to lay down his Life for us to â—edeem us from the Curse of the Law threatens everlasting Destruction against impenitent and unbelieving Sinners what reason have we to hope that he will not execute his Threatnings those who are not redeemed by his Death must die themselves and it cannot be otherwise expected but that he who died to save us will execute the Sentence of Eternal Death on all those who will not be saved by him When he comes to Judgment he will remember the Shame and Agony the Infamy and Torments of the Cross which he under went for Sinners and this will make him revenge the Contempt of his dying and suffering Love he suffered for Sin once and though he were the Son of God he bowed and sweat and died under the weight of it but all this is despised by Sinners and goes for nothing and now he will die no more for them but they shall die for themselves shall feel the weight of God's Wrath themselves shall sweat and groan and die under it to Eternity II. It is very fitting and congruous that the Man Christ Jesus who is the Saviour should be the Judge of the World and that upon three Accounts 1. This is a very fitting Reward of his Humiliation and Sufferings 2. It gives great advantage to the Future Judgment that the Son of Man is the Judge of Mankind 3. It adds to the Glory and Triumph and Terrour of that Day to have a visible Judge 1. The Glory and Authorâ—ty of a Judge is a very proper and fitting Reward of Christ's Humiliation and Sufferings He became Man to save Mankind though he was in the form of God and thought it not robbery to be equal with God yet he made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross 2 Phil. 6 7 8. This was a very low Condescension for the Son of God to conceal his Eternal Majesty under so mean a Disguise of Flesh and Blood to become Man as we are to submit to all the Weaknesses and Infirmities of Humane Nature to choose a low and mean Fortune to be treated with Contempt and Infamy and to die a painful and accursed Death upon the Cross. All this he submitted to in Obedience to his Father's Will for the Redemption of Mankind but it was not fitting this Son of Righteousness should always lie under an Eclipse he must break forth at last with a new and surprizing Glory the World must see what a great and excellent Person he was who came to visit them in great Humility who took upon him the form of a servant and was despised and rejected of men a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief and therefore God hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name That at the name of Iesus every knee should bow both of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Iesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father V. 10 11. Christ is now exalted to the right Hand of God as a Reward of his Humiliation and Sufferings and appears in the true Glory of an Incarnate God but his Glory is now visible onely to the blessed Inhabitants of Heaven those who despised him persecuted him spit on him nailed him to the Cross those who in all Ages since have derided the Crucified Jesus and scorned his Religion and Worship see nothing of his Glory but when he comes to Judge the World then his Glory and Power shall be visible to all this will put an end to the Reproach of the Cross and turn it into Surprize and Wonder when they shall see what a glorious Person he is who submitted to so infamous a Death When he came into the World he appeared as other Men do as mean as the meanest Men clothed with a mortal Body of Flesh and Blood without any external Splendor of Birth or Fortune to recommend him but when this Son of Man shall return again to Judge the World his external Appearance will then be glorious so bright and transplendent that he will Eclipse the Sun as the Sun does the lesser Lights of Heaven then God will be as visible in him as Man was on Earth and shine through Humane Nature as the Soul does through the Body that an Incarnate God will be as visible as a Man Humane Nature will no longer veil and conceal the Glory of the Godhead but shall bear all the visible Impressions of the Deity and appear with the awful Majesty of God and this is a proper Reward for his mean appearance on Earth for when God becomes Man though there may be wise Reasons why he should conceal himself in Humane Nature for a while yet it cannot and ought not to be always so but if God becomes Man he will at one time or other make his Glory visible to all the World in Humane Nature It was a low and vile submission for the Son of God to be arraigned as a Male-factor before Pontius Pilate to be falsly accused unjustly condemned made a Mock King buffetted scourged reviled with the most bitter and insulting Scorn and nailed upon the Cross betwixt two Thieves but the Scene will be changed when he comes to Judge the World when his Crown of Thorns shall be bright Rays of Glory when the Wound in his Side and the Print of the Nails in his Hands and Feet shall be Springs and Fountains of Light when his Cross shall be turned into a Triumphant Charriot and Throne of Judgment and his Judge and Accusers and all the Enemies and Despisers of his Cross shall stand trembling before him this is the Triumph of the Crucified Jesus this is the Reward of his Infamy and Death and a proper Reward it is to make him the Judge of the World who was judged and condemned himself by Sinners The firm belief and perswasion of this now that God has made him the Judge
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