Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A77556
|
Gods statute for generall iudgement by the man Christ Iesus. Opened in a sermon at the funerall of the most religious lady, the Lady Lucie Iervoice, sometime wife to the right worshipfull Sir Thomas Iervoice at Herriot. Aug. 26. 1641. By John Brokett Minister of Elsfeild.
|
Brokett, John.
|
1642
(1642)
|
Wing B4845; Thomason E116_1; ESTC R5889
|
21,463
|
41
|
these the Prophesie of Enoch the seventh from Adam recorded Iudges 14.15 Behold the Lord commeth with ten thousands of his Saints to execute judgement upon all And in this the last Apostle agrees with the first Prophet Behold saith Saint Iohn he commeth with clouds and every eye shall see him Revel 1.7 Many more texts might be alleadged consonant to these but your knowledge and beliefe of this matter assures me that this labour would be superfluous 2. Conscience testifies it Yea also the conscience of the the vilest Atheist it will be as a thousand witnesses to confirme it How often are they filled with unspeakable horrour especially in death and wherefore it is thus with them because conscience tels that die they must and after death must come to judgement 3. Humane Reason enlightened by holy Scripture conceives and concludes that there shall be a day of Judgement Looke abroad into the world and you shall see a wonderfull confusion of things a strange inequalitie of Divine dispensations The wicked many times flourish and enjoy great prosperitie when the righteous are afflicted and endure great adversitie Now though some doe from hence conclude that there is no present providence and shall be no future judgement yet this confusion of things and inequalitie of Divine dispensations is an argument sufficient in Saint Pauls Divinitie to prove a judgement to come Heare what Saint Paul writes from Athens to his persecuted Thessalonians Your persecutions and tribulations which you endure is a manifest token or an evident demonstration of the righteous Iudgement of God 2 Thess 1.4 5. And Salomon before him in his survey of vanities saith I saw under the Sun the place of judgement that wickednesse was there and the place of righteousnesse that iniquitie was there And what doth Salomon inferre from hence therefore no providence therefore no judgement to come No but the plaine contrary I said in my heart God shall judge the righteous and the wicked for a time there is for every purpose and for every worke Eccles. 3.16 17. 4. Particular judgements which God inflicteth upon men in this life doe prove the universall The drowning of the old world the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah the plaguing of Egypt the desolation of Jerusalem and more particular judgements upon particular persons all these are praeludia judicii universalis forerunners and foretellers of a generall judgement Some sinnes are punished here that we might know that there is a Providence and a Judge that takes notice of every sin and some sins passe here unpunished that we might expect a greater and stricter judgement to come hereafter Thus Scripture teacheth Conscience testifyeth Reason concludeth and present Judgements doe demonstrate the truth of my propounded Doctrine that there shall be a day of judgement So I dismisse the first Point and come to the second 2. Who shall Iudge He shall Iudge saith the Text where the word He hath relation to God mentioned in the foregoing verse where the Apostle saith God commandeth all men every where to repent Because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge So then you see God shall Iudge God essentially meant concluding all the sacred Persons of the Deitie Father Son and holy Ghost The whole Trinitie shall concurre in this work being as the Schooles say Opus ad extra an Externall work of the Godhead And it is an Axiome in Divinitie Opera Trinitatis ad extra sunt indivisa The externall works of the Godhead admit not of any division in the persons of the Deitie It is true there be certaine Internall works which are incommunicably proper to every Person It is incommunicably proper to the person of the Father to have his being of himself It is incommunicably proper to the Person of the Son to be begotten of the Father And it is incommunicably proper to the Person of the Holy Ghost to proceed from the Father and the Son But those works by which the invisible things of the Godhead are made manifest to the Creature as Creation Preservation Redemption and this of Iudgement are equally and indifferently to be ascribed to the sacred three in one and to God in all Object But it may be objected That albeit in this place judgement be attributed essentially to God yet in other places it is attributed personally and respectively to Christ The Father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgement to the Son Joh. 5.22 Again sometimes this worke of judging is appropriated to the Saints Know ye not that the Saints shall judge the world 1 Cor. 6.2 How shall these places be reconciled which affirme that God and Christ and the Saints shall Judge Answ This threefold doubt is easily dissolved by a threefold distinction 1. God is said to Judge because the Power and Right of judging belongeth to God onely 2. Christ is said to Judge because God hath committed to him the Administration of Judgement 3. Saints are said to Judge because they shall approve and give attestation to the sentence which Christ shall pronounce of salvation to the godly of damnation to the wicked The Authoritie is Gods The Execution is Christs The Approbation is the Saints This distinction is sufficient to free the Scripture from the least contradiction and the point from this objection And now having cleared the point that Almightie God onely shall judge the world I will confirme it by two reasons drawne from two Attributes in God proving him onely fit to be the Judge of all the world The first reason is drawne from Gods Omniscience the knowledge of the Lord like himselfe is Infinite nothing can be hid from his sight Heaven is not so high but he can reach it Hell is not so deep but he can search it The Earth is not so wide but he can span it the Night is not so darke but he can see it the Chamber the Bed the Closet is not so close but he whose eyes are as flames of fire can pierce it Psal 94.9 God planted the eare needs therefore must he heare all our words He formed the eye needs therefore must he see all our works He made the Heart Heb. 4.12 needs therefore must he know the thoughts Psal 94.11 and discerne the intents of the Hearts of the sonnes of men The Scripture is plaine and plentifull in the proofe of this Lord thou knowest all things saith Saint Peter Ioh. 21.17 Againe Heb. 4.13 There is no creature that is not manifest in his sight but all things are naked and open Open as an Anatomized body for thence the Metaphor is drawn where the bowels are laid open and every nerve and Muscle and ligament every Atome discovered so as we may take a full view of it Thus the most secret whispers the most retired actions the deepest and darkest thoughts and intentions of all men are open and naked unto the eyes of him with whom we have to doe Rightly therefore is the Lord conceived under the name
our Creed where we are taught to beleeve that Christ shall come from Heaven to judge both the quick and dead that is all that shall be found dead to be revived and quicke to be changed at the comming of Jesus Christ to iudgement See further Rom. 14.10 2. Cor. 5.10 where S. Paul saith We shall We must all appeare before the Judgement-seat of Christ I shall not ned to say more in the Confirmation of this Truth Onely I will adde a word or two to cleere some few texts which at the first view seeme to have a flat contradiction One is Psal 1.5 The ungodly shall not stand in judgement The Septuagint turne it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so many Latine fathers read it non resurgent shall not rise in judgement a bad translation it may be want of skill in the Hebrew made them to follow the Septuagint who were Jews amongst whom many held an heresie that the souls of sinners should perish with their bodies which errour receives not the least strength from these words of the Prophet David wherein he means not that the wicked shall not come to be judged but they shall not be acquitted in iudgement they shall be found guiltie and shall fall into eternall condemnation Another Place is Ioh. 3.18 He that beleeveth not is condemned already Now if all unbeleevers be condemned already what need is there of any further iudgement To this I answer It cannot be denyed that unbeleevers are already condemned 1. In Gods eternall decree who hath appointed them to condemnation 2. In Gods word which denounceth damnation to to all that beleeve not 3. In their owne Consciences which serve as a thousand witnesses to accuse them as a Judge to condemne them and as an executioner to torment them But all this hinders not but that they must appeare before the iudgement seat of the Lord that their sins may be openly manifested their sentence publikely pronounced for the fuller manifestation of Gods iustice to all the world Another place is Ioh. 5.24 He that beleeveth in God shall not come into judgement To this I answer That in this place our Saviour by a Trope putteth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Judgement for condemnation And in all our English Bibles even in the last and best translation the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though it properly signifies judgement yet it is rendred condemnation Which though it be not a right translation yet it is a true and sound Exposition for the meaning of our Saviour is that the faithfull though they shall come to judgement yet they shall never come into condemnation They shall not come into the Judgement of damnation but they shall come into the Judgement of eternall Absolution from their sins and miseries That which they have here in part must then be perfected that which they have here by faith shall then be revealed a finall deliverance from the thraldome of this world to the glorious libertie of the sons of God And so much for the third point I proceed to the fourth 4. How God will judge He will judge in righteousnesse saith the Text. That is the Lords judiciall proceeding at the last Day in judging some to the eternall unutterable joyes and glory of Heaven and in dooming others to the easelesse and remedilesse torments of Hell shall be most just and righteous Hence the Day of Judgement is called by Saint Paul The day of the Revelation of the righteous judgement of God Rom. 2.5 Now the justice and righteousnesse of the Lords proceeding at the last Day shall be declared to all the world two wayes 1. God will have no respect of persons as Saint Paul saith Rom. 2.11 That is in the act of Judging the Lord will not respect the outward qualitie and condition of any as Countrey Sex Wealth Povertie Age Youth Beautie Deformitie Honour Ignominy or any outward circumstance whatsoever none of these things shall in the least wise move the Lord to reward or punish Esaus eldership shall not remove the Lords hate nor Iacobs minoritie hinder the Lords love Sauls Scepter shall not shelter him from Gods wrath nor Davids sheep-hooke hold him backe from Gods blessing Lazarus his povertie shall not keepe him out of Abrahams bosome nor Dives his wealth free him from the place of torment It shall be no impeachment to Cornelius that he was a Gentile nor immunitie to any that he was a Jew But whosoever he be Jew or Gentile bond or free poore or rich male or female that feareth God and worketh righteousnesse he shall be accepted to salvation and whosoever he be that feareth not God and worketh unrighteousnesse without partialitie he shall be rejected to damnation 2. God will reward every man according to his works as Saint Paul saith Rom. 2.6 Evill works are most certaine evidences of infidelitie and good works are inseparable fruits and infallible testimonies and signes of saving faith and therefore God to declare himself a righteous Judge will make our works the rule of his retribution To every soul that doth evill God will render indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish for evermore but to every soul that worketh good God will render Glory honour peace and eternall life Rom. 2.7 8 9 10. So just a retribution will the Lord at the last day render to every person that all the world shall say Iust art thou O Lord and true and righteous are thy Iudgements Revel 6. vers 7. But here two Questions may very fitly be propounded Quest Whether good works are meritorious causes of salvation because the Apostle saith God will reward every man according to his works and he saith it to this end to declare the just and righteous judgement of the Lord at the last day Sol. To which I answer that the usuall collection of the Papists from this and the like places is that therefore the good works of men justified and in grace are meritorious causes of eternall life But the judgement of our Church and all other Reformed Churches is this that however good works done in grace are acceptable to God in Jesus Christ and shall by him be rewarded yet that acceptance and reward is not deserved by our works but is freely bestowed out of the grace and mercy of God And this determination we prove thus 1. By Scripture which most expressely teacheth every where that eternall life is a free gift of Gods mercy not a reward due to mans merit See these places Rom. 6.23 and 11.5.6 Ephes 2.8 9. 2 Tim. 1.9 Tit. 2.11 and 3.7 I might adde more but these are sufficient 2. By Reason which being enlightened by Scripture strongly argueth and concludeth that good works are not cannot be meritorious 1. Because we are creatures Psal 100.3 2. We are sinfull creatures Iam. 3.2 3. Our good works are not ours but Gods Phil. 2.13 4. They are a due debt not supererogated Luc. 17.10 5. They are stained with manifold and great