A DISCOURSE ON THE Extensiveness and Comprehensiveness OF THE Future Judgment of God In another Method than what hath been hitherto Extant in any other BOOKS or SERMONS upon this Subject By RICHARD STAFFORD AS to the extensiveness of the future Judgment of God That is How far it will reach back even to all the days of this Life after we are come unto the knowledge of Good and Evil unto the day of ones Death and as to the comprehensiveness thereof How much it will take in even all the Deeds here done in the Body I ground all this on the following Scriptures And here the first sort of Scriptures which I shall make use of are but conjectural to illustrate this Truth and the others shall be so plain and express even to confirm and demonstrate it An instance of the first sort of Scriptures may be like that Vision which Paul had seen of one saying Come over into Macedonia and help us And immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the Gospel unto them Acts 16.10 and so that place in Acts 13.34 As concerning that he raised him from the dead now no more to turn into corruption He said on this wise I will give you the sure Mercies of David And so our Saviour Jesus Christ proves the Resurrection of the Dead from that saying I am the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the Dead but of the Living Mat. 22.32 For there is a way by assuredly gathering and reasoning out of the Scriptures to bring out such and such Truths altho' they seem to speak nothing thereof in plain and express Words as it was here in the matter of the Resurrection And so it may seem odd and unusual at first until the Reader comes to know the Reason thereof if I should ground the extensiveness of the future Judgment from Deut. 1.39 Moreover your little ones which you said should be a Prey and your Children which in that day had no knowledg between good and evil they shall go in thither and unto them will I give it and they shall possess it Hereby intimating That those Little ones and Children because they had not the knowledge of Good and Evil therefore they should be freed and exempted from that Punishment which was to befall their Fathers of their Carcasses falling in the Wilderness But the Little ones and Children for the aforesaid Reason Because in that day they had no knowledge between good and evil Therefore they should go in and possess that good Land So that if they were to avoid a punishment and inherit a Blessing because by their not having the knowledge of Good and Evil they had done nothing worthy of a forfeiture and loss of that Blessing It may be again reasoned on the other hand That Children indeed have not the knowledge of Good and Evil. And it is elsewhere written And the Times of this Ignorance God winked at Acts 17.29 so it may be supposed for the same Reason That God winks at the Sins and Follies of that tender Age. But as for Boys and Girls when they come to have the knowledge of Good and Evil then they are accountable before God and so likewise are those of Youth and riper Years But much more are they accountable that are of full knowledge even those who by Reason of use have their Senses exercised to discern both Good and Evil. As people come to know good and evil and to discern between good and evil so they are accountable and must be judged and receive accordingly To the Good is annexed Reward and to the Evil Punishment so is the very order and establishment of the things of God And so indeed it is from the Reason of Things As indeed all the things of the All-wise God who is wonderful in Counsel and excellent in Working are ordained and established with very Great reason as it will appear yet more evidently to us than any knowledge of Man can now bring forth when He himself will speak and testifie Psal 50.7 And He will gather all Nations under which is comprehended of all Generations into the Valley of Jehosaphat and will plead with them there Joel 3.2 for what they have done on this Earth It is certain that God doth more regard the Iniquities of Youth than of Childhood upon this very same Reason For Children have no knowledge between Good and Evil but Youth hath or may have which is the same thing which by the way doth answer that common Deceit of People as if Ignorance would excuse their Sin and Ungodliness which it will in no wise but rather increase and aggravate their Sin for their Ignorance was willing 2 Pet. 3.5 and wilful God expects that when we know his Will we should do it otherwise we sin and are liable to his Indignation And also the same God doth expect that Boys and Girls Young men and Maidens should learn and receive the Knowledge of his Will before or however as soon as they come to know any other thing and as soon as ever the Faculties of Reason are widened or employed about other things they should be used towards God and for the apprehending the things of his Kingdom In the same Scriptures whereby we must be judged and according to which we must receive according to our works we do not find any of the Saints and Servants of the Lord complaining of the sins and vanities of Childhood nor yet praying for Pardon and Forgiveness of the same But by that Expression of Paul When I was a Child I spake as a Child I understood as a child I thought as a child It is imported as if God would pass all that over and not enter into judgment for the same But it is not so as to Youth for we read otherwise concerning that Remember not the sins of my Youth nor my Transgressions Psal 25.7 The Psalmist here knew by the Spirit that without his deprecating and praying against them God would remember them and call him to an account for the same For so his servant Job saith expresly Thou writest bitter things against me and makest me to possess the Iniquities of my Youth Job 13.26 And so his own Spirit saith by the mouth of Jeremiah Surely after that I was turned I repented and after I was instructed I smote upon my thigh I was aâ—â—â—â—â—d yea even confounded because I did bear the reproach of my Youth Jer. 31.19 The just Judge of all the Earth calls to account for those Transgressions committed in Youth all one as of succeâ—ding years As indeed in some time about Youth is that exâ—ct Day God only knows it from which Day forward to the Day of each person's Death God doth commence and begin the time from which he will call to account for all the following days of Life Like as whether it be in Manhood declining years or old
is within the Body so the substance or vital parts of Religion which is to the saving of the Soul is inward and invisible also Where any one or any sort of People speak according to the Scriptures of Truth there Truth from whencesoever it spring up is to be received and embraced But if it speaks not according to the Word there it is to be rejected and not admitted according to that spiritual Wisdom and Divine method of separating the Precious from the Vile and gathering the good Fishes into Vessels and casting the bad away When we see our selves already acquitted and cleared out of that Word whereby we must be judged at the last Day this must be a mighty Comfort and Assurance And that same Word having promised and annexed a Crown of Life unto Faithfulness to the Death Rev. 2.10 Therefore my beloved Brethren Be ye stedfast unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord forasmuch as ye know that your Labour is not in vain in the Lord 1 Cor. 15.58 From all this put together will appear the Necessity of Persevering and continuing in the work of the Lord in order to have a well grounded hope evidence and assurance Right and Title to have this Crown of Life and to have our Labour in the Lord recompenced According as himself hath promised For thy works shall be rewarded saith the Lord. Jer. 31.16 There is no Point in Divinity more clear and certain and of more undoubted Truth than the necessity of Perseverance in order unto Salvation As also nothing is more put in mind of repeated and inculcated over and over in common Preaching for the abundant care and safety of Souls The same is also understood by common People whether learned oâ— unlearned He that knows any thing of God and Religion knows this also That if we would be saved it is necessary in order thereto to continue unto our Lives end in the Worship and Service of God in doing his Will and finishing his Work For He and he only that endures unto the End shall be saved Whosoever once puts his hand to this Plow and looks back he is not worthy of the Kingdom of God In those Scriptures which are given to make wise unto Salvation there are abundance of Truths and Affirmations to this purpose so that there is no need to cite or rehearse any more But yet there are several people who are for serving God for a spurt and for a season and they come to the Place of Hearing his Word for once and away I have told ye often this will not do A fit of Holiness for a season will not bring any one to Heaven But God who cannot lye hath promised to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for Glory Honour and Immortality Eternal Life Rom. 2.7 Without Holiness no man shall see the Lord. But that is such holiness as is ingrafted fixed constant and universal The Souldiers of the antient Roman Empire according to the Laws and Constitutions thereof were disbanded and dismissed from any further Service in the Military Employment after the fiftieth Year But the Souldiers of Jesus Christ are never disbanded or dismissed from his Service and if any should desert dismiss or disband themselves from his Service they lose their Crown and they become liable unto punishment We read of Mnason an old Disciple and those that be planted in the House of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God they shall still bring forth fruit in old Age they shall be fat and flourishing Psal 92.13 14. As long as any of us have the knowledge of Good and Evil remaining with us we are to do the Good and eschew the Evil. As long as any one hath all his senses left as there is none who lives out all his five senses to discern between Good and Evil he is to do the first and leave the last undone according as he hath Power of Action The Soul thinks as long as ever it is in the Body and as long as one thinks his thoughts are to be bent and lifted up towards God and Goodness and Truth and not to admit of but cast out all such Evil and Vanity which would lodge or lurk there And this it signified and required by that great and Indispensable command Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength and with all thy mind Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me Bless his holy name Psal 103. â—… So by all that is within us and to our very utmost God is to be served and obeyed and also to the utmost Period and Duration of time As our Souls in their creation and making have a beginning in time but they are without end of days they being Properly Immortal Even such an obedience and service doth the Lord our Creator require of us which did and doth once begin and never end until our service here is crowned and consummated with Glory hereafter What remains But that ye who shall hear or read this be in the visions of God as Daniel and John was to see the dead small and great stand before God and seeing that they were judged out of those things which were written in the Books according to their Works therefore in every thing so think speak and do as ye that must give Account The word of Instruction which arises hence is this that each of us severally do order our Life and Conversation in this short Time and mean while as near as ever we can according to all the words which are Written in those Books which are the Books of Scripture and the Book of Conscience That is to live up and according to all those Thoughts of Good and Truth which Conscience doth suggest unto Man FINIS
Age God only knows when it is He limiteth a certain Day saying in David To day after so long a time Heb. 4.7 after which if they will come to repentance they will be hardly admitted So in the foregoing part of Life there is a certain Day from which Day forward God will call in question and to account and so of every day after we are come to the years of Discretion and have the knowledge of Good and Evil. And this I shall not so much ground upon as assuredly gather from another conjectural Scripture as I phrase it which is the concluding part of the Speech of the Town-Clerk of Ephesus for we are in danger to be called in question for this days Voroar there being no Cause whereby we may give an account of this days Conoourse Acts 19.40 So in like manner I alledge and reason That we are not so much in danger which denotes Doubt and Uncertainty whether it would be so or not and probably for all he spoke thus they were never called in question for the same as we read of But I go on to add That we every one of us shall be certainly called in question for this Day and so of all the past Days after Years of Discretion and so of all the following Days for each days actions and deeds done in the Body yea for the Thoughts of Heart and for the Words of our Tongue For they must be given account of according to Mat. 12.35 36 37. and whether there was a Cause or no Cause for the same yet of every thing we must give account Many may be apt to think that this is but a slender foundation to build so great a Truth and Assertion upon as that here is For the Town-Clerk of Ephesus was an Heathen and a worshipper of the Great Goddess Diana and he said this as to a Temporal matter and when he spake after this manner he thought nothing at all of the Future judgment of God How then canst thou bring this Saying of his to manifest a great Truth of God as to declare his Decree of Eternal Judgment to be on that wise as thou hast here affirmed it Why therefore mistake me not I do only allude to those his words but. I do in no wise bring them for proof and confirmation of this Position of the extensiveness and comprehensiveness of the future Judgment For indeed they are no proof at all or at least a very slender one Only from the parity and likeness of the Proceedings in Humane Courts of Judicatory with those of the last and great Day of the Lord in which indeed there is some similitude For the Great Judge of all the Earth will proceed against all Mankind with the same measures of Justice as they now do one to another for he gave them knowledge thus to proceed and judge And from the same Reasoning Shall not he that teacheth man knowledge know It may be certainly concluded for he often makes such comparisons and resemblances that he will so deal with us Creatures in righteousness justice and equity Psal 98.9 as is now commonly used in Courts of Judicatory when they proceed according to the true and exact Rules thereof But similitudes do illustrate and not prove But here we have no need thereof for let alone that Saying of the Town-clerk of Ephesus which I only mentioned because his words did so appositely express forth our Subject in hand and so plainly that it may be understood by the meanest capacity We have besides sundry express plain and full places of undoubted Scripture which make known the comprehensiveness and extensiveness of the future Judgment as hath been afore-affirmed As also herein differs the future Judgment of God from Human Assizes or Sessions or Common Courts of Judgment For many things are here done on this Earth whereof no notice or cognizance at all is taken at Assizes Sessions Court-leets or such like And then also they do only take notice of some Misfesances Nusances Evil Prejudice or Harms either as to the Society of Mankind or as relating to Property which many times through Bribery Corruption Partiality or the Greatness of the Person do pass uncensured without Animadversion or Punishment And then they do not reward those that do well or who keep up the good and peace of Community Now herein the Judgment of the Great God supplies what is wanting or defective as to that He is a Great God mighty and terrible that regardeth not persons nor taketh Reward in all which he is opposite unto Men. And then as his Providence doth reach over Sparrows for not one of them falleth to the ground without the Will of our Heavenly Father as the Hairs of our Head are all numbred and not one of them is forgotten before God As his eyes are upon all the ways of the sons of Men Mark that particle all To give every one according to his way and according to the fruit of his doings Jer. 32.19 So he will bring them all to Judgment for not one thing whether it be great or small of more or less moment whether the greatest King or meanest Beggar had an hand in it For not only the Kings of the Earth and the Great Men and the Rich Men and the Chief Captains and the Mighty Men but every Bond man will also come forth unto Judgment I say again not any thing that was ever done or transacted on this Earth from the Cedar in Lebanon to the Hyssop on the Wall but will come forth into Judgment For God will bring every work into judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be bad Eccles 12.14 Here is a most plain and express Text which proves and confirms the point in hand of the extensiveness and comprehensiveness of the future Judgment besides that saying of the Town-clerk of Ephesus which barely as it comes from him is not to be relied on But this of Ecclesiastes is a most certain Truth and proceeds from the Spirit of God Every work and every secret thing There is some of this sort done and Transacted every day and night after night so that each days transactions and secret things yea and every least thing shall be brought into Judgment whether it be good or whether it be evil This makes out again what is afore-affirmed for the Judgment of Man in Courts of Judicatory doth chiefly and almost only take notice of the Evil. But God will bring both the Good and the Evil into judgment And that God will judge for all the actions of Youth as to which many think that they shall escape scotfree and unpunished we have this expresly averr'd and affirmed in the foregoing Chapter Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth and walk in the ways of thy heart and in the light of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment Eccles