THESE words were spoke by the Lord Jesus Christ, the su­pream Judg of the World, upon his finishing the Reve­lation to St. John. In them we may observe, 1. An Excitation, Behold. 2. The Coelestial Object, I come quickly. 3. The End of his Coming, my Reward is with me, to render to every one ac­cording to his Works.

[Page 2] 'Tis observable that the prophetical Notice of the Lord's coming to Judgment is ushered in with great So­lemnity: Thus Enoch the seventh from Adam, foretel­ling his Judiciary Appea­rance, said, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of his Saints, to execute Judgment up­on all: and the Circumstance of the suddenness of his Coming, is used as a power­ful Motive to awaken our drowsy Spirits, and fix our scatter'd Minds intirely on this so eminent an Object. So the Apostle James gives an awful Admonition, Behold, the Judg stands before the door ready to pass a final Sentence. [Page 3] And St. John breaks forth in an Extasy at this admirable Spectacle, Behold, he comes with Clouds, and every Eye shall see him, and they which pierced him: And the everlasting Judg himself assures us of his speedy Coming with this Preface, Behold, I come quick­ly. The words contain this Proposition.

'Tis our high Wisdom and Du­ty, to represent by actual and so­lemn thoughts the certain and speedy Coming of Christ to the righteous Judgment of the World.

I will illustrate and prove this Doctrine in this order.

[Page 4] First; Consider what is revealed in the Scripture of his certain coming to Judg­ment.

Secondly; The circumstance of Time, his coming quickly.

Thirdly; The Rewards he will then immediately di­stribute.

Fourthly; The respective difference of the Rewards, according to the Actions of Men in this Life. And then apply it.

First; In the managing the first Point, I shall not insist upon the Proofs of a future Judgment, but only direct to the Fountains of Arguments that are demonstrative to [Page 5] attentive▪ and unperverted Minds.

'Tis a Doctrine of Natural Reason and Divine Faith: if we consider the essential and necessary Perfections of God, or the Frame of Man, we must strongly infer his ac­countableness for his Actions. There is an essential Subordi­nation between Man and his Divine Maker, and being en­dowed with Understanding and free Faculties, 'tis becom­ing the Wisdom of God to govern him by a Law, to re­gulate his Choice and Acti­ons: This is the Rule that di­stinguishes between Vertue and Vice, and the Holiness, Justice, and Goodness of God [Page 6] are infallible assurances to us, that there will be Recom­pences according to the di­versity of Mens Actions, ei­ther conforming or transgres­sing his Laws. Besides, eve­ry Man has an internal Senti­ment, a judicial Impression in his Breast of this great Truth. Conscience, the inseparable Faculty of the reasonable Soul, has a directing and re­flecting Light, to shew us our Duty, to examine our Acti­ons, and accordingly to excuse and comfort, or to accuse and terrify; which Acts necessa­rily imply, that 'tis deputed by the Supream Judg of the World, to observe our ways in order to its final Testimony [Page 7] before his Tribunal. This Proof is the more convincing and palpable, in that those Persons who are exempted from humane Judgment by their Power and Dignity, those who are above Reproof, and by a fatal Priviledg damn themselves with less contra­diction than others, yet are not impenetrable to the stings of Conscience, but at times have a conscious feeling of their Guilt: and in those who have so far stupified Consci­ence, that 'tis either silent, or speaks with a low Voice, yet when they are in distress, e­specially in the approaches of Death, Conscience recovers Life and Vigor, sets their [Page 8] Sins in order before them, and flashes the Terrors of fu­ture Judgment in their faces; an evident presage that altho Conscience was not strong e­nough to controul their licen­tious Appetite here, it will be strong enough for their Con­viction and Torment here­after.

Now Divine Revelation renews the decayed Notions of the future Judgment that are natural to the Minds of Men, and confirms them a­gainst the opposition of the Carnal Faculties, it regulates and enlarges them, with re­spect to the Certainty and Circumstances of it, who shall be Judg, and the man­ner [Page 9] of his coming, and trans­acting the Affairs of the great Day.

I will more particularly in­sist upon the certain coming of Jesus Christ in Person to judg the World; and for the orderly discourse of it, 'tis ob­servable that a double coming of Christ is foretold in Scrip­ture: The first in a low Con­dition; the second in a glori­ous State. The ends of his first and second coming regu­late their manner: The Mes­sias came at first, to be the Me­diatour between the righte­ous God and sinful Man, by patient suffering the most af­flictive Evils; to propitiate the incensed Justice of Heaven [Page 10] against us; to restore us by Humility who fell by Pride; To illustrate his signal Love to us, to recommend by the efficacy of his Example, the meek Suffering all the transi­ent Evils of the World: But the second will be to perform the last Act of his Regal Of­fice, to determine the eternal States of Angels and Men, and suitably in the Glory of his Deity. The Divine Ora­cles were never less obscure than in describing the first and second coming of the Messias; the Eclipses of the Sun of Righteousness, and his future Glory: and the most clear ac­complishment of them in his Humiliation, is a convincing [Page 11] visible Argument they shall be fulfilled in his Exaltation. Now in regard his lowly O­bedience, and sorrowful Suf­ferings, are the Titles to his Triumph, and the height of his Glory shall be answerable to his extream Debasement; I will briefly compare his first and second Coming.

His first Coming was in the likeness of sinful Flesh: tho he was exempt from the rebelli­ous Sin of our first Parents, and the poisonous tincture that is derived to their com­mon Race, being miracu­lously conveyed by the Holy Ghost, yet he was charged with the Frailties, and expo­sed to those Afflictions that [Page 12] are the Penalties of Sin. His first reception in the World was so mean, that if Poverty it self had assum'd a visible Appearance, it could not be received more poorly. He was born in a Stable, and died on the Cross, the humble Po­verty of his beginning was not discordant from his ignomi­nious End: and his Life from his first Breath to his last in the World, was a course through Poverty, Disgrace, Injuries, Indignities, and the most cruel Sufferings. He was made not only lower than the Angels, but than the lowest of Men: In the lan­guage of his Type, Psal. 22. a Worm and no Man. In this poor, weak, [Page 13] and contemptible State, dark­ned with the Clouds of Sor­rows, O how unlike to him, who appeared in a Coelestial Vision to the Prophet Esay, Isa. 6. sitting upon a Throne high and lifted up, and the glorious Se­raphims in a posture of Re­verence about him, and in an Extasy of Admiration cry­ing, one to another, Joh. 12. 41. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Hosts, the whole Earth is full of his Glory.

Carnal Eyes could not dis­cover the Son of God in the Son of Man so vilified and afflicted. The words of the Prophet are justly applicable to him in the state of his Hu­miliation, Isa. 45. 15. Verily thou art a [Page 14] God that hidest thy self, O God of Israel the Saviour.

Now to all those steps of our Saviours depression in his first coming, are correspon­dent the degrees of his Exal­tation in his second coming. He shall come the second time from the highest Hea­ven the true Sanctuary of God, and appear without Sin, having perfectly expiated it by his Sufferings on Earth. His first coming was in Disho­nour, his second shall be in Glory. He came at first on foot, in the form of a Servant, then he shall come in the form of God, riding on the bright Clouds, and all the Chariots of God, the Angels of Light attending him. Psal. 68. 17. [Page 15] He shall come in the Glory of his Father, in the visible bright­ness of the Deity. The Rods, the Thorns, the Nails, the Cross, all the conspiring In­struments of his cruel and disgraceful Sufferings shall be exchanged for the Ensigns of Majesty: His Sacred Head shall be crown'd with Glory, of which the Sun in its Lustre is but a dark shadow; a Scepter of Righteousness shall be in his hand, he shall sit on a great white Throne, the Emblem of his unspotted Holiness.

His first coming was in Weakness, but his second shall be in Power. Thus he told his Enemies, Mat. 26. 64. Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sit­ting [Page 16] on the right-hand of Power, and coming in the Clouds of Hea­ven. His Voice shall break the silence of the Grave, and all that are in the bowels of the Earth, or the bottom of the Sea, shall come forth; they that have done good, Joh. 28. 29. unto the Resurrection of Life; they that have done evil, to the Resurrection of Damnation. By his Omni­potence he will change our vile Bodies, Phil. 3. 21. that they may be fashioned like to his Glorious Body. As Gold at first taken out of the Mine, seems but common Earth, but by the refining Fire has a Brightness superin­duced, that it seems rather the product of the Fire, than from the Vein of the Earth from [Page 17] whence it was taken: Thus our Bodies that in their Ori­ginal are but Earth; from the Earthly Adam; shall by the Power of the Lord from Heaven be made heavenly, clothed with a living Lustre and Vi­gor. He will then convent the God of this World, with all the invisible Legions of re­bellious Spirits, and force their Submission to his High Tribunal. He will dissolve the old World, and raise the new: from his Face the Earth and the Heaven shall flee away, and there shall be no place found for them. According to his Pro­mise we look for new Heavens, and a new Earth, wherein dwells Righteousness.

[Page 18] Briefly, in his first coming he was despised and rejected of Men, condemned and cruci­fied, but then he shall be re­vealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels, in flaming Fire, to take Vengeance upon all that know not God, and disobey the Gospel. How will the wicked be surpriz'd with the Terrors of the Lord? At the promulgati­on of the Law, the Senses of Hearing and Seeing, that are the inlets of▪ Terror, were so strongly affected with the Presence of God, when fear­ful Lightnings were darted from his Eyes, and Clouds of Smoke came from the Breath of his Nostrils, and at the loud sounding of the Trumpet, [Page 19] and the quaking of the Moun­tain; that the Hearts of the Spectators were ready to die within them, and Moses himself was terribly afraid; but how will the Sights and Sounds at the last day overwhelm the guilty with Terrors, when the Son of God shall appear in his terrible Majesty! when the Arch-angel shall blow the Trum­pet of God, when the Pillars of Heaven shall fall, and the Foundations of the Earth be overthrown, and a dreadful Judgment shall pass upon the impenitent Transgressors of the eternal Law! how will they appear spiritless, in sad Confusion in the great Day of the Lord Almighty?

[Page 20] Secondly; We are to con­sider the Circumstance of Time, his coming quickly. 'Tis verified by universal Experi­ence, that no carnal Princi­ple does more fortify Sinners in a false Security, than putting the evil day far from them, and the Presumption that they are not in present danger of God's Displeasure, when inevitable and great Evils are look'd up­on as remote, they make a slite Impression, but the Pro­pinquity of such Evils in­spires Terrors. We have an Instance of this in Cain, who (after God had denounced his Punishment for his bloody crying Sin) full of Perplexi­ty [Page 21] and Dispair breaks forth, My Punishment is greater than I can bear! and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me, shall slay me. But when he was secured from present Revenge, and expected a long Life in this World, he freely indulged his sensual Desires, and built a City, to drown the noise of his accusing Consci­ence. The World follows this way of Cain, and freely pur­sues the Satisfaction of their Lusts. When Men look up­on the Divine Judgment at an immense distance, and when the evil Servant shall say in his Heart, Mat. 24. my Lord delays his coming, he will satisfy both the angry and voluptuous Appe­tites, [Page 22] he will smite his fellow-Servants, and eat and drink with the drunken. To awaken there­fore Mens drowsy Spirits to prepare for the Judgment of the great Day, to check their exorbitant Lusts, their Lasci­viousness, excess of Wine, and Re­veling 'tis threatened, they shall give an account of them, 1 Pet. 14. 1, 3. to him who is ready to judg the Quick and the Dead. And to induce a patient Temper and asswage Sorrow, the Apostle James encourages afflicted Christians, that the Judg stands before the door.

There is a seeming diffi­culty how to reconcile the Predictions of Christ's sud­den coming to Judgment, with the interval of so many [Page 23] intire Ages laps'd since, and what may remain of Time before the last Day is uncer­tain. This difficulty will be resolved by considering the following Particulars.

1. The words of the Text are to be understood in the strict literal Sense: For our Saviour having represented in a visionary Scene the State of the Church in the several Periods of its Duration to the end of the World, its Conflicts, Victory, and Tri­umph over Antichristian E­nemies, and having described the Tranquillity, Purity and Glory of the Church in the very last part of Time, which is preparative to the glorious [Page 24] everlasting State in the next World, he declares, I come quickly, Rev. 22. 5. and my Reward is with me: After the final accom­plishment of those Prophe­cies, there is no more use of Time, the unjust, and unrighte­ous, and filthy, Esa. 22. 1. continue un­chang'd and impenitent; Micah. 7. 1. the righteous and holy are confirm'd in their Perseverance, Heb. 1. and immediately shall receive Re­compences according to their Works.

2. The whole flux of Time, from the first to the second coming of Christ is called the last days. The Prophets foretold of an astonishing Change that should arrive in the Church and the World, that the Ce­remonial [Page 25] Law should be a­bolish'd, when the Messias, the Substance of it, and Per­fection was come, and a new Covenant be immutably e­stablish'd in the Church, 'tis the final expiring of Time. In this Sense the Apostle speaks to Christians in the first Age of the Church; 1 Cor. 10. 11. Now all these things happened unto them for Examples, and they are writen for our Admonition, upon whom the Ends of the World are come. Now in the division of Time, this being the last part of it, for the duration of the World, the second coming of Christ is represented as near. The last Glass of Time was turn'd up at the Revelation of the [Page 26] Gospel by the Son of God, and now the last Sands are running; when 'tis out, it shall never be turned more.

3. Sometimes the speedy coming of Christ to Judg­ment immediately respects the destruction of the Jewish State, and their principal Ci­ty. Thus in his last Ser­m [...]n on Mount Olivet, the T [...]mple being in his view, he f [...]retold that one Stone shall not be left upon another: And after his describing the fearful E­vents that should surprize that Nation, tells his Disciples, Ve­rily I say unto you, this Genera­tion shall not pass, Mat. 24. 24. till all these things be fulfilled. The time of this Judgment, is called the [Page 27] great and illustrious Day of the Lord, Acts 2. 20. when by visible Ven­geance upon that Nation, he declar'd his Divine Power and Glory before the World. And to this famous Destruction of the Jews, may refer several places, where the Apostle en­courages Believers to unfaint­ing perseverance in their Du­ty, notwithstanding the cruel Opposition they met with from Infidels of the Jewish Nation: Not forsaking the as­sembling of our selves, Heb. 10. as the manner of some is, but exhort one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching; that is, when Christ will appear for the subduing his Enemies, and for the relieving his People.

[Page 28] 4. We must distinguish be­tween the Judgment of Sense and of Faith, and this will rectify our estimate of the time of God's particular Judgment upon Earth, and of his universal Judgment when he will distribute eter­nal Recompences. To Sense Afflictions seem not only grievous, but often they seem long: for Sorrow fastens the Thoughts upon the Affliction; in sharp Pains the Soul is as it were confined to the diseased part, and strictly observes all the hours and smaller parts of their Duration, which when we are at ease slip away with­out notice. In distress we would fain hasten away the [Page 29] present time, expecting Re­lief by what shall succeed: and winged time seems slow in its motion. From hence are so many doleful Com­plaints of the Saints, Lord, how long? Psal. 70. 8, 9. Lord, make haste: as if he had forgot to be graci­ous to relieve them, and just to repay their cruel Enemies. But Faith in the Divine Pro­mises looks to their accom­plishment in the time set by the most wise and holy dispo­ser of all things. A stedfast Be­liever never counts God slow in coming to Judgment; for he is never too late. The Vision of the Churches Deliverance is for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie; tho [Page 30] it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry. This is applied by the Apostle to the particular Judgment upon Jerusalem; and is appli­cable to the universal Judg­ment: For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, Heb. 10. and will not tarry: tho he bears long with the Sufferings of his own Elect, yet he will avenge them speedily: At the prefixed time, when the number of the E­lect shall be compleat, and all the Vessels of Wrath are fitted for Destruction, the discerning Judg will come and separate them for ever.

5. Compare Time with Eternity. Time is numbred and distinguished by the Mo­tions [Page 31] of the Sun and Moon, and is accounted long or short by us with respect to our transient and limited Du­ration in the present World: but Eternity is an endless Du­ration. The whole space of Time, from the first Motions of the Heavens to the last, has not that proportion to Eternity, as a short Span has to the vast Compass of the Heaven. Now God, who is absolutely eternal, and truly infinite, measures the continuance of things by his own Standard: according­ly the Psalmist tells us, Psal. 90. 4. A thousand Years in his sight, are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a Watch in the Night: as [Page 32] the space of a few hours that passes without the least per­ception in sleep. God com­forts his suffering Church: for a small moment have I forsaken thee, Esa. 54. 7, 8. but with great Mercy will I gather thee: In a little Wrath I hid my face from thee, but with everlasting Kindness will I have Mercy on thee. St. Peter re­plies to the Infidels of the last days, who scornfully say, Where is the Promise of his coming? 2 Pet. 3. One day with the Lord is as a thousand Years, and a thousand Years as one day: all the measures of Time are de­termin'd in Eternity. This estimate will reconcile the two seeming opposite Dura­tions, the long delaying, and [Page 33] the speedy coming of the Judg.

If a Malefactor be taken, sentenc'd and executed in a day, 'tis quick Justice: [...] the longest [...] in God's Duration is no more than the shortest among Men. And the Application of this is more sensible and evident, with respect to the particu­lar Judgment that immedi­ately attends the Death of Men, whether graciously re­warding, or justly punishing them: The Afflictions of the Saints are but for a moment, 2 Cor. 4. compared with the eternal State of Glory they enter in­to: and tho an impenitent Sinner live to extream Age, [Page 34] yet his Judgment did not slum­ber, but was hastning, for his Death, that is the end of an hundred Years on Earth, will be to him the beginning of an hundred thousand Years in Hell, attended with an end­less Duration after.

Thirdly; We are to consi­der the Rewards he will then immediately distribute. What the Rewards shall be in their general nature we may un­derstand, but the degrees of Happiness or Misery in the future State are beyond the utmost comprehension of our Thoughts, or expressions of our Words. A Child may as soon be instructed to under­stand [Page 35] and relate the deepest Counsels of a Senate; as a mortal Man can fully con­ceive or explicate what Hea­ven or Hell is. The Judg stiles it my Reward, who is the great. God and our Saviour: and 'tis correspondent to his infinite Goodness and Boun­ty, or to his terrible Majesty and offended Justice. Who can unfold the Treasures of his Love, or the Treasures of his Wrath? Who knows the Power of his Anger? Tho no Resemblance be capable to express fully the soveraign Felicity, and the extream Mi­sery in the future State, yet for our Instruction they are set forth in the most intelli­gible [Page 36] and affecting manner with respect to our narrow Capacities. The Reward of the Saints is a State of Glory and Joy in the Presence of the blessed God, the Foun­tain of true Felicity. The Apostle assures us, that those who continue in well-doing shall be rewarded with Glory, and Honour, Rom. 2. and Immortality. The Reward is shadowed forth by chosen Compari­sons, a Crown of Glory, a Crown of Life: by the Joys of a Marriage Festival that shall be celebrated in the Ci­ty of God. In short, the Reward contains the highest Perfection and exceeding Sa­tisfaction of the reasonable [Page 37] Nature. Our most beauti­ful Expressions darken the Eternal Brightness of that State: Heaven is infinitely better known by one minutes Enjoyment, than by the De­scription of the Divinest O­rator.

The Recompence from re­venging Justice is set forth by words of the heaviest Sig­nification: by Indignation and Wrath, Rom. 2. Tribulation and Anguish: and by most fearful Repre­sentations, to typify the Tor­ments of the Damned: by the Worm that never dies, and the Fire that shall never be quenched: by the blackness of Darkness for ever, and the bottomless Gulph of Horror and Mise­ry. [Page 38] Briefly, as the blessed Reward eminently contains all those Joys, of which we have but dark shadows here, so the Punishment is more ex­tream and fearful than the literal meaning of the most violent Figures express. This Reward he saith is with him. This I shall consider in three things.

1. 'Tis a present Reward. Here the Saints have a sure Title to the immortal and unde­filed Inheritance; a right to the Tree of Life. He that hath the Son, hath everlasting Life: an unfeigned Faith that unites us to Christ, that purifies the Heart and Conversation, and works by Love to our Redeemer, secures to [Page 39] us an intire Interest in the Kingdom of Glory, both up­on the account of the Pur­chase of it by the sacred Treasure of Christ's Blood, and the unchangeable Tenor of the Gospel, wherein God promises Heaven to all obe­dient Believers: but the actu­al bestowing of this upon their entire Persons, is not till the last day. Then the King will say to them on his Right-hand, come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foun­dation of the World. He will crown them with his own Hands, and imediately intro­duce them into his own Joys.

[Page 40] Now Sentence is past up­on those who disobey the Gospel; he that believes not, is condemned already, but the Exe­cution of it is suspended for a while. Tho sinful Men are guilty of such violent Pro­vocations as would conquer all created Patience, yet their Judg endures with much long-suffering the Vessels of Wrath fitted for Destruction. He is the God of Patience, 'tis one of the Divine Attributes, and cannot be violated by the In­dignities of rebellious Sinners, but has its perfect Work in this lower World. He ever en­joys the Serenity and Blessed­ness that is inseparable from the Perfections of his own [Page 41] Nature, and spares the wicked for a time in order to their Salvation: but when he comes to Judgment, the Ex­ecution will immediately fol­low: For the Sentence will be peremptory and final; there can be no Appeal from it: The Son shall then ap­pear with equal Majesty and Authority with the Father: All Judgment is committed to him: And his Power to exe­cute the definitive Sentence is irresistible, we may read the Tenor of it, Take him, bind him hand and foot, and cast him into outer Darkness: there is no possible escape by flight from his righteous Fury, no possible resistance of his Al­mighty [Page 42] Power, but the Wic­ked shall presently suffer the decreed Vengeance.

2. The Reward is com­pleat: for it shall be the issue of final Judgment, with re­spect to all things done in the Body, whether good or evil. Se­parate Souls act in their op­posite States: the Saints above continually glorify God, and do his Commands: The wicked in Hell continually blaspheme God: but the obe­dience of the Saints in Heaven is not in order to a Reward, for they are actually possest of it, and compleat Holi­ness is a principal part of their Felicity: and the Sins of the Damned do not incur a new [Page 43] Guilt, and expose them to more Severities of Punish­ment, for they are in the hands of revenging Justice, and their Sin is a principal part of their Punishment. The Rewardableness of Hu­mane Actions is limited to the present Life; and when Men shall appear before the Judg­ment Seat of Christ, a full Reward will be distributed to them.

Here the faithful Servants of God have some Vails to encourage them in their Work, and to delight in their Duty: and in their various Sorrows and Sufferings they are cheared with some fore­running Beams of Heavenly [Page 44] Light, revived with the Air of Paradise, refresh'd with Waters of Life from the sa­cred Springs of Comfort, the Promises of God, and rejoyce in the hope of Glory: but then they are received into God's glorious Presence, where there is fulness of Joy, and Rivers of Pleasure for ever. What De­fect can there be in their Happiness when they are en­tred into the Joy of their Lord, and Joy enters into them reple­nishing all their Faculties?

Here the wicked feel some beginnings of Sorrows, the twinges of an accusing Con­science that settles into the undying Worm: The first Breath of God's Indignation [Page 45] sometimes singes them here: but then the Flames of it will break forth with vehemence: in this World his Dispensati­on is a Compound of Justice and Mercy, he is unwilling to use Extremity: when he is exceedingly provok'd, Mer­cy mollifies the Rigor of Justice, calms the Fierceness of his Wrath, lightens the Weight of his Power: he does not reward them according to their Iniquities: but then no­thing will break the blow of his Revenging Hands: Strict Justice will then inflict a Pu­nishment commensurate to the guilt of their Sins. All the leading Faculties of the Soul, the Mind, the Fancy, [Page 46] the Memory, the Will, the Affections, that have been polluted with Sin, all the sensitive Faculties of the Bo­dy that have been instrumen­tal in the commission of Sin, shall be tormented. The voluptuous Wretch, whose Soul was drown'd in Flesh and Blood, and riotously feasted every day, his Tongue was tormented in the Fire.

Briefly, Pain is more in­tense and violent according to the Capacity of the Pati­ent, and the Activity and Im­pression of the Agent: Thus in the Body those parts that are of the quickest and most tender Sense, are most recep­tive of Pain; and wher­sharp [Page 47] and piercing Humours fall upon them, are vehe­mently affected: How great shall be the Punishment, when the intire Man the Soul and Body are prepared to be most capable of Torment, and Infinite Power inflict it? weeping and gnashing of Teeth, extream Sorrow, and extream Rage, are the Cha­racters of Damnation. O doleful State beyond all pos­sible Expression!

3. The Reward is perpe­tual: 'tis the issue of Eter­nal Judgment: The Sentence is fixt and unalterable for e­ver. The Saints shall ever be with the Lord, whose Presence is the living Fountain of Fe­licity. [Page 48] Their Bodies shall be endowed with a Coelestial unfading Beauty and Vigor becoming the glorious Qua­lity of the Sons of God: their Souls shall for ever be satisfied with the sight of his Glory, and ravish'd with the Fruition of his Love. There is no defect in that blessed State, and no danger of losing it. The Love of God to­wards his elect Vessels of Mercy is as unchangeable as his Nature: and the Divine Beauty fixes the flame of their pure Affections upon the Dei­ty: They enjoy an everlast­ing Communion with him. Eternity crowns and consum­mates their Happiness.

[Page 49] The wicked are excom­municated from the Beatifi­cal Presence of God, and the joyful Society of the Saints for ever. They are imprison'd in Hell during the Displea­sure of the Immortal King, who is inflexibly angry, and irreconcileable for ever In the present State violent Pains or Passions extinguish Life, as a fierce Fire devours the matter that feeds it: The natural Body could not en­dure the Torments of Hell a moment, the frail Taberna­cle of Flesh would presently be dissolved: But the Divine Power will uphold the dam­ned in vivacity to feel infernal Torments. Here there are [Page 50] intermissions and pauses be­tween the strokes of God's Hand; even Pharoah that proud Rebel was indulg'd at times, to lead him to Repen­tance: but there is an un­cessant perpetuity of▪ Tor­ments: the obstinate Sons of Darkness are without ease or end of their Misery.

Fourthly, We are to consi­der the respective difference of the Rewards, according to the Actions of Men in this Life▪ and that with respect to the kinds whether good or evil, and the degrees of good and evil in them. He will then lay Judgment to the Line, and Righteousness to the Plum­met, [Page 51] and bring every Work to Judgment, Eccles. 12. 14. whether good or evil. He will try our good Works inclusively, with our Princi­ples, and Aims, and Affecti­ons, wherein their spiritual value consists. He alone has exact Scales to weigh the Spirits of Men, a Divine Faculty to see the deepest Seeds of their Actions. When Religious Duties, when Acts of Cha­rity and of any Vertue are performed in Obedience to God, to please and glorify him, they shall be rewarded accordingly: but when done from Carnal Motives, for our own Repu [...]ation, our own Interest or Pleasure, the Judg will then declare, I have [Page 52] not found your Works full before me: Rev. 3. 2. tho never so specious and glittering in the Eyes and esteem of Men, tho appea­ring with a great show of Goodness, yet without the internal Exercise of gracious Affections that are the Life of Obedience, they are of no account in that day. Ac­cording to the Sincerity, Zeal, and measure of our good Works, the Reward shall be: He that sows sparing­ly, shall reap sparingly; 2 Cor. 9. 6. and he that sows bountifully, shall reap bountifully. This Rule of Judgment does not in the least imply that there is any desert of the Reward in the best Works of Men: the [Page 53] Scripture is most express, that Eternal Life is the Gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord: The Kingdom of Glory is infinitely more a Gift than a Reward.

As the Predestination of the Saints to Life is an Act of Soveraign Mercy; so the Glorification of them is an Act of equally free Mercy, without respect to any Merit of ours: but the wise and holy Lawgiver dispenses the blessed Reward according to the Tenour of our good Works: and as by the excel­lence of the Reward he de­clares what value he sets up­on our Obedience; so by the exactness of our Obedience [Page 54] we declare what value we set upon the Reward.

The Recompences of di­stributive Justice shall be ac­cording to the evil Works of Men. All Sins with the in­hancing Circumstances of Guilt shall be brought to Judgment Sins of Omissi­on, I was an hungry, and you gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink, shall be charged upon the Repro­bates by the Judg himself. To him who knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is a Sin. Jam. 4. 17. All Sins of Commissi­on, whether secret or open: God will judg the Secrets of Men by Jesus Christ: The Sins con­cealed from the Eye of the [Page 55] Day, the Light of the Sun, and from the Eye of the Night, the Light of a Candle, shall then be made manifest: and all the notorious and infamous Sins, Lasciviousness, Lusts, excess of Wine, Revelings, Banquetings, and abominable Idolatry, 1 Pet. 4. 4, 5. Men shall give an account of to him, who is rea­dy to judg the Quick and the Dead. Sins of Thoughts and Words, as well as of Actions, shall then be remembred; the vain Thoughts that have lodged in the Heart, and every idle word that hath been spoken by Men, they shall give an account of in the day of Judgment.

The degrees of Punish­ment shall be correspondent to Mens Sins: How much [Page 56] they have lived deliciously and presumptuously, so much Sor­row and Torment shall be given them. The more rebellious, outragious, and obstinate Sinners now are, the more fearful Severities shall be their portion. Those who know their Masters will, and do it not, shall be beaten with many Stripes.

The Proceedings of that day shall be transacted by the Son of God in his glorified Humane Nature, and suita­bly to the Capacities of Men that the Justice of his Sen­tence may be evident: there­fore St John, describing the process of the last Judgment, relates, Rev. 20. 12. I saw the Dead, small and great, stand before God; [Page 57] and the Books were opened; and the Dead were judged out of those things that were written in the Books, according to their Works.

The Records of Consci­ence shall then be opened, and all the Sins of Men, even those that are now obliterated and forgotten, shall then ap­pear in so clear an Impression, with all their Aggravations, that the wicked will be inex­cusable to themselves, and Conscience will subscribe their Condemnation. The Judg himself who knows all things will then unfold the Registers of his Omni­science, and publish their Sins before the World. Then shall [Page 58] the King say, I was hungry, and ye gave me no Meat; I was thir­sty, and ye gave me no Drink: and by just Analogy we may infer he will charge Sins of all kinds upon the Wicked, of which they have been guilty, that the Righteous­ness and Reasonableness of his Proceedings may appear: he will overcome when he judges, the Condemned shall have nothing to reply, struck into Silence and Confu­sion: the Saints and An­gels shall with Admiration magnify his true and righte­ous Judgments.