teousness, by that man whom He hath ordained;-whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised him from the dead.

1. That there is a universal judgment, we know to be the frequent doctrine of the Scriptures, and it hath been ever the belief of the godly from the beginning, as we may perceive by that ancient prophecy of Enoch, recorded by St. Jude; and we are so to believe it as a Divine truth. And yet, there is so much just reason for it, that natural men, by the few sparkles of light in their consciences, have had some dark notions and conjectures of it, as is evident in Plato and the Platonics, and not only the philosophers, but the poets: it may be, too, that they have been helped by some scattered glimmerings of light concerning this, borrowed from the Jews, and traditionally passed from hand to hand among the heathen, and therefore disguised and altered after their fashion.

If we be persuaded that there is a Supreme Ruler of the world, who is most wise, and just, and good, this will persuade us, not only that there is some other estate and being than that we see here, appointed for man, the most excellent, the reasonable part of this visible world; but that there shall be a solemn judicial proceeding, in entering and instating him in that after-being. The many miseries of this present life, and that the best of men are usually deepest sharers in them, though it hath a little staggered, not only wise heathens, but sometimes some of the prime saints of God, yet, it hath never prevailed with any but brutal and debauched spirits, to conclude against Divine providence, but rather to resolve upon this, that of necessity there must be another kind of issue, a final catastrophe, reducing all the present confusions into order, and making odds even, as you say. Cum res hominum tanta caligine volvi. [CLAUDIAN.] It is true, that sometimes here, the Lord's right hand finds out His enemies, and is known by the judgment which He executes on them; and, on the other side, He gives some instances of His gracious providence to His Church, and to particular godly men, even before the sons

of men; but these are but some few preludes and pledges of that great Judgment. Some He gives, that we forget not His justice and goodness; but much is reserved, that we expect not all, nor the most, here, but hereafter. And it is certainly most congruous, that this be done, not only in each particular apart, but most conspicuously in all together, that the justice and mercy of God may not only be accomplished, but acknowledged and magnified, and that, not only severally in the several persons of men and angels, but universally, jointly, and manifestly in the view of all, as upon one theatre, angels and men being at once, some of them the objects of that justice, others of mercy, but all of them spectators of both. Each ungodly man shall not only read, whether he will or no, the justice of God in himself and his own condemnation, which most of them shall do before that time in their soul's particular judgment; but they shall then see the same justice in all the rest of the condemned world, and the rest, in them; and, to the great increase of their anguish, they shall see likewise the glory of that mercy which shall then shine so bright in all the elect of God, from which they themselves are justly shut out, and delivered up to eternal misery. And, on the other side, the godly shall with unspeakable joy behold, not only a part, as before, but the whole sphere both of the justice and mercy of their God, and shall with one voice admire and applaud Him in both.

Besides, the process of many men's actions, cannot be full at the end of their life, as it shall be at that day: many have very large after-reckonings to come upon them for those sins of others to which they are accessory, though committed after their death; as the sins of ill-educated children to be laid to the charge of their parents, the sins of such as any have corrupted, either by their counsels, or opinions, or evil examples, &c.

2. HE, the Lord Jesus, shall be Judge in that great day. The Father, and Spirit, and His authority, are all one, for they are all one God and one Judge; but it shall be particu

larly exercised and pronounced by our Saviour, God-man, Jesus Christ. That eternal WORD by whom all things were made, by Him all shall be judged; and so, he shall be THE WORD in that last act of time, as in the first. He shall judicially pronounce that great and final sentence which shall stand unalterable in eternity; and not only as the eternal Son of God, but withal as the Son of Man, and so shall he sit as king, and invested with all power in Heaven and earth. By that man whom He hath appointed to judge the quick and the dead.The same Jesus shall so come, in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Acts xvii. 31. i. 11. The powers of the world and of hell are combined against his throne; therefore, they shall be his footstool sitting on that throne. And the crown which he hath purchased for believers, he shall set it on their heads with his own hand. This shall be exceeding joy and comfort to all that have believed on him, that their Redeemer shall be their Judge. He who was judged for them, shall judge them, and pass sentence according to that covenant of grace which holds in him, pronouncing them free from the wrath which he himself endured for them, and heirs of that life which he bought with his dearest blood.

And that gives no less accession to the misery of the wicked, that the same Jesus whom they opposed and despised, so many of them as heard any thing of him, He shall sit upon their final judgment, and pronounce sentence against them, not partially avenging his own quarrel on them,-no word of that,but most justly returning them the reward of their ungodliness and unbelief. That great Shepherd shall thus make that great separation of his sheep from the goats.

3. Of the manner, we have thus much here, that He shall come from heaven, as the Scriptures teach us, He shall visibly appear in the air; He shall come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, Matt. xxiv. 30, attended with innumerable companies of glorious angels who shall serve him, both in the congregating of his elect, and in separating of them from the reprobate; but Himself, in the brightness of his own

majesty, infinitely surpassing them all. 2 Thes. i. 7. In flaming fire. His first coming was mean and obscure, suiting his errand, for then he came to be judged; but that last coming shall be glorious, for he comes to judge, and his judgment shall be in righteousness, Acts, xvii. 31. Juste judicabit qui injuste judicatus est. [AUGUSTINE.] There shall be no misalleging, or mis-proving, or mis-judging, there. All the judgments of men, whether private or judicial, shall be rejudged there according to truth, by such a Judge before whom all things are naked. And not only shall He know and judge all aright, but all they who are judged, shall themselves be convinced that it is so. Then all will see that none are condemned but most deservedly, and that the Lord's justice is pure and spotless in them who perish, as his grace is without prejudice to his justice, it being satisfied in Christ for them who are saved. The Books shall be opened, those which men so willingly, the most of them, keep shut and clasped up, and are so unwilling to look into, their own accusing consciences; the Lord will proceed formally against the wicked according to the Books: no wrong shall be done them, they shall have fair justice, and they shall see what they would not look upon before, when by seeing, that might have been blotted out, and a free acquittance written in its stead. And that the believer shall read in his conscience at that day, which, through the dimness of faith and the dark, troubled estate of his soul, he many times could not read here below.

We are gaping still after new notions, but a few things wisely and practically known, drawn down from the head into the heart, are better than all that variety of knowing that men are so taken up with. Paucis literis opus est ad mentem bonam. This and such like common truths, we think we both know and believe well enough; but truly, if this great point, touching the great and last judgment, were indeed known and believed by us, it would draw our minds to more frequent and more deep thoughts of it; and were we often and serious in those thoughts, they would have such influence into all our

Did we

other thoughts, and the whole course of our lives, as would much alter the frame of them from what they are. think of this Gospel which we preach and hear, that we must then be judged by it, we should be now more ruled by it. But the truth is, we are willingly forgetful of these things; they are melancholy, pensive thoughts, and we are content that the noise of affairs or any vanities fill the ear of our minds, that we hear them not. If we be forced at some times to hear of this last judgment to come, it possibly casts our conscience into some little trembling fit for the time, as it did Felix; but he was not, nor are we, so happy as to be shaken out of the custom and love of sin by it. We promise it fair, as he did, some other time; but if that time never come, this day will come, and they who shun to hear or think of it, shall then see it, and the sight of it will be as terrible and amazing, as the timely thoughts of it would have been profitable. It is, no doubt, an unpleasing subject to all ungodly, earthly minds; but surely, it were our wisdom to be of that mind now, that then we shall be forced to be of: we shall then read, by the light of that fire which shall burn the world, the vanity of all those things whereon we now dote so foolishly. Let us therefore be persuaded to think so now, and disengage our hearts, and fix them on him who shall then judge us. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. They only are happy who trust in Him, That which is the affrightment of others, is their great joy and desire: they love and long for that day, both for their Saviour's glory in it, and their own full happiness; and that their love to his appearing, is to them a certain pledge of the crown they are to receive at his appearing. 2 Tim. iv. 8:-at that day, says the Apostle. This day he esteems more of than all his days; therefore, he names it no otherwise than, that day. How may we know what day it was he meant? His coronation-day. But of all men, surely, the hypocrite likes least the mention and remembrance of that day: there is no room for disguises there, all masks must off, and all things