Q. 88. What shall immediately follow after the resurrection? A. Immediately after the resurrection shall follow the general and final judgment of angels and men ; the day and hour whereof no man knoweth, that all may watch and pray, and be ever ready for the coming of the Lord ". Q. 89. What shall be done to the wicked at the day of judgment? A. At the day of judgment, the wicked shall be set on Christ's left hand 2, and, upon clear evidence, and full conviction of their own consciences, shall have the fearful but every man in his own order; Christ the first-fruits, afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Ver. 42. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption: Ver. 43. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power: Ver. 44. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. Phil. iii. 21. Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. x John v. 27. And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Ver. 28. Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, Ver. 29. 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. Mat. xxv. 33. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 88 y 2 Pet. ii. 4. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment. Jude, Ver. 6. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day: Ver. 7. Even as So dom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them, in like manner giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Ver. 14. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, Ver. 15. To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. Mat. xxv. 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. 2 Mat. xxiv. 56. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Ver. 42. Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. Ver. 44. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh. Luke xxi. 35. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Ver. 36. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man, 89. a Matt. xxv. 33. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. b Rom. ii. 15. Which shew the just sentence of condemnation pronounced against them; and thereupon shall be cast out from the favourable presence of God, and the glorious fellowship with Christ, his saints, and all his holy angels, into hell, to be punished with unspeakable torments, both of body and soul, with the devil and his angels for ever d Q. 90. What shall be done to the righteous at the day of judgment? A. At the day of judgment, the righteous, being caught up to Christ in the clouds, shall be set on his right hand, and there openly acknowledged and acquitted, shall join with him in the judging of reprobate angels and men 8, shall be received into heaven", where they shall be fully and for ever freed from all sin and misery; filled with work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. Ver. 16. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. c Mat. xxv. 41. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever. lasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Ver. 42. For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: Ver. 43. I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. d Luke xvi. 26. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot ; neither can they pass to us that would come from thence. 2 Thess. i. 8. In flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Ver. 9. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. 90. e 1 Thess. iv. 17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and and so shall we ever be with the Lord. f Matt. xxv. 33. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Mat. x. 32. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 8 1 Cor. vi. 2. Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world! and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Ver. 3. Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? Matt. xxv. 34. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Ver. 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. iEph. v. 27. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish. Rev. xiv. 13. And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. inconceivable joys *, made perfectly holy and happy both in body and soul, in the company of innumerable saints and holy angels, but especially in the immediate vision and fruition of God the Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, to all eternity m. And this is the perfect and full communion, which the members of the invisible church shall enjoy with Christ in glory, at the resurrection and day of judgment. Having seen what the Scriptures principally teach us to believe concerning God, it follows to consider what they require as the Duty of Man. Q. 91. What is the duty which God requireth of man? A. The duty which God requireth of man is, obedience to his revealed will". Q. 92. What did God at first reveal unto man, as the rule of his obedience? A. The rule of obedience revealed to Adam in the estate of innocence, and to all mankind in him, besides a special Psal. xvi. 11. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. / Heb. xii. 22. But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, Ver. 23. To the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. m 1 John iii. 2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 Cor. xiii. 12. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1 Thess. iv. 17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Ver. 18. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 91. n Rom. xii. 1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto Ged, which is your reasonable service. Ver. 2. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. Micah vi. 8. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy. God? 1 Sam. xv. 22. And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice; and to hearken than the fat of rams. T command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was the moral law ⚫. Q. 93. What is the moral law? A. The moral law is the declaration of the will of God to mankind, directing and binding every one to personal, perfect, and perpetual conformity and obedience thereunto, in the frame and disposition of the whole man, soul and body P, and in performance of all those duties of holiness and righteousness which he oweth to God and man 9: promising life upon the fulfilling, and threatening death upon the breach of it. 92. o Gen. i. 26. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Ver. 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Rom. ii. 14. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Ver. 15. Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. Rom. x. 5. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. Gen. ii. 17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 93. p Deut. v. 1. And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them. Ver. 2. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Ver. 3. The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. Ver. 31. But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it. Ver. 33. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath com. manded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess. Luke x. 26. He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? Ver. 27. And he answering, said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. Gal. iii. 10. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse : for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 1 Thes. v. 23. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly: and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. q Luke i. 75. In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. Acts xxiv. 16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. r Rom. x. 5. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those Q. 94. Is there any use of the moral law to man since the fall? A. Although no man, since the fall, can attain to righteousness and life by the moral laws, yet there is great use thereof, as well common to all men, as peculiar either to the unregenerate, or the regenerate t. Q. 95. Of what use is the moral law to all men ? W A. The moral law is of use to all men, to inform them of the holy nature and will of God", and of their duty, binding them to walk accordingly ; to convince them of their disability to keep it, and of the sinful pollution of their nature, hearts, and lives; to humble them in the sense of their sin and misery, and thereby help them to a clearer things shall live by them. Gal. iii. 10. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Ver. 12. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. 94. Rom. viii. 3. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh. Gal. ii. 16. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. t 1 Tim. i. 8. But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully. 95. u Lev. xi. 44. For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy : neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Ver. 45. For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy; for I am holy. Lev. xx. 7. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am the Lord your God. Ver. 8. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them : I am the Lord which sanctify you. Rom. vii. 12. Wherefore the law is holy; and the commandment holy, and just, and good. w Micah vi. 8. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? James ii. 10. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. Ver. 11. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now, if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. x Psal. xix. 11. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. Ver. 12. Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Rom. iii. 20. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Rom. vii. 7. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. y Rom. iii. 9. What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under siri. |