kle, or any such thing," Eph. v. 27. None of them all, who are named in the book, shall be missing. They shall all be found qualified according to the order of the book; redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, raised up without spot: what remains then but that, according to the same book, they obtain the great end, namely, everlasting life. This may be gathered from that precious promise, Rev. iii. 5, "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; (being raised in glory) and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life; but I will confess his name, (it shall be, as it were, read out among the rest of God's elect) before my Father, and before his angels." Here is now the ground of the saints absolution, the ground of the blessed sentence they will receive. The book of life being opened, it will be known to all, who are elected, and who are not. Thus far of the trial of the parties.

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EIGHTHLY, Then shall the Judge pronounce that blessed sentence on the saints, "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world," Matth. xxv. 34. It is most probable, the man Christ will pronounce it with an audible voice; which not only all the saints, but all the wicked likewise, shall hear and understand. Who can conceive the inexpressible joy, with which these happy ones shall hear these words! Who can imagine that fulness of joy, which shall be poured into their hearts, with these words reaching their ears? And who can conceive how much of hell shall break into the hearts of all the ungodly crew, by these words of heaven? It is certain this sentence shall be pronounced before the sentence of damnation, Matth. xxv. 34, Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed," &c. ver. 41. Then shall he say also to them on the left hand, "Depart from me, ye cursed," &c. There is no need of this order, that the saints may, without fear or astonishment, hear the other sentence on the reprobate: they who are raised in glory, caught up to meet the Lord in the air, presented without spot, and whose souls (for the far greater part of them) have been so long in heaven before, shall not be capable of any such fear. But hereby they will be orderly brought in, to sit in judgment as Christ's assessors, against the ungodly; whose torment will be aggravated by it. It will be a hell to them, to be kept out of hell, till they see the doors of heaven opened to receive the saints, who once dwelt in the same world with them: and perhaps in the same country, parish, or town; and sat under the same ministry with themselves. Thus will they see heaven afar off, to make their hell the hotter. Like that unbelieving lord, 2 Kings vii. 19, 20, they shall see the plenty

with their eyes, but shall not eat thereof. Every word of the blessed sentence shall be like an envenomed arrow shot into their hearts, while they see what they have lost, and from thence gather what they are to expect.

This sentence passeth on the saints according to their works, Rev. xx. 12. But not for their works, not for their faith neither, as if eternal life were merited by them. The sentence itself overthrows this absurd conceit. The kingdom they are called to, was prepared for them, from the foundation of the world; not left to be merited by themselves, who were but of yesterday. They inherit it as sons, but procure it not to themselves, as servants do the reward of their work. They were redeemed by the blood of Christ, and clothed with his spotless righteousness, which is the proper cause of the sentence. They were also qualified for heaven, by the sanctification of his Spirit; and hence it is according to their works; so that the ungodly world shall see then, that the Judge of the quick and dead does good to them who were good. Therefore it is added to the sentence, "For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat," &c. Ver.35,36, which doth not denote the ground, but the evidence of their right to heaven; as if a judge should say, he absolves a man pursued for debt; for the witnesses depose, that it is paid already. So the Apostle says, 1 Cor. x. 5, "But with many of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness." Their overthrow in the wilderness was not the ground of God's displeasure with them, but it was an evidence of it. And thus our Lord teaches us the necessary connection betwixt glory and good works, namely, works evangelically good; works having a respect to Jesus Christ, and done out of faith in him, and love to him, without which they will not be regarded in that day. And the saints will so far be judged according to such works, that the degrees of glory amongst them shall be according to these works: for it is an eternal truth, "He that soweth sparingly, shall reap sparingly," 2 Cor. ix. 6.

Thus shall the good works of the godly have a glorious, but a gratuitous reward; a reward of grace, not of debt, which will fill them with wonder at the riches of free grace, and the Lord's condescending to take any notice, especially such public notice, of their poor worthless works. The which seems to be the import of what they are said to answer, saying, "Lord, when saw we thee an hungered," &c. Ver. 37, 38, 39. And may they not justly wonder to see themselves set down to the marriage-supper of the Lamb, in consequence of a dinner or supper, a little meat or drink (such as they had) which they

gave to an hungry or thirsty member of Christ, for his sake? Oh plentiful harvest following upon the seed of good works! rivers of pleasure springing up from (perhaps) a cup of cold water given to a disciple, in the name of a disciple; eternal mansions of glory rising out of a night's lodging given to a saint, who was a stranger! everlasting robes of glory given in exchange of a new coat, or (it may be) an old one, bestowed on some saint, who had not necessary clothing! a visit to a sick saint, repaid by Christ himself, coming in the glory of his Father, with all his holy angels! a visit made to a poor prisoner, for the cause of Christ, repaid with a visit from the Judge of all, taking away the visitant with him to the place of heaven, there to be ever with himself! these things will be matter of everlasting wonder; and should stir up all, to sow liberally in time, while the seedtime of good works doth last. But it is Christ's stamp on good works, that puts a value on them, in the eye of a gracious God; which seems to be the import of our Lord's reply, ver. 40, "In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

NINTHLY,Now the saints having received their own sentence, they shall judge the world," 1 Cor. vi. 2. This was not fulfilled, when the empire became Christian, and Christians were made magistrates. No, the Psalmist tells us, "This honour have all the saints," Psal. cxlix. 9. And the Apostle, in the aforecited place, adds, "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?" Being called, they come to receive their kingdom, in the view of angels and men: they go, as it were, from the bar to the throne: To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me on my throne,' Rev. iii. 21. They shall not only judge the world, in Christ their head, by way of communion with him, by their works compared with these of the ungodly; or, by way of testimony against them: but they shall be assessors to Jesus Christ the Judge, giving their voice against them, consenting to his judgment as just, and saying Amen to the doom pronounced against all the ungodly: as is said of the saints, upon the judgment of the great whore, Rev. xix. 1, 2. "Hallelujah, for true and righteous are his judgments." Thus "the upright shall have dominion over them, in the morning of the resurrection," Psal. xlix. 14. Then, and not till then, shall that fully be accomplished, which ye may read, Psal. cxlix. 6, 7, 8, 9. "Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people :

this honour have all his saints." Oh! what a strange turn of affairs will appear here! what an astonishing sight will it be, to see wicked churchmen and statesmen standing as criminals before the saints, whom sometimes they condemned as heretics, rebels, and traitors! to see men of riches and power stand pale-faced before these whom they oppressed! to see the mocker stand trembling before these he mocked! the wordly-wise man before these whom he accounted fools! then shall the despised faces of the saints be dreadful faces to the wicked: and those who sometimes were the song of the drunkards, shall then be a terror to them. All wrongs shall be righted at length, and every one set in his proper place.

TENTHLY, The Judge shall pronounce the sentence of damnation on all the ungodly multitude. "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels," ver. 41. Fearful doom! and that from the same mouth, from whence proceeded the sentence of absolution before. It was an aggravation of the misery of the Jews, when their city was destroyed, that they were ruined by one, who was accounted the darling of the world. Oh! what an aggravation of the misery of the wicked will it be, that he shall pronounce this sentence also! to hear the curse from mount Zion, must needs be most terrible. To be damned by him, who came to save sinners, must be double damnation. But thus it shall be. The Lamb of God shall roar as a lion, against them! he shall excommunicate, and cast them out of his presence for ever, by a sentence from the throne, saying, "Depart from me, ye cursed." He shall adjudge them to everlasting fire, and the society of devils for evermore. And this sentence also, we suppose, shall be pronounced with an audible voice, by the man Christ. And all the saints shall say, "Hallelujah, true and righteous are his judgments." None were so compassionate as the saints, when on earth, during the time of God's patience. But now that time is at an end, their compassion on the ungodly is swallowed up in joy, in the Mediator's glory, and his executing of just judgment, by which his enemies are made his footstool. Though sometimes the righteous man did weep in secret places for their pride, and because they would not hear, yet then he "shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked," Psal. Iviii. 10. No pity shall then be shown to them, from their nearest relations. The godly wife shall applaud the justice of the Judge, in the condemnation of her ungodly husband: the godly husband shall say Amen to the damnation of her who lay in his Ff

bosom: the godly parents shall say, Hallelujah, at the passing of the sentence against their ungodly child: and the godly child shall, from his heart, approve the damnation of his wicked parents, the father who begat him, and the mother who bore him. The sentence is just: they are judged "according to their works," Rev. xx. 12.

There is no wrong done them. "For I was an hungry, saith our Lord, "and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 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," ver. 42, 43. These are not only evidences of their ungodly and cursed state, but most proper causes and grounds of their condemnation: for though good works do not merit salvation, yet evil works merit damnation. Sins of one kind only, namely, of omission, are here mentioned; not that these alone shall then be discovered, (for the opening of the books lays all open) but because these, though there were no more, are sufficient to damn unpardoned sinners. And if men shall be condemned for sins of omission, much more for sins of commission. The omission of works of charity and mercy, is condescended on particularly, to stop the mouths of the wicked; for it is most just, that he "have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy," James ii. 13. tioning of the omission of acts of charity and mercy towards the distressed members of Christ, intimates, that it is the judgment of those who have heard of Christ in the gospel, that is principally intended here, in this portion of Scripture; and that the slighting of Christ will be the great cause of the ruin of those who hear the gospel: but the enmity of the hearts of the wicked against Christ himself, is discovered by the entertainment they now give to his members.

The men

In vain will they say, "When saw we thee an hungered, or a thirst?" &c. ver. 44. For the Lord reckons, and will reckon the world's unkindness to his people, unkindness to himself: "Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me," ver. 45. O meat and drink unhappily spared, when a member of Christ was in need of it! O wretched neglect, that the stranger saint was not taken in! it had been better for them, they had quitted their own room, and their own bed, than he had wanted lodging. O cursed clothing, may the wicked say, that was in my house, locked up in my chest, or hanging in my wardrobe, and was not brought out to clothe such a one! O that I had stripped myself, rather than he had gone away without clothing! Cursed business that diverted me from visiting such a sick saint! O that I had rather watched whole nights with him. Wretch that I was! why did I sit