for ever and ever. This is the true state of their case, who live and die as they were born, in sin: God grant that none here present may find it so by their own experience; but I am sure there is no way possible to avoid it, but only by Jesus Christ, nor by Him neither, except ye believe in Him, so as to be made" new creatures" by Him: which I heartily wish ye would consider, before it be too late; then ye would need no other argument to persuade you to "put off, con- Eph. 4. 22. cerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and to put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."

Howsoever, to excite you the more to it, I desire you to consider also, on the other hand, how happy they are who are "in Christ," who are taken out of the first, and made true members of the second Adam, who in him are created unto good works, and so made "new creatures:" these are as happy as the other are miserable, as happy as God Himself can make them; for in that they are "in Christ," in Him they have all things that can any way possibly conduce to make them happy. In Him they have infinite merit, whereby their sins are all pardoned and done away, as if they had never been guilty of any in Him they have most perfect righteousness, whereby they are truly accounted righteous by the most righteous Judge of the whole world: in Him they have all the graces of God's Holy Spirit to make them like Himself, holy in all manner of conversation in Him they have wisdom to direct them in all their ways, and power to protect them against all their enemies: in Him Almighty God Himself is well pleased with them, and become their Friend, yea, their most loving and indulgent Father in Him they have all the blessings that He hath purchased for them with His own most precious blood; that is, all they can ever want or desire to make them completely blessed.

Wherefore, if there be any such among you at this time, as I hope there are, give me leave, in a few terms, to congratulate your happy state both in this world and the next. What your condition is, as to the things of this world, I know not; but this I know, that whatsoever it is, it is the

24.

XIX.

SERM. best, the happiest you can be in: yea, God Himself knows it, otherwise He would never have brought you into it; for He hath that special love for His own children, as all "new creatures" are, that He suffers nothing to befall them that can do them hurt, nothing but what shall one way or other do them good. If the good things of this life be good for you, you shall have them; if they be not, ye shall not have them, for that only reason, because it is better for you to be without them so that you may rest fully satisfied in your minds, that all things work together for your good; and that nothing can, or ever did befall you since your new birth, but what was, and shall be, a blessing to you. You are blessed in all you have, for it all comes from the special love and favour of God to you; you are blessed in all ye do, for it is all acceptable to God, through Him in whom ye are ; you are blessed wheresoever ye are, for God is always present with you, to guide, assist, and comfort you; you are blessed in your souls, blessed in your bodies, blessed in your going out, blessed in your coming in, blessed while ye live, Rev. 14. 13. and blessed when ye die; for "blessed are the dead which die in the Lord: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them." You will then rest from your labours, from every thing that is troublesome or uneasy to you, from every thing that can any way interrupt or disturb your peace and quiet; and your works, and all the good works ye now do in Christ, in Him shall be then rewarded with an inheritance incorruptible, 1 Pet.1.4. undefiled, and that “fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you." Where ye will live with Him, in whom ye now are, and behold the glory which the Father hath given Him; where " in Him," your souls shall become the spirits [Heb. 12. of "just men made perfect;" where, in Him, your bodies 23.] shall be fashioned "like unto His glorious body;" where, in [Phil. 3. 21.] Him, your whole man shall be advanced to the highest degree of bliss and happiness, that ye are or can be made capable of; where, in Him, ye shall see God face to face, and enjoy all those infinite perfections which are in Him; where, in Him, ye shall thus live in light, in glory, in joy itself, not only now and then, but continually; not for some time only, but to all eternity.

Now, if these things be so, as be sure they are, who would not be "in Christ?" Who would not become a 66 new creature?" And blessed be God, which of us may not, if He will? Christ died for all, and therefore is ready to receive

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all that come unto Him; He Himself hath said, Him that John 6. 37. cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." Let us therefore now take Him at His word, let us go unto Him, and close with Him upon the terms He hath propounded in His Holy Gospel; and for that purpose let us walk constantly in all those ways that lead towards Him. Let us fast, and watch, and pray, and read, and hear, and meditate upon His Holy Word, and receive His mystical body and blood; so that we may dwell in Christ, and Christ in us; we may be one with Christ, and Christ with us." But all the while let us still believe and trust on Him, to "create in us a clean heart, [Ps. 51.10.] and to renew a right spirit within us;" to crucify our old man, and to make us new creatures," creatures after His own heart; and to keep us always firm and steadfast in His true faith and fear; that we may both live and die in Him, our dear and ever-blessed Redeemer, the eternal, the onlybegotten Son of God: "To whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, for ever and ever."

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SERMON XX.

THE NATURE AND ETERNITY OF HEAVEN'S JOYS AND HELL'S
TORMENTS.

SERM.

XX.

MATT. XXV. 46.

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.

As Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of mankind, without whom no man ever was, or can be saved, but by whom many are saved in all ages, from the beginning to the end of the world; so, at the end of the world, He, the same Jesus, will be the Judge of all mankind, and pass a final irrevocable sentence upon every man, woman, and child that ever lived upon the face of the earth: according to which, He Himself here tells us, "These," even the wicked, "shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal."

Now, we being all in the number of those who shall then be judged by Him, it highly concerns us to understand as much as we can of this, which the Judge Himself saith will be the issue and effect of all His proceedings upon that day; that, if we have any regard to our future state, we may accordingly provide for it, whilst we live in this present world for which purpose it will be necessary to look back upon what goes before, that we may see how these words come in, and so may be the better able to discern both the design and meaning of them.

Our Saviour, therefore, when He was upon earth, knowing how strict an account all men must give to Him at the Last Day, and being unwilling that any should be

surprised or taken unawares, took all occasions to forewarn them of it, and to acquaint them with all things necessary for them to know concerning it. Among other things, He here tells us, that "when the Son of Man shall come Matt.25.31. in His Glory, and all the Holy Angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the Throne of His Glory;" whereby He hath given us to understand, that although at that His first coming into the world to save it, He appeared very mean and contemptible in the eyes of men, yet His second coming to judge the world shall be at another rate; that He will then come in the greatest glory and splendour imaginable, having all the Holy Angels, the whole Angelical Order to wait upon Him, ready to execute whatsoever commands He shall be pleased to lay upon them: and accordingly they, at His command, shall blow the trumpet, at the sound whereof all that are dead shall, "in the twinkling of an eye, be raised Matt.24.31. up again to life," and they who are "then living shall be iThes.4.16. changed;" and then "He will sit upon the Throne of His Glory," that is, upon His Tribunal or Judgment-Seat; from whence the Glory of His wisdom, power, justice, and mercy, shall shine to all the world.

1 Cor. 15.52.

For then "before Him shall be gathered all nations," Matt.25.32. that is, all mankind that ever lived in any nation upon the face of the earth, from the creation of it to that day, and so Adam himself and his whole posterity, shall then meet together in one place, and there present themselves in a body before Jesus Christ, their Lord and Judge, and “ He Ibid. shall separate them the one from the other, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." As a shepherd that hath a great flock of sheep and goats mingled together, when he hath a mind to send them to several pastures, the sheep to one, and the goats to another, he divides them asunder, that each sort may go by themselves to the "place that he hath appointed for them:" so, at the Last Day, when all mankind shall appear before Him, Christ, the Great Shepherd of our souls, will separate the righteous from the wicked; those who did, from such as did not believe in Him. For here, by "sheep" He plainly means the "righteous," such as, while they were in this world, had believed in Him and obeyed His Gospel; and therefore