happens to fall into fome grievous fin, or into a languid and drowsy frame of foul, then his familiarity with God is not a little interrupted; but after he is roufed out of that fin, or from that drowsy frame by the preventing grace of God, and has been fufficiently exercifed with the ftings of confcience, then God applies that general fentence of the pardon of all his fins, which was pronounced immediately upon his regeneration, to this particular act, or state, and fuffers himself to be prevailed on at length to renew this moft delightful friendship.

sentence

LXII. The fourth article is immediately after In death death; when God affigns to the foul, on its alfo the departure from the body, an eternal manfion in his is proown bleffed habitation, Heb. 9. 27, it is appoint- nounced. ed unto men once to die, but after this the judg

ment.

LXIII. The fifth and laft article is at the last day, But moft which is therefore called the day of judgment, Mat. of all at folemnly 12. 36; when the elect fhall be publickly juftified, the latt and, in the view of the whole world, declared day. heirs of eternal life. Which juftification, indeed, may be called univerfal, as all thofe, who are to be juftified, fhall appear together before God's tribunal, nevertheless it will be moft particular, as every one fhall be recompenced according to his works: we muft ALL appear before the judgment feat of Chrift, that EVERY ONE may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad, 2 Cor. 5. 10.

LXIV. Let us briefly explain the whole manner When of this juftification in the next world. Chrift, the Christ the judge being delegated to that office by the father, judge Acts 10. 42, Acts 17. 32. will pronounce two things concerning his elect. ft. That they are truly pious, righteous and holy. And fo far this justification will differ from the former; for by that the ungodly is juftified, Rom. 4. 5. Whereas here God,

Will pro

nounce

the elect

their

works;

God, when he enjoins his angels to fummon one of the parties to be judged, fays, gather my SAINTS together, Pf. 50. 5; if, as many fuppofe thefe words refer to the last judgment. See Mat. 13. 40, 41, 43, 49. 2dly. That they have a right to eternal life Mat. 25. 35.

LXV. The ground of the former declaration is inherent righteoufnefs, graciously communicated to holy from man by the fpirit of fanctification, and good works proceeding therefrom. For, on no other account can any perfon be declared pious and holy, but because he is endowed with habitual holinefs, and gives himself to the practice of godlinefs, Mat. 12. 37, by thy words thou shalt be justified, that is, be declared juft or righteous, because words are indications of the mind, and figns either of the good or bad treasure of the heart: when the Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifeft the counfels of the heart; and then shall every man have praife of God, 1 Cor 4. 5dabash LXVI. The foundation of the latter can be no other than the rigteousness of Christ the Lord, comkingdom municated to them according to the free decree of righteouf- election, which is fucceeded by adoption, which nefs im- gives them a right to take poffeffion of the inherit ance. The very fentence of the judge himself leads us to this: come, ye bleffed of my father, whom, on my account, he freely loved (for, in Chrift all the nations of the earth are bleffed, Gen. 22. 18. Eph. 1. 3.) Inherit, poffefs by hereditary right, as the adopted fons of God, who, because ye are fons, are alfo beirs, Rom. 8. 17, the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; ordained for you from eternity, whofe palace was fitted up, in the beginning for that purpole, by the hands of God the

And heirs

of the

for his

puted to them.

Works

creator.

LXVII. Mean while, in this refpect too, there will be will be room for mentioning good works, for theyt alledged, fhall be produced, tft. As proofs of faith, of the

ers of

God.

union of believers with Chrift, of their adoption, as vouchand of that holiness, without which none can fee God, faith and and of friendship with God, and brotherhood with of feeking Christ. 2. As figns of that facred hunger and thirst, the kingwith which they defired happinefs, and of that dom of ftrenuous endeavour, by which, not regarding the advantages of this life, and defpifing carnal pleafures, they had fought the kingdom of heaven and its righteoufnefs; and it is inconfiftent with the perfection of the infinitely holy God, to diffappoint this hunger and thirst, and seeking after his kingdom. 3dly. As effects of divine grace, to which, the And excommunication of divine glory will answer, in the moft hibiting wife proportion, when it fhall come to crown his the proown gifts. For, the more abundant measure of portion of fanctification any one has obtained in this life, and the more he has gain'd by the talent entrusted to him, it is alfo credible, that the portion of glory will be the more exuberant, which the divine bounty hath appointed for him. And in this fenfe, we imagine, it is fo often faid in fcripture, that every one fhall be recompenfed according to his works, hot that thefe works are, on any account, the cause. of any right they will have, to claim the reward; but as they are evidences of our adoption and of our feeking the chief good, and as they fhew that proportion of grace, according to which the proportion of future glory will be difpenfed.

grace and

glory.

will be

mixed

LXVII. In this judgment therefore, there will Here also allo be grace mixed with justice. Justice, will appear becaufe none will be admitted to the poffeffion of grace the kingdom of heaven, but he who can fhew, by with undoubted evidences, that he is a partaker of Christ justice. and his righteoufnefs. Grace alfo will appear, because eternal happiness will be adjudged to him, who has done nothing to acquire a right to it; because works, ftained with fo many infirmities, as juftly make believers themselves blufh, will then be celebrated with fo great an encomium by the #2 VOL. II. K

judge:

Justice often denotes truth.

judge. And, indeed, the Apoftle does in exprefs words, make mention of the mercy that will be fhewn on that day, 2 Tim. 1. 18, the Lord grant unto bim, that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day. It is certainly true, that by mercy is there understood the reward of that mercy, which Onefiphorus had fhewn to Paul: but this reward of our mercy is not reckoned of debt, but of grace, Rom. 4. 4. And as it is not merited on the part of him who receives it, fo neither is it due from him, who bestows it. For, what doth God owe to man, but what he hath made himself a debtor to man by his gracious promises; or rather was willing to owe to his own goodness and truth, that man might expect from him a retribution for his holiness? Which debt is not oppofed to, but fuppofes grace; it is to be derived from the alone GRACIOUS WILL and truth of God the father, who hath promifed an unmerited reward to the labour of obedience which is the duty of all, and will have this to be only due on account of his promife. As become's a reformed teacher, to fpeak, who returns to his found mind.

LXIX. Whence it appears, that they don't speak right, who affirm, that in the last justification mere juftice will take place, without any mixture of grace. It is faid, indeed Heb. 6. 10, God is not unrighteous to forget your work &c. But that the reward of our works is of mere juftice, without any mixture of grace, is language that founds harth in reformed ears, and is diametrically repugnant to our catechism, + Queft. 63. Ludovius de Dieu, on Luke 1. 2. 57. and on Luke 16. 19, and on Rom. 3. 4. has proved at large, that in the Hebrew, Syriac and Arabick lan

+Q How is it, that our good works merit nothing, fince God promifes that he will give a reward for them both in this life and the life to come:

A. That reward is not given out of merit, but of grace.

guages,

guages, juftice and truth denote one and the fame notion, and generally are put one for the other. Thus, justice, or righteousness, when affirmed of God, in many places denotes his truth. But alfo O, truth, is tranflated by the feptuagint, dinami juftice or righteoufnefs Gen. 24. 49: Ifa. 38. 19. And Grævius has proved, that the fame phrafeology obtained among the ancient Greeks, in his Lectiones Hefiod. And what is more fuitable than by the mammon of unrighteoufnefs, Luke 16. 9, to understand not the true riches, fuch as the fpiritual and heavenly are, for v. 11, the unrighteous mammon is oppofed to the true riches. Is not that fignification of the word clear from John 1. 9, if we confess our fins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our fins: that is, faithful and true? For, who will fay that God owes the pardon of fins in juftice, without any mixture of grace, to him that confeffeth them? So alfo in the place juft quoted; God is not unrighteous, that is, deceives not in his gracious promifes, by which he has adjudged a reward of grace, to our labours of love. The celebrated Iac. Altingius gives us an excellent commentary on this place as follows: the obligation to the reward depends on the truth of the promifer, who is a debtor to himself, that what he was once pleafed, in the promise, to determine the confequencè of the work and reward, might always please him in the performance: thus the juft and righteous God forgives the fins of the penitent, 1 John 1.9, is the juftifier af bim that believeth, Rom. 3. 26. And a little after: every confideration of merit therefore is at an end: but a debt remains, which justice will have discharged in refpect of what God has promifed; who, on account of his truth, which is without repentance, or unchangeable, is debtor. to himself to perform his promifes, Rom. 3. 3, 4. Deut. 7. 9. This is the JUSTICE MEANT IN THIS PLACE, and God is denied to be unrighteous to forget good works; the' HE HAS DECREED AND PROMISED, OUT OF MERE

K 2