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charge of God's elect? Shall the law? The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, hath made them free from the law of sin and death. Or shall conscience? The Spirit itself beareth witness with their spirit, that they are the children of God. It is God that justifieth; who is he who condemneth?"(z) If our Judge condemn us not, who shall? He that said to the adulterous woman, Hath no man condemned thee? neither do 1;(a) will say to us, more faithfully than Peter to him, Though all men deny thee, or condemn thee, I will not.(b) Having confessed me before men, thee will I also confess before my Father which is in heaven.(c)

§ 7. What inexpressible joy, that our holy Lord, who loveth our souls, and whom our souls love, shall be our judge! Will a man fear to be judged by his dearest friend? or a wife by her own husband? Christian, did Christ come down, and suffer, and weep, and bleed, and die for thee; and will he now condemn thee?----Was he judged, condemned, and executed, in thy stead; and now will he condemn thee himself? Hath he done most of the work already, in redeeming, regenerating, sanctifying, and preserving thee; and will he undo all again? Well then, let the terror of that day be ever so great, surely our Lord can mean no ill to us in all. Let it make the devils tremble, and the wicked tremble; but it shall make us leap for joy. It must needs affect us deeply with the sense of our mercy and happiness, to see most of the world tremble with terror, while we triumph with joy! to hear them doomed to everlasting flames, when we are proclaimed heirs of the kingdom! to see our neighbours, that lived in the same towns, came to the same congregation, dwelt in the same houses, and were esteemed more honourable in the world than ourselves, now by the Searcher of hearts eternally separated! This, with the great magnificence and dreadfulness of the day, the apostle pathetically expresses; "It is a righteous thing with God, to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and

(z) Rom. viii. 1, 2—16—33-34.

(6) Matt. xxvi. 33, 35.

(a) John viii. 10, 11. (c) Matt. x. 32.

to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe, in that day."(d)

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§ 8. Yet more, we shall be so far from the dread of that judgment, that ourselves shall become the judges. Christ will take his people, as it were, into. commission with himself, and they shall sit and approve his righteous judgment. "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? Nay, know ye not that we shall judge angels?"(e) Were it not for the word of Christ that speaks it, this advancement would seem incredible, and the language arrogant. "Even Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied this, saying, Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, 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?"(f) Thus shall the saints be honoured, and the upright shall have dominion in the morning.(g) O that the careless world were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end (h) that they would be now of the same mind as they will be, when they shall see "the heavens pass away with a great noise, and the elements melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein, burnt up!" when all shall be on fire about their ears, and all earthly glory consumed!" For the heavens and the earth, which are now, are reserved unto the fire against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conver

(d) 2 Thess. i. 10.
(g) Psalm xlix. 14.

(e) 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3. (ƒ) Jude 14, 15. (h) Deut. xxxii. 29.

light, the Israelites would not have had the less; but to enjoy that light alone, while their neighbours lived in thick darkness, must make them more sensible of their privilege. Distinguishing mercy affects more than any mercy. If Pharaoh had passed as safely as Israel, the Red Sea would have been less remembered. If the rest of the world had not been drowned, and the rest of Sodom and Gomorrah not burned, the saving of Noah had been no wonder, nor Lot's deliverance so much talked of. When one is enlightened, and another left in darkness; one reformed, and another by his lust enslaved; it makes the saints cry out, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?(f) When the prophet is sent to one widow only of all that were in Israel, and to cleanse one Naaman of all the lepers,(g) the mercy is more observable. That will surely be a day of passionate sense on both sides, when there shall be two in one bed, and two in the field, the one taken and the other left.(h) The saints shall look down upon the burning lake, and in the sense of their own happiness, and in the approbation of God's just proceedings, they shall rejoice and sing, Thou art righteous, O Lord, who wast, art, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.(i)

6. (4) But though this rest be proper to the saints, yet it is common to all the saints; for it is an association of blessed spirits, both saints and angels; a corporation of perfected saints, whereof Christ is the head; the communion of saints completed. As we have been together in the labour, duty, danger,. and distress; so shall we in the great recompence and deliverance. As we have been scorned and despised; so shall we be owned and honoured together. We, who have gone through the day of sadness, shall enjoy together that day of gladness. Those, who have been with us in persecution and prison, shall be with us also in that palace of consolation. How oft have our groans made, as it were, one sound! (g) Luke iv. 25, 27. () Rev. xvi. 4.

(f) John xiv. 22.
(h) Luke xvii. 34, 36.

our tears, one stream! and our desires, one prayer! But now all our praises shall make up one melody; all our churches, one church; and all ourselves, one body; for we shall be all one in Christ, even us he and the Father are one.(k) 'Tis true, we must be careful not to look for that in the saints which is alone in Christ. But if the fore-thought of sitting down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven,(1) may be our lawful joy; how much more the real sight, and actual possession! It cannot choose but be comfortable to think of that day, when we shall join with Moses in his song, with David in his psalms of praise, and with all the redeemed in the song of the Lamb for ever;(m) when we shall see Enoch walking with God;(n) Noah enjoying the end of his singularity; Joseph of his integrity; Job of his patience; Hezekiah of his uprightness; and all the saints the end of their faith.(o) Not only our old acquaintance, but all the saints, of all ages, whose faces in the flesh we never saw, we shall there both know and comfortably enjoy. Yea, angels, as well as saints, will be our blessed acquaintance. Those, who now are willingly our ministering spirits,(p) will willingly then be our companions in joy. They, who had such joy in heaven for our conversion.(q) will gladly rejoice with us in our glorification. Then we shall truly say, as David, "I am a companion of all them that fear thee;"(r) when we are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and unto an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, who are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant.(s) "Tis a singular excellence of heavenly rest, that we are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God."()

(k) John xvii. 21. (/) Matt. vii. 11. (m) Rev. xv. 3. (n) Gen. v. 24. (0) 1 Pet. i. 9. (p) Heb. i. 14. (g) Luke xv. 7, 10. (r) Psa. cxix. 63. (s) Heb. xii. 22, 24. (t) Eph. ii. 19.

§ 7. (5) As another property of our rest, we shall derive its joys immediately from God. Now we have nothing at all immediately, but at the second or third hand, or how many, who knows? From the earth, from man, from sun and moon, from the ministration of angels, and from the Spirit, and Christ.Though, in the hand of angels, the stream savours not of the imperfection of sinners, yet it does of the imperfection of creatures; and as it comes from man, it savours of both. How quick and piercing is the word in itself!(u) yet many times it never enters, being managed by a feeble arm. What weight and worth is there in every passage of the blessed gospel! Enough, one would think, to enter and pierce the dullest soul, and wholly possess its thoughts and affections; and yet how oft does it fall as water upon a stone! The things of God which we handle are divine; but our manner of handling is human. There is little we touch, but we leave the print of our fingers behind. If God speaks the word himself, it will be a piercing, melting word indeed. The Christian now knows by experience, that his most immediate joys are his sweetest joys; which have least of man, and are most directly from the Spirit. Christians, who are much in secret prayer and contemplation, are men of the greatest life and joy; because they have all more im mediately from God himself. Not that we should cast off hearing, reading, and conference, or neglect any ordinance of God; but to live above them, while we use them, is the way of a Christian. There is joy in these remote receivings; but the fulness of joy is in God's immediate presence.(w) We shall then have light without a candle, and perpetual day without the sun; "for the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God enlightens it, and the Lamb is the light thereof; there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light; for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever."(x) We shall then

(u) Heb. iv. 12. (w) Psalm xvi. 1. (1) Rev. xxi. 23. xxii. 5.

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