souls of saints were without bottom, afresh they suck again'to all eternity. Now, this is salvation indeed; the soul that attains this full enjoyment, is saved to the uttermost.

3. In respect of Christ himself, that he may be glorified. Now, in two things more especially will he be glorified at that day. 1. In his justice. 2. In his mercy, or free grace.

1. His justice will be glorified, especially in punishing the wicked: here on earth little justice is done on most offenders, though some public crimes are sometimes punished, yet the actions of closets, and chambers, the designs and thoughts of men, the business of retirements, and of the night, escape the hand of justice; and therefore God hath so ordained it, that there shall be a day of doom, wherein all that are let alone by men, shall be questioned by God; " Shall not the Judge of all the world do right?" Gen. 18:25. Then all thoughts shall be examined, and secret actions viewed on each side, and the infinite number of those sins which escaped here, shall be blazoned there; all shall have justice, and the justice of the judge shall be so exact, that he will account with men by minutes; and that justice may reign entirely, God shall open his treasure, I mean the wicked man's treasure, and tell the sums, and weigh the grains and scruples, "Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treas ures! I will restore it in the day of vengeance, saith the Lord," Deut. 32:34. Oh! how will God glorify his justice at that day? Surely his justice shall shine, and be eminently glorious in every passage.

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2. His mercy or free grace, will be glorified in rewarding the saints. And this is the main, the supreme end of his coming to judgment, "He shall come, (saith the apostle,) to be glorified in his saints," 2 Thess.1:10. Not but that the angels shall glorify the riches of his grace, as well as saints; but because the angels never sinned, (They have now kept their robes of innocency, their cloth of gold above five thousand years, without one spark of dirt, or change of color;") therefore the glory of his grace is more especially fastened on saints, that sometimes were sinners. Oh! what stories will be told at this day of grace's acts? "I was a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and an injurious person, (said Paul,) but I obtained mercy," 1 Tim. 1:13. (All eleethen,) " but I was be-mercied," as if he had been dipt in a river, in a sea of mercy; it may be he will make the same acknowledgment at the day of judgment, "I was a sinner, but the grace of the Lord Jesus to me was abundant, super-abundant; I obtained as much grace as would have saved a world." Certainly free grace shall then be discovered to some purpose: then it shall be known, " that where sin abounded, grace far more; it over-abounded, or more than over-abounded," Rom. 5:20. (hupereperisseusen,) it is a word borrowed from fountains and rivets, which have overflowed with waters ever since the creation: then all the saints shall exalt, and magnify, and with loud voices praise the glory of his grace; they shall look on their debts written in grace's book, and then shall they sing and say, "O the mystery of grace! O the gold mines and depths of Christ's free love!" why, this was the great design of our salvation; at the first, when God was willing to communicate himself out of his aloneness everlasting, he laid this plot, that all he would do, should be "to the praise of the glory of his grace," Eph. 1:6. And now at his second coming, having done all he will do, the saints, for whom he hath done all, admire, esteem, honor, and sound forth the praises of his grace. Is not this their everlasting song which they begin at this day, "Glory to the Lamb, and glory to his grace, that sitteth on the throne for evermore?" Not but that they glorify him in his wisdom, power, holiness,

and his other attributes, aye, but especially in this; it is his grace in which he most deligheth, even as virtuous kings affect, above all their other vir tues, to be bad in honor for their clemency and bounty; so Jesus Christ the King of kings, affects above all, the glory of his grace. And to this purpose, heaven itself is an house full of broken men, who have borrowed millions from Christ, but can never repay, more than to read and sing the praises of free grace: "Glory to the Lamb, and glory to the riches of his grace for evermore.”

Thus for directions: one word of application, or a few motives to work faith in you in this respect.

1. Christ in his word invites you to believe, these are his letters from heaven, "Come all to the marriage supper of the Lamb; ho, every one that thirsts come in;" heaven's gate is open to all that knock, but fools, foolish virgins, foolish souls, which have no faith, nor will have any, to render them fit for heaven. This meets with some that scruple, "What, will Christ come again to receive me to himself? Shall I enter with him into glory? Alas! no unclean thing shall enter into that holy city, and shall such a sinner as I am be admitted?" Oh believe! believe thy part in this coming of Christ, to receive thee to himself; and no sin that thou feelest a burden, shall keep thee out of heaven. There is Rabab the harlot, and Manasseh the murderer, and Mary that had so many devils; a man that hath many devils, may come where there is not one, "lame, and blind, and halt, may enter into heaven, and yet still there is room," Luke 14:22. There is a great variety of guests above, and yet one table large enough for all; no crowding, and yet thousands, and thousands of thousands sitting together. Ah poor soul! why dost thou make exceptions, where God makes none? Why shouldst thou exclude thyself out of these golden gates, when God doth not? Believe, only "believe in the Lord Jesus," and the promise is sure, and without all controversy, "thou shalt be saved."

2. Christ by his ministry entreats you to believe; come, say they, we beseech you believe in your judge; it may be you startle at this, what, to believe in him who is coming to be your judge? But if your judge be Jesus, if the same person that died for you shall come to judge you, why should you fear? Indeed if your judge were your enemy, you might fear: but if he who is your Lord, and who loves your souls, shall judge you, there is no such cause: will a man fear to be judged by his dearest friends, a brother by a brother, a child by a father, or a wife by her husband? Consider! is not he your judge who came down from heaven, and who being on earth was judged, condemned, and executed in your stead? And yet are ye fearful, "O ye of little faith?" Oh what an unreasonable sin is unbelief? Nay, say the scrupulous, if I were assured of this, if I knew that my judge were my friend, I should not fear; but is he not mine enemy? Have not I provoked him to enmity against my soul? Do I not stand it out in arms against my judge? Am not I daily sinning against him, who justly may condemn me for my sin? Give this for granted, that this and no other, no better is my case, and what say you then? If it be so, hearken then to the voice of our ministry. We poor ministers that love your souls, (say what you will of us) would fain have all this enmity against God, and against Christ done away; and to this purpose, we not only appear many and many a time upon our knees to God for you, but (maugre all your opposition against us) we could be content to come upon our knees from God, to you, to beseech you not to provoke your judge against your souls: what, is Christ and you at odds? Is the differ

ence wide betwixt your judge and you? I do now in my Master's name, in the name of God, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, beseech you to believe, "I beseech you in Christ's name, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled unto God." Is not this the apostle's word? "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead," 2 Cor. 5:20. Christ's ministers are not only God's legates, but Christ's surrogates: to make this plain to you, when a prince sends a messenger to another prince, that messenger is only an ambassador, the prince being not bound to carry the message himself in person; but now Jesus Christ, he is the Father's ambassador, and Christ is thereby bound to bring the message of peace himself; but being necessarily employed elsewhere, (in the same design of grace,) he constituted us his officers, so that we do not come only in the name of God, but in the place of Christ, to do that work which is primarily his, "As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you," John 20:21. And this was the commendation of the Galatians, "That they received the apostle Paul even as Jesus Christ," Gal. 4:14. Now weigh your desire we beseech you to believe; we beseech you to sign the articles of agreement betwixt Christ and you: what, shall some base inconsiderable lust stand in competition with Jesus Christ? Will you not make your peace with your judge whilst you are in the way, and before he sit on his throne? Behold we give you a warning," the judge is at the door, now believe, and be saved." Oh! how fain would we tempt you (as it were) with glory? We tender Christ, and we offer peace, we come in the judge's name to beseech you to make ready for him, and for heaven; we bring salvation to your very doors, to your very ears, and there we are sounding, knocking, "Will you go to heaven, sinners? Will ye go to heaven; Oh! believe in him that will judge you, and he will save you."

3. Christ by his Spirit, moves, excites and provokes you to believe. Sometimes in reading, and sometimes in hearing, and sometimes in meditating, you may feel him stir; have you felt no gale of the Spirit all this while? it is the Spirit that convinceth the world of sin, John 16:8. especially of that great sin of unbelief; and then of righteousness, which Christ procureth by going to his Father. Observe here, it is the work of the Spirit thus to convince, so that all moral philosophy, and the wisest directions of the most civil men, will leave you in a wilderness; yea, ten thousands of sermons may be preached to you to believe, and yet you never shall, till you are overpowered by God's spirit; it is the Spirit that enlightens and directs you, as occasion is, saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it," Isa. 30:21. It is the Spirit that rouseth and awakeneth you by effectual motion, "Arise my love, my fair one, and come away," Sol. Song 2:10. "He stands at the door and knocks;" he stretches out his hand with heaven in it, and he doeth so all the day long. "All the day long have I stretched out my hand," Rom. 10:21. And that you may find his yoke easy, and his burden light, it is the Spirit that draws the yoke with you, and by secret animations, and sweet inspirations, heartens and enables you to do the work with ease; and, in this respect, the saints are said "to be led by the Spirit," Rom. 8:14. Even as a mother leads her child that is weak, and enables it to go the better, so the Spirit leads the saints (as it were) by the hand, and strengthens them to believe yet more and more. I speak now to saints; if whilst I press you to believe in Jesus, you feel the Spirit in his stirrings and impetuous acts, surely it concerns you to believe, it concerns you to be obsequious and yielding to the breathings of God's Spirit, it concerns you to co-operate with the Spi,

rit, and to answer his wind blowing. As you are to take Christ at his word, so you are to take Christ's Spirit at his work: if now he knocks, do you knock with him; if now his fingers make a stirring upon the handles of the bar, let your hearts make a stirring with his fingers also; O! reach in your hearts under the stirrings of free grace; obey dispositions of grace as God himself. If now you feel your hearts as hot iron, it is good then to smite with the hammer; if now you feel your spirits docile, say then with him in the gospel, I believe, Lord, help my unbelief; I believe, what? I believe when Jesus comes again, he will receive me to himself, and that I shall be for ever with the Lord. Amen, Amen.

SECT. VI. Of loving Jesus in that respect.

6. LET us love Jesus, as carrying on the great work of our salvation in his second coming. In prosecution of this, I must first set down Christ's love to us, and then our love to Christ; that is the cause, and this the effect; that is the spring, and this the stream; in vain should we persuade our hearts to love the Lord, if, in the first place, we were not sensible that our Lord loves us, "We love him (saith the apostle) because he first loved us," 1 John 4:19. It is Christ's way of winning hearts, he draws a lump of love out of his own heart, and casts it into the sinner's heart, and so he loves him. Come, then, let us first take a view of Christ's love to us, and see, if from thence, any sparks of love will fall on our hearts to love him again. Should I make a table of Christ's acts of love, and free grace to us, I might begin with that eternity of his love before the beginning, and never end till I draw it down to that eternity of his love without all ending: His love is as his mercy, from everlasting to everlasting; he loved us be fore time, in the beginning of time, in the fulness of time; at this time the flames of love are as hot in his breast as they were at first, and when time shall be no more, he will love us still; this fire of heaven is everlasting; there is in the breast of Christ an eternal coal of burning love, that never, never shall be quenched. But I have, in some measure, already discovered all those acts of his grace and love till his second coming: And therefore I begin there.

1. Christ will come; is not this love? As his departure was a rich testimony of his love," It is expedient for you that I go away;" so in his returning, "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come unto you," John 14:18. Oh! how can we think of Christ's returning, and not meditate on the greatness of his love? Might he not send his angels, but he must come himself! Is it not state and majesty enough to have the angels come for us, but that he himself must come with his angels to meet us more than half the way? What king on earth would adopt a beggar, and, after his adoption, would himself go in person to fetch him from the dung-hill to his throne? We are filthy Lazars, from the crown of our heads, to the soles of our feet we are full of sores; and yet the King of heaven puts on his best attire, and comes in person with all his retinue of glory, to fetch us from our graves to his own court of heaven. Oh! the love of Christ in this one act, he will come again, he is but gone for a while, but he will come again in his own person.

2. Christ will welcome all his saints into his presence: and is not this love? After he is come down from heaven, he stays for them a while in the clouds, and commanding his angels to bring them thither, anon they come; and, Oh! how his heart springs within him at their coming; what throbs and pangs of love are in his heart at the first view of them? As they draw near, and fall down at his feet, and worship him, so he draws near

and falls upon their necks, and welcomes them. Methinks I hear him say, Come, blessed souls, you are my purchase, for whom I covenanted with my Father from eternity; O! you are dearly welcome to your Lord, in that now I have you in my arms; I feel the fruit of my death, the acceptation of ny sacrifice, the return of my prayers; for this I was born and died; for this I arose again and ascended into heaven; for this I have interceded a priest in heaven these many years, and now I have the end and design of all my actings and sufferings for you, how is my joy fulfilled! Look, as at the meeting of two lovers, there is a great joy, especially if the distance has been great, and the desires of enjoying one another vehement; so is the meeting of Christ with his saints; the joy is so great, that it runs over and wets the fair brows and beauteous looks of cherubims and seraphims, and all the angels have a part of this banquet at this day.

3. Christ will sentence his saints for eternal life: Here is love indeed, every word of the sentence is full of love; it contains the reward of his saints, a reward beyond their work, and beyond their wages, and beyond the promise, and beyond their thoughts, and beyond their understanding; it is a participation of the joys of God, and of the inheritance of the judge himself: "Come, enter into your master's joy, inherit the kingdom." Oh! but if all the saints have only but one kingdom, where is my room? Fear not, O my soul! thou shalt have room enough, though but one kingdom, yet all the inhabitants there are kings; whole heaven is such a kingdom, as is entirely and fully enjoyed by one glorified saint; all, and every one hath the whole kingdom at his own will; every one is filled with God, as if there were no fellows there to share with him. Oh! that I may come under this blessed sentence. Never was more love expressed in words than Christ expresseth in this sentence," Come ye blessed," &c.

4. Christ will take up all his saints with him into glory, where he will present them to his Father, and then be their all in all, to all eternity. This is the height of Christ's love, this is the immediate love that comes out from the precious heart and bowels of Jesus Christ; this that zenith of love, when sensibly and feelingly it burns at hottest; it is true, that Christ's love breaks out in ali those precedaneous acts we have already spoken: Oh! but what loves will he cast out from himself in glory? The more excellent the soil is, and the nearer the sun is, the more of summer, and the more of day; the more delicious the apples, the pomegranates, the roses, the lilies, that grow there: Surely Christ in glory is a blessed soil; roses, and lilies, and apples of love, that are eternally summer green, and sweet, grow out of him; the honey of heaven is more than honey; the ho ney of love that is pure and unmixed, and glorious in Christ, must needs be incomparable. I cannot say, but that Christ's love, like himself, is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; there is no intension, or remission of his love as in itself, for " God is love," 1 John 4:8. He is essentially love; and therefore admits of no degrees; yet, in respect of this sense, or mani. festation of this love of Christ, there must needs be a difference; thus if he loved his spouse on earth, how much more will he love her, when his bride in heaven? If he loves us while sinners, and enemies to his holiness, how much more will he love us, when we are sons and perfected saints in glo. ry? He that could spread his arms, and open his heart on the cross, will he not then open arms, and heart, and all to them that reign with him in his kingdom? If, in this life, such is love's puissance, that we usually say of Christ, Though the head be in heaven, yet he hath left his heart on earth with sinners; what shall we say of Christ in glory, where love, like the sun,