feathers in the waters of the sanctuary, that will sink like stones to the bottom, in cares of this life; they will be very serious in trifles of this world, and trifle in the most serious and weighty things of another world. But O! consider the day that is approaching, in which Christ shall come to judgment; the world shall be summoned by the sound of the last trumpet, to compeer before his tribunal. The Judge shall sit on his throne, and all nations shall be cited before him; the separation shall be made betwixt the godly and the wicked, the books opened, and the dead judged out of them, one party shall be judged to everlasting life, and the other to everlasting fire, according

to their works.

It would be a sight of admirable curiosity, if thou couldst wrap up thyself in some dark cloud, or hide thyself in the cleft of some high rock, from whence thou mightest espy wicked kings, princes, judges, and great ones of the earth, rising out of their marble tombs, and brought to the bar, to answer for all their cruelty, injustice, oppression, and prófanity, without any marks of distinction, but what their wickedness puts upon them: profane, unholy, and unfaithful churchmen, pursued with the curses of the ruined people, from their graves to the judgment-seat, and charged with the blood of souls, to whom they gave not faithful warning: mighty men standing trembling before the Judge, unable to recover their wonted boldness to out-wit him with their subtilties, or defend themselves by their strength: delicate women cast forth of their graves, as abominable branches, dragged to the tribunal, to answer for their ungodly lives: the ignorant, suddenly taught in the law, to their cost; and the learned declared, before the world, fools and laborious triflers; the athiest convinced; the, hypocrite unmasked; and the profane, at long run, turned serious about his eternal state: secret murders, adulteries, thefts, cheats, and other works of darkness, which scorned all human search, discovered and laid open before the world, with their most minute circumstances: no regard had to the rich, no pity shown to the poor: the scales of the world turned; oppressed and despised piety set on high; and prosperous wickedness at last brought low: all not found in Christ, arrainged, convicted, and condemned, without respect of persons, and driven from the tribunal to the pit; while those found in him at that day, being absolved before the world, go with him into heaven. Nay, but thou canst not so escape.-Thyself, whosoever thou art, not being in Christ, must bear a part in this tragical and frightful action.

Sinner, that same Lord Christ, whom thou now despisest, whom thou woundest through the sides of his messengers, and before whom thou dost prefer thy lusts, will be thy Judge.And a neglected Saviour will be a severe Judge. O! what mountain, what rock wilt thou get to fall on thee, and hide thee from the face of him that sitteth on the throne? Thou hast now a rock within thee, a heart of adamant, so that thou canst count the darts of the word as stubble, and laugh at the shaking of the spear; but that rock will rent, at the sight of the Judge; that hard heart will then break, and thou shalt weep and wail, when weeping and wailing will be to no purpose. Death's bands will fall off; the grave will vomit thee out; and the mountains shall skip from thee; and the rocks refuse to grind thee to powder. How will these cursed eyes abide the sight of the Judge! Behold he cometh! Where is the profane swearer, who tore his wounds? The wretched worldling, now abandoned of his god? The formal hypocrite, who kissed him, and betrayed him? The despiser of the gospel, who sent him away in his messengers groaning, profaned his ordinances, and trampled under foot his precious blood? O murderer, the slain Man is thy Judge; there is he whom thou didst so maltreat: Behold the neglected Lamb of God appearing as a Lion against thee! How will thine heart endure the darts of his fiery looks! That rocky heart now kept out against him, shall then be blown up: that face which refuseth to blush now, shall then gather blackness: arrows of wrath shall pierce, where arrows of conviction cannot enter now. What wilt thou answer him, when he riseth up, and chargeth thee with thy unbelief and impenitency? Wilt thou say, thou wast not warned? Conscience within thee will give thee the lie: the secret groans and weariness of those who warned thee, will witness the contrary. a child or a fool did tell you that your house was on fire, you would immediately run to quench it; but in matters of eternal concern, men will first fill their hearts with prejudices against the messengers, and then cast their message behind their backs. But these silly shifts and pretences will not avail in the day of the Lord. How will these cursed ears, now deaf to the call of the gospel, inviting sinners to come to Christ, hear the fearful sentence, "Depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels?" No sleepy hearer shall be there: no man's heart will then wander; their hearts and eyes will then be fixed on their misery, which they will not now believe. O that we knew in this our day, the things that belong to our peace!

If

LASTLY, Be exhorted to believe this great truth; and believe it so as you may prepare for the judgment betimes. Set up a secret tribunal in your own breasts, and often call yourselves to an account there. Make the Judge your friend in time, by closing with him in the offer of the gospel; and give all diligence, that ye may be found in Christ at that day. Cast off the works of darkness, and live, as believing you are, at all times and in all places, under the eye of your judge, who will "bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing." Be fruitful in good works, knowing that as ye sow, ye shall reap. Study piety towards God, righteousness and charity towards men. Lay up in store plenty of works of charity and mercy towards them who are in distress, especially such as are of the household of faith, that they may be produced that day as evidences that ye belong to Christ. Shut not up your bowels of mercy now towards the needy, lest ye then find no mercy. Take heed that in all your works ye be single and sincere, aiming in them all, at the glory of your Lord, a testimony of your love to him, and obedience to his command. Leave it to

hypocrites, who have their reward, to proclaim every man his own goodness, and to sound a trumpet, when they do their alms. It is a base and unchristian spirit, which cannot have satisfaction in a good work, unless it be exposed to the view of others: it is utterly unworthy of one, who believes that the last trumpet shall call together the whole world; before whom the Judge himself shall publish works truly good, how secretly soever they were done. Live in a believing expectation of the coming of the Lord. Let your loins be always girt, and your lamps burning; so that when he comes, whether in the last day of your life, or in the last day of the world, ye shall be able to say with joy, "Lo! this is our God, and we have waited for him."

HEAD V.

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom-prepared for you from the foundation of the world.-Matth. xxv. 34.

HAVING, from this portion of Scripture, which the text is a part of, discoursed of the General Judgment; and being to speak of the everlasting happiness of the saints, and the everlasting misery of the wicked, from the respective sentences to be pronounced upon them, in the great day; I shall take them in the order wherein they lie before us: the rather that as sentence is first past upon the righteous, so the execution thereof is first begun, though possibly the other may be fully executed before it be completed.

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The words of the text contain the joyful sentence itself, together with an historical introduction thereto, which gives us an account of the Judge pronouncing the sentence; the King," Jesus Christ: the parties on whom it is given, "them on his right hand;" and the time when, then; as soon as the trial is over. Of these I have spoken already. It is the sentence itself we are now to consider: 'Come ye blessed of my Father;' &c. Stand a-back, O ye profane goats; have away all unregenerate souls, not united to Jesus Christ, this is not for you. Come, O ye saints, brought out of your natural state, into the state of grace; behold here the state of glory awaiting you. glory let down to us in words and syllables; a looking-glass, in which you may see your everlasting happiness; a scheme (or draught) of Christ's Fathers house, wherein there are many mansions.

Here is

This glorious sentence bears two things. (1.) The complete happiness to which the saints are adjudged, the kingdom.' (2.) Their solemn admission to it, "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit," &c. First, Their complete happiness is a kingdom. A kingdom is the top of worldly felicity; there is nothing on earth greater than a kingdom: therefore the hidden weight of glory in heaven, is held forth to us under that notion. But it is not an ordinary kingdom, it is the kingdom;' the kingdom of heaven, surpassing all the kingdoms of the earth in glory, honour, profit, and pleasure, infinitely more than they do in these excel the low and inglorious condition of a beggar rags, and on a dunghill. Secondly, there is a solemn admis

in

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sion of the saints unto this their kingdom; come ye, inherit the kingdom. In the view of angels, men, and devils, they are invested with royalty, and solemnly inaugurated before the whole world, by Jesus Christ the heir of all things, who hath all power in heaven and in earth. Their right to the kingdom is solemnly recognized and owned! They are admitted to it as undoubted heirs of the kingdom, to possess it by inheritance or lot, as the word properly signifies; because of old, inheritances were designed by lot, as Canaan to Israel, God's firstborn, as they are called, Exod. iv. 22. And because this kingdom is the Father's kingdom, therefore they are openly acknowledged in their admission to it, to be the blessed of Christ's Father: the which blessing was given them long before this sentence, but is now solemnly recognized and confirmed to them by the Mediator, in his Father's name. It is observable, he says not, 'Ye blessed of THE Father:' but, 'Ye blessed of My Father:' to show us, that all blessings, bestowed upon us, are derived from the Father, the fountain of blessings, as he is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we are blessed, Eph. i. 3. And finally, they are admitted to this kingdom, as that which was "prepared for them from the foundation of the world," in God's eternal purpose, before they or any of them were: that all the world may see eternal life to be the free gift of God.

DOCTRINE.

The Saints shall be made completely happy in the Possession of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Two things I shall here inquire into, (1.) The nature of this kingdom. (2.) The admission of the saints thereto. And then I shall make some practical improvement of the whole. FIRST, As to the nature of the kingdom of heaven, our knowledge of it is very imperfect: for Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him," 1 Cor. ii. 9. As by familiar resemblances, parents instruct their little children, concerning things of which otherwise they can have no tolerable notion; so our gracious God, in consideration of our weakness, is pleased to represent to us heaven's happiness under similitudes taken from earthly things, glorious in the eyes of men; since naked discoveries of the heavenly glory divested of earthly resemblances, would