Page images
PDF
EPUB

which will perfect his Soul with the Knowledge, and Love, and Admiration of God; and give him fuch clear, raised, and Divine Thoughts and Paffions, as are fit for Heaven, and the immediate Prefence of God, whither he is a going? What wife Man will not refolve to be very good, that at that day he may fee the Glory of God without Terror and Aftonishment; with all thofe Raptures and Extafies with which fuch new and bright Appearances of the Divine Wisdom will fill the Soul?

2. God fummons all Mankind together to Judgment, that Men and Angels may be Witneffes of his equal and impartial Juftice. We are all equally God's Creatures, the Rich and the Poor, the Honourable and the Vile, the Prince and the Subject are alike to him; and Juftice requires that they fhould be alike; that the juft Judge of the World fhould refpect no Man's Perfon in Judgment. Now there is no fuch way to convince all the World that God is an Equal and Impartial, that is, a very Juft and Righteous Judge, as to judge all the World together; for then they themselves may fee whether God be Partial or not.

But there is a great deal more I mean by this; for the Providence of God in this World is very liable to the Charge of Partiality; that he has not an equal Regard to all his Creatures; I do not mean with reference to their Fortune and Station in this World, that fome are Rich, others Poor; fome Princes and Nobles entrusted with great Pow

ers

[ocr errors]

ers; others Subjects, and exposed to the Wills. and Lufts of Princes, for this is more easily accounted for, fuch different Ranks of Men being neceffary to good Order and Government in the World: But I mean with refpect to their Souls, and their Eternal State; that God has not taken equal care to instruct all Mankind in their Duty, to acquaint them with the danger of Sin, and the Rewards and Punishments. of the next Life, and the Certainty of a Future Judgment; and this is too vifible to be denied.

God fuffered Mankind to fall into Idolatry; and when they had corrupted their Natural Notions of Good and Evil, fent no Prophet among them to inftruct them better; and when after fome Ages he called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees, and having tried his Faith and Obedience, entred into Covenant with him; yet he confined his Covenant to his Pofterity, whom he chose for his peculiar People, and took no visible Care of the reft of the World; and tho' this was a great Priviledge of Ifrael above the reft of Mankind, yet the Mofaical Law was but a weak and imperfect Difpenfation, but a childifh Pedagogy, and the Jewish Church but in the State of Servants, or of an Heir under Age.

And though God did at laft fend Chrift into the World to make a perfect Revelation of his Will, yet it was towards the end of the World; and what a wonderful difference has this made between those who enjoy the Light of the Gospel, and the reft of Mankind; O 3

સફ

as if they had not all the fame Maker, or were not equally his Creatures: And yet how little a part of the World is there ftill, which have the Gospel Preached to them; and how much less, which have it fincerely Preached?

The Juftice of God, I confefs, cannot be impeached upon this Account, for God was not wanting to any of them in what was neceffary; he made them reasonable and understanding Creatures, gave them fufficient Natural Evidence of his own Being and Providence; and the Natural Notices of Good and Evil, and the Natural Expectations of Rewards and Punifhments, which St. Paul tells us is enough to render them inexcufable; That the invifible things of God from the Creation of the World, are known by the things that are feen, even his Eternal Power and Godhead, fo that they are without Excufe, 1. Rom. 20. And what is more than this, is pure Grace, which God may give or deny, when or where he pleases: Nor is the Goodnefs of God, and Care of his Creatures to be blamed upon this Score, for in every Age he did what was wife and fit to be done; for the feveral Ages of the World, required different Difpenfations of Grace; and in the fulness of Time, when the World was prepared for it, he fent his Son. But yet we muft confefs, That God has done more for Jews than he did for Heathens, and more for Chriftians than he did for either; which is an Objection that troubles the Minds even of fome Good Men, who do not thoroughly confider things, and darkens and obfcures their Notions of the Divine Goodness.

And

And when all the World is met together to Judgment, it feems at firft view to be a very plaufible Objection, That God has not dealt equally with them all, efpecially when their E ternal State depended on it; and the want of those Means of Grace which God afforded others, though he owed them to neither, made no lefs a difference between them, than Heaven and Hell.

This indeed is a very great Difficulty; but I doubt not but the equal Juftice of the Laft Judgment will answer it; for otherwife I cannot imagine that God will fummon all the world together before his Tribunal, if he did not intend to deal equally by all: The Laft Judgment will not be over-ruled by Power and Sovereign Prerogative, for that removes no Objections, but only filences them; whereas God at the Laft Day will justify himfelf, as well as judge the World; and therefore whatever difference and variety there has been in the external Adminiftration of his Grace; the Final Judgment fhall be very equal; and he will appeal to Men and Angels for the Equality as well as for the Juftice

of it.

How God will bring all thefe Unevenneffes of his Grace and Providence to an Equality, is hard for us to fay; but yet we know there are fome poffible ways of doing it: To make great Abatements and Allowances for invincible Ignorance and Miftake, for the Faults and Miscarriages of Education, for the Wickednefs and Corruption of the Age wherein men live, and for want of the Means.

of Grace and Knowledge; and to exact Improvements proportionable to our Receipts, and to thofe greater Advantages we enjoy; and to encrease and leffen Rewards and Punishments by thefe Measures, will bring men pretty near an equal Level, according to our Saviour's Rule, That Servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, Thall be beaten with many ftripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more, 12. Luke 47, 48. So much are thofe Nominal Chriftians miftaken, who are fo far from thinking that God expects more from them than from ignorant Heathens, that they hope to escape with thofe Vices for which they themfelves think fit that Heathens fhould be damned: No, Beloved, God will judge all the World together; and that is a Demonftration to me that he will be very equal in his Justice; and then he must demand more from Chriftians than from Heathens, because we have received

more.

3. A General Judgment is most for the Glory of God, in punishing Bad Men, and rewarding the Good: When a whole world of Sinners ftand trembling before God's Tribunal, and receive their Final Doom and Sentence from his Mouth, this is a more vifible Triumph of his Juftice, than had they all filently dropt into Hell, they went out of this world, and we had

as

heard

« PreviousContinue »