we should be faved by his life; That is, actually delivered from the Wrath of God, by the Power and Authority of a living Saviour, 5 Rom. 10. Upon the fame account Chrift is faid to be delivered for sur Offences, and to be railed again for our juftification; That is, finally to Abfolve and Juftifie us at the Day of Judgment, 4 Rom. 25. For we muft obferve, That though Chrift by his Death has made a general Atonement and Expiation for Sin, and thofe men are faid at prefent to be juftified, who are in a juftified State; that is, who are within the Terms of the Covenant for Juftification, who are fuch -as Chrift in his Gospel has promised to juftifie; yet properly speaking, no man is finally juftifled till he is finally acquitted and abfolved at the Day of Judgment, till he is judicially delivered from the Wrath of God threatned againft Sin, and actually fentenced to Life and Glory: And if Chrift cannot do this for us, whatever other Benefits we receive by his Miniftry and Death, he is not a compleat and perfect Saviour; for he does not actually fave us, unless he have Power and Authority to judge us 3 that is, finally to abfolve us from all our. Sins, and to beftow Heaven on us. Which fhews, that the Saviour of Sinners must be their Judge, becaufe we are not actually faved till we are finally judged: Mofes was not a complete Saviour of Ifrael, becaufe tho' he brought them out of Egypt, yet he left them in the Wilderness; but Joshua was their Saviour (and therein a Type of Chrift) who gave them Poffeffion of the Promifed Land,

2. But befides the nature of the thing, that our Saviour must be our Judge, that is, muft actually fave us; there is very great reason it should be fo, because this gives Authority and Efficacy to all the Methods of Salvation: It will make Šinners afraid not to be faved by him, when they know that he must judge them.

As to fhew this particularly: It will give great Authority to his Laws and Counfels, and great Credit to his Promises and Threatnings.

1. It will give great Authority to his Laws and Counfels, to remember that our Law-giver will be our Judge; that he who came into the World in Humane Nature to declare the Will of God to us, fhall come again to judge us by that Gofpel which he preached. When God fends his Prophets to us, there is great reafon to reverence the Authority of God in them; but much more when our Judge comes to preach to us himself, for we may be fure he will not preach in vain: the Laws he preached to us at his firft coming, fhall be the Rule whereby he will judge us at his fecond coming.

Efpecially when we confider, that both our Prophet and our Judge is the Saviour of Mankind. We may poffibly flatter our felves, that when God comes to Judgment, he may relax fomewhat of the Rigour and Severity of his Laws; that he has referved to himself a liberty of difpenfing with our Obedience to thofe Laws, which by his Prophets he commanded us to obey: But we cannot think that

our

our Saviour would lay any unneceffary Burden on us, that he would require any thing of us under the pain of Damnation, but what he expects we fhould do; that he will difpenfe with the Terms of the Gofpel, which are themselves a Difpenfation with the Rigour of the Law; for there must be an end of difpenfing fomewhere, unless Grace can difpenfe away all our Duty, and difpenfe unreformed and impenitent Sinners into Heaven: if this could be done,there was no reason why the Saviour of the World fhould have preached at all, or have given any Laws to Mankind, if he would have no regard to them in judging the World; but if the Judge of the World become a Preacher, it concerns us diligently to hearken to him; for whether we will obey his Laws or no, we shall be judg ed by them.

2. This gives great Credit to his Promifes and Threatnings, when they are made by our Judge himfelf who has Authority to execute them: Has Chrift promised pardon of Sin to all true Penitents? Has he promised to raife our Dead Bodies out of the Grave immortal and glorious, to beftow a Crown and Kingdom on us?? then we may depend on it, that he will do what he has promifed; for he who has promifed is able alfo to perform: He has Authority to forgive Sins, to raise the Dead, to receive all his Difciples into Heaven, into the immediate Prefence of God, there to live and to rejoyce for ever; and when he, who came to fave us, and has promifed this great Salvation to us, has Power to give it, when he who has made thefe Promifes, has the dif

pofal

pofal of Life and Glory, and Heaven in his own hands; this is a mighty Encouragement to us, to be ftedfaft, unmoveable, always abounding in the Work of the Lord, forafmuch as we know that our Labour fhall not be in vain in the Lord.

And have not all impenitent Sinners as much reafon to expect, that Chrift will certainly execute that Vengeance on them which he has threatned? That he will condemn them to eternal Night and Darkness, to Lakes of Fire and Brimftone, where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth for evermore? For he is the Judge of the World, who has Power and Authority to do it, and has declared that he will do it and then we have reafon to take his word for it.

Men are apt to fhelter themfelves from the Terrors of the Law, by the Merits and Mediation, and Mercies of a Saviour: God indeed is very juft and fevere, a confuming fire, and who can abide his coming! But the Bleffed: Jefus is a merciful and compaffionate Saviour: He is fo; infinitely merciful; but yet this merciful Saviour has threatned everlasting Fire against incorrigible Sinners; and he is our Judge too, and if he will condemn us at the laft Day, What hope is there for us? Where shall we find another Saviour to deliver us? It seems he is not all Mercy, as Sinners are apt to flatter themselves; no! He is a Judge, and a terrible Judge: And if our Saviour will judge us, it is dangerous to neglect fo great Salvation.

That

That God did not intend meerly to fright Sinners with his Threatnings, is evident from the Sufferings of our Saviour: He could not fave us without making Atonement and Expiation for our Sins; and if he muft undergo the Curfe of the Law, if he muft fuffer Death to redeem Sinners, it is certain Sinners must have died, if Chrift had not died for them; as St. Paul argues, If one died for all, then were all dead: For would God have laid the Punishment of our Sins on Chrift, if he had not intended to execute the Curfe of the Law against Sinners? Would he have delivered up Chrift to Death for us, if he had not intended that Sinners fhould die without a Sacrifice?

And when the Saviour of the World, who came to lay down his Life for us, to redeem us from the Curfe of the Law, threatens everlasting Deftruction againft impenitent and unbelieving Sinners, what reafon have we to hope that he will not execute his Threatnings? Thofe who are not redeemed by his death, muft die themselves; and it cannot be otherwise expected, but that he who died to fave us, will execute the Sentence of Eternal Death on all those who will not be faved by him: When he comes to Judgment, he will remember the Shame and Agony, the Infamy and Torments of the Crofs, which he underwent for Sinners; and this will make him revenge the Contempt of his dying and fuffering Love: He fuffered for Sin once, and, though he were the Son of God, he bowed, and fweat, and died under the weight of it; but all this is defpifed by Sinners, and goes for nothing: and now he will die no more for

them;