faith the Lord, every knee fhall bow to me, and every tongue shall confefs to God. So then every one of us fhall give account of himself to God. Rom. xiv. 10, 11, 12. And again, For we must all appear before the judgment-feat of Chrift, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 2 Cor. v. 10. Here, first, Paul declares that we must all appear before the judgment-feat; fecondly, every knee must bow, and every tongue confefs to God; thirdly, every one must give an account of himself to God; and lastly, that every one may receive the things done in his body, whether good or bad. Be as plain as poffible on the fubject; for if you leave but a vacancy as big as a button hole, unbelief will creep in, and drag a thousand doubts at her heels.

Cufbi. Obferve, firft, the direction given by the lawgiver to the judge. If there be a controverfy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they fhall juftify the righteous, and condemn the wicked. Deut. xxv. I. And again, If a man trefpafs against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to fwear, and the oath come before thine altar in this boufe; then bear thou in beaven, and do, and judge thy fervants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. 1 Kings viii. 31, 32. Here you have the unalterable and eternal rule of judgment. In this rule

you

you find two fentences, and no more-juftification and condemnation-thou fhalt condemn the wicked -thou fhalt juftify the righteous. Now the effects or confequences of these two sentences are two alfo, a bleffing and a curfe; the law reveals no more, Deut. 28; read the whole chapter. The bleffings are to thofe that hearken to the voice of the Lord in the gofpel, and the curfes are to the legal felfrighteous tribe, that truft in their obedience to the law, to which they adhere for life, because they cannot fulfil the whole of it;-As many as are of the works of the law are under the curfe, Gal. iii. 10; and, on the other hand, I have proved the believer to be under the bleffing; fo then they which be of faith, are bleffed with faithful Abraham. Gal. iii. 9.

I have already fhown that the believer is juftified, confequently under the fentence of justification; and the glorious effect of this is, that he is bleffed; yea, he is bleffed both by the law and the gofpel; God the Father bleffes him; Kifs the Son left be be angry; bleffed are all they that put their trust in him. Pfalm ii. 12. He is bleffed alfo of God the Saviour;-Because thou hast feen me, Thomas, thou haft believed; bleffed are they that have not feen, and yet have believed. John xx. 29. This bleffing is likewife pronounced by the Holy Ghoft;-Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord; yea, faith the Spirit, for they reft from their labours, and their works do follow them. Rev. xiv. 13. This being the real cafe, the fentence of juftification, and the bleffing annexed

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annexed to it, follows the believer go where he will.

Having fhewed you the rule of judgment, the fentence and the bleffing, I come now to fpeak of the judgment-feat. I have already proved, by the trial of Prodigalis, that the elect are arraigned and tried before the judgment-feat in this world; that the light of God fhines upon them; that the commandment comes with power; that fin revives, and the finner, feeling the sentence thereof, dies; that law, confcience, and Satan accufe him; and that by faith he is juftified, and paffes from the fentence of death to fpiritual life by faith in the Son of God: as it is written, I am the refurrellion and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead yet fhall be live; and he that liveth and believeth fhall never die. John xi. 25, 26, Thus you fee the elect foul is arraigned and acquitted in this world by an act of grace.

Secondly, Every time he fins against his Father and Redeemer, having the law of God and the rule of judgment written on his heart, he arraigns himfelf; this is his privilege, which if he neglects God does it: If we would judge ourselves we should not be judged; but when we are chaftened we are judged of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world, 1 Cor. xi. 31, 32.

Thirdly, The believing foul may appear before the judgment-feat of Chrift as foon as it is fevered from the body; for the spirit returns to God that

gave it. Eccl. xii. 7. But fuppofing this be the cafe, the believing foul can receive nothing but the fentence of justification, and the blessing annexed to it; Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord: but this is all fuppofition; for the Bible is filent about it to the best of my remembrance. It is faid of Lazarus, that he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bofom, Luke xvi. 22; and of the thief, that he should be that day with the Lord in paradise. Luke xxiii. 43. But there is nothing faid of a trial between death and eternal glory. Yet doubtless the Saviour will prefent every believing foul before his Father at their arrival in heaven; but if he does, it will be without fpot or wrinkle, or any fuch thing and if so, it can be only to receive the Father's bleffing; which will be no worse than that which the poor foul met with on his repentance; namely, the Father fell on his neck and kiffed him, and rejoiced over bim with finging.

Fourthly, If we are all to appear before the judgment-feat of Chrift in the great day, as the apostle intimates, it will be only to be exalted to the right hand of the Lord: And he shall fet the Sheep on his right band, and the goats on the left. Matt. xxv. 33. And whatever account a believer is to give of himself to God, I believe the Saviour, as his only Advocate, will inftruct him in it: The meek will be guide in judgment, and the meek will be teach bis way. Pfalm xxv. 9. And the chief account that he will have to give at that day will be

an

an account of his unworthiness, and to wonder at the grace of his incomparable Lord: Then fhall the King fay unto them on his right hand, Come, ye bleffed of my Father [mark the bleffing here], inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matt. xxv. 34. Now mind the Saviour's process, For I was an bungred, and ye gave me meat; thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was fick, and ye vifited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Matt. xxv. 35, 36. Now comes the account that the faints give of themselves to God, which confists of a public renunciation of all usefulness to God, and of all dependance on merit: Then shall the righteous [mind the appellation] anfwer him, faying, Lord, when faw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? when faw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? or when faw we thee fick, or in prison, and came unto thee? Matt. xxv. 37, 38, 39. Thus the Lord justifies the righteous. Mind, he calls them righteous, which they could never be but by faith; for be that believes not is condemned already. Nor need we wonder at the Lord's putting encomiums on their works, for it was himself that worked in them both to will and to do of his own good pleasure. Phil. ii. 13. The Lord had wrought all their works in them, Ifa. xxvi. 12, and he takes fpecial notice of, and puts great encomiums upon them. But the righteous place no confidence in them, but renounce

them,