heard be a matter of your experience; whether in this manner ye believe he is alive in heaven; whether ye have any practical regard to him there as teaching, interceding for, governing, and protecting his church; whether your hearts go up to him with that frequency and fervency which may reasonably persuade you that you really believe in him as sat down at the right hand of God for these purposes. I say it would be very reasonable you should make such inquiry, whether this faith be in you or not? But since I fear many of you will not bestow on your souls so much as the pains of this inquiry, I will ask this very plain question, When did you last think where Christ was, whether in heaven or on earth? Have you thought of his being on the right hand of God this day, or yesterday, or the day before, or the week past, or the last Lord's day, or when? What say you in answer ? Ah! I know what your heart is saying, "Truly I cannot tell when I thought about it, it is the least in my thoughts.' And, if so, I need not add what your conscience is saying further, "That you have all to begin for your soul." Well, I wish then I could see you make a beginning. Will you now go home, and consider what a case you are in, and set yourself to call on God for his grace to show you the full truth of your condition ? No, I fear from what I have hitherto seen you will not. The devil will not suffer you. There will be company or business in the way. Satan will hinder you by some means or other. Ah, sirs, how do we trifle with our souls! were we to deal thus with our estates we should be deemed fools or madmen. Lord, awaken

us out of our sleep, that we perish not!

SERMON XXV.

ACTS xvi. 30, 31.

What must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.

We left our professor comforting himself in the belief of his Saviour's sitting on the right hand of God; and are now to consider him as he rejoices in the expectation of Christ's coming the second time to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe that he who died for our sins is gone away into heaven to prepare a place for his people; from thence I am expecting him to come again with power and great glory to receive them unto himself, that they may be with him where he is and in the mean time I see him sitting on the right hand of God to prepare them for the place which he has prepared for them; by teaching them from thence, and leading them into all truth as their exalted Prophet; by sending down upon them the comforting Spirit as their great High-Priest and Intercessor, in the power of which Spirit they come unto God with boldness by him, and ask every thing of him as their Father; and by both sanctifying their hearts by his grace through the co-operation of his providence into a growing conformity with that holiness, the measure of which is revealed in the Scriptures; and also defending, protecting, and supporting them from and against their enemies; and causing every instance of opposition raised against them to work for their good, as their sovereign Lord and King." Confident in his power, care, and love, to keep my soul against that day of his coming, I look forward to it with expectation,

and express my faith and hope, saying, From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead."

What the dead are every one knows; even all that ever have died, or shall die, from the first to the last day. Yet, whenever the Lord comes, there will be a generation covering the face of the earth, as it is now. These are the quick, or living, here intended, who shall not die, but be changed; and, together with the dead, appear before the judgment-seat of Christ.

Nothing is more plainly declared in Scripture than that there shall be a judgment, before which all men shall appear; nor is the person who shall sit in the judgment-seat less explicitly assured to be Jesus Christ. But in what sort this coming of Christ to judgment stands here as an article of Christian faith, and what the person making profession of his Christian faith intends hereby, come now to be distinctly explained. meaning is,

His

First. I do hereby declare my steadfast belief, that Jesus Christ, who was once crucified, but now liveth at the right hand of God, and no other but he, shall come to judge the quick and the dead. Taught by the Scriptures of God, I believe this. Without them I might indeed have supposed (God having kept up through the world such an opinion) that there would be a judgment hereafter, wherein all the disorder subsisting in this world, so evidently lying in wickedness, should be rectified; the mysterious ways of Providence cleared up and vindicated; the glory of God's government asserted and maintained; and every man be treated in a manner suited to his real character and conduct. But that this work, so manifestly above the reach of any creature, because only capable of being transacted by Omniscience and Omnipotence, should be effected by one in our nature, I could not in the least measure have suspected, unless the Scriptures of God had revealed it unto me. Yet now that God has made it known that he will "judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom he hath ordained, and hath given assurance thereof unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead," I see hereby an honour put upon my once-despised Master wherein I greatly rejoice; perceive with unspeakable comfort that my judgment shall be according to the gracious terms of

his Gospel; and am perfectly satisfied that he who loved me unto the death will deal with me in a corresponding tenderness, not disowning my poor services because they have been unworthy of him; and passing by my lamented imperfections and sins. Wherefore, being apprized from the very person of the Judge of the nature of the judgment, I do,

Secondly,-Make this my profession of his coming to judge the quick and the dead with confidence therein. Was there not a Mediator between God and man, was I to be judged absolutely according to my works, nothing could be expected but condemnation and destruction; for in that case no flesh living could be justified, "all having sinned, and come short of the glory of God," and therefore must expect that he would glorify himself in the universal punishment of us all. But God in this judgeth no man who believeth in Jesus, "but hath committed all judgment to the Son," and that for this reason, because, having assumed the mediatorial character, though he is God, yet he is also the Son of man. Knowing therefore the person of my Judge, I am assured of the measure of my judgment, that it shall be such as I have confidence I shall be able to answer. My sins will not be my destruction, because my Judge once died for the ungodly; and in the sense of my ungodliness and misery I have, upon his invitation, betaken myself to him, who tells me now with his own mouth," That he that cometh unto him he will in no wise cast out ;" and I have no suspicion that he will not make good at last what he now so graciously declares. I have nothing to fear from my manifold sins, being under this protection, and partaking of the benefits of this blood which cleanseth from all sins, provided I shall be able to make it appear that this my faith has been alive, and fruitful of good works. My works must appear to justify my faith in the want of them I should be found to have no faith in me. works to show; and these such as I know beforehand he will own, because he has told me so already in his holy word. I have been made to understand that nothing availeth now, or will be made any account of in the day of the Lord, but faith which worketh by love, by real love to him, and to his people for his sake. Now, with all my unbelief, pride, covetousness,

But I have

shame, cowardice, and every accursed lust that wars in my members, I have certainly works of love to produce towards him and his people. When he shall ask me, "Hast thou loved me?" I shall be able to answer, "Lord, thou knowest all things: thou knowest thou didst in my days upon earth reveal thyself to my sin-burdened soul, and cause me to behold thy glory as the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,' and thereby win my soul to thee, and work in me by thy power to make me love thee; thou knowest that I loved thee. Yea, Lord, and thou knowest how thou didst overcome all my prejudices against thee, till I saw thee the fairest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely.' I am ashamed to speak of any testimonies of my love (but they were thy work), defiled and defaced as it was in every instance by my abominable corruption and sinfulness; and therefore to thy praise I will make mention how thou didst possess me with a zeal for thy name, and enable me to confess it before men; in defiance of my own native cowardice to own myself in the midst of reproach to be thy servant; and to follow thy words, instead of the custom of the world, as the rule of my actions. Thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I loved thee, though, alas! with an unequal love; and thy interests, but with too cold a heart. I did not yield myself, from the day that I knew thee, to the service of Sin and Satan, but professed myself to be, and in some imperfect measure made that profession good through thy grace, thy servant, even thine only. And since thou requirest yet a further and peculiar testimony of my having loved thee, by demanding of me the proofs of my having loved thy people, those that professed thy name, and followed thy steps, for thy sake; behold, Lord, didst thou not give me an heart to delight in these thy saints, here upon thy right hand, while they were upon earth? Thy love towards me constrained me to love them. Surely, I could not forbear giving a cup of water to any of them, as bearing the name, and manifesting the character, of thy disciples. Thou hast said to Peter, If thou lovest me, feed my sheep; and hadst declared before, that what offices of love were done to any of thy brethren, as thou didst condescend to call them, thou wouldst regard them as done to thyself; yea, thou