Of Eternal Judgment. Chap. V. Briefly; The whole Procefs of that Day, the Arraignment and Sentence will he fo ordered, the Rtghteoufnefs and Reafonablcnefs of the Proceedings will he fo manifell, as to clearthe.Judg, and confound the Gut!ty. God wtll be Jt1Jlified m his Sentence, and overcome when be ;udget/J. CHAP. V. A11 Excitation to confirm our Fait/, of the Etmi4l Judgment. !J{ea(on fees the necef fity of a future lud~meltt. :Dil!llle !JVl!elation expre(ly dedares it. [onfideratio 11 s rcquijite to make Fatth ejfeflual. 17,, be!tef of a futttre Judgmmt clears tl" Ho- >~our of God's gol•ernll!g the World, from the imp11tatio11 of Ullrigf,teouf~~efs, ~Pith refpe[l to the profpenty of the Wicked, and the fuffirings of the Saints. 'Tit a power[11l {t1pport to t/,e Saints in their PerfewtiOIIS. '1/Je belief of tf,is is ejfeElual to reflrain .from ferret Sins. 'Tu a powerft<l IJVmedy againJI the pemiciotu PleaJims of Sm. n,, Con(lderatioll that t!Je Soil of. God clothed tvith our Nature Plait 1"'/g the World, affords great Co>~Jolatto>t to /m People, a>UI is a moti]!e of grtat ,terror to the Wicked. I Shall now come to apply this great Doarine. ' · Let us from what has been difcours'd of Judgment to come, be excited to con• ~;~/;~·;~~~~ ~:~~~~ gr~~~~n!i~[i~u:,~~~~~~~~ h':~ ~~~{·~r~:;r'fi~i~iet~ik~'~[u,~~!: ~ a potnt of the Religion wherein they were educated; but carnal A,ffeaions, Fear, Hope, Love, and Defire, controul their affent as to its operation upon them. They believe in the gener.al that God is the J~dg and Rewarder of our .ACtions, and in the abfence of Temptation rcfolve to otiey htm : but when a ftrong Tnal comes from fame temporal Good or Evil that is prefent, their Faith is negligent and una£tive to keep them from Sin. Now to make our Faith powerful, we mull, F~rll, Confirm it by convincing Arguments, that it may be ao undoubted Alfurance, a certain Light, direCtive and perfwafive in the courfe o( our Lives. Some DoCtrines of ~~~~~~ntf1~a~~;h~~:;~~c~~P~~~~f~~~e ~r~t~blh~~t~l~c~~~:difl~~it;df~~~~ ~~~~ ~d~~f; F~~~·~~~t~~~~~~;~~e~J~d~yb~~~v~:r~~~ ~~~~~~t b~~~~:Po~:i~7,'c:'"Jair~~~~:ti~e~~;h~~= ceffity of a future Judgment. Nature and Scripture te/lify there is a God, and that he has a Right, and Power, and Will to dillribute the rewards of Virtue, and the penalties of Vice to his SubjeCts. To deny this, is direCtly againll the implanted Notion of the Deity in the Heart of Man. There is a real dif!erence between Moral Good and Evil, not depending upon Opinion, but arifing from the immurable Nature of things, and the Eternal Law ot God. Otherwife confidered in it felf, it were no more faulty to murder aParent, than ro I< ill a Fly; nor to rob a Traveller, than to chafe a Deer. B.ut the Confcience of the moll profligate Wretch would llartle at fuch an Alfertian. The drfpofirion and admirable Order of the World in its various parts, and the vic1ffitude of Seafons, declare to rhc obferving Mind, that a moll wife, good and powerful God _governs and preferve~ all things by his vigorous Influence. And can it be that the Dtvtne Provrdence; fo vrhbly ;~:1 ~~~~oP~;~[~~~~W~M'eA~d'~[~~; ~a!~;:;,d~~~~d ~~~~~:a~~~i~~:v~/~f,~~··~e ·~~ ~~~~:~~~~st~r ~~~~r:~g:Aehai~h=~~~~~~1;;~~~t~~;' :~~ ~~~~~~~·~'~ ~~~ \~,i~~~~~n~!·r;:;~ truly hcroick Virtues are unrewarded? nay, wh~re Vice recciv~s the ~atural reward .of Virtue, Honour and Felicity ; 2nd Virtue the JUll wages of Vrce, Dtfgrace and Suflcrings? 'Tjs neceffary therefore that there be a future Stare, and a nghteous dtllnbutton of Rewards, according to the good and evil of Mens Afrions here. The Heathens difguifed this terrible Truth unde<· the Frtttons of the Infernal Judges, MinoJ and Rlhtdamanthus and Eacta. And the Funes and Vultures, and fiery Lake, T~.fiimonhm1 whicl{ they thought rorme~ted ~he Wicked in tl~e next \Vorld, di~co\' er what apprehenfi- ~mma-n~n~ra - ons they had of the defcrt af Sm, and the p_o_n11l1mcnt that certamly attended ~r. Tl1e ~~r cp;/f.~~- Gui!ry )VOUld fain be freed from the terrors ot lt, and fhangle Confcieqcc, that 1~ bo~;c~·
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