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"The Lord Jefus fhall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jefus Chrift; who fhall be punished with everlasting deftruction from the prefence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power."

1.

IT is remarkable, that in the account here

given us by the Apotle, of the Revelation of Jefus Chrift, and the eternally awful confequences of it, he reprefents our Lord's Second Coming to be rather in order to the falvation of his own people, than the punishment of the wicked. For altho' he mentions his taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel, he declares in the 10th verfe, that the end, the principal end of his coming is, that he "may be glorified in his faints, and admired of all that believe."

2. How

2. How plain is it from hence, as well as from a thousand other confiderations, that mercy is our Lord's darling attribute, and that judgment is his ftrange work. He delights to difpenfe pardons and confer rewards; but it is with reluctance that he paffes fentence of condemnation, or inflicts punish-ment on any. From the Apostle's manner of reprefenting the matter, one would conclude that he would much rather pass the ungodly by, did not the unchangeable perfections of his nature, the divine authority of his laws, and the unalterable rights of his government, oblige him to call them into Judgment. But inafmuch as all his other attributes must be manifefted and honoured, as well as his love, his law magnified, and the equity of his government maintained; therefore he muft and will "render to every man according to his works: to them who, by patient continuance in well doing, feek for glory, honour, and immortality, eternal life; but to them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteoufnefs, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every foul of man who worketh evil, of the Jew firft, and alfo of the Gentile, for there is no refpect of perfons with God. As certainly as he will account his faints worthy through his own worthinefs, "of the kingdom for which they fuffer," fo certainly,

when he is revealed, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, will he take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gofpel. "

In two former, difcourfes on thefe words, the Certainty and Manner of our Lord's Second Coming, as alfo the Character of thofe whom he will then condemn, have been particularly confidered. I now proceed, as was propofed, to fhew,

III. The Nature and Duration of their mifery. But that we may juftify the ways of God to man,

and

and prevent any abufe which might be made of this doctrine to the difparagement of the Divine Goodness, I think it proper to premise a few words concerning the Reafon of their condemnation and punishment.

1. This is fignified in the words of our text, which fpeak of Chrift's "taking vengeance on them," and "punishing them." The expreffions (especially in the original,) intimate an unbecoming and injurious conduct in them towards God, which being examined into, they now receive the due reward of their deeds. Enquire we then what their conduct has been, and we shall easily fee the reafon of their mifery. And here I do not mention their violation of the law of innocence or covenant of works, made with our first parents before their fall, because the Scriptures no where (that I remember) reprefent this as the cause of the condemnation of any at the day of judgment. But with our Lord, 1 obferve, "This is the condemnation," the reafon of the condemnation of those who perish, "that light is come into the world, and men love darknefs rather than light, their deeds being evil." They rejected the counsel of God against themselves;" they neglected the gospel falvation; "they would not come unto Chrift that they might have life;" they refused "him to reign over them;" they buried, instead of improving, their talent of light and power, flighted the divine mercy, "counted the blood of the covenant a common thing," i. e. they trifled with and abufed it, and did final defpite to the Spirit of Grace," and therefore, they are condemned. Or, in the language of our text, Chrift, takes vengeance on them because they knew not God, when they might have known him, and obeyed not the gospel, whereas they might have been obedient unto it. Or, in plainer words ftill, he

F

dooms

dooms them unto everlafting fire; not because he appointed them to wrath, and decreed their damnation before they were born, but because he would have faved them, and they would not, chufing death rather than life, and curfing rather than bleffing!

2. And that you may be able to form fome idea (tho' after all it will be faint and inadequate) of the divine juftice manifefted in their punishment, confider both the conduct of God towards them, and theirs in return towards him. Confider the Love of the Father in giving his only begotten Son, and expofing him to the most dreadful fufferings and ignominious death for those wretched finners, who had abufed his mercies, broken his Jaws, trampled under foot his authority, and re belled against his government. Confider the Son of God emptying himself of his glory and happinefs, affuming our frail nature in its meaneft form, and at last fubmitting to pain and shame in their greatest extremities; and all this for his bittereft enemies, who flighted his dying love, refufed his mild government, and even embrued their hands in his most precious blood, or daily crucified him afresh: Confider the holy Spirit of grace operating in various ways, and at different times; enlightening, awakening, convincing; alarming with fear, alluring with hope, drawing with love; comforting in trouble, ftrengthening in weakness, fuccouring in temptation; and this with a view to beget repentance, faith, and holiness in the foul, as a Spirit of Adoption to cry in us "Abba, Father," to feal us to the day of redemption, and give us an earneft of our future inheritance in our hearts. Confider him as perfifting in these kind offices notwithstanding all the neglect, contempt and contumely wherewith we treat him; notwithstanding we hut our eyes against his light, stop

our

our ears to his calls, flight his love, reject his favours, and quench his motions; inviting the most impure lufts and diabolical tempers, to fupply the place of his fpiritual graces, and entertaining the foul fiend of hell in the inmost receffes of our fouls, which should be kept facred to this heavenly inhabitant. In fhort, confider the amazing plan of our redemption from first to last, in all its wonderful variety, in all its myfterious grace: Confider the abyfs of guilt and mifery where it finds us, and from whence it delivers us ;` the height of blifs and glory to which it advances us, and in which it eftablishes us; together with the astonishing process of divine love in the accomplishment of this great and good work. In a word, confider the greatnefs of this falvation provided for us, and offered to us in the gofpel; and then fay what punishment, what torment do they deferve, and from an holy and juft God muft they meet with, who neglect and reject it!

3. From a juft God I fay, for they have doubtlefs nothing further to expect from his mercy and goodness. The fun of divine love is now for ever fet upon them. It fhone indeed with effulgent brightnefs during the whole day of life, tho' it was never fuffered to enlighten their minds, clouds of prejudice, exhaled from their fenfual fouls, obfcuring its beams, and the thick vail of unbelief excluding its light; but it will now fhine no more! It has refigned them to the fcorching fire of divine wrath, which (however reluctant they may be) will effectually enlighten them; but ah! with how different a flame! with how dismal a light! The ftreams of divine grace, which long watered their ftill-barren fouls in vain, are now run out, or rather diverted into a more fruitful foil, and streams of indignation are directed, by F 2. infinite

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