final doom concerning perfons is not to be grounded upon SERM. fingle paffages, or the particular acts of one time, but XXXII. upon the whole body of action paffing through the course of each man's part, in the place and time allotted to him; and that he who now acteth laudably may, before all is done, come to faulter; he that now behaveth himself untowardly may afterward learn to do better, and in the end come off well. xi. 5. That hence it is not to be wondered, that God here Ecclef. iii. fhould be fomewhat referved in difpenfing teftimonies of11. viii. 17. favour to those who at present do feem good, fomewhat fparing in declaring wrath toward those who now appear bad; that he should not miraculously pour down golden showers on the heads of the righteous, nor fend fire from Luke is. 55. heaven, as angry man would have him, upon every provocation, to confume finners. That this life is not a time of reaping, but of fowing; not of approbation, but of trial; not of triumph, but of combat: this world is not a place of enjoyment, but of work; our condition here is not a state of fettlement, but of travel; whence no man should expect more of encouragement, than is needful to fupport him in this work and way; fhould look to receive wages before his task is done; to get the prize, before he hath gone through the race; to gather the spoils, before he hath fought out the battle; to enjoy rest, before he is at his journey's end; to be put in full poffeffion of happiness, before his right and title thereto is completely affured: that no man alfo fhould prefume or please himself upon prefent impunity for his misbehaviour or floth, like thofe of whom the preacher faith, Because sentence against an evil work is not Ecclef. viii. executed speedily, therefore the heart of the fons of men is fully fet in them to do evil; seeing this is the season of mercy and patience, when God commonly doth not farther inflict croffes on us, than may ferve to mind us of our duty, or urge us to the performance of it; and seeing the longer vengeance is withheld, the more heavy it will at laft fall on us, if we despise the present season of grace, and proceed to the end in impenitence; that prefent im 11. SERM. punity, therefore, is a fore punishment, and correction here a really great favour. XXXII. That ordinarily temporal prosperity and adverfity, as in comparison to things relating to our future state they are plainly inconfiderable, fo they can be no arguments of God's fpecial favour or difpleafure; whence it appeareth to be no fmall rafhnefs to conclude how God ftands affected to any person from what befalleth him here, (as Luke xiii. thofe who inferred concerning the Galileans, whofe blood Pilate mixed with their facrifices; and concerning those Jews, upon whom the tower in Siloam did fall, that they were more finners than others of their nation,) yea, that 1, &c. Rev. iii. 19. 17. if we must be interpreting God's mind from these occurProv. iii. 12. rences, it is rather more reasonable to conceive, that God Job v. 17. difliketh them whom he doth not check, and approveth Heb. xii. 7. them whom he chastiseth; whence the prosperity of bad Prov. xxii, men is rather pitiable than invidious, as that which aggravateth and strengtheneth their wickedness, which accumulateth guilt, which draweth them forward, and plungeth them deeper into perdition; that the adverfity of good men is no misery, but a bleffing and happiness to them, as exercifing and fortifying their virtues, enfuring their ftate, endearing them to God. However, Luke xvi. 25. That God plainly doth mean to vilify these present things, appearing to our fenfe good or evil, by scattering them abroad with an indifferent hand; fo that his friends taste as little good and as much evil as his enemies t. u That there is no reason to wonder or to complain that things here do not go on in a course so smooth and straight as they should do; for that vanity and iniquity have their part and time to act upon this ftage, yea are allowed sometimes a feeming reign; but justice, though at prefent it feemeth to sleep, or to wink at things, will at length awake, and effectually beftir itself; that right, although here it may be fometime croffed or foiled, yet it can never t Nullo modo poteft Deus magis concupita traducere, quam fi illa in turẻ piffimos defert, ab optimis abigit. Sen. de Prov. 5. " Dantur bonis ne putentur mala, dantur malis ne putentur fumma bona. Aug. be quelled or overthrown; it may be suspended, but can- SERM. not be fuppreffed; it may be fomewhat eclipsed, but it XXXII cannot be quite extinguished, yea infallibly in the end it will triumphantly prevail. That no good defign fhall be undertaken, nor any honest labour can be spent in vain; seeing although they chance to find no fuccefs, or to yield no fruit here, yet they cannot fail to obtain a happy iffue and a plentiful reward hereafter. That how small foever the difference doth now appear between wife men and fools, or between virtuous and vicious perfons, there will be hereafter a vast discrimination made, when in confequence of that upright trial one shall enter into eternal blifs, the other fhall fall into an abyss of mifery. That this life is not contemptible, nor all things here utterly vain; feeing that upon this life is founded our eternal ftate; feeing these occurrences have influence upon our eternal joy or woe; feeing all things here will conduce to the illuftration of divine mercy or justice. That God is indeed here Deus abfconditus, as the prophet ftyleth him, a God that hideth himself; advisedly fuffer- Ifa. xlv. 15. ing his goodness and justice to be under a cloud, that at length they may break out more gloriously in that day, when, as St. Paul faith, his dixaoxgiola, his moft righteous Rom. ii. 5. dealing (both in governance of all affairs now, and in deciding of all cafes then) Shall be revealed, and made confpicuous to all the world. Thus doth it, upon many accounts, appear fit and needful, that there should be a future judgment; the apprehenfion thereof being the sharpest spur to virtue, the strongest curb from vice, the fureft fence of human fociety, the fafeft bulwark of religion, (securing the authority of God, and guarding his providence, together with all his holy attributes, from all batteries, all finifter afperfions, all profane mifconftructions ;) in fhort, the most effectual means, if it be heartily embraced, to render men, in their minds and in their enjoyments, fober, just in their dealings toward their neighbour, and in all their life pious toward very SERM. God; there being indeed no confideration, whereof the XXXII. mind of man is capable, more apt to beget in him a care and conscience of what he doeth, than this; that after a fhort and tranfitory life all his actions must undergo a ftrict scrutiny, according to the refult whereof he shall be either approved and rewarded, or condemned and punished: whereof any man being thoroughly perfuaded, and anywise confidering it, he cannot furely but accufe himself of extreme folly and madness, if he doth not provide for that account, and order all his practice with a regard thereto. The which use of this point God by his grace difpofe us to make, for the fake of Jefus, our bleffed Redeemer, to whom for ever be all glory and praise. 1Thef.v.23. Now the very God of peace fanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole fpirit and foul and body be preferved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift. Amen. From thence he hall come to judge the Quick and the Dead. SERMON XXXIII. THE CERTAINTY AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF ACTS x. 42. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to teflify that it is he which was ordained by God to be Judge of quick and dead. THESE words are part of a fermon preached by St. SERM. Peter to Cornelius and his friends, wherein the Apostle XXXIII. briefly declareth unto them the chief particulars in the history of Christ, together with fome main points of Chriftian doctrine moft fit for them to know; particularly he doth in these words exprefs the point concerning the future judgment; reporting that our Lord especially did charge his Apostles to preach unto the people and testify, that is, first publicly to declare and explain, then by convenient proofs, especially by divine atteftations, to evince and perfuade this point; the importance whereof, and eminence among other Chriftian doctrines, doth hence plainly appear, that the author of our faith did make fo especial provifion, and gave so express charge concerning the promulgation and probation thereof: the which cir |