cere; aiming, in them all, at the glory of the Lord, a testimony of your love to him, and in obedience to his command. Leave it to hypocrites, who have their reward, to proclaim every man his own goodness; and to sound a trumpet when they do their alms. It is a base and unchristian spirit, which cannot have satisfaction in a good work unless it be exposed to the view of others: it is utterly unworthy of one who believes that the last trumpet shall call together the whole world, before whom the Judge himself shall publish works truly good, how secretly soever they were done. Live in a believing expectation of the coming of the Lord. Let your loins be always girt, and your lamps burning; so when he comes, whether in the last day of your life, or in the last day of the world, ye shall be able to say with joy, "Lo, this is our God, and we have waited for him."

PART V.

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.—MATT. xxv. 34.

HAVING, from this portion of Scripture, which the text is a part of, discoursed of the general judgment; and being to speak of the everlasting happiness of the saints, and the everlasting misery of the wicked, from the respective sentences to be pronounced upon them in the great day, I shall take them in the order wherein they lie before us; and the rather that, as sentence is first passed upon the righteous, so the execution thereof is first begun, though probably the other may be fully executed before it is completed.

The words of the text contain the joyful sentence itself, together with an historical introduction thereto, which gives us an account of the Judge pronouncing the sentence, the King," Jesus Christ; the parties on whom it is given, "them on his right hand;" and the time when," then," as soon as the trial is over. Of these I have spoken already. It is the sentence itself we are now to consider, "Come, ye blessed of my Father," &c. Stand back, O ye profane goats! away all unregenerate souls, not united to Jesus Christ! this is not for you. Come, O ye saints, brought out of your natural state into the state of grace! behold here the state of glory awaiting you.

Here is glory let down to us in words and syllables; a lookingglass, in which you may see your everlasting happiness; a scheme or draught of Christ's Father's house, wherein there are many mansions.

:

This glorious sentence bears two things. 1. The complete happiness to which the saints are adjudged, "the kingdom." 2. Their solemn admission to it, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit," &c.-1. Their complete happiness is a kingdom. A kingdom is the top of worldly felicity; there is nothing on earth greater than a kingdom therefore the hidden weight of the glory in heaven is held forth to us under that notion. But it is not an ordinary kingdom, it is "the kingdom;" the kingdom of heaven, surpassing all the kingdoms of the earth in glory, honour, profit, and pleasure, infinitely more than they do in these excel the low and inglorious condition of a beggar in rags, and on a dunghill. 2. There is a solemn admission of the saints into this their kingdom, "Come ye, inherit the kingdom." In view of angels, men, and devils, they are invested with royalty, and solemnly inaugurated before the whole world, by Jesus Christ, the heir of all things, who hath "all power in heaven and in earth." Their right to the kingdom is solemnly recognised and owned. They are admitted to it as undoubted heirs of the kingdom, to possess it by inheritance, or lot, as the word properly signifies, because, of old, inheritances were designed by lot, as Canaan to Israel, God's "first-born," as they are called, Exod. iv. 22. And because this kingdom is the Father's kingdom, therefore they are openly acknowledged, in their admission to it, to be the blessed of Christ's Father: which blessing was given them long before this sentence, but it is now solemnly recognised and confirmed to them by the Mediator, in his Father's name. It is observable, he says not, Ye blessed of the Father, but, Ye blessed of my Father; to shew us, that all blessings are derived by us from the Father, the fountain of blessing, as he is "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," through whom we are blessed, Eph. i. 3. And, finally, they are admitted to this kingdom, as that which was "prepared for them from the foundation of the world," in God's eternal purpose, before they, or any of them, were; that all the world may see eternal life to be the free gift of God.

DOCTRINE. The saints shall be made completely happy in the possession of the kingdom of heaven.

Two things I shall here inquire into: I. The nature of this kingdom. II. The admission of the saints thereto. And then I shall make some practical improvement of the whole.

1. As to the nature of the kingdom of heaven, our knowledge of

it is very imperfect; for " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him," 1 Cor. ii. 9. As, by familiar resemblances, parents instruct their little children concerning things of which otherwise they can have no tolerable notion; so our gracious God, in consideration of our weakness, is pleased to represent to us heaven's happiness under similitudes taken from earthly things, glorious in the eyes of men; since discoveries of the heavenly glory, divested of earthly resemblances, would be too bright for our weak eyes, and we should but lose ourselves in them. Wherefore now we can but speak as children of these things, which the day will fully discover.

The state of glory is represented under the idea of a kingdom; a kingdom, among men, being that in which the greatest number of earthly good things centre. Now, every saint shall, as a king, inherit a kingdom. All Christ's subjects shall be kings, each one with his crown upon his head: not that the great King shall divest himself of his royalty, but he will make all his children partakers of his kingdom.

1. The saints shall have kingly power and authority given them. Our Lord gives not empty titles to his favourites; he makes them kings indeed. The dominion of the saints will be a dominion far exceeding that of the greatest monarch who ever was on earth. They will be absolute masters over sin, which had the dominion over them. They will have a complete rule over their own spirits; an entire management of all their affections and inclinations, which now create them so much molestation: the turbulent root of corrupt affections shall be for ever expelled out of that kingdom, and never be able any more to give them the least disturbance. They shall have power over the nations, the ungodly of all nations, "and shall rule them with a rod of iron," Rev. ii. 26, 27. The whole world of the wicked shall be broken before them: "Satan shall be bruised under their feet," Rom. xvi. 20. He shall never be able to fasten a temptation on them any more: but he will be judged by them; and, in their sight, cast with the reprobate crew into the lake of fire and brimstone. So shall they rule over their oppressors. Having fought the good fight, and got the victory, Christ will entertain them as Joshua did his captains, causing them to come near, and put their feet on the necks of kings," John. x. 24.

2. They shall have the ensigns of royalty. For a 'throne, Christ will grant them "to sit with him in his throne," Rev. iii. 21. They will be advanced to the highest honour and dignity that they are

capable of; and in the enjoyment of it, they will have an eternal undisturbed repose, after all the tossings which they met with in the world, in their way to the throne. For a crown, they shall "receive a crown of glory, that fadeth not away," 1 Pet. v. 4. Not a crown of flowers, as subjects, being conquerors or victors, sometimes have got such a crown quickly fades, but their crown never fadeth. Not a crown of gold, such as earthly kings wear even a crown of gold is often stained, and at best can never make those who wear it happy. But it shall be "a crown of glory." A crown of glory is "a crown of life," Rev. iii. 10, that life which knows no end a crown which death can never make to fall off one's head. It must be an abiding crown; for it is a "crown of righteousness,' 2 Tim. iv. 8. It was purchased for them by "Christ's righteousness," which is imputed to them; they are qualified for it by inherent righteousness; God's righteousness, or faithfulness, secures it to them. They shall have "a sceptre, a rod of iron," Rev. ii. 27, terrible to all the wicked world. And a sword too, a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people," Psalm cxlix. 6, 7. They shall have royal apparel. The royal robes in this kingdom are white robes, Rev. iii. 4, "They shall walk with me in white." Which, in a very particular manner, points at the inconceivable glory of the state of the saints in heaven.

The Lord is pleased often to represent unto us the glorious state of the saints, by speaking of them as clothed in "white garments." It is promised to the conqueror, that he shall be "clothed in white raiment," Rev. iii. v. The elders about the throne are "clothed in white raiment," chap. iv. 4. The multitude before the throne are "clothed with white robes," chap. vii. 9; "arrayed in white. robes," ver. 13; "made white in the blood of the Lamb," ver. 14. I own, the last two testimonies respect the state of the saints on earth; yet the terms are borrowed from the state of the church in heaven. All garments, properly so called, being badges of sin and shame, shall be laid aside by the saints when they come to their state of glory. But if we consider on what occasions white garments were wont to be put on, we shall find much of heaven under them.

(1.) The Romans, when they made their bond-servants free, gave them a white garment as a badge of their freedom. So shall the saints that day receive their white robes; for it is the day of "the glorious liberty of the children of God," Rom. viii. 21, the day of "the redemption of their body," ver. 23. They shall no more see the house of bondage, nor lie any more among the pots. If we com

pare the state of the saints on earth with that of the wicked, it is indeed a state of freedom, whereas the other is a state of slavery: but, in comparison with their state in heaven, it is but a servitude. A saint on earth is indeed a young prince, and heir to the crown; but his motto may be, "I serve;" ""for he differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all," Gal. iv. 1. What are the groans of a saint, the sordid and base work which he is sometimes found employed in, the black and tattered garments which he walks in, but badges of this comparative servitude? But from the day the saints come to the crown, they receive their complete freedom, and serve no more. They shall be fully freed from sin, which of all evils is the worst, both in itself, and in their apprehension too; how great then must that freedom be, when these "Egyptians, whom they see to-day," they "shall see them again no more for ever!" They shall be free from all temptation to sin: Satan can have no access to tempt them any more, by himself, or by his agents. A full answer will then be given to that petition they have so often repeated, "Lead us not into temptation." No hissing serpent can come into the paradise above: no snare or trap can be laid there, to catch the feet of the saints: they may walk there without fear, for they can be in no hazard: there are no lions' dens, no mountains of leopards, in the promised land. Nay, they shall be set beyond the possibility of sinning, for they shall be confirmed in goodness. It will be the consummate freedom of their will, to be for ever unalterably determined to good. And they shall be freed from all the effects of sin: "There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain," Rev. xxi. 4. What kingdom is like unto this? Death makes its way now into a palace, as easily as into a cottage: sorrow fills the heart of one who wears a crown on his head: royal robes are no defence against pain, and crying by reason of pain. But in this kingdom no misery can have place. All reproaches shall be wiped off; and never shall a tear drop any more from their eyes. They shall not complain of desertions again; the Lord will never hide his face from them: but the Sun of Righteousness shining upon them in his meridian brightness, will dispel all clouds, and give them an everlasting day, without the least mixture of darkness. A deluge of wrath, after a fearful thunder-clap from the throne, will sweep away the wicked. from before the judgment-seat, into the lake of fire: but they are, in the first place, like Noah, brought into the ark, and out of harm's way.

(2.) White raiment hath been a token of purity. Therefore "the Lamb's wife is arrayed in fine linen, clean and white," Rev.