Doct. 3. That God may, though he seldom doth, prepare men for this glory, immediately before their dissolution by death.
These are the useful truths resulting from this remarkable word of Christ to the penitent thief. We will consider and improve them in the order proposed.
Doct. 1. That there is a future eternal state, into which soidsjmss at death.
This is a principal foundation-stone to the hopes and happiness of souls. And seeing our hopes must needs be as their foundation and ground work is, I shall briefly establish this truth by these five arguments. The being of a God evinces it. The scriptures of truth plainly reveal it. The consciences of all men have presen- timents of it. The incarnation and death of Christ is but a vanity without it ; and the immortality of human souls plainly discovers it.
Arg. 1. The being of a God undeniably evinces a future state for human souls after this life. For, if there be a God who rules the world which he hath made, he must rule it by rewards and punish-
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ments, equally and righteously distributed to good and bad ; put- ting a difference betwixt the obedient and disobedient, the righte- ous and the wicked. To make a species of creatures capable of a moral government, and not to rule them at all, is to make them in vain, and is inconsistent witli his glory, which is the last end of all things. To rule them, but not suitably to their natures, consists not with that infinite wisdom from which their beings proceeded, and by which their workings are ruled and ordered. To rule them, in a way suitably to their natures, viz. by rewards and punishments, and not to perform, or execute them at all, is utterly incongruous with the veracity and truth of him that cannot lie : this were to impose the greatest cheat in the world upon men, and can never proceed from the holy and true God. So then, as he hath made a rational sort of creatures, capable of moral government by rewards and punishments ; so he rules them in that way which is suitable to their natures, promising " it shall be well with the righteous, " and ill with the wicked.11 These promises and threatenings can be no cheat, merely intended to scare and fright, where there is no danger, or encourage where there is no real benefit ; but what he promises, or threatens, must be accomplished, and every word of God take place and be fulfilled. But it is evident that no such dis- tinction is made by the providence of God (at least ordinarily and generally) in this life ; but all things come alike to all ; and as with the righteous, so with the wicked. Yea, here it goes ill with them that fear God ; they are oppressed ; they receive their evil things, and wicked men their good ; therefore we conclude, the righteous Judge of the whole earth, will, in another world, recompense to every one according as his work shall be.
Arg. 2. Secondly, And as the very being of God evinces it, so the scriptures of truth plainly reveal it. These scriptures are the pandect, or system of the laws, for the government of man ; which the wise and holy Ruler of the world hath enacted and ordained for that purpose. And in them we find promises made to the righ- teous, of a full reward for all their obedience, patience, and suffer- ings in the next life or world to come ; and threatenings, made against the wicked, of eternal wratli and anguish, as the just re- compence of their sin in hell for ever, Rom. ii. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. " Thou treasurest up to thyself wrath against the day of wrath, " and revelation of the righteous judgment of God ; who will " render to every man according to his deeds : to them who, by " patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and honour, " and immortality, eternal life : but unto them that are conten- " tious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indig- " nation and wratli, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of " man that doeth evil, dfc? So 2 Thess. i. 4, 5, 6, 7. " So that
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" we ourselves glory in you, in the churches of God, for your pa- " tience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye " endure : which is (a manifest token) of the righteous judgment u of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of " God for which ye also suffer ; seeing it is a righteous thing with " God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you : and " to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall " be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, S^cP To these plain testimonies, multitudes might be added, if it were needful. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but these words shall never pass away.
Arg. 3. Thirdly, As the scriptures reveal it, so the consciences of all men have some presentiments of it. Where is the man whose conscience never felt any impressions of hope, or fear, from a future world ? If it is said, these may be but the effects and force of dis- course, or education ; we have read such things in the scriptures, or have heard it by preachers ; and so raise up to ourselves hopes and fears about it. I demand, how the consciences of the Hea- thens, who have neither scriptures nor preachers, came to be im- prest with these things ? Doth not the apostle tell us, Rom. ii. 15. " That their consciences in the mean while work upon these " things ?" their thoughts, with reference to a future state, accuse, or else excuse, i. e. their hearts are cheered and encouraged by the good they do, and terrified with fears about the evils they commit Whereas, if there were no such things, conscience would neither accuse nor excuse for good or evil done in this world.
Arg. 4. Fourthly, The incarnation and death of Christ, are but a vanity without it. What did he propose to himself, or what bene- fit have we by his coming, if there be no such future state ? Did he take our nature, and suffer such terrible things in it for no- thing ! If you say, Christians have much comfort from it in this life : I answer, the comforts they have are raised by faith and ex- pectation of the happiness to be enjoyed, as the purchase of his blood, in heaven. And if there be no such heaven to which they are appointed, no hell from which they are redeemed, they do but comfort themselves with a fable, and bless themselves with a thing of nought : their comfort is no greater than the comfort of a beggar, that dreams he is a king, and when he awakes, finds himself a beggar still. Surely the ends of Christ's death were to deliver us from the wrath to come, 1 Thess. i. 10. not from an imaginary, but a real hell, to bring us to God, 1 Pet. iii. 18. to be the author of eternal salvation to them that obey him, Heb. v. 9. Arg. 5. Fifthly and lastly, The immortality of human soids,puts it beyond all doubt. The soul of man, vastly differs from that of a
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