Vers. 35, 36.] sermons upon matthew xxv. 61
remunerating justice, veracity, or truth. Tliis maketh for our purpose now.
[1.] His holiness. The holy God delighteth in holiness. He will now manifest it in the sun, the estimation he hath of the holiness of his people. The veil is taken away ; now it is made matter of sense. It is a delight to him. Christ mentions their graces and services as things which are pleasing and acceptable to him : Ps. v. 4, ' Thou art not a God that hast pleasure in wickedness.' But he hath pleasure in the holiness of his people. The upright are his delight, and as such will he speak of them, and commend them, and represent them to the world.
[2.] His remunerating justice. The justice of God requireth that there should be different proceeding with them that differ among them- selves ; that it should be well with them that do well, and ill with them that do evil ; that every man should reap according to what he hath sown, whether he hath sown according to the flesh or the spirit ; and the fruit of his doings be given into his bosom. Therefore, those whom Christ will receive into everlasting life must appear faithful and obedient ; for then Christ will judge the world in righteousness, Acts xvii. 31.
[3.] That he may show his veracity and faithfulness. The faithful God will make good his promises, and reward all the labours and patience and faithfulness of his servants, according to his promises to them. If his promises take notice of works, his justice will. God is not unfaithful or unrighteous, ' to forget your work and labour of love, which you have showed to his name,' Heb. vi. 10.
2. The respect of good works, and how far they are considered.
[1.] They are perfectional accomplishments. Those that have done them are lovely objects in his sight, as being conformed to his nature and pattern. Can we imagine that God should bid tlie saints love one another for their holiness, and count them the excellent ones of the earth, Ps. xvi. 3, how poor and despicable soever they be as to their outward condition, and that he himself should not love them the more ? We, that have but a drop of the divine nature, hate impure sinners. Lot's righteous soul was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked, 2 Peter ii. 8. And we find a complacency and delight in the good. And can we imagine, without a manifest reproach to him, that God should be so indifferent to good and evil, and that the saints should not be more lovely in his sight for their holiness ? Therefore the more lovely the more endeared objects to their Eedeemer.
[2.] They are qualifications to make them capable of his remunerat- ing justice. There is in God a threefold justice : — (1.) His strict justice; (2.) His justice of bounty, or free beneficence; and (3.) As judging according to his gospel law of promise.
(1.) He may be said to be strictly just when he rewardeth man according to his perfect obedience ; yet no obedience, though never so perfect, can bind him to reward man or angel.
(2.) He is just by way of bounty, when he rewardeth a man ca})able of reward ; though not in respect of his perfect righteousness in him- self, yet because he is some way righteous in respect of others that are unrighteous. So it is said, 2 Thes. i. 6, 7, ' It is a righteous thing
G2 SERMONS UPON MATTHKSV XXV. [SeR. XXII.
with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble his saints ; and to them that are troubled, rest,' &c. This with respect to Christ's merit, and the qualification of the parties.
(3.) The third righteousness is in performance of his promises ; for though his promise be free, yet if it be once made, justice doth require it ; and God is not free, but bound to perform it. Now, in these two latter respects, are they capable.
[3.] They are signs and tokens of their being approved and accepted with God, according to the gospel covenant. Christ, as God's steward, cometh to distribute the appointed reward to the heirs of glory. This is the evidence he is to proceed by. When the destroying angel was sent to destroy the first-born of the Egyptians, he was to take notice of the sign of sprinkling of blood on the door-posts, Exod. xii. Not that that blood deserved ; but it signified that there dwelt Israelites.
[4.] They are measures according to the degrees of grace, and our abounding in the work of the Lord : 2 Cor. ix. 6, ' He that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly, and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.' The reward is more full or sparing according to what we have done or suffered for God.
Use. To set iis right in the doctrine of grace and works. We have to do with three parties—
(1.) The Pharisaical legalist ; (2.) The carnal gospeller ; and, (3.) The broken-hearted and serious Christian.
1. The legalist that trusts in himself that he is righteous, and hopeth to be accepted with God for his works' sake. Trusting in works is very natural and very dangerous. It is very natural, because of the law written upon our hearts. We all come into the world with a sense of a duty-covenant ; and because every one would be sufficient to his own happiness, an unhumbled soul is apt to give more to duty and personal righteousness than to Christ : Kom. x. 3, ' For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God,' ovk inrerd'yrjaav. A russet ragged coat of his own pleaseth a proud man better than a silken coat that is borrowed. It is dangerous ; for it is contrary to all the declarations of God : Eph. ii. 9, ' By grace ye are saved ; not of works, lest any man should boast.' The whole progress of salvation, from its first step in regener- ation till its final and last period in glorification, doth entirely flow from God's grace, and not from our worlds. The securing the interest of free grace in our salvation is a thing the Spirit of God is very care- ful of in the scrijitures, the glory of grace being that which God mainly aimetli at, Eph. i. 6, and a thing which we do naturally incline to intrench upon, and to rob him of, in whole or in part. It crosseth the great end which God aimed at in contriving of man's salvation, which was that all ground of glorying should be taken away from man, as being in the meanest or least respect a saviour to himself, and that all the glory might be ascribed completely to God in Christ, 1 Cor. i. 29-31. Christ spake a parable against those that trusted in them- selves that they were righteous : Luke xviii. 9, ' Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a pharisee, the other a publican.' The