An act of voliantary sin is as monstrous as a hen to lay the egg of a crow ; many men's lives speak contradictions. Saul at one time puts all the witches to death, at another time, hath recourse with a witch himself. Jehu showeth his zeal against Ahab's idolatry, but .not against Jeroboam's.
2. Constant. There is a strait gate, and a narrow way ; we must enter one, and walk in the other; there is making covenant, and keeping covenant: Ps. ciii. 18, 'To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them ; ' Gal. vi. 16, 'As many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy shall be upon them, and upon the whole Israel of God.' Faith and obedience are conditions of pardon, and constant obedience is a condition of isalvation.
3. Self-denyiugly acted. Good works are not dear ; ' Be warmed, be
VeR. 10.] SERMONS UPON 2 CORINTHIANS V. 81
clothed.' In 1 John iii. 16, the apostle speaketh of laying down our life for the brethren, of opening our hands and bowels for refreshing the hungry, and clothing the naked. So proportionably when we take pains to instruct the ignorant, exhort the obstinate, confirm the weak, comfort the afflicted. Do you think that religion lieth only in hearing sermons, in singing psalms, reading a chapter, or in a few drowsy prayers, or cursory devotions ? There are the means, but where is the fiuit ? No ; it lieth in self-denying obedience. These are the acts about which we shall be questioned at the day of judgment, Mat. XXV., Have you visited, have you clothed, do you own the servants of God when the times frown upon them? Do you relieve them and comfort them in their distresses ? Lip-labour and tongue- service is a cheap thing, and that religion is worth nothing which costs nothing, 1 Sam. xxiv. 24. When we deny ourselves, and apparently value God's interest above our own, then our sincerity is most evidenced, and every one of us is to consider what interest God calleth him to deny upon the hopes of glory, and, whatever it costeth us, to be faithful with God. A cheap course of serving God bringeth you none or little comfort. Certainly a man cannot be thorough in religion, but be will be put upon many occasions of denying himself, his ease, profit, honour, and acting contrary to his natural inclinations, or worldly interests. Those that regard only the safe, cheap and easy part, do not set up Christ's religion, but their own — a Christianity of their own making: Mat. xvi. 24, ' Then said Jesus unto his disciples. If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.'
SEKMON XVII.
That every man may receive the things done in the hody, according to ivliat he hath done, good or had. — 2 Cor. v. 10.
Thts receiving relateth either to the sentence or the execution, princi- pally the latter.
Doct. The end of the last judgment is, that every man, according to what he hath done, may receive reward and punishment.
Without this, the whole process of that day would be but a solemn and useless pageantry, and therefore the end bindeth all upon us. And as we have considered the other circumstances we must consider this also. This receiving the things done in the body relateth either to the doom and sentence, or else to the execution. For the sentence, see Serm. Mat. xxv., vers. 34 and 41. I shall here speak of the execution ; it is set forth emphatically, Mat. xxv. 46, ' These shall go away into everlasting punishment, and the righteous into life eternal.' In which scripture,
1. There is a distribution of the persons — these and the righteous, the goats and the sheep, the workers of iniquity and the godly, the righteous and the wicked. This is the most material distinction, and
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82 SERMONS UPON 2 CORINTHIANS V. [SeR. XVII.
an everlasting distinction. It is the most material and important dis- tinction. There is a distinction of nations ; some lie nearer to the sun, others more remote or farther off; some in a southerly, some in a northerly climate, but they are all alike near to the Sun of righteous- ness. Jew, or Greek, or barbarian, are all one in Christ, Gal. iii. 28. There is a distinction of endowments ; some are learned and some unlearned. Yet the gospel looketh equally upon both, and Christ's disciples owe the equal debt of love to both, Rom. i. 14. There is a distinction of ranks and degrees in the ■ world ; some are noble, and others ignoble, but before God omnis sanguis concolor — all blood is of a colour ; and the true spiritual nobility is to be born of God, John i. 13. The gospel puts the rich and poor on the same level, James i. 9, 10. They differ in worldly estate ; but all have the same redeemer ; as under the law, the rich and the poor paid the same ransom, Exod. xxx. 15. There is a distinction between bond and free, but the bond are Christ's freemen, 1 Cor. vii. 22 ; and the free is Christ's servant, Eph. vi. 7. All these are not material to our acceptance with God. There is a distinction between opinions, and petty sects and parties in the church, but this is not the grand distinction, which will hold weight at the day of doom. There were different parties at Corinth, and they were apt to baud one against another, but yet they had but one common Christ : 1 Cor. i. 2, 'Jesus Christ, theirs and ours.' We inclose and impale the common salvation, unchristian and unminister one another, cast one another out of God's favour, but God's appro- bation doth not go by our vote and suffrage ; there lieth an appeal from man's censure, lingua Petilliani non est ventHahrum Christi. It is well that every angry brother's tongue is not Christ's fan where- with he will purge his floor. God in his judgment taketh notice of another distinction, whether we be righteous or wicked, holy or unholy : ' The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his face is against them that do evil/ 1 Peter iii. 12. That is the distinction which doth bear weight before Christ's tribunal. And this is the everlasting dis- tinction. Other distinctions do not outlive time, they cease at the grave's mouth ; within a while it will not be a pin to choose what part we have acted in the world, whether we have been high or low, rich or poor ; but much will lie upon it, whether we have been godly or ungodly, 'whether we have sowed to the flesh or to the spirit. This distinction will last for ever, and the one of them will fill heaven and the other hell. The whole world is comprised in one of these two ranks ; there is no neutral or middle estate.