6. Since God's justice doth not make a sufficient difference here, there is another life where he will do it ; for otherwise all these absurdities would follow —
[1.] God would seem indifferent to good and evil, yea, more partial to the evil ; and would seem to approve and favour the rebellious more than the righteous ; but this were a blasphemy, and a diminution of God's goodness and holiness, Ps. lxxiii. 1 ; so Ps. xi. 6, 7. Therefore there is a time to come when God will manifest his respects to the one above the other.
[2.] Man would seem to be left at liberty to break or keep God's laws at his pleasure, and no harm would come of it ; yea, present good and profit. But this would destroy all obedience, and God is parti- cularly engaged to punish such as would flatter themselves with these hopes, Deut, xxx. 19, 20, Zeph i. 12.
[3.] Obedience would be man's loss and ruin, and so God would be the worst master: 1 Cor. xv. 19, ' If in this life only we have hope, we are of all men most miserable.' The worst would be the most happy and the best the most miserable ; for the children of God do not only forsake the grateful pleasures of the world, but hazard all their natural interests, and actually suffer the loss of all things by the cruelty of their persecutors. Now Christ would never proselyte us to a religion that should be our undoing, nor shall any of his people be losers by him. This is contrary to all natural light and sense of religion that is in men's hearts, that they that venture the most for Christ should be in the worst condition. Therefore there must be another life, when God will fulfil the good he hath promised, and execute the evil threat- ened.
[4.] That the most eminent virtue should lie under perpetual infamy; for the people of God do not only suffer hard things, but their names
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON 2 THESSALONIANS I. 211
are cast forth as evil, and their way condemned as factious singularity; and though they be instruments of public good, yet they are traduced as the troublers of Israel, and so made sacrifices to public hatred. But this is a great absurdity, therefore things must be reviewed, and that which is good restored to its public honour : 1 Peter iv. 13, 14, ' If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye.' When his glory shall be revealed, so shall yours ; which is a great satisfaction to the godly, who prize a good name above other earthly interests.
[5.] The children of wisdom would seem sons of folly, in checking their lusts, venturing their interests, and renouncing all for their fidelity to Christ ; as if they did foolishly for running into such incon- veniencies, when they might spare themselves and sleep in a whole skin. Now it is a great absurdity that God's wisest and most faithful servants should be accounted fools ; that would quench and destroy all zeal for God. No ; there will a time come when the wisdom of the world shall be seen to be the greatest folly, and that there are no such fools as those that employ their greatest abilities in attaining present pleasure, profit, and preferment, with the neglect of their precious souls, and those the wisest adventurers who have sold all to promote the honour of God and gain Christ, who look not upon things as they appear now to the sensual and deluded world, but as they will be found at the last day, when all things shall appear in their own colours.
[6.] That all the comfort of the saints in looking and longing for this day is but a fantastical impression or fanatical . illusion, when yet these desires and affections are raised and quickened in them by God ; not only as he doth warrant them by his word, but as wrought in them by his Spirit, Rom. viii. 23, and 2 Cor. v. 5. Now it is not for the honour of God that the hopes of the saints should be disappointed, and their great expectations frustrated. No ; there will a time come when their affections shall be satisfied, their desires granted, and their hopes fulfilled to the utmost.
[7.] In the other life he doth it not till the general resurrection, or Christ's coming to judgment. There is a distinction between the good and evil at death, when the spirits of just men are made perfect, Heb. xii. 23, and the spirits of the wicked are sent to prison, 1 Peter iii. 19. But that is not sufficient, for two reasons — because that is private, and does not openly vindicate the justice of God ; and that it is but upon a part, the soul only.
(1.) As it is private, and executed upon the wicked, man by man. Certainly it is more for the honour of God to bring his judgment to light, as the prophet saith, Zeph. iii. 5. Here the love of God towards the good and the justice of God towards the wicked is not manifest enough, not brought out into the clearest light. Not in death neither, for the honour of the just is not opened visibly, nor the glory of heaven exposed to view until the general judgment. But then this different respect is more conspicuous when the justice of God hath a public and solemn triumph, and his enemies are branded with shame, and the faith of his elect found to praise and honour, and the one publicly con- demned, and the other justified by the judge upon the throne, Acts iii. 19.