824 COMMENTARY ON
riches be then at the day of the Lord Jesus ? Therefore a Christian values them not ; they are not the good of a Christian ; he estcsoms not the applause of men. And pleasures are iiotliing, they are momentary, tlicy avail not when conscience is awaked. They leave a man, and not only so, but they leave a sting behind tlium.
If all the good lliiugs in the world will stand us in no stead then, then what will the sins do tliat thou hast made so much of ? What will the sins do that thou hast betrayed and damned thy soul for? Tliy lillhincss, and thy betraying of goodness, what will that do ? How wilt thou look the Judge in the face, whenas nothing in the world that is excellent will hold out and avail at that day ?
But what then will avail at that day when Christ shall come to judge both the quick and the dead ?
Why, this; that thou bust submitted thyself to acknowledge Christ as thy king, and thy priest, and thy prophet ; and by means of the ministry thou hast been wrought on, and the work of the new creatui-e is begun in thee, true and sincere grace that thou darest look on Christ, that thou art in the state of grace, this will comfort thee in the day of judgment.
By this you may discern who take the wisest course : he that measures his life by a right measure and rule. Who judgeth aright of persons and things ? He judgeth aright of things, that values and labours to interest himself in those things that will comfort him in this world, and stand by him in the world to come ; he hath a right judgment and esteem of things.
What be those things ?
Grace, a holy, humble, gracious, believing carriage and disposition. When a man gives himself to Christ, and renounceth the world, and sees the vanity of all things but the estate of Christianity, he hath those things in some little measure that shall be perfected at that day. Who take the wisest course ? Those that seek to please the humour of men, those that seek to feed their own corruptions and the corruptions of others, those that will have some present glory in the flesh ? Aye, but what will they have at the day of the Lord Jesus '? Surely, those that labour to approve them- selves in sincerity and truth to Christ Jesus in all things. And so that they may approve their hearts to him, they care not what the world judgeth of them, as St Paul saith, ' I pass not what ye judge of me,' 1 Cor. iv. 3. If there be a day of the Lord, when he shall be judge, then those are the wisest and the best courses that will hold out at that day. And those that will not, we shall be ashamed of them all.
And that is the reason that many men of excellent parts and endowments are comfortless in the time of temptation. They did not think to do things with reference to Christ, in sincerity to please him ; for then they might hold up their heads at that day.
There is a great deal of atheism in our hearts. We frame our courses to present contentments, b}' reason that we have little belief for the time to come.
I beseech you, let us often have in our thoughts the second coming of Christ. The best things are behind. Our chief rejoicing is behind. Our rejoicing now is our hope that we shall rejoice then. The Corinthians were St Paul's joy now, because he knew they should be his main rejoicing then. If we rejoice in anything now, let it be that om- names are written in heaven, in the testimony of our conscience that we are God's, that om* hearts are wrought on, that we have something that Christ will acknowledge when he
2 COEINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 14. 325
sees his stamp and image on us. Wlien he Khali look on us, and see his ovm image upon our hearts, there will be matter of joy in that day.
There will be joy in ourselves, and joy in all the blessed insti'uments that are under Christ. The ministers, they shall rejoice likewise in us, and all of us shall join in joying in Christ, all shall meet there. For their joying in St Paul, and he in thom, it was that Christ was theirs. And ' Christ shall come,' as it is in 2 Thess. i. 10, ' to be glorified in his saints ; ' not only in himself, but in his believing members ; for his gloiy shall reflect TTpon them as the sun reflects upon light bodies. All light bodies are made hght by the sun. So the ' Sun of righteousness' shall come, and all them that have glory it shall be by reflection from him ; they shall be glorious in him. So he is both the minister's joy and the people's. They shall all glory in Christ, whose glory is their glory. He shall come ' to be glorious in his saints.' Therefore frame your courses that way to have glory then, to have comfort in the hour of death, and at the day of judgment. And to end the point.