10. * It may be answered, it is apparently and absolutely necessary, for the full display of the glory of God, for the clear and perfect manifestation of his wisdom, justice, power and mercy toward the heirs of salvation, that all the circumstances of their life should be placed in open view, together with all their tempers, and all the desires, thoughts and intents of their hearts. Otherwise how would it appear out of what a depth of sin and misery the grace of God had delivered them? And, indeed, if the whole lives of all the children of men were not manifestly discovered, the whole amazing contexture of Divine Providence could not be manifested: nor should we yet be able in a thousand instances,
To “justify the ways of God to man.”
Unless our Lord’s words were fulfilled in their utmost sense, without any restriction or limitation, _there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, or hid that shall not be known_,[52] abundance of God’s dispensations under the sun would still appear without their reasons. And then only when God hath brought to light all the hidden things of darkness, whosoever were the actors therein, will it be seen that wise and good were all his ways: that he _saw through the thick cloud_, and governed all things by the wise _counsel of his own will_: that nothing was left to chance or the caprice of men, but God disposed all _strongly and sweetly_, and wrought all into one connected chain of justice, mercy, and truth.
11. And in the discovery of the divine perfections, the righteous will rejoice with joy unspeakable; far from feeling any painful sorrow or shame, for any of those past transgressions, which were long since blotted out as a cloud, washed away by the blood of the Lamb. It will be abundantly sufficient for them, that _all the transgressions which they had committed, shall not be once mentioned unto them_, to their disadvantage; that _their sins and transgressions and iniquities shall be remembered no more_, to their condemnation. This is the plain meaning of the promise: and this all the children of God shall find true, to their everlasting comfort.
12. After the righteous are judged, the King will turn to them upon his left hand, and they shall also be judged, every man _according to his works_. But not only their outward works will be brought into the account, but all the evil words which they have ever spoken; yea, all the evil desires, affections, tempers, which have or have had, a place in their souls, and all the evil thoughts or designs which were ever cherished in their hearts. The joyful sentence of acquital will then be pronounced upon those upon the right hand: the dreadful sentence of condemnation upon those on the left: both of which must remain fixt and unmoveable, as the throne of God.
III. 1. We may, in the third place, consider a few of the circumstances which will follow the general judgment. And the first is the execution of the sentence pronounced on the evil and on the good. _These shall go away into eternal punishment, and the righteous into life eternal._ It should be observed, it is the very same word which is used, both in the former and the latter clause: it follows, that either the punishment lasts for ever, or the reward too will come to an end. No, never, unless God could come to an end, or his mercy and truth could fail. _Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their father_, and shall _drink of those rivers of pleasure which are at God’s right hand for evermore_. But here all description falls short; all human language fails! only one who is caught up into the third heaven, can have a just conception of it. But even such an one cannot express what he hath seen: these things _it is not possible for man to utter_.
The wicked, meantime, _shall be turned into hell_, even _all the people that forget God_. They will be _punished with everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power_. They will be _cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone_, originally _prepared for the devil and his angels_; where they will _gnaw their tongues_ for anguish and pain, they will _curse God and look upward_: there the dogs of hell, pride, malice, revenge, rage, horror, despair continually devour them. _There they have no rest, day or night, but the smoke of their torment ascendeth for ever and ever. For their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched._