capacities, and after the manner of men, and by way of comparifon to what belongs to mankind. And as the fitting at a prince's right-hand is esteemed a place of the highest honour, the first import of this phrase seems to be that Chrift is invested with the highest glory from God and exalted to the highest dignity; and fince by the hand of God his infinite power may be fignified, this phrafe may further import Christ's having received the highest power and dominion from God; but where Chrift is faid to be fitting, we are not to understand that he is determined to fuch a particular pofture of body as is commonly meant by fitting; for he is fometimes reprefented as ftanding at God's right-hand, fometimes in general as being there, without expreffing the particular manner of it; but by his fitting we are to understand his fecure and quiet continuance in that high glory, majefty, and judicature; and his full poffeffion of dignity, and perpetuity in retaining it.

`nefit to man.

And this confirms our faith; because it gives us a farther proof of our Saviour's divine miffion. For, had he And its banot been fent into the world by God, he had not approved of the meffage Chrift delivered to man. His vifible afcenfion into heaven ftrengthens our hopes; for, by feeing our own nature thus advanced, we are affured that dust and ashes may thither afcend alfo; and the bleffed Jefus being our head, as members of his body, we may expect admiffion into that heavenly court, where he fits in glory, fince we have his word, which can never fail, that he is gone to prepare a place for us: and it exalts our affections, by putting us in mind that our treasure is above, and that therefore we ought not to fet our affections upon fuch things as must perish in this world; that heaven is the true and only happiness of a chriftian; and that our great defign in this world ought to be to fit and prepare ourselves for the enjoyment of a bleffed eternity; that our conftant endeavours ought to tend towards the qualifying ourselves to be received into our Saviour's prefence, to whom we have the greatest obligations of gratitude and duty; that by trampling upon our fins, and fubduing the lufts of the flesh, we may make our converfation correfpond to our Saviour's condition, that where H 2.

the

the eyes of the apoftles were forced to leave him, thither our thoughts may follow him, even into the highest heavens. We should alfo learn from hence to have an affurance of the pardon of our fins, acceptance of our fincere, though imperfect obedience, and of protection and defence in our fpiritual warfare, as knowing that at last we fhall be more than conquerors; and it fhould raife in us a noble ambition of being made partakers of that glory, to which Chrift our head already is advanced; who has promifed, that to him who avercometh he will grant to fit with him in his throne.

VII. When we profeís, in the seventh ARTICLE of our Chrift our belief, that CHRIST will come again to judge the judge. quick and the dead, we declare that we ftedfastly believe, that our Lord Jefus Christ shall at the end of the world defcend from heaven in his human nature. As to the manner and the circumstances of Chrift's coming: He shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels: he fhall defcend with a shout, with the voice of the arch-angel, with the trump of God: he fhall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and in that of his holy angels: he fhall fit upon the throne of his glory, and all nations fhall be gathered before him: and he fhall feparate them the one from the other, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: those that fleep in the grave shall awake, and the dead in Christ shall rife firft, and they that are alive fhall be changed, and caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Which fufficiently fhews the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jefus Chrift, who fhall then come glorious in the brightness and fplendor of his celeftial body; fupported by that authority, which his Father hath committed to him, of universal judge, accompanied with thousands of holy angels, who shall attend, not only to make up the pomp of this appearance, but as minifters of his juftice; and feated in that bright throne of glory, from whence he fhall fummon all mankind to appear before his dreadful tribunal, where they fhall come upon that trial, and have all their actions ftrictly examined. Proved by Concerning which, if we fearch the scriptures, fcripture. there we shall find God hath given afsurance unto all men, that he will judge the world by Jesus Christ, in

that

that he hath raised him from the dead. And the method, by which God will proceed with his creatures in that day, is fully defcribed by the judge himself in his gofpel. The apoftle of the Gentiles declares exprefsly, that we must all appear and stand before the judgment-feat of Christ. And the apostle of the circumcifion fays, that the day of the Lord shall come, in which the heavens fhall pafs away with a great noise, and the elements fhall melt with fervent heat.

The administration of which judgment is committed by the Father to his Son Jefus Chrift; God will judge the Appointedly world in righteousness by that man Chrift Jefus, the Father. whom he hath ordained. The Son of man fhall come in the glory of his Father with his holy angels, and then shall he reward every man according to his works. The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. Chrift commanded his difciples to preach unto the people, and testify, that it is Jesus that is ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead; and the tribunal is called the judgment-feat of Christ. Hence observe, that tho' the right of judging us belongs to God, whofe fervants and subjects we are, yet the execution of this power of judging is particularly committed to the Son of man; because all men should honour the Son, as they honour the Father; that our bleffed Saviour might receive public honour in that nature wherein he fuffered; that he, who for our fakes ftood before an earthly tribunal, might therefore be conftituted judge of the whole world; that he, who was defpifed and rejected of men, might appear in the glory of his Father, attended with an innumerable train of holy angels; that he, who was condemned and crucified to abfolve us, might receive authority to abfolve or condemn the whole race of mankind: and because, being cloathed with an human body, he will make a vifible appearance, which will be fuitable to the other circumstances of that great day: all which will be performed in the fight of all the world. And again, mankind being judged by one of their own nature, a man like themselves, touched with a feeling of their infirmities, greatly declares the equity of his judgment; because he understands all our

H 3

circum

circumftances, and whatever may influence our cafe, to lef fen or increase our crimes. And

Not only men, but angels also, will be judged at the laft Tojudge an- day; the fallen angels are referved in everlasting gelsand men chains under darknefs, unto the judgment of the great day. For the apoftle fays, Know ye not that we shall judge angels; or, fit with Chrift, and approve that fentence against them which he fhall then pronounce? And all men that have ever lived in the world, and those that shall be alive at our Saviour's coming, fhall be gathered before him, whe is ordained by God to be judge of quick and dead; and they shall all stand before the judgment-feat of Chrift, both small and great. Neither riches, power, nor honour, fhall deliver any great man from the hand of God; neither shall the poorest flave be excufed for his meannefs; for they are all the works of his hands: neither will he have regard to fuch qualities and circumftances of perfons, which do not appertain to the merits of the caufe; paffing judgment upon all, according to all things we have done in the body, whether they be good or evil.

In what

manner.

He will enter into a fevere fcrutiny how we have employed all thofe talents that he hath intrufted us with, Then shall all the powers and faculties that have been given us, all the favours and benefits we have enjoyed, all the means and opportunities that have been afforded us for the living virtuously and holily, and thereby to bring honour and glory to our Master, be brought into our view, and an account be demanded of them: He will account with us for our senses, how we have employed them; whether to the purposes they were given us for, the furnishing our understandings, and the right governing of our bodies, or whether we have made them only inftruments of fin, and inlets to vanity; He will account with us for our reafon and confcience, how we have employed them; whether we have done our beft to improve them, and whether they have been faithful guides of our actions, or we have fuffered them to be a bufed with follyand falfe principles, and to be led captive by our lufts and paflions: Hewill call us to account for our me mories, how we have employed them; whether we have

been

been careful to treasure up in them fuch things as might be useful to our lives, or have only made them the repofitories of things idle, impertinent, and unprofitable: He will call us to account how we have spent our time in this world; whether we have employed it to good purposes, in an honest laborious pursuit of a lawful calling, fetting a due portion thereof apart for the more immediate service of God, and spending the remainder innocently and wifely; or whether we have fquandered it away in idleness, in play, in revelling or in impertinent vicious conversation, in the neglect of our main business: He will call us to account for the good creatures he hath from time to time bestowed upon us for our support and refreshment, how we have employed them; whether we have used them thankfully and foberly, with temperance and moderation; or whether we have abused them to luxury and excess, to gluttony or drunkenness, making therewith provifion for the flesh, to fulfil the lufts thereof: He will call us to account for our learning and intellectual accomplishments, for the advantages of our education, for our health and strength, for our wealth and riches, for our greatness, power, and reputation, and all thofe fpecial and eminent talents that he hath intrufted us with above others, how we have employed them; whether we have made them inftruments of doing a great deal of good, and being eminently useful in our generation; or whether they have only ministered to pride, and vanity, and felf-pleafing, if not to the worse purposes of vice and wickedness: Laftly, he will call us to account for all the opportunities of grace and means of falvation which we have enjoyed, for all the good counfels and wife exhortations that have been given us; for the revelation of his Son that hath been made known to us; for the use of his word and facraments; for all the motions and fuggeftions of his Holy Spirit within us, diffuading us from fin, and alluring and folliciting us to a courfe of virtue and holiness: for all thefe, I fay, he will call us to account how we have employed them; whether we have improved them to the purposes they were given for, as we should have done; whether we have grown in grace, and brought forth fruit fuitable to so many helps and advantages, or have been