faw all men that ever have been or fhall be to the end of the World, none fha be wanting, the rich and poor, young and old, high and low, married and unmarried, bond and free, all mut fand before God. Oh what a wonderful affembbly will this be, to fee fo many Millions of Thoufands? It is a great fight to behold an Army of O Men of an Hundred Thousand, but here fhall be Thousand Thousand, a number without num. ber, even all Men, Women and Children that e. fever have been, or fhall be unto the Worlds end. None fhall be wanting, the rich and needy, Young and Old, High and Low, Bond and Free, all must stand before God. And therefore it is well called the Day of the Lord, when all the a. off-fpring of Adam shall stand before God,whofe ho Nature is Majefty, whofe Life is Sandity, whofe Ways are Holy, whofe Eternity hath no end, who made the World and will never change his Power nor Mind, whofe Age never decays nor grows old in years. And as St. Austin faith, when he thought of God's Attributes, O Eternity, O EOternity, O Eternity, in repeating of the word fo often, he thought to have dwelt upon the word: ap for indeed Eternity hath no end, and all things cife have an end, and all must appear before this everlasting God at this general Alize. To So that the inftruction is very plain, that all muft appear in Judgment: High and Low, Rich and Needy, Noble and Ignole, all muit then make appearance before the Lord Jefus in Jadgment; The pooreft Soul that ever breathed in lithe World fhall not be wanted when Chrift fhall come to Judgment, 2 Cor 5. 10. We must all appear before the Judgment feat of Jefus Christ,that every man may receive the things that he hath done in this body, whether they be good or evil. Heb. 9.27. It is appointed for all men to dye, and after death come to judgment. All men are fure to die, fo fure fhill they come to judgment after death. It will not ferve their turn, as with earthly Judges, the party is dead; for this Judgmentfeat is fet forth for the quick and dead. The Lord Jefus now for the manifeftation of his Pow er, Truth and Juftice, muft bring every one to Judgment. Use 2. Seeing St. John faw the dead, both great and finall ftand before God, that is all forts of men and women, high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, all muft appear and hold up their Hands at the Bar of this great Judge, furely this ought to move all forts of men to make a confcience of their lives, to repent of all their evil ways, to turn to Ged by true repentance for no excufe will ferve your turn, no avoiding of his appearance, all must appear, the very devils themselves,and all the damned fpirits must come to judgment. Tophet is prepared for the King faith Ifaiah, If. 30, 33. The Judge, the Gentleman, the rich man,if they be wicked, their riches fhall not excufe them; but rather be a witness against them; nor the poorest shall not be forgotten.. Surely then, if we have any care at all what fhall become of our poor fouls at this day, we ought to perfwade all, both the noor and rich, to repent and turn to God, and and lead new lives that we may rejoyce with joy unfpeakable, and be glorious at the last appearance: This made St. Paul labour to keep a good Confcience before God and all men, Acts 24. 16. And why? Because there muft come a day, when all muft arife to Judgment, and give a strict account of all their evil thoughts, words and works, and the fame reafon fhould ftir us up likewife to keep a clear Confcience. And what is the caufe that men live in in, and defile themfelves with many thousand abominations? Surely because they think not of this day, that they must all come to a reckoning. Oh it would stay and bri-1 dle their carnal hearts from many foul and filthy fins which now they commit with greediness. This will be a happy day to all the Children of God, to hear the Judge fay unto them, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the World. happy day! O blessed voice! But to the ungodly finner,that lives in fin, as the drunkard, blafphenomer, c. this will be a terrible and fearful day to hear the judge fay; Go ye curfed into neverlasting fire prepared for the devil and his anfgels. O doleful voice! O heavy news! O fearful fentence! woe, and ten thoufand woes to all angodly finners? Woe then to the Idolater, Woe e then unto the Adulterer, &c. Woe then unto the congodly wretched finners; for their is no efcaping of this fentence, all muft appear, all muft tand before God, all must come to their answer. None fhall be fo great to escape, or fo finall to be forgotten. And then woe to them that fhoil C 2 إل a.ife arife to this fearful and heavy fentence, and fad news of condemnation: Oh it had been better for fuch men if they had never been born, or had been brought forth as loathfome Toads and Serpents; for then begins their eternal mifery and condemnation. Oa then again and again, let us bethink our felves that we must come to Judgment, we must be called to a reckoning, we cannot escape the beavy fentence of Judgment by any means whatfoever. Ufe 2. Again, Where St. John faith, He fan the dead As this may be a terror to all wicked and ungodly Men and Women; fo here is matter of endlefs comfort unto all poor members of Chrift Jefus. In this Life, who is more full of grief in Body and Mind than God's Children? Long and tedious fickpeffes, many annoyances, fome be full of fores from top to toe, as Job was, who conf fled and faid to corruption, Thou art my Mother, and to the worm, Thou art my Sifter and Brother. And though Fob had all these fores outward, yet St. Ambrofe faith, He had within him a Soul full of fweer Oyntment, which was full of sweet favour in the Noftrils of God. Some maimed and difeafed in body, as Lazarus was, as the poor Cripple which lay at the pool of Bethesda: Well then, our bodies fhall now arife, they fhall not be weak, or lame, or maimed, but a very perfect, found, and a glorious body: All pain fhall have an end, all woe fhall ceafe, and fuch fhall their Refurrection be, as is fpoken of in Mat. 27. 27. 52. And the Graves were opened, and many of the Saints Bodies that flept arose, and came ou of the Graves after his Kefurrection, and went into the holy City of Jerufalem. But as for the ungodly, it is not fo with them, but they fhall arife, that both Body and Soul may go into Hell together, which is a place of Reprobates. Oh, that we had hearts to think of this, both young and old, rich and needy, Minifter and People, that we muft ftand before God t that we must give an account of all our fins unto his Majefty! it would bridle us and keep us from any prefumptuous fins, which we now daily commit, and as wilfully as a Horfe that rufheth into the Battle. The Great ASSIZE. Che Second Sermon. Rev. 20. ver. 12. &e. 12. And I faw the dead, both fall and great, stand before God, and the Books were opened: And another Book was opened, which is the Book of Life: And the cead were judged out of those things which were written in the Books, according to their deeds. W defcribed unto us, with what unípeak E have already the Perfon of the Judge able Majelly and Glory he fhall come, to the great comfort of the Godly, and alfo with what terror he will come, to the amazement of the Wicked. Secondly, We have heard who fhall be cit |