That if we fuffer with him, we shall alfo reign Luke 22.29. with him. And fays he, I appoint unto you a Kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me, Rev. 3.21. And, To him that overcometh will I grant to fit with me in my Throne, even as I also overcame, and am fat down with my Father in his Throne. Upon which, one obferves, That after victorious Obedience, the Saints fhall be taken into Sovereign Alliance with Chrift, and reign for ever. 2dly, The Saints Happiness in the other World may be fet forth by a Crown, becaufe it fignifies Riches and Plenty as well as Honour and Dignity. And accordingly we are told, That in the Divine Prefence there Pfal. 16. 11 is Fulness of Foy, and at God's Right Hand there are Pleasures for evermore. Thefe are pure unallay'd Delights: but here our most exalted and fublimated Picafures are mix'd with Ignorance; for i fpeak of intellectual Pleafures. As for chofe that are more grofs, that ftrike our Senfes, they are not to be nam'd with the Delights of Heaven, for they vanish in the Comparison. So that upon the whole we may conclude, that that Fulnefs and Variety that is to be enjoy'd in Heaven, fhall always please and fatisfy the enlarged Capacities of Human Spirits. And that this Satisfaction fhall never decay, but abide for ever, is plainly express'd, in that it is elsewhere call'd a Crown that fades not away. In a word, the Ailurance that our Crown fhall be incorruptible and cternal, is of fo much weight, that without it our Crowns would fit uneafy on our Heads: for the thoughts of enjoying an uncertain Felicity would make us paufe in the midst of our Hallelujahs, and damp all our Joys. But, N 2. Why Gal. 6.8. Rom.2.6, 7. 2. Why is the Crown in the Text call'd a Crown of Righteousness? I answer, 1ft, Becaufe 'tis purchased by the Righteoufnefs of the Lord Jefus Chrift. The Blood by which we are redeem'd from Hell, is the Price of the Crown we expect in Heaven. There was Value enough in the one Offering of the Son of God, to merit for us a Crown. of Life. Death is fpoken of in Scripture as the proper Wages of Sin; but Eternal Life is mention'd as a gratuitous Gift thro Jefus Christ our Lord: 'Tis freely bestow'd with respect to us, but due to the exuberant Merits of the Son of God. 2dly, It may be call'd a Crown of Righteoufnefs, as 'tis the Reward of Righteous Perfons. Verily, fays the Pfalmift, there is a Reward for the Righteous. Tho a Righteous Man is made fo by the Imputation of the Righteousness of Chrift to him, and the Infufion or Implantation of the Graces of his Spirit in him; yet God delights to crown his own Gifts: He makes us Righteous, and then rewards us as Righteous Perfons. He that foweth to the Spirit, fhall of the Spirit reap Life everlasting. And we are affur'd, that Chrift will render Eternal Life to them, who by patient continuance in welldoing, feek for Glory, Honour and Immortality. 3dly, This Crown in the Text is called a Crown of Righteousness, because 'tis bestow'd according to the faithful Promise of the Righ teous God. The compleat Happiness we expect to enjoy in the other Life, God has put * See a Funeral Sermon on Mrs. Elizabeth Ewer, by Mr. Thoj Harrison, P. 7, 8, 9, 10. into Promise in this. As the Chofen of God are called according to his Purpose, fo they are eternally fav'd according to his Promife: Be thon faithful unto Death, and I will give Rev. 2. 10. thee a Crown of Life. Indeed God was at liberty whether he would enter into fuch an Engagement or not; but having plighted his Faithfulness, he is a Debtor to his Promife, and we are fure he'll be true to his Word. Hath he faid, and shall not he do it? Hath he Spoken, and shall he not make it good? Our God is a faithful God, a God of Truth; which will be abundantly display'd at the Great Day, when according to his righteous Promises he fhall crown all the faithful Followers of the Lamb. II. We are now to confider from whom the Apostle expected this Crown of Righteoufnefs; and that was from the Lord the Righteous Judg. That our Bleffed Saviour is here meant, is very evident; for the Scriptures abundantly testify, That he is the Perfon ordain'd by the Father to adminifter the Judgment of the Great Day. Chrift as God has an original Right to difpenfe Rewards and Punishments; but as Mediator, 'tis a delegated Right. The Father judgeth no Man, but hath committed all Joh. 5. 227 Judgment to the Son: i. e. The Father judgeth no man immediately; but Jefus Chrift, as fuftaining the Character, and difcharging the Province of Mediator, fhall be Judg of Quick and Dead; and 'twill be one of the last A&ts of his Mediatorship to difpenfe Rewards and Punishments, and these he fhall difpenfe as a Promittendo fe Debitorem fecit. Aug. N 2 Righteous Righteous Judg. 'Twas prophefied of him, If. 11.3, 4. That he should not judg after the fight of his Eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his Ears: But with Righteousness fhall be judg the Poor, and reprove with Equity. As God, our Saviour is effentially Holy and Righteous; and as Man, he was Holy, Harmless, Undefiled, and Separate from Sinners. So that we have the greatest affurance that we can have, that our Lord's Proceedings in Judgment will be according to the strictest Juftice. The Rule in the final Judgment will be most equitable, the Evidence certain and full, and the Sentence impartial. So that our Lord will be clear when he judgeth: for every difobedient Rebel fhall be ftruck with a defenceless Silence, when doom'd to an eternal Prison of Fire; and every Child of God, when crown'd, fhall applaud the Righteoufnefs of Chrift as a Judg, in bestowing that Reward which he purchas'd as a Saviour. III. Under what confideration did the Apoftle expect this Crown of Righteousness; and that was as a free Gift, which the Lord the Righteous Fudg fhall give me. Tho this Crown is a fruit of Chrift's Purchafe, yet 'tis also an effect of Divine Bounty, for 'tis freely given with respect to us. Christ indeed will manage the Judicial Procefs Rom: 2.7. according to Mens Works. Yet I find that the future Reward of the Saints is expressed in Scripture by Mercy. The Apostle speaking 2 Tim.1.18. of Onefiphorus, fays, The Lord grant to him that he may find Mercy of the Lord in that Day And we are exhorted to keep our felves in the Love of God, looking for the Mercy of our Lord Jefus Chrift unto Eternal Life. Now if our Re ward ward in Heaven is (of God's Mercy, it totally excludes the Creature's Merit. 'Tis impoffible that Men fhould merit either before or after they have received Grace; for what proportion is there betwixt the Services of the best Men upon Earth, and a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory in Heaven? In the Apostle's Judgment, the Sufferings of this prefent time are not worthy to be compar'd with the Glory that fhall be revealed in us. Accordingly we are told, that the Robes of the Martyrs are wash'd white in the Blood of the Lamb, not in their own Blood. Not by Works Tit.3. 5. of Righteoufnefs that we have done, but according to his Mercy he faved us. A Crown of Righteousness is not merited by us, but given to us, for the fake of our Lord Jefus Chrift. IV. The Time when the Apostle expected to receive this Crown of Righteousness; and that was at the Great Day of Judgment. Which the Lord the Righteous Fudg fhall give me at That Day; at That Day he had been fpeaking of in the Context, the Day of Chrift's 2 Tim. 4. 1. Appearing and Kingdom, when he shall come to judg both the Quick and the Dead; at That Day, at that Great and Solemn Day. The Apostle here fpeaks of the Happiness of the whole Man, and not of that Reward that is bestow'd on naked Spirits, in the Interval betwixt the Death of the Body, and its Revival at the End of the World. So that it is very evident, by that Day the Apostle intends that Aweful Day, when Chrift fhall come in flaming Fire, to take Vengeance on them that know 2 Theff.1.5, not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord. Jefus Chrift.At that Day, when he shall come N 3 to |