church and polity, he flides (as it were) infenfibly. into this important fubject typified by that, declaring, "After the tribulation of thofe days, the fun fhall be darkened and the moon fhall not give her light, and the ftars fhall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven fhall be fhaken; and then fhall appear the fign of the Son of Man in heaven: then fhall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" And in the next chapter, (Matt. xxv.) which it feems contains the last public difcourfe our Lord delivered before he was offered up, he declares to all, When the Son of Man fhall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him; then fhall he fit upon the throne of his glory, and before him fhall be gathered all nations." 4. To thefe exprefs and particular declarations delivered by our Lord, while he tabernacled upon earth in his ftate of humiliation, we may fubjoin his teftimony from heaven, after he entered upon his ftate of exaltation, and was invefted with all power in heaven and on earth. The faithful and true Witnefs, the Alpha and Omega, when he takes bis folemn leave of us, in the conclusion of the records of Truth, teftifies both to his friends and foes, "Behold, I come quickly, bleffed is he that keepeth the fayings of the prophecy of this book." And again, "Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give unto every man according as his work fhall be." And yet again, He that teftifieth these things, faith, Surely I come quickly. To which the church replies, "Amen; fo come, Lord Jefus." Thus by three teftimonies from the lips of Eternal Veracity, is this glorious truth established. 5. But that a doctrine so fuperior to reason, and yet abfolutely certain and deeply interefling, might want want no kind of evidence calculated to gain it credit, meffengers were fent immediately from heaven to bear witness to it. Thus when our Lord had given his Apoftles their laft commiffion, and while they beheld, he was taken up from them, a cloud receiving him out of their fight; while they looked ftedfaftly toward heaven as he went up, behold two men ftood by them in white apparel, who alfo faid, Ye men of Galilee, why ftand ye gazing up into heaven? This fame Jefus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall fo come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven." The 6. This teftimony of the holy Angels, or of the Spirits of the Juft made perfect, is frequently confirmed by that of the Holy Spirit in the mouths of the Apostles. But as I would not be tedious, I forbear to quote any particular paffages, chufing rather to refer you to their fermons, as recorded by St. Luke in the Acts, and to their various epiftles, where you frequently meet with many glorious defcriptions of this grand event. teftimonies already produced are more than fufficient, not only to establish us in the firm belief of this comfortable truth, but alfo (which is most wanting) to imprefs it deeply upon our minds. Good reafon have we to fettle it in our hearts, that as our Lord is " gone before to prepare a place for us, fo he will come again to receive us to himself, that where he is we may be alfo; that to those who look for him he will appear the second time without fin unto falvation." Yes, "At the deftin'd period fhall return He, once on earth, who bled for human guilt, For then will he "change our vile bodies and render them like unto his glorious body." Then will will he be glorified in his faints, and admired in all that believe." 7. Let us reft affured then, tho' "the vifion is for an appointed time, yet in the end it fhall fpeak and fhall not lie. When the exact period fhall arrive indeed we know not, nor can we expect to know, fince (as our Lord affures us) it is kept a fecret not only from all the men upon earth,. but likewife from all the angels in heaven. But this we know, it will only be deferred till the mystery of God shall be finished; till the prophecies fhall be all fulfilled, and a fufficient number redeemed from among men.-If therefore any feoffers arife in thefe laft days, walking after their own lufts, and faying, Where is the promife of his coming? for ever fince the Fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were: we reply, "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." No time is long or fhort with him who is Eternal: He can do the work of a thousand years in one day, and a thousand years, nay, the longest time, is no delay to him. He is not therefore "flow concerning his promife of coming again, tho' fome men count it flownefs; but he is long-fuffering to us-ward, not willing that any fhould perish, but rather that all should come to repentance.' 8. But the day of the Lord will come," and that fuddenly and unexpectedly, as a thief in the night, fo that when men fhall fay, Peace and fafety, then fudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they fhall not escape." For, "Behold (fays Jefus) I come as a thief," at unawares, and "At fuch an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.Bleffed is he, therefore, that watcheth and keepeth his garments, left he walk naked, and they fee his hame. Watch we, therefore, for we know not at: For if we at what hour our Lord doth come. will not watch, he will come as a thief, and we fhall not know what hour he will come upon us. If, like the evil fervant, we fay in our heart, Our Lord delayeth his coming, and begin to fmite our fellow-fervants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, our Lord fhall come in a day when we look not for him, and in an hour that we are no aware of, and will cut us afunder, and appoint us our portion with hypocrites and unbelievers. There fhall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." The Certainty of our Lord's fecond coming be-ing evident beyond contradiction or difpute to all who credit the holy Scriptures, I proceed, as was propofed, to enquire next, more particularly, into the Manner of his coming, according to the reprefentation given of it in our text. For this too is doubtless a fubject of enquiry well worthy the attention of all who love our Lord Jefus in fincerity, to whom nothing that concerns him, will appear trivial or unimportant. Confider we then, 2dly. In what form, with what attendants; and in what circumftances he will appear. 1. Will God's Eternal Son again for our fakes diveft himself of his glory, relinquish his felicity, affume our nature and fuffer in our ftead? Being made flesh, will the Creator of all again become deftitute of every earthly accommodation, fo as not even to have "a place where to lay his head,' tho' the very "foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nefts?" Will he again endure hunger and thirft, cold and nakednefs, wearinefs and hardship of every kind? Will the fovereign Lord of the Univerfe, and the final Judge of Angels and of Men, again fuffer himself to be apprehended by his creatures, arraigned, tried and condemned; to be infulted, fpit upon, fcourged and crucified; crucified? Will the ever-bleffed Jefus again groan under a mountain of guilt, and fuftain the wrath of incenfed juftice, till he is constrained to confefs, that his foul is exceeding forrowful," and "fweat, as it were, great drops of blood ?" Will the Prince of Life again fuffer the pangs of death, and the Light of the World go out in darkness? 2. Oh, no! Thofe days of his humiliation and forrow are paft, and will return no more. For having vanquished his and our enemies upon thé crofs, and led them in triumph at his chariot wheels, when he afcended far above all heavens, in reward of his victorious fufferings, he is in vefted with power and dominion irrefiftible and eternal, and is raised to a throne of glory at the Father's right-hand. Because when he was in the form of God, he emptied himfelf, taking the form of a fervant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in the fashion of a man, humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death even the death of the cross; therefore God alfo hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name, that at the name of Jefu$ every knee should bow, of, thofe in heaven, and thofe in earth, and thofe under the earth, and every tongue fhould confefs that Jefus Chrift is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father." And now he reigns in blifs and glory fupreme, Sovereign of angels and men, King of kings, and Lord of lords. The government of the univerfe refts upon his fhoulders, and all perfons and things are at his difpofal and under his direction. 3. This dignity and glory of our exalted Lord is, however, hid from the world; and hence their difobedience to his commands, contempt of his authority, and neglect of his falvation. But at his fecond coming he will be manifefted in all his ex'cellent majefty, and therefore it is called the reve→ |