ever is impoffible to Him, doth not any way difprove Him to be Almighty, but only fhews that his Knowledge, Veracity, Holinefs, and other Perfections, are as effential to Him as his Power. By being able to do all things confiftent with his Perfections, He demonstrates infinite Strength And by not being able to do any thing repugnant to the fame Perfections, He demonftrates Himself fubject to no Impotence or Infirmity. The Profeffion of our Faith in Chrift as fitting on the Right Hand of GOD is neceffary, First, to remind us of our Duty. Enemies we all have been, under his Feet we shall all be; either adopted, or fubdu'd. Subject we must be whether we will or no; yet, if willingly, then is our Service perfect Freedom; if unwillingly, then is our Stubbornness everlasting Mifery. Secondly to affure us of his aufpicious Protection. By this Exaltation, GOD hath given Him to be the Head over all things to the Church. The very Name of Head hath the Signification not only of Dominion, but of Union; and therefore while we look on Him at the Right Hand of GOD, we see our felves in Heaven. This is the fpecial Promife which He has made us fince his exalted State: To him that overcometh will I grant to fit with me in my Throne, even as I also overcame, and am fet down with my Father in his Throne. How fhould we rejoice; ra- Rev. iii. 21. ther, how should we fear and tremble, at fo great an Honour? Thirdly, in refpect of its immediate Confequence of it, his Gracious Interceffion. Whereas every Prieft according to the Law ftood daily miniftring, and offering oftentimes the (ame Sacrifices which could never take away Sins; our bleffed Lord, after He had offered one Sacrifice for Sins for ever, fat down on the right hand of GOD. He which was accepted in his Oblation, and † Heb. X. 11, 12, therefore fat down on GOD's Right Hand, to improve this Acceptation, continues his Interceffion; and having obtain'd all Power by vertue of his Humiliation, reprefents them both in the fweeteft Mixture, by an humble Omnipotency, or omnipotent Humility. What then remains to all true Believers, but that triumphant Exclamation of the Apostle, Who shall lay any thing to the Charge of GOD's Elect? It is GOD that juftifieth; who is he that condemneth? It is Chrift that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of GOD, who also maketh Interceffion for us *. Rom. viii 33,340 It +James iv. 12. : It is likewife, in many refpects, neceffary to profefs our Belief of GOD's Omnipotence, according to the Senfe of this Article. As first, to beget in us a true Fear, and a regular Obedience. Our GOD is a great GOD, mighty, and terrible: Therefore terrible because mighty. It was a powerful Perfuafive to Obedience, that Command of GOD to Abraham, I am the Gen. xvii. 1. Almighty GOD, walk before me, and be thou perfect*. And it is a proper Incentive to the Obfervation of the Divine Law, that there is one Lawgiver, who is able to fave and to deftroy t. Secondly, to fupport our Faith The Objects of Faith are beyond all Natural and Finite Power; and did they not require an infinite Activity, our Affent unto them would not deferve the Name of Faith. If GOD were not Almighty, we should believe nothing But fince He is fo, why fhould we not gladly believe any thing which He has propounded to us? This Influence it has on our Speculative Faith; nor less on our Operative Faith, or our reliance on GOD's Promifes. This was the particular Confidence of Abraham the Father of the Faithful; who ftaggered not at the Promife of GOD through Unbelief; but was strong in Faith, giving Glory to GOD, and being fully perfuaded that what •Rom. iv. 20,21. He had promifed He was able allo to perform *. Every good Chriftian may fay with the Apoftle, I know whom I have believed; and I am perfuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him, again that day. We have full affurance, that if we are of our Saviour's Flock, and hear his Voice, the Powers of Darkness, and the Gates of Hell, can never prevail against us: It was his own Declaration; My Father which gave them me is greater than all; and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand* Laftly, to give Life and Spirit to our Devotions. In the Form of Prayer which our Lord Himfelf has taught us, we conclude our Petitions with this Acknowledgment; for thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: This is the Confidence which we have in GOD, that if we ask any thing according to his Will, he beareth us. And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the Petitions that we defired of +1 Joh. v. 14.15. him; of Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above Eph.iii. 20. all that we ask or think*. †2 Tim. i. 12. Joh. x. 29. ARTICLE ARTICLE VII. From thence he thall come to judge the Duick and the Dead. I Am fully perfuaded of this, as of an infallible and neceffary Truth, that the Eternal Son of GOD, in that Human Nature in which He died and rofe again, and afcended into Heaven, fhall certainly come (a) from the fame Heaven into which He afcended (b), and at his Coming fhall gather together all those which fhall be then alive, and all which ever lived, and fhall be before that Day dead: When caufing them All to ftand before his Judgment-Seat, He fhall judge them All according to their Works done in the Flesh; and paffing the Sentence of Condemnation upon all the Reprobates, fhall deliver them to be tormented with the Devil and his Angels; and pronouncing the Sentence of Abfolution upon all the Elect, fhall translate them into his Glorious Kingdom, of which there fhall be no End (d). (a) It : Jude 14. an. vii. 13,14. (a) It was before obferved, that the Jewish Fiction of a double Meffias, is really of Advantage to our Faith, by giving Teftimony to the double Condition of the Melfias, which the Scriptures fo clearly reprefent. As often as we read of his Griefs and Humility, fo often are we admonished of his coming to fuffer: As often as we hear of his Power and Glory, fo often are we affur'd of his coming to judge. Particularly of this fecond Advent, Enoch the feventh from Adam prophefied, faying, Be hold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his Angels". And more particularly, Daniel faw the Reprefentation of hiş Judiciary Power and Glory: Jaw in the Night Visions, and behold one like the Son of Man came with the Clouds of Heaven, and came to the Antient of Days, and they brought him before him. And there was given him Dominion and Glory, and a Kingdom, that all People, Nations, and Languages, fhould ferve him his Dominion is an everlasting Doinion, which shall not pass away, and his Kingdom that which shall not be deftroyed t. The Jews acknowledge this to be a Defcription of the Meffias, and of his Coming in Glory. But here, without having recourse to the former Abfurdity, they have a new Evafion, affirming, That this glorious Advent defcrib'd by Daniel fhould only happen, if they continued to ferve and please GOD; but if they went on in their Sins, the Meffias fhould come in the lowly manner defcrib'd by Zachary. Whereas the two Defcriptions being both Predictions, are both infallibly to be fulfill'd. That our Lord hall thus come the fecond time, as the Angels declared at his Afcenfion, fo He Himself has taught us to expect: For the Son of Man fhall come in the Mat. xvi. 27. Glory of his Father, with his Angels*. And this glorious Attendance of Angels the Jews understood by the Expreffion of Coming with Clouds in Daniel's Vifion, which is alfo ufed in St. John's Prophefy; Behold He cometh with Clouds, and every Eye fhall fee Him, and they al So which pierced Himt. As, from the Beginning, He was known by the Style of Him that was to come, fo is He ftill to be known by the fame Appellation: For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come Rev. i. 7. Heb. x. 37. ὁ ἐρχόμενος મંગલ. + Acts iii. 21. (b) For, the Heavens must receive Him, till the time of the Reftitution of all things t, and when that time is fulfilled, the Lord Himself fhall defcend from Heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the Trump * Phil. iii. 20. of GODt. Our Converfation ought to be in Heaven; be- tx The. iv. 16, caufe from thence we look for a Saviour, the Lord Jefus Our High-Prieft is gone up into the Holy of Holies, there to make an Atonement for us: As therefore, the People of Ifrael ftood without the Tabernacle, expecting the return of Aaron, fo muft we look unto the Heavens, and expect Chrift from thence; when the Lord Fefus fhall be revealed from Heaven, with his mighty Angels". (e) Four Particulars deferve here to be illaftrated : 1. The affurance of a Judgment to come. II. The Defignation of the Perfon who is to judge. III. The Object of the Judgment, or the Perfons to be judg❜d. IV. The manner of the Performance. a Theff. i. I. That there is a Judgment to come after this Life, is demonftrable as well from the Confideration of our selves who are to undergo it, as of GOD who is to execute it. Since we have not only an antecedent and directive, but also a fubfequent and reflexive Confcience; a Principle which not only allows and approves our good Actions, but also creates a Complacency, and Confidence in us; not only disapproves, and condemns our Evil Actions, but also accufeth us, and breeds in us a fearful Expectation and Terror; and all this without the leaft regard to any thing which in the prefent Life we can fuffer or enjoy; it follows, that this Confcience which in the former part of its Office is a Judge, in the latter is a Witnefs, referv'd and bound over to a greater Judgment. And thus all Men are a Law unto themfelves, having the Work of the Law written in their hearts, their Confcience also bearing witness, and their Thoughts the mean while accufing or excufing one another, in the day when GOD fhall judge the Secrets of Men*. The fame may be Rom. i. 15, evinced from the Confideration of GOD, either in his Nature, or in his Word. Whoever confeffeth a GOD, muft fay likewife, verily there is a GOD who judgeth the Eartht. And fince this Judge of all the Earth will infal- †Pfal. Iviii. 11. libly do right; and yet this Right is not done in tem- *Gen. xviïï asj poral Rewards and Punishments; it remains, that He is hereafter to judge the World in Righteousness, and to give a perfe&t Demonftration of his exact and accomplish'd Jatice. And what we infer from his Nature, He has exprefly declar'd and proclaim'd in his Word. It is appointed unto Men once to die, but after this the Judgment ; † Heb. ix. 27, the |