was wroth, and fent forth his Armies, and deftroy'd thofe Murtherers, and burnt up their City, and fent and invited others to the Marriage; tho it primarily refer to the Deftruction, of the Jewish Nation, for their rejecting their Meffias, and calling the Gentiles into the Church, yet is founded on the fame reafon, that God will рцnifh our abuse of his Grace; and all the Invita tions of the Gospel, as a gracious, but affronted Prince would punish his Subjects in fuch a cafe.

But the Parable of the Wheat and Tares 13. Matth. 24, &c. is very obfervable, because it gives an account why God does not deftroy all bad men in this World, and yet that he will punish the wicked, and reward the good, in the next world: A man foweth good feed in the field, and while men flept, his enemy came and fowed tares; but when the blade Sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares alfo. This our Saviour expounds, V: 37,&c. He that foweth good feed, is the Jon of man; the field is the world; the good feed are the children of the kingdom, (that is, good Chriftians) but the tares are the children of the wicked one (that is, bad men.) The enemy that fowed them is the Devil, (as our Saviour tells fuch men, Te are of your father the devil, and his works je do.). The Servants of the Houfholder having informed their Mafter of what had happened, ask him, Whether they fhould go and gather up the Tares; But be faid, Nay, left while he gather up the tares, ye, root up alfo the wheat with them: Let them both grow together till the barveft; and in the time of barveft [ will fay to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tures, and bind them into bundles to burn them; but G

gather

gather the wheat into my barn. Which he thus expounds: The barveft is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels; (for fo our Saviour tells us, he muft come in the glory of his Father, with his angels, who are the Minifters and Executioners of his Juftice.) As therefore the Tares are gathered and burnt in the fire, fo fhall it be in the end of the world: The Son of man shall fend forth his angels, and they fhall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and fhall caft them into a furnace of fire; there fhall be wailing and nashing of teeth. Then fhall the righteous fhine forth like the fun in the kingdom of their Father. This we muft confefs was wifely confidered by theHouseholder, not to deftroy theWheat with the Tares, but rather fuffer them both to grow up together till the Harveft, than to pluck up the Wheat be fore it be ripe, together with the Tares; and this is as good a reafon why God does not deftroy all bad men in this World, becaufe good and bad men are intermixt, and all bad men cannot be destroy'd here, but good men muft fuffer with them, as I have already fhew'd you at large: And therefore bad men cannot be finally punished, nor good men finally rewarded, till they are firft parted; for to root up the Tares here, fignifies the final Extirpation and Deftruction of all bad men, not the cafting bad men out of the Communion of the Church, nay, not putting Hereticks to death, to which fome apply thefeWords; which were it reconcileable with the other Laws, and withtheGenius and Spirit of Chriftianity as it is not would be as reconcileable with this Parable, as the Execution of any otherMalefactorsis; this may

be

be done without deftroying the Wheat, nay, in fome cafes the Wheat may be preferved by it; for the Punishment and Execution of fome bad men, is neceffary to preferve the Innocent: but when the Tares are more than the Wheat, grow clofe together, and are entangled in each other, as the Interefts of good and bad men are intermixt and interwoven in this World, there is great reafon to fpare the Tares for the fake of the Wheat.

But the Tares muft not expect to efcape thus always; a wife Houfholder in the time of Harvest will order the Reapers to feparate between the Tares and the Wheat, and then the Tares fhall be burnt, and the Wheat gathered into the Barn; and thus Chrift will feparate between good and bad men at the Laft Judgment, and allot them very different Portions: All this is very reafonable; thus a Wife Man will do, and therefore this. we must expect from the Wife and Juft Judge of the World!

This Parable of the Wheat and Tares which grow together in the fame Field, reprefents the Mixture of Believers and Infidels, the Chriftian Church, and the Men of this World here: But the following Parable of the Net, v. 47. which was caft into the Sea, and gathered of every kind, reprefents the mixture of good and bad men in the Communion of the Chriftian Church; for thus our Saviour tells his Apoftles, that he would make them Fishers of Men and gave them a Figure of the Succefs of their Ministry, in that miraculous Draught of Fishes, after they had toiled all the Night, and had taken nothing, 5. Luke 5, 6. which he repeated again after his Refurrection

i

G 2

from

from the Dead, 21. John 6, &c. So that the Net fignifies the Communion of the Chriftian Church, which gathers both good and bad; but when this Net is drawn to fhore, they gather the good into Veffels, but cast the bad away; that is, at the end of the World, the Angels fhall not only feparate between the Church and the World, between Believers and Infidels, but between good and bad Chriftians who live together in the fame Communion in this World: The angels fhall come forth and fever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire, there fhall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Thus we fee in thefe Parables our Saviour does not only prove that God will judge the World, but convinces us of the Neceffity and Reasonablenefs of this, by appealing to the common Rules of Prudence and Juftice among men: Thus all wife. and juft Princes and Houfholders will do, deftroy Traytors and Rebels, revenge the abuse of their Favours, call their Stewards to an account, reward the Labour and Improvements of faithful, Servants, and punifh the flothful and unprofitable, feparate the Wheat and Tares at Harveft, though they grow up together in the fame Field, and feparate between the good and bad Fifh, the caught in the fame Net; and therefore thus God will do,who is not lefs Wife, and Juft, and Holy, than Men are. And this gives Authority to all the Arguments for a Future Judgment, drawn from the Reafon and Nature of things: Thus our Saviour Reasons, and thus he has taught us to reafon; for the fundamental Principle on which all thefe Parables reft, is this, That whatever is manifeftly juft, and wife, and reasonable

for

for Men to do, that God will do. If this be not true, the Parables of our Saviour have his Authority, but have no Reason, tho the nature of fuchParables is an Appeal to the Reason of Mankind; and if this be true, then we may argue thus in other cafes, which are equally plain and obvious, and are founded upon the fame Reafon; which gives a kind of Divine Authority to the plain and neceffary Dictates of Reafon in this matter; and then I'm fure I have furnished you with Reafons enough already for the Belief of a Future Judg

ment.

3. The whole Chriftian Religion is founded on, and adapted to the Belief of a Future Judgment, and is a very unintelligible Inftitution without it: And therefore this must be a first Principle to allwho call themselves Chriftians, if they underftand the Religion they profess: As to fhew this particularly:

1. The chief Promifes and Threatnings of the Gofpel relate to the otherWorld; Godliness, indeed, bath the promise of the life that now is, as well as that which is to come; but the Temporal Promifes made to a holy and virtuous Life, are fuch as worldly-minded men cannot much value; they extend no farther than Food and Raiment, to our daily Bread, which is all our Saviour hath taught us to pray for; and therefore it teaches us, Having food and raiment, therewith to be content: But who could be contented with fuch a fcanty Provision,while he fees the greater Profperity of bad men, who diffolve in Eafe and Luxury,were there not a happy State referved for them in the next World? Where is the man who would not comply with the Devil's Temptation to fall G 3 down

1 Tim.6.2.