Christ's government shall be openly victorious

IT is not only said, judgment shall be victorious, but that Christ will bring it openly forth to victory. Whence we observe, that grace shall be glory, and run into the eyes of all. Now Christ doth conquer, and hath his own ends, but it is in some sort invisibly : his enemies within and without us seem to have the better. But he will bring forth judgment unto victory, to the view of all. The wicked that now shut their eyes shall see it to their torment. It shall not be in the power of subtle men to see or not see what they would; Christ will have power over their hearts ; and as his wrath shall immediately seize upon their souls against their wills, so will he have power over the eyes of their souls, to see and know what will increase their misery; grief shall be fastened to all their senses, and their senses to grief.

Then all the false glosses which they put upon things shall be wiped off. Men are desirous to have the reputation of good, and yet the sweetness of ill; nothing so cordially opposed by them, as that truth which layeth them open to themselves, and to the eyes of others ; their chief care being how to daub with the world and their own consciences. But the time will come when they shall be driven out of this fools’ paradise, and the more subtle their conveyance of things hath been, the more shall be their shame. Christ, whom God hath chosen to set forth the chief glory of ‘nis excellencies, is now veiled in regard of his body ‘the church, but will come ere long to be glorious in his saints, 2 Thes. i. 10, and not lose the clear manifestation of any of his attributes ; and will declare ‘0 all the world what he is, when there shall be no glory but that of Christ and his spouse. Those that are as smoking flax now shall then shine as the sun n the firmament, Matt. xiii. 43, and their righteousness break forth as the noon-day, Psalm xxxvii. 6. The image of God in Adam had a commanding majesty in it, so that all creatures reverenced him; much more shall the image of God in the perfection of it command respect in all. Even now there is a secret awe put into the hearts of the greatest, towards “hose in whom they see any grace to. shine, from whence it was that Herod feared John Baptist ; but what will this be in their day of bringing forth, which us called the day of the revelation of the sons of (God? Rom. viii. 19. There will be more glorious times when the kingdoms of the earth shall be the Lord Jesus Christ's, (Rev. xi. 10, and he shall for ever reign ; then shall judgment and truth have its victory ; then Christ will plead his own cause; truth shall no longer be called heresy and schism, nor heresy Catholic doctrine ; wickedness shall no longer go masked and disguised ; goodness shall appear in its own lustre, and shine in ‘its own beams; things shall be what they are, nothing is hidden but shall be laid open, Matt. x. 26; iniquity ‘shall not be carried in a mystery any longer; deep dissemblers, that think to hide their counsels from the Lord, shall walk no longer invisible as in the clouds, As Christ will not quench the least spark kindled by himself, so will he damp the fairest blaze of goodly appearances which are not from above.

If this were believed, men would make more account of sincerity, which will only give us boldness, and not seek for cover-shames; the confidence whereof, as it maketh men now more presumptuous, so it will expose them hereafter to the greater shame.

If judgment shall be brought forth to victory, then those that have been ruled by their own deceitful hearts, and a spirit of error, shall be brought forth to disgrace: that God that hath joined grace and truth with honour, hath joined sin and shame together at last; all the wit and power of man can never be able to sever what God hath coupled. Truth and piety may be trampled upon for a time, but as the two witnesses, Rev. xi. 11, after they were slain rose again, and stood upon their feet; so whatsoever is of God shall at length stand upon its own bottom. There shall be a resurrection not only of bodies but of credits. Can we think he that threw the angels out of heaven will suffer dust and worm’s meat to run a contrary course, and to carry it away always so? No; as verily as Christ is King of kings, and Lord of lords, Rev.xix. 16, so will he dash all those pieces of earth which rise up against him as a potter’s vessel, Psalm ii. 9. Was there ever any fierce against God and prospered? Job ix. 4; No, doubtless the rage of man shall turn to Christ’s praise. Psalm lxxvi. 10. What was said of Pharaoh shall be said of all heady enemies, who had rather lose their souls than their wills, that they are but raised up for Christ to get himself glory in their confusion.

Let us, then, take heed that we follow not the ways of those men, whose ends we shall tremble at: there is not a more fearful judgment can befall the nature of man, than to be given up to a reprobate judgment of persons and things, because it cometh under a woe to call ill good, and good ill, Isaiah v. 20.

How will they be laden with curses another day, that abuse the judgment of others by sophistry and flattery, deceivers, and being deceived? Then the complaint of our first mother Eye will be taken up but fruitlessly, Gen. xiii. 3; the serpent hath deceived me: Satan in such and such hath deceived me; sin hath deceived me; a foolish heart hath deceived me. It is one of the highest points of wisdom to consider upon what grounds we venture our souls. Happy men will they be, who have by Christ's light a right judgment of things, and suffer that judgment to prevail over their hearts.

The soul of most men is drowned in their senses, and carried away with weak opinions, raised from vulgar mistakes and shadows of things. And Satan is ready to enlarge the imagination of outward good and outward ill, and make it greater than it is, and spiritual things less, presenting them through false - glasses. And so men, trusting in vanity, vanquish themselves in their own apprehensions. A woful condition, when both we and that which we highly esteem shall vanish together, which will be as truly as Christ’s judgment shall come to victory ; and in what measure the vain heart of man hath been enlarged, to conceive a greater good in things of this world than there is, by so much the soul shall be enlarged to be more sensible of misery when it sees its error. This is the difference betwixt a godly wise man, and a deluded worldling ; that which the one doth now judge to be vain, the other shall hereafter feel to be so when it is too late. But this is the vanity of our natures, that though we shun above all things to be deceived and mistaken in present things, yet in the greatest matters of all we are willingly ignorant and misled.