Christ



He is appointed by the Father to be Judge of quick and dead at the last day, (John 5:22, 23,) as well as to rule all now. So that if you do maintain enmity against him, he may let you alone, you may live in health and die in peace, in the eye of man, and in thine own eyes, too; yet there is a day coming he will break out of heaven, with a shout, and appear in the clouds, in the amazing glory of his Father, "with all his mighty angels, and all the dead shall hear his voice," and you shall appear before him with this body, when the heavens shall burn round about him, and the earth shall tremble under him, and all guilty eyes mourning and wailing because of him. Then you shall know what it is to despise him, and wish, O that I had loved him. Rev. 1:7. You that say you love him, yet by an impenitent heart pierce him, you shall wail, even so, Amen. Men do not see an end of these things, nor the glory of the Lord another day. Hence creatures are loved, and the Lord of glory is loathed. A great prince may not be so highly esteemed until he appears in his state. Prisoners would give any money (much more love) for the judge's favour.
 He only is the procurer and author of all the good that ever thou didst suck out here, though thou hast neither known him, nor been thankful to him. For look, as it was with angels, so it should have been with man; the wrath of God should have been poured out upon him, and on all the world, and creatures should have been tormentors of him, but that the Lord Jesus begged and bought the world. And hence (1 Tim. 4:10) called "Saviour of all, but chiefly of the elect." Micah 4:4, "In his days, men shall sit under vines and fig trees." So that if ever any creature ever did thee good, it was Jesus that put that sweetness in it, out of his fullness, and set it a work, sent it to thee, gave it thee to do thee good. Thou shouldst never have had wink of sleep, never restrained from one sin, but lived in blaspheming God, never have heard of a gospel but for Christ. and will you not love him? O ungrateful world! Unnatural generation of men! Why dost thou love any creature? It is for the paint of it and good in it. If there be so much in it, what is there in Christ that gave it, that dropped it into it? Never love him if there be any thing good that is not by him. Ps. 116:1, "The Lord hath heard my prayer; I will call on him as long as I live." Much more when the Lord hath delivered, and thou didst never seek to him.

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