must have had some view in giving him existence, and more understanding than to the beasts of the field, neither can it be a matter of indifference to him whether man acts agreeably or contrary to his designs. The Creator of the natural world is also its moral ruler; and if he is now the proprietor and ruler of intelligent beings, at some time or other he must also be their judge.

If God had not made his will known unto man, there could have been neither transgression nor judgment. If it should be said that God has not manifested himself alike unto all men, and that some have much smaller opportunities to know his will and their duty than others, it is enough to observe, that no man will be judged by a rule of which it was impossible he should have any knowledge. Every work and every man will be brought into judgment, and the judgment of God will never be otherwise than according to truth; but those that never had the law of liberty will not be judged by that law; and those that have been favoured with the revelation of the gospel, will be more inexcusable than any others if they neglect the day of their visitation. “As many as have sinned without law, shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law.” Rom. ii. 12. All men are under some law; they feel, they are conscious, that they are so; the thoughts which already excuse or condemn one another, are an anticipation of a final and decisive judgment, when every man’s reward will be according to his works.

That all those who heard and professed to believe the gospel will be finally judged by that, we have the fullest assurance. God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to his gospel. “The word that I have spoken,” saith Christ, “the same will judge them that heard it on the last day.” John xii. 48. It greatly interests us clearly to know what is the import and consequence of being judged by the gospel as a law of liberty, and it contains the following things:

The general character, all the thoughts, words, and actions, together with the general conduct of all those who professed the gospel, will be brought to the test, and tried by this rule. Man’s own opinion of himself, the good opinion of others, will here stand him in no stead; his character will not be determined by his external appearance, but by his inward reality. “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” 1 Sam. xvii. 7. The self-righteous pharisee will be rejected, notwithstanding his fair appearance and boasting; the penitent publican will be received, though he has nothing to plead, but Lord have mercy on me a sinner. The law is spiritual, and no law more so than the law of the gospel; it requires not merely an external obedience, but an internal conformity to the will of God; it demands truth in the inward part; it looks not only to the actions that are done, but to the principle from which they flow; we must judge of man’s inward disposition by his visible action; but God judges of the actions of men according to their invisible spring; thoughts are out of the reach of human cognizance, but they are the first object of divine notice: there is not a word that drops from our tongue but what our judge hears; whatever we do, or whatever we neglect, is all under his immediate eye; and he not only attends to our general character, but also to every thought, Word, or action, and the prevailing complexion of all these taken together form our true and real character.

In the judgment, according to this law, our character, words, thoughts, and actions will be brought to the test of this rule; our conduct will be compared with these precepts; this is the balance of the sanctuary in which the professors of the gospel shall be weighed, and as they shall be found approved or deficient, their case must be determined. Those whose temper and actions shall be found conformable to the law of liberty, will be acquitted, graciously accepted, and made ever happy; and those who turned the grace of God into wantonness, and made the liberty of the gospel a cloak for their sins, will be finally rejected. The gospel informs us, that a day is already appointed for that purpose; it acquaints us with the person of our judge, and every circumstance, as well as the rule, according to which he will proceed in judgment. Perhaps on that day, when all nations shall appear before the judge, and he will divide them as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats, distinct places will also be allotted to those who are to be judged by natural conscience and the law of nature, and those who have been favoured with a divine revelation, and especially with the light of the gospel: the people of Nineveh will arise against empty professors of the gospel, and will condemn them. Those who have been exalted above others in means and privileges, will sit proportionably lower than those who have made a better improvement of lesser means; and, notwithstanding the fondest hope and finest profession, it is a determined rule of the law of liberty, that “except our righteousness shall exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, we shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

It deserves our peculiar attention, that the Apostle considers the gospel as a law of liberty, at the same time when he sets it before us as the rule by which we are to be judged. We are not to imagine because the gospel is a law of liberty, therefore men will not be judged; on the contrary, judgment will be the more severe against all who have heard and professed the gospel, and yet walked contrary to its precepts and doctrine. As the transgression of a law of liberty must be more inexcusable than the transgression of a law unjust or oppressive in itself, or even the ceremonial law, which was given only for a certain period, and to answer temporary purposes, so their judgment and doom must be proportionably heavier, who have sinned against love and liberty, as well as against power and justice.

According to this law the fate of men will not only be determined, but sentence will also be put into execution. God sitteth on the throne of judgment every day, and judgeth righteously; but he hath moreover appointed a particular day when he will manifest his power and justice before the whole creation; when the dead, both small and great, will stand before God; when those that acted agreeable to the law of liberty, will attain the fulness of glory of the freedom of the sons of God, and when he will also take vengeance on all that have not known God, and have not obeyed his holy gospel. This naturally leads to the second thing proposed, to take a nearer view of the importance of the exhortation, “So speak, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.”

It seems as though the Apostle had an eye to some particular branch of the law of liberty, i.e. the love which we owe unto our neighbour, and that his design is to obviate the mistake as though men might be considered as fulfilling the law of Christ, in paying respect to some of its commands and prohibitions, at the same time that they were entirely regardless of the rest. He assures them, that “whosoever shall keep the whole law, but shall transgress in one point” (e.g. having respect of persons) “is guilty of all.” On this principle the Apostle builds the general exhortation, “So speak, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” This implies,

1. Be thoroughly convinced of the certainty of a judgment to come, and that it extends to you, to all your thoughts, words, and actions. There is not any truth of greater moment, nor perhaps more easily forgotten. The belief or unbelief of this important doctrine must have the most sensible effects. All the Apostles frequently put their hearers in mind of a judgment to come; and there is not any truth more necessary to be frequently inculcated and daily thought on; and wherever this truth is really believed and felt, it will have a constant and natural influence on the behaviour of those who truly believe it.

2. See to it that in judgment you may stand. All men will be brought into judgment, but few will be able to stand; none will be excused, or be able to withdraw, and only those who have acted worthily will meet with the divine acceptance. The difference will be amazing and beyond all conception: an eternity of happiness, which eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and which never entered into the heart of any man, lies on the one side; and despair, misery, and torment on the other. Those that are able to stand, will meet with the smiles and approbation of their judge; and to all the rest the King will say, “These mine enemies that would not have me to bear rule over them, bring them here, and slay them before mine eyes.” Those that believe and are convinced of this awful alternative, should certainly make it their care that they may be able to stand in judgment; neither should the persuasion of this only influence their conduct in general, but these words ought to be considered as a rule, which we ought to have