(3.) As to the keeping off of temporal Judgments, the very Society and Neighbourhood of the Godly may be a Means to respite the wicked. Jer. 5.1. Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man that executeth judgement, that seeketh the truth, and I will pardon it. If they are not pardoned, they may be respited for a time: So the sentence against Sodom, we read that if ten righteous persons had been found therein, Gen. 18.32. God would have spared it. And God gave Paul the Lives of all them that sailed in the Ship with him, for his sake: As to temporal things, God may stay the Judgment upon others for the Godlies sake, though not always; for 'tis said Ezek. 14.14. Though Noah, Daniel, and Job stood before me, they should deliver but their own Souls by their own righteousness. When the Decree was irrevocably past, and their provocations grown to an insufferable height: So 'tis said in the Jewish Proverb, That two dry sticks may set a green one on fire: To which Christ is supposed to allude, when he saith, If this be done to the green Tree, what shall be done to the dry? Well, but bating these Cases, we shall not be the better for others Righteousness, and this is often pressed in Scripture: Hab. 2.4. The just shall live by his Faith; by his own, not by another mans. Ezek. 18.20. The Soul that sinneth it shall die; the Son shall not bear the iniquity of the Father, nor shall the Father bear the iniquity of the Son: The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. That is, as to eternal Rewards and Punishments, every one is to be considered according to their own personal Estate: Every Tub shall stand upon its own bottom, and every Soul shall be dealt with according to its own capacity. So Rom. 14.12. Every one of us shall give an account of himself to God. We shall give an account of our own thoughts, words and actions; not shuffled together by the lump, and in gross, but every one severally: One shall not appear for another, as here we may appear by Proctor or Attorney; nor the whole Party and Profession for single persons: But every one is to give an account of himself apart, man by man. So Gal. 6.4, 5.
(3.) As to the keeping off of temporal Judgments, the very Society and Neighbourhood of the Godly may be a Means to respit the wicked. Jer. 5.1. Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man that executeth judgement, that seeketh the truth, and I will pardon it. If they are not pardoned, they may be respited for a time: So the sentence against Sodom, we read that if ten righteous persons had been found therein, Gen. 18.32. God would have spared it. And God gave Paul the Lives of all them that sailed in the Ship with him, for his sake: As to temporal things, God may stay the Judgment upon others for the Godlies sake, though not alwayes; for 'tis said Ezek. 14.14. Though Noah, Daniel, and Job stood before me, they should deliver but their own Souls by their own righteousness. When the Decree was irrevocably past, and their provocations grown to an insufferable height: So 'tis said in the Jewish Proverb, That two dry sticks may set a green one on fire: To which Christ is supposed to allude, when he saith, If this be done to the green Tree, what shall be done to the dry? Well, but bating these Cases, we shall not be the better for others Righteousness, and this is often pressed in Scripture: Hab. 2.4. The just shall live by his Faith; by his own, not by another mans. Ezek. 18.20. The Soul that sinneth it shall die; the Son shall not bear the iniquity of the Father, nor shall the Father bear the iniquity of the Son: The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. That is, as to eternal Rewards and Punishments, every one is to be considered according to their own personal Estate: Every Tub shall stand upon its own bottom, and every Soul shall be dealt with according to its own capacity. So Rom. 14.12. Every one of us shall give an account of himself to God. We shall give an account of our own thoughts, words and actions; not shuffled together by the lump, and in gross, but every one severally: One shall not appear for another, as here we may appear by Proctor or Atturney; nor the whole Party and Profession for single persons: But every one is to give an account of himself apart, man by man. So Gal. 6.4, 5.