THE LAST JUDGMENT. 125 -no fault will be found with the decisions. Every mouth will be stopped, and every one will confess that the Judge is just when he judgeth, and clear when he condemneth. Thus the once babe of Bethlehem shall sit on the throne of the universe, and judge every man according to his works. MARCH 17. The Sentence of the Righteous. "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."-Matt. xxv. 34. THE kingdom prepared-the manner of possession—and the saints' introduction to it, here require our attention. The kingdom prepared.-Think of its divine origin. It is "prepared from the foundation of the world." The kingdom was from the beginning appointed and designed for the righteous, not according to any new plan, but by an eternal arrangement, and Jesus by his death opened up the way to it, and secured the entrance of his followers. Think of its great glory. It is a "kingdom." Jesus is its great King. Its vast extent, its innumerable inhabitants, its unrivalled grandeur, its delightful employments, and its exquisite enjoyments, shall satisfy the utmost capacity of the soul. Think of its endless duration. It cannot be moved. All other kingdoms have their rise, decline, and fall; but this kingdom is everlasting. They were sunbeams, but this is the sun. They were drops, but this is the ocean. How short is life in the kingdoms of earth, but in this kingdom it is "life eternal." The manner of possession." Inherit." The righteous are the sons of God, and heirs. Hence they get this kingdom, not by purchase, but by grace-not by merit, but through their relationship to Christ. The sentence, it is true, is passed upon them according to their works, but 126 THE SENTENCE OF THE RIGHTEOUS. not for their works, nor yet for their faith. It is according to their works flowing from a renewed and sanctified heart, not on the ground of acquittal, but as the evidence of union to Christ. Their title to heaven is in Christ, and their works are nothing more than evidence to themselves and all others of the reality of their title. O my soul, thy title is written in letters of blood, but it is the atoning blood of Jesus. Through faith in Christ I become a child of God, I am received into his family, I am an heir, a joint-heir with Christ, and in due time, and at the right time, I get the inheritance. Blessed inheritance! thou art the summit of my ambition! The saints' introduction to it.-"Come, ye blessed of my Father." In the presence of the assembled universe, Jesus says to all on his right hand, "Come." They may have been despised of men, but now they are recognized, and honoured, and welcomed to glory. They are called "blessed." Their happiness is complete. Their King calls them blessed, and their blessedness cannot be reversed nor diminished. They are "blessed of my Father." The Father is the source of all good. Heaven is his house, and those who enter it are made happy by him, and fitted for its unbounded enjoyments. In the gospel, Christ says to all, without exception and without distinction, "Come," but in the great day of judgment, only those on his right. hand shall hear, "Come, ye blessed," come and welcome! MARCH 18. The Sentence of the Wicked. 'Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."-Matt. xxv. 41. HERE we have the parties-the punishment-and the duration. The parties."Ye cursed." These are the wicked of THE SENTENCE OF THE WICKED. 127 all kinds and of all countries; those having the law, as well as those who, having it not, are a law unto themselves; for "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.' These are infidels and practical atheists who, in words as well as in works, declare that there is no God and no day of reckoning. These are neglecters of Christ, though outwardly moral and fair in the eyes of men. And these are unholy professors of religion. "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." Oh, how will the sight of the Great Judge overwhelm all the cursed! how earnestly will they cry, O rocks, O mountains, cover us; but they shall cry in vain! The punishment.-"Depart from me." This includes separation from Christ, from the righteous, from heaven, from all good. They who said to Christ on earth, "Depart from me," have the same measure meted to them now. Not only are they separated from Christ; they are cast into the lake of fire. The fire of Tophet, how dreadful, how intense, how justly merited! On earth they were unbelievers, scoffers, prayerless; but now they are believers to their cost, agonizing sufferers, and earnest petitioners, but too late. What companions! "the devil and his angels," blaspheming companions, and tormenting fiends. O my soul, come not thou into their secret! "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" The duration. "Everlasting." The sufferers shall have everlasting existence. "They shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Men may sin away their time, but they cannot sin away their eternity. They may 128 THE SENTENCE OF THE WICKED. plunge into wickedness, but they cannot plunge into oblivion. Their punishment shall be "everlasting." "There is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot." Men may dream of annihilation and universal restoration, but "these shall go away into everlasting punishment," and shall find that the soul is not only lost, but for ever lost. "The worm dieth not." "The fire is not quenched." "The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever." All this shall be aggravated by the certain knowledge that their punishment shall be without hope of mitigation, without hope of alteration, and without hope of termination. MARCH 19. The Happiness of Heaven. In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."-Psalm xvi. 11. THE glorious place-the great happiness-and the endless duration merit our earnest consideration. The glorious place." In thy presence, at thy right hand." This is the presence of Christ, and his presence constitutes heaven. Heaven is a place, because Enoch and Elijah and Christ, glorified in body and soul, are there; and Christ says, "Where I am, there shall also my servant be." It is a place of glory and dignity. The presence of Christ sheds a radiance of glory that ravishes every soul; and "the right hand," where King Solomon placed his mother Bathsheba, is the place of honour and dignity. The presence of Christ, the right hand of Christ, and my position there! With what a thrill of delight does the prospect fill my soul ! to the reality? what is the hope to the enjoyment? Surely the half has not been told me ! But what is the prospect THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 129 The great happiness.-"Fulness of joy, pleasures for evermore. The happiness will be complete. Large as is the capacity of the soul for enjoyment, that capacity will be filled. All evil will be absent. There shall be no sin, no temptation, no sorrow, no sickness, no jarring sound, no fears, no poverty, and no death. No sooner is the happy pardoned spirit received up into glory than it bids farewell to sorrow, farewell to trials, and farewell to sin. All good will be enjoyed. Souls may be like vessels of different sizes, but every vessel will be full. There will be "fulness of joy." Perfect knowledge, perfect love, sweet communion, and eternal life shall fill the soul, while the service of Christ, the society of saints and angels, and the beatific vision of God, shall fire the soul with unquenchable love, and satisfy it with untold pleasures. "What must it be to dwell above, At God's right hand, where Jesus reigns, O'erwhelms us on these dreary plains; What bliss it is with Christ to reign." "For evermore." It is a mis The endless duration. take to think that there will be no faith and no hope in heaven. Will not the saint believe that his happiness will last for ever, and hope that it never shall diminish? His faith and hope, fixed on a present Saviour, will be perfect, and will last for ever. The drops of the ocean may be counted, but who can count the pleasures for evermore ? The leaves of the forest or the dust of the earth may be numbered at least we can conceive of it but who can number the ages of eternity? It is a line without a termination, an ocean without a bottom and without a shore. |