Jesus.expired upon Calvary; it starts back with astonishment and terror when he comes in the splendour of his glory. The moon lays aside its brilliancy and changes into blood: why should it continue to measure times and seasons when eternity commences? The stars of heaven shake and fall from their spheres; the expiring earth trembles in mighty throes and convulsions, and is enwrapped in flames; the heavens shrink like a shrivelled scroll from the face of their Creator.

In the midst of circumstances so august and terrible, the Judge descends. This Judge is Jesus Christ, to whom, according to the appointment of the most sacred Trinity, this sublime office is made appropriate; Jesus Christ, who being both God and man, is properly constituted the Judge between God and man; Jesus Christ, who is our owner as Creator, our purchaser as Redeemer, and therefore has a just authority to judge us by both these titles. With what lustre and glory this Saviour now appears! how different from the despised Nazarene ! . Instead of the manger at Bethlehem, he sits on the throne of the universe; instead of the humble son of Mary, he comes as the eternal son of God; instead of a few swaddling cloths as the sign of his advent, the sun eclipsed and the moon darkened precede his appearance; instead of appearing in the silence of midnight, he comes in the midst of thunders and lightnings and dissolving systems; instead of being unjustly cited to a criminal bar, he summons the whole world to answer to him; instead of the crown of thorns, he bears one beaming with glory; instead of the insulting reed, the emblem of mock-majesty, he wields the sceptre of the universe; instead of being surrounded by a reviling crowd,

who pour upon him their reproaches, their contumelies, their curses, he is attended by myriads of the angelic host, who prostrate themselves before him, blessing him for his mercies, and adoring him for his perfections.

Such is the appearance of the Judge. He comes dressed in that body which was crucified on Calvary, and which now, inconceivably glorified and exalted, is taken into union with divinity, and remains in heaven the eternal monument of redeeming love. In The this he comes to decide the destinies of men. prints of the nails, of the thorns, of the spear, are still manifest, and a flood of glory beams from these precious wounds. O joyful spectacle to the righteous, who see in the sufferings of which these wounds are the memorial, the remission of their sins! O terrible view to the wicked, who have crucified to themselves afresh the Son of God, and trampled upon his sacred blood!

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Such will be the aspect of the Judge. He shall be seated, the apostle tells us, " upon a great white throne." His judgment-seat is denominated a throne, to express his supreme power, and to show that there can be no appeal from his decision to a higher tribunal. It is called a white throne, to denote the bright glory, the illustrious light, the unspotted purity, and the awful holiness of him that sits upon it. The Judge then being seated, and all the dead small and great standing before him, "the books are opened." This is a figurative expression, the import of which is however very plain. The book of divine omniscience shall be unfolded, and display to every individual of the vast assembly, all the thoughts, words, and actions of himself and others: the book of conscience shall attest the accuracy of this record: the books

of nature, of the law, and of the gospel, shall be expanded, that by them our conduct may be tried: and finally, "the book of life" shall be unclosed, which contains the names of all those who, accord-* ing to the divine declarations, have a title to the heavenly inheritance.

Every thing being thus prepared, the Judge summons the righteous to the tribunal; and as they were raised, so they will be judged first, in order that they may then be assessors with Jesus Christ in judging men and angels. (1 Cor. vi. 2, 3.)

It is a question on which divines are divided whether the sins of the pious shall be publicly proclaimed and manifested in the great day. From the near relations that Jesus sustains to his people, and the tender love he bears to them; from the account of the proceedings in the judgment, which he has given us in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, and in which the good deeds of the righteous alone are mentioned; from God's promising to "blot out the transgressions" of his people, and to "remember their sins no more," (Is. xliii. 25.) to "cast them into the depth of the sea, and behind his back;" (Mic. vii. 18. Is. xxxviii. 17.) from the exalted joy and unmingled triumph that the saints will feel on that day; from these and similar considerations, some have concluded, that none of the offences of the justified will be mentioned. Others however, supposing that, from the feebleness of our powers, and the narrowness of our views, we cannot tell how infinite love, directed by infinite wisdom, and aiming at the everlasting good of the universe, will be exercised towards us; considering the description of the judgment given by the Saviour as containing only the great outline of those solemn transac

tions; interpreting the promises of God only as an engagement that the iniquities of his people should not be remembered to their condemnation; relying on those numerous texts which declare that all our actions upon the earth shall then be manifested; thinking that a full display of the divine grace and power in the salvation of rebels, would render a view of their former conduct and feelings requisite ; knowing that in heaven the redeemed remember their sins without impairing their bliss, and by the recollection of them feel more their obligations to redeeming love: others, for these reasons suppose that the iniquities of the children of Jesus will be exhibited, not to fill them with misery, but to make them rise higher in their admiration of that mercy which plucked them as brands from the everlasting burnings. Such a view would inspire them with sentiments similar, but far superior to those which Paul so often expresses, when assured of the love of his Redeemer, yet recalling his crimes, his overflowing heart labours in vain to declare all the emotions of gratitude, all the ardours of love with which it is penetrated and inflamed.

But whatever we may think on this question, it is certain that their good deeds are recorded in the book of remembrance, and will be proclaimed to the universe; not as the ground of their acceptance, for the only plea for justification which a sinner can offer is the blood of Jesus; but as the evidence of their union to Christ, as the fruits of the Spirit dwelling within them, and as the measure of their future glory. Then every penitential tear that they have shed, every groan over their corruption that they have uttered, every act of faith, every sigh after heaven, every work of charity, every emotion of love,

every trait of obedience, every exercise of zeal, every holy duty, every suffering they have undergone for their Lord, every renunciation of sinful enjoyments, every conflict with their spiritual foes, will be manifested to the vast assembly of men, angels, and devils. Then the mouths of those who once derided them, and treated them as hypocrites or fanatics, shall be closed, and it will evidently appear that, with all their lamented imperfections, they were the faithful followers of the Lamb.

Their piety being thus made so manifest that the most malignant are forced to acknowledge it, the Judge turns to them, and with infinite benignity and love addresses them, saying, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." In vain shall we attempt to conceive the transports which will swell their breasts at this acquittal by their beloved and almighty Redeemer. What they exclaim in ecstasy, What! are we indeed declared by our Saviour to be blest? we, who deserved everlasting perdition; we, against whom the thunders of the law had been directed; we, whose destruction was sought by Satan, sin, and the world; we, who so long resisted the efforts of mercy, and who lived so far below our duty and our engagements, even after we had fled for refuge to the cross; we, whose eyes have often been filled with tears, and whose hearts have often trembled with apprehension lest we should not stand the scrutiny of this solemn day! But now our last tear has been shed; never shall our hearts again tremble, except with gratitude and joy. We shall for ever dwell in the palace of the King of kings, enjoying our God without a possibility of being separated from him. We shall for ever