no mercy; while in respect of the merciful man, it is declared that mercy rejoiceth against judgment. If we turn our attention to that awful account of the last judgment which our Lord gave his disciples, we shall see this point of doctrine in the strongest light. He there distinguishes, in the clearest manner, the righ teous from the wicked; and after having enumerated various acts of mercy and charity which his faithful people have performed, he said, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me; and, on the contrary, he adds, concerning the unmerciful and uncharitable, Inasmuch as ye did it NOT to one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it not to me. Then he pronounces the final sentence: And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal. Hope and fear are the ruling passions of the human mind. We cannot hope to obtain the mercy of God unless we are merciful ourselves. We can only obtain the mercy of God through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ; and we cannot be said to possess a true faith, unless we exercise mercy and compassion to our fellowcreatures. The Apostle Peter, therefore, exhorted those who had obtained like precious faith with himself (and other believers), that giving all diligence, they should add to their faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, * James ii. 13. brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity :* and then he assigns the reason for this exhortation : For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ: and he adds, Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. On the other hand, it is to be observed, that those who are unmerciful and unjust, cruel and inhuman, tyrannical and oppressive, have reason to fear the retributive justice of God, his vengeance and his wrath at the last day. Instead of looking for his mercy unto eternal life, there remains for them a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. They shall be punished with murderers and robbers, with blasphemers and infidels; and they shall be doomed to dwell for ever with evil spirits, the accursed enemies of mankind, in the regions of eternal darkness, misery, and despair. * 2 Peter i. 5—7. † 2 Peter i. 8-11. |