now in the presence of God, have a good hope through grace of an interest in the blood and righteousness of Jesus your Saviour, who is hereafter to be your judge. As far, Christians, as your hope in the Saviour is well founded, and lively in its exercise, so far you will look for and love the appearing of Jesus. And "to those who look for him, he will appear the second time without sin, unto salvation. There is laid up a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give at that day unto all them that love his appearing." O let it be your concern to be actually as well as habitually ready at all times to meet your Lord in the hour of death, and at the last judgment. May "you have your lamps trimmed and oil in your vessels, that whenever the bridegroom cometh, ye may go forth to meet him with confidence and joy. Let your loins be girt about and your lights burning, and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when he will return from the wedding, that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching." Therefore watch and pray. Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure." Endeavour to keep

a con

science void of offence towards God, and towards man." Pray for grace that you may so spend your remaining days, that your hearts may not condemn you while you live; nor your consciences when you die. "Be stedfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know

that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory."

Seventhly, From a view of the whole subject, it is evident that the ministers of the word should insist on the nature and necessity of spiritual regeneration; and that they should be peculiarly cautious in not leading their hearers to suppose that they are all, in fact and reality, spiritually regenerate, because they are charitably considered as such, in consequence of their having been admitted into the visible church by baptism; unless they manifest those marks of spiritual regeneration which are positively considered as its necessary evidences by the unerring Word of God. I proceed to remark that,

(8.) Another important doctrine of the Word of God, is, that "without holiness no man shall see the Lord."

This doctrine is necessarily connected with the preceding. Every regenerate person must be holy : and without holiness there can be no admission into heaven. This is the unchangeable appointment of the God of purity. It is also necessary in the nature of things. To be fitted for heaven, we must not only be delivered from the punishment and guilt of sin, but also from its power and dominion. We must be conformed in heart and practice to the will of God. Jesus Christ came "to save his people from their sins," and "to deliver them from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." The nature and necessity of holiness, therefore, and the way and means by which we are

See Note at the end.

majestic events will hereafter open before us! What can be a more solemn, awful, glorious scene than that of the general judgment ! "When the Son of of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats."

:

We have already entered upon the subject of the general judgment; and the reflections to which the consideration of this solemn event gave rise, were the following:

I. The certainty of its appointment.

II. The character of the Judge, and the manner of his appearance.

III. The persons to be judged, and the proceedings that will take place in relation to their trial.

I. "God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness."

The certainty of this event was argued from the deductions of reason; from the express testimony of the scriptures of the Old and New Testament; and from the fact of Christ's resurrection: "God hath given assurance unto all men that he will judge the world by Jesus Christ, in that he hath raised him from the dead."

II. In the second branch of the subject, the character of the Judge was pointed out as altogether suitable for his great office.

It is necessary that the judge should be a divine

In

person; for what less than Almighty power, united with infinite wisdom and knowledge, can fit him to execute universal judgment? It is likewise expedient that he should be the Son of man as well as the Son of God; for who can be so fit to judge us, as one who is a partaker of our very nature? relation to the manner of the judge's appearance, it was remarked that he would come in all his majesty and glory, as "King of kings and Lord of lords." We proceed now to the consideration of the third part of the subject:

III. The persons to be judged. And the proceedings that will take place in relation to their

trial.

1. The parties that will appear at the bar of Christ to be judged, are devils and men.

(1.) Satan and his angels will then receive their final, their everlasting doom.

From the period in which these rebellious spirits first sinned, they were subjected to the righteous justice and vengeance of the Almighty. They were cast down to hell; and wherever they are, they carry about their hell with them. But it is expressly asserted that they are reserved unto the judgment of the great day. Then shall they be judged for all their sinning, and all their temptations to sin, from the time of their apostasy and departure from God to the end of the world. In the day of judgment they will receive a due reward of all the dishonour they have done to God, and of all the mischief they have occasioned to men. The devil and his angels,