When he shall separate the righteous from the wicked. him, then shall he sit glory. 263 clxvi. the holy angels with in the most public honours of his mediatorial SECT. upon the throne of his kingdom, to which all things shall then be completely subjected, (1 Cor. xv. 25, 28:) and all' Mat. the holy angels, who have long been subjected to XXV.31 him as his ministering servants, shall come with him; then shall he sit upon his glorious and majestic throne, conspicuous in the eyes of the 32 And before him whole world, as the universal Judge. And all 32 shall be gathered all nations; and he shall the nations of men, who have lived on earth separate them one from from the remotest ages of time, shall be assemanother, as a shepherd bled before him: and he shall separate them divideth bis sheep from from each other, according to their different characters, which he most perfectly knows, with as much ease as a shepherd separates the sheep which belong to his flock from the goats which may be mingled with them, and places shall them in distinct companies. And he shall set 33 his the sheep, that is, the righteous, whom he the will own as such, and whose characters resem the goats: 33 And he set the sheep on right-hand, but goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right-hand, ble the innocence, meekness, and usefulness of Then, when by the ministry of the angelic 34 attendants they are thus separated from each other, the great King of glory and of grace, who my Father, inherit the presides over this grand solemnity, shall, with kingdom the most condescending endearment, say to them Come, ye blessed of serve with what majesty and grandeur our Lord speaks of himself in this section, which is one of the noblest instances of the true sublime that I have any where read; and indeed few passages, even in the sacred writings themselves, seem to equal it. Methinks we can hardly read it without imagining ourselves before the awful tribunal it describes. b All the nations shall be assembled before him.] Had the notion which prevailed among some later Jews, that the Gentiles should have no part in the resurrection, been as old as our Lord's time, it is easy to see on these words might have been understood c Nor shall the haughtiest sinner, &c.] d I was 264 elxvi. Mat. He will reward the righteous for their kindness to him. tion of the world: 35 For I was an me meat: I was thirs SECT. on his right hand, Come, ye blessed and favour- kingdom prepared for ite people of my Father, approach yet nearer you from the founda to me, that having been assessors with me in XXV. what yet remains of this day's awful proceedings 34 (1 Cor. vi. 2, 3.) you may go in with me to inherit the kingdom of holiness, glory, and joy, appointed for your portion in the Divine purpose and decree, and prepared for you from the founda35 tion of the world. And I am now descended to receive you to this kingdom with all these public bungered, and ye gave marks of approbation and honour; for I well ty, and ye gave me remember your good deeds in the days of your drink: I was a stranflesh, and felt my own bowels refreshed by ger, and ye took me them, when I was hungry, andye gave me [food] to eat; when I was thirsty and ye caused me to drink; when I was a stranger, and ye took me in like one of your own families: When [I 36 Naked, and ye clothed me; when I was sick, and ye visited ime, clothed me: I was was] naked, and ye sick, and ye looked after med: when I was shut I was in prison, and ye up in solitude, confinement, and affliction of a came unto me. prison, and ye came kindly to condole with me in my sufferings, and to relieve my necessities. there. 36 in: 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hun Then shall the righteous, in humble amazement, be ready to answer him, and say Lord, what service were we ever capable of doing thee, that can deserve such notice from thee? gered, and fed thee? ar When did we ever see thee hungry, and fed thirsty, and gave thee [thee?] or thirsty, and caused [thee] to drink? 38 Or when did we ever see thee in the destitute drink? 38 When saw we condition of a stranger, and took [thee] in? or thee a stranger, and took thee in or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw thee? 39 naked, and clothed [thee?]. Or when did we ever see thee sick, or in prison, and came to thee for thy relief? We never saw thee, blessed we thee sick, or in Lord, in such circumstances of distress, nor prison, and came unto ever had an opportunity of shewing any such kindness to thee, that thou shouldst now distinguish us in such a manner, and speak so honourably of the service we have done thee. 40 And the king answering with renewed condescension from his exalted throne, shall not disdain to say unto them, I well know that abounded in such kind and compassionate actious to the necessitous and afflicted saints ye around 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, In as much But the wicked shall be punished for neglecting him. of these my brethren, me. 265 clxvi. much as ye have done around you; and verily I say unto you, In as SECT. it unto one of the least much as ye did [it] unto one of the least and ye bave done it unto poorest of these my dear brethren, who now Mat. stand with you in this happy company, ye XXV.40 in effect did [it] to me: and I declare it in the face of all the world, That I take and reward it as if I had been relieved in person, and joyfully welcome you to that blessed world, where you shall be for ever reaping the harvest of these labours of love. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on ye Then when his faithful servants are thus ac-41 the left-hand, Depart quitted and honoured, he shall turn and say also from me, ye cursed, to them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye into everlasting fire, cursed and detestable creatures, into the agonies prepared for the devil of that everlasting and unquenchable fire, which and his angels: was originally prepared for the devil and his angels, whose companious you must for ever be 42 For I was an hun- in the regions of horror and despair. And 42 gered, and ye gave me cannot but know in your own consciences that no meat: I was thirsty, ye well deserve it; for I was hungry, and ye did not give me so much as bread to eat; I was thirsty, and ye did not give me so much as water to drink; I was wandering among you as a poor helpless stranger, and ye did not take me in among your domestics and guests; I was naked, and ye did not clothe me; I was sick, and in prison, and ye did not look after me, or do any thing at all for my relief, and ye gave me no drink. 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 43 Then shall they also answer and say unto him3, 44 Lord, we are surprised at so strange a charge, and cannot apprehend ourselves liable to it; for when did we ever see thee hungry or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not to the best of our abilities minister to thee? e Ve did it to me.] That alms-deeds should be remembered with peculiar regard in the day of judgment was a notion that early prevailed among the Jews, as appears by the Chaldee Paraphrase on Eccles. ix. 7. which bears a remarkable resemblance to these words of Christ, and might perhaps be an imitation of them. See Mede's Works, p. 81. f Prepared for the devil and his angels.] There is a remarkable difference between our Lord's expression here and in ver. 34. There the kingdom is said to have been prepared for the righteous from the foundation of the world, whereas here the everlasting And fire is not said to have been prepared for g Then shall they also answer, &c.] Per- h Everlasting 266 SECT Reflections on the sentence he will pass on the wicked. Verily I say unto you, And then shall he answer them, saying, Verily 45 Then shall he clxvi. I say unto you, and declare it in the most solemn answer them, saying, Mat. manner, That inasmuch as ye did [it] not to one XXV.45 of the least of these once necessitous, though it not to one of the now triumphant saints, who dwelt among you !cast of these, ye did it on earth, and needed your assistance, ye did [it] not to me; and I justly thought myself neglected and injured when you shut up the bowels of your compassion towards them. 46 not to me. 46 And these shall eternal. And so, to conclude all, these miserable wretches, notwithstanding all the excuses they go away into everlasting punishment: but can urge, shall go away into a most dreadful the righteous into life state of everlasting punishment; but the righteous, through the abundant grace of God manifested by his Son, shall enter into everlasting life and thus the great scene shall close in the eternal happiness or misery of every human creature who has ever lived on the face of the earth. Mat. IMPROVEMENT. LET us now behold, with an attentive eye and a solicitous heart, XXV.31 the end of all the living; that awful scene, in which the various 32 dispensations of God to mankind shall terminate in the solemn day, when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and sit on his magnificent throne. All nations and people shall be assembled before him, and we must make up a part of the assembly. The sheep and 33 the goats must then be separated; and, O my soul, amongst which wilt thou then be numbered? Is there an inquiry, is there a care, of greater, of equal, of comparable importance? 41 Let us view the sentence we must shortly hear, as he who will himself pronounce it has been pleased to give us a copy of it.— Can we conceive any thing more dreadful than that which shall be passed on those on the left hand; To be driven from the presence of Christ as accursed, and to be consigned over to a devouring fire! and this not only to the tortures of a moment, or an hour (as in some painful executions that have been known here,) but to everlasting fire, yea, to fire prepared for the devil and his angels, where they will be perpetual companions, and perpetual tormentors! should not the thought that he is in danger, in hourly danger, of being sealed up under this sentence, awaken the most stupid sinner, and engage him eagerly to cry out, What shall I do h Everlasting punishment, - everlasting life.] As the original word alsoy is the same in both places, I thought it proper to use the same word in the translation of both; and miserable are they that dare venture their souls on its signifying a limiled duration in either, Reflections on the sentence he will pass on the wicked. 267 clxvi. Mat. XXV. do to be saved?—And on whom is this sentence passed? Let us at. SECT. tentively observe it! Not merely on the most gross and abandoned sinners, but on those who have lived in an habitual neglect of their duty not merely on those who have ravaged and persecuted the saints (though surely their furnace will be heated seven times hotter than that of others), but even on those who have neglected to relieve them. 42, 43 On the other hand, let us seriously reflect what it will be to be owned by Christ before the assembled world; and to hear him saying with a sweet smile, and with a voice of harmony and love, Come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you 34 from the foundation of the world. How infinite is the love that prepared that kingdom for us before we had a being! how rich the blood that purchased it! how overflowing the grace that bestows it on such mean, such undeserving creatures! Bless the Lord, O our souls, in the prospect of it! Let men curse, O Lord, if thou wilt thus bless; (Psal. cix. 28.) Let them load our names with infamy if thou wilt adorn them with such glory: let all the kingdoms of the earth, and all the pomp of them, be despised and trampled under foot, when offered as an equivalent for this infinitely more glorious kingdom. Let us attentively observe the character of those who are to re- 35, 36 çeive it. They are the useful and benevolent souls: such as have loved the Lord Jesus Christ, not only in his name, and ordinances, and promises, but have loved him in his laws, and in his people too; and have known him in those humble forms in which he has been pleased, as it were by proxy, to appear among us. I40 was hungry, and ye fed me; thirsty, and ye gave me drink, &c.; for in as much as ye did it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me. Amazing words! that the meanest saint should be owned by the King of glory as one of his brethren! Irresistible argument to those that do indeed believe these words, to stir them up to abound in every good word and work Under this impression, methinks, instead of hiding ourselves from those who should be to us as our own flesh by virtue of our common union to him, we should not only hearken to their intreaties, but even search them out in those corners to which modest want may sometimes retire, and cast about in our thoughts how we may secure any happy opportunity of relieving some poor saint, for their sakes, and for their Master's, and even for our own. What if Christ came to us in person as a poor helpless stranger? What if we saw him destitute of food and raiment, or in want of any other necessaries of life? Should we not contend for it as an honour, which of us should receive him into our houses, which of us should entertain him at our table, which of us should even strip ourselves VOL. VII. of |