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THE JUDGMENT.

(27th Link.)

The body of Christian" having now slept all the years of his appointed time, the archangel, with the trump of God, shall awake him at the last day, and call him forth from his grave; the soul shall then be re-united to the same body he once possessed, the same material body, only clarified from all its dross; a body pure, and as free from sin, as that in which the unfathomable essence of Deity was wrapt.

With eyes enliven'd with new vital light,
Admiring, whence they had their sight.

In this state be will be conducted to the judgment-seat of Christ, where he will be tried for the sin committed while he was in his sinful body. "For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad," 2 Cor. V. 18.

He must appear before the Judge of quick and dead: a Judge, at whose word the graves will open, and at whose nod the troubled ocean ceases to roll: a Judge, at whose command this earth will be dissolved, and the heavens pass away as a scroll: a Judge, whose hand can extinguish the sun, and at whose presence the stars will hide their diminished heads: a Judge, before whom the angels veil their faces with their wings, and cry, Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. Before this Judge must Christian appear, when every act and deed, every word and thought, will be laid open to his view. With wonder and amazement be will bear read all the crimes and errors of a misspent life, and all the negligences and omissions of love and charity to his brethren. All this, in an instant, will be brought to remembrance, while he, trembling, stands to hear the lips of the Eternal Judge pronounce his final doomDepart, ye cursed, or Come, ye blessed.

The principal test, upon which "Christian" will be tried, will b● his carriage or deportment towards his fellow-christians, members

of the same family, children of the same father, travelling the same road, and to the same home.

It appears, from Matt. xxv. that six things only compose the necessaries of life, viz. food, drink, rayment, health, liberty, and social friendship. Should a member of the household of faith be destitute of any one of these necessaries of life, it is the imperative duty of "Christian" to administer to his wants, Should be neglect or refuse so to do, it will be recorded against him in God's book of remembrance.

I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was naked, and ye clothed me; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then will the Christians answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an bungred, and fed thee; or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in; or naked, and clothed thee?

Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the Judge shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto unto, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me,

We have now before us a subject which, for the magnificence of the scenery, the magnitude of the transaction, and the durable effects which it draweth on, stands unrivalled in the annals of human knowledge, and with which the powers of conception are unable to contend. I have dived into the unfathomable depths of imagination, but returned more confounded than I entered.

The great white throne descending out of heaven, guarded and begirt with the powers and principalities thereof-the awful Presence, at whose sight the heavens and the earth flee away, and no place for them is found. The archangel, with the trump of God, riding sublime in the midst of heaven, and sending through the widest dominions of death and the grave, that sharp summons which divideth the solid earth, and rings through the caverns of the hollow deep, piercing the dull cold ear of death and the grave

with

the knell of their departed reign; the re-union of body and soul; one from unconscious sleep, the other from apprehensive or unquiet abodes; and the congregation of all generations, over whom the stream of time hath swept;-to give form and figure to the outward pomp and circumstances of such a scene, no imagination is adequate-nor does the understanding labour less.

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up.

Seeing, then, that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godli

ness,

Looking for and basting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent beat.

Nevertheless we, (true Christians) according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless." 2 Pet. iii. 10—14.

It is true, Christian, it is an awful day; a day, in which nature shall be thrown into a confusion as yet unknown. No earthquake, no eruption of burning mountains, no desolation of cities by devouring flames, or of countries by overflowing rivers or seas, can give any just emblem of that dreadful day; when the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the earth and all that is therein shall be burnt up; 2 Pet. iii. 10. when all nature shall flee away in amazement before the face of the universal Judge, and there shall be a cry heard, far beyond what was known in the land of Egypt, "when there was not a house in which there was not one dead." Exod. xii. 30. Your flesh may tremble in the view; yet your spirit must surely "rejoice in God your Saviour." You may justly say, Let this illustrious day come, even with all its horrors; yea, like the Christians described by the apostle, 2 Pet. iii. 12. you may

of the same family, children of the same father, travelling the same road, and to the same home.

It appears, from Matt, xxv. that six things only compose the necessaries of life, viz. food, drink, rayment, health, liberty, and social friendship. Should a member of the household of faith be destitute of any one of these necessaries of life, it is the imperative duty of "Christian" to administer to his wants, Should he neglect or refuse so to do, it will be recorded against him in God's book of remembrance.

I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was naked, and ye clothed me; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, ye came unto me,

and

Then will the Christians answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an bungred, and fed thee; or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in; or naked, and clothed thee?

Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the Judge shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto unto, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

We have now before us a subject which, for the magnificence of the scenery, the magnitude of the transaction, and the durable effects which it draweth on, stands unrivalled in the annals of human knowledge, and with which the powers of conception are unable to contend. I have dived into the unfathomable depths of imagina tion, but returned more confounded than I entered..

The great white throne descending out of heaven, guarded and begirt with the powers and principalities thereof-the awful Presence, at whose sight the heavens and the earth flee away, and no place for them is found. The archangel, with the trump of God, riding sublime in the midst of heaven, and sending through the widest dominions of death and the grave, that sharp summons which divideth the solid earth, and rings through the caverns of the hollow deep, piercing the dull cold ear of death and the grave

with

the knell of their departed reign; the re-union of body and soul; one from unconscious sleep, the other from apprehensive or unquiet abodes; and the congregation of all generations, over whom the stream of time hath swept;-to give form and figure to the outward pomp and circumstances of such a scene, no imagination is adequate-nor does the understanding labour less.

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up.

Seeing, then, that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godli

ness,

Looking for and basting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the ele ments shall melt with fervent beat.

Nevertheless we, (true Christians) according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless." 2 Pet. iii. 10-14.

It is true, Christian, it is an awful day; a day, in which nature shall be thrown into a confusion as yet unknown. No earthquake, no eruption of burning mountains, no desolation of cities by devouring flames, or of countries by overflowing rivers or seas, can give any just emblem of that dreadful day; when the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the earth and all that is therein shall be burnt up; 2 Pet. iii. 10. when all nature shall flee away in amazement before the face of the universal Judge, and there shall be a cry heard, far beyond what was known in the land of Egypt, "when there was not a house in which there was not one dead."

Exod. xii. 30. Your flesh may tremble in the view; yet your spirit must surely "rejoice in God your Saviour." You may justly say, Let this illustrious day come, even with all its horrors; yea, like the Christians described by the apostle, 2 Pet. iii. 12. you may

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