lieving world or any, save such as have had it revealed to them, because we think it is applicable to none besides. It is part of a system of revealed truth-the keystone, as it were, of the system, and cannot be applied but as a part of it. Therefore in justice it is not right, and certainly in point of fact it is not our intention, to apply it to any others than to those unto whom revelation hath come.

But whereas an act of judgment presupposeth something which is to be judged of, and implies something good or bad which is to follow thereon; it is absolutely necessary to an argument or apology for Judgment to Come, that the matter should be developed upon which judgment is to pass, and consequences to follow after judgment hath been passed. The assize is not the first act, but the second act of a drama which is not yet complete. The first act is the indictment which is charged upon, the second act is the decision, and the third is the execution of the verdict-and there the. matter endeth. And here our argument should end, but knowing the mighty stake which is in issue to every one who readeth this discourse, we should have but ill discharged our duty to his soul and to our God, for whose sakes we enter the lists of this controversy, were we not to add to the completed representation something which might turn to a good purpose those anxieties which it may please God to awaken; and if they be not awakened, we should discharge our duty still worse, did we not cast aside all reserves,

summon up all sympathies and energies, and with heart, strength, soul and might, cast ourselves upon the barriers which are defending conscience from the invasion of truth.

Therefore, after this order will our discourse proceed-First, we shall set forth the constitution of divine government upon which this judgment is to be passed. Then we shall treat of the actual judgment; then of the issues of the judgment; and, lastly, do our endeavour to guide the people into the way of salvation from the judgment, concerning which, if they should continue reckless, we shall strike a note to thrill the drowsy chambers of the soul, and awaken it from its fatal slumbers.

Such is the order in which we propose to lay the whole subject of Judgment to Come before the whole comprehension and feeling of the soul; in doing which we shall take all liberty of discourse, abstaining only from the technical forms of theology, which half the world does not understand, and the other half seems heartily disposed to forget. We shall also indulge in disquisition, to clear the subject of obscurity; and in digression, to render it entertaining; and in application, to touch, in passing, any interest or emotion which may be affected;-all however subsidiary to the great object which we have proposed, of justifying and commending this part of divine revelation

to the hearts of men.

In which, if we are enabled to succeed, we shall

I

have done them an unspeakable service. For this coming event, which to every man is the decision of the everlasting future, being understood, and seated in our high regards, will naturally cast for ward into time the brightness of its hopes and the shadow of its fears. Calling up from their graves all our past transactions, and arraying against us every thing as when it was first conceived, the Judgment ought to give value to every cur rent thought, and importance to every passing act, making life a diligent, serious occupation of time, instead of a laborious destruction of it, or an idle gay diversion. Thought would become a constant device for the good ends which God hath set before us, and action a constant enteri prise to bring these ends about, and (seeing it is placed within the power of every creature to find acceptance of his Judge, and everlasting glory) life would become full not only of good endeavours but joyful prospects, were men convinced and mindful of the last day, which is to sum up all the past and decide all the future of their existence.

There manifestly wants some such husbanding and equalizing power to make men turn their faculties to the most account. Some drop asleep amidst sensual gratifications, and do nothing for the common weal but consume its storesothers idle amongst trifles, passing the bright season of youth in vain and empty shows-others fight against their own and the public peace, wielding every power they can command for the aggrandizement of themselves at every hazard

and expense. There is no spring that never runs down to move the machinery of a single man's life; there is no common spring that never runs down to move harmoniously the combined machinery of society. Powers of good are slumbering for want of a call; instruments rusting for want of an occasion; and a meagre unsatisfying recollection of occasions lost and time mispent, is the portion of almost every man:-What laborious trifling, what, ingenuity of wickedness, what self-torturing ennui, what artificial stimulants, what brutalizing excess there is in this weary world! To reach distinction and power, you must fight battles, and be the death of thousands. To be a hero, you must wade through seas of blood. To be a statesman, you must submit the soul to suppleness, and be the creature of creatures like yourself. There wanteth a power to enable a man to turn the wheel of his own destiny, and by diligence and patience to arrive at true greatness and blessedness.

To set forth such a power is the high argument of our present discourse, to the perusal of which we pray those who take it up to bring with them a vigorous manly understanding, no crouching timorous faith, for it is our purpose, in the strength of God, the giver of all understanding, to examine this his great revelation of Judgment to Come, with freedom and fairness, and to try if it will stand the test of inquiry and objection. We are not to advocate or eulogize it, as we lately did the Divine Oracles, but we are to expound it according to the Scriptures, and see how it suits.

human nature, and makes for human welfare. We intend that it should speak for itself, become its own advocate; and by its own grave and weighty character rebuke and ashame those idle parodies of it, which have lately issued from the seething brains of irreligious poets. Our Apology for Judgment to Come, against these idle visionaries and wasteful prodigals of God's high gifts, is to the common sense and good feelings of men.-We would bring the question back from the tribunal of wit and fancy, and ribaldry and worldly wisdom, to the tribunal of grave judgment, that old and hoary discerner of truth.

We are then, first of all, to be occupied with the development of that which must always precede judgment, viz. the promulgated law or statute upon which judgment is to be held. This is the divine constitution contained in the word of God, which it behoves us to understand before we can be in a condition to estimate the fairness of the trial or the justice of the verdict that is to pass thereon. To unfold that constitution, therefore, we would address ourselves without delay, did a preliminary question not suggest itself What good the Almighty proposes by laying us under responsibility, and what right he hath to do so? The mind doth not easily relinquish its own rule at any time, and looks for a sufficient inducement. And it is to be expected that the Creator, who knows the nature of his handiwork, should consult for that nature he has given it, and in presenting