UNIVERSAL, FINAL JUDGMENT. 233 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God: and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. When the Son 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 and he shall set the sheep on his right-hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on the right-hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal." How solemn is this representation—how infinitely so will be the reality! Here is an assembled world—all generations are met at once -around are countless angels, spectators of the great event--there is the Lord of heaven, enthroned as the Judge eternal. With the same ease as a shepherd distinguishes and parts his sheep and goats, does the Judge divide this mighty multitude; and then pronounces that doom which will make heaven's eternal mansions. ring with praise, or hell's tremendous dungeons yell with horror. § 4. Before that judgment throne you and I must meet; there must I account for the motives Matt. xxv. 31, &c. Rev. xx. 11, 12. 234 SOLEMNITY OF THE JUDGMENT DAY. that have influenced me in writing these pages, and you for the improvement that you have made of them. How happily will you meet that day, if now you listen to your God, and choose the path of early piety and peace! If you now remember your Creator and your Saviour, he will remember you in infinite mercy then; for, O boundless grace! the eternal Judge will then delight to honour those who honoured him betimes below. Could you now behold the Lord in that glory, what trifles compared with his favour, would all that life can give appear! Small would seem the value of the universe, in comparison of hearing from his lips, " Come, thou blessed!" Riches, pleasures, joys, splendour, would be yanity itself; the passing shadow not so empty, nor the flying feather half so light. Even crowns and kingdoms, and all for which the soul is neglected, would appear so worthless, that you would not raise a finger to gain them all. If you partake of his grace here, you will see him there as your beloved Saviour and your kindest friend. Infinitely welcome will be those solemn and decisive words of his, that will fix your happiness for ever: Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." What rapturous meditations will fill their souls who hear this sentence! what sweet immortal praises flow from their lips! Early piety will then appear true wisdom; and probably the far greater part of that glorious company will be seen to have sought their God in youth. "It is passed," may each of these exalted conquerors exclaim! "It is passed the scene at which I trembled, and yet rejoiced in mortal life, is passed; and O! HAPPINESS OF THE RIGHTEOUS THEN. 235 the prize for which I prayed, the blessedness for which I looked to Jesus, through the few years of mortal life, is all my own! It is finished! my conflicts are finished, and my glory completed. I have heard the sentence of my Judge; and listened while an assembled world heard theirs. I have seen the Lord Jesus, that Divine sufferer, who was all my salvation; whom on earth I loved and trusted, and whom I followed, though with steps much too unequal; and now it is complete, my victory is complete - my fears are vanished quite away-my hopes are changed to certainty- but never did my highest hope reach this triumphant scene. Blessing and honour, and glory and power, be for ever and ever to him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb that washed me from my sins in his own blood." If you, my young friend, give yourself to the Lord, even the prospect of that day may yield you pleasure. A young Christian once observed, "If I were sure the day of judgment were to begin within an hour, I should be glad with all my heart. The thought of its certainty and nearness is more refreshing to me than the comforts of the whole world." § 5. Happy will they be who reach that heavenly country. Its glories cannot be described. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." "I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and I Cor. ii. 9. palms in their hands; and cried," our "salvation" be ascribed "to our God and to the Lamb." "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him in his temple. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." How pleasing are these descriptions! yet the most remains untold. In that peaceful rest, no languor or weariness oppresses the active spirit; no disease or death shortens the endless life. No feeble infancy or withering age; no aching head, nor painful limb, nor troubled heart is there. No blasts of grief there blight the joy; no clouds of distress darken the eternal day; but there are spotless purity, peace, never disturbed, and happiness, for ever unalloyed. There they whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life possess mansions not made with hands; and crowns of glory that shall never fade away. The " righteous will shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father;" and there, "in his presence is fulness of joy, and at his right-hand are pleasures for evermore." There, glorified Rev. vii. 9. 14-17. Rev. xxi. 3, 4. Matt. xiii. 43. Ps. xvi. 11. THE WORTH OF HEAVEN ILLUSTRATED. 237 saints and holy angels form one blessed family in the presence of God and the Lamb. O happy day! when all who have followed Jesus here, shall dwell with Jesus there. O happy world, where all are happy! Could the Christian gain a glimpse of that, how would he pass the rest of his time below, as an exile longing for his home! O my young friend! flee at once to that Saviour who would give this heaven to you; then soon will his welcome voice prove to you, that early piety is a blessed choice indeed. § 6. Think of the state of those who in past ages sought or slighted this boundless blessedness; and O! let their condition now quicken your desires for eternal life. Paul once stood a prisoner at the bar of Festus, and Agrippa said. to him, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian;" but, alas! it was but almost. Of how little value now are all those things which once deterred him from seeking eternal life, by embracing a despised gospel! Seventeen hundred years have rolled away since Agrippa departed from this world, and all his pleasures and all his splendour are no more. The crown he wore exists no longer the pomps of life have for many ages forsaken him. What are they now to his immortal soul! All for which he neglected eternity is gone. Paul stood in bonds before him, but his bonds are vanished; he no more endures the pain of these; but the blessed effects of his knowing a Saviour's love endure. The lustre of his crown outshines Agrippa's perishing diadem, and never will it lose one ray of its glory. streams of his happiness are undiminished, and will continue so for evermore. Altogether a Christian then, and altogether a bright inhabitant The |