Chapter IV.
The Last Judgment.

In order to understand the nature of Jehovah's dealings towards man, we must ever keep in mind that the present dispensation is a period of probation, in which the people of God are said to "live by faith and not by sight;" and in which the counsels of the Lord are "hid from the wise and prudent," though they may be revealed unto babes. We must therefore expect to find many doctrines contained in the Sacred Record that in the meantime are mysterious and perplexing, and many events occurring in the ordinary course of Providence, that for the present are shrouded in darkness. We see violence and injustice arrayed in pomp and possessed of power; we see integrity and patriotism trampled in the dust; we see the enemies of God in triumph and prosperity; we see his people suffering, despised, and persecuted, and we are tempted to ask, Is there indeed a God that ruleth in the earth? But there is a day coming in which all shall be made plain; when the mysteries of the Lord shall be unfolded, when the deeds done in the darkest concealment shall be made manifest to all, when the words spoken in the closet shall be proclaimed as from the house-top, when the secret motives of the heart shall be laid open, and when every man shall receive according to that which he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

This unfolding of the Record of God, and this making known of the great principles by which Jehovah has been guided in his dealings with men, will necessarily be a proceeding of the highest importance, not only to those who shall then receive their sentence, but to all who are subject to the moral government of God. We are accordingly informed in Scripture that the last judgment will exhibit such a mixture of the glorious and the terrible as has never before been witnessed, and that the angelic hosts will gather together from every corner of the universal domain, to mark the proceedings of the day.

That we may form some idea, however inadequate, of the terrible majesty of the scene, we shall briefly consider the state­ments of Scripture in regard to it,—more particularly those which refer to the tribunal, to the Judge, to the evidence adduced, and to the verdict that shall be pronounced.

The Tribunal.— "I beheld," says the prophet Daniel, "till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool; his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened." (Dan. vii. 9.) How terribly sublime must the spectacle be which is here described! The seat of the Eternal descends to the earth, light inaccessible and full of glory surrounds him, the hosts of heaven encircle the throne, and sing the praises of their descending king. And then, when the thrones are cast down, and the hymn of praise is silent, the note of the trumpet is heard. It summons the dead, and bids them arise and come to judgment. The terrible sound encircles the globe, it is heard in the grave, and re-echoes through the abysses of wo. The sea gives up the dead that are in it, and death and hell give up the dead that are in them. The scattered remains of the departed are united again, and souls, long separated from the lifeless clay, animate once more a material frame. Whether willing or reluctant, whether they rejoice in humble hope or tremble with fearful foreboding, all must hasten to the presence of their King. No further time is given for preparation. The monarch and the slave, the cultivated genius and the untutored savage, the hoary-headed patriarch and the little babe, must all be there. None is exempted, no respect of persons is shewn. "We must all appear," says St. Paul, "before the judgment-seat of Christ."

There, too, are assembled the hosts of hell. They are brought from the fiery abodes beneath; they stand before the face of Him with whom in their madness they dared to contend, and whose wrath they defied, and from whose lips they now receive their fearful and irreversible doom.

Around the throne the hosts of heaven are arrayed,— "ten thousand times ten thousand stand before him." Angels hasten from the utmost bounds of space to witness the end of their ministering toil, to see the counsels of God made plain, and to adore the glorified Immanuel as their King. Heaven's halls are emptied of their shining throng, for the "Son of man cometh in his glory, and all the holy angels with him."

The terrible glory of the day will be heightened by the sudden and unexpected nature of its approach: "The day of the Lord cometh as a thief." "As the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven, so shall also the Son of man be in his day." As the appointed time draws near, there will no doubt be signs and warnings given to the people of God; but the careless will not observe them, and the godless will despise them. Those who are enlightened by the Holy Spirit will see the gathering cloud, and in the stillness and calm that lull the wicked into fatal security, will perceive the omens of the coming storm; but the voice of the scoffer will wax louder and louder, as he tauntingly asks, "Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." Despising warnings, rejoicing in sinful pleasure, satisfied with time, and forgetful of eternity, they will go on increasing in their daring profanity, till the angel's note is heard that summons them to meet their God, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound."

The Judge.—We are told that "God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained;" and the Saviour says of himself, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, 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." (Matt. xxv. 31.)

It is to the Redeemer, as God and man in one, that the office of Judge is assigned. And it is in the outward form of a man that he sits on the throne, and pronounces the final decree. That outward form, however, is arrayed in a beauty that corresponds to the perfections of the soul within. Wherever his future appearance is spoken of in Scripture, we find reference made to its majesty and splendour. In the vision seen by John, "His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters; and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." At the same time he retains the traces of his former humiliation. In the midst of the throne he appears as "the Lamb that had been slain;" the marks of sorrow and anguish mingle with the insignia of triumph; and the scars of mortal combat furrow the brow that wears the laurel of victory. All see, and all confess, that it is to the once crucified Jesus of Nazareth they bend the knee, and pay their homage.

He comes also in the glory of his Father;—he comes as God. As man, he is arrayed in every beauty that can adorn the creature; as God, he is invested with all the majesty of the universal King. As the Son of man, he is the one among ten thousand, and altogether lovely; as the Son of God, he is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person. When we think of the union of God and man, of the glory of the Creator and the perfection of the creature openly shewn forth in one, the soul is overpowered with the thought of his magnificence; we are dazzled as when we gaze on the summer's sun at noon, and feel that it is impossible to conceive the ten thousandth part of the great and terrible majesty of the Judge before whom we must all appear.

We are further told, that "God hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." The dignity of the judgment-seat is part of the recompense which his work of humiliation has purchased; and the wondering eyes of creation are directed towards him, not only that they may admire his splendour, but that they may think of the obedience by which he earned the reward, and be led to follow in his steps.

The Evidence.—The ground on which the sentence is pronounced, in the next place demands our attention. We are told that they are to be judged "every man according to his works." At the same time we are informed, that they only whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life shall escape the second death. The difficulty that arises from the seeming diversity of these two statements can, however, be easily removed. Those only are openly acquitted from sin, and acknowledged as the children of God, whose names are in the book of life; for they only were made spiritually alive, and had justification and adoption bestowed on them. They are, however, judged by their works, because, along with justifying grace, the Lord bestows the regenerating influence of the Holy Ghost, by which his people are converted from Satan and sin, and renewed in their mind; and the works of righteousness which they perform, the outward acts by which they manifest their devotion and gratitude to God, are the only means by which their fellow-creatures can understand the nature of the change which the operation of the Spirit effected within them.

The Judge does not need to scrutinize the life and conduct of men in order to discover who are, and who are not, his people. "The Lord searcheth the heart, and trieth the reins;"— "The Lord knoweth them that are his." But the deeds of every one are made manifest, that the assembled creation may see the ground on which the Lord's decision proceeds, may understand the rectitude of the Divine decree, and thus be led to justify the ways of God to man.

Any service, however small, that may have proceeded from the emotions of the renewed soul, will receive its appropriate reward. "Whosoever shall give to drink, unto one of these little ones, a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in nowise lose his reward." These services are not in themselves entitled to a recompense; the motives that lead to them are so marred with an admixture of base and sinful affections, that the best deeds of men on earth deserve only the wrath and curse of God; but as evidences of a renewed mind, as proofs of the Spirit's work within them, they are exceedingly precious. We may further observe, that in his own description of the day of reckoning, the Saviour represents the sentence as proceeding on the performance, or the omission, of those acts of kindness to his people, by which men may at all times manifest the reality of their love, or the coldness of their affection, towards him. "Come," he says, "ye blessed, inherit the kingdom; for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was a stranger, and ye took me in." And when they reply, "Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or a stranger?" he says again, "Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me."

We observe also, that the works by which the character of men is thus tested at the judgment-day, are taken from the record of God: "The books are opened." The explanations and representations of the parties at the bar are not admitted as evidence, neither is the testimony of their fellow-men required. The Searcher of hearts has his own book of remembrance, in which are inserted both the deed that is done, and the motive from which it came. His eye cannot be mistaken, his memory cannot fail; and it is this infallible record that determines the destiny of men, that seals their condemnation or secures their bliss.

The inquiry in regard to every man amounts in effect to this: What has he done for God? What evidence does his conduct exhibit of a renewed and sanctified soul? If he made profession of faith, to what practical result did his profession lead? Did faith manifest itself in works? If he rendered a service to the cause of Christ, from what motive did his service proceed? Did he in reality belong to the Saviour's converted ones, or had the only a name to live while he was dead?

The Verdict.—The ultimate results of the judgment we will have occasion afterwards to examine; at present we shall notice only a few particulars that characterize the verdict that is pronounced.

1. It divides mankind into two great companies—the righteous and the wicked. However varied the conduct of men may seem, however diversified their characters may appear to our imperfect view, in the great day of reckoning they will form but two classes—the heirs of glory and the inheritors of wrath.

There are various stages of Christian growth, from the babe in Christ to the perfect man, and there are many different offices assigned to believers while here below, from that which is appointed to the humble penitent, who, in the deepest obscurity, pours forth his contrite confession, to that of the apostle, who is mighty in word and deed; but whatever difference there may be, they constitute but one great company, resting all their hopes on the same foundation, and looking for pardon and for bliss, because, through union with the Saviour, they are "children of God; and if children, then heirs."

There are, in like manner, wide diversities among the children of reprobation. There is the unpractised offender and the hardened sinner. There is the young man, who, though he lacked the "one thing," yet had such a desire for the Divine favour, that it is said the Saviour "loved him;" and there are the Egyptian monarch whose heart was judicially hardened, and the traitor Judas who betrayed his Lord, and "eating his bread, lifted up his heel against him." There is the servant that knew not his master's will, and who shall be beaten with few stripes; and there is the man who offended against light and warning, who shall receive "the greater damnation." But they all form one great company. To all of them it is said, "Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

The separation that is to be made divides the righteous from the wicked, the converted from the unconverted. All other distinctions vanish into insignificance compared to this.—How important is it, then, for us to determine, to which of these great parties we belong, that we may be led to make our "calling and election sure" while the day of mercy lasts! Do we exhibit in our conduct those evidences of a renewed heart that characterize "the blessed of the Father," or does our neglect of duty or want of devotion, prove that we are still in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity?

2. The verdict will be openly pronounced. The presence of such an august assembly as that which will be collected to witness the scenes of the judgment-day, must be regarded as a circumstance that will enhance both the reward of the righteous and the doom of the sinner. A desire of sharing in the esteem of our fellow-creatures, and of receiving from them the outward tokens of regard, is one of the most powerful motives that can influence the human mind; and the fear of reproach and disgrace is on the other hand, one of the most effectual means of deterring man from the commission of offences against his neighbour. These motives, in the unconverted man, seem in general to usurp the place which the fear of God should hold; so that, to employ a Scripture expression, he loves the praise of men more than the praise of God. Even in the heart of God's own people the natural feeling continues to be strong. The publicity of the verdict, therefore, must greatly enhance its effects. They who were willing to endure the reproach and persecution of men, rather than sacrifice the favour of the Lord, shall receive the highest token of Divine approbation, and shall be acknowledged as his before the assembled creation; while those to whom the cross of Christ was a stumblingblock, or foolishness, shall be sentenced, in the sight of angels and men, to everlasting contempt. "Whosoever," says the Saviour, "shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God; but he that denieth me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God." (Luke xii. 8.) "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels." (Luke ix. 26.)

3. The verdict is pronounced by the Saviour. This shews to the assembled creation the esteem with which the Father regards him, and the implicit confidence which he places in his wisdom and power. It also enhances the reward which he bestows on his people, and aggravates the doom that is pronounced on the sinner. When the believer hears the gracious words, "Ye did it unto me;" when he finds the feeble services, of which he was himself so often ashamed, openly acknowledged; when he sees the Saviour, whom he loved upon earth, exalted to be Head and King over all; and when he hears the gracious invitation that welcomes him to a share in all that the Redeemer hath purchased, his bosom glows with grateful emotion, and his breast swells with triumphant expectation, as he joins in the hallelujahs with which the spiritual Israel welcome their King. On the other hand, when the enemies of Christ, the men who mocked him and crucified him, the men who afflicted and persecuted his followers, the men who scorned his gospel and despised his warnings, when they shall receive from the lips of him whom they hated, the sentence that hurries them to endless perdition, their conscience will be torn with the pangs of remorse, and their hearts overwhelmed with shame. When they see the once crucified Redeemer crowned with glory; when they see in the hand that was pierced the sword of implacable wrath; when they see the eyes that wept over the persecuting Jerusalem, shining upon them as "flames of fire;" when they hear their condemnation pronounced by the tongue which prayed for his persecutors, and said of those who nailed him to the tree, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do," their souls will be filled with dread, and overwhelmed with consternation. Then shall be fulfilled the fearful threatening which says, "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; I also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you."