appears. Innumerable angels attend his approach, and pour around his chariot. The brightnefs of ten thousand funs is loft in the blaze of his glory, and « and in the luftre of his coutenance. Behold! a great white throne is erected; clear as light, and fiery as flame. The judge, inflexibly juft and immenfely glorious, afcends the tribunal; and before his prefence the heavens and the earth flee away. Thofe innumerable millions of rational creatures that peo ple the universe, are now affembled. The books are opened. Myriads of adoring feraphs, and countless multitudes of anxious fpectators, await the grand refult. The wicked, with trembling hands and throbbing hearts; with horror in their afpect and damnation in view, would be glad to lose their being; but the righteous are bold and intrepid : for the Judge is their friend, and their faviour. The righteoufnefs in which they appear, was performed by Him. The plea which they make, He cannot reject. For it is the blood which He fhed to atone for their fins, and the promife He made to comfort their fouls, under the expectation of this important event. They there ftand, not to have any fresh indictment brought against them; nor to have any thing laid to their charge, by Satan, or the law, or juftice; but to be honourably acquitted in the prefence of angels, and of the whole aflembled world. The fentence of juftification, long before pronounced in the court of heaven, and in the court of confcience, at the time of their converfion; is now recognized in the most folemn and pub lic manner. The works of faith and labours of love performed by them, in the time of their pilgrimage here below, toward their needy fellow-chriftians;

* Rev. xx. II.

are

are now produced by the omnifcient judge, as fruits and evidences of their union with him, of their faith in him, and of their love to him*. The na

Matt, xxv. 34-40. It is very obfervable how different the conduct of faints will be, at this awful and glorious time, from that of nominal profeffors, as reprefented by our Lord in Matt. vii. 22. Here we find the Judge taking notice of his people's works, when they make no mention of them. Not only fo, but when he is pleased to mention their labours of love, with high approbation, they feem to have forgotten them. A plain proof they did not expect falvation by them, nor ever thought of any fuch thing. No; Chrift was their righteousness, and that was fufficient. The works they performed were defigned to glorify him, and to exprefs their gratitude to God for his benefits. Eut, fo confcious were they of the imperfections cleaving to their performances, that they were afhamed to mention them. Whereas, when our Lord reprefents the reason of hope in selfrighteous perfons, he tells us that they will fay, with great importunity; Lord Lord! have we not prophefied in thy name? and in thy name have caft out devils 2 and in thy name done many wonderful works? But he will answer, I never knew you: Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. They plead their own works, religious duties, and great usefulness, as a fufficient reason why they fhould be admitted into the kingdom of glory. Not that they pretend to have done these things by their own ftrength, or natural abilities. No; they acknowledge that all was done in the name of Chrift; by his authority, and his affiftance. For which reafon, we may fuppofe, they would be the more confident of acceptance with him. Hence, we have done this, and we have done the other, is their cry and their plea. They thought of coming to heaven by their own works. They did them for that end, and were loth to be disappointed. But what is the issue ? Why, truly, these mighty workers and very useful persons, are branded as the workers of iniquity; not acknowledged as the people of God. They are thruft down into hell, with all their fine recommendations and imaginary goodnefs; and notwithstanding all their pleas and promifing hopes founded upon them.While the poor in fpirit, those who are fenfible of their own unworthinefs; who live by a righteoufnefs imputed, making that the only ground of their hope; and who, from love to the truth, and to Chrift as revealed by it, perform good works with a view to the glory of God, not in the leaft expecting admiffion into the eternal kingdom for the fake of their pious performances-thefe, who say not a word about any thing which they

ture

ture and quality of their works; the principle from which they proceed, and the end for which they were done, together with the character of those that were benefited by them; will afford fufficient evidence to whom the performers of them belong, Thefe expreffions of love and fruits of holinefs being remembered by Chrift, though forgotten by the faints, he will avow them for his own he will number them among his jewels; he will confefs them before his Father and all the holy angels.Then fhall their characters which, in the time of their fojourning here below, were afperfed with every foul reproach, be fully vindicated to their everlasting honour, and to the eternal confufion of all their adverfaries. For, with a fmile of divine

have done, are accepted by the Judge of all, into everlasting honour and joy.-Let the legalift be cautioned by this, not to truft in his own duties, though of the moft fplendid kind : and let all who love the truth be encouraged to abound in every inftance of duty to God; efpecially, in that of communicating to the indigent members of Chrift, For the Judge will say to them on his right hand; Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the leaft of my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matt. XXV. 40. What condefcenfion is here! Chrift is not ashamed to own the meanest of his people under the character of brethren.

There is reafon to fear that many profeffors, whose situation in life is a little more elevated than that of their neighbours, are almost above looking at the poor brethren of Chrift; and would be extremely offended, if one of those indigent difciples were to address any of them under the character of a brother. But who art thou, reptile of the earth that thou fhouldst be ashamed of them whom Jefus, the Lord of glory and Judge of the world, will acknowledge as HIS brethren? What, fhall a little fhining duft, or worldly honour, fo elate thy ignoble mind and fwell thy contracted heart, that the poor members of Jefus Christ shall have no place in thy affections! Beware left, after all thy profeffion, thou fhouldft go down to hell with a lie in thy righthand; and all thy expectations of eternal happiness prove no better than the bafelefs fabrick of a vision !'

complacency

complacency the judge will fay; Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Reviving words! Having long defired to be near the Lord, they are invited to come, and to be with him for ever. Now the painful fears which they once had are eternally removed; for they are pronounced blessed of the Father, by a voice which the whole affembled world fhall hear. They who are all poor in spirit, and the generality of the poor in temporals; how agreeably then muft they be furprised to hear, that they are called to poffefs a kingdom; called to inherit it, as princes of the blood royal, who are born to thrones and crowns? Loft, they will be, in pleafing aftonishment, to find that, before they had a being, or the foundations of the world were laid, the eternal God had prepared this kingdom for them; and every reflection upon the way in which they came to poffefs it, muft heighten their amazement and joy. Then fhall they be admitted, in their whole perfons, into the fulness of bliss ; into a nearer and more perfect fruition of God, than they ever before enjoyed.

Their bleffednefs thus heightened fhall be eternal. It is eternity ftamped on their enjoyments that gives them their infinite worth. For could they who are fo high in blifs be apprehenfive of an end of their happiness, however remote; that ghaftly thought

would drink up all their joy.' But their inheritance is unalienable, their crown unfading, and their kingdom everlafting. Jehovah himself is their light, and the Moft High their glory. Yes, the infinite God is their portion, and their exceeding great reward.* Their felicity therefore is per

* Ifa. lx. 19. Gen. xv. I.

manent

manent as the divine perfections they adore and enjoy; and made certain to their own comprehenfive minds beyond the poffibility of a doubt. This makes their state fupremely glorious. This conftitutes it heaven indeed.-Nay, what if the limits of their capacities fhould be for ever enlarging, and for ever receiving greater meafures of glory? For the Deity is an infinite fource of bleffednefs; and finite veffels may be for ever expanding, and for ever filling, in that ocean of All-fufficiency. What an amazing state of ever-growing pleafure! and what an astonishing scale of blifs! Jehovah fhall open inexhaustible ftores of bleffings, as yet unknown to angels, and feaft their fouls with joys that are ever new.---Nothing equal to this can be conceived by mortals; nothing fuperior, can be enjoyed by mere creatures. Yet this--hear it, O ye nations and liften, ye ifles from afar while the millions of beatified faints dwell on the ftupendous truth this is the END of the victorious Reign of Grace. Grace reigned in the eternal counfels, when, contriving the way to this glorious end. Grace reigned in providing the means, and in beftowing the bleflings, that, were neceffary to its accomplishment. Grace reigned to the complete execution of the noble, the aftonishing defign, from first to last. Surely, then, reigning grace fhould have the unrivalled honour of all the bleffings enjoyed by believers on earth, or by faints in light. Yes, and it fhall have the glory, in all the churches of Chrift below, and in all the triumphant hofts above. For when the laft ftone of the fpiritual temple fhall be laid, it will be suith fhoutings, GRACE ! GRACE UNTO IT!