94 as the Judge of all the earth, and summon all mankind to appear before His tribunal. The secrets of all hearts will then be revealed, and every one of us shall give account of himself to God; and His judgment will be according to truth. Let us ask ourselves, Can we endure the scrutiny of the Searcher of hearts, whose eyes are as a flame of fire? 95 Are we prepared to meet our God? Where shall the ungodly and the sinner then appear?96 What will become of the open transgressor, or the secret offender? They will call upon the rocks to fall upon them, and the hills to cover them from the all-seeing eye of the Judge of the living and the dead. But who is it that will then appear as the Judge of all? In the text it is said to be the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He whose name was called Jesus, because He should save His people from their sins.97 Blessed be His name, this is the character which He now sustains. He is the Saviour of sinners, the Deliverer from sin and all its consequences; from death and hell. They who are made acquainted with Him in this His gracious character now by faith, will then recognise Him as their Friend and their Redeemer, to the joy of their souls. Do we know Him as our Saviour? Are we saved from our sins by His grace? Is guilt removed from our consciences by faith in the blood 94 Rom. xiv. 12; ii. 2. 95 Rev.i.14. 961 Peteriv. 18. 97 Matt. i. 21. of the Lamb of God? Has sin lost its dominion over us? Do we hate and avoid all sin? If we know Him as our Saviour, if we have been made partakers of the blessings of His great salvation, we shall, according to the language of our text, be looking for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; we shall be waiting for His coming. The apostle mentions the nature of the blessedness which will be bestowed upon the believer in Christ at His appearing: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself. What a change will that be! Those only will be partakers of it, whose hearts are changed by Divine grace, who are quickened from a death in trespasses and sins, and are renewed in the spirit of their minds, here on earth. These persons however, as long as they are in this world, are painfully sensible that their immortal spirits are the tenants of a vile body, a body of humiliation, on account of the sinfulness of which they are daily humbled before God; and are therefore led to look to the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, for pardoning mercy and sanctifying grace. It will be laid in the dust a vile body, but it will be raised a glorious body; for we know, said St. John, that when He shall appear we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.98 When the immortal spirit of the believer in Jesus quits this 2 tenement of clay, this vile body, it will return to God who gave it; but when the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised ;99 when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, and at His coming all mankind shall stand before His judgment seat; when Christ, who is the life of His people shall appear, in power and great glory, and before Him shall be gathered all nations,' then shall those who have believed through grace appear with Him in glory. His almighty power will then be exercised in subduing and subjecting all things to Himself, in putting all His enemies under His feet, and punishing them for their rebellion against Him. And it will also be displayed in changing the vile and corruptible bodies of His believing people, that they may be fashioned like unto His glorious body. They shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, into His glorious image and likeness; and so shall they ever be with the Lord. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.1 To this great and unspeakable blessedness the hopes and expectations of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are directed. For the coming of the day of God they are to be looking out continually; looking for that blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour 98 ] John iii. 2. 991 Cor. xv. 52. 1 Matt. xxv. 32; xiii. 43. 2 Col. iii.4. Jesus Christ. If we are among those who love His appearing, the text informs us that our conversation will be in heaven while we are here upon earth. Our thoughts and desires will be there. We shall walk with God as our Father who is in heaven, being accepted with Him in and through His beloved Son, our Saviour. We shall desire and pray and endeavour by His grace to walk so as to please God, and not as the enemies of the cross of Christ. We shall seek, in the midst of all the changes and uncertainties of this mortal life, to have our hopes and our hearts surely there fixed where true joys are to be found; that we may walk worthy of God, who hath called us unto His kingdom and glory. May this be indeed the state of our minds. Let us live above the world, having our hope laid up in heaven; and endeavouring, in our life and conduct, to glorify our heavenly Father; and thus manifest ourselves to be truly His children. The end of him that serveth God, and of him that serveth Him not, are both set before us in the Epistle for this day. Let these be kept before our eyes, that we may pursue the path that leads to happiness and God; and may come to those unspeakable joys which He hath prepared for them that unfeignedly love Him. 3 Titus ii. 13. 4 1 Thess. ii. 12. SERMON LIX. FOR THE TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER. Colossians i. 3, 4. WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD, AND THE FATHER WAYS FOR YOU, SINCE WE HEARD OF YOUR WHICH YE HAVE TO ALL THE SAINTS. THE affection which the apostle Paul bore to his children in the gospel of Christ, and his ardent desire for their spiritual welfare, is very evident from the concern which he continually expresses for them in his various epistles. Thus he says to the Corinthians, Though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel; wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.5 While he was thankful for the spiritual blessings |