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the Lord in that day." This is manifest, 1st, From the consideration of the works,-which, though stained by numerous blemishes, will receive so high a commendation from the Judge, that the saints themselves will not hear it without being astonished, that God should put so great a value on services which to themselves appeared so very inconsiderable. 2dly, From the consideration of the reward,-which is not founded on any worthiness either of the works or the persons, but on election, the love of the Father, and adoption, which are all gratuitous. 3dly, From the consideration of the connexion betwixt the good works of believers and the reward. Their good works will be mentioned, 1. As proofs of the faith of believers, their union to Christ, their adoption, their friendship with God, and of that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. 2. As evidences of that activity and earnestness with which, undervaluing the advantages of this world, and despising the pleasures of the flesh, they have sought the kingdom of God and his righteousness. A pursuit so worthy of God, it is not worthy of God to disappoint. 3. As effects of Divine grace, with which, according to a proportion most wisely adjusted, the communication of Divine glory will correspond, when he shall come to crown his own gifts.

XXXII. The sentence of condemnation will be prcnounced in conformity to the exact justice of the law. "For as many as have sinned without law, shall also

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perish without law; and as many as have sinned in "the law shall be judged by the law."k

XXXIII. It is inquired, and not without reason, why

VOL. II.

2 Tim. i. 18.

k Rom. ii. 12.

31.

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no works are mentioned here but those of compassion towards Christ, whilst many thousands of men have never heard any thing of Christ, and never had opportunity of doing offices of kindness to him in his members; to whom, consequently, it seems impossible that either the performance of such works can be ascribed to their honour, or the neglect of them imputed to their shame. To several, both of the ancients and moderns, this difficulty has appeared so great, that they have thought proper to deny that this discourse of Christ contains a delineation of the general judgment. Our opinion is as follows. The express words of the thirty-second verse evince, that the general judgment is here described: "And before him shall be gathered "all nations." The Scripture, besides, mentions only one judgment to be transacted at the last coming of Christ; and that this judgment will be completely universal, we have proved above by incontrovertible evidence. We are no where taught, that one tribunal is to be erected for those to whom the Gospel was preached, and another for those to whom it was not preached. On the same day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, a recompence will be rendered to every one according to his works,-to those that have sinned without law, as well as to those that have sinned in the law. Yet every thing relative to the general judgment cannot be learned from this single discourse of Christ. Other testimonies of Scripture must be compared with it, and from all of them taken together, we are to collect the whole of that information which the Spirit of God has been pleased to give us regarding this topic. The things noticed by our

Rom. ii. 5, 6, 12.

Lord in this passage are probably specified merely for the sake of example. For who can suppose that in the general judgment nothing is to be inquired into even amongst those to whom the Gospel was preached, except the performance or neglect of offices of charity towards afflicted saints? Christ's giving so prominent a place to duties and omissions of that sort, appears to take its rise from the forms of instruction which were in use amongst the ancient Hebrews; of which some traces remain in the Chaldee Paraphrase on Ecclesiastes, chap. ix. verse 7th. "It shall come to pass," said Solomon, by the Spirit of prophecy from the presence of the Lord, "that the Sovereign of the universe "will say to each of the righteous before an assembled "world; Go thy way, eat with joy thy bread which is "reserved for thee, for thy bread that thou gavest to "the poor and afflicted who were hungry; and drink "with a merry heart thy wine which is reserved for "thee in paradise, in place of thy wine that thou didst "mingle for the poor and afflicted who were thirsty." Our Lord delighted, as learned men have proved by a copious induction of instances,-to make use in his discourses of those formularies which the lovers of piety had long before received from the lips of their wise

men.49

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XXXIV. The Execution will immediately follow the pronouncing of the sentence. "And these shall go 'away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous "into life eternal."m According to the order of the words of Christ, the execution of the sentence will begin with the ungodly; the pronouncing, with the godly.

m Mat. xxv. 46.
49 See NOTE XLIX.

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As the latter will augment the terror of the wicked, so the former will increase the joy of the righteous. "The righteous shall rejoice, when he seeth the venge"ance." Eternity is attributed to each; on the one side, an eternity of punishment; on the other, an eternity of life, which is truly life. The punishment will not only include the punishment of loss, but also of sense; for they shall " depart into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." The life will consist in the most perfect knowledge, love, and fruition of God, and in the joy arising from these. Both will be eternal; the one, without hope of intermission or abatement; the other, without fear of loss.50

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XXXV. The Circumstances to be considered, are those of PLACE and TIME. The PLACE is generally designated by the air and the clouds. And why is the judgment to be transacted there? 1st, That place, being exposed to the view of all, will form a spacious amphitheatre for the display of the Divine magnificence. "Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every 66 eye shall see him." 2dly, The clouds are more than once represented as God's royal throne, and the chariot in which he rides. Christ, therefore, when he comes in the clouds, will demonstrate, by that very circumstance, that he is the Lord of glory ;-of which glory there was a prelude at his transfiguration, when “ a bright cloud overshadowed him." 3dly, The Son of God came in a cloud when he published the law."

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What then more fit and proper than that he should come again in a cloud, when he shall appear to pronounce sentence according to that law?

XXXVI. Not satisfied with this general designation of the place, human curiosity inquires farther, in what region of the earth all mankind are to be assembled for the last judgment, and presumes to point out as the spot chosen for that purpose, the valley of Jehoshaphat, which mount Olivet overhangs, whence our Lord ascended into heaven. The Papists have borrowed this conceit from the Jews, whose account of the matter they have somewhat embellished. The foundation of this opinion is the following prophecy of Joel: "I will "also gather all nations, and will bring them down "into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with "them there." And again: "Let the heathen be "wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; "for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round "about."w To this Christophorus a Castro adds the words of the angels to the disciples: "This same Je

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sus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into "heaven." But Cornelius a Lapide appeals also to reason, and alleges it is just that Christ should display the majesty of his glory in the same place where he sustained the greatest ignominy, and judge on the very spot where himself was judged.

XXXVII. But none of these arguments is well-founded. To begin with the reasoning of Cornelius;-although it is our duty to attend to the procedure of Divine wisdom, so far as she unveils to us her counsels,

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