nal-behold all your departed kindred-inhabit your own untried spiritual bodyenter into bliss, and draw the life of ages from your union to the Redeemer--or sink, remote and succourless, in the dark waves of perdition forever? Do you really expect a il these things? Belicvest thou this? Then what are your feelings, and what your conduct and preparation? Amen.

21*

LECTURE XIH.

THE DOCTRINE OF A FUTURE JUDGMENT..

MATTHEW xxv. 31-TO THE END

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 his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer kim, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and elothed thee? or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer, and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, in as much as ye havy done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,

:

ye

Then

ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye curse, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungered, and ye gave no meat: [ was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink : I was a s'ranger, and ye took me not in naked, and clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying. Verily I say unto you, in as much as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

WE come now, in the last of our course of lectures, to speak of THE DOCTRINE OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT; and we have,

I. The following reasons to offer, for believing that the very solemn and remarkable passage, which has now been read, REFERS TO THAT

EVENT.

1. The connexion and occasion of the passage, evidently prove this.

In the 24th, and a part of this chapter, the Saviour is speaking of the calamities which were coming upon the Jewish nation, and adds solemn admonitions for watchfulness unto that great event. He has given us a literal prediction of the destruction of the temple-the signs to precede that event, and the distress which should follow; and

he now subjoins the parable of the ten virgins, and that of the talents-closing the whole with the description contained in our text. Now, it is a well known principle in the language of prophecy, that temporal events, which are similar, are predicted as types or representations of greater events to follow; as when David predicts the reign of Christ by the glory of Solomon-and as the millenium is often foretold in the same passages which relate to the return from the captivity of Babylon.

This being understood, what is more evident, than that these predictions of Jerusalem's overthrow, and the admonitions which are connected, relate ultimately to the general judgment? not now to insist that there are many representations connected with them, altogether too strong, and of too general application for any other event.

Add, moreover, that one part of the very question of the disciples, upon which the Saviour gives this whole discourse, had been, what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" and we can hardly imagine, that the Saviour would close without alluding to that event. This view of the subject is so satisfactory to me, that I confess, if this passage be not intend