DISSERTATION XXII. ON CHRIST'S COMING AGAIN TO JUDGMENT. 1. ETERNAL JUDGMENT is numbered by the Apostle among the first principles and fundamental articles of our holy Religion. And since this is the last act of the reign of Christ, the brightest manifestation of his Divine glory, the anchor of Christian hope, a powerful antidote against carnal security, a check to raging lusts, and an incentive to conscientious piety, -we ought surely to examine it with no less care and diligence than all the other articles of the Christian faith. II. There are four public and universal judgments of the human race, mentioned in Scripture. The First took place in paradise, when the common parents of mankind were judged; the Second was passed on the antediluvian world; the Third, on the nations assembled in the plains of Shinar, to carry into effect the daring enterprise of the tower of Babel. The Fourth, is the last Judgment, of which we now speak; which C will be the most universal, extending to all men without exception, to the dead as well as to the living.e III. That God will at last judge all mankind and every individual, may be collected, 1st, From the book of common Providence. The fortunes of good and bad are here blended together, and similar events befal them. Nay, whilst wickedness reigns and flourishes, virtue not only misses her rewards, but is even trampled under foot by the profane, and suffers the punishments due to vice.s Those mis❜ries dire, which guilt alone should share, And treads on Virtue, prostrate at her feet. Worth, that in public view might well have shone, It is necessary, therefore, to the vindication of Divine justice, that sooner or later the state of things should be altered, and that a day should arrive which will demonstrate, in a light clearer than liquid fire, the vast difference betwixt the godly and the wicked. "Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to ano 66 "ther; and the LORD hearkened, and heard it; and a "book of remembrance was written before him for "them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon "his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD "of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; " and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son "that serveth him. Then shall ye return and discern "between the righteous and the wicked; between him "that serveth God, and him that serveth him not."h 2dly, From the book of Conscience; which not only discharges its office of judging the guilty here, but also summons all of them to the tribunal of God, there to undergo another and a more severe and impartial judgment. 3dly, From the book of Scripture; which exhibits the entire scene of the judgment, with its whole apparatus, prepared with a magnificence corresponding to the majesty of the Supreme Judge. Scripture discovers many circumstances of which nature is utterly ignorant, and others which it teaches but imperfectly and indistinctly. IV. In treating this subject, the four following points demand our attention. First, The JUDGE. Secondly, Those that are TO BE JUDGED. Thirdly, The SENTENCE. Fourthly, The circumstances of PLACE and TIME. v. With regard to the JUDGE, we may consider, 1st, His PERSON. 2dly, His GLORY. 3dly, His ATTENDANTS. VI. GOD is the JUDGE-none of the Divine persons being excluded; whose knowledge, will, authority, and sentence, is one. "Know thou," says Solomon," that "for all these things God will bring thee into judg h Mal. iii. 16-18. i Rom. ii. 15. 1 John iii. 20. "ment:" and, "God will bring every work into judg"ment." Paul, too, mentions "the day of wrath and "revelation of the righteous judgment of God;"1 and speaks of "God the Judge of all."m-God, for the precise reason that he is God, that is, a Being infinitely perfect, is the King and Lawgiver of rational creatures." He is, therefore, also the Judge, to take cognizance of the actions of men according to the law, and to distribute rewards or punishments conformably to its sanction. He "will render to every man according to his deeds." 66 VII. But by special economy, judgment is attributed to CHRIST; which appears from numerous and striking testimonies both in the Old and New Testament. In Isaiah, the Messiah is described as " judging, and 66 seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness." To him I would refer also the following words: "The "LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our Lawgiver, the "LORD is our King; he will save us ;"a for all these characters pertain to Messiah the Saviour, who was anointed by God to be King of Zion, and who delivered in the audience of the whole congregation of Israel, that law, according to which he will judge Israel, and the whole world. In the book of Ezekiel, it is promised that he shall come "whose right it is," or "whose is the judgment;"-who has a right to the incorruptible and inalienable crown promised to the house of David, and being King, has also authority to exercise judgment upon all. The following expression J Eccles. xi. 9. 1 Rom. ii. 5. n James iv. 12. P Ch. xvi. 5. · oðunni 13 qw8 Ch. xxi. 27. * Eccles. xii. 14. m Heb. xii. 23. • Rom. ii. 6. 4 Is. xxxiii. 22. s in Micah, too, relates to no other person: They shall "smite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the "cheek." It appears from the Gospel history, that Christ was in fact insulted in this manner; and who but he can be called the Judge of Israel that was smitten by the Jews, and for the avenging of whom, the destructive legions of Rome, referred to in this verse, subverted their polity? To him also these words in the Psalms must be applied; "Give the King thy judgments, O "God, and thy righteousness unto the King's Son." Here the Chaldee Paraphrast, not altogether improperly, makes the following comment; To King Messiah, the Son of King David.* But it is better to refer the expression to a more excellent name, so as peculiarly and eminently to indicate him to be King, who is not the heir of any man in his kingdom, but the Son of the true King, namely, God the Father. The same truth is very frequently inculcated in the New Testament Scriptures." VIII. The following declaration of Christ is particularly memorable: "The Father judgeth no man, but "hath committed all judgment to the Son." With this, however, these other expressions of our Lord seem not to agree; "I judge no man ;" and, "There is 66 W one that seeketh and judgeth," that is, the Father.x This seeming contradiction is thus reconciled. The Father judgeth no man, 1. Separately from the Son. 2. In a visible form. 3. As, according to the economy of redemption, King of the Church. The Father, "See Acts xvii. 31. Rom. ii. 16. 2 Cor. v. 10. 2 Tim. iv. 1. John v. 22. * Verse 50. John viii. 15. |