dead deposited in her bosom; the sea, which had devoured so many, having thrown them up from its agitated waters; and Hades, having opened its prison doors, and poured forth his millions-small and great being collected together, the judgment is set, and the books produced by which every individual of the human race is to be justified or condemned; every thing appears to be fast advancing to a crisis. These books probably represent the various dispensations of God, in nature, providence, and grace, towards mankind during their state of trial; the gifts bestowed; the privileges enjoyed, with the neglect or improvement of their talents respectively; and the truth of their contents will be acknowledged by the consciences and recollections of all concerned. The book of life, in addition to the other books, may record the names of the redeemed with the description of all that was lovely in their characters, or those actions which were evangelically worthy in the sight of God, or met with his approbation.

2. The process.-The KING being seated on his glorious judgment-seat, and all created intelligences present, the holy angels, as the executers of his will; the devils, to receive their full sentence; and the whole race of mankind, whose states are now to be finally fixed.

The Holy Angels.—These in all their various orders, all of whom excel in power and virtue, throng the tribunal of their glorious Lord; waiting for his commands, ready to perform all his pleasure, to the joy of some and the anguish of others: not that he needs their support, for all power is his; but to afford them an opportunity of discovering their zeal in his righteous cause, that their happiness may be increased, and new favours bestowed upon them. And doubtless, they will taste the sweets of their fidelity, when they behold the dreadful consequences of the rebellion of their once favoured and honoured companions.

The Devils.-That Satan and his angels have not yet received their full measure of torment is evident from hence, that when the Prince of Life was manifested here below,

they cried out, "What have we to do with thee; art thou come to torment us before the time?" And St. Jude informs us, "The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day.” We generally conceive of them as being the most unhappy and wretched of all creatures, partly from their filthy and abominably-polluted nature, and partly from the displeasure of the incensed Majesty of heaven and earth. But worse, much worse is yet to come. Their malice against man, and their continual attempts to oppose the government of Christ, will awfully fall upon these lying, murderous, and accursed spirits. Oh what terrors must seize upon them when the Redeemer and his redeemed shall judge them, and when they shall be plunged into that bottomless abyss they so greatly dread!

All mankind.-1 do not consider that the business of this day will be to discover who are righteous or wicked, for that must necessarily be known both to their Judge and to themselves; but to fix their final state, and the measures of rewards and punishments to the one character and the other

to justify the Divine proceedings towards his creatures in general-and to develop all the secret springs of human actions, as well as those actions themselves, that every man may receive according to his works. Now the true character of every man will be fully known, and all his motives clearly revealed. Wickedness will no longer be able occasionally to wear the garb of honesty, virtue, or religion; nor shall suffering piety be branded with the odious names of hypocrisy and deceit. All will have sufficient cause for humiliation; but the wicked alone will be confounded. All unscriptural pleas and excuses will be inadmissible, all claims of peculiar privilege unavailable, and all religious profession not founded in truth reprehensible. All the mysterious things which have perplexed the wisest and the best of men will be brought to light; and all the dispensations of Divine providence towards mankind will be clearly under

stood. No partiality will be shewn by this most JUST and EQUITABLE Judge to any man for any eminence of charac ter he sustained amongst men. The great ones of the earth, whose names have spread terror far and wide, are now reduced to a level with the meanest; the honourable with the base; and the wealthy with the indigent. Those who have had the fairest opportunities of getting and doing good, and have not improved them, will be utterly ashamed; while real piety shall lift up its head, and be honoured and exalted. All are awed in the presence of their most HOLY and most MIGHTY Lord, and all must acknowledge that glory, majesty, dominion, and power, are his. And now I would ask, before I proceed any farther, whether any man would wish to be found amongst the enemies of God in that day; and if not, does it not call loudly upon us to examine whether we are converted or not? If we are not, what necessity is there for us to wake to righteousness, and to cry mightily to God to turn us to himself, that we may not be found the objects of his indignation at that decisive day! Now the Lord mercifully invites. O harden not your hearts, or when you cry he will refuse to hearken!

3. The passing sentence.-The precise manner in which the Lord Jesus will proceed with us when he appears in his glory, is not particularly revealed; nor is it of much moment for us to know whether we shall all repeat the whole of our conversation here below to him, or whether he will himself set it before us, and cause us to know what we have been and done. It is sufficient that we are informed, that at the "revelation of the righteous judgment of God, he will render to every man according to his deeds; to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory, honour, and immortality, eternal life: but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil-for there is no respect of persons with God." This rule having been observed, he will give commandment that a separation now take place between the righteous and the

wicked-between those that served God and those that served him not; and immediately they are separated, as a shep herd divideth his sheep from the goats. He sets the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his 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." Then, enumerating the precious fruits of their love to him, and to one another, in such a manner as will fill them with joy and wonder; he says to them on the left hand," Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." This reply conveys the idea, that they will endeavour to justify themselves to the very last; but he who knows that they were destitute of that faith that works by love, regards them not, and by his unchangeable decree they are driven away in their wickedness into everlasting punishment; but the righteous are admitted into life eternal, Matt. xxv. 31, &c. But what language can describe the views and feelings of the guilty criminals who are doomed to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power? Oh what will be their horrors when they see the saints preparing to enter the "kingdom of God, and they themselves thrust out!" Oh what a dissolving of families and acquaintances, never, never more to be united! Here, perhaps, a husband, whom no prayers, tears, or intreaties made by his affectionate wife, could ever move to seek after God; or a proud, vain, and sinful wife, that was not to be prevailed upon to love and tread in the footsteps of the followers of the Lamb: here a cursing, blaspheming, and persecuting parent, is stung with deep and bitter remorse at seeing his pious children honoured by their Saviour God; and there a hard-hearted and abandoned child, who shut his ears against the wisdom and counsel of age, and refused instruction. On this hand we see the faithful messengers of grace exulting in the presence of their almighty Sovereign, with those who were awakened, comforted, and edified by their ministry; and on that, those who

were called, reproved, and warned to turn to God, but who treated gospel messages as idle tales, chose death in the error of their ways, and shut their ears to every admonition that was calculated to bring them from the paths of sin, to the paths of righteousness. Oh what shrieks, cries, struggles, groans, and looks! Oh what wishes-what exclamations! Yet all is unavailable. They look at him they have pierced, and mourn, and perish. O God of boundless mercy, for the sake of him whose blood was shed for guilty man, have mercy on me and my readers; that before this awful day commences, we may humble our souls before thee, and be saved from the dreadful punishments that will fall on the heads of the ungodly! All these things sufficiently prove the absolute necessity of conversion. Its necessity farther appears from the nature of

THE HEAVENLY STATE.

THE place which God has appointed for the residence of saints and angels, and where he is pleased to reveal most of his glorious nature and perfections, we call heaven: a state of happiness from which all evil is excluded, and where all happiness is experienced: a state of perfect enjoyment and felicity; and which the scriptures constantly represent as the gift of God in reference to man, to holy souls, and to them alone. Since this state is only reserved for the holy, and as all holiness is founded in conversion, it is evident that no unconverted person will ever be admitted there: "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven." The consummation of bliss arising from the Beatific vision, and the inheritance above, is reserved for sanctified souls: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God:" but "without holiness no man shall see the Lord." These words of the God of truth ought to have great weight with us all ; for though it is attended with great difficulty to speak of the heavenly glory and not debase the subject, yet none appears respecting those that are to be put in possession of it;