II. The ends of his coming It is not to display his own glory that Christ will come; but 1. To pass judgment upon the whole world [All, who have ever lived in this wretched world, shall be summoned before him-The old and the young, the rich and the poor, will all come forth out of their graves, and those that shall be then living upon earth shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and all shall stand together at his tribunal'— Every one shall then be tried as by fire;k their actions shall be weighed as in a balance; and the most secret motions of their hearts be brought to light-Then shall they that are approved, "have praise of God;" and they that are disapproved, be driven from his presence-Nor will Jesus merely pronounce the sentence of condemnation or acquittal, but he will " execute" it himself, either exalting them instantly to thrones of glory, or casting them headlong into "the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone"-] 2. To manifest the equity of his decisions [Whatever endeavours be now used to shew men their guilt and danger, they have many things to allege in their own favour;m nor even "if we could speak with the tongues of angels," could we bring home conviction to their heartsBut Jesus will shew them, beyond all contradiction, the futility of their excuses: and will prove by such unquestionable evidence "the deeds they have committed, the words they have spoken," and the thoughts they have entertained, that they shall be silenced and confounded before him-The ministers, who once laboured for their salvation, shall then be forced to bear testimony against them: their companions in sin, though to their own confusion, must also testify of those deeds of darkness, which they once fondly hoped would be buried in eternal oblivion The very places, where their most secret iniquities were committed, should rather stand forth to accuse them, than that they should escape with impunity"-Above all, “God himself will be a swift witness against them," and will so thoroughly "convince" them of all their sins, whether of commission or of omission, that they shall be constrained to acknowledge the equity of that sentence, which dooms them to everlasting burnings-Even in hell will they be compelled to h Rev. xx. 12, 13. 1 Cor. iii. 13. i1 Cor. xv. 51, 52. 1 Rom. ii. 16. They will impute their negligence to their situation in life, to necessity, or to any thing rather than the true cause, their own utter aversion to God and holiness. . Hab. ii. 11. • Mal. iii. 5. say, "Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments"] INFER 1. How needful is it that we should instantly begin our preparation for that day! [Five thousand years ago the prophet spake of Jesus as so near at hand, that it seemned as if he were already come And it is in this way that all, whether prophets or apostles, have been inspired to speak-So strongly did St. Paul express himself on this subject that the Thessalonians conceived the judgment-day to be almost immediately at hand-In the same manner must we say, "The Lord is at hand;" "the Judge is at the door" He surely is coming as soon as ever the events that are ordained to precede his advent shall have received their accomplishment-And with respect to us, it signifies little whether it be near or distant, since as death leaves us, judgment will find us-Is it not even madness then to delay our repentance, since we cannot tell but that death may come within the next year, or day, or hour?-Beloved, shal! your Lord come, and find you sleeping? Is he hastening towards you, and will you not prepare to meet him; O awake from your slumbers, and turn to him with your whole hearts; that so you may "have confidence before him at his com ing" 2. How desirable is it to possess an interest in Christ! [It surely is not necessary to prove that we are ungodly, since we have all sinned, times without number, in thought, word, and deed against the Divine Majesty-Whither then shall we go for the remission of our sins? How shall we get our iniquities blotted out from the book of his remembrance! Our tears, even if we could shed rivers of tears, will never avail for this end: nothing but the blood of Jesus can ever cleanse us from the guilt of one sin: and, if we be not washed in that fountain, we shall die in our iniquities, and lie under the guilt of them for ever-Let us then seek an interest in Christ-Let us never attempt to substitute any repentance or reformation of our own, in the place of his meritorious blood and righteousness: but let it be our one desire to "be found in him," and to obtain from him those garments of salvation, which alone can 66 cover the nakedness" of our guilty souls' P Rev. xvi. 7. r 2 Thess. ii. 2. t Rev. iii. 18. Η ηλθε. s Phil. iv. 5. Jam. v. 9. 3. With what confidence and comfort may believers look forward to the coming of their Lord! [Whom will they have for their judge but the very person who bought them with his blood? the very person in whom they have believed; and to whom they cleaved with full purpose of heart?-Be it so then; the catalogue of their sins shall be produced, a catalogue reaching, as it were, from heaven to earth; and they shall not have one word to offer in arrest of judgment: yet, will the Saviour pass a sentence of condemnation upon them? Will he not himself stand forth and testify, "I saw their deep contrition; I treasured up their tears in my vial; I was witness to their frequent sighs and groans, and to their cries for mercy through my atoning blood:" "Deliver them from going down into the pit; I paid their ransom:" they were mine; and they manifested that they were mine," by their obedience to my will, and their conformity to my image: "Come ye blessed children of my Father, inherit my kingdom prepared for you?"-Fear not then, ye weak and trembling saints; but rather "be looking for and hasting to the coming of the day of Christ:"* ye shall surely stand before him with joy; while they, who once justified their ungodliness, and thought, that to be among the godly was a fit matter for derision, shall bewail their folly, and confess the. equity of the sentence that fixes you in heaven, and themselves in hell-Remember then with gratitude that you are to have Jesus for your judge; and when he says, "Behold I come quickly," let your hearts reply, "Even so, come Lord Jesus"-] "God represents himself in this very light. Jer. xxxi. 18—20. * 2 Pet. iii. 12. y Rev. xxii. 20. CCIV. CHRIST'S SECOND COMING. Heb. ix. 27, 28. As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after that the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time, without sin, unto salvation. IT is probable that many in the first ages of Christianity wondered, as indeed many even at this time do, how persons should be saved by the death of Christ, thousands of years before he came into the world; more especially since the most solemn sacrifices under the Jewish œconomy were of no effect beyond the year in which they were offered. But the Jewish sacrifices needed to be repeated, because they were worthless and inefficient: whereas the perfection of Christ's sacrifice gave it a retrospective and prospective efficacy, so that, at whatever period of the world it should be offered, it needed never to be repeated. This is the scope of the passage before us; and the apostle illustrates his argument by an awful and acknowledged truth. To comprehend the force of his observations, we must consider I. Man's destination to death and judgment [This is too obvious to need a proof. Whatever be our age, condition, pursuits, and prospects, we must die. If our life were protracted to the age of Methuselah, we must die at last: God has " appointed" it; nor shall his decree be either defeated or reversed. But it is only "once" that we can die. Though some few who have been miraculously restored to life, have died a second time, we must not expect to return from our graves. If the great work of salvation be not completed before we die, we shall be undone for ever."] After death we shall all be judged [God has appointed a day, wherein he will judge the world in righteousness, and reward every man according to his works. And this also shall be but "once:" for, though every man's state is fixed as soon as he goes into the invisible world, it is not till the general resurrection that his body shall participate the portion assigned to his soul. And, as there is no return from death to another state of probation, so there is no appeal from the sentence that shall be passed in that day.] The apostle having mentioned this, proceeds to state II. A similar appointment respecting Christ Christ" once" died for the sins of men [Though in appearance our Saviour died like other men, yet in reality his death was altogether different from theirs. 'He died as a sacrifice for sin; his death was that very atonement which had been typically represented from the beginning of the world. But though he was to be "a propitiation for the sins of the whole world," he died only "once." The legal sacrifices were constantly repeated, because they were rather "remembrances of sins" than a real expiation of them: but "he, by one offering of himself, hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified;" and "many," even all that believe in him, have their sins removed for ever by virtue of it.] He also will "appear a second time" at the day of judgment [At his first coming he appeared "in the likeness of sinful flesh," and was treated as a sinner both by God and man: but at his second coming he will assume a very different appearance. As the high priest, while offering the annual sacrifices, was clothed only in plain linen garments, but, when he had completed his sacrifice, came forth in his splendid robes to bless the people; so our great high priest will put off the garb of humiliation, and shine forth in all his majesty and glory. At his first coming, he saved not himself; but, at that day, he will impart "salvation" unto others, even to all who seek him in sincerity and truth.] The apostle having introduced God's appointment respecting man to illustrate that respecting Christ, we shafi point out III. The correspondence and connexion between them The mention of death and judgment as appointed unto man was not at all necessary to the apostle's argument: but, as an illustration of it, it was very pertinent 1. Death and judgment are the consequents of sin; and the first and second coming of Christ shall be the means of salvation.". [If there had been no sin, there would have been no death, nor any occasion for a day of judgment: and, if Christ had not come to bear the sins of men, there would have been no salvation: all must have inevitably and eternally perished. Moreover, as the law required that the high priest, after having finished his work within the vail, should come forth to bless the people; so in the divine appointment, Christ's second coming is necessary to the complete salvation of his followers.] 2. Death and judgment shall be fatal to unbelievers and the first and second coming of Christ shall be means of salvation to them that believe [The Lord Jesus, as a judge, will condemn the wicked; "he will come to take vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not his gospel." But as a priest, he will e Rom. viii. 3. d Ley, xvi. 23, 24. with viii. 7, 9, and Numb. vi. 23, 24.~ |