The Great Assize

1This is a listening version of John Wesley's sermon, The Great Assize. It was preached at the Assizes before Sir Edward Clive, in Saint Paul's Church, Bedford, on Friday, 10 March 1758. It is the sermon as printed in John Wesley's 1771 Works. Rendered in modern English.

We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10). Romans 14:10.

2How many circumstances come together to raise the awe of this present solemnity? There is the general gathering of people of every age, sex, rank, and condition of life, willingly or unwillingly brought together, not only from the neighboring places but from distant parts. There are criminals, soon to be brought out, and with no way to escape. There are officers, waiting in their various posts to carry out the orders that shall be given. And there is the representative of our gracious sovereign, Sir Edward Clive, the judge, one of the judges of his Majesty's Court of Common Pleas, whom we so highly reverence and honor.

The occasion of this assembly adds not a little to the solemnity of it. They are met to hear and determine causes of every kind, some of them of the most important nature, on which depends no less than life or death. Death, that uncovers the face of eternity.

It was surely to increase the serious sense of these things, and not in the minds of the common people only, that the wisdom of our forefathers did not disdain to appoint even several small circumstances of this solemnity. For these also, by means of the eye or the ear, may affect the heart more deeply. Viewed in this light, trumpets, staves, and apparel are no longer trifling or insignificant. They serve, in their kind and in their degree, the most valuable ends of society.

3But as awful as this solemnity is, one far more awful is at hand. For yet a little while, and we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10). For as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God (Romans 14:11). And in that day, every one of us shall give account of himself to God (Romans 14:12).

4Had all men a deep sense of this, how effectually it would secure the interests of society. For what stronger motive can be conceived to the practice of genuine morality, to a steady pursuit of solid virtue, to a uniform walk in justice, mercy, and truth? What could strengthen our hands in all that is good, and deter us from all evil, like a strong conviction of this: the Judge stands at the door, and we are shortly to stand before him?

5It may not, then, be improper, or unsuited to the design of the present assembly, to consider these things.

First, the chief circumstances which will come before our standing before the judgment seat of Christ.

Second, the judgment itself.

Third, a few of the circumstances which will follow it.

6Let us, in the first place, consider the chief circumstances which will come before our standing before the judgment seat of Christ.

7And first, God will show signs in the earth beneath. Acts 2:19. In particular he will arise to shake the earth terribly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage. There shall be earthquakes. The words in various places do not mean in various places only, but in all places: not in one only, or a few, but in every part of the habitable world. Even such as were not since men were upon the earth, so mighty earthquakes, and so great. Luke 21:11.

In one of these, every island shall flee away, and the mountains will not be found. Revelation 16:20. Meanwhile, all the waters of the globe of land and water will feel the violence of those shocks. The sea and the waves roaring, Luke 21:25, with such an agitation as had never been known before, since the hour when the fountains of the great deep were broken up, to destroy the earth which then stood out of the water and in the water.

The air will be all storm and tempest, full of dark vapors and pillars of smoke, Joel 2:30, resounding with thunder from pole to pole, and torn with 10,000 lightnings. But the commotion will not stop in the region of the air. The powers of heaven also shall be shaken. There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars, in those that are fixed as well as in those that move around them. Luke 21:25-26.

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord comes. Joel 2:31. The stars shall withdraw their shining, Joel 3:15, yes, and fall from heaven, thrown out of their orbits.

Then shall be heard the universal shout from all the companies of heaven, followed by the voice of the archangel, proclaiming the approach of the Son of God and man, and the trumpet of God, sounding an alarm to all who sleep in the dust of the earth. 1 Thessalonians 4:16. In consequence of this, all the graves shall open, and the bodies of men arise. The sea also shall give up the dead which are in it, Revelation 20:13, and every one shall rise with his own body: his own in substance, although so changed in its properties that we cannot now conceive it. For this corruptible will then put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:53.

Yes, death and Hades, the invisible world, shall deliver up the dead that are in them. So all who ever lived and died, since God created man, shall be raised incorruptible and immortal.

8At the same time, the Son of man shall send forth his angels over all the earth, and they shall gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24:31. And the Lord himself shall come with clouds, in his own glory, and the glory of his Father, with 10,000 of his saints, even myriads of angels, and shall sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, and shall set the sheep, the good, on his right hand, and the goats, the wicked, upon the left. Matthew 25:31.

Concerning this general assembly, the beloved disciple speaks thus. I saw the dead, all who had been dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened. That is a figurative expression, plainly referring to the manner of proceeding among men. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Revelation 20:12.

9These are the chief circumstances recorded in the oracles of God as coming before the general judgment. We are, secondly, to consider the judgment itself, so far as it has pleased God to reveal it.

10The person by whom God will judge the world is his only begotten Son, whose goings forth are from everlasting, who is God over all, blessed for ever. To him, being the out-beaming of his Father's glory, the express image of his person, Hebrews 1:3, the Father has committed all judgment, because he is the Son of man. John 5:22, 27. For though he was in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, yet he emptied himself, taking upon him the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:6-7.

Yes, because, being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself yet farther, becoming obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him, even in his human nature, and ordained him as man to try the children of men, to be the judge both of the living and the dead: both of those who shall be found alive at his coming, and of those who were gathered to their fathers before.

11The time, called by the prophet the great and the terrible day, is usually named in scripture the day of the Lord. The space from the creation of man upon the earth to the end of all things is the day of the sons of men. The time that is now passing over us is properly our day. When this is ended, the day of the Lord will begin. But who can say how long it will continue? With the Lord one day is as 1,000 years, and 1,000 years as one day. 2 Peter 3:8.

From this very expression, some of the ancient fathers drew the inference that what is commonly called the day of judgment would indeed be 1,000 years. And it seems they did not go beyond the truth. No, probably they did not come up to it. For if we consider the number of persons who are to be judged, and the number of actions which are to be inquired into, it does not appear that 1,000 years will suffice for the transactions of that day. So it may not improbably take in several thousand years. But God shall reveal this also in its season.

12As to the place where mankind will be judged, we have no explicit account in scripture. An eminent writer, though not he alone, for many have been of the same opinion, supposes it will be on earth, where the works were done, according to which they shall be judged, and that God will, in order to that, employ the angels of his strength,

To smooth and lengthen out the boundless space, and spread an area for all human race.

But perhaps it is more agreeable to our Lord's own account of his coming in the clouds to suppose it will be above the earth, if not twice a planetary height. And this supposition is not a little favored by what Saint Paul writes to the Thessalonians. The dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who remain alive shall be caught up together with them, in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. So it seems most probable that the great white throne will be high exalted above the earth.

13The persons to be judged: who can count them, any more than the drops of rain, or the sands of the sea? I beheld, says Saint John, a great multitude which no man can number, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. How immense, then, must be the total multitude of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues? Of all who have sprung from the loins of Adam, since the world began, until time shall be no more?

If we admit the common supposition, which seems in no way absurd, that the earth bears at any one time no less than four hundred million living souls, men, women, and children, what a congregation must all those generations make, who have succeeded each other for seven thousand years?

Great Xerxes' world in arms, proud Cannae's host, they all are here, and here they all are lost. Their numbers swell to be discerned in vain, lost as a drop in the unbounded main.

Every man, every woman, every infant of days that ever breathed the vital air, will then hear the voice of the Son of God, and start into life, and appear before him. And this seems to be the natural import of that expression, the dead, small and great: all universally, all without exception, all of every age, sex, or degree. All who ever lived and died, or underwent such a change as will be equivalent to death. For long before that day, the phantom of human greatness disappears and sinks into nothing. Even in the moment of death, that vanishes away. Who is rich or great in the grave?

14And every man shall there give an account of his own works, yes, a full and true account of all that he ever did while in the body, whether it was good or evil. O what a scene will then be disclosed, in the sight of angels and men! Not the fabled Rhadamanthus, but the Lord God Almighty, who knows all things in heaven and earth.

An old Latin line said of that fabled judge that he punishes and hears their tricks, and forces them to confess. In plain English, the line says that he makes each one confess the sins he committed among the living, sins he was glad to hide in vain, and put off until the late hour of death. Not a fable will do that. The Lord will.

Nor will the actions alone of every child of man be brought then to open view, but all their words. For every idle word which men shall speak, they shall give account of it in the day of judgment. So by your words, as well as by your works, you shall be justified, or by your words you shall be condemned. Matthew 12:36-37.

Will not God then bring to light every circumstance also that accompanied every word or action, and if it did not alter the nature, yet lessened or increased the goodness or the badness of them? And how easy is this to him who is about our bed and about our path, and spies out all our ways? We know the darkness is no darkness to him, but the night shines as the day.

15Yes, he will bring to light not the hidden works of darkness only, but the very thoughts and intents of the heart. And what wonder? For he searches the inward parts, and understands all our thoughts. All things are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Hell and destruction are before him without a covering. How much more the hearts of the children of men?

16And in that day shall be discovered every inward working of every human soul. Every appetite, passion, inclination, and affection, with the various combinations of them, with every temper and disposition that make up the whole complex character of each person. So it shall be clearly and infallibly seen who was righteous and who was unrighteous, and in what degree every action, or person, or character was either good or evil.

17Then the King will say to those on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father. For I was hungry and you gave me meat, thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me. In the same manner, all the good they did upon earth will be recited before men and angels: whatever they had done, either in word or deed, in the name of the Lord Jesus, or for his sake.

All their good desires, intentions, and thoughts, all their holy dispositions, will also be remembered then. And it will appear that though they were unknown or forgotten among men, yet God noted them in his book. All their sufferings likewise for the name of Jesus, and for the testimony of a good conscience, will be displayed, to their praise from the righteous Judge, their honor before saints and angels, and the increase of that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

18But will their evil deeds too, since if we take in his whole life, there is not a man on earth who lives and does not sin, will these be remembered in that day, and mentioned in the great congregation? Many believe they will not, and ask, Would not this imply that their sufferings were not at an end, even when life ended, seeing they would still have sorrow, and shame, and confusion of face to endure?

They ask further, How can this be reconciled with God's declaration by the prophet? If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he has committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, all his transactions that he has committed, they shall not once be mentioned to him. Ezekiel 18:21-22. How is it consistent with the promise which God has made to all who accept the gospel covenant, I will forgive their iniquities, and remember their sin no more? Jeremiah 31:34. Or, as the apostle expresses it, I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and iniquities I will remember no more. Hebrews 8:12.

19It may be answered: it is plainly and absolutely necessary, for the full display of the glory of God, for the clear and perfect manifestation of his wisdom, justice, power, and mercy toward the heirs of salvation, that all the circumstances of their life should be placed in open view, together with all their tempers, and all the desires, thoughts, and intents of their hearts. Otherwise, how would it appear out of what a depth of sin and misery the grace of God had delivered them?

And indeed, if the whole lives of all the children of men were not openly discovered, the whole amazing frame of divine providence could not be manifested. Nor should we yet be able, in 1,000 instances,

to "justify the ways of God to man."

Unless our Lord's words were fulfilled in their utmost sense, without any restriction or limitation, there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, or hidden that shall not be known, Matthew 10:26, abundance of God's dealings under the sun would still appear without their reasons. And then only, when God has brought to light all the hidden things of darkness, whoever were the actors in them, will it be seen that wise and good were all his ways. That he saw through the thick cloud, and governed all things by the wise counsel of his own will. That nothing was left to chance, or to the whim of men, but God disposed all strongly and sweetly, and wrought all into one connected chain of justice, mercy, and truth.

20And in the discovery of the divine perfections, the righteous will rejoice with joy unspeakable, far from feeling any painful sorrow or shame for any of those past transgressions, which were long since blotted out as a cloud, washed away by the blood of the Lamb. It will be more than enough for them that all the transgressions which they had committed shall not once be mentioned to them, to their disadvantage, and that their sins, and transgressions, and iniquities shall be remembered no more, to their condemnation. This is the plain meaning of the promise. And this all the children of God shall find true, to their everlasting comfort.

21After the righteous are judged, the King will turn to those on his left hand, and they also shall be judged, every man according to his works. But not only their outward works will be brought into the account, but all the evil words which they have ever spoken. Yes, all the evil desires, affections, and tempers which have, or have had, a place in their souls, and all the evil thoughts or designs which were ever cherished in their hearts. The joyful sentence of acquittal will then be pronounced upon those on the right hand. The dreadful sentence of condemnation upon those on the left. Both must remain fixed and immovable, as the throne of God.

22We may, in the third place, consider a few of the circumstances which will follow the general judgment. And the first is the execution of the sentence pronounced on the evil and on the good. These shall go away into eternal punishment, and the righteous into life eternal. It should be observed that it is the very same word which is used, both in the former and in the latter clause. It follows that either the punishment lasts for ever, or the reward too will come to an end. No, never, unless God could come to an end, or his mercy and truth could fail. That punishment is everlasting punishment. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father, and shall drink of those rivers of pleasure which are at God's right hand for evermore.

But here all description falls short. All human language fails. Only one who is caught up into the third heaven can have a just conception of it. But even such a one cannot express what he has seen. These things it is not possible for man to utter.

23The wicked, meanwhile, shall be turned into hell, even all the people that forget God. They will be punished with everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. They will be cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone, originally prepared for the devil and his angels, where they will gnaw their tongues for anguish and pain, they will curse God and look upward. There the dogs of hell, pride, malice, revenge, rage, horror, despair, continually devour them. There they have no rest, day or night, but the smoke of their torment ascends for ever and ever. For their worm dies not, and their fire is not quenched.

24Then the heavens will be shriveled up as a parchment scroll, and pass away with a great noise. They will flee from the face of him who sits on the throne, and there will be found no place for them. Revelation 20:11. The very manner of their passing away is disclosed to us by the apostle Peter. In the day of God, the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved. 2 Peter 3:12. The whole beautiful fabric will be overthrown by that raging element, the connection of all its parts destroyed, and every atom torn from the others. By the same, the earth also, and the works that are in it, shall be burned up. 2 Peter 3:10.

The enormous works of nature, the everlasting hills, mountains that have defied the rage of time and stood unmoved so many thousand years, will sink down in fiery ruin. How much less will the works of art, though of the most durable kind, the utmost efforts of human industry, tombs, pillars, triumphal arches, castles, pyramids, be able to withstand the flaming conqueror? All, all will die, perish, vanish away, like a dream when one awakes.

25It has indeed been imagined by some great and good men that, as it requires the same almighty power to annihilate things as to create, to speak into nothing or out of nothing, so no part of the universe, no atom in it, will be totally or finally destroyed. Rather, they suppose that, as the last operation of fire which we have yet been able to observe is to reduce into glass what by a smaller force it had reduced to ashes, so, in the day God has ordained, the whole earth, if not the material heavens also, will undergo this change, after which the fire can have no further power over them. And they believe this is intimated by that expression in the Revelation made to Saint John: Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. Revelation 4:6. We cannot now either affirm or deny this. But we shall know hereafter.

26If the scoffers, the minute philosophers, ask how these things can be, whence should come such an immense quantity of fire as would consume the heavens and the whole globe of land and water, we would beg leave, first, to remind them that this difficulty is not peculiar to the Christian system. The same opinion almost universally obtained among the heathen who were not bigoted. So one of those celebrated free-thinkers speaks, according to the sentiment generally received.

An old Latin line says, in plain English, that he remembers it is also fixed in fate that a time will come when the sea, when the earth, and the palace of heaven seized with them, shall burn, and the great laboring mass of the world shall strain in the fire.

But, secondly, it is easy to answer, even from our slight and superficial acquaintance with natural things, that there are abundant stores of fire, ready prepared and treasured up against the day of the Lord. How soon may a comet, commissioned by him, travel down from the most distant parts of the universe? And were it to fix upon the earth, in its return from the sun, when it is some thousands of times hotter than a red-hot cannonball, who does not see what the immediate consequence must be?

But, not to rise so high as the ethereal heavens, might not the same lightnings which give light to the world, if commanded by the Lord of nature, give ruin and utter destruction? Or, to go no farther than the globe itself, who knows what huge reservoirs of liquid fire are contained, from age to age, in the bowels of the earth? Etna, Hecla, Vesuvius, and all the other volcanoes that belch out flames and coals of fire, what are they but so many proofs and mouths of those fiery furnaces? And at the same time, so many evidences that God has in readiness the means to fulfill his word.

Yes, were we to observe no more than the surface of the earth, and the things that surround us on every side, it is most certain, as 1,000 experiments prove, beyond all possibility of denial, that we ourselves, our whole bodies, are full of fire, as well as everything round about us. Is it not easy to make this ethereal fire visible even to the naked eye, and so to produce by it the very same effects on matter that will burn which are produced by a kitchen fire? Is anything more needed, then, than for God to unloose that secret chain by which this irresistible agent is now bound down, and lies quiet in every particle of matter? And how soon would it tear the universal frame in pieces, and involve all in one common ruin?

27There is one circumstance more which will follow the judgment, and it deserves our serious consideration. We look, says the apostle, according to his promise, for new heavens and a new earth, wherein righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:13. The promise stands in the prophecy of Isaiah. Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered. Isaiah 65:17. So great shall the glory of the latter be.

These Saint John beheld in the visions of God. I saw, says he, a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Revelation 21:1. And only righteousness dwelt there. Accordingly he adds, And I heard a great voice from the third heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. Revelation 21:3.

Of necessity, therefore, they will all be happy. God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. Revelation 21:4. There shall be no more curse, but they shall see his face, Revelation 22:3-4, and shall have the nearest access to him, and from that the highest resemblance of him. This is the strongest expression in the language of scripture to denote the most perfect happiness.

And his name shall be on their foreheads. They shall be openly acknowledged as God's own property, and his glorious nature shall most visibly shine forth in them. And there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither the light of the sun. For the Lord God gives them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.

28It remains only to apply these considerations to all who are here before God. And are we not led directly to do so by the present solemnity, which so naturally points us to that day when the Lord will judge the world in righteousness? This, therefore, by reminding us of that more awful season, may furnish many lessons of instruction. A few of these I may be permitted just to touch on. May God write them on all our hearts.

29And first, how beautiful are the feet of those who are sent, by the wise and gracious providence of God, to execute justice on earth, to defend the injured and punish the wrongdoer. Are they not the ministers of God to us for good, the grand supporters of the public tranquility, the patrons of innocence and virtue, the great security of all our temporal blessings? And does not every one of these represent not only an earthly prince, but the Judge of the earth? Him whose name is written upon his thigh, King of kings and Lord of lords.

O that all these sons of the right hand of the Most High may be as holy as he is holy. Wise with the wisdom that sits by his throne, like him who is the eternal Wisdom of the Father. No respecters of persons, as he is none, but rendering to every man according to his works. Like him, inflexibly, inexorably just, though full of pity and of tender mercy. So shall they be terrible indeed to those who do evil, as not bearing the sword in vain. So shall the laws of our land have their full use and due honor, and the throne of our King be still established in righteousness.

30You truly honorable men, the magistrates, whom God and the king have commissioned, in a lower degree, to administer justice: may you not be compared to those ministering spirits who will attend the Judge coming in the clouds? May you, like them, burn with love to God and man. May you love righteousness and hate iniquity. May you all minister, in your several spheres, such honor has God given you also, to those who shall be heirs of salvation, and to the glory of your great sovereign. May you remain the establishers of peace, the blessing and ornaments of your country, the protectors of a guilty land, the guardian angels of all who are round about you.

31You, whose office it is to carry out what is given you in charge by him before whom you stand: how nearly you are concerned to resemble those who stand before the face of the Son of man. Those servants of his who do his pleasure, and listen to the voice of his words. Does it not highly concern you to be as uncorrupt as they are? To approve yourselves the servants of God? To do justly, and to love mercy? To do to all as you would have them do to you? So shall that great Judge, under whose eye you continually stand, say to you also, Well done, good and faithful servants. Enter into the joy of your Lord.

32Suffer me to add a few words to all of you who are present this day before the Lord, the people in this church. Should you not bear it in your minds all the day long, that a more awful day is coming? A large assembly this. But what is it to that which every eye will then behold, the general assembly of all the children of men that ever lived on the face of the whole earth?

A few will stand at the judgment seat this day, to be judged touching what shall be laid to their charge. And they are now reserved in prison, perhaps in chains, until they are brought out to be tried and sentenced. But we shall all, I who speak and you who hear, stand at the judgment seat of Christ. And we are now reserved on this earth, which is not our home, in this prison of flesh and blood, perhaps many of us in chains of darkness too, until we are ordered to be brought forth.

Here a man is questioned about one or two facts which he is supposed to have committed. There we are to give an account of all our works, from the cradle to the grave. Of all our words. Of all our desires and tempers. Of all the thoughts and intents of our hearts. Of all the use we have made of our various talents, whether of mind, body, or fortune, until God said, Give an account of your stewardship, for you may be steward no longer.

In this court it is possible that some who are guilty may escape for want of evidence. But there is no want of evidence in that court. All men with whom you had the most secret intercourse, who were privy to all your designs and actions, are ready before your face. So are all the spirits of darkness, who inspired evil designs and assisted in the execution of them. So are all the angels of God, those eyes of the Lord that run to and fro over all the earth, who watched over your soul and labored for your good, so far as you would permit. So is your own conscience, 1,000 witnesses in one, now no more capable of being either blinded or silenced, but constrained to know and to speak the naked truth, touching all your thoughts, and words, and actions. And is conscience as 1,000 witnesses? Yes, but God is as 1,000 consciences. O who can stand before the face of the great God, even our Savior, Jesus Christ?

33See, see, he comes. He makes the clouds his chariots. He rides upon the wings of the wind. A devouring fire goes before him, and after him a flame burns. See, he sits upon his throne, clothed with light as with a garment, arrayed with majesty and honor. Behold, his eyes are as a flame of fire, and his voice as the sound of many waters.

34How will you escape? Will you call to the mountains to fall on you, to the rocks to cover you? Alas, the mountains themselves, the rocks, the earth, the heavens, are just ready to flee away. Can you prevent the sentence? With what? With all the substance of your house, with thousands of gold and silver? Blind wretch. You came naked from your mother's womb, and more naked into eternity.

Hear the Lord, the Judge. Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Joyful sound. How widely different from that voice which echoes through the expanse of heaven, Depart, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And who is he that can prevent or delay the full execution of either sentence? Vain hope. Lo, hell is moved from beneath to receive those who are ripe for destruction. And the everlasting doors lift up their heads, that the heirs of glory may come in.

35What manner of persons, then, ought we to be, in all holy conversation and godliness? We know it cannot be long before the Lord will descend with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God, when every one of us shall appear before him and give an account of his own works. Therefore, beloved, seeing you look for these things, seeing you know he will come and will not tarry, be diligent, that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

Why should you not? Why should one of you be found on the left hand at his appearing? He does not will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. By repentance, to faith in a bleeding Lord. By faith, to spotless love, to the full image of God renewed in the heart, and producing all holiness of conversation. Can you doubt of this, when you remember the Judge of all is likewise the Savior of all? Has he not bought you with his own blood, that you might not perish, but have everlasting life?

O make proof of his mercy, rather than of his justice. Of his love, rather than of the thunder of his power. He is not far from every one of us, and he is now come, not to condemn, but to save the world. He stands in the midst. Sinner, does he not now, even now, knock at the door of your heart? O that you may know, at least in this your day, the things that belong to your peace. O that you may now give yourselves to him who gave himself for you, in humble faith, in holy, active, patient love. So shall you rejoice with exceeding joy in his day, when he comes in the clouds of heaven.