THE PRESBYTERIAN MAGAZINE. MAY, 1856. Miscellaneous Articles. THE JUDGMENT OF THE GREAT DAY. Amid As man is evidently endowed with a principle of forethought, and is avowedly acting under a system of accountability, it doubtless becomes him to look forward into futurity, and to prepare for the events of whose coming the word of God has informed us. the hurry, however, of commercial pursuits, and when the mind is under the undue love of worldly pleasures, or stupefied with sensual indulgences, we find that this regard to futurity is very generally neglected, or intentionally set aside, as if it were unnecessary. But, as by thus acting we cannot prevent the coming of the solemn events to which we refer, and most assuredly must thus be wholly unprepared for them when they come, it is highly necessary that our minds should, occasionally at least, be roused to reflection with regard to them, lest they come on us unawares, and we find ourselves involved in never-ending ruin, without the possibility of escaping from it. Of the certainty of a judgment to come, no one who sincerely believes the sacred Scriptures can entertain a doubt. The statements of the word of God on the subject are most explicit, and set it fully before us in all its vast extent and importance. For they tell us that "God has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness," and in which "he will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil;" and that all shall receive according to the deeds which they have done in the body." And it is to this day the language in Jude v. 6 naturally leads us to look forward. Its allusion to the angels who kept not their first estate, but sinned and fell, is most emphatic and awakening; for it tells us that they are "reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." An event, therefore, VOL. VI.-No. 5. 13 193 which is thus revealed with circumstances of such marked solemnity and grandeur, surely deserves our most serious attention; and in the present article we earnestly solicit it from you, while we endeavour to describe "the judgment of the great day." In doing this, we shall consider-I. What day is here referred to, and what there is in it to render it "the great day." II. The nature of its judgment. Let us then consider: I. What day is here referred to, and what there is in it to render it "the great day." The day here referred to is doubtless the last day of the existence of this world,-that day for which all other days were made, and it is called "the great day," on account of the events which are to transpire upon it. It may be so called, we remark, 1. Because Christ and all the holy angels of heaven will then visit this world. When a number of those who are exalted in station or rank among men visit any particular place on some business of importance, it is always regarded as an important event in its history, and is usually long remembered as a great day. But what are all such assemblages when contrasted with that with which this world is to be honoured at the winding up of its affairs? For the sacred Scriptures assure us that the Son of man shall come to it "in power and great glory, and all the holy angels with him." Every mark of weakness and degradation in him, we know, is already taken away, and he is then to appear just what he really is, "King of kings, and Lord of lords, having all power both in heaven and upon the earth." He is, to be seated, too, upon a throne of such splendour and majesty, that the visible heavens are represented as fleeing away before him, and the multitudes of the ungodly as being either speechless from terror, or as vainly calling on the mountains to fall on them, and cover them from the sight, for they know that the great day of his wrath is come. The various hosts of angels, too, who excel in strength, and have ever executed his commands, are to be there, exceeding in point of numbers all human calculation, and surpassing, as to the purity and grandeur of their appearance, all our powers of description. It will be an assemblage, indeed, of glory and dignity which will immeasurably transcend all our present conceptions, and which must be seen before we can fully know what it really is. Their advent also to the world is to be ushered in with unutterable solemnity, for it is to be preceded by "the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God," sounding so loud that all the dwellers on the earth are to hear, that they may prepare for leaving their avocations forever, and for an immediate giving in of their account. When we think, therefore, of the dignity of the beings who are then to visit this world, in connection with the object for which they come, the day on which this event is to take place may well be marked out as "the great day" in its duration. 2. Because the dead will then all be raised, and be united with their bodies, never again to see corruption. When we think of the many generations of mankind who have preceded us, and of those who may yet follow us, and all of them, except the two who were translated without tasting of death and those who may be found alive on this day, falling under the stroke of death, how affecting and wide is the desolation which rises before the mind! What heart-rending scenes of affliction have they passed through! What tender ties have been rent asunder! What important plans have been frustrated and left unaccomplished! And what loveliness has been wasted and brought to corruption! But, whatever has been, or may yet be in the future history of our world, death will not always thus be the fell destroyer of man. According to the testimony of ancient prophecy, a time is to come when God will ransom them from the power of the grave and redeem them from death. For he has already declared, "O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction; and repentance shall be hid from mine eyes." The Saviour himself, too, declared to the multitudes who surrounded him, "The hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." No truth, indeed, is more clearly revealed than that "there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." The properties, too, of the resurrection bodies of the righteous, are described in terms which communicate the most delightful idea of it, and which may all be summed up in the words of the apostle, that "it shall be fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body. How well worthy, then, is the day to be described as "great," when we consider the greatness and importance of the work that is to be performed upon it. What an amazing exertion of knowledge and of power will it require! For not one of the innumerable multitude whose bodies are or shall be sleeping in the dust shall be passed by or forgotten on that day. All, no matter where their dust may be sleeping,"all are to hear his voice," and at his command to receive power to come forth, to die no more forever. 3. It is the day of the completion of Christ's kingdom upon the earth. The reign of Christ, as the Redeemer of his people, commenced with the first communication or announcement of grace to the souls of men; and since then, how vast is the multitude who have obtained an interest in his redemption! and how much greater will it yet become before the end of all things!—so great, indeed, that no man can number it, gathered, too, from all lands and from all ages! It is a kingdom, too, that is exceedingly glorious and blissful; for it brings the highest possible glory to God, and the greatest blessedness to all who have an interest in it. But, till that day, it will be incomplete, both as to numbers and as to their holiness and happiness. But then, in both these respects, it will be consummated; for the last soul that is ever to obtain an interest in it will then have been born again and reconciled unto God. The number of those who are forever to stand before the throne of God as the purchase of the Redeemer's blood and as the trophies of his grace will then have been made up. The grave, too, will have resigned their bodies, fitted for being in their everlasting abode, for supporting their exercises and enhancing their joys throughout eternity. The wicked, who have no lot nor part in any of its blessings, will then be forever excluded from it, so that it will consist only of those who in their dispositions and exercises are brought nigh unto God, whose whole existence and powers are devoted to his service, and who are saved, to suffer and to sin no more forever. All these are to be collected in one vast assemblage, which no man can number, and presented by Christ without spot, or blemish, or any such thing. Such is another of the glorious events which will render the day referred to in the text illustrious even throughout eternity. 4. The mysteries of the Divine government, as to this world, will on that day be all cleared up. Over many of the dispensations of Providence an impenetrable veil of mystery at present rests. For clouds and darkness are often round about the throne; and God's way is in the sea and his footsteps in the great waters; or he clothes himself with light that is too dazzling for mortal sight to behold. The mysteries have often been a source of great trial and perplexity to the righteous. But then the reasons and tendencies and results of all the dealings of God will be clearly seen, and will administer the highest satisfaction to the mind, and draw forth from the vast assembly a universal burst of adoring praise unto Him, as having done all things well. And when ignorance, and error, and doubt, and unbelief, shall thus give way to knowledge and the fullest certainty and confidence, and all shall sing the song of Moses and the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty! just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints!" the triumphs of the day will be complete. God will be glorified in all his works. The hearts of his people will be filled with the highest admiration and praise, while the reproaches and blasphemies of his enemies will be forever stopped. And the day on which all this will be done cannot fail to be regarded as a great day in the history of our world. 5. It is truly called a "great day," because of the destruction of the world which is then to take place. When we attend to the announcements of Revelation on this subject, we learn that the present system of things is not to continue forever. Hence, the heavens are represented as waxing old and as hastening to decay. In connection with the earth, they are said to be reserved unto fire, against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Having served the purposes for which they were created, they are to pass through a grand and final change-a change that is described in terms of the greatest grandeur. For "the heavens are to pass away with a great noise, and the elements are to melt with fervent heat; the earth also and the works that are therein are to be burned up." This world, then, with all its works of nature and of art, shall be dissolved. All, all are to be burned up! What a day of wonders must that be, that is to be closed with a conflagration extending over every thing connected with our present system, and reducing it to a state of complete desolation! How insignificant will the days of its past history appear when put into contrast with this, every event of which transcends that which preceded it, till the climax of all comes, and a voice from the throne, which will be heard throughout all worlds, saying, "All things are done, and time shall be no more!" Then shall the angelic hosts and the multitude of the redeemed, with Christ at their head, pass away to "inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world;" and, when this is done, the flames will then probably be kindled and all things be burned up. Such is "the great day" that is here referred to. Let us now consider II. The nature of its judgment. In reference to the judgment of the great day, we remark, 66 1. It is to be a universal judgment. The whole human race, without a solitary exception, with Satan and all his angels, are to appear in this judgment, and to give in their account and receive their sentence in the presence of each other. The judgment is to have respect to the whole of their transactions; for God is said to "bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it hath been good or whether it hath been evil." As nothing escapes the omniscient eye of the Judge, and nothing occurs that has not some important bearing on the character of the individual or on that of others, so nothing will escape the scrutiny of the great day." If crimes escape detection in this world, and criminals are able sometimes to flee from the jurisdiction of earthly tribunals, nothing of the kind can take place when the Judge of all ascends the throne and has all nations gathered before him; for within the Almighty grasp of his arm all are embraced, and within the compass of his knowledge is included the infallible record of the thoughts, desires, words, and deeds, of all his creatures. With the utmost ease and unerring certainty, therefore, he can investigate the affairs of the universe, place every thing in its just and proper light, and pronounce a sentence that will exactly meet the case of every individual before his throne. "The judgment of the great day" is evidently designed to settle the character and fix the state of all his accountable creatures, and to place them in an unalterable condition throughout their never-ending existence. All, therefore, from the highest to the lowest, must appear before this tribunal and give in their account. 2. It is to be an open and impartial judgment. Every thing that is done in the judgment of the great day is to be done in the presence of the assembled universe. Concealment, therefore, with |