31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory ;
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats :
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 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 :
35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me in :
36 Naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye visited me : I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee au hungered, and fed thee f or thirsty, and gave thee drink ?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee ?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came untg thee ?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them. Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels :
42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink ;
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in : naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye vis- ited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying. Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee ?
45 Then shall he answer them, say- ing Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment ; but the righ- teous into life eternal.
In these verses our Lord Jesus Christ describes the judgment-day, and some of its leading circumstances.
341
There are few passages in tlie whole Bible more solemn and heart-searching than this. May we read it with the deep and serious attention which it deserves.
Let us mark in the fii'st place, who will be tJie Judge in the last day. We read that it will be " the Son of Man/' Jesus Christ Himself
That same Jesus who was born in the manger of Bethlehem, and took upon Him the form of a servant, — who was despised and rejected of men, and often had not where to lay His head, — who was condemned by the princes of this world, beaten, scourged, and nailed to the cross, — that same Jesus shall Himself judge the world, when He comes in His glory. To Him the Father hath committed all judgment. (John v. 22.) To Him at last every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that He is Lord. (Philip, ii. 10, 11.)
Let believers think of this, and take comfort. He that sits upon the throne in that great and dreadful day will be their Saviour, their Shepherd, their High Priest, their elder Brother, their Friend. When they see Him, they will have no cause to be alarmed.
Let unconverted people think of this, and be afraid. Their judge will be that very Christ, whose Gospel they now despise, and whose gracious invitations they refuse to hear. How great will be their confusion at last, if they go on in unbelief and die in their sins ! To be con- demned in the day of judgment by any one would be awful. But to be condemned by Him w^ho would have saved them will be awful indeed. Well may the Psalmist say, •'' Kiss the Son lest he be angry." (Psalm ii. 12.)
Let us mark, in the second place, ivho loill he judged in