Lord Jesus ; and being constrained, whether willing or not, to acknowledge Christ as his rightful Lord, and as the only Saviour of the world.]
Such is the certainty of that day. Let us next consider,
II. Its awfulness —
In that day, "every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Not one shall be absent ; not one be able to resist, or elude, the summons. The most formidable monarchs will then be on a footing with the meanest beggar : and every one shall, not merely be reminded of the things which he has done, but shall confess them, and " give an account of" them,
1. Generally, as to his demeanour on the whole —
[Then shall we give an account of our time. It ought to have been dedicated altogether to the Lord, and not consumed in sloth or vanity. The use we have made of it will form a subject of most serious inquiry : not a day or an hour passes, but it shall be then reviewed. Our talents, too, our property, our station, our intellectual powers, our influence of every kind, must then be accounted for. They were the Lord's ; and ought neither to have been wasted, nor hid in a napkin, but to have been augmented by a diligent application of them. And what shall I say of our advantages, particularly the un- speakable advantage of a preached Gospel? Must not those also be accounted for ? Yes, verily, they are most signally noted by Almighty God, and will form a very important ground of approbation or displeasure, according as they have been neglected or improved. Our habits altogether will then come under the strictest scrutiny ; whether we have abounded in the exercises of prayer and praise ; or whether we have passed over in a formal way the duties of the closet, finding no delight in communion with God : whether we have put away all our besetting sins; or have " retained iniquity in our hearts" unmortified and unsubdued. Every thing, even every idle word, will come under review, to receive its appropriate reward g: nor shall so much as a secret thought escape the sentence of our Godh ; for " he will bring every secret thing into judgment, and make manifest the counsels of the heart'," as subjects of praise or dispraise, according to their intrinsic quality.]
2. Particularly, as to his conduct towards the Lord Jesus Christ —
g Matt. xii. 30. h Eccl. xii. 14. > 1 Cor. iv\ 5.
191f>.] THE FUTURE JUDGMENT. 527
[It will be remembered, that the passage cited by the Apostle refers, in the first instance, to the dominion of Christ, which shall be established over every child of man: but, forasmuch as that is not accomplished now, it shall be accom- plished hereafter, when all " his enemies shall become his foot- stool." Hence the Apostle justly quotes them, as declarative of a future judgment: and hence we conclude that our sub- mission to him will be a subject of special inquiry. Then shall it be clearly seen whether we have " looked unto Christ for salvation ;" whether we have sought " in him our righteousness and strength ;" and whether we have " gloried in him" as " all our salvation and all our desire." These things are disregarded by us now, as of small moment ; and we make little account of any thing, except of our conduct towards our fellow-men. But we may be perfectly assured that our conduct towards the Lord Jesus Christ will not be found a point of secondary importance then. It is not so light a matter to " trample under foot the Son of God, and to do despite to the Spirit of his grace," that it should be overlooked in that day. Let me therefore most affectionately remind you all, that every one of us, without one single exception, shall give account of himself to God, and especially respecting his treatment of the Saviour, whom to disregard is death, and " whom to know is life eternal."]