Then he will turn unto those upon his left hand —
[But how is his countenance now changed ! Wliat anger, what indignation flames in his eyes ! And what terrible dis- pleasure is conveyed in his voice ! The grounds of their con- demnation are explicitly declared. They had neglected to serve -him, and to do the things that were pleasing in his sight; and therefore they are bidden to " depart accursed." And it is worthy of observation, that they are not said to be cursed of his Father: no; though the saints owe their felicity to the election of the Father, the wicked do not owe their misery to any arbitrary act of reprobation : the righteous are blessed of the Father ; the wicked are cursed of thetnselves ; it is to their own neglect of duty that they must trace their eternal condemnation : they perish, not because there was any want of mercy in God the Father, or of merit in God the Son ; but because " they rejected the counsel of God," and would not accept his proffered salvation". In this world they had said to God, " Depart from me ; I desire not the knowledge of thy waysP;" and in that world their Judge will reply. Depart from me; I desire not the knowledge of your souls: " I never knew you, ye workers of iniquity." The place into which they are to depart was not indeed prepared for them, as heaven was for the saints : it was *' prepared for the devil and his angels :" but as the wicked are partakers of their guilt, they shall be also of their punishment.]
Then will come,
IV. The execution —
The righteous shall be borne up into the regions of eternal bliss —
[On the pronouncing of the sentence, the heavens will be opened, and all the saints will ascend thither to take possession of their thrones. But who can conceive the happiness of those who are admitted into the presence of their God; who are placed beyond the reach of sin or sorrow, and have an eternity of blessedness before them? What praises, what adorations, and hosannahs will resound through all the courts of heaven !]
The wicked shall be cast down into the regions of eternal misery —
[We attempt not to describe their misery ; for it passes the power of words to expi'ess, or of imagination to conceive : but this we assert, that it will be truly and properly eternal. It
o In this respect the text exactly accords with Rom. ix. 22, 23. where the Apostle states that the vessels of mercy were prepared for it by God ; but the vessels of wrath were fitted for it by themselves.
P Job xxi. 14.
5i2 MATTHEW, XXV. 34, 41, 46. [1389.
shall co-exist with the felicity of heaven ; for its duration is expressed by the very same wordi. If any doubt the eternity of hell-torments, I ask, What shall ever terminate them? Will the fire that is kindled there be extinguished ? or the souls that are cast into it be consumed? Or shall they be purified in the fire, and be exalted at a future period to the regions of bliss ? No one of these things shall be : *' The fire shall not be quenched :" " the worm of a guilty conscience shall never die*" :" and, instead of being improved by their misery, the sufferers will gnaw their tongues for anguish, and blaspheme that God who inflicts their punishments Besides, there is a gulf fixed betwixt them and the saints in glory ; so that none shall ever pass from the one place to the other, or experience the smallest change in their condition'. How terrible will then be the state of the ungodly ! How " will they call upon the hills to fall upon them, and the rocks to cover them from the wrath of the Lamb !" But, what they would not believe, they now feel to their cost; and shall feel, as long as God himself shall endure, even for ever and ever.]