The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 376

voioe-snd there will be a response. The same voice can awake the good and th'3 bad. 'l'hey would sleep on for ever unless called by him. The vr,i<::e of an.,.els would be ineffective. But all will hear and know hi~ voice, and come forth. Even the Son of God never addressed such a vast con~regation before at once, and never with such unexcep- tional success. How many of his sermons missed the mark I But this arand resurrection sermon will not fa.ii in a single instance. All shall hear and come forth~ 4. The sub:jects of both resurrections shall come forth in their own and true characte,·. As good or evil. Neither the sleep of death nor the Divine process of the resurrection can produce any change in character. Whatever a. man soweth that shall he reap. The resurrection will not change this law, but help to carry it out, Character will cling to ns for ever. 6. The subjects of both shall come forth in their true character-according to the character of their deeds. "They that have done good, and they that have done evil." Character in both cases is formed by actions ; so that the resurrection will be the same in its process to both classes. It will be fair to both-a. faithful reproduction, !lot merely of the physical and mental, but also of the moral and spiritual self. Identity will be preserved intact. No one will have any reason to complain. 6. Both are similrtr in their certainty. The resurrection of the good and bad is equally certain. "All that a.re in the graves shall hear," etc. There is an absolute necessity for both, and there is an adequate power. Divine physical power is irresistible; Divine moral power is not so. What is absolutely necessary must come to pass. The good must be raised for the purposes of grace, the bad for the purposes of justice. II. IN THEIR DISSIMILARITY, 1. Dissimilar in the character of their sub:jects. The subjects of one are those who have done good, the subjects of the other are those who have done evil. And between good and evil there is an essential and an eternal difference-a difference which neither eternity nor omnipotence can efface. Good will be good and evil will be evil at the last day, and the difference will be more strikingly seen. 2. Dissimilar in their results. (I) One is the resurrection of life, the other is that of J°udgment. Those who have done good will not be raised to judgment, for they have passed from death unto life. Therefore they must rise unto life; the highest, the truest life of the soul-a. life like that of Christ himself. The other is the resurrec- tion of judgment, of condemnation-the opposite of life. (2) The one is a reward, the other is punishment. Life is the natural consequence of goodness and faith in Christ ; still it is a reward and a Divine favour. The resurrection and its consequences will be a reward to the good, but punishment to the wicked. It would be mercy to them to let them sleep on ; but justice demands their resurrection to receive the wages of sin, which is death. (3) The one will be followed by a glorious ascension, the other by a horrible descent. '!'hose who have done good will come forth to rise for ever in the ever-increasing enjoyment of a pure, happy, and endless life; while those who have done evil will rise to sink deeper in spiritual death. The reunion of body and soul to the good must intensify their happiness. To the wicked it must intensify their misery. What a difference there is between the good man being awaked to join his family at the breakfast-table and at the mercy-seat, and the culprit being awaked in the morn- ing to undergo the terrible sentence of the law I This is but a faint illustration of the difference between the resurrection of life and that of judgment. LESSONS. 1. We have passed through many important crises, but the most important and marvellous one is yet in store. " 'l'he hour is coming," etc. A most important and wonderful houri Time and eternity in an hour! We should live continually in that hour. 2. The inseparable connection between the present and the future. Our future is in our present, and our present will be reproduced in the future. 3. The importanc~ of weU-doing in the present. Let us hear the voice of the Son of man, now that we may welcome the voice of the Son of God in that hour. The physical process of the resur- rection is entirely future, with which we shall have nothing to do. The spiritual process is going on now, and by Divine help we can shape our own resurrection and determine whether it is to be one of life or of jndgment.-B. T. Vere. 39, 40.-.A. commendable search and a sad failure. We bava here- I. A COMMENDABLE BEABOH. Commendable because: I. It is a search/or the proper object. "Eternal life." (1) This is man's greatest spiritual need. This he lost by siu. When he sinned, he died spiritually. He became dead to God and virtue. But when he Jop. n  242 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. [on. v. 1-47,