days should be shortened there should no flesh be saved; but, for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened." It is a well-known historical fact, that, not only was Jerusalem taken in the way mentioned in these descriptions, by being surrounded by armies, and encompassed with a trench, and not only was its capture accompanied by various signs, but that "the elect," or the Christians, knew of its approach, from these and other prophecies of our Saviour, and, by generally withdrawing themselves from the city, escaped, in a great measure, a participation in the sufferings which befell it. We have hitherto spoken of such of our Lord's prophecies as we have either seen fulfilled, or can perceive their progress to their accomplishment. But that which we are now about to contemplate is the awful one in which he has told us that he will come again, at the last day, to judge the world, and which we must receive as an article of faith, of which we have had no other intimation except his assertion, confirmed, indeed, by the belief, and reiterated by the admonitions of his faithful followers. One of the most important of the periods when our Lord uttered this prophecy was, when, as we have shewn in our text, he, before the High Priest and the Jewish council, declared that he was the Christ, and told them that the time would come when they should "see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." But, lest this should appear to be mixed up with those prophecies which relate to the destruction of Jerusalem, we will refer you, as the most direct and explicit, to that which is contained in the twenty-fifth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, commencing with the words, "When the Son of Man shall come with all his holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory." This is not only a plain declaration, that there will be a last judgment, but what follows appears to be an exact description of the mode of proceeding which will take place on that awful occasion. It would be too long to transcribe, and it is too important to abridge; but let every one refer to the text, and read it, and judge for himself, whether, after that, it is possible for a believer in Jesus Christ to doubt that hereafter every man shall be rewarded according to his works, "that the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." A contemplation of the former prophecies, which, as we have seen, have been fulfilled, will strengthen our belief that this, which is yet to come, will also be accomplished. He whose omniscience could foresee one event, and it has come to pass, could not be deceived in the other. Past prophecies fulfilled give us a confidence for the future; and we well, then, may prepare for that awful period when we all shall surely appear before the judgment-seat of Christ. We have spoken of our Lord, now, as a prophet only. But let us remember, for our comfort, in preparing for his coming, that he is a priest also. As a priest he has laid down his life for our sakes; and by this means has given us a hope, when we look to the last day, that we shall not be judged to such extremity, but that the atonement which, by his precious blood-shedding, he has made for us, will avail us, where, erringly, we have sinned, and where, from the corruption of our nature, we have gone astray. But when he comes as a Judge, his priestly and prophetical offices will both have ceased, and then he will appear as a king. In the balance of justice will he weigh us, and his own merits will only then avail us, if, now, we have endeavoured, by repentance, by faith, and by prayer to him, to secure them to us. "Seek, then, the Lord while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, and he will abundantly pardon |