to pronounce Sentence: which must straightway be executed, for with GOD to speak is to act, to will is to do. Upon the Judgment therefore follows the Final Decision.

THE FINAL DECISION.

The Prayer.

O GOD, Who art the Truth, and the Eternal Word, when Thou speakest who can gainsay it? when Thou givest judgment who shall disannul it? when Thou condemnest, who shall revoke Thy Sentence? Thou art not a man that Thou shouldest lie, neither the son of man that Thou shouldest repent. What Thou hast said that wilt Thou do; what Thou hast spoken that wilt Thou make good. Grant unto me therefore, O LORD, that I not may hear Thy Voice of Justice in that Last Great Day, condemning me to everlasting punishment with the wicked, but that standing with Thy Faithful, I may hear Thy Voice of Mercy bidding me enter in with them into Life Eternal, into that kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world, where they shall ever be with the LORD. Of Thy Mercy grant Thou me therein, O LORD, a place beneath the feet of Thine Elect.

a S. Mat. 25. 46.

biSam. 15.29.

IX. THE FINAL DECISION.

The Texts.

1. The Sentence decreed by the I. The Sen

tence Irrever

2 Thes. 16. Unerring Judgment of GOD is final, sible. irrevocable, unalterable. GOD is Justice. a S. Mat. 13. 2. The Separation of Good and

7-10.

48-50.

b Rev. 21. 27. Bad is Eternal.

a Heb. 6. 4-6.

3. The Condemned severed from b Heb. 10. 26. the Incarnate can never be re

CS. Mat. 25.

IO.

d S. Mark 9. 43-48.

2. The Separation Eternal.

3. Condemnation Eternal.

united, for there is no other Mediator, but CHRIST-JESUS, Whom they have wilfully rejected. Their woe is Eternal, fixed, unalterable. b S. John 6. 4. The Blessed, inseparably uni- 4. Bliss Eter51, 54, 57, ted to the Incarnate, have obtained

a1 S. Joh. 3.2.

58.

nal.

S. Jo. 10.28. the Vision of GOD, and are like Him. Their Bliss

d Rev. 21. 4.

* Rev. 22. 5. is immutable, fixed, eternal.

fi Thes. 4.

13-18.

The Meditation.

The Final

The Great Trial ended, the separation made, the irrevocable Sen- End. tence is pronounced, and the Judgment given by Him with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

The Net is drawn to the Shore of Eternity, for it is full; the Session of the Judgment is ended, and the Angels come forth to sever the wicked from among the just. The Eternal Harvest is gathered in; the sheaves are safely garnered for ever; the tares are cast into that fire which is

never quenched. The Bridegroom has come, and they that were ready have passed in with Him to the Marriage Feast, and the Door is shut for ever. The LORD, the GOD of Israel hath entered in by It, therefore It shall be shut. The Shepherd hath passed through It, the Porter hath opened to Him, and His sheep have known His Voice, and have followed Him, and are safely folded; none can stray from that Fold again; no evil beast can enter in. The King of kings, and LORD of Lords, has taken possession of His Everlasting Kingdom, and they who have fought valiantly and have overcome, are clothed in fine linen, white and clean; they have followed Him, and sit with Him in His Throne, even as He also overcame, and is set down with His FATHER in His Throne.

Wisdom hath builded her house; she hath mingled her Wine; she hath also furnished her Table. The King goeth in to see the wedding guests, and those He finds there without a wedding garment are bound hand and foot, and cast out into outer darkness, where is weeping and gnashing of teeth, for there their worm dieth not, neither is the fire quenched. They are cast out from the Holy City, punished with everlasting destruction from the Presence of the LORD, and from the glory of His Power; cast out into the blackness of darkness, "into the yawning Gehenna;" the Golden Gates of the Beautiful

City closed for ever against them; the Door of Mercy shut, and the aweful words spoken, "I know you not; depart from Me, ye cursed, into Everlasting Fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels." O my LORD and Merciful GOD, send now the Angel of Thy Presence, and deliver me from the burning fiery furnace. Shut not up my soul with the sinners, nor my life with the blood-thirsty. O keep my soul and deliver me, for Thou hast redeemed me, O LORD, Thou GOD of Truth. Grant that I may behold Thy Presence in righteousness, and that I may awake up after Thy Likeness, so shall I be satisfied with It. Send out Thy Light and Thy Truth that they may lead me, and bring me unto Thy Holy Hill and to Thy Dwelling, for the Everlasting Morning dawns, and the Bride hath made herself ready. Behold the glory of the LORD cometh from the way of the East, and His Voice is like the noise of many waters: and the earth shineth with His glory. The Temple is finished; not one living stone is wanting. The Marriage Feast is spread, the Guests are assembled. The Mal. 3. 17,18. King hath returned and discerned between the righteous and the wicked; between him that served GOD, and him that served Him not.

Ezek. 43. 2.

The Royal Diadem is ready, the LORD of Hosts hath made up His jewels; He hath gathered His fine gold, He hath purified His silver.

The Holy Church, His Spotless Bride is on His Right Hand in a vesture of gold wrought about with divers colours, ruddy with the generous blood of the Martyrs, white with the spotless purity of Virgins, verdant with the fruitful works of Confessors, violet with the hallowed penance of Penitents. She hath put on her royal apparel, and stands in the inner court, she hath obtained favour in His sight, He hath held out to her the Golden Sceptre. She cometh up from the wilderness leaning upon her Beloved. Sorrow and sighing have fled away, and the Ransomed of the LORD have returned, and are come to Sion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads, and they have obtained joy and gladness, for their eyes have seen the King in His Beauty, they have looked upon the Face of GOD, and they are at rest. His Name is in their foreheads, His Eternal Love within their hearts, His Endless Joy is theirs, and they shall reign with Him for ever and ever.

The Beginning and the End are One. The First and the Last are One. It is finished. The Work, begun in the far Counsels of Eternity, faintly shadowed forth in Eden, begun in the Incarnation, carried on by the Church, is perfected in Heaven.

He Who is Alpha and Omega hath entered into His glory, and the faithful share the joy of