perfectly answers to the other. There is not a judgment which Heaven proposed for the wickedness of the people, that did not literally belong to this state of existence: and no doctor of divinity will risk his reputation, and affirm that the judgments of God, announced under the law of Moses, applied to the state of man hereafter. You may read them all, and you will find that they all apply to the present state of existence. The Israelites were to be blessed as a nation, if they were obedient. And if they were disobedient, they were to be dispersed as a nation; be made subjects of thirst, famine, and disease; and be compelled to serve their enemies in their own land. And this is the utmost stretch of adjudication for their iniquities, proposed in the laws of Moses. Is not this a fact? and do you not marvel, that our doctors of divinity have preached that God does not judge and reward men in this world according to their works?

The question arises-If, under the law dispensation, the Jews were judged in this state of existence, is it not highly probable, that there is, under the gospel dispensation, a government and discipline by which men are judged according to their works in the present world? St. Paul had this view of the subject. Hebrews ii. 1-3: "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation." Mark the words of the apostle-he speaks in the past tense. And this authority forever decides the

question at issue-because it assumes the fact, that God did judge the people according to the law, and that transgression, under the law, did receive a just recompense of reward.

Let us now turn to the gospel. Jesus came with a new covenant and dispensation. He came with the kingdom of heaven, the gospel of peace. -I need not occupy your time in endeavouring to establish a position about which there is no dispute; that is, that the kingdom of heaven, spoken of in the New Testament, signifies the kingdom of the gospel dispensation among men on earth. The Jews were charged with shutting up this kingdom-but they had no power to shut up the kingdom of immortal glory.

I will now proceed to show, that in this government of Jesus, he has a judgment seat, a tribunal; and that, in the gospel dispensation, men are judged according to their works, in this state of existence, without reference to any judgment in the world to

come.

We will read a few of the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Isaiah xlii. 1-4: "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law." Isaiah, beholding the glory of the gospel dispensation, saw that the Messiah would put the law covenant away, and establish his own laws, and his own judgments among men, and that mankind would be amenable to him-for he was to "set judgment in

the earth."-Hearken to the language of Jesus himself. John v. 22, 27: "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son.... And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." John ix. 39: "For judgment I am come into this world." Now, why did Jesus come into this world for judgment, if he was not to judge men in this world? Inasmuch as he came to set judgment in the earth, to establish a kingdom and government among men, it is plain that here, in this world, his judgment seat is to be found. He could not have a government or kingdom here, without having a judgment seat here.He came into this world for judgment, and God gave him authority to execute judgment. Now listen to the following prophecy. Jeremiah xxiii. 5: "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.”

It is very remarkable, that the clergy have so pertinaciously denied the doctrine of judgment in the earth, when the Bible makes the subject so perfectly plain. There is not, in all the Scriptures, a single word said about a judgment in the future state. Look at the text under consideration. Does the Apostle intimate, that we must appear before the judgment seat of Christ in eternity? If this was his meaning, why did he not express it? But he had no such idea in his mind; and no such doctrine is taught, either in the Old Testament or the New. And if we receive that doctrine, we must receive it on the testimony of men,

But now, my hearers, comes a subject in which we are all deeply interested; for it is a truth, that "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." Allow me to remark, that the translators have supplied several words in the text, which somewhat change the reading, but the meaning is not essentially varied. Without the supplied words, which are printed in italic, the text reads thus: "that every one may receive the things in body, according to that he hath done." The translators thought they must supply a few words, in or der to sustain their views in relation to judgments. And I would have the congregation remember, that although the translators of the Bible believed in the doctrine of endless punishment, they have not made a translation from which that doctrine can be proved! This is one of the most remarkable things I have ever thought of,-that with all their twists and turns, those translators were not able to make a text that will prove the doctrine of endless misery!

"We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ." The apostle is here speaking of himself, and of his brethren-of the Christian commonwealth, and not of heathens-of believers, and not of men who never heard of Christ. Persons who have not heard of Christ, are not under his law. Our Saviour said to his disciples, in reference to the Jews, "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin." If Christ had not openly proclaimed his docrine and precepts, the people could not have been

amenable to his law, nor justly answerable at his bar. And to set up an ex post facto law, to judge men for actions performed before the law was established, is out of the question. Our text applies to the Christian commonwealth; for there Christ had set up his kingdom, established his government, and published his law: there it is that our Saviour erected his judgment seat; and according to his'doctrine and precepts men must now be judged.

What is meant by the judgment seat of Christ?— You will pardon me for introducing a very familiar illustration: Your fashions and customs in the city of Philadelphia, constitute a judgment seat. I mean by this, that whatever is customary among you, constitutes a judgment seat. In this respect, people feel as if they were amenable to the fashions and customs of the places in which they reside. Were a citizen of Paris to come among you, without understanding your customs, he would proceed very oddly; and he would not be held accountable at the judgment seat referred to, because he would not know what your customs are; and you could tolerate his deviations, because he was brought up in different customs. But you would not tolerate a similar deviation in one of your own citizens. We are held amenable to public opinion: this constitutes the law of social life; and this law constitutes the judgment seat. The ladies of this city, for instance, feel under an obligation to conform to the customs and fashions of the circles in which they move, and they govern themselves accordingly.You must not suppose that I am disposed to trifle,