But, friends, let us imbibe no erroneous views and impressions regarding the judgment to come.  Let us not regard it as being an occasion for the display of God’s wrath; but let us rather look upon it as the sublimest manifestation of his love.  Draw a comparison here.  Good human laws are not a terror to the good.  A jury is impaneled.  A criminal is arraigned before it.  Testimony is received and evidence drawn from it respecting the innocence or guilt of the accused.  The balance of testimony is altogether in his favor.  He is acquitted.  That trial is a joy to that criminal, because it sets him right as to character before the world.  But suppose he is found guilty.  Is it a joy then?  It is not.  It is a grief.  Why?  Because his sin has found him out.  His real character is laid bare.  But in their consignment of him to the punishment prescribed by law, do the jury and the judge act from wrath?  They do not, but from a love of good will to all.  The law that condemns may have the appearance of wrath to the condemned; but never to the innocent.

Judgment and reward will be according to works, and never according to professions of faith, except where the professions are genuine, and lead to good works from the love of doing good.  I have met with some who have manifested dread in contemplating the majesty of that great day, the day of “a judgment to come.”  I feel warranted in making the assertion that no one whose purpose in life is to do the will of our Father in heaven has any just ground whatever to dread the coming of that day.  Justice never condemns the innocent.  Just and wise laws are never a terror to the good, and such are all the laws of God.  In the book of Revelation we read of those “who had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, saying:  Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”  These all exulted in the prospect of a judgment to come, because they had gotten the victory over the adversary of their souls and were ready for trial before the King of saints whose ways are all just and true.  I once read of a criminal who was deeply distressed at the near approach of his trial.  A friend endeavored to soothe his agitated feelings by telling him that justice would be done him, and that he consequently had no cause for fear.  But the criminal was honest enough to confess to his friend that JUSTICE was the very thing he was afraid of.  I have no doubt that this very same fear was what made Felix tremble before Paul.

The Son of man, on the judgment seat, will be the very same in every particular that he is now on the mercy seat.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to-day, and forevermore.”  “The heavens shall depart as a scroll; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up; but thou art the same.”  By viewing him now as he is on the mercy seat we may see what he will be on the judgment seat.  The