Fifthly; by the death and resurrection of Christ he acquired the right of universal judgment.

The qualifications of Jesus Christ to fill the judgment seat at the last day are unquestionable. The inseparable union of the divine with the human nature in his adorable person qualifies him infinitely with wisdom for the exercise of this interesting and yet awful prerogative of judging the world. The most perfect knowledge of all the facts connected with the moral conduct of all the accountable intelli. gences of the universe, including all the imaginations of their thoughts, their words, with all their actions; and all the varying circumstances of dispensation, motive, &c., are all to be present in the most perfect manner to the mind of the Judge, to enable him to proceed with unerring accuracy in deciding the everlasting destinies of all the subjects of his government. Now, if the fulness of the Godhead did not dwell bodily in him, this would be utterly impossible; but as it does, he is eminently qualified for this great and solemn work.

Another of the essential qualifications of Christ for the Judge of all the earth, is, the justice and holiness of his character. It is a principle laid down by the apostle, that if God were unrighteous he could not consistently judge the world, (Rom. iii, 5, 6,) but the promise is, that he will judge the world in righteousness, and that " every man shall receive according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." On the same principle the final decision will be varied accord. ing to the dispensations under which men shall have lived and acted: "For as many as have sinned without law, shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ." Thus there will be no respect of persons with God. But will the man Christ Jesus occupy the judgment seat? He will; for thus it is written: "The Father hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." "God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained: whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." And we are farther "commanded to testify unto the people, that it is he which was ordained to be the Judge of quick and dead." Also when the process of the final judgment is described in the twenty-fifth chapter of Mat. thew, it is the Son of man who shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him;" and who "shall sit upon the throne of his glory;" and before whom "shall be gathered all nations."

So true is the declaration of the text, that "to this end he died and rose, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living." As such, he is heir of all things-he governs all worlds and all creatures-is the object of universal praise and adoration-holds the "keys of death and of hell"—and will finally judge and decide the everlasting destinies of angels, men, and devils. With what pomp and glory shall he appear "the second time!" not in the character of a sin offering, but in all the glory of the Father, with all the holy angels with him!

"Lo! he comes with clouds descending,

Once for favor'd sinners slain !
Thousand thousand saints attending,
Swell the triumph of his train!

From this subject we infer, in the first place, the power, dignity, and glory of Christ.

Our principal object in the foregoing remarks has been to present the Scripture view of the exaltation of the human nature of our blessed Lord in its proper light. We need not say how deeply interesting to us it must be that our elder brother, who is bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh; who took not on him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham, is so exalted in the scale of being. This was done, as we have seen, first, by his union with the Godhead; and, secondly, as a reward of his sufferings and death in our behalf. As man, in union with the divinity, he is "heir of all things," and has a "name that is above every name." His dominion extends over time and eternity. He is Lord both of the dead and living. This never could have been the case, however, with mere human nature unconnected with divinity and the vast objects of the incarnation.

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It was the "fullness of the Godhead dwelling bodily" in him which laid the foundation of this exaltation of the Son of God; and then, for despising the shame and enduring the cross," he was "crowned with glory and honor," and obtained the "joy that was set before him"the joy of "sitting down at the right hand of the throne of God”"angels, and principalities, and powers being made subject unto him.” If, then, such is the dignity and glory of the human nature of Christ, what must be the glory of the divinity which dwelt in him? How false, how base the doctrine which denies the divinity of Jesus Christ, and reduces him to a mere creature; and thus rears the hopes of a perishing world upon the sand! But admitting that divinity, and the union of the human with the divine nature in the person of Christ, and his death to have been sacrificial and vicarious, and the foundation is broad and permanent on which to secure the glory of every divine attribute of Jehovah, and rear the hopes of a lost and ruined world.

This is a Mediator worthy of God, and every way suitable to the condition of fallen man. By his divinity he is one with the eternal Father, and by his humanity he is one with our fallen race; thus fill. ing the vast distance, created by sin, between the Father and his rebellious subjects, and establishing a medium of access and intercourse between heaven and earth. The establishment of such a mediation between God and man is both honorary to him and infinitely beneficial to man.

Doubtless the angels, who "desire to look into these things," were so far gratified as to have had a clear view of the relations which our Saviour bore to the Father and to us, and of the bearing the atonement would have both upon the divine government and the interests of the human family. For when they announced his advent to the world, they embodied these very sentiments in that angelic song which wrapt heaven and earth in one common interest: 66 highest, and on earth peace and good will to men !"

Glory to God in the

But the most exalted descriptions of the dignity and glory of Christ

are those which are found in the word of God. St. Peter speaks of having seen his glory when with him in the holy mount. And the occount of the evangelist is, that "as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and he was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light." But John, who was present at the transfiguration, had, subsequently, a still more glorious view of our exalted Redeemer: "In the midst of the golden candlesticks, one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shining in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."

Christian, behold your Saviour! Sinner, behold your Judge! Here is the very person who was born in a stable, and was cradled in a manger; who led a suffering life, and died the death of the cross, and lay folded in the strong and cold arms of death! Behold him "alive for evermore !" Yes,

"He lives to die no more,

High on his Father's throne."

Secondly; we infer from this subject the utter impossibility of either escaping or throwing off moral responsibility.

In the day of worldly prosperity, engrossed in the cares and pleasures of life, sinners are prone to forget or disregard their accountability to God, and throw off all concern respecting a future state. In more advanced life, conscious of years of accumulated guilt, they often take refuge under the flimsy garb of infidelity, become obstinate in their opposition to God, and stoutly deny that there will be any resurrection of the dead or general judgment. Such are the deceptions which the perverted mind of man is capable of practising upon itself. All these self-deceptions, however, alter not the fact nor character of their moral responsibility before God. Still Jesus is the "King in Zion," "ruling in the midst of his enemies." He is still Lord both of the dead and living.

Ah! sinner, whither wouldst thou go to escape from the presence of God? If you ascend up into heaven, he is there; and if you make your bed in hell, behold he is there! and if you take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall his right hand hold you. He has seen fit to create us moral and accountable beings, to place us under moral responsibility to himself, and to hold us to a faithful account for all the deeds done in the body. Why he has seen proper to do so is not for us to inquire. He has infinite reasons for the course he has adopted, and the light of eternity will fully justify his ways toward mankind. But it is our duty, as it

is our wisdom, to prepare to render up our account with joy, and not with grief.

Let all present, then, from the highest to the lowest, see that their peace is made with God. "Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings, be instructed, ye judges of the earth; kiss the Son, lest he be angry with you, and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little."

Thirdly; this subject affords strong grounds of humble confidence to the believer.

The fact that Christ is Lord both of the dead and living; that he is heir of all things, and upholds all things by the word of his power; that all the resources of nature and providence are at his command; and that he is the Saviour and rewarder of his people, furnish the strongest grounds of confidence to those whose hopes rest wholly upon him in life and death. With this confidence firmly fixed in the soul, and resting upon Christ as its foundation, the believer may pass through the storms of life with safety and happiness. Whatever revolutions may agitate the physical or political world, he is sure that Jesus reigns, and, therefore, that all shall be well. And although doomed to pass through the dark valley and shadow of death, he will fear no evil, for Christ is with him. And although he looks forward with certainty to the time when the earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dissolved; when the dust of the ruler and the beggar shall be equally elevated, yet being assured of the fact, that Christ is Lord of the dead as well as of the living; that his dominion extends through all the regions of the dead, and that he has left on earth the promise, and in heaven the pledge of our resurrection, death is disarmed of his terror, and met without dismay. The language of his heart is, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be unto God who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ." He enters eternity with the fullest confidence that he shall there find his Lord and Master ready to receive and welcome him to the felicities of paradise for ever. Hear his own comforting promise, "Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you; I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also." "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee Look up, suffering, tempted follower of the Lamb, the day of your redemption draweth nigh, and now is your salvation nearer than when you first believed. Even so come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

a crown of life."

This discourse was delivered in the presence of the president of the United States, August 11, 1839.

For the Methodist Magazine and Quarterly Review.

THE INTELLIGENCE OF ANGELS.

THE faculty of reason, which enables us to discriminate between good and evil, truth and falsehood, and to deduce inferences from facts and propositions, distinguishes man from the brute creation. Beasts of the field, indeed, or the inferior orders of animated nature, may also possess a feeble ray of intellectual light; for we cannot attribute all the evidences of rationality manifested by them to mere instinct; and some of these obviously enjoy this gift in a higher degree than others; for the cunning elephant, for instance, whose singular sagacity sometimes surpasses the ingenuity of his keeper, has received it in a larger measure than the lonely bat that may be silently fluttering over his unwieldy carcass, or the laboring ox, of "honest front," that "tread. eth out the corn," and who only "knoweth his owner;" but it is in man alone, of all creatures on earth, that this principle is worthy of being denominated the understanding.

As man, then, in this respect, is raised above the mediocrity of irra. tional animals, so the angels of heaven are greatly superior to him in the strength of their intellectual powers, in the means of acquiring in. formation, and in the extent of their knowledge. And though we cannot accurately measure the capacity of their mental faculties; nor ascertain the medium of communication between themselves, and between their own minds and material objects; nor fully survey the limits of their acquirements; yet, as they are commissioned by their Maker to be his messengers to the most distant provinces of his dominions; as they are employed by him on the most important embassies of goodness and justice in all parts of the universe; as by his authority they retard or accelerate the mysterious wheels of his providence; and as they are not encumbered with gross bodies of flesh and blood, such as we have, to impede their progress in the pathway of improvement, we may suppose, without the least absurdity, that the native energy of their minds, and the almost inconceivable amount of knowledge which has been accumulated by them since their creation, as far surpass the powers of the human mind, and the acquisition of the most diligent student in the world, as the towering mountain exceeds in bulk a grain of sand, or the meridian sun in brightness the glimmering rays of the midnight lamp.

Even in this life, a man, by patient perseverance and close application, may learn much; and yet, in reality, know but little. There are mysteries connected with the mineral, vegetable, and animal king. doms, and with the moral and intellectual worlds, lying so deep in the ocean of truth, that they cannot be fathomed by the longest line of investigation; and they are so shrouded in darkness that the gloom cannot be pierced by the most penetrating mind. These mysteries may be as easily understood by angels, however inexplicable they may appear to us, as the letters of an alphabet are by a profound scholar.

Some men, it is true, with the most indefatigable labor, have