"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: (32) And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: (33) And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. (34) Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (35) For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: (36) Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. (37) Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? (38) When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? (39) Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? (40) And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (41) Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: (42) For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: (43) I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. (44) Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? (45) Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. (46) And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
Here we enter on that part of our Lord's sublime discourse, on the events of the last day, and in which the Son of God hath been pleased to deliver himself on the momentous subject without a parable. And most magnificent and solemn is the description. And when to this be added the consideration, that every son and daughter of Adam must be present, to receive the things done in the body, whether good or bad, the subject becomes infinitely interesting indeed. There can need no comment however. Every verse is plain. everything described impossible to be misunderstood. And when God the Holy Ghost accompanieth the reading, or the hearing of it, with his grace, it cannot fail of its impression in the heart.
I would only beg to observe, upon it, that what is here represented concerning the proceedings of the last day, refer chiefly, if not altogether, to the Church of the Lord Jesus, and not to the world at large. All nations, indeed, are to be gathered before Christ, but then what is described relates to the Church of Christ, as a Church professing Christ under the double character of the sheep and goats; that is, the elect of God, and the non-elect. So that what Jesus saith to each, is wholly spoken under these different views of character. And in confirmation of this grand and momentous truth, it should be observed, that the sheep on the King's right hand, are called upon, as the blessed of the Father, to come and inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. And although, in infinite condescension and mercy, the King goes on to speak of the exercise of those graces he had given them, in acts of mercy shewn by them to his poor people, which are his representatives; yet these things were all subsequent to what was determined upon before the foundation of the world. A kingdom prepared from all eternity; and the persons for whom it was prepared, being known and appointed, their possession of it could not depend upon any of their after-actions in time. This would have been to have put the effect for the cause, and to invert the very order of things in the divine counsel. It is, indeed, very blessed to see, that the Lord, who is himself the sole cause, appointed also the effect. But plainly, the whole is the result of free sovereign grace, and not an atom of merit in man, contributing, in the least degree, to the accomplishment.
Reader! pause over the subject, and ponder well the blessed contents! For what can be so truly blessed, as the contemplation of the provision the Lord made for his people, not only before they were born, but before the foundations of the earth were laid. I know that some dear children of God, yea, perhaps I might have said, by far the greater part of his children, on whom a work of grace is wrought, are looking more to the effect wrought in them, than the Almighty work wrought for them. But this should not be the case.
Time will come, yea many a time circumstances do come, when redeemed souls lose sight of what is called their evidences; and where is their comfort then? Whereas, if we were always looking to the Lord Jesus, and Jehovah's covenant promises in him, and considered the security of this kingdom, which cannot be moved, and which hath been prepared for the Church and every member of Christ's body, from the foundation of the world; these are the Lord's evidences, in which we should find an everlasting source for joy. For so the promise runs. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, (or as the margin of the Bible very properly renders it, peace, peace; that is, peace forever, peace upon peace, uninterrupted, and without end), whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3
Lord! I would say for myself; and every regenerated child of God! grant to us such blessed stayings upon thee, and arising wholly of what thou hast done, as the sole cause; and not in anything which thy grace enables thy redeemed to perform, for all these can be but the effect. Oh! the unspeakable felicity of a kingdom not founded in time, but in eternity: not the result of man's merit, but God's gift; not depending upon creature attainments, but Creator faithfulness; and founded in the everlasting love of God the Father, the infinite merits, bloodshedings, and righteousness, of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Almighty grace and efficient ministry of God the Holy Ghost. And oh! how sweet are the words of the Lord Jesus, both here and elsewhere, while expressing the rich mercies thus prepared for his redeemed, before the foundation of the world, when he saith: Fear not little flock, for it is your heavenly Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke
I hope the Reader will not be liable to any mistake, from the statement I have ventured to give, in pointing out the cause from the effect. Neither will he, I trust, be led to conceive, that I place no stress upon the effects of vital godliness, because I place so much upon the grand cause of all. This would be to pervert what I have intended. The Lord Jesus himself, is pleased to notice in his people the smallest exercise of those graces he hath given them; and he tells us, that he regards the cup of cold water, when we have nothing warmer to give, if given in the name of a disciple. Well therefore may we regard them also. And as Christ personal is no more upon earth to be ministered unto, as he was in the days of his flesh, Luke 8:3. it is blessed when we feel a love to Jesus, to minister to any of his poor people, who are members of his mystical body. But still I must contend for the Lord's glory, as the sole cause of all. The foundation of a kingdom, and prepared from everlasting, is wholly in himself: and both the persons for whom this kingdom is prepared, and the graces wrought in them, as testimonies to the same, all originate from the electing, redeeming, regenerating grace of God, in Christ Jesus.
I detain the Reader a moment longer to remark, that from the answer, and given with such seeming astonishment by the redeemed, (called righteous, in the Lord's righteousness), to the gracious words of the king: Lord when saw we thee an hungred and fed thee, etc. it appears that they had no consciousness of the oneness between Christ and his people, in a manner equal to what it really is. And perhaps no man alive, is, or can be able to conceive the intimate nearness between them. If we were, every child of God, would be more alive than he is, even upon motives of selfishness to minister to one another. One of the fathers of the Church (Cyprian) used to say, that this passage had never been understood; and the redeemed are all of them represented as saying as much, when thus expressing their astonishment!
I do not think it necessary to enlarge, on the awful part of the representation given in this Chapter, of the condemnation of the unregenerate. That the sentence uttered by the king, depart ye cursed; is spoken to such as were nominal Christians, is I think, too evident to be doubted, in that Jesus saith, I was an hungered and ye gave me no meat: which plainly proves that they dwelt among the Lord's people, but had neither faith nor love for him, nor compassion for his members as such. In short the characters are contrasted. The righteous were righteous in Christ's righteousness; and through grace had been savingly called, regenerated, justified, and sanctified; and had been deeply humbled under a sense of their own utterly lost estate, and had sought salvation only in Christ. The goats on the left hand, had neither felt a sense of sin, nor a desire of salvation; they are supposed to have heard of Christ, but valued him not; priding themselves in their own good works, or hoping that these would recommend them to Jesus, and what was wanting, if there were any deficiency, he might make up. So that their unhumbled hearts had never known anything of their own corruption; their acts of charity, if any, had never been given with an eye to Christ: they had lived and died, as they were born, and knew not the Lord. It is of such Christ speaks, when he saith, and these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.