that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day." As
"man liveth by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," so
does every word of his truth point to that great day for which all
other days were made. All the parables and miracles of our Lord, full
of instruction as to heart and life, point, like so many guideposts,
to this great central truth of man's experience and existence.

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 soul