not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it (i. e. ʼn rapovoía,) is near, even at the doors'." Shall a man read these words, Christian brethren, and not think of the coming of the Son of Man ? of the time of His second Advent, "when He shall come again in His glorious majesty, to judge both the quick and the dead!" Shall the time of an Eclipse pass us by, and that on the Sabbath day, without some such thoughts as these concerning our soul's health? "Shall a trumpet be blown 3 in the city, and the people not be afraid "?" 66 But hear yet again the words of St. Luke, And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon earth, distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 'Matt. xxiv. 29. 33. 2 See Collect for Advent Sunday. 3 Amos iii. 6. men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power, and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh1. 199 Yes, Christian brethren, we shall do well to consider such passages as these, and to bear in mind that a time will come when " THE SUN SHALL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS." And why? Even because in the New Jerusalem,-in the heaven of heavens in store for those who die in the Lord," there shall be no night there; and they need no candle ; neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light and they shall reign for ever and ever2. And now, suppose this Eclipse to-day were the beginning of troubles, and fearful signs,-suppose the angel, which John the Divine saw in his vision. standing upon the sea and upon the earth, should, as on this day, lift up his hand in our sight to heaven, “and swear by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are; and the earth, and the things that therein are ; and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer3." Suppose now, I say, that the eclipsed sun should for ever be turned into darkness at this time, and then let me ask, are 1 Luke xxi. 25-28 2 Rev. xxii. 5. 3 Rev. x. 5, 6. -- -- we prepared, not of our own strength, but by the grace of God, to stand upright in the judgment? Christian brethren, the thought is astounding,the question is tremendous,--but still, are we ready to die for if we die this night, to all intents and purposes the time of our judgment is hard at hand, because the time of our probation is over'. Happy those faithful ones who are called from worshipping in the house of God to the sleep of the grave, they, because Christ rose again for their justification, shall rise with joy on the morning of the resurrection! But woe be to the ungodly, woe be to the hypocrites, woe be to those who add drunkenness to thirst,-their sun shall indeed be turned into darkness, they must awake to "lamentations, and mourning, and woe!" Oh! that those who forget God in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, would call upon His name, and not do despite unto the Spirit of Grace, and be saved! "O that THEY were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!" That they would 1 It is hardly likely that the writer should be misunderstood on the subject of the rapovoia, but lest he should, he adds the clause of the Nicene Creed: "And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead: whose kingdom shall have no end." On this point two very good sermons by Mr. Dodsworth, may be referred to. One entitled, "On the State of the Dead and the Resurrection ;" the other, "Christ, the Resurrection and the Life." See also Illustrative Notes to Bishop Jebb's Sermon on 1 Thess. v. 7. 8. p. 20. 2 Deut. xxxii. 29. beware, "lest that come upon them which is spoken of in the Prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish1." However, let not God's faithful servants be dismayed at any increase of wickedness,—at any overflowings of ungodliness. Or, if the eyes of the faithful be wasted away with looking for health from above, if at times they should sit them down beneath the juniper tree, like the prophet, and ask to die for very sorrow,--if they should be ready to break forth in the words of the mother of Sisera, saying, "Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariots ?" Let them wait awhile, and see the salvation of God, -"Though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come; yet a little while, and He that shall come will come." The day of judgment hastens, -the time draweth nigh when the sun shall be turned into darkness, -a time when God "will lay 3 1 Acts xiii. 41. 2 1 Kings xix. 4. 3 As 3 Judges v. 28. The substance of this paragraph is from Bp. Horne's Commentary on the Psalms: Ps. cxix. 123. A more profitable manual for devotion can hardly be recommended. many are apt to make presents of Thomas à Kempis, may the writer be allowed to propose Bishop Jebb's "Protestant Kempis," in its stead. In the compilation of the volume now referred to, and in the republication of Burnet's Lives, Characters, &c., the good Bishop was employed in a good work. Ὁ δὲ—λιπὼν βέβηκε πρτόερος ! 4 ' Heb. x. 37. B See Ps. cxix. 123. to his hand;"-and then, as saith the prophet Daniel, “they that be wise" (they, that is, who have been wise on earth unto salvation) "shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever 1.” Furthermore, consider that although SHALL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS, 66 THE SUN still ". every man's work shall be made manifest. For the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is." In that day, the "hope of the hypocrite shall perish," and however in his earthly career he may have passed on plausibly before the eyes of his fellow men, his "sin shall surely find him out." Nor can he then hope for a change of his sentence, for in those regions of sorrow (as we learn from the end of the rich man in the parable), 66 peace, And rest can never dwell, hope never comes, That comes to all "." After the final resurrection and judgment, our Lord will deliver up the kingdom to the Father, and then God will be all in all,-the Mediator's and Intercessor's office will be no more,-there will be no more room for repentance,—no more sacrifice for sin,--but "where the tree falleth, there it shall lies." Therefore it is, Christian brethren, that "know 1 Dan. xii. 3. 21 Cor. iii. 13. Par. Lost. i. 60. Numb. xxxii. 23. Eccles. xi. 3. |