changed towards the sinner. 2. Because the sinner who shall be judged shall then be unworthy of pity or mercy from that Man.—Preached on the fourth Sunday of Advent.
Text.
Et videbit omnis caro salutare Dei.—Luke iii. 6.
“And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
Introduction.
Dear Saviour! is it Thou who art to be our Judge on that day when all flesh shall rise from the grave? If so, why did I in the last sermon cause such alarm to myself and others by representing our Judge as a strict and merciless God? Thou art Man like to us, and hast loved us even to death. So it is, dear Christians. Rejoice, for we have a good Judge; our case will be tried under favorable circumstances. Rejoice then, pious Christians, who by your virtuous lives remain always in the friendship of your Judge. But sinners, alas! as far as you are concerned, you have just as much reason to fear as ever, unless you turn from your evil ways. He who will judge us is Jesus Christ, a Man like ourselves, that is true; but the sinner has no less reason for fear on that account, as I now proceed to show.
Plan of Discourse.
Because the Man who will judge us shall then be quite different towards the sinner from what He now is: the first part. Because the sinner who is to he judged shall then he unworthy of pity or mercy from his Judge: the second part. Therefore let us change our lives in time if we wish to find our Judge favorable to us: the conclusion.
And we hope that the same Judge will give us grace to observe it, through the intercession of Mary and of our holy angels.
Christ is the most gentle and meekest of men.
Amongst all the titles that are given to Our Lord in the Gospels, there is none more common than “The Son of man.” He Himself hardly ever speaks of Himself otherwise than as “The Son of man.” Why is that, my dear brethren? To show that, as He has assumed our mortal nature, and become Man like to us, He has also taken on Himself the same tenderness, sensibility, and mildness which urge men to have compassion on those who are suffering. And truly there never was, and never will be a