be unknown to strangers belonging to different parts and ages of the world from those in which it was their lot to live, much more may we conclude that they will be known to each other, and be joyfully recognised by those of their contemporaries, who were united in holy fellowship with them in the days of their earthly pilgrimage.

The passage in question, therefore, extends its evidence beyond the immediate point in support of which it is presented to our notice. For not only does it encourage us to believe that recognition, in the strict sense of the word, will take place amongst the just, but it gives us reason to conclude, that the most distinguished and holy men, belonging to the most distant ages and countries, who never had the opportunity of beholding each other" in the flesh," will become known to one another, and to the rest of the heavenly inhabitants; and that their fellowship, enlivened by mutual recollections, will constitute one of the chief sources of future happiness.

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MATT. XIX. 28.

And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me in the regeneration (in the renovation of all things, v tỷ παλιγγενεσία), when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon

twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

It is evident, as the pious Doddridge has observed, in his excellent Commentary, that our Lord refers, in these words, to the time of final retribution, which he elsewhere mentions as that in which he should "sit upon the throne of his glory.” And, thus understood, the passage contains a promise, by which the twelve apostles were assured, that, notwithstanding their humiliation and sufferings in the service of God, they would be peculiarly distinguished and honoured on the great day of accounts. Nothing short of this can be intended by the declaration that they should "sit upon twelve thrones ;" and if such marks of distinction are conferred upon them, it is most reasonable to suppose that they will recognise each other, and become known as the apostles of Jesus Christ. This conclusion is strengthened, and the general principle involved in it, more fully established, by adverting to what is further said respecting them. They are to become assessors in the judicial proceedings of the last day towards the tribes of Israel. Whatever may be the nature of their office, or in whatever manner it may be performed, it must include the knowledge of individuals, and of their relation to the present world. In other words, the apostles must know the

persons submitted to their jurisdiction to be the twelve tribes of Israel, and it is equally plain that the Israelites must, on the other hand, be aware that their judges are the twelve apostles. But if this be admitted, what should hinder the individuals of either party from becoming known to one another? And, in the face of such evidence, on what ground can the belief of a general recognition, amongst friends and contemporaries, be reasonably called in question?

MATT. XXV. 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."

We have already observed, that the principle of perpetuated consciousness, and of future recognition, is involved in the responsibility of man, and the consequent doctrine of a general judgment. In the passage adduced, and throughout the whole of the paragraph, from which, as a specimen, it is selected, we accordingly find this principle fully recognized by our Lord, as it respects the decisions of the great day. "The individuals of the assembled generations, of the entire human race, are represented as severally retaining a perfect

knowledge of their earthly proceedings. To that knowledge the judge appeals. On the attestation of that knowledge the sentence is grounded. Let it, then, be considered, that the recollection, in the case of an individual, of his personal deeds and desires, good and evil, necessarily involves recollection on his part, of a great number of other individuals, and of actions, and wishes, of which they were the objects. Concerning very few transgressions, comparatively speaking, of the law of God, can it be said that they have not had in the mind of the transgressor an intentional bearing on some other person. Is the sin, for example, covetousness? It is the coveting of the property of a specific individual. Is it envy, or malice, or robbery, or slander, or deceit? The sin is meditated, or practised, with a purpose of injury to a particular person. Is it pride or rivalry? It is directed against persons whom the sinner contemplates as coming into comparison or competition with himself. Frequently, too, the sinner pursues his plan of evil, in confederation with associates in the guilt. With the obviously requisite changes, all these positions may be in substance transferred to good actions and good designs. These indispensable recollections are possessed by every individual placed before the tribunal of Christ. Of the persons whom they respect, all are standing by the side of the offender, confronted with him, and

giving an account before him of themselves, as he in their presence is of himself, to God. Every deed, every purpose, brought to judgment, is receiving successively its own measure of aggravation, or of extenuation, accordingly as the character of the deed, or of the purpose, is affected by reference to the earthly connections, attachments, separations, and all the relative conditions and circumstances of the party by whom it was performed or planned, and the party on whom it was intended to centre; parties reciprocally witnessing, each as to the other, every hidden action manifested, every secret of the heart revealed.

"In prospectively contemplating the nature of the day of judgment, while our ideas may be, to a certain degree, assisted by the analogy which in some points will subsist, if heavenly proceedings may, for illustration, be compared with transactions on earth, between that awful tribunal and a human judicature, we are in danger of being greatly misled by forgetting that, in one most important point, there is not the slightest similarity between them as to the object in view. In human judicatures, a principal purpose of the trial is to discover the truth of the facts; to elicit from the witnesses the information necessary to enable the appointed judges, whatever be their denomination or their form of process, to decide whether the person accused did or did not commit the crime laid to