Heaven. The just will go to God. They will live for ever in His sight, having that perfect union with Him which fills them with inconceivable joy and glory.
The punishment of hell consists in this, i. that the damned are cursed and rejected by God, and deprived of His Vision, in the possession of which alone happiness lies; 2. that they will suffer in fire unquenchable and in the company of devils. The punishment of the damned will be certainly as unending as the happiness of the just.
A comparison of the two sentences shows that the one is the exact opposite of the other:
| Come | Depart from Me |
| Ye blessed of My Father | Ye cursed. (Not, ye cursed of the Father, because the sinner himself, not God, is the author of the curse of the unjust.) |
| Possess ye the kingdom | into everlasting fire |
| Prepared for you from the foundation of the world. | Prepared for the devil and his angels. (Our Lord does not say “prepared for you”, for God created hell only for the devils, and He “wills that all men be saved”. Moreover hell was not prepared from the beginning of creation, being created only at the time when the angels fell.) |
Faith alone cannot save. In the parable of the virgins our Lord taught us plainly that the oil of good works is necessary in addition to the lamp of faith; and He related the parable of the talents for the sole purpose of showing us that he only can be saved who uses the gifts and graces given to him by God, for the practice of works pleasing to God. Now, in the account we have read to-day, our Lord tells us that at the judgment those will be condemned who do not practise works of mercy, and that good works alone can claim the eternal reward of heaven. It is therefore our Lord’s distinct doctrine, that good works are necessary for salvation, and it is almost inconceivable that the comfortable idea that faith alone will save us, should ever have been proclaimed to be the doctrine of Christ!
Application. You also, with the rest of mankind, will be called before the judgment-seat of God. On which side of our Lord do you mean to be? Shall you be among the sheep who have obeyed the voice of their Good Shepherd, or among the goats who have lived according to their own lusts? What a terrible misfortune if you found yourself on the left hand, cursed and rejected by your Lord, separated from those dear to you, and
