Christ's National Judgment

“When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory; and before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall separate them.” — Matt. xxv. 31, 32.

I UNDERSTAND the idea to be, There is a time coming in which the worth of a nation will be measured by its conformity to the standard of the Son of Man.” Put into modern language, the prophecy is this, “The nations at the right hand of power will be the nations animated by the love of humanity.” Wherever the Son of Man has come in His glory — wherever the welfare of humanity is the paramount thing, the humanised nations are the powerful nations. Before men recognised the glory of a human soul the power of a nation lay in something material. The great kingdoms were the kingdoms of physical force, of crushing strength, of warlike prowess; their symbol was the lion and the panther. But when an individual man was enthroned in the heart of the world, when the most attractive object in the 247 universe became a sacrificial human soul, then the first was made last and the last first. The kingdoms of physical force faded and the kingdoms of moral force advanced. When the sign of the Son of Man appeared in heaven, those nations came to the front that recognised the rights of man. The lands of liberality became the lands of light. The empires of intolerance receded; they passed to the left of the throne. Despotism withdrew into the desert. Tyranny went back with the tide. Slavery retreated to the silence. Monopoly was hidden in the mist. The free nations stood foremost. Europe outstripped Asia; America outran Africa; the West left the East behind. Culture suppressed cruelty. Charity broke man’s chain. Love restrained law. Pity softened power. Service eclipsed sovereignty. Kindness outshone kinghood. Meekness became more potent than majesty. The roaring of the lion was drowned in the pleading of the lamb.

Lord, may Thy kingdom come! May it come not in the clouds of heaven, but in the cloudlessness of earth! We thank Thee that already we hear it on its way. We thank Thee that the wheels of Thy chariot draw nearer. We thank Thee that the nations at the right hand of power are the humanitarian nations. We thank Thee 248

that the empires which oppressed the rights of man have taken the left side and sunk into the shade. Nearer and nearer, O Lord, may that kingdom come — the kingdom of humanity! Swifter and swifter may that chariot roll — the chariot of the Son of Man! More and more may the eyes of the nations rest on the glory of a human soul! May ever deeper grow their enthusiasm for the work of Jesus — their desire to serve Him, their eagerness to follow Him! May they feel that a kingdom is only great when it is sprinkled by His Spirit! May they learn that from Him come all the qualities of their soldiers — the chivalry, the courage, the endurance! May they learn that from Him come all the qualities of their statesmen — the wisdom, the prudence, the foresight! May they leara that from Him come all the qualities of their teacher:, — .he patience, the clearness, the tenderness! To Him may they trace their happy homes, their domestic endearments, their lamps of amily love! To Him may they ascribe their boast of brotherhood, their social sympathy, their mutual membership! To him may they dedicate th tk chalice of charity, their cup of kindness, their ministry to man! To him may they attribute the survival of their sick, the healing of their helpless, the life of their languid, the fire of their feeble, the 249 wealth of their weak, the song of their sorrowful, the bravery of their baffled, the hopefulness of their heavy-laden! May they find the secret of their right-hand place in this, that he who sits upon their throne is the Son of Man