(2) Christ Himself.-St. John iii., 13; vi., 62; xx., 17. 2. Its Description. Christ remained on earth forty days after His resurrection. During that period He was speaking to His apostles "of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.”—Acts i., 2, 3. After this He led the eleven to the Mount of Olivet, near to Bethany, and, after a most interesting conversation, whilst in the act of blessing them, He was parted from them, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. "And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."-Acts i., 4-11; St. Luke xxiv., 50, 51. 3. Its Object. (1) To resume the glory of which He had emptied Himself for us (Phil. ii., 6-8), but which He had with the Father before the creation of the world.—St. John xvii., 5. (2) To prepare a place for us. "I go to prepare a place for you."-St. John xiv., 2. (3) To send to us the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. "It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you."-St. John xvi., 7. 4 The Day of its Commemoration. Ascension Day or Holy Thursday, which is forty days after Easter. II.-His Station in Heaven. He sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. "God also hath highly exalted him," &c.-Phil. ii., 9. God is a Spirit (St. John iv., 24), and has no body nor parts; but he is described as having them to meet our limited capacities. "The right hand of God" means the highest place of dignity and power.-Ps. cx., 1; Ephes. i., 20, 21; 1 Peter iii., 22. "He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of Go."-St. Mark xvi., 19; Heb. i, 3; viii., 1. LII.-His Office in Heaven. To intercede for us. "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."-Rom. viii., 34. 25. "He ever liveth to make intercession for them."-Heb. vii., This intercession was prefigured by the High Priest enter- This office He will hold until all His enemies be subdued. CHAPTER VIII. THE SEVENTH ARTICLE. FROM THENCE HE SHALL COME TO JUDGE THE QUICK AND THE DEAD." I.-The Prediction of His Coming. It was foretold: "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."-Jude 14, 15. 2. By Daniel.-Daniel vii., 9, 10. 3. By Christ Himself. (1) To His disciples-e.g.: "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his work."-St. Matt. xvi., 27; St. John xiv., 3. (2) To the Jewish rulers-e.g.: "Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."-St. Matt. xxvi., 64. 4. By the Angels-e.g.: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."— Acts i., 11. 5. By St. John-e.g.: "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be."--Rev. xxii., 12; i., 7; xxii., 7, 20. 6. By St. Paul-e.g.: "For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come. and will not tarry."-Heb. x., 37. II. The Place from whence He shall Come. From heaven. It is fitting He should come directly from heaven, as He will thus fully display 1. His power and authority. 2. His sanctity and integrity. III.-The Manner of His Coming. Christ's second coming will not be like the first, "in great humility," but will be in great power and glory, in all the pomp and state of a king; and He will be accompanied by His holy angels-e.g.: St. Matt. xxv., 31; xxvi., 64; Titus ii., 13. IV. The Time of His Coming. "Of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.' St. Mark xiii., 32. "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night."-2 Peter iii., 10. For its suddenness and unexpectedness it is compared to the "days of Noe," the period of the Flood, and to "the days of Lot," the period of the destruction of Sodom. St. Luke xvii, 26-37. The time is hidden from us that we should watch alwayse.g.: "Watch, therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come."-St. Matt. xxiv., 27. V.-The Purpose of His Coming. To judge the quick and the dead-e.g.: "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."-Rom. ii., 16. "For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." Rom. xiv., 10; 2 Cor. v., 10. 1. Why Christ is to be the Judge. (1) Because God the Father hath appointed Him-e.g. : "The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."-St. John v., 22; Acts x., 42; xvii., 31. (2) Because He is the Son of man, and from His experience of human life possesses that "exact temperament of affection toward men which is requisite to the distribution of equal justice towards them, according to due measures of mercy and severity ”—e.g.: "And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man."-St. John v., 27. 2. Whom He will Judge. (1) The Quick, i.e., those who shall be alive at the time of Christ's coming. (2) The Dead, i.e., those who shall be literally dead at the time of Christ's coming. The terms "quick" and "dead" comprehend all mankind, and are used to denote the universality of the Last Judgment.-Rom. xiv., 9-12. 32. "Before him shall be gathered all nations."-St. Matt. xxv., "All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth."-St. John v., 28, 29. 3. How He will Judge. Every man will be judged according to his opportunities. "The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."—St. John xii., 48. We shall be called to account for our (1) Thoughts-e.g. : "Therefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.' 1 Cor. iv., 5; Acts viii., 22. (2) Words-e.g. : "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."-St. Matt. xii., 36-37. (3) Actions-e.g. : "And then he shall reward every man, according to his works."-St. Matt. xvi., 27; Rom. ii., 6. 4. The Issue of the Judgment. "They that have done good shall go into life everlasting, and they that have done evil into everlasting fire."-Ath. Creed; St. Matt. xxv., 46. 5. The Lessons to be Learnt from the Judgment. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God."-2 Peter iii., 11, 12. "We should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”— Titus ii., 12, 13. CHAPTER IX. THE EIGHTH ARTICLE. "I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY GHOST." I.-Meaning of Holy Ghost. Ghost is the same as Spirit (Breath). As Jesus is called the Word of God (St. John i., 1), so the Holy Spirit is the Breath of God, from his operations, or, as it were, his breathings upon men―e.g. : "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Gen. i., 2. "And the Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."-Gen. ii., 7. He is called the Holy Ghost because 1. He is the Spirit of Holiness—e.g. : "And declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness."-Rom. i., 4. 2. He is the author of all holiness in us-e.g. : "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit."-1 Peter i., 2. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance."-Gal. v., 22, 23. The Holy Ghost is the Third Person in the Godhead, "the Lord and Giver of Life, proceeding from the Father and the Son "-e.g.: 66 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me."-St. John xv., 26. II.-His Nature. 1. He is a Spirit. This is implied in His name. "God is a Spirit."-St. John iv., 24; 1 Cor. iii., 16. 2. He is a Person. He is not, as some suppose, a "virtue, gift, or attribute,' There is a clear distinction between goodness and a good He is a Person : (1) Because He is described in Scripture as doing personal acts-e.g. He is said : (a) To come. "And when he is come," &c.-St. John xvi., 7, 8. |