The Scales of Judgment

Spurgeon warns that every person—like Belshazzar—will one day be weighed by God and may hear the dreadful verdict, “You are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting.” He begins by showing that God weighs nations as well as individuals, citing the bloodshed of ancient Babylon and the persecutions in Piedmont as proof that national sins bring national judgment. Turning to the personal level, Spurgeon urges hearers to judge themselves now through several “preliminary weighings”: the opinion of honest men, the divine law—which exposes even the most respectable person as light as “the dust of the balance”—the scale of conscience, the scale of Scripture, and the scales of providence, whether adversity, prosperity, or temptation. He illustrates how adversity tests whether we can say, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him,” while prosperity often melts superficial religion like “the palace of ice,” and temptation reveals whether we truly resist sin or merely wear a mask of piety. Spurgeon warns that many professing Christians fear to examine themselves, like bankrupts who keep no books, and urges them to test their souls honestly before the final judgment. Only the true believer, clothed in Christ’s perfect righteousness, can step into God’s scales without fear, for Christ’s obedience and atonement give him “full weight” where the law would otherwise condemn.Sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon on June 12th, 1859.