The tribunal of the great Judge of the quick and the dead

Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light ... that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal - from the Advent collect.

... and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law - the Epistle reading for the First Sunday in Advent.

For of all that a man hath, there is nothing that shall accompany him to the tribunal of the great Judge of the quick and the dead but peccata et bona opera, 'sins and good works;' and then it will appear that the voice of a few good works, done for Christ's sake, will speak louder, and plead harder and more effectually for us, than all our glorious words and professions - from the sermon preached at the funeral of Lancelot Andrewes.