HOPE FOR THE WORST OF CASES
"If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him. But if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him ?" -I Samuel 2:25 [KJV] It is a very solemn thing to behold a trembling convicted malefactor, when standing before an earthly tribunal, although the judge is of the same nature with himself: for every thing is solemn, earnest, and impartial. But what is the awfulness of a court of human judicature, compared to that Day, in which a whole world, all found guilty before God, shall stand before the judgment-seat of Christ? In this life, there is, for the most part, somewhat to mitigate, and to excite hope in the worst of cases: some tender-hearted friend, some kind neighbour, some feeling relation, will be found to arise, to soften, if not able to relieve, the guilty man's distress. But at that tribunal, where none can plead, and where all hearts are open, What shall be found to stop the overwhelming horrors of the condemned? Pause, my soul, over th