Me most unjustly while thou wert in the state of sin, I did not even then cease to heap benefits on thee; that for years and years I have borne with thee most patiently; that I have often gone after thee like a beggar imploring a crust of bread, and knocked at the door of thy heart, pressing as it were with violence on thee My grace and the pardon of thy sins; that as Mediator, Intercessor, and Pledge, I have promised to reconcile thee with My heavenly Father. But now I am neither thy Spouse, nor Father, nor Friend, nor Pledge, nor Advocate; My office is changed; I am nothing now but thy Judge, and all I have to do with thee is after a strict examination of all thy actions to exact full satisfaction for all thy sins, even to the last farthing, and as thou art not able to pay, to condemn thee to eternal flames. Alas, how different that is to what He used to say! “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”[1] Yes, that was true; but it is so no longer; the Man has changed. O meekest Saviour! remember, I beg of Thee, how often Thou hast said: “Go then and learn what this meaneth: I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I am not come to call the just, but sinners.”[2] True, such was the case then; but it is so no longer; now I am come to judge the living and the dead; now I am come to call the just to heaven, and to condemn the wicked to the everlasting flames of hell.
Nay, as He is a just Judge, He must change towards the sinner. And, O Judge of infinite holiness, I must acknowledge that Thou art perfectly right! Thou canst not do otherwise; Thou shalt be compelled to turn Thy patience and meekness into wrath and indignation, and to deal with the guilty according to the strictness of Thy justice. You yourselves, O sinners, must acknowledge that when the crime in question is clearly proven and the perpetrator of it convicted, and he himself confesses his guilt, and when moreover the crime is clearly one that deserves the gallows, then there is no longer place for grace or mercy; the judge has no power to pardon, but is forced to sentence the criminal according to the rigor of the law, even if it were his own son whom he has to condemn to the extreme penalty. Now on that day, when the great account-book is opened, in which all our thoughts, words, and actions are written down;[3] when moreover the consciences of all men shall be laid bare
