274 FORGIVENESS of SIN. will of themselves or of one another : " I am the Amen ; and I will see whose word shall stand, mine or theirs." What then saith he of Laodicea l " Thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Oh woful and sad disappointment ! Oh dreadful surprisal! Ah ! how many Laodicean churches have we in the world! How many professors are members of these churches ! not to mention the generality of men that live under the means of grace, who all have good hopes of their eternal condition, while they are despised and abhorred by the only Judge. Among professors them- selves, it is dreadful to think how many will be found light when they come to be weighed in this balance. Again, he judges some to be in a good condition, be they themselves ever so diffident : saith he to the church of Smyrna, " I know thy poverty." Rev. 2 : 9. Smyrna was complaining that she was a poor contemptible peo- ple, not fit for him to take any notice of. Well, saith he, fear not; I know thy poverty whereof thou corn- plainest : " but thou art rich ;" that is my judgment, testimony and sentence concerning thee and thy condi- tion. Such will be his judgment at the last day, when both those on the one hand and the other shall be sur- prised with his sentence : the one with joy at the riches of his grace, the other with terror at the severi- ty of his justice. Matt. 25 : 37-39, and 44, 45. In Isaiah, 49 : 14, " Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me':" that is her judgment of herself, and of her state; a sad report and conclusion. But doth Christ agree with her in this sentence 2 The next verse gives us his resolu- tion of this matter : " Can a woman forget her suck- ing child, that she should not have compassion on
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