Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-11-08
&eadiua fur the Sabbath,
CONDUCTED BY
REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
[Original.I
THE JUDGMENT.


of the living who may be on the earth at
that time, and the final judgment are events
in which we are all interested. In the Scrip
lures the time when these events will take
place is called the "last day." and some
times "the day Of the Lord" The subject
is calculated to inspire us with feelings
which are partly sublime and partly awful.
Three things in connection with this subject
demand our attention: 1st, Will there ever
be general Judgment? 2nd, What will be
it's character? 3rd, When will it be:
There are two ways by which we may sat
isfy ourselves, beyond Il reasonable doubt,
that there will be, at some period in the tll-
ture, general Judgment. The first is the
light of nature, the second is the teachings OF
the Bible The light ofnature teaches us that
one of the essential attributes OF God IS us
tice. No man will assert that even-handed
Justice is meted out to any one, much less to
every one, in this world. If so, the distinc-
ton between virtue and vice is certainly,
| to a large extent, fanciful In the provi-
dence of God there is not a manifest exhibit
ton of equity. 1t is true that punishment,
| though moving slowly, never fails to over
take the transgressor but it is also true that
the punishment is not in every case, or even
| in any case, in exact proportion to the crime
| The light of nature, as we'll as the legal en-
! actments of all nations, declare some sins
more heinous than others. On this princl-
ple all penal statutes are based. The more
heinOuS the crime the more severe the pun
| ishment, is principle which receives the
appreciation of all men. They may differ
as to what is crime, but not in the degree in
| which crime should be punished. Persons
| who are proven guilty of some crimes are
| fined in small sums, those who have been
proven guilty of other crimes are fined in
| large sums, while those who have been
proven guilty of having violated the law in
| some respects have inflicted upon them some
corporal punishment. The severest punish
| from man his life and you take from him
everything within your reach. All crimes,
which, by Statute, are punishable with death,
are by no means equal. If the Individual
who, in cold blood, murders one man is pun
ishable with death, the man who murders
two men is, or ought to be, punishable with
two deaths. Equity demands this, but
when mans life is taken from him once,
then and there all human laws and human
officers must cease. They can go no further,
they can dono more. In those governments
whose laws are admitted to be wise and
equitable and justly administered, there are
serious defects which cannot possibly be
remedied. The innocent are, at least, some
times made to suffer, while, not unfrequenr-
ly, the guilty 60 free. For this, neither
Judges nor Jurors are to be blamed. The
defect, if defect it may be called, is in the
very nature Of things. 1t is part OF the
| imperfecton of the present state OF things:
Such being the case, in every country ana
in every community, we instinctiVely look
forward to period when all these defects
and imperfections will be remedied and JUS
tice administered with an even hand.
| g b,fs s,,f limo
sations of providence, God does not make a
full and final settlement with men. He, in
mercantile phrase, permits their accounts to
run on from year to year, now and then de-
manding a payment, SO that their accounts
will never run out of date. No one, who
will carefully look into the matter, will ever
conclude that God, in this life, ever makes
a full and final settlement with any of the
! human family. Justice demands that some
thing more be done before the books can be
closed and a final receipt given. Instinct
lively some long for that period to come
! when they will be rewarded according to
the deeds which they have done, while 9TH
ers contemplate that period with fearful ap-
prehensiOns.
| 1t is admitted that there are some persons
who regard death the end of man and that
there will be no general judgment, other
than that which is taking place every day.
1t is a waste Of time to reason with the in
dividual who calls in question the percep-
tions of his own senses and the DEGREES OF
his own conscience. 1t is vain to attempt
to reason with the man who denies that
grass is green, or who asserts that that IS
| right which his own conscience condemns.
| We are, however not left to the necessity
of concluding from the light of nature alone,
that there will be general Judgment. we
| raunlafjnn
pointed. In the Old Testament, many pas
sages are found which teach the doctrine di-
rectly, and others are found which teach it
indirectly. OF the first kind is Ecclesiastes
12:14, "God shall bring every work into
Judgment, with every secret thing, whether
| it be good, or whether it be bad" OF the
same kind, is Psalms 50:3-6, "Our God
shall come, and shall not keep silence; a
fire shall devour before him, and it shall be
very tempestuous round about him. He
shall call to the heavens from above, and to
the earth, that he may judge his people,
Paul, in Romans IA: 10, quotes Isaiah 40: y,
ment. No one who has read the New Tes-
lament, will deny that the doctrine ofa gen
eral Judgment is taught in that volume.
One single passage from many will be quo
ted, "God hath appointed a day in which ne
will Judge the world in righteousness. +"
Acts II: 81. From the light Of nature and
also from the word of God, we conclude that
there will be general and final judgment.
The next thing in which we are interested
is the character of the judgment. The two
things which give character to every judg-
ment are the Judge and the person or per-
sons judged. Among the first questions
which are asked with regard to a court is,
"Who is the judge" The Judge in that
grand court, which is to settle forever the af-
fairs of the world, so far as mans eternal des-
tiny is concerned, will be Jesus Christ.
This fact we learn from the Scriptures,
"The Father judgeth no man, but hath
committed all judgment to the Son" John
5:22. See also, Acts 10: 40, and III. limo
thy Al.
For the discharge of the duties of a judge
Jesus Christ is eminently qualified. He is
divine, and consequently, possessed of all
the attributes necessary to fit him for this
high position. He is Omnicient and no
deed, or word, or even thought, can be con-
cealed from him. He isalso infeXibly just.
Righteousness is the habitation ofhis throne.
He not only will do right, but he cannot do
wrong. He is also Almighty. No one will
be able to escape through his weakness, and
from his righteous decisions no one will
dare appeal.
But Jesus Christ is not only eminentlT
qualified to act as the judge on the day of
final assize, but this is a part of his mission
into this world. He came into the world to
destroy the works of the devil. |. John 3:S.
This world is in state of revolt against the
authority of God and his Christ. TO crush
this rebellion, Jesus Christ came into the
world. So long as sin remains in this world