A man was once being tried for a crime, the punishment of which was
death. The witnesses came in one by one, and testified to his guilt;
but there he stood, quite calm and unmoved. The judge and the jury
were quite surprised at his indifference; they could not understand
how he could take such a serious matter so calmly. When the jury
retired, it did not take them many minutes to decide on the verdict
"guilty"; and when the judge was passing the sentence of death upon
the criminal, he told him how surprised he was that he could be so
unmoved in the prospect of death.
When the judge had finished, the man put his hand in his bosom, pulled
out a document, and walked out of the dock a free man. Ah, that was
how he could be so calm; it was a free pardon from his king, which he
had in his pocket all the time. The king had instructed him to allow
the trial to proceed, and to produce the pardon only when he was
condemned. No wonder, then, that he was indifferent as to the result
of the trial. Now, that is just what will make us joyful in the great
day of judgment; we have got a pardon from the Great King, and it is
sealed with the blood of His Son.