The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-04-27
WE PLEAD GUILTY.
Trial Of the Soul at the Bar Of
High Heaven.
Our Advocate Jesus. Christ Steps in Be-
tween the Soul aud the OGended
Law and Offers Pardon.
[BY T. DEWITT TALMAGE.l

Yourself. AT this bar crime has often
been arTaigned; at this witness stand
the oath has often been taken; at this
jurors bench the verdict has been rem
dered; at this judges desk sentence has
been pronounced" But | have to tell
you to-day of a trial higher than any
Oyer and Terminer, or Circuit, or Su-
preme, or Chancery. 1t is the trial of
every Christian man for the life of his
soul. This trial is different from any
other in the fact that it is both civil and
criminal. The issues at stake are tTe-
mendOus, and l shall this morning, in
my sermon, show you, first, what are
the grounds of complaint; then, who are
the witnesses in the case, and lastly,
who are the advocates. When trial is
called on, the first thing is to have the
indictment read. Stand up then, o
Christian man, and hear the Indictment
of the court of high heaven against thy
soul. 1t is an indictment of ten counts,
for thou hast directly or indirectly
broken all the ten commandments. You
know how it thundered on Sinai, and
when God came down how the mountain
rocked, and the smoke ascended as from
smOuldering furnace, and the dark
ness gathered thick, and the loud, deep
trumpet uttered the words: "Ihe soul
that sinneth, it shall diew Are you
guilty or not guilty? Do not put in
negative plea too quick, for l have to
announce that "all have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God. There
is none that dOeth good; no, not one.
WhOsOever shall keep the whole law, yet
offend in one point, he is guilty of all"
Do not, therefore, be too hasty in pro-
nOuncing yourself not guilty.
This lawsuit before us also charges
you with the breaking of a solemn con-
at T,V, a f,.nf f,,
be the Lords. We got down on our
knees, and said: 20 Lord, am Thine
now and forever" Did you keep the
promise? Have you stood up to the
contract? go back to your first COM
muniOn. You remember it as well as if
it were yesterday. You know how the
vision of the cross rose before you. You
remember how, from the head, and the
hands, and the side, and the feet, there
came bleeding forth these two words:
Remember Me-" You recall how the
cup of communion trembled III your
hand when you first took it; and as in a
sea-shell you may hear, or think you
hear, the roaring of the surf, even after
the shell has been taken from the beach,
so you lifted the cup of communion, and
you heard it in the surging of the great
ocean of SayiOr's agony; and you came
forth from that communion service
wit h face shining, as though you had
been on the Mount of TRANSPORTATION
and the very air seemed tTemulOus with
the love of Jesus, and the woods, and
the leaves, and the grass, and the birds,
were brighter and sweeter-vOlced than
ever before, and you said down in the
very depths of your souls: Lord, Thou
knOwest all things; Thou knOwest that
love Thee" Have you kept the bargain,
0 Christian man? Have you not some
time faltered when you ought to have
been true? Have you not been proud
when you ought to have been humble?
Have you not played the coward when
you ought to have been the hero? l
charge 1t upon you, and charge IL upon
myself-we have broken the contract.
Still further: this lawsuit claims dam
ages at your hand. The greatest slander
on the Christian religion is an incOn-
sistent professor. The Bible says re-
tigiOn is one thing; we, by our incOn-
sistency, say religion is some other thing;
and what is more deplOrable about it is,
that people can see faults in others while
they cannot see any in themselves. If
you shall, at any time, find some miser-
able old gossip, with imperfectiOns from
the crown of her head to the soul of her
foot, perfect blOtch of sin herself. she
will go tattling, tattling, tattling all
y
tencies of others, having no idea that
she is inconsistent herself. God save
the world from the gossip, female and
male. | think the males are the worst!
Now, the chariot of Christ's salvation
goes on through the world; but it is our
Inconsistencies, my brethren, that block
up the wheels, while all along the line
there ought to have been cast nothing
but palm branches, and the shout should
have been lifted: "HOsanna to the Son
of David"
Now you have heard the indictment
read. Are you ready to plead guilty OF
not guilty? Perhaps you are not ready
yet to plead. Then the trial will go on
| The witnesses will be called, and we
shall have the matter decided. In the
name of God l now make proclamation
| o, yes! o, yes! 0, yes! WhOsOever hath
anything to offer in this trial in which
God is the plaintiff, and the Christian
soul the defendant, let him now step
forth and give testimony in this solemn
| trial.
The first witness that call upon the
stand in behalf of the prosecution is the
| WOrld-all critical and Observant OF
| Christian character. You know that
| there are people around you who per
| petually banquet on the fTailties of God:
children. You may know. if you have
lived in the country, that a crow careI
for nothing so much as caTTiOn. TheTl
are those who imagine that out of thr
faults of Christians they can make
bridge of boats across the stream o
death, and they are going to try it; bu
alas for the mistake. When they ge
amid the stream, away will go tn
bridge, and down will go their souls t
perditiOn. o World of the greedy ey
and the hard heart, come on the stan
now and testify in behalf of the prOsecU
tiOn against this Christian soul on tria
What do you know about this ChTistia
manP 20" says the World, 81 know
great deal about him. He talks abOu
putting his treasures in heaven, but h
is the shaTpest man in a trade that
ever knew He seems to want us to be
lieve that he is a child of God, but he
just full of imperfeetiOns. L do nc
know but l am great deal better tina
he is now. Oftentimes he is very eartt
ly, and he talks so little about Chris
and so much about himself. am yer
glad to testify that this is a very ba
man." StOpl World with the greed
eye and hard heart. fear you are to
much interested in this trial to Civ
impartial evidence. Let all those VIII
hear the testimony of this witness know
that there is an old family quarrel be
tween these two parties. There alway
has been variance between the WOrl
and the Church. and while the World oil