The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1886-12-23
DR.. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
THE CHRISTIAN ON TRIAL THE
THEME OF HIS DISCOURSE.

The World, Conscience, an Angel ant
the Holy Ghost Bear Witness Agains
Him, but Christ Pleads His Case and
He is Saved.
BROOKLYN, Dec. 19-The Rev. T. Dewitt
Talmage, d. D., preached to-day in the
Brooklyn Tabernacle on the subject: "On
Trial." taking Cor his text John i, 2: awe
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous" he said:
Standing in a court room you say TO your
self: "At this bar crime has often been ar
rngned; at this witness stand the oath has
often been taken; at this jurors bench the
verdict hes been rendered, at this judges
desk sentence has been PRONOUNCED" But
have to tell you to-day of a triil higher than
Gay oyer and terIniner, or circuit, or supreme,
or chanceIy 1t is tho trial of every Chris
tian 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
nre tremendous, and I shall in my sermon
show you, first, what are the grounds Of
complaint; then who are the witnesses in the
-ause, and lastly, who are the advocates.
When trial is called on, the first thing is
90 lave the indictment aad. Stand up, then,
Christian man, and / EAR the Indictment OF
tGo court of high hei.ven against thy soull
nast directly or indirectly broken all the ten
commandments. You know how it thun-
dered on Sinai, and when God came down
how the mountain rocked, and the smoke as
cendcd as from q smoldering furnace and
the darkness gathered thick, and the loud.
deep trumpet uttered the words: "The soul
that sinneth, it shall diet" Are you guilty or
not guilty! Do not put in a negative plea too
quick, for have TO announce that "all have
sinned and como 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 Ironouncing
yourself not guilty.
This lawsuit before us also charges you
with the breaking of a solemn contract.
Many time did we promise to be the Lords.
We got down on our knees and said: 80
Lord, l am Thine now and forever" Did
you keep the promisel Have you stood up to
the contract? l 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 mep You
recnn how the cup of communion trembled
In 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
in it the surging of the great ocean of
Saviour's agony; and you came forth
from that communion service with
face shining as though you had been
on the Mount of TRANSFORMATIONS and the
very air seemed tremulous with the love of
Jesus, and the woods, and the leaves, and the
grass, and the birds were brighter and
sweeter voiced than ever before, and you said
down in the very depths of your soul: "Lord,
Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that
love thee" Have you kept the bargain, o
Christian man? Have you not sometimes
faltered when you ought to have been true?
Have you not been proud when you ought to
have been humblel Have you not played
the coward when you ought to have been the
hero7 1 charge it upon you and 1 charge it
upon myself-we have broken the contract
Still further, this lawsuit claims damages
ut your hands. The greatest SANDER on the
Christian religion is an inconsistent pro-
fessor. The Bible says religion is one thing;
we by our inconsistency say religion is some
other thing, and what is more deplOrable about
1t is, that people see faults in others while
they cannot see any in themselves If you
shall at any time find some miserable old
gossip with imperfections from the crown Of
her head to the sole of her foot, perfect
blotch of sin herself, she viii go tattling,
tattling, tattling all the years of her life,
about the Inconsistencies of others, having no
idea that she Is inconsistent herself God
give tho world from the gossip, female and
maIei 1 think the males are the worst. Now
the chariot Of Christ's salvation goes on
through the world, but it is our inconsistent
cies, my brethren, that block up the wheels,
while all along the line there ought to have
I,aer, cost uotbipcr l,trt. r1alu1 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 or not guiltJ2
Perhaps you are not ready yet to plead. Then
the trial viii go on. The witnesses viii be
called, and we shall have the matter decided.
In the name of God 1 now make proclama-
ton: "Oyezl oyezl oyezi WhosOever hath
anything to offer in this trial, in which God
is the plaintiff and the Christian soul the de-
fendant, let him now step forth and give tes-
timony in shis solemn trial"
The first witness that l call upon the stand
in behalf of the prosecution IS the World-au
critical and observant of Christian character.
You know that there are people around you
who perpetually banquet on the frailties of
Gods children. You may know, If you have
lived in the country, that a crow cares for
nothing so much carrion. There are those
who imagine that out of the faults of Chris
tians they can make bridge of boats
across tho stream of death, and they
are going to try it; but, alas,
for the mistakel When they get amid
stream away viii go the bridge and down will
go their soul TO perdition. O, World of the
greedy eye and the hard heart, come on the
stand now and testify in behalf Of the prose-
cution against this Christian soul on trial.
What do you know nbout this Christian mani
"Oh," says the World, 81 know a great deal
about him He talks about putting his
treasures in Heaven, but he is the sharpest
man in a trade ever knew. He seems to
want us to believe that he is a child of God,
but he is just full of imperfectiOns do not
know but am q great deal better than he is
now Oftentimes he is very earthly, and he
talks 50 little about Christ and so much about
himself, I am very glad to testify that this is
a bad man"
Stop, o World with the greedy eye and tho
hard heart 1 fear you are too much in
terested in this trial to give impartial evil
dence. Let all those who hear the testimony
of this witness know that there is an old
family quarrel between these two parties.
There always has been a variance between
the World and the Church, and while the
world on tho witness stand to-day has told a
great deal of truth about this Christian man,
YOU must take it all with some allowance,
remembering that they still keep the old
grudge good. O.World Of the greedy eye and
the hard heart, that viii do. You may sit
down.
The second witness I call in this case is
Conscience. Who art thou, Oh Consciencei
What is your businessl Where were you
borni What are you doing herel "OhP says