Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1889-02-27

DRooKLYN, February l7.-Dr. Ta!mage
ID preached this orning in the Brooklyn
Tabernacle on the subject, "The Liier-
ature of the Dust After explaining ap-
propriate passages of Scripture concerning
Christ he gave out the hymn:
oh, could speak the match,ess worth,
oh, could sound the glories forth
Which in my Saviour shine.
Text: John viii, g.: "Jesus stopped down
and wrote on the ground"
A Mohammedan mosque stands now
where once stood Herod's temple, the scene
of my text. Solomon's temple had stood
there, but Nebuchadnezzar thundered it
down. Zorobabel's temple had stood there,
but that had been prostrated. Now we take
our plnce in temple that Herod built be-
cause he was fond of great architecture and
be wanted the preceding temples to seem
insignificant. Put eight or tan modern
cathedrals together and they would not
equal that structure. 1t covered nineteen
acres. There we're marble pillars support
ing roofs of cedar, and silver tables on
which stood golden cups, and there were
carvings exquisite and inscriptions resplen-
dent, glittering balustrades and ornamented
gateways. The building of this temple
kept ten thousand workmen busy forty six
years. In that stupendous pile of pomp
and magnifcence sat Christ, and listen
ing throng stood about him, when wild
disturbance took place. A group of men
who had committed the worst crime against
society. When they have brought her in
front of Christ, they ask that he sentence
her to death by stoning. They are a criti-
cal, merciless, disingenuous crowd. They
want to get Christ into controversy and
public reprehension. If he say ''Let her
die" they will charge him with being in
completely with wickedness. Whichever
way he does, they should howl at him.
Then occurs scere which has not been
sufficiently regarded He leaves the lounge
or bench on which he was sitting ard goes
down on one knee, or both knees, and with
the fore-fnger of his right hand he begins
to write in the dust of the floor, word aftel
word. But they we're not to be diverted
or hindered. They kept on demanding thai
he settle this case of trangression until he
looked up and told them that they might
themselves begin the woman's assassina
tion, if the complainant who had never done
anything wrong himself would open the
fire. "Go ahead, but be sure that the mar
who filings the first missile is immaculate. y
Then he resumed writing with his finger
IN the DUST OF the floor, word after word
Instead OF looking over his shoulder to see
what he had written the scoundrels skulk
ed away. FINELY, the whole place is cleal
of pursuers, antagonists and plaintiffs, and
when Christsshas finished this strange Chi
Biography in the dust, he looks up and findi
the woman all alone. The prisoner is the
only one OF the court room left, the judges,
the police, the prosecuting attorneys having
cleared out. Christ is victor, ard he says
to the woman: Where are the prosecutors
in this case? Are they all gone Then
discharge you; go and sin no more"
| l have always wondered what Christ
wrote on the ground. For do you realize
that is the only time chat he ever wrote al
all / know that Eusebius says that Christ
once wrote letter to Abgarus, the king OF
Edessa, but there is no good evidence oi
such correspondence. The wisest being
the world ever saw and the one who had