The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1889-02-18
THE STORY OF DUST.
DR.. Talmage'S Sermon Yesterday,
The Only Time Christ Ever Wrote
Was When He Saved
The Life of a Woman From the
Hands of Her Fellow Beings
Ee Then Wrote In the Dust, and
What Did He Writer
A Beautiful Lesion Extracted From the
Simple Text, "Jesus Stopped Down
and Wrote on the Ground"-
Profitable Reading.

Brooklyn, N Y, Feb. 17.-Dr. Talmage
preached this morning in the Brooklyn
Tabernacle on the subject, "The Litera-
ture OF the Dust" After explaining APP
proprate passages of the scripture con-
cerning Christ, he gave out the hymn;
~ Oh could speak the matchless worth,
Oh, could sound the giorirs forth
Which In my savior shine.
Text: John viii. 6; "Jesus stopped down
and wrote on the ground"
A Mohammedan mosque stands now
where once stood lIerod's temple, the
scene OF my text. Solomoh's temple had
stood there, but Nebuchadnezzar had
thundered il down. Zorobabe's temple
had stood there, but that had been pros
trated. Now we take our places in tenn
pie that Herod built because he was fond
OF great architecture and he wanted the
preceding temples to seem in7ignidcant
Put eight or ten modern cathedrals to-
gc,her and they would not equal that
structure. 1t covered nineteen acres.
There were marble pillars supporting
roofs OF cedar and silver tables on which
stood golden cups, and there were cary.
ings exquisite and inscriptions resplen-
dent, gittering balusIrades and orna-
mented ga,eways. The building Of this
temple kept 10000 workmen busy forty
six years. In. that stupendous pile Of
pomp and magndcence sat Christ, and a
listening throng stood about him, when a
wild disturbance took place. A group OF
men are pulling and pushing along a
woman who had committed the worst
crime against society. When they have
brought her in front OF Christ, they
ask that lie sentence her to death by sion-
Ing. They are critical, mcrcilcss, disin.
gcnuous crowd. They want to get Christ
into controversy and public apprehension.
ii lie say, "Let her die" they will charge
Him with cruelty. II lie let her so, they
will charge Him with being in completely
with wickedncss. Whichever way lie
does, they would howl at Him. Then oc-
ours a scene which has not been sufficient
" regarded. lie leaves the lounge or
bench ON which lie was sitting and goes
down on one knee, or both knees, and
with the iorcingnr OF llIs right hand lie
begins tu write IN the dust OF the ilOOr
word after word. But they were not TO
be diverted or hin lercd. They KEEP, on
demanding that llo settle this ease oi
transgrcssion, until lie looked up and told
= thcm that they might themselves begin
the woman's assassination, II the COM
plainant who had never done anything
wrong himself would open the fire. Go
ahead, but be sure that the man who
filings the nrst missile is immaculate
Then lie resumed writing with His finger
IN the dust Of the floor, word after word.
Instead Of looking over Ills shoulder 30 see
what lie had written, the scoundrcls
skulkcd away. Finally the whole place Is
clear oi purucrs, antagonists and plaint-
ills, and when Christ has finished lis
strange chirography In the dust He looks
up aud finds tho woman all alone. The
prisoner il the only one Of the courtroom
left, the Judges, the police. the prUsecut.
ing attorneys having cleared out. Christ
Ii victor, aud lie says 10 the woman.
"Wherc are the prosecutors In this easel
Are they all gomez Then discharge YOU
20 and sin no more
/ have always wondered what Chris
wrote on the ground Tor do you rcaliz,
that IA the only time that he ever wrote al
all? ! know that Eusebua SAYS that Chris
once wrote a letter TO Abgaris. the kinl
OF Edcssa, but there Is no good cyidcnc,
OF such a correspondence. The wiscst DO
ing the world ever saw, aud the one wh'
had more TO say than anyone who eve
lived, never writing a book or chapter
ora page or n paragraph, or q word OF
parchment Nothing but this liicratur
OF the dust, and one sweep oi brush o
one breath OF q wind ohlitcrllcd that Tor
ever. Among al the rolls OF the volume
Of tho fret library founded atThcbcs Their
was not one scroll Of Christ. Among The
100000 books OF the AlgXandrian library
which by the infamous decree oi Calipl
Omar were used ~ fuel 10 heat the 100
baths Of the city not one sentence ha'
Christ pcnncd. Among all the intinitud
Of volumes now standing IN the hbranc
of Edinbnrg the British Museum, or ber
lin or Vienna, or the learned rcposiionc
OF all nations, not one word written d
rcc,ly by the finger Of Christ. All that h
ever wrote he wrote IN dust, uncertain
shifting. vanishing dust.
NV text says hc stopped down an
wrote ON the ground. Standing straig
up man might wrlio on tl
ground with q stall; hut II with his iingcl
ho would write IN the dust, he mu
bend clear over Aye, lac must get {
least on one knee or lac cannot write o
The ground. he not surprised that j
stopped down. Ills whole lie was
stopping down. STOPPING down from ca
llc To barn. STOPPING down from celeau'
homage to mobocratic iccr. From res
hcuco above the stars 10 where star ha
fallen 20 designate bis landing place. Fro
heavens front door 10 the worlds ba'
gate. From writing In round and silver,
letters OF constellation and galaxy on u
blue scroll Of heaven, 10 writing on q
ground In the dust, which the feet Of q
crowd had left In llerods temple. II
January you have ever stepped out OF
princes conservatory that had Mcxlci
cactus aud magnolias IN foil bloom, IN
the outside air 10 degrees below zero, y
mas get some idea oi Chrisps change
? atmosphere from celestial 10 icuestriI
How man. heavens there arv ] know n'
but there are at least three, Tor Ia
WAS "caught up IN the third heaven
Christ came down from highest heaven
tbo second heaven, aud down from seco
heaven 70 irt heaven, down swiiior ih
mo,eors ever fell, down amidst slel
1ylendom that himself ociipaed, do
through clouds. tnioagh aim1sphcr
llaough appalling space, down % wh'