West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1889-02-28
CHRIST'S LIBRARY.
SERMON By REV TALMAGE.
Tho brooklyn Divine Plea DIS for
Women and Pays His Respects
90 Fortune Hunters.

TEXT: "Jesus stopped dotcn and tcrote on
tao ground. H-John viii, O.
A Mohammedan mosque stands now where
once stood Herod's temple, the scene OF my
text Solomon's temple had stood there, but
Nebuchadnezzar thundere1 it down. Zorro
babel's temple had stood there. but that had
been FRUSTRATED. Now we take our places
IN a temple that Herod built because he was
fond OF great architecture and he wanted the
preceding temples 10 seem insignificant Put
eight or ten cathedrals together and they
would not equal that structure. It covered
nineteen acres There were marble pillars
supporting roofs OF ceder and silver tables
on which stood golden cups, and there wero
carvings exquisite and Inscriptions resp!en-
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 mag
nitcence sat Christ, and a listening throDg
stood about him. when a wild disturbance
took place. A group Of men are pulling and
pushing along woman who has committed
the worst crime against society. When
they have brought her i'm front OF Christ,
they ask that He sentence her to death by
stoning They are critical, merci-
TO get Christ into controversy and
public apprehension. II He say: "Let
her die" they will charge Him with cruelty.
lf de let her go they will charge Him with
Whichever way He does, they would howl
at Him. Then occurs a scene which has
not been sufficiently regarded. He leaves
the lounge or bench on which He was
SIT ng aud goes down on one knee or
both knees, and with the forefinger of
His right hand He begins 10 write in
the dust OF the floor, word after word But
they were not TO DO diverted or hindered.
They kept on demanding that He settle this
case OF transgression until He looked up and
tod them that they might themselves begin
the womans assassination, IL the complainant
VINO bad never done anything wrong him
self would open tho fire. EGO ahead
but DO sure that the man who ilings
the first missile Is immaculaten Then He
resumed writing with His finger in the dust
or the hoor, word after word. Instead of
looking over His shoulder to see what He had
written tho scoundrels skulked away
Finally, the whole place is clear Of pur-
suers antagonists and plaintiffs, and when
Shr,st has finished this strange chirography
IN the dust, He looks up and finds the
woman AL 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, and He says TO
the woman: where are the prosecutors in
this case! Are they all gomez Then / dis
charge you; go and sin no more"
have always wondered what Christ wrote
on the ground, For do you realize that is
tine only time that He ever wrote at alIl
know that Eusebius says that Christ once
wrote letter to Abgarus. the King Of
EdeSsa, but there Is no good evidence OF such
correspondence. The wisest being the
had more to say than any one who ever
lived, never writing a book or a chapter or
page or paragraph or a word on parch-
inent. Nothing but this literature OF the
uust and one sweep OF a brush or ono
breath OF wind obliterated that forever.
Among all the rolls OF the volumes OF
the first library founded at Thebes
there was not one scroll Of Christ. Among
The seven hundred thousand books of the
Aexandrian library, which by the infamous
decree OF Caliph Omar were used as fuel
20 heat the four thousand baths of
tne CITY, not one sentence had Christ
volumes now standing in the Libraries Of
Edinburgh, the British Museum. or Berlin or
Vienna, or the learned repositories OF oil
nAtions, not one word written directly by
the finger OF Christi All that he ever wrote
ne wrote in dust, uncertain, shifting, van
fshing dust o.
My text says lie stopped down and wrote
on the ground. Standing straight up man
but il with his fingers he would
write in the dust, he must bend clear
over. Aye, he must get at least
on one knee or he cannot write on the
stopped down. His whole life was n
STOPPING down STOPPING down from
castle to barn. STOPPING down from
CELESTIAL homage TO mObocratic jeer
star had to fall TO designate His landing pace.
From heavens front door 70 the world baels
gate. From writing in round and silvered
ielteTs OF constellation and galaxy on
ground in the dust, which the feet Of the
crowd had left In Herod1s temple.
AZ IN January you have ever stepped
out Of princes conservatory that
nad Mexican cactus and napuo.
las IN full bloom, into the outside air ten do.
grees below zero, you may get some IDEA of
Christs change Of atmosphere from celestial
70 terrestrial How many heavens there are
know not, but there are at least three. FOR
Paul was caught up into the third heaven ~
Chrlst came down from highest heaven TO
the second heaven, and down from second
heaven 70 hrst heaven, down swifter than
motors ever fell, down amidst stellar sDen-
doris that Himself eciipsed down throu il
clouds, through atmosphere, through appaIl-
ing space, down to where there was no lower
deDtb- From being waited on at the ban.
Ynet ot the skies TO the broiling OF fsh for
DDS own breakfast on the banks OF the lake
from emblaDODed chariots OF eternity
20 the saddle Of a mules back. The
homage cherubic, seraphic archan gelic
.ne paying OF sixty-two and a half cent
OF tax 70 Cesar. From the deathiees
country 70 a tomb built 20 hide human
dissolution. The uplifted wave of Gaiiloe
Was hlgh, but He had 70 come down before
VII IT'S feet He could touch it, and the
NhrlWlnd that rose above the billov
was higher yet, but Hs had 10 como
aown before, with Hrs Hp. He couId
Kiss u into quiet Bethlehem a stoorfno
1919 4NaAttltlh n stopping down. Death
get"een Two burglars a STOPPING down
-, ~ was III consOnance with humiliation
tnat hnd gone before and with self ai,nega
uons chat came after, when on that memoir.
eOie Day 10 HerOda temple lie stopped down
hhA wrote On the ground
gether The words lie was writing were In
fes or Latin, or Hebrew. j cannot saw.
tor be knew 81 thoss lanyuagea Bat III Z,
still stopping down and with His finger writ.
his on the ground; in the winter in letter,
~ crystns, IN tho spring in letters OF
5oWefs, On summer in golden loftors IA
narFeat, in autumn in lstters Of fire on Fan 4,
isnvos How it would sweefen mo and en-,
flcu ana cmblazOn this world could We 80
cnrisL > ealigraphy OIL over H. This world
nas hot nung out into space thousands ol
years ago and then left - look ont for M
set II is stil under the divine care
lhflst never Tor n half second takes sd.
n41a ~ Or ~ or 10 would soon D. n sbfo
wrecked world. defunct world. ara ofeo'Iefe
"gIld' an abandoned world n dead world
let there be lighp was said al tfe tes,i,,
mig and Christ stands under fho ,vtl.f-,
SKI and -ays. LET there be su0wfaEoa - sri.
fich tho earth and under the clouds az qrJrfry
enl says. Come yo blossoms and make re-
uoient The orchards and in September. diue
me branches INTO the vat Of LeautifuI color
QUO swings them iu Tho hay air 30 within
or mine is this without Him waa NOT
anything made that was male" Christ
"fiiing ON The ground. III we could
see Ills hand All -......