West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1889-02-28

while struggling home, eyebrows and
beard and apparel all covered with the whirl-
ing flakes, we would cry out with David:
Wash mo and I shall be whittier than snow"
In picture gallery OF Europe, there is ON the
ceiling an exquisite fresco. but people
having 70 look straight up, IL wearied and
dizzied them. and bent their necks almost be-
was put near the floor and now visitors only
need to look easily down into this mir
rcr and they see the fresco at their
feet. And so much of all the heaven
OF Gods truth is reflected In this world as In
mirror, and the things that are above
are copied by things all around us. What
right have we 10 throw away one of Gods
Bibles. aye, tho first Bible He ever gave the
racel We talk about tho Old Testament and
the New Testiment. but the oldest Testa-
ment contains tho lessons OF the natural
world. Some people like tho New Testament
so we'll they discard the Old Testament
Shall we like the New Testament and the
Old Testament so well ms to depreciate the
oldest; namely, that which was written
before Moses was put afoat on the boat Of
leaves which was calked with asphaltum: or
reject the Genesis and the Revelation that
were written centuries before Adam lost
rib and gained a wifei No. no; when Deity
sstoops down and writes on the ground,
less appreciation of the Bible on paper
that comes out OF the paDer mill but
would urge appreciation OF the Bible in
the grass, the Bible in the sand hill,
the aspnodel, the Bible in the dust.
Some one asked an ancient king
whether ne had seen the eclipse or the sun.
mo- said no, II have SO much to do on
earth. / have no time to look at heaven"
Aud IL our faculties were all awake in the
study OF God, we would not have time to 90
much further than the first grass blade. /
have no fear that natural religion will ever
contradict what we call revealed religion.
have no sympathy with the followers OF
Aristotle, who after the telescope was in
vented, would not look through IL, lest IL
contradict some of the theories OF their great
master. l shall DO glad TO put against one
lid OF the Bible the microscope, and against
the other lid of the Bible the telescope
But when Christ stopped down and wrote
on the ground, what did He writel The
Pharisees dill not stop TO examine. The
towards, whipped of their own consciences
fed pell nell. Nothing will fay man like
an aroused conscience. Dr.. Stevens, in
his "History OF Methodism," says that
when Rev. Benjamin Abbott OF olden
times was preaching, he exclaimed: "For
aught know there may DO murderer in
this house., and man rose in the assemblage
and started for the door and bawled aloud,
confessing to a murder he had committed
fifteen years before. And no wonder these
Fharlsees, reminded OF their sins, took
to their heels But what did Christ write
on the groundl The Bible does not state
Yet, as Christ never wrote anything except
that once, YOU cannot blame us for wanting
70 know what He really did write. But am
certain He wrote nothing trivial, or nothing
uniinportant And will you allow me
10 say that i think know what
He wrote on the groundi / Judge
from the circumstances He might
have written other things, but kneeling there
in the temple, surrounded by pack OF
hypocrtes, who were n self appointed con,
stabulary, and having in His presence per.
secuted woman who evidently was very peni.
tent for her sins. / am sure He wrote
two words both of them graphic and tire
mendous and reyerberating. And the one
word was hypocrisy and the other word
was forgiveness From the way these
Pharisees and scribes vacated the premises
and got out into the fresh air, as Christ,
with just one ironical sentence,
unmasked them, know they were first
class hypocrites 1t was then as it is now
| The more faults and inconsistencies people
have of their own. the more severe and cen.
serious are they about the faults OF others
| Here they Gre-twenty stout men arrest
ing and arraigning one weak woman
MagniIcent business to be engaged in. They
| wanted the fun OF seeing her faint away un
der heavy judicial sentence from Christ
and then after she had been taken ontsidt
| the city and fastened at the foot of the prec.
| lpiee, the Scribes and Pharisees wanted tn,
| satisfaction OF each coming and dropping
| Dig stone on her head, for that was the style
| Of capital punishment that they asked for
some people have taken the responsibility
| 81 saying that Christ never laughed. But
think as He saw those men drop every.
/ thing, chagrined, mortified, exposed
aud go out quicker than they came in. He
must have laughed. At any rate, it makes
me laugh TO read OF IL. All of these liber.
tines, dramatiZing Indignation against i'm
| purity Blind bats lecturing on optics
| uock or crows on their way up from car.
Ass denouncing carrion. Yes, | think that
day by tho finger Of Christ was the awful
word OF hypocrisy. But am sure there was
another word in that dust From her entire
manner L am sure that arreigned woman
/ nj IL -.
| Christ in no wise belittled her sin.
| But her supplicatory behavior and her tears
moved Him, and when He STONED down Ia
| write on the ground, He wrote that mighty,
that imperial word, forgiveness. When
| on Sinai Col wrote the law He wrote
/ it with finger OF lightning on tables
1 OF stone, each word cut as by chisel
| ihto tue hard granite surface. But when He
! writes the oftense OF this woman He writes II
| w the dust so that 10 can be easily rubbed
/ CUT ana wien she repents OF It, Oh He was
| a merciful Christi | was reading OF n
,,g,Tenb that Is told in the far East about
nm 10 was walking through tho streets OF
/ CITY ana Ito saw n crowd around a dead
| log. And one man said: WHAT a loath
,one object is that dog" YES" said
/ another, This ears are mauled and bleedin ~
| les' tnId another, even his hide would
| not be or any use to the tnnnern yes
taij another, the o Tor OF his carcass Is dread.
\ ful." Then Christ, standing there, satd
| But pearls cannot equal the whiteness OF
] us tet-ths men INC people, ulONeu hy luo
/ idea that any one could find anything
| pleasant concerning n dead dog, said:
| why, this must be Jesus OF Nam
/ reth." Reproved and convicted they went
away. Surely this legend OF Christ Is good
| enough 10 lie true Kindness in all His
| words and ways and habits. Forgive
] ness Word OF e,even letters, and some OF
/ them thrones, and some Of them palm
/ branches. Better have Christ write close
70 our names that one word, though He
/ write 10 in dust, than 30 have our same cut
\ into monumental granite with the letters that
| the storms of thousand years cannot ollit-
/ crate. Bishop Lexington had a book Of only
/ three leaves. The first leaf was black, the
I second lenf red. the third leaf white The
( black leaf suggested sim the red leaf atone
/ ment; the white leaf publication. That Is
the whole story. God will abuudantly
/ pardon
! must not forget 20 say that as Christ
/ stopping down, with H's finger wrote on the
\ ground, 10 is evident that His sympathies are
\ with this peniteut woman, aud that Tie has
/ no sympathy with her hypocritical pursuers
/ Just opposite 20 that Is the worlds habit
/ Why didn't these uncloan Fharisees bring
| one or their own number q Christ for ex-
] coriation and capital punishment No. no;
/ they overlook that ia n man which they
/ damnato Boa woman. And so tho world has
( had FOR Offending women scour~qa and