The Red Cloud chief., 1889-02-22
WROTE On THE GROUND.
d.. Talmage on tho Literature Of
the Dust
The Erring Woman and me saviour's
Wonderful J~adgment-The Only Writ.
No Of Our Lord-Ghe Whole
World . Parable.

World . Parable.
In Q recent sermon at Brooklyu Rev. T
De Witt Talmage preached On the subjoe
The Literature Of Ne Dust" His tex
VA from John viii q: 'Jesus stoopec
down and wrote on the grosnd" He said
A Mohammedan mosque stsads nou
whore once stood Herod's temple. tbs
scene OF my text. So.omon's temple had
stood there, but Nebuchadnezz.r thun.
dered il down. Z~orObabel's temple had
stood there. but that had b.en Frustrated.
Now we take our places in a temple tina,
H-rod built because he was fon OF great
architecture and he wanted the preceding
temples TO seem Insignificant. Put eigh,
or ten modern cath-drals together and
they would not equal that structure. II
covered nineteen acres. There were mar.
bic pillars supporting roofs Of cedar and
silver tables ON which stooi golden cups.
aud there were carvings exquisite and in
scriptions Respondent, gl.ttering balus.
trades and ornamental gatewayS. The
building OF this temple kept tsn thousand
workmen busy for forty-six years. In
that s~iupendous pile OF pomp aud magnif.
cence sat Christ, and a listening throng
stood about him, then a wild disturbance
took place. A group of men are pulling
and pushing along q woman who had
committed the worst crime against So
ciety. When they have brought her in
front of Christ they ask that he sentence
her TO death by stoning. They are q crit
ica'. merclless, d~isingenuous crowd. They
want TO get Christ into controversy and
public apprehension. IL he say Let her
die" they will charge him with cruelty. II
he let her so they viii charge him with
being in completely with wickedness.
Whichever way he doe, they would howl
at him.
Then occurs q scene which has not been
sufficiently regarded. He leaves tn.
lounge or bench on which he was sitting
and goes down on n knee or both knees,
and with the forefinger OF his right hand
he begins to write in the dust Of the floor.
word after word. But they were not to be
or hindered. They kept on de-
handing that he settle this case OF trans.
until he looked up and told them
that they might themselves begin the
woman's assassination il the complain.
ant win had never done any thing wrong
himself would open the fire. Go ahead,
but 10 sure the Dan who filings tho 1rst
missile b innscuiat-" Then he resum.A
with Mis- finger in the dust Of the
floor, WORD nj, er word. Instead OF look.
ing over his shoulder to see what he had
the scoundrels skulked away. F..
nally. the whole place is clear OF pursuers.
antagonists and plaintiffs, and when
Christ had finished this strange chirog.
raphy in the dust, he looks up and finds
the woman all alOne. The prisoner Is the
only one Of the court room left, the judges,
the police, the prosecuting attorneys hav.
Ing cleared out Christ is victor, and he
lays to the woman: ''Where are the pros.
.cuiors in this case: Are they all gomez
Then | discharge yOu; 90 and sin no
more.
l have always wondered what Christ
wrote on the ground. For do you realize
hat Is the only time he ever wrote at oil:
know that Eusebius says that Christ
'nce wrote a letter to Abgarus, the King
IT Eiessa, but there is no good
evidence Of UGH a correspondence.
The wisest being the world ever saw
and the one who had more to saw
han IN one whoever lived never writing
s,'Ne " A. VI - VI u IIids
.raph. Or a word ON parchment Nothing
nut this literature OF the dust, and one
of a brush or one breath of a wind
'bliiera'ed that forever. Among all the
oils of the volumes of the first library
ounded at Thebes there was not one scroii
4 Christ. Among the 200. 100 books Of the
library. which by the in.
decree of Cal pa Omar were used
= fuel To heat the 400 baths of the city.
lot one sentence had Christ p.nned.
Among all the iIfini;u!e of yo'urnes now
in the Libraries OF Edinburgh,
he British museum. or Berlin OF Vienna.
= the learned repositories OF all nations. |
Iot one word written directly by the !
Of Christ. All he wrote b. wrote IN
ust. uncertain. shifting. vanishing dust. |
NY text says be stopped down and wrote
n the ground. Standing straight up q
IAN might write on the ground with q |
taft, but IL with his fingers he wou,o
Trite in the dust he must tend clear over. /
I'VE. he must get At least on one knee or
. can not write on the ground. b. not
" prised that he stopped down. Stoop.
Is dow from castle to harm. STOPPING
own from celestial homage TO mobccratic
.er. From residence above the stars to
here . star had to fall TO designate his
'nding place. From Heavens fron; door
, the worlds back gate. From writing in
and silverrd letters Of constellation
nd galaxy on he bus scroll of Heaven
writing on the ground in the dust which
he feet Of the crowd had left in Herod's
ample. IL in January you have ever
epped out of . Princes CONSERVATORY
,ae hnH MaNtc~n ..a,,n. ~nl ,...-.
full bloom into the outside air ten de.
rees below zero you nav get some idea
Christ's change OF atmosphere from
TO terrestrial How many
there are I know not. but there
Re at least three. for Paul was caught up
to the third Heaven" Christ came down
ON the highest Heaven t. tbs sec.
I'd Heaven. and down from second
esven TO first Heaven. down swi.ter than
fell. dow amidst stellar spiendors
1t himself eclipsed, down through
ouds, through atmospheres, through ap-
.l!inG space, down TO where there wss no
yer depth. Prom being waited o. At the
Of the skies to the broiiiug OF 6sh
e his own breakfast on the hanks Of the
ke From smb,axoaed charioss Of eeer.
~ 70 the saddle Of . mules back The
'msge cherubic. sersphic, ~archangelic,
the paying OF g. c-nfs oftax to Cesar.
'om the deatAiess unit 20 . somb
tilt 20 hide human d~issoiutioa. The up-
ted wave OF Galilee was high, bot He
ID % rome down before with His feet He
uld toach IL md the whtrivind that
- above the biilows higher yet bot He
8 to come down before with His lin He
old kiss 10 into quiet BeeAiehem Q
down NasarssA . sseopsas F.,
'wn- Death between two harxiars Q
down. Yes it was in coosoaancs I
u humii'ssions that had gone hssors
d with abasGatioas hat cans afSse I
ssa on that memorable day In Hseod's !
Dple He stopped and wrote a Tie /,
pund I