Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-05-10
CONSCIENCE PRICKS.
GRAPHIC STORY OF CHRIST BEFORE
GOVERNOR PLATE.
Rev. Dr. Talmagc Holds an Audience SPELL

Rev. Dr. Talmagc Holds an Audience SPELL
bound by His MatchIess Eloquenoe-Pow-
er and Effect of the "stnI, Small Voice"
Divine Mercy.
NEW YORK, May 5.-Rarely does any
discourse hold an audience with such in
tense interest as did that which Rev DR.
Talmage delivered this afternoon in the
Academy Of Music He chose for his
subject Conscience, " the text selected
being Matthew xvii, "a: "He took wa
ter and washed his hands before the
multitude, saying: I am innocent Of the
blood Of this just person. See ye to it. "
At about Z O'Clock in the morning, up
the marble stairs Of palace and across
the floors of richest mosaic and under
teilings dyed with all the splondors Of
color and between snowbanks Of white
and glistening sculpture, passes q poor,
pale, sick young man Of 33, already con-
demned to death, on his way to be con-
demned again. Jesus Of Nazareth is his
name
Coming out to meet him on this tcs
sellated pavement is an unscrupulcus
compromising, timeseving cowrdly
man. with few traces Of sympathy and
fair dealing left in his composition
Governor Pontius plate Did ever such
opposites meet? Luxury and pain, self
ishness and generosity, arrogance and
humility, sin and holiness, midnight and
midnOOn
Christ Before plate.
The bloated Tipped governor takes the
cushioned seat, but the prisoner stands,
his wrists manaclcd. In a semicircle
around the prisoner are the sanhcdrists'
with flashing eyes and brandished fists,
prosecuting this case in the name of ro-
ligion. for the bitterost prosecutions
have been religions prosecutions, and
when satan takes hold Of a good man he
makes up by intensity for breyity of oc-
cupation. If you have never seen an &C.
clesiastical court tryinga man, then You
have no idea Of the foaming infomalm
of these old religions sanhcdrists. Gov
ernor plate cross questions the prisoner
and finds right away he is innocent and
wants to let him go His caution Is
also increased by some one who comes
to the governor and whispers i'm his car
The governor puts his hand behind his
ear so as to catch the words almost in
audible 1t is a message from Claudia
Procula. his wife. who has had q dream
about the innocence of this prisoner
and about the danger Of executing him,
and she awakons from this morning
dream in time to send the message TO
her husband. then ON the judicial bench
And what with the protest Of his wife,
and the voice Of his own conscience, and
the entire failure Of the sanhedrists TO
make out their case, Governor Pilate
resolves to discharge the prisoner from
custody.
But the intimation Of such thing
brings upon the governor an equ'noctial
storm Of Indignation They viii report
him TO the emperor at Rome, they will
have him recalled, they viii send
him ND home, and he will be- hung for
treason, for the emperor at Rome has
already a suspicion in regard to PLATE.
and that suspicion does not cease until
plate is banishcd and commits suicide
So Governor Pontius Pilate compromises
the matter and proposes that Christ be
whipped instead of assassinatcd. 50 tne
prisoner is fastened to q low pillar, and
on his bent and barred back come the
thongs Of leather with pieces OF lead
and bone intertwisted. so that every
stroke shall be the more awful Christ
lifts himself from the scourging with
flushed check and torn and quiyoriag
and mangled flesh, presenting a specta-
Gle Of suffering In which Rubcns, the
painter, found the theme for his greatest
masterpiece
But the sanhcdrists are not yet sat's-
fed. They have had some Of ms nerves
lacorated they want them all lacorafod
They have had some Of his blood; they
want all of it, down to the last corpus
Gle. So Governor Pontius PLATE, after
all this merciful hesitation, surrcndcrs
to the demoniacal cry of Cruelty him!
But the governor sends for something
He sends a slave out to get something.
Although the constablcs are in haste to
take the prisoner to execution and the
mob outside are impatient to glare upon
their victim, a pause in neceSsitated
| Wonder il comes-a wash basin. Son
pure. bright water is poured into it, and
then Governor PLATE puts his white, deli
cate hands into the water and rubs them
together and then lifts them dripping
for the towel fastened at the slave S gir-
die. while he practically says: 81 wash
my hands of this whole homicidal trans
action. | wash my hands Of this entire
responsibility You will have to beal
it. ." That is the meaning Of my teXi
when it SAYS: HE took water and wash
ed his hands before the multitude say
ing: | am innocent Of the blood Of this
Just person. See ye TO it ~
Hypocritical Additions.
Behold in tins that ceremony alloulli
to nothing if there are not in it CORE
spondencies Of heart and life. 1t Is
good thing to wash the hands Coo
created three quarters of the world wa
ter and in that commanded cleanliness
and when the ancients did not take th'
hint he plunged the whole world unde
water and kept it there for some time
Hand washing was religious cere
mony among the Jews The Jewisl
Mishna gave particular direction how
that the hands must be thrust thre
times up to the wrists in water and IN
palm of the hand must be rubbed witt
the closed fist Of the other All that
we'll enough for a symbol, but here Il
the text is man who proposes to wasl
away the guilt Of sin which he doe
not quit and of which he does not max
any repentance Pilates wash BASH
was dead failure
Ceremonies, however beautiful am
appropriate, may be no more than TIN
hvpocritical ablution In infancy w
NAV be sprinkled from the baptisma
font. and in manhood we may wade INT
deep immersion. and yet never come {
moral publication We may lmeel with
| -. -. o,,l Iov,- without rnvcrCnc