The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1896-08-21
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Great Lawsuit Before the SUI
preme Court of the Universe.
The Divine Tells Of = Legal Procedure In
Which Every Christian Must Stand
Trial-Hls Soul In the
Balance.

Witt Talmage's latest sermon are
drawn from the scenes in a court room
with which DIR. Talmage became IA
miiiar when he was studying law, be-
fore he studied for the ministry. The
text is: 1 John, liz: 1--WE have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous"
Standing in a court room you say to
yourself, "At this bar crime has often
been arraigned; at this witness stand
the oath has often been taken; at this
jurors bench the verdict has been rem
dered; at this judges desk sentence
has been pronounced" But have to
tell you to-day of a trial higher than
any oyer and terminer or circuit or
supreme or chancery. 1t is the trial
of every Christian man for the life of
his soul. This trial is different from
any other in the fact that it is both
Evil and criminal.
When trial is called the first thing
is to have the indictment read. Stand
up then, o Christian man, and hear the
indictment of the court of Heaven
against thy soul 1t is an indictment
IO~ bOh NOhhtcb AOI buOu ldSI VI
indirectly broken all the ten command
ments. You know how it Numbered
on Sinai aud when God came down
how the mountain rocked and the
smoke assembled as from a smoldering
furnace, and the darkness gathered
thick, aud the loud, deep, trumpet ut
tered the words: 1.-The soul that sim
meth, it shall dier' Are you guilty, or
not guilty? Do not put in a negative
plea too quick, for 1 have to announce
that 'all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. There is none
that doeth good; no, not one. Who
ever shall keep the whole law, yet Of
fend in one point, he is guilty of all. I"
Do not, therefore, be too hasty in pro-
nouncing yourself not guilty.
This lawsuit before us also charges
you with the breaking of a solemn
contract. Many time did we promise
to be the Lords. We got down on our
knees and said: 80, Lord, / am Thine
now and forever" Did you keep the
promise? Have you stood up to the
contract? / go back to your first COM
munion. You remember it as we'll as
if it were yesterday. You know how
the vision of the Cross rose before you.
You remember how from the head and
the hands and the side and the feet
there came bleeding forth these two
words: Remember Me-" You recall
how the cup of communion trembled
in your hand when you first took it;
and as in seashell you may hear, or
| fhsr1ly ham Tho nf ha -
even after the shell has been taken
from the beach, so you lifted the cup
of communion and you heard in it the
surging of the great ocean of
saviOr's agony; and you came forth
from that communion service with face
shining as though you had been on the
Mount of TRANSPORTATION; and the
very air seemed tremulous with the
| love of Jesus and the woods and the
leaves and the grass and the birds
were brighter and sweeter-voiced than
ever before, and you said down in the
very depths of your soul: Lord, Thou
knowest all things; Thou knOwest that
I love Thee" Have you kept the bar
gain, o, Christian man? Have you not
sometimes faltered when you ought to
have been true? Have you not been
proud when you ought to have been
humble? Have you not played the cow
ard when you ought to have been the
hero? l charge it upon you, and
charge it upon myself-we have broken
the contract.
Still further: This lawsuit ella inns
damages at your hands The greatest
SANDER of the Christian reli zion is an
inconsistent professor. The Bible says
religion is one thing; we, by our in
cons stencv, say religion IS some other
thing. and what is more deplorable
about it is that people can see faults in
others while they cannot see any in
themselves. If you shall at any time
find some miserable old gossip with
imperfections from the crown of her
head To the sole of her foot,
perfect blotch of sin herself, she
wi go tattling. tattling, tat
Ting. all the years of her life a. out
th- inconsistencies of others, having
no idea that she is inconsistent herself
God save the world from the gossip.
female and male.! l think the males
are the worse, Now the chariot of
Christ's salvation goes on through the
word; but it is our inconsistencies. my
brethren, that block up the wheels.
while all along the line there ought to
have been cast nothing but palm
branches, and the shout should have
teen lifted: "Hosanna to the Son of
Davidr'
Now, you have heard the indictment
read. Are you ready to plead guilty or
not guilty? Perhaps you are not ready
vet to plead. Then the trial will go on.
The witnesses will be called, and we
shall have the matter decided. The
FIR witness / call upon the stand in
behalf of the prosecution is the world
all critical and observant of Christian |
character. You know that there are |
people around you who perpetually |
banquet on the frailties of Gods chill |
dren. You may know, if you have |
lived in the country, that crow cares |
for nothing so much as carrion. There |
are those who imagine that out of the |
faults of Oh ristians they can make a |
bridge of boats across the stream |