The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-17

/ bleeding heart OF the son ~ Cod III
I pains me very much that have 20 testlIy
uls-. in behalf OF him who VIII % no
I wise clear the guilty. say tlat tnls Nnrls-
i-l man has done wrong Ete lla1 ort D
worldly. He has been ueClr crtul- He
rss done a thousand things 1e ought not
-o have done. ana left uu-1ue thousand
things De ouElt 20 have done ina &
v-- do. Conscience You c4n SIT down
The third witness I call in the case is an
angel of God EriEht and shining one,
what doesr -huG here2 What hast tnou
Go say against this man on trlal- on,
says the dngel. 81 nave been a Messenger
10 him I have guarded him. have
watched him. With this wing nave de-
Tended him, and Ofteulmes. Nnen ne
know it not, Jed him into green pastures
and beside the still waters. j snatched
.rom him the poisoned challces. When
bad spirits came upon llm 90 destroy MN,
4 fought them back with infinite fierce
ness, and YET / have 10 testify to-day that
ne has rejected my mission He has not
done as h- ought % have done. InOuSh i
came from the sky. he drove me back.
Though with tIfs wing ] defended him.
and though with this voice woocd him,
7 have 10 announce his multiplied imper-
fecti0ns. ] dare not keep back the test-
m0ny for then ] should not dare % appear
again amongst the sinless ones before the
great white throne
There IS only one more witness TO be
called on behalf Of the prosecution, anu
that is the great, the holy, the august, the
0mnipOtent spirit of God. We bow down
before him. Holy Spirit. kuOWest thou
this MANI "Oh, yes" says the Holy
one, Il know him. 1 have striVen with
him ten thousand times, and though
sometimes ne did seem 10 repent, he ieI
back again as often from his nrst estate
Ten thousand times ten thousand has be
grieved me. although the Bible warned
MIN. saying: 'Grieve not the Holy Ghost
Quench not the Spirit Yes, he has
driven me back Though ! am the Third
Person of the Trinity, ne has trampled on
my mission, and the blood OF the Atone
ment that l brought with which TO cleanse
his soul, he sometimes despised. / came
from the throne Of God to convert, and
comfort and sanctify, and yet look at that
man and see what he is compared with
what, unresisted, ! would have made him.
The evidence on the part of the prose-
cution was closed Now let the defense
bring on the rebuttal testimony. Whas
have you, q Christian soul, to bring in
reply TO this evidence of the world, of the
conscience. of the angel and Of the Holy
GhOst2 No evidence? Are all these things
true2 Yes. Unclean, unclean," says
every Christian soul. What? DO you
not begin to tremble at the thought Of
condemnation
We have come now to the most inter
esting part of this great trial. The evi-
dence an In. The advocates speak. The
profession of an advocate is full of re-
spOnsibility. Tn England and the United
States there have arisen men who in this
calling have been hOnored by their race
and thrown contempt upon those who i'm
the profession have been guilty of a great
many meannesses. That proposition viii
be honorable as long as II has attached 10
10 such names al Mansfield, and Marshall,
and Story, and Kent, and Southland, and
William Writ. The court room has some
times been the scene Of very marvellous
and thrilling things. Some of you remem-
Der the famous Girard will case, where
one of our advocates pleaded the cause of
the Bible and Christianity in mastery
Anglo-Saxon, every paragraph a thunder
bolt
Some OF you have read Of the famous
trial in Westminster Hall Of Warren Hast
ings, the despoiler of India. That great
man had conquered India by splendid tai
ents, by courage, by bribes by gigantic
dishonesty. The whole world had rung
with applause or condemnation. Gathered
in stminster Hall, place in which
thirty kings has been inaugurated, was
one of the most famous audiences ever
gathered. Foreign ministers and princes
sat there. Peers marched in, clad in err
mine and gold. Mighty men and women
from all lands looked down upon the
scene. Amid all that pomp and splendor.
and amid an excitement such as has sell
dom been seen in any courtroom. Ed
mund Burke advanced in a speech which
will last as long as the English language,
concluding with this burning charge,
which made Warren Hastings cringe and
cover: Il impeach him in the name of
the Commons House of parliament, whose
trust he has betrayed. / impeach him in
the name of the English nation, whose an
cient honor he has sullied. l impeach
him in the name Of the people of India,
whose rights he has trampled on and
whose country he has turned into a des-
ert. And, lastly, in the name of human
nature, in the name of both sexes. in the
name Of every age and rank, 1 impeach
him as the common enemy and oppresseT
Of all"
But turn from the recital of these mem
orable occasions to a grander trial. and I
hos n HfT 10 IN Hnfu &c N,o
Christian, for the life of his soul the advo-
Gates are mightier, wiser and more elO-
quent. The evidence all being in, severe
| and stern justice rises on behalf of the
| prosecution to make his plea. With the
| Bible open in his hand. he reads the law
/ stern and infieXible, and the penalty
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. -
| Then he SAYS: 30. thou Judge and law.
| giver, this is thine own statute. and al
/ the evidence in earth and heaven agrees
| that the man has sinned against these en-
\ actments Now let the sword leap from
| ITS sCabbard Shall a man go through
| the very flames of Sinai llnsinred? Lee
! the law be executed. Let Judgment be-
| pronounced. Let him die. / demand that
| he die!'
! o. Christian, does II not look very darl
for thee2 Who will plead on thy side ii
| so foreorn a cause? Sometimes Il mar
| Will be brought into a court of law, anC
| he viii have no friends and no money. ant
! the judge VIII look over the bar and say
| rs there any one who will volunteer Il
take this mans case and defend him p
! And some young man arises up and says
| Il will be his COUNSEL perhaps startins
! on from that very point to great ant
brilliant career. Now, in this matter o
| the soul, $ you have nothing to pay 70
| counsel. do you think that any one will
| volunteer Yes yes; see one rising. Fl,
is a young man. only thtrty-three years o
| age. l see his countenance suffused will
| tears and covered with blood. and all tn
galleries of heaven are thrilled with tn
| spectacle. Thanks be unto God. 1--WE hav,
an advocate with the Father. Jesus Chris
the righteous"
Oh, Christian soul, your case begins L
look better. 1 think, perhaps, after all
you may not have 10 die. The best advo
cate in the universe has taken your side
No one was ever so qualified to defent
you. He knows all the law all its de
mands, all its penalties. He is Away
ready No new turn of the case can sur
prise him, and he will plead for you 70
nothing as earnestly as though yo
| brought a world of treasure to his feet
| Besides that, he has undertaken the cas-
of thousands who We're as forlorn as YOU
| and he has never lost a case. Courage. {
! Christian soul I think that, after all
there may be some chance for you for tn
great Advocate rises to make his plea n
| saws: Il admit all that has been DrOye