The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1896-08-22
DR.. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Great Lawsuit Before the Su-
preme Court of the Universe.
Tn Divine Tells of n Legal Procedure in
Which Every Christian Must Stand
TriaI-His Soul In the
Balance.

TrIal-His Soul In the
Balance.
The illustrations from Rev. 7. De-
Witt Talmage's latest sermon are
Drawn from the scenes in n court room
with which DIR. Talmage became ia
miliar when he was studying law, be-
fore he studied for the ministry. h
text is: l John, ill.,: ave have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous"
Standing in a court room you say to
yourself, sat 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 l 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 nan for the life of
his soul. This trial is different from
any other in the fact that it is both
civil and criminal.
When a trial is called the first thing
is to have the indictm n read. Stand
up then, o Christian man, and hear the
indictment of the court of Heaven
against thy soul. 1t is an Indictment
of ten counts, for thou hast directly or
indirectly broker all the ten command
ments. You know how it Numbered
on Sinai and 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 der Are you guilty, or
not guilty? Do not put in a negative
plea too quick, for L have to
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
Tend in one point, he is guilty of ALL"
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 a time did we promise
to be the Lords. We got down on our
knees and said: 80, Lord, l am Thine
now and forever" Did you keep the
promise? Have you stood up to the
contract? L go back to your first com
munion. You remember it as well as
If it were yesterday. You know how
the vision of the Cross rose before you
You remember 10Y from h head n
the hands and the side and the feet
there came bleeding forth these wv
words: Remember Me-" You recall
how the cup of communion trembled
in your and when you first took 1t;
and as in a seashell you may hear, or
think you hear, the roaring of the surf
even after the shell has been taken
from the beach, so you lifted the cup
of communion and you heard in 1t the
surging of the great ocean of a
savior's agony; and you came forth
from hat 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 he 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
1 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 ave been the
hero? i charge it upon you, and 1
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 religion is an
inconsistent professor. The Bible says
religion is one thing; we, by our in
consistency, say religion is some other
thing, and what is more deplorable
about it is that people "a 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, n
perfect blotch of sin herself, she
will go tattling, tattling, tat
Ting, all the years of her life about
the inconsistencies of others, having
no idea that she is inconsistent herself.
God save the world from the gossip,
female and maie!! l think the males
are the worsel Now the chariot of
Christ's salvation goes on through the
world; but it is our Inconsistencies, my
brethren, that block up h wheels,
while all along the line there ought to
have been cast nothing but palm
branches, and the shout should have
been lifted: "Hosanna to the Son of
DavidI'
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
first 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 a 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
of death, and they are going to try
it: but, alas for the m~istakesi When
they get mid-stream away will go the
bridge and down will go their souls to
perdition. o world of the greedy eye
and the hard heart, come on h stand
now and testify in behalf of the prose-
cution against this Christian soul on
trial. What do you know about this
Christian man? oh" says the world,
81 know a great deal about him. He
talks about putting his treasures in
Heaven, but he is the sharpest man i n
a trade ever knew. He seems to want
us TO believe hat he is a child of God,
but he is just full of imperfections. ]
do not know but / am a great deal bet
ter than he is now. Oftentimes he is
very earthly, and he talks SO little
about Christ and SO much about him.
self. 1 am very glad to testify that
this is q bad man."
Stop, o world with the greedy eye
and hard heart l fear you are too
much interested in this trial to give
impartial evidence. Let all those who
hear the testimony of the witness
know that there is an old family quar-
rel between the two parties. There
has always been a variance between
the world and the church, and while
the world on the witness stand to-day
has told a great deal of truth about
this Christian man, you must take IL
all with much allowance, remember
ing that they still keep the old grudge
good. o world of the greedy y and
the hard heart, that will do; you may
sit down