The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-17
OUR ALMIGHTY ADVOCATE.
JESUS THE CHRIST PLEADS FOR u
AT GODS JUSTICE seq.

the Great Law suit OF AAAf- -"
Charges Against All the Great
Family of sinners which We Must
one Day AnsNer-The Testimony
of Witnesses Heard-What shall
the Verdict Bef
Washington. AUG. 1s-The Illustrations
Of this sermon are drawn from -he scenes
IN a court room. with Wnich Dr. Talma@-
became familiar vhen be Tas s---s-n-
law. before Die studied for tie minis -ry-
The text is. john 81: eve have aa ai-
v0care with the Father. Jesus Christ t1e
righteous
Standing in court room. you say 10
yourself. AT this bar crime has ofie1
been arraigned. az this witness stand she
oath has often been taken; al this jug
ors' bench the verdict has been rendered;
al This judges desk senteace has been
pronounced" But have 10 tell you to-
day OF a trial higher than any oyer ana
terminer or circuit or supreme or chan
Gerry. Il is the trial OF every Christian
man for the life Of his soul This trial is
different from any other in the TACT that
Il is both civil and criminal
The issues at stake are tremendous, am
I shall ia my sermon show you, first,
what are the ground Of complaint; then,
who are the witnesses in the cause, and,
lastly. who are the advocates.
When a trial is called on the first thing
IS 10 have the Indictment read. stand up
then. Christian man, and hear the in
dictment OF the court Of high heaven
against thy soul 1t is an Indictment OF
ten counts. for thou hast directly or In
directly broken all the Ten Command
unents. You know how II Numbered on
Sinai and when God came down how the
mountain rocked and the smoke ascended
as from a smoldering furnace, and the
darkness gathered thick, and the loud,
deep trumpet uttered the words: THE
soul that sinneth. it shall dier Are you
guilty, or not guilty? Do not put in a neg
alive plea too quick. for I have TO an
nounce that all have sinned and come
short Of the glory of God. There is none
that doeth good; no, not Ona Whose
ever shall keep the whole law, yet offend
IN one point. he is guilty of all Do not
therefore, be too hasty in pronouncinS
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: 20, Lord. ! am thine now and for
ever" Did you keep the prOmise2 Have
you stood up to the contract? I go back
10 your first communion. You remember
IL as well as If il were yesterday. You
know how the vision Of the Cross rose be-
fore 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 p and in
Beashell you may hear, or think you hear,
the roaring of the surf even after the
I'LL -
you lifted the cup of communion and you
heard in il the surging OF the great ocean
of a Saviour 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 Je-
sus, 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 / love thee" Have YOU kept
the bargain, o, Christian man? Have you
not sometimes faltered when you ought
TO have been true? Have you not been
proud when you ought 10 have been hum
bic? Have you not played the coward
when you ought TO have been the heroY i
charge 1t upon you and I charge il upon
myself-we have broken the contract.
Still further, this lawsuit claims dam
ages at your hands The greatest SLAM
der on the Christian religion is an in
consistent professor. The Bible says re-
ligion Is one thing; we, by our inconsis-
tency, 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 misera-
BILE old gossip, with imperfections from
the crown of her head to the sole of
her foot, a perfect blotch of sin herself,
she Will go tattling, tattling, tattlng,
all the years of her life about the in
consistencies 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
worst Now the chariot of Christ's sal
Eation goes on through the world; but it
is our inconsistencies, my brethren that
block up the wheels, while all along the
line there ought to have been cast moth
ing but palm branches, and the shout
should have been lifted: "Hosanna to the
Son of David"'
Now, you have heard the Indictment
read. Are YOU ready to plead guilty or
yet to plead. Then the trial Will go on.
The witnesses will be called, and we
shall have the matter decided. In the
name OF GOO 1 now make proclamation.
Oyez Oyezl Oyer! whatsoever hath any
thing to offer in this trial in which God
Is the plaintiff and the Christian soul
the defendant, let him now step forth
and give testimony in this solemn trial.
The first witness ! call upon the stand
an behalf of the prosecution is the world
all critical and obserVant of Christian
pie around you who perpetually banquet
on the frailties of Gods children You
may know, If you have lived in the coun-
try, that a crow cares for nothing so
much as carrion. There are those who
imagine that out of the faults of Chris
4ians they can make a bridge of boats
across the stream of death, and they are
going to try it; but, alas for the mis-
fakel When they get midstream 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 the 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, Il know
a great deal about him. He talks about
putting his treasures in heaven. but he
is the sharpest man in a trade 1 ever
knew. He seems to want us to believe
that he is a child of God, but he is just
full of imperfections. I do not know but
/ am great deal better than he is now.
Oftentimes he is very earthly, and he talks
so little about Christ and so much about
himself. I am very glad to testify that
this is a bad man"
Stop, o World with the greedy eye and
hard heart 1 fear you are too much in
terested in this trial 10 give impartial
al all 4rbo h.