The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1896-08-22

That will do, conscience. o can slI
down.
The third witness 1 call in the case
is an angel of God. Bright and shin
ing one: what dost thou here? What
hast thou to say against this man on
trial? oh" says the angel, II have
been n messenger to him. l have
guarded him. l have watched him.
With this wing l have defended him,
and oftentimes, when he knew 1t not,
l led him into green pastures and be-
side the still waters. l snatched from
him the poisoned chalices. When bad
spirits came to destroy him, | fought
them back with infinite fierceness,
and yet l have to testify to-day that he
has rejected my mission. He has not
done as he ought to have done. Though
/ came from the sky, he drove me back.
Though with this wing L defended
him, and though with this voice 1
wooed him, l nave to announce his
multiplied imperfections. l dare not
keep back the testimony, for then l
should not dare to appear again
amongst the sinless ones before the
great white Throne"
There is only n more witness to be
called on behalf of the prosecution, and
hat is the great, the holy. the august,
the omnipotent Spirit of God. We
bow down before Him. Holy Spirit,
knowest thou this man? "Oh, yes"
says the Holy One, II know him. 1
have s~triven with him ten thousand
times, and though sometimes he did
seem to repent, he fell back again as
often from his first estate. Ten thou
sand times ten thousand has he grieved
me, although the Bible warned him,
saying: 'Grieve not the Holy Spirit.
Quench not the Spirit Yes, he has
driven me back. Though / am the
third person of the Trinity, he has
trampled on my mission, and the blood
of the Atonement that 1 brought with
which to cleanse his soul, he some
times despised. 1 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, l would have made
him"
The evidence on the part of the prose-
cution has closed. Now let the defense
bring on the rebuttal testimony. What
have you, o Christian soul, to bring in
reply to this evidence of the world, of
the conscience, of the angel of the
Holy Ghost? No evidence? Are all
these things true? YES. Unclean,
unclean," says every Christian soul.
WhatP Do o not begin to tremble
at the thought of condemnation?
We have come now to the most inter-
esting part of this great trial. The
evidence all in. The advocates speak.
The profession of an advocate is full of
responsibility. In England and the
United States there have arisen men
who in this calling ave been honored
by their race and thrown contempt
upon those who in the profession have
been guilty of a great many meannesses.
That profession will be honorable
as long as it has attached to it such
names as Mansfield, and Marshall, and
Story, and Kent, and Southland, and
William Writ. The court room has
sometimes been the scene of very mar
velous End thrilling things. Some of
you remember the famous Girard will
case, where one of our advocates plead
ed the cause of the Bible and Chris
tianity in mastery An~glo-Saxon, every
paragraph a thunderbolt-
Some of you have read of the famous
trial in Westminster hall, of Warren
leLoIlhSo, WIG oSoROAASA W ~ An
great man had conquered India by
splendid talents, by courage, by brides,
by gigantic dishonesty. The whole
world had rung with applause and ON
demnation. Gathered in Westminster
hall, a place in which 80 kings had
been inaugurated, was one of the most
famous audiences ever gathered. For
eign ministers and princes sat there.
gold. Mighty men and women
from all lands looked down upon
the scene. Amid all hat pomp
and splendor, and amid an excite
ment such as has seldom been
seen in any court room, Edm und Burke
advanced in a speech which will last as
long as the English language. conclud-
ing with this burning charge. which
made Warren Hastings cringe ana
cover: 81 impeach him in the name Of
the house of parliament,
whose trust he has betrayed. 1 inn
peach him in the name of the Eng lish
nation, whose ancient 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 desert. And, lastly,
in the name of human nature, in the
name of both sexes, in the name of
every age and rank, / impeach him as
h common enemy and aggressor of
all"
But / turn from the recital of
these memorable occasions to a grander
trial, and 1 have to tell you that in
this trial of the Christian, for the life
of his soul, the advocates are mightier,
wiser and more eloquent. The evil
dence all being in, severe and stern
justice rises on behalf of the prosecu-
ton TO make his plea. With
the Bible open in his hand, he
re ads the law, stern and infiex-
ible, and the penalty: The soul
that sinneth, it shall die" Then he
says: 80 Thou Judge and Lawgiver,
this is Thine own statue, and all the
evidence in earth and Heaven agrees
that the man has sinned against those
enactments. Now let the sword leap
from its scabbard. Shall { man go
through the very flames of Sinai I'M
singed. Let the law be executed. Let
Judgment be pronounced. Let him diei
1 demand that he diet"
o, Christian, does it not look very
N"Ah bhCCE II III pLcdu On my
side in so forlorn a cause? Sometimes
a man will be brought into a court of
law, and he will have no friends and
no money, and the judge will look over
the bar and say: SIS there anyone
who will volunteer to take this mans
case and defend him?" And some
young man rises up and says, II will be
his COUNSEL" perhaps starting on from
that very point to n great and brilliant
career. Now, in this matter of the
soul, as o have nothing to pay for
counsel do you think that any one will
volunteer? Yes, yes; l see One rising.
He is a young man, only 33 years of
age. l see His countenance suffused
with tears and covered with blood, and
all the galleries of Heaven are thrilled
with the spectacle. Thanks be unto
God, 1--WE nave an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ, h righteous"
o, Christian soul, your cast begins
to look better. 1 think, perhaps, after
all, you may not have to die. The best
Advocate in the universe has taken
your side. No one was ever SO quail
fed to defend you. He knows all the
law, all it's demands, all it's penalties.
Courage, o Christian SOUL / think
that, after all, there may be some
chance for you, for the great Advocate