The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-08-30

IteN. Ut. ". HarSOn NlCnOlS tne eIllln-
divine, of Binghamton, preached two
great sermons at the Second Presby-
terian church yesterday. Age cannot
alter his infinite variety. His beautiful
diction and still more exquisite thought
are a source of unending pleasure to
his listeners. His address last evening
was on the dramatic scene with the
Magdalen near the temple. The spirit
of the text was embodied in the words
found in John viii. 6, Jesus stoop I'd
down and with his finger wrote on the
| ground"
The speaker described graphically
the early morning in the temple from
| which Jesus looked out and saw the
rabble crowd which had taken the
woman false to her marriage vows.
Instead of falling into the trap laid
| for him, Jesus said, LET him that is
among you who is without sin cast
:he first stone" The speaker then said
| in part:
"The pathetic story has been the
| subject of more discussion and con-
troversy than anything in the new
| testament. 1t has been rejected by
| some and has been omitted entirely
| from many early writers because Of
| it's teachings, but in every respect its
| own authentic truthfulness would COM
| mend itself. There is here the greatest
revelation of our Saviour's super
human wisdom and His marvellous
power in reading the secrets OF hu-
| man hearts.
THE CHRIST SPIRIT.
First it is a revelation of our Lords
iro
| than many of our words depict. 1t Is
the inner world of His emotions. We
| catch in the story unmistakable
glimpses of the great compassion and
love surprising all else.
Why did he stoop down? Professor
Seeley has made a revelation in his
views of this act. The Savior was
ashamed, he instinctly stopped down to
hide his blushing face. He could not
| meet the eye of that crowd. He could
not meet the gaze of that woman whose
| sin he read. What disclosure Is this
| of the Masters heart and soul Have
we the Masters likeness in this invol-
untary sense of shame at the tale Of
| vileness, at the sight Of sin?
| There are playwrights and story
writer's who are continually dragging
into the public gaze the filth and deg
radiation that should remain hidden,
| but which they hold up for lascivious
| eyes and salacious mouths. If you
| have this sense in your souls there will
| be entertainments in Scranton which
you cannot attend, there will be COL
| umns written that you will not bring
| to your table to read.
There is a vast difference between
mans way Of treating sin and Christ's
way. The woman whom they bring
| before Him is their own sister, their
| flesh and blood. Not one of them but
| who should lie in humility before God,
begging for mercy for her sin, but they
| drag her through the streets and hold
| her up like filthy garment. They
make a tableau of her, that their own
righteousness may appear in relief
| How hard and pitilesS men and women
| can be to each other. If they hear of
the straying of one of their human
kind. instead of locking the matter up
| in their hearts they go right to their
| neighbors with the story and set them
| selves to watch to see If they cannot
| discover more sin, when probably there
are not the slightest evidences except
| their own miserable suspicious and
| prejudices. If the people of this city
were made judges of each, how few
| would escape!
1t is said that we make it so easy for
| the standing persons to go down and
so hard for the falling to get up.
POWER FOR GOOD OR EVIL.
| Christ said to his disciples, What
ye shall find on earth shall be found in
heaven, and what ye shall loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven" But not
alone was this given to the disciples.
| We have the power by looks of love, by
kind words and kind deeds, to loose
sinners, or we can by harsh judgment
and averted glance bind them with
chains by thousand times worse than
| sin has bound them. Are there among
us those whom we are setting free, or
| are there those whom we are pushing
down from death to death of sin and
despair, and saying: There is no hope
| for such as you!
Christ suffers as if 1t was his own
humanity that had done this evil. He
cannot ever look up. You may have
seen faithful, loyal wife who is bound
by ties of love and law to one who
nightly staggers home with unsteady
steps. But she locks the painful eX-
perience fast in her heart. No hand
but hers shall let him in. No eye but
hers shall see his degrading. No Bit
ter word falls on his ear. You said he
would hurt her less if he had brought
home a club and beaten her with 1t.
You said that his sin was killing her.
| That is q picture of the way your sin
cuts into the heart of Jesus Christ.
Some persons complain because in
the case of the woman she was let off
so easily How little such persons real
| ize what Jesus came into this world for
not to condemn sinners, but to save
them. Why does he wait until the thing
| is departed. How little they under
stand that He waits until the guilty one
has had time alone in His holy pres
ence to realize her guilt. He then says
to her Where are those who con-
denim thee?-neither do l condemn thee
go and sin no more"
We do not know certainly What be-
came of her, but we can not believe
but that she went forth loving and
blessing the One who stretched over her
shame His protecting hand and said:
go and sin no more" and that the
future was one grand wish and pur-
pose to make a new life.
Another lesson from this story is that
the first essential condition is to re-
form ourselves. The Pharisees thought
they were doing society a great SER
vice when they dragged the woman be-
fore Christ. He practically made them
all conscious of their own short COM
ings. 1t has been said that a following
out OF these teachings would subvert
| the end of all law but Jasua xuas not