The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1898-08-10
He REBUKED THEM.
What Was Il That Christ Wrote in
the Dust.
REV. DR.. TALMAGEEX
illustrates Story Of Savior and SIN
ming Woman. Sympathy tor
Penitent. Soundless Ocean
~ divine Mercy.
of Divine Mercy.


and applies to modern society the les
son taught by Christ on 4 memorable
occasion: text, John viii, 8, Jesus
stooped down and with his finger wrote
on the ground.
You must ta ke Your SHOES on ana pu,
on the especial slippers provided at the
doorif You would enter the Nohamme-
den mosque which stands now where
once stood Herod'S temple. the scene
OF my text. Solomon temple had
stood there, but Nebuchadnezzar had
thundered it down. Zcrubbabel, $ tenn
ple had stood there, but that had been
prostrated. Now we take our places IN
a temple that Herod built, because he
was fond of great architecture, and ne
wanted the preceding temples to seem
insignificant Put eight or ten modern
cathedrals together and they would
not equal that structure. 1t covered II
acres. There were marble pillars sup
porting roofs Of cedar and silver tables
on which stood golden cups. and there
were carvings exquisite and inscriptions
resplendent, glittering balustrades ana
ornamented gateways. The building OF
this temple kept 10000 workmen busy
46 years.
In that stupendous pile of pomp and
maenifcence sat Christ, and listen
ing throng stood about him when wild
disturbance took place. \ group OF
men are pulling and pushing along
woman who had committed 4 crime
against society. When they have
brought her in front Of Christ, they ask
that he sentence her to death by ston-
ing. They are a critical, merclleSS,
disingenuous crowd. They want to get
Christ into controversy and public rep
rehension. If he say, Let her die,
they will charge him with cruelty. Ii
he let her 60, they will charge him with
being in completely with wickedness;
Whichever way he does they would
howl at him.
Then occurs scene which has not
been sufficiently regarded. He leaves
the lounge or bench on which he was
sitting and goes down on one knee or
both knees, and with the forehnger OF
his right hand he begins to write IN the
dust Of the floor, word after word. But
they were not to be diverted or hinder
ed. They kept on demanding that he
settle this case Of transgresSion, until
he looked up and told them they might
themselves begin the womans asSassl-
nation if the complainant who had
never done anything wrong himself
would open the FIRE. SO ahead, but
be sure that the man who filings the
first missile is immaculate. Then ne
resumed writing with his finger IN the
dust of the floor, word after word. In
stead of looking over his shoulder to
see what he had written, the scoundrels
skulked away. Finally the whole place
is clear of pursuers, antagonists ana
plaintiffs and when Christ has finished
this strange chirography IN the dust
he looks up and finds the woman all
alone.
The prisoner is the only one Of the
courtroom left, the judges, the police.
the prosecuting attorney having cleared
out. Christ is victor, and he says to
the woman: "Where are the prosecut-
ors in this case? Are they all gone?
Then discharge you. Go and sin no
more" I have wondered what Christ
wrote on the ground. For do you real
ize that is the only time that he ever
wrote at all? l know that Eusebius
says that Christ once wrote letrer to
Abgarus, the king of Edessa. but there
is no good evidence Of such a CORES
pondence. The wisest being the world
ever saw, and the one who had more to
say than any one who ever lived, never
writing book or chapter or para
graph or word on parchment. Moth
ing but the literature Of the dust, and
one sweep of brush or one breath OF
wind obliterated it forever.
Among all the rolls of the volumes
of the first library founded at Thebes
there was not one scroll Of Christ.
Among the 700, 900 books of the Alex
andrian library which by the Infamous
decree Of Calipi Omar were used as
fuel to heat the 1, 900 barns Of the city,
not one sentence had Christ penned.
Among all the infnitude Of volumes
now standing in the libraries Of Edin
burg, the British museum or Berlin or
Vienna or the learned repositories OF
all nations not one word written direct
ly by the finger of Christ. All that he
ever wrote he wrote in dust, uncertain,
shifting dust.
My text says he stopped down and
wrote Oh the ground. Standing straight
up man might write on the ground
with staff, but if with his fingers he
would write in the dust he must bend
clear over.
Aye. he must get at least on one
knee or he cannot write on the ground.
Be not surprised that he stopped down.
His whole life was STOPPING down.
STOPPING down from castle to barn.
STOPPING down from celestial homage
to monocratic jeer. From residence
above the stars to where a star had to
fall to designate his landing place.
From heavens front door to the worlds
back gate. From writing in round anu
silvered letters of constellation and
galaxy on the blue scroll of heaven to
writing on the ground in the dust which
the feet Of the crowd had left in Her
DDS temple If in January You have
ever stepped cut Of a princes conserva-
atory that had Mexican cactus and
magnolia in full bloom into the outside
air, 10 degrees below zero, you may
get some idea of Christ change Of at
mosphere from celestial to terrestrial.
How many heaveus there are | know
not, but there are at least three, for
Paul was caught up into the third
heaven .
The uplifted wave of Galilee was
hinh hut he had TO cnma down before