The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1902-11-13

First, He stopped down and wrote IN
the dust" Some one has SAID th4 lie ala
it lust because His mind vas occuPieo
with thinking what He should 90 with tne
sinner. and it was much the same spirlt as
YOU would have il You would seriooie upon
a piece of paper while your mind was tax
ing in some weighty problem. Some one
else lbs suggested that in the purity OF
His nature, standing in the presence OF Inc
woman of sin, He stopped down to write
because He would hide the flushing OF us
own face. That, dust that was then AZ LIE
feet Is gone forever; only ooa liin.sci
could BRING il back. and yet il BY MIRAGE
He should bring it before US tonight ! be-
lieye l know what would be written there,
on, Neither do / condemn thee; go ana
sin no more" And | am glad that we are
not shut up to the sand for 4 record or that
truth. II is written IL this book. "lhere
is. tn ~.refore. no condemnation 20 then1
which are in Christ Jesus, ara ms reeoru
is eternal. Heaven and earth shall pass,
but Nv word shall never pass away,
Second. when He continued with bowed
head TO write the crowd became exceed
ingly anxious, and finally they asked HIM
what He had to say about the woman VINO
was :: sinner, and then comes one OF me
prandest sentences that ever tell from MS
lips, and gives Us all the beauty OF ms
manhood, as well as the power OF HIS Goa-
hood when He said, "Lct he who Is with
out sin cast the first stone. L doubt not
the woman began to tremble, and she must
have said to herself, My punishment IS
upon me. for here are these Pharisees wao
have made loud professions of their purity,
surely they will cast the hrst stone, Dut
! never 4 hand was lifted and never a stoEe
was thrown, which only revH2'S 10 me tnc
fact tina! when mea &se cast T!a those
men who are sinful, not olt6reaklngIy s'nr
eli hrE nnvertholcss wrong in the sight OF
God. who of us could cast the first stone IN
this assembly tonight? The very fact that
| hands are lot lifted and stones are not
| thrown is our own condemnation.
Third. in the ninth velse We IG&dt .Ana
they which heard it being convicted ~
their " conscience, went out one by one,
beginning at the eldest, even unto the last,
and Jesus was Left alone and the woman
standing in the midst" That to my mind
is the most dramatic scene in all the chap
ter. if not in the New Testament. Sud-
denjy the shouts of the mob are hushed,
they have taken their hands CT from the
trembling woman. they are speeches. IN
the presence of this Son OF God. and with
out consultation they begin to Sink away.
l can sec them go, until hnaiiy tne iast one
is gone and there is the hush OF death upon
the two as they stand together. You can
all but hear the throbbing of their hearts;
YOU can detect the quick breathing or the
woman. who thinks that the time for sem
tence has come. Mercy and pity face each
other, ard mercy waits for pity to speak.
, "Neithor uo / condemn thee; go and SIN
no more" And We are ever to remem9er
three things in connection with our %,
yiour:
First, there is never a question as to
how deeply we have sinned; the stores OF
the greatest sinners are tod IN the New
Testamc-t for or hope. IN
Second, there is power enough in the
blood Of the Son to blot out the deepest
sin. Though your sins be as scarlet they
shall be as white as snow; though they be
/ crimson .hcy shall be as wool.
| And the third thing to remember is II
the n:.aa with Sill is like the sands OF the
sea for number if he You'd feel the power
of the shed blood of the Son of God he
must by real faith and honest confession
lay hold upon Him for eternal life.
His kindness lifted her burden, and the
sympathy. l think the time is long past
when men are willing in these days to
spend an hour in listening to abstract rea-
| soning or deep theological discussions. l
| feel confident that the time is upon US
when rien are ready. to explain to that
| church. or that minister ready to bestow a
word OF cheer, ready to help a little in
bearing the burden Of life.
A woman came with a handful of sand
to her minister and said. "My sins are like
that for number" and he said, "Take the
sand back to the sea and let a wave roll
over Your handful of sand and they will be
gone. Tonight ] bring you to the sea
greater than any the world has ever looked
upon.
There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from ImmanuePs vein,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains"
Neither do I condemn thee" said Jesus
when all her accusers had slipped away.
We do not know what became of this
woman, but I am perfectly sure that she
never sInned again. This is the secret OF
victory over sin: Catch a glimpse of the
| face fairer than all the sons of men, listen
but once to the sound of His voice, sweeter
| than all the music of earth. How the man
that breaches the development of character
can match this matchless story | cannot
see: how the man who takes the blood out
| of the word of God and the sacrificial part
away from the death of Christ can for a
moment compare his message wit this
story of the divine Son of God is more than
| can tell. / bid all burdened ones
weighed down because Of sin to come into
His presence tonight and you can hear
Him say Neither do I condemn thee; go
anl SIN M p1nrp