Connecticut western news., 1904-10-20

crime of which this woman was guilty, but you own the house in which she lives and carries on her vile traffic. The rent you get from that house is blood money. Why are you speaking against your tenant? You are a part ner with her in crime" When the ; Pharisee capitalist saw what Christ was writing and that all the people were laughing at him he also disap- peared. So Christ went through the list of different accusers. But whether 1 Christ was writing the history of those accusers on the ground or no we care not, for one fact we do know-by his silence as well as later by his spoken words Christ was teaching the sweep ing lesson that a rich mans sins, q prominent lawyers or physicians or statesman's sins or a minister's sins are just as severely condemned in the sight of God as the poor mans sins. l The divine law discriminates not be- tween the sins of tie upper and low CT social classes, but between sin and righteousness. The sin of the broad cloth is the same black sin which some times nests under the rough woolens of the laborer and the mechanic. Sin is | sin wherever found.
 No Immunity Given.
 But find ill the next place another trenchant lesson. The divine law does not accept zeal in bringing others to justice as a ground for absolving the prosecutor of his own wrongdoing. The scribes and Pharisees cannot atone for their sins by denouncing and condemn ing others. Though man might prove every other man living example of total depravity and devote his life to the exposure and arraignment of crim- inalS, he must take his own place at the bar and answer the indictment of his own iniquities. Instances have been known of criminal under hu- man government securing for himself immunity from punishment for his own crimes by betraying his leader to the officers of the law or even by himself executing sentence on that leader, but such men are despised for their per l fidy, even by the community that profits by the treachery. A similar principle Is applied in our courts of justice when 5
 dence. It sometimes happens that there is no way of convicting a notori- ous criminal but by the testimony of confederate That confederate's evi- dence has to be purchased, and the price paid is pardon for him of his own share in the crime. It is a heavy price to pay, miscarriage of justice, but 1t is a result of the inadequacy of human administration, and it has no place under divine law.
 When Porfirio Diaz became president of the Mexican republic .heNdid not in the beginning employ honest men to capture sceHndreis. The hills and the mountains of Mexico were the retreats of scores and hundreds of brigands and robbers. What Diaz did In the beginning was to send for some of the leaders of the rowing bands of thieves
 He then commissioned these leaders as representatives of his own govern ment. He dressed them up in Mexi- can uniforms and sent them forth as police to hunt down and bring to jus tice their late companions in thievery and murder. He sent these scoun- drels forth to capture scoundrels. Aye, and they did their work well! Javert, because he had at heart all the make up of scoundrel, made fine sleuth- hound on the heels of Jean Valjean. And thus many scoundrels in Mexico during the first administration of Diaz won their pardon for past crimes, not by repentant hearts, but by trying to bring the outlaws of Mexico-men like themselves to Justice. In the scene of my text tLese scribes and Pharisees, sinful men at heart, sinful in their past lives, were striving by their ac- cusation of this wicked woman to gain character for virtue and purity that they knew they did not deserve.
 Each Must Answer For His own.
 But what did Christ do? Did he say: "Pharisee, thou art a libertine. Scribe, thou art morally corrupt" Oh, no! He turned and simply held up be- fore their countenances the mirror of convicting conscience, in which they could see their own sinful selves Christ said, "He that Is without sin among you, let him first cast stone at her" Then one by one they slunk away. So my friends, when you and today, going forth into sinful world, are trying to prove this woman is bad and that man is bad and that young boy is bad and that young girl Is bad, we are not deceiving God as to our own characters. We do not improve our standing at his bar by denouncing others. Rather by our harsh and un- charitable judgment we are proving ourselves deserving of condemnation. Let us refrain from casting stones at the sinner. We must all answer for our own deeds at his bar who said, "He that is without sin, let him first cast a stone at her" And without one exception we must all either slink away before the flashing eye of Christ or like the poor publican in the temple, moan, God, be merciful to me, a sinnerr'
 The divine law is omniscient. Evil deeds that the world does not know of are known to God, and at his 'judg- ment bar the evidence of them will confront the wrongdoer if they have not been pardoned through Christ. Even in this world crimes long ago committed and successfully hidden have been unexpectedly disclosed and brought home to the perpetrator. The Rev. Dr. Dome in one of his sermons gave a very dramatic incident of his early life. During his first pastorate he was one day watching the sexton digging a grave by his village church. Suddenly he threw out of the grave the skull of a man. When pr. Donne picked it up he found headless nail sticking In the top of the skull. He said nothing about the nail, but asked the sexton, ITO whom did this skull belong" He found that 1t was the skull of a drunken fellow who one night was found dead In his bed from the results, as the people supposed, of an attack of delirium tremens. Dr. Dome asked: Had he a wife? Was she living yet? What character was