The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1905-07-14

I
sanhcdrin and try him and convict
him and cruelty him before his friends
can come to the rescue. Here is my
man at hand. What say you, Judas
VIII you betray your Master for thirty
| pieces Of silverT Il WILL" answered
the apOstate. Then what happens
No sooner is Christ betrayed and
/ Judas is overcome with remorse than
he comes back TO these same priests
and says. Il cannot take this money
II is blood money. Here II Is" And
| he filings IL at their feet. Then what
happens2 Why, the priests look down
upon this blood money and say: That
money is too vile for us 10 touch. We
cannot use a murderer's money In the
temple. We are too good and holy
for that. Let us take the money and
buy a paupers burial ground. That
certainly will hurt no one. They got
Judas TO betray Christ Then as soon
as Judas had done this vile. under
hand. sinful work they turned their
backs upon him and said: Judas, you
are too low, too mean and too con-
tcmptible for us 10 have anything 70
do with you. We will not even take
back the money we paid you with our
own hands for 1t is blood money"
An, the evil geniuscs who lead us in
10 temptation will never stand by us
when they have miserably destroyed
us. In ancient Rome the defenders for
months were defying the northern bar
barians. The strong walls and the iron
gates could not be broken down. AT
last these barbarians went to Roman
woman and said, If you will open for
us the gates az night and let US In, we
will give 10 you our war shields, made
OF ornamental gold and silver" She
opened the gates by night, and Rome
fell. But as soon as the northern bar
barlans became masters Of Caesars
throne they destroyed the woman who
betrayed her country. They gave her
their shields Of ornamental silver and
gold but they hurled those shields at
her with all the force of their mighty
arms until her mangled and bleeding
and llfeless body lay buried under her
prizes Of war. After Benedict Arnold
betrayed his country he was hated even
more In England than in America. One
day he was seated In the gallery Of the
house Of commons when a statesman
arose 10 address the house Before COM
mencing his speech be said: Il see in
the gallery Of this house a contemplate
character who, by the betrayal of his
own land. has forfeited every right 10
the respect of mankind Before I enter
upon my speech | hope that Benedict
Arnold, known as Arnold the traitor,
might be requested TO withdraw from
this body Of honorable men" Yes, the
very men who profit by a crime desplse
their instrument and desert him In his
lgnominy.
Man treading the path Of sin, do not
be a fool DO not suppose that those
sinful people who are praising you
now will fawn upon you after your
morals and money are gone. All that
the saloonkeeper wants is your gold;
as soon as you are m rags his free
lunch counters will no longer give a
welcome to you and yours. All that
gambler wants IA your gold; as soon
as your money is gone he will kick
you out Of his presence as willingly as
he would put bullet 10 the heart Of
q mad dog All yes. the far country
held plenty Of friends as long as the
younger son had horses and wine sup
pers, but as soon as his money was
gone bis friends were gone, his wine
was gone, his horses were gone, his
servants were gone; there was great
famine In that land. Companions OF
sin viii fawn at your feet while you
live in a palace. They will crush you
under their heels when they can de-
stroy you. Aceldama. the field Of
blood, was bought by the evil priests,
who had turned against Judas as your
companions Of sin will yet turn against
you.
Aceldama teaches another lesson.
The easiest way TO make an apostate
is not by denouncing or ridiculing the
divine mission Of Jesus Christ, but by
developing the tendencies 10 sin which
have not been eradicated from his ma
ture. Let me illustrate my thought
practically. You have oil wandered
through the northern forests In the win
ter time Everywhere you have seen
the tall trunks Of the trees supporting
the bare branches. Not leaf Is IN
sight; not a flower is blooming. Where
are the millions upon millions Of leaves
which as an arched roof covered the
mountain pathways last summer2 All
gone. But If you will rub your fingers
lightly over the bark Of those branches
you can see where new buds and new
sprouts will come forth Just as soon as
springtime places TO her lips the silver
trumpet Of the warm winds. As ap-
proach man who is called n Christian
man l fguratively find him without
sin. but as I touch his heart find,
still fguratiyely speaking, that all over
bis heart are latent sinful buds easy TO
be developed. Unless man lives close
10 Christ and continues to live close TO
Christ these evil buds will sprout and
grow even as the white apple bios
SONS cover the tree bSanches almost in
one May day. The reason Judas be-
trayed Christ was because he allowed
bis latent buds Of sin to develop; that
IL all.
"Judas not different from his fellow
Rpostlcs7 How was that1' some one
asks me. "Why, Christ called him q
devil" Aye, my friend, that is true.
But Christ did not call Judas a devil In
the sense that be was in the beginning
any different from any other Of the
apostles. Indeed, know he was Just
about the same. The apostles at that
time honored and respected Judas 50
much that they made him their trensur'
er. He was their almoner; he handled
all their moneys. He was not impul'