The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1906-12-21
Caln1aQe
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmage, D. D.

sermon, which presents vivid pic
ture of the great assize, is a trumpet
call to those who are living in sin anC
who are forgetful of their accounta-
bility. The text is Romans xiv, TO- 1--WE
seat of Christ"
What is the matter? Why, heaven
is deserted. A place of many man
Bions, are there no inhabitants here?
Is there not one face to greet me?
Are there no angels or archangels or
seraphim or cherubim around? Are
there no inmates for the thousands
and millions of white palaces lining
the golden boulevards? Is there no
hand to pluck the beautiful flowers
growing in the green pastures by the
side of the still waters? Is there no
child's foot to patter down yonder
Railways or to make the streets echo
with joyous laughter? Is there no
sweet voice to sing in yonder choir
lofts? Where are the denizens of the
celestial mansions? l step from one
deserted street into another, but l
hear not the rumble Of one chariot
wheel, or the note of harp, or the
swell of one chorus, or the echo of one
whisper. What is the cause of all
this?
Amusement upon amazement seizes
me as in imagination wander through
the silent streets of paradise. But, as
I keep on in my search for some celes-
tial inhabitant suddenly, off in the
distance, l see an angel hurrying along.
call out at the top of my voice: "Ho,
angel! Whittier art thou going? What
Is the matter? Where are thy asso-
ciates and the redeemed of heaven?
Cannot / go with thee" With that
the angel stops and says: eyes, friend,
thou canst come l am going to meet
the assembled hosts of all time at the
Judgment seat of Christ. All the ce-
lestial inhabitants have already assem-
bled there. Even now the multitude
Of earth are on the way. Do you not
hear that bugle blast? That is the
call of the archangels trumpet. See
the crowds there pressing toward one
great center. These immortals have
already answered the summons. The
judgment-the judgment! Hear ye
not the call? Come to the Judgment
seat Of Christi We shall all stand be-
fore that divine tribunal"
Court has convened. The divine tri-
bunal, suppose, must be like any 9TH
er court Here sits God the Father as
the judge. The Bible again and again
declares him to be such. What says
the book of Hebrews? eye are come
unto Mount Zion and unto the city of
the living God, the heavenly Jerusa-
lem, and to an innumerable company
Of angels, to the assembly and church
of the frstborn, which are written in
heaven, and to Cod the Judge of all.
Yes, God the Father is the Judge of all.
Here. about that Judgment seat, are
the angels who sang when Christ was
born, the angels who appeared unto
Abraham and Jacob and Elijah and
Gideon and Joshua and David and Ma
nv and Peter and John. All are here
Then, to the right of this throne, stands
Christ as the advocate. And here push
es in his way the recording angel, hold
ing under his arm the awful book which
contains the records of all our past
lives. Then God, the Judge, after all Is
ready summons his angelic messen-
gers and says: Bring in those who are
to be tried for their past lives. Bring
them all in" The winged messengers
dy swifter than the winds to the far
thermost parts of space, crying the one
sentence: 1.-The judgment-the judg-
ment! Come to judgment! Come to
Judgment"
Grand Court.
We can have only an inadequate con-
ception of that scene. We have no
guide to its solemn proceedings but
the scenes of judgment courts on
earth. Infinitely greater that must be
than our courts, but can imagine that
there are characteristics identical in
both. Let us consider those that we
may realize something Of the majesty
and grandeur of that universal assize.
Ny text, in the first place, has a
legal ring. By that l mean this ques-
ton Of the judgment seat Of Christ is
not matter Of haphazard chance.
Everything there is done according to
the divine order. No man is above
the law, no man below the law, no
man independent Of the law. The d.
vine law reaches out everywhere,
places its sentinels on guard and says
to judge and defendant alike: 81 am
master here We shall all stand be-
fore the judgment seat Of Christ"
Now comes the practical question,
''What is the law of God, or the spir-
itual laws, which must not be brokenT |
The law in the divine sense is exactly |
as 1t is in the human sense. at Is"
according to the photographer, "the
rule established in a community or |
state for the guidance and control Of
the inhabitants, a rule Of civil conduct |
prescribed by the supreme power in
state, commanding what is right and |
prohibiting what is wrong" In other
words, 1t is rule established for the
protection of all, restraining the
wrongdoer and providing penalties for
those who violate it. 1t says, AN
other cannot trample upon your rights;
neither are you allowed to trample |
upon another's rights" Thou shalt"
and Thou shalt not are its two COM
mands.
Let me illustrate. Do you see that
long line of carts filed with men be-
Ing driven up to the prison doorsi
Eyes" you answer. "Who are these
men?" They belong to the chain gang
Those men have been guilty of misde-
meanors, aud ny the state laws they
are sent to W ork on the public roads.
If a man steals anything of value less
than $50, that crime is classed as a
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