The Alaska citizen., 1916-01-10

the court and witness the proceed ings of tho Umpire The Lord Jesus lays down the principles upon which he will arbitrate the case. and they are twofold, the first is strict justice and the second fer vent love.
 The Umpire has decided that He will give strict justice to plaintiff and defendant alike, and thus he wins our confidence at once. Ii the law says the sinner shall die because he !s guilty. We hail Him as a man who should sit for such high service Would that all the | Empires had the wisdom to so di- rect them, If the defendant can prove that he is innocent he shall go free regardless of the clamor of his enemies to have him de stroyed
 But the Umpire further says he will settle the case on the principle of fervent love. He knows His Father and is determined to settle the case at oar iu no way that will bring dishonor on His holy name or disgrace His Crown. He also loves man so deeply that He vii not permit punishment to fall upon Him unless justice and love work. ing together shall decree that such punishment must fall. Will not the Judge of all the earth do right" As Umpire He must be just or lay down the scales which are the sym bol of justice
 G. The Plaintiff Is now called upon to state His case. Let us listen while the Great God speaks. Hear, o Heavens, and give ear. , earth; for the Lord hath spoken; ! l have nourished and brought up children, and they have retnlled against me. The OK knoweth his owner and the ass his masters crib; but Islael doth not know NJ, people doth not consider, A sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity seed of evil doers, children that are Corruptors they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they have gone away backward" This is the charge and who can say he ,,, f,on I1 of the Plaintiff We ought to obey Him, and who can tell how far he | has gone astray? As the King he has right to expect loyal service, but instead there has gone out into the world men traitors to what they know they ought to do. And in this the Plaintiff lays no unusual charge against the defendant, but merely suggests the truth in every case. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" Man is willing to serve his country, his neighbors, his city, but unwilling to serve his Creator. And now we l CdI SuUlllI ] idIullll CdSt lO lllt Great Arbitrator.
 [. Now what has the defendant to say for himself? The trembling sinner comes forward and pleads guilty. He continues: T confess to the indictment, but must also plead that l could not help it. have sinned, true enough, but my nature is such that I could not do otherwise; l must admit that my heart is prone to lead be into things and places that are not right, and know it." The Umpire rules at once that this excuse cannot find favor in the sight of the law and ] tion; forasmuch as the confessed condition of the heart only makes the sin the blacker, guilt is not only admitted, but a sinful nature acknowledged. The whole man Is fully set upon working dishonor to the name and work of the Plaintiff | man had been brought before Him on the charge of thieving, and ac knowledged as his reason that he was born a thief and did not like to be honest; his own words con- vict him.
 Again defendant pleads that he is no worse than other men. Others break the commandments, and far worse than he is guilty of so doing. The more heinous sins he has never committed. he affirms. But the Umpire turns to the law and finds, Cursed is every man that con- tinueth not in all things that are written in rhe law to do them" Other cases cannot be mixed with this one, but each must stand be fore God alone Defendant having failed in his arguments that he is not guilty must now receive sen tence. But he remembers that he has done several good things in his life, and promises not to offend further. All of which cannot stand with the Umpire.
 Defendant recognizing he has no standing in the favor of the Um- pire falls down on his knees and pleads the mercy of the court. T