^ When Sir Walter Kaleigh, involved in a network of malice, had been brought to trial for high treason, and unjustly condemned to die, his mind turned from the thought of the earthly court, in which he had suffered vile insult and cruel wrong, to the thought of the court in heaven; from the king's attorney here to Him whom he called " the King's Attorney " there ; and on being ferried from Westminster to that dark cell in the Tower, which
I JOHN II. I, 2 257
lias often been visited wioh hushed footsteps and hushed breath, he wrote, by lamplight, these words : —
From thence to heaven's bribeless hall, Where no corrupted voices brawl, No conscience molten into gold, No forged accuser bought or sold ; No cause deferred, no vain-spent journey, For Christ is there, the King's Attorney. And when the grand twelve-million jury Of our sins, with direful fury, 'Gainst our souls black verdicts give, Christ pleads His death, and then we live. Be Thou my Speaker, taintless Pleader, Unblotted Lawyer, true Procfeeder ! Thou giv'st salvation, even for alms, Not with a bribkl lawyer's palms. This, then, is mine eternal plea, To Him that made heaven, earth, and sea.
In language so grand in its truth, and so touching in its antique simplicity, did the great Englishman give his reason for trusting Jesus, and declare his resolution to commit his misrepresented cause into His hands alone.^
3. He has knowledge and sympathy. It has happened before now, even in forensic history, that an advocate has felt forced to relinquish his brief, in consequence of some unexpected disclosure that made proceeding with the case a course that would hurt his self-respect, or compromise his reputation. Secrets have come to light in the life of a child that have silenced even a mother's advocacy, and made love itself confess that it had no more to say. But we never need fear that for reasons like these Christ will abandon our cause, or fail in our defence. Before we confide to Him a single secret His acquaintance with our whole life is intimate and perfect. What was said of Him by the beloved disciple holds true for ever, He " needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man."
^ H. M. Stanley, in Africa, had much trouble with his men on
^ account of their inherent propensity to steal, the results of which
brought upon the expedition much actual disaster. At last
Stanley doomed to death the next man caught stealing. His grief
1 C. Stanford, Symbols of Christ, 297. JAS.-JUDE — 17
258 AN ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER
and distress were unbounded when the next thief, detected in a case of peculiar flagrancy, was found to be XJledi, the bravest, truest, noblest of his dusky followers. Uledi had saved a hundred lives, Stanley's among the number. He had performed acts of the most brilliant daring, always successful, always faithful, always kind. Must Uledi die ? He called all his men around him in a council. He explained to them the gravity of Uledi's crime. He reminded them of his stern decree, but said he was not hard enough to enforce it against Uledi. His arm was not strong enough to lift the gun that would kill Uledi, and he would not bid one of them do what he could not do himself. But some punishment, and a hard one, must be meted out. What should it be? The council must decide. They took a vote. Uledi must be flogged. When the decision was reached, Stanley standing, Uledi crouch- ing at his feet and the solemn circle drawn closely around them, one man whose life Uledi had saved under circumstances of frightful peril, stood forth and said, " Give me half the blows, master." Then another said in the faintest accents, while tears fell from his eyes, "Will the master give this slave leave to speak?" "Yes," said Stanley. The Arab came forward and knelt by Uledi's side. His words came slowly, and now and then a sob broke them. " The master is wise," he said ; " he knows all that has been, for he writes them in a book. I am black, and know not. Nor can I remember what is past. What we saw yesterday is to-day forgotten. But the master forgets nothing. He puts it all in that book. Each day something is written. Let your slave fetch the book, master, and turn its leaves. Maybe you will find some words there about Uledi. Maybe there is something that tells how he saved Zaidi from the white waters of the cataract ; how he saved many men — how many, I forget ; Bin Ali, Mabruki, Kooi Kusi — others, too ; how he is worthier than any three of us ; how he always listens when the master speaks, and flies forth at his word. Look, master, at the book. Then, if the blows must be struck, Shumari will take half and I the other half. The master will do what is right. Saywa has spoken." And Saywa's speech deserves to live for ever. Stanley threw away his whip. " Uledi is free," he said. " Shumari and Saywa are pardoned."
4. He never wearies. He is our Advocate continually. In this respect He presents a .contrast to the Levitical priesthood. That priesthood passed from one to another as death removed the successive occupants of the office. But Christ abideth for ever, and there is no interruption to the continuity of His media-