The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1880-03-10
THE FAST YOUNG MAN.
Tabernacle Sermons.
Discourse of Rev. t. Dewitt Talmage, on
Sunday Morning, February go.

"The younger son gathered all together, and took
his journey into a far couutry"-St Luke xv-, IL.
"Do you remember that sermon on the
fathers kiss2" said man as he thrust his
arm into the carrisge-window at the close of
one of my meetings in England. "Do you
remember thath sermon on the fathers
kiss2" L said, "Yes, remember it." Said
He: THAT sermon saved my soul God
bless you. Good-by." 1 thought then, as
think now, that man might preach hun
dred sermons on the parable of the prodigal
son, never repeat himself. have conversions
under every sermon, and yet not exhaust the
theme. God help us while this morning we
turn our attention to one part of this great
subject.
Nv text sets us down in a home of Oriental
luxuriance. The proprietor of the estate is a
lordly man. How he got his property,
whether by agriculture, or merchandise, or
by inheritance, 1 can not tell; but there was
nothing lacking to make the father and his
two sons comfortable. Across the broad
acres the flocks grazed, the sheep and goats
followed by their bleating young. No sud-
den occasion of joy could come but they
would be ready for it, for there was always
the fatted calf ready to be roasted and carved
for the banquet. The table on ordinary days,
and when there were no visitors, had sur
plus, enough and to spare. The wardrobe
was filled so that there must have been a
good deal Of unrolling and unpacking and
taking down of garments before they could
decide which was the best robe. There were
plenty of Jewels in that household, and rings
fit for the hand of a princess. Fleet-footed
hired people served in the house and barn and
field-some to prepare the food, to tend
the wardrobe, some to butcher the h0cks,
some to harvest the grain. Amid that luxu-
rance of park and orchard and castle, the
year rolled around, and if any people in all
the land ought to be happy then the lord of
the estate and his two sons ought to have been
happy But, as now you sometimes tindin the
same family great variety of temperament,
and two sons rocked in the same cradle de-
veloping opposite histories, so there was great
difference between the two young men of
this manor. The older was settled in his
habits, fond of farming, injurious about the
world, phlegmatic, withal splenetic selfish,
jealous. wanting everything to himself. The
Younger son was of an ardent temperament,
wanted to see the world, enthusiastic inquis-
tive ungovernable. That he was frank, l
know from the confessions he afterward
made. That he was social, know from the
way he went into society. He was not
ashamed to work, for when reduced
in circumstances, rather than write
home for money, he put himself into
the office of swineherd. But he was bad
boy. He was impatient of restraint. He
wanted to get away from the old homestead.
He wanted to be his own master He could
not wait until his fathers death TO get his
property. In England the property goes to
the Oldest son; in this country the property
is generally divided equally among the chill.
dren But in this Oriental country two-thirds
went to the older son and one-third to the
younger son. Oil how impatient to get that
one-third was the younger son. So there is
an inventory made of the estate. The value
of the land so much, the value of the ward
robe so much, the value of the jewels so much,
the value of the sheep and cattle so much,
the value of the notes and bonds so much
addedup aggregated, divided into three parts.
"Now," says the father to the younger son,
"here's your one-third; take it. l am sorry
TO have you go. You turn your
back on a beautiful homie. 1 fear you
may fall into perils by the way. had hoped
you would be my stay in declining years,
out can't keep you if you arenot happy"
The morning comes for the young mans de-
parture The servants do not go to the field
as early as usual, for they want to see the
last of the young adventurer. think they
each one have some little gift to present,
however humble-perhaps a cluster of grapes
or an apple, or fower-perhaps some nice
morsel prepared by the house servants and
put away in his sack. Right in the doorway
stands thefather He thinks of much counsel
that he would like to give, but he does not
say much. The fact is, he does not want ut
terly to break down. OH it is hard when
you have planned for child and educated
a child, and caressed him, and patted him,
and fondled him, and denied yourself many
comforts for him, to have him go away be-
cause he is not satisfied with his home. No
wonder the old man did not say much; but
his lip quivered, and the tears rolled down
his cheek, and he said: Farewell, my son,
God bring you back again, that with these
old eyes l may see you before l die. Fare
we'll, farewell, my son." and he kissed him.
So God would set forth by parable the fact
that we have all gone away from home and
trudged out into far country. Our first
parents had a magnificent residence. Har-
vests without any blowing, fruit without any
insect to sting the rind, all the beauties and
glories of spring and summer and autumn
concentrated in one day of brightness and
JOY and love; but they did not like it, and
they went off into a far country. We have
repeated their folly. God is our home.
Charles Kingsley, when he was dying, in
rapture cried out: "Ohl how beautiful God
Is" God is our beautiful home; but we do
not like Him. All the paternal kindnesses
can not keep us back. We take our portion
of blessings, and we trudge on, and we wan
der far away, bruised, and chased, and hun
gered, and sick of sin, willing TO do anything,
though it were filing the swine's trough,
rather than to go back home again. All we
ike sheep have gone astray. "And the
younger son gathered all together, and took
his journey into far country" May God
II IL