Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1886-02-25

As 8 congregation OF Iathers, nuSoands anu
sons we will be together no more this side Of
the great day when we shall all stand be-
fore the great throne and each give an &C
count for himself Brethren, give US your
prayers and your attention, and i trust
this service may bring tide OF love that
shall sweep you over the perilous bar into
the great kingdom Of God
"tAnd he ssid certain man had two sons.
And the younger of them said to his father,
Father, give me the portion of goods that
falleth to me- And he divided unto them
his living
"And not many days after the younger
son gathered all together and took his jour
ney into far country and there wasted his
substance with riotous living
''And when he had spent all, there arose
a mighty famine in that land, and he began
to be in want And he went and Joined him
self to a citizen of that country, and he sent
him into his fields to feed swine
"'And he would fain have filed his belly
with the husks that the swine did eat; and
no man gave unto him.
"sAnd when he came to himself he said:
How many hired servants of my fathers
have bread enough and to spare, and per-
ish with hungerP
say unto him: "Father, l have sinned against
heaven and before thee
"sMake me as one of thy hired servants
said the boy. There is a mistake the boy
made, and the man that's been making mis-
takes for years is liable to keep on making
mistakes. That boy said, I'll go back and
tell my father Pm willing to be hired
servant
"There are no hired servants in the king
dom of Jesus Christ. That boy had gone
home and asked his father to give him
hired servants place, aud put him in a little
cabin at the back of the house, and give
him SIS or $50 month. Why, he wouldn't
have been home q month if his father did
that before he'd steal something or get
into some other devilment. Pm glad there
are no outposts in the kingdom of Christ
where the son can come back and take hired
servants place If you ever come back,
you'll be the son; you won't have to live
in some cabin on short wages and on short
rations but when you come back you'll be
son of grand Father and noble Father.
I'll be one of thy hired servants'-what a
mistakel Poor, fellow he's made so many
blunders we can look over this one
"tBut as soon as this, thy son, was come,
which hath devoured thy living with har-
lots, thou hast killed for him the fatted
calf And he said unto him, Son, thou art
ever with me, and all that l have is thine.
1t was mete that we should make merry and
be glad, for this thy brother was dead and Is
alive again; and was lost and is found
81 never feel I was any kin to this older
brother Really don't know who he is;
don't know what place God intends he shall
6l in the vast moral universe. This much
know, we live in a fallen world There
are unfallen worlds. l reckon the inhabi-
tants of these worlds ought to have kept
their first estate, and they would not have
had to cry out when God threw His arms
around wandering, wayward man that has
spent his all with harlots
"Look here now, if that young fellow was
prodigal and wild and dissipated and waste
full and his father divided with him his
living, his father was a fool to start with.
We will put it in that shape. This younger
Notwithstanding to the laws In those days,
the older brothers inherited the estate and
the younger brothsr had no physical claim
on his fathsr-well, to continue, this younger
brother comes to his father and says:
Father give me the portion Of goods that
falleth to me- and he immediately divided
his living-the father did. Without word
of remonstrance or hesitancy or advice he
turns over to this young fellow this great
amount of property. The face of the para
BILE shows that up to that hour the young
man was praiseworthy, upright, industrious
and worthy of the confidence of his father,
SO far as all outward manifestations Of his
conduct were concerned.
'tIf I could go through this country with
Mrs Winslow's soothing syrup and get
more souls to Christ by having the sinners
each take teaspoonfui, 1 would invest ev-
cry nickel l have in that syrup. l would
thatl / am for the efficient thing, for that
which will make you cease to do evil and
learn to do right That's all have against
you haven't anything else against you,
for I love you all as if you were my own
brothers, but oh, how it makes me feel bad
and sad to see the way you dol 1t hurts me
on your account, and on your wife's &C
count, and on your children's account, and
on account of humanity. l am your
brother, and when you suffer suffer; when
you rejoice rejoice l am happy at every
happy man I meet; l am sad at every de-
jected, sorrowful, sinful character meet; l
weep with those who weep and rejoice with
those who rejoice. Oh, Lord, lift US up
here in Cincinnati, to where we can rejoice
with those that rejoice and where there will
be none to weep with and mourn with, and
none to feel sad overl
''The young fellow then deliberately turns
his back on father and mother and home,
and walks out Of the front gate and bids the
caravan move off, and they move off in
grand style: 1t is wonderful pageant, and
mother and father hnger on the front
veranda and watch the procession as it
passes out of sight and gradually winds its
way over the brow of the hill and disappears
from view. The father turns around and
utters an earnest prayer, God look after
nv boy;' and the mother, with the tears
running down her checks, says, oh, shall
ever see my boy againp
t'On the Doy moves with his caravan, and
imagine about sundown he drives out on a
beautiful camping ground, pitches his tents,
and arranges everything for the coming of
the night; and now can see everything in
order, and everything has been cared for
and now l see the young man as he unfolds
his coat, spreads it out and lays himself
down for the nights rest, and, turns his eve
to the heavens above him. and begins tc
JnInK. rms Is une nrsI nlgnI ever spenl
from my home. This is the first night
have ever slept from beneath the roof of the
old homestead. This is the first night where
l have been that could not hear mothers
voice, and could not hear fathers advice.
81 have wished many q time that that boy
before he went to sleep that first night had
settled it in his mind, This is my first night
from home, and by the grace of God it shall
be my last, for tomorrow morning, when
arise I shall turn this caravans head
around. and will drive back to the old home
stead Oh, if he had settled that, how many
hours of trouble, and anguish, and desola
ton and misery that boy would have
avoided if he had just started back the next
morning. Oh, poor, miserable, wandering
boy, I've thought q thousand times of you
and wished you had turned around and gone
back
"Well the prodigal boy drives on and on
and at the end of the third week he drives in
to another beautiful locality, and 1 imagine
he saws This suits me. This Is magnificent
ground here. like this soil and climate.
| like this altitude, Pll buy here Then be
begins to think, why there's postofice il
| the settlement over yonder, and won't b'
here three weeks before I'll get long letter
from father full of advice, and IN get
long, sentimental letter from mother, anc
they'll be doing nothing but advising anC
suggesting The fact OF the business is, i
I'd a wanted their advice I'd have stayed a
home don't want to be meddled with ant
interfered with Pm whale, and II there
4