The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1888-08-24

Again, the senior bfofher0 OF my text glands
for an those who are faithleas about the re-
formation of the dissipated and the dissolute.
In the very tones ofhis yoire you can hear
the face that he has no faith that the REFORM
alton Of the younger son is genuine. His en-
tire manner seems to say, "That boy has
com back for more money. He got a third
of the property; now he has come back for
another third. He viii never he contented TO.
stay on fhefarm. He wilifatl away. would 90.
in, too. and rejoice with the others i'll thought
this thing was genuine; but it is a sham.
That hey is q confirmed inebriate and de-
bauchee." Aiasl my friends, for the intre-
dulity In the church Of Christ in rpgardto the
reclamation of the recTeant. You say a man
has been a strong drinker. say yes, but
he has REFORMED" ,'oh," you say, with q
hgubrious face, II hope you are not mistak-
en-, / hope you are not mistaken" You
say, Don't rejoice too much over his con
version, for soon he win be uncouverted, /
fear. Don't make too big q party for that
returned prodigel, or strike the timbrel too
loud; and if you kiiisA calf kill the one that is
on the commons, and not the one that has been
luxuriating in the paddock" That is the
reason why more prodigals do not come home
to their fathers house. tits therank infdelity
in the ehurch of God on this subject. There
is not q house on the streets of heaven that
has not in it a prodigal that has returned
aud strayed home. There could be unrolled
before you a scroll of 100000 name-the
names of prodigals who came back forever
reformed. Who was John Bunyan? A re-
turned prodigaL. Who was Richard BaIter2
A returned prodigal. Who was George
NhItetield, the thundererf 4 returned pro
digal. And ] could go out in all directions
in this audience and find on either side, those
who, once lar astray for many years, have
been faithful, and their eternslscivation is as
sure as though they had been 10 years in
heaven. And yet some of you lave not
enough faith in their return.
You do not know how to shake hands with
q prodigal. You do not know how to pray
for him. You do not know how to greet
him. He wants to sail in the warm gulf
stream of Christian sympathy. You are
the iceberg against which he strikes and
shivers. You say he has been a prodigal. I
know it. But you are the sour, u~nresponsive,
censorious, saturnine, cranky, elder brother.
and If you are going to heaven one would
think some people would be tempted to go
to perdition to get away from you. The
deer shove him out of their company, and
the general rule is, away Will the man who.
has been wounded with sin. Now, / say, The
more bones a man has broken the more need
he has of a hospital, and that the more a
man has been bruised and cut with sin the
more need he has to be carried into human
and divine sympathy, But for such men
there is not much room in this world the
men who raj to come back after wandering.
Plenty ofroom for elegant sinners, sinners
in velvet and satin and lace, for sinners high.
salaried, for ~kid-gloved and pateut-leather
sinners, for sinners fixed up by hair-dresser,
pomatumed and ~lavendered and ~eologned
and friEzled and erimped and "banged'
sinners-plenty ofrooml Such we meet ele-
gantly at the door of our churches, and wei 10
vite them into the best seats with Chester
ieldian g~allantries; we usher them into the
house of God, and put soft ottomans under
their feet, and put the gilt-edged prayer-book
in their hand, and pass the contribution box
before them with an air of apology, while
they, the generous soulsl take out the ex-
quisite portemennaie. and open it, and with
diamond-finger push dnwa beyond the 10
dollar geld pieces and delicately pick out as
an expression of gratitude their Offering to
the Lord, of l cent. For such sinners
plenty OF room, plenty Of room But for the
man who has been drinking until his coat is
threadbare and his face is e~rysipelaRed, and
his wife's wedding dress is in the p~awnbrok-
er's shop, and his children, instead of being
in school, are out begging broken bread at
the basement doors Of the city-the man,
body mind and soul On fire with the flames
that have leaped from the scathiDg, scorch-
ing, blasting. consuming cup which the
drunkard takes, trembling and agonized, and
~nffrighted, and presses to his parched lip,
and his cracked tongue, and his shrieking
yet immortal spirit-no room,
Oh, If this younger son of the parable had
not gone SO far on, If he had not dropped so
low in w~assail, the protest would not have
been so severe; but going clear over the
preeipice as the younger son did, the elder
son is angry and win not go In.
Oh, be not SO hard On the criticism Of the
fallen, lest thou thyseh also be tempted. A
stranger one Sunday staggered up and down
the aisles Of my church, disturbing the
service until the service had TO stop until he
was taken from the room. He was a minis
ter Of the Gospel ofJesus Christ Of q sister
denomination That man had preached the
Gospel, that man had broken the bread of
the Holy Communion for the people. From
what a heighth to what a depthl Oh, ! was
glad there was no smiling in the room when
that man was taken out, his poe wife fol-
lowing hini with his hat in her hand, and his
coat on her arTn 1t was as solemn to me as
two funerals--the funeral Of the body and
the funeral of the soul. Beware lest thou al
SO be tempted.
An invalid went to South America for his
health, and one day sat summing himself on
the beach, when he saw something crawling
up the beach, wriggling toward him, and he
was ~affrighted. He thought it was a Wild
beast, or a reptile, and he took his pistol
from his pocket. Then he "a it was not O.
wild beast. 1t was a man, an immortal
man, o man made in Gods wi image; and
the poor wretch crawled up to the feet of
the invalid and asked for strong drink, and
the invalid took his wine flask from his
pocket and gave the poor wretch something
to drink, and then under the stimulus he
rose up and gave his history. He had
been a merchant in Glasgow, Scotland. He
had gone down under the power OF strong
drink until he was so reduced In poverty
that he wal lying In o boat Just Of the
beech. "Whys" said the Invalid, III knew q
merchant in Glasgow once, ? a merchant by
such and such a name, and the poor wretch
Strengthened himself and said, II am that
man. Let him thar thinketh he etandeth
take heed lest he fall.D
Again, ! remark that tho senior brother Of
my text stands for the spirisof envy and
jealousy. The senior brother that all the
honor they did to the returned brother was
a wrong to him. He said: II have stayed at
home, and ought to have had the ring, and
/ ought to have had the banquet, anti
ought to have had the ~garlands." Alas for
this spirit-of envy and jealousy coming down
through the agesi Cain ana Abel, Esau and
Jacob, Saul and David, Homan and Mordeciai,
Othello and lag0, Orlando and angelica,
Caligula and Torquatus, CHser and Pompey,
Columbus and the Spanish courtiers, Cam
byeea and the brother he slew because he
was q better m~afksman. nionysius and
~Philoxenius, whom he slew becauiie he wy q
better singer. JealoRsF among painters.
Clostcrman and Geo7TsS KneIler, Hudson
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