The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1888-08-16

H6H. LIE one are dUullrdDle, anu tiid
other are most repulsive. The one kind
of higher life man is very lenient in his
criticism of others, does not bore prayer
meetings to death with long harangues,
does not talk a great deal about himself,
but much about Christ and heaven, gets
kindlier and more gentle and more useful
until one day his soul spreads wing and
he flies away to eternal rest, and every
body mourns his departure. The other
higher life man goes around with Bible
conspicuously under his arm; goes from
church to church, a sort of general evan
gelist; is nuisance to his own pastor
when he is at home and nuisance to
other pastors when he is away from
home; runs up to some man who is
counting out roll of bank bills or run
ming up q difficult line of figures and
asks him how is soul is makes religion
dose of ipecacuanha; standing in re-
lgious meeting making an address, he has
patronizing way, as though ordinary
Christians were clear away down below
him, SO he has to talk at the top of his
voice in order to make them hear, but at
the same time encouraging them to hope
on; that by climbing many years they
may after while come up within sight
of the place where he now stands! I
tell you plainly that a roaring, royster-
ing, bouncing sinner is not SO repulsive
to me as that higher life malformation.
The former may repent; the latter never
gets over his pharisaism. The younger
brother of the parable came back, but
the senior brother stands outside entirely
obliviotls of his own delinquencies and
deficits, pronouncing his own eulogium.
Oh, how much easier it is to blame
oslleTs than to blame ourselyes!..
blamed Eve, Eve blamed the Serpent,
brother blamed the younger brother, and
none of them blamed themselves.
Again, the senior brother Of my text
stands for all those who are faithless
about the reformation of the dissipated
and the dissolute In the very tones of
his voice you can hear the fact that he
has no faith that the reformation of the
younger son is genuine. His entire
manner seems to say: THAT boy has
come back for more money. He got a
third of the property; now he has come
back for another third. He will never
be contented to stay ON the farm. He
will fall away. Iwould goin, too, and re-
joice with the others if l thought this
thing was genuine; but it is sham. That
boy is confirmed inebriate and de-
bauchee." Alas! my friends, for the in
credulity in the church of Christ y re-
gard to the reclamation of the re-
creant. You say man has been a
strong drinker. l say: ''Yes, but he has
refoIAled." "Oh," you say, with lu-
| IT
taken; hope you are not mis-
taken" You say: Don't rejoice too
much over his conversion, for soon
| he will be unconverted, I fear.
Don't make too big party for that re-
turned prodigal or strike the timbrel too
loud; and if you kill 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.
1t is the rank infdelity in the church of
God on this subject. There is not a
house on the streets of heaven that
has not in it prodigal that has
returned and strayed home There
could be unrolled before you scroll of
a hundred thousand numes-the names
of prodigals who came back forever
reformed. Who was John Bunyan2 A
returned prodigal. Who was Richard
Baxter? A returned prodigal. Who
was George Whitefeld, the thunderer?
A returned prodigal. And I could go
out in all directions in this audience and
find on either side those who, once far
astray for many years, have been faith
full, and their eternal salvation is as sure
as though they had been ten years in
heaven. And yet some of you have not
enough faith in their return.
You do not know how to shake hands
with 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 sympa-
|, thy. You are the iceberg against which
, he strikes and shivers. You say he has
been prodigal. l know it. But you
are the sour, unresponsive, censorious,
; saturnine, cranky elder brother, and il
you are going to heaven one would think
some people would be tempted to go to
| perdition to get away from you. The
hunters say that if a deer be shot the
? other deer shove him out of their com,
, pany, and the general rule is, away
with the man who has been wounded
with sin. Now, I say the more bones 6
, man has broken the more need he has
of hospital, and that the more a mar
has been bruised and cut with sin the
, more need he has to be carried into human
and divine sympathy. But for such mer
I there is not much room in this world
{ the men who want to come back after
. wandering. Plenty of room for elegant
sinners, sinners in velvet and satin anC
A lace, for sinners high salaried, for ki(
: gloved and patent leather sinners, for sin
r ners fixed up by hair dresser, pomatumet
and lavendered and cologned and frizzle(
: and crimped and banged" sinners
4 plenty of room! Such we meet elegantly
r at the door of our churches, and we in
@ vite them into the best seats with Ches
/ terfieldian gallantries; we usher then
S into the house of God, and put soft otto
r mans under their feet, and put gil
a edged prayer book in their hand, and pas
;. the contribution box before them with al
d air of apology, while they, the generou
is souls take out the exquisite portemon
is naie, and open it, and with diamond
e finger push down beyond the ten dolla
J. gold pieces and delicately pick out as al
V expression of gratitude their offering t
V the Lord of one cent. For such sinners
It plenty of room, plenty of room. Blu
IS for the man who has been drinking unit
,s his coat is threadbare and his face
It erysipelased, and his Wife's weddin
t. dress is in the pawnbroker's shop, an
O. his children, instead of being i'll school
!, are out begging broken bread at the base
| ment doors of the city-the man, body
n mad and soul on fire with the flame
,e that have leaped from the scathing
II scorching, blasting, consuming Gu
f. which the drunkard takes, tremblin
ID and agonized and affrighted, and presse
m to his parched lip and his cracked tongu
and his shrieking yet immortal spirit
St no room.
lg Oh, if this younger son Of the parabl
at had not gone SO far off, if he had NJ
e. dropped SO low in wassail, the protei