The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1888-03-22
DIR. TALMAGE IN THE WEST
AN ELOQUENT SERMON ON "THE
DECORATION OF THE SOUL"

AN ELOQUENT SERMON ON 1.-THE
DECORATION OF THE SOUL"
The Parable of the Prodigal Son-It
Matte. Not How Poor We Are If We
but Wear on Our Hand the Ring of
Christs Adoption.
Fort SCOTT, Kan, March 18.-The
Rev. 7. De Witt Talmage, D. D., of the
Brooklyn Tabernacle, preached here this
evening to crowded congregation. He
took for his subject "The Decoration of
the Soul,' and his text was Luke XIV, %:
''Put a ring on his hand" He said:
viii not rehearse the familiar story
of the fast young man of the parable.
You know what a splendid home he left.
You know what hard time he had.
And you remember how, after that season
of vagabondage and prodigality, he re-
solved to go and weep out his sorrows on
the bosom of parental forgiveness. Well,
there is great excitement one day in
front of the door of the old farm house.
The servants come rushing up and say:
ssWhat's the matter? What is the mat
ter?" But before they quite arrive the
old man cries out: ''Put ring on his
hand" What a seeming absurdity!
What can such wretched mendicant as
this fellow that is tramping on toward
the house want with a ring2 Oh, he is
the prodigal son. No mora tending. of
the swine trough. No more longing for
the pods of the carob tree. No more
blistered feet. Off with the rags! On
with the robe! Out with the ring! Even
SO does God receive every one of us when
| we come back. There are gold rings,
and pearl rings, and cornelian rings, and
diamond rings; but the richest ring that
ever flashed on the vision is that which
our Father puts upon forgiven soul.
| l know that the impression is abroad
among some people that religion bemeans
and belittles man; that it takes all the
sparkle out of his soul; that he has to ex-
change a registering independence for an
ecclesiastical straight jacket. Not SO.
When man becomes Christian he
does not go down, he starts upward.
Religion multiples one by 10000. Nay,
the multiplier is in infnity. 1t is not a
blotting QUIT is a polishing, it is an
arborescence, it is an efflorescence, it is
| an irradation. When a man comes into
the kingdom of God he is not sent into a
menial service, but the Lord God AL
mighty from the palaces of heaven calls
upon the messenger angels that wait upon
the throne to fly and ''put a ring on his
hand" In Christ are the largest lib
erty, and brightest joy, and highest
honor, and richest adornment. ''Put q
ring on his hand"
remark, in the first place, that when
Christ receives soul into his love he
puts upon him the ring of adoption. In
my church in Philadelphia there came
the representative of benevolent society
in New York. He brought with him
eight or ten children of the street that he
had picked up, and he was trying to find
for them Christian homes; and as the little
ones stood ON the pulpit and sung our
hearts melted within us. At the close of
the services great hearted, wealthy man
came up and said: 'I'l take this little
bright eyed girl and I'll adopt her as one
of my own children" and he took her
by the hand, lifted her into his carriage
and went away. e6
The next day, while we were in the
church gathering up garments for the
poor of New York, this little child came
back with bundle under her arm, and
she said: There's my old dress; per
haps some of the poor children would
like to have it," while she herself was
in bright and beautiful array, and those
who more Immediately examined her
said that she had ring on her hand. II
was ring Of adoption.
There are great many persons who
pride themselves on their ancestry, and
they glory over the royal blood that
pours through their arteries. In theil
line there was a lord or a duke or q
prime minister or king. But when the
Lord, our Father, puts upon us the ring
: of his adoption we become the children
of the ruler of all nations. "Beholt
what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us. that we should bt
called the sons of God."' 1t matters no
how poor our garments may be in thi
world, or how scant our bread, or how
mean the hut we live in, if we have tina
ring of Christ's adoption upon our hant
we are assured of eternal defenses.
Adopt! Why, then, we are brothers
: and sisters to all the good of earth ant
heaven. We have the family name, tn
family dress, the family keys, the famil,
wardrobe. The father looks after us
robes us, defends us, blesses us. w
have royal blood in our veins, and ther
are crowns in our line If we are hi
children, then princes and princesses,
is only a question of time when we ge
our coronet. Adopted! Then we have til
family secrets. "The secret Of the Lor'
is with them that fear him." Adopted
Then we have the family inheritance
and in the day when our father sha]
divide the riches of heaven we shall tax
our share of the mansions and palace
and temples. Henceforth let us boast n
more of an earthly ancestry. The in
sigma of eternal glory is our coat c
arms. This ring of adoption puts upo
can take the words of Charles Wesley
that prince of hymn makers, and sing:
Come let us join our friends above,
Who have obtained the prize,
And on the eagle wings of love
To joy celestial rise.
Let all the saints terrestrial sing
With those to glory gone;
For all the servants of our king,
In heaven and earth, are one
have been told that when any of I'll
members of any of the great secret 81
- cieties of this country are in dista1
city and are In any kind of trouble, an
= are set upon by enemies, they have onl
to give certain signal and the member
Il of that organization will flock around fl
j defense. And when any man belongs
this great Christian brotherhood, if
gets in trouble, in trial, in persecution,
- temptation, he has only to show this rir
of Christ's adoption, and all the arme
cohorts of heaven will come to his rescu
Still further, when Christ takes so
into his love he puts upon it marrias
ring. Now, that is not whim of min
"And will betroth thee unto me fo
q ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me
Righteousness, and in Judgment, and