The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-09-13

pastor when he Is at home, and null
sance to other pastors when he is away
from home; runs up to some man who is
counting out a roll of bank bills or
running up difficult line of fig
ures, and asks him how his soul
is; makes religion dose of ipe.
cacuanha; standing In religious
meeting making an address, he has a
patronizing way, as though ordinary
Christians were clear away down below
him, SO he had to talk at the top of his
voice in order to make them hear, but at
the same time encouraging them to hope
ONT that by climbing many years they
may after awhile come up within sight of
the place where he now standsi / tell
you plainly that roaring, registering,
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 BROTH
er of the parable came back. but the
senior brother stands outside, entirely
oblivious of his own delinquencies and
deficits, pronouncing his own eulogium.
Oh, how much easier it is to blame others
than to blame ourseIvesi Adam blamed
Eve, Eve blamed the serpent the serpent
blamed the devil, the senior 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 man
ner seems to say:
"That boy has come back for more
money. He got 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. l would go in
too and rejoice with the others if thought
this thing was genuine; but it is a sham.
That boy is confirmed innebriate and
debauchee."
Alas! my friends. for the incredulity in
the Church of Christ in regard to the re-
clamation of the recreant. You say a
man has been strong drinker. Isay:
Eyes, but he has reformed
sOh," you say, with lugubrious face,
81 hope you are not mistaken" You
say:
s'Don't rejoice too much over his con-
version, for soon he will be unconyerted,
/ fear. Don't make too big a party for
that returned prodigal, or strike the tim
brel too loud; and if you kill a 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 infidelity in the Church of
God on this subject. There is not house
on the streets of Heaven that has not in it
a prodigal that has returned and stayed
home. There could be enrolled before you
a scroll of hundred thousand names
the names Of prodigals who came back
forever reformed. Who was John Bum
yam? A returned prodigaL. Who was
Richrad Baxter? A returned prodigal.
Who was George Whitefeld, the thunder
er? A returned prodigal. And could
go out in all directions in this audience
and find on either side those who, once
far astray for many years, have been
faithful, 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 a 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 Chris tian sympathy.
You are the iceberg against which he
strikes and quivers. You say he has been
a prodigal know it But you are the
sour, unresponsive, :censorious, saturnine
cranky elder brother, and If you are 60
| ing to Heaven one woul d think some PEG
pie would be tempted to go to perdition
to get away from you. The hunters say
that If deer be shot the other deer shove
him out of their company, and the gener-
| al rule is, away with 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 man has been bruised and cut
| with sin the more need he has to be car
| ried into human and divine sympathy.
| But for such men there is not much room
in this world-the men who want to come
back after wandering.
Plenty of room for elegant sinners, sim
ners in velvet and satin and lace; fol-
sinners high -salaried; for kid gloved and
patent leather sinners; for sinners fixed
by hair dresser-pomatumed and laven-
dered, and cologned, and frizzled, and
crimped, and changed" sinners-plenty
Of room! Such we meet elegantly at ths
door of our churches. and we invite them
into the best seats with Chesterfieldlar
gallantr1es; we usher them into the house
of God, and put soft ottomans under theil
feet, and put gilt-edged prayer-book in
their hand. and pass the contribution boz
before them with an air of apology while
they, the generous souls ! take out the ex.
| quisite portemonnaie, and open it, anG
with diamonded finger push down beyond
the ten-dollar gold pieces, and delicate.
| ly pick out as an expression of gratitude
their offering to the Lord of one cent
For such sinners, plenty of room, plenty
of room. But for the man who has beer
drinking until his coat is threadbare anl
his face is erysipelased, and his wife's
wedding dress is in the pawnbroker's
shop, and his children, instead of beins
in school, are out begging broken bread
at the basement doors of the eligible
man, body, mind and soul on fire with the
flames that have leaped from the scath.
ing. scorching, blasting, consuming cur
which the drunkard takes, trembling and
agonized, and affrighted, and presses tt
his parched lip and his cracked ton que
and his shrieking yet immortal spirft-nt
room.
oh, IL this younger son of the parable
1 had NO 1H