The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-09-13
TALMAGE's SERMON.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
In New Dress.
A Sermon Bearing Upon tho Elder Broth
er and Those Christians Who Have
No Faith in the Conversion
of ProdIgals.

of Prodlgals.
The following sermon was delivered by
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage at the Piedmont
Chautauqua in Georgia. His text vast
And he was angry, and would not &c H.
Luke, xv.. 2S
Is the elder son OF the parable SO un-
sympathetic and so cold that he is not
worthy Of recognition The fact is that
we ministers pursue the younger son.
You can hear the tapping Of his rags in
many q sermonic breeze, and the cranch-
ing of the pods for which he was an un-
successful contestant. confess that for
long time I was unable to train the
camera obscura upon the elder son Of the
parable. never could get negative for
photograph. There was not enough
light in the gallery, or the chemicals
were poor, or the sitter moved in the
picture. But now I think / have him.
Not a side-face, or three-quarters, or
the mere bust but a full.length portrait
as he appears to me. The father In the
parable of the prodigal had nothing to
brag OF in his two sons. The one was
rake and the other churl. / find moth
ing admirable in the dissoluteness Of the
one, and find nothing attractive in the
acrid sobriety Of the other. The one goes
down over the larboard side and the
other goes down over the starboard side,
but they both go down.
From the window of the old homestead
bursts the minstrelsy. The floor quakes
with the feet OF the rustics. whose dance
Is always vigorous and resounding. The
neighbors have heard Of the return Of the
younger son from his wanderings, and
they have gathered together. The house
is full of congratulations. suppose the
tables are loaded with Injuries. Not
only the one kind of meat mentioned,
but its ooncomitants. ssClapW go the
cymbals, s'thrum ~ go the harps, "clickW
go the chalices, up and down go the fee t
Inside, while outside is most sorry spec
tacle.
The senior son stands at the corner Of
the house, frigid phlegmatic. He has
just come in from the fields in very sub
stantial apparel. Seeing some wild ex-
hilarations around the old mansion, he
asks Of servant passing by with goat
skin Of wine on his shoulder what all the
fuss is about. One would have thought
that, on hearing that his younger brother
house and rejoiced, aud if he were not
conscientiously opposed to dancing, that
he would have joined in the. Oriental
brow lowers. His lip curls with contempt.
He stamps the ground with indignation.
He sees nothing at all to attract. The
odors Of the feast coming out on the air
do not sharpen his appetite The lively
music does not put any spring into his
step. He is in terrible pout. He crit
icises the expense, the injustice, and the
morals Of the entertainment. The father
PUSHES out bareheaded and coxes him to
come in. He will not go in. He
scolds the father. He goes into pas
quinade against the younger brother,
and makes the most uncomely scene. He
says:
"Father, you put a premium on vaga-
bondism. / staid at home and worked on
the farm. You never made party for
me; you didn't so much as kill kid; that
wouldn't have cost half as much as a calf
but the scapegrace went off in fine
clothes, and he comes back not fit to be
seen, and what time you make over
him! He breaks you heart, and you pay
him for it. That calf to which we have
been giving extra feed during all these
weeks wouldn't be so fat and sleek If
had known to what use you were going to
put it That vagabond deserves to be
cowhided instead OF banqueted. Veal is
too good for himl"
That evening, while the younger son
sat telling his father bouthis advent
ures, and asking about whathad occurred
on the place since his departure, the
senior brother goes to bed Disguised, and
slams the door after him. That senior
brother still lives. You can see him any
Sunday, any day of the week. At 6
meeting of ministers in Germany some
one asked the question: "Who is thai
elder son?' and Krumacher answered
Il know him; saw him yesterday
And when they insisted upon knowing
whom he meant, he said:
myself. When saw the account o.
the conversion of a most obnoxious man
was irritated."
First, this senior brother of the tex
stands for the self-congratulatory, self
satisfied, self-worshipful man. With the
same breath in which he vituperates
against his younger brother he utters {
panegyric for himself. The self.
righteous man of my text, like
every other self-righteous man, was
full Of faults. He was an migrate
for he did not appreciate the home
blessings which he had all those years
He was disobedient, for when the father
told him to come in he staid out. He was
a liar, for he said that the recreant son
had devoured his fathers living, when
the father, so far from being reduced te
perjury, had homestead left, had instru.
ments of music, had jewels, had man
sion, and instead of being pauper was q
prince. This senior brother, with sc
many faults Of his own, was Inerciless in
his criticism of the younger brother. The
only perfect people that l have ever
known were utterly obnoxious. was
never 30 badly cheated in all my life al
by perfect man. He got so far up in his
devotions that he was clear up above all
the rules of common honesty. These
men that go about proving amons
prayer meetings, and in places of bust
ness, telling how good they are-look ou
for them; keep your hand on your pocket
book have noticed that just in proper.
ton as man gets good ne gets humble
The deep Mississippi does not make al
much noise as the brawling mountain
rivulet There has been many store
that had more goods in the show window