Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-03-19
DIR. TALMAGE In THE WEST
AN ELOQUENT SERMON ON THE
DECORATION OF THE SOUL"

Chris,'s Adoption.
FoRr SCoTT, Kan, March ls-The Rev
7. De Witt TalIuage. d. D., Of the Brooklyn
Tabernacle, preached here this evening to a
crowded congregation. He took for his sub
ject ''The Decoration of the Soul,n and his
text was Luke XIV, -: "Put, a ring ON his
hand" He said:
| will 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 vaga
bondage and prodigality he resolved to &c
and weep out his sorrows on the bosom OF
parental forgiveness. Well, there is great
excitement one day in front of the door oi
the old farm house. The servants come rush
ing up and say: whats the matter! What
is the matterF' But before they quite arrive
the old man cries out: PUT ring on his
hand" What a seeming absurdity! What
can such a wretched mendicant as this fellow
that is tramping on toward the house want
with n ringi Oh, he is the prodigal son. Nc
more tending of the swine trough. No more
longing for the pods of the carob tree. Nc
more blistered feet. Off with the rags! On
with the robe! Out with the ring! Even SC
does God receive every one of US when we
come back There are gold rings, and pearl
rings, and carnelian rings, and diamond
rings; but the richest ring that ever flashed
on the vision is that which our father puts
upon forgiven soul.
| know the impression is abroad among
some people that religion bemeans and belit-
ties man that it takes all the sparkle out
of his soul; that he has TO exchange a roy
stering independence for an ecclesiastical
strait jacket. Not so. When a man becomes
a Christian, he does not go down, he starts
upward. Religion multiples one by ten
thousand. Nay, the multiplier is in intinity.
1t is not blotting Quit is a polishing, it is
an arborescence, it is an efflorescence, it is an
irradiation When a man comes into the
kindom of God he is not sent into menial
service, but the Lord God Almighty 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 liberty, the brightest joy, and highest
honor, and richest adornment. Put ring
on his hand"
l 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 repre-
sentative 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 pull
pit and sung, our hearts melted within US.
AT the close of the services great hearted,
wealthy man came up and said: "l'll 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.
The next day, while we were in the church
gathering up garments for the poor Of New
York, this little child came back with bun
die under her arm, and she said: "There's
my old dress; perhaps some of the poor chill
dren would like to have it, while she herself
was in bright and beautiful array, and those
who more Immediately examined her said
she had a ring on her hand 1t was a 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 their line their was lord, or a
duke, or prime minister, or a king But
when the Lord, our father, puts upon us the
ring of adoption, we become the children of
the ruler of ali nations. Behold what man
ner of love the Father hath bestowed upon
us, that we should be called the sons Of God "
1t matters not how poor our garments may
be in this world, or ho'E scant our bread, or
how mean the hut we live in, if We have the
ring of Christ's adoption upon our hand We
are asSl1rpd of eternal dpfenSes
Adopt! Why, then, We are brothers and
sisters to all the good of earth and heaven
We have the family name, the family dress,
the family keys, the family wardrobe The
father looks after us, robes us, defends US,
bleSses us. We have royal blood in our viens,
and there are crowns in our line. If we are
his children, then princes und princesses. 1t
is only question of time when we get our
coronet Adopted! Then we have the fami-
" secrets. The secret of the Lord is with
them that fear him. Adopted Then we
have the family Inheritance, and In the day
when our father shall divide the riches Of
heaven, we shall take our share Of the man.
sions and palaces end temples. Henceforth
let us boast no more OF an earthly ancestry.
The insignia Of eternal glory is our coat Of
arms. This ring Of adoption puts upon US
all honor and all privilege. Now we 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 RE
Let all the saints terrestrial sing
With those TO glory cone;
Far all the servants OF our King,
In heaven and earth. arc one.
have been told that when any Of the
of any of the great secret societies
Of this country are in distant city and arc
in any kind Of trouble. and ore set upon by
enemies, they have only to give certain sig
nal and the members Of that organization
will flock around for defense. And when
any man belongs to this great Christian
brotherhood, if he gets in trouble, in trial, in
in temptation, he has only to
show this ring Of Christs adoption, and oil
the armed cohorts Of heaven will come TO his
rescue.
Still further, when Christ takes soul into
his love he puts upon it a marriage ring
Now that is not a whim of mine: "And
will bethroth thee unto mo forever; yea,
will betroth thee unto me in Righteousness,
and in Judgment, and in loving kindness,
and in mercies.n At the wedding altar the
puts ring upon the hand of the
bride, signifying love and faithfulness.
Trouble may come upon the household, and
the carpets may go, the pictures may go, the
piano may 90, everything else may go-the
last thing that goes is the marriage ring, for
it is considered sacred. In the burial hour it
is withdrawn from the hand and kept in
casket, and sometimes the box is opened on
an anniversary day, and as you look at that
ring you see under its arch long procession
Of precious memories. Within the golden
circle of that ring there is room for thou
sand sweet recollections to revolve, and you
think of the great contrast between the hour
when, at the close of the wedding
March," under the flashing lights
and amid the aroma of orange bios