West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1888-08-23

hhines OF pfodigals WHO earfte back Forever
turned prodigai. Who was Richard Baxter
a. returned prodigaL Who was George
Whitefleld, the thundererl A returned
prodigal. And / could 20 out ina all direc-
lions in this audience and find on either side
those who, once far astray for many years,
have been faithful, and their eternal saliva,
ton 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 10 shake hands with
prodigaL You do not know how to pray
for him. You do not know how 70 greet
him. He wants TO sail in the gulf. stream OF
Christian sympathy. You are the iceberg
against which he strikes and shivera You
say he has been a Lrodigal. ! know IL. But
you are tho sour. unresponsive. censorious,
saturnine, cranky, elder brother, and IL
you are going 20 heaven one would think
some people would be tempted 10 20 TO per-
dition 20 get away from you. The hunters
say that IL a deer be shot the other deer
shove him out OK their company, and the
general rule is, away with the man that has
been wounded with sin. Now, / say,
the more bones q man has broken,
the moro need he has of a hos
pital, and that the more a man has been
bruised and cut with sin the more need he
has to be carried into human and divine
sympathy. But for such men there Is not
much room In this wOrld-the men who want
70 come back after wandering. Plenty of
room for elegant sinners, sinners in velvst
and satin and lace for sinners bighsalaried,
for kid gloyed and patent leather sinners,
for sinners fixed up by hair dresser, poma-
TUNED and lavendered and colo9ned and
frizzled and crimped and banged" sinners
plenty OF rooml Such we meet elegantly at
the door of our churches, and we invite them
into the best seats with Chesterfiedian ger
lantries; we usher them into the house of God,
and put soft ottomans under their feet,
and put gilt-edged prayer-book in their
hand, and pass the contribution before them
with an air OF apology, while they, the
portemonnaie, and open IL, and with
diamonded-finger push down beyond
the ten-dollar gold pieces and deli
cately 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
been drinking until his coat Is threadbare
and bis face is erysipelased, and his wifes
wedding-dress is in the pawnbrocer's shop,
and his children, instead of being in school,
are out begging broken bread at the base
ment doors OF the city-the man, body, mind
and soul on fire with the flames that have
leaped from the scathing, scorching, blasting,
consuming cup which the drunkard takes
trembling and agonized, and affrighted, and
presses to his parched lip, and his cracked
tongue. and his shrieking yet immortal spirit
no room.
oh, il this younger son of the parable had
not gone so far off, if he had not dropped so
low in wassail, the protest would not have
been so severe; but going clear over the
precipice as the younger son did, the elder
son is angry and will not go in.
Oh, be not so hard in your criticism of the
fallen, lest thou myself also be tempted. A
stranger one Sunday staggered up and
down the aisles OF my church, disturbing
the service until the service had to stop until
he was taken from the room. He
was a. minister of tho Gospel of
Jesus Christ OF sister denomination!
That man had preached the Gospel,
that man had broken the bread of the Holy
Communion for the people. From what a
height to what depth Oh, was glad there
was no smiling in the room when that man
was taken out, his poor wife following him
with HIS hat in her hand, and his coat on her
arm. 1t was as solemn to me as two funerals
THE funeral of the body and the funeral OF
the soul. Beware lest thou also be tempted.
An invalid went to South America for his
health, and one day sat summing himself on
the beach, when he saw something crawling
up the beach, wriggling toward him, and he
was affrghted He thought it was a wild
beast, or reptile, and he took his pistol
from his pocket. Then he saw it was
not wild beast 1t was man, an immortal
man, man made In Gods own image; and
the poor wretch crawled up TO the feet Of the
invalid and asked for strong drink, and the
invalid took his wine flask from his pocket
and gave the poor wretch something to
drink, and then under the stimulus he rose
mp and gave his history He had been q
merchant in Glasgow, Scotland. He had gone
down under the power Of strong drink until
he was so reduced in poverty that he was w.
ing in boat just Off the beach. "Why, - said
the invalid, 81 knew merchant in Glasgow
once, merchant by such and such a name,
and the poor wretch Strengthened himself
and said ~ am that man, "Iet him that
thinketh he stlndeth take heed lest he fall
Again, i remark that the senior brother OF
my text stands for the spirit of envy and
jealousy. The senior brother Thought that
all the honor they did to the returned brother
was a wrong TO him. He said: ~ have
stayed at home, and ought to have had the
ring, and ought TO have had the banquet, and
ought TO have had the garlands." Alas for
this spirit OF envy and jealousy coming
down through the agesl Cain and Abel
Esau and Jacob, Saul and David Haman
and Mordecai, Othello and Iago, Orlando
and Angelica, Caligula and Torquatus.
Cesar and Pompey, Columbus and the
Spanish courtiers, Cambyses and the
brother he slew because he was better
marksman. Dionysius and Philoxenius,
whom he slew because he was n better singer
Jealousy among painters Closterman and
Godfrey, Kneller, Hudson and Reynolds
Francis, anxious to see picture Of Raphael,
Raphael sends him picture Francis, see.
ne 1t, falls in fit Of jealousy from which
ne dies Jealousy among authors. How
seldom contemporaries speak OF each other
Xenophon and Plato living at the same time.
but from their writings you never would
suppose they heard OF ench other. Religious
Jealousies. The Mahommedans praying for
rain during a drought no rain coming.
Then the Christians begin TO pray
for rain, and the rain comes. Then
the Mahommedans met together to &C.
count for this, and they resolved that God
was so we'll pleased with their prayers
he kept the drought on so as TO keep them
praying; but that the Christians began to
pray aud the Lord was 50 Disguised with
their prayers that He sent rain right away so
lie would not hear any more OF their suppl-
cations Oh this accursed spirit Of envy and
jealousy Lot US stamp it out from ali our
A wrestler was so envious OF Theogenes.
the prince Of wrestlers. that he could not be
consoled in any way, and after Theogenes
died. and statue was lifted 70 him in pub
lie place, his envious antagonist went out
every night and wrestled with the statue
until one night he threw it, and it fell on him
and crushed him 20 death. So jealousy Is in {
only absurd, but it is killing 70 the body
and II is killing 10 the soul. How seldom 10
Is you find one merchant speaking well Of n
merchant ia the same line Of business How
seldom 70 is you hear OF a physician speaking
well Of a physician on the same block Oh.
my Fri ends, the world is large enough for all
Of us Let us rejoice at the success OF
others The next best thing 70 owning
garden ourselves Is 20 look over the fence
and admire the flowers The next best thing
toriding IN fine equpago is to stand on the
street and admire the prancing span The
next best thing % having a banquet given 20
ourselves is having banquet given 70 Our
prodigal brother that has come home 10 his