The Penn's Grove record., 1889-02-23
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON:
joy. 10y

u IVY SSS g..
aRr,ng bitber the fatted calf and kill IT,
Luke 1888.
JoYI joyl ioyl We banquet to-day
over this accession OF a multitude OF
souls. In all ages Of the world it has
been customary to celebrate Joyful
events by festivity-the signing OF trea-
ties. the proclamation OF peace, the
the marriage. However
much on other days Of the year our
liable may have stinted supply, on
thanksgiving Day there must be some
thing bounteous. And all the comfort
able homes of C~hristendom have at
some time celebrated joyful events by
banquet and festivlty. -
Something has happened in the old
greater than anything that
has ever happened before.
FAvoIITE SON.
whom the world supposed would be-
come q vagabone and outlaw forever,
has got tired Of sightseeing and has re-
to his fathers house. The
world said he never would come back.
The old man always said his o would
come. He had been looking for him
day after day and year after year. He
knew he would come back. Now, hay
ing returned to his fathers house, the
father proclaims celebration.
There IL a calf In the paddock that
has been kept up and fed to utmost
capacity, SO as to be ready for some oc-
Of Joy that might come along.
Ali there never will he o grander day
on the old home stead than this day.
Let the butchers do their work, and
the housekeepers bring in to the smok-
ing meat. The musicians will take
their places, and the gay groups will
move up and down the floor. All the
and neighbors are gathered In,
and extra supply is sent out to the table
Of tie servants. The father presides at
the table, and says grace, and thanks
God that his long-absent boy is home
Oh how they missed him!
HOW GLAD THEY ARE
to have him backI One brother. in
deed, stands pouting at the back door
and says: "This is a great ado about
nothing; this bad boy should have been
instead of greeted; veal is
too good for himl" But the father
says: "NotbIng is too good, nothing
is good enough" There sits the young
man, glad at the hearty reception. but
q shadow Of sorrow fitting across his
brow ut the remembrance Of the trou-
BILE he had seen. All ready now. Let
the covers lift. Music. He was dead,
and lie is alive again! He was lost,
and he is foundl by such bold imagery
does the Bible set forth the merry
making when a soul comes home to
God.
j. First Of all, there Is
THE NEW CONVERTS JOY.
1t Is no tame thing to become a Chris
tian. Tie most tremendous moment
IN a mans life is when he surrenders
himself to God. The ,grandest time on
the fathers homestead is when the boy
comes back. Among tie great throng
who in the parlors of this church pro-
fessed Christ one night. was a young
man, who next morning rang my door.
bell and said: asSir, l cannot contain
myself, with the Joy feel; 1 came here
this morning to express III i Lave
found more Joy in five minutes in serv-
ing God than in all The years of my
prodigality, and / came to say So"
You have seen, perhaps, q man run
ming for his physical liberty, and the
of the law after him, and you
saw him escape, or afterward you heard
the judge had pardoned him, and how
great was the glee Of that rescued man;
but it is a very tame thing That, COM
pared with the running for ones v
life--the terrors of the law after
him, but Christ coming In to pardon and
bless and rescue and save You re-
member John Bunyan In his great story
Tells how the pilgrim put his fingers In
ears, and ran, crying, Life, life !
eternal lifeI'n A poor car-driyer In this
city some years ago. after having had a
struggle to support h Instantly, sudden.
" was informed that .,,szs,
II AJ ALARaE INHERITANCE
was bis, and there was joy amounting
to bewilderment; but that iss a small
thipgicompared with the experience of
one when he has put in his hands the
title-deed to the Joys, the raptures. the
gplendors Of Heaven, and be can truly
Nl Al0A11AQA1p 04O A4AlCs v SAAA
pies are mine, Its songs are mine, its
God Is minein Oh, It's no tame thing
to become q Christian. 1t is a merry
making. 1t is the killing Of the fatted
calf. 1t is Jubilee. You know the
Bible never comrares 1t tOEa funeral,
but always compares II TO something
1t Is more apt to be compared
to q banquet than anything else. 1t is
compared In the Bible to- the water,
bright, flashing, water; to the morning,
roseate, fire-worked, mountain-trans-
figured morning. I wish i could to-
day take all the Bible expressions about
pardon and peace and life and comfort
and hope and Heaven, and twist them
into n garland, and put it on the
brow of the humblest child of God in
this ~assemblage, and cry: swear it,
wear it now. wear it forever, Vol OF
God, daughter Of the Lord God Al
mighty" Oh, the joy Of the new con
vertl Oh, the gladness Of the Chris
tian seryicei
You have seen, sometimes. o man in
q religious assembly get up and give his
experience. Well, "a = .
Va EAE EltAENOE. a. "a
He arose IN the presence of the two
Churches. the Charch on. earth and the
Church in Heayen,Iand he said: "Now
this is my experience: 'sorrowful. yet
rejoicing-poor, yet making
MANY rich-having nothing, yet posses
sing all things.'" II the people in
tins house this morning knew the Joys
OF the Christian religion, they would
all pass rel into the kingdom Of God
the next moment. When Daniel Sande-
was dying of cholera. his attend
ant said: Shave you much paiD?"
"Oh," he replied, s'sinee l found the
Lord ! have never had any PAIN except
Then they said to him: "Would
you like to send a message TO your
friendsf" Eyes, / would; tell them
that only last night the love of Jesus
rushing into my soul like the sur
ges of the sea, and l had to cry out:
"Stop, Lord. 1t is enough; stop, Lord,
enoughl" oh, the joys of this relig-
ion !
just pass over from those tame Joys
In which you + indulging-joys of
this world-into the raptures Of the
Gospel.