New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-02-13
work. the joy Of greeting prodigals home to

Gnelf aUher'S mouse.
Oh, we are in sympathy with all Innocent
hllarltIes. We can enjoy a hearty song and
we can be merry with the merriest; but those
of us who have toiled in the service are ready
to testify that all these joys arc tame com
pared with the satisfaction of seeing men en-
ter the kingdom of God The great eras of
every minister are the out-pourings Of the
Holy Ghost and thank God have seen
eighteen of them. Thank God, thank God!
Four-I notice also when the prodigal
comes back, all earnest Christians rejoice. If
you stood on Montauk Point and there was
a hurricane at sea, and it was blowing to-
ward the shore, and a vessel crashed into the
rocks and you saw people get ashore in the
and the very last man got on the
rocks in safety, you could control your Joy.
And it is a glad time when the Church of God
sees men who are tossed on the ocean of their
sins plant their feet on the rock Christ Jesus.
Oh, when prodigals come home just hear
those Christians sing. just hear those Chris
tians pray. It is not a stereotyped supplica-
tion we have heard over and over again for
20 years, put a putting of the case in the
hands Of God with an importunate pleading.
No long prayers. Men never pray at great
length unless they have nothing to say and
their hearts are hard and cold. All the pray
ers in the Bible that we're answered were
short prayers: "God be merciful to me a
sinner. Lord that may receive my sight,
prayer-Solomen' S prayer at the dedication
of the temple, less than eight minutes in
length, according to the ordinary rate of
enunciation.
And just hear them pray now that the
prodigals are coming home. just see them
tips of the fingers in a formal way, but a
hearty grasp, where the muscles of the heart
seem to clench the fingers of one hand
around the other hand And then see those
Christian faces, how illumined they are. And
see an old man get up and with the same
voice that he sang SO years ago in the old
country meeting house, say: ssNow, Lord,
lettest Thou Thy. servant depart in peace,
for my eyes have seen Thy salvation There
was a man of Keith who was hurled into
prison in time of persecution, and one day he
got off his shackles and he came and stood
by the prison door. and when the jailor was
opening the door, with one stroke he struck
down the man who had incarcerated him.
Passing along the streets Of London he Won
dered where his family was. He did not dare
to ask lest he excite suspicion, but, passing
along a little way from the prison, he saw a
Keith tankard, cup that belonged to the
family from generation to generation-he
saw it in a window: His family, hoping that
some day he would get clear! came and lived
as near as they could to the prison house,
and they set that Keith tankard in the win
dow, hoping he would see it; and he
came and saw it, and knocked at the
door, and went in, and
the long-absent family were all together
again. Oh, if you would start for the king
would find nearly all your friends and nearly
all your families around the holy tankard
of the holy communion-fathers mothers,
brothers, and sisters around that sacred
tankard which commemoratestheloy love of esus
Christ our Lord. Oh, it will be a great com
munion day when your whole family sits
around the sacred tankard One on earth.
one in heaven.
Fifth-Once more I remark, that when the
prodigal gets back the inhabitants of heaven
keep festival. am very certain of it. If
you have never seen Geographic chart you
have no idea how many cities are connected
together and how many lands. Nearly all
the neighborhoods of the earth seem articu-
latee, and news flies from city to city, and
from continent to continent. But no more
rapidly go the tidings from earth to heaven,
and when a prodgal returns it is an
nounced before the throne of God And if
these souls this morning should enter tie
kingdom there would be some one in the
heavenly kingdom to say: That's my
son." That's my daughter" s'That'' the one
used to pray for, - "That's the one whom
wept so many tears, and one soul would
say, sHosannaH' and another soul would
say, "Hallelujah!'
PLEASED with the news, the saints below
In songs their tongues employ;
Beyond the skies the tidings go,
And heaven is filed with joy
Nor angles can their JOY contain,
But kindle with new fire:
The sinner lost is found they sing,
And strike the sounding Tyre
At the banquet of LuculIus sat Cicero the
orator, at the Macedonian festal sat Philip
the conqueror, at the Grecian banquet sat
Socrates the philosopher; but at our Fathers
table sit all the returned prodigals, more than
conquerors. The table is SO wide its
leaves reach across seas and across lands.
Its guests are redeemed of earth and the
gloriied of heaven The ring of Gods for
giveness on every hand, the robe ola Savior's
righteousness adroop from every shoulder
The wine that CLOVIS in the cups is from the
bowls Of ten thousand sacraments. Let all
the redeemed Of earth and all the glorifed of
heaven rise, and with cleaning chalce drink
to the return of a thousand prodigals. Sing!
Sing! Sing! worthy is the Lamb that was
slain to receive q blessing and riches and
honor and glory and power, world without
end!
~