The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1889-02-15
SUBSCRIPTION: Sl.00 Per Year.

ed to the full supply, and ought they not
to rejoice when souls pant as the mart Tor
the water brooks? They came forth say
ing: "All things are now ready:" ougn1
they not to rejoice when the proalgaA slss
down at the banquet
Life-insuraRce men will all tell you that
ministers Of religion as class i've
longer than any other. 1t is confirmed by
the statistics of all those who calculate
upon human longevity. Why is itp There
IL more draft upon the nervous system
than Il any other profession, and theE
toll is most Sxhausting. have seen MN
isterss kept on miserable stipends by par
sinuonious conversations who wondered
atthe dul1ness OF the sermoEss When tne
men Of God were perplexed aliaoss 70
death by questions of livelihood and s1Ae
not enough nutritious food to keep any
fire III their temperament. No fuel, no
Ere. have sometimes seen the inside or
the life Of many of the American
olergymen-never accepting their hos
pitality, because they can not anoro
it. but I have seen them strug-
gle on with salaries Of hve
or six hundred dollars year-&ne
average less than that-their struggle
we'll depicted by the Western missionary
who says in q letter; "Thank you TOT
your last remittauCeJ until II came we
had not any meat in our house Tor one
year, and all last winter, although 1t was
a severe winter. our children wore their
summer clothes.1 And these men OF tod
find in different parts Of the laSq
struggling against anuoyances and ex-
| asperations innuIuerable; some of them
week after week entertaining agents who
| have maps to sell, and submitting them
| selves to all styles Of annoyance, and yes
without complaint and cheerful OF soul
| How do you account for the fact that these
~ sr-4 kn11 hat
as q class, live longer than any othersl
| II is because Of the Joy OF their work. the
iov of the harvest field, the JOY of greet
ing prodigals home to their Fathers
house.
we are in sympathy with all innocent
hilarities. We can enjoy 8 hearty song
and we can be merry with the merrlesti
but those of us who have toileo IN the
service are ready 70 testify that all
| these joys are tame compared with the
satisfaction of seeing men enter ths king
dom of God. The great eras of every
| minister are the outpourings OF the Holy
Ghost, and 1 thank God have seen eight
cen Of them. Thank Godl Thank Godl
A. fnotice, also. when the prodigal comes
back, all earnest Christians rejoice. II
you stood on Montauk Point and there was
| ahurricane at sea, and It was blowing to-
| ward the shore, and vessel crashed into
| the rocks, and you saw people get ashore
] in the lifeboats, and the very last man got
on the rocks in safety, you could not con-
! troll your Joy. And 1t is 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
Christians pray. It is not stereotyped
| suppicatiOn we have heard over ana over
again for twenty years, but the putting OF
| the case in the hands of God with an inn
| Fortunate pleading. Men never pray at
great length unless they have nothing TO
say and their hearts are hard and cold.
| All the prayers in the Bible that were an
| swered were short prayersi ~God be
merciful to me, a sinner" "Lord, that
may receive my sight" ''Lord save me
or perish" The longest prayer, Sol0-
mons prayer at the dedication of the
Temple, less than eight minutes in length,
according to the ordinary rate Of enuncia-
/ ton.
| And just hear them pray now that the
/ prodigals are coming home. just see
them shake hands. No putting forth Of
the four tips Of the fingers in formal
way, but hearty grasp, where the mus
/ cles Of the heart seem to ciench the fingers
| of one hand around the other hand. And
then see those Christian faces, how IL
| lumined they are. And see that old man
/
/ sang fifty years ago in the old country
meeting house, say: ''Now, Lord, lettest
! Thou Thy servant depart in peace, for
mine eyes have seen Thy salvation"
/ There was q 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 jailer was opening the dooR
with one stroke he struck down the man
1 ~ IA fad n
the streets Of London he wondered where
his family was. He did not dare 10 ask
lest he excite suspicion, but, passing along
| a little way from the prison, he saw
| Keith tankard, a 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 takared in the window, hoping he
| would see &c; and he came along and saw
1t and knocked at the door and went tn,
| and the long absent family were all to-
gether again. Oh, If you would start for
the Kingdom Of God to-day think some
| of you would find nearly all your friends
| and nearly all your families around the
holy tankard Of the holy communion
fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters
around that sacred tankard which COM
| memorates the love Of Jesus Christ our
| Lord. Oh, it viii be a great communion
day when your whole family sits around
the sacred tankard. One on earth, one in
| Heaven.
8. Once more I remark, that when the
Prodigal gets back the inhabitants OF
| Heaven keep festival I am very certain OF
/ it. If you have never seen telegrapmc
| chart you have no idea how many cities
are connected together and how many
lands. Nearly all the neighborhoods or
a
| from city to city, and from continent 20
continent. But more rapidly go the IL
dings from earth to Heaven, and when
prodigal returns it IS announced before
the throne Of God. And If these souls
this morning should enter the kingdom
there would be some one in the Heavenly
kingdom to say: "ThaPs my Eatn9r'
''thats my mother" that's my son
sfthat's my daughter,o - "thaps my friend"
fthat's the one 1 used 70 pray for"
"that's the one for whom wept so many
tears,0 and one soul would say hO-
sannaW and another soul Wouia say
"Hanelujahl"
Pleased with the news the saints below
In songs their tongues employ
| Beyond the skies the tidings CO.
And Heaven is filled with JOY.
Nor angels can their Joy contain
But kindle with new hre'
The sinner lost is found, they sing,
And strife the sounding Tyre.
Al the banquet of LucuIius sat Cicero
the orator, at the Macedonian festival sat
Philip the Conquerors at the ereblaA
! banquet sat Socrates the philosopher,
! but al our Fathers table sit all
the returned prodigals, more than con-
ouerors. The table Is 50 wide It's heves
: reach across seas and across lands.
, rfa sguests are the redeemed Of earth and
j the elorffied Of Heaven. The ring OF
e Gods forgiveness on every hand, the
} robe of O saviour's righteousness adroop
j from every shoulder. The wine Thai
! hows in the cups Is from the bowls Of
ten thousand sacraments. Let all the