The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-04-11


average less than that-their struggle
well depicted by the Western missionary,
who says in a letter: F'Thank you for
your last remittance; until it came we
had not any meat in our house for one
year, and all last winter, although it was
| a severe winter. our children wore their
summer clothes" And these men of God
| / find in different parts of the land
| struggling against annoyances and eX-
aspirations innu merable; some of them
week after week entertaining agents who
| have maps to sell, and submitting them
selves to all styles of annoyance, and yet
without complaint and cheerful of soul.
How do you account for the fact that these
life insurance men tell US that ministers,
as a class, live longer than any others?
| 1t is because of the joy of their work, the
| joy 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 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 are tame compared with the
satisfaction of seeing men enter the king
dom of God. The great eras of every
|
Ghost, and thank God have seen eight
cen of them. Thank God Thank God
4. Inotice, also. when the prodigal comes
back, all earnest Christians rejoice. If
you stood on Montauk Point and there was
ahurricane atsea, 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 it 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. 1t is not a stereotyped
| supplication we have heard over and over
again for twenty years, but the putting of
the case in the hands of God with an i'm
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 prayers: "God be
merciful to me, sinner" "Lcrd, that I
may receive my sight, "Lord, save me
or perish" The longest prayer, Solo
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 clench the fingers
of one hand around the other hand. And
: then see those Christian faces, how IL
! 111Taf Il 41arr a Il hot oJ1
get up, and, with the same voice that he
sang fifty years ago in the old country
meeting house, say: Snow, Lord, lettest
Thou Thy servant depart in peace, for
mine 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 jailer was opening the door,
with one stroke he struck down the man
who had incarcerated him. Passing along
the streets of London he wondered where
his family was. He did not dare to ask
lest he excite suspicion, but, passing along
little way from the prison, he saw a
Keith tankard, a cup that belonged to the
: family from generation to generation-he
! saw it in 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 it; and he came along and saw
it and knocked at the door and went in,
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 will be great communion
day when your whole family sits around
! the sacred tankard. One on earth, one in
Heaven.
, D. Once more 1 remark, that when the
prodigal gets back the inhabitants of
Heaven keep festival. am very certain of
it. If you have never seen a Geographic
; chart, you have no idea how many cities
!, are connected together and how many
1 lands. Nearly all the neighborhoods of
i the earth seem articulated, and news flies
from city to city, and from continent to
7 continent. But more rapidly go the til
= dings from earth to Heaven, and when a
: 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: "That's my father y
:, ''that's my mother" ''that's my son.
!, ''that's my daughter" "that's my friend, y
= ''that's the one l used to pray for
u ''that's the one for whom l wept so many
= tears" and one soul would say 'Ho-
sannap and another soul would say
: "Hallelujahp
i Pleased with the news the saints below
= In songs their tongues employ;
Beyond the skies the tidings go,
And Heaven is filled with Joy.
4 Nor angels 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 Lucullus sat Cicero
= the orator, at the Macedonian festival SAT
= Philip the Conqueror, at the Greciau
= banquet sat Socrates the philosopher
, but at our Fathers table sit ali
= = the returned prodigals, more than con.
L querors. The table is so wide its leaves
= reach across seas and across lands
= Its guests are the redeemed of earth and
" the glorifed of Heaven. The ring OF