Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-06-16
THE MAYNARD son.
DR.. TALMAGE PREACaES ON THE PARABLE OF
THE PR0DICAL.
The Analysis Of the Fathers AfectiOns-GOd i:
a Father Kind, Loving and Len
ient-The Story OfRepsn-
tsnce.
Special telegram to he Register.

and had compassion, and ran, and fell
on his neck, and kissed him. Follow
ing is the sermon:
One Of the deepest wells that inSpira-
tion ever opened is this well of par
able which we can never exhaust. The
parable, | suppose, was founded on
facts. | have described To you the go
ing away of this prOdigal son from his
fathers house, and have showed you
what hard time he had down in the
wilderness, and what very great mis-
take il was for him To leave SO beautiful
Il home for such miserable desert.
But he did not always Stayin the wilder
ness; he came back after awhile. We
do not read that his mother came to
greet him. suppose she was
dead. She would have been the first to
come out. The father would have given
the second kiss TO the returning prodi-
gal; the mother the first. 1t may have
been for the lack of her example and
prayers that he became prodigal.
Sometimes the father does not know
how to manage the children of the
household. The chief work comes upon
the mother. Indeed, no one gets over
the calamity of losing Il mother in early
life. Still. this young man was not un-
greeted when he came back.
However well apparelled we may be
in the morning when we
START OUT ON \ JOURNEY
before night, what with the dust and
the joStling. we have lost all cleanli-
ness Of appearance. But this prodigal,
when he started from the Swine-trOugh,
was ragged and wretched, and his APP
pearance. after he had gone through
days OF journeying and exposure, you
can more easily imagine than describe.
As the people see this prodigal coming
ON homeward, they wonder who he Is.
They say: 81 wonder what prison he
broke out of. / wonder what laZarettO
he has escaped from. | wonder with
what plague he will Smite the air. Al
though these people may have been well
acquainted with the family. yet they do
not imagine that this is the very young
man who went of only a little while
ago with quick step, and ruddy check,
and beautiful apparel. The young man,
think, walks very fast. He looks aS
though he were intent upon something
very important. The people stop. They
look at him. They wonder where he
came from. They wonder where he IS
going to.
have no sympathy with that cast
iron theology which represents God as
hard. severe, aud vindictivc. God is a
Father-kind. loving, lcnicnt, gentle,
long-SutTcring, patient, and he llieS to
our immortal rescue. Oh. that we
might realize il. \ wealthy lady in one
of the Eastern countries was going Of
for some time, and she asked her
daughters for some memento to carry
with her. One of the daughters brought
"A marble tablet, beautifully inscribed;
and another daughter brought beauti-
full wreath Of flowers. The third
daughter came and said: Mother, |
brought neither flowers nor tablet, but
here is my heart. | have inscribed it
all
OVER WITH YOUR NAME,
aud wherever YOU 20, it will 20 with
YOU" The mother recognized it rs the
best of all the mementOeS. oh, that
our souls might go out toward our
Fathcr-that our hearts might be
written all over with the evidence Of
His loving kindness, and that we might
never again forSake Him.
In the first place, notice in this text,
the fathers eycSight; in the second
place. / notice the fathers haste. and,
iu the third place. | notice the fathers
kiss.
To begin: The fathers cyeSight.
when he was a great way of his father
saw him." You have noticed how old
people sometimes put book of on the
other side of the light. They can see at
distance great deal easier than they
can close by. do not know whether
this father could see well that which
was near by.,but do know he could see
a great way of. Ills father saw him.
Perhaps he had been looking for the re-
turn of that boy especially that day. l
DO not know but that he had been in
PRAYER. and that God had told him that
that day the rccreant boy would come
hcme. The father saw him a great
way of.
| wonder if Gods eyeSight can dcScry
lis when we are coming back To him?
The text pictures our condition-we are
a great way of. That young man was
not farther of from his fathers house,
sin is not farther off from holiness, hell
is not
FARTHER OFF FROM HEAVEN,
than we have been away off from our
God: ave. so far off that We could not
hear His voice. though vehemently He
has called US year after year. do not
know what bad habits you may have
formed. or in what evil places you have
been. or what false notions you may
have entertained; but you are ready to
if your heart has not been
changed bv the grace Of God, that you
are great way otf-aye. so far that
YOU cannot get back of yourselves. You
would like to come back. Aye, this
moment You would start. if it were
not for this sin, and that
habit. and this disadvantage. But |
am to tell you of the Father eyeSlght'
He saw him great way of. lie has
seen all your frailtieS, all your Strug-
gles. all your disadvantages. lie has
been longing for your coming. lie has
not Deen looking AT you with critic
eve or 4 bailif'S eye. but with Faith
er's eve: and il parent ever pitied
child. God pitieS you. You say: ION, l
had 50 many evil surroundings when l
started life" Your Father sees 1t. You
say: Il haze 50 many bad surroundings
now. and il is very difficult for me to
break away from evil associations.
Your Father sees it, and if you should
start heavenward-aS pray You may
your Father would not sit idly down and
allow YOU to struggle on up toward
Him. oh, no, Seeing you great way
of. He would fly to the rescue. How
long does it take father to leap into
the
MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY
If his child be there, and swift vehicle
Is coming. and may destroy him? Five
hundred times longer than it takes our
heavenly Father 10 spring TO the deliv-
erance of a lost child. when he was
a great way of his Father saw him
And this brings me TO notice me
fathers haste. The Bible says he ran.
No wonder. He did not know but that
the Young man would change his mind
and 90 back. He did not know but that
he would drop down from exhaustion.
lie did not know but that something
fatal might overtake him before he got
up to the doorSill: and so the iather
ran. The Bible, for the most part