The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1890-06-26


CT daughter brought beautiful
wrcutl Of flowers. The third lallgh-
ter came and said: Mother,
brought neither flowers nor tablet,
but hcrc il my heart. have inscribed
it Ill over with your name, and whoro-
ever You go it will go with YOU" The
mOthcrrccogn;zcd it as tho best of
all mcmcntocs. Oh, that our souls
might go out toward our Father
that our hearts might be written Ill
over with the evidences of His loving
kindness, and that we might never
fo"sakc him.
In the first placr, I notice III this
text, the fathc's cycsigllt, III the sec
ond place I notice the fathers haste:
cnl III the third place, 1 notice tho
fathers kiss.
Is begin; the fathers cycsiglt.
"Whcn he was n great way off his
father saw HIM" You have noticed
how Old people sometimes puta book
of on the other side OF the light.
They can see it ut a distance great
deal easier than they can close by.
L 60 not know whether this father
could see we'll that which was near
b., but [ 90 know he could see q
great way off. His father SAW him.
Perhaps he had been looking for tic
return OF that boy especially that
day. l 90 not know but that he had
| been i'll prayer, and that God had
told him that that day the rccrcat
boy would come home. "Thc ia
| tl,"r SEW him great way OIL.
| J. wonder if Gods cyCsight c,lil
| drScry u6 when wc arc coming back
to Him! The text pictures our con
| dltl0n-w2 arc L great way OFT. That
young man waJ noI farther off from
| hl3 fathers hOuSr, sin is not farther.
! OIL from holiness. he'll is not farther
oil from heaven, than VIC have bocn
by our sins away off from God: ave.
SO far of that we could not hear His,
voice, though vchcmcntly He has
called us year after year. l do not
know what habits YOU may have
formed, Or i'll what evil places you
| have been, OF what false notions you
may have entertained; but you arc
ready to acknowledge, il your heart
has not been changed by tho grace q
God, that YOU are Great way Off
| aye, so far that you cannot get back
| OF yourselves Iou would like 70
come back. Aye, this moment you
would start ii it wore not for this sin,
and that habit, and this disadvantage.
But am 10 tell you of the Father $
| cNc&ight. lie saw him Il great way
OH. lie las seen all youI fraltics,
ail your struggles, all your disndvan
tagcs. 1c has been longing for your
coming. Hc has not been looking III
you with critics eye or II bailin"s
eye, but with Il Fathers eye; and if n
| parent ever piticu Il child, God pitics
you. You say: "Oh, l bad SO many
evil surroundings when l started life. :
Your Father secs it. You say: 4
have SO many bad surroundings now,
and it is very difficult for me to break
away from evil associations. Your
Father secs il. and if You should
| start hcavcnward-as Ipray you may
your Father would not sit iGly
down and allow you to struggle on
up toward Him. Oh, no! Seeing
you n great way off, He would lily to
the rescue. How long does it take Il
father to leap into the middle of n
highway if his child be there. and q
swift vehicle is coming, and may de-
| stroy him! Five hundred times long
or than it takes our heavenly Father
to spring to tho .dclivcrancc of q lost
child: "Whcn he was n great way off
his Father saw him.
And this brings mo to notice tho
father haste. The Bible SAYS he
nm. No wonder! Hc did not know
but that the youngman would change
his mind and go back IIc did not
know but that no would drop from
exhaustion. 1Jc did not know but
TINT something fatal might ovcrtakc
INN before he got to the door-sill;
and so the fathcrran. The Bible, for
the most part, speaks of God us walk
| lng In the fourth watch of the
night, it says, "Jcaua came unto
| them Watching C:l the sea-" "Ho
walkcth upon the wings of the wind" "
| Our first paront3 heard The voice of
tho Lord, walking III the garden il,
tho cool OF tho day; but when a sinner
starts for God, the Father runs to
meet him. Oh! if q man ever wants
help, it is when ho tries to become a
Christian. The world says to him:
"Back with you. Have more spirit.
Don't DO hampcrcd with religion.
aa. Lime s;o,! enough yet Waitsuntil you
Sct hlck. Wait until you got old
Satan says: "Back with you; Won nrc
80 bad that God will hnve nothing to
90 with you;' or "You are GOOD
enough and need no Rodccmor. Tako
thine case, cat, drink and be morry."
Ten thousand voices say: Back with
you. God is hard mastor. Tho
church is II collection of hypocritcs
Back into your sina; bnck to your
evil indulgcnccs; back to your prayer
loss pillow. The sillicst thing TINT
Il young man eve" docs is to come
homo after he has been wanlcring.'
ON, how much help II man docs want
when he tries to become q Christinn
Indeed, the prodisnl cannot find his
| way homo to his fathers house alone.
Unless some one comes 10 meet him
he had better have stayed by the
swine trougha.