Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-06-16

him: "Back with you. Have more spirit
Don't be hampered with religion. Time enough
yet Wait until you get sick. Wait until you
get old" Satan said: Back with you; you
are so bad that God will have nothing 10 20
with you;" or, you are good enough, ana neeo
no Redeemer. Take thine ease eat, drink ana
be merry" Ten thousand voices say: Back
with you. God is a hard master. The chuIcn
is a collection of hypocrites. Back lnto your
sins; back to your evil indulgences; Dack "
your prsyeress pillow. The slliiest tning Ina t4s.
a young man ever does is TO come home eItsI
he has been wandering" Oh, how mucn neip
q man does want when he tries 70 become :
Christian! Indeed, the prodigal cannot Thu mn
his way home to his fathers house alone. On-
less some one comes to meet him he had pettef
have stayed by the swine-troughs.
When the tide comes In you might more
than you could drive back the ocean OF your
unforgiven transgressions. What are we 70
do? Are we TO fight the battle alone, anu
trude on with no one to aid us, and no one 70
shelter us, and no word of encouragement TO
cheer usi Glory be to God, we have in the text
the announcement: when he was yet great
way of, his father ran." When the sinner
starts Tor God, God starts for the sinner; Goo
does not come out with q slow and hesitatlnG
pace. The infinite spaces slip beneath his
feet and he takes worlds at bound. Inc
father ran.' oh, wonderful meeting, wnen Io9
and the soul come together. THE father ran.
You start for God and God starts for you. ana
you meet; and, while the angels re1olce over the
meeting, your long injured Father falls upon
your neck with attestations of compassion and
pardon. Your poor, wandering, sinful, polluted
soul, and the loving. the eternal Father, have
met
Iremark upon the fathers kiss. He fell on
his neck" the text says land kissed him." 1t
IS not every father that would have done that
way. Some would have scolded HIM. and said:
Here, you went off with beautiful clothes, but
now you are all in tatters. You went of
healthy, and come back sick and wasted with
your dissipations." He did not say that. The
son, all hagCard, and ragged, and filthy, and
charged hIm with none of his wanderings. He
just received him. He just kissed him. his
wretchedness was Recommendation to that
fathers love- oh, that fathers kiss!
WELCOMING THE wANDERER.
How shall describe the love of Godr-the
ardor with which He receives a sinner back
again? Give me plummet with which may
fathom this sea. Give me ladder with which
can scale this height. Give me words with
which 1 can describe this love. The apostle
says in one place, "unsearchable;" in another,
''past finding out" Height overtopping all
height; depth plunging beneath all depth;
breadth comprising all immensity. Oh, this
love! God so loved the world. He loves you.
Don't you believe itf Has He not done every
thing to make you think sos He has given you
life, health, friends, home-the use of your
hand the sight of your eye, the hearing Of
your ear. He has strewn your path with mer
cies. He has fed you clothed you, sheltered
you, defended you, loved you, importuned you
all your life long. Don't you believe He loves
you! Why, il now you should start up from
the wilderness of your sin, He would throw
both arms around you.
To make you believe that He loves you, He
stopped to manger, and cross. and sepucher.
With all the passions of His holy nature
reused, He stands before you to-day and would
eA har, v1SrNao la
Fathers kissl There Is SO much meaning, and
love, and compassion in it; SO much pardon in
it; SO much heaven in il. l proclaim Him the
Lord God, merciful, gracious and long-sutfer-
ing, abundant in goodness and truth. Lest
you would not believe Him, He goes up Col
gotha and, while the rocks are rending, and
the graves are opening, and the mobs are
bowling. and the sun is hiding, He dies for
you. See Him! See Him on the Mount of
Crucihxion, the sweat on His brow tinged
with the blood exuding from his lacerated tenn
plies! See HIS eyes swimming with death!
Hear the loud breathing of the Sufferer as He
pants with a world on His bearti Hark to the
fall of the blood from brow. and hand, and
foot on the rocks beneath-drop! dropI drop!
Look at the nails! How vide the wounds arei
Wider DO they cape as His body comes down
upon them! Oh! this cruclfixion agony! Tears
melting into tears. Blood flowing into blood.
Darkness dropping on darkness. Hands OF
men Joined with hands of devils to tear apart
the quiyerng heart of the Son of God!
Oh! Will He never speak again? Win that
crimson face never light up again? He will
speak again; while the blood is sutfuslng His
brow, and reddening His cheek. and gathering
on noStril and lip. and you think he is exhaust
ed and cannot speak. He cries out until all the
ages hear Him: Father. forgive them, they
know not what they dor Is there no emphasis
in such a scene as that TO make your dry eyes
weep, and your hard heart break? VIII you
turn your back upon ii, and say by your actions
what the Jews said by their works: His blood
be on us. and on our children" What does It
all mean, my brother, my sister? Why, it
means that for our lost race there was
Fathers kiss. Love brought Him down. Love
opened the gate. Love led to the sacrifice.
Love shattered the grave. Love lifted Him up
in resurrection. Sovereign love! Omnipotent
loveI Infinite love! Bleeding love! Eyerlast-
ing love!
Oh, for this love let rocks and rifs
Their lasting silence break: