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

DIR. TALMAGE'S DISCOURSE Ar THE
TABERNACLE.

He Take His EeXt From tho Para BILE, md
Calls Upon His Hcmrcrs Who IIa:C Wan
dorcd 'ri from til" Church I" Return.
DR.. Inlmagr's Sunday sermon
Was Oh The pioligal Son." and his
text, Luke IS, 20: "Whcn he wns
yet Il great way off his father saw
him, and had compassion, and rnn,
and fell on his neck, and kissed HIM. ~
Following is thc sclmon:
Ouc OF the deepest wolls that in
GVl!ll!On over opened is the we'll Of n
parable which we can mover exhaust.
The mnablc, suppose, WAS founded
on facts. l nave described to you
the going away of this prodiS0l son
from Ills fathers house, and | have
showed you what hard time he
h4d down i'll the Wilderness, and what
vrly great mistake 1t w.,B for him
20 leave so beautiful home for such
IL miserable desert. But he did not
always stay in tn. wilderness; he
came bocl, after while, We do not
read TINT his mother came to greet
him. 1 suppose she was dead. The
father would have sivcn the second
KISS to the returning proligal; the
mother the first 1t may have been for
the luck Of hcr example and prayers
tlut he became q prouiyal. Some
times the father docs not know how
to manage the children Of the house
mold. The chief w0rk comes upon
tltc mother. Indeed. no ono over
tScth over tho clluuity Of losing q
mother iii carly liic< S.ill, this young
man wa not ,aGs..netat4~ when he
ci;lnc back.
!loYrvyr wclG aprarcllcd VIC may
b" III fl," morning, when we start out
on \ irnncy, before night, what
with the dust and tho iostling, we
have loSt all clcallincSs OF appear
ancc. But this pIoLiEal, when he
stN trI i;Oln tho nG-t"ougL, was
ragged aud wrcichcu, and his up-
pearu,lcc, after he had gone through
days Of journcying and exposure, you
can more ecsily imagin" t!nn describe.
As tho people see this protligal com-
mG on hOmcwarl, they wonder who
hr rs. They say: Il wonder what
prison he has broken out Of Won
ter what lazarctto l." has escaped
Tcm. [ wonder with what plague he
will %mitc the air. Although these
pcopl" may have been well ucuuuin-
tod with the family, yet they 10 not
imagine that thi3 is The very young
man who went of only little while
ago with uuick step and ruddy check
and beautiful apparel. The young
mai!, I tE:-.S1 walks very fastr- lie
looks; rs though he WAS intent upon
something very impor' ant. The pco-
pie stop. They look ut him. They
wonder where he came fronl. They
wonder where nc isgoing TO-
You have heard Of son who went
Oft to sac, and never returned. All
tho people III the ncighhOrhoOd
thought the son would never return,
but the parents came to no such con.
clusion. They would so by The hour,
and day, and sit upon the beech,
looking of upon the water, expecting
to sec the Snll that would bring home
the long g-nbscnt boy And SO [ think
this father Of my text sat under tho
Vlnc looking out toward the road on
which his son had departed; but the
father has changed Ycry much since
Wo saw him last. His hair has ho
come white, his checks arc furrowed,
hi" heart il broken. What ia all his
bountiful table to him whom his Aon
may be lacking brcadR What il al
the Hplcndor of the wardrobe OF that
homestead when the son may not
have q decent coat! What arc all
tho sheep on tho hillside to that fa
thcr when his pot lamb is gone? Still
he sits and watches, looking out ON
the road and one day he bcholds q
foot Traveller. lie accs him rise
above the hill; first the head and af
ter nwhil" the entire body; and as
soon ns he gets fair glance ut him
nc knows he IS his rccrcnnt son He
lorgcts til" clutch, and The cane, and
thc htlilncs'S OF the joints, and bounds
away. think the people all around
were amazed. They said: 1T is
only footpad. 1t is only somo old
tramp OF the road. Don't 60 ont
to meet him" Tho father knew bot
ter.
The change in tho sons appoar.
ancc could not hide tho marks bv
which the father knew tho boy. You
know that persons of great deal of
Independence Of character are apt to
Indicate 1T in their walk. For that
reason the sailor almost always has
q peculiar step, not only because he
stands much on shipboard amid the
rocking OF the sea, and he has to bal
nncc himself, but he has for the most
part nh Independent character, which
would show in his gait, even if lie
never went on the sea; nnd wo know
from what trnnspircd aftcrward,
and from what tranapircl be
tore, Tint this prodig6l fon was Of an
independent and frank nature; md I
suppose that the charactcrist ca of
ms mind and heart wcro the charac
t"Istics of his walk. And 30 the
fnthcr knew him. Ho Dufa ont h;s
with"red arms toward him, he brjnrs
ms Wrinklcd face against the nnlo
cheek OF his son; he kisses tho wnr
Ep'; he thanks God that tho Ionn
agony IS over. "Whcn ho was vet -
great way off, his father saw him and
had compassion, and ran, and fell on
,l- 1 l.. I