Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-06-26
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun.
day Sermon.
Subject: The Home-sIck Soul"
TIKI. ii om arise and 90 to my father"

There Is nothing Ike munger 10 take 'uo
energy out of man. hungry man can
toilneither with pen, nor hand, nor loot.
There has been many an army defeated, not
so much for lack OF ammunition as for lack
of bread II was that fact that took the fire
out of this young man of the text. Storm
and exposure will wear out any mans life IN
time, but hunger makes quick work. The
most awful cry ever heard on earth IS the
CRY for bread. A traveller tells us that in
Asia Minor there are trees which bear fruit
looking very much like the long bean OF our
time 1t is called the carab.
Once in while the people reduced to des-
tituton would eat these carabS, but gener-
ally the carabs, the beans spoken OF here in
the text. were thrown only TO the swine, and
they crunched them with great avidity.
But this Young man of my text could
not even get them without stealing them.
SO one day amid the swine troughs he begins
to soliloquize He SAYS: These are no
clothes for rich mans son 10 wear; tins IS
no kind of business for q jew to be engaged
in-feeding swine; I'll go home, I'll go home;
/ will orise and 90 to my father
know there are great many people
who try to throw fascination. a romance,
q halo about sin: but notwithstanding all
that Lord Byron aud George Sand have SAID
in regard to IT, it is a mean, low, contemptl-
bic business, and putting food and FODDER
into the troughs of a herd OF antiquities
that root and walow in the soul OF man is a
very poor business for men and women in
tendel to be sous AMI daughters OF the Lord
Almighty. And when this young man re-
solved TO 90 home it was a very wise thing
for him to do, aud the only question Is
whether we will follow him.
Satan promises large wages II we VIII
serve him, but he clothes bis victims with
rags. and he pinches them with hunger, and
when they start out to do better he sets after
them ali the bloodhOunds of perdition.
Satan comes to us to-day and he promises all
luxuries. all emouments II we Will only
serve him. Liar. down with thee to the pit!
1.-THE wages of sin is death" Oh, the young
man Of the text was wise when he uttered
the resolution, Il Will arise ana go 10 my
father
In The time of Nary the Prosecutor, per-
sccuto: came to a Christian woman who had
hidden in her house for the Lords sake one
of Christ's servants, and the prosecutor said,
''Where is that herctic:' The Christian
woman said. You open that trunk and you
will see the heretic.' The prosecutor opened
the trunk, and on the to- of the linen OF the
trunk he saw glass. He said, There is no
hereto here" "Ah" she said, you look in
the glass and you will see the hereto" AS
take up the mirror OF Gods word to-day
would that instead OF seeing the prodlgal
son OF the text we might see ourselves-our
want our wandering, our sin, our lost con
ditior--so that we might be as wise as thlS
young man was, an say, Il Will arise ana
go to my father
The resolution Of this text was formed in
disgust at his present circumstance. Ii this
Young man had been by his employer set 10
culturing flowers or training vines over an
arbor or keeping account ofthe pork marRey
or overseeing other laborers he would noS
have thought of going home. II nc had had
his pockets full of money, If he had been able
to say. ~ have thousan dollars now OF my
own WHAT'S the use of my going bac to my
fathers house, DO you think am gong BACK
to apoog ze to the old MANI why he wouif
put me on the limits; he would not have 60
ing on around the Oil place such conduct as
have engaged in; | won't go home; there,
is noreason why | should go home, l have
plenty Of money. plenty oil pleasant sur
roundings. why should / 60 home| All 1t
was his pauporisn it wa his beggary. lie
hal to 90 home.
Some man comes and says t. ne: why
do YOU talk about the ruined stat OF tho
human sou Why don't you speak about
the progress Of the Nineteenth century, and
talk of something more exhilarating! III Is
for this reason: A man never wants the
GOSPEL until he REALIZES he IS in famine .
struck state Suppose ! should come TO you
in your home and you are III good SOUND,
robust health and | should begin TO talk
about Incidence and about how much better
this medicine is than that, and some other.
medicine. and talk about this physician ana.
that physician. Aftera while you get tlreI'
and vcu would say: Il don't want 10 hear
AVb., a., Won f1lE IN IN
of pbvs.ciansY | never have doctor.
But suppose come into your house and
find YOU severely sick. and ] know the medi-
cines that will cure and know the physi-
clan who is skillful enough 10 meet Your
case. You say Bring on that medicine;
bring on that physician. lam terribly SICK.
md I want help" II came to YOU and you
feel you are all right in body, anu all right IN
MINI. and all right in soul YOU have need OF
nothing: but suppose | have persuaded you
that the Iepr0sy of sin is upon you, the worst
of all sickness: oh, then you say Bring me
that balm Of the Gospel; bring me that d.
vine medicament: bring me Jesus Christ;
But saws some one in The audience, How
do YOU prove tat we are in a ruined condi-
ton bv SIM Well, ! can prove it IN two
WAYS. and you may have your choice. |
can prove it by the statements OF men or
Inv the statement of God Which shall 1t
be- You all saw. Let rs have the state
mept of God" Well, He says in one place,
"Tbe heart is deceitful aboydall things and
desnorately wicked" lie SAYS in another
plac,. what is man that he should be
clean. and he which is born OF a woman,
that he should be righteous He says IN
another place. There is none that doeth
good no not one" He says in another
place. LAS by one man sin eutereth into the
world. and death by sin, and so deatl passei
upon all men. for that all have slnned;
"Well." YOU say. 81 am willing to &c nowl-
edge that, but why should take the partic-
ular rescue that you propose" This Is tue
reason. Except a man be born again ne
cannot see the kingdom Of God" This is the
reason. There is one name gwen under
heaven among men whereby they may be
saved" Then there are n thousand voices
hereready TO say. "Well, | am ready to ac-
cent this help of the Gospel; | would like to
have this divine cure; how shall l go to
work. Let me say that mere whim' an
underlined longing amounts 10 nothin9'
Won must have q stout, tremendous resolu-
tion like this young man of the text when
he said. II will arise and go to my father
"Ohw saws some man, "how do know my
father wants mes How do | know, II go
back. | would be receivedf' "Ohp says
some man, you dOH huO" NnciS "N'
been. YOU don't know how far have wan.
dered: YOU wouldn't talk that way to me II
Won knew all the iniquities | have commit
tedg' What is that fiutter among the angels
of God? II is news, it is news Christ has
found the lost.
Nor angels can their Joy contain,
But kindlc with new fire;
The sinner lost Is found they sing,
And strike the sounding Tyre
When Napoleon talked Of going into Italy
they said: "You can't get there. IL You
knew what the Alps were you wouldn't talk
about it or think OF if. You can't get your
ammunition wagons over the Alps" Then
Napoleon rose in his strrups and waving his
hand toward the mountains, he said, "Ihere
shall be no Alps That wonderful pass was
laid out which has been the wonderment OF
all the years sDce-the wonderment OF all
engineers. And you tell me there are such
mountains of sin between your soul and God.
there is no mercy. Then | see Christ wav-
ing His hand toward the mountains. hear
Him say, II will come over the mountains OF
thy sin and the hills of thy iniquity." There
shall be no Pyren aes; there shall be no Alps.
Again, I notice that this resolution OF the
young man Of the text was founded in sor-
row at his misbehavior 1t was not mere
physical plight II was grief that he hal so
maltreated his father. IL is n sad thin !
after father has done everything for child
to have that child be ungrateful.