The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1891-06-26

| all have Slnned. wen, you say, 1
am willing to acknowledge that, but
why should | take the particular res
cue that you proposes This is the
reason, Except man be born again
he cannot see the kingdom of God, :"
This is the reason, There is one name
given under heaven among men where
by they may be saved" Then there
are a thousand voices here ready to
say; "Well, am ready to accept this
help of the Gospel would like to
have this divine cure; how shall go to
work." Let me say that mere whim,
an underlined longing amounts to moth.
ing, You must have stout, tremen-
dous resolution like this young man of
the text when he said. II will arise and
go to my father"
"Ohp says some man, ''how do l
know my father wants mel How do !
know, if l go back, l would be re-
ceivedr "Ohl" says some man, lyon
don't know where have been; you
don't know how far have wandered;
you wouldn't talk that way to me if
you knew all the impurities have com
mitted." What is that tlutter among
the angels of God2 1t is news, it is
newsl Christ has found the lost.
Nor angels can their joy contain,
But kindle 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;
if you knew what the Alps were you
wouldn't talk about it or think of it.
You can't get your ammunition wagons
over the Alps" Then Napoleon rose
in his stirrups and waving his hand to
ward the mountains, he said, There
shall be no Alps" That wonderful pass
was laid out which has been the won
derment of all the years since-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 waving
his hand toward the mountains; hear
him say, II will come over the noun
tains of thy sin and the hills of thy in
EQUITY" There shall be no Pyrenees;
there shall be no Alps.
A cody SORROW FOR SIN
Again, | notice that this resolution of
the young man of the text was found
ed in sorrow at his misbehavior 1t
was not mere physical plight. 1t was
grief that he had SO maltreated his
father 1t is sad thing after father
had done everything for child, to have
that child be ungrateful.
How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is,
To have a thankless child.
is the heaviness of his mother" That
is the Bible Well my friends, have not
some of us been cruel prodigalsG Have
we not maltreated our father2 And
such fatherl So loving, so kind. If
he had been stranger if he had for
saken us, if he had hagellated us, if he
had pounded us and turned us out of
doors on the commons it would not
have been so wonderful-our treatment
of him, but he is father SO loving, SO
kind, and yet how many of us for our
wanderings have never apologized. We
apologize for wrongs done to our fel
lows, but some of us perhaps have com
mitted ten thousand times ten thou
sand wrongs against God and never
apologized.
remark still further that this reso-
luton of the text was founded in feel
ing of inconsistencies. don't know
how long this young man, how many
months, how many years, he had been
away from his fathers house, but there
is something in the reading of my text
that makes Inc think he was homesick
Some of you know what that feeling is
Far away from home, sometimes sur
rounded by everything bright and
pleasant plenty of friends-you have
said, II would give the world to be
home tonight" Well, this young man
was homesick for his fathers house.
have no doubt when he thought of
his fathers house he said, Now, per
haps, father may not be living"
We read nothing in this story-this
parable founded on everyday life we
read nothing about the mother 1t
says nothing about going home to her.
I think she was dead. think she had
died of a broken heart at his wander
ings. A man never gets over having
lost his mother. Nothing said about
her here. But he is homesick for his
fathers house He thought he would
Just like to 90 and walk around the old
place. He thought he would just like
to go and see # things were as they
used to be. Many man, after having
been off long while, has gone home
and knocked at the door, and stran-
ger has come. 1t is the old homestead,
but stranger comes to the door. He
finds out father is gone and mother is
gone and brothers and sisters all gone
think this young man of the text said
to himself, Perhaps father may be
dead" Still he starts to find out. He
is homesick Are there any here to
day homesick for God, homesick for
heaven2
A MOTHERS PRAYER FOLLOWED HIM.
A sailor, after having been long on
the sea, returned to his fathers house,
and his mother tried to persuade him
not to go away again. She said, Nov
you had better stay at home; don't &C
away; we don't want you to go; you
will have it great deal better here.
But it made him angry The night be
fore he went away again to sea, he
heard his mother praying in the next
room, and that made him more angry
He went far out on the sea, and storm
came up, and he was ordered to very
perilous duty, and he ran up the rat
lines, and amid the shrouds Of the shiE
he heard the voice that he had heard
in the next room. He tried to whistle
it off he tried to rally his courage, but
he could not silence that voice he haG
heard in the next room, and there il
the storm and the darkness he said