The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1891-06-24

cleanP and he which is born of
woman, that he should be righteous?"
He says in another place: There Is
none fhatdoeth good, no, not ono" He
says in another place: ''As by one man
sin entered into the world. and death
by sin; and so death passed upon all
men, for that all have shlned." "Well,"
you say, al am willing TO acknowledge
that, but why should take the particu-
lar rescue that you propose9" This is
the reason; Except a man be born
again he can not see the kingdom of
God" This is the reason. There is
one name given under heaven among
men whereby they may be saved
Then there are a thousand voices here
ready to say; swell, am ready to ac-
cept this help of the gospel would
like TO have this divine cure; how shall
/ go to work?n Let me say that mere
whim, an underlined longing amounts TO
nothing. You mnst have stout, tre-
mendous resolution like this young man
of the text when be said Il will arise
and 60 to my father"
"0hf' says some man, show do
know my father wants me? how do
know II go back would be received?'
"0hl" says some man. ''you don't know
where have been, You don't know far
have wandered; you wouldn't talk that
way to me IL you knew all the iniquities
/ have committed" What is that fut-
ter among the angels OF God? 1t is
newsl II is newsl Christ has found the
lost
Nor angels can their JOY contain,
But ldndle with new fre
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;
II you knew what the Alps were you
wouldn't talk about IL or think of II;
you can't get your ammunition wagons
over the Alps" Then Napoleon rose in
his stirrups, and waving his hand to-
ward the mountain, he said: There
shall be no Alps" That wonderful
pass was laid out which has been the
wonderment 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 l see Christ waving His
hand toward the mountains; hear Him
say: 81 will come over the mountains Of
thy sin and the hills of thy iniquity."
There shall be no Pyrenees; there
shall be no Alps
Again, notice that this resolution Of
the young man Of the text was founded
In sorrow at his behavior II was not
mere physical plight 1t was grief that
he had so maltreated his father. II is a
sad thing after a father has done every
thing for child, to have that child un-
| grateful
How sharper than serpents tooth II is,
To have thankless child" .,tr.
That is Shakespeare. "a foolish son
is the heaviness of his mother" That
is the Bible Well, my friends, have
not some of us beer cruel prodigals?
Have we not maltreated our Father?
And such Father! So loving, so kind.
II He had been stranger, IL He had
forsaken us, II He had fagellated us, II
He had pounded us and turned us out OF
doors on the commons, It would not
have been so wondcrful-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
fellows, but some Of us perhaps have
committed ten thousand times ten thou
sand wrongs against God and never
apologized.
Iremark still further that this resolu-
ton of the text was founded in feeling
Of homesiclfness. don't know how
long thisyoung 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 me think he was homesiclS.
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: 81 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: snow, perhaps,
father may not be living"
We read nothing In this story-this
parable founded ON every day l!fe-we
read nothing about the mother. II says
nothing about going home TO her. ]
think she was dead. | think she had
died Of 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 faith
er's house fle thought he would Just
like to go and walk around the old
place. He thought he would Just like
TO go and see II things we're as they
used to be. Many man, after having
been off a long while, has gone home
and knocked at the door, and a stranger
has come. It's the old homestead, but
a stranger comes 10 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 70
himself, Perhaps father may be
dead" Still he starts to find, ont He
Is homesick Are there any here to-day
homesickfor God, homesick for heavenp
A sailor, after having been long on
the sea, returned TO his fathers house,
and his mother tried 10 persuade him
not TO go away again. She said: Now
you had better stay at home; don't go
away; we don't want you to go; you
win have IL a great deal better here"
But II made him angry The night be-
fore he went away again TO sea, he
heard his mother praying in the next