Nevada County picayune., 1891-07-02

1 clean? and he which is born of a wom an, that he should be rightcous?' He says in another place: "Therc is none that doeth good, no, not one" He says in another place: "As by on, man sin entered into the world and death by sin; and so deatl passed upon all men, for that al have sinncd." Well, you say, II an willing to acknowledge that, but why should take the particular rcscuc that you proposc?" This is the reason Except q man be born again he car not see the ligdom of God" This is the reason. "There is one name giver under Heaven among men whereb they may be saved. Then there are q thousand voices here ready to say Well, am ready to accept this hclr of the Gospel. would like to have Divine cure. How shall go to worl?' Let me say that q mere whim, an unde. fined longing amount> to nothing You must have stout, tremendous res olution like this young man of the text when he said: 'I will arise and 20 tC my father"
 70, says some man. how do know my father wants me" how do know, if I go back, would be received?" "Or says some man. 'you don't know where l have been; you don't know how far have wandered: you wouldn't talk that way to me if you knew all the iniqui- ties l have committed" What is that futtcr among the angels of God? II is news it k news. Christ has found the lost.
 Nor angcl1 can their Joy contain, But kindlc vita new fire;
 The sinner lost, is found, they sing,
 And strike tho sounding Tyre
 When Napoleon talked of going into Italy, they said: You cant 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 toward the mountains he said: There shall be no Alps" That wonderful pass was laid out which has been the wonder ment of all the years sincc-the won- derment of all engineers. And you tell me there are such mountains of sin be tween your soul and God there is no mercy. Then see Christ waving His hand toward the mountains; l hear Him say: ''l will come over the noun talns of thy sin and the hills of thy iniquity." There shall be no Pyrenees; there shall be no Alps
 Again, I notice that this resolution of the young man of the text was founded in sorrow at his misbchavior IL was not mere physical plight. It was grief that he had SO maltreated his father It is a sad thing after father has done everything for child, to have that child be ungratcful.
 How sharper than scrpents tooth, itis,
 To have Il thankles- child.
 That is Shakespeare. "A foolish son is the heaviness of his mother" That is the Bible. Well, my friends, have not some of us been cruel prodigals? Have we not maltrtatcd our Father? And such Father, So loving, so kind. If He had been a stranger, if He had forsaken us, if He had tlagelated us, if He had pounded uS and turned us out of doors on the commons. it would not have been so wonderful our trcatmc .st of Him; but He is Father so loving. so kind and yet how many of us for our wandcrings 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 apologizcd
 l re mark still further that this reso- lution of the text was founded in a feeling of home>icliness don't know how long this young man, how many months how many years, he had been away from h fa'hcY'> house: but there iS somcthag in the rr9 ling of my text that mali,', m" think he was homesick some of you know what that feeling is Far away from home sometimes, sur rounded by everything bright and pleas ant-plenty of friends-you have said "l would give the world to be home to- night" Well, this young man was homesick for his fathers house. have no doubt when he thought of his fathers house he said: Now. perhaps, father may not be living.
 We read nothing in this story this parable founded on cvery-day life-we
  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. Hut he is homcsiclt for his fathers house. He thought he would just like to go and walk around the old place. He thought he would just like to go and see if things were as they used to be Many man. after having been off a good while. has gone home and knocked at the door, and stranger has come It is the old homestead, but a stranger come, to the door. He finds out father iS gone. and mother is gone, and brothers and sisters all gone. I think this young man of the text said to himself "Pcrhaps father may be dead. still he starts to find out. He is homcsick. Arc there any here to-day homcsicl for God, homcSicli for Heaven?
 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; Now you had better stay at home; don't go away; we don't want you to go; you will have it Il great deal better here" But it made him angry. The night lcforo lr went away again to sea, he hnr',E~.nj> m tthcr praying in the next ru, m nd th made him more angry. He wcat lar out on the sea and a storm came mp and he was ordered to very p.rilous duty. and he ran up the ratliucs, and amid the shrouds of the ship he heard the voice that he had