Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1891-07-24
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVISES sun
DAY SERMON.
Subject: The HOmesick Soul"

TEXT: II wiu arise and go to my father"
Luke XIV, IS.
There is nothing like hunger to take the
energy out Of a man. A hungry man can
toll neither with pen, nor hand. nor loot.
There has been many an army defeated, not
30 much for lack OF ammunition as for lack
of bread. 1t 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-
titution 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 avldlty.
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 to wear; this is
no kind of business for a Jew to be engaged
in-feeding swine I'll go home, pll go home;
! will arise and go to my father"
1 know there are a great many people
who try to throw fascination. romance,
a halo about sin; but notwithstanding all
that Lord Byron and George Sand have said
in regard to it, it is a mean, low, contempt
BILE business, and putting food and fodder
into the trOughs Of a herd OF antiquities
that root and walIow in the soul OF man Is a
very poor business for men and women in
tended to be sons and daughters of the Lord
Almighty. And when this. young man re-
solved to go home it was very wise thing
for him to do and the only question IS
whether we will follow him.
Satan promises large wages If we VIII
serve him but he clothes his victims with
rags and he pinches them with hunger, and
when they start out to do better he sets after
them all the bloOdhounds OF perdltIon.
Satan comes to us to-day and he promises all
luxuries, all emOluments 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, 81 will arise and go to my
father"
In the time of Mary the Prosecutor, per-
secutor came to Christian woman who had
hidden in her house for the Lords sake one
of Christ's servants, and the prosecutor said
where is that hereto" The Christian
woman said, You open that trunk and you
will see the hereto" The prosecutor opened
the trunk, and on the TOP of the linen OF the
trunk he saw a 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 ourseive5-our
1OoO
dition-so that we might be as wise as this
young man was, and say, II will arise an"
go to my father"
The resolution of this text was formed in
disgust at his present circumstances. If this
young man had been by his employer set to
culturing flowers or training vines over an
arbOr or keeping account of the pork market
or overseeing other laborers he would not
have thought of going home. If he had had
his pockets full of money, IT he had been able
to say, Il have thousand dollars now OF my
own; what's the use of my going back to my
fathers house? do you think am going back
to apologize to the old man? why he would
put me on the limits; he would not have go
ing on around the old place such conduct as
have engaged in; l won't go home; there
is no reason why l should go home; l have
plenty of money. plenty of pleasant sur
roundings, why should L go home" All! 1t
was his pauperism, it was his beggary. He
had to go home.
Some man comes and says to me: "Why
do you talk about the ruined state of the
human soul? Why don't you speak about
the progress of the Nineteenth century, and
talk of something more exnilarating? 1t is
for this reason: a man never wants the
Gospel until he realizes he is in a famine
struck state. Suppose should come to you
i'll your home and you are i'll good. sound,
robust health, and [ should begin to talk
about medicines. and about how much better
this medicine is than that, and some other
medlclnS, ana talk ABOUT InlS physician anu
that physician. After while you get tired,
and YOU would say: Il don't want to hear
about medicines Why do you talk to me
OF physicians? l never have doctor"
But suppose l come into your house and
find YOU severely sick and L know the medl-
Cines that will C1re, and know the phySI-
clan who is Siilltul enough to meet your
case. You say: Bring on that medicine;
bring on that physician. lam terribly SICK,
and | want help" If | came to you and you
1eei You are all right in body, and all right in
mint, and all right in soul you have need Of
nothing: but suppose l have persuaded you
that the ieprosy Of sin Is upon you, the worst
OF all sickness: oh. then you say: Bring me
that balm of the Gospel; bring me that dl-
Vine medicament; bring me Jesus Christ.
But says some one in the audience, HOW
do YOU prove tuat We are in a ruined COndl-
ton by sin?' Well, l can prove it in two
ways, and you may have your choice. L
cen trOve it by the statements of men or
by the statement of God. Which shall 1T
be? You all say. Let us have the state
me!I1 of God" Well, He says in one place,
Tine heart is decetful above all things and
DESPERATELY wicked" He says in another
place. 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 entereth into the
world and death by sin. and so death passed.
upon all men, for that all have sinned."
"WeH," you say. Il am willing to &C lnowl-
edge that, but why should l take the partic-
ular rescue that you propose" 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 whereby they may be
saved" Then there are thousand voices
here ready to say, "Well. l am ready to ac-
cept this help of the Gospel; would like 90
have this divine cure; how shall go TO
workp' Let me say that a mere whim, an
underlined longing amounts to nothing.