Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1891-06-27
here to-day homesick for God. homssick for

10 g. 1ou VIII nave IL great deal better
here But it made him angry The night
before he went again TO sea he heard his
mother praying in the next room, and that
made him moro angry. He went far out on
the sea, and a storm came up and he was
ordered to very perilous duty, aud he ran uu
the ratlines, and amid the shrouds of the
ship he heard the voice that he had heard in
the next room. He tried to whistle it off.
ne tried to rally his courage, but
he could not silence that voice Re had
heard in the next room, and there in
the storm aud the darkness he said: 20 Lord
what wretch have been: what a wretch
| am. Help me just now, Lord God.n And
thought in this assem- blage to-day there
may be some who may have the memory of
a fathers petition or a mothers prayer
pressing nightly upon the soul, and that
this hour they may make the same resolution
l find in my text, saying, II will arise and
go to my father
A lad at Liverpool vent out to battle, went
out into the sea, went out too far, got beyond
his depth and he foated far away. A ship
bound for Dublin came along and took him
on board. Sailors are generally very gener-
Gus fellows, and one gave him a cap and
another gave him jacket, and another gave
him shoes. A gentleman passing along on
the beach at Liverpool found the lads
clothes and took them home and the father
was heaTtbroken the mother was heartbroken
at the loss of their child.
They had heard nothing from him Gay
after day, and they ordered the usual mourn
ing for the sad event. But the lad took shin
from Dublin and arrived in Liverpool the
very day the garments arrived. He knocked
at the door, and the father was overioyed,
and the mother was overjoyed at the return
of their lost son. Oh. my friends, have YOU
waded out too deep? Have you wa led down
into sin, Have you waded from the shore:
VIII you come back? When you come bacs.
will you come in the rags of your sin, or will
you come robed in the Saviour's right oous-
ness? believe the latter. Go homo to your
God to-day. He is waiting for you. Go
homel
But remark concerning this resolution,
it was Immediately put into execution. The
context says, He arose and came TO his
father The trouble in nine hundred and
ninety nine times out of a thousand Is that
our resolutions amount TO nothing because
we make them for some distant time. Ii
resolve to become Christian next year, that
amounts to nothing at all. II | resolve to
become Christian tomorrow, that amounts
to nothing at all If / resolve at the service
tonight to become a Christian, that amounts
to nothing at all. If l resolve after l go
home to-day TO yield my heart to God, that
amounts to nothing at ALL The only kind OF
resolution that amounts to anything is tho
cution.
There is a man who had the typhoid fever.
He said; 4'Oh ii could get over this ter
rible distress If this fever should depart,
if could be restored to health, l would all
the rest of my life serve God" The fever
departed. He got well enough to walk
around the block. He got well enough to so
over to New York and attend to business
He is well to-Gay-as well as he ever was
Where is the broken VOW There is man
who said long ago IF | could live to the
year 1891, by that time / will have my bust
ness matters arranged, and l will have time
to attend to religion, and will be good,
thorough, eonsecrated Christian"
The year 1891 has come January, Febru-
airy, March, April, May June-almost half
of the year gone. Where is your broken
vows. oh" says some man, ''pll attend
TO that when / can get my character fixed
up. When can get over my evil habits. L
am now given to strong drink" or. says tho
man, lam given to uncleanness, or, say the
man, 81 am given to dishonesty, When get
over my present habits, then I'll be thor
ough Christian My brother, you will ges
worse and worse, until Christ takes you in
hand. Not the righteous; sinners, jesus
came to call"
OH but YOU say, 81 agree Nth you on all
that but / must put it off little longer.
! Do YOU know there were many who came as
near as you are to the Kingdom of God and
never entered IT, / was at East Hampton
and I went into the cemetery to look around,
and in that cemetery there are twelve graves
side by side-the graves OF sailors. This
crew. some years ago, in ship went into
I the breakers at Amagansett. about three
miles away. My brother, then preaching at
East Hampton, had been at the burial.
These men Of the crew came very near being
saved.
The people from Amacansett saw the yes
/ sci and they shot rockets, and they sent
ropes from the shore, and these poor fellows
I got into the boat, and they pulle nightly
/ for the shore, but just before Trey got to the
shore the rope snapped and the boat capsized
and they were lost. their bodies afterward
washed up on the beach. On, whata solemn
cav it was-I have been told it by my
brother-when these twelve men lay at the
foot of the pulpit and be read over them the
fdneral service They came very near shore
within shouting distance of the shore-yet
did not arrive or solid land. There are some
men who come almost to the shore of Gods
mercy, but not quite, not quite. To be only
almost saved is not to be saved at all.
| will tell you Of two prodigals, the one
that got back and the other that did not get
back In Virginia there is very prosper
4 ous and beautiful home in many respects. A
voung man wandered off from that home.
lie wandered very far into sin. They heard
OF him often, but he was always on the
wrong traci He would not go home. At
the door of that beautiful home one night
there was great cutlery. The young man
of the house ran down and opened the door
/ to see what was the matter. 1t was mic
night The rest of the family were asleep.
4 There were the wife and the children OF this
/ prudigal young man. The fact was he had
come home and driven them out. He SAID -.
''Out of this house. Away with these CHI
dren; / will dash their brains out Out INTO
the Storm
The mother gathered them up and fed.
The next morning the brother, the young
man who had staid at home, went out to find
4 this prodigal brother and son, and he came
( where he was. AMI saw the young man
wandering up and down in front of the
place where he had been staying, and the
young man who had kept his integrity said
to the older brother: Here, wtat does all
this mean? What's the matter with you:
Why do you get in this way?' The
prodigal looked at him and saio: who
am /? who do you take me TO oe?' he SAID,
You are nv brother NO | am not
am a brute. Have you seen-anything Of my
wife and children? Are they dead9 l drove
them out last night in the storm. | am a
brute. john, do you think there Is any help
for me' Do you think l will ever get over
this life of dissipation" He said, Brother,
there is just one thing that will stop this. !"
The prodigal ran his finger across his throat
and said: THAT will stop it, and I'll stop it
before night Oh my brain; | can stand it
no longer" That prodigal never got HON e.
But | will tell you of prodigal that did get
home
In England two young men started from
their fathers house and went down to Ports
mouth. The father could not pursue his
children: for some reason he could not leave
home and so he wrote a letter down to Mr..
Griffin. saving: "Mr. Griffin, | wish you
would 20 and see my two sous. They have
arrived in Portsmouth. and they are going
to take ship and going away from home. |
wish you would persuade them back Mr.
Griffin went, and he tried to persuade them
back. lie persuaded one to go. He went
with very easy per 4uasion, because he was
very homesick already. The other young
man said: II will not SO. have had enough
of home rli never so home" well, said
Mr.. Griffin, then if you won't go home, I'll
get you a respectable position on respect
able ship NO you Won't said the proli-
gal: no vol won't. am going as COM
mon sailor. that will plague my father most,
and what viii do most to tantalize and worry
him will please me best
Years passed on, and Mr. Griifla was se1te1
in his study one day when MESA e came
to him that there was young man IN irons
on ship at the dock-a young man con-
demned to death-who wished TO see this
clergyman Mr.. Griffin went down T. the
dock and went on shipooard. Inc young
man said to him, you don't know me, do
you" NO. he said; Il don't know Jon. "
f'Why, don't you remember that young man
you tried to persuade 10 go home, and he
wouldn't goy' ''Oh, yes, said Mr. Griffin.
"Are you that man. YES, | am that
man. said the other II would like to have
you pray for me. l have committed muir
der, and must die, but / don't want to go