Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1892-02-27

In sermon lately preached III OSkh-
.loosa, IL, Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage
took for his subject Heavenly Con-
;graeulations" His text was from Luke
XIV. z: Likewise Joy shall be in Heaven
over one sinner that repenteth. more
than over ninety and Mae just persons
who need no repentance" DIR. Tai
mage said:
A lost sheep! Netting can be more
thoroughly lost look through the
window of shepherds house ut night
The candles are lighted. The shep-
herd has just placed his staff against
the mantel He has taken off his coat,
shaken out of it the dust and hung 1t
up l see by the candle light that
there are neighbors Who have come in
The shepherd. tagged out with the
long tramp, sits down on bench, and
the wife and the children and the
neighbors say to him: Come now,
tell us how you found the poor thing. "
"Well," he says, this morning l went
out to the yard to look Mt the flock.
No sooner had looked over the fence
than l saw something was wrong.
The fact was they did not count right.
Ninety-fve, ninety-six, ninety-seven,
ninety-eight, ninety-nine-only ninety
nine. Mcdonald, you know we had
one hundred. And wondered which
one was gone and began again, and
Icounted ninety-five, ninety-six. ninety
seven, ninety-eight ninety-nine. Well,
whistled up the dogs, and started on
the fields and across the bridges, and
tracked the moors, and l leapcd the
gullies, but no bleating OF the poor
thing did / hear. / sail to myself:
The lamb must have fallen into q
ditch, or q pack of wolves from the
mountains must have torn 1t to pieces
and sucked its life out But / could
not give it up You see, it was pet
lamb. 1t was that one with the black
spot on the right shoulder that used to
come and lick my hand as l crossed the
field, and somehow 1 could not give
it up.
$50 went on and on until after
awhile heard the dogs bark, and
said: What's that? Then fastened
to the top of the hill, and looked down,
and there l saw the poor lamb 1t had
fallen into the ditch, and as l came
where it was and bent over the ditch,
and stopped down to lift the poor thing
out, ! wish you could have seen the
loving and imploring and tender wav
it looked at me. lifted it out aud'it
was all covered with the slush and the
mud. It was an awful thing to do, but
j lifted it out, and it was so lame and
SO weak it could not walk alone, so /
threw it over my shoulders, and l
started howeward; and the condition
of that lamb, you may judge
of from the coat which have
Just hung up, but 1 tramped on and
on until it is safe in the yard, poor
thing! Thank God, thank God" Then
the shepherds wife spread the table
and brought out the best fare that the
cabin could afford, and they sat up
very late that night and they talked,
and they laughed, and they sang, and
they ate, and they drank, and they
danced, and told over and over and
over again the story of the lost sheep
that was found.
With such tenderness and rusticitv
of illustration does Christ represent
the souls going off and the souls coT-
ing back when He says: Likewise
there is Joy in Heaven among the an
gels of God over one sinner that re-
penteth more than over ninety and
nine Just persons that need
no repentance. To repent is
to feel that you are bad and to
be sorry about it, and to turn over a
new leaf, and to pray for forgiveness
and help. Just as soon rs q man does
that they hear right away OF it in
Heaven. There are no gossips in
glory going around to chatter and
laugh when q man falls; but there are
many souls in glory who are glad to
run about and tell it when a man is
saved. The news goes very quick from
gate to gate, and from north wall to
south wall, and from east wall to west
wall, ana in three minutes every citi-
zen of Heaven has heard of 1t; for
there Is joy in Heaven among the
angels of God over one sinner that re-
penteth."
can very easily understand how
there should be joy in Heaven over q
.pentecost with 5000 souls saved in one
,day-no mystery about this; / can un-
.derstand how there should be Joy in
Heaven over the parish Of Schotts,
when zoe souls were saved under one
ssermou Of Mr. Livingston; can under
stand how there should be Joy in
Heaven over the great awakening in
the time of Harland Page, whom in one
year 47s, 900 were brought 10 God In the
United States; / can understand very
-easily how there should be Joy in
Heaven over 5Oo,O 900 souls converted In
1857, in this country; but mark you. my
text announces there Il Joy in Heaven
among the angels Of God over one, Just
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