The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1892-09-01
among men whereby they may be

"ySNs hOA GhOAO dLO u InOuSdAu
'oices here ready to say, "Well, 1 am
eady to accept this help of the Gospel;
would like to have this divine cure
low shall go to work." Let me say
hat mere whim, an underlined longing
to nothing. You must have a
stout, tremendous resolution like this
young man Of tho toxt when he said, IL
will arise and go TO my father"
"Oh!" says some man ''how do l
know my father wants me? How do I
know, ifIgo back, would be received ?"
'Oh!" 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 in
quitlcs l have committed" What is
that luttcr among the angels Of God !?
IL is news, it is news! Christ has found
the lost.
Nor angels can their joy contain,
But kindled with new fire;
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;
if you knew what the Alps were you
wouldn't talk about it or link of it; you
can't get your ammunition wa yons over
the Alps" Then Napoleon rose in his
stirrups and waving his han toward the
mountains 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 stu between your
soul and God there is no mercy. Then
L see Christ waving his hand toward the
mountains, and l hear him say, IL will
come over the mountains of thy sin and
the hills of thine iniquitY." There shall
tie no Pyrenecs, there shall be no Alps
Again, l notice that this resolu Ion of
the young man of the text was founded
iii sorrow at his misbcbavior. 1t was not
mere physical plight. IL was grief that
he had so maltreatcd his father. 1t isa
sad thing after father has done every.
thing for a child to have that child be
mgrateiul.
How sharper than a scrpents tooth is is
10 have thankless child.
That is Shakespeare. "A foolish son
is the heavincss of his mother" That
is the Bible. Well, my friends, have
not some OF us been cruel prodiGals:
Have we not maltrcattd our Father?
And such 4 Father! 50 loving. so kind.
II he had been Il stranger, If he had for
sakcn us, ii he had II IgvlllLcd us, il he
had pounded us and turned us out of
doors on the commons, il would not
have been so wOndcriul--our treat mcnL
of him; but he is Father so loving, so
kind, and yet how mauy OF us for our
wandcrings Lave never apolOyized for
wrongs done to our fellows, but some
OF us perhaps have committed ten
thousand times ten thousand wrongs
against God and never apollo .lzed.
| remark still lurlh, + that this rcsolu-
ton OF the text Was tUunlcd III ieel-
ing OF lOmcslckness. | do OF know
how long this Young man, how many
how III my years, he mad been
away from his fathers house; but there
8 something about the reading of my
ext that makes the think he was home.
'lck. Some Of you know what that feel.
ng is. Far away from home sometimes
by every thing bright und
Dlcasaut-plenty o! t;iends-you have
said, ~ would give the world to be home
'onight." Well, this young man was
lomesick for his iarther's house. have
10 doubt when he thought Of his fathers
louse he said, "Now perhaps father
nay pot be living"
a lad at Liverpool went out TO bathe,
vent out into the sea, went out too tar,
,ot beyond his depth and he noated lar
way, A ship bound for Dublin came
'loDg and took hin on board Sailors
ire generally very generous fellows, and
)nc gave HIM cap, and o.hcr gave him
jacket, and another gave him shoes.
a gentleman passing along 0 the beach
1t Liverpool found the lads clothes aud |
,oOk them home, and the tuther was |
leartbrOken and the mother heartbrokcn |
ut the loss of their child. They had |
heard nothing from him day after day,
aud they ordered the usual mourning for |
The sad event.
But the lad took ship from Dublin |
and arrived III LiverpoN II the very day
the garments arrived. He knocked at |
the door and the father was overioyed |
and the mother was oyerjoyed at the |
return of their lost son. On. my friends. |
have you waded out too deep? Have |
you waded down into sin? Have YOU
wadcd from the shorr? Will you come |
back? When you come back will you
come in the rags ofyour sin, or VIII you
come robed in the Saviour's righteous
ness? believe the latter. Go home TO
your God today. lie is waiting for YOU.
10 home!
iiut | remark the characteristic of this
csolutlon was, l. was immcdiatcly put
ntO execution.
The context says "hc arose and came
% his iather.' The trouble in nine
hundred and ninety.nne times ont OF a
thousand is that our resolutions amount
% nothing because we make them for
omc distant time. If | resolve TO be-
come Christian mex: year, that amounts
o nothing at all. lfl resolve to become
Christian tomorrow, that amounts to
lothng at all. If resolve at the scr.
ice today to become Christian, that
mounts to nothing at all. If resolve
liter L go home today to Yield my heart
o God, that amounts TO nothing ut all.
The only kind OF resolution that amounts
o anything is the resolution that is im-
nediatcly put into execution.
There is man who had the typhoid
ever. lie said, "Oh, if / could get over
his terrible distress, if this fever should
lepart, il | could be restored TO health