The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1892-08-26
THE HOMESICK SOUL.
DR.. TALMAGE DRAWS MANY LESSONS
FROM THE PRODlGAL SON.

Heart Find Any Real Satisfaction.
LONDON, Aug. 21.-Dr. Talmage has
been preaching during the past week
every day. Besides the engagements
made in his original programme for the
week he preached in several towns
which he had promised to visit earlier,
but had been unable to do so, owing to
so much more time than he expected be-
ing taken up by his visit to Russia,
whittier he went to attend the distribu-
ton Of The Christian Herald relief
cargo. The canceling of these engage
ments caused acute disappointment to
the citizens, and as far as possible Dr.
Talmage has yielded to their entreaties
to fix later date. The audiences last
week at Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and
Derby were enormous, and at each place
the popular ovation in the streets was
most enthusiastic. The sermon selected
for publication this week is from the
text, Luke XIV, IS, 81 will arise and go
to my father"
There is nothing like hunger to take
the energy out of a man. A hungry
man can toll neither with pen nor hand
nor foot. There has been MANY an
army defeated not so 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
awhile the people reduced to restitution
would eat these carabs, but generally
the carabs, the beans spoken of here in
the text, were thrown only to the swine
and they crunched them with great
avidity. But this young man of my
text could not get even 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; I'll go home;
l will arise and go to my father"
FOOLS MAKE A MOCK AT SIN.
know there are a great many people
who try to throw a fascination, TO-
nance, halo about sin, but notwith-
standing all that Lord Byron and George
Sand have said in regard to it, it is
mean, low, contemplate business, and
,,11ttioo, food o,75 fo61or into +l,o +ro,,c.IDo
of herd of iniquities that root and
wallow in the soul of man is very poor
business for men and women intended
to be sons and daughters of the Lord
Almighty. And when this young man
resolved to go home it was very wise
thing for him to do, and the only ques-
ton is whether we will follow him.
Satan promises large wages if we will
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 blood
bounds of hell. Satan comes to us to-
day and he promises all luxuries, all
emoluments if we will only serve him.
Liar, down with thee to the pit! "The
wages of sin is death" Oh, the young
man of the text was wise when he
uttered the resolution, Il will arise
and go to my father"
In the time of Queen Mary of Eng
land prosecutor came to a Christian
woman who had hidden in her house for
the Lords sake one of Christ's servants.
and the prosecutor said, "Where is that
heretic?" 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 glass. He said, '"There |
is no hereto here" "Ah," she said. |
'look in the glass and you will see the |
hereto" AS l take up the mirror of |
Gods Word today l would that instead
of seeing the prodigal of the text we
might see ourselves-our want, our wan |
dering, our sin, our lost condition-so |
that we might be as wise as this young
man was and say, 81 will arise and 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 EN-.
ployer set to culturing flowers. or train
ing vines over an arbor, or keeping ac-
count 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, if he had been
able to say: II have thousand dollars
now of my own. What's the use of nv
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 going
on around the old place such conduct as
I have been engaged in. l won't go
home; there is no reason why should
go home. l have plenty of money,
plenty of pleasant surroundings, why
should go homer" Ali it was his pau
perism, it was his beggary. He had to
go home.
Is MAN IN A LOST CONDITION?
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 Nine
beenth century and talk of something
more exhilarating?" 1t is for this reason:
man never wants the Gospel until he