Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-22
GLADNESS In HEAVEN.
1t Is in the Power of the VileSt Sim
ner to Greatly Augment 1t.
THE SALVATION OF A SOUL BELOW
Causes All The Celestial Bells to Ring With
Exceeding joy.
PARADISE Is NOT A PARKWAY PLACE
rsPrcrAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH,

mage preached here to-day to an enormous
audience. He expects to be absent from
home about ten days, during which period
he speaks in as manv cities. The subject
of his sermon was Heavenly Congratula-
tions' His text was taken from Luke XIV,
z: Likewise JOY shall be in heaven over
one sinner that repenteth, more than over
ninety and nine just persons who need no
repentance.
\ lost sheep! Nothing can be more thor
Uughly lost. look through the window of
a shepherds house at night. The
candles are lighted The shepherd had just
placed his staff against the manteI. He has
taken OFF his coat and shaken out of it the
dust and hung it up. 1 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 children and the neighbors say
to him:
Come now, tell us how you found the
poor thing
"Well,'' he says. 'this morning / went
ont to the yard to look at the flock No
sooner had looked over the fence than
saw something wrong. The fact was thev
99-only99 Mcdonald, You know We had
100
The Lost Sheep Is Missed.
"And l wondered which one was gone,
and began again, and counted 95 90, 81. 9s.
9a Well, l whistled up the dogs, and
started on the fields and across the bridges.
and tracked the moors, and L leaped the
gullie>, hut no bleating of the poor thing did
1 hear. I said to myself: The lamb must
have fallen into a ditch, or pack of wolves
from the mountains must have torn it to
pieces and sucked its life out
"But L 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 ] could not give it up
So ] went on and ON and on until. after
awhile. l heard the dogs bark, and / said
whats that?' Then l hastened to the top
of the hill, and looked down, and there 1
saw the poor lamb. 1t had fallen into the
ditch. and a. / 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 way
IL looked at me
4 lifted it ont, and it wos all covered with
the slush and the mud. 1t was an awful
thing to do. but lifted it out. and it was SO
lame and SO weak it could not walk alone, so
/ threw il over nv shoulder, and / started
homeward: and the condition of that lamb
yOu may judge OF from the coat l have just
hung up But 1 tramped on and on until it
is safe in the yard, poor thing! Thank God,
thank God,'
The True Idea of Repentance.
With such tenderness and rusticity of
illustra tion does Christ represent the souls
going on and the souls coming back when
He says: Likewise there is joy in heaven
among the angels of God over one sinner
that repenteth 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 as a man does that, they hear
right away of it i'll heaven.
There are no gossips in glory going around
to chatter and laugh when a man falls; but
there are many souls in glory who are glad
TO run about and tell il when man is saved
The news goes very quick. / can very easily
how there should be ioy in
heaven over a Pentecost with 5000 souls |
saved in one day-no mystery about that: |
can understand how there should be ioy in |
heaven over tile Parish of SchotUs. when 400 /
souls were saved under one sermon of Mr.
Livingston; but mark you, my text announces
rn~ue Is iov in heaven among the angels of |
God over one, Just one sinner that repenteth
Here is "a man who is moral. He is an ex- |
ample to treat many professors of religion !
in some things: he never did mean thing in |
his life: he pays all his debts, and is q good |
citizen and good neighbor, but he says he |
Is not Christian. |
Various Grades of Sinners Saved
Some day the Holy Spirit comes into his !
heart and he sees that he cannot depend |
upon his morality for salvation. He saws: !
90 Lord God, have been depending upon |
my good works, lind / am a sinner. and 1 |
want Thy salvation. Lord, for Jesus sake, !
have mercy on me" And God pardons him, |
and Immediately one of the towers of heaven |
strikes silveTy chime. for there are four |
towers TO the heavenly temple.
Here j. 4 man who is bad: he knows he is |
bad, and everybody else knows he is bad, |
but lie Is not an outcast, far from being an 4
outc9st. He moves in respectable circles. |
But one day, by the power OF the Holy |
Ghost, hc rOuses up to see his snfulness and |
hc says: 90 Lord, have mercy, / am 4 wan
dcrer and without Thee l perish Have
mercy" God hears him, and Immediately 4
two OF the towers OF heaven strike a siivery |
chime.
But here Is an outcast. He was picked ND
last night uUt Of the gutter and carried to
tenrialy three times He is covered and |
soaked with loathesomeness and abomina-
rion. Arousing from his debauch, he cries
out: 90 God have mercy on me. Thou who
lidst pardon the penitent thief hear me cry
for mercy" And the Lord listens and par
1Ons, and no sooner is the poor wretch
paIduned than three of the great towers of
heaven strike up silvery chime.
When All the Bells in Heaven Ring.
But here Is waif Of the street. She passes
under the gaslight, and your soul shudders
with great horror. No pity for her No
c0mmiseuIt for her. As she passes down
the street, She hears song in a midnight
mission and a. she listens to that song She
hears:
AE may come. whoever will.
This Man receives poor sinners still.
She puts into that harbor, she kneels bv
The rough bench near the door, she vs. 80
Lord, Thou who didst have mercy on Mary
Magdalen, take my blstered ieet off the red
lOt pavement of hell" God saws, NV
Thy sins are forgiven thee; go in
peace" Now, all the four towers of the |
"A fh tllpr- -rrl,.N
pass through the celestial sire is saw
w hats that? why, the worst sinner must
ing, and ring, and ring" "And there is JOY
n hedven among the angels of God over one |
sinner that Iepenteth.'
My subject lmpresses you, / think, with |
he Thought that il is possible for MS TO aup-
nent the happiness of heaven People think |
hat souls before the throne are as happy as |
hey can be. deny it. Look at that mother
before the throne OF God. When she died |
'he left her son in this world q yapabOnd |
That son repented OF his iniuuities and came
o God. The report of thar salvation has
cached heaven. DO you tell me that mother
)efore the throne OF God has not her ioy
ichly Augmented?
You NAV Increase Heavenly Hapni,ess
There is many u man in this house TODAY
Who could 90 out with a torch and kindle a
.ew bonfire of victory on the hills of heaven
{ YOU would this day repent and come to
iod. the news of your salvation would reach
eaven, and then, hark! to the shout of the |
Your little child went away from you into
he good land. While she was here vou
rouuht her all kinds of beautiful presents |
ometimes you came home at nightIall with
our rockets full of gifts Ior her, and no | !
ooner did you put your nightkey into the
atch than she began at you, saving:
Father what have you brought lne:r She
now before the throne of God. Can Won
ring her a gift to-day? You may. Coming
o christ ard repenting of sin, the tidings