The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1892-08-23
there any here today homs sick for God,
bOroociclz fOr heaVo0p

there any here today hom Esick for God,
homesick for heaven?
A sailor, after having been long on
the sea, returned to his fathers house
and his mother tried to persuade him
not to go away again. She said: "Now
you had better stay at home; don't go
away; we don't want You to go. Yon
will have il a great deal better here
But it made him angry. The night be-
fore he went away again to sea he heard
his mother praying in the next room,
and that made him more angry. He
went far out on the sea, and storm
came up, and he was ordered to very
perilo1s duty, and he ran up the rat
lines, and amid the shrouds of the ship
he heard the voice that he had heard
in the next room
He tried TO whistle 1t off; he tried to
rally his courage; but he could not ST.
lence that voice ne had heard IN the next
room, and there in the storm and the
darkness he said: 20 Lord, what O
wretch ! have been, what wretch
I am! Help me just now, Lord God"
And ] thought in this asSemblage
today there may be some who may
have the memory of fathers petition
or mothers prayer pressing nightly
upon the soul, and that this hour they
may make the same resolution find in
my text, saying, II will arise and go to
my father"
A lad at Liverpool went out to battle,
went out into the sea, went out too far,
got beyond his depth and he hoated far
away. A ship bound for Dublin came
along and took him on board. Sailors
are generally very generous fellows, and
one gave him 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 homo, and the
| father was heartbroken, the mother was
heartbroken at the loss of their child.
They had heard nothing from him day
after day, and they ordered the usual
mourning for the sad event.
| But the lad took ship from Dublin
and arrived in Liverpool the very day
the garments arrived He knocked at
the door and the father was over1oyed
and the mother was overjoyed at the
return of their lost son. Oh, my friends,
have you waded out too deep? Have
you waded down into sin? Have you
waded from the shore? Will you come
back? When you come back will you
come in the rags of your sin or will you
come robed in the Saviour's righteous
ness? believe the latter. Go home to
your God today. He is waiting for you.
| Go home!
But I remark the characteristic OF
this resolution was, it was Immediately
| put into execution.
DO NOT DELAY.
! The context says che arose and came
to his father The trouble in nine hun
dred and ninety-nine times out of a
thousand is that our resolutions amount
| to nothing because we make them for
some distant time. If resolve to be-
come Christian next year, that amounts
to nothing at all. If l resolve to be-
come a Christian tomorrow, that
amounts to nothing at all. If resolve
at the service today to become Chris
tan, that amounts to nothing at all.
If l resolve after go home today to
Weld my heart to God, that amounts to
nothing at all The only kind of reso-
luton that amounts to anything is the
resolution that Is Immediately put into
execution.
There is a man who had the typhoid
fever. He said, "Oh, if could get over
this terrible distress; if this fever should
depart, if I could be restored 70 health.
I would all the rest of my life serve
God" The fever departed. He got
well enough to walk around the block.
He got we'll enough to attend to bust
ness. He is well today-as well as h.
ever was. Where is the broken vow?
! There is a man who said long ago, ''If
could live to the year 1892, by that time
l will have my business matters all ar
ranged, AID I will have time to attend
to religion, and l will be a good,
thorough. consecrated Christian" The
year 1852 has come. January, Febru-
ary, March, April, May, June, July
fully half of the year gone, Where Is
your broken vow?
"Oh," says some man, III attend TO
that when can get my character fixed
up; when l can get over my evil habits;
am now given to strong drink" or,
saws the man, II am given to unclean-
ness" or, says the man, Il am given 10
dishonesty. When get over my pres
ent habits. then I'll be a thorough Chris
tan" My brother, you viii get worse
and worse until Christ takes you In
hand .'rIot the righteous, sinners
Jesus came to call"
Oh, but you say, II agree with you on
all that, but l must put it off little
longer" Do you know there were many
who came just as near as you are TO the
kingdom of God and never entered it?
was at East Hampton, Long Island. and
went into the cemetery look around
and IN that cemetery there are twelve
graves side by side-the graves of sail
ors. This crew, some years ago, il q
ship went into the breakers at Amagan
sett, about three miles away. My broth
er, then preaching at East Hampton
had been at the burial. These men Of
the crew came very near being saved
, The. people from Anagansett saw the
: vessel, and they shot rockets, and they
.n-,4 ,<,r,oo froyn the Shore and thps1