The Red Cloud chief., 1892-09-02

mcnt Of God" Well, He says In on,
place: The heart Ia dcccitful In nj
things and desperately wicked" II,
says tn another place: "What Is maj
that he should be cleanp and he that !,
born Of woman, that ne should b,
r~ighteousc" He says In another place
There Is none that docth good, no
not one" He says In another place
"As by n man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin; and 30 death
passed on all men, for that all have
sinned."
WELL" you say, 81 am willing to ac'
knowledge that, but why should l take
the particular rescue that you pro.
poser" This Is the reason: "There IL
n name given under Heaven among
men whereby they may be saved. .
Then there are a thousand voices here
ready TO say: well, I am ready to ac-
ccpt this help of the gospels; l would
like TO have this divine cure; how shall
] go to work?" Let me say that n mere
within, an underlined longing amounts
to nothing. You must have q stout,
tremendous resolution like this young
man OF the text when he said: ~ will
arise and go 10 my father"
"OP" says some man, show do I know
my father wants me? How do ] know
IL go back I would be reccivcdp" TO-"
says some man, ''you don't know where
have been; you don't know how far I
have wandered; you won't talk that
way TO me II you know all the iniquities
] have committed" What Is that flut-
ter among the angles of Godp IL Is
news, IL Is ncwsl Christ has found the
lost
Nor angels con their Joy contain
But hindlcd with new IRE;
The sinner lost, Is found, they sins
And strike the sounding lyre
When Napoleon talked OF going Into
Italy they said: lyon can't get there;
II You knew what the Alps were You
wouldn't talk about II or think Of IL;
you can't get your ammunition wagons
over the Alps" Then Napoleon rose In
his stirrups and waving his hand
toward the mountain he said: 'Thcre
shall be nc Alps" That wonderful
pass was laid out which has been the
wondermcnt OF all years since-thc
wonderment Of NIL engineers, And you
tell me there are such mountains of sin
between your soul and God, there is no
mercy. Then I see God waving his
hand toward the mountains, and I hear
him say: ~ will come over the noun
tains Of thy sin and the hills OF thine
inIquity." There shnll be no Pyrcnecs,
there shall be no Alps.
Again, ] notice that this resolution of
the young man Of the text was founded
In sorrow ut his misbehavior.. II was
grief that no had so maltreuted his
father. II is u sad thing after a father
has done everything for a child TO have
that child be ungratcful.
How sharper than q serpcnt's tooth IL n
To have q 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 maltreated our Father?
And such a Father! So loving, 40 kind. |
II He had been u stranger, IL lie had
forsaken VS., II He had flagcllated us, II
he had pounded us and turned us out
OF doors on the common, It would not
have been SO wonderful--our treatment
OF Him; but He Is a Father, SO loving, |
so kind, and yet how many Of us for
wandcrings have never apologized. |
We apologize for wrongs done to our
fellows, but some of us perhaps have |
ten thousand times ten thou |
sand wrongs against God and never
~apologizcd.
We rend nothing In this story--this
parable founded on everyday life--we
read nothing about the mother. IL
says nothing about going home 20 her.
l think she was dead. l think she had
died OF n broken heart ut his wander |
ings, or perhaps he had gone into dissi- !
patton from the fact he could not re- |
member u loving and sympathetic |
mother. A man never gets over having |
lost his mother. Nothing said abou, |
her here. But he il homesick for his |
fathers house. He thought he would |
just like TO go and walk around the old |
place. He thought he would just like
to go and see II things were rs they |
uscd to be- Many u man after having |
been of n long while has zone home |
knocked at the door aud u stranger |
has come. 1t is the old homestead, but |
n stranger m to the door. lie finds |
out father IL gone, mother Is gone and |
brothers and sisters all gone. / think |
this young man OF the text said to him |
self: Perhaps father may be dead"
Still he starts to find out. lie is home
sick. Are there any here to-day home
sick for God, homesick for Heaven
But l remark the characteristic of |
this resolution was, il was Immediately |
put into execution.
The context says she arose and came |
to his father" The trouble in 900 times |
OF 1000 Is that our resolutions
amount to nothing because we make |
them for some distant time. II ! resolve
TO become n Christian next year, that
amounts to nothing Mt all. II ! resolve |
to become II Christian tomorrow, that
amounts TO nothing Mt all. II I~.resolvc |
at the service to-day TO become a Christ |
ian, that amounts TO nothing at all. III
i resolve after | go ho.nc to-day to yield |
my heart TO God, that amounts TO moth. |
Ing at all. The only kind of resolution |
that amounts TO anything Is the resolu-
49,. ALL l. 4