Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1892-02-25
Preached in Iowa.

EIcdOAcA IA Ao"0s
DR.. Talmage preached last Sunday at
Oskaloosa, Iowa. His text was taken
from Luke XIV, Z, ''Likewise joy shall be
in Heaven over one sinner that repent
eth, more than over ninety and nine just
persons who need no repentance.
A lost sheep! Nothing can be more
thoroughly lost. I look through the
window of the shepherds house at night
The candles are lighted. The shepherd
has just placed his staff against the man
tel. He has taken off his coat, shaken
out of it the dust and hung it up. see
by the candle-light that there are neigh
bors who have come in. The shepherd,
tagged out with the long tramp, sits
down on bench, and the wife and chill
dren and the neighbors say to him,
"Come, now, tell us how you found the
poor thing" ''Well,' he says, ''this
morning I went out to the yard to look
at the flock. No sooner had | looked
over the fence than I saw something
wrong. The fact was they did not count
right. Ninety-fve, ninety-six, ninety
seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine-only
ninety-nine. Mcdonald, you know we
had hundred. And / wandered which
one was gone, and began again, and l
counted ninety-ive, ninetY-siX, ninety
seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine. Well,
l whistled up the dogs, and 1 started on
the fields and across the bridges, and
tracked the moors, and l leaped the
gullies, but no bleating of the poor thing
did hear. l said to myself, The laMb
must have fallen into a ditch, or pack
of wolves from the mountain must have
torn it to pieces and sucked it's life out. ,
r
was pet lamb. 1t was that one with
the black spot on the right shoulder that
used to come and lick my hand as
not give it up. So | went on and on and
on until after awhile l heard the dogs
bark, and 1 said, What's that?' Then
FASTENED to the top of the hill, and
looked down and there I saw the poor
lamb. 1t had fallen into the ditch, and
as | came where it was and bent over
the ditch and stopped down to lift the
poor thing out, I wish you could have
seen the loving and imploring and tender
way it looked at me. | lifted it out, and
it was all covered with the susil 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
1t over my shoulder and l started home
ward, and the condition of the lamb you
may Judge from the coat which l have
just hung up. But tramped on and on
until it is safe in the yard, poor thing!
Thank God, thank God!'' Then the
shepherds wife spread the table and
brought out the best fare that the cabin
could afford and they sat up very late
that night, and they talked, and they
laughed, and they sang, and they ate,
and they drank, and they danced, and
told over and over and over again the
story of the lost sheep that was found.
With such tenderness and rusticity of
illustration does Christ represent the
souls going off 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 q man does that, they
hear right away of it in Heaven.
There are no gossips in glory going
around to chatter and laugh when man
falls, but there are many souls in glory
who are glad to run about and tell it
when man is saved. The news goes
very quick from gate to gate. and from
north wall to south wall, and from east
wall to west wall. and in three minutes
every citizen of Heaven has heard of it,
for ''there is joy in Heaven among the
angels of God over one sinner that re-
penteth."
can very easily understand how there
should be joy in Heaven over Pente-
cost with 5000 souls saved in one day
no mystery about that; can understand
how there should be Joy in Heaven over
the Parish of Schotts, when 400 souls
were saved under one sermon of Mr..
Livingston; l can understand how there
should be JOY in Heaven over the great
awakening in the time of Harland Page,
when in one year 4OO.O73 souls were
brought to God in the United States; l
can understand very easily how there
should be joy in Heaven over 500, 900
souls converted in 1857, in this country;
but mark you, my text announces there
is joy in Heaven among the angels of
God over one, just one, sinner that re-
penteth.
Some cathedrals have one tower: some
cathedrals have two, three, four towers.
Did you ever hear them all ring at once?
/ am told that the bell in the cathedral
of st. Paul rings only on rare occasions,
for instance, at the death or the birth of
king. Have you seen a cathedral with
four towers, and have you heard them
all strike into one great chime Of glad
ness? Here is a man who is moral He
is an example to great many professors
of religion in some things; he never did
mean thing in his life; he pays all his
debts, and is good citizen and good
neighbor, but he says he is not a
Christian.
Some day the Holy Spirit comes into
his heart and he sees that he cannot de-
pend upon his morality for salvation. He
says: 80 Lord God, l have been de-
pending upon my good works; / find l
am sinner. and l want thy salvation.
Lord, for Jesus sake. have mercy on
meu' And God pardOHs him. and ilnme-