The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-03-09
JOY In HEAVEN.
Rev. DR.. Talmage breaches a Ser
mon at Oskaloosa, Ia.
The Finding of the Lost sheep and 1T
Application to the Saving of Man
kind-Ihe Salvation of the Soul
of Vast Importance.

at Oskaloosa, Ia, to an enormous audi
ence. The subject of his sermon was
Heavenly Congratulations" and his
text was taken from Luke XVI Z: Like
wise Joy shall be in Heaven over one
sinner that repenteth, more than over
ninety and nine just persons who need
no repentance" The eloquent preacher
spoke as follows:
A lost sheep! Nothing can be more
thoroughly lost. look through win
dow of shepherds house at night.
The candles are lighted. The shepherd
had inst placed his staff against the
mantel. He has taken off his coat,
shaken out of it the dust and hung it up.
I see by the candlelight that there are
neighbors who have come in. The shep-
herd, 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, "tkis
morning went out to the yard to look
at the flock. No sooner had looked
over the fence than / saw something
was wrong. The fact was they did not
count right. Ninety-five, ninety-six,
ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine
only ninety-nine. Mcdonald, you
know we had hundred. And l won
dered which one was gone, and / began
again, and counted ninety-fve, ninety
six, ninety-seven, ninety eight, ninety
nine. Well, I whistled up the dogs, and
l 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. said to my
self: The lamb must have fallen into
ditch, or a pack of wolves from the
mountains must have torn it to pieces
and sucked it's life out But l
could not give it up. You see it was a
pet lamb. 1t was that one with black
spot on the right shoulder that used to
come and lick my hand as crossed the
field, and somehow could not give it
Rp. So went on and on and on until
after awhile heard the dogs bark, and
! said: What's that?' Then fastened
to the top of the hill, and looked down,
and there 1 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, wish you could have seen the
loving and imploring, and tender way
| 1t looked at me- l lifted it out and il
was 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 it over my shoulder and started
homeward, and the condition of that
lamb you may judge of 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 repentetf
more than over ninety and nine just
persons that need no repentance. re
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 man does
that they hear right away of it in
Heaven. There are no gossips in glory
going round to chatter and laugh when
a man falls; but there are many souls
in glory who are glad to run about an6
tell it when man is saved The news
goes very quick from gate to gate, ant
from north wall to south wall, and from
east wall to west wall, and in three
minutes every citizen of Heaven ha.
heard of it, for there is Joy in HEAVIER
among the angels of God over one sin
ner that repenteth." can very easily
understand how there should be Joy il
Heaven over Pentecost with three
thousand souls saved in one day-nc
mystery about that; can understand
how there should be Joy in Heaven ovel
She parish of Schotts, when four hun
bred souls were saved under one ser
mon of Mr. Livingstone. / can understand
how there should by Joy in Heaven ovel
She great awakening in the time o
Harland Page, when in one year fou
hundred and seventy-three Thousand
souls were brought to God in the United
States; can understand very easily
now there should be Joy in Heaven owe
five hundred thousand souls converted
in 1857, in this country; but mark you
my text announces there is Joy il
Heaven among the angels of God owe
one, just one sinner that repenteth.
Some cathedrals have one tower
some cathedrals have two, three, fou
towers Did you ever hear them al
ring at once? l am told that the bell il
the cathedral of st. Paul rings only O,
rare occasions; for instance, at the dealt
or the birth of king. Have you seel
a cathedral with four towers? and hav,
you heard them all strike into one grea
chime of gladness? Here is man who
moral. He is an example to grea
many professors of religion in SOM
things; he never did mean thing il
his life; he pays all his debts and is
good citizen and good neigh Dor, bu
he says he is not Christian. Some da'
the Holy Spirit comes into his heart an,
he sees that he can not depend upon hi