The Opelousas courier., 1892-10-08
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE,S SUN.
DAY SERMON.
Subject: The Prodigal Son"

TEXT: "Itriu arise md go to my father
Luke xy., 1a.
There is nothing like hunger to take the
energy out OF a man. A hungry man can
toll neither with pen nor hand nor foot
There has been an army defeated not SO
much for lack of ammunition as for lack of
bread. 1t was that fact that took the fire
out OF this young man of the text. Storm
and exposure will wear out any m ans life
IN time, but hunger makes quick work. The
most awful cry ever heard on earth is the
cry for bread.
A traveller tells us. that in Asia Minor
there are trees which bear fruit looking verv
much like the long bean of our time. Il Is
called the carab. Once in awhile the people
reduced to destitution would eat these ca
rabs, but generally the carabs, the beans
| spoken of here in the text, were thrown only
to the swine and they crunchei them with
great avidity. But this young man of my
text could not get even them without steal
ing them. So n day amid the swine
troughs he begins to ~soliioquize. He says,
These are no clothes for a rich mans son to
wear; this is no kind of business for q Jew
to be engaged IMPEDING swine; I'll go
home; FL go home; 1 will arise and go to my
father"
L know there are a great many people who
ny TO throw q fascination, a romance, a
- III b1b WiUhaEHuul1 AIk bU6G
Lord Byron and George Sand nave said I'm
regard to 1t, it is a mean, low, contemplate
business, and putting food and fodder into
the troughs OF a herd of ~iniquities that root
and wallow in the soul of man ia very Door
business for men and women intended to be
sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty.
And when this young man resolved to 20
home it was a very wise thing for him to do,
n the only question Is whether we will fol-
low him.
Satan promises large wages if we will
serve him, but he clothes his victims with
rags and he pinches them with hunger, and
VIXEN they start out to do better he sets
after them all the ~bloodhouuds OF hell.
Satan comes to US to-day, and hs promises
all luxuries, all emoluments il Wa will only
serve him. Liar, down with thee to the
pit! 1.-THE wages of sin is DEATH Oh, the
young man of the text was wise when he
uttered the resolution, ~ will arise and 60
to my father"
In the tune of Queen Mary Of England a
prosecutor anne to a Chrislian woman who
had hidden in her house. for the Lords sake,
one of Christ's servants, and the prosecutor
said, Where is that hereticg' The Chris
tian woman said. ".You open that trunk and
you will see the heretic:'' The prosecutor
opened the trunk, me on the top OF the
linen of the tru nix he saw a glass. He said.
There is no hereto here" .AhE' she said,
you look in the glass and you will sss the
hereticp' As / take up the mirror Of Gods
word to-day, I would that instead of seeing
the prodigal of the text we might see our
se!ves-our want, u wandering, our sin,
our lost condition-so that we might b as
wise as this young man was and say, IL will
arise and go to my father"
The resolution of this text was formed in
disgust at his present circumstances. IL this
young man Lar been by his employer set to
r-rlfrrrfrr H1rva~- 49, 4~r.-s-- t--
aFbor, or keeping account of the pork mar
ket. or overseeing other laborers he would
not have thought OF going home. IT, had
had his pockets full OF money, If he had been
able to say: II have q thousand dollars now
OF my GYM, what's the use OF my going back
to my fathers house? Do you think I am
going back to apologize to the old man?
Why, he would put me IN the limits; he
would notbaye going on around the old place
such conduct as | ave been engaged in. i
won't go home. There is NO reason why [
should go home. | have plenty of money;
plenty of pleasant surroundings. Why should
/ go home% Ah!it was his pauperism; it
was his beggary. He had to go home.
Some man comes inc says to me: Why
do you talk 0 the ruined state of the hu-
man soul? Why don't you speak about the
progress of the Nineteenth century, and talk
of something more exhiiaratiny ~ Is is for
this reason "a man never wants the Gospel
until he realizes he is in q famine struck
state. Suppose I should come to you in
your home and are in good robust health,
and | shoul begin to talk about medicines,
and about how much better this medicine is
than that, and some other medicine than
some other medicine, and talx about this
physician and that physician. After awhile
you would get tired, and you would says, II
don't want to hear about medicines. Why
do you talk to me or physicians? l never
have 8 DOCTOR
Suppose l come into your house and find
you severely sick, and | now the medicines
that will cure you, and / kno y the physician
who is skilful enough to meet your case.
You say "Bring on all that medicine; bring
on that physician. I am terribly sick and
I want help Ii | came TO YOU and you feel
you are all right in boiy and all right in
mind and all right in sou you havs need oil
nothing; but supposing | a v persuaded
you that the leprosy of sin is upon you, the
worst of all sickness, oh, then you say,
ssBring me that balm of the Gospel; bring
me that divine medicament bring me Jesus
Christ
But says some one in the audience, sHow
do you prove that we are in ruined con-
dition by sins' Well, lean prove it in two
ways, and you may have your choice. J
can prove it either by the statement.
or men o ny tne statement OF
God. Which shall it be- You all say. LET
us have the statement of God Well, He
SAYS in one place, 1.-The heart is deceitful
above all things and desperately wicked. :"
He a y in another place, what is man
that he should be clean? and he which is
born of a woman. that ne should be righte
Gus" He says in another place, There is
none that doeth good: no, not one.n He
entered into the world, and death by sin;
and so death passed upon all men, for that
all have sinned.n
WELL you say, II am willing to
acknowledge that. but why should I take
the particular rescue that you proposeP'
This is the reason, Except q man be born
again be cannot see the kingdom OF God"
This is theraason, There is one nams given
under heaven among men whereby they
may be saved Then there are q thousand
voices here ready to say, well, am ready
TO accept this help Of the Gospa.; I would
Ike to have this divine cure: how shall I go
to work. Let me say that q nero within,
an un fefned longing amounts to nothing.
You must have a stout, tremendous resolu.
ton like this young man OF the text when
he Eaids Il viii arise and 20 to my father
'sOhwsays sone man, how do | know my
father wants me? How do know, IL I go
back, [ would be receivedg' 'sOhr' says
some man. you don't know where I have
Eesn; o don't NOV how far | nave wan
dered, you wouldn't talk that way to me il
you knew all tine impurities I have commit
te " What is that hutter among the angels
Of God2 It is news, it Is newss Christ has
foun the lost.
Nor angels can their joy contain,
But kin died with new IRE.
The sinner lost Is found, they sing
And strike the sounding Tyre.
remark still further that this resolution
If fta fpxE wes founded in q feeling OF