Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1892-02-27
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun.
day Sermon.
Subject: .Heavenly congratulations.

oughiy lost. look through the window Of
a shepherds house at night. The candles are
hghted The shepherd has Just placed his
stan against the mantle He has taken off
ms coat shaken out of it the dust and hung
1t up. | see by the candle light that thsrs
are pejghbors who have come in Tba
shepherd. tagged out with the long tramp.
SITS down on bench, and the wife and the
children and the neighbors say to him
Come, now, tell US how you found the poor
thing" Well" he says, this morning
went out to the yard to look at the flock.
No sooner had l looked over the
fence than / saw something wronu-
The fact was they did not count % riobf
Nlnety-fiye, ninety-six, ninety-seyeu.
nlnety-eight, ninety-nine only ninety-nine.
Mcdonald, you know we had a hun1red.
And l.wonder which one was gone. and +
began again, and l counted ninety-6ye.
ninety-slx, ninety-seyen, ninety eight, nine.
ty-nine. Well, | whistled up the dogs and
| started on the fields and across the
bridges, and 1 tracked the moors and
ieaped the guilies but no bleating of the
poor thing did hear. l said to myself,
The lamb must have fallen into ditch
or pack of wolves from the mountain
nust have torn it to pieces and sucked
Its life out But l could not give it
up. You see it was a pet lamb 1t
was that one with the black spot
III ehC iiSuO aubutusF I1db used tC
come and lick my hand as crossed the field.
and somehow | could not give it I'D. So |
went on and on and on until after awhile
heard toe dogs barz, and [ said. whats
thatY Then | fastened to the top of the
hill, and looked down and there l 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
and rl1,, "a
looked at me. lifted it out, and it was all
covered with the siush and the mud 1t was
an awful thing to do but lifted it out and
1t was SO lame and SO weak it could not walk
alone, so l threw it over my shoulder
and L started homeward. and the con-
altion OF that lamb you may judge of from
the coat which 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. ami they
sang, and they ate, and they drank, and they
danced, and told over and over again the
story OF the lost sheep that was found.
With such tenderness and rusticity of
illustration does Christ represent the sous
gong on 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 neet no repentance"
10 repent is to feel that you are bad, and to
be sorry about it, and to turn over new
Leaf, and to pray for forgiveness and help.
Just as soon as a man does that, they hear
right away of it in heaven
Ihere are no gossipS in glory going
around to chatter and laugh when man
fails, but there are many sous in glory who
are glad to run about and tell it when a 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 citizsn of heaven has
heard of it, for "Chere is joy in heaven
among the angels Of God over one sinner
that repentetb -
L can very easily understand how thera
should be joy in heaven over Pentecost
with three thousand souls saved in one day
no mystery about that; | can understand
how there should be joy in heaven over the
Parish of SchottS, when four hundred souls
were saved under one sermon of Mr.. Living
ston; | can understand how there should be
JOY IN heaven over the great awakening in
the time of Harland Page, when in one year
four hundred and seventy-three thousand
souls were brought to God in the United
States; can understand very easily how
there should be joy in heaven over five hun
dred thousand souls converted in 1857, in
this country; but mark you, my text an
nouuces there is joy in heaven among the
angels of God over one, just one, sinner that
repenteth.
Some cathedrals have one tower; some
cathedrals have two, three, four towers
Did you ever hear them all ring at once? l
am told that the bell in the cathedral of st.
Paul rings only on rare occasions, for in
stance, at the death or the birth of a king.
law fhaI
and have you heard them all strike into one
great chime of gadness? 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 Christian
Some day the Holy Spirit comes into his
heart and he sees that he cannot depend
upon his morality for salvation. He says:
- Lori God have been depending upon
my good WORKS. | find am a sinner, AMI
want Thy salvation. Lord, for Jesus's sake,
have mercy on mew AMI God pardons
him, and Immediately one of the towers Of
heaven strikes silvery chine. for there
are four towers to the heavenly temple
Here is a man who is bad. he knows he is
bad, aud everybody else knows he is bad, but
heiS not AN outcast-far from being an out
cast. He moves in respectable circles. But
one day, by the power of the Holy Ghost,
he rouS up to see his siufulaess and he saws;
~ Lord, have mercy! | am a wanderar,
and without Tnee [ perish. Have mercym'
God hears him, au1immaiiately two of ths
towers 0 heaven strike silvery chime.
But here is an outcast. He was picked I'D
last night out OF the gutter ami carried to
the police station. He has been in the peni-
tertiary three times. He is covered and
soaked with loathsomeness aud abomnaton.
Arousing from his deoauch, he cries out:
- Tod, have mercy on me- Thou who
didStpardon the penitent thief, hear me cry
for mercy" And the Lord listens and par
dons, and no sooner is the poor wretch par
doned than three of the great towers of
heaven strike up silvery Chime. But here
Is a waif of the street. She passes under thu
gaslight, and your soul shu lders with a
great horror. No pity for her. No COM
miseration for her
As she passes down the street she hears a
song in midnight mission, and she listens
to that song she hears:
All may come, whoever will,
This Man receives poor sinners still.
She puts into that haroor, she kueels by the
rough bench near the door; she says 20
Lord! Thou who didst have mercy on Mary
Magdalen, take my blistersd feet off the red
hot pavement Of hell" God says, 'My
daughter, thy sius are forgiven thee; go in
peace" Now, all the four towers of heaven
strike silvery chime AMI they who pass
through the celestial streets say; "Whats
that? Why, the worst sinner must have
been saved. Hear all the four towers ring
and ring and ring~ AMI there is joy in
heaven among the angels of God over one
sinner that repenteth"
My subject impresses you, l think, with
the thought that it is possible for US to aug
ment the happiness of heaven. People think
that souls before the throne are as happy as
they can be. deny it. Look at that mother
before the throne of God. When she died
Sac left her son in this world vagabond.
That son repented OF his iniquities and came
to God. The report OF that salvation has
reached heaven. Do you tell me that mother
before the throna OF God has not her joy
richly augmented? There is many man in
this house to-day who could go out vito
torch ami kinda a new bonfire of victory
on the hills of heaven. If you would this
day repent and come to God, the news OF
your salvation would reacl heaven. and