Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1892-02-26
REV. DR.. 7ALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun.
day Sermon.
sas,ss.. -HeavsnIy congratulations.

TEXT: II lselcise JOY shall be ;n hedren
orer one sinner that rspeateth. more than
orer ninety and nine Just persons ,oho need
no repentance. Luke XIV, T.
A lost sheep Nothing can be more thor
oughly lost / look through the window Of
shepherds house at night. The candles are
lighted. The shepherd has just placed his
staff against the mantle. He has taken off
his coat, shaken out OF it the dust and hung
itup. see by the candle light that there
are peizhbors who have come in. The
shepherd. tagged on. with the long tramp
sits down on a 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 | looked over the
fence than | saw something wrong.
The fact was they did not count right.
Ninety-fve, ninety-six, ninety-seyen,
ninety-eight, ninety-nine- ninety-nine.
Mcdonald you know we had hundred.
And wonder which one was gone, and |
began again, and | counted ninety-fve,
ninety-slx, ninety-seven, ninety eight, nine
ty-niue. Well, | whistled up the dogs, aud
started on the fields and across the
bridges, and tracked the moors and
leaped the gullies, but no bleating of the
poor thing did l near. l said to myself,
The lamb must have fallen into ditch,
or pack of wolves from the mountain
must have torn it to pieces and sucked
its life out But | could not give it
up. You see it was a pet lamb. 1t
was that with the black spot
ON the right shoulder that used to
come and lick my hand as crossed the field
and somehow could not give it up. So |
went on and on and on until after awhile
heard the dogs bark, aud | said, What's
that? Then | FASTENED to the top of the
hill. and looked down and there saw the
poor lamb. II had fallen into the ditch
and as came where it was and bent over
the ditch and stopped down to lift the poor
fning out, wish you could have seen the
loving and imploring and tender way it
looked at me. lifted it out. and II was all
covered with the s'ush and the mud. twas
an awful thing to do, but lifted it out, ana
1t was so lame and SO weak il could not walk
clone, so ] threw it over my shouldet
and ! started honeward and the con-
dition of that lamb you may judge of from
the coat which have Just hung up But
trampei on and on until it is safe in
the yard, POOR thing Thank Col thank
Godr Then the shepherds wife spread
the table and brought out the best
fare that the caoin could afford,
md they sat up very late that night,
sang, aAd they ate, and they drank, and they
danced, and teld 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
Coing OF and the souls coming bacS, when
He saws, 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 10
be sorry about it, and to turn over 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
around to chatter and laugh when man
fails, but there are many souls 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 citizen of heaven has
heard of it, for "thsre is joy in heaven
amoLg the angels Of Col over one sinner
that repentetn.
] can very easily understand how there
should be Joy in heaven over a PentecoSt
with three thousand souls saved in one day
no mystery about thai; | can understand
how there should be Joy IN heaven over the
Parish of Schotts, wnen fouc hundred souls
were saved under one sermon of Mr.. Living
ston; | can understand how there should be
Joy in heaven over the great awakening III
the time of Harland Page, when in one year
four hundred aud seventy-three thousand
souls were brought 10 God in the United
States; can understand very easily how
there should be joy in heaven over five hun
bred thousand souls converted in 1857, III
this country; but mark you. my text an-
= -, Aaox
angels of God over one just one, sinner that
repentsth.
Some cathedrals have one tower; some
cathedra.s have two. three. four towers.
Did you ever hear them all ring at oRces
am told that the bell in the cathedral OF st.
Paul rings only on rare occasions, for III
stance at the death or the birth OF king
Have YOU seen cathedral with four towers,
and have you heard them all strike into one
,reat chime OF gladnesss Here is man who
Is moral. He is an example to great many
professors OF religion in some things; h'
never did a mean thing in his life; he pay,
all his debts, and is a good citizen and a gooC
neighbor but ne says be Is not Christian.
Some day the Holy Spirit comes into nj
heart and ne sees that he cannot depend
upon his morality for salvation he says
20 Lord God have been depending upon
my good works; | find am sinner, anu
want Thy salvation. Lord, for JeSuS's sake
have mercy on me- And God pardon
him, and Immediately one of the towers o.
heaven strikes silvery chime, for Their
are four towers to the heavenly temple
Here IL man who is bad; he knows he 1
bad, and everybody else knows ne is bad, bu
he is not an cute ast--sa- from being an out
east. He moves 10 respectable circles. Blu
one day. by the power OF the Holy Gdost
he rous s up TO see his sinfulness and he says
20 Lord. have mercy, | am a wanderer
and without Tnee / perish Have mercy =
God hears MIN, automatically two OF tn:
towers o heaven strike silvery chime.
But here is an outcast He was picked ~
last night out OF the gutter and carried tc
th9polic9 station. He has been in the peni
tsnt.ary three TINES He is covered anC
soaked with loathsomeness aud abominatioD
Accusing from his debauch, he cries out
20 God, have mercy on me. Thou whc
didst pardon 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 o.
heaven strike up silvery chime. But her,
is waif Of the street. She passes under tn
gnslight, AMI your soul shu iders with a
great horror No pity for her. No com
As she passes down the street she hears a
song in a midnight mission, and she listens
to that song she hears:
zu may come. whoever will.
This Maa receives poor sinners still.
She puts into that haroor, shs kneels by the
rough bench near the door; sac says: 20
Lord Thou who didst have mercy on Mary
Magdalen. take my blisterei feet of the red
hot pavement OF hell" God says, MY
dau Shter, thy sins are forgiven thee; 60 in
peace" Now, all the four towers Of heaven
strike a silvsry chime, AMI they wa1 pass
through the celestial streets say: hats
that. Why, the worst sinner must have
been saved. Hear all the four towers ring
aud ring and ring AM there is joy in
heaven among the angels OF God over ons
sinner that repentetd.
Nv subject impresses you, / think, witi
the Thought that il is possible for US to aug
ment the happiness Of heaveD. Feop.e think
that souls before the tnrons are as happy as
they can be. DENY it. Look at that mothe:
before the throne of God. Wnen she died
she left her son in this world a vagabon1
That son repented OK his iniquities and can'
to God. The report Of that salvation hai
reached heaven. Do you tell me that motae'
before the throne o. God hiss not her Jol
richly augmented. There is many man II
this house to-day who could go out with a
a. w...Nr 49,