Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1892-03-02
WAITING FOR YOU.
Heaven Is Much Closer Than
Some People Think.
"A Chair Beside Your Loved Ones IL
Vacant and waiting-Sermon by Rev.
Il. Dewitt Talmage ID. ID.

1
DIR. Talmage preached Sunday Mt
| Oslxaloosa, Ia. His text was taken
! from Luke XIV, z: Likewise Joy shall
be in Heaven over one sinner that re-
penteth, more than over ninety and
nine Just persons who need no repent
ance."
A lost sheep! Nothing can be more
thoroughly lost l look through the
window of shepherds house Mt night
The candles are lighted. The shepherd
has just placed his staff against the
mantel He has taken off his coat,
shaken out of it the dust and hung it
up / see by the candle light that there
are neighbors who have come in. The
shepherd tagged out with the long
tramp. sits down on n 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, "this morning
went out TO the yard to look ut the
flock. No sooner had / looked
over the fence than j saw something
wrong. The fact was they did not
count right Ninety-fve, ninety-six,
nnety-seven, Iinety-eight ninety nine
only ninety-nine. Mcdonald, you
know we had II hundred. And 1 Won
dered which one was gone, and began
again. and j counted ninety-fivc.
ninety-siX. ninety-seven, ninety-eight,
ninety-nine. Well, l whistled up the
dogs and / started on the fields and
/ across the bridges, and l tracked the
Moores and / leaped the guTlies, but
no bleating of the poor thing did
hear / said to myself: The lamb must
have fallen into ditch. or n pack
of wolves from the mountains must
have torn il to pieces and sucked its
life out But l could not give up. You
see il was pet lamb 1t was that one
with the black spot on the right
shoulder that used to come and lick
my hand as l crossed the field, and
somehow / could not give it up SO /
went on and on until after awhile
heard the dogs bark, and / said: What's
that| Then FASTENED to the top of the
hill, and l looked down, and there
saw the poor lamb. 1t had fallen into
the ditch, and as 1 came where 1t was
and bent over the ditch, and stopped
down to lift the poor thing out, / wish
you could have seen the loving and inn
ploring and tender way it looked Mt
cred with the slush and the mud. It
was an awful thing to do, but
lifted it out, and il was so lame and so
weak it could not walk alone, so
threw it over my shoulders and / start
ed homewnrd. 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
Godr' 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 il, and to turn over n
new leaf, and to pray fer forgiveness
and help. just as soon as n man does
that they hear right away of it in
Heaven. There are no gossips in glory
going around TO chatter and laugh
when n 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 rcpenteth."
/ can very easily understand how
there should be joy in Heaven over n
Penticost with 5000 souls saved in one
day-no mystery about that; can un-
derstand how there should be Joy in
Heaven over the Parish of Schools,
when four hundred souls were saved
under one sermon of Mr.. Livingston; /
can understand how there should be
Joy in Heaven over the great awaken
ing in the time of Harland Page, when
in one year AIS, 900 souls were brought
to God in the United States; can un-
derstand very easily how there should
verified 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 repenteth
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
birth or death of king. Have you
seen cathedral with four towers? aud
have you heard them all strike into one
great chime of gladness? Here is n
man who is moral He is an example
10 great many professors of religion
In some things; he never did n mean
thing in his life; he pays all his debts.
and is n good citizen and a good neigh
Dor, but he says he is not n Christian.
Some day the Holy Spirit comes into
his heart and he sees that he can not
depend upon his morality for saliva
ton. He says: 30 Lord God / have
been depending upon my good works
j find ! am u sinner and I want
Thy salvation. Lord, for Jesus, sake
have mercy on me, and God pardons
him. And Immediately one OF the tow
u IN T..