The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-08-27

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one" He says in another place: "As
by one man sin entered into the world,
and death by sin; and SO death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned. =
s'Well," you say, ST am willing to ac-
knowledge that, but why should take
the particular rescue that you propose?"
This is the reason: Except a man be
born again he cannot see the kingdom
of God" This is the reason: s'There is
one name given under heaven among
men whereby they may be saved"
Then there are a thousand voices here
ready to say: "Well, am ready to &C,
cept this help of the gospel; wouldss
like to have this divine cure; how shall
l go to work?'' Let me say this is
mere whim, an underlined longing that
amounts to nothing. You must have a,
stout, tremendous resolution like this.
young man of the text when he said
II will arise and go to my father
''Oh!' says some young man, chow
do know my father wants me? how do
I know if go back would. be re-
ceived?" "Ohr' says some young man,
''you don't know where / have been;.,
you don't know how far have wan.
dered; you wouldn't talk that way to
me if you knew all the iniquities have
committed" What is that futter
among the angels of God? 1t is news,
it is news Christ has found the lost.
Nor angels can their joy contain,
But kindled with new fire;
The sinner lost, is found, they sing,
And strike the sounding Tyre.
When Napoleon talked Of going into
italy, they said: 'sYou can't get there;
if you knew what the Alps were YOU
wouldn't talk about it or think OF it;
you can't get your ammunition wagons
over the Alps" Then Napoleon rose in
his stirrups and waving his hand toward
the mountains he said: There shall
be no Alps" That wonderful pass was
laid out which has been the wonder
ment of all the years since-the wonder
,ment of all engineers. And you tell me
there are such mountains of sin between
your soul and God, there is no mercy.
Then I see Christ waving His hand
toward the mountains, and hear him
thy sin and the hills of thine iniquity."
There shall be no Pyrenees, there shall
be no Alps.
Again, notice that this resolution of
the young man of the text was founded
in sorrow at his misbehavior. 1t was
not mere physical plight. It was grief
that he had so maltreated his father
It is a sad thing after father has done
everything for a child to have that
child be ungratefuL
How sharper than serpent's tooth, II fs,
To have thankless child.
That is Shakespeare. ga foolish son
is the heaviness Of his mother" That
is the Bible. Well, my friends, have
not some of us been cruel prodigals?
Have we not maltreated our Father?
And such father! So loving, SO kind.
If he had been stranger, if he had for
saken us. if He had fagellated us, if He
had pounded us and turned us out OF
doors on the commons, it would not
have been so wonderful-our treatment
of Him; but He is father so loving, SO
kind, and yet how many of us for our
wanderings have never apologized. We
apologize for wrongs done to our fell
lows, but some Of us perhaps have COM
united ten thousand times ten thousand
wrongs against God and never apollo
gized.
1 remark still further, that this reso-
luton of the text was founded in a feel
ing of Inconsistencies I do not know
how long this young man, how many
months, how many years, he had been
away from his fathers house; but there
is something about the reading of my
text that makes me think he was home
sick. Some of you know what that
feeling is. Far away from home some
times, surrounded by everything bright
and pleasant-plenty of friends-you
have said: 81 would give the world to
he home tonight" Well, this young
man was homesick for his fathers
house. have no doubt when he
thought of his fathers house he said:
ssNow, perhaps, father may not be liv-
ing"
We read nothing in this story-this
parable founded on everyday life-we
read nothing about the mother. It says
nothing about going home to her.
think she was dead. think
she had died of a broken heart at
his wanderings or perhaps he had gone
into dissipation from the fact that he
could not remember a loving and SYM
pathetic mother. A man never gets
over having lost his mother. Nothing
said about her here. But he is home
sick for his fathers house. He thought
he would just like to go and walk
around the old place. He thought he
would just like to go and see if things
Were as they used to be. Many man
after having been off long while, has
gone home and knocked at the door,
and stranger has come. 1t is the old
homestead, but stranger comes to the
door, He finds out father is gone,
mother is gone, and brothers and SIS
tiers all gone. think this young man
of the text said to himself: Perhaps
father may be dead" Still, he starts to
find out He is homesick. Are there
any here to-day homesick for God,
homesick for Heaven?
A sailor, after having been long on
the sea- returned to his fathers house