Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1892-08-25

How sharper than serpept's tooth 1t Is
To have Il thanEless 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 aagellated 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 Vet how many of US for our
wande,;ngs have never apologized. We
APOLOGIZE Tor wrongs done to our fe!-
lows. but some OF US perhaps have com
mitted ten thousand times ten thousand
wrongs against God and never apollo
gized.
THE DISGUsTED PRoDIGAL.
l remark still further that this reso-
luton Of .le text was founded IL feel
ire of homesickuess. ! 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 thar makes NE think he was home
| sick. So,ae of You know what that feel
inc is. Far away from home sometimes.
surrounded 10y everything bright and
pleasant. plenty of friends. You have
said. Il would give the world TO be
home tonlgnt. Well, this young man
was homesick for his fathers house. l
have no don0t when he thought of his
fathers house he said, Now perhaps
father may not be living.
We read nothing in this story-this
parable founded on everyday ife-we
read nothing about the mother. 1t says
nothing about going nome to her. |
think she was dead think she had
died of a broken heart at his wander
ings. or perhaps he had gone into dissi-
| patton from the fact he could not re-
y. .-,.;,.#, :. !t,,il and sympathetic moth
:a.::i ncver sv; ~er having ID
Nothing said about -
| 49,. Ba he is homesick for his IA
.:lei.s ause. He thought he would Just
Ike 10 90 sad walk around the old place
He cEoagli, he would jast like to &c and
see If cbings were as t lev sdit9 used te9 be. be.
| Nam mar after having been off a
long wnils mas saS..i A.iome and knocked
at tn door. and i 50 fanger has come. 1t
is The old homesteaa bnr q stranger
comes 20 the door. He nnu, fo.Sn-rr-
is gone. mother is gone and bri ,.bers
and sisters al go,.e. think this y,o,,no
man of The text said TO himself t-:n...e.
starts to tird ont. He is homesick. Aae
there any here today homeslck t,a9sE-Gou,
homesick for heaven:
A sailor. after having been E!ong on
the SEA. returned to his fathers house
and his ,uojaer tridd to persuade him
NOT to 60 awa5 asaif% She said: Now
YOU had better stay} at home; don't &c
away: we don't want, You 10 go. You
Will have it great deal better here. "
But it n.ade him angry TIE night be-
fore he went :,n,,y again to sea he heard
.-.vtner pray;ng in She next room,
and that made him more angry. He
went far out on the sea, and a etorm
came up, ara he was orderedSlo very
periloUs dn.-..and he ran mp the rat
lines. and amid the Shrouds Of the ship
he heard the voice that he had heard
in the next room.
He tried T. whistle it toff: he tried to
cally his courage: but he could not 81
| lence that voice ne h heard in the next
room, and there in the storm and the
darkness he said: 20 Lord. what a
wretch have been. what wretch
am Help me Just now, Lord God"
And thought IN this assemblage
today there may be some who may
have the memory Of q fathers petition
or a mothers prayer pressing nightly
! upon the soul, and that this hour they
| may make the same, resolution | find III
my text. saving, Il viii arise and go TO
my father.
a lad at Liverpool went ont to battle.
went out into the sea. Went out toe far,
got beyond his depth and ne tioated far
away A snip bound for Dublin came
along and took him on board. Sailors
are general. very generous fellows. and
one gave him a cap and another gave
him jacket and another gave him
shoes a gentleman passing along on
the beach at Liverpool found the lads
clothes and took them home. and the
father was heartbroken, the another was
heartbroken at the loss of their child.
They had heard nothing from him day
after day, and they ordered the usual
mourning for the sad event.
But the lad took ship from Dublin
and arrived in Liverpool the very day
the garments arrived. He knocked at
the door and the father was overjoyed
and the mother was overjoyed at the
leturn OF their lost son. Oh. my friends,
have Won waded out too deep: Have
you wadcd down into sin? Have you
waded from the shore: Will you come
back? When YOU come back will you
come in the rags Of your sin or will you
come robed in the Saviour's ri. .teous
ness: | believe the latter. Go home to
your God today. He is waiting for YOU
Go home.
But l remark the Characteristic of
this resolution was, it was Immediately
put into execution.
Do NOT DELAY.
The context says .'he arose and came
to his father The trouble in nine hun
dred and ninety-nine tiiJes out Of a
thousand is that our resolutions amount
to nothing because we ,cale them for
some distant time If l resolve to be-
come Christian next year, that amounts
to nothing at all. If resolve to be-
come a Christian tomorrow, that
amounts to nothing at all. If l resolve
at the service today to become Chris
tan, that amounts to nothing at all.
If l resolve after 1 go home today to
yield my heart to God, that amounts to
nothing at ALL The only kind of reso-
luton that amounts to anything is the
resolution that is Immediately put into
execution.
There is man who had the typhoid
fever. He said, "oh, if could get over
this terrible distress: if this fever should
depart, if I could be restored to health,
1 would all the rest of my life serve