The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1892-09-02


Nor angels can their soy contain,
But hndled with new FIRE;
The sinner lost is found. they sing,
And strike the sounding Tyre
Again, notice that this resolution of
the young man of the text was founded
in sorrow Mt his misbehavior. It was
not mere physical plight. 1t was be-
lief that he had so maltreated his
father. 1t is sad thing after
father has done everything for child
to have that child be ungrateful.
How shSrpar than a serpont's toooth, it Is,
To have thankless child.
That is Shakespeare. "A 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 Fatherl So loving, so kind.
If He had been a stranger, if He had for
sal0en us, if He had fiagellated Us, il He
had pounded us and turned ms out of
doors on the commons, it would not
have been so wonderful-our treatment
of Him; but He is a 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
committed ten thousand times ten
thousand wrongs against God and never
apologized.
remark still further that this reso-
luton of the text was founded in a
feeling of homesiclness. / 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
homesick. Some of you know what
that feeling is Far away from home
sometimes, surrounded by everything
bright and plenty of friends
you have said: ST would give the
world to be home tonight" Well, this
young man was homesiclx for his
fathers house have no doubt 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 life-we
read nothing about the mother. 1t
says nothing about going home to her.
/ think she was dead. / think she had
died of broken heart at his wander
ings, or perhaps. he had gone into dis
sipation from the fact that he could not
remember a loving and sympathetic
mother. A man never gets over having
lost his mother. Nothing said about
her here. But he is homesiclx for his
fathers house. He thought he woul d
just like to go out 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 a man,
after having been off long while, has
gone home and knocked at the door and
a stranger had come. 1t is the old
homestead, but stranger comes to the
door. He finds out father is gone,
mother is gone, and brothers and sisters
are 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 at
sea, returned to his fathers house, and
his mother tried to persuade him not
to go away again. She said: Now
you had better stay at home; don't go
will have it great deal better here. :"
But it made him angry. The night be-
fore he went away again to sea, he
heard his mother praying in the next
room, and that made him more angry
He went far out on the sea and
storm came up, and he was ordered to
very perilous duty, and he ran up the
ratlines, and mid the shrouds of the
ship he heard the voice that he
had heard in the next room He tried
to whistle it off, he tried to rally his
courage; but he could not silence that
voice he had heard i'm the next room.
and there in the storm and darkness he
said: "Oh! Lord, what a wretch / am
Help me just now. Lord Cod And /
thought in this assemblage to-day there
may be some who may have the mem
DRY of fathers petition or a mothers
prayer meeting pressing nightly upon
the soul, and that this hour they may
make the same resolution I find in my
text, saying: II win arise and 60 to my
father"
A lad at Liverpool went out to battle,
went out into the sea, went out too far.
got beyond his depth, and he fioated
far away, A ship bound for Dublin
came along and took him on board
Sailors are generally very generous fel
lows, and one gave him cap and an
other 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
mother was heartbrol1en 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 return of their lost
son. Oh my friends, have you waded
out too deep? Have you waded down
into SIM Have you waded from the
shore? WIN you come back? When
you come back viii you come in ting
rags of sin, or will you come robed in
the Saviour's righteousness? / believe
the latter Go home tel your God to-
day. He is waiting for you. Go homel
But / remark the Characteristic of
this resolution was, it was Immediately
put into execution The context SAYS:
'sHe arose and came unto his father.
The trouble in nine hundred and ninety
nine times out of thousand is that our
resolutions amount to nothing because
we make them for some distant time.
If resolve to become a Christian next
wear that amounts N rn+hfr~r IN