The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1892-03-03
JOY in ..HEA. VEN.
Talmage Tells Of the Joy in the Eter-
nal Home When a Sinner
Repents.
It Is Possible for Us to Augment
the Happiness Of
Heaven.

Ialmage preached here to an enor-
nous audience. He expects to be alb
sent. from home about ten days, dur
ing which period he speaks in as many
cities. The subject OF his sermon was
"Heavenly Congratulations His
text was taken from Luke XIV, Z:
Likewise Joy shall be in Heaven over
one sinner that repenteth, more than
over ninety and nine justpersons who
need no repentance. -.
A lost sheep! Nothing can be more
thoroughly lost. | look through the
window Of a. shepherd house at night.
The candles are lighted. The shep-
herd has just placed his staff against
the mantel. He has taken off his
coat, shaken out of it the dust and
hung it up. I see by the candle light
that there are neighbours who have
come in. The shepherd, tagged out
with the long tramp, sits down on a.
bench, and the wife and children and
the nelghbors say to him: "Come
now, tell us how you found the poor
thing" "Well," he says, "this morn
ing went out to the yard to look at
the flock. No sooner had I looked
| over the fence than I saw something
wrong. The fact was they did not
count right. Ninety-fve, ninety-six,
ninety-seven, ninety eight, ninety-nine
only ninety-nine. M'Donald, you
know we had 100. And I wondered
| which one was gone, and I began
again, and counted 95,- 90, 81, SO,
SO. Well, whistled up the dogs, and
| I started on the fields and across the
bridges, and I tracked the moors, and
lleaped the gulleys, but no bleating of
the poor thing did hear. I said to
myself: The lamb must have fallen
into a ditch, or a pack of wolves from
the mountains must have torn it to
pieces and
SUCKED IT'S LIFE OUT
| But could not giveit up. You see it
was pet lamb. 1t was that one with
the black spot on the right shoulder,
that used to come and lick my hand
las l crossed the field, and somehow I
could not give it up. So I went on
and on and on until after awhile
heard the dogs bark, and I said;
What's that?' T hen FASTENED to the
top of the hill, and l looked down,
and there l saw the poor lamb,
It. had fallen into the ditch,
and as I came where it was
and bent over the ditch, and stopped
down to lift the poor thing out, wish
you could have seen the loving and
imploring and tender way it looked at
me. [ lifted it out and it WAS all
covered with slush and the mud. It
was all awful thing to do, but I lifted
it out and it was solame and so weak
it could not walk alone, so threw it
over my shoulders and I started
homeward and the condition OF that
lamb you may judge of from the coat
which have just hung up. But 1
tramped on and on until it is safe in
the yard, poor thing! Thank God,
thank God!" Then the shepherds
wife spread the table and brough 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 again the story of
the lost sheep that was found.
WITH SUCH TENDERNESS AND RUsT1CITY
of illustration does Christ represent
the souls going off and the souls COM
ing back, when he says: "Likewise
there is Joy inheaven 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 feel sorry about it, and turn over
a new leaf, and to pray for forgiveness
and help. As soon as a man does
that they hear it right away in heav-
en- There are no sgossips in glory 60
ing around to chatter and laugh when
a man falls; but there are many souls
in glory who are glad to run about
and tell it when q man is saved. The
news goes very quick fromgate 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 sthere is joy in
heaven among the angels of God over
one sinner that repenteth." I can
Very easily understand how there
should be Joy in heaven over Pente-
cost with three thousand souls saved
in one day-no mystery about that;
can understand how there should be
joyin heaven over the Parish ofSchotts
when four hundred souls were saved
under one sermon of Mr.. Livingston;
can understand how there should
be Joy in heaven over the great
awakening in the time of Harland
Page, when in one year four hundred
and seventy-three thousand souls
were brought to God in the United
States; can understand very easily
how there should be Joy in heaven
over five hundred thousand souls con-
verified in 1857, in this country; but,
mark you, my text announces THERE'S
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 ring
at once? am told that the bell in
thecathedral Of st. Paul rings only on
rare occasions, for instance, at the
death or the birth OF a king. Have
you seen a cathedral with four towers?
1