Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-08-22

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home. and You are ia good, robust
health. ana l should begin 70 talk about
medicines, and about ho~ much better
tins medicine Is than that, and some
other medicine than some other medl-
cine, aud talk about this physician and
that physician After awhile yOa
would get trsd. and ysa would say. 4
don't want ~ hear about medicines.
Why DO you talk TO ne u physicians L
never have a doctor
Suppose come into Your house and
fn1 you severely SEX, and l know the
medicines that VIII cure you, a1d l
know the physician who Is skillful
enough ID meet your case. You say:
BRING On al uhat medicine, bring on
that physician. i am terribly sick and
l want help" Il came to you and You
feel you are all right III body and al
right il mind, and al right ii soul. you
have need OF nothing; bat suppose
have persuaded you That the leprosy Of
sin is apOu You, the worst OF al sick
ness. On, then you say, Bring me thar
balm Of the Gospel, bring ne thai divine
medicalnent, bring me Jesus Christ"
But says some one IN the audience,
SLOW DO you prove that we are in a
ruined condition by siny" Well, can
prove it in two ways, and you may have
your choice. / can prove it either by
the statements Of men or by the state
ment Of God Which shall it be? You
all say, LET rs have the statement of
God" Well ne says IN one place, The
heart Is deceirful above all things and
desperately wicked" tie says Ia another
place, What IS man that ne should DO
clean, and be which is born of woman,
that he should be righteous" He says
IN another place, There is none that
doeth good no. not one" He says in
another place, LAS by one man sin en-
tered into the world, and death by sin;
and so death passed upon all men, for
that all have sinned."
THE ALL POWERFUL NAME.
"Wel." You say, Il am willing to ac-
knowledge that, but why should l take
the particular rescue that you propose?'
This is the reason, Except a man be
born again lie cannot see the kingdom
Of God" This is the reason, ''There
Is one name gwen under heaven among
men whereby they may be saved
Then there are thousand voices here
ready TO say, well. am ready to &C.
cept this help Of the Gospel; would
like to have this divine cure; how shall
go TO work." Let me say that mere
whim, an underlined longing amounts 20
nothing. You must have a stout, ire
mendous resolution ike this young man
of the text, when he said, II will arise
and go to my father"
''Oh," says some man, chow do know
my father wants me? How do know, if
l so back, | would be received?' "Oh,"
says some man, you don't know where
/ have been; you don't know how far I
have wandered: you wouldn't talk that
way to me if you knew all the iniquities
have committed" What is that flutter
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, You 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 you 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
ont which has been the wondernent Of
all the years since-the wonderment Of
all engineers. And you tell me there
are such mountains of sin between your
soul and God there is no mercy. Then
see Christ waving his hand toward the
mountains, ard hear him say, 81 will
come over the mountains Of 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. 1t was grief
that he had so maltreated his father. 1t
is a sad thing after father has done
everything for a child to have that child
be ungrateful.
How sharper than a serpent's tooth 1t is
To have thankiess child.
That ia 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 m2ltreated our Father?
And such Father! So loving. so kind.
II he had been a 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, il would not
have been 50 wonderful-our treatment
of him; but be ia a Father so loving. so
kind, and yet how many Of Us for our
wanderings nave never apologized. We
apologize for wrongs done to our fell
lows. but some of Us perhaps have COM
mitted ten thousand times ten thousand
wrongs against God and never apollo
gized.
TIE DIsGUSTED PRoDIGAL-
I remark still further that this reso-
luton Of the text was founded In a feel
ing 0f h0mesrkuess. | 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 nv
text that makes me think he was home
sick. Some Of you know what that feel
Ing u.s. Far away from home sometimes.
surrounded by everything bright and
pleasant. plenty II friends. you have