The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-11-12
Hoods Pills are hand made, and per
feet in proportion and appearance. 25o.
out of the body. cannot tell. God know


out of the body, I cannot tell; God know
eth"
Have not ministers right to rejoice
when a prodigal comes home? They blew
the trumpet, and ought they not to be glad
of the gathering of the host, They point
ed to the full supply and ought they not
to repoice when souls pant as the hart
for the Water-b rooks2 They came forth
saying: 'All things are now ready ought
they not to rejoice when the prodigal sits
down at the banquet?
Life insurance men will all tell you that
ministers of religion as a class live longer
than any other 1t is confirmed by the
statistics of all those who calculate upon
human longevity. Why is it? There is
more draft upon the nervous system than
in any other profession, and their toll is
most eXhausting. | have seen ministers
kept on miserable stipends by parsimoni-
Gus congregations who wondered at the
dizziness of the sermons, when the men of
God were perplexed almost to death by
questions of livelihood and had not enough
nutritious food to keep any fire in their
temperament No fuel, no fire. I have
sometimes seen the inside of the life of
many of the American clergymen-never
accepting their hospitality, because they
cannot afford it, but l have seen them
struggle on with salaries of $500 and $500
year-the average less than that-their
struggle well depicted by the western mis-
sionary who says in a letter: Thank you
for your last remittance; until it came we
had not any meat in our house for a year,
and all last winter, although it was a Sc
we're winter, our children wore their sum-
mer clothes" And these men of God [
find in different parts of the land, strug-
Cling against annoyances and eXaspera-
tons innumerable; some of them week
after week entertaining agents who have
maps to sell, and submitting themselves
to all styles of annoyance, and yet with
out complaint and cheerful of soul. How
do you account for the fact that these
life insurance men tell us that ministers
as class live longer than any others? 1t
is because the joy of their work, the JOY
of the harvest field. the JOY of greeting
prodigals homo to their fathers house.
We are in sympathy with all innocent
hilarities. We can enjoy a hearty song,
and we can be merry with the merriest;
but those of us who have toiled in the
service are ready to testify that all these
joys are tame compared with the salts
faction of seeing men enter the kingdom
of God. The great eras of every minister
! are the outpourings of the Holy Ghost
| and | thank God, / have seen twenty of
them. Thank Cod thank God!
1 notice also when the prodigal comes
! back all earnest Christians rejoice. If
! YOU StOOu on a DIOHOHlOIE anu bltIG
/ was a hurricane at sea, and it was blow
! ing toward the shore, and a vessel crashed
! into the rock and you saw people get
| ashore in the life boats and the very last
man got on the rocks in safety, you could
not control your JOY. And it is a glad
time when the church of God sees men
who are tossed on the ocean of their sins
! plant their feet ON the rock Jesus Christ.
When prodigGls come home just hear
| those Christians sing. 1t is not dull
tune you hear at such times. Just hear
| those Christians pray. 1t Is not stereo-
| typed supplication we have heard over
| and over again for twenty years but a
putting of the case in the hands of God
| with an importunate pleading. Men never
/ pray at great length unless they have
| nothing to say and their hearts are hard
/ and cold. All the prayers in the Bible
that were answered were short prayers:
/ God be merCiful 10 me sinner LORD,
that | may receive my sight" Lord,
save me or 1 perish" The longest prayer,
Sslouon's prayer at the dedication of the
temple, less than eight minutes in length,
| according to the ordinary rate of enuncia-
ton. And just hear them pray now that
the prodgals are coming home. Just
see them shake hands. No putting forth
Of the four tips of the fingers in a for
NAL way, but a hearty grasp, whore the
muscles of the heart seem to clench the
fingers of one hand around the other
] hand. And tnen see those AnrlSllan races
how ulumined they are. And see that
old man get up and with tho same voice
that he sang fifty years ago in the old
country meeting house. say: Nov, Lord,
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
for mine eyes have seen thy salvation"
There was man OF Keith who was
hurled into prison in time of persecution
and one day he got off his shackles and nc
came and stood by the prison door, and
when the jailer was opening the door, with
one stroke he struck down the man who
had incarcerated him Passing along the
streets Of London, he wondered where his
family was. He did not dare to ask lest he
excite suspicion, but, passing along a little
way from the prison, he saw Keith tank
ard a cup that belonged 20 the family from
generation 10 Eeueration-hc saw II In q
window. His family, hoping that some
day he would get clear, came and lived as
near az they could 10 the prison house, aut
they set that Keith tankard In the window
hoping he would see Il and he came alonp
and saw a.. and knocked OF tho door. anl
went IN, and the long-nhsent family wcr,
NJ together again. Oh. n YOU would starr
Tor the kingdom Of God to-day I think
some Of you would find nearly nh your
friondH and nearly AN your families AROUND
the holy inukard OF the holly communion
fathers. mothers. brothers sisters arouns
that sacred tnukard which commemorate,
The love ~ Jesus Christ our Lord oh. ID
viii hs a great communion day when youi