Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1894-11-15

scene of gladness and festivity, and
how the great Fathers heart would
rejoice at your coming home. You will
come, some of you, will you not? You
Will! you will!
We are in sympathy with all inno-
cent hilarities. We can enjoy 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 in COM
parison with the satisfaction of seeing
men enter the kingdom of God. The
great eras of every minister are the
outpourings of the Holy Ghost, and l
thank God / have seen twenty of them.
Thank God, thank God!
1 notice also when the prodigal
comes back all CT ristians rejoice. If
you stood on promontory and there
was hurricane at sea, and it was
blowing toward the shore, and a yes
sci crashed into the rocks 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 1T is glad time when the church
of God sees men who are tossed on the
ocean of their sins plant their feet on
the rock of Christ Jesus.
When prodigals 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
stereotyped supplication we have
heard over and over again for twenty
years, but 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 to me sinner" lord,
that / may receive my sight" Lord,
save me or L perish" The longest
prayer, Solomon's prayer at the dedi-
cation of the temple, less than eight
minutes in length, according to the
ordinary rate of enunciation. And
just hear them pray now that the
prodigals are coming home. just
see them shake hands. No putting
forth of the four tips of the fing-
ers in formal way, but hearty
grasp, where the muscles of the heart
seem to clinch the fingers of one hand
around the other hand. And then see
those Christian faces, how illumined
they are. And see that old man get
up and with the same voice that he
sang fifty years ago in the old country
meeting house, say, ''Now, Lord, lettest
thou thy servant depart in peace, for
mine eyes have seen thy salvation"
There was a man of Keith who was
hurled into prison in time of persecu-
ton, and one day he got off his shack
les and he came and stood by the
prison door, and when the jailer was
opening the door, with one stroke he
struck down the man who 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 little way from
the prison, he saw a Keith tank
ard, cup that belonged to the family
from generation to generation-he saw
it in window. His family, hoping
that some day he would get clear, came
and lived as near as they could to the
prison and they set that Keith tanllard
in the window, hoping he would see it.;
and he came along and saw it, and
knocked at the door, and went in, and
the long absent family were all to-
gether again. Oh, if you would start
for the kingdom of God to-day, l think
some of you would find nearly all your
friends and nearly all your family
around the holy tanl<ard of the holy
communion-father mothers, brothers,
sisters around that sacred tankard
which commentaries the love of Jesus
Christ our Lord. Oh, it will be a great
communion day when your whole
family sits around the sacred tankard.
One on earth, one in heaven.
Once more L remark, that when the
prodigal gets back the inhabitants OF
heaven keep festival. l am very GER
tain of it. If you have never seen a
Geographic chart, you have no idea
how many cities are connected together
and how many lands Nearly all the
neighborhoods of the earth seem reti
culated, and news flies from city tC
city, and from continent to continent
But more rapidly go the tidings from
earth to heaven, and when a prodiga'
returns it is announced before the
throne of God. And if these souls
to-day should enter the kingdom there
would be some one in the heavenly
kingdom to say: That's my father,
''That's my mother" ''That's my son,
That's my daughter" ''That's my
friend, =" That's the one l used to pray
for" That's the one for whom weep
so many tears" and one soul would
say, "Hosanna!' and another would
say, "Hallelujah!"
Pleased with the news the saints belw
In songs their tongues employ;
Beyond the skies the tidings go,
And heaven is filled with joy.
Nor angels can their joy contain,
But kindle with new fire;
The sinner lost is found sing
And strike the sounding Tyre.
At the banquet of Lucullus sat Cicer
the orator At the Macedonian fest
, val sat Philip the conqueror. At tn
{ Grecian banquet sat Socrates the phi