The Indiana State sentinel., 1894-11-14

There everlasting spring abidess
And never whitening flowers.
Death like a narrow stream, divides
That heavenly land from ours.
On, IT is a great religion to live by ana
II is a great religion TO die by. There is
only one heartthrob between you and that
religion this moment. Just look into the
face OF your pardoning God and surrender
yourself for time and for eternity, and
He Is yours, and heaven is yours, and al
Is yours. Some of you, like the young
man of the text, have gone far astray.
know not the history, but you know it
you know it.
When a young man went forth into
life, the legend says, his guardian angel
went forth with him. and getting him into
a field the guardian angel swept circle
clear around where the young man stood.
1t was n circle Of virtue and honor, and
he must not step beyond that circle.
Armed foes came down. but were obliged
to halt at the circle. They could not pass.
but one day a temptress, with diamonded
hand, stretched forth and crossed that cir
Gle with the hand, and the tempted soul
took il. and by that one fell grip was
of you have stepped beyond that circle.
Would you not like this day, by the grace
Of God, to step back?
This, / say to you, is your hour OF sal
va.tion There was in the closing hours
Of Queen Anne what is called the clock
scene. Fat down on the pillow, in he.p-
less sickness. she could not move her head
or move her hand. She was waiting for
the hour when the ministers Of state
should gather IN angry contest, and wor-
ried and worm out by the coming hour.
and in mOmentary absence of the nurse,
In the p0wer-strange power which oe-
lim.um sometimes gives One-she arose
and stood in 'front.' of the clock, and stood
there watching the clock when the nurse
returned The nurse said, do You see
anything peculiar about that clockg' She
mada no answer, but soon died. There is
a clock scene in every history. If some
Of you would rise from the bed of lethargy
and come out Of your delirium Of sin and
look on the clock of your destiny this mo
ment, you would see and hear something
you have not seen or heard before, and
every tick Of the minute. and every stroke
Of the hour, and every swing OF the peIldu-
lum would say. Now, now, now, now
on. come home to your Fathers house!
Come home. on. prodigal, from the wider
ness! Come home, come home
joy OF the Father.
But I notice that when the pnodigal
came there was the fathers joy. He did
not greet him with any formal how do
you do?" He did not come out and say:
You are unfit to enter Go out ard wash
in the trough by the vel, and then you
can come in. We have had enough trou-
bic with you"
An, no. Nft-l TIE pIOpIlCspi VI biisl~
estate proclaimed festival, II was an out
burst OF a fathers love and a fathers
JOY. God is your father. L have not
much sympathy with that description OF
God / sometimes hear. as though ne were
a Turkish sultan-hard and unsympa-
thetic and listening not to the cry Oh MS
subjects.
A ran told me he saw in one of the
eastern lands u king riding along, and
two men were in alteration. and one
charged the other with having eaten his
rice. And the king said, Then slay the
man, and by past mCrtem examination
find whether he has eacen the rice. And
he was slain. An, the cruelty of scene
like thati Our God Is not sultan, not a
deSpot, but father-kind, loving, for
giving-and he makes all heaven ring
again when a prodigal comes back. L
have no pleasure, he says, IN the dean
Of him that dieth.'
II a man does not get to heaven. it is
because he viii not go there No differ-
ence the color, no difference the history,
no difference the antecedents, no differ
ence the surroundings, no difference the
sin When the white horses Of Christ ;
victory are brought Out 10 celebrate the
eternal triumph, You may ride one OF
tham and as God is greater than all
his joy is greater, and When soul comes
back there is in his heart the surging Of
an infinite ocean Of gladness, and 20 eX-
press that gladness IL takes all the rivers
and all the ages of eternity. IL Is JOY
deeper than all depth, and higher than
all hight and wider than all width. and
vaster than all immensely. 1t OvertOps,
it undergirds it outweighs all the united
splendOr and JOY Of the universe. VINO
can tell what Gods joy is?
Music of the Redeemed.
You remember reading the story of a
king who on some great day Of festivity
scattered silver and gold among the peo-
pie, who sent valuable presents to his
courtiers, but methinks when a soul
comes back God is so glad to express His
joy He filings out new worlds into space
kindles up new suns and rolls among the
wh.te-r0bed anthems Of the redeemed a
grea,er halluliah. while with voice that
reverberateS among the mountains Of
franldncense and is echoed back from the
everlasting gates He cries, This, Ny son,
was dead and is alive again.
At the opening of the exposition in New
Orleans l saw a Mexican ilutist, and he
played the 500, and then afterward the
eight or ten bands Of music, accompanied
by the great organ, came in. But the
sound Of that one flute as compared with
al The orchestra was greater than all the
combined joy of the universe when COM
pared with the resounding heart of Al
mighty God.
For ten years father went three times
a day TO the depot. His son went off in
aggravating circums tances, but the ia
ther said, He VIII come back" The
strain was too much. and his mind part
ed. and three times a day the father
went. In the cary morning he watched
the train-its arriva,, the stepping out Of
the passengers and then the departure Of
the train. At noon he was there again
watching the advance Of the train, watch
ing the departure. At night there again.
watching the coming, watching the go
ing. for ten years. He was sure his son
would come back. God has been watch
ing and waiting for some of you. my
brothers. ten years, twenty years, thirty
years, forty years, perhaps fifty years
waiting. waiting watching, watching, and
If this morning the prodigal should come
home what scene Of g.adness and fes-
tivity and how the great Fathers heart
would rejoice at your coming home, You
viii come, some of you, viii you not?
You viii! You viii.
Gods Ministers Rejoice.
/ notice also that when a prodigal comes
home there is the joy OF the ministers of
religion. oh, 1t is a grand thing to preach
this gospel! L know there has been a great
deal said about the trials and the hard
ships OF the Christian ministry. I wish
somebody would write a good. rOusing
book about the joys of the Christian min
istTy. Since l entered the profession I
have seen more of the goodness of God
than / will be able to celebrate in all
eternity. l know some boast about their