The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-01-15
A RING ON HIS HAND.
REV. DR.. TAlMAGE ON THE RETURN
OFTHE PROOlGaL.

Ssw LIGHTS on a Familiar Story--The
Richest Ring Ever Flashed on the Vision
y That which Our Father Puts on For
given Soul.
WASHINGTON, Jan. Sin his ser
mon today Rev. DR.. Talmage took for
his subject the return of the prodlgal
son. The text chosen was Luke Nv,
80, Put a ring on his hand.
I will not rehearse the familiar story
of the fast young man Of the parable,
You know what a splendid nome ne
left. You know what a hard time ne
had. And YOU remember how after
that season of vagabondage and prod
igality he resolved to go and weep out
his sorrows or the bosom of parental
forgiveness. Well, there is great eN-
element one day in front OF the door
of the old farmhouse. The servants
come rushing up and say: Whats
the matter2 What is the matter:
But before they quite arrive the old
man cries out, ''Put a ring on ms
hand What a seeming aoSurdlty
What can such wretched mendlcan1
as this fellow that is tramplng on To-
ward the house want with ring! on,
he is the prodigal son. No more tend
inc of the swine trough. No more
longing for the pods Of the carob tree
No more blistered feet. Oft with the
RAGS, On with the robe. Out with
the ring. Even so does God receive
every one of US when we come back.
There are gold rings, and pearl rings,
and emerald rings, and diamond rings,
but the richest ring that ever flashed
on the vision is that which our Father
puts upon forgiven soul.
know that the impression IS abroad
among some people that religion be-
means and belittles man; that 1t takes
all the sparkle out Of his soul; that ne
has to exchange a roistering lndepen-
dence for an ecclesiastical straltJacket.
Not so. When a man becomes a
Christian he does not go down; he
starts upward. Religion multiplles
1 by 10000. Nay, the multiplier is IN
infnity. 1t is not blotting out; It IS
polishing, it is an aborescence; 1t IS
an efhorescence, it is an irradlatlon.
When a man comes into the kingdom
of God, he is not sent into menlal
service, but the Lord God Almighty
from the palaces of heaven call upon
the messenger angels that wait upon
the throne to fly and put a ring on
his hand" In Christ are the largest
liberty, and brightest joy, and highest
adornment. "Put ring on his
hand"
I remark, in the first place, that
when Christ receives soul Into his
love he puts upon him the ring OF adop-
ton. While in my church in Phila-
delphia there came the Representative
of the Howard mission of New York.
he brought with him eight or ten
children of the street that he had
picked up, and he was trying to lind
for them Christian homes, and as the
little ones stood on the pulpit and
sang our hearts melted within US. At
the close of the services great hearted
wealthy man came up and said, I'll
take this little bright eyed girl, and
I'u adopt her as one of my own chill
dren." And he took her by the hand,
lifted her into his carriage and went
away.
The next day while we were in the
church gathering up garments for the
poor of New York this little child came
back with a bundle under her arm. and
she said: s1here's my old dress. Per
haps some of the poor children would
like to have it, while she herself was
in bright and beautiful array and those
who more immediately examined her
said she had ring on her hand. 1t
was ring of adoption.
are a great many persons who
pride themselves on their ancestry.
and they glory over the royal blood
that pours through their arteries. In
their line there was a lord, or duke,
or prime minister, or king. But
when the Lord, our Father, puts upon
us the ring of his adoption we become
the children of the Ruler Of all nations.
ssBehold what manner Of love the
Father hath bestowed upon US that we
should be called the sons Of God" It
matters not how poor our garments
may be in this world, or how scant
our bread, or how mean the hut we
live in, if we have that ring Of Chrlsts
adoption upon our hand, we are as
sured of eternal defenses.
Adopted! Why, then, we are broth
ers and sisters to all the good of earth
and heaven! We have the family
name, the family dress, the family
keys, the family wardrobe. The Fa-
ther looks after us, robe US, defends US,
blesses US. We have royal blood N
our veins, and there are crowls in our
line. If we are his children, then
princes and princesses. 1t is only
question of time when we get our cor
onet. Adopted! Then we have the
family secrets. 'The secret Of the Lord
is with them that fear him" Adopted
Then we have the family inheritance,
and in the day when our Father shall
divide the riches of heaven we shall
take our share Qf.the mansions and
palaces and temples. Henceforth let
us boast no more of an earthly ances-
try. The insignia of eternal glory is
our coat of arms. This ring Of a6op-
ton puts upon us all honor and all
privilege. Now we can take the words
of Charles Wesley. that prince Of
hymnmakers, and sing:
Come, let Us join our friends above
Who have obtained the prize,
And Oh the eagle wings of love
To joy celestial rise.
Let all the saints terrestrial sing
With those to glory gone,
For all the servants Of our King
In heaven and earth are one.
I have been told that when any OF
the members of any of the great Sc
cret societies of this country are in a