Daily public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1892-191?, 1896-04-11

IL mduc nlh angry Inc uiEnV uo1Oro
he went away again to sea he heard
his mother praying in the next room.
and that made him more angry. He
went far our on the sea, and storm
came up and he was ordered To
very perilous duty, and he ran up
the ratlines, and amid the shrouds of
the ship he heard the voice that he had
heard in the next room. He tried to
whistle it off, he tried to rally his cour-
age; but he could not silence the voice
he had heard in the next room, and
there in the storm and darkness he
- i'd: "0h, Lord! what a wretch have
been! What a wretch l am! Help me
Just now, Lord God" And | thought
in this assemblage to-day there may be
some who may have the memory of a
fathers petition, of a mothers prayer
pressing nightly upon her soul, and
that this hour they may make the
same resolution l find in my text,
saying: II will arise and go to my
father"
But | remark thu characteristic Of
! this resolution was. it was Immediate
| ly put into execution. The context
! says 'he arose and came to hi father"
! The trouble in 900 times out of / 900 is
| that our resolutions amoent to nothing,
because we make them for some dis
tant time. If | resolve 20 become q
| Christian next year, that amounts to
nothing at all. If | resolve to become
Christian tomorrow, that amounts TO
nothing at all, If resolve At the SER
a. L. ~
that amounts to nothing at all.
If | resolve after | go homo
to-day to yield my heart to God,
, that amounts to nothing at all.
The only kind of resolution that
amounts to anything is the resolution
that is Immediately put into execution.
There is man who had the typhoid
fever, he said; "Oh, if could get over
this terrible distress; if this fever
should depart; if | could be restored to
health, l would all the rest of my life
serve God The fever departed. He
got well enough to walk around the
block. He got well enough to go over
to business. He is well to-day--as
well as he ever was. Where is the
broken vow? There is man who said
long ago: "If l could live to tho
year 1896, by that time | will have
my business matters all arranged, and
will have time to attend to religion,
and | will be a good, thorough, consc-
Grated Christian" The year 1896 has
come. January, February, March,
April-a fourth of the year gone.
Where is your broken vow? oh"
says some man, IN attend to that
when get my character fixed up, when
| can get over my evil habits; am now
given to strong drink or, says the
man, IL am given to uncleanliness," or
says the man, Il am given to dishon-
esty. When | get over my present habits
then I'll bc thorough Christian" My
brother, you will get worse and worse,
until Christ takes You in hand Not
the righteous, sinners Jesus came to
call" Oh but you say. Il agree
with You in all that. but | must put it
off a little longer Do you know there
were many who came just rs near as
you are to the kingdom of God and
never entered it? | was at EaSthamp-
ton. and | went into the cemetery to
look around. and in that cemetery
there are II graves side by side-the
graves of sailors. This crew, some
years ago, in a ship went into the
breakers at Amagansett, about three
miles away My brother, then preach
ing at Easthampton, had been at the
burial. These men of the crew came
very near being saved, The people
from Amagansett saw the vessel, and
they shot rockets, and they sent
ropes from the shore, and these poor
fellows got into the boat, and they
pulled nightly for the shore. but just
before they got to the shore the rope
snapped and the boat capsiZcd and
they were lost. Their bodies after
ward washed upon the beach. Oh!
what "A solemn day it was-l have been
told of it by my brothcr-whcn these
twelve men lay at the foot of the pull
pit, and he read over them the funeral
service. They came very near shore
within shouting distance of the shore,
vet did not arrive on solid land. There
are some men who come almost to the
shore of Gods mercy, but not quite,
not quite. To be almost saved is 10 ba
lost.
l will tell You of two prodigals--the
one that got back and the other that
did not get back. In Richmond, Va,
there is very prosperous and beauti.
full home in many respects. A young
man wandered off from that home. lie
wandered very far into sin. They
heard of him after, but he was always
on the wrong track. He would not go
home. At the door of that beautiful
home one night there was great out
cry. The young man of the house ran
down to open the door to see what
was the matter. 1t was midnight.
The rest of the family were asleep.
There were the wife and children of
this prOdigal young man. The fact
was he had come home and driven them
out. "Out of this house! Away with
these children. l will dash their brains
! out. Out into the Storm The mother
gathered them up and fled. The next
morning the brother, the young man
who had sta:d at home. went out to
find this prodigal brother and son, and
I ~. L.