The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-04-16
TAI MAGE,6 SERMON 1
Il viii arise and go to my father
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

II will arise and go to my father
There is nothink like hunger to take
the energy out of Il man. A hungry
man CAN toll neither with hand nor
foot. There has been many an army
defeated, not so much for lack of am
munitiOn as for lack of bread. 1t was
that fact that took the fire out of this
young man of the text. Storm and
exposure will Wear out any mars lite
lin time, but hunger makes quick work.
The most awful cry ever heard on
earth is the cry for bread. A Traveller
tells us that i'll Asia Minor there are
trees which bear fruit looking very
much like the long bean CT our time.
1T is called the carob. Once in While
the people, reduced to restitution,
would cat carobs, but generally the ca
vrohS, the beans spoken OF here i'll this
text, were thrown only to the swine,
and they crunched them With great
avidity. But this Young man of my
text could not even get them without
stealing them. so, one day. amid the
swine troughs. he began to soliloquize.
He says: These are no clothes for a
lrich mans son to wear; this is no bust
ness for a Jew; I'll go home; l will
arise and go to my father" L know
there are Il great many people who Try
to throw Il fascination, Il romance, Il
halo, about sin; but Notwithstanding
all that Lord Byron and George Sand
have said in regard to it. it is Il mean.
low, contemplate business, and put
ting food and fodder into the troushs
OF = nerd of iniquities that root and
walloW in the soul of man is Il very
POOR business for men and women in
tended to be sons and daughters OF the
Lord Almighty; and when this young
man resolved to go home it was Il very
wise thing for him to Go, and the only
question is whether we will follow him.
Satan promises large wages if we Will
serve him; but he clothes his victims
with rags, and lie plncch..S Item With
hunger, and when they start out to Go
better he sets after them all the
IIoodhounds of hell. Satan comes to
us to-day, and he promises all luXuries
and emoluments if we will only serve
him. Liar, down With thee to the pit!
-1'rhe wages Of sin is DEATH On! the
young man Of the text vas wise when
A1le uttered the resolutions: Il will arise
and go to my father" In the time OF
MARY, the perSecutor. a prosecutor
came to q Christian woman who had
hidden in her house fol the lIor IS
sake. one of Chris:'s servants, and the
prosecutor said: you opt1 that trunk
and you will see the hereto" Tue
IerSeclltor opened the trunk, and on
the top of the linen OF the trunk he
saw a glass. He said: 81 here is no
hereto here 'Ah! she said, you
look in the glass and you will see the
tberetic."
As l take up the mirror of Gods
Word to-day | would that. instead OF
seeing the prodigal of my text, VIC
might see OurselvcS-Our want, our
Wanderings, our sin, our lost condition,
so that we might be as wise as this
young man and say: Il will arise and
go to my father" The resolution OF
this text was formed in Il disgust at
his present circumstances. Ii this
young man had been by his employer
set to culturing flowers OF training
y .:"'S ov 4r IN arbc: az '"ernS al AZ.
count Of ;in" pork lh:"ket, OF oversee
iI~ Other iaDorers, he would not nae
til :::S!;t Of going l,iDe. 1t he had had
his pockets full Of money, if he had
been able to say: II have 81 900 now
Of my own, what's the use OF my, going
back to my fathers house? Do you
think l am going back to apologize to
the old man? Why, he would put me
ON the limits; he would not have going
on around tho old place Sucl, conduct
as l have been engaged i'll; won't go
home. l have plenty Of money; plen-
ty of pleasant surroundings; why
should l go home?" All! it was his
pauperisn, his beggary. He had to go
home. Some man comes and says to
me: 'Why do you talk of the ruined
state of the human soul. Why don't
you speak about the progress OF the
nineteenth century, and talk about
something more eNhilarating!' 1t is
for this reason: A man never wants
the gospel until he realizes he is i'll q
Tfamine-s struck state. Suppose l should
come to you in your home, and you'are
in good, sound. robust health. and l
should begin to talk about medicines,
and about how much better this medl-
fcine is than that. and some other medi-
cine than some other medicine. and
stalk about this physician and that ply
stefan. After Il while you would get
tired, and you would say: IL don't
want to hear about medicines. Why
do you talk to me about physicians |
l.
come to your, house and lind you Sc
'verely sick, and l know the medicine
that will cure you, and L know" the
physician who is Skillful enough to
meet your case. You say: Bring on
all that medicine bring on that phys!-
Clan. | AIN terribly sick, and | want
lhelp." II L come to you. and you feel
that you are all right in body. and all
right in mind. and all right in soul, you
have need of n0thil e; but suppose l
have persuaded you that the leprosy
of sin is upon you, the worst OF all
sickness. oh, then you say: Bring
me that balm of the gospel, bring me
that divine medicament, bring me Je-
sus Christ"
But says some one in the audi
ence, how do you know that we arc
in a ruined condition by sin?" Well,
can prove it in two ways, and you may
have your choice. can prove it erther
by the statements of men or by the
statement Of God. Which shall it be ?
You say, LET us have the statement
of Cod" Well, he says in one place:
1'The heart is deceitful above all things
and desperately wicked He says iii
HN,<~, ,t,1