St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-05-30
TALMAGE's SERMON.
Lessons Taught by the Parable q
tho ProdiR0 Son.


Heavenly Fathers Oat-
stretched Arms
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage took for
the topic Of one of his Easter day SER
mons THE Returning Prodigal." The
text was:
win arise and 60 to my father.-Luke ~,
There is nothing like hunger to take
the energy ont of a man. A hungry
man can toll neither with hand nor
foot. There has been many an
army defeated, not SO much for lack
of ammunition IS for lack o. bread.
1t was that fact that took the fire ont
Of this young man Of the text. Storm
and exposure will wear out any mans
life in time. but hunger makes quick
work. The most awful cry ever heard
on earth is the cry for bread. A
traveller tells us that in Asia Minor
there are trees which bear fruit look
ing very much like the long bean OF
our time. 1t is called the carob. Once
In awhile the people, reduced to des-
titution, would eat these CAROLS, but
generally the carobs, the beans spoken
of here in the 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 rich mans son to
wear; this is no kind of business for .
Jew to be engaged in, feeding swine;
Ill 60 home; will arise and 60 to my
father" l know there are a great
many people who try to throw fas-
cination, a romance. a halo about sin;
but Notwithstanding all that Lord
Byron and George Sand have said. in
regard to it, it is a mean, low con-
temptible business. and putting food
and fodder into the troughs of herd
of iniquities that root and wallow in
the soul of man is q very poor
business for men and women intend
ed to be sons and daughters of the
Lord Almighty, and when this young
man resolved to 60 home it was q very
wise thing for him to do, 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 he pinches them
with hunger, and when they start out
to do better he sets after them all the
bloodhounds of hell. Satan comes to
ms to-day and he promises all luxuries
and emoluments if we will only serve
him. Liar, down with thee to the pit!
1.-The wages of sin is DEATH" Oh! the
young man Of the text was wise
when he uttered the resolutions: Il
will arise and go to my father" In
the time of Mary, the prosecutor, a
prosecutor came to Christian woman
who had hidden in her house for the
Lords sake one of Christ's servants,
and the prosecutor said: "Where is
that hcretic?" The Christian woman
said: You open that trunk and you
will see the hereto" The prosecutor
opened the trunk, and on the top Of
the linen of the trunk he saw . glass.
He said: There is no hereto here"
''Ah!e she said, lyon look in the glass
and you will see the hereto.
As take up the mirror of Gods
Word to-day would that, instead of
seeing the prOdigal of the text, we
might see oursclveS-Our want. our
wandering, our sin, our lost condition,
SO that we might be rs wise as this
young man was and say: II will arise
and 60 to my father" The resolution
Of this text was formed in disgust at
his present circumstances. If this
young man had been by his employer
set to culturing flowers, or training
vines over an arbor, or keeping an ac-
count of the pork market, or over
seeing other laborers, he would |
not have thought of going home.
If he had his pockets full of |
money, il he had been able !
to say: Il have $1,000 now
Of my own, what the use of my going
back to my fathers house? Do. you |
think I'm going back to apologize to |
the old man? Why, he would put me |
on the limits; he would not have going |
on around the old place such conduct |
as l have been engaged in; won't 20 |
home; there is no reason why should |
go home: have plenty of money.
plenty of pleasant surroundings; why |
should / go home?" All! it was his |
it was his beggary. He
had to 20 home. Some man comes and |
says to me: "Why doyou talk about the
ruined state of the human soul? Why |
don't you speak about the progress |
of the nineteenth century, and talk |
of something more exhilarat:ng?, 1t
is for this reason: A man never wants |
the Gospel until he realizes he is in .
state. Suppose should
come to you in your home. and you are
in good, sound, robust health, and / !
should begin to talk about medicines,
and about how much better this medi-
cine is than that, and some other medi-
cine than some other medicine. and |
talk about this physician and that
physician. After awhile You would
get tired, and you would say: II
don't want to hear about medicines. |
Why do you talk to me of ply
sicians?' never have q DOCTOR"
But suppose l come into your
house and 1 find you severely
sick, and know the medicines
that will cure you, and 1 know the
physician who is skilful enough to
meet your case. You say: Bring on
all that medicine, bring on that physi-
clan, l am terribly sick, and want
help" If l come to you and you feel
you are all right in body, and all right