Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1896-04-15
EASTER SERMON.
Rev. Or. Talmage Reeounts the Story
OF the Prodigai Son.
He tcnged for the Dear old Faccs ut Home
Then Rosc Up aud Went 10 Ills
Father. Who Warmly We'll
coined His hoy.

was Luke XIV, is; II viii arise and 40
to my father"
There is nothing like hunger to take
the energy out OF man. A hungry
man can toll neither with pen nor hand
nor foot. There has been many an
army defeated, not SO much for lack of
ammunition 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 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 arc trees
which bear fruit looking very much
like the long bean of our time. 1t
is called tho carob. Once in n
while the people, reduced To desti-
tuition, would eat these carobs,
bu6 gencrally the CAROLS, the beans
spoken of here in the text, were
thrown only To the swine, and they
crunched them with great avidity. hut
this young man of my text could not
even get them without stealing them.
So one day, amid the swine troughs, he
begins 10 soliloquizc. He says: These
arc no clothes for rich mans son To
wear; this is no kind of business for n
jew To bc engaged in, feeding swine:
III go home; I'll go home; l will arise
and go 10 my father" l know there
are great many people who try to
throw n fascination, n romance. N halo
about sin; but Notwithstanding all
that Lord Byron aud George Sand have
said in regard to IL, IL is u
mean, low, contemplate business,
and putting fcpd and fodder into the
troughs OF herd of iniquitics that
root and wallow in the soul of man is "a
very poor business for men and women
intended to Toe sons and daughters OF
the Lord Almighty, and when this
young man resolved to go home it was
very wise thing for him TO do, and
the only question is whether we will
follow him. Satan promises large
wages IL we will serve him. but he
clothes his victims with rags, and ne
| pinchcs them with hunger and when
they start out to do better he sets after
them all the blood hounds of hell. Sa-
tan comes 20 us to-day and
/ he promises all luxuries and emolu-
ments if we will only serve him. Liar.
down with thee to the pit! THE
wages OF san is death" Obi the young
man of the text was wise when he ut
tered the resolution, II will arise and
20 to my father" In the time of Mary,
the prosecutor, n prosecutor came to
Christian woman who had hidden i'm
her house for the Lords sake one of
! Christs servants, and the prosecutor
said: Where is that heretic?" The
Christian woman said: "You open that
trunk and you will see the hereto"
! Tho 4. 4
on top of the linen of the trunk he saw
glass. lie said: There is no hereto
! here" "Ahl" she said, "you look in
the glass and you will sec 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 as wise as this
young man and say, II will arise and
| go 10 my father" The resolution of
this text was formed in disgust mt
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 nc
count of the pork market, or overseeing
other laborcrs, he would not
have thought Of going home.
If he had had his pockets full
of money. II he had been
able TO say: II have a thousand dollars
now of my own; what's 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 go
! ing on around the old place such con-
! duct as | have been engaged in. /
Won't go home. / have plenty of mon
! ey-plenty of pleasant surroundings.
! Why should go homc?" Ah it was
! his paupcrism, il was his beggary.
/ He had to go home Some man comes
and says TO me: why do you
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
| exhilerating?" IL is for this reason: A
man never wants the gospel until he
realizes he is in "A famine struck state.
/ Suppose should come TO you in your
/ home and you are in good, sound, ro-
bust health, and should begin TO talk
/ about medicines. and about how much
better this medicine is than that. and
some other medicine 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 20 hear about
medicines. Why do you talk to
me of physicians? never
have a DOCTOR" But suppose / come
| into your house and I find you severe
/ ~ sick. and know tho medicines that
viii cure you, and / know the physi-
clan who is slSillfUl enough 90 meet your
| case. You say: Bring on all that
medicine; bring on that physician.
l am terribly sick and want help" n I
come 90 you, and you feel all right in
body, and all right in mind, and all
right in soul. you have need Of nothing;
but suppose have persuaded you that
the leprosy OF sin is upon you. the worst
Of all sickness. OH then you sav.
Bring me that balm of the Gospel,
bring me that divine mcdicament bring
me Jesus Christ" But" says some
one in the audience. how do you know
that we are in "A ruined condition by
sin?' We'll, ! can prove IL in two ways,
and You may have your choice. can
prove it either by the statements Of
men or by the statement OF God.
Which shall IL be? You say, Let us