The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1896-01-10
THE BEA UTlFULRIN
THAT WHICH THE FATHER BESTOWS
UPON A FORGIVEN SOUL.

OFOTN - FOh1tNGN OOOL-
Rev. DR.. Talmage Sees New Beauties In
the Familiar Story of the Prodigal-The
Ring of Adoption. of Marriage and of
Festivity.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 5.-In his sermon
today Rev. DR.. Talmage took for his
subject the return of the prodigal son.
The text chosen was Luke XIV, 90, "Put
ring on his hand.
will not rehearse the familiar story
of the fast young man of the parable.
You know what a splendid home he
left. You know what hard time he
had. And you remember how after that
season of vagabondage and prodigality
he resolved to go and weep out his sor-
rows on the bosom of parental forgive
mess. Well, there is great excitement
one day in front of the door of the old
farmhouse. The servants come rushing
mp and say "What's the matter? What
is the matter?" But before they quite
arrive the old man cries out, "Put a
ring on his hand" What seeming alb
surdity What can such wretched
mendicant as this fellow that is tramp
ing on toward the house want with
ring? Oh, he is the prodigal son. No
more tending of the swine trough No
more longing for the pods of the carob
treel No more blistered feet Off 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
"Put Ring on His Hand"
I know that the impression is abroad
among some people that religion be-
means and belittles man; that it takes
all the sparkle out of his soul; that he
has to exchange roistering independ
ence for an ecclesiastical straitjacket.
Not so. When man becomes a Chris
tian, he does not go down. He starts
upward Religion multiplies one by ten
Thousand. Nay, the multiplier is in i'll
fnity. 1t is not plotting out. 1t is
polishing it is an arborescence; it is an
eff1orescence; it is an irradiation. When
a man comes into the kingdom of God,
he is not sent into mental service, but
the Lord God Almighty from the pal
aces of heaven calls upon the messenger
angels that wait upon the throne to fly
and "put ring on his hand" In
Christ are the largest liberty, and
brightest joy, and highest honor, and
richest adornment "Put a ring on his
hand"
remark in the first place, that when
Christ receives a soul into his love he
puts upon him the ring of adoption.
While in my church in Philadelphia
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 find 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
a great hearted wealthy man came up
and said, "I'll take this little bright
eyed girl, and I'll adopt her as one of
my own children" 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 bundle under her arm, and
she said: "There'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 a ring on her hand. 1t was
a ring of adoption.
There 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 a
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.
"Behold what manner of love the Fa-
Their hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God" 1t
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 Christ's adop-
ton upon our hand, we are assured Of
eternal defenses.
Adopted Why, then, we are brothers
and sisters to ell the good of earth and
heaven. We have the family name, the
family dress, the family keys, the fam
ily wardrobe. The Father looks after
Us, robes us, defends us, blesses us. We
have royal blood in our veins, and there
are crowns in our line If we are his
children, then princes and princesses. 1t
is only question of time when we get J
our coronet. Adopted Then we have
the family secrets. 1.-THE secret of the
Lord is with them that fear him."
Adopted Then we have the family in
heritance, and in the day when our Fa-
ther shall divide the riches of heaven
we shall take our share of the mansions
pnd palaces and temples. Henceforth
Jet MS boast no more of an earthly ances-
try. The insignia of eternal glory is our
coat of arms This ring of adoption puts
npon us all honor and all privilege.