The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1896-04-17
THE PR0DIGALs RETURN.
Ono OF Rev. Dr. Talnaee'e Easter
Day Sermons.
The Lessons Taught By the Familiar Para-
ble-Now Is tho limo 10 sag II
WIN Arise and Go to
nv Father"

Washington congregation On Easter
day. The text vast
VIII erise and go to my father.-Luke Nv,
-
There Is nothing like hunger 10 take
the energy ont OF man. A hungry
man can toll neither with hand nor
loot, There has been many an
army defeated, net 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 win wear out any man 3
life in time, but hunger makes quick
work. The most awful cry ever heard
on earth Is the cry for breaI A
traveller tells as 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 che people, reduced to des-
titutiOn, would eat these carobs, 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 sayst "These are
no clothes for n rich mans son to
wear; this Is no kind of business for a
Jew to be engaged in, feeding swine;
I'll go home; will arise and go to my
father" / know there are a great
many people who try to throw a fas.
cination, romance, halo about sin;
but Notwithstanding all that Lord
Byron and George Sand have said in
regard to it, it is 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 a 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 go home it was very
wise thing for him to do, and the only
question is, whether we win 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
Us to-day and he promises all luxuries
and emOluments if we will only serve
him. Liar, down with thee to the pitt
1.-THE wages OF sin is DEATH OIL the
young man on the text was wise
when he uttered the resolution: Il
will arise and go to my father" In
the time of Mary, the prosecutor, a
prosecutor came to a Christian woman
who had hidden in her house for the
Lords sake one of Christ's servants,
and the prosecutor said: "Where is
that heretic?" 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 a glass.
lie said: "There is no hereto here.
'Ah!" she said, you look in the glass
anol you will see the hereto"
As l take up the mirror of Gods
Word to-day would that, instead of
seeing the prodigal Of the text, we
might see ourselves-our want, our
our sin, our lost condition,
so that we might be as wise as this
your & man was and say: Il will arise
and go 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
if he had been able
10 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 |
,he old man? Why, he would put me
1n the limits; he would not have going |
1n around the old place such conduct
IS have been engaged in; won't go |
home; there is no reason why 1 should |
30 home; 1 have plenty of money, |
plenty of pleasant surroundings; why |
should L go home?" Ali it was his |
it was his beggary. He |
lad to go home. Some man comes and |
ays to me: ''Why doyou talk about the
-uined state of the human soul? Why /
lon't you speak about the progress
# the nineteenth century, and talk /
II something more exhilarat'ng?" 1t |
S for this reason: A man never wants /
he Gospel until he realizes he is in a
amine-struck state. Suppose 1 should
,Ome to you in your home, and you are
n good, sound, robust health, and l
hould begin to talk about medicines,
md about how much better this medi-
inc is than that, and some other medi-
inc than some other medicine, and
ak about this physician and that
physician. After awhile you would
ret tired, and you would say: Il
lon't want to hear about medicines.
Why do you talk to me of ply
icians?" ! never have a Doctor
rouse and 1 find you severely
lex, and know the medicines
hat will cure you, and / know the
physician who is skilful enough to
meet your case You say: Bring on
il that medicine, bring on that physi-
ian, am terribly sick, and 1 want
elp." If l come to you and you feel
on are all right in body, and all right
n mind, AID all right in soul, you
ave need of nothing, but suppose 1
ave persuaded you that the leprOsy
+ sin is upon you, the worst of all
iclxness. OH then you say: Bring
ne that balm of the Gospel, bring me
hat divine medicament, bring me
esus Christ"
But, says some one in the audience,
how do you know that we are in
uined condition by sin?" Well, can
rove it in two ways, and you may
ave your choice cau nrOva IL