Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1896-01-24
REV. DR. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Washington nivine'S
Sunday Sermon.
snp,ect."Return orthe rrcdigal Son.

TEXT: ';Put a ring on his hand. Luke
xY., %.
I will not rehearse the familiar story OF
the fast Young man of the parable. You
know what splendid home he lett. You
know what hard time he had. And you
remember how, after that season of vagal
bondage and prodigality, he resolved to go
and weep out his sorrows on the bosom OF
parental forgiveness. Well, there is great ex-
element one day in front Of the door OF the
old farmhouse. The servants come rushing
up and say: whats the natter What is
the natter" But before they quite arrive the
old man cries out, "Put ring oh MS hand.
What seeming absurdityl What can such
wfetched nlehdicant as this fellow that is
tramping on toward the house want with
ring? Oh, he is the prodigal son. No more
tending of the swine trough! No, more long,
ing for the pods OF the carob tree! No more
blistered feetI Off with the rags! On with
the robel 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 Wis.
ion is that which our Father puts upon q
forgiven SOU.
1 know that the impression IL abroad
among some people That religion bemea-s
and belittIes a man; that it takes all the
sparkle out of bis soul; that he has to ex-
change a FOSTERING independence Tor an &C.
clesiastical straitiacket. Not SO: When
man becomes a Christian, no dos hot go
down. Hestarts Upward: Religion multt-
plies one by ten thousand. Nay, the multi
plier is in inhnity. 1t is not plotting out.
It is polishing; it is an arborescence; it is
an efflorescence: it is an irradiaiion. When
a man comes into the kingdom of God, he is
not sent into mental service. but the Lord
| God Almighty from the palaces 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 ring on mis- haud."
I remark, In the fist place; that, when
| Christ receives soul into His love He puts
! upeh him the ring oi adoption: While i'll my
! church In PHILADELPHIA there came the repre-
| sentative OF the Howard Mission of New
| York. He brought with him eight or ten
/ children of the street that be had picked up;
and he was trying 20 find for them Christian
| homes, and as the little ones stood on the
! pulpit and sang cur hearts melted with n us.
! At the close O. the services a great hearted
wealthy man came up and said, I'll take this
little bright eyed girl ana I'll adopt her as
one Of my own children" And be took her
| Wy tuO EonC, il-tNA ANL NV At@ S"AA4eSON N-NNe
! 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: "Theres
my old dress. Perhaps 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
ring Of adoption.
There are great many persons VINO pride
themselves On their ancestry; and they glory
ovef tbB royal blood that pours through
theft arteries III their line there was lord,
! or a duke, or q 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. - Be
hold what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us. that we should be called
the sons of God" 1t matters not how poor
our garments may he 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 hane; we are assured OF eter-
nal detenses.
Adopted Why, then, we are brothers and
sisters to all the good of earth and heaven
We have the family NAM, the family dress,
tee family keys, the family wardrobe. The
Father looks after us, robes US. defends Us,
veins, and there are crowns in our line. Ii
we are His children, then princes and prin-
cesses. 1t is only question OF time when
we get our coronet. Adopted! Then we
have the family secrets. sThe secret OF the
lord is With them that fear Him." Adopted.
Then we have the family inheritance; and in
the day when our Father shall Divide the
riches of heaven we shall take our share Of
the mansions and palaces and temples.
l,k No n n N rfblv
ancestry. The insignia of eternal glory is
our coat of arms This ring of adoption
puts upon us all honor and all privilege.
Now we can take the words OF Charles Wes-
lev, that prince Of hymnmakers, and Sing:
Come, lot us join our friends above
Who have obtained tho prize,
And on the eagle wings OF love
To Joy celestial rise.
Let all the saints terrestrial sing
With those to glory gone,
For all the servants of our King
In heaven and earth are one,
have been told that when any OF the
members Of any of the great secret societies
Of this country are in distant city aud are
in anv Kind of trouble, and are set upon by
enemies, they have only to give certain
signal and the members of that organization
will flock around for defense. And when
any man belongs TO this great Christian
brotherhood, if he gets in trouble, in trial
in persecution, in temptation, he has only tc
show this ring Of Christ's adoption, and all
tbe armed cohorts of heaven will come to
his rescue.
Still further, when Christ takes soul into
; HIS love He puts upon it marriage ring
, Now. that is lot whim OF mine (Hosea ii.
10Y. tI will betroth thee unto Me forever
ven. I will be.roth thee unto Me in right
eousness, and in judgment, and in loylDt
, kindness and in merces.' At the weddinl
, altar the br degroom puts a ring upon TIT
hand of the bride, signlfying love and faith
fitness. Trouble nay come upon the house
hold, and the carpets may so, the pictures
| may 90, the piano may go, everything els
! may go-the last thing that goes is tina
marriage ring, sor it is considered sacred
In the burial hour it is Withdrawn from I'M
. hand and kept in a casket and sometime
, the box is opened en- an anniversary uay
. and as you look at that ring you see unde
its arch long procession OF precious mem
. cries. Within tie golden Giro g OF that RIM
| ! there is room for thousand sweet recoiiec
, tons to revoive, and you think OF the grea
contrast between the hour when, at Inc CLOS
! Of the wedding march. under the nash'n
J. lights and amid the aroma OF orange dos
| SONS, you set that ring on the round nnge
of the plump hand, and that hour when a
. the close of the exhaustive watching, wne
{ Won knew that the soul had fed, you too
q from the hand. which gave back no respor
siye clasp. from that emaciated finger. tn
!" ring that she had worn so long and worn
: we'll
- a.. 5000 ooo;voreorv DIV Won take IN this