Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1896-04-17

. Palmer - loving 50 kind. 1T ne y
. n Stranger, IL He had foasaken us, II He hal
fnesllated Us. II he lad pounded us and
turned us out Of doors on the commons, IT
would not have been 50 wonderinl-ouf
treatment OF Him-hut He Is Palmer, %
loving, 50 kind, and Yet how many Of u i.r
our WEnderings have never apologi-ed. II
we say anyhingt that hurts our friends feel
ings. II We DO anything that hurts the feel
ines % those In whom We are interested,
how quickly We apologize, We can sear'eiy
wait until we get pen and paper 70 write
letter 20 apology. How eIsy l. 81 Tor any one
who Is Intelligent, RICH: hearted, 60 write an
apology or make an apology! We apologize
for wrongs done 20 our fellows, but some %,
u perhaps have committed ten thousahi
times ten thousand wrongs against God anu
Nsyer apologizei.
remark still further that this resolution
OF the text was founded On a feeling OF home
sickness. 1 do not know how long TINS
young man, how many months, how many
years, hs hal been away from his father
house. but there T. something about the
reading Of my text that makes me think no
was homesick Some OF YOU know Wht
that feeling g. Far away from home some
times, surrounded by everyth ne bright and
pleasant plenty OF friends-yOu have sald,
81 would give tha world to be home to-
night" Well. this young man was home
sick for his fathers house. / have no doubt
when no thought Of his fathers house he
said, Snow perhaps father may not ne
living" We read nothing in this story
this parable-founded on everyday life; we
read nothing about the mother. II says
nothing about going home to her. l think
she was dead. l think she had died OF q
broken heart at his wandeungs or perhaps
no had gone into dissipation from the fact
that he could not remember loving ana
sympathetic mother A man never gets over
having lost his mother. Nothing said about
her, but ha Is hOmesick for his fathers
house. He thought be would Just like to 90
and walk around the old place. Ho thought
he would just like to 60 and see II things
were as they used TO be- Many man after
having been oil a long while has gone home
and Knocked at the door, and a stranger has
come. II is the old homestead, but a stranger
comes to the door. He finds ont father is
gone. and mother IS gone. and brothers and
sisters are all gone. think this young man
Of the text said to himself. perhaps father
may be dead" Still, he starts to ind out.
He is homesicI. Are there any here to-day
homesicll for God. homesick for heaven?
4 sailor. after having been long on the
sea, returned to his fathers house, and his
mother tried TO persuade him not 10 go away
again. She said: Now, you had better
stay at home. Don't 60 away. We don't
want you to 20. You will have it great
deal better here" But ii made him angry.
The night before he went away again TO sea
he heard his mother praying in the next
room, and that made him more angry. He
went far out on the sea, and q storm came
up. and he was ordered to very perious duty,
and he ran up the rat-lines, and amid the
shrouds OF the ship he heard the voice that
he had heard in the next room. He tried to
whistle II or he tried to rally his courage,
but he could not silence the voice he had
heard in the next room, and there in the
storm and darkness he said; 80 Lord, what
wretch / have been, What wretch / am!
Help me Just now. Lord God" And |
thought in this assemblRge to-day there
may he some who may have tho memory ofa
fathers petition or a mothers prayer press
ing nightly upon the soul and that this
hour they may make the same resolution /
find in my text, saying, II will arise and go
to my father"
A lad at Liverpool went out to battle; went
out into the sea, went out too far, got be-
yond his depth, and he tloated far away. A
ship bound for Dublin came along and took
him on board. Sailors are generally very
generous fellows and ono gave him cap,
and another gave him "a jacket, and another
gave him shoes. A gentleman passing along
on the beach at Liverpool found the lads
clothes and took them home. and the father
was heartbrokcH, the mother was heart
broken, at the loss OF their child. They had
heard nothing from him day after day, and
event. But the lad took ship from Dublin
and arrived in Liverpool the very day the
mourning arrived. He knocked at the door.
The father was overjoyeI and the mother
was overjoyed at the return Of their lost son.
I Oh, my friends, have you waded out too
deepi Have you waded down into sin2 Have
you waded from the shore? Will you
anna hs~-2 a when you come boob, will yam
come in the rags Of your sin, or will YOU
come ROBBED in the Saviour's righteousness
believe the latter Go home TO your God
to-day, He is waiting for you. Go home!
But remark the characteristic Of this res
oiution was, 1t was Immediately put into ex-
ecution. The context says, "He arose and
came to his father The trouble In nine
hundred and ninety-nine times out ola thou
sand Is that our resolutions amount to moth
ing because We make them for some distant
time. II resolve to become Christian next
year, that amounts 10 nothing at all. Ii re-
solve at the service this day to become
Christian, tina; amounts to nothing at all. II
| resolve after 90 home to-day to yield my
heart to God, that amounts to nothing at all
The only kind Of resolution that amounts to
anything is the resolution that Is Immediate
lyput into execution.
There is man who had the typhoid fever.
He said: "Oh, If | could get over this terri
BILE distress, II this fever should depart, il l
could be restored to health. would all the
rest of my life serve Cod The fever de-
parted He got we'll enough to walk around
the block. He got well enough to 20 over
TO business. He Is well to-day--as we'll as he
ever was. Where is the broken VOW There
is man who said long ago, If could live
to the year 1896, by that time / will have my
business matters all arranged, and / will
have time to attend to religion. and will be
a good, thorough, consecrated Christian"
The year 1896 has come. January, Febru-
AIRY, March, April--a third Of the year gone.
Where is your broken vow? "Oh" says
some man, "rll attend to that when |
get my character fixed up, when | can
get over my evil habits. | am now CIV
On to strong drink" Or says the man, a
am given to uncleanliness.' Or, says the
man, 81 nm given to dishonesty. When
get over my present habits then I'll be a
thorough Christian" My brother, you will
get worse and worse until Christ takes you
in hand. mot the righteous sinners Jesus
came to CALL Oh, but you say, II agree
with you in all that, but must put it off
little longer" Do you know there were
many who came just us near as you are to
the kingdom of God and never entered it?
was at Easthampton, and / went into the
cemetery to look around, and in that GENE
terry there are twelve graves side by side
the graves of sailors. This crew, some years
ago, in a ship went into the breakers at
Amagansett, about three miles away Ny
brother, then preaching at Easthampton, had
been at the burial These men of the crew
came very near being saved. The people
from Amagansott saw the vessel and they
shot rockets and they sent ropes from the
shore, and these poor fellows got into the
boat and they pulled nightly for tho shore,
but Just before they got to the shore the rome