The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-06
SERMON ON THE PRoDleAL SON
TALMAGE POINTS OUT THE sIGNIF-
ICANCE OF THE STORY.

en-The Ring Also One Of FestiVity.
The Glorious Assurance OF Heaven.
Washington. d. c.. Jan. s. 1Ss5.-In his
sermon to-day. Rev. Or. Talmage took
for his subject the return Of the PrOdi-
gal Son. The text chosen was. Luke Is:
%. Put ring on his hand"
I will not rehearse the familiar story
of the fast young man of the parable
You know what splendid home he left.
You know what a hard time he had. And
you remember bow after that season of
vagabondage and prodigality he resolved
10 go and weep out has sorrows on the
bosom OF parental forgiveness. Well,
there is great excitement one day in
front of the door Of the old farm house.
The servants come rushing up and say:
What's the matter? What is the mat
ter?" But before they quite arrive the
old man cries out: Put a ring on his
hand" What seeming absurdlty! What
can such a wretched mendicant as this
fellow that is tramping on toward the
house want with a ring? oh. he is the
prodigal son. No more tending of the
swine-trough. No more longing for the
pods of the carob tree. No more blister
ed feet on with the rags! on with the
God receive every one of us when we
come back. There are gold rings and
pearl rings, and emerald rings. and dia-
mond rings; but the richest ring that
ever flashed on the vision IS that which
our Father puts upon a forgiven soul.
I know that the impression is abroad
among some people that religion bemeans
and belittles a man; that it takes all the
of
exchange a roistering independence for an
ecclesiastical straight-jacket. Not So
When man becomes Christian, he does
not go down, he starts upward. Religion
mutiplies one by ten thousand. Nay, the
multiplier Is in infnity. 1t is not blot
ting Quilt is a polishing, IT is an arbor-
elscence, IL Is an efiiorescence, it is an ir-
radiation. When a man comes into the
kingdom of God he is not sent into a
mental service, but the Lord God Al
mighty from the palaces of heaven calls
upOn the messenger angels that wait upon
the throne to fly and put a ring on his
hand" In Christ are the largest liberty,
and brightest joy, and highest honor, ana
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 md 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'm 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 a bundle under her arm, and
she said. There's my old dress; perhaps
some of the poor children would Ike TO
have it," while she herself was in bright
and beautiful array and those who more
Immediately examined her said she had
ring on her hand. 1t was ring of adop-
There are great many persons who
pride themselves on their ancestry ana
they glory over the royal blood that pours
through their arteries. In their line there
was a lord, or a duke, or prime minister
or a king But when the Lord our Faith
er, puts upon us the ring or ms adop-
ton, we become the children OF the Ruler
of all nations Behold 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 be in this world, or how scant our
bread, or how mean the hut we live in,
If we have that ring of Christs adoption
upon our hand we are assured of eternal
Adopted! Why. then. we are brothers
and sisters to all the good of earth ana
family dress, the family keys, the family
wardrobe. The Father looks after us
robs 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 a
question of time when we get our coronet
Adopted! Then we have the family Sc
crets. 1.-The 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
Henceforth. let us boast no more of an
earthly 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 Wesley, that prince of hymn
makers, and sing:
Come, let us join our friends above,
Who have obtained the 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.
I have been told that when any of the
members of any of the great secret So
cieties of this country are in a distant
city and are in any kind of trouble, ana
are set upon by enemies they have only
10 give a 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 to show this ring
of Christs adoption and all the armed
cohorts of heaven will come to his rescue.
Still further, when Christ takes a soul
into his love he puts upon it a marriage
ring. Now, that is not a within of mine
(Hosea 2:19), 81 will betroth thee unto
me forever; yea, 1 will betroth thee unto
me in righteousness, and in judgment and
in loving kindness and in mercies' - AT
the wedding altar the bridegroom puts q
ring upon the hand of the bride signify
ing love and faithfulness. Trouble may
come upon the household, and the carpets
may go, the pictures may go, the piano
may go, everything else may go-the last
thing that goes is that Manufacturing for
it is considered sacred. In the burial hour
1t is withdrawn from the hand and kent
in a casket, and sometimes the box is
opened on an anniversary day. and as
you look at the ring you see under its
arch a long procession of precious mem
cries. Within the golden circle of that
ring there is room for a thousand sweet
recollections to revolve, and you think of
the great contrast between the hour when
at the close of the wedding March" IN
der the flashing lights and amid the aroma
of orange blossoms, you set that ring on
the round finger of the plump hand and
that hour, when, at the close of
the exhaustive watching, when YOU
knew that the soul had fled,