The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1896-04-08
GO HOME.
God Freely Offers Pardon to AL
Who Seek 1t.
There is JOY in Heaven Ovef One Sinner
that Repenteth-Accept Christ's In
vitation to Return to the Fold
Before 1t is too Late.

DR.. Talmage, in his latest sermon,
tells the story of the prodigal son and
urges his audience to accept the offer
of mercy and go home to their God
to-day. He chose as his text Luke
1918: 81 will arise and go to my
father"
There is nothing like hunger to take
the energy out of man. A hungry
man can toll neither with pen nor hand
nor foot. There has been many an army
defeated, not so much for lack of am
munition as for lack of bread 1t was
that fact that took the fire out of this
young man of the text Storm and eS-
posure will wear ont any mans life in
time, but hunger makes quick work.
The most awful cry ever heard on earth |
is the cry for brerd. A traveller tells
us that in Asia Minor there are trees
which bear fruit looking very much
like, the long bean of our time. 1t is
called the carob. Once in a while the
people, reduced to destitution, 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 begins to soliloquize.
He says: "These are no clothes for
rich mans son to wear; this is no kind
of business for q Jew to be engaged in,
feeding swine; I'll go home; I'll go
home; viii arise and go to my father. y
| know there are q great many people
who try to throw fascination, ro-
nance, halo about sin; but notwith-
standing all that Lord Byron and
George Sand have said in regard to 1t,
it is mean, low, contemplate bust
ness, and putting food and fodder into
the troughs of herd of iniquities that
root and wallow in the soul of man
is very poor business for men and
women intended to be sons and daugh-
ters of the Lord Almighty, and when
this young man resolved to go home 1T
was very wise thing for him to do,
and the only question is, whether we
will 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 prom
ises all luxuries and emoluments If we
will only serve him. Liar, down witt
thee to the pit! "The wages of sin il
death" OH the young man of the tex
was wise when he uttered the resolu
ton, II will arise and go to my father.
In the time of Mary, the persecutor,
prosecutor came to a Christian wonal
who had hidden in her house for tn
! Lords sake one of Christ's servants
/. and the prosecutor said: Where is tina
heretic?" The Christian woman said
Z "You open that trunk and you will Sc
: the hereto" The prosecutor opene
the trunk, and on the top of the line
OF the trunk he saw glass. He sale
eThere is no hereto here. " "Ah!' sh
said, "you look in the glass and yo
will see the hereto.
, AS take up the mirror OF Gods wor
to-day, l would tlfat instead Of seein
the prodigal of the text, we might sc
ourselves-our want, our wandering
our sin, our lost condition, so that W
might be as wise as this young ma
O was and say: 81 will arise and so to N
Father" The resolution of this te2
U was formed in disgust at his preser
circumstances. If this young man ha
been by his employer SET to culturin
o flowers or training vines over an arbo
or keeping an account OF the por
market, or overseeing other laborers, /
would not have thought of going hom
>. If he had had his pockets full of none.
if he had been able to say, 81 hal
81, 900 now of my own, what's the. u
n of my going back to my father
- house? Do you think I'm going baC
. to apologize to the old ma
Why, he would put me on Il
Ar limits; he would not have going {
around the old place such conduct as
have been engaged in; | won'tgo HON
have plenty of money, plenty of plea
ant surroundings; why should |
r. home?" All, it was his pauperism,
was his beggary. He had to go HON
Some man comes and says to N
"Why do you talk about the ruin
state of the human soul? Why do
= you speak about the progress of t
nineteenth century, and talk Of SON
thing more exhilarating?" 1t is for Il
reason: A man never wants the g
pei until he realizes he is in famil
struck state. Suppose l should col
to you in your home, and you are
good, sound, robust health, and ] shot
begin to talk about medicines, a
about how much better this medicine
than that, and some other medici
than some other medicine, and tt
about this physician and that ply
clan. Afer awhile you would get tir
and you would say: II don't want
hear about medicines. Why do J
talk to me about physicians? ne
have DOCTOR" But suppose | co
into your house and find you sever
sick, and l know the medicine Il
will cure you, and l know the phi,
clan who is skillful enough to m
your case. You say; Bring on
that medicine, bring on that ply
clan. / am terribly sick and | WI
help" If l come to you and you
you are all right in body, and all ri
in mind, and all right in soul, J
have need of nothing; but suppos'
have persuaded you that the lerrosl
sin is upon you, the worst of all s.
ness. Obi then you say; Bring
that balm Of .he gospel, bring me t
d;u;,a ,,,ad;oa poant hrinu ma Te