The Penn's Grove record., 1896-04-10
GEV. DR.. TaLugGE.
The Eminent Divine's Sunday
Sermon
TExri III will arise and go to my father"
Luke ~. IS

TEXT III will arise and go to my father"
Luke w., Is.
There Is nothing like hunger to take the
energy out Of a mar. A hungry man can
Toll neither with pen nor hand nor lou.
There has been nan an army deIeateu not
30 much for lack Of ammunition as Tor lack
OF bread. 1t was that fact that took the nre
out OF this young man Of the text. STORM
and exposure will wear out any mans lie 70
time, but hunger makes quick WORK. Ins
most awful cry ever heard on earth Is the
cry Tor bread. A traveller tells US mat IN
Asia Minor there are trees which Dear run
looking very much like the long bean OF our
time. It Is called the carob. Once In awniie
the people, reduced to restitution, would eau
these CAROLS, but generally the carops-tne
beans spoken of here In the texf-were
thrown only to the swine, and they cruncneo
them with great avidity. But this young
man OF my text could not even get them
without stealing them. 30 one day., amio
the swine troughs, he begins to soltloquizs.
He says: THESE are no clothes Tor a rlcn
mans son to wear. This Is no kind Of pusi-
ness for a Jew to be engaged In, feeding
swine. I'll go home. I'll go home. l Will
arise and go to my father"
l know there are a great many people VINO
try to throw Il fascination, a romance, q
%-A~ ~" 1AAAs 'uNa 1OLW
Lord Byron and George Sand have SAID In
regard to it, it is a mean. low, contemplate
business, and putting food and fodder into
the troughs Of a 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 daughters of the Lord Almighty,
AMI when this young man resolved TO go
home 1t was a very wise thing for him to do
and the only question Is whether we will fol.
low him. Satan promises large wages IL we
will serve him. but he clothes his victims
with rags, and he pinches them with hunger,
aud when they start out to do better he sets
after them alt the b~loodhounds OF bell. Satan
comes to us tO-lay, and he promises all lux
urles ami emoinmpnts IL we will only serve
him. Liar, down with thee TO the pitt "The
wages of SIN is DEATH" Oh, the young mar
OF the text was wise when he utterrd the res
%oiution. II will arise and go to my father!'
In the tine OF Mary, the persecutor,s perss.
cutor came to Il Christian m who had
hidden IN her house for the Lords sake one
of Christ's servants, and the prosecutor said,
''Where is that heretic2" The Christian wo-
man said, You open that trunk, and you
will see the heretic.'' The prosecutor opened
trunk he saw II glass. He said, "There is nc
hereto here 'Ahi" she said. you look
in the glass, and you will see the hereto"
As l take up the mirror OF Gods word to-
day L would that instead of seeing the prod
igal of the text we might see onrselves-oui
want, our wandering, our sin, our lost con-
dttion. 50 that We might be as wise as this
young man was and say. ~ will arise and
go to my father" The resolution OF thii
text was formed in a disgust at his present
circumstances. If this young man had beer
by his employer set to culturing flowers, OF
training vines over Au arbor, or keeping an
account of the pork market, or overseeing
other lRbOrers, he would not have thought Of
going home--if he had had his pockets full
of money; il he had been able to say: 81 have
$1,000 now of my wi What's the use oil
my going back to my fathers houseS Dc
you think I'm going back to apologize to the
old mann Why, he would put me on the
limits. He would not have going on around
the old place such conduct rs / have been
engaged In. l won't go home. There Is nc
reason why | should go home. l have plenty
OF money, plenty of pleasant surroundings.
Why should l go homer" All, it was his
paupefism, 1t was his beggary! He he'd to
10 home. Some man comes and says to me,
"Why do you ak about the ruined state OF
the human soul2 Why don't you speak
about the progress Of the nineteenth
eputury AMI talk of something more
exhilarating2" 1t Is for this rea-
SOM A man never wants the gospel un.
I'll ae realizes he is in a famine struck State.
Suppose | should come to you in your home,
ami you are in good. sound. robust health,
and | should begin to talk about medicines,
and about how much better this medicine ie
that, and some other medicine than
some other medicine, and talk about this
physician and that physician. After awhile
you would get tired, and you would 'ay'
81 don't want to hear about medicines. Why
do you talk to me OF physiciansY I never
rave a Doctor" But suppose I come into
your house, and l find you severely eiek and
/ know the medicines that will cure you and
/ know the physician who is skillful enough
to meet your ease. You say: ''Bring on all
that medicine; bring on that physician. j
am terri ly sick and 1 want help" If ]
come to you. and you feel you are all right
in body, and all right in mind, and all right
In soul, you nave need of nothing, but sup
pose | have persuaded you that the leprosy
OF sin is upon you, the worst Of all sickness.
Oh, then You say. Bring me that balm OF
the gospel; bring me that divine medica
ment; bring me Jesus Christ"
''But," says some one in the audience,
show do you NOW that we are in q ruined
condition by sinf' Well, / can prove it in
two ways, and you may nave your choice. ]
can prove it either by the statements OF men
or by the statement of God. Which shall Il
be2 You say, LET us have the statement OF
God" Well, He says in one place, sThe
heart is deceitiul above all things and desper-
ately wicket" He says in another place,
''What IS maj that he should be clean, and
he which is born of woman that he should
be righteous2" He says In another
place, There is none that doeth good
not one" He says in another place.
''As by one man sin entered into the world.
and death by sin, and so death passed upon
all men, fer that all had sinned." nWeli,"
you say, II am willing to acknowledge that,
but why should l take the particular rescue
that you prOpose?" This is the reason. s.Ex-
cept a man be born again he cannot SEES the
kingdom Of God" This Is the reason:
"There is one name given under heaven
among men whereby they may be- saved"
4 hen there are a thousand voices here ready
10 say: well. I am ready to accept this
help of the gospel. I would like to have
this divine cure. How shall I go to work?''
me say that a mere within, an underlined
amount to nothing. You must
have a stout, a tremendous resolution like
this young man Of the text when he said, Il
arise ami go to my father" ''Oh." saws
Some man, chow do l know my father wants
me? How do l know II l go back 1 would
be received" ''oh," says some man. .'you
don't know where I have been. You don't
know how lar 1 have wandered. You
wouldn't talk that way to me II you knew
the iniquities l have committed" What
~ tuhl HutibL hAhShs tuo aHBdlb Oh dOuf
What is that horseman running with qu,ck
dispatch? 1t Is newsl 1t La newsl Christ
mas found the lost.
Nor angels can their Joy contain,
But kindle with new fire.
The sinner lost Is found, they sing.
And strike the sounding Tyre
When Napoleon talked of going into Italy.
hey said: you can't get there. II YOU
NEW what the Alps were. you wouldn't talk
bout il or think about it. You can't get
your ammunition wagons over the Alps"
Then Napoleon lose in his stirrups, and,
his hand toward the mountains. he
There shall be no Alpsl" That won
!arful pass was laid out which has been the
OF all the years sinice-the won
OF all enginee $. And you tell me
here are such mountains of sin between
our soul and God there is no mercy. Then
see Christ waving His hand toward the
Mountains. l near Him say, ~ will come
yer the mountains of thy sin and the hills
4 thine iniquity." There shall be- no Pyrs-
.ees; there shall be no Alps.
Again, l notice that this resolution of the
,unc man Of my text was founded In sor.
'w al his misbehavior. II was mot tnerd
,ysical plight. 1t was grief that he had sd
altreated his father. 1t Ia a sad thing afteA
father has dons everything for q child to
ave that child un9rateful.
How sharper than a serpent's tooth II ID
To have a thankless child.