Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1896-04-18

how sharper fnan . seIPeut , tOo'u |
To have q tnankless child.
That is Shakespeare. "a foolish eoa is tns
heaviness Of his mother" That Is the Bible.
Well. nv friends. have not some Of us been
cruel prodiEals? Have we not maltreated our
And such a Father! Three tlmesa
day has He fed thee. He has poured sunllgot
into thy day, and a. night kindled up alltne
street lamps OF heaven. With what varieties
Of apparel He hath clothed thee Tor the sea,
sons. whose eye watches thee? Whose han1
defends thee2 Whose heart sympathizes Win
thee' Who gave you your children? Who Il
guarding your loved ones depa-tedf Such q
Father. So loving. so kind. II He bad been
2 stranger, if He had forsakeh us. II He hat
1agollated Us, il he had pounded Us and
turned Us out OF doors on the commons. 1t
would not have been so wonderful-oot
treatment Of Him-but He IS a Father, SO
loving, so kind, aud yet how many OF US !or
our wanderings have never apo'o271ed: II
we say anything that hurts our friend fea.-
ings. II We do anything that hurts the feel
ings OF those in whom we are interested.
how quickly we apologize. We can scarcely
wait until we get pen and paper to write a
letter of apology. How easy is it for any one
who is intelligent, RICH: hearted. to write an
apology or make an apology! We apologize
for wrongs done to our fellows, but some OF
US perhaps have committed ten thousand
times ten thousand wrongs against Goo and
never apologize1.
lremark still further that this resolution
OF the text was foundejin a feeling OF home
sickness. l do not know how long this
young man, how many months, how many
years, he hal been away from his fathers
house, but there is something about the
reading OF my text that makes me think hs
was homesick. Some Of you know wnat
that feeling Is. Far away from home some
times, surrounded by everything bright aud
pleasant-plenty OF friends-you have said,
II would give the world to be home to-
night" Well. this young man was home
sick for his fathers house. have no doubt
when he thought Of his fathers house he
said, "Now perhaps father may rot bs
living We read nothing in this story
this parable-founded on everyday life; we
read nothing about the mother. Il says
nothing about going home to her. l hin
she was dead. I think she had died OF q
broken heart at his wander,ngs, or perhaps,
he had tone into dissipation from the fact
that he could not remember O loving and
sympathetic mother: A man nevar gets over
having lost his mother. Nothing said about
her, but he Is homesick for his fathers
house. He thought he would just like to go
and walk around tue ola place. He thought
he would just like to go and see IL things
were as they used to be. Many a man after
having been of a long while has gone home
and knocked at the door, and a stranger has
come. It is the old homestead, but a stranger
zone. 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 find out.
He Is homesick. Are there any here to-day
homesick for God. hoInesick for heaven?
A sailor. after having been long on the
sea. returned to his fAther's house, and his
mOrhnr tried fn npr2npAQ him nnf fn % QwaV
again. She said: "Now, You had better
stay at home. Don't go away. We don't
want o to gos You will have it a great
deal better here" But it made bin 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 6 storm came
up, and he was orderedto very periious dtty,
and he ran up the rat-lines, and amid the
hroud of the ship he heard the voice that
he had heard in the next room. He triei to
whistle it of, he tried to rally his courage,
but he could not silence the voice be had
heard in the next room, and there in the
a wretch I have been! What a wretch l am!
Help me Just now. Lord God" And
thought in this assemblage to-day there
may be some who may have the memory of a
fathers petition or a mothers prayer press
ing nightly Upon the soul, and that this
hour they may maxi the same resolution ]
find in nv text, saying, Il will arise and so
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 floated far away. A
ship bound for Dublin came along and tool
him on board. Sailors are generally very
generous fellows. and one gave him a cap
and another gave him a jacket, n another
gave him shoes. A gentleman passing alonp
on the beach at Liverpool found the lad:
clothes and took them home, and the father
was heartbroken, the mother was heart.
broken, at the loss Of their child. They haG
heard nothing from him day after day. anG
they ordered the usual mourning for the sac
event. But the lad took chip from Dubli1
and arrived in Liverpool the very day thu
mourning arrived. He knocked at hedoor
The father was oyerjoyed and tho mother
was overjoyed at the return of their lost son
Oh, my friends. have You waded out. to<
deep, Have you waded down into sin? Have
you waded from the shore? Will yor
com back? When you come back. will yor
COM in the rags of your sin, or will 70,
come robed in the Saviour's righteousness
l believe the latter. Go home to your Goo
to-day. He is waiting for you. Go home
Blu I remark tho characteristic of this res
olution was, it was Immediately put into ex
e%cution. The context saws. "He arose AM
came to his father" The trouble in min,
hundred and ninety-nine times out OF 4 thou
sand is that our resolutions amount to moth
, ing because we make them for some distan
time. II l resolve to become a Christian mex
year, that mounts to nothing at all. II I re
solve at the service this day to become
Christian, that amount to nothing at all. ]
I resolve after I 80 home to-day to yield m,
heart to God, that amounts to nothing at ali
The only kind OF resolution that amounts t
anything is the resolution that is immediate
ly put into execution.
There is a mar who bad the typhoid fever
He said: "Oh. if I could get over this terri
bic distress. if this fever should depart. If
could be restored to health. I would ali til
rest OF my life serve God" The fever de
parted. BE got we'll enough to walk aroun,
the block. He got we'll enough to go owe
to business. He is well to-day-as we'll az b
ever was. Where is the broken VOW Their
is a man who said long ago, IF l could liz
to the year 1896. by that time I will have N
business matters all arranged. and I vii
have time to attend to religion. and I will b
= good. thorough. consecrated Christian.
The year 1896 has come. January. Febru
airy, March, ApriEa third OF the year gone
Where is your broken vow? oh" say
soma man, ''Ill attend to that when
get my character fixed up, when I ca
get over my evil habits. am now civ
en- to strong drink Or eavy rho mon 8.