Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1896-04-04

With what varieties OF apparel ne ha;n
clothed thee for the seasons. Whose eye
watches thee. Whose hand defends thecf
Whose heart sympathizcs with thee? Who
gave You your childrcny Who is guarding
your loved ones departed? Such Fatherl
81 lowing. 80 kind. II he had been IA stran-
ger; IL he had iOrsakcn us II he had flag
ellaicd Us; II he had pounded us and turn
cd "a, out uf doors ON tho commons, II
would not have been SO wondcrful-our
treatment ~ him; hut he is Father, so
loving, 81 kind and yet how many Of us
for our wandcrings have never apOlogizcdi
II we say anything that hurts our friends
feelings. II we do anything that hurts the
feelings of those In whom we are interest
ed, how quickly we APOLOGIZE We can
scarcely wait until we get pen and paper
Ia write "a letter Of apology. How easy 1t is
for any one who l. intelligent, right heart
ed. To write an apology ar make an apollo
gy! We apologize for wrongs done To our
fellows but some of Us perhaps have com
mittcd ten thousand times ten thousand
wrongs against tod and never apologized.
An Irrcparable Loss.
l renark still further that this rcSolu-
tion of the text was founded in feeling
of inconsistencies. | do not know how long
this young man, how many months, how
many years. he had been away from his
fathers house but there Is something
about tho reading Of my text that makes
mo think he was homeSick Some Of you
know what that feeling is. Far away from
home sometimes, surrounded by every
thing bright and plcasani-plenty Of
friends-yOu have said, Il would give tho
world to hc homo tonight" Well, this
young man was homcsick for his fathers
house. have no doubt when he thought
uf his fathers house he said, Now per
haps father may not be living We read
nothing In this story, this parable, found
cd ON everyday lifc-wc read nothing
ahoUt the mother. II says nothing about
going home Ia her. | think she was dead.
| think she had died Of broken heart ut
his wanderings, or perhaps he had gone
into dissipation from the fact that he
could not remember a loving and sympa-
thotic mother. \ man never gets over hav-
ing lost his mother Nothing said about
her, but he Is homcsick for his fathers
house. He thought he would just Ike to
90 and walk around the old place. He
thought lac would just like to go and SEQ
II things We're rs they used tn he Many n
man after having been of long while
has gone home and knocked MS tho door,
and II stranger has come II is the old
homestead. but stranger comes To the
door. He finds ont father Is gone and
mother Is gone and brothers and sisters
all gone. ! think this young man 81 the
text said To himself. Perhaps father
may be dead" still he starts To find out.
He is homcsick. Are there any here today
homcsick for God. homcsick for heaven?
\ sailor. after having been long on the
sen, returned 10 his fathers house. and his
mother tried to persuade him not to &c
away again. She said: Now, you had bet
ter stay az home Don't go away. We
don't want You tn 60 luu will have 1t n
great deal better here, But IL made him
angry The night before he went away
again tn sea he heard his mother praying
In the ncst room, and that made him
more angry. He went far out on tho sea,
and storm came up and he was ordered
To very rrliluus duty, and he ran up the
ratlincs, and amid the shrouds of the ship
h. heard the voice that he had heard In
the next room. He tried 90 whistle IL of,
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 IL said: 'Oh. Lord, What q
wretch have bccn: Whit wretch am !
Help mr just now, Lord God" And
thought In this asscmblago today there
may he some who may have the memory
Of fathers petition or "a mothers prayer
pressing nightly upon the soul, and that
this hour they may make the same rcsolu-
tion | lind in my text, saying II will
arise and go Ia my father.
God Is Waiting.