The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-04-15

the iniquities I have committed. "
What is that futter among the angels
of God? What is that horseman run
ming with quick dispatch2 It is news,
it is news. Christ has found the lost.
Nor angels can their Joy contain,
Bat kindle with new fire.
The sinner lost Is found, they sing,
And strike the sounding Tyre.
When Napoleon talked of going
into Italy, they said: "You can't get
there, If you knew what the Alps
were, you would not talk about 1t or
think about il. You can't get your
ammunition wagons even the Alps.
Then Napleon rose in his stirrups, and,
waving his hand toward the noun
tains, he said, There shall be 70
Alps" That wonderful pass was laid
out which has been the wonderment
of all the years since-the wonder.
1nent OF all engineers. And you tell
me there are such mountains of sin be-
tween your soul and God there is no
mercy. Then.I see Christ waving his
hand toward the mountains hear
him ssyIIIwiilll eens over the noun
iains of thy sin and the hills of thine
iniquity." There shall be no Pyrenees;
there shall be no Alps.
Again, I notice that this resolution
of the young man Of my text was
founded in sorrow..at his naisbenavior.
It was not mere physical plight. 1t
was grief that he had so maltreated
his father. 1t is a sad thing after a
father has. done everything for child
to have that child ungrateful.
How sharper than serpept's tooth 1t is
TO have thankless child.
That is Shakespeare. "a foolish son
is the heaviness of his mother" ''That
is the Bible. Well, my friends, have
not some of US been cruel prodigals?
Have we not maltreated our Father?
And such Father. Three times day
has he fed thee He has poured sun
light into thy day and at night kindled
up all the street lamps Of ofheaven. With
what varieties of apparel he hath
clothed thee for the seasons. Whose
eve watches thee! Whose hand de-
fends thee9 Whose heart sympathizes
with thee2 Who gave you your chill,
dren9 Who is guarding your loved
ones departed9 Such a Father! So
loving, so kind. If he had been a
stranger; if be had forsaken US; if he
had fagellated US; if he had pounded
US and turned US out of doors on the
commons. it would not have been SO
wonderful-our treatment of him; but
he is a Father, so loving, so kind, and
yet how many of us for our wander
ings have never apologized. If we say
anything that hurts our friends feel
ings, if we do anything that hurts the
feelings of those in whom we are inter,
ested. how quickly we apologize! We
can scarcely wait until vs. get pen and
paper to write letter of apology.
How easy it is for any one who is in
telligent, right hearted, to write an
apology or make an apology! We
apologize for wrongs done TO our fel,
lows, but some Of US perhaps have
committed ten thousand times ten
thousand wrongs against God and
never apologized.
Iremark still further that this resolu
ton of the text was founded IN feel
ing of homesickness. do not know
long this young man how man months
how many years, he had been away
from his fathers house, but there is
something about the reading of my text
that makes me think he was homeslck.
Some of you know what that feeling
is. Far away from home sometimes,
surrounded by everything bright and
pleasant-plenty OF friends-you have
said, 81 would give the world to be
home tonight" Well, this young
man was bomesick for his fathers
house. have no doubt when he
thought of his fathers house he said
'sNow, perhaps father may not be liv
ing" We read nothing in this story,
this parable, founded on ryday life
we read nothing about the mother.
It says nothing about going home to
her. I think she was dead. l think
she had died of a broken heart at his
wanderings, or perhaps he had gone
into dissipation from the fact that he
could not remember loving and
sympatketic mother. A man never
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 60 and
walk around the old place. He
thought he would just like to 60 and
see if things were as they used to be.
Many man after having been off
long while has gone home and knocked
at the door, and stranger has come.
It is the old homestead, but stran yel
comes to the door. He finds out father
is gone and mother is gone and broth
ers and sisters 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 homeslck
Are there any here today homeslcs for
God, homesick for heaven?
A sailor, after having been long on
the sea, returned to his fathers house,
and his mother tried to persuade him
not to 60 away again. She said: Now
you udO DSLLeT Stdy ot hOLoS. oN
60 away. We don't want you to go.
You will have ita great deal better
here" But it made him 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 storm came up and he was or
dered to very perilous duty, and he
ran up the ratlines, and amid the
shrouds of the ship he heard the voice
that had heard in the next room. He
tried to whistle it off, he tried to rally
his courage, but he could not silence
the eoice he had heard in the next
room, and there in the storm and dark
ness he said: ''Oh, Lord! What a
wretch have been2 What wretch
I am! Help me just now, Lord Goa. !"
And thought in this assemblage to-
day there may be some who may have
the memory of a fathers petition or a
mothers prayer pressing nightly