The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1897-03-19
THE PRODIGALS RETURN.
Rev. DR.. Talmage Descants Upon
the Joys Of Religion.
The Happiness OF becoming Christian
Rejoicing ON Earth and In Heaven
When the ProdIgaI Returns
to His Father.

which all the world is invited to be
guests, Rev. DIR. Talmage sets forth in
the following discourse some of the
joys of religion. The text is:
Bring hither the fatted calf and kill it,
Luke XIV. g.
In all ages of the world it has been
customary to celebrate joyful events
by festivity, The signing of treaties
the proclamation of peace, the inau
guration of presidents, the coronation
of kings, the Christmas, the marriage
However much on other days of. the
year our table may have stinted sup
ply, on Thanksgiving day there must
be something bounteous. And all the
comfortable homes of Christendon
have at some time celebrated joyful
events by banquet and festivity.
Something has happened on the old
homestead greater than anything that
has ever happened before. A favorite
son whom the world supposed would
become vHgabond and outlaw forever
has got tired of sightseeing and has
returned to his fathers house, The
world said he never would come back.
The old man always said his son would
come back. He had been looking for
him day after day and year after
year. He knew he would come back.
Now, having returned to his fathers
house the father proclaims celebration.
There is in the paddock calf that has
been kept up aud fed to utmost ca
pacity, so as to be ready for some occa-
sion of Joy that might come along. All!
there never would be grander day on
the old homestead than this day. Let
the butchers do their work, and the
housekeepers bring in to the table the
smoking meat. The musicians will
take their places, and the gay groups
will move up and down the floor. All
the friends and neighbors are gathered
in and an extra supply is sent out to
the table of the servants. The father
presides at the table and says grace,
and thanks God that his long absent
boy is home again. Oh! how they
missed him, how glad they are to have
him back.
One brother stands pouting at the
back door and says; This is a great
ado about nothing; this bad boy should
have been chastised instead of greeted;
veal is too good for him. But the ia
Their says: Nothing is too good, moth
Ing is good enough" There sits the
young man, glad at the hearty recep-
ton, but shadow of sorrow fitting
across his brow at the remembrance of
the trouble he had seen. All ready
now. Let the covers lift. Music. He
was dead and he is alive againl He was
lost and he is found? BY such bold i'm
Rgery does the Bible set forth the mer-
~ -making when a soul comes home to
Sod.
First of all, there is the new converts
Joy. 1t is no tame thing to become a
Christian. The most tremendous mo-
ment in a mans life is when he surren-
ders himself to God. The grandest
time ON the fathers homestead is when
the boy comes back. Among the great
throng who in the parlors of our
church professed Christ one night was
young man who next morning rang
my door bell and said: ''Sir, can not
contain myself with the JOY / feel; l
came here this morning to express it;
/ have found more Joy in five minutes
In serving God than in all the years of
my prodigality. and came to say So"
You have seen, herhaps, a man run
ming for his temporal liberty and the
officers of the law after him, and you
saw him escape, or you afterward hear
the judge had pardoned him, and how
great was the glee of that rescued man;
but it is a very tame thing that, com
pared with the running for ones ever
lasting life, the terrors of the law after
him, and Christ coming il to pardon
and bless and rescue and save.
You remember John Bunyan is his
great story tells how the pilgrim put
his fingers to his ears, and ran, crying:
Life, life, eternal lifer' A poor car
driver some time ago, after years hav-
Ing had to struggle to support his fam
ly, suddenly was informed that large
inheritance was his, and there was
Joy amounting to bewilderment; but
that is a small thing compared with the
experience of one when he has put in
his hands the title-deed to the joys, the
raptures,, the splendors of Heaven. and
he can truly say: Its mansions are
mine, its temples are mine, its songs
are mine, its God is miner Oh, it is no
tame thing to become a Christian. 1t
Is merry-malxing. 1t is the killing of
the fatted calf. 1t is a jubilee. You
know the Bible never compares it to
funeral, but always compares it to
something delightful. 1t is more apt
to be compared to a banquet than
anything else. 1t is compared in
the Bible to water, bright,
flashing water, to the morning, roseate,
fireworked, mountain TRANSPORTED
morning. | wish / could to-day take
all the Bible expressions about pardon,
and peace, and life, and twist them into
one garland and put it on the brow of
the humblest child of God in this as
semblage, and cry: ''Wear it, wear it
now, wear it forever; son of God,
daughter of the Lord God Almighty"
Oh, the Joy of the new convert. Oh,
the gladness of the Christian service.
You have seen sometimes man in a re-
ligious assembly get up and give his
experience. Well, Paul gave his expe-
rience. He arose in the presence of
the churches, the church on earth and
the church in Heaven, and he said:
"Now this is my experience; sor-
rowful yet always rejoicing-poor,
yet making many rich hay
ing nothing, yet possessing all
things" If the people of this house
knew the joys of the Christian religion
they would all pass over into the king
dom of God the next moment. When
Daniel Sandman was dying of cholera,
his attendant said: "Have you much
pain?" oh" he replied, ''since
found the Lord have never had any
pain except sim" Then they said to
him: Would you like to send a mes
sage to your friends?" Eyes, 1 would;
tell them that only last night the love
of Jesus came rushing into my soul
like the surges of the sea, and had to
CRY out: Stop, Lord. it is enough: