Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1897-03-11

man coming to God and giving up his
sin l feel in body, mind and soul
transport. When | see a man bound
hand and foot in evil habits enamel
pated, l rejoice over it as though it
were my own emancipation.
When in one communion service
such throngs of young and old stood
up and In the presence of Heaven and
earth and hell attested their allegiance
to Jesus Christ, felt joy something
akin to that which tho Apostle 1e.
scribes when he says: whether in
the body | can not tell, or out OF the
body | can not tell: God knoweth."
oh, have not ministers a right to re.
ioice when a prodigal comes home?
They blew the trumpet, and ought
they not to be glad of the gathering
of the host? They pointed
to the full supply ard ought
they not to rejoice when thirsty
souls plunge as the hart for the water
brooks? They came forth saying: "All
things are now ready'-ought they not
to rejoice when the prodigal sits down
at the banquet? Life insurance men
will tell you that ministers of religion,
as class, live longer than any other.
Ii is the statistics of all those who cal
culate upon human longevity that
ministers of religion, as class, live
longer than any other Why is it?
There is more draft upon the nervous
system than in any other profess
sion, and their toll is most exhaust
ing. | have seen ministers kept on
NiSs m .l h,v
congregations who wondered at the
dullness of the sermon when the men
of God were perplexed almost to death
by questions of livelihood and had not
| CROUCH nutritious food to keep any fire
in their temperament. No fuel, no
fire. l have sometimes seen the inside
of the life of many of the American
clergymen, never accepting their hos
pitality because they can not afford it;
but | have seen them struggle on with
| salaries of five or six hundred dol
lars n year-the average less than
that-their struggle well depicted by
the western missionary, who says in
a letter: Thank you for the last re-
any meat in our house for one year,
and all last winter, although it was a
severe winter, our children wore their
summer clothes" AMI these men of
God | find in different parts of the
land struggling against annoyance and
exasperations inuumerable; some of
| them week after week entertaining
agents who have maps or lightning
rods to sell. and submitting themselves
to all styles of annoyance, and yet
without complaint and cheerful of
soul How do you account for the
| fact that these life insurance men
| tell us that ministers, as a class, live
longer than any other? IL is because
of the Joy of their work; the joy
of the harvest field, the joy of greet
| ing prodigals home to their Fathers
house. oh, we are in sympathy with
all innocent hilarities. We can enjoy
a hearty song and we can be merry
with the merriest; but those of us who
have toiled in the service are ready to
testify that all these joys are tame
compared with the satisfaction of see-
ing men enter the Kingdom of God.
The great eras of every ministry are
the outpourings of the Holy Ghost,
and / thank God l have seen 10 Of
them, Thank God, thank God.
| | notice also when the prodigal
comes back all earnest Christians re-
joice. IL you stood on Montauk Point,
and there was hurricane at sea and
it was blowing toward the shore, and
a vessel crashed into the rocks, and
you saw people get ashore in the life
boats, and the very last man got on the
rocks in safety, you could not control
your joy. And it is a glad time when
the Church of God sees Inen who are
tossed on the ocean of their sins plant
their feet on the rock Jesus
Christ Oh. when prodigals come
home, just hear the Christians
sing. Just hear the Christians pray.
It is not a stereotyped supplicstion We
have,heard over and over again for &c
years, but a putting of the case in the
hands of God with an importunate
pleading. No long prayers. Men new
err pray at great length unless they
have nothing to say and their hearts
are hard and cold. All the prayers in
the Bible that were answered were
short prayers God be merciful to me.
a sinner" Lord. that 1 may receive
my sight" Lord, save me, or l per-
| ish."