Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1897-03-11
PR0DlGAL'S RETURN.
The Ring Of the Almighty's Forgive
ness on Every Hand,
And Wine Glowing In Large Cups From
Ten Thousand Sscraments-Ihe Table
Reaches Across seas, and Its Guests
Arc the redeemed OF Earth
Dr. TaImsge's sermon.


and kill it,
In all ages of the world it haa been
customary To celebrate joyful events
10y feStivity. The signing of treaties,
the proclamation of peace, the inaugu-
ration of presidents, the coronation of
Kings, the Christmas, the marriage.
However much ON other days of the
year our table may have stinted
supply, ON Thanksgiving day
there must be something
bounteous And all the COM
Portable homes of Christendom have at
some time celebrated joyful events by
banquet and fcstivity. Something has
happened ON the old homestead great
er than anything that has ever hap
pcncd before. A favoritG son, whom
the world supposed would become a
vagabond and outlaw forever. has got
tired of sightseeing and has returned
t. his fathers house. The world said
he never would come back. The old
man always said his son would come
back. lie had been looking for him
day after day and year after wear.
lie knew he would come back. Now,
having returned tn his fathers house,
the father proclaims celebration.
There is in the paddock a calf
that has been kept up aud fed to ut
most capacity, SO As to be ready for
some occasion of joy that might come
along. All! there never would be "A
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 neigh
hors are gathered in, and an extra sup
ply is sent out to the table of the sery-
ants. The father presides ut the table
and SAYS grace, and thanks God that
his long 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 great ado
about nothing; this bad boy should
have been chastised instead of greeted:
veal is too good for him. But the
father says: Nothing is too good.
nothing is good enough" There sits
Aiit ouiiS man. Sidu at blt htdENS re-
ception, but n shadow of sorrow fit
ted across his brow at the rcmem-
brance of the trouble he had seen. All
ready now. Let the covers lift. Music
He was dead and he is alive again! lie
was lost aud is found! by such bold
imagery does the Bible set forth the
mcrrymaking when a soul comes home
to God.
First of all there is the new converts
JOY. 1t is no tame thing to become a
Christian. The most tremendous mo-
ment in n mans life is when he sur
renders 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 protested Christ one night was
a young man who next morning rang
nv doorbell and said: "Sir, l can not
contain myself with the joy
feel; came here this morning
to express it / have found more
JOY in five minutes in serving
God than in all the years of my prodi-
gality. and ! came to say So You
have seen perhaps n man running for
his temporal liberty and the officers of
the law after him, and you saw Tim
escape, or afterward you hear the
judge had pardoned him, and r.
great was the glee of that res
man; but it is a very tame thing a,
compared with the running fc a".,
everlasting life, the terrors of .. '.H
after him, and Christ cowinG .. Pc
don ann bless and rescue saw
You remember John Buny. ., is
great story tells how the pilgrim put
his fingers to his ears and ran, crying:
Life, life, eternal life poor car
driver some time ago, after years hav'
ing had to struggle to support his fam
lily, suddenly was informed that "A
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,
Piles are mine, its songs are mine, its
God is mine!' Oh, il is no tame thing
to become a Christian. 1t is a merry
making. 1t is the killing of the fatted
calf II 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 COM
pared to a banquet than anything else.
1t is compared in the Bible to water,
bright, flashing water, to the morn
ing, roseate, fireworked mountain,
TRANSPORTED morning. l wish l could
to-day take all the Bible expressions
about pardon, and peace, and life,
and comfort, and hope, and Heaven,
and twist them into one garland
and put II on the brow of the humbles'
child of God in this ssemblage, and
cry: Wear it, wear it now, wear il
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 seer
sometimes n man in a religious as
smbly get up and give his experience
Well, Paul gave his experience. lie
arose in the presence of two churches
the church on earth and the church in
Heaven, and said: "Now this is my
experience; sorrowful, yet always
rejoicing; poor, yet making
many rich; having nothing
yet possessing all things" Il
| the people in this house knew the JOY,
of the Christian religion they would al
| pass over into the kingdom of God the
next moment When Daniel Sande
man was dying of cholera, his attend
ant said, Have you much pain?'
oh" he replied, "since ] found the
Lord have never found any pain ex
cept SIM" Then they said to him
Would you like to send a message tc
your friends?' "Yes, l would; tel
them that only last night the love o.
Jesus came rushing into my soul lill,
the surges of the sea, and | had Il
cry out, stop, Lord, it is enough; stop
Lord, enough" Oh, the joys of thi.
Christian religion. just pass over from
those tame joys in which you are in
dulging, joys of this world, into tn,
raptures of the gospel. The world car
not satisfy you. you have found tha
out. Alexander longing for worlds t.
conquer, and yet drowned in his owl
bottle; Byron whipped by disquietude,