St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-11-01
VALUE OF A SOUL.
Heaven Alone Capable of Correctly
Estimating It.
One Repentant Sinner IL Able to Set
the Angelic Hosts to Singing
Sermon by the 'Highvvay
and Byway' Preacher.

Sermon by the "Highway
and Byway' Preacher.
copyright, 1902, by A. N. Kellogg News
paper Col
Chicago, 49,.
Text: I say unto YOU, that likewise JOY
shall be in heaven over one sinner that
repenteth, more than over ninety and nine
just persons, which need no repentance.
Luke, l6:7. @
Eternal Realities.-Our Lord, Who
spoke the words of our text, had a
charming way of enforcing Divine
truth by %picturing in realistic and sim
pie way the absolute certainties of
the unseen realm. When He talked
of Heaven or hell, of the angels or the
Devil, it was with no vague perhaps"
or sit may be-" or Il think So" His
natural vision beheld the magnificence,
the grandeur, the stability of the tenn
pie, He felt with the rest of His ma
ton the world-controlling power of
the Roman government, He came in
touch with the great wisdom and
learning not only Of men of His own
nation, but of the Greeks and Romans
as well, and yet the eternal real
tiles of the unseen world were not
shut out; for He knew that "the things
which are seen are temporal; but the
things which are not seen are eternal"
His theology was not of that specula-
tive character which busted itself with
studying and evolving man-made the
cries, and endeavoring to reason out,
by intellectual gymnastics and contor-
tions, the secrets of God, but He was
content to take God at His word. His
faith laid hold of the truths of God,
and He knew that because they were
eternal verities there was no room
for argument, or speculation, or hui
man reasoning. Heaven was Gods
dwelling place, the home of the re-
deemed, the realm in which the angelic
hosts lived, moved and had their be-
ing, and hence was a more permanent
abiding place than the magnificent cit
les which the nations of the earth had
reared. He'll was not eliminated by a
boundaries were definitely fixed, its
awful torments wildly described, and
in the parable of a certain" rich man
and Lazarus He gives us a glimpse
into the Devils dwelling place, and
what is the real agony of a lost soul.
The Devil was a person, and not an in
f~luence, or a natural inbred tendency,
which would make him hard to get
at and hard to fight. And after Jesus
had met him in that terrible battle in
the wilderness and angels came and
ministered unto Him, He understood
anew that the unseen hosts of Heaven
were lowering over the earth watching
for opportunities whereby they might
carry out the purposes and will of
God.
And in our text Jesus tells us Of the
rejoicing in Heaven because one soul
has been snatched from the power of
Satan. One poor repentant sinner in
the earth able to set the angelic hosts
to singing and to make the arches and
dome of Heaven ring with the glad
sound! Think of it! When it came
time to open the Charleston exposi-
tion, the president pressed a golden
key at Washington, and the p%onderous
machinery all through the vast build
ings in the distant city was set in mo-
ton. It is wonderful to think that a
slight touch can accomplish so much
at so great a distance. But stop and
think, and contemplate the picture
which unrolls before us in the words
of the text. Let your mind expand
with the vastness of Gods universe.
Here are the sur, moon and stars roll
ing in space and kept in place by His
Almighty power. Here is the earth,
with its teeming millions, and God
moving in Nature to supply the tenn
poral needs of these millions. Surely
a busy God, and no idle moments for
the hosts of Heaven as they move hith-
er and thither in fulfllment of the
will Of God! And yet, one single soul
crushed under a load of sin is able by
touching the golden key of repentance
to send a thrill through Heaven, and
receive back the celestial music of par
don, peace and eternal life. It is diff
ficult, indeed, to obtain an audience
with an earthly king. An ordinary
mortal cannot hope to be received, ex-
cept as he is lavish in his expenditure
of money, and is aided by influential
friends. But ah! how different it is
with the repentant sinner! The first
faint cry for help and deliverance is
caught by the angelic hosts and the
soul is ushered into the presence of
the King to receive His pardon and
His blessing. With the s%wiftness of
the lightning flash the message from
earth to Heaven is sped and receives
the immediate attention of the King.
Marvellous, is it not? And while the
RecordingAngel is enrolling the name
in the Lambs book of Life, the vast
choir of Heaven bursts into a glad
paean of rejoicing, the like of which
has never penetrated to human ears.
And mingled with the voices of the
angels are those of the Old and New
Testament saints, the $50 great a
cloud of witnesses" to the love and
mercy of God. There is David with
his harp; and his rejoicing in the
Lord and His saving grace rings out
clearer and sweeter than ever it did
on the hiIlsides of Judea as he tend
ed his sheep. There r Peter and
John and the other disciples singing
with the rest. There is Philip, who
came TO know the value of one poor
soul as he went out into the desert
to preach the word to the Ethiopian.
There are the sinful woman, and the
thief who hung on the cross and
was the first to go into the kingdom
with Christ. Yes, and there may be
the sainted father or mother of the
repen+ant soul. For years their
prayers went up to the throne of