The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-05-14
sNsxNzx4saFzs~safzSsszs% fsseSSfs*fssFssfsSeSs { INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY-SCHOOL LESSON
Copyright, Davis W ciarr., g @&<S&<N&@A@

S&x@A@&NSf~SS Save for my daily range
 might despair. --Tennyson- Second Quarter. Lesson VII. Luke xy,
 1l-24. May 1s, 1904.
 The ProdigaI Son.
 The parable of the Prodigal Son was one of three spoken in answer to the Pharisaicai murmuring against Jesus's familiarity with the publicans and sin ners. With cumulative power they set forth the Saviors acknowledged mis- sion in which he and all heaven delighteo' namely, the recovery of the lost.
 If woman loses a coin, part of her dowry, does she despise 1t because IL IS lost. because mayhap 1t is trampled m the mire somewhere. or is corrodeo oy exposure? Not bit of 1t! On the con trary, her heart is set upon recovery. She lights her handlamp and thrusts it into every recess. and. as last resort, she sweeps the floor, and passes the ntter through her hands. When the com N found her delight bears some proportion to the intrinsic value of the coin and to the length and righteousness of the searcn; So the apostate sons of Abraham are SUI aCdt tO oVos tfiC pobi'NohASf eC'' WY patriotically make merchandise out of Israei,s servitude and fallen state.
 It is the sorry plight. the dangerous rredtcament of the lost sheep. which touches the faithful shepherds heart to pity. It is difficult for us to appreciate the strong bond which maintains between the keeper and his flock Tn this instance the true shep- herd. who Is no mere hireling, sees m imagination his dear lost sheep on tne mountain, cut by stones. iacerated py
 thorns. until It's snowy fleece is dyed m it's own blood. It's piteous bieating
 haunts his very dreams. He knows that most tirnid and defenseless of domestic animals will be the easy prey of some
 ravening beast.
 The shepherd heart asserts itself. Out
 into night and danger he goes. The
 sheep is found. and the joy Is propor-
 tionate to the strength of the shepherd s
 attachment. the perils of the search. and the value of the sheep. So each sinner and publican Is still one of the favored
 flock. only astray. imperiled. To search find. and restore such one Is a divine work, in which angels would fain en- gage-in the consummation of which they arc at least permitted to rejoice.
 See the progression. It Is from the 1nanlm@Ie 10 the dniudte-LTout tiic mate to the human. A son in noble and wealthy family. chafing under parental restraint. or having exhausted local means of dissipation, and signing for fresh fields of voluptuous conquest inconsiderately requests an ante-mor- tenn division of the estate. The indulgen' | father makes 1t. Perhaps he has nc recourse; parental authority Is at an end | The sons heart Is callous to the appeal | of love; sin has indurated him. The | guileless youth, the fathers pride and | joy, has grown the gruff. defiant rebel | The amenities of home are insufferable. Tn the shortest time possible the in | fatuated youth tucked the sparkling gems and golden bars. his patrimony in porta- l ble form, easily convertible into coin oi | any country. in the pockets of a money ! belt. and, strapping if about his person
 he went abroad-perhaps without even a | ce-enonious farewell.
 | He wasted his substance. He tossed
 1t in the air fliterally) as the farme1 does his wheat when he will separat' | 1t from the schaff He lived dissnlute | ly He was insalvable (literally) whil, ! bis infatuation lasted. The coincidenc, of the devoured Qitera1ly) patrimonl and the universal and extreme famine | puts a pathetic touch to the SOFT, l plIknI OI tHe uibSOlute SpeHutHTtII.. I'll
 was left behind Oiterally) in the race He never. in spite of his infatuated ef | fort and extravaganza. so much al | reached the slittering goal of his wan | ton ambition. The gay reveling part,
 that kept him company while hii | means held out, swept past him thank | lessly and disdainfully when his onc' | plethoric purse was at last empty. H,
 awoke as from q dream-alone! pennl l less!
 With the. pertinacitv of despair h. glued (literally) himself to a foreigI land owner. whom in his prosperity h' l would have dubbed a "Gentile dog with whom he would have had no in l tercourse. much less receive a favol
 from him. In his despair he cleaves tt the foreigner so tenaciously that h' can not be shaken of. A superlativel, | disgusting and degrading task is givei him-offensive to all the senses, repug nant to all the ideas of ceremonial cleanliness Justified In hls mind iron Iboyhood. So sharp were the bangs O
 hunger that he kept coveting the swin'