The Nation Behind Prison Bars Part 3

After his arrival there we received the following letter:

My Dear Brother Herr: My letter to you from San Antonio told of the happiness which had come to me as a result of the reunion of my wife and little ones. Can you realize how full those days were spent in the sweet companionship of those who are so dear to me? I would have wished to have remained with them until Christmas, but my obligations to business intervened, and I was compelled to leave in order to attend to matters here.

My thoughts are with you so much that I often feel as though I could reach out and grasp your hand; and so often during the day there goes up a whispered prayer from my heart that our Father will bless you in just proportion as you have been a sweet, helpful blessing to others.

My route includes Louisville, and while I may not be in there on this trip, it will not be many days before I will have an opportunity to greet you in person. May G.o.d bless Sister Herr and yourself if only in recompense for your kindness to me.

EDWARD.

-------- Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy G.o.d: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.--Isa.

44:10.

Does not the life of this man preach a more eloquent sermon, and tell a more powerful tale, and teach a more eloquent lesson than I or any other preacher could do? Reader, you cannot ignore, disregard, or shut your eyes to the lesson which this man's life teaches, impresses and enforces of the awful danger and the deadly and destructive effects of sin.

-------- Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil.--Isa. 1:16.

Here is a lesson in life that appeals to us and bids us stop in our mad way. This parable of the prodigal son shows that we can have our own way if we determine to do it; father and mother can't keep us from it, and G.o.d by force will not keep us from it; but we will certainly pay for it, and pay the price of tears and sorrow, remorse and ruin. This n.o.bleman's son, by refusing to heed G.o.d's warning, was brought to want. No matter whose son it is, if he determines to have his own way and give himself up to self-indulgence and riotous living, he will come to want, shame, bitterness, and many are the men who tried to master themselves but failed. Some evil habit had fastened itself upon him, and realizing himself a slave, tries to shake it off, but, alas! the will has been paralyzed, and it does not respond in warding off the fearful habit.

Defeat after defeat occurs until the poor fellow, discouraged, broken-hearted, gives up and goes down to utter ruin. Man is no match for the devil. How hopeless would be the outlook for the great army of men whom we labor with were it not for a Deliverer. "The cross held his body; the sun hid his face for shame, and the bowels of the earth were moved in compa.s.sion, when Jesus expired on Calvary's rugged tree, thus purchasing redemption for every man from the curse of sin. It is possible through Christ for every man to be a Christian."

-------- "Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out."--John 6:37.

What a wonderful invitation--these words of the Savior!

And now here are some of the ways G.o.d has taken to tell you of his love: Psalm 103:13: "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." Isaiah 49:15: "Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should not have compa.s.sion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee." Luke 11:13: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" Luke 18:13-14: "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, G.o.d be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." Luke 15:7: "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 15:10: "Likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of G.o.d over one sinner that repenteth." Luke 7:36-50: "And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. And behold a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

-------- Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.--Prov. 31:31.

"Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him; for she is a sinner.

And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.

And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

-------- And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.--Matt. 8:2.

"And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace."

A father whose son had gone away to California, and was a gambler in San Francisco, sent him word by a friend: "Your father loves you still." And it made him ashamed; it broke his heart; he repented, returned home and was saved. "G.o.d, your heavenly Father, loves you still." Will you not believe it and come to him for safety? He will not abuse you for your sins. He will save you from your sins, and make you happy.

"And he began to be in want."

That is what sin brings a man to--want.

And it was this which brought him to his senses--"he came to himself"

(verse 17).

And when he does come to himself he can think of only one place where he can hope to find relief, and he bravely determines to go straight to the very father he had so shamefully abandoned, and to make a full confession and throw himself on that father's mercy with the hope of being taken back as a hired servant. He is willing to take the humblest and meanest place if he can only get back to that home he was, a short time before, so eager to leave. Nor does he offer any excuse; he calls his sin by the right name and confesses it without trying to excuse it or justify it.

-------- And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.--Matt.

8:3.

And how did his father receive him? Why, he did not wait till his poor, ragged, worn and wasted boy got in and made his confession; but he saw him a great way off (verse 20) and he knew what had pa.s.sed in the boy's heart and life, and moved with compa.s.sion toward him, he ran and fell on his neck and kissed him a glad welcome back to his heart and home. But the son goes on to make his confession and his offer to be a hired servant anyhow, and yet the father says, "No! no! bring forth the best robe and put it on him."

-------- "And their works do follow them."--Rev. 14:13.

A man married a young widow with a small son. Her former husband had left her $10,000 in his will. The man said: "I will take care of you and we will lay away that $10,000 for your boy." Two other sons were born to them. The stepson was educated and taught habits of business. At twenty-one years of age he asked for the money his father had left. He was told that instead of being $10,000, it had been invested for him and was now $50,000. He was asked to let the money stay in the business and to become a partner with his stepfather. The young man refused, took his $50,000, fell into bad habits and lost it all and came home in rags, a tramp. His stepfather met him at the train, took him to the barbershop and clothier and presented him to his mother at the house as a gentleman. The nicest room in the house was a.s.signed him and he was told that it was his permanent home. He was also told by his stepfather that he was to be taken into the business firm composed of the father and the two half-brothers. This was more than he could stand. He began to weep at his ingrat.i.tude and at the love which had been lavished upon him. He devoted himself to business, was devoted to his stepfather, and was as loyal to his interests as his own sons. This picture, though it seems overdrawn, is one of real life. The stepfather had a good disposition naturally, but his magnanimous treatment of the prodigal was out of his sincere affection for his wife. There were few ties of love that bound him to the bad boy, only the love of his faithful wife. He loved the boy for the sake of his mother. Our Father loves his children and receives the prodigals returning to him for their own sake and the sake of his Son who died for them, and treats them, in his affection, as though they had never sinned against him.

-------- The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.--Prov, 15:3.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DR. E. L. POWELL

Pastor First Christian Church, Louisville. One of the ablest ministers of the Christian Church who has done a wonderful work among the ma.s.ses.]

CHAPTER THREE

POLITICAL PERIL

Sermon by Dr. E. L. Powell, on "The Need of Prophets in a Time of Political Peril," delivered at the First Christian Church, Louisville, Ky.

"And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) shall know that there hath been a prophet among them."--Ezekiel 2:5.

He thought it would not be questioned by thinking persons that we are living in a time of political peril. He did not mean that revolution was at our door; he did not mean that we are threatened with a reign of terror; he did not mean that there was any prospect of immediate bloodshed.

-------- I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.

I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy loving kindness and thy truth from the great congregation.--Psalm 40:9, 10.

Our perils spring from our state--the state of our own souls. They are lacking in moral sensibility--we are in danger. We are told on every hand our country was never more prosperous--that is unquestionably so.

The same might be said of Rome when that colossal empire was tottering to its fall. There were persons then who paid from $200,000 to $400,000 for a single feast. It is recorded of one man that, after spending several millions of dollars in luxurious living, he committed suicide because he had only $400,000 between him and starvation. National bankruptcy does not stare us in the face. Fortunes grow up in a generation--the dollar smiles upon us as a beneficent sun. Yet our moral condition is such as to call forth from thinking men serious and earnest fear. We are as a man living in a luxuriously appointed house, and yet, on account of invalidism, unable to appreciate his splendid home and environments.

-------- Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

He had called the attention of the congregation last Sunday night to what was the fundamental source of our political corruption--the unnatural separation of religion and politics. He did not mean separation of Church and State; that was right and proper; but he did mean that we need the reign of truth, purity and righteousness, because of the ills to which attention was called last Sunday night. His lecture tonight would be on "The Need of Prophets in a Time of Political Peril."

He did not wish to call attention to the peculiarly inspired Bible prophet. So far as he was concerned he was a man apart, who could not be our example--he const.i.tuted an order of his own; but we mortals can to some extent, recognizing our limitations, reproduce the power of the prophets, and it is not limited by arbitrary metes and bounds, as G.o.d sends his teachers to every age and every clime. If there ever was a time when we stood in need of moral leadership it is now. We want men who come like the prophets of old, who shall come before us as genuine leaders to take us out of this wilderness in which we find ourselves. A fine moral leadership is the exception rather than the rule. Unless the standard be lifted up the hosts will not rally. Truth will not win its way on its own merits. Let the call come from the lips that speak not lies, but the truth, and there is that in the humblest of men that will give back an amen. And when our leaders come we shall recognize them. We are not likely to mistake the rumble of cart-wheels for thunder. The leader carries his credentials. When a community is visited by a prophet it is known by that community that a prophet has been among them. You do not mistake genuine fire. You are never deceived by a genuine voice. It has been true in all ages of the world that wisdom is recognized by its people. Deep down in the hearts of the people are the instincts of truth. When we find men willing to pay the price of leadership we shall have leaders. It is as true today as it was in the days of prophecy that such leaders as we have have taught us to err. We need men with political consciences--men who recognize that there are such things as truth, purity and righteousness in the world.

-------- What must I do to be saved?--Acts 16:30.