“Thus tells the wanderer the tale of his ‘_return_;’ and in like manner could all the wandering sons of Zion speak of their ‘_return_.’ You, then, who have experienced these things, can realize the value of the word ‘_return_.’ And from my soul I pity the wanderer that never has returned ‘_unto the Lord_;’ to Him that loved us, to Him who died for us; more, vastly more, than mortal friends could ever do—he died. And so, say you, can fathers die for children, and mothers for their sons; children can give their lives, though rare the gift, to save the life of parents; husbands, and wives, and friends have fallen, to save each other from death. All this is true. But here is love greater than these; ‘for while we were enemies Christ died for us.’ Yea, more: he left his Father’s presence, his glory, and that Heaven where angels dwell; where he, the brightest star in all the upper world, stood highest; where seraphim and cherubim in glory cast down their crowns, and worshiped at his feet. ‘He became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich.’ Again: he bore our shame, and by his stripes we are healed. He was buffeted for our offenses, and despised by mortals, for whom he suffered in the flesh. He rose from death for our justification, and ascended on high, to intercede for sinners, and has sent down his Spirit to bring us wanderers home. “‘_For he hath torn._’ True, he suffers our sins to tear us, and those earthly powers, in whom we trust, to break our proud hearts, and, therefore, tears away our vain supports. He tears our affections from earthly things, that he may place them on a more enduring substance. He tears our hearts from idol gods, that he may place them on God supreme. He tears our soul from the body, that we may no longer live in the flesh to sin, but depart in the spirit, and be with Christ. “‘_And he will heal us._’ Yes, he will heal us from all our backslidings, and love us freely for his own name’s sake. He will heal us from sin, by showing us its deadly nature. He will heal us from worldly affections, by placing our affections in Heaven. He will heal our hearts of idolatry, by the taking possession of them himself. He will heal us from death, by the resurrection from the grave.