The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-05-16

Are you as wise in the things that pertain
10 the matters OF the soul? Christ adapted
His instructions to the circumstances of
those to whom He spoke. When He
talked to the fishermen He spoke of the
gospel net When He talked to the farm
ers He said: "a sower went forth to
SOW" When He talked to the shepherds
He told the parable OF the lost sheep. And
am not right when speaking this morn
ing to an audience made mp of bargain
makers, that ! address them in the words
OF my text, asking: what shall it profit
man if he shall gain the whole world
and lose his own soul ,"
propose, as far as possible, to estimate
and compare the value OF two properties
First, / have to say that the world is a
very grand property. Its flowers are
Gods thoughts in bloom. It's rocks are
Gods thoughts in stone. Its dewdrops
are Gods thoughts in pearl. This world
is Gods child-a Wayward child indeed;
it has wandered off through the heavens.
But about eighteen hundred and eighty
eight years ago, one Christmas night, God
sent ont a sister world to call that wan
derer back, and it hung over Bethlehem
only long enough to get the promise OF the
wanderers return, and now that lost
world, with soft feet OF light. comes tread
ing back through the heavens. The hills,
how beautiful they billOw up, the edge of
the wave white with the foam of crOcuses
How beautiful the rainbow, the arched
bridge on which heaven and earth come
and talk to each other in tears after the
storm is Overt How nimble the feet of
the lamp-lighters that in a few minutes
set all the dome OF the night ablaze with
brackets Of firel How bright the oar OF
the saffron cloud that rows across the deep
sea of heaven How beautiful the spring,
with bridal blossoms in her hair / Won
der who it Is that beats time on a June
morning for the bird orchestra? How
gently the harebell tolls its fragrance on
the air. There may be grander worlds,
swarthier worlds, larger worlds than this,
but / think that this is a most exquisite
World-a mignonette on the bosom OF i'm
Dnensity, "Oh," YOU say, take Inv soul
give me that world! / am willing to take
II in exchange. i am ready now for the
bargain. 1t is so beautiful a world, so
grand a worldI"
But let us look more infinitely into the
value of the world. You will not buy
property unless you can get good title to
1t. After you have looked at the property
and find out that it suits you you send an
attorney to the public office, and he eX-
amines the book OF deeds and the book of
mortgages and the book of judgments and
the book of liens, and he decides whether
the title is good before YOU will have any
thing to do with it. There might be a
splendid property, and in every way eX-
actly suited to your want, but ii you
cannot get a good title you Will not take
it. Now. am here this morning to say
that it is impossible to get good title in
this world III 1 settle down upon it. in
the very year l so settle down upon it as a
permanent possession, | may be driven
away from it. Ave, in five minutes after /
give up my soul for the world, may have
70 part with the world; and what kind of
title do you call that? There is only one
way L can hold an earthly possession, and
that is through the senses. All beautiful
sights through the eve, but the eve may
be blotted out; all captivating sounds
through the ear, but my ear may be deaf
ened; all lusciousness OF fruits and viands
through my taste, but my taste NAV be
destroyed; all appreciation OF culture
and of art through my mind, but | may
lose my mind. What frail hold, then, L
have upon any earthly possession.
In courts OF law, ii you want 10 get a
man of a property, you must serve upon
him writ OF ejectment, giving him GER
tain time TO vacate the premises; but
when Death comes to us and serves writ
of ejectment, he does not give us one sec
ond OF warning. He says: ''Of Of this
place. You have no right any longer in
the possession" We might cry out, 81
gave 100000 for that property" the plea
would be OF no avail. We might say:
I'VE have warranty deed of that prop
erty;" the plea would be OF no avail. We
might say I'VE have lien on that store
house." that would do us no good. Death
is blind and he cannot see seal and can
not read an indenture. So that, first and
last, want 10 tell you that when you pro-
pose that / give up my soul for the world
You cannot give me the first item of title
Having examined the title OF a property,
your next question is about insurance.
You would not be silly enough TO buy a
large warehouse that could not possibly be
insured. You would not have anything
20 do with such a property. Now, ask
YOU what assurance can you give me
that this world is not going to be burned
mp? Absolutely none. Biologists tell
ne that it is already on ire; that the heart