Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1888-05-16
LOSS AND GAIN" !"
THE WORLD is A VERY GRAND
PROPERTY.
ITS ROCKS ARE GODS THOUGHTS
IN STONE.
THIRTEEN WORLDS THAT HAVE
DISAPPEARED.
THR VALUE OF THE SOUL.
CALCULATE ITS VALUE BY ITS CA
PACITY FOR HAPPINESS.
DR.. TALMAeE's SERMON, SUNDAY, MAY 6TH.


| PAClI1 FUN dAfflNESSs
DR.. TALMAGE's SERMON, SUNDAY, MAY 9TH
lDRooKLYN, May 6.-The Rev. T. Dewitt
| ID Talmage; D. D., told the congregation
at the Tabernacle to-day that mali
cious falsehood had gone through the coun
try, saying that at a recent meeting OF thu
officers of the Thirteenth regiment at hi'
house, he had set before them four kinds o.
dollars to any charitable institution if it car
be proved that one drop of wine or any 9th
er Intoxicating liquor was offered in my
house that evening" The twenty-five gen
tlemen present may be called upon for testi-
mony Any three respectable clergymer
or lawyers or detectives may be selected
they also to decide what charity shall have
the money. ask the newspapers all oveI
the land, which have been misled by the
falsehood, to correct it,
The opening hymn of the service begins
"salvation O, the joyful sound.
'Tis pleasure to our ears"
DIR. Talmage announced as the subject OF
the sermon ''Loss and Gain" and his text
was, "What shall it profit man, if he shall
|
soul ?"-Mark viii, 36.
am accustomed, Sabbath by Sabbath, tc
stand before an audience of bargain makers
There may be men in all occupations sitting
before me, yet the vast majority of them, ]
am very well aware, are engaged from Mon
day morning to Saturday night in the store
In many of the families Of my congregation
across the breakfast table and the tea table
are discussed questions of loss and gain.-
You are every day asking yourself: 'What
is the value of this? What is the value oi
that?' You would not think of giving
something of greater value for that which
is of lesser value. You would not think Of
selling that which costs you ten dollars fol
five dollars. If you had a property that was
worth fifteen Thousand dollars, you would
not sell it for four thousand dollars. You
are intelligent in all matters of bargain
making. Are you as wise in the things
that pertain to the matters of the soul ?
Christ adapted his instructions to the Cir
cumstances of those to whom He spoke
| When He talked to fishermen, He spoke OF
the Gospel net. When He talked to the
farmers 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 morning
to an audience made up of bargain makers,
that address them in the words of my text,
asking, ''What shall it a profit man, if he
shall gain the whole world and lose his own
Tsoul?'
l 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 God q
thoughts in bloom. Its rocks are Gods
LAT II Go 49, cta Tfc do &c
thoughts in pearl. This world is Gods
child-a wayward child indeed; it has wan
dered off through the heavens. But about
eighteen hundred and eighty y-eight years
ago, one Christmas night, God sent out q
sister world to call that wanderer back, anG
it hung over Bethlehem only long enough
to get the promise of the wanderers S return
and now that lost world, with soft feet o.
light, comes treading back through the
heavens. The hills, how beautiful they bill
low up, the edge of the wave white with the
foam of crocuses How beautiful the rain
bow, the arched bridge on which heaven
and earth come and talk to each other, il
Itears, after the storm is over! How BILE
the feet of the lamplighters that in few
minutes set all the dome of the night ablaze
with brsc ckets of fire 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
wonder who it is that beats time on June
morning for the bird orchestra. How gently
the hare bell tolls its fragrance on the air
There may be grander worlds, swarthier
worlds, larger worlds than this; but think
that this is most exquisite w0rld-a
mignonette on the bosom of immensity
| "Oh," you say, stake my soul give me
| that world l am willing to take it in ex-
change. am ready now for the bargain.
| 1t is so beautiful world, so sweet world,
SO grand world !
| But let US look more minutely into the
value of this world. You will not buy
property unless you can get good title to
| it. After you have looked at the property
and found out that it suits you, and 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 exact
ly suited to your want, but if you cannot get
good title, you will not take it. Now,
am here this morning to say that it is i'm
possible to get good title to this world. If
| settle down upon it, in the very year I so
settle down upon it as a permanent possess
sion | may be driven away from it. Az, in
five minutes after give up my soul for the
world may have to part with the world,
and what kind of a titls do you call that ?
There is only one way in which can hold
an earthly possession, and that is through
the senses. All beautiful sights through
the eye, but the eye may be blotted out: all
captivating sounds through the ear, but M
ear may be deafened; all lusciousness of
fruits and viands through my taste. but nv
taste may be destroyed; all appreciation of
culture and of art through my mind. but I
may lose my mind. What frail hold, then,
l have upon any earthly possession
In courts ef1aw, if you want to get man
off a property you must serve upon him a
writ of ejectment, giving him certain time
to vacate the premises; but when Death
comes to us and serves writ of ejectmeut
he does not give us one second of forewarn.
ing. He says: "Of of this place! You
have no right any longer in the posses
siou." We might cry out: Il give you a
hundred thousand dollars for that prop
erty;" the plea would be of no avail. We
might say: ''We have warrantee deed fol
that property the plea would be of nc
avail. We might say: "We have lien or
| Gldb ch"o WOulu w us uO pOOO
Death is blind, aud he cannot see a seal
and cannot read an indenture. So that
first and last, want to tell you that wher
YOU propose that gave up my soul for thu
world, you cannot give me the first item o.
! title.
Having examined the title of a property
YOUR next question is about insurance. Yo,
} would not be silly enough to buy larg,
warehouse that could not possibly be insur
ed. You would not have anything to d,
with such property. Now, l ask you wha
assurance can you give me that this worlt
is not going to be burned up? Absolutel,
none. Biologists tell US that it is alread,
on fire; that the heart of the world is on
great living coal; that it is like ship o.
fire at sea, the flames not bursting out be
: cause the matches are kept down. And We
: you propose to palm off on me, in retur
5 for my soul, world for which, in the frs
r place, you give no title, and in the secon
r place, for which you can give no insurance
'Oh," you say, ''the water of the ocean
: will wash over all the land aud put out tn
I fire. Oh, no. There are inflammabl
elements in the water, hydrogen and oxy
gen. Call off the hydrogen, and then til
Atlantic and the Pacific oceans would blaz
like heaps of shavings. You want me t