The Penn's Grove record., 1888-12-08
DR.. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Rewards for the Dnll.

Rewards for the Dnl1.
"Unto one he gave I'VE talents, TO another
two, and to another one; to every man accord
ing 10 his several ability."-Mat % ID.
MANY of the parallels of Jesus Christ
we're more graphic in the times in
which He lived than they are now, be-
cause circumstances have so much
changed. In olden times, when q man
wanted to wreack a grudge upon his
neighbor, after tie farmer had scatter
ed the seed-wheat ove the field, and
was expecting the harvest, his enemy
would go across the same field with a
sack full of the seed of darnel-grass,
scattering that seed all over the field,
and, of course, it would sprout up and
spoil the whole crop; and 1t was to that
Christ referred in the parable when He
spoke of the tares being sown among
the wheat. In this land our farms are
fenced off, and the wolves have been
driven to the mountains, and we can
not fully understand the meaning of
the parable in regard to the shepherd
and the lost sheep. But the parable
from which l speak to'day. is founded
on
SOMETHING WE ALL UNDERSTAND.
1t is built OH money, and that means
the same in Jerusalem as in New York.
1t means the same to the serf as to the
car, and to the Chinese coolie as to the
emperor. Whether it is made out of
bone or brass or iron or copper or gold
or silver, it speaks all languages with
out q stammer. The parable of the
text runs in this wise: The owner of a
large estate was abont to leave home.
and lie had some money that he wished
properly invested; and 10 lie called to-
gether his servants and said: 81 am
going away now, and l wish you would
take this money and put it TO the very
best possible use; and when / come
back return to me the interest" To
one a he gave $1,000, to others he
gave lesser sums of money; to the least
lie gave Sl,SS0. lie left home and was
gone for years, and then returned. On
his arrival he was anxious TO know
about his worldly affairs, and he called
his servants together to report. LET
me know" said he
WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING
with my property since l have been
gomez The man who had received the
50, AGO came up and said: Il invested
that money. L got good interest for it.
| have in other ways rightly employed
it; and here are SlS,S00. You see l
have doubled what you gave me-"
THAT'S very good" said the owner of
tic estate; ''that's grandly done. ad.
mire your faithfulness and industry. q l
shall reward you. Well done-well
done" Other servants came up with
smaller Accommodations. After a while,
l see a mai dragging himself. along,
with his head hanging. / know, from
the way he comes in, that he is
A LAZY FELLOW.
He comes up to the owner of the es-
tate, and says: "Here are those ST.
$780," ".Whatl" says the owner of the
property, ''haven't you made 1t ac-
cumulate anything?" Nothing
nothing" ''Why, what have you been
about all these years." ''Oh, l was
afraid that if l invested it | might
somehow lose it. There are your ST.
$780," Many a man started out with
only a crown in his pocket, and achlev-
ed n fortune; but this fellow of my
text, with $3.50, has gained not a
fathring. Instead Of confessing his in
dolence, he goes to work to berate his
master-for Incidence is most always
impudent and impertinent. of course
lie loses his place, and is discharged
from the service.
The owner who went out into a far
country is Jesus Christ going from
earth to heaven. The servants spoken
of in the text are members of the
Church. The talents are our different
qualifications of usefulness given in
different proportions to different peo-
pie. The coming back of the owner is
the Lord Jesus returning at the Judg-
ment 10 make final settlement. The
raising of some of these men to BE-
rulers over five or two cities is the eX-
altation of the righteous at the last day,
while the casting out of the idler is the
expulsion of all those who have miSim-
proved their privileges.
Learn first, from this subject, that
becoming a Christian is merely
GOING OUT TO SERVICE.
If you have any romantic idea about
becoming a Christian, | want now to
scatter the romance. If you enter into
the kingdom of God, it will be gong
into plain, practical, honest, continu-
GUS, persistent Christian work. l know
there are Il great many people who have
fantastic and romantic notions about
this Christian life, but lie who serves
God with all the energies of body, mind
and sole is a worthy servant, and he
who does not is an unworthy servant.
" hen the war-trumpet sounds, all the
Lords soldiers must march, however
deep the snow may be, or however fear
full the odds against them. Under our
Government we may have colonies and
captains and generals in time of peace,
but in the Church of God there IS no
peace until the last great victory shall
have been achieved. But it IS
a VOLUNTARY SERVICE.
People are not brought into 1t as slaves
were dragged from Africa. A young
man goes to an artisan, and says: "Sir,
| want to learn your trade. l by this
indenture yield myself TO your care and
service for the next four or five or seven
years. l want you to be my master,
and l want to be your servant" just
so, If we come into the kingdom of God
at all, We must come, saying to Christ:
BE Thou my Master. L take Thy
service for time and for eternity. /
choose it," 1t IS a voluntary service.
There is no drudgery in it. In our
worldly callings, sometimes III nerves
get worn out, and our head aches, and
our physical faculties break down; but
in this service of the Lord Jesus, the
harder a man works tie better he likes
it, and a man in this audience who has
been for forty years serving God enjoys
the employment better than when lie
first entered it. The grandest honor
that can eyer lie bestowed upon you is
to have Christ say to you on the last
day: "Well done, good and faithful
serYant!n
Learn also from this parable that
DIFFERENT QUALIFICATIONS
are given TO differees people. Tie
teacher lifts a blackboard, and he draws