News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-11-29
SUNDAYS SERMON.
ONE OF REV. DIR. TALMAGES
STERLING DIsCOURSES.
Subject = Rewards for the Dull as
Well as the Brilliant.

Matt. XIV, 10
Many Of the parallels of Jesus Christ were
more grapic IN the times in which He lived
than they are now, because circumstances
have so much changed. In olden times W hen
man wanted to wreak a grudge upon his
neighber, after the farmer had scattered the
seed wheat over the field and was expecting
the harvest, lis avenger would 90 across the
same field with a sack full or the seed of
uarnel gr9SS, sc ,ttering that seed all
over the fed, and of course it would sprout
up and spoil the Whole crop; and IL was 10 that
that Chr st referred in the parable when He
spoke of the fares being sown among the
wheat In this land cur farms are fenced
of, and the wolves have been driven to the
mountains, and we cannot fully under
stand the meaning of the parable in
regard to the shepherd and the lost
sheep. But the parade from which speak
to-day is founded on something all under
stand. 1t Is built on money, AMI that means
the same IN Jerusalem "a in New York. 1t
means the same 10 the serf as to the Gar,
and TO the Chinese cOoiie as to the Emperor.
Whether it IS made out of bone or Grass,
or IRON or copper, or gold or silver, it
speaks ali languages without a stammer.
The parable of the text runs in this wise:
The owner of large estate was about to
leave home, and he had some money that he
wished properly invested, and SO he called to-
gether his servants, and said:
Il am going away now, and l wish you
would take this money and put it to the very
best possible use, and when L come back re-
turn TO me the interest,"" To one man he
gave S940O to others ne gave lesser sums OF
money: to the least he gave $3.50 He left
home and was gone for years, and then re-
turned. On his arrival he was anxious to
know about his worldly affairs, and
he called his servants together to
report to him. ''Let me know said he
what have you been dong with my prop
erty since have been gone" The man who
had received the SI40O came up and said: II
invested that money. L got good interest for
1t L have in other ways rightly employed
1t; and here are SlS,SJ0. You see | have
doubled what you gave me-" That's very
good, said the owner of the estate; that's
grandly done. l admire Your faithful
ness and industry. L shall reward you
Wei done-wen done" Other servants
came up with smaller accommodations. After
while, L see man dragging himself
along, with his head hanging l know from
the way he comes in that he is lazy fellow.
He comes up to the owner of the estate and
says: Here are those 81 ,SS0n ''What,n
says the owner of the property, haven't
you made 1t accumulate anythingn |
Nothing nothing" ''Why, what have you
been about all these~ycars.' "Oh, | was
afraid that if l invested it, l might somehow
lose it. There are your $3.50" Many
man started out with only crown in his
pocket, and achieved a fortune but this |
fellow of my text, with $780, has gained not |
one farthing. Instead of confesSing his in |
dolence, he goes to work to berato his |
master, for Incidence is most ALWAYS i'm |
pudent and impairment OF course. lie loses
his place and is -scharged from the service
The owner who went out into 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 quail ficatOnS of usefulness given
IN different proportions to different people.
The coming back of the owner is the Lord
Jesus returning at the Judgment to make
final settlement. The raising of some of |
these men to be rulers over five or two cities,
is the eXaltatiOn of the righteous at the last
day, while the casting out of the idler is the
expulsion of ali those W no have mismproved
their privileges
Learn first from this subject, that becoming
Christian IS merely going out to service.
il you have any romantic idea about becom-
ing Christian, | want now to scatter the
romance. If you enter into the kingdom of
God. 1t viii be going into plain, practical,
honest, continuous, persistent Christian
work. i know there are great many people
who have fantastic and romantic notions
about tbs Christian life but he who serves
God with all the energies of body, mind, and
soul is worthy servant, and he who do S not
is an unworthy servant. When the war trum-
pet sounds, all the Lords soldiers must |
march, however deep the snow may be, or
however fearful the odds against them. Under
our Government we may have Colonels 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 have to tell you it is a voluntary SER
vice. People are not brought into it as
slaves were dragged from Africa. A young
man goes TO an artisan and says:
"Sir, l 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. | 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, saving to Christ: BE Thou my
master. / take Thy service for time and for
eternitv Ichoose it > 1t is voluntary service
bore - no sfrHgsf sr
and our head aches, and our physical facuL- .
ties break down; bat in this service of the !
Lord Jesus, the harder man works the bet 3
ter he likes 1t, and man in this audience +
who has been for forty years serving God en- :
Joys the employment better tn w en- ne frst .
sntered it. The grandest honor that can ever be !
upon you, is to have Christ say to +
you on the last day: ''Well done, good and Q
faithful servant" q
Learn also from this parable that different q
QUALIFICATIONS are given to different people. | I
The teacher lifts blackboard, and he draws
| diagram, in order that by that diagram he r
nay impress the mind of the pupil with the Z
ruth that he has been uttering. And all the j
truths of this Bible are drawn out in the
natural world as in a great diagram. Here 1
$ an acre of ground that has ten !
talents Under a little culture it yields /
twenty bushels of wheat to the acre. Here !
IS another piece of ground that has only ona /
alent You may pow it, and harrow it. S
and culture it, year after year, but it yields {
a mere pittance So here is man with ten {
talents IN the way of getting COOL and doing | }
good. He soon, under Chr. l culture,
Yields great harvests of faith l..,. good work. |
Here is another man who seems to have only
one talent, and you may put upon him
the greatest spiritual culture, but he |
yields but little of the fruits OF
righteousness. u GU are to understand THAI I ;
there are different qualifications for differ
ent individuals There is great deal Of |
ruinOus comp lrison when man SAYS: ''Oh,
III OnlV had that faith | 1
money, or that m ms eloquence, how would
serve God" Better take the faculty that
God has, given you and employ it in
the right way, The rabbis used to
say, that before the stone and
timber were brought to Jerusalem for the
Temple every stone and p.ece of timber was
marked; so that before they started for
Jerusalem the architects knew in what d ace | {
should mt. And SO l have to tell you we are
all marked for some one place in the great |
temple of the Lord, and do not let us
complain, saying Il would like
to be the foundation stone OF
the cap stone" -et us go into the very
p ace where Col intends US to be, and be
satisfied with the position. Your talent may
De IN large worldly estate; your talent may he
In personal appearance; your talent may
De IN high social position; your talent may
De IN swift pen or eloquent tongue, but
Whatever be the talent, il has been given only
Tor one purpOse--practical use. You some ,
Tunes lind man i'll the community Of whom
you say: HE has no talent at all : and yet that
man may have a hundred talents HIS one
hundred talents may be shown in the item of
endurance. Poverty comes, and he eadureS
It; persecution comes and he endures it;
sickness comes and he endures it. Before
men and angels he Is specimen of Christian {
patience, and he is really illustrating the .
power of Christ's Gospel, and is
doing as much for the Church, and more
for the Church, than many more positively
active. If you have one talent, uss that; If
you have ten talents, use them, satisfied with
the fact that we all have different qualifica-
tions, and that the Lord decides whether we
shall have one or whether we shall have ten.
learn also from this parable that the
grace of Col was attended, to be accumult-
Ave. When God patts an Acorn, He
means an oak, AMI when H. plants small
amount of grace in the heir5, lie intends it !
TO b. growthful AMI enlarge until it over
shadows the whole nature There are parents
who, at the birth of each child lay aside an ,
amount of money, investing it. expecting by
on ami by compound interest that
by the time the child shall come to mid life +
this sma amount of mOusy will b5 a for
tune, showing how small amount Of money Z
Will roll up mo vast accUm ii atom. Well, ,
GOd sets aside a certain amount Of grace Tor
each one Of His spir tual children at his birth,
and 1t IS to go on, AMI as by compound in ,
terest, accumulate. until it shall bee pme an
eternal fortune. Ca it be possible that you t
have been acquainted with the Lord Jesus for 4
5en twenty, thirty years, and tlat you do
not love Him more now than Won did before! 5
Tan 1t be that you have been cultured IN the 3
Lords vineyard, and that Chr st finds On you
nothing but sour grapesi on may depend a