The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1888-12-06
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Weekly DisOourses Of the Great
BROOKLYN Preacher.
Subject. " Rewards For the
Dull as Well as the Brilliant"


Duil as Well as the Brilliant"
TEXT; "Uato one He give five talents. 10
another too, and 10 another one; TO every
man according to his secerat ability."-
Matt xNv,, ID
Many of the parallels Of Jesus Christ were
more grapic in the times in which He lived
than thoy are now, because circumstances
have so much changed. In olden times, when
a man wanted to wreak a grudge VI on his
neighber, after the farmer had scattered the
seed wheat over the field and was expecting
the harvest, his avenger would go across the
same field with a sack full OF the seed Of
darnel grass sc ,ttering that seed all
over the fed and of course it would sprout
up and spoil the whole crop; and il was TO that
that Chris referred in the parable when He
spoke of the tares being sown among the
wheat. In this land cur farms are fenced
oil, 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 we all under
stand. 1t is built on money, AMI that means
the same in Jerusalem Al in New York. 1t
means the same to the serf as to the Gar,
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 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 Eai some money that he
wished properly invested and SO he called to-
gether his servants, and said:
u am going away now, and wish you
would take this money and put it to the very
best possible use, and when come back re.
turn to me the inter, ST. To one man he
- Ntl, h..
money; to the least he gave $3.50 He left
home and was gone for years, and then re-
tornei. 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 doing with my prop
erty since have been gone" The man who
had received the SJlU0 came up and said: II
invested that money. | got good interest for
it. have in other ways rightly employed
it; and here are SlS,Sj0. You see 1 have
doubled what you gave me-" "Thats very
good" said the owner of tho estate; that's
grandly done. | admire your faithful
ness and industry. | shall reward you.
Wei done-we!l done" Other servants
came up with smaller accumulations. After
a while, | see a man 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 estate and
says: Here are those Sl,SS0.n "Whatn
says the owner of the property, haven't
you made it accumulate anything"
Nothing nothing" "Why, what have you
been about all these years." ooh, l was
afraid that if invested it, might somehow
lose it, There are your $780, Many a
man started out with only crown in his
pocket, and achieved fortune; but this
fellow of my text with $3.50, has gained not
one ferthing. Instead of contessing his in
dolence, he goes to work 10 berate his
master, for Incidence is most always i'm.
pudent and Impairment OF course, he loses
his place and is dscharged 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 qualifications 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 exaltaton of the righteous at the last
day, while the casting out of the idler is the
expulsion Of all those who have misimproved
their privileges.
Learn first from this subject, that becoming
Q Christian is merely going out to service.
If you have any romantic idea about becom-
ing Christian, | want now to scatter the
romance. If you enter into the kingdom of
God. it will be going into plain, practical.
honest, continuous, persistent Christian
work. know there are a great many people
who have fantastic and romantic notions
about this Christian life, but no who serves
God with all the energies of body, mind, and
soul is a worthy sersant, AID he who do 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 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 have TO tell you it is a vo untary SER
vice. People are not brought into it 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, yiell myself to your care
and service for the next four, or five, or
seven years. | want you to be my master,
and want to be your servant" Just So il
we come into the king lom of God at all, we
must come, saying to Christ: 'Be Thou my
master. take Thy service for time and for
eternity. choose it. 1t is a voluntary service
There is no drudgery in it. In cur worldly
callings semet mes our nerves get worn out
and our head aches, ana our physical facul
ties break down; but in this service Of the
ter be likes it, and a man in this audience
who has been for forty years serving God en-
lows the EMPLOYMENT better that when he fir
entered it. The grandest honor that can ever b
bestowed upon you, is to have Christ say t.
you on the last day: SWELL done, good an,
faithful servant"
Learn also from this parable that differen
qualifications are given to different people
The teacher lifts a blackboard, and he draw
a RI Iofr L..
may impress the mind of the pupil with tn
truth that he has been uttering. And all tn
truths OF this Bible are drawn out in tn
natural world as in great diagram. Her
is an acre of ground that has tel
talents. Under n little culture it yield
twenty bushels OF wheat to the acre. Fer
Is another piece of ground that has only on
AIeho. You may pow it, AMI harrow it
ana culture it, year after year but it Weld
m re pittance. SO here is man with tel
talents IN the way of getting good and doin
good. lie soon, under Christian culture
yields great haryests of faith and good work
Here Is another man who seems to have onlr
one talent, and you may put upon hin
me greatest spiritual culture, but h
Vieids but little of the fruits o
Righteousness. You are to understand Ina
there are different qualifications for differ
ent individuals. There is great deal o
ruInous comparison when a man says: ooh
u only had that mans faith or that man
aioney, or that mans eloquence, how woult
serve God" Better take the faculty tina
God has, given you and employ it il
NE right way. The rabbis used t.
ay, that before the stone ant
timber were brought to Jerusalem for th
Tempe every stone and pece of timber wa
marked; SO that before they ST arted TO
Jerusalem the architects knew in What p ac
That particular "iece of timber or ston,
should fit. And so have to tell you we ar
all marked for some one place in the grea
temple Of the Lord, and do not let u
complain, saying: a. would lik
to be the foundation stone o
the cap stone" Let us go into the yer.
p ace where Col intends us to be, and b
satisfied with the position. Your talent ma
be in large worldly estate; your talent may b
IN personal appearance; your ttent ma
be in high social position; your talent ma
be in swift pen or eloquent tongue, bu
whatever be The talent, it has been given onl
Tor one purpose--practical use. You som'
times find man in the community of whoi
you say: "He has no talent at all ;'and yet thu
man may have hundred talents. His on
hundred talents may be shown in the item {
endurance. Poverty comes. and he endure
It; persecution comes, and he endures il
sickness comes, and he endures it, Befoi
men and angels he is specimen of Christia
patience, and he is really illustrating tn
power OF Christ's Gospel, and
doing as much for the Church, and mol
Tor the Church, than many more postive
active II you have one talent. us. that: