The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1891-08-21
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Brooklyn Preacher Talks on
"Poor Investments"
The Souls 81 Men MortGaged to InIquIty;
and the Only Means of Redemption
and Release the blood OF
Jesus Christ.

the following discourse on the subject
Of "A Poor Investment" at Topeka,
Kas., taking for his text:
Te have sold yourselves for naught; and ye
shall be redeemed without money.-IsaiAh
Iii. 3.
The Lords people had gone headlong
Into sin, and as punishment they had
been carried captive to Babylon. They
found that iniquity did not pay Cyrus
seized Babylon, and felt SO sorry for
these poor captives that, without dol
% lar of compensation, he let them go
home. So, that literally, my text was
fulfilled: aye have sold yourselves for
nought; and ye shall be redeemed with
out money"
There is enough Gospel in this text
for fifty sermons There are persons
here who have, like the people of the
text, sold out. You do not seem to be-
long either 10 yourselves or to 1.-The
world, the flesh, and the devil" but the
purchaser never paid up. Eye have
sold yourselves for nought.'
When a man passed himself over to
the world he expects to get some ade-
quate compensation. lie has heard
the great things that the world does
wants two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars. That will be horses and
houses, and a summer resort, and Jolly
eompanionship. To get it he parts with
his physical health by overwork. He
parts with much domestic enjoyment.
He parts with opportunities for literary
culture. He parts with his soul. And
50 he makes over his entire nature TO
-
ments- He pays down the first INSTALL
ment, and one-fourth of his nature is
gone. lie pays down the second in
stallment, and One-half of his nature
is gone lie pays down the third, and
threc-quarters of his nature
are gone; and after many years
have gone by he pays down
the fourth installment, and lol his en-
tire nature is gone. Then he comes up
20 the world and says: Good morning.
have delivered to you the goods.
have passed over TO you my body, my
mind, and my soul, and / have come
now to collect the two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars" 1.-TWO hun
bred and fifty thousand dollars?" says
the world. What do you mean?"
"Well," You say, II come to collect the
money you owe me, and l expect you to
fulfill your part of the contract"
"But," says the world. 81 have failed.
j am bankrupt. i can not possibly pay
that debt j have not for a long while
expected to pay it." WELL" you then
say. ''give me back the goods" "Oh,
no." says the world, "they are all gone.
j can not give them back to YOU" And
there you stand on the confines of eter-
nifty, your spiritual character gone,
staggering under the consideration that
you have sold yourself for nought."
tell you the world is n liar; it does
not keep its promises. 1t is cheat,
and it fleeces everything it can put its
hands on. IL is n bogus world. 1t is a
six thousand-year-old swindle. Even
If it pays the two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars for which you con-
tracted, it pays them in bonds that will
not be worth anything in a little while
Just as man may pay down ten thou
sand dollars in hard cash and get for it
worthless scrip, so the world passes
over to you the two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars in that shape which
will not be worth farthing to you a
thousandth part of second after you are
NNhAis W. y Cu ~ WIN W
bury me, anyhow" Oh, my brother,
you need not worry about that. The
world will bury you soon enough from
sanitary considerations.
Post-mortem emoluments are of no
use to you. The treasures of this world
will not pass current in the future
world. and if all the wealth of the
bank of England were put in the pocket
of your shroud, and you in the midst of
the Jordan of death were asked to pay
three cents for your ferriage, you could
not do it. There comes moment in
your existence beyond which all earth
ly values fall, and many man has
Weakened up in such a time to find that
he has sold out for eternity, and has
nothing to show for it. / should as
soon think of going to Chatham street
TO buy silk pocket-handxerchiefs with
no cotton in them, as to go to this world
expecting to find any permanent hap
piness. 1t has deceived and deluded
every man who has ever put his trust
in 1t.
History tells us of one who resolved
that he wanld have all his senses graft
fed at one and the same time, and he
expended thousands of dollars on each
sense. He entered a room. snd there
were the first musicians of the land
pleasing his ear, and there were fine
pictures fascinating his eye, and there
were costly aromatics RECALLING his nos
tril, and there were the richest meats,
and wines, and CONNECTIONS, pleasing
the appetite, and there was a soft couch
of sinful indulgence on which he re-
clined; and the man declared afterward
that he would give ten times what he
had given if he could have one week of
such enjoyment, even though he lost
his soul by it! All! that was the rubl
He did lose his soul by it! Cyrus the
Conqueror thought for little while
that he was making fine thing out of
this world, and yet before he came to
his grave he wrote out this pitiful cpl
taph for his monument: Il am Cyrus
occupied the Persian empire. was
king over Asia. Begrudge me not this
monument" But the world in after
years plowed up his sepulcher.
The world clapped its hands and
stamped its feet in honor of Charles
Lamb; but what does he say? Il walk
up and down, thinking l am happy, but
feeling am not" Call the roll, and be
quick about it. Samuel Johnson, the
learnedl Happy? ''No. / am afraid 1
shall some day get crazy" William
Hazlitt, the great essayistl Happy?
'tNo. | have been for two hours and a |