The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1891-08-26
A POOR INVESTMENT.
Ie It Not Seen When Christians
Sell Out?
enough Examples Found in Profane His
tOry-GOspei Illustrations Not
Needed to Prove It-Dr.
Talmage's Sermon.

ject of his discourse was IA Poor In
vestment," and the text Isaiah Iii, 81:
Eye have sold yourselves for naught;
and We shall be redeemed without
money"
The Lords people had gone headlong
into sin, and as a punishment they had
been carried captive to Babylon. They
found that iuiquity did not pay. Cyrus
seized Babylon and felt SO sorry for
those poor captives that, without dollar
of compensation, he let them go home.
So that, literally, my text was fulfilled:
Eye have sold yourselves for naught;
and We shall be redeemed without
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 to yourselves or to God The
title-deeds have been passed over to
1.-THE world, the flesh, and the devil, -
but the purchaser never paid up. "Ye
have sold yourselves for naught"
When a man passes himself over to
the world he expects to get some ade-
qnate compensation. He has heard the
great thing the world does for man. and
he believes it He wants $250,000. That
will be horses and houses, and sum-
mer resort, and jolly compansionship.
To get it he parts with his physical
health by overwork. He parts with
his conscience. He parts with much
domestic enjoyment He parts with
opportunities for literary culture. He
parts with his soul.
| And SO he makes over his entire ma
ture to the world. He does it in four
installments. He pays down the first
installment and one-fourth of his ma
ture is gone. He pays down the second
installment and one-half of his nature
is gone. He pays down the third in
stallment and three-quarters OF his ma
ture is gone; and after many years
have gone by he pays down the fourth
installment, and 10! his en-
tire nature is gone. Then he comes
up to the world and says: Good morn.
ing. have delivered to you the goods.
have passed over to you my body, my
mind and my soul, and l have come
now to collect the S25O,O0O.' "Two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars?'
says the world. "What do you mean?'
SWELL" say you 81 have come to col.
lect the money you owe me, and l ex.
pect you to fulfill your part of the con
tract But" says the world, II have
failed. am bankrupt. can not pos
sibly pay that debt. have not for a
long time expected to pay it." swell,
you then say, give me back the
goods" "Oh, no." says the world
'they are all gone. can not give them
back to YOU" And there you stand on
the confines of eternity, your spiritual
character gone. staggering under the
consideration that you have sold your
self for naught."
tell you the world is liar; it does
not keep its promises. 1t is cheat
and it feeces every thing it can put it,
hands on. 1t Is a bogus world. 1t is a
six-thousand-year-old swindle. Ever
if it pays the $3.50, 1000 for which yor
contracted. it pays them in bonds thai
will not be worth any thing in little
while. just as a man may pay dowr
$4,000 in hard cash and get for il
worthless script. So the world passes
over to you the $3.50, 600 in that shape
which will not be worth farthing tc
you thousandth part of second after
you are dead oh" you say, lit will
help to bury me, anyhow" Oh, my
brother! you need not worry abou
that The world will bury you soor
enough from sanitary considerations.
Post-mortem emoluments are of NJ
use to you. The treasures of this worlC
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 no
do it. There comes a moment in you
existence beyond which all earthly val
ues fail; and many man has Weakened
up in such a time to find that he ha
sold out for eternity, and has nothing
TO show for it.
l should as soon think of going t,
Chatham street to buy silk pocket
handkerchiefs with no cotton in then
as to go to this world expecting to fin,
any permanent happiness. 1t has de
ceived and deluded every man who ha
ever put his trust in it 81.
History tells us of one who resolve.
that he would have all his senses graft
fed at one and the same time, and h
expended thousands of dollars on eacl
sense. He entered room and Their
were the first musicians of the Ian,
pleasing his ear, and there were fin
pictures fascinating his eye, and Their
were costly aromatics RECALLING hi
nostril, and there were the riches
meats and wines and fruits and confeo
tions pleasing the appetite, and Their
was soft couch of sinful indulgence o.
which he reclined; and the man dc
clared afterward that he would Civ
ten times what he had given If he coul
have ono week of such enjoyment, eve
though he lost his soul by it! All! tina
was the rub! He did lose his soul by i,
Cyrs the Conqueror thought for n it'll
while that he was making a fine thin
out of this world, and yet before h
came to his grave he wrote out thi
pitiful epitaph for his monument: %
am Cyrus. occupied the Persian en-
pire. was king over Asia. Begrudg
me not this monument But tn
world. in after wears, plowed up h