Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-08-10
A POOR INVESTMENT.
you HAVE BARGAINED YOUR SOUL
AWAY FOR NAuGHT.

ut. IhImhRe SHOWS How the Foolish Sale
Is Made and How II May BE RENE.
dIed-ChrIst's Blood VIII Buy You
Back.
TOPEKA, Kan, Aug 9-Dr. TalmagC
reached this city yesterday in the course Of
his western trip He was warmly wei
coined by the citizens, who came in large
numbers to hear the famous Brooklyn di
vine. The subject Of the sermon for this
week is, "A Poor Investment" and the
text, Isaiah ILL., 3, "Ye have sold yourselves
for naught; aud ye shall be redeemed with
out money"
The Lords people had gone headlonp
into sin, and MS Il punishment they had
been carried captive to Babylon. They
found that iniquity did not pay Cyrus
seized Babylon, and felt 80 sorry for these
poor captives that, without dollar of com
pensation, he let them go home. So that
literally, my text was fulfilled. "Ye have
sold yourselves for naught, and ye shall be
redeemed without money"
SOLD FOR NAuGHT
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 belong either to your
selves or to God The title deeds have been
passed over to "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 adequate com
pensation He has heard the great things
that the world does for man, and he he
lieves 1t. lie wants two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars That will be horses and
houses, and a summer resort and jolly
companionship. 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 oppor
tunities for literary culture, He parts with
his soul. And so he makes over his entire
nature to the world
He does IL IN four installments He pays
down the first installment, and one-fourth
of his nature il gone lie pays down the
second installment, and one-half of his
nature is gone. He pays down the third
installment, and three-quarters of his ma
ture are gone and after many years have
gone by he pays down the fourth install
m5nt, and ioi his entire nature is gone. Then
he comes up to 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 hundred and
fifty thousand dOllarsP" says the world
''What do you meanP" WELL" you say,
II come to collect the money you owe me-
and expect you to fulfill your part of the
contract" "But," says the world, ~ have
failed, am bankrupt | cannot possibly
pay that debt have not for long time
expected to pay it, WELL" you then
say, give me back the goods" ooh, nc"
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.'
THE WORLD IS A LIAR.
tell you the world il liar 1t does not
keep its promises. 1t is n cheat, and il
feeces everything il can put its hands or
1t is bogus world 1t is six-thousand
year-od swindle Even If it pays the two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars for
which you contracted, it pays them in
bonds that will not be worth anything in
little while. Just as a main may pay
down ten thousand dollars in hard cash
and get for it worthless scrp-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
thousandth part of q second after you are
dead. "Oh," you say, sit will help to bury
me, anyhow" Oh, my brotherl you need
not worry about that. The world will
bury You soon enough from sanitary con
siderations.
Post norton emoluments are of no use
to you. The treasures of this world will
not pass current in the future world, and
II 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 fer
riAge, you could not do it, There comes a
mOment in your existence beyond which
all earthly values fail, and many n man
has Weakened mp in such time to find that
he has sold out for eternity and has moth
ing to show for it. should as soon think
of going to Chatham street to buy silk
pocket handkerchiefs with no cotton in
them, as to 20 TO this world expecting TO
find any permanent happiness. 1t has de
ceived and deluded every man who has
ever put his trust in it,
NOT TRUE HAPPINESS.
History tells us of one who resolved that
he would have all his senses gratiled at
one aHd the same time, and he expended
thousands of dollars on each sense. He
entered room, and there were the first
musicians of the land pleasing his ear, and
there were fine pictures fascinating his
eye, and there were costly aromatics regal
ing his nOstrils, and there were the richest
meats and wines and fruits and confec
tions pleasing the appetite, and there was
n soft couch of sinful indulgence or which
he reclined, and the man declared after
ward that he would give ten times what he
had given IL he could have one week of
such enjoyment, even though he lost his
soul by ibl Ali that was the rubl He did
lose his soul by i'll Cyrus the oonqueror
thought for little while that he was max
ing a fine thing ont of this world, and yet
before he came to his grave he wrote out
Ehis pitiful epitaph for his monument; II
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 sayP II walk up and down.
thinking am happy, but feeling | am
not" Call the roll and be quick about it,
Samuel johnson, the learned Happy
"No. ] am afraid shall some day get
crazy" William Hazlitt, the great essay
istI HappyP "No have been for two
hours and half going up and down Pater
noster row with volcano in my breast"
Smollet, the witty author Happy "No
/ ar, sick of praise and blame, and wish
10 God that had such circumstances