Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1891-09-03
"a POOR INVESTMENT"
ruR slJBJECT OF TALMAGE'S
TOPEKA SERMON.


rrorr ,he Text "Ye Have SOLD
Yourselves for Naught ana No
Shall he Redeemed "''no"'
Money, Isaiah SO; "a Largo
Gathering Listens to the Great de
vine.
TOPEKA. Kan, Aug. e.-Dr. Talmage
reached this city yesterday IN .ne
course Of his Western trip. he was
warmly welcomed by the citizens who
came in large numbers to near .nc
famous Brooklyn divine. The suo]ecs
~ tine sermon for this week is:
Poor investment" and the text Isaiah
6o.3: aye have sold yourselves ZOE
naupht; 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. ihey
found that iniquity did not pay. Cyrus
seized Babylon. and felt SO sorry ~.
these poor captiyes that without
dollar of compensation. he let theh 90
home. So that, literally, my text was
fulfilled: "Ye have sold yourselves 1or
nought; and we shall be redeemed
without money.
When a man passes himself over to
the wo Id he expects to get some aoe,
ouatc conversation. He has heard
the great things that the world does
for q man, and he believes 1t. lie
wants two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars. That will be horses and
houses. and summer resort ana
Jolly companionship. TO get it he
parts with his physical health by
overwork. lie parts with his conscience.
He parts with much domestic enjoy
ment. He parts with opportunities for
literary culture. He parts with his
soul. And SO he makes over his entire
nature to the world. He does 1T in
four installments He pays down the
first installment, and one-fourth OF his
nature is gone. He pays down tho
second installment, and one-half OF his
nature is gone. He pays down the
third instalIment, and three-quartcrs
of his nature are gone; and after many
years are gone by he pays down the
fourth installment, AID 10! his entire
nature is gone. Then he comes
up to the world and says {:
"Good-morning. have delivered to-
you the goods. l have passed over to
you my body, my mind, and my soul
and l have come now to collect the
$3.50, OOO." 1.-TWO hundred and fifty
thousand dollars?' says the world,
"What do you mean?" 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, II have failed. am
bankrupt cannot possibly pay that
debt. have not for long while ex-
pected to pay it," "Well," you then
say, give me back the goods" "Oh.
no." says the world, "they IRE all
gone. l cannot 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 nought."
not keep its promises. 1t is cheat,
and it tieeces everything it can put it's
hands on. 1t is bogus world. 1t is a
six-thousand-year-old swindle. Even if
it pays the $3.50, 900 for which you con-
tracted, it pays them IN bonds that will
not be worth anything in little while
just as man may pay down $40, 900 in
hard cash and get for it worthless
script-so the world passes over to you
the S25o,0Oo in that shape which will
not be worth a farthing to you thou
sandth part OF second after you are
dead. "Oh,' you say, 1T will help to
bury me anyhow" Oh, my brother.
You need not worry about that. The
world will bury you soon enough from
sanitary considerations.
History tells us Of one who resolved
that he would have all his senses graft
fed at one and the same time, and he
expended thousands of dollars on each
sense. He entered q room, and there
were the first musicians of the land
pleasing his ear, and there were fine
pictures fascinating his eye, and there
We're costly aromatics RECALLING his nos
trll, and there were the richest meats
and wines, and fruits, and confections
pleasing the appetite, and there was a
soft couch Of sinful indulgence on
which he reclined; and the man de-
clared afterward that he would give
ten times what he had given if he could
have one week of such endowment.
even though he lost his soul by it. All,
that was the rub. 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: 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 sepulchre.
The world clapped it's hands and
stamped it's feet in honor of Charles
Lamb; but what does he say? "IwalL
up and down, thinking am happy, but
feeling l am not" Call the roll, and be
quick about it. Samuel johnson. the
learned! Happy? mo. lam AFRAID |
shall some day get crazy William
Hazlitt, the great essayist. Happy?
mo. ! have been for two hours and a
half going up and down Paternoster
Row with volcano in my breast"
Smollet, the witty author. Happyq
mo; am sick of praise and blame.