The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-08-21
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Sold for Nought and Re-
deemed Without Money.
The Rewards of Earth are Poor and On
satisfactory-The Cleansing Blood of
Christ the Only Currency of the
Soul.

DR.. Talmage preached sermon a
Topeka, Kansas, last Sunday, on the
subject OF "a Poor Investment" II,
took for his text, Isaiah lii, 3: "Ye hav,
sold yourselves for nought; and We shall
be redeemed without money"
The Lords people had gone headlons
into sin, and as punishment they had
been carried captive TO Babylon. They
found that iniquity did not pay. Cyru.
seized Babylon. and felt sorry for thest
poor captives that, without a dollar o
compensation, he let them go home.
So that, literally. my text was fulfilled
I'VE have sold yourselves for nought
and We shall be redeemed without
money"
There is enough gospel in the 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 to either to yourselves or to God.
The title deeds have passed over to
the world, the flesh AMI the devil, y
but the purchaser never paid up. "Ye
have Sid yourselves COR nought."
v IA Il hau passes himself over TO
the world he expects TO get some ade-
ouate compensation. He has heard the
great things that the world does for a
man, and he believes it. He wants
S250,00 That will be horses and
houses, and a summer resort and jolly
companionsh;p. To get it he parts
with his ply steal health by overwork.
lie 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
installrients. He paws down the first
instaliment, 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 are gone; and after many years
have gone by he pays down the fourth
installment, and 10! his entire nature is
gone. Then he comes up to the world
md says: Good morning. l have de-
livered to you the goods. l have pass
ed over TO you my body, my mind and
INV soul and have come now to collect
the two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars" Two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars?" says the world.
What do you mean?" WELL" you
say, 81 come to collect the money you
owe me and expect you TO fulfill your
part of the contract" But" says the
world. 81 have failed. am bankrupt
! can not possibly pay that debt. l
have for long while expected to
pay IL well" you then say, ''give
me back the goods" ooh, no." says
the world, "they are all gone. 1 can
not give them back to you" And there
you stand on the confines of eternity.
your spiritual character gone, stagger
ing under the consideration that you
have sold yourself for nought."
tell you the world is liar; it does
not keep its promises. It is cheat and
it feeces everything it can put its hands
on. It is a bogus world. 1t is 5000
year old swindle. Even IL it pays the
$3.50, 600 for which you contracted it
pays them in bonds that will not be
worth anything in little while. Just
as a man pays down $1,000 in hard cash
and gets for it worthless scrip, so the
world passes over to you the $3.50. 900 in
farthing to you thousandth part OF
say, 'it will help to bury me, anyhow"
o, my brother, you need not worry
about that. The world will bury you
soon enough from sanitary considera-
lions.
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 room, and there
were the first musicians of the land
pleasing his ear, and there were fine
pictures for discriminating his eye, and
there were costly aromatics RECALLING
his nostril, and there were the richest
meats and wines and fruits, and confec-
tions, 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 enjoyment, 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
a little while that he was making fine |
thing out of this world, and yet before |
he come to his grave he wrote out this |
pitiful epitaph for his monument: II
am Cyrus. occupied the Persian en-
pire. | was king over Asia. Begrudge |
me not this monument" But the world |
In after years plowed up his sepulchre.
The world clapped its hands and |
its feet in honor of Charles |
Lamb: but what does he say? 81 walk |
up and down, thinking am happy,
but feeling am not" Call the roll and |
be quick about it. Samuel johnson, the
Happy? mo. 1 am afraid l
hon
Hazlitt the great essayist! Happy?
half going up and down Paternoster
Row with a volcano in my breast"
Smollet the witty author! Happy?
No, am sick of praise and blame, and
wish to God that had such circum-
stances around me that could throw
ny pen into oblivion" Buchanan, the
Vorld-renowned writer, exiled from his
OWN country, appealing to Henry VIII,
or protection Happy? mo, over
Mountains covered with snow, and
through valleys flooded with rain, I
come fugitive" Moliere. the popu-
ar dramatic author! Happy? mo,
hat wretch of an actor Just now re-
,ited four of my lines without the prop
er accent and gesture. To have the
children OF my brain so hung, drawn
and qusrtered, tortures me like q con-
1emned spirit"
want to persuade my audience that
his world is q door investment: that it
loes not pay 80 per cent. of satisfaction.
Tor so per cent, nor 20 per cent, nor
per cent, nor ]; that it gives no solace
when a dead babe lies on your lap: that
t gives no peace when conscience rings
In alarm; that il gives no explanation
n the day of dire trouble: and at the
lime OF your decesse, it takes hold of
he pillow case, and shakes out the
Gathers, and then iolts down in the