The Bossier banner., 1891-10-15
POOR INVESTMENT. >
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage Talks to
Kansans at Topeka.
Life of Sin, But Poor Capital with
Which to Begin the Other Life in
Eternity Release Only Through
the Blood of Christ.

by Rev, Z. Dewitt Talmage to a large
congregation at Topeka, Kas., on re-
cent Sabbath, The text was:
Ye have sold yourselves for naught; and ye
shall be redeemed without money.-Isaiah
ILL.,, 3.
The Lords people had gone headlong
into sin, and as n 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 a 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 to yourselves or to 1.-The
world, the flesh. and the devil" but the
purchaser never paid up. "Ye have
sold yourselves for nought."
When 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
for a man, and he believes it. He
wants two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars. That will be horses and
houses, and summer resort, and jolly
companionship. TO get it he parts with
his physical health by overwork. He
parts with much domestic enjoyment.
He parts with opportunities for literary
culture. lie parts with his soul. And
SO he makes over his entire nature to
the world. He does it in four Install
ments. He pays down the first Install
ment, and one-fourth of his nature is
gone. He pays down the second in
stallment, and one-half of his nature
is gone. He pays down the third, and
three-q quarters of his nature
are 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 morning.
i 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" '"Two hun
dred and fifty thousand dolIars?r says
the world. What do you mean?"
WELL" you say, Il 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. l can not possibly pay
that debt. have not for long while
expected to pay it." We'll" you then
say, give me back the goods" "Oh,
nc" says the world, ''they are all gone.
/ 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 liar; it does
not keep its promises. 1t is a cheat,
and it tleeces everything it can put its
hands on. 1t is bogus world. 1t is p
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
dead. "Oh. you say, ''it 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.
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 paw
three cents for your ferriage, you could
not do it. There comes moment in
your existence beyond which all earth
Iy values fall, aud many a man has
wakened up in such 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-handkerchiefs with
sAS ~ONNSA III ShSH4s do W RO W IuiS WOrIQ
expecting to find any permanent hap
piness 1t has deceived and deluded
every man who has ever put his trust
in it.
History tells us of one who resolved
that he would have all his senses graft
fled at one and the same time, and he
expended thousands of dollars on each
sense. He entered a 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 regaling his nos
tril, and there were the richest meats,
and wines, and confections, pleasing
the appetite, and there was 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 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 came to
his grave he wrote out this pitiful epi-
fanb f.lY bfc monuments. sT -, -.