The Red Cloud chief., 1891-08-21
A POOR INVESTMENT;
0r. Talmage breaches to the Peopls
' OF Topeka Kan.

Dr.. Talmage breaches to the Peopls
' OF Topeka, Kan.
The value Of Earthly Reward a. q Con.
pensation For the soal-The World n
Poor Creditor Of Aortals-Ths Only
Hope OF Salvation.
DR.. Talmage.. the noted BROOKLYN
divine, preached tos large concourse Of
people at Topeka, Kan, during hh late
western trip. The subject Of the ser.
mon was, "A Poor Investment" and
the text Isaiah lii: 8: . I'VE have sold
yourselves for nought; and ye shall be
re semed without money" He said:
Ieee Lords people had gone headlong
into n, and as q 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 q dol.
lar OF compensation, he let them 20
Ahome. So that. literally, my text was
fulfilled: "Ye have sold yourselves for
nought; and ye shall be redeemed with
out money"
There isenough gospel in the text for
fifty sermons. There arc persons here
who have, like the people Of the text,
sold out. You do not seem TO belong
either to yourselves or to God. The
title deeds have passed over to the
world, the flesh and the devil" but the
purchaser never paid up. "Ye have
sold y~oursclves for nought."
When a man passes himself over to
the world he expects to get some ade-
quate compensation. He has heard the
great things that the world does for q
man, and he believes it. He wants
$3.50. 600. That will be horses and
houses, and a summer resort and jolly
companionship. To get 1t he parts
with his physical health by overwork.
He parts with his conscience. He parts
with much domestic Ell enjoyment. He
parts with opportunities for literary
culture. He parts with his soul And
80 he makes ove his entire nature to
the world. He does it in four INSTALL
ments. He pays down his 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 in
staliment, and three-quarters Of his
nature 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
and says: Good morning. / have de-
livered to you the goods. have passed
over TO you my body, my mind and my
soul and i have come now to
collect the two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars" 1.-Two hum
dred and fifty thousand dollarsY' says
the world. "What do you mean?"
"'Weli." you say. II come to collect the
money you w me and / expect you to
fulfill your part Of the contract"
But" says the world, 81 have failed.
] am bankrupt cannot possibly pay
that debt / have not for a long while
expected to pay it." WELL" you then
say, give me back the goods" 20,
no." says the world. they are all gone.
I cannot 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 a liar; it does
not keep it's promises. 1t is a cheat and
Il feeces everything it can put its hands
on. II is a bogus world 1t Is a 9, 1000
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 a little while. Just
as a man may pay down $40. 900 in hard
cash and get for II worthless scrip, so
the world passes v to you the $3.50, 600
in hat shape which will not be worth
a farthing t. O thousandth part Of
a second after you are dead.
norton emoluments are OF 10
e to you. The treasures of this world
will not pass current In the future
world; and IL 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 fcrriagc, you could
not do it. There INT a moment in
your existence beyond which all earth
ly values fail; and many a man has
wakened up in such a time to find that
he has sold out for eternity and has
nothing to show for il.
History tell us Of one who resolved
that he would have all his enses graft
fed 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 cal, and there were fine
pictures fascinating his eye, and there
were costly aromatics RECALLING his nos
tril. and there were the richest meats
and wines and fruits and CONNECTIONS,
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 IL he could
have one week Of such enjoyment, even
though he lost his soul by it! All! tina,
was the rub! He did lose his soul by
It! Cyrus the conqueror thought for
little while that he was making a fine
thing out of this world. and yet before
he came to his grave he wrote out this
pitiful epitaph for his monument: 81
am CYRUS l occupied the Persian en-
pire. 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 say3 Il walk
up and down. thinking I nm happy. but
feeling 1 am not" Call the roll, and ot
Quick about it. Samuel johnson. the
learned! Happy? NO. am afraid
shall some day get crazy" William
Hazlitt, the great essayist! Happy
'.No. l have been for two hours and Z
half going up and down Paternostel
Row with q volcano in my breast
Smollet, the witty author! Happy
NO. l am sick of praise n blame
and I wish to God that had such cir
cumstances around me that coult
throw my pen into oblivion" Blu
chanan, the world-renowned writer
exiled from his own country, appealing
to Henry VIII. for protection! Happy
'.No. Over mountains covered will
III Al -x.A1