The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-08-03
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIYINES SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Our Possessions" Preached
in London.
zr: "Au are yours."-I Corinthians


/ TEXT: "AN are yours."-I Corinthians
Hi., g.
} The impression is abroad that religion
nuts a man on short allowance; that when
The ship sailing heavenward comes to the
shining wharf it will be found out that all
the passengers had the hardest kind OF sea
fare: that the soldiers in ChristS army
march most Of the time with an empty hav-
tersack: in a word, that only those people
have a good time in this world who take
iupon themselves no religious obligation.
I want to-day to find ouJ whether this
40. and am going to take account of stock;
II am going to show what are the Christians
liabilities, and what is his income, and what
are his warrantee deeds, and what are his
bonds and mortgages, and shall find out
before finish just how much he is worth,
and shall spread before you the halancs
sheet in time to warn you all against there
higion of Jesus Christ if indeed it be a fail.
lure, and in time for you all to accept 1t II
Indeed it be a success. l turn first TO tne
assets. and find there what seems to be a
roll of Government securities-the empire OF
heaven promising all things to the possessor.
The three small words of mJ text are war
rantee deed to the whole universe when 1t
Gays "All are yours
/ In making an inventory Of the Christians
possessions remark in the first place that
he owns this world. My text implies 1t and
the preceding verse asserts f-"wnetner
Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world"
Now it would be an absurd thlng 70 sup
pose that God would give to strangers
privileges and advantages which He would
deny His own children. If you have large
mark. a grand mansion, beautiful fountains,
stalking deer and statuary. to whom Will
YOU give the first right to all these posses
sionss To outsiders? No. to your own
children. You will say, 1T will be very
well for outsiders to come in and walk these
paths and enjoy this landscape, but the first
right to my house. and the hrst rlght 10 my
statuary. the first right to my gardens shall
be in the possession OF my own cnldren.
Now this world is Gods park, and while
a3e % allows those who are not His children,
and who refuse His authority, the privilege
walking through the gardens, the possession
of all this grandeur Of park and mansion Is
In the right Of the Christian-the flowers,
the diamonds, the silver, the gold, the morn
ing brightness and the evening shadow. The
C6ristian may not have the title deed to one
acre of land as recorded in the clerks office,
he NAV never have paid one dollar OF taxes
but he can 60 up on q mountain anu look on
upon fifty miles Of gram field ana say, Al
this is mine; my Father gave 1t TO me-" AL
are yours"
, A lawyer is sometimes required to search
titIes. and the client who thinks he has
GOOD right to an estate puts the papers in
Els hands, and the lawyer goes into the
nublic records and finds everything right
Tor three or four or five years back; but
after awhile he comes to break in the
title. to deficit, to q diversion OF the
property; so he finds out that the man VINO
supposed he owned it owns not an acre OF
the ground, while somebody else has the run
.ssht to the entire estate. Now examine
he title to all earthly possessions. go
back little way. and find that men of the
world-bad men, selfish men, wicked men
think they have a right to all these
possessions; but 60 further back, and
trace the title from year to year and from
century to century, until ind the whole
rioht vested in God. Now to whom did He
give it? 10 His own children! "Au are
yours"
the world all the architecture, all the cities,
all the mountains, all the villages will be IN
meek shall inherit the EARTH" Ships OF
Tarshish shall bring presents. "rhs earth
Is the Lords and the fullness thereof" "Au
are yours" But" you say, what salts
faction is there in that when I haven't pos
session of them?' These things will come
before the Supreme Judge Of the universe
and he will regulate the title, and He will
eject these squatters upon the property that
does not belong to them, and 1t shall Do
found that "All are yours"
, So, again, the refnements OF life are the
Christians right. He has right 70 as good
apparel, to as beautiful adornments, to as
commodious residence as the worldling.
Show me any passage in the Bible that tells
the people Of the world they have privil-
eyes they have glittering spheres, they have
BETTING apparel that are denie1 the Chris
tiap. There is no one who has 80 much
right to laugh, none so much right to
everything that is beautiful and grand and
sublime in life as the Christian. "All are
yours" Can it be possible that one VINO Is
reckless and sinful and has no treasures laid
up in heaven is to be allowed pleasures which
the sons and daughters OF God, the owners
of the whole universe, are denied?
So remark that all the sweet sounds OF
the world are in the Christians right. There
are people who have an idea that lnstru-
ments Of music are inappropriate for the
Christians parlor. When did the house OF
sin or the bacchanal get the right to music?
They have no right to it. God, in my text
makes over to Christian people all the pi-
amos, all the harps all the drums, all the
Ecornets, all the flutes, all the organs. Peo-
|ple Of the world may borrow them, but they
only borrow them; they have no right or
title to them. God gave them to Christian
people in my text when He said, Gall are
yours"
David no more certainly owned the harp
with which he thrummed the praise Of God
than the church of Christ owns now all
chants all anthems, all ivory keyboards, all
organ diapasons, and God will gather up
these sweet sounds after awhile, ami he will
mingle them in one great harmony, and the
Mendelsshons and the Bsethovens and the
Mozarts of earth will join their voices and
>their musical instruments, the soft south
wind and the loud-lunged euroclydon will
sweep the great organ pipes, and you shall
see. Gods hand striking the keys and Gofs
foot tramping the pedals in thu great ora
torio Of the ages!
SO all artistic and literary advantages are
in the Christians right. l do not care on
whose wall the picture hangs, or on whose
pedestal the sculpture stands, it belongs to
Christians. The Bierstadts AMI the churches
are all working for us. "Au are yours"
The Luxembourgs, the Louvre. all the gal.
leries of Naples and Rome and Venice-they
are all to come into the possession OF the
church OF Jesus Christ. We may not now
have them on Cur walls, but the time will
served and the church will possess every
thing. All parks, all fishponds. all colors,
all harvests-all, 'tall are yours"
Secondly, remark that the right to full
temporal support is in the Christians name.
1t is great affair to feed the world. Just
think Of the fact that this morning sixteen
hundred millions Of our race brsaktasted at