The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1901-07-20
A SERMON on MONEY.
DR.. Talmage Arraigns Those Who
Live Beyond Their Means.
Causes of Great Financial Disturb.
aRces show - ENtrRVsgance the
Cauze of Most De~falcations-
MeetInE Ones obligations.


she causes Of the great financial dis
turoances which take place every few
years and arrsigns he people who live
beyond their meaus; text, Jeremiah
I7:ll: AS the partridge stitch on
eggs and hatchsth them NOT, SO he that
Settcth riches, and not by right, shall
leave them in the midst of his days and
a. his end shall be d fool
ILLUSION is here mace 10 wel-known
fact in natural history. Ii a partridge
or a quai. or a robin brood the eggs OF
another species, the young viii not
stay with the one that happened to
brood them, bu, at the first oppor-
unity vii assert with their own spc-
cies. Those Of Us who have been
brought up in tie country have seen
he dismay of the ~farmysr6 hen, haN-
lng 5rooded aquatic fowls, when after
awhile they tumble into their natural
element, the water. 80 my text Sug-
gests that a man may gather under his
wings the property Of others, bun 1t
win after awhile escape. II will leave
the man in q sorry Predieamrni aud
make him feel very - y.
What has caused al the black Gays
of finanical disasters for the .ast GO
years? Some say il is the credit sys-
.em. Something back Of that. Some
lay i is the spirit OF gambling ever and
anon becoming cpiGeIuic. something
back OF that. Some say it : The sud
den shrinkage in the value Of securi-
lies. which even the most honest and
intelligent men could not have fore
seen. Something back of that. | will
give you the primal cause Of al these
disturbances. Ii is the extravaganza
of modern society which inEcl> u man
% spend more money han r. can hon
estly make, and he goes into wild spec
Ulatiou in order to get the means for
1%nordinate display. aud sometime, the
pnan is TO blame aRG sometimes his wife
and ottener both. live thousand dol
lars' income. $4,000, $4,000 Income, is
not enough for a man to keep up the
style of living he proposes, and there
fore he steers his bark toward the
nae,strom. Other men have suddenly
lSDatched up $50.OOO or 100000. Why
not he? The present income Of the
mar not being large enough, he must
move heaven and earth and hell TO
catch up with his neighbors. Others
have a country seat; 80 must he. 9th
ers have = pa.ai,isl residence; so must
ne.
Extrava2spce is the cause OF all the
defalcations Of the .ast 60 years, and il
Sou win go through the history of all
The great panics and the great finaR.
cial disturbances, no sooner have you
found the story than right back Of Il
you will find the story Of how many
horses the man had, how many car
riageS, how many banquets the man
gaVe-always. and not one exception
Cor the last 6O years, either directly or
Indirectly extravaganza the cause.
Now for the clegances and the re.
hnements and the decorations Of life.
cast my vote. While ! am considering
rhis subject a basket Of flowers il
handed in-fowers parsdisiaeal IN
heir beauty. White Gala with a green
background vi begonia. A cluster of
heliotropes nesting in some geranium.
sePal and perisnth bearing on them
the marks Of Gods finger. When |
: that basket of flowers, they per
suade me that God loves beauty and
'dornment and decoration. God
might have made The earth so "a 10
supply the gross demands OF sense, but
Zen 1T without adcrnmcnt or attrae.
non. Instead Of the yariegated colors
ut the seasons the earth might have
worn an unchanging dull brown. The
aree might have put forth its fruit
without the prophecy Of leaf or bios
som. Niagara might have come down
In gradual descent without thunder
and winged spray.
: Look out Of your window n morn.
Ing after there has been a dew. and
see whether God loves Jewels. Put a
crystal Of snow under a microscope and
Sce what God thinks Of architecture.
God commanded the priest of olden
time to have his robe adorned with a
wreath Of gold and the hem Of his gar,
nent TO be embroidered in pomegran-
stes. The earth sleeps and God blank.
cts IL with the brillisnts Of the night
sky. The world wakes, and God
washes it from the FURNISHED laver OF
the sunrise. So ] have not much pa.
Hence with q man who talks as though
decoration and adornment and the ele
Iapces Of life r a sin when they ar,
Diyineiy recommended. But there i.
q Inc to be drawn between adornmen,
and decorations that we can aiforC
and those we cannot afford, and wher
q man crosses that line he become
culpable. cannot tell you what is ex
~trayagant for you. You cannot tell nj
what is extravagant for me. What i
right for a queen may be squanderiny
for q duchess. What may be eeonom
zeal for you, a man with larger income
will be wicked for me, with smaller in
come. There is no iron rule on thi
subject. Every man before God an,
ON his knees must judge what Is eN
Arayonanna nnI x-Aap q -.