Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-05-16
TALMAGE
SERMON
BY Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE, DID.
Pastor Of Jefferson Park Presby-
terrain Church, Chicago

Talmage in jefferson Park Presbyte-
rian church, the supreme folly of bar
tering away ones eternal welfare in
exchange for wealth. ambition and
pleasure or whatever else the world
can give is convinciugly shown. The
text is Mark viii, SO. What shall 1T
profit man if he shall gain the whole
world and lose his own soul?'
Almost magnifcenttext especially easy
of Interpretation at the present time.
This is pre-eminently commercial age.
Everywhere man is struggling after the
mighty dollar. Capital strives TO beat
down every obstacle, that its rivers of
gold may grow into oceans. Prove to
n man who has money that by a GER
tain investment he can make more
money. and there is no trouble 10 per
suade him to invest. Why does a real
estate Spectator buy land? To make
money. When examining n piece of
property, he says to himself: eff buy,
shall be able to sell at an advanced
price? Is this suburban region going to
be built up? VIII the electric cars come
out here? Shall the future residents
have easy access to the city7 Shall ]
be able to make enough out of my bar
this farm up into streets and building
lots-enough to pay my taxes in the
meantime?' The merchantman's chief
thought is to decrease his expenses and
thereby increase his profits. To have
the maximum of returns for the mini
mum of output he sends his buyers TO
Europe. There they can buy the cheap
est He has wires strung round the
v,o .,
girls. He pays promptly for his goods
to avail himself of the discount. To
woo more trade he has his delivery
wagons stationed in the neighboring
towns. His customers are thus &C
commodated. They do not have to
carry their bundles home.
To increase the profits and decrease
expenses the large corporations are be-
ing formed. There are the steel trust,
the oil trust. the tin can trust. the sug-
ar trust, the tobacco trust, the coal
trust. the flour trust, the meat trust
n trust is primarily formed to regulate
the selling prices; but, secondarily, a
trust is formed to lessen the cost Of
production.
a Community OF Interests.
Thirty or forty men in the same line
or business come together. They say
TO each other: "What is the good Of
trying to financially cut each others
threats? Why not have a community
OF interests? Instead of having many
different offices we can have one big
central Office. Instead of having thirty
or forty different presidents and secre-
taries and treasurers and cashiers and
superintendent and general managers
we can have each department under n
single head. IL we are in the brick
business, we can have the brickyard
which is nearest to the site OF the pro-
posed building make the bricks and
thus save expense OF carriage" The
tie which binds the leaders OF n great
corporation is not one OF sentiment
but one OF profit Christ. in my
text, talks TO his auditors as though
they were n collection OF business men,
lie practically says: Before you settle
the question OF your eternal destiny !
want you to enter into some gospel
mathematics. / want you TO put down
upon piece OF paper all the riches OF
the world. Place there the value OF the
gold or countless mines and OF the cat
tie on thousand hills. Place there
the value of the palaces OF kings
and queens. The value OF the great
commercial interests OF the world. Put
all these values down. Add the figures
up. Then from that aggregation OF
numbers subtract the value OF your
immortal soul and behold what YOU
have left"
Mathematics cannot lie. Two and
two always make four. Ten times ten
make 100. Twelve divided by four
always gives three. Five from five
leaves nothing. Come. let us try to
solve the greatest OF all problems.
what shall 1t profit man IL he shall
gain the whole world and lose his own
soulT'
he who solves this gospel problem
must realize that he can only get n
life interest In the world and not a
title deed in perpetuity. Every would
be purchaser OF n home is very careful
about the title deed. When q man is
about to buy n house, he has his own
lawyer so to the county building and
look up the records. The attorney
traces the history OF that land from
owner back to owner until he comes
To the original settler who bought the
land from the government or the In
disns. II there is any flaw in any
deed, the would be buyer refuses to
purchase. He says TO himself: 81 am
afraid that might be involved in fu-
ture litigations. My children may have
this property taken from them after !
am dead. will not buy. The title
IS not perfect" Within a short dis
lance or my old Brooklyn home there
was tract OF land which was called
Jackson's hollow. 1t was In the very
center OF the city. We'll paved streets
ran through it. The drainage pipes
were all there. The city grew. The
houses were built up for miles and
miles beyond this location. Jackson's
hollow was uninhabited for fifty years.
except by a few poor families. who !
had erected shanties. These poor fam |
HES were squatters. We boys would |
play ball In those vacant lots. Jack |
sons hollow, in its status, existed be- |
cause there was a flaw in the title to |
me land. No man would build there a |
house until he was positive about his
ownership. A few years ago the civil |
courts rendered favorable decision |
concerning the title deeds. Then the
masons and the carpenters came in |
swarms. Jackson's hollow disappeared
forever from public view.
A Life Interest In the World.
But" says some one, ito possess a !
life interest in the world means q very !
great deal Think of owning all the |
money stored away in the vaults of |
the Emitted States treasury Think of |
possessing the royal jewels of England
and Germany and Russia and Spaini |
Think of having your wardrobes filled |
with the costliest OF dresses now being
made In the large establishments of |
the Partisan modistes! Think OF all |
the new bonnets one could have, all
the horses one could drive, all the
steam yachts which would ride Mt an