Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-08-07
S%ABBATH-DAY READING
B~AD-TEMPERED e

A Grievous Fault Which Can Ie r.
by Special, Continuous and Perseyaa:ea
Care, Aided by Divine Grace. Sang
There are many men who fill tho 4,
scription which a venerable lady onco
gave of her o n: ''John wants to ho
good man, but he don't know how"
and a majority of these men are had
tempered. Some Of them are subioo.
to fits of anger, Others gre suspicious.
some can not overlook : slight, other,
are always demanding praise; sons
are sour as buttermilE, otkers are r0
sentful and touchy. The catalocu.
might be extended to great length
numerous are the forms "a which baMn
temper plaques its victims and the resi-
of mankind. No doubt the bad-tcm'
pered people lack knowledge of their
besetting sins, and of the means to
overcome them. To know ourselves il |
not easy, especially when full know. /
edge would be humiliating to self-loye.
The victim of bad temper blames 9th.
ers for causing his sin, as a child kicks
the stone over which he stumbles: and
it comes to pass that the good-tempered
folks are made to answer for ali tha
bad tempcrs of their neighbors. This
might be borne with patience if bv
bearing it the sweet could cure the sour.
but unfortunately, though patience is
duty, it is not a remedy Of a radical
nature. The man whose irrational an.
ger encounters no obstacles will soon
cool off, but he will be hot again at The |
first provocation. To bear his anger il |
best and easiest; but bearing it will not
cure it.
No device has been found equal "a
this case. We once knew a COMPANY
of good brethren to oncoct an extern.
poraneous class-meeting ''to tell each
other their faults" The angry, the
morose and the suspicious brother Were
present. The angry man grew hot with
rage when his fault was mentioned; the
morose man went into q fit Of sulks; the
suspicious mar declared that the meet |
ing was a trap. A little order being
restored by singing q hymn, the hot.
tempered brother explained that his
fault was meekness; he bore too easily
the ill-wili and bad conduct of his
brethren. He felt that he ought to re.
sent these things, but for the sake of his
Master he endured them. The sulkipo
brother said that he did all he ought to
do, and much more, because he loved
the cause; but he was not so forward as
some others to lead Off in everything, |
because he did not seek honor. The
suspicious man declared that frankness
and trust were his special failings, but
his confidence was SO often abused that
he found his duty sometimes disagree |
nh1a n9i1l r,n,,, -, f,,, y, -, x1,@,,o .--l- /
to these professions. The bad-tempered
men were told by chapter and verse
the cases in which they had abundant
ly proved their vices of disposition and
manner; but it was useless-they per-
sisted i'll claiming the virtues which were
the opposites of theirfaults. The meet
ing broke up in disorder, and no second
session was held. The bad tempers
continue to plague the church.
If all were as blind as these brethren
there would be nothing to do but to
pray. The sermons on sins Of tempe,
would not hit the mark. The men fol
whom they are meant will pass them
along to others less culpable than them
selves. There is, however, a minority
among the bad-tempered who know !
something of their faults though they
blame others for them. These can per- !
haps be reached by a suggestion thata
fault Of temper must be corrected by
the man himself, and that to correct it
he needs to take special, continuous
and p%ersevering care. There are men
Who'll in this way have cured themselves
Of bad tempers. 1t need not be said
at length, for it is understood, that
Divine grace is necessary. Happily
the grace has not to be made for thu
occasion; it exists in boundless plenty.
What is needed is that the victim OF {,
bad temper shall use this grace for his
special sin. He must, in order to use it
clearly, recognize and confess his sin
to himself; he must check and restrain
his tendency to blame the innocent
occasions Of his temper; he must speci-
1ically ask Divine help for this evil; no
must watch himself at this point. We
know there is a shorter road to sancti-
tying power, of which many speak: We
do lot discredit that road, but the aver
age man with a bad temper will need
in every case to watch his weak point
and direct the healing efficacy Of
prayer to that weak point. He will
need keep his eye on anger, his will
holding fast to a purpose to subjugato
it to righteous law.
There is much neglect by Christians
OF the details Of character. They like
to think of the work of grace as a whole.
sale matter, q clean sweep, a boom Of
salvation. and they forget the necessity
OF watchfulness, vigilance, patient con
tinuance in self-subj ugation. The mar
who has an iniirmity Of temper ought
to concentrate his efforts on that line OF
self-reform with full confidence that he
will have all the grace he will use, and
that by Gods help he can liberate him.
self from his bondage. He may thus
change his spiritual habits and "puton
the new man." Let him stop making
excuses to himself and accusing Others
OF souring his disposition and intlamns
his resentments. 4 few months "
patent and steady effort will convlncs
him that he can be perfectly healed o.
his plague. No matter what the III.
drmlty is. the determined man, using
Gods free grace, Gan be made Who,s.
1t may be, probably is, a thing to "
borne with by others; the plagued
patient ought nos to bear with it a'
other hour. Liberty is within reacL