The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-08-25
THE POWER OF KINDNESS
REV TALMAoR PRRACHES ON 1T
AT CINCINNATI

and Tor the curing or Criminals
CINCINNATI. O., Aug. A-Dr. Talmage,
who is in this city to-day, discourses on
power which, IL it had been used as exclu-
sively as Christ intended it to be used,
would have saved the church and the world
from infinite discord and sorTow-the power
of kindness. His text Is: "a soft tongue
breaketh the bone" Prov XIV, Is. Fol-
lowing is his sermon:
When Solomon said this he drove a whole
volume into one phrase. You, OF course,
will not be so silly as to take the words OF
the text in a literal sense. They simply
mean to set forth the facts that there is q
Tremendous power in a kind word. Al
though it may seem to be very Insignificant,
its force ia indescribable and illimitable.
Pungent and allconquering utterance: "a
soft tongue breaketn the bone"
II the weather were not so hot, and bad
time, would show you kindness as @
means of defense; kindness as means OF
usefulness; kindness as means Of domestic
harmony kindness as best employed by gov
ernments for the tanning and curing OF
criminals; and kindness as best adapted for
the settling and adjusting Of International
quarrels: but shall call your attention only
to two of these thoughts.
Aud first, speak to you OF kindness as q
means of defense Almost every man, in
the course Of his life, is set upon and
assaulted. Your motives are misinter-
preted or your religious or political princi-
pies are bombarded. What to do under
such circumstances Is the question. The
first impulse of the natural heart SAYS:
"Strike back Give as much as he sent.
| Trip him into the ditch which he dug for
| your feet. Cash him with as severe wound
as that which he inflicted on your soul.
| Shot for shot, Sarcasm for sarcasm. An
| eye for an eye. A tooth for tooth" But
bn haiti ar1fr in
| rises up and says: "You ought to recon-
slider that matter You look up into the
| face Of Christ and say: "My master, how
ought to act under these difficult cireum-
stancesp And Christ instantly answers:
BLESS them that curse you, and pray for
them which despitefully use you.n Then the
old nature ri es up again and says: You
had better not forgive him until first you
have chastised him. You will never get him
in so tight corner again. You will never
| have such an opportunity or intlcting the
| right kind Of punishment upon him again.
| First ohastise him and then let him CO."
| mo- says the better nature, hush, thou
foul heart. Try the soft tongue that break
9th the bone" Have you ever in all your
life known acerbity and acrimonious dispute
to settle quarrels Do they not always
make matters worse and worse and worsel
Many years ago there was great quar-
rel in the Presbyterian family. Minis ers
of Christ were thought orthodox in proper
tion as they had measured lances with
other olergymen of the same denomination.
The most outrageous personalities were
abroad. As, In the autumn, hunter comes
home with a string of game, partridges and
wild ducks slung over his shoulder, 80 there
we're many ministers who came back
from tbe ecclesiastical courts with
long strings of doctors of divfn-
ity whom they had shot with
their own rifle The division became wider,
tho animosty greater, until after awhile
some good men resolved upon another tack.
They began to explain away the difficulties;
they began to forgive each others fault,
and lol the great church quarrel was set
tied, and the new school Presbyterian
church and the old school Presbyterian
church became one. The different parts OF
the Presby terian order, welded by ham
mer, little hammer, a christian hammer,
that the scripture calls "a soft tongue"
You have a dispute with your neighbor-
| You say to him, al despise you" He re-
plies: 81 can't bear the sight Of you" You
say to him: "Never euter my house again
He says: "If you come on my doorsill. I'll
kick you off" You say to him; nrl pub
you down" He says to you: "You are
mistaken; I'll put you down" And so the
contest RACES; and year after year you act
the unchristian part, and he acts the un-
christian part. After while the better
spirit SEXES you. and one day you 20 over
to the neighbor, and say: Give me
enough @ Time is 50 short, and
eternity is so near, that We cannot afford
any logger to quarrel. / feel you have
wronged me very much but let us settle
all now in one great hand-shaking, and be
good friends for oil the rest OF our lives"
You have risen to a h CHER platform than
that on which before you stood. You win
his admiration, and you get his apology.
But if you have not conquered him In that
way, at any rate you have won the applause
Of your own conscience, the high estimation
of good men and the honor OF your Lord,
who died for his armed enemies
"Butn YOU say, "what are we to do when
slanders assault us, and there come acrlmo-
NOUS sayings all around about us, and we
are abused and spit uponT Ny reply Isl.
Do not 20 and attempt to chase down the
SANDERS Lies are prolific. and while you
are killing one fifty are born. All your
demonstrations OF indignation only exhaust
yourself. You might as well, on some sum
fner night when the swarms of insects are
coming up from the meadows and disturb
ing you anu disturbing your family, bring
up some great "swamp angel" like that
which thundered over Charleston, and try
to shoot taem down. The game is too small
for the gun.
But what, then, are you to do with the
abuses that come upon you in lifef You are
to live them downi | saw farmer go out
10 get back a swarm OF bees that had wan
dered Off from the hive. As he moved amid
them they buzzed around his head, and
buzzed around his hands, and buzzed around
his feet II he had killed one of them they
would stung him to death. But he moved
in their midst in perfect placidity until he
had captured the swarm Of wandering tees.
And so have seen men moving amid the
annoyAnces, and the vexations, and the
assaults of life in such calm, christian
deliberation, that all the buzzing around
about their soul amounted to nothing.
They conquer them, and above all, they
conquered themselves. "O," you say,
"that's very good theory to preach on
hot day, but 1t won't work" Ii will work.
1t has worked 1 believe it is the last
christian grace we win. You know there
are fruits which we gather In June, ano
others in July, and Others in August, ana
others IN September, and still others IN
October; and ] have 10 admit that this
grace OF christian forgiveness is about the
last fruit OF the christian soul
We hear a great deal about the bitter
tongue, aud the sarcastic tongue, aud tho
quick tongue, and the singing tongue; but
we know very little about ''the soft tongue
that breaketh the bone" We read hndi-
bras. and Ste ne, aud Dean swift, and he
| other as.asfIas az acrtfnQnV. but give ltttlo