Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1890-09-05
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S sun
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Kind Words Never Die,
Cherished and Blessed"

volume into one phrase You, of course,
will not be so silly as to take the words OF
the text in literal sense. They simply
mean to set forth the fact that there is
tremendous power in a kind word AL
though it may seem to be very Insignificant,
its force is indescribable and illimitable.
Pungent and all conquering utterance: "a
soft tongue breaketh the bone"
II the weather were not SO hot and I had
time / would show you kindness as a means
Of defense; kindness as a means of useful
ness; kindness as q means of domestic har-
mony; kindness as best employed by govern
ments for the tanning and curing Of crimi-
nails, and kindness as best adapted for the
settling and adjusting of international quar-
rels; but shall call your attention only to
two of these thoughts.
And first / speak to you of kindness as a
means OF defense. Almost every man in the
course Of his life is set upon and assaulted.
Your motives are misinterpreted and your
religious or political principals are bonn
barded. What to do under such circuHl-
stances is the question. The first impulse of
the natural heart says: "Strike back Give
as much as he sent. Trip him into tho ditch
which he dug for your feet. Cash him with
as severe a wound as that which he
Sarcasm for sarcasm. An eye for an
eye. A tooth for a TOOTH" But the
better spirit in the mans soul rises up and
says: "YOu ought to reconsider that mat
OO look INTO Ule lace or christ ana
say: My Master, how ought to act under
these difficult circumstancesW And Christ
instantly answers: "Bless them that curse
you, and pray for them which despitefully
use you"
Then the old naturerise up again and says:
"You had better not forgive him until first
you have chastised him. You will never get
him in so tight a corner again. You will
never have such an opportunity of inflcting
the right kind of punishment upon him
again. First chastise him and then let him
CO." 'tNo, " says the better nature: ''hush,
thou foul heart. Try the soft tongue that
breaketh the bone" Have you ever in all
your life known acerbity and acrimonious
dispute to settle quarrel? Did they not OIL
ways make matters worse and worse and
worse?
Many years ago there was great quarrel
in the Presbyterian family. Ministers of
Christ were thought orthodox in proportion
as they had measured lances with other
clergymen of the same denomination. The
most outrageous personalities were abroad.
As in the autumn hunter comes home with
q string of game, cartridges and wild ducks
slung over his shoulder SO there were many
ministers who came back from the ecclesias.
teal courts with long strings of doctors Of
divinity whom they had shot with their own
rife. The division became wider, the ami
mostly greater, until after a while some good
men resolved upon another tack. They be-
gan to explain away the difficulties they be-
gan to forgive each others faults, and 10!
the great church quarrel was settled, and
the new school PreSby terrain church and the
old school Presbyterian church became one
the different parts Of the Presbyterian
order welded by q hammer, little hammer
a Christian hammer, that the Scripture calls
"a soft tongue"
You have q dispute with your neichbor.
You say to him, Il despise you" lie re-
plies, Il can't bear the sight of you" You
say to him, Never enter my house
again" He says, IF you come on my door
sill Ill kick you off," You say to him, "Ill
put you Town" He says to you, you are
mistaken, I'll put you down" And so the
contest RACES, and year after year you act
the un-Christian part. After while the
better spirit seizes you, and one day you so
over to the neighbOr and say: Give me
your hand; we have fought long enough.
Time is SO short and eternity is SO near that
we cannot afford any longer to quarrel. I
feel you have wronged me very much, but
let us settle all now in one great hand shak-
ing, and be good friends for all the rest of
our lives" Y on have risen to higher plat
form than that on which before you stood.
You win his admiration, and you get his
apology. But if you have not conquered
him III 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 enc
mics.
But" you say, "wnat arc we to do when
ISLANDERS assault US and there come acrimon-
ious sayings all around about us, and we are
abused and spat upon" My advice is: Do
not go aud attempt to chase down the SLAM
ders. Lies are prolific, and while you are
killing one fifty are born. All your demon
STATIONS of Indignation only exhaust your
self. You might as we'll on some summer
night, when the sWarms of insects are coming
up from the meadows and disturbing you and
disturbing your family, bring up some great
swamp angel" like that which Numbered
over Charleston, and try to shoot them
down. The game is too small for the gun.
But what then, are you to do with the
abuses that come upon you in life. You
are to live them down. [ saw a farmer go
out to get back o swarm Of bees that had
wandered Off from the hive. AS he moved
aRid them they buzzed around his head,
around his feet. If he had killed one OF
them they would have stuug him to death
But he moved in their midst with perfect
placidity until he had captured the swarm
of wandering bees. And so l have seen
men moving amid the annoyances, and
the vexatlons and the assaults of life in
such calm, Christian elaboration that oil
the buzzing around about their SOU
amounted to nothing They conquered
them, and above all they conquered them
selves. oh" you say, ''thats very good
theory to preach on hot day, but it won't
believe it is the last Christian grace VIC
win. You know there are fruits which we
Sh IN gns and and S Stth in IN sp ba!
admit that this grace of Christian for
giveness is about the last fruit of the Chris
tian soul.
We hear great deal about the bitter
tongue, and the sarcastic tongue, and the
quick tongue, and the singing tongue, but W,
lrlSNV fIoo