The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1890-09-05
GENTLE WORDS.
Dr.. Talmage Dwclls Eloquent.
ly Upon the Power of
Kindness.
Souls Cannot be Won for
Christ by any Other
Means.


Tongue Brcaketh tho Bone" prov. xxv,
l5.) Following III his sermon:
When Solomon said this, he drove II whole
volume into one phrase. You. q course, will
not he so silly us to take the words of the
meant to set forth the tnct that thereis 4. tire.
mcndous power in u kind word Although
it may seem to he very insignificant,
its force in indescrbable aud inimitublc.
Pungcnt and nl conqucring utterancc: "a
Soft Tongue Breaket.l the Bone"
Ii the weat her were not so hot, and had
time, would SHOW you Kindness as n means
of de!rnse; kindness as a means oi oiuscil,lness:
Kindness as n means OF domestic harmony;
Kindness ns best employed by government
for the tamng and curing of criminals: and
Kindness as best adapted for the sat ting and
adjusting OF International .Iuarrcl>: bu,
shall call your attention only to ,wu OF these
thoughts.
And first, speak to you of Kindness as a
means Of defense. Almost every man, in Tho
course of lie, is set upon aud assaulted
Your motives are misinterprctcd or your re.
ligi0ns or political principles are bomhar;lcd.
What TO do under such circumstances is the
| question. The first impulse OF the natural
heart says: Strike bnck. Give as much ns
he sent. Trip him into the ditch which he
dug ior your feet. Gash him with as severe
| II wound as that which he inflicted on your
soul. Shot for shot. Sarcasm for sarcasm
An eye for an eye. A tooth lor a tooth"
But the better spirit in the mans soul rises
up and says: 'Nnu ought to reconsider that
matter You look up into the f;lce of
Christ aud say: My Master how ought | to
act under these difficult circumstances:
And Christ instantly answers: BLESS them
that "nrse you. and prny tor them which
drspitetully nsc you Then the old nature
rises up again and says: "lou ln, better
not forgive him until first you have rI,us.
tised him. You will never ge, Him in 50
tight corner agnin. You will never have
kind % punishment upon linn again. First
chnstise him and then let him go" "No."
snys the better nature, "hush, thou foul
heart. Try the soft tongue that brcakrth
tho hone" Have you ever in all your life
known arerhity and acrimonious dispute to
matters worse, and worse, and worse?
Many yrars ago there was IL great quarrel
| in the Presbyterian inmily. Ministers of
Christ were Thought orthodox in proportion
as they had measured lancrs with other cler-
| gymcu of the same denomination. The
| most outrageous personalities wrr,. abroad.
| AH III tine autumn. Il hunter comes home with
string oi game pnrtridges and wild ducks
slung over his shoulder. 40 there were many
| ministers WHO came buck from the errlcsas-
ticnl courts with II long string of doctors of
divinity whom they hnd shot with their own
| rifle.
The division became WIDER and the ami.
mostly greater, until aftcrn while some o her
| good men resolved upon another tack. They
lrrun to explain away he difficulties they
began otnrgivecach Others !nult, and, 10! the
grent clmlchIn quarrel wasset tied. and the new
school Presbyterian church and the old Pres
bytcran became one The different parts of
l ln rkttn linn f,p,ln int, ,l,I l,,,
mrr, little hammer, II Christian hammer
that the Scripture calls IN soft tongue"
| You have Il dispute with your ncighbor.
You shy to him, II dcspise you" lie re-
plies, 81 can't bear the sight of you" You
sny y to- nm; M. Never enter my house again"
kick y"n or You sDs say S to S him. Moor a1i IL put
taken: IN put you down" And SO the con
test rngrs; aud year after year you act the
| unchristian pnrt. and lie acts the ,inchrist:n
pnrt. After II while tho better spirit scizrs
lor, and say: Give mo your hand. Wa
have fought long enough Time liz so short
andcternty is SO near, that We cannot afford
| any longer to quarrel. l feel yon have
wrong"d me very much; but let us settle all
now in on" great Ilrnd-shaking, aud bc good
friends tor all the rest OF our lives Yn,i
| have risen to n higher platform than tina, on
which before you stood. You win lii; nln-
ration, and you get his apology. Iut if you
| have not conquered him in that way. ht any
rate YOU have won the applause of your own
conscience, tile high estimation OF good men,
md the honor ol yourLord, who died for
| His armed enemies.
| "But," you say, what are we to do when
ISLANDERS iissnnltus, and there come ncrmoni.
Ous sayings all around about us, and we are
| abused and spit upon?" My reply is: Do
not 80 and attempt to chase down the csand,
ers. Lies are prolific, and while you are kill
ing one. fifty are born. All your drmonsir r,l-
| ti0ns of Indignation only exhaust yourself
| You might ns well, on some summer night
when the swarms of insects are coming up
from the meadows and disturbing you and
disturbing your fnmiIy. bring up some great
swamp angel, }" like that which thlln'lcred
| over Charleston, and try to shoot them
| down. The game is too small for the gun
| But what, then, nre you to do with the
abuses that come upon you in lie? You are
| to live them down. saw n farmer go out
! to get back n swarm Oi bees that had wan
derc'l off from the live. As he moved amid
| them they bnzzcd around his head, and
| bnzzed around his hnnds, and huzze'l around
| his feet. II h" had Killed one of them they
would have stung him to death. But he
moved in their midstin perfect llncility un-
| til he had captured the swarm of wandering
bees. And 40 have seen men moving amid
the annoynnces, and the vexutons. and he
ASSAULTS oi life in such calm, christi an ,lrlih-
cratior. that all the buzzing AROUND ;bou,
their souls amounted TO nothing. They con
quer them. nnd abovenll they conquer them
selves go. you sny, that's II very good
theory to preach on Il hot day. but it won't
work" 1t will work. 1t has worked. he
lievc it is the Inst christian grace We win.
You know there are fruits which We gather
in June, and Others in September, and still
Others in October; and have to admit that
this grace of christian forgiveness is about
the last iruit OF he christian soul.
We hear IL great deal about the bitter
tongue and the sarcastic tongue, and the
quick tongue, nnd the singing tongue but W"
that brcHketh the bone" Wrhoari liudibrHs,
and Strenc Dean Swift and tho othcrnpos-
ties of ncrmony, hut give little time to
studying tho example Of Him who was re-
viled. and yet rcvilcd not again. . that
the Lord. by his spirit, would cndow us
the bone"
pass now to the other Thought that de-
sire to present, and that is, Kindness as n
means niusctlllncss. In I'LL communities you
find 2ccp,icnI men Throusheurly education.
or through the mnltreatment of profpscd
Chrlstinn people, or through prying rurios
ity about the future world there are n great
many people who become scep,icnlin religious
things. How shall you capture them for
God? Sharp argument and sarcastic rctort
never won single soul from sccpicism to
the Christian religion. Whilepowcrful books
on the "EvIdences o! christianity huvc their
mission in confirming Christian people in the
faith they have already adopted, | have no.
ticed that when sccpticnl people are brought
into the kingdom OF Christ, it is through the
charm OF some gcniul SOUL and not by urgu
ment nj nll
Men are not saved through the head: they
are saved through the heart. storm comes
out o! the hiding place. 1t says: "Aow
wei just rouse up all this sea-" md it makes
great bluster; but it does not succeed.
Part of the aea is ronsed up-perhaps one.
half OF it, or OneouIth of it. After IL while
the calm moon placid and beautiful, looks
down, and the ocean begins to rise 1t comes
up to hghwntor mark. 1t embraces the
leadlands. 1t is the heart throb of the
world against the heart throb of another
world. Aud have to tell you that while all
your storms of ridiculc aud storms of sar-
casm may rouse up the passion of an i'm
moral nature, nothing less thnn attractive
power OF Christian kindness can ever raise
the spirit 10 happiness and to God. have
more faith in the prayer of II child ) years
old, in the way of bringing an intdel back to
Christ and to heaven, than have in nll the
kissing thunderbolts OF Ecclesiastical contro.
vcrSy.
What have said is just us true in the re.
clamation OF the openly vicious. Did you
ever know n drunkurd to b- saved through
the caricatnre ofn drunkard? Your mimi
cry Of the staggering step, and tho thick
tongue. and the disgusting hircough, only
worse madlens his brain. But il you come
to him in Kindness and sympathy; if you
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