Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1890-09-05
REV. DIR. TALMACE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE's SUN.
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Kind Words Never Die,
Cherished and iBlessed.o

sN0 NeAs III Hterhl scnss. lney simply
mean TO set forth the fact that there Is a
tremendous power in a kind word. All.
though 1t may seem TO be very insignificant,
It's forco Is indescribable and iliimitable.
fungent and oil conquering utterance: "a
soft tongue brcaketh the Some
III the weather were not 80 hot and had
time would show you kindness as a means
OF defense; kindness as means Of useful.
ness; kindness as means Of domestic bar.
mony; kindness as best employed by govern
mcnts for the tanning and curing Of crimi-
nals, and kindness as best adapted for the
settling and adjusting of International quar-.
1eis; put shall call your attention only to
two of these thoughts
And first speak to you OF kindness ns a
means or defense. Almost every man In the
course OF his life is set upon and assaulted,
Your motives arc misintorprcted, and your
religious or political principals are bonn.
barded. What to do under such circum.
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 q wound rs that which he
inflicted on your soul. Shot for shot.
Sarcasm for sarcasm. An eye for an
eye. A tooth for Q TOOTH But the
better spirit in the mans soul rises up and
says: "You ought to reconsider that mat.
ter" You look up into tho face OF Christ and
ay; "My Master, how ought ~ act under
these difficult circumstancesr' And Christ
instantly answers: "Bless them that curss
you, and pray for .hom which dcspitsfully
uso you"
Then the old naturerises up again and saws,
lyon had better not forgive him until frst
you have chastised him. You will mover rot
him in so tight corner again. You win
never have such an opportunity Of infiicting
the right kind OF punishment upon him
again. First chastise him and then let him
60" M" says the better nature; ''hush,
thou foul heart Try the soft tongue that
breaketh tho bone" Havo you ever In all
your life known acerbity and acrimonious
dispute to settle QUARREL Did they not al.
ways mako matters worse nnd worse and
worset
MANY years ago there was great quarrel
In the Presbyterian family. Ministers OF
Christ werc thought orthodox in proportion
as they had measured lances with other
clergymen Of the samo denomination. The
most outrageous personalities were abroad.
As In the autumn hunter comes home with
q string of game, partridges and wild ducks
slung over his shoulder, so there were many
ministers who came back from the ecclesiss
teal courts with long strings OF doctors OF
divinity whom they had shot with their own
rifle. The division became wider, the AMI.
mostly greater, until aftor 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 Presbyterian church and the
old school Presbyterian church became one
tho different parts OF the Presbyterian
order welded by a hammer, 3stio hammer,
Christian hammer, that the Scripture CALI
"a soft tongue"
You have dispute with your neighbor
You say to him, II despise YOU lie no
plies, II can't bear tho sight OF you" You
say TO him, Never enter my house
again" He says, "If you come on my door
sill I'll kick you of" You say to him, an
put you down. He says TO you, "You ar,
mistaken, I'll put you down" And so the
contest RACES, and year after year you nci
the un-Cbristian part. After n whilo ths
better spirit seizes you, and one day you &C
over TO the neighbor and say: "Give IN,
your hand; wo have fought long enough
Time is SO short and eternity is 30 near thai
we cannot afford any longer to quarrel
feel you have wronged mo very much, buI
let US settle all now In ono great hand shak
Ing, and be good friends for all the rest oil
our lives" You have risen to higher plat
form than that on which before you stood
You win his admiration, and you get hi
apology. But IL you have not conquere,
him in that way, at any rate you havo wor
the applause OF your own conscience, tht
high estimation OF good men, and the honol
OF your Lord, who died 70: His armed enc
| mics.
But" you say, "what arc we to do whe,
ISLANDERS assault us and there come acrimo1
ious sayings all around about us, and We ar
nh and III. l.. n
| not 60 and attempt to chase down the slau
ders. Lies are prolific, and while you ar
killing one fifty are born. All your demon
strations Of indignation only exhaust your
self. You might Us well on soma su .nme
night, when the swarms OF insects are comm
up from the meadows and disturbing yol an,
disturbing your family, bring up some grea
swamp angel" like that which thundere
over Charleston, and try to shoot then
| down. The game is too small for the gun.
But what, then, ore you to do with tin
abuses that come upon you in life. Yo,
are to live them down. saw a farmer &
out to get back swarm Of be,s that ha'
wandered of from tho hive. As he move
amid them they buzzed around his head
and buzzed around his hands, and buzz y
around his feet. IL he had killed one Z
them they would have stung him 10 death
But he moved In their midst with perfec
placidity until no had captured tho swarm
OF wandering bees. And so / have seei
men moving amid tho annoyances, an
the vexations and the assaults of life il
such calm, Christian deliberation that al
the buzzing arounl about their sou
amounted TO nothing. They conquere
them, and above all they conquered them
selves. "oh," you say, that's a very goo
theory to preach on a hot day, but it won
work" 1t will work. 1t has worked.
believe 1t is tho last Christian grace W
win. You know there are fruits which w
n ana ana 0SasFs m IN spse6s sSS
and still others in October; nud have h
admit that this grace OF Christian for
giycness Is about the last fruit Of tho Chris
tian soul.
We hear great deal about the bite
tongue and tho sarcastic tongue, and tn
quick tongue, and the singing tongue, but W
know very little about "the soft tongue tha
brealseth the bonen We read Hudibras. an,
Sterne, Dean Swift and other apostles O
acrimony, but give little time to studyiny
the example of Him who wasreviled, and We
reviled not again. o that the Lord by Eli
spirit would endow us oil with "the sof
tongue that breaketh tho bone.n
press now to the other thought that I de
sire to present, and that is Kindness as
means Of usefulness In all communitie
you find skeptical men. Through early edu
cation, or through the maltreatment OF pro
fessed Christian people, or through pryin,
curiosity about the future world, there are
great many people who become skeptical II
religious things How shalt you captur,
them for Godi Sharp argument md sarcas
tic retort never won single soul from skep
ticism to the Christian religion. While pow
erful books on the "Evidences OF Christian
lty" havo their mission In confirming Chri,
tlan people in the faith they have alread
adopted, have noticed that when skeptica
people are brought into the kingdom Of Chris
Il is through the charm OF some genial soul
and not by argument at all.
Men arc not saved through the head; the
are saved through the heart. A storm CONF
out Of its hiding place. Il says. "Nov
we'll Just rouse up all this sea-" and IL max,
great bluster, but II does not succeed. Par
Of the sea Is reused up-perhaps one-half Q
IL or one.fcurth Of IL. After q while Oh
2alun noon nlncid and honutiful looka dnwr