The Opelousas courier., 1890-10-11
REV. DR.. TALMAGE
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE's SUN
DAY SERMON.

TEXT: "a soft tongue 6reokeM the
bo1e."-Prov. XIV, Is.
When Solomon said this he drove a whole
volume into n phrase. You, of course,
will not beso silly as to take the words OF
the text in a literal sense. They simply
mean to set forth the fact that there is a
tremendous power in q kind word. Al
though it may seem to lie very Insignificant,
It's force is indescribable and illimitable.
Pungent and all conquering utterance: IA
soft tongue breaketh the bone"
II the weather were not SO hot and I had
time l 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-
mails, and kindness as best adapted for the
settling and adjusting of international quar-
/, Tels; but | shall call your attention only to
two OF these thoughts.
And first speak to you OF kindness an a
means OF defense. Almost every mar in the
course of his life is set upon and assaulted
Your motives are misinterpreted, and your
religious or political principals are bonn
bafded. 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 the DITCH,
which he dug for your feet. Cash him with
as severe q wound as that which he
inflicted on your soul. Shot for shot
Sarcasm for sarcasm. An eye for On
eye. A tooth for q tooth" But tho
better spirit in the mans soul rises up arsS
says: You ought to reconsider that mat
ter" You look up into the face Of Christ ami
say: My Master. how oughtI to act under
these difficult circumstances?' And Christ
instantly wv s'Bless them that curse
you, and pray for them which despitefully
use your
Then the old naturer rises up again and saws:
"4on had better not forgive him until first
you have chastised him. You will never get
him Iii so tight O corner again. You will
never have such an opportunity of INJECTING
the right kind OF punishment upon him
again. First chastise him anil then let him
go" No" says tho better nature; "hush,
thou foul heart. Try the soft tongue that
breaketh the bone" Have you ever in ali
your life known aeerbity and acrimonious
dispute to settle n quarrel9 Did they not al
ways make matters worse and worse and
worse?
Many years ago there was a great quarrel
in the Presbyterian family. Ministers Of
Christ were thought orthodox In proportion
as they bad measured lances with other
~ciergymen of tho Same denomination. The
most outrageous personalities were abroad
AS in the autumn O 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 ecclesias-
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 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 Presbyterian church and the
Old school Presbyterian church became one
the different parts OF the Presbyterian
order welded by a hammer, q little hammer,
o Christian hammer, that the Scripture calls
"a soft tongue
You have q dispute with your neighbor.
You say to him, II despise your He re-
plies, 81 can't bear the sight Of your You
say to him, Never enter my house
again He says, If you come on my doc.
sill I'll kick you off" You say to him, sLIl
put you down. He says to you, stYou are
mistaken, I'll put you down. And SO the
contest RACES, and year after year You act
the un-Christian part. After n while the
better spirit seizes you, and one day you go
over to the neigihor and say: stGive 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 Rrongei mo 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" You have risen to a higher plat
form than that OH which before you stood.
You win his admiration, and you get his
apology, But If yol lave not conquered
him in that way, at any rate you have won
the applause OF your conscience, the
high estimation of COOL men, and the honor
of your Lord, who died for His armed enc
mics.
Butt you say, what are we to do when
SANDERS assault ms an there come acrimoa-
So4re rn nj J, 0r all roy.,S L n5s,,th ,,- ord Irro -
abused and spat npoHs9 Ny atvice is: Do
not SO aud attempt to cha Q down tho slar-
ders. Lies are prolific, anti while you are
killing one fifty are born. All your demon
STATIONS of indignation only exhaust your
self. You mieit as well on some su,nrne,
night, when the swarmso OF insects ara coming
up from The m~cadowsand disturbing yoa and
dlsturb.n your family. bring mp some great
swamp angel like that wbica Numbered
over Charleston, AMI try TO shoot them
down. The game is too small for the gun.
But what, then. are you tn do with the
abuses that cone upon son IN life. You
are to live them down. | saw n farmer go
out TO get hack q swami of .bets that ha !
wandered off from the lily AS he novel
smid them they ttuzs1 around his head,
and buzzad aroma his ha 1is, an trIzz ri
around his tett. Ii he hal killed one of
them they would nave stung him to death.
But he moved in their midst with perfect
plaeidity until he had captured the swarm
of wandering bees. Aud SO / have seen
men moving amid the annoyances, and
the vexations, and the assaults of life in
such calm, Christian elaboration that all
the buzzing around about their soul
amounted to nothing. They conquered
them, and above all they conquered them
selves. "Oh,n you say, t'that's a very good
theory to preach on q hot day, but it won't
work. 1t will work. 1t has worked. J
believe it is the last Christian grace we
win. You know there are fruits which we
gather in Jnne, and others in July, and
Others in August, and Others in Septe'u' ,er,
and still others in October; and [ have to
admit that this grace Of Christian for
giyeDess is about the last fruit of the Chris
tan soul.
We hear q great deal about the bitter
tongue, and the sarcastic tongue. and the
quick tongue. and the singing tongue but We
know very little about ssthe soft tongue that
bfeaketh the bone.' We read Hudibras. and
Sterne, Dean Swift and other apostles of
acFimonY, but give little time to studying
the example of Him who wasreviled, and yet
reviied not again. @ that the Lord by His
spirit would endow us all with 1ttha soft
tongue that breaketh the bone =
press now to the other thought that / de-
sire to present, and that is, Kindness as a
means of usefulness. In all communities
you find skeptical men. Through early edu-
cation, or through the maltreatment OF pro-
fessed Christian people, or through prYing
curiosity about the future world, there are d
great many people who become skaptical in
religious things. How shall you capture
them for God? Sharp argument and sarcas-
tic retort never won q single soul from skep-
ticisrn to ths Christian religion. While pow
erful books on the Evidences of Christian
ifYs' have their mission IN confirming Chris.