Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1892-06-10
REV. DR.. TALMAGH.
The Eminent Brooklyn DiVine'S Sun,
day Sermon.
subject: q Forgive and Forget"

lily, Of the Hindoos is the marigold, of the
Chinese is the chry santhemum. We have no
national flower. but there is hardly any
flower more suggestive to many of us than
the forgetmenot. WEI all like TO be remem-
bered, and one Of our misfortunes is that
there are so many things we cannot remem-
Der. Mnemonics, or the art of assisting
memory, is an important art. IL was first
suggested by Simonides Of Cos five hundred
years before Christ.
Persons who had but little power to recall
events, or tut facts and names ami dates in
professions, have through this art had their
memory reinforced to an almost incredible
extent. A good memory is an almost in
valuable possession. BY all means cultivate
il. | bad an aget friend who, detained all
night at a miserable depot in waiting for a
rail train fast in the snow banks, entertained
group OF some ten to fifteen clergymeD.
likewise detained on their way home from a
meeting of presbytery, first, with piece of
chalk, drawing out on the black and sootY
walls of the depot the characters of Walter
Scotts "MarmiOn," and then reciting from
memory the whole of that poem of some
eighty pages in fine print.
My oil friend, through great age, lost his
memory, and when | asked him il this story
of the railroad depot was true he said, 81 do
not remember now, but it was just like me.
Let me see,' said he to me, have | ever
seen you beforei" YES" said, you were
my guest last night AMI I was with you an
hour ago" What an awful contrast in that
man between the greatest memory | ever
knew and no memory at all.
But right along with this art of recollec.
ton, which | cannot too highly euloglze, is
one quite as important and yet / never
ieardit applaude'. mean the art of for
getting. There is a splendid faculty in that
direction that we all need to cultivate. We
might, through that process, be ten times
happier and more useful than we now are
We have been told that forgetfulness is
weakness and ought to be avoided by all
possible means. So far from weakness my
ext ascribes it to God. IL is the very top Of
)mnipotence that God is able TO obiterate
part of His own memory. IL we repent OF
in and rightly seek the divine forgivenesS
he record of the misbehavior is not only
.rossed off the book, but God actually lets
e pass out OF memory.
Their sins and their iniquities will | re-
member no more" To remember no more
s to forget, and you cannot make anything
Else out Of it, Gods power OF forgetting Is
20 great that if two men appeal to Him, and
he one man. after life all right, gets the
Tins of his heart pardonei and the other
nan. after life of abomination. gets par
Toned. God RENE nbers no more against one
han against the other. The entire plst OF
10Th the moralist, with his imperfections,
md the profigate, with his debaucherles, Is
Is much obliterate1 in the one case a IN the
nher. Forgotten, forever AMI forever
Their sins and their iniquities will | re-
member no more.
This sublime attribute Of forgetfumess on
4 4 nj in
yay to initiate You will do we'll 10 cast out
" your recollection all wrongs done you.
During the course of ones life he Is sure TO
)e misrepresented, to be lied about TO be in
rred. There are those who keep these
hines fresh by frequent rehearsal. IL things
rave appeared in print they keep them IN
heir scrapbook, for they cut these precious
paragraphs out of newspapers or books an1
II leisure times Look them over, or they have
hem tied up in bundles or thrust in pigeon
roles. and they frequently regale themselves
md their friends by an inspection of these
Iings- these sarcasms, these falsehOods these
Tueties
| have known gentlemen who carried
hem in their pocketbOoks, so that they
,ould easily get at these irritations and they
,ut their right hand in the inside OF the coat
rocket over the heart AMI say; Look here!
.et me show you something" Scientists
.atch wasps and hornets, and poisonous III
ects and transfix them in curiosity bureau,
or study. and that is we'll But these OF
,hom speak catch the wdsps, AMI the hor
,ets. and the poisonous insects, and play
With them and put them on n emseives AMI
M their friends. and see how far the noxous
insects can Jump and show how deep they
an sting. Have no such scrapbOok. Keep
nothing in your possession that IS disagree
,ble. Tear up the fasshoods, and the sian
lers. and the hypercriticisms.
Initiate the Lori in my text and get,
,ctually forget, sublimely forget There Is
10 happiness for you III any other plan OF
PROCEDURE You see all arounl you, in the
,hurch and out Of the church, dispositions
,cerh. malign, cynical, pessimistic. Do you
,now how these men and women got that
lisposition2 II was by the embalmment OF
hings pantherine and viperous. They have
pent much of their time IN calling the roll
" all the rats that have nibbed at their rep
Itntion. Their soul is cage OF vultures.
Everything in them is sour or lmoittered.
The milk Of human kindness has been
,Irdled. They do not believe in anybody or
lnytbing.
If they see two people whispering they
hink il is about themselves IL they see
;yo people laughing they think 1t Is about
hemse YES. Where there is one sweet pip
lin in their orchard there are titY crab
lppies. They have never been aue 70 Tor
ret They do not want to forget. They
lever will forget. Their wretchedness Is SUI
IRENE. for no one can be happy If he carries
,erpetuaily in mind the mean things that
AVE been done him.
On the other hand. you can find here AMI
here a man or woman for there are not
many Of them whose disposition is genial
md summery Why, Have theT always
)een treated well? Oh, no. Hard things
nave been said against them. They have
5een charged with officiousneSs; and their
,enerosities have been set down TO n desire
FOR display. and they have many a time
1een the subject OF tittle-tattle, and they
nave had enough small assaults like gnats
md enough great attacks like lions to have
made them perpetually miserable, 1t they
would have consented 10 be miserable.
But they have had enough divine philoso-
ohy TO cast off the annoyances, and they
nave kept themselves in the sunlight oil
gods favor. aud have realized that these
,ppositions aud hindrancss are a part OF
mighty discipline. by which they are TO be
prepared for usefulness AMI heaven. The
secret of It all is. they have by the help OF
the eternal God learned how TO for get.
Another practical thought-when our
faults are repented OF let them go out OF
mind. II God forgets them, we have right
TO forget them. Having once repented OF
our infelicities and misdemeanors, there IS
90 need of our repenting OF them again
Suppose owe you a large sum OF money,
and YOU are persuaded | am incapacltated
to pay. and you give me acquittal from that
obligation. You say: 81 cancel that debt.
Ali is right now. Start again" And the
next day 1 c)ule IN and say You know
about that big debt owed you. | have come
in to get you to let me off. feel so bad
about il cannot rest. Do let me of" Hot
reply with little impotence: 81 did let yo'
off. Don't bother yourself and bother mn
with any more Of that discussion"
The following day | come in and say: my
dear sir. about that debt. | can never ge
over the fact that I owed you that money
Il is something that weighs on my mind like
a milestone. Do forgive me that debt
This time you clear loss your patience anc
say: you are a nuisance. What do yoI
mean by this reiteration OF that AFFAIR."
am almost sorry forgave you that debt
Do you doubt my veracity, or do you no
understand the plain language in which
told you that debt was canceledT
Well. my friends, there are many Chris
tians guilty Of worse folly than that. Whill
IL Is right that they repent OF new sins anc
Of recent sins, what is the use OF botherini