The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-09-09

Soft Tougue-sympathy is Potent with
sinners-Christ's Chief characteristics.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 30.-In these
days, when satire and retort and bit
terness fill the air, the gospel carol OF
this sermon will do good to all who
read and practice it. The text is Pro
verbs XIV, Is, "a soft tongue break
eth the bone"
When Solomon said this, he drove a
whole volume into one phrase. You,
of course, will not be so silly as to
take the words OF the text in a literal
sense. They simply mean to set forth
the fact that there is q tremendous
power in a kind word. Although 1t
may seem to be very insignificant, It's
force is indescribable and illlmitable.
Pangent and all conqnsring utterance,
"a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
If had time, I would show you
kindness as a means Of defense, as
means of usefulness, kindness as a
means of domestic harmony, kindness
IS best employed by governments for
the tanning and curing OF CRIMINALS
and kindness as best adapted for the
settling and adjusting Of information
81 quarrel, but shall call your atten-
ton only to two of these thoughts.
And, first. I speak to you Of kind
ness as means of defense. Almost
every man, in the course of his life,
is set upon and assaulted. Your mo-
tives are misinterpreted or your relig-
ious or political principles are bonn
barded. What to do under such cir
cumstances 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 .leet.
Cash him with as severe wound as
that which he inflicted on your soul.
Shot for shot. Sarcasm for sarcasm.
An eye for an eye. A tooth for a
tooth But the better spirit N a
mans soul rises up and says. You
ought to consider that matter" You
look up into the face of Christ and say.
'sMy Master, how ought I to act under
these difficult circumstances" And
Christ instantly answers, BLESS them
that curse you, and pray for them
which despitefully use you" Then
the old nature rises 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 inaicting the right kind
Of punishment upon him again. First
chastise him and then let him go" :"
mo" 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
aud acrimonious dispute to settle a
quarrel2 Did they not always make
matters worse and worse and worse2
About IS years ago there was a great
quarrel in the Presbyterian family.
Ministers of Christ were thought Or
thodox in proportion IS they had
measured lanees with other clergymen
of the same denomination. The most
outrageous personalities were abroad.
As, IN the autumn, 8 hunter comes
home with q string of game, partrldges
and wild ducks, slung over his snoul-
der, so there were many ministers who
came back from the ecclesiastica !!
courts with long strings OF doctors OF
divinity whom they had shot with
their own rifle. The division became
wider, the anlmosity greater, until al
ter awhile some good men resolved
upon another tack. They began to ex-
plain away the difficulties, they began
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 orde, welded
BY a hammer, a little hammer, CHRIS
tan hammer that the Scripture calls
'sa soft tongue"
You have dispute with your neigh
Dor. You say to him, II despise you.
He replies, ;sI 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, I'll kick you
off," You say to him, ''fll put you
down" He says to you: ''You are
mistaken. I'll put you down" And
so the contest RACES, and year after
year you act the unchristian part, and
ne acts the unchristian part. After
awhile the better spirit seizes you, and
one day you 60 over to the neighbor
and say: "Give me your hand. We
have fought long enough. Time IS so
short, ard 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 -ohand shaking and be good
friends for all the rest of our lives. "
You have risen to a higher platform
than that on which before you stood.
You win his admiration, and you get
his apology. Buff you have not con
quered him In that way at any rate
Won 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 enemies.
ssBut," you say, "whaf are we TO do
when SANDERS assault us, and there
come acrimonious sayings all around
about us, and we are abused and spit
upon?" My reply is: Do not 60 and
attempt to chase down the ISLANDERS.
Lies are prolific, and while you are
killing one, fifty are born. All your
demonstrations Of indignation only
exhaust yourself. You might as well
on some summer night. when the
sWarms of insects are coming up iron
the meadows and disturbing you and
disturbing your family, bring up some
great swamp angel" like that which
thundered 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 ife2 You are to
live them down! I saw farmer go
out to get back swarm of bees that
had wandered off from the hive. As