Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-08-31

The True Christian Spirit.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 3O.-In these
days, when satire and retcrt and bitter
ness fill the air, the gospel carol Of this
sermon will Go good to all who read and
practice it. The text is Proverbs XIV,
Is, ga soft tongue breaketh 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 it may seem to be
very insignificant, its force is indescrib-
able and illimitable. Pungent and all
conquering utterance, ga soft tongue
breaketh the hone. -
If had time, I would show you kind
ness as q means of defense, as means
of usefulness, kindness as a means of
domestic harmony, kindness as best en-
ployed by governments for the tanning
and curing of criminals, and kindness
as best adapted for the settling and adj
justing OF international quarrel; but [
shall call your attention only TO two of
these thoughts.
And first speak to you of kindness
as means of defense. Almost every
man, in the course Of his life, is set
upon and assaulted. Your motives are
misinterpreted or your religious or po-
litical principles are bombarded. What
to do under such circumstances is the
question. The first impulse Of the natu-
raj heart says: ''Strike back. Give as
much as he sent. Trip him into the
n +ob oh x-O77,.
him with as severe q wound as that
which he inflicted on your soul. Shot
for shot. Sarcasm for sarcasm. An eye
for an eye. 4 tooth for tooth. But
the better spirit in the mans soul rises
up and says, You ought to consider
that matter" You look up into the face
of Christ and say, ''My Master, how
ought I to act under these difficult cir
cUmstances?"
Bless Them That Curse You.
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:
'tYou 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 inficting the right kind of punish
ment upon him again. First chastise
him, and then let him CO.. 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 and acrimonious
dispute to settle quarrel? Did they not
always make matters worse and worse
and worse? About 80 years ago there
was a great quarrel in the Presbyterian
family Ministers OF Christ were
thought orthodox in proportion as they
had measured lances with other clergy
men of the same denomination. The
most outrageous personalities were
abroad. As, in the autumn, o hunter
comes home with string of game,
cartridges and wild ducks, slung over
his shoulder, so there were many min
listers who came back from the eccIesi-
astical courts with long strings of doc
tors of divinity whom they had shot
with their own rife. The division be-
came wider, the animosity greater, un-
til after 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 order, welded by a ham
mer, little hammer, q Christian ham
mer that Scripture calls "a soft
tongue. -
You have dispute with your neigh
Dor. You say to him, IT despise you. y
He replies, 81 can't bear the sight of
you.'' You say to him, ''Never enter
my house again. He says, eff you
come on my doorsill, III kick you off. :"
You say to him, ''I'll 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
un-Christian part and he acts the I'M
Christian part After awhile the better
spirit seizes you, and one day you go
over to the neighbor and say, GIVE 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
wronged me very much, hut let US settle
all now in one great handshaking, and
be good friends for all the rest of our
lives. You have risen to higher plat
form than that on which before ycu
stood. You win his admiration and
you get his apology. But if you have
not conquered him in that way, at any
rate you have won the applause of yorr
own conscience. the high estimation Of
good men, and the honor of your Lord
who died for his armed enemies.
Peace and Patience.
s'But,'' you say, 'twhat are we TO
do when ISLANDERS assault Us, and there
come acrimonious sayings all around
about US, and we are abused and spit
upoh?' Ny reply is: Do not go and at
tempt to chase down the ISLANDERS. Lies