The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1898-09-16
TALMAGEiS SERMON.
THE ART OF FRIENDSHIP"
SUNDAYS SUBJECT.
Text, Proverbs, Chapter IS, Verse "a. as
Follows: "A Man That Hath Friends
Must Show Himself Friendiy."-Time-
~ Advice.

ly Advice.
About the sacred and divine art o.
making and keeping friends l speak
i subject on which | never heard Of
anyone preaching-and yet God
thought it Of enough Importance to put
it in the middle OF the Bible, these
writings Of Solomon, bounded on one
side by the popular Psalms Of David.
md on the other by the writings OF
Isaiah, the greatest of the prophets.
it seems all a matter of haphaZard how
rany friends we have, or whether we
Lave any friends at all, but there IS
nothing accidental about it. There is
= law which governs the accretion
and dispersion of friendships. They
did not lust happen So any more
han the tides just happen to rise or
fall, Or the sun Just happens to rise
1r set. 1t is a science, an art, 4 God-
given regulation.
Tell me how friendly you ara to
others, ard l will tell you how friendly
others are to you. l do not say you
will not have enemies; indeed, the best
way to get ardent friends is to have
ardent enemies, if you get their en-
nifty in doing the right thing. Good
men and women will always have en-
emies, because their goodness is a per-
petual rebuke to evil; but this antago-
nism Of foes will make more intense
tho 1nun Of Iy0rn oHhnrOnfG GOEr
friends will gather closer around you
because Of the attacks Of your asaall-
ants. The more your enemies abuse
you the better your coadjutors will
think of you.
The best friends we have ever had
appeared at some juncture when we
were especially bombarded. There
have been times in my life when I'M
just assault multiplied my friends, as
near as l could calculate, about fifty
a minute. You are bound to some peo-
pie by many cords that neither time
nor eternity can break, and I will war
rant that many OF those cords were
twisted by hands malevolent. Human
nature was shipwrecked about fifty
nine centuries ago, the captain of that
craft, enc Adam, and his first mate
running the famous cargo aground on
a snag in the river Hiddekel; but there
was at least one good trait of human
nature that waded safely ashore from
that shipwreck, and that is the dispo-
sition to take the part of those unfairly
dealt with. When it is thoroughly
demonstrated that some Il is being
prosecuted, although at the start SLAM
derous tongues were busy enough. de-
tenders finally gather around as thick
as honey bees on a trellis of bruised
honeysuckle. x y =
Before you begin to show yourself
friendly you must be friendly. Ger
your heart right with GOD and man,
and this grace will become easy. You
may by your own resolution get your
nature into a semblance Of this virtue,
but the grace of Cod can su5iimely lift
you into it. Sailing en- the river
Thames two vessels ran aground. The
owners Of one got one hundred horses,
and pulled on the grounded ship, and
pulled it to pieces. The wner Of the
other grounded vessel waited till the
tides came in, and easily flcated the
ship cut CT all trouble. SO we may
pull and haul at our grounded human
nature, and try to get into better con
dition, but there is nothing like the
oceanic tides of Gods uplifting grace.
If, when under the flash OF the Holy
Ghost, we see our own foibles and de-
fects and d%epravities, we will be very
l~enient, and very easy with others. We
VII look into their characters for
things commendatory, and not darna-
tory. If you would rub your own eye
a little more vigorously o would
find a mote in it, the extraction OF
which would keep you so busy you
would not have much time to shoulder
your broadaXe and go forth to split up
the beam in YOU neighbours eye. In
a Christian spirit keep on exploring the
characters of those you meet. and l
am sure you will find something in
them lit for a foundation of friendli-
ness.
You invite me to come to your
try-seat and spend a few days. Thank
you, l arrive about loon Of a beauti-
full summer day. What do you do? As
soon as l arrive you take me out IN
der the shadow Of the great elms. You
take me down to the artificial lake, the
spotted trout floating in and out among
the white pillars of the pond-lilies.
You take NE to the stalls and kennels
where you keep your fine stock. and
here are the Durham cattle and the
Gordon settlers; and the housekeeping
steeds. by paving and %neighing, the
only language they can speak. asking
for harness or saddle, and a short turn
down the road. Then We go back to
the house, and you get me in the right
light, and show me the Kensetts and
the B~ierstadts On the wall, and take
me into the mushroom and show nc
the ~bird-cages, the canaries in the bay
window answering the robins in the
tree-tops. Thank you, | never en-
joyed myself more in the same length
of time. Now, why do we not do so
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