Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1898-01-13
OUR SUNDAY SERMONS.
TALNAGE DISCOURSES ON THE
BOYHOOD OF JESUS.
Che Sixth OF the New York HeraId'e COM
petition Sermons Is on "The Pow er OF
Gentleness'-ReyY DR.. falInaZe DIS.
courses on Christ as a Village Lad

TEXT: Thy ge%ntlcness hath made me-
great."-Psalms, xviii, 35,
There is little in the popular Idea OF gem
tienpss to make it desirable for God or man.
w. think Of 1t as lacking In vlgor ana a
long way removed from greatness. So sug-
Gestive is 1t Of weakness and softness hat
We wan very little TO do with 1t.
Our ideas Of ~gentleness need recti!ylng.
We speak often Of a gentle horse. What
do we mean by il? That horse 1s gentle
that IL Merry and full Of mettle. able to pass
anything on the road, and yet SO easily
subdued that the voice Of a little child
would bring him to a standstill at once.
That man Is gentle who has the strength OF
a Hercules and the tenderness OF a woman.
Ge~ntIenes. IL power Withholding itself and
spending itselfin good ness.
A good Illustration OF gentleness was
that on a Spanish battle field. A gallant
French soldiers swo I'd was uplifted to
strike his foe to the ca nth, but he saw as the
sword was about TO descend that his an
tagOnist had but one arm, Instantly he
stayed his sword, brought 1t to q salute
and rode Oh.
Gentleness in a woman IS loves mighty
magnet, and will attract its own from the
ends Of the earth. A woman without it Is
n mOnstrosity, q warrior with it Is greater
far than he who shows his power by burn
ing villages, destroying crops, executing
prisoners. The great general at Appomat-
tOx, considering the interests OF the men
in gray, treating them as his countrymen,
silencing the salute already under way to
celebrate victory lest they should be fur
ther Inundated, and sending the defeated
ones home we'll fed and equipped for labor
on the farms, declaring himself q gentle
man as well as a great soldier, and did
more In that hour 10 make his country
great than other great men have done in q
lifetime. Grant could ave crushed the
South in that hour; instead, he caressed it
rs a mother her weak and wayward child.
and melted it to tears.
We speak often OF the power Of God, but
it is the gentleness Of God that works the
greatest wonders. 1t is this that makes
men great. See the gentleness OF God at
the beginning. 1t is not the strong arm,
but the tender heart, that concerns itself
with fallen man. It is not a kings voice
that we hear in Eden, but q fathers.
Pathetic cry that, adam. Adam, where art
thou?" When God came down in human
flesh TO save a lost world He came in the
same spirit. A still and quiet night it was
when the Saviour was born. The stars
looked down peacefully pon the shepherds
as they watched their sheep. The world
was wrapt in slumber. 1t was into this
Stiffness and quiet that Gods angels came
and Gods glory shone around. Gentle
words those We're the angel spOke-'Be not
afraid" SO sweet and gentle was the music
OF the angelic host that no one save the
shepherds heard it.
The spirit OF the Gospel is the same. It
IS sumlned up in the words: "a bruised
reed will He not break; the smoking flax He
will not quench." 1t is by gentIeness that
God seeks to win the world to righteous.
ness and ruth. THE Lord God is a sun.
Sooner or later cold and icy hearts must
give way before Him. We need more gen
tlencss before the earth can become like
anrnp 90 H.
You can shout at you children and bring
them into trembling submissions; you can
thrash them into obedience; you can starve
them into submission. The strong can
bring the weak to terms for a while by any
OF the methods. But il you want to show
your child the sweet re%asonableness OF
your position and to make BIN docile. ODE.
dent, trustful, sit own Ind talk gently
with him and seek to make his heart your
own.
We need more gentleness on the part Of
preachers. THE servant of the Lord must
not strive, but be gentle toward all men,
The Great Preacher was so gentle that ST
mon the Pharisee asked him to dine with
him; the poor harlOt fingered near His feet
caressingly; Zaccheus and Matthew, the
publicaDs, became His loyal disciples, and
even n thief. in the agony OF cruciixion
cried, Lord, remember me-" The WORLD
needs nothing than it needs gentle.
ness and love. human hearts are hungry
for the music OF gentle voices and the tOucf
of tenderness. Why should we not all tr,
to show that we are the sons and daughters
OF the gentle God?
Rough, rude boys have been made great
for time and eternity by the sweetness aud
gentleness OF mothers and sisters. Dull
wilful. petulent scholars have been mad,
thoughtful and earnest by the tender pa
tient love Of self-denyiDg teachers. Souls
small, mean, selfish, sinful. nave beer
made great by the gentle, faithful labor
OF those not willing that any should perish
The night Of life is coming on apace. L
Will De sweet to have the gates swing in
ward at our approach to the city eternal
and to be welcomed by some watching 70
our home coming, and to hear from joyfu
lii such words as these: Thy gentlenes
hath made me great"
RICHARD G. WOODBRIDGE.
Pastor Central Congregational Church
MiddlebOro, Mass.