The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-02-15
DIR. TALMAGES SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE. .--

Subject: "The Evil Of Selfshness"-Help
Others to Bear Their Burdens-It Is a
Christians Duty to Encourage and
Aid His Comrades In Life's Battle.
TEXT: "Bear ye one another's burdens
and so fulfill the law OF Christ. ."-Galatlans
vi, 2.
Every man for himself If there be room
for only one more passenger in the liteboat
get in yourself. II there be burden to
lift, you supervise while others shoulder 1t.
You be the digit while others are the
ciphers on the right hand side-nothing in
themselves, but augmenting you. In oppo-
sition to that theory OF sellshness Paul ad-
vances in my text the gospel theory, "Bear
ye one another's burdens and 80 fulfill the
law of Christ"
Everybody has burdens. Sometimes
they come down upon the shoulders, some
times they come down upon the head,
sometimes they come down upon the heart.
Looking over any assembly, they oil seem
we'll and bright and easy, but each one has
q burden to lift, and some Of them have
more than they. can lit. Paul proposes to
split up these burdens into fragments. You
take part OF mine, and must take part Of
yours, and each,on will take part OF the
others, and 80 we will fulall tho law OF
Christ.
Mrs. Appleton, OF Boston, the daughter
Of Daniel Webster, was dying after long
illness. The great lawyer after pleading
an important case In the courtroom on his
way home stopped at the house Of his
daughter and went into her sickroom. She
said to him, "Father, why are you out to-
day In this cold weather without an over
coat?" The great lawyer went into the next
room and wa7 In flood OF tears, saying,
"D ying herself, yet thinking only Of me-"
Oh, how much more beautiful is care for
others than this everlasting taking care OF
ourselves High up In the wall Of the tenn
pie Of Baalbee there are three stones, each
weighing HOO tons. They were lifted up by
n style or machinery that Is now among
the lost arts. But In my text is the gospel
machinery, by which the vaster and the
heavier tonnage Of the worlds burden is to
be lifted from the crushed heart OF the hu-
man race. What you and I most need to
learn Is the spirit OF helpfulness.
Encourage the merchant. II he have a
superior style OF goods, tell him SO. II he
have with his clerks adorned the show
windows and the shelves, compliment his
taste. The have good business locality,
il he have had great success, II he have
brilliant prospects for the future, recognize
all this. Be not afraid that he will become
arrogant and puffed UP by your approval:
Before night some shopgoing person will
come in and tell him that his prices are e1-
orbitant and that his goods are OF an In
ierlor quality and that his show window
gave promise Of far better things than he
found inside. Before the night Of the day
In which you say encouraging words 10
that merchant there will be some crank,
male or female, who will como into the
store and depreclate everything and haul
Io "a oh fn
out a family for q whole winter without
buying q cents worth. II the merchant
be n grocer, there will be some one before
night who will come into his establishment
and tnste OF this and taste Of that anil
taste OF everything else, in that way steal
ing NIL the profits of anything that he may
purchase-buying three apples while he
Is eating one orange!
Before the night OF the day when you
approve thnt merchant he will have bad
debt which he will have to erase, n bad
dobt made by some one who has moved
away from the nelghborhood without CIV
ing any hint OF the place Of destination.
Before the night OF the day when you have
uttered encouraging words to the mer-
chant there will be some woman who will
return to his store and say she had lost
her purse; she left 1t there In the store. sho
brought It there, she did not take 1t away,
she knows 1t Is there, leaving you to make
any delicate and complimentary inference
that you wish to make. Before night that
merchant will hear that some style OF
goods OF which he has large supply Is
Going out OF fashion, and there will be
some one who will come into the store and
pay bill under protest, saying he has
paid it before but the receipt has been
lost. Now, encourage that merchant, not
fearing that he will become arrogant or
pufred up, for there will be before night
enough unpleasant words said to keep him
from becoming apoplectic with plethora
OF praise.
Encourage newspaper men. II you
knew how many aDnoyances they have, II
you understood that their most elaborate
article is sometimes hung out because
there is such great pressure on the col.
umns, and that m accurate report OF
speech Is expected, although the utterance
be 80 indistinct the discourse Is one long
stenographic guess, and that tho midnight
which finds you asleep demands that they
be awake, ana that they are sometimes
ground between the wheels OF our great
brain manufactories; slcEened at the often
approach of men who want complimentary
newspaper notices or who want newspaper
retractiop; one day sent to report burial,
the next day to report pugllisttc encoun-
ter; shifted from place to'place by sudden
revolution which is liable to take place
any day in our great journalistic establish
ments; precarious life becoming more and
more precarious Sill you understood 1t you
you would be more sympathetic. Be af1a-
bic when YOU have not an Ak to be sharp
cned on their grlndstone. Discuss in your
mind what the nineteenth century would
be without the newspaper and give en-
couraging words to all who are engaged In
this interest, from the chief OF editorial
department down to the boy that throws
the morning or evening newspaper into
your basement window.
Encourage mechanics. They will plumb
the pipes, or they will calclmine the cell.
ipgs, or they will put down the carpets, or
they will gruin the doors, or they will
fashion the wardrobe. Be not among those
who never say anything to mechanic ex-
cept to find fault. II he has done job
we'll, tell him it Is splendidly done. The
book Is we'll bound, the door Is we'll grained,
the chandelier is well swung, the work Is
grandly accomplished. Be not among those
employers who never say anything to their
employes except to swear st them. Do not
be afraid you will make that mechanic so
puffed up and arrogant he will never again
want to be seen with working apron or
in shirt sleeves, for before the night comes
OF that day when you praise him there
will be a lawsuit brought against him
because he did not finish his work as soon
as he promised it, forgetful OF the fact that
his wife has been sick and two OF his chill
dren have died OF scarlet fever and he has
had felon on finger OF the right hand.
Denounced perhaps because the paint IS
very faint In color, not recognizing the
fact that the mechanic himself has been
cheated out OF the right ingredients, and
that he did not find out the trouble in
time, or scolded at because he seems to
have lamed horse by unsklllful shoeing
when the horse has for months had SPAWN
~kolE fool khof