The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1899-12-15
A FORGIVING SPIRIT.
Dr.. Talmage Placates the Worlds
RvVenges
He Recommends More of the Snccha-
rine and Less OF the Sour in HUI
man DISPOsitIOna-FOrE
ness Before SundOwn.
ICopyr!sht. 1893. by Louis KlOpsehl

ICopyright. 1883. by Louis Klopschl
Washington.
In this discourse DR.. Taimage p:acates
the worlds revenges and recommends
more OF the saccharine and less of she
sour in human dispositions; text, Ephe-
slams. APO: Let not the sun go down
upon your wrath"
What a pillow, embroidered of all col
ors. hath the dying day! The cradle of
clouds from which the sun rises Is beau
tifuI enough, but il is surpassed by the
many colUred mausOleum in whiSh al
evening il is buried.
Sunset among the mountains! lt.al-
most takes ones breath away 10 recaH
the scene. The long shadows stretching
over the plain make the glory of the de-
parting light on the tiptOp crags and
struck aSlant through the foliage the
more conspicuous. Saffron and gold,
purple and crimson cUmmingled. All
the castles of cloud in confiagratiOn.
Burning Moscows on the sky. Hanging
gardens of roses at their deepest blush.
Banners of vapOr, red as If from car
mage, in the battle of the elements.
The hunter among the AdirOndac6s and
the Swiss viilaEeT among the Alps know
what is a sunset among the mountains.
After a storm At sea the rolling gran
deur into which the sun goes down
TO battle at nightfall is something TO
make weird and splendid dreams out
OF for a lifetime. Alexander Smith in
his poem compares the sunset to the
barren beach of hell" but this wonder
ful spectacle Of nature makes me think
OF the FURNISHED wall of Heaven. Paul
in his prison, writing my text, remem-
berS some Of the gorgeous sunsets
among the mountains of Asia Minor
and how he had often seen the towers
Of Damascus blaze at the close of the
oriental days. and he flashes out that
memory in the text when he says: Let
not the sun go Gown upon your wrath. ."
Sublime. all suggestive duty for Peo-
pie then and people now! Forgiveness
before suudown. He who never feels
the jhrob of Indignation is imbecile.
lie who can walk among the injustices
Of the world inflicted upon himself aEG
others without flush of cheek, or flash
of eve, or agitation of nature, is either
in sympathy with wrong or semi-idiOtic.
When AnaniaS. the high priest, ordered
the constables of the courtroom to
smite Paul on the mouth. Paul fired up
and said: "God shall smite thee, thou
whited WALL" In the sentence before
my text Paul commands the Ephesians:
.Be ye angry and sin not" Ii all de-
pends on what YOU are mad al and how
long the feeling lasts whether anger
is right or wrong. Life is full of Tx
asperations. Saul after David. Succoth
after Gideon, Korah after Moses, the
Pasquins after Augustus, the Phari-
sees after Christ, and everyone has had
his pursuers. and we are swindled or
belied or misrepresented or prosecuted
or in some way wronged, and the dan
ger is that healthful Indignation shall
become baleful spite and that our feel
ings settle down into a prolonged out
pouring of temper displeasing to God
and ruiuOus TO ourselves, and hence
the important injunction of the text:
LET not the sun 60 down upon your
wrath"
Why that Limitation to ones anger?
Why that period of flaming vapor set
10 puuctuate a flaming disposition?
What has the sunset TO do with ones
resentful emotions? Was il a haphaz-
ard sentiment written by Paul without
special significance? No, no; ! think
of five reasons why we should not let
the sun set before our temper.
First, because II hours is long enough
10 be cross about any wrong inflicted
upon us. Nothing is so eNhausting to
physical health or mental faculty as a
prOtTacted indulgence OF III humor. 1t
racks the nervous system. 1t hurts the
digestion. II heats the blood in brain
and heart until the whole body is first
Overheated and then depressed. Besides
that. it sours the disposition. turns one
aside from his legitimate work. expends
energies that ought to be better en-
PlOyed and does US more harm than it
does our antagonist. Paul gives US n
good, wide allowance of time for le-
gitimate denunciatiOu, from six o'clock
TO six o'clock, but says: stop there!"
Watch the descending orb of day, and
when il reaches the horizon take a reef
in your disposition. Uuloese your coll
lar and cool off. Change the subject to
something SleIightfully pleasant. I'm
roll your tight fist and shake hands
with some one. Bank up the fires at the
curfew bell. Drive the growing dog
of enmity back 20 its kennel The
hours of this morning Will pass by, and
the afternoon will arrive. and the sun
viii begin TO set. and. beg you, on its
brazing hearth throw all your feuds, in
vectives and satires.
Other things being equal, the man
who preserves good temper will come
cut ahead. An old writer says that the
celebrated John Henderson. of Bristol.
England, was at a dining party where
political excitement ran high and the
debate got angry, and while Henderson
was speaking his opponent, unable TO
answer his argument, dashed a glass of
wine in his face, when the speaker de-
liberately wiped the liquid from his
face and said: This. sir. is a digres-
sion. Now. if you please. for the main
argument" While worldly philosophy
could help but very few of such equi-
poise of spirit. the grace of God could
help any man 10 such triumph. "Im-
possible" you say. Il would have
either left the table in anger or have
knocked the man down." But l have
come 10 believe that nothing is impos-
Eible If God help.
Aye. you will not postpone till sun
down forgiveness Of enemies if you can ,