St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-01-13
A FORGIVING SPIRIT.
Dr.. Talmage Placates tie Worlds
Revenges.
He Recommends More Of the Saccha.
Yine and Less OF the Sour In Hu-
man Disp0sitiOns-F0rgt
ness Before Snndown.
rCopyright, 1899, by Louis Klopsch.l


copyright, 1899. by Louis Klopsch.l
Washington,
In this discourse DIR. Talmage piacates
the worlds revenges and recommends
more of the saccharine and less of the
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
tiful enough, but it is surpassed by the
many colored mausoleum in which at
evening it is buried.
Sunset among the mountains! 1t al
most takes ones breath away to recall
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 commingled. All
the castles of cloud in conflagration.
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 Adirondacks and
the Swiss villager among the Alps know
what is sunset among the mountains.
After 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 lifetime. Alexander Smith in
his poem compares the sunset to "the
barren beach of hell" but this wonder
full 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 60 down upon ;c.r wrath
Sublime, all suggestive duty for peo-
pie then and people now! Forgiveness
before sundown! He who never feels
the throb of Indignation is imbecile.
lie who can walk among the injustices
of the world inflicted upon himself and
others without flush of cheek, or flash
of eye, 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" 1t all de-
ponds on what you are mad at and how
long the feeling lasts whether anger
is right or wrong. Life is full of ex-
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 misrepresentedo 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 ruinous to ourselves, and hence
the important injunction of the text:
'.Let not the sun go down upon your
wrath"
Why that limitation to ones anger:
Why that period of flaming vapor set
to punctuate flaming disposition?
What has the sunset to do with ones
resentful emotions? Was it haphaz-
ard sentiment written by Paul without
specia. significance? No. no; think
Of five reasons why we should not let
the sun set before our temper.
First, because IL hours is long enough
to be cross about any wrong inflicted
upon us. Nothing is so exhausting to
physical health OF mental faculty as a
,rotracted indulgence of ill humor. 1t
-acks the nervous system. 1t hurts the
digestion. 1t heats the blood in brain
and heart until the whole body is first
overheated and then depressed. Besides
hat, it sours the disposition, turns one
aside from his legitimate work, expends
that ought to be better en-
ployed and does us more harm than it
loes our antagonist. Paul gives us
good, wide allowance OF time for le-
Ultimate denunciation, from six o'clock
o six o'clock, but says: stop there!"
Watch the descending orb of day, and |
vhen it reaches the horizon take reef
n your disposition. Unloose your coll
ar and cool off. Change the subject to
delightfully."- pleasant. I'M
-oll your tight fist and shake hands
With some one. Bank up the fires at the
,urfew bell. Drive the growing dog
If enmity back to its kennel. The
hours of this morning will pass by, and
he afternoon will arrive, and the sun
will begin to set, and, beg you, on its
'razing hearth throw all your feuds, in
Iectives and satires.
Other things being equal, the man
who preserves good temper will come
tut ahead. An old writer says that the
celebrated John Henderson, of Bristol.
england, was at dining party where.
political excitement ran high and the
lebate got angry, and while Henderson
vas speaking his opponent, unable to
answer his argument, dashed glass of |
vine in his face, when the speaker de-
iberately wiped the liquid from his
ace and said: This, sir, is q digres-
:on. Now, if you please, for the main |
While worldly philosophy |
ould help but very few Of such equi-
'oise of spirit. the grace Of God could |
lelp any man to such triumph. .Im-
you say. 81 would have
ithcr left the table in anger or have
the man down." But have
ONE to believe that nothing is impos-
IDLE if God help.
Aye, you will not postpone till sun
lown forgiveness of enemies if you can
ealize that their behavior toward you
nay be put in the catalogue of the "all
hings" that work together for good
o those that love God" have had
nultitudes of friends, but have found
n my own experience that God has SO
rranged it that the greatest oppor-
unities Of usefulness that have been
pened before me were opened by enc