The Penn's Grove record., 1900-09-28
DIR. TALMAGES SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject: Christ's Character-His Earthly
Life RepIete With aut Exam
ples-Practice Self Sacrifice and HUI
lnility and Help Bear Burdens of Others
Copyright 1901

Life RepIete with Beautiful Exam
ples-Practice Self Sacrifice and HUI
inility and Help Bear Burdens of Others
copyright 1901
WASHINGTON, D. Gin this sermon,
which DIR. Talmage sends from Paris, he
analyses the character of the Saviour, and
urges all Christians to exercise the quail
ties which were conspicuous in Christ's
earthly life. The text is Romans viii, 9:
"Now, if any man has not the spirit of
Christ he is none of His"
There is nothing more desirable than a
pleasant disposition. Without it we cam
not be happy ourselves or make others
happy. When we have lost our temper
or become impatient under some light
cross, we suddenly awaken to new appre-
citation of proper %eauipoise of nature. We
wish we had been born with self balance,
we envy those people who bear themselves
through life without any perturbation. and
we fatter ourselves that, however little
self control we may now have, the time
when we will be mellowed and softened,
and the wrong things which are in us now
will then be all right, forgetful of the fact
that an evil habit in our nature will grow
into larger proportions. and that an ini-
guilty not corrected will become the grand
father of a whole generation of iniquities.
So that people without the grace Of God
in the struggle and amid the annoyances
and exasperations of life are apt to be-
come worse instead of better.
Now, the trouble is that we have a the
DRY abroad in the world that a mans dis
position cannot be changed. A man says,
II am irascible in temper, and / can't
help it." Another man says, "I am re-
vengeful naturally, and I can't help it
A man says, ri am impulsive, and I can't
HELM it," And he tells the truth. No man
can correct his disposition. | never knew
a man by force of resolution to change
his treatment, but by His grace God
can take away that which is wrong and
put in that which is right. and / know
and YOU know people who. since their con-
version, are just the opposite of what they
used to be. In other words, we may, by
Jesus Christ implanted in our disposition,
and we must have it done or we will never
see heaven. eff any man have not the
disposition of Jesus Christ, he is none of
His"
In the first place. the spirit Of Christ
was a spirit of g~entleness. Sometimes He
made wrathful utterance against Phari-
sees and hypocrites, but the most of His
words were kind and gentle and loving
and inoffensive and attractive. When we
consider the fact that He was omnipo-
tent. and could have torn to pieces His
assailants. the wonder is greater. We of
ten bear the persecution and abuse of the
world because we cannot help it. Christ
endured it when He could have helped it.
Little children who ALWAYS shy off at a
rough man rushed into His presence and
clambered on Him until the people
bpOnod tho noofhorc ~ %ol-n +lo~, ox,o
lnvalids so sore with wounds that they
could not bear to have any one come near
thtm begged Christ just to put His hand
upon the wound. and soothe it. The
mother with the sickest child was willing
to put the little one in Christ's arms.
Self-rightee1s people rushed into His
presence with a woman of debased char
acter and said. "Now, annihilate her, blast
her, kill her" Jesus looked at her and
saw she was sorry and repentant, and He
looked at them, and He saw they were
proui and arrogant and malignant, and He
said; LET him that is without sin cast the
first stone at her" A blind man sat by
the wayside making a great ado about his
lack of vision. They told hi.n to hush
up and not bother the Master. Christ
stopped to him and said, "What wilt thou
that l do unto thee?" Gentleness of voice,
gentleness of manner gentleness of life.
We all admire it whether we have any
OF IT or not. just as the rough mountain
bluff and the Scared crag love to look
down into the calm lake at their feet and
as the stormiest winter loves to merge
into the sunshiny spring, so the most pre-
cipitate and impulsive and irascible nature
loves to think of the gentleness of Christ.
How little we have of it! How little pa
thence in treating with enemies! We
have SO little of the gentleness of Christ
we are not fit for Christian work half the
time. We do not know how to comfort
the bereft or to encourage the disheart-
ened or to take care of the poor. Even
our voice of sympathy is on the wrong
pitch.
My sister had her arm put out of joint,
and we were in the country, and the
%neighbors came in, and they were all SYM
pathetic, and they laid hold of the arm
and pulled and pulled nightly until the
anguish was intolerahle, but the arm did
not go to its place. Then the old country
doctor was sent for, and he came in, and
with one touch it was all right. He knew
just where to put his finger and Just how
to touch the bone. We go out to our
Christian work with too rough a hand
and too unsympathetic a manner, and we
fail in our work, while some Christian,
in the gentleness of Christ, comes along,
put his hand of sympathI..on the sore
spot, and the torn ligame~ are healed,
and the disturbed bones are rejoined. Oh,
for this g%entleness of Christ!
The dew of one summer night will ac-
complish more good than fifty Caribbean
whirlwinds. How important it is that in
going forth to serve Christ we have some
thing of His g~entleness! Is that the way
we bear ourselves when we are assaulted?
The rule is an eye for an eye, a tooth for
a tooth, retort for retort, sarcasm for sar-
casm. Give him as much as he sends!
After awhile you look up into the face Of
Christ, and 0 see His gentleness, and
you say, well, now, l must do different
ly." Then your proud heart says: "Now
you have your enemy in a corner. You
will never get him in a corner again. Chas-
tise him and then let him go" So we
postpone the ~gentleness of Christ.
Did you ever know any difficulty to be
healed by acerbity or hypercriticismy
About forty-five years ago the Presbyte-
rian Church was split into the new school
and the old school. The chasm got wider
and wider. The most outrageous person
alities were INDUCED in. Good men on
one side mathematical good men on the
other side. Wider and wider the chasm
got until after awhile some good people
tried another tack, and they began to ex-
pam o"oy ~ dll1CulIlCS, duQ SOOu Ill
the differences were healed, and at Pitts
burg they shook hands and are one now
to be one forever.
You say to a man with whom you had
a falling out, II despise you" He says,
Il can't bear the sight of you" You say
to him, Il never want you to come to my
house again" He says, eff you come to
my house again, I'll kick you out" You
say, I'll put you down" ooh, no." he
says, "Tll put you down." But some day
the spirit of Christ comes into you and
you go over and say: my brother, give
me your hand; time is short and eternity
is near, and we can't afford to quarrel
Now let bygones be bygones and let us act
like Christians" It is all settled. How:
By the sentleness of Christ.
Did you ever know a drunkard re.
claimed by mimicry of his staggering steps,
his thick tongue or his hiccough? No,
You only madden his brain. But you &c
to him and let him know you appreciate
what en- awful struggle he has-with the
evil habit and you let him know that you
have been acquainted with people who
were down in the same depths who, BY
the grace of God, have been rescued. He
hears your voice. he responds to that sym.
pathy, and he is saved. You cannot scold
the world into anything better. The
stormiest wind comes from its .hidino
place and says, II will arouse this sea-
and it blows upon the sea. Half of The
sea is aroused or a fourth Of the sea il
aroused, vet not the entire Atlantic. Ru1