Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-09-24
CHRISTS CHARACTER
DR.. TALMAGE URGES CHRISTIANS TO
EMULATE IT.

HIS Earthly Life Reprete With Beau
tifuI ExampIes-Prnctice Self Sac
rifice and Humility and Help Bear
Burdens of Others.
WASHINGTON, Sept 23.-In this ser
mon, which DR.. Ta1mage sends from
Paris, he analyses the character Of the
Saviour and urges all Christians to ex-
ercise the qualities which were con-
Bpicuous in Chrfst's earthly life. The
text is Romans viii, 8, 'Now, if any
man has not the spirit of Christ he is
none of his"
There is nothing more desirable than
o. pleasant disposition. Without it we
cannot 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 appreciation of proper equi-
poise 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
will come, under the process of years,
when we will be mellowed and soften
ed and the wrong things which are in
us now will then be all right, forgetful
of the fact that an evil habit in our ma
ture will grow into larger proportions
and that an fniqufty not corrected will
become the grandfather of whole gen
Grafton of iniQuities. So that people
without the grace of God in the strug
gle and amid the annoyances and ex-
aspirations of life are apt to become
worse instead of better
Now. the trouble is that we have a
theory abroad in the world that a
mans disposition cannot be changed.
A man says, Il am frascible in temper,
and can't help it" Another man says.
ST am revengeful naturally, and
can't help it." A man says, 81 am i'm
puIsive, and 1 can't help it." And he
tells the truth, No man can correct
his disposition. I never knew q man
by force Of resolution to change his
temperament, but by his grace God
can take away that which is wrong
and put in that which is right. and l
know and you know people who. since
their conversion, are just the opposite
OF what they used TO be- In other
words. we may, by the spirit OF God,
have the disposition of Jesus Christ
implanted in our disposition. and we
must have it done or we Will never see
heaven. eff any man have not the dis
position of Jesus Christ. he is none of
his
Christ's Gentle Spirit
In the first place, the spirit of Christ
was spirit of gentleness. Sometimes
he made wrathful utterance against
Pharisees and hypocrites. but the most
of his words were kind and gentle and
loving and iroffensive and attractive.
When we consider the fact that he
was omnipoteut and could have torn
to pieces his assai1ants. the wonder is
greater. We often bear the persecu-
ton 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 clam
bered on him until the people begged
the mothers to take them away. In
YalidS so sore with wounds that they
could not bear to have any one come
near them begged Christ just to put
his hand upon the wound and soothe it.
was willing to put the little one in
Christ's arms. Self righteous people
rushed into his presence with woman
of debased character and said. ''Now.
annihilate her blast her. kin her" Je-
SuS looked at her and saw she was
sorry and repentant, and he looked at
them and he saw they were proud 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 great ado
about his lack of vision. They told
him 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 OF 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 precipitate and impulsive
and irascible nature loves to think Of
the gentleness of Christ. How little
we have OF it. How little patience 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 disbeartened
or to take care of the poor. Even our
voice Of sympathy is ON the wrong
pitch.
My sister had her arm put cut of
joint. and we were in the country. and
the neighbors came in, and they were
all sympathetic. and they laid hold of
the arm and pulled and pulled might
ilr until the anguish was intolerable