The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-09
DIR. TALMAGES SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject: The Power of Kindness -
Spirit of Anity and Good Feeling Is
to BE Commended - Victory Through
Good wilI-Most Potent of Words.
[Copyright, 1901. ]

copyright, 1ao1.l
WASHINGTON, D. C.-In this discourse
DR.. Talmage commends the spirit of amity
and GOOD feeling and mentions illustrious
examples of that spirit; text, Acts XVII,
2, "The barbarous people showed us no lit
tie kindness
Here we are on the Island of Malta. an
has always been an important commercial
centre, belonging at different times to
| Pboenicia, to Greece, to Rome, to Arabia,
to Spain, to France. now belongs to Eng
| land. The area of the island is about 100
square miles. 1t is in the Mediterranean
| Sea, and of such clarity of atmosphere
| that Mount Etna. l30 miles away, can be
| distinctly seen. The island is glorlously
memorable because the knights of Malta
| for long while ruled there. but most IA
nous because of the apostolic shipwreck;
The bestormed vessel on which, Paul
sailed had "laid to" on the starboard tack,
and the wind was blowing east-northeastt,
and, the vessel drifting probably a mile
and half an hour. she struck at what is
,, now called St. PauPs Bay. Practical sail.
ors have taken up the Bible account and
decided beyond controversy the place. OF
the shipwreck. But the island, which has
so rough a coast. is for the most part a
garden. Richest fruits and profusion OF
honey characterized it in PauPs time as
we'll as now. The finest oranges, figs and
olives grow there.
When Paul and his comrades crawled up
on the beach, saturated and hungry from
long abstinence from food and chilled to
the bone, the islanders. though called bar
barians because they could not speak
Greek, opened their doors to the. ship
wrecked unfortunates.. My text finds the
ships crew ashore on Malta and around a
hot fire and with the best provision the
islanders can offer them. And they. 60
into government quarters for three days
to recuperate, Publius. the ruler, inviting
them, although he had severe sickness in
the house at that time, his father down
with dangerous illness. Yea, for three
months they stayed on the island watch
ing for a ship and putting the hospitality
of the islanders to a severe test. But 1T
endured the test satisfactorily, and it ls
recorded for all the ages Of time and eter-
nifty to read and hear in regard to the IN
habitants of Malta, "The barbarous people
showed us no little kindness"
Kindness! What great word that rs!
1t would take a reed as long as that which
the apocalyptic angel used to measure
heaven to tell the length, the breadth. the
height of that munificent word. 1t is a
favorite Bible word, and tits early launched
in the book of Genesis, caught up in the
book of Joshua, embraced in the book OF
crowned in the book of Psalms and en-
throned in many places in the New Tes-
lament. Kindness A word no more
gentle than mighty. I expect it will wres-
tie me down before get through with It,.
It is strong enough to throw an archan-
gel. But it will be/well for US to stand
around it and warm ourselves by its glow
as Paul and his fellow voyagers stood
around the fire on the Island of Malta,
where the Maltese made themselves i'm,
mortal in my text by the way they treated
these victims of the sea: The bar6arous
Kindness! All definitions of that multi
potent word break down half way. You
say it is clemency, benignity, generosity;
it is made up of good wishes; it is a con-
tribution to the happiness of others.
Some one else says: "Why, can give you
a definition of kindness. 1t is sunshine of
the soul; it is affection perennial; it is a
climacteric grace; it is combination OF
all the graces; it is compassion; 1t Is the
perfection of gentle manliness and wom-
anliness.", Are you all through? You
have made a dead failure in your defini.
tion. 1t cannot be defined But we all
know what it is, for we have all felt its
power Some of you may have felt it as
Paul felt 1t on some coast of rock as the
ship went to pieces, but more OF US have
again and again III some awful stress OF
life had either from earth or heaven hands
stretched out which Showed us no little
kindness"
There is kindness of disposition, kind
ness of word, kindness of act, and there
is Jesus Christ, the impersonation, of all
of them. Kindness! You cannot affect 1t;
MA cannot
enact it; you cannot dramatize it. BY the
grace of God you must have it inside you,
an everlasting summer, or, rather, COM
bination of June and October, the genial
| ity of the one and the tonic OF the other.
It cannot dwell with arrogance or spite or
revenge or malevolence. At its first ap-
pearance in the soul all these Amalekites
and Gergishites and Hittites and Jebu-
sites must quit and quit forever. Kind.
ness wishes everybody well, every child
well, every bird well, every horse well,
every dog well, every cat well.
Give this spirit full swing, and you
would have no more need of societies for
prevention of cruelty to animals, no more
need of protective sewing women's asso-
cations, and it would dull every sword
until it would not cut skin deep and un-
wheel every battery till it could not roll
and make gunpowder of no more use in
the world except for rock blasting or py-
rotechnic celebration.
But are you waiting and hoping for some
one to be bankrupted or exposed or dis
comfted or in some way overthrown
| Then kindness has not taken possession OF
your nature. You are wrecked on Malta
| where there are no oranges. VOW are en-
| tertaining guest SO unlike kindness that
| kindness will not come and dwell under
| the same roof. The most eXhaustlng and
unhealthy and ruinous spirit on earth IS
revengeful spirit OF retaliating spirit, as l
| know by experience, for l have tried it for
| five or ten minutes at time. When some
mean thing has been done me or said
l. about me, / have felt Il will pay him in
his own]coin. l will show him up, The
| migrate, the traitor, the liar, the yillain!'
But five or ten minutes of the feeling has
| been so unnerving and eXhausting l have
| abandoned it, and I cannot understand
| how people can 90 about torturing them
| selves FIVE or ten or twenty years, trying
| to get even with somebody. The only
| way you will ever triumph over your enc
mics is by forgiving them and wishing
them all good and no evil.
As malevoence is the most uneasy and
proftless and dangerous feeling, kindness
| Is the most healthful and delightful. And
| this is not an abstraction. As / have tried
a little of the retaliatory feeling, so have
tried little of the forgiving. | do not
want to leave this world until I have
| taken vengeance upon every man that ever
did me wrong by doing him kindness:
Let US all pray for this spirit of kind
ness. Il will settle thousand questions.
It will change the phase of everything. 1t
will mellow through and through our en-
tire nature. 1t will transform lifetime.
1t is not feeling got up for occasions,
but perennial That is the reason | like
petunias better than morning glories;
They look very much alike, and if l should
put in your hand petunia and morning