The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-03-26
DIR. TALMAGES SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE or THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject Tho Art Of afForGottInG-uow to DO
Happy-cancciing Tour pcsts-Aiiev
Others to Forget-come Into Mercy
and Pardon.

Subject, Tho Art Of fForGcttInE-uow to Dc
Aappy-Cancciing Tour pests-Aileu y
Others to Forget-come Into Mercy
and Pardon.
WARRINGTON, D. C.-E1om tn, lette.
to tic Hebrews DR.. Ta!ma,e takes o text
| AID illustrates how all offenders may %
emancipated; text. Hebrews viii, u
Their sins ard thcir inI4u!tles viii re
member no more.
The rational fower Of the Egyptians l:
the he,iotropc. of the Acsyriaus Is the
water lily, OF the dindcos is the mariSold
| of tic Chinese is the chrysanthemum. We
have no national flower, but tGerc Is
hardly any flower Eorc suggestive to
many OF US than the forsctmenot: We ell
like to be remembered, and ono OF oIr mi;'
| fortunes is that there are SO many things
VIC cannot remember. Mnemoaics, or tho
art OF assisting memory, is an important
art. 1t was first suggested by Simonldes'
| Of Ceos, 500 years before Christ. Persons
who had but little power to recall events
or put facts and names and date: IN pr1pe.
professions have through this art had thcis
memory REINFORCED to an almost incrcdl
bic extent. A good memory Is an invalua'
be possession BY all means cultivate IT.
I had an aged friend who, detained all
night at a miserable depot in waiting tor 4
rail train fast in the snowb1nks, enter
! tanned q group of some ten or fifteen cier'
Gymen, likewise detained on their way
first with a piece of chalk drawing out on
the black and sooty walls Of the depot the
characters of Walter Scott's "Narmion
and then reciting from memory the whole
of that poem of some eighty pages IN fine
lint. My old friend, through great age;
S,t his memory, and when l asked MN II
this story of the railroad depot was true
~, lust like me. Let me see," said he to
~. Have ever seen you before"'
"ics," I said; you were my guest last
| nicht, and I was with you IN hour ago.
What IN awful contrast il that man be-
tween the greatest memory l ever knew
and no memory at all!
But right along with this art OF recol'
lection, which cannot too highly euiogize
il one quite rs important, and yet l never
heard it applauded. I mean the art OF for
getting. There is o splendid faculty IN
that direction that we ell need to culti
vatc. We might through that process be
tea times happier and more useful than
we now are. We have been told that for
cct.ulacss is q weakness and ought to be
avoided by all possible means. So far
! from o weakness, my text ascribes 1t tc
God. It is the very top OF omnipotelce
that God is able to obliterate part OF Hi.
own memory. If we -epens of sin and
rightly seek the divine forgiveness, the
record of the mis6chavior IS not only
crossed of the books, but God actually
lets it pass out OF memory. Their sin:
and their iniquities will remember nc
more" To remember no more is to forget
and yon cannot make anything else out o.
it. Gods power OF forgetting Is SO great
that il two men appeal to Him and tho
ono man, after q lie all right, gets the
sins OF his heart pardoned and the Other
man, after life Of abomination, gets par
doned God remembers no more agains,
one than the other. The entire past o.
both the moralist, with his imperfections
and the profligate, with his debaucheries
is as much oblitcrated in the one case a.
in the other. Forgotten forever and for
ever. Their sins and thei- iniquities vii
] remember no more"
This sublime attribute Of forgetfulnesi
on the part of God you and need, in oul
finite way, to initiate. You will do vel! t
cast out of your recollection all wrongs
done you. During the course Of ones life
about, to be injured. There are those who
keep these things fresh by frequent rehear
sal. II things have appeared in print, they
keep them in their scrapbook, for they cut
these precious paragraphs out of news
lapers or books and at leisure times lool
them oTer, or they have them tied up II
bundles or thrust in piSeonho.es, and they
frequently regale themselves and theil
friends by IN inspection OF these filings
these sarcasms, these falsehoods, these cru
elites. ! have known gentlemen who car
ried them in their pocketbooks, so thai
they could easily get at these irr:tations
cid thcy pu. their right hand in the inside
of their coat pocket over their heart ano
| cay: Look here! Let he show you some
thing" Scientists catch wa.ps AID hor
nets and poisonous insects and transit,
them in curiosity bureaus for study, ane
! catch the wasps and the hornets and pois
cuous insects and play with them and pu
them on themselves and on their friends
| and see how far the noxious things cal
jump and show low deep they can sting
! Have no SUCH scrapbook. Keep nothing
in your possession that is disagreeable
| Tear up the faisehoods and the SANDER.
end the hypercriticisms.
Initiate the Lord in my tezt and forget
! actually forget, sublimely forget, Ther'
, Is no happiness for you in any other plar
or procedure. You see all around you il
the church and out of the church disposi
t;ous ccer5, malisn, cynical, pessimistic
Do you know how these men and womer
got that disposition: 1t was by the EN-
Ealnment Of things pantherine and viper
oas. They have spent much o: their time
IL calling the roll of all the rats that have
nibbled at their reputation. Their soul i
q cage Of vultures. Everything in them i
I hn nf hnr IN
kindness has been curdied. They do MOI
believe in anybody or anything. If they
see two pcop:e whispering they think it i
about themselves. Ii they see two peop.'
laughing. they think it is about them
selves Where there is one sweet pippir
in their orchard there are fifty crabapp!es
Thcy have never been able to forget. They
| do not want to forget. They never vii
forget. Their wretchcdness is supreme
for no oae can te happy if he carries per
rctualiy in mind the mean things thai
have been done hiE. On the other hand
you can find here and there man CT
woman (ior there are not many OF them
whose disposition is genial and sumEery
, Why! Have they always Deen treated
we'll? On. no. Hard things have been sait
against them. They have been Charge
with ofiitiolsness, and their generosit:c
have becn set down to q desire tor display
aad they have many q time been the sub
ject OF little tattle. ard they have hat
enough small assaults like gnats an'
| enough great attacks Ike lions to hav'
made them pc-petaaliy miserable: II the!
would have consented to miserable.
But they have had enough divine philo
sophy to cast of the aanoyances, and the.
hare kept themselves in the sunlight o
Gods favor and have realized that thes
opposit;ons and hindrauces are 4 part Of
mighty discipline By which they are to b.
prepared for usefulness and heaven. Th