The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-12-28
DR.. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
BY THE REV. FRANK DE WITT rALMAeE. D. D.

9E WI I fALMAGEs D. D.
Therefore their policy is to peck at all
the faults of their loved ones, but never
commend them for their virtues.
Now, my friends, as far as l can under
stand our social life, the greatest need
of the world today is not for a few more
gigantic factories to run night and day
for the manufacturing of scalping knives
and swords and daggers and iron tipped
clubs, or for great lkilns, where brick
bats can be hardened out or dirty clay
to throw at our brothers. The great need
of the world is not for a few microscopes
and x-ray lenses for magnifying and ex-
posing our brothers. faults and remind
ing him of his own imperfections But
the greatest need of the world is for at
least 00.000 900 homes to be turned into
Christlike pharmaceutic establishments.
In these homes every father and mother,
brother and sister, ought to be busy all
the time trying to compound old-fashion-
ed, invigorating allopathic doses of gos-
pei encouragement. They should be quick
to recognize and praise one anothers good
points as well as their faults They
should encourage each other with words
of inspiring good cheer, as well as eau
ton them with words of trenchant warm
ing against the quicksands and the hid
den snares of life.
If a mans friends do not give him the
encouragements he needs for life's strug-
gle. surely his enemies never will God
knows, an average man gets enough
knocks from his enemies-enough blows
upon his head and heart-to make It alb
solutely necessary for at least some one
to say something pleasant You do not
want your loved ones to start out In life
with a depressed idea of their own abili-
ties and capacity for future work, as
my father had when he started, which
youthful depression he was never able
to entirely overcome. My grandfather
and grandmother were old fashioned
folks, who brought up their children in
the old fashioned way, never telling them
anything cheering about themselves. The
nearest to a parental compliment my
father ever received was when his mother
read his graduating speech in the little
village paper of Somervile. After she
had finished reading 1t she turned to my
grandfather and said, David, that speech
OF De Wits must have sounded quite
well when he spoke IT."
Then came the depressing influences of
his college and seminary life. With hut
one exception all his professors tried to
instill into my fathers brain tine idea that
he could never preach. He was so dis
CouAdBSu llldl he determined TO go TO q
foreign field and be a missionary. He
thought that perhaps the "heathen Chi
nee" or the Fiji Islanders might be per-
suaded to listen to his preaching If he
were only able to get into a region where
no white man had ever been before. The
most surprised being in the seminary
and nearly all the students were dunn
founded-was young De Wit Talmage
when he received a call to the church and
nor 1a1I
advice which the New Brunswick profess
scr gave, you will have to change your
style, Mr.. Talmage; you will have to
change your style" found its echo In the
advice of old DR.. Thomas De Witt of the
Collegiate church of New York City After
my father had been a short time In the
ministry this great and good man, DIR. De
Witt, after whom my father was named,
sent this message to him: Tell my
namesake never to allow his sermons to
be published. He may be able to preach,
but he certainly does not know how to
write" The effect of all this depressing
and depreciating advice was such that
my father was never able to fully shake
off the discouragements of his youth MY
mother had to urge him on and on or
without doubt in those first years of
struggle he would have given up the fight
and gone into the law. So my friends,
man. You may be mistaken in anticipat-
ing his failure. Rather cheer him with
commentator whenever it is possible.
Who can tell whether at the end of his
career his Divine Master may not pro-
nounce upon his service the well DONE,
with which he rewards his faithful stew
ards?
Encouragement Wanted.
Some years ago by an explosion of fire.
damp four miners We're entombed in a
coal mine near Scranton, Pa. Their
friends worked whole night and a day
trying to liberate the imprisoned men. At
last the rescuers were about to give up
In despair. Just then the youngest men,
Der of the firm rapidly drove up In a
buggy. As he leaped out he cried: Boys
you have done welll It is only a little
more! Come on, boys, and in az short
time we will get these poor fellows free!"
He threw off his coat and grabbed a
pick and began to strike the rock.s At
the sound of his reassuring voice and
example the other men went to work with
renewed energy. The entombed men were
soon safe in the arms of their wives ana
children Today the vast majority of our
relatives do not need words of deprecia-
ton. Like those miners, digging for their
entombed companions, they want words
of encouragement, words of good cheer
words of inspiration, words of assurance
that if they only trust God and do right
certain success will come to every one
of them. Their success may not necessa-
rily come right away, but true success
will surely come in time.
Discouraging depreciation is often
found In the dealings of employers with
their employees. Many men and women
who are at the head of large establish
mentS do not like to commend their en-
ployes. They say If you praise a clerk
even little that clerk will get too good
an opinion of himself and will ask for an
Increase of salary. Or, II you praise an |