Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-10-09
TALMAGE
SERMON
BY Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE, DID,,
Pastor Of Jefferson Psrk Prcsby-
terien Church. Chicago


and reminds us that. the faults and
weaknesses which we condemn I'm 9TH
ers may find a parallel in ourselves.
The text is Philippians iv. >. LET your
moderation be known unto all men,"
What does the Pauline word mod
Grafton" mean? 81 know" says one.
ut means: Do not be an extremist. DO
not ride a hobby to death. Do not focus
your eyes upon one truth so long that
you become blinded to the relative i'm
portance of other truths, nor upon one
error until you lose sight OF the evil
effects Of all other errors. Virtue " n
road which has hedge and ditch
on both Sides once wrote famous
writer. A man may be moderate in one
thing and rot in another. A man may
be an ascetic as far as eating and drink
ing are concerned, and yet he may be
Ecentious. A man who has no ambition
may be avariciOus." 1t Is not enough
TO be right I'm one matter II you are
careless on other matters equally i'm
portant.
Let your moderation be known unto
all men" means: DO not be Il fanatic,
one sided monstrosity. like dove
with one wing cropped, tapping about
I'm the barnyard and yet unable to rise
ten feet into Gods great heaven OF
blue. do not expend all your ener-
giles preaching against the evils OF In
toxication and at the same time be a
gfutton. Do not preach against gam
blng with cards when you gamble with
r6ffroad stocks. Do not berate the thief
who steals n loaf OF bread and honor
the thief who cheats his neighbor I'm
real estate deal. Do not advocate phys
zeal culture to such an extent that you
rtde 200 miles a day on a bicycle or be
snch q fresh air fiend' that your open
window in the railroad train will be
blowing a dangerous draft upon the
passengers who sit in your rear. Re
well rounded man. Be like plant
with leaves and pistils and stamens
and sepals and petals growing upon
supple stem. able TO bend every with
er yet with roots anchored in the solid
earth, and not like a balloon filed with
q noxious gas, tossed about in the air,
the plaything of every stray wind.
Wisdom of Moderation.
That the Pauline idea? No, my
friend, you are wrong. When Paul
said, "Let your moderation be known
unto all men," he was not, as Bishop
Villiers once expressed IL, ''alluding TO
the qualification OF our desires general
ly. but especially temperance or self
restraint in our relation to others, in
our abstinence from anger and harsh.
ness and vengeance" He is saying,
as the revised version translates the
enn,tA 1T
gentleness be known unto all men,"
Today instead of preaching upon what
you should eat and drink and where
with you be clothed and how much
exercise you should take l shall preach
upon how you should smile and talk
and shake hands and forgive and love.
This sermonic theme is not how we
should live, but how we should be will
sng 10 let others live.
Be patient, in the first place. even
with the irritating idiosypcrasies and
the offensive mannerisms that are
Found In almost every one with whom
We come in contact. BE patient with
their pecult0rities. especially If they
are nonessentials in reference to the
honesty and noble chara cteristics OF a
wrong types OF marked individuality.
tf harnessed In the right way, will Of
ten mean great success for us and for
those whom 1T Is our privilege 10 in
fuence.
A strange law DEGREES that insanity
is sometimes the handmade OF genius.
The tnspirsd eye, which afar off can
discover n star, is often so nearsigft-
ed that IL cannot see n diamond gilt
tering close at hand. Samuel johnson
once said In reference ~ the blind poet
or England, Milton, madam, was
genius who could cut n colossus from
rock, but could not carve heads upon
cherry stones" Joseph Cook was the
intellectual and the mental and splr-
itusl Hercules who stood year after
year In old Boston forging Scriptural
thundsrboits and damming back the
pernfcious and dangerous teachings of
the leaders OF anti Christian doctrines.
Act Joseph Cook, great as he was.
would have been utterly unified for
nm ordinary pastorate. His last days
Were passed In sanitarium, In a place
consecrated to the work OF caring for
mental incompetents. Joseph Cooks
Drain was magnificent piece OF men,
tai machinery, that. like other delicate
machinery, was easily thrown out of
gear. Thus we find that the greatest
poets and musicians and artists and
scuiptors. statesmen, dramatists. law
Sers. physicians and ministers have
sometimes been men OF startling weak
ness as well as of startling strength.
1Ike Atlas, their shoulders were big
ana strong enough to carry q world
upon their backs. Like Alfred the
Great, their fingers were too clumsy
and forgetful to. care for fire which
The wife had detailed them to watch
while she was looking after the other
household cares. Geniuses are often
most exasperating. 1 always had q
great. deal of sympathy for Xantippe.
who has been branded as the female
arch scold Of the ages. Perhaps she
nad risht to scold. She was married
90 Socrates, the greatest genius of all
Greece.
The startling characteristics. good or
ouo, Wnlcn can be found In the ten |
Ntaient men on big scale can also be
found In the one talent men on a small |
scale. In the ordinary walks OF life
everywhere are people cursed or marred
with various imperfections. They are
good people in one sense, but bad in
another. We define them as peculiar |
people. We call them peculiar be- |
cause through each runs mental or
physical weakness, as mineral vein
runs through the rocks OF a mighty |
mountain. We say: II like So-and-so. |
but he has one fcarfully Irritating char.
acteristic. He will muss up n room ey. !
cry time he enters it," Or you say: 81 |
IKE Mrs. So-and-so. but every time she |
calls she makes some nettlesome re-
mark that stings like brier bush. |
when she comes to visit me 1 am al |
ways glad to welcome her. When she |
leaves am always gladder to see her
so. She Is never with me ten minutes
without making me unhappy. She SAYS |