The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-04-10
SERMON PREACHED
ON GRACIOUS WORDS
Or. Foster at South Highlands
Presbyterian Church
is NECESSARY TO LIFE
christ's Words Were Ever Compass
sionate, considerate and Com
forting, and conformed Per-
fectly With His Life.
lis NECESSARY TO LIFE

feCtly WIN Ills EHes
DR.. Sterling ]. Foster filled his pulpit
yesterday at the South Highlands Pres
byterian church. preaching on Gracious
Words" His text was taken from Luke
4:22, "And all wondered at the
gracious words which proceeded out OF
His mouth"
He said in part:
Nothing in the history of Jesus is more
convincing that He was the Christ tnan
the perfect agreement between his life
and his words.
Others have spoken beautiful words
and given utterances to noble senti-
ments, but their lives have been strange
ly at variance with their words. But,
with Jesus, words reflected his life as
perfectly as the quiet lake mirrors the
stars in it's silent depths.
His figures of speech, drawn from all
nature. would testify of his love for the
outdoor life even though we did not
know from His history that here He
felt most at home. So perfect was He III
sympathy with all nature in her varied
moods that the past feels that nature is
In sympathy with Him, as though she
were capable of feeling. Witness this of
Sidney Lanier:
Unto the woods my Master went,
Clean forespent, forespent;
Into the woods my Master came,
Forespent with grief and shame
But the olives, they were not blind to
Him
And the little gray leaves were kind to
Him,
And the thorn tree had a mind to Him
When into the woods tie came"
So it came about that on His first visit
to Nazareth after He began His minis
try, His former friends and neighbors
wondered at the gracious words which
proceeded put of His mouth" Why did
they feel that these were gracious words?
Words of Compassion.
1. First because they were words of
compassion.
Here was a new note struck in the
great oratorio of life. Never before had
men heard of any messenger sent to
preach to the poor, or the recovering OF
sight to the blind, Others had taught
the doctrine of the stoics that would
dare fate to do it's worst. Many had
opened their veins and, without culver,
had watched their life blood ebblng
away in obedience to this merciless ply
losophy.
But, for those who could not attain
this stoical spirit, there remained only
strong despair under the misfortunes and
tragedies of life, and against these the
heart of man has ever cried out In rage
and tears. To this spirit comes the sooth-
ing words, ito heal the broken hearted
l am come; the bruised reed / will not
break, nor quench the smoking flax"
And these words We're only the prelude
to all that followed. for all were pitched
In the same key and sounded the same
sweet solemn music.
Considerate Words.
H. For his wants We're ever consider
ate.
Never in all the language of Jesus do
we find Him wounding the feelings or
sensibiities of others. There were oc-
casions on which He spoke harshly but
it was to those and of those whose souls
were sunlxen in deep and dark hypocrisy.
TO those who had wilfuly blinded them
selves to the beauties of kindly heart.
To all Others His consideration and
thoughtfulness were displayed without
measure and instinctively Do we not
reed to read again and again His in--
vtations to His disciples Ito come into
tho desert place and rest awhile" when
He found them wearied by the throngs
that pressed around them?
In the hot race of life we grow in
considerable, until consideration Is felt to
be a sign of effeminacy. Let all stand
aside, while | push on TO my goal" would
seem to be the predominant motto of to-
day.
This is to rob life of its chiefest charm
and highest joy. I have read recently over
again the history of the Chevelier Bay
ard-living in rude age and engaged
constantly in the rough game of war;
when war was even more than now the
hell that it has been described. he dis
played amid 1t all a fine courtesy and
consideration that proved him to have
been an apt pupil In the school of Jesus
Christ
Less than ever do I wonder that his
name has fingered in history, as the
true knight without shame and without
reproach, Why should 1t be felt as the
work OF strength. to exhibit some re-
mains of the jungle nature? Why should
one be deceived into imagining that a
crude and rude disregard of others Is
the hallmark of a candid and honest ma
ture, when through all ages such char
acters have only been the despair Of
their friends and have earned only a
plying contempt from their enemies Of
whom they have never had any lack.
When the church has been most in
sistent on this, and has displayed this
fine courtesy to all save the wilfully de-
PRAYED, it has stood forth as the church
of God indeed.
Comforting Words.
ADain HE uords uyara uardc ~ ,ou,.