Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-08-25
Jalnage
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmase. d. d.

sermon the preacher rebukes the prev
alent vice OF loose and censorious ut
terancst and especially OF Islander in
business and social life. The text is
James uL 8. "F'uil OF deadly poison"
Never did inspired writer feather his
verbal arrows OF truth with more dra-
matte comparisons than the author OF
my' text. He seems to take us out
TO the corral OF an eastern Bedouin
chief. Aethinks / see the leader OF
this nomad tribe looking over his herd
OF fne llmbed, high spirited, mettle-
some thoroughbreds. Then he turns to
one OF his men and says, "John. 1
think we.will bride yonder colt today
and break her to the saddle" aye"
answers the man. THAT is sooner
ssh than done. Never did we have
. higher strung, ugller four legged
beast than that colt She will kick
and bite and snort and foam at the
mouth whenever we go near her. Els
that so7' answered the chief. 'Then
the sooner we break her the better"
see the ropes flung over the colts
neck. 1 see her attempt to kick and
bite the hand that puts the bit into
her mouth and the saddle upon her
back. see her eyes fash. 1 see her
rear, plunge and roll on the ground
and afterward bolt, and for miles run
away over the hills. Then / see her
gradually subdued until at last that
nomad chief makes her his pet riding
mare. Isee her finally under perfect
control. Ike Jobs mighty war charger,
smelling the battle from afar, and as
I see all this Transformation the author
OF my text Snys, Behold. we put bits
IN the horses mouths that they may
obey Us, and we turn about their whole
body, but the tongue can no
man tame"
Then the author places US upon the
deck OF one of the Alexandrian corn
ships. He pictures one of those awful
Mediterranean euroclydons that played
such havoc with the shipping OF old,
and which destroys so many ships OF
the present day. The wind Is blowing
= hurricane. The sails are whipped
into shreds. But though that ship is
tossing about In the mighty, heaving
pillows. Jet she is under complete con-
troll Of the steersman. who, with his
single hand. moves the rudder to the
right or to the left Then the author
OF my text says, Behold also the
ships, whlch though they may be SO
great. and are driven OF fierce winds,
Jet are they turned about with a very
small helm, whithersoever the gov
srRor lLsteth. - but the tongue
no man can tame
Then he takes us away up In the
mountains He gathers together a few
dried grasses and strikes a spark and
ignitea them. No sooner are the
grasses aflre than the evening winds
fan them into n great conhagratlon,
which sets all the forests OF those
mountains ablaze. Aye. for nights you
can see them burning. as we have seen
the mountain fires burning up in the
Adlronoacks or upon the Berkshire
hills Then he says, The tongue Is
a little member" IL is almost as In
significant looking as a small spark.
But behold how great matter lit
tie fire kindletb." The damage which
the tongue OF the spark can do is In
Unite Then he compares the evils OF
the tongue to the awful ravages OF
physical disease-to those or hIdeous
leprosy or cholera or the bubonIc
plague-"It defileth the whole body"
Then, in the four words OF my text,
he compares the evil tongue OF man to
the poisonous fangs OF Il kissing SER
pent The reason l have drawn for
you all these different comparisons,
used In connection with the comparison
OF my text. Is this: want you to
know that no symbol Is too demoniac,
no comparison Is too destructive or too
rspulsivs for the author TO cite as a
criterion by which to judge the fatal
ELECTS OF the human tongue when 1t
IL evil. May God help me today to
ahow you some OF the dark dens and
csverns In which this evil tongue OF
man. as a serpents fangs, hides itself,
and where Il is most able to strike its
deadly poison into the flesh and hearts
OF itE helpless victims.
a vfnafctive Tongue.
The evil tongue OF man, In the first
place. 10 a yindIctiye tongue. 1t has
stored up among its deadly poisons the
accumulated malice, not only of days,
but or weeks and months and years.
Like the North American savage of
old. IL never forgets a supposed injury
which SOME one has done against IL.
Ii win 30 out OF fits way n hundred
miles. a thousand miles, aye, II will
stealthiiy lie In ambush for years, to
get q suitable opportunity to strike. Ii
h not Ike an ordinary snake, which
VIII leave you alone unless you trample
upon II. but II Is ike panther stalk
Ing its prey. II is like a hound on the
track or deer. IT is like q lioness
following the man who has robbed her
or her whelps. 1t will pursue a sup
posed enemy for miles and miles, and
Ter years and years. always seeking
the right moment when 1t can bury its
fanGs IN the hearts OF its foes. And
when that time comes, like ShyIoek. II
will always strike for the vital pound
or nesh nearest TO the beating heart.
ON. the abjsct mereilessness OF q vim
aietive tongusi You well know its IN
forstytng; rsientless nature: for it may
De that such a vindictive tongue has
been following you for years.
Lt may heye pursued you, a minister,
for quarter OF a century. When You
took your Arst church you found the
choir loft In the viselIke grip of an
@' OnS VI Lis uauSnter6 was tbs
erGanist Another daughter sang az
the soprano. A future son-In-law was
the tenor. The music was an utter
failure. What were you to do? You
could no more run a successful church
without good music than you could run
IT without the right kind OF preaching.
One day. In q state OF desperation. Won
called your church officers together
and demanded a complete change In
your musical leaders. You got It, but
you got 1t at the cost OF that elders
unreienting hate. He never ceased to
prosecute you. he did everything he
could to undermine your ministry. He
pursued you :eyen after you left his
church. he wrote letters to distant
cities against you. AS the vendetta is
carried on for generation after genera
ton In certain families in southern |
Europe. SO the children OF that old |
elder are still pursuing you. Their
-