Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1905-05-27
Caln1age
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmade, d. ID.

Los Angeles, Cal, May 21.-In this
sermon the preacher makes a strong
plea for the establishment OF more
brotherly relations among men in pub
lie and private life and for the exercise
of magnanimity in the forgiveness OF
our enemies. The text is Ephesians
iy. 20. LET not the sun go down upon
your wrath"
"Rlghteous Indignation! An absurd
verbal term, that" says some one.
1.-TWO such antithetical words should
never be yoked together. The first Is
found in Gods lexicon of honored
names. The second is Of Satanic ter
minology. Can the lightnings and the
sunbeams play together In a garden
at the same hour? Can the blackness
Of midnight and the brightness OF MID
noon be welded at the same atari Is
not anger a SIM Is not angers eDon
featured twin sister, wrath, condemned
again and again in sacred Scripture!
Wrath Is cruel, and anger Is out
rapeous,' is the Solomonic arraignment
OF hates evil companions. And yet
here today by this suggestive caption
you are going TO talk about twilight
forgiveness as though 1t was right
sometimes to be angry until sunset.
Why. such q sermonic theme Is not
Biblical. 1t Is not according to Gods
will. Once let the egg Of anger De
incubated by the Satanic fires and the
germs be allowed to live even for
little while, and before sundown those
minute particles of life will grow into
huge, Kissing, venomous serpents that
will poison with spiritual death the
hand that nurtures them. Better make
q fire In q gunpowder magazine to COOK
an evening meal than allow anger to
rest In your heart until the twilight
wherefore, my beloved brethren, let
every man be swift to hear, slow TO
speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath OF
man worketh not the righteousness OF
God"
Anger always a sin? Wrath always
under divine condemnation? Oh, no,
my brother. you are wrong. Righteous
indignation has right to live by di-
vine commandment. Supposing I go
down the street and see a great, burly,
drunken loafer abusing and kicking
little. helpless cripple. If l have the
heart Of n man shall not my eyes fiasn
and my cheeks flush and my fists clincn
in the protection Of that suffering childf
Did not Christ In anger drive the mon
ey changers out Of the temple? Sup
posing should be called to my front
door by n ring Of the bell and there L
should meet a man who, with cowhldN
or club. should begin to beat me and
TO knock me down. Must l quietly sub
NIT to being knocked down? On, no.
That is not the gospel. 1t is not Chris
tan common sense. should probably
do as that Sunday school scholar re-
solved whose teacher one day said to
him, "Charley, what does the BlDle
teach you to do II one OF your little
playmates slapped you on one cheek T.
81 would turn to him the other cheek"
said the boy. "Then what would you
do If he hit you on the other cheekT
Then" said Charley, Il would hit him
hack as hard as l could" Paul says:
''Be We angry and sin not. Let not the
sun 20 down upon your wrath" That
means that there are times when we
have right to be indignant. There are
times when we have a right to strike
back. There are times when you and
must stand up for our rights. We are
not doing justice to others when we al
low others to be unjust to us. But,
SAYS my text, "there comes a time
when your anger must cool and when
your striking back must cease. With
the setting sun you must bear no man
hard, a bitter or an angry thought
or else that anger will do you more
spiritual damage than it can ever DO
your adversary" 1 hope have made
myself clear. 1 hope l have not dis
honored God by laying down the broad
premise-easy to be misunderstood
that it is wrong to let others trample
upon your rights, as it is wrong for
you to trample upon the rights Of 9th
ers.
A Practical Question.
This fact, then, think we may take
for granted Now comes practical
question, How are you and l going
to treat those people who have been
unjust to us in the past? There are
scores of them who have done us
| wrong. At the time we did all we
| could to counteract this evil. Shall we
continue to bear them a grudge? Shall
we continue to be unforgiving and to
| bear malice toward them? Oh, no
Having done our best to counteract the
evil deeds they have done to US, we
should forgive and forget. Let each
day that Is dead bury the injustices OF
the past. Twilight forgiveness" In
the store, In the home, in the church
in our professional careers and on the
playground and in the schOolroom
May God help me to show you that ev
cry resentment harbored will curse you
as well as curse your fellow men. Per
haps when we attempt to pluck the
notes out Of our brothers eyes we
overlook huge beams In our own.
| There is so much bad in the best Of us,
There is so much good in the worst of US
1t hardly behooves any OF us
To think Ill Of the rest of US.
"Anger in itself is no sin," once wrote
DR.. Goulburn, "but it has q tendency
rapidly to become so II it be harbored
too long. Like the mamma Of the viii
derness, it corrupts and breeds worms
II kept overnight in the close chambers
Of the heart Then 1t will appear IL
the morbid shapes Of spite, malice and
revenge. The Christian rule is tt
throw It all away before fermentation
commences" Why? Because inevita
bly, II a person harbors Ill will toward
| tell OF rlll