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DEVOTEDTQ THE INTERESTS OF BROAD ST. BAPTIST CHURCH, SUN DAY" 'SCHOOL
AND
CAUSE
OF CHRIST
IN GENERAL
Vol J IL No. 4.
winston, n, c, January, is94.
Price Gents.
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Broach Street Pulpit.
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ABUSE OF THE TOKGUE.
FROM THE SEASIDE SERIES, BY REV.
; h.c. moore. x
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"Full ol Deadly Po'aon " Jame 3:8. ' ,
The tongue is tbe vehicle of social
enjoyment and the. channel of usef al
information. It; is a powerful instru-
I ment. i It has. affected more than
the J munitions of war. Its
7 force hasibeen recognized from the
earliest times. I David called it '"a
sharp5 word," Jeremiah compares it
- to "an arrow;" James terms it "a
Vfire, a world of iniquity;" Solomon
declares, VLife and death are in the
power of the j tongue;" and ; Jesus
Christ hangs upon it the destiny , of
the immortal soul; "By thy words
thou shalt -be justified and .by thy
words' thou shalt be condemned."
Bead its record in the pages of
history Aaron and Moses plead in
the court of Pharaoh, The seers of
Israel j bewail t Jewish declension;
Jonah cries on the streets of Nine
veh. ! Paul appears before Agrtppa,
on Mars' Hill and in Borne. There
was Demosthenes in Greece.' Cicero
thundering from the Italian forum,
Peter the Hermit preaching the cru
sades,1 Mirabeau in France J Burke in
England, Webster in America.
Every caue has its.advocates. .Lib
erty had its Patrick Henry. " Tem
perance had its John B Goujh.
Missions had its William Carey.
Reformation had its Martin Luther.
The pulpit had its Wesley, Whitfield
and Spurgeonf Wonderful record I
This little member has ushered in
the sweetest eras of public and pri
vate piosterityJ The most dreadful
wars have been 'prefaced with the
battle of tongues. Tongues have
cursed nations and overthrown em
.x pires, 1 and tongues ! have JbuiltJ up
Vincrdnma. ( advanced civilization
&nd ftntablished Christianity
i Thn tfiAi tonflrne is clothed with
-wmjit nhasibllities.. It may be a mes
senger of peace on the herald of
Wrd atiI ! strife It mnv be the
flnwflr of nnritv er the fang of venom
TArt hffnn i the latter the case! Too
J often is the tongue Vfull of deadly
I' Flatty i Said a certain fa
mous; writer: "Flattery is a sort! of
bad money to which our vanity gives
Arrmnv " t Johnson declared, "Of
all wild beasts preserve me from a
fluttflTfir." I The wiser have been
seriously abused by flatterersJi They
are the worst kmd of traitors. They
strengthen imperfections, encourage
evils; pamtifoiir as
are base, creeping,
flittjtrnr is said to i be
virtue. They
cowardly. L A
a beast that
hitnth amiliricr. and David desired
every nattering tongue to be cut out
nd destroyed, j : - -
- VSmooth talk proves of ton sweet
poison. : Flattery ia the very spring
and mother of all iniquity; it blows
the trumpetj and draws poor souls
intn rebellion atainst God, as Sheba
drew Israel against David; it put
our first parents npon tasung tne
forbidden frnit;it put Absalom upon
dethroning his father; it put Hamsn
nrwtn nlottinir the rain oltne Jews:
if lTorhr Dathan and Abiram
mYm11it)0- against Moses. it
-v fn&w imeni eall evil (rood, dare
4 ness light aid light darkness. It
pnta men upon abusing God, alight-
incr Uniisi ana vexing mo
MM.
It unmans a man
and makes him
change pearls for
pebbles, cold I for
counter, It makes a man; judge
himself. wise when foolish; knowing,
when he is ignorant; holy, when he
is profane; free, when he is a
pris
high, oner; rich, when he is poorj
when he is low; full; when
he is
empty; happy, when he is miserable."
Let the flatterer curb his tongue and
the flattered guard his footsteps.
II Criticise. While some tongues
drop poisonous flattery, others emit
venomous criticism. Tne flatterer
u atone extreme and the . cynic at
the other. The cynie sees 1 nothing
eood in asythivg or anybody.
Noth-
ing escapes ms . nypercriticai
allu-
sions. His views are pessimistic
from rind to core. No cloud for him
has a silver lining, I No aspiration
is holy; no hope unpolluted, j He at
tends churchthe house, the people,
the preacher, the prayer the sermon,
the choir everything la criticised;
He goes td a political gathering
nothing escapes him. So it is in the
social circle. - In the business world
he .brands r everything as j reeking
with the horrioTnlth : of vicious cor
ruption. The liie-work of his crit
ical misanthrope is to magnify vice
and ignore virtue. i L
Beecher draws this vivid pen pict
ure of the cynic: "He is the human
owl, vigilant in i darkness and ! blind
to light, mousing for veimm and
never seeing noble game. He puts
all human action into only twe clas
ses: Openly bad ' and secretly bad
His criticisms fall indiscriminately
npon eyery lovely thing, like f frost
upon flowers J If a man is said to be
chaste and "pnrer-ho-will:
'Yes, in the day time If a woman
is pronounced virtuous, he will Ire
ply: 'Yes, as yet.1 Mr A is) a reli
gious man: Yes on Sundays.1 Mr
B has just joined the church: i "Cer-
tamly, . elections are coming
on.'
The minister is called an example of
diligence: 'It is his trade.' Such a
man is generous: 'Of other men's
money.' This man is obliging: 'To
lull suspicion and cheat youil 'That
man is upright: 'Because he is
great.' Thus his eye strains out
every good quality and takes in only
the bad; to him religion is hypocrisy,
honesty a preparation for fraud, and
virtue only want of opportunity.
The livelong day h'e will sit with
sneering lips, uttering sharp speech
cs, in the quietest manner,! and in
polished phrase transnxmg every
character which is presented. 'His
words are softer than oil, yet they
are drawn swords! ' ?' t j I
vThe cynic is - the pot calliag the
kettle j of mankind i black. IHe is
coyered with putrefying eszema
laughing at a fever-blister en anoth
er man. - He is swollen andlblotched
with leprosy, yet he grins at a wart.
With a huge beam in his own! eye he
spends his life plucking at the motes
in.otner people's eyes. Jtsase f exam-j
pie for youth! Poortideal ol chart
acter! Then ' abandon the morbidi
aspirations of the cynic, or f cease
to call yourself a man."
Ill Ti.LK-BXA.BIKO.
The
tale-
bearer is one ! of
servants of the
the most devoted
devil. .He fis the
devil's packhorse.
Satan loads him
with a lot of lies' concerning the
character and reputation of a; neigh
bor, and he . goes here and there
faithfully carrying out the orders of
his satanio majesty. He is a jvessel,
with a demon at the helm, bearing
calumny and hate and blown! by the
breezes of hoUow rumor. Ifr is a
serpent, lurking in the weeds along
human pathways, coiled, and ready
to his family, a ' curse to society, a
to SDnnsr up "a uu Ticum. n a wane
terror to his associates, a mystery
to himself, he strides i the earth to
defame the fairest record and scotch
the noblest character and wither the
loftiest reputation.
j The tale-bearer can gain no com
fort from a perusal of Scripture.
The Law expressly said: f'Thpu
shalt not go up and down as a tale
bearer; I am the Lord." Solomon
denominates' him as a revealer pf
secrets and the cause of wounds. I
Paul expresses his contempt! for
suca caaraciers, xne ancients usea to
say that the teller and bearer of fafse
stories ought to equally be ' hanged
but one by the tongue and tne
other by the ears. Sanity and Script
ure unite in branding the talebearer
as5 one of $ the foulest pests aid
plagues of decent society.- Sherid&n
spoke iri his day about a set if'of
maliciouaf, prating, prudent gossips,
both male and female, .who murder
characters tokill time; and will rb
a jyougt fellow; of his good name
before he has ears ! to know (the
value of it." Saoh men and (womon
are moral incendiaries! As Nero
f set Borne on fire to see the confla
gration, so some execrable fiends in
human shape delight to circulate
slanderous reports which kindle
heart-burnings and generate flames
of wrath that may sometimes destroy
families courts, cities and kingdoms.
They are diabolical - gluttons! to
"gulp dwn slander and, calumny is
if they , were ! dainty and delicious
viands.' I - They store up as necessary
provisions for morbid .appetites,
every cargo brought in by rumor m
order thkt they may fatten and crow
answertn thxrde.4cration of human char
acter. They are thieves to filch from
a neighbor bis good : name ami
wither a! lovely reputation, and blast
brilliant prospects. They, are feloni
ous brutes to thus knaw at the vile&t
of the race and crush its best i intef
ests. The forked lightning, the
howling cyclone, j the thunderous
earthquakes, the raging flood, the
belching; volcano, may leave a track
of awful desolation, but these horrors
are tame and their terrors are pettir
compared with the ruinous effects of
the .infamous back biter and tale
bearing busy-body. . Let Christian
tongues bear, a nobler message or b
doomed jto eternal silence. . I
IV Fbivolitt, I Many a tongul
is consecrated to downright foolishr
ness. Solid t thoaght 3 is foreign; to
its existence.' It never conveys any
thing that would feed' and nourish
the mind or soul of man. It revels
in the field of joke and iest, wit anq
humor, Its mission is to undermin
the fabric of intellectual fertility1
with heartless jocularity. It indicates
a loose mind, a thin sonl, and e
flimsy character. l- I
; Now, I do not condemn mirthful!
ness. Its existence in a purified state
is ! conducive to cheerful living and
good morals. Often a flash of humor
will accomplish more in a sick room
than a cart loadjof medicine. It may
sometimes bear a trute into hearts
untouched by a thousand sermons."
God never intended ' for man j to live
in painful . seclusion, ' sad, morose
and melancholy. We are v social
creatures, and the cultivation of.
this instinct should take place: in the
open air and sunshine of hearty goodf
cheer. It lightens labor, makes the
very face of care to shine, diffuses.
cheerfolntss amongmen, multiplies
irilds the! dark thines of life andl
heightensfthe lustre of the brightest," !
But in the abyss of cheap wit has
been buried the usef ulness of many
a Druiiant intellect, xn ine caiaron
0 1 silly jokes many souls hate been!)
ruined. Many a noble vessel of
character: has crone ( down in the
waves of jmirthf ul folly. Wit has
made its wounds and slain its heroes.
The aspiring jester sells Shis soul for
a heartless joke. His witticisms are
leveled at -idleness and industry; his
batteries 'are turned npon lawyer,
doctor, politician, preacher, farmer,
instrnctor'andauthor. The whims of .
society and the greenness of back
woodsmen are treated to his foolish
ness. His whole lime is given to the
invention fand rehearsal (of ! puns,
quibbles, catches, 'feeble witticisms
and threadbare stones. He And his
circle of ten gather and giggle while
they neat perdition almost enveloped
in fts trifling smoke. Yet some ,
church members preferthe fame of
the wit to that of the Christian.'
They would rather tell a joke' than
quote a passage from God's word -They
would rather hear a humorous
anecdote than a ChrUtian experience.
They conrf folly and despise wisdom.
They carry out the prediction of
Isaiah:; "Ye shall conceive chaff and
bring forth! stubble." I . !
V VtJiAaiTY. . The tongue is
of times the outlet of a licentious
mind. It is. the channel of tne foulest '
impurities.. It is a waatepipe bearing
horrid tilth from an unclean heart. ;
Some brains are the souree and :
center of ynlgarity. j Some fondle
and cherish obscenity as the misr
hugs his gold or the hoathen adore
his idols. The hyena! grabbles ont
dead bodies from their graves for
his food, and the vulgar'man has for
his meat and drink the rottenest
vices of mankind. Vultures gnaw at
corpses he sucks the bone otobseen .
lty. The byena and vulture as
scavengers fulfil the I law of God;
the vulgar! man degrades himself to
perform the work of devils. He is
the herald of lewdness and unehas
tity. He is jthe- figure-head of low
filth and base indecency. His tongue
is an eating cancer, his talk a social
sore. . : ; r I . - i- .
Such a man is unwelcome to the
privileges of decent company. His.
ipaginations are fall of last and
licentiousness. . The pictures in his
pockets foster nnchaste thoughts.
The vulgari novel ' claims. his, undi
vided attention. His tongue wags on
the lowest level. He : who indulges
in i vulgarity disgraces society,
undermines Christianity and dishon
ors God. The penalty shonld be
social ostracism, swift and oertain;
and it will lead tntthe end to banish
ment - from j the presence of Gd.
Down with (obscenity! and rnp with
chastity! Down with vulgarity and
up with decency! j !
VI LtinO. It is unnecessary to
comment on the folly and sinfulness
of this common abuse of the tongue.'
The liar is recognized in human law
as a disgraceful pest to ; hnman
society. The .man who I can deliber
ately tell a bare-faced lie is either
cursed with satanio brass or em
boldened by idiotic knavery.! False
hoods are alarmingly frequent; some .
are silly eneugh to believe , that
their success in business must be
sustained by trifling untruths.
Others think a few little lies will
remove the stones of difficulty from'
their pathway; still : others do the
devil's work for him without charg
ing him a cent for services just lie
out of love for the Wily old serpent!
Yet he pays them, alas! in unwelcome
coin, i If truthfulness is rewarded,
lying will not be unnoticed. The
father if lies will gather his devoted
adherents in the end to feed them on
the fruit of their cm devices. 4-fAll"
Continued on Seconal PsLg$,j
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