The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-04-04
FAST DAY UNION SERVICE
I0FNEWHAVEN'S CoNGREG ATIONAL
CHURCHES.

Picture OF Christs Mastery in Every ST.
uatiou-The Growing of Christ's Long
Manifestation of Love With Loves Di-
vinest Test.
The union Fast day services at Unit
ed church yesterday forenoon were very
well attended. The pastor of the
church. Rev. T. II. Munger, presided,
and Rev. Mr.. Mutch of the Howard
avenue Congregational church said the
prayer. The sermon, which is given in
full below, was delivered by Rev. DIR.
Phillips, pastor of the Church of the
Redeemer:
Matthew 1858, "But Jesus held His
peace"
"'Sealed his lips with wisdoms seal,
Sealed by meek humility,
Reverence for his Fathers WILL
Love for all mankind and me:
Nothing need the Lamb reply;
All his business is to die. Wesley.
On the side of the court nervous blus-
ter, Indecent haste, perjury, mock rev.
erence; on the side of the prisoner at
the bar majestic, dignified silence,
broken only to admit his identity, and
to scorn the cowardice that seized at
midnight one who daily walked their
streets unarmed and undefended, Thus
did Jesus again prove the quality of his
manhood, and himself contribute the
one element of impressiveness that
marked the farce they called a trial
''Ile was oppressed, yet he humbled
himself and opened not his mouth; as a
lamb that is led to the slaughter, and
as a sheep that before her shearers is
dumb; yea, he opened not his mouth"
Whether or not the prophet had vision
of that scene when he wrote those
words, he could not have drawn more
accurate likeness of Jesus attitude as
he faced his foes at short range, and re-
allied that, at last, they had him in
their power.
He answered only questions pertain
ing to his doctrine, his conception of
himself and his mission. Silence on
those points would be reasonable. But
to their clamor of accusation, to their
artful twisting of his speech, he made
hood by stopping to handy words with
their hired liars. This was their day.
He would not rob them of their little,
devilish victory. His day was coming;
history and hearts waited to do him
Justice. One of the elements of Jesus
greatness is his mastery of every stu
alton, his absolute control of every
emergency. He was never startled out
| q a
an answer too that just met the point
at issue and left no room for further
speech. He could soothe and comfort
with words that assured the weak and
weeping of the full sweet motherhood
of God. He could put barb on truth;
hurl hot denunciations, and rebukes
that made men cover and shrink from
the blaze of his holy sarcasm Into a
single vivid sentence he could pack
such description of the deep dark
| places Of the heart that men started
back in terror from the mirror he held
UP to nature. He could put a whole
theology, a whole treatise on morals,
the criticism of an entire life into a
word and send that word home with
such tremendous force that it went
crashing to the very core of the soul.
He could pronounce a Woman's name
SO as to break the black bands Of dis
pair and fill her heart with Easter joy.
He could look into a craven disciples
ewes and unfaSten floods of contrite
| tears No man, so far as we know.
ever got the better of him in argument
or repartee Nathaniel tried it, flavor
ing his question with some fine scorn of
the new teachers birth place, and
trembled when he learned that this man
| from Nazareth had already read his
soul Nicodemus tested him with theo-
| logical puzzles, and in deep chagrin
| went out to wrestle with greater puz-
zle--s'A Master in Israel and destitute
of spiritual insight" Herod thought
to brighten him with a threat. and
heard the defiant answer, Go, tell that
fox. | move straight on to the end of
the road" Some rulers baited a trap
with penny, thinking to force an ac-
tionable partizan utterance; they lost
their quarry but they won for man the
clearest definition of good citizenship
ever spoken The scribes thought they
had cornered him when they demanded
his credentials, but he calmly tripped
them with the question, 1.-The baptism
of John, was it from heaven or of
men ?&& They could not say from
heaven for they had rejected John,
they dared not say "of men" for the
people believed him a prophet, so they
ingloriously answered, 1--WE cannot
tell" With this facility in answer,
why stood he silent before his babbling
accusers? Had he exhausted his re-
sources? Was there nothing he could
say? / think we must believe he might
lave scored that perjured court with
simple truth, and rallied the people
with word Why then was he silent?
Was it the paralysis of fear? Did he
dread the probing of his record? Was
he afraid Of the court and of what the
witnesses might urge against him?
Knowing the hate and Inscriptions
cunning of the men who had him iii
their grip, did he stand there an AFFECT
coward, unable to speak? Was it the
quiet of despair? A sickening hopeless
ness, numbing his faculties, dulling his
wits, and robbing him of every incen-
tive to attempt a defense he knew was
useless? Was it an oriental. fatalistic
stoicism deeming defense unmanly, and
holding it heroic to endure the fortune
fate provides without a protest?
Was it disappointment and chagrin?
Standing there so near the end with
T. c. ct hi