The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-12-06
A QUESTIONS IMPORTANCE
ABLE SERMON By REV. GEORGE r..
PRENTISS YESTERDAY.

Preached Mt Davenport Congregational
Church Before Large Congregation--The
Question of Demand and Supply in the
Spiritual world-The Greatest Wealth
Not Always of the Greatest Value.
At the Davenport Congregational
church yesterday morning Rev. George
Foster Prentiss, who has recently re-
ceived cali to the church, preached,
A large congregation listened to the SER
mon, which was founded on the text
Matt, 1884, "How many loaves have
ye?" and was an able and inspiring
discourse. 1t is given here in full:
A question is tonic. Many life has
regained its vitality by having ques-
ton administered. Many mind has
regained it's former agility and strength
by question. Many soul has found
the summer Of it's experience returning
by question. But humanity is afraid
OF the interrogation point. 1t seems to
feel that it is disgrace to be unable to
answer every question, no matter by
whom asked. But it Is not always the
| one who wishes to know who asks the
question. STILL the question as such Is
valuable, for it moves the waters other
wise stagnant. And we may believe
that some of the questions not answer
ed, and indeed unanswerable, have been
means to gain the ends above indicated.
And perhaps the question which Is not
answered becomes the strongest tonic.
Ii there We're no such thing as an in
terrogation point the monotony of liv-
ing would be unbearable.
The more we have to do with life and
it's results the more impressed are we
with the number of questions, and the
difficulty of so answering even few
that they will stay answered. These
general observations lead to the state
ment that Jesus took the method of
Questioning for the purpose of putting
humanity onto it's feet. Mankind has
myriads of resources, now unconscious
lily boarded because no demand has ever
been made upon them. When the peo-
Eple need coal it is found in the earth.
When the world seemed to be in the twi-
light of great and seeming endless
night there was found in the depths of
the earth the exhaustless supply of oil,
land when some of the most fearful be-
gan to cry need, and a possible dearth
of gas and petroleum some centuries to
come, electricity the light of all others,
was discovered in the great somewhere.
Then the night shadows fled away to
stay
Interrogations are spades and picks.
There is no fallow earth where they are
permitted. And the questions in life
grow out of some demand. If there
had been no hungry multitude, no anx-
ious disciples, no perfectly trusted Lord,
there never would have been any ques-
ton asked like that of the text. The
disciples saw the numbers and knew
| the size Of their own lunch, and they
thought that must be the end of it, be-
cause any comparison of the two SEEM
ed too ridiculous to be attempted. 1t
was true with the estimate which they
had made, but they overestimated the
appetite of the listeners and underesti-
mated the feeding capacity of the
Iloaves. And it was the care of the Mas
ter to correct this difficulty. And the
gospel has been busy to this day doing
the same thing. Suffering from hunger
lis not because there are too few loaves
in the world, but because the loaves are
not scattered. To be sure the disciples
had not expected to remain so long a
time, and they did not look for the great
number who really ought to have been
fed, but more healthful view of the
relation of need to plenty was theirs
when the lesson had been taught by the
question and subsequent act of Jesus.
We, believe this question to be exceed
ingly suggestive at this time. It's figur-
alive force Is unabated.
In the first place, it suggests the great
problem of demand and supply. In
every age there are those who are Ian
Iguishing for bread, and there are those
Whose barns are bursting. Famine in
India, but bread in America. Not that
blame should be attached to this or
that. but the fact remains still, and an
ugly fact, when we know that thou
sands are dying of hunger. In a small
degree this hunger is appeased by the
kind hearts of many people. But the
great problem remains that in the
world, in America, in Connecticut, in
New Haven, there are those who have
constant worry concerning the next loaf.
There are many good-hearted philan-
thropsts who seek to lay the blame at
the door of the rich, but while there
may be truth in it to some extent, that
is not the cause which underlies all 9TH
ers. Does not the cause Of thrift enter
into the question very near the founda-
ton? If a class, or nation, or fam
lily, live from hand to mouth, with no
thought for the morrow and the NOR
row bring no bread, will there not be
hunger? The disciples would have been
|entirely unable to have supplied the de-
mand of the Lord if they had made no
provision for themselves. They had
been thriftless when the opportunity
had been theirs to supply themselves.
lIf they had exercised forethought they
would not have been shut out from the
feast We believe that every person
ought not only to provide something,
|