The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-02-14
REVIVAL SERVICES BEGUN
ELOQUENT DIsOOURSE DELIVERED
BY REV. ID. w. STODDARD

ings to be Continued Through the Week
by Pastor Stoddard. Assisted by w. ii.
spear-To-night Mr.. Spear win Speak
IN "a Woman's Gift"
The special series of gospel revival
meetings at the Howard avenue Bap-
fist church opened last evening in a
most encouraging way. There was a
good-sized audience present and deep
spirit of interest pervaded the meeting.
The pastor, Rev. D. w. Stoddard, had
prepared the way for this opening in
sermon preached in the morning, the
subject being Here am I, Lord, Send
Me-"
Mr. Stoddard earnestly pleaded with
his people to give the spiritual and ma
terial work of the church their individ-
ual support. The harvest is ripe, but
the laborers are scarce, and the bur-
den of the sermon was that Of individ-
ual responsibility.
Here am I Lord. send me-" should
be the answer and the watchword or
every Christian heart.
The evening services differed some
what from the usual order. praise
service of fifteen minutes duration
was conducted by w. H. Spear,
who for several years past has been
known as prominent worker in Cos
pei temperance work, and who Is as
sisting Mr.. Stoddard in this series of
meetings.
Strange Gods was the subject of
Rev. Mr.. Stoddard's evening talk, and
from 1t he drew many valuable lessons,
taking his text from Joshua "a, last
clause of the ninth verse-"As for me
and my house, we will serve the LORD"
In part Mr.. Stoddard said.
"From Joshua,s example we may
learn that loyalty to God Is not treason
to country. Joshua was patriot as
devoted and brave as ever lived. Spar
ia, the adage of whose sons was For
country we die Athens, whose adage
was For country we live never gave
to the world better sample of patriot
ism than Joshua. Yet he could say in
the presence of the millions of his
countrymen tinctured with idolatry:
Choose We this day whom We will serve,
whether the gods which your fathers
served that were on the other side of
the flood, or the gods Of the Amorites,
in whose land We dwell. But as for me
and my house, we will serve the Lord
The destiny Of nations as well as of
individuals being in the hands of God,
it follows that he who lives the nearest
to God, he it is who best serves his
country.
.'It is true, as Joshua testified, If We
forsake the Lord and serve strange
gods, then He will turn and do you hurt
and consume you after that He hath
i done you good From the example of
Joshua we learn, in the second place,
the Importance of resolution, firmly
made and promptly declared. Though
Israel was native Graded in idolatry,
itself stiff-necked and prone to the
ways Of the surrounding heather world
and full of strange gods, yet by the ex-
pressed relation of one man the whole
nation was so turned about as to BAN
ish all the strange gods and solemnly
to protest, The Lord Jehovah shall be
u,
none else
In closing Mr.. Stoddard said: Choose
We this day whom We will serve. Now
is the accepted time; now is the day
of INSTRUMENTATION from the thrall-
dom to strange gods and from the loss
sustained in further serving them.
With such personal duty before us as
the language and application of the
text implies, and with such a distin-
guished example as Joshua, yea, of
Jesus Christ who said T have finished
the work thou hast given me to do,
who among us is willing to copy so no
BILE pattern and wholly consecrate
self and service to God this day, say
ing, whatever others may do, AS fol
me and my house, we will serve the
Lord"
At the close Of the sermon W
Fl. Spear took charge of the meeting
and drew graphic lessons Of illustra-
ton from some of the common and or
binary things by which life is sur.
rounded. He then threw the meeting
open for testimonies, and an interest
ing service of this kind was held.
These meetings will be continued
nightly for a week or more Monda!
night Mr.. Spear will speak on "a Wo
mans Gift"