The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-05-08
GOODS REDEENING LOVE
TOPIC OF REV. u. Il. ADAMS' SER
MON YESTERDAY MORNING.

New Presiding Elder of the Methodist
Churches in This District Preached
His First Sermon in This City at Ep-
worth-An ELOQUENT and impressive
Discoursc-Large Congregation.
The Rev. J. e. Adams, who was re-
Gently appointed presiding elder for this
district of the Methodist churches,
preached his initial sermon at Epworth
church yesterday morning. The con-
gregation was very large and all pres
ent were much impressed with the dis
course. The text was John, III chapter
and 18th verse, which is: "God so loved
the world that He gave his only Begot-
ten Son, that whoever believenth in
Him should not perish, but have ever
lasting life" He said in part:
According to the intimation and
teaching of this text God is not uni
yersally diffused force, acting under the
direction Of blind laws; nor is He
cold, passionless Intelligence, surveying
with perfect indifference, from HIS
throne in the heavens, the tragic ORA
ma of human life. God is rather an
organized person, having well defined
feelings and putting forth distinct and
Individual acts. He is warm, SEN
tent being, divinely glowing with the
eternal fire Of chaste emotions. Among
these emotions, the sublime passion of
love arises in the grandeur of infinite
proportions and unselfish distribution;
and we are here shown sublime man
Hesitation Of this sublime passion in
which we are all deeply interested.
We are here shown the love OF God
as expressed In human redemption, and
this redeeming love-an old story, yet
ever fresh and new-will be our theme
this morning.
"You will observe that the object Of
Gods redeeming live, as here stated is
the world God so loved the world.
Not the world of the geologist made up
Of sand and water and rocks and crys-
tails. Not the world of the botanist,
clad in verdure and crowned with flow
GrS. NOI LI6 WOIlu VI lut Ilttluld iiSl,
with it's four footed beasts, and creep
ing things and fowls of the air. But the
world of man-that world whose ele-
ments are so largely spiritual, whose
higher phenomena is as far beyond the
reach Of the philosophers, and whose
destiny Is SO grandly mysterious. There
is reason to believe that God looks with
pleasure and admiration on all the
works Of His hands, including the va
rious forms of inert matter and all
forms of animal and vegetable life. But
1t Is only man that God regards with
the particular emphasist of love which
is here intended. The world, there |
fore as mentioned in the text, means
the rational inha bitants of the earth.
1t means the great family of human
beings-the numerous progeny of |
Adam.
IT want to remind you that the world |
Is a sort of universal term that natur-
ally gives one the idea of Wilderness or
entirety, unless its meaning is qualified
by some restriction, which is expressed,
implied or understood The word is
evidently here used without any such
qualification, and hence the natural and
logical conclusion is that the world
which constitutes the object of Gods
is the grand aggregate
of humanity-the collective whole, in
Guiding every individual in the collec-
ton; the entire sum, including all the
separate figures.
LET us pause here moment that
we may gaze with suitable sense of
its grandeur and It's stupendous truth.
God loved-not a favored few, not an
elected aristocracy of redemption-but
God loved the world of uni
versal humanity God loved all
men-the self-righteous Pharisee, the
naughty Roman, the classic Greek, the
rude barbarian, the studious German,
the polite Frenchman, the practical
American. He loved the teeming mil
lions of China, the weary masses of In
lia, the fierce Tartar hordes, the wan
1ering Bedouins of the desert, and the
rowing savages Of the forest. He loved
the emperor in his imperial purple, the
slave bleeding under his masters lash,
he gloomy exile perishing on the froz-
IN steppes of Siberia, the brilliant belle
n the gilded circle of fashion. and the
unhappy outcast who covets to rest be-
1eatN the waves OF the DldCk moving
liver Gods love stretches from pole
o pole. from center to circumference, 1
eaching all geological and all mortal !
Extremes If you could stand on the 1
quator and could extend your arms \
widely enough to clasp your hands on
he opposite side OF the earth, thus en- n
IRA cling the whole globe, no human I
cart In ali that vast circle would beat
gainst your bosom, for whom the inf
lite heart of Diety had not beaten in !
hat sublime hour when God consecrat- I
d His Son to the work Of human re- N
emption.
"God so loved the world that He /
ave His only Begotten Son. There is I
very expressive here in the L
rord gave. IT. indicates calmness, L
houghtfulness, completeness in the act a
f the giver. 1t will not do to say that +
od's gift Of His Son was an act of en- L
ausiastic feeling, performed in ignor- l.
nee or forgetfulness Of the coming
and impossible with the real
acts of the threatening future full in
lew. 1t was a deliberate act The cost W
al all been counted, The threatening II
lets OF the future ran before the mind N
: God as vividly at the time this act al
as contaminated, as they ran long af- Z: