The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-08-23
GODS SILENCE.
Discussed at Sterling
Camp Ground
Yesterday.
VOTE FOR PRINCIPLE"
Advice Of Presiding Elder
Mansfield Of
Boston.
" VOTE FOR PRINCIPLE"

l
meetings in general were better at
tended than yesterday Presiding Ed
er Eaton felt obliged to go back to the
bedside of his sick wife, and the fore
noon services were in charge of Rev.
DR.. James Nudge of Natick, DR.. Eaton
vice, however.
The services for the day began at 6 a.
M with a sunrise prayer meeting led
by ]. c. Glidden of Lowell At eight
o'clock Rev. Alonzo Sanderson held his
| first morning meeting in his tent. the
| attendance being very good At the
| same time services were held in nearly
all the church houses. At 10 O'Clock
| services in the auditorium began with
a choral service led by L. A. Mes of
South birmingham, VINO will have
charge of the singing during the week.
The sermon was delivered by Rev.
Frank j. Mcconnell of Ipswich
Rev: Mr.. Mcconnell said in part, talk
| ing his text from John xix:9, "But
Jesus gave him no answer"
| These words suggest the theme, the
silence of Jesus Silence is sometimes
| more eloquent than speech. We have
heard much of the power of speech,
and we have fallen into the habit of
| thinking that the revelations of God
must come through words. The silence
| Of Jesus is most eloquent. The crisis
in his life came during his trial The
| strange thing about all this time is
that. the master had nothing to say.
At times during that trial Christ lapses
into a silence which is tremendous. The
| trial of Jesus Christ did not end 1900
| years ago, for if we had eyes to recog-
| nize the significance of what happened
| 1900 years ago, we should probably see
Jerusalem throughout all the ages
since. The trial of Christ is going on
every day, and his silence is as eloquent
| now as then.
"The silence of Jesus Christ is a rev.
| citation. Christ did not need to say any
thing of the. nature of sin. He allowed
| the facts of the time to write out its
story 1t seems that this has a lesson
for US today. The effective reformer is
| the one who simply lays bare the facts
without denunciation. Forty years ago
| people wondered why the anti-slavery
agitator was not attended to. The
| north seemed not to care, but a woman
simply told the story, and every one
| knows the result. 1t seems that this
has lesson for the individual life A
/ man in sin may wonder why God does
not reveal Himself, yet this man sees
before him from time to time the awful
pictures of his own past, and this is
revelation.
1.-THE very fact that God remains 81
| wickedness by allowing sin to write out
its own story.
| "The silence of Christ writes out the
insanity Of sin. When the Jews cruci-
| fed Christ they crucified the hope of
the Jewish nation. Sometimes today
| sin writes out the story of it's own de-
| structiveness.
"The silence of Christ makes revela-
| ton of the character of the men with
| whom He came in contact. Before
| Ciaphus 1t is an evidence of His con-
tempt for the insincerity of the man.
| Sometimes today the silence of God
| means the same thing. Many a man
| comes before God in the spirit of Cia-
plus, seeking to entrap Him. His 81
| lence before Herod was in contempt for
Herod's shallowness and frivolity No
man learns anything worth learning in
the spirit of frivolity. There is intel
lectual Herodism. Literary criticism is
good thing in its place. but when a
man sits u9der great prophet to hear
| the great truths of God, literary criti-
cism is a secondary matter.
| Pontius PLATE was sincere enough
and free enough from Herods frivolity,
but he was a moral coward. He had
not the moral vigor to stand by the
revelation Christ gave him. God does
not give a second revelation until the
first is acted on. God speaks his mes
| sages to the man who dares go forth
and live them.
1.-THE silence of Christ makes a pro-
found revelation concerning the char
acter Of Christ himself. 1t shows the
activity of Him. There are very few
men who know how to conquer the
world about them, and at the same time
know how to hold themselves. Christ
held his life in perfect control, and one
proof of the divinity of Christ was in
| this contribution of elements which
gave him power to hold himself. The
Master stood firm, and revealed a God
who stood firm with him."
| Rev. A. M. Osgood of Clinton spoke a
few words on the same theme. and ex-
| horted all who were not saved to en-
brace the opportunity.
| An EpWorth League prayer meeting
for young people, led by Charles w
| Delano of Worcester was held in +he
Epworth League tent at o'clock, and
at the same hour Mrs. A. NJ. Osgood of
| Clinton conducted children's service in
the TRINITY church house, both of the
meetings being largely attended.
The 2 o'clock service was more large
| ly attended than any which have been
| held so far. After short choral SER
vice, the scriptures were read by Rev.
| B. f. Kingsley Of Worcester, and Rev.
DR.. Joseph H. Mansfield, presiding eld-
er Of Boston district, delivered the SER
mon.
DR. Mansfield took his text from First
Timothy, ia, s, and 6, and said in sub
| stance:
Paul writes the words of this text
| to Timothey who at that time had
charge of the church at Ephesus Paul
had been in charge of that church for
two years. Timothy was pastor there
the beloved disciple John minister
there, and spent his last days in Ephe-
sue. The church of Ephesus was
| founded by the great apostles, but not
withstanding their ministry, the church
drifted away, and gave heed to endless
genealogy and to old wives fables. The
church doesn't depend upon the minis.
try but upon the people who make it.
The church at Ephesus was told to re-
pent, but we learn from the record that
it did not repent, and the words of pro.
| phesy uttered by the revealator came
true and now where once stood thai
| proud city, you find ruins and plough
ed fields. No Christian dwells near the
site. The city was destroyed, the church
was destroyed the candlestick was
removed out of 1t. The words of the
| prophet are important words for YOU
| to listen to for men are prone now tc
/ heed endless genealogies and old wives
| fables The commandment of the Cos.
pei is charity love There was never
more need that at the present moment
| The time is now come when we car
| Iook ont and see thn tnil1enIaI da.u,,