The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-10-22

these conditions. But Christ has died,
and has risen again, and the apostles
| suffered the loss of all things and even
of life itself, in proclaiming these facts,
and they left their testimony on record
in this Book.
| A few words upon the second head
Are they (the miracles) to be believed?
Certainly they are. To disbelieve them
would put bigger strain upon ones
reason than to honestly accept them as
being true. No less an authority than
Strauss himself confesses that eff the
historical character of the gospels be
ever conceded it will be impossible to
eliminate miracle from the life Of
Christ" That deep, studious thinker,
Monsieur Renan, calls Matthew's Cos
pei "the most important book ever writ
ten"
Then 1t must be book Of facts
book truth. And this it verify is. 1t
is, therefore, a book to be believed. 1t
contains the records of miracles so that
even at the estimate put upon the book
by the sceptic Renan those miracles are
to be believed. And why not, pray?
For the very same reason why they are
to be expected they are to be believed
matter fact, there Is no getting away
from the conclusion that miracle there
was, and that miracle must be admitted
and believed. And 1t is to be noted that
while it was true that in the time that
Jesus trod the lanes of Galilee and
Judea, the popuaoe was oft astonished
at the Masters wondrous deeds, still,
1t was not always so. They seemed to
| al h., :,
His face and thronged His side. In the
presence of Jesus it was easy to believe
in His wonder working power for the
| image of God was stamped upon His
| holy brow. Time and time again when
confronted by some diseased leper, or
some poor, blind beggar, it was gladly
and with the utmost frankness confess
| ed in the Masters presence-'I Thou
wilt, Thou canst make me clean" The
sick, the diseased and the dying, whom
| He had restored, all believed in Him
and in His holy, gracious deeds of heal
| ing. The Apostolic church staked its
very life on the one tremendous and
| momentous miracle, that He had risen
from the dead.
The church in all ages has built it's
hope on His departing promise, that
| where He Is, in the Fathers mansions
| there He will bring the sheep He calls
by name and He calls His own And
it Is because we here believe In Him
and In His word with it's radiant prom
Uses and it's resplendant hopes-prom-
Uses and hopes that are made the more
sure to US because we read in Gods |
deathless Book of His resurrection and
exaltation at the Fathers right hand |
it Is because of all this that we meet in
this place Sabbath by Sabbath that |
we may speak and hear some word of
comfort, helpfulness and cheer Be- |
lieve in miracle? Aye, verify, for He
who Is my Redeemer and Lord is Him
self the Son of God, God Himself, the |
Miracle of Miracles, and the Miracle
working II am"
Third and last. For what purpose |
did Jesus perform His miracles? The |
motive of the Master was at all times |
a pure one, Jesus did not perform mir
acles to get glory or renown. 1t was
His Fathers business that He was here
to attend to- and that business was !
pressing and urgent 1t was always the
healing of the soul that Jesus sought
even with the most fever-burnt body
that lay outstretched before His eyes.
II He gave to hungry men piece of
bread to satisfy the pangs of hunger
it was simply that He might bring to
them the bread Of life that alone could
satisfy the heart. If He gives to blind,
begging Bartimeus the physical sight
that will permit him to look upon the
scenes about him, it Is only that He
may give to Jericho's wretched beggar
the spiritual sight that shall show to
him his Saviour. Jesus Is to be honor
ed and loved equally for His refusal as
for His willingness to display His
mighty power. His divinity is seen
here in all Its beauty and in all its
majesty. His self-control at such times
Is beyond the comprehension of man, if
His divinity be not allowed 1t de-
clares to us silently the high motives
that ruled His spirit when such healing
was sought Jesus did not play to the
gallery" as He went about in His holy
mission of doing good. When he could |
justly do so He avoided His power to
work miracles, Me bade men whom He
had restored to keep silent as to how
they had thus been healed or, at least,
to omit the mention of His name. He
sought no praise of men, none of Gaze
sar's honors, no emolument from men.
The one clear definite purpose of His
holy life was to do Gods will and to be
about His Fathers business. Some of !
His miracles He performed to awaken
faith, some to sustain faith, none to
simply satisfy curiosity, and all to glo-
'ify God. He came to a world that was
lead in trespasses and sin---a world
whose heart was broken with pain and
With sorrow and whose face was marred
With burning tears. He came to a world
hat had lost all hope and that was pin
ng for Redeemer. He came to a
world of motherless babes and of child
ess mothers-a world whose Hos We're
'ver repeating that saddest worl If ALL
'good-bye"--a poor, bruised, bleeding,
troubled word, indeed, It was.
And as He trod it's streets and lanes
eeing on every hand the ravares If
ines cruel hand, His tender heart baat
asst, with deep compassion and holy !
And so He used His every
,ower to still its strife and to heal it's
Wounds. He did His gracious, mighty
works. that He might lift it to Gods
,itying heart. And without His mira
les this could not have been.