The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-10-22
SERMON ON MIRACLES
THE FOURTH or A SERIES ON THE
BIBLE
by Rev. Mr.. Nude Before the Young
Mems Christian Association Delivered
Yesterday Afternoon.

Yesterday Afternoon.
Before the Y. M. c. A. yesterday af-
ternoon Rev. Mr. Nude gave the fourth
OF his series of sermons to an interested
audience. His text was Mark, third
chapter, seventh and eighth verses
And Jesus with His'diseiples withdrew
to the sea; and a great multitude from
Galilee followed; and from Judae, and
from Jerusalem, and from Idumae, and
beyond Jordan and about Tyre and ST.
don great multitude, hearing what
great things He did, came unto Him."
The remarks of the clergyman were as
follows:
In continuing the course of sermons
on the Bible l this afternoon call your
attention to the matter of Miracles"
And begin by saying that whatever
may be thought in this day as to the
possibility or even probability of mira
cles, 1t is very clear from the text that
in that day, the time of the text, mems
doubts and the questionings of men as
to this possibility and as to this prob
ability were at once removed by reason
of the facts that met their almost daily
gaze
Miracles men had to admit, whether
they wished to or not, for miracles
they beheld on every side. If the cred
Utility and the authenticity of the Bible,
and especially of the gospels, have been
proven, then the only conclusion to
which the mind can come Is that it
contains history that Is in accord with
truth, and in that history miracles hold
no small place.
Men, repeat, had to admit miracles,
for miracles met them on every hand.
And these miracles were not done in
corner. They were done in public, many
of them, and in the presence of foe as
we'll as friend. There was nothing of
private nature about them. He who is
the Light of the World did His holy
deeds in the light of noon. He walked
in the light, and in the light He per-
formed His gracious, healing acts 1t
may be asked. What is miracle?
What is it's definition?
Let us see what authoritative die
tionaries tell us on the matter. This is
what they say:
Worcester-A deviation from the es-
fablished laws of nature.
Webster-A deviation from the
known laws of nature; supernatural
event,
Standard-An event in the natural
world but out of it's established order
and possible only by the Intervention
and exertion of divine power; a super
natural event.
Century-An effect in nature not at
tributable to any of the recognized OPP
erations of nature nor to the art man,
but indicative of superhuman power and
serving as a sign or witness thereof: a
wonderful work, manifesting power
superior to the ordinary forces of ma
ture.
Please notice that not one of these
definitions looks upon a miracle as a |
violation of the laws of nature, as many !
sceptics are pleased to regard them. |
But the word deviation" is used in
the first two definitions and it is most !
certainly implied in the last two. A
deviation from the known laws of ma
ture-this Is what we are to regard as |
a miracle.
1t was the sceptic Hume who defined |
a miracle as "a trangression of a law |
Of nature by a particular voltion Of |
the Deity, or by the interposition of |
some invisible agent" to which the late
Professor Huxley replies: 1.-THE definf-
ton of a. miracle as a violation Of the
laws of nature is in reality an employ
ment of language which, in the face of
the matter, cannot be justified"
If, therefore, we take the four die
tionary definitions as given as being
somewhere near to the heart of the
matter, that q miracle is a deviation
from the known laws of nature, Il SUI
pernatural event, we may go on to ask
ourselves the following three questions:
F'irst-Are they to be expected?
Second-Are they to be believed?
Third-For what purpose did Jesus
perform them?
First-Are miracles to be expected?
No, to the atheist; yes, to the theist-
that Is, to the theist whose God is an
Almighty God 1t all depends, Or at
least 1t very largely depends, what ones
idea of God may be. If God be simply
some good inoffensive, lovable Being, a
sort of pleasing, patient, wishing-well
Parent, this, and only this, then one
may doubt perhaps His power to work
miracles
A God who is limited to reasons con-
ception of God-head may well be God
powerless to perform mighty deeds; but
the God that Abraham knew, the God
that Moses knew the God that Joseph
knew, the God that Joshua knew, the
God that David knew, the God that
Isaiah, jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and
the minor prophets knew; the God that ]
Paul and Peter and John knew: tie
God who swung into space immensely,
who put up yonder in His dome Of blue, {
Won fiery ball, that full-orbed silver ]
moon and the myriad stars and planets I
that defy mans numbering the God |
who breathed into being the mighty l
as we'll as the finest insect; '
the God who is Creator, Ruler, Lord, s
Redeemer and Judge, and this of all /
created life-why, to tell me that such /
a God cannot perform miracle, if it be 6
His will so to do, is to tell me an alb t
surdity. Tell me, why cannot He do c
this? If He can make a world cannot /
He govern that world and govern it in e
His own way? c
If God has once already breathed t
into mans nostrils the breath of life, c
why, 1 ask, if He has done this once, q
cannot he do it twice? Every man and &
that you meet on the street is t
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