The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-12-15
WORK AND SUCCESS.
An ELOQUENT SERMON DELIV-
Erred By DIR. LINES.

ipE-Self Denial of Some of Our stu-
dcnts-Greater Heroes Than Some of
Those in Bonks-TrIbute to Memory of
John Howard and William Wiib1F-
force.
Despite the bad conditions underfoot
a good sized audience listened to Dr.
Lines admirable sermon at St Paurs
Episcopal church yesterday morning
The sermon was as follows:
Jesus said, If we have faith
as a grain of mustard seed, We shall say
unto this mountain, remove hence to
yonder place, and 1t shall remove, and
nothing shall be impossible unto you. -
st. Matthew xvii, 20.
No reasonable person takes these
words in an exact and literal sense.
They are an example of the form OF
speech called hyp.rbole-an exaggerated
or extravagant manner of speaking for
the sake of emphasis which no one is
expected to take literally. While in
sense. our Lord spoke as never man
spake, in respect to His message. He
used the common manner of speech,
speaking as one man spoke to another
in His time. He was Inagnifying the
greatness and the power of faith and
He said that it was able to do for man
spiritually, morally, what would be as
wonderful as by a word to remove a
mountain or a sycamore tree to another
- s,,41 FFhnCh
who heard Him as He spoke, looking to-
wards, perhaps pointing to the Mount
of TRANSPORTATION, did not mlsunder-
stand Him. Our Lord Himself was not
a worker of such wonders as this, anG
He did not desire His disciples to be.
The mountains are where they nave
been put in the changes and overturn-
ings which have come in the earth ana
thew have been useful where they are or
men who come and go while the noun
tains remain, have adapted themselves
to them. There are other mountains
and distractions to be removed from
the way of man than those which mark
the surface of the earth. OF those let
us think for little time and then OF
faith as the means for their removal,
and as leaving nothing impossible
which a man ought to do.
The removal of mountains Is in a
special way subject for Advent when
the voice of St. John Baptist, forerun-
ner of the Lord Jesus, is heard again,
taking up the cry of the ancient prophet
Isaiah, Prepare we the way OF the
Lord; make straight in the desert
highway for our God. Every valley
shall be exalted, and every mountain
and hill shall be made low, and the
crooked shall be made straight and the
rough places plain, and the glory OF the
Lord shall be revealed The language
is figurative, but so familiar to us tha'
every phrase suggests a great though
about human life. We all know VIVA
il is for us and for all men to have
highway through the desert wherein ou1
feet may surely go towards the city O.
God. and the true end of life and action
We know what it means to have valley
exalted and hills cut down that tn
way may be made easier and also VIVA
It means to have the crooked place
made straight and the rough place
smooth: what men have been doing IL
the earth from the time they lived upo'
IL and desired to trade or travel, ma
had it's counterpart in the moral ant
spiritual life Of the race. 1t was neces
sarv that prophets should prepare tn
,yay of the Lord and that preparation
for the revelation Of the glory OF Co
must go on in the world and in GU
lives.
can say very truly to all who hea
me that you have very definite Wor
to do in your own life, and in the com
mon life. in leveling up what is low, i
taking out of the way what obstructF
in STRENGTHENING what Is crooked, /
making smooth what is rough, ana
could take my whole time in interpret
Ing in terms of living and conduct tn
Masters words.
But of mountains and distractions i
the way of your progress and OF tn
best use of your life and of the attain
ment of the true end Of your being le
me, speak to you. We constantly NEE
such Instructions and are like thos
who make a road through the countr
and come against a mountain whic
cannot be crossed. The road stops an
man stops unless he has courage an
faith to put out of the way what is
him a, barrier, a hindrance to progress
II is good for us, stumbling and falte1
ing as we go along our way through III
stopped, turned aside, discouraged /
bindrances to call to mind what men
courage and faith have done in remo7
ING what were like mountains in I'll
vay of the worlds progress Two me
have come to my mind as l NAY
thought of this SUBJECTIVE Englisl
men whose work was done oentul
or more ago-John Howard and Villa
wi1herforce, The reform of the prise
system of Great Britain and the cont
nent must have seemed to John Howal
as hopeless as the removal OF moul
tain 1t is hardly possible to belle
that men Of our race and speech cou
have permitted such abuses and cruel
and injustice as marked the Engh
prisons in the eighteenth centur
Abuses were so strongly entrench
that their correction seemed hopeles
but John Howard at the age of fort
seven, consecrated his fortune and
naming years to prison reform, al
few men have made so great a nan
He seemed not q remarkable man
ability. but great purpose took nc
of him and with wonderful faith in
cause, supreme courage and unWeari
patience he did great work for n
manity and removed great reproa
a.o.,, Il Y,aop1p and from aiyi1iZa tiOO