The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-04-21
REV. MIR. HILER'S SERMON
AT EPWORTH M. #. CHURCH FES-
 TERDAY WING.

Gospel Most Efficient Force In Uplin
 ing Manktna-The Preaching of To-
 day-Mr. Hiler's First Sermon im New
 Haven,
 There was large congregation as
 sembled at both services at Epwortt
 M E. church yesterday to greet the
 new pastor, Rev. Henry F. Hiler, who
 occupied the pulpit for the first time
 he having been appointed to the pas | torate by the recent conference. Both of his sermons were listened to with
 rapt attention and the new pastor made
 a most favorable impression with all | His sermon in the morning was based
 on the text of I Co.,, l. ?, II, old version, | For after that in the wisdom of God, | the world by wisdom knew not God; it | pleased God by the foolishness of | preaching to save them that believe" " | The topic of the morning was "The lm- | potencyof human wisdom as entrusted with the efficiency of the preaching of | the gospel to save men" The principal l features of the discourse were as fol- | lows:
 ] "Tt is not the purpose of God, ac- cordng to Scripture, to disparage wis | dom. On the contrary many passages are found in the Sacred Book that exalt wisdom. At one time there flourished among the Israelites class of men who were expressly called the wise men In tribute to their work one of these said Happy is the man that findeth wisdom and the man that get
 teth understanding. For the merchan-
 disc of it is better than the merchan-
 disc of silver and the gain thereof than
 fine gold. She is more precious than
 rubies, and all the things thou canst
 desire are not to be compared unto her.
 Length of days is in her right hand;
 and in her left hand riches and honor.
 Her ways are ways of pleasantness
 and all her paths are peace. She is
 tree of life to them that lay hold upon
 her and happy is every one that re-
 taineth her Solomon the typical wise
 man, prayed God for 'an understanding
 heart and the record tells us God was
 pleased and said unto him, Because
 thou hast asked this thing and hast not
 asked for myself long life; neither
 hast asked riches for myself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemes but
 hast asked for myself understanding
 to discern judgment; behold, l have done according to thy words; To, have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And l have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honor; sc that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days
 Even the Almighty has revealed Himself unto us in His Word as God of infinite wisdom; God is all-wise; He knoweth all things. even the thoughts of our hearts o Lord, how manifold are Thy works in wisdom hast Thou made them all; the earth is full of Thy richest It is not alone or chiefly in these works of creation, however, that the infinite wisdom of God is made manifest, but in His plan of the worlds redemption whereby is shown the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord Our Divine Teacher came into the world to show | men wisdom While a babe the wise | men came from the East and presented | unto Him their gifts; gold, franklin I cense and myrrh. During His youth | Jesus increased in wisdom as well as l in stature. From the time He astonish- | ed the scribes and the wise men in the temple till He closed His instruction | ,l oeonp5a5 into boa Vpp wp rpod and at the character and influence | If His teaching. He lived, labored and | taught that men might be wise until salvation. Of God He is made unto IS wisdom and righteousness and sane ification and redemption.
 But Paul in his epistle to the Corin- hians is addressing the Christians in me of the richest and greatest and most intellectual cities of Greece. gorlnth had long been famed as cen- CT of commercial and literary activity Early renowned for her riches, a great enter of colonization, celebrated by he Isthmian games, the military head I f the Achaean league, destroyed by | he Romans coloniZed and rebuilt | gain the seat of the Roman procon- uls, adorned with the riches of the | reat Temple of Venus, Corinth held no nean place in the development of Gre ian history. Her people gathered from very quarter have been characterized | or their riches and debaucheries. In ! ommon with the rest Of Greece, the | nirit Of philosophical enquiry prevail d so that Corinth, like Athens, became I He'd with rhetoricians and phloso- hers Hither Apollo had come, Jew l orn at Alexandria. an elouuent man C nd mighty in the Scriptures and he ad preached the gospel not in it's sim licity like Paul, but according to the [ and elocuence character c tic of a speculative mind trained in Q le school of Alexandria. So pleased II ere the Corinthians with his preach- O g that there arose class of believ- [ $ who were calling themselves after O le name of Apollo Paul seeing the ! ; saster incident upon such move- l ent raises his protest against this in- lence of Apollo's and utters his own 6 indication of the preaching of the gos- sl in it's purity and simplicity, even if IL prove a stumbling block to the Jews u Id foolshness of the Greeks, for unto Il em which are called both Jews and E reeks it is to show Christ the power of |, od and the wisdom of God, In one sl ord Paul declares the weakness of the l t tasted wisdom of the sages of Greece | II