Milford chronicle., 1903-01-09

his auditors and shows them how they
may make the year one replete Will
triumphant spiritual achievement. Hi:
text is Proverbs ix, II, "The years OF
thy life shall be increased"
Happy new year I bring to YOU
the gospel salutation. l bring it TO you
with a smile upon the lip, with Joy
welling up in the heart. l bring it to
you because l hope it is to be the best
and the most momentous year Of all
your life.
am going to be a gospel prophet
this morning. l am not only going TO
tell you that this new year is to be the
best year of your life, but it is also go
ing to be a precursor of many other
useful years. am going to say to you,
as Solomon said Of CID that on account
Of this coming year ccnsecrated to
God your earthly longevity shall be
heightened. "The years of thy life
shall be increased"
Charles Dickens wrote 4 famous book
entitled Great Expectations" But
the English writer did not have rs
much right to use that caption for his
novel as | have for this sermon. As
Christ said to the blind men. Accord
ing to your faith. SO be it unto YOU"
My faith today is infinite. Never since
was born have l had greater faith in
the power Of Christ to save and bless
than at the present time. Therefore,
on account of my belief in the power Of
Jesus Christ that he can and VIII save
your soul during the coming year,
know that this is to be the most i'm
portant year of your life.
My great expectations for your spir-
itual welfare and your conservation of
the new year are not only founded
upon my own faith, but also upon the
faith of an earnest band of scores and
scores Of praying men and women Who
are loyallT seeking your good. This
band is composed of your friends and
your loved ones. 1t is an all conquer
ing band which shall soon. aye. l think
today, capture your soul for Jesus
Christ. We have read what Garibaldi
did for italian freedom What had he
to offer his followers? Noehi@g bat
hunger and pain and wounds and ex-
lie. But above all these privatiors
Garibaldi lifted the standard of lib
erty, and the young men fOcked to his
side by the hundreds and the thou
sands. 1t may net be an easy task to
capture your sinful heart for Christ.
But the gospel prize is so great that
the earnest band of workers surround
ing me, like the Italian patriots, are
willing to go through any pIfvations if
they can only bring you a repentant
sinner to the foot of the cross. We
have read what Toussaint Lower
ture did for Haitian freedom. Wen.
dell Phillips in his famous grafton de-
clared that this southern leader was a
greater man than Washington, Napo.
leon, Caesar, than Alexander the Great.
But all the conQuests by which the
South American leader and his little
band of followers were able to throw
of the European tyrannies are as moth
ing in their eternal results when com
pared to some of the glorious spiritual
victories which shall be won during
this opening year for Christie be won
ers who are surrounding me at the
present time. So on this first Sunday,
1908, we give you fair warning that in
the name. of Jesus Christ we are about
to move upon your sinful heart. We
are about to capture your whole life
for Jesus Christ.
Some New Year Resolves.
Now, as a gospel transformation is
soon to take place in your life, am 60
ing to tell today some of the new re-
solves by which this opening year is to
your life. am about TO tell you
here and now how you are going ito
forget those things that are behind and
reach forth unto those things that are
before and press toward the mark for
the prize of the high calling of God in |
Christ Jesus"
To overcome your evil passions and to I
i've as your redeemed father and moth |
sr want you to live is to be one cf your q
thief desires for the ensuing year. I
was a great change il gcur life
when the old folks died Ycu may have I
ong ago become a growEup man and l.
)een away from home i've. ten OF even 4
fifteen years, before yoa received the L
atal telegram from your sister: Come
lome at once. Mother is dying" Yet !
lot until that time did you willfully let
-ourself go into the maelstrom of sin. Y
Iot until that time did yea say in sin .
III sense: "Wen, it does not matter |
much what becomes OF me. Mother is I
.ow dead, and father is dead. Even Il l
do wrong and become dissipated they I
Till not hear Of it." For q few years y
fter your mothers death your Oldest L
lister tried to take your mothers place. I
very Sunday night she would write !
D you, just as your mother did. But
though her letters were
ewsy and bright and tcId you how the I
Id neigh5ors were getting On, her !
lessages did not ring in your heart like
lother's letters. They did not so often
lead with you to be good boy and say
our prayers and read your Bible and /
70 fo. Christ. They did not begin with Il