The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-09-09
DR. FERRIS WARNS
 AGAINST STATISTICS
Numbers of an Army or Congre- gation or Amount of Wealth
 May Avail Little
POWER OF INDIVIDUALS
Former Pastor of Calvary Bap- tist Church Breaches to
 Old Parishioners.

pOLu morning dIlu SNeLlll5 SSANlSOS OS Calvary Baptist church yesterday to hear the Rev. George H. Ferris, form CT pastor of the church, who now is pastor of Baptist church in Phila- delphia. MT. Ferris is most elo- quent and delightful speaker and his sermons were attentiveiy listened to and enjoyed by his old congregation.
 The morning text was taken from the first book of Chronicles, twenty first chapter, first verse: And Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel" ITO appre- ciate the full significance of such words as these" said MT. Ferris, i've must know something of the history of the surrounding nations, Many great examples have we of the bat ties of great rulers and their cruel victories, how the old barbarians loved to conquer We turn with apprecia- ton to the words in Deuteronomy to the Israelites-The Lord did not set his love upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than any people, but because you are the fewest people,
 1T want to say something about the error of statistics. Xerxes sitting on his throne of gold with an army of two million men was amazed and un- done when he found that little army of Athenian soldiers had completely destroyed Athens;-that these small armies of Greeks should at last wear him out at war and change the his- tory of the whole world. Who would have thought twenty-five years ago that from a little island in the Pacific would come an army of men to make war against great nation-wirning victories that caused the world to be awe-stricken and tremble. We tell each other how old we are-if we dare-but what does that count against the steady going on of the life within us--the trials and sorrows we endure? What do the years count above the level of our every day?
 You may come into my study and count my books-but that would not tell you the experiences of my life among them--what they have all taught me-some more, far more than others, of what I must tell to you if l would be one faithful man for the salvation of others, I might place one book on one side of my study, and five hundred on the other side-that VaA +a1l r refer to the one book five hundred times, without referring to the five hundred books one time When you hear a pnan tell how much money he is worth, what does that tell you of his honor, his ability, his power to enjoy or give enjoyment? know of two men who went to Europe last summer. One on a cattle steamer be- cause he couldn't afford to pay bis passage over and then see what he wanted to when he had landed; his experiences were indescribable. His stories of London, Westminster Abbey, of the British Museum, of the mag nifcence of the one and the beautiful and interesting collections to be en- joyed at the other, were fine He had seen London. Another mana mil lionaire, who had the most expensive suite of rooms on the steamer talked of his trip and in speaking of England said, Oh, yes, I saw Eng land. I went to the birthplace of-oh, l can never think of the name, but he was great actor. His name has gone from me, too, just now. We'll, he had seen England.
 Some men living on an income of $10 week get more real comfort and enjoyment out of life than the man who, when placed on the witness stand to be truthful about his money, answers, when asked how much he is worth, and answers truthfully, I don't know
 MT. Dooley was right last week when he said that it's not the truest test of the progress of the nation that we are putting up sSy-scraping build ings, but it's the sky-scraping minds of men that count-that prove the progress of the years.
 At the beginning of the twentieth century we brought out spinning wheels and compared them with the mills of our present day-compared the rum bling stage coach in which our grand parents made their journeys from place to place, with the luxurious Pullman; the tallow dip with the present electric method of hghtingi but what have these to do with the progress Of the world? Are we becoming socially and spiritually better?
 What about the wills of strong men which are yearly dedicated to the Lord: One ardently faithful man can double the number of souls saved over many who are working to get big con- gregations into the church to serve the attendance If he works wholly to that end. It is not always the multitudes-- nay, seldom-but 1t is with a single man that great things are accomplished. Outof the darkness of the Old World, God Is sending us His message through one man. Let us away, then, from the counting of everything we do by a ta- ble of statistics. The minister who finds all his comfort in a table of statis- tics has missed the greatest joy of his work. How many Christians have been saved by hearing a passage of Scrip ture which cameto them at a time when 1t exactly suited theh need The man who once came into this church out the life of a fellow being was soft ened and made to forgive and beg for forgiveness when he heard the words, Have mercy upon me, o God, according to Thy loving kindness Who would ever venture to estimate the holy de- sires reformed in this church every year? No one could. Now, what pro- visions are we. making for the carrying on of the work which we are doing While we like to be said to be a church of a thousand members-to have our church talked of as the greatest and finest-be the truth known. that the greatest we can do for God, we can never estimate. Many do not know the eeood fbaf few are doing