“See!” he exclaimed, as he went on after drawing a vivid picture of the miserable condition of life in the buildings which could not be called homes, “see what a change could be wrought by the use of a few thousand dollars down there.  And here this morning, in this house, men are sitting who own very many of those tenements, who are getting the rent from them every month, who could, without suffering one single sorrow, without depriving themselves of one necessity or even luxury of life, so change the surroundings of these people that they would enjoy the physical life God gave them, and be able to see His love in the lives of His Disciples.  O, my brethren, is not this your opportunity?  What is money compared with humanity?  What is the meaning of our discipleship unless we are using what God has given us to build up His kingdom?  The money represented by this church could rebuild the entire tenement district.  The men who own these buildings,” He paused as if he had suddenly become aware that he might be saying an unwise thing; then, after a brief hesitation, as if he had satisfied his own doubt, he repeated, “The men who own these tenements—­and members of other churches besides Calvary are among the owners—­are guilty in the sight of God for allowing human beings made in His image to grow up in such horrible surroundings when it is in the power of money to stop it.  Therefore, they shall receive greater condemnation at the last, when Christ sits on the throne of the universe to judge the world.  For will He not say, as He said long years ago, ’I was an hungered and ye gave me no meat, naked and ye clothed me not, sick and in miserable dwellings reeking with filth and disease, and ye drew the hire of these places and visited me not?’ For are these men and women and children not our brethren?  Verily, God will require it at our hands, O men of Milton, if, having the power to use God’s property so as to make the world happier and better, we refused to do so and go our ways careless of our reponsibility[sic] and selfish in our use of God’s money.”

Philip closed his sermon with an account of facts concerning the condition of some of the people he himself had visited.  When the service closed, more than one property owner went away secretly enraged at the minister’s bold, and, as most of them said and thought, “impertinent meddling in their business.”  Was he wise?  And yet he had been to more than one of these men in private with the same message.  Did he not have the right to speak in public?  Did not Christ do so?  Would he not do so if he were here on earth again?  And Philip, seeing the great need, seeing the mighty power of money, seeing the indifference of these men to the whole matter, seeing their determination to conduct their business for the gain of it without regard to the condition of life, with his heart sore and his soul indignant at the suffering he had witnessed came into the church and flung his sword of wrath out