RELIGIOUS WORLD.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 30, 4 February 1905, Page 10

RELIGIOUS WORLD.

THE IrAW OS" GKOWXa. (By the Rev. Arthur W. Hutton, 3LA., Rector of St. Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside.) "First the blade, then the ear, then the full corn In the ear."—Mark lv., 28. Such, is the , law of growth, in the natural world,; so ■ familiar to us that, though we see it day by day, we never think about its wonderfulness. And yot that wonderfulness is great. And it is twofold* All organic growth is wonderful-- Txo scientist has been able to probe into the living organism with such piercing scrutiny as to ascertain how it is that, whether from the soil beUcath or front the air and rain above, the plant is able to lay hold of fresh ma- ■ terial and to assimilate them to itself EO that as the. days move on it increases in bulk and in weight and grows toward maturity, and obtains the power of selfrpproduction by its flower and- its fruit and its seed. That is one part of the commonplace, but inexplicable, mystery, prowth. in general; and the other part lios in the fact of growth after its kind, to use the Bible phrase. This also is so familiar that we do not -wonder at it. It is .a part of God's ordering of the ■ world .that "like produces like," that the tiny seedling knows not only how to grow, but how to grow into the likeness of that from which it is sprung, "so that men "do not gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles." ....... Our text does not go back far enough to give the history of the growth; it tells us only of that which is visible on the surface of the earth, "first the blade* then the ear, then the full corn in the ear;" but it is the seed that lies rotting away beneath the surface of the earth that determined from the first •what form the development should take. Unless you are a student of botany, or at any rate a bit of a farmer, you probably could not tell when the ■ blade first appears on the surface whether it is a blade of grass, or of wheat, or of barley, or of oats; but the blade knows "whence it is sprung, and in-accordance ■with.-the German proverb, ■ "What it is, it is to the end." -It will lay hold on the substance necessary not only to growth, hut to its own proper growth; to that which it hath will daily be added that which is congenial to its nature and necessary, to its peculiar form, -so , that in the end it may bring forth fruit after its kind. "To him that hath shall be given."' These other words of our Lord may be taken in conjunction ■with our text, and together they present unto us a law of human growth which, were not other considerations pre- — sent to- relieve it, might make a gloomy ■--■ fatalistic picture' of the predetermined ' inevitable progress of each," individual BTe. It is that picture which inspires the bitterness that fills the minds of disappointed men. "See," such a man may say, "how everywhere, as if to mock mc, the prosperous prosper more and more, ■while the unfortunate seem to attract more" arid more misfortune as if by some icrriln'e. affinity:" And apart from the bitterness of this complaint, which we may leave on one side, since bitterness never leads to truth, it is the fact, generally speaking, all the world over, that "to , him that hath more is given," until . iris abundance becomes a dangerous superfluity, while poverty daily becomes .poorer. It is true of the distribution of business. He who is fullest of work is ■ the man to whom people continually resort; the man whom new customers seek out, while his neighbour seems never •• ■ '-. able to-make a start; he sits idle with ■ , his goods unopened or his tools unused, ■while a tide that- should- bring him prosperity flows past his door but brings nothing to Dim. I]b is true of learning! the "more a. man knows the more the • sources of learning are <spen to him on every side. It is true, as every one v knows, .of. .-wealth. The sbsn with ample capital can, t/y the use at las pen, transfer, portions of it here and there in ■ways that will secure, him enormous pi'oSta, drawing, into his own pocket, it ..; ... .juay be even without, his own knowledge or approval, the hardly-earned profits of the toil' of poorer men. It is true of public esteem. Popularity draws the . eyes and the voices of the crowd round the man who has been publicly praised, bo that it may even become an embarrassment to him. It is a force beyond- his control. And one might go through the whole catalogue of the inci--dents and the conditions of life to find the same thing true —not, indeed, absolutely stod universally, but in general—like attracting like, growth being after its kind, to "him that hath more .'and-ever more being given; "the blade, the ear; and the full corn in the ear" iollowing on with" inevitable sequence the germination of the seed. ' Thank God, we are sometliing better . than, plants;' We have a consciousness of freedom, and within Hints we; are actually free. We have the endowment of ' a moral. aenfle that enables us to choose, .. .and Ispeaking relatively) to. choose aright. We have a , great Exemplar on , the-xoodel of whose life and teaching our ■ moral sense can «xerciae its freedom of ; choice. And this not only makes a dif- ' ference; it'makes-all the difference. The man who hitherto - has thought this - world" to be either a world of accidents - or a world of inexorable law, a world in .which he can .feel no greater sense of responsibility for his actions than can a falling leaf whirled about the fields by .i an autumn wind; such a man, when he awakes to the sense of his own moral . .;.. freedom, and . power of choice, is a new being. Before this self-realisation he was floating idly down the stream towards the great ocean where he would ■ have been lost in its immensity, but now he Bees on • the river some spot where he could build and work and serve —- --a purpose; and, etriking out to swim towards- itj he- finds the water under him that would otherwise have borno him "■'away-become his helper;" it lifts him. and answers-to the beating of his hands; ■ it bears him up and lands him where he \ ■would be. It. is the consciousness of i having something to do, and of having the power to do it, that opens the door to a man.who would otherwise have wasted . all his life. And then he only needs the exercise of his.will, and the consecration of his will, to enable him to go forward .. _ swd to do ..that which he sees'he might dp and should do. I know it is not always easy to find the right opening; and perhaps it is the greatest trial of all to have been baffled in the pursuit of duty by haying taken the wrong turn. We 'all of "us have known mert and women who have' frittered"' away the greater part' of "what might have been useful lives in the idleness of the club or in the inanity of what is called "society;" and we have also probably known some who ' have endeavoured unsuccessfully to find j some useful occupation. But patience is a very necessary element in the effort after.self-realisation, and few of us have ■ .• found, our ..true, vocation on the first in- ,. ... quiry. ...,our.. Lord's earthly life is very --■ 1 iwpressjye in, respect to this. He wants \ .;-..- ~npi..impulsiyGnes3, but real, deep-set pur- i pose...Of..the right'seed"iies below in the ' -,MMM will .wait for its growth—"first- ~-,,-. the>sade, t Jshep ,f£e. eaiy the» the full

corn in the ear" —for He knows tfiat patience will have .her perfect work. And so with what seemed to be imperfection", but was really only" immaturity. He was always wonderfully patient; While with unreality He was intolerant to thi-. point of seeming hasty. He waited for the -publica.il who had to disentangle himself from'the meshes of a low and sordid' occupation; but through the solemn trifling of the Pharisees His sharp word'cut like'a sword. Let u!s, then, sow the good seed in our hearts, deep down in a rich and wellprepared soil—net where it has been trodden into the ea dousness of a pathway, not where the thorns flourish and v-'ill give it no room to grow, not where it will shoot up hastily and as quickly die down, but where it "will bring fjorth fruit with.patience." A glorious harvest will be the reward of all those who in this wav become true husbandmen in the great vineyards of the Master; quiet, honest, earnest, industrious souls who, in thb sunshine of His grace and the continual dew of His blessing, are daily acquiring that which will in the end bring forth fruit unto life eternal. CHURCH NEWS AKD OTOTES. English papers continue to give much space to letters concerning the groat Welsh revival. The movement, it is generally agreed, is essentially an I ethical one. The great point is that human lives are beiiig transformed, that, debts are being paid, that the reparation of wrong is going forward, that estranged friends are being reunited, that-publicans' receipts are seri-jus.y diminished, and that the voice of praise and thanksgiving has taken the pla.cj of oaths and cursings. That such chauges have taken place ought to be a matter of national thankfulness. Rev. Ernest Winter, re«tor of Elland Yorkshire, England, was recently presented by his parishioners with a, Brins mead grand piano and other gifts, as a token of their esteem for him., and in recognition of his self-denial. The selfdenial referred to was a surrender of a large portion of his income to parish work. Fire years ago Mr Winter, acting on the principle that "it is uo use preaching self-denial unless you practice it, ,, gave up his stipend to the wardens, with the exception of £10 a month, which he retained to meet his personal expenses, and in this way he ba3 contributed £740 to church institutions in his parish. In connection with the long-drawn-out discussion on the question "Do we believe?", thirteen Cambridge undergradu ates Stent the .following letter to the Lou (ton "Daily Telegraph:"—"ln answer to your query, 'Do we believe?' we, the undersigned, should like to avail ourselves of the opportunity of expressing our conviction of the reality of the Gospel truths. We do believe God's word abou Jesus Christ, that our sins were laid on Him (Isaiah Hii. C), because He bore them on the Cross (I. Peter ii. 24), thu making us free from their penalty (Romans vi. 23), and we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Sinbearer and Savi our, believing all our sins are forgiven, because He died in our place (Acts xiii. 38 and 39). We also believe God's word about Jesus Christ (Acts ii. 36) that He is our rightful anointed King, and we have accepted Him as such in our hearts, believing that He may be kept enthroned there by the power of the Holy Ghost. We have all humbly striven to serve Him for greater or less periods, and eacli of us has found in Him all the strength we need to live victorious over Bin, and active in our Master's service." One morning last week a representative deputation, consisting of the president of the Protestant Church of England Union (Rev. Canon Mervyn Archdall, SLA.>, the secretary (Mr C. Gifford Moorey, and council, and the president of the Church of England Association (Mr D. H. Chisholm), and executive committee, waited on the Archbishop of Sydney to submit for his con--Jderation several matters that were considered inimical to the welfare of the Church of England in the diocese. (1) Alleged irregularities in the ordination service used at St. James , Church, Sydney, on November 30 last. (A) A petition for a second communion table in the same church- (3) The exercise by the Bishop of London of official influence in this diocese, and a so-called "altar" in an unconsecrated place of worship. (4) The. increasing practice of non-communi-cating attendance in Sydney, and disobedience to tha rubrics of the communion service. The Archbishop promised to look into the objections submitted. The "Australian Methodist Missionary Review" regrets the necessity that the Rev. A. J. Small feels under, to apply for permission to retire from the work in Fiji after the Synod of IDOS Mr Small's services ('it say-s) in that district have been of the highest order, and his retirement from Fiji just now will be a severe blow to the effectiveness of. the work there. There is also a request of a similar nature from the Rev. H. H. Nolan, who seeks permission to return to the home work after the Synod of 1903. The Second Division or the Court of Session (Scotland) on November 16 gave judgment in the appealed action by the Marqui3 of Bute against the Bishops of Argyll and GaUo.my. The late Marquis, it appears, left a sum of £40.000 for the maintenance of Roman Catholic churches in Oban and Whitborn. As the Bishops contended.that: the sums were inadequate for the purposes named, the present Marquis held that, the conditions not fulfilled, the bequests fell, and claimed to be residuary legatee. In the Outer House, Lord Killachy repelled the claim, j The Second Division now recalls the Lord Ordinary's jitdgment. The Lord Justice Clerk said that the late Marquis of Bute's intention was clearly to establish two churches, at an expense of not more than £20.000 each, and he could not find any justification for the view that the Bishops wero entitled to bold the funds until they should accumulate.