THE SERVICE.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 10999, 24 June 1901, Page 9

THE SERVICE.

Sometime before half-poet ten. thut portion of the sayred building which had Wn rew»rvpd, was occupied, and -when the doore vpwe opfned, the mn»ining waling accommodation wsw nhrMi*t instantly taken up. During th* service all the available etftoding item -was also ocmipW- Prior to the comm«ooen«nt of th* a wlwtion at items was pla.vwi by >lr O. F. T#ndall, and Mr C. C Tendall, which inclndcd Handel's An*-h«m." and the choruses, "tfing Unto the Lord," and '"Let their Celfs- \'»\ Conceit*." In ih» meantiim bin Ex sdlency the Goremor and hn&y Ranfurlj\ H* Riglit Hfm. the Premier, and otb*n«, bad mred and taken ih*ir seat*. El«v«n o'clwrk had cti-uck, ythtn the whole sngregation joined iv wincing two vej-se* of >c National Anth«m. 'I his had eWdentlj»n done preoiaturcly. for a few minutes ter tl» ctmeliuion of the singing the firrt - w«Jt rung *g»in. a* their Koral High-

w*«e« and strife entered the (Utlwdral. Th* wrvice wa* intoned by the Rev. A. Juliu*. and tiro Iwwon wm w4d by tbe<Bev. Cfcoon Harper. Th« full choir'of sixteen nwa end twenty-four Ik>j-» ««n presfnt. I he 1« Drum was St<inford*R. in « flat, ami t|» anthem vua O»anotl'« 'Sine Tmisee Vnto the Lord." Xfae bywos sung were

Nc* UOttdltt-VBofr! H0b, ? .,, and 'To Thee Our God we Fly." / , The sermon was preach*/bytne Right Rtsv. the Lord Bishop of *}* based hw remarks on the /onfe of th* eighth vtrw of the first chapV* « tlie fcpietle tithe Hebrew—"But n>ro tbs Son be saith Thy Throne, O God,/* for «ver and ever: c sceptre of righteou#<*s ss the soeptre o ; Thy Kingdom." /His Lordship said that , the words were .**<>»* of a bridal song writ- ; ten tin the occ/" 011 either of a marriage of Solomon, or/ne of the oW«r kings. There was much words fitting to the present occasion./The psalmist seeWd to have risen the present and the earthly— h* sa\gwfore him the goWen age, the King of yWighteoiisusss, the reign oJ pee**, and that day when the knowUHge of the law would covey the earth a* '■ 4h» water the sea. Hβ went on to point out that Israel had been* a people looking forward to a Messiah aa to the dawning of a brighter, purer day, until towards the end of the Old Testament the very figure of the Sou of Man stood out. The Messianic bops had b*en a characteristic of ths Semitic race, but the idea of a God.of Righteousness had been Iveld in its purity by the Jews. The idea of righteousness was the prevailing idea, and included faithfulness to purpose and promise, and because the promise was not luifiitod in their day, and because tlte king was not a righteous king, the prophets looked "forward, and believed that-God .in righteousness must fulfil his promise of a righteous king. The prophetß hid not bc«n dreamers, ana even when they saw the spread of idolatory by which the strength of the nation was split, they etill looked forward to the tim« wJku ths God of Righteousness would reveal Himself. Had those men believed in vain? Surely not. The Kingdom of the Son of Man was almost more than they had dreamed. "But." Wβ Lordahip continued, "the world is not Christian, and the Christian nations are not righteous. Wβ know why. If the Church trad been faithful in tfaa past, if she were faithful in the present, the world should come to the knowledge of God and the natioos would be bound to His will For what is the function of the Church? Is it aot by life and teaching to represent Christ to the world, and nothing is more necessary in this dtiy, when we knew co much about Christ, but so little of Him. For Christ is too often as a great picture wrought by a great m&it?r, made obscure by the lapse of time, which ha* been restored by a rude artist, anxious to produce wlmt it should be rather tlian what it is, and it is so overlaid and spoiled that we can scarce die- ! cover its original beauty. The second j function of th« Chitrch is to bring man to God in Christ, building him up in faith, and by the power of the Holy Spirit to operate by him on tlie world, it is no p*rt of th* I Church's dtjty to interfere with Government or exercise temporal power; but ceo tainly it is her duty to promote national righteousness. For us there is an individual i righteousness, there is also a national. Is

the British nation righteous? I believe in mv heart that it is growing in righteousness. Tne years of that gloriotis reign which have t*rone to their close were blessed above all things in this—the element of righteousness. The glory of those sixty years was not that of conquest, or world-wide dominion, or wealth, or prosperity; but the relief of the poor—at all events, the lessening of the sufferings of our men and women in our mines and factories —the uplifting of tha masses, the amendment of peual statutes, and the planting of lx*e, self-governing colonies. How nmch if this is due to the sympathy and wisdom of the Great Queen, we shall never know, but surely it can be said of her that the sceptre of her kingdom was of righteousness? It is good to know that British rule is loved, that British justice is respzeted, and that, amongst the cruelties and miseries of war, and despite lying accusations, our humanity and forbearance have been acknowledged. 80 also in the colonies. I It is surely th© greater righteousness thnt secures the greatest ltappiness for the j greatest number—education for the young, relief for old age, and giving to willing men interest in the work of hie own hand. Uiit if there have been advances there have also 1 been declines—the miserable condition of the poorer classes at Home, the prevalfence of gambling and drunkenness, the lowering of the moral tone of the community, thej frequency Of divorce, and must I add to' the*6, forgMfulnewt of QodT If so, the xoeptre of righteousness will fall from our hands. How long has any nation done anything or continued when faith and righteousness, are dead. lam fßr from denying tho ihflu?pccs of civilization as distinct from religion; but I do deny that a lone can tnck*-or maintain a great mition. Th? event* of the pa*t two years have forced upon us Jhe fact that thaw are the days not of petty kingdoms but of mighty empires. As one people we responded to th-? caJl of th> Mpthsi'lsnd, as one peop'e we joined in that great sorrow felt in the. furthest' b«undnrif3 of'the Empire, and in this Cathedral, in a far-off land, men wept with those who wept at Horn?, As one to-dar we welcome th*.' symbol nf unity and join in the rejoicings of the Empire. God hn« culled vis to great services; H we honrwr Him He will honour us, but if we forget Him He will cast us oil for ever," After the service, which lasted an hour. Handel's overture to "Atbaliah" was plavcd. Tha service was followed closely by their Royal Highnesses, who also, apparently, were much in the sermon. ' . The Roj'rtl party returned to Tc Knralirv via Worcester and Antigua streets and Pork Terrace, and again crowds of interested spectators linen the streets, and demonstrated their loyalty by outward expressions' of various kinds.