THE RELIGIOUS WORLD

Evening Star, Issue 11894, 23 May 1903, Page 3

THE RELIGIOUS WORLD

REV. DR WADDELL'S SERMONS. [Bt William Htttchison.] The 'Star' has already had a notice of Dr Waddell's book, but "I would like, if 1 may, to supplement that notice by a few further notes. The members of St. Andrew's congregation and Dr Waddell's numerous friends of other congregations and churches will be glad to have this volume of sermons to point to, as an indication of his gifts as a preacher, although it can convey little idea of his literary faculty, and even less of the life and varied labors of its author. With that modesty which is a striking trait in Dr Waddell's character he seeks, at the outset, to disarm fault-finders by telling them that these sermons —reproduced practically as originally spoken—"were flritten amid the exactions of a somewhat busy pa-storate, involving, in addition to the ordinary routine work of a large congregation, a literary lecture once a fortnight, and the editorship of the ' Outlook,' a weekly paper of some forty pages—now the organ of the Presbyterian and Wesleyan Churches of New Zealand." The editorial work of the ' Outlook,' as Dr Waddell did it, was work enough for any man; but when you add thereto the care of a congregation, whose members continually gather around their pastor for converse and advice, you cannot help wondering how he managed. It could be no surprise that at last he partially succumbed under the pressure he laid upon himself—that he now suffers from break down—and is obliged greatly to curtail his labors, much to the satisfaction as equally to the regret of all who love literature and care for religion. But these sermons do not need any " foreword " of apology, although' sermons are not generally supposed to be attractive Teading. Many persons will not listen to them either from the Pulpit or the Press, and to some extent these persons have reason on their side. Many sermons are dull and dreich—l have listened to an appalling number of them—and I often wonder how preachers can be so tame and commonplace on themes so momentous and inspiring Sydney Smith asks "Why men are animated and natural everywhere but in the pulpit?" He, however, does not answer his own question. I have the impression, however, that average preaching has always been very much the same, although in the old days, there being few books and no newspapers, the preacher then had a decided advantage over his modern brother. The daily newspaper has doubtless unintentionally become a serious discouragement to the Pulpit. But all this is by the way; I fear improperly so. There are still sermons that can stand the "fierce light" brought to bear upon them by the Press, and I include Dr Waddell's among these. This collection makes a fine book ; suggestive withal. The writer's poetic temperament, his fine courage, h,is touch of genius, his felicity of phrase, and above all the moral and spiritual force of his character the whole blended into the simplest Gospel, " fast by the oracle of God "—carry everything before them. • I notice that this Gospel simplicity has excited the wonder of certain of his critics. " What went ye out for to see?" . Because Dr Waddell is a broad-minded man, a student, and a reader of many books, they expected theological fireworks and critical novelties, and lo 1 ithey find the preacher sitting humbly at the foot of the Cross—abundantly satis'tied with the faith he learned at his mother's knee.

All the sermons in this volume treat of the one subject—the evolution and coronation of the Saviour of mankind—" how a lamb becomes tiie LAMB; a very humble, common name, the highest of ail proper names; climbing up through long reaches of history into the throne of God itself." Sairifice is its keynote, from primitive sacrifice, through all its developments, to the greatest of all sacrifices on Calvary—the incitement to every varied form of noble self-sacrifice the world ha' tver *een It culminates in the vision of the Apostle John, as he relates it in the Apocalypse: " Lo, in the midst of the throne ... a Lamb, as it had been slain." So runs the text of sermon thirteen ; readers have their preferences in a' book tf the kind how before us. and I confess to being much attracted bv this sermon. The test, says Dr Waddell, "is John's conception of what is at the centre of the universe. That is John's vision of the supreme authority that rules over all things and moves in the heart of them He sees the throne of the universe, and in the very midmost, topmost height of it with all created beings ranged round him', a Lamb. . The words, if you come to think of it, are astounding words." And so our preacher uniformly proceeds, with sound common sense and that delicate plav of fancy and familiarity with all the avenues by which the human heart may be approached. Occasionally, perhaps. I CO uld w\ih for some phraseology more hard and rugged—the wish, no doubt, of a ruder nature—although strength is not wanting • •• out of the strong came sweetness " ; so the sentences run on. gentle as if 'somehow it was a woman's hand that fashioned the style of them, and a woman's heart that guided them on their way. So much for these sermons. I cannot here help adding that better than hearing or reading his sermons is the privileee of knowing Dr Waddell as a friend, for his most eloquent sermon lies in his engaging character. If he were ten thousand mile* away (although I am very glad he is not) I would have a great deal to say on this point, but writing in his immediate neighborhood, his modest and unassuming nature ib-olutely restrains my pen. I think of Steele's famous eulogium on Lady Elizabeth Hastings—"To love her," he said, "is a liberal education." One realises something.of the same kind in his intercourse with Dr Waddell. Charitable in judgment, gentle in speech, generous in I deed—such is the epitome so far of the

life of this lovable man and eminent minister. . ' * The book is handsomely got up, but it could have been as well done in Dunedin as in London, and the time has come when we ought, as colonists, to make the most of ourselves and our attainments.

GLEANINGS.

At a meeting of the Timaru Presbytery, J held on Tuesday, it was decided to place in the hands of the Rev. W. Gillies a call to the church at Tauranga. Mr Gillies's labors at Timaru extend over a quarter of a century] The Rev. I. Sarginson, who has been appointed to represent the New Zealand Congregational Union at the Jubilee meetings of the Congregational Union of Queensland, left Christchurch by the Zealand a on Thursday for Australia. The Linwood Congregational Church waited on him prior to his departure, and presented him with a purse of sovereigns. The Rev. James Liston, Dunedin, was ordained deacon in Rome on Tuesday last. The Rev. D. Buckley, also of Dunedin, will be ordained priest in the same city on Trinity Saturday, June 6. After a tour in Ireland they leave for Dunedin, at the end of August.—' Tablet.' The preparations for Cardinal Moran'r visit to the South Sea Islands are reported to be most elaborate. The Cardinal, as announced, leaves in the Huddart-Parker liner Victoria, specially chartered for five weeks for the purpose, and his party will comprise over 200, who will pay about £SO each for the trip. The excursion was organised primarily for the purpose of enabling Cardinal Moran and a clerical party to make a visit of inspection to the various mission stations in the South Seas, and obtain a practical view of missionary tvork in the various groups of islands in the Western Pacific. At Suva the Cardinal will open the new cathedral, and at Futuna he will visit the shrine of Chanel, the martyr priest It is intended to make the trip a, winter holiday excursion. On the cruise several active volcanoes will be passed by day and night, and nearly 7,000 miles of ocean will be traversed. The Victoria leaves Sydney late in July. The 'Outlook' fulls foul of Bishop Nevill for his spiritual annexation of Stewart Island, despite the pr'or claim of the Presbyterians, and is wrathful at his choice of a mUsioner, saying: "The clergyman who has adventured on this" great enterprise is we believe, a minister of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. For good and sufficient) reasons, the gentleman is under discipline by the Presbytery of Christchurch, by whom he was some time ago suspended from discharging the functions of the mini-try. This gentleman has been received into the Anglican communion ly the bishop, who has not thougnt it necessary to direct a singlei inquiry 1o ai.y of the Presbyterian courts or officials. The bishop has confirmed him, reordained him, and generally, we may suppose, cleansed him from the stain of Presbyterianism and any other stains. We do not know whether to congratulate the bishop on the dexterity of his ablutionary processes, or to sympathise with him on the acquisition of this fugitive from Presbyterian discipline. Truly the right reverent prelate's ways are beyond our simple intelligence. But while such things happen, what peace can there be between the Presbyterian Chvrch and the religious body over which the bishop presides." Bishop Huntinrton, of Central New York, feels that Hell is being unduly neglected by his clergy. In a mid-Lenten sermon in Syr-icvse on March 22 he expressed his conviction that there was a place for Hell, and that it was there, and that self-indulgent persons whose habits .and conduct were not good would some day have a painful personal experience of it. iT'll has at times been much overdone. It ha* been described as hotter and more continuous than the human imagination can ■ endure, and overmuch freedom has been used in forecasting its population. No Hell that contains unbaptised infants or persons who died casually and unintentionally unreirenerate will wash in these times. An eternity of Hell as a consequence of misconduct of limited continuance also seems to modern minds an improbable dispensation. But the idea that evil-doers who manage to avoid punishment in this life are going to get off altogether does not commend itself to the average observer's sense of fitness. A good deal of the time the way of the transgressor is hard in this "life, but some transgressors play their game so ably as to elude all obvious penalties, and make a show of having a pood time as long as they live. The religious mind is confident that there must be appliances somewhere for getting even with these persons.— 'Harper.' According to the Bristol papers by the last mail, in which were long accounts of the death and funeral of the Rev. Charles Clark, the end of the popular lecturer was very pathetic. ■ After an illness extending over eleven months Mr Clark had a second seizure, and the speaker who had charmed so many thousands and felt such a just pride in his powers became speechless. He lingered in that condition tor five days, when the release came. After the first attack, he was told when convalescent that he must never undertake any more platform work, and this decision, his friends believed, preyed upon him and provoked the second attack. As a pastor for so many years identified with Bristol, a city for which he cherished a deep affection, Mr Clark had a very large funeral. By a strange coincidence, his last Dickens lecture was delivered just before his illness, 1 exactly thirty years to a day after the first lecture he save in Melbourne. The Cathedral of St. Isaac, in St Petersburg, which was recently robbed of about £5,000 worth of diamonds, is considered to be the richest cathedral in the world. It cost more than £2,500,000 to bnild. The iiold alone used for gilding and ornamenting the interior amounted to about 3£ cwt. All the vessels ofc this sacred edifice are composed entirely of gold and silver, and weigh about four tons. The interior of the building is most gorgeous, and contains a great number of statues, mosaics, basreliefs, and precious " ikons," or holy pictures, which are of great age, and are supposed to possess miraculous powers. The local Bible-in-schools party might find it useful to add the following to their catalogue of information for distribution among the people. It appeared in a religious weekly published in Chicago (U.S.): "The Bible was banished from the public schools of Australia for a quarter of a century. As a result a generation of ruffians and hoodlums grew up. The people saw, their mistake,, arid the Bible was hastily reinstated in the schools." The Rev. William Cuff, the minister of the Shoreditch Baptist Tabernacle, London, who recently visited New Zealand, has been so much benefited by his trip that on his return to England he said: "I am here well, and my old self once more." Principal Harper, of St. Andrew's Coir lege, Sydney University, has declined to be nominated as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Australia for 1903-04, on the ground that he would be unable to fulr fil all the duties of that office during the university terms. In New South Wales the Rev. J. T. Main, M.A., is the new Moderator of the Presbyterian General Assembly. He has been in charge of the church at Dubbo since 1887, and was previously at Young for six years. During his tour in America, "General" Booth, of the Salvation Army, travelled 22,000 miles, addressed 200 meetings in fifty-five "cities, and secured 2,500 converts. State Governors, Supreme Court Judges, mayors, and dignitaries of every degree presided at his meetings. The presentation made at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Carlton (Vict.), to the Rev. D. S. M'Eachran, on his retirement from the active work of the ministry, was a fitting testimonial to his long and faithful services In the church, and showed the high.respect and affection in which he is held by members of all denominations. It was not the large sum of £5lO that'gave to the presentation its special value, l.ut the union of members of the Methodist, Baptist, Roman Catholic, and other churches with those of his own church in this gift, expressing their respect and admiration for a "good old man."