A JUBILEE SERMON.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 934, 24 January 1890, Page 28

A JUBILEE SERMON.

The following interesting and instructive sermon was preached by the Rev J. Paterson at St. John’s Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning : THE BLESSEDNESS OF A RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE. “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree ; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the House of the Lord shall flourish in the Courts of our God : they shall still bring forth fruit in old age : they shall be fat and flourishing.”—Psalm xcii., 12-14. (1.) This week we are to celebrate the Jubilee of the Colony, and we are to do so with great acclamations and rejoicings. Quite natural it is and proper that we should do so. No one surely can be indifferent to the fact that the Colony has now completed the fiftieth year of its existence ; aud chat during those fifty years it has grown from a very small beginning to wonderful proportions. Fifty years ago a few immigrants arrived in our bay—landed at Pitone, built for themselves whares, and in a somewhat rough and humble way began colonial life. Now the population exceeds half a million, and is partly grouped in various centres, in large and flourishing cities around our seaboard, and partly scattered in various settlements all over the country. Fifty years ago the land was a wilderness, with the exception of here and there a Maori clearing ; the mountains and valleys were covered with dense forest and the plains with fern and flax ; now large tracts of country are cleared and laid down m pasture, or brought under tillage ; comfortable homesteads, with clumps of trees and gardens and orchards, give abundant ■ variety and beauty to the landscape ; and everywhere there are signs of improvement and prosperity. In the language of the Psalmist, “The pastures are clothed with flocks ; the valleys also are covered over with com ; they shout for joy ; they also sing.” Fifty years ago communication between the different parts of these islands was difficult and dangerous, and therefore infrequent. Dense hush and deep, broad rivers rendered land communication almost impossible ; and there was only small sailing craft to navigate the rough seas around the coast. Settlers who made their way any distance into the country had to tread it wearily on foot, and carry their blankets and provisions on their back. Now the bush is cleared, the rivers are bridged, roads are" formed" in all directions, and railways almost from end to end of the islands. A magnificent fleet of steamers maintain constant communication, not only between the various centres of population and commerce in the Colony, but also between this and the sister colonies of Australasia, and more widely still, between this and the great Continents of Europe and America. Fifty years ago almost everything had to be imported, even to the food and clothing of the settlers, and nothing was exported. Now the exports exceed the imports, and these are to be reckoned by millions. Fifty years ago the immigrants landed on these shores possessed of little wherewith to begin life in this new land save their own strong arm, and brave heart, and firm trust in i God. They had not only to make homes

for themselves and provision for those dependent on theni* but they had to lay the foundation of this young nation and of the Various institutions whish are essential to a nation’s well-being ; and how well and wisely these were laid is proved by tho strength and stability to which the Colony has already attained, and the many noble institutions, civil and political, social and educational, charitable and

religious, which already rival even those of the older countries of Europe. Here ' we have free constitutional Government and municipal and other institutions suited to the wants and requirements of a free people. Here we have hospitals and asylums, and reformatories for the criminal and homes for the aged and the needy. Here we have libraries and reading-rooms supplied with the newest and freshest literature; here wt have schools and colleges and a University founded on the most approved models, capable of giving a sound education, and even of supplying the requisites for the highest intellectual culture. And here the Church, in her various branches, is established, with all her Christian agencies and activities, with her Sabbath schools and mission stations,

with her ministries and her Christian workers, with the free Gospel faithfully preached, and with the light of Christianity shining through the land. Here we have all the privileges and blessings which are to be enjoyed in the land we left ; and a life as free, and healthy, and happy. Surely, d* ar friends, when we Ip of; bapk on the past fifty years of our existence as a colony, and note the signs of growth and progress ; when those who are old enough amongst us, and long enough in the Colony to remember the early days ; when they look back over these fifty years, with their ups and downs, their struggles and difficulties, their joys and sorrows ; when they remember the day of small things and coin pare it with the present advancement, and tliink how wonderfully Wod has blessed and prospered this young Colony; surely iyc all—and they in a very special degree—have cause this day to praise and bless God for His great goodness to us, and to adore His great and glorious name for all the way whereby He has led us, and all the loving kindnesses He has bestowed upon us. (2.) Bnt, roy friends, amid all our jubilations over the growth and progress of the Colony and its material prosperity, let us not forget what, above all, makes a nation truly great—a people truly noble and luippy. It is not mere material prosperity ; it is nor evenits political institutions or its literary and scientific distinctions. What is it then ? It is righteousness that alone exalteth a nation, And by righteousness we understand not simply justice and truth between man and man, but justice and truth tempered with the fear of God. We take righteousness in its broadest and and deepest sense as descriptive of the whole moral life of an individual or of a nation. It is Christian virtue blended with. Christian piety. We do not believe in morality without religion, nor do we believe in religion without morality. Christian faith must show itself in Christian practice. Righteousness is just practical godliness. ft is integrity and truthfulness, purity and godliness, justice and meicy, deeply imbued with the feelings and sentiments of true religion. A righteous people are a God-fearing people. A people who honour God, who honour the institutions of religion, who observe its ordinances, and who strive to regulate their liye's according to its principles require-, ments. This implies'deep, earnest, lhing faith ip God, Ato nation ever becomes great in an unbelieving age. The

sceptical or the scoffing spirit never exalts a nation any more than an individual never develops the best and noblest virtues. The grandest principle of humanity is religious faith—faith in the Unseen and rhe Eternal—faith in the Almighty Father and His infinite'lpve fqV His children —faith - in ■ ’reflation of His grace riric\ loycHoTus in Jesus Christ j This is the essential principle h;6th of religion and morality. It is the roofc-piinciple of that righteousness-which alone exalteth a nation. (3.) This, as we have said, is the secret of a nation’s greatness and happiness. If the Bible teaches anything it teaches this truth. The whole history of God’s dyajjagts with the Jewish people, teaches this truths and exemplifies it." The inspired utterances the prophets and the pious meditations arid.reflections of the Psalmists enforce it. All - throughout- the Sacred Volume this truth shines clear and bright, that the righteous Lord loveth righteousness, that His blessing rests upon the head or the- righteous ;■ that the righteous' are th*y who fear ! G,dtl arid obey His' 3£*#s, v ahd that it ‘is ! ever 1 well with them ; but theyHvho work iniquity shall perish, This‘is’ the truth taught in, God’s, word. Them who honofir God He vyill | but they who despise Slim b.?, iigh.tlj j esteeiped, "'To, iippiiea hplb to iridic- 1 ‘Vliappy* 4 ’

b'otW*'"' - ..-nac people * __U." (4.) This truth ~c u m the beautiful verses of our text, “ The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree ; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the House of the Lord shall flourish in the Courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age ; they shall be fat and flourishing to show that the Lord is upright ; and there is no unrighteousness in them. (5.) Observe the beautiful emblems here employed to set forth the prosperity and blessedness of the righteous. The palm tree and the cedar of Lebanon,

j the one famous for its grace and beauty and fruitfulness, the other for its depth of root and robust strength and majestic appearance, and long continued growth. And these two distinctive qualities—the grace and the strength—are beautifully combined in the righteous. This is true both of the righteous individual and of the righteous nation. (6.) The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. What is peculiar in the flourishing of the palm tree ? Usually it grows and flourishes under apparently very adverse conditions ; you find it growing and flourishing in the desert. A few palms together, with a little verdure around their roots form the oasis in the desert. All around may be one wide dreary waste of barren land, and this oasis, of palm trees, the one green spot in it, so the palm tree seems to grow under the most unfavourable conditions. And often this is so with the righteous ; often you find the most sterling virtues developed and matured in the most adverse circumstances. Do not the righteous grow and flourish in the midst of poverty, of hardship, of privation, of suffering, of the severest trials and sternest struggles of life. ? Yes, friends, these adverse circumstances often, develop the noblest virtues —the virtues of self denial, of patience, of courage, of self-reliance, combined with humility and a firm trust in God. Different conditions, prosperous circumstances, might not be half so favourable. Prosperity has often weakening and enervating effect, and instead of nourishing and strengthening virtue and piety it does the very opposite; it weakens and blights what is good, and allows to < spi’ing up what is evil. Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked ; thou are waxen fat, thdu art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness. Then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the rock of his salvation.” Jeshurun is just a diminutive for upright righteousness, and it ia a term of endearment ; literally it

means the dear little righteous one, the one who is beloved and who should he righteous. This was descriptive of Israel, the beloved of God, and who ought to have been the righteous nation. But when Israel waxed fat by prosperity he kicked against what was true and good ; thi’ew off religion ; forsook God, who made him, and iightly esteemed the rock of his salvation. (7.) So is it still, both with the individual and the nation. Prosperity often proves less favourable to the growth and development rf virtue and piety than adversity. This may he seen in the history of this Colony. The struggles and difficulties of the early settlers developed in most of them a manly and self-reliant spirit, and this spirit was infused into the young life of the Colony. I s is doubtful whether the increase of wealth and prosperty is having a beneficial influence on the character and habits of the rising generation. At any rate we may be assured of this, that mere outward oircumstauces, however adverse, wi'l not stunt the growth of a truly righteous life. Jtather they may be helpful to it. Like the palm tree that grows even in the desert, so will the righteous flourish. (8.) But how is it the palm tree grows in the desert? What, is the secret of its growth ? It is the stream of water that oozes out from the soil—that percolates througn to the roots of the palm tree —keeps it ever green and flourishing. Remove the earth and sand around the tree, and lay bare the roots, an,d you will find them saturated with rgoisture. it is that perennial spggug that makes the palm tree grow;\nct flourish ; that covers the spot with vegetation, and makes it an oasis in the desert. (9.) The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. The secret of growth is the perennial spring of God’s love and grace, which nourishes a healthy piety and a pure and righteous life. “ Blessed is the man thatwalketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stall deth iff the 'way of sinners, nor sittelh in, 'the seat of the scornful. But hie’delight is in the law of the Loril, ana in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season ; his leaf shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper ” (Ps. i). The same thought is expressed by the people qh Jeremiah: “Blessed is the, aian that trusteth in the Lord, and' whose hope the Lord is. jgrirhe shall he as a tree planted by thef 'waters ; that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat corneth ; but her leaf shall be green, and shall not he careful in the yea,? oh drought, neither shall cease U’orn yielding; fruit ” (Jer. xvii, 7, £t\ The‘tree planted’ by the is 'a healthy arid; fruitful-flourishes-its lif.ef And this is an embleiA of the : Christian whose inner life is, ■ nourished by the streams, of grace. and: blessing'which flow; %onf fbe. Fountain of •:the Divine Loye. ' It is ap. embtemii &£>* ] of-the f/hfistiaua natioy. which 'po**-' earnest Hyflig faM gses

bbe, msrirmtson* - which upholds rehf _ an q ordinances of true and which spreads out the roots of its life toward the perennial sources of divine influence. That nation will grow and flourish. The storm of adversity may sweep over it ; hut, so. long as it retains an earnest living faith in God and a loyal observance of the ordinances arid duties of true religion, it will maintain a healthy and vigorous life. “ The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.” (10.) The palrn tree grows erect and is distinguished for grace and beauty and is abundantly fruitful. Even the nikau palm fern seen in our gardens or in the bush is a graceful tree, but most likely the palm tree here referred to is the date palm-r—a most valu-

able tree in the East—yielding, as it does, sweet and wholesome fruit, the chief food of the Arabs. The date palm is an evergreen, and it grows up tall and erect and full of grace and beauty. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. Religion beautifies the character, ennobles the life ; it develops the noblest virtues ; it adorns with Christian Grace. 'Take even a man of humble life, of the plainest education, without those outward advantages and influences which usually produce culture and refinement ; take such a man, and let him he a truly pious man, a man of simple, devout faith, fearing God, loving the Saviour, conversant with the word of God, and striving to live a righteous life, and you will find he lias some beautiful traits of character ; that his piety has given him a refinement of mind and of manner which mere social position or even education could never give him. A mind in daily converse with God and deeply imbued with the truth of God cannot but be refined. Piety adorns the character with the grace of purity and humility and Christian charity. And so the righteous doth flourish like the palm tree. : (11.) He shall grow like a cedar of Lebanon. As the palm tree is remarkable for grace and beauty, so the cedar of Lebanon for its strength aud enduringness. It strikes its roots deep down into even the rocky ground, cleaving the very rocks as it seeks to get a deeper and firmer hold, and it grows up in majesty and strength, towering up toward the heavens, and spreading out its broad ! branches over the mountain side. There it stands, a noble tree, with the storms of winter sweeping over it, but firm and erect in its majesty and strength. (12.) The righteous shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon ! The righteous Avho has faith in God, faith in a gracious and loving and forgiving God, and Father in Christ ; will grow in this faith ; will grow in strength and stability of faith ; and in strength and stability of character. His strong faith will make him a strong Christian; strong to resist temptation ; strong to bear up under adversity ; strong to do his work and duty. He will strike the roots of his Christian life ever more deeply into

the truth and love of God. He will cleave ever more steadfastly to Christ, the Divine Rock of his strength. Tie will grow like the cedar of Lebanon. (13.) And, friends, what is true of the individual is true also of the nation —that nation that fears God, that has a strong living faith in Him ; that honours His ordinances and His laws —that nation is strong. It grows up like the cedar of Lebanon. May such be the growth of this young Colony. May it grow in righteousness, and strong in strength and moral greatness ! (14.) Those that he planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. It is supposed that therje is here a reference to the trees which were planted in the open courts around the temple, and which afforded a cooling shade from the hot rays of the sun to those who frequented the temple, and who often came there to meditate grid pray. Under the hallowing influences of the place their piety wag nourished and strengthened ; the ip l spiritual life was made beauvMfll; aud fruitful. In their spiritual fife they are united to God and grow up under the influence of His grace. “ I am like a green olive tree,” saith the Psalmist, “in the house of God : I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.” Oh, how beautiful and how blessed the life of those who are early planted ip the house of God, and who grow tro. vvithin the sphere of those divine influences so favourable to spiritual gt;ow;th and fruitfulness. (15,): “TlVe.y shall still bring forth fruit in old age'; they shall he fat land flourishing 1 The seeds of piety early implanted in the heart will grow up and mature and bear fruit, even in cld age. They will bear the fruit of a ripened piety. This will appear in the humble, devout walk of the aged Christian. \ in .he simple, childlike trust in. the Divine Saviour; in the delight in ' eoirimunion with God; igr prayer and in meditation on (hv \¥ord'; in the brightening and maturing [of 4 Christian hope, and the longing to depart and be with Christ in the Heavenly Home. Those that within the of, God, Are planted by Sis Grace. 1 ' ’■ v '~‘" They shall grow up and flourish all. !in our God ; s holy ; place. “ And in old age, when others fade, ; They Iruit still forth shall brlpg ;. They shall be fat and full of sap, " And, aye, fie flpuris.h'ipg, ’ ; Dpd tlrat it lpay Ifcfe s© and ail. ' ..ith one Amen.