THE CHURCHES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1196, 1 February 1895, Page 30

THE CHURCHES.

BISHOP WALLIS. —, — THE CONSECRATION SERVICE. THE BISHOP OF SALISBURY’S SERMON. By half-past 10 on Friday morning (3anuary 25) a large crowd had got itself packed into the Church (St. Paul’s), apparently in no way diminished by the service held earlier in the day. A dmission was by ticket, a plan to which the smoothness of all the arrangements was due. At each door the inflow of the crowd was regulated by a tickettaker ; inside the church e very one found his place without inconvenience, and very soon every seat was full. A noticeable and striking feature of the congregation thus quietly packed away was a contingent of young Melanesians from the Mission schooner Southern Cross, grave, reverent, self-pos-sessed, seated close to the organ. To them the Bishop of Salisbury referred in cordial terms later on, towards the end of the sermon, and when the crowd.* of communicants was making its way to the rails, the contingent was with them, a very prominent feature of the slowly moving reverent crowd. At the appointed hour the choir of St. Paul’s, reinforced by detachments from the other choirs in the city, cauje into the church. When the members, had taken their places, the organ pealed forth the Eighth Tone (Gregorian), the choir took up the 57th Psalm, and before they finished the procession of the clergy and bishops—a vest number of the former, and seven of the latter —had accompanied the Bishop-elect into the church, and filled the sanctuary and all the spaces set apart for them. The following was the order:—

The Rev Joshua Jone 3 led the procession, acting as Master of Ceremonies. Deacons — The Rev 3 Fitzgerald and Harrison, Tere and Jenkins, Booth and Do Castro, Young and Tisdall. Visiting Priests —The Revs Windsor and Fitzgerald, McMurray and Webb, St. Hill and Purchas. Diocesan Priests—The Revs Harper and Russell, Chapman and Devenish, Cameron and Ernera, Pineaha and Arana, Davis and Yorko, Efermon and Aitken, Harvey and Innos-Jones, Kay and McLean, Waters and Williams, Rallachey and McWilliams, Coffey and Dasent, Archdeacons Stock, - Dudley, Govett and S. Williams. Chancellor —Mr W. H. Quick. Bishops—Bishop Cowie (Acting Primate), of Auckland; Bishop Mules, of Nelson ; Bishop Williams, of Waiapu; Bishop Julius, of Christchurch ; Bishop Wilson, of Melanesia ; Bishop Neville, of Dunedin; The Lord Bishop of Salisbury. The Rev Dr Wallis, Bishop-designate. Chaplain to the Bishopelect, Ven Archdeacon Fancourt; chaplain to the Bishop of Melanesia, Rev A. Brittain ; chaplain to the Bishop of Waiapu, Rev St. Hill; chaplain to the Bishop of Nelson, Rev T. B. McLean; chaplain to the Bishop of Christchurch, Rev W. Dunckley ; chaplain to the' Bishop of Dunedin, Eev R. Coffey ; chaplains to the Bishop of Auckland (Acting-Primate); Revs McMurray, Beatty, Sprott; staffbearer, Rev E. Cowie ; chaplain to the Bishop of Salisbury, Ven Archdeacon Towgood. The service was opened by the Bishop of Christchurch; the music was Stainer’s in “ F,” given with a full body of sound and much delicate, devotional -singing by the choir. The Epistoler was Bishop Mules, of Nelson, and the Gospeler was Bishop Neville, of Dunedin, the choir chanting the responses. Afcer the Nicene Creed, the Bishop of Salisbury preached the sermon. The sermon was appropriate to St. Paul’s Day, also to the occasion, which was typified by its title, “ Tho Chosen Vessel.” “The Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for ho is a chosen vessel unto Me to bear My name before the Gentiles and Kings and the Children of Israel, for I will show him how great things lie must suffer for My Name’s sake.” —Acts ix, 15 and 16. 1 “ The strongest of Christian evidonce to prove the truth of the Gospel,” said the Bishop, in developing the theme indicated in the text, “ is no doubt the character of its central figure, the representation there given of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Round this may be grouped those others to which He Himself has called our attention in the wonderful discourse recorded in the

fifth chapter of the Gospel according to St. John. Of these he seems to describe four the testimony of the best and greatest men, the works done by Himself and in His Name, the witness of God to Christianity in the groat crises of human history, and the testimony of Holy Scripture. Wo have perhaps no right to say that this absolutely sums up all the ovidence, but if a man were called upon to write a treatise upon such a subject ho would certainly do well to make this discourse his ground plan.”

The Bishop proceeded to refer to the choice of the Apostles by our Lord, first the twelve, and then St. Paul, and the manner in which they were used as making one of the greatest of His miracles. The character of Christ himself was one of the greatest Christian evidences, “ Who proves Himself the Light of the World, as the sun proves his presence in nature, but few if any of the secondary evidences are stronger than that supplied by the character of the Apostles, and the change under the responsibility of their message, as described first by themselves in the Gospels, . and secondly by their companion St. Luke in the Acts.” The former, he explained, were their special work, the record of their first preaching, saying much to their discredit, and little otherwise, bearing the stamp of truthfulness, sincere and accurate as the Old Testament narratives themselves representing to us the Apostles as in their origin unlearned and ignorant, slow and stubborn, lacking faith and courage, and even devoid of generosity, courtesy, grace and gentleness. It was the choice of heavenly wisdom, making it clear that these men were but instruments unable to invent the doctrine they preached. Their remarkable subsequent growth in moral and spiritual power was at once an evidence and an example of what the doctrine could do for human nature. So great a change was it as to be only explainable by remembering with whom they had been associated. “ They took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.” Coming, in the development of his subject, to the conversion of St. Paul, the preacher described the character of the man, his strength of will, his magnificent intellectual power, his theological training at the hands of the Pharisees, the breadth given to his mind by the Greek university training, and the independence developed by his privileg-es of Roman citizen. He pointed out that such a man could never humanly speaking liavo been trained side by side with the other Apostles, nor, speaking with all becoming reverence, could he have been trusted with the message sufficiently to keep it free from his prejudices of education and training. The Christian belief had first to be framed by those who could add nothing to it before the selection of a man of the calibre of St. Paul. The substance of the Gospel definitely settled, the selection of St. Paul as the Apostle of the gentiles became not only possible, but necessary as the next step in the divinely ordained development. Before that the simple faith of the martyr Stephen in his last moments had no doubt impressed the mind of St. Paul, very greatly preparing it for the call so soon to be extended to himself. “ Behold, I see the Heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right-hand of God,” and lie had delivered up his soul with those words of wonderful trust and reverence and love, “ Lord Jesus receive my spirit. Lay not this sin to their charge.” He next described how, after the simple unreserved acceptance of the doctrines, St. .c'aul became the greatest missionary that ever lived, owing to hi 3 theological training, Greek thought and literature, and. his. freedom as a Roman citizen —a combination of threefold training which gave him the power of being “all things to all men.” The three representative languages of the Roman Empire were the Hebrew, the Greek and the Latin, the choice of the representative to bear abroad the banner of the cross was of one who was conversant with the best to be found in all three —the three in whioh the condemnation of his Lord and Master had been written and posted on His cross on the day of His execution. What, he proceeded to ask, was the special colour which the Gospel message had received at the hand of St. Paul? Various answers suggested themselves, out of various attitudes of minds, e.g., gratitude for the knowledge of the means of entrance into life, for guidance about the life to be lived in and for God, of the hope opened up of the future of the individual and of the race. There were also such answers as justification by faith, looking un to Jesus crucified, risen and ascended, joy in the glory of the Church, the hopes of a life be.yond'the grave, and the summing up and restoration of all tilings in Christ, whether they be of earth or of heaven. To find the true, answer they must group all these things. “ We might answer that St. Paul was called to assert and to make popular the ideal element in the Christian faith, to exhibit the inner meaning of the great facts of the Gospel narrative, and to make men enthusiasts not for the knowledge of the things of this world, but for the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. No one who is a (follower of St. Paul can in any sense be a materialist—nay, it is impossible for one who lias entered into the spirit of the Gospel as preached by him to accept with any complete satisfaction that approach to materialism which is made by all those who i try to reduce its teaching to a scholastic or formal system, or to a series of propositions. St. Paul's doctrine eludes all such attempts and makes them vain. He is living, moving, spii’itual ; they are dry, nerveless and spiritless.” Not that he undervalued such systems. As helps in various ways to the discussion of difficulties not definitely treated in Holy Writ, they had their value such as it was, but to acquire the. temper which alone makes men efficient ministers of the truth, he said they requiredjjthe intense atmosphere of faith in the unseen and the reality of great ideas breathed by St. Paul, and they must feel the deep reality and the broad prevalence of sin as separating men from. God. “ Wo must pass without any sense of incongruity from the world above the stars, yea, above all -the heavens, to the daily duties of life, and the decision of daily difficulties, and the correction of sinful or erroneous habits.” To make this thought of Tour debt to St. Paul clearer, the Bishop reviewed and contrasted the career and the genius of the Apostle and Evangelist St. John as prominent a teacher of the Word as St. Paul himself ; 1 pointing out the initial difference between 1 them; the difference of training, origin, mental equipment and habit of mind; the ' difference between the Apostle who had lain upon his Lord’s breast at supper and stood beneath the cross and him who had begun life as a fierce persecutor of the Church. In many glowing periods, he showed how one was a compliment to the other, and how both together appealed to every side of mankind. ' The comparison showed the special powej; cf

St. Paul, and the particular character of his mission. “ My brethren, can we at this time make any better wish for our brother, and for the inhabitants of this land, than that be and they and ourselves should follow Jesus in the temper and spirit of St. Paul ? Heaven forbid that we should for a moment lose sight of the temper and spirit of St. John, but at this moment of your progress the active and aggressive seems more needed than the contemplative life.” Ho pointed out that the besetting sin of the _Anglo-i*saxon race is devotion to material comfort. They boasted that the very word was untranslatable into any other language. They made it a duty to avoid all that wa3 painful, and a right to seize all that was pleasant. ' , “ You will know bettor than I do how far this is a feature of your New Zealand life, but you will not, I trust, think me premature in my judgment if I remind you that the conditions of your life hero are such as appear apt to foster an ideal which is not the ideal of St. Paul or St. John. Your isolated position, separating you more than a thousand miles even from the nearest colony with which you can compare yourselves, your mild yet healthy climate, your pleasant pastoral and agricultural life, your democratic temper and constitution, the absence of the struggle with poverty, misery, overcrowding, inherited criminality, and all the results of warlike and chequered development continued through long ages in the European centres, the absence of ancient buildings and of historical monuments, the absence of much besides that makes the lessons of history real, and above all the ignorance of Holy Scriptures in the young, which seems, I fear, to be at least one result of your system of State education — these conditions combined appear to mai k New Zealand as peculiarly exposed in this generation to the temptations of a comfort loving materialism and indifference. It is against this spirit that the character and example of St. Paul especially fortify us. They remind us of the Christian warfare with sin ; they bid us put off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; they bid us, if we are Christians in name, remember that, as men crucified and dead with Christ, we have a life hidden with God, and that, as risen with Christ, we must seek those things that are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God.

Yet think not, dear brethren, that we who come to you from England come with thoughts of anxiety, much less of criticism, upmost in,our minds. We come to New Zealand as to a sacred land, hallowed to us by memories of the saints and heroes of mission and pioneer work whom we .have known and loved, some in person, some by full report, some still living thank God among us, some in retirement, in honourable retirement like your late Bishop, whom I long to know, and learn from; some going on day by day and week by week in that round of fatiguing journeys from station to station, and from port to port, which I have learnt already to understand and admire ; some removed from us by death, and learning in Paradise God’s fuller and higher counsels, and being disciplined doubtless for a yet nobler service. “ They speak to us with tones of confidence and trust, they fill our hearts with a deep and abundant gratitude and sympathy. You and I, dear brother-elect, have cause to thank God that we have with us to-day not*-only representatives of the dioceses which have been so. laboriously and self-denyingly built up among our own flesh and blood, from Auckland to Dunedin, but that we are united to the speoial representation of Maori and Melanesian Missions —the work beyond our borders to which this Church is specially called. To me to have touched by the hand in succession those bright - faced, self - controlled Christian lads from the distant islands, to have trod the decks yesterday and entered the cabins of the Southern Cross, are to me experiences of the deepest and most abiding meaning. They are worth in themselves all the labour (if it is to be called labour) of the voyage to these distant lands. The races to which they belong and the Maori tribes of your own country may not be destined to a great future in this world—-we knoAV not yet the future of God’s design in this respect ; they may be dying. But the individuals who are saved by God’s grace will never die. They will bo monuments more enduring than Time of the self-denying spirit of your Apostles, of the courage and faith of your Church. “ May ho whom I commend to your prayers to-day, out of a love based oulong experience, confidential intercourse, and well-grounded hope, be a worthy inheritor of what are already the great traditions of the Church of NeXv Zealand, and of this particular diocese. It is not for me to judge the work even of those who are gone to their rest, much less of those who are still among us, but I would earnestly entreat all around me to judge sympathetically the work and character of their leaders in the Church. Let me beseech them to look for signs of God’s grace and providence in their act 3, rather than for human defects and imperfect motives, or disappointing shortcomings. We bishops are conscious of our human failings and infirmities quite as much as you can be. We know that we need your prayers and support, next to the grace of God, as our help to do the work which the world and Satan so much hinder. Give them, I beseech you, to this my dear brother, give them in fullest measure. You will soon know him for yourselves, and trust him, but do not think because you know him familiarly you therefore know all about him, that we know him as God knows him. The best part of any good man’s life must needs be secret ; and a bishop necessarily has joys and sorrows, hopes and ■ fears, which few, if any, can share with him. He will be living in the world, but not I trust of the world. If I know him right he will try to live the life hid with Christ in God ; he would strive ever to seek those things that are above. In the abundance of labours, and it may be of privations and disappointments, he will not forget the hope that is beyond all human hope, the life for ever with the Lord, which is the crown of the servants of the name of Jesus.” After the sermon the choir sang for the anthem the chorus “ How Lovely are the Messengers that Preach us the Gospel _ of Peace,” from Mendelssohn’s St. Paul, doing much justice to the telling words and more to the noble touching music, the Bishop-elect standing in the middle of the. sanctuary and putting on his rochet the while. When the strains of the anthem had died away ,the Bishopelect was presented to the Acting-Primate, after which ceremony the Chancellor of the Diocese read the authority for the consecration ceremony about to be performed. The following is the document: —“ Be it known unto you all, that : (1) the See of Wellington became vacant on October 9, 1893, by the resigngtiyn of th« Most Reverend Octavius Had-

field; (2) the Synod of the Diocese of .Wellington delegated the nomination of their. Bishop to the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Durham ; (3) the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Durham nominated the Reverend Frederic Wallis to the said Bishopric ; (4) the standing committees of the province have sanctioned the said nomination, and all that was necessary to be done by the Primate has been done for the consecration of the Bishop-elect at this time in your presence.” the authority having been read, the Bishop-elect made the declaration of due obedience, and when he had done the Litany (Barnby’s arrangement) was intoned by the Incumbent, the choir, with the organ in support, taking up the responses, and the people joining in all over the church. The hymn No. 353 having been sung by choir and congregation, the Bishop-elect was questioned by the Primate in the manner prescribed, and made the due replies, after which the choir sang the anthem from Benedict’s “St. Peter,” “The Lord be a lamp unto thy feet,” during which the Bishop-elect put on the rest of the pontifical habit. At once came the “ Yeni Creator Spiritus ” (intoned by the Primate), in the old Gregorian, pealing from the choir. And then came the most impressing part of the day’s ceremony, the “ laying on of hands.” The Primate in the centre, the Bishops on either side in a semicircle, all laying their hands on the head of the Bishop-elect kneeling before them—it was an impressive sight. The offertory (in aid of the country districts of the diocese) followed, and after the offertory che prayer for the whole state of Christ’s Church. The Celebration came next, the Acting-Pri-mate celebrating. At the Communion large numbers presented themselves, the. eight Bishops administrating, the “ Gloria in Excelsis ” was given with great spirit by the choir, and the service concluded in the usual manner. THE INSTALLATION. THE NEW BISHOP’S INAUGURAL SERMON. St. Paul’s Pro-Cathedral was again crowded to excess in the evening, when the ceremony of installation was performed. Punctually at 8 o’clock the choir entered the church and took their seats, followed shortly after, during the singing of hymn 393, “Rejoice ye pure of heart,” by the clergy and bishops. The Chancellor (Mr W. H. Quick), then read the deed of consecration, after which the newly-consecrated Bishop . made his declaration, in which he promised “ to respect, maintain and defend, as far as in me lies, the rights, privileges and liberties of this church and diocese,” and to “ rule over the diocese with justness and charity, showing myself in all things an example to the flock committed to my charge.” The Ven. Archdeacon Fancourt then delivered the sentence of authorization, by which the Bishop is installed into “ all the rights, authority and jurisdiction pertaining to the bishopric.” This concluded the ceremony of installation, and the incumbent of St. Paul's (Rev T. H. Sprott) then intoned the evening service. The first lesson was read by the Ven. Archdeacon Fancourt, and the Rev R. Coffey read the second.

The special Psalm 3 were the 81th, 123rd and 150th, the praises and responses were by Tallis, the canticles by Trimnell in F, and the anthem “The Earth is the Lord’s,” was also by Trimnell. The soloists were Messrs W. Warren and J. Prouse. The musical portion of the service was under the direction of Mr R. Parker, and Mr T. Tallis Trimnell, Mus. Bac., Oxon., presided at the organ. For an offertory he played an andante by Henry Smart. The collection was in aid of country districts.

The sermon was preached by Bishop Wallis, whose clear voice was heard with the greatest facility all over the church. His text was : St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, sth chap., 13th verse : “Ye, brethren, were called for freedom; only use not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another.” He said : —A paradox so fearlessly enunciated cannot fail to arrest attention. Light and darkness, it may be urged, are not more irreconcileable than liberty and bondage. Yet with the same breath the Apostle proclaims God’s will that Christians should be free, and God’s will that they should be slaves. Shall we attempt an escape from the difficulty by pleading that the service of which he speaks falls short of slavery ? The absolute subjection of a man to his fellows, we argue, is an anachronism ; it is no longer practicable, and if it were practicable, would be intolerable. Our attempt is doomed to failure unless we are prepared to reject the plain meaning of the text. “Servant” there means “ slave,” nothing less. St. Paul has deliberately discarded gentler terms, which were at his command, in favour of the sternest, the most rigorous. The slave possessed no rights, no property: his very life was not his own. A slave had been defined by Aristotle as a mere “implement,” “ a living chattel,” and not many ye before this lettei was written, the definition had been re-affirmed with terrible emphasis by the Servile wars of liouie, and by the subsequent efforts of legislators to retain the slave’s status at the lowest conceivable level. Yet with a full consciousness of the import of his words, -St. Paul charges the Galatians — and his charge is the more startling when we remember that the whole epistle is a passionate endeavour to force their gaze upon the charter of their liberties —charges them to be slaves, bondsmen to their brothers. “ You were called to be free, be slaves.” He does not shrink from declaring himself _ a slave—a “ slave of Christ ” : he bears in his body the brand by which men may know him to be the property of another. We speak, and speak rightly, of the great Apostle, whom we to-day commemorate m the Church which bears his name, as the Apostle of Christain liberty. What is the nature of this liberty which he gave his life to seoure for his gentile converts, and for us their spiritual descendants ? It will he well to begin by asking another question. What has been God’s purpose in creating us ? Many will be familiar with the answer of the Scotch shorter catechism —“Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy Him for ever. To consecrate ourselves utterly and without reserve, all that we have, all that we are, our bodies, souls and spirits, all the powers of usefulness wo have inherited or acquired, to consecrate all to God that with- them He may work His will; to make this offering, not for to-day or for to-morrow, but for all time, for eternity—this is our duty. To be bound to Him so closely that no power in earth or hell can avail to tear us from His side ; to share His work, His thoughts ; to see as He sees, and yet to love as He loves, and to rejoice in all this veith a joy infinitely trans-

cending that of the happiest moments J we have known —this, if we are faithful, is ; our destiny. For this end God made us. I Forget His purpose, forget the intensity with ] which He longs that we should accomplish it, and all His dealings with us, all our life yields of weal or woe, the joy and the pain, become unintelligible. Exchange the ideal He wills you to make your own for a lower, be content with a self-centred life, not necessarily an evil life but one into which you do not desire that God should often enter, and loss and suffering are certain. Have we not been tempted to pray, when some fresh sacrifice is plainly required from us, a sin to be conquered, a virtue won—“ Oh, that we could live in the future as we have lived in the past ? We do not desire to break away from God, surely we may remain His servants without obeying this new unlooked-for call ? Lift us a little higher than the level of our present lives, but only a little. We can bear no greater change.” He is too merciful to grant the prayer. In His unbounded love He will draw us —unless we exercise our awful prerogative of refusing to be drawn —ever nearer and nearer to the end for which we were created. There can be no true' dignity in our life, no unity and therefore no rest or peace, until we make His purpose ours. “ O God, Thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in Thee.” . . JDare we gird our loins to scale this awlul height ? Nay, have we a desire to make the ascent? Earth is very dear to us ; we cling tightly to old friendships, old interests, old occupations; they do not, we know they cannot, satisfy our needs, but they have become parts of ourselves, we may not part with them. For we are but men, not angels : we earthbound sinners are not strong enough to climb so high, to spend all our days in the snow-white purity of our Maker’s holiness. So men have cried, so men must always cry, until they have learned the blessed lesson that before earth is bidden to rise to heaven, heaven has come down to earth. Jesus Christ has translated the nature of God into a language which men could understand, and understanding it, have longed to hear again. The glory of Cod has been seen in the face of Jesus Christ, and we have loved the vision. He has lived a man amongst men, entering fully into human life, and exalting, not destroying it. With human hands He has wrought among us “in loveliness of perfect deeds,” and every deed has manifested the Father, A life perfectly divine, yet perfectly human : a life whioh men and women can love, and long to copy. “He .became man,” it was written centuries ago, “ that we might be made God,” that we might become, as St. Peter has said, “partakers of the Divine Nature,” transfigured, yet not losing our old selves : not unclothed, but clothed upon ; human beings still, each with his personality unaltered, yet one with God, because one with Christ. This, then, is the goal —oneness with God, and the way thither is Christ Himself. That we should be in constant intercourse with the Saviour, constantly reminding ourselves of His presence, constantly endeavouring to follow Him by saying and doing at every moment of our lives what we believe in our hearts He would have us say and do, for this God has made U 3. And we are free only when we are able without let or hindrance to obey this law of our being. A stream is said to fiow freely not when some obstacle has caused it to overflow its banks and scatter its waters hither and thither over the plain, but only when it can preserve unimpeded its natural course. So we, who are created to travel towards God, move freely, only so long as our path is not blocked. For this purpose we'are constituted; so long as we thwart it, we are doing violence to the human nature which God has made, and Christ has renewed and we cannot do this violence without suffering for our act. It was to St. Paul’s writings that our fathers turned at the time of the Reformation, because in him they saw one whom God’s providence had raised up to fight the same battle as that to which they were called. What was the secret of his undying hostility to the attempts of certain Jewish Christians to enforce the observance of the law of Moses upon his gentile converts P There was something to be said in favour of the course which he condemned. The attitude of these Jewish Christians was probably not unlike that of the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son. These younger brothers of ours, they may have said, are finding their way home too easily. Coming fresh from idol worship, with all its hateful abominations, fresh from a life of swinish profligacy, surely they need some discipline, and what better instrument of discipline can be devised than that which was given to Israel amidst the thunders of Sinai from the land of the Almighty Himself? But St. Paul would have none of it. The law had had its use for the Jew. It had taught him, and the lesson is still there for all ages to read, the terrible reality of sin. It had sensitized men’s hearts to receive the vision of the Deliverer from sin. The law waa our schoolmaster, our tutor, to bring us to Christ. But now that Christ had come, nothing, not even the divinely-given Law itself, must stand between the soul and its Lord. The Law had not been from the beginning ; it had been, as it were, a parenthesis in God’s dealings with men. First had come the Covenant. God of His own free love had sought out Abraham and brought him very near to Himself, and blessed him, that through him and his children all mankind— all the nations of the earth ’’—might be blessed. And St. Paul knew that in his own experience this ancient history had been repeated. Christ had sought and found him when he was a rebel and a persecutor. Thenceforth in Christ and Christ’s constraining love there lay for him the one supreme motive-power for his future life. Christ had come close to him to lead him to the Father ; so close that nothing could come between. He felt himself fre© because there was no authority m heaven or earth which could divide the allegiance which he passionately longed to render to the Master after whose likeness he had been created, the Master who had bought him from the thraldom of sin, the Master who had loneed to have him for His own. Henceforth he knew himself that Master’s property ; his life was Christ’s ; Christ’s will was his ; body, soul and spirit had passed into Christ’s keep--111 jjo we argue—this is but another form of slavery? St. Paul will accept our conclusion. Again and again he tells us that this is the only rightful position for himself or for any Christian man. For this absolute bondage he knows himself to have been made: it is hs joy to be Christ’s servant, Christ s slave. He is free in so far as he is not hindered by aught without or within from rendering this service. Do we argue—then the righteousness of life which the law prescribed has no further claim upon him? The supreme offering, he has made exempts him from rigid self-discipline, from a never ceasing battle against the ovi. within. See how vehemently he disclaims an inference. It is inconceivable to him

that a man who has once looked upon the Lord can be content with anything, less than complete likeness tc Him. It is a thing monstrous, unthinkable. “We who died to sin, how shall we live any longer therein ?” See the picture he draws of his own life. “ I run, as not uncertainly ; so fight £ not as one that beateth the air; but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage.” Qr again, “ casting down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” The righteousness of God reflected in the law abides unchanged, although a new motive for appropriating it has oome into his life—a new motive, and a new strength. Nay, he sees that righteousness more clearly : he has learnt the import of the Master’s saying, “ Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.”

We love to make St. Paul’s experience our owii. From our childhood we have known that God’s work has come first. He sought us before we sought Him ; gave us, before we knew our Father, the right to call ourselves in days to come His children, when at our baptism He made us members of Christ, and thereby children of God and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. It is ours to make this membership mors and more real, to keep ourselves in such continual contact with Him that His power may flow into us like the lifegiving sap from the vine into its branches, to do the work that has been given us, never relaxing but ever tightening our grasp of His hand. In this new country where we rejoice that we can shake ourselves loose from ties of precedent and conventionality more easily than is possible in the old home, that there are fewer external hindrances to our “ proving all things, and holding fast that which is good,” it is well for us to remind ourselves that the only freedom worth the name is that which gives, to all men greater facilities —not of pleasing themselves —dhat were by itself a slight gain —but of “ rising by stepping-stones of their dead-selves to higher things ;” of doing willingly and joyously greater things for God, of approaching ever nearer to His ideal for them, to the life with Him for which they were formed. ; , , . Servants, slaves of Christ and slaves ol our

brother. “ Through love be servants one to another.” The same marks of servitude which charactise our relation to the Master are to be visible in our reflation to our fellows. If the slave has no rights or privileges, neither have we. We owe nothing to ourselves ; we owe evei'ything to God, and in Him everything to those He loves. Our time, our strength, our wealth.; these are not really ours; we are but stewards, trustees. Of the Christians of the first days we read that “ not one of them said aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.” They had discovered the true principle of the ordering of property ,: this we cannot question, though we may have grave doubts whether they had discovered the wisest application of the principle ; indeed the sub sequent pauperism of the Church at Jerusalem may lead us to infer that they had not. Nor are our lives our own. We know that we can add nothing to the atoning efficacy of our Saviour’s death : He has made the “-full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world.” Yet we may —nay we are bound to follow Him in that supreme act of self - surrender. “ He laid down His life for us ; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” “I fill up,” writes our Apostle, “ on my part, that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake, which is the Church.” His love was wide as it was deep. Dear to St. Paul as were his own converts from heathendom, there was room in liis heart for the Jewish brethren too. Many of us, I fancy, read his epistles without fully realising the intensity of his struggles to secure for both a place in the family of God ; to avoid the first schism which threatened the Church of Christ, the lesion which seemed likely to issue in the formation of two separate communities, a church of Jewish and a church of gentile believers. We look upon the Epistle to the Romans as an exposition of the doctrine of justification by faith; it is this, but it is equally a vindication of God’s past dealings with Jews and gentiles, an appeal to each to bear with the other, that they might be inseparably united by their common need of a Redeemer. Here, again, is the secret of his unremitting labours to forward the collection “ for the poor saints at Jerusalem;” the offering by

the one the receiving- by the other would be to each an evidence of brotherhood. To St. Paul’s teaching of the body and its members we do well to turn, that we may relearn the lesson which God ha 3 taught the Church of New Zealand. Our yearly synods of the diocese, our triennial synods of the province, have helped to enlarge men’s sympathies. Just as not the individual but the family is the unit of our social life, so not the congregation or the parish but the diocese is the unit of what may be called our Church life. The lesson has been impressed with peculiar power upon this diocese of Wellington, were each separate parish has refused to strive for its own welfare only : has insisted upon sharing with others whatever prosperity God has given it. "You, dear brethren, must often have been called upon to face an uphill struggle, must have feared lest the enthusiasm you strove to arouse within yourselves might be attenuated by its extension over so large an area, must have sometimes wondered whether your work would not thrive better if it were accompanied by stricter isolation, fuller independence. But there can be no question that you have chosen the better part, and that whatever readjustments may be necessary from time to time in the system you have so wisely and lovingly devised, it is based upon the principle which, as St. Paul has taught us, must underly all church work. “I say not this that others may be eased, and ye distressed, but to equality, your abundance being a supply at this present time for their want, that their abundance also may become a supply for your want; that there may be equality : as it is written, He that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack.” You who have shown so warm a brotherly love will not, I am sure, be backward in your offerings this evening for the fund for the country districts, whoso need you know better than I can ted : you to whom God has given the power will do your utmost to contribute to the deliberations of the Synod of the diocese as you will all pray earnestly this week for a blessing upon the General Synod, which is to meet at Nelson on Thursday next; and you will all in your daily intercourse with each other strive your utmost that no party spirit, no individual preference in matters not essential, no personal pique may be suffered

to mar the unity which by God’s favour has I marked the Church in this plaoe. And we have a duty also to perform towards those of our brethren, who, though we see them no longer, are linked with us in the communion of saints. Common gratitude forbids us to suffer their memory to grow pale and dim. How better shall we preserve our courage when days of trouble come than by recalling what great things God has done by them? “The best cordial for drooping spirits,” Bishop Lightfoot used to say, “ ia the study of church history.” Shall we, who are of the youngest children of the dear Mother Church of England, be unmindful of our spiritual ancestry ? Not at least to-day in the presence of one who for many yeara has been to me a true Father in God, the latest of a long unbroken line, a line which, for Englishmen, began with Aldhelm Bishop of Herborne, atline which reaches back far beyond Aldhelm, to the Apostles themselves. Does not the presence of another Bishop, the last consecrated save one, remind us New Zealanders, by birth or adoption, that we ourselves have a church history of which wo may well be proud ? He recalls to us that noble pair of brothers who kept watch right lovingly and resolutely over the welfare of their native disciples. Our thoughts travel backwards to their fellow-worker, that great Bishop, a true “ king of men,” whose indomitable courage and many-sided sympathy were used by God for binding together scattered believers into a Church conscious of its unity and strength. And when our hearts are chilled with disappointment and we are tempted to believe that we are fighting for a lost cause, who can teach us faith and patience so well as Samuel Marsden, the first Apostle to New Zealand, who again and again, was bidden to hope against hope that neither devil nor man should have power to quench the light which 80 years ago he had kindled. All these have passed to their reward ; but we thank God that he has kept alive eyewitnesses of the great things He has done in my two predecessors Bishop . Abraham, whose name is a household word in the potteries and factories of the English Midlands, and Bishop Hadfield, dear as I know to yourselves, dear to the multitudes who more than a quarter of a century ago were scattered upon the hills like sheep without a shepherd, until with manful disregard of bodily weakness he led them into the fold of Christ. We give thanks that he, after battling bravely and faithfully for his Master, still remains in our ranks to aid the Church he loves with prayer and wise counsel.

A crying shame it will be to ourselves if we suffer the memory of such services as those which these men have rendered to fall into decay; an incalculable loss to our children, if through careless guardianship of ours the records of our New Zealand Church history, with their inspiring lessons of heroism and self-sacrifice, are neglected or defaced. That so grievous a calamity may be prevented, I hope it may be thought fit to hold once a year a commemoration of these who have gone before us,a Thanksgiving Service to Almighty God for the benefits which through their instrumentality he has conferred upon us. If this project commends itself to you, dear brethren, I hope further that this Pro-Cathe-dral Church cf St. Paul may be counted the proper place, and this day—which must ever be memorable for myself—the proper time, for such commemoration.

Lastly, I would most earnestly remind you of the service we owe to them that are far off —far off from the knowledge of God, yet very near to ourselves : those who lie at our very doors, our own fellow-countrymen. To whom were the familiar words spoken .“Be sure your sin will find you [out ” but to those three tribes who seemed content to enjoy their possessions on the east of Jordan without lifting a hand to aid their brothers to secure the promised land on the west side of the river ? Are not they the prototypes of those who think to retain their spiritual privileges without an effort to impart them to others ? A church which 13 not a missionary churoh is a dead or dying church. It is not God’s way to fetter His promises with conditions. But one condition is annexed to the most blessed promise of all, the promise of Christ’s presence. Only so long as we obey our “marching orders,” only so long as we ‘ 1 go and make disciples of all nations ” will the Lord “ be with us all the days even unto the end of the world.” With my whole heart I pray that this diocese of Wellington may be among the foremost to render joyful obedience to the call: that we may count no expenditure of time, and labour and money too lavish for the work of foreign missions throughout the world ; and particularly for the missions to our Maori fellowsubjects, and to the dwellers in the neighbouring islands of the Pacific. There in Melanesia is work which, if it is to be done at all, must be done by ourselves : it is a work which the New Zealand Church has made its own, tinged with no party colour, stamped twice over with the honoured name of Selwyn, stamped—no man can doubt this —with the blessed name of our Lord Himself. For myself, and I believe for you also, one of the happiest and most inspiring memories of thia day will be that of those bright, strong lads from Norfolk Island, who with their Father in God knelt at our side this morning. Brothers, sisters, as I commend you to the loving care of our Heavenly Father, so I entreat your prayers to-day and in the days to come for him who now speaks to you, that he may have what he can not have except by God’s gift—faith, courage, patience and selfforgetfulness for the work to which he has been called, the work of Christ’s servant, of your servant for Christ’s sake. At the conclusion of the sermon, the Bishop of Wellington pronounced the Benediction, and hymn 379, “Now Thank We All Our God,” was sung as the procession of clergy left the church.

THE PUBLIC WELCOME. A social gathering took place in the Drillshed on January 26 to welcome Bishop Wallis to his diocese. There was a very large attendance. Among those present were the Bishop of Salisbury, the Acting-Primate (Bishop Cowie), theßishopa of Christchurch, Dunedin, Melanesia and Waiapu, the local and visiting clergy, the Hon the Premier and Sir James Prendergast. The interior of the building had undergone a complete transformation. The bareness of the roof was hidden by varicoloured strips of cloth, whilst flags of al nations and of divers colours hung from every point of vantage. Over the main, entrance was a flag showing the arms of the Wellington City Council, and opposite to it at the other end of the building, and facing the visitors on entering, was the woid “ Welcome" in bold letters, ant sdiaert Ihtout, for erwytbinf

showed that. Behind this were lines and lines of flags artistically arranged, with banners filling np the smaller spaces. At the eastern side of the building a dais had been erected, sitrrounded by a railing ornamented with imitation flowers and flanked with richly-foliaged pot plants. Here the chairman (the Yen Archdeacon ran court) was seated with Bishop Wallis, the Bishop of Salisbury, and some of the speakers. On the other side of the building a platform had been erected for the orchestra, under the leadership of Mr Schwartz. The seating accommodation was inadequate, and many had to stand during the proceedings, which lasted upwards of two hours. During the evening the orchestra performed the following programme : Overture, “ Siege of Rochelle” (Balfe) ; “ Mignon ” (Thomas); ■“La Colombo” (Gounod) ; “Finale to Symphony in D ” (Haydn) ; “ God Save the Queen.” About twenty lads from the Southern Cross sang a quaint native melody.

Bishop and Mrs Wallis arrived shortly after 8 o’clock, their arrival being the signal for applause. About twenty minutes were spent in friendly conversation, after which the speech-making commenced.

The Chairman said they had met together that evening to give outward expression to the inward feeling of joy which they felt towards him who had come amongst them to be head of the Church of England in the diocese of Wellington. He read an apology for the absence of Lady Glasgow, who was prevented from being present in consequence of Lord Glasgow leaving for the South that evening. He had to express his sense and that of his fellow - clergy of the diocese of the high honour conferred upon them by giving them so learned a representative of the University of Cambridge to fill the office of bishop. Many of them had in their minds an ideal of the man whom they wanted as bishop, but they were afraid that it would not be fulfilled; but he felt now that they had got their ideal. He had to express to the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Durham, to whom the clergy of the diocese had delegated the right of nominating a bishop, their thankfulness for the kindness and sympathies shown by them, and for sending such a man to be bishop of the diocese. He had also to. express his sense of the honour conferred upon them by the Bishop of Salisbury assisting at the consecration of their bishop. He offered Bishop Wallis, on behalf of himself and the clergy and the laity of the diocese, a hearty welcome. (Applause.) H© would promise him their loving obedience and loyal support. From his long experience and labours in Wellington he was confident the Bishop could count on the laity for their support as well as on the clergy. (Applause.) The Chancellor of the Diocese (Mr W. H. Quick) tendered to Bishop and Mrs Wallis, on behalf of the laity, a warm welcome. They felt that Bishop WAllis, in coming out here, had made a great sacrifice; they had nothing brilliant to offer him. Mrs Wallis had also sacrificed a great deal. There were, however, some compensations which they could offer them in New Zealand. The people in this Colony looked upon matters in the Old Country as being crystallised and stereotyped. On the other hand, everything is on the move here. On the Bishop’s first visitation to some of the country districts Re might have to pass through dense forests ; b,ut by the time of a second visit the trees would very likely have disappeared as if by magic, settlement would have progressed, and a church would be built, and that church would be more interesting to him because it would be one of his own- He tendered again a cordial and hearty welcome to Bishop and Mrs Wallis on behalf of the laity of the diocese. (Applause.). Sir James Prendergast tendered on behalf of the laity of the Church of England of the diocese a hearty welcome to Bishop Wallis, and desired to express their sincere gratitude to the Mother Country w 0 r having sent a man so eminently qualified to fill the responsible position which they had invited him, and which he had accepted. 1c only wanted the stamp of those eminent bishops to justify the people of Wellington in hoping that they were to be provided with the best that England could afford. There were no doubt many sincere, energetic, learned men in the Colony well qualified to fill the position, but they considered that if they -resorted to the Mother Country they would get one with the experience and advantages arising from a knowledge of the many movements existing at Home. The vacancy had been undoubtedly a prolonged one, but Bishop Wallis could rest assured that the affairs of the diocese were in the hands of a man who had the respect of all. (Applause.) He begged again to welcome Bishop. Wallis, and it was not the least claim he had upon their gratitude that he had brought with him the gracious lady who was present. The Hon R. J. Seddon, who was received with applause, remarked that it was the unexpected which always happens, as h© little thought that he would be called upon to address them, a request which he considered great honour. By the presence of Bishop WAllis in the Empire City a reproach had been removed church people'of Wellington, and.he believed that in the Bishop they had the right man in the right place. lie considered that His Lordship would have the assistance not alone of the Church people of Wellington but of all denominations in doing his duty. He would be wanting in bis duty if, not alone on behalf of Wellington, but of the whole of New Zealand, be did not cordially welcome His Lordship. (Applause.) Bishop Wallis, who, on rising, was greeted with continued applause, said he was thankful on behalf of himself and Mrs Wallis for the welcome given hitn that 9 ening—an inspiriting welcome which had

been preceded by many other earnests of good feeling, for ever since they left Colombo they had received evidences of that hearty, warm welcome which awaited them in their new home. He felt he was not to be among strangers when he was coming to Wellington, and he always thought that if he made his home outside of England he would prefer Wellington. It was a great joy to him to feel that he was placed in the midst of such active church life. He was not altogether a stranger to the people of the Colony, for ho had relatives hero. When he used to visit the Continent he felt what a small place England was, but during his journey out the feeling came more and more home to him that he was not going away from England, for after leaving Colombo they saw the British flag everywhere, which was an evidence of that greatness which God had bestowed on Englishmen. In his old home at Cambridge there was a small stone to the memory of Henry Fawcett, on which were the words, “ Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward.” That was what they wanted in the Church of England—to work, to go forward, to win new victories for Christ. He felt that God had sent him to Wellington. He knew that the people of Wellington would support him, and that they would go forward to the place where God bade them travel. He knew from their kindness to himself since his arrival that they would work for God’s honour and glory. (Applause.)

The Acting-Primate said it was twentyfive years since, as a junior bishop, he took part in the consecration of Bishop Hadfield, and now as senior he took part in the ceremony the previous day. He thought it was very undesirable that bishops should return from the colonies to the Mother Country leaving their work half done. Bishop Selwyn was here 26 years, and had come by the direction of the Bishop of Canterbury, who also ordered

him to return. Bishop Hadfield had laboured long amongst them, and merited retirement. Whilst they were waiting for the appointment to be made to the Wellington diocese many became impatient, and said that two or three had declined the bishopric, but this was not the first time that such positions were declined. He offered a most cordial welcome to Dr and Mrs WAllis. (Applause.)

The Bishop of Salisbury said he was not a stranger to the attractiveness of this new country, as he had been a great personal friend of Bishop Selwyn, from whom he had heard much about it, and it was always his desire that he might visit the country where Bishop Selwyn laboured. Ho had his highest hopes and expectations fulfilled by what he saw. He found himself in New Zealand in no strange land, but at home among friends whose hopes he shared. The people at Home took a great interest in New Zealand, as it was a country in which many wonderful political experiments were being tried. He wanted to make it clear that anything he could possibly do for them amongst his brethren at Home would be done.. It should be the prayer of every Christian man that the Church of England might grow stronger, for other Christian bodies would be none the worse for it. They had a bishop who would help them to grow in grace, whilst his abilities to govern had been fully shown in his successful management of a large body of undergraduates. Bishop Wallis had helped very much in the diocese of Salisbury by taking up, during his vacation, when he might have gone to°tho Continent, the work of the parochial clergy, and thus preparing himself, though unconsciously, for the work which God had called him to. His experience at the University would especially fit him for his

episcopal work, for there he had an opportunity of knowing English character from youth to old age. If they were founding a university college here Bishop Wallis would be able to give them very efficient help without in the least way forcing forward the interests of the Church of England, for the lesson learned at the University was that there must bo respect for other interests, while at the same time ho would be a decidedly strong churchman. (Applause.) Bishop Neville said the church people of his diocese were filled with great thankfulness to Almighty God for having sent such a man as Bishop Wallis to Wellington. Bishop Julius said there wore parishes in New Zealand where the people thought they would be all right if they had a good clergyman notwithstanding their own carelessness and indifference. In the same way they imagined that if they had a good bishop they would be all right. But they would not unless they were prepared to follow his lead. Speaking in the name of his clergy, he tendered Bishop Wallis a hearty welcome. They were thankful that he was settled in the Empire City, bringing with him his experience, for the legislators who came here from all parts of the Colony wanted their hearts touched. (Laughter.) The Bishops of Waiapu and Melanesia also gave brief addresses of welcome. On the motion of Mr W. Gill, a hearty vote of thanks was passed to the chairman and to the bishops.