THE FIRST CHURCH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4010, 23 December 1874, Page 7

THE FIRST CHURCH.

The ceremony of inducting the. ,'Eev. Lindsay Mackie to the pastorate of the Emit Church, by theDanedin.Tresbytery, took ■ -place on the 9th instant. ■ Notwithstanding " the unfavourable, weather, there was a good attendance. Amongst those present were the Eev. Messraßlake, Greig, Gilhes Johnston/^'Naughton, \Vatt arid Will (Preaby-. terian), ancl J.U.Davis (Baptisty. , The Eev. W. Gillies said: On behalf, of ■ the Presbytery, I am here to take objections ■to the life and doctrine of the Eev. Lindsay Mackie, if any are to be presented. ,; • ; .No objection.was,made. .. ..,- '■■ The Eev. ■Mr Geeig ascended the hand- » • ■ Bbme: freestone'pulpit/antf gave out the 84th r Psalm, comnieiicing,;:'*How lovely is Thy .dwelling-place," which was sung. The rev. gentleman thenpffered an.appropriateprayer.- - acknowledging the supremacy, and asking 'the blessing; of God; kfter which he read the firsi; chapter of the Epistle to the Colossians The congregation then sang the 126 th Paalm, commencing; '' When Zion's bondage . ■■■'; God:turnea.back.^; ,':', : ;,.;:,;: : ':•'.; ';....; :":; TherEev..Mr Gbbig-preached an exoel- • leritsermonfrom Phillippiansiv. I—''My bre- • thren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown," so stand fast in the Lord, my -dearly beloved." Upon reading the epistles -of theNewlTestament, he said "they,;could see that Churches at the first were' very much like what they are still—some were ' better than others, and. none were altogether what they "should" have been. Of those Churches to which St .Paul wrote, the Phillippian Church would seem to have been the best—a noble .Church; tbe only one with Which the, Apostle;in his Epistles did not find it necessary:to find some fault; When preaching in Corinth, St; Paul was enabled to do so free of charge by the liberality of the " Phillippianß. The Phillippian Church -was, so ;to speak, a child of" tb^e Apostle's owii; and lie took a.delight in it. .He wrote to it as a father—as a friend. ' . The principal part of the Epistle'was .taken up with warnings and exhortations, and one. of these exhortations was applicable to every Church and every •Christian.1-. SCPaul.addressed those Christians W whom. Wwas..writing as brethren. All Christians werebrethren—they had all -one Father : even God.' ,They bad all been bom" again by the same Spirit, and wore all members of the same family. It did not matter by what name.tliey were called. The Apostle next, spoke of-the Phillippians as .dearly beloved, showjng how large a place ■they'had in his affections. If a minister and his congregation were adapted and attached to each other, .separation seemed to be almost unbearable.. It filled the heart with grief ;;and: when separation did take place, •ft: seem eel to inflict a wound which was al- ' most; incurable, if a minister did not love, "bis corigregatiop,1 they were not likely to get ■ '"'" much good from him. St. Paul spoke of those to;whom he:was writing as longed for. When a Christian.minister was ab3ent from' bis congregationha longed to be with them to impart!some:spiritiial gift." rHe had not sotmueh pleasure, in; breaking the Bread of Life to others *as to'his own congregation. :,:: .As -a- »faithful •- shepherd he longed for the safety of-hisflbek;1 and brought wanderers back to the foldf'Over which he exercised a watchful care. -He acted as.a physician and longing father to/theinl; 'He'endeavoured to 'bring them up.in the admonition of the Lord, and longed for. their prosperity. Few rjeal•»,aged- the; interest;.which a: true and faithful minister: ofChrist, had da the .welfare of those committed to his-care. Few realised the terrrble.responsiblity.he,ihad to bear, in going from.'Sabbath to Sabbath tellirigjthem of the account they .would have to deliver, and that i- ,'iihrcragh "timidity ori'tlie partof thn preaoher imtnortalsdulsVmight" perish." ;Few could '■C^realise-the w9rkms minister had to do, because' y,- was no t seen...'.' He,.did not refer to* all those who'werejlcalle'd ministers of Christ, ■'■' as some had 90 the iaterest iri.Go'd's .people " that they:.ou^htito'have;:; St. Paul spoke of the'-Phillippiana.as.hisjoy and crown. When a ministßKeould address his people so, ie felt repaid for-his in their behalf. He felt that they were an honour to him and the Church of' Christ.,. A ; useles_s Christend to weaken a minister's " bands,and to .discourage his ; heart., Those ;:Trhowefe"b'niitiipinOhrist were truly I the minister's joy. -There was a.glorious, pros- -.:• < pddrof ; dweliitfg liefpi'e'Goawith the: spirit-: : ::tfal children God'had given him, when they «hc»uld shine as the bvightness.of the sunjand '::'r, ''i^iitHa fdre.^.' -the lerigth 7--*.^dr. breadth io&V'ih'e a change iwas Ui iaking^latie. !i';There was'a restlesgness land ,■ . discontentment witt(,what.wasbld.ind a, de-»:-,':r':«ire.IJ^if'Bo^tliipßinOT;.'«Tnis-;.mighfc' eyen-'•w-n-tnally be'troductiye'pf good^' bu> it would ■■''"/'filso^&du^ taken, If:'.'.r,&Qia / [JnifljaAand'■otherI!countries,,jbut Pan-" theism," and-various, other, •'''.isms," '- - ■• taking ''their'::plad& .i^Tho', ( Pc)pe ;ha: d been '! rturned^riijnjiis'.throne iat :Eorne, fbut;inndel- ,, 1 'iltyWas everywhere.:rampant; and theii|ible frequently thrown■''aside; ■■•Mety would f not :/;''"V|xb'iible!,'fhemseivesto'see" whether;'.the mjnis-, ':"'"''ters-of■ ; God l:Were,preaching ; ,in;accordance ■ ::with'the'Scriptures or not; "sThey conclude ' " " (>that;the:truth.'c»fi^ |pay '• :; ■'"■"''no at^tipßitp'what'is.being .taught at! all. '•'• •'.■ $)m>^piotureinright; seem. ;a gloomy kone, ■ but it was not blacker thai ;tlje'reality.'".' Thou- ; -'- ckarid3 of meriw&e trßatittig the Scriptures as ft.dead. letteri-who^formerly professed to be - ■■.guided'hyjhem. He hoped that many who ■■"*■■' werp f6und" r denyi'ng7;the7 form, .of, Godliness ■■' '•would be pufified^and^esrabiishedHinithe Mth.. It therefor.c became the di\ty of ininistersto urge their people'to stand fast in the JjorA, and beware of imbibing any ;new opinions as to doctrine and duty. They Bhould accept "Christ-is their Saviour,^ and seek daily supplies of grace from Him without whom they coulddo nothing. Part of ..the, 13gnd ; .P^alm, ..commencing— ••' For God of Zion' hath made choice,"! was ■•■•■■:-«uhg.^ii: -firTA W- !?.;iu';:G.^' fi. \ "",■ '■'. 1 ;:.Tb:6' Eev; kMp GBEiGi!said thaUlhe;pas- ■ lorate of the^Cihiirch become vacant two ■ •'' years ago tKr6ughtb.e rTesignatibh of the Eev. ■•-George Sntherlandi1-.Until; August1 last vaftrfas unsuccessful efforts had been made to, Bupply the vacancy':", "The Presbytery then--forwarded a"/call1 to" the' Eev. Lindsay Maekie/Of Melbourne, and: it had .been ac- - ' cepted. He would proceed to "induct Mr Mackie, but before doing so_ askedi the usual questions on such an occasion. ■■:' '•: The doCtrihaU andi otherfqu'estioni paving been answered, ' fl'; • : The Eev. Mr-WfLi, on behalf of, the , Presbytery,,- admitted ~ the ; sEey. ;r Lindsay Itfackie'to the charge of the congregation, gave him'the right!'hand of fellowship,; and: wished him success, ' > The other Ministers came forward: and gave the newly-inducted clergyman; the right hand of fellowship; .//;:■-.; The Eev., ,Mr, Geeig, offered a beautiful prayer forGod's'blessirig upoii the Minister aad Congregatiomof,the First Church. The Eev. Mr Watt then addressed tne Minister, in the'name of the Presbytery. He ~ .said, that the means of the greatest minis- :; , terial success came through prayer, and referred to the examples of Christ,' Samuel, and 11 Elijaft:J'.^Ho exhprted Mr Mackie'to bestow great attention' on his pulpit ministrations. ;He.; (.acknowledged a that , the Press did good, service in exposing social wrongs, which^were formerly left to the ministers. The -Sunday schools were of creat assistance to the clergy. The proper work of the pulpit was exhortation, and ■ iereitfl usefulness "would never^e soper-

seded. It had been appointed by God that the Gospel should always be preached. St. Paul, when he came to Qorinth, said, "1 determine to know nothing'but Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Pastoral visitation was another important duty, but for this there was no cast-iron rule. The visitation of the sick was an imperative duty on the part of all ministers. He should always remember that he bore the sacred character of a minister of Christ, and must render an account of the stewardship entrusted to him. It was a solemn thought for ministers that they were watchmen for the "■ enemy. He (Mr Watt) wished tho newly-inducted minister pro sperity. arid-trusted that lie would long continue with the congregation, and that many on the great day of account would be his joy and crown. The Itev. Mr Will addressed the congregation, aud referred-to Thessalonians v. 12 : —" And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish yon, and esteem them very, highly, for their work's sake." They should look to their Minister as their guide and .friend, and have a special interest in their own congregation. The Church of Christ was not contiued to any particular denomination, but embraced every denomination where one true Christian was to be found. They had no cause to be ashamed of their Presbyterianism. The more they searched the Scriptures, the more they would find that their Church was founded upon the Word of God and agreeable thereto. He concluded by wishing them prosperity. The 122 nd Psalm having been snng, the Rev. Mr Greig pronounced the Benediction. He then announced that the congregation would have an opportunity of welcoming Mr Mackie as they left the church. THE SOIREE. - In the evening, a goodly number of persons sat down to an excellent repast in the large hall, and afterwards adjourned to the church. The Rev. Mr Will presided, and the 100 th Psalm was sung. The Rev. Dt Roseby (Congregational) was present. The Rev. Mr Blake offered a prayer for the unity of the Church.. The Chairman read, a letter from His Honour the Superintendent, expressing his thanks to the office-bearers of the -First ,Church for their invitation, and apologising for his unavoidable absence. He congratulated them upon having obtained a permanent minister, and trusted that Mr Mackie's residence in Dunedin would conduce to the best interests of the community.—(Applause.) He (the Chairman) had been requested to say a fsw words and introduce Mr Mackie to the meeting. He then referred to the advance of Fresbyterianism during the past few years. The congregation of Dr Roseby owed its existence, to want of Congregational action on the part of Presbyterians. They thought that liberty was then carried a little too far. The congregation of the First phnrch had enjoyed as much freedom as any independent congregation could possibly have enjoyed. The Presbytery had taken a great deal of interest in them, and encouraged their efforts to fill up the vacancy. The congregation had never proved a burden to the Presbytery. He thought that all Dunedin owed a debt of gratitude to.the office-bearers of the First Church during the past two years for bringing over such a variety of talent. Presb,, - terianism here had been-very weak with two ministers absent from Dunedin. The Rev. Mr Mackie would supply a great want, and their friend Dr Copeland might be expected to return next week. They would .soon have four, ministers here in full working order. , He was not well acquainted with Mr Mackie, but did not know that he had a single fault. The congregation would, however, have to find out whether he had any at all.—(Laughter.) They should look upon him as the very best miuister they could have, as each man should thtiikthat his wife was the best in the world.—(Applause.) He then related the amusing anecdote of the 'man who went to the woods to; obtain a walking stick, and also an incident .that occurred wh°n Mr Mackie's father was presented with a silver snuff-box. He looked upon that evening as the beginning of anew era in the lurst Church. With these remarks he desired, to introduce the Rev. Mr Mackie to the meeting. ' ' The Rev. Mr M'Natxihton. defined his feelings as being similar to those of a mother losing a daughter by matrimony. She was sorry to part with her, and glad to find she had. another. After officiating' in the Church, he was reluctant to resign his charge, but-was pleased to congratulate the Rev. Mr^ Mackie upon being the pastor of ; the handsomest church in the Southern Hemisphere. The Rev. Dr Roseby delivered an excellent address, and" was followed by the Rev. Mr Gillies. :.. The Rev. Mr Mackie. then explained the manner in which he had been induced to come to the.Antipode3, and finally to Dunedin,':and returned his heartfelt thanks for the kindly1 reception which' he had met with. . . . - The Church Choir rendered some sacred music between the addresses of the speakei s in excellent style.