REFERENCES AT THE CHURCHES.

Colonist, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11668, 2 July 1906, Page 2 (Supplement)

REFERENCES AT THE CHURCHES.

SUNDAY, JUNE 17th. THE CATHEDRAL. At the Cathedral yesterday morn- j ing, although there was no special service, appropriate hyrana were sung, and his Lordship the Bishop preached from Eecles. ixx. , 10, "Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do with all thy might: for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest. " The preacher spoke of thee importance of work, both to the individual and the community. Religion and Christianity taught this, and aleo that wh'le it was man's right and his duty to throw his energy into the particular wort he had to do, he must not let it interfere with the service we owe to God, nor retard our religious duties. Men of energy and ability necessarily seek to occupy either a private or public sphere in which their work may attain the most successful end. The position of a statesman is one of the highest and noblest, for in this position the man of rectitude serves the greatest number, and his influence is more widely felt. The preacher then spoke in terms of high commendation of the late Premier as carrying out the injunction of the text, bringing all his energy and power of mind to the work he had in hand; seeking by his labors to benefit others rather than himself. Without this determined energy in his

Eft- uiKHfIHHfIBBSfIHBMHBHSHESBSBSi c .. virocter he might have remained a storekeeper or trader. As it was, his inflaence during the 13 years he was at the head of the Government grew until, it extended far beyond i-he confines of this Colony. The result of his work: the future would test. The preacher then pointed out that the writer of Ecclesiastes closes bia book with this summing up: — The conclusion of the whole matter in "Fear God and keep hia Commandments. ... For God shall hring every work into judgment." So then, whilst wo are urged. to do with our might what our hands find to do, we are to be for ever mindful of our duty to God, and the future judgment, of our work both in the manner of its doing and the result of the worn. The hymnß sang were:— H. A. and M. , 417, dealing with triumphant reward, and . " 'Tis no palm of fading leaves That the conqueror's hand receives." No. 264, "Thy will be done"— a hymn of submission. No. 286, "O, Let him whose aorroiv" — a hymn of sympathy and comfort for mourners. No. '28S, "A few more years shall roll," a hymn of exhortation to the living. At the close the Organist gave an effective ' rendering of the 'Dead March in Saul," the congregation remaining standing while it was played.