THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
The Service was drawn up in accordance with the anthorised form. The special hymn, how ever, in the place of the Venite, and Psalm xxi. in place of oi, and cxxi., were retained as in the Accession Service in the Prayer Book. The Order of the Service was as follows:-
Voluntary," The War March of the Mendelssohn,
Priests," Hymn.
.........The National Anthem.
Responsess (Ferial). Hymn, instead of the Venite
Monk Proper Psalms, xx.xxi,........................Aldrich & Woodward. Te Deum,
.Smart. ...Smart.
Jubilate Deo,..
Anthem, "O Lord our Governor,'
Gadsby With special Solo, composed by Mr. A. G. Ward. Hymn before the Sermon,...
.....Barnby. Hymn after the Sermon,
..Cruger. Voluntary, Postlude in D
Smart.
The whole service was most impressive and will long dwell in the memory of the large congrega. tion. The special tenor solo composed by Mr. A. The G. Ward was sung by Mr. D. K, Sliman. composition is a very beautiful one, and it was a fortunate circumstance that Mr. Sliman was
present in the colony to give his assistance in rendering it. The words were as follows :— Behold, O God our defender, and look upon the face of Thine Annointed. O hold Thou up her goings in Thy paths, that her footsteps not. Let her dwell before Thee for ever. prepare Thy loving morey and faithfulness, that they may preserve her."
The following special hyum was sung before
the sermon :—
QUEEN of our homes and hearts,
Her realms rejoice to-day:
Great cities hush their marts
The village greens are gay:
Her people kneel to bless His hand Who made her ruler of the land.
Thro' sun, thro' storm and stress-
Our Queen for sixty years-
-Her soul no littleness
Has known, her heart no fears,
Therefore we thank our God whose will Empower'd her and upholds her still.
For more than wealth's increase
And bounds set far and wide,
For her just love of Peace
With Honour at its side,
We sing our praises to the Lord
Who her wisdom with the sword.
gave
For more than power in strife
For queenly grace of good,
The pattern of pure life
To maid and motherhood,
For this her gracious dower we praise The Giver of her lengthened days.
For more than sov❜reign place
Among the kings that reigu,
For all her constant grace
To woe and want and pain,
Her realms rejoice from shore to shore, And pray, "God bless her evermore!"
Amen.
The Rev. R. F. Cobbold preached as follows:- In reference to a king of Israel, it is written in 1 Sam. x. 24., "And Samuel said to all the people,See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like Him among all the people. And all the people shouted and In all this vast said, 'God save the King." congregation assembled here to thank Almighty God for the unexampled, and unprecedently long and prosperous, reign of Queen Victoria on the Throne of England, there cannot be one heart which does not rejoice to think that, with millions of Her Majesty's subjects and friends all over this wide, earth, he is sharing that fire of loyalty and love which was fresh ignited three score years ago, has continually brightened in our hearts, and will never be extinguished. Is it not right that we should this day join the Queen' herself in thank- fully acknowledging that the Almighty God is in this as in all things the Author and Giver of life? Many of you have before seen this House of God thronged, either to celebrate the Jubilee of our beloved Queen's Reign, or to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of this Colony. You have also it filled with a congregation whose hearts were bowed in grief by the sudden and unhappy disaster which robbed our Sovereign of some of her most faithful subjects and our country ofsome
seen
[June 22, 1897,
-naked to the enemies of pride, greed, am- of her most promising sons. Different as were those occasions, one thought, the chief thought, bition, and egoism. As we revere and serve our remained the same-that our lives are not Queen, shall we not also revere and serve our our own; our times are in God's hand. To-day God, rendering to all their due ? You remem. there is the same submission, and happily no ber how the ideal knight, by personal intercourse sadness. To-day we celebrate life and pro-with, and influence over, and encouragement of gress, a greatly extended Empire, and a long his companion knights, declared. and glorious Reign. Divest yourselves for the moment of all personal share in this greatness, and recall who and what She is, who, by the Grace of God, is our Sovereign and the De- fender of our Faith; recall the reason why we should here give thanks unto God, and ever pray "God save the Queen." She is the noblest of women; who, when the cares of State or private sorrows have pressed hard upon her, has yet ever had the heart to sympathize with the sorrowing, and, what is more, the hand to assist the suffering. And be it remembered that she herself learnt this great virtue in the school of affliction. Though her life has been spent in the splendour of the Palace, it has been spent entirely for others; it has ever been a pattern for the humblest English home. As Maiden, Wife, Mother, and Widow she has
been a true Woman.
Through all this tract of years. Wearing the white flower of a blameless life. Not one of us knows from experience what sixty years of public life means. If we did, "sixty years" would not be the way to measure it. The years pass by-the works remain. Does not it convey some idea of what has been done, when we remember that, as Queen, Her Majesty has known and given her con- fidence to no less than ten Prime Ministers ? that in that time the whole personnel of her Privy Council has changed P that every Bishop's See has been at least twice refilled, and the whole Bench of Judges at least twice re- plenished? And what wonderful progress has been made in Religion and Science, in Educa- tion and knowledge, in Colonisation and Com- merce, in the arts of peace and the arts of war, in personal comforts and in healthy pastimes! True, the seeds of these were sown long ago, but new seeds have been sown by the happiness of invention, by the originality of genius, by the perseverance of labour. Old weeds have been rooted out; too-forward branches have been pruned; fresh stems have been ingrafted; plants have blossomed and borne fruit; and the gathered and garnered seeds have been re-sown. During these sixty years there has been a "quiet, gradual, orderly, and organic growth." Some of you may have assisted it; all of us are pri- vileged to utilise it; it has been fostered under the wise and affectionate rule of our beloved Queen; and we inherit the sacred duty of giving thanks to Almighty God for His beneficent love and care. Shall this growth continue ? While English womanhood is content to imitate the dignity, the gentleness, and the purity of the Woman,-while English manhood, not forgetting to be chaste, is willing to follow the integrity, the honour, and the justice of the Queen, so long shall ever-broadening England" stand as she stands, the happy home of Prosperity, Plenty, and Peace, the mother of her scattered yet united children. And the harvest of moral and material progress will supply all needs occasioned by temporary scarcity, pestilence, adversity, or sorrow. When we say, nay when we pray, "God save the Queen," "Grant the we pray not only that He may Queen a long life, even for ever and ever," but that all the good that she has inspired, all the right that under her has been done, all the real progress that has been made by her people, all that she is, may be preserved and continued till "God has made the pile complete." To-day we thank God for the long and glorions and prosperous Reign of Victoria the Good. We thank Him for her example, and for her love.
I made them lay their hands in mine and swear To reverence their King, as if he were Their conscience, and their conscience as their King, To break the heathen, and uphold the Christ, To ride abroad redressing human wrongs, To speak no slander, no, nor listen to it, To honour his own word as if his God's, To lead sweat lives in purest chastity, Not only to keep down the base in man, But teach high thought, and amiable words, And courtliness,
And love of truth, and all that makes a man,
Such is our duty to our God and our Queen, in whose hands we have laid our hands in pro- mise of service, obedience, devotion, and love.
May all love,-
+
The love of all her sons encompass her, The love of all her daughters cherish her, The love of all her people comfort her.
As Samuel said of Saul, I say to you of Victoria the Good, "See ye her whom the Lord hath chosen,"
and all the people shouted and said “God save the Queen."
The sermon, with its eloquent periods, its religious fervour and patriotism, and its marked appropriateness to the unique occasion, must have stirred the hearts of all who heard it.
:
After the sermon the following special bymn was sung, during which the offertory, which was for the organ restoration fund, was col- lected :—
To Thee, O God, he praise,
Sole Source of every blessing; To Thee we come to-day,
Thy watchful care confessing: A nation's thanks we bring,
A people's heartfelt praise, For Queen Victoria's reign,
Her Heaven-sent length of days.
3
By Thee alone she rules,
Thine is the Arm which strengthens; Her reign vouchsafe to guide,
As day by day it lengthens; Still may her people's hearts
In prayer surround her throne— Her Tower of strength, her Shield,
The Lord of Hosts alone.
O King supreme, endow
may
This nation with Thy blessing; Our Queen preserve in peace,
Her people's love possessing; And Thy Holy Church
Fresh triumphs win for Thee, Till o'er this English realm,
The Cross triumphant be Great God of nations, hear,
Thou Majesty tremendous; All needful blessings give,
Defence and succour send us; So shall we praise Thy Name, Thy faithfulness adore- The God our fathers served
Our God forevermore. Amen. After the prayer for unity the benediction was pronounced, and the Governor's procession then left the Cathedral in the same order as at its arrival, the Volunteers again lining the
passage.
SERVICE AT THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL.
A special thanksgiving service in connection with the Diamond Jubilee took place at the Roman Catholic Cathedral at 10.30 a.m. on Sunday and was conducted by the Right Rev. Bishop Piazzoli, assisted by the Rev. Fathers Martinet and Gabardi. The Rev. Fathers Vi- gano and Spada acted as masters of ceremonies and conducted the Consuls and naval and mili- tary officers to the seats specially reserved for them,
We thank Him for these feelings of loyalty which thus enable us to praise Him. But what is the cause of our loyalty? Is it not that we delight in serving qur Queen
The service, which was very impressive, con- and our Country? If so, may that thought inspire us with the lofty aim and deter-sisted of Mass, the Te Deum, and the Benedic- mination that in the service of God we may tion, and occupied one hour. The church was be as loyal to Him as we are to our earthly very tastefully decorated with fresh flowers. The congregation was a large one and filled the Sovereign, lest in the end it be our sorrow
entire building. to utter the great Cardinal's great lament,
Had I but served my God with half the zeal Iserved my king, He would not, in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies,
Amongst those present we noticed the. Con- suls for Spain, France, Austria-Hungary, and Belgium in their full uniform, the two first-
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