For more than sovʼreign place
Among the kings that reign, For all her constant grace
To woe and want and pain,
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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
· said, ' God save the King." In all this vast congregation assembled here to thank Almighty God for the unexampled, and unprecedentedly 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 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 througed, 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 seen 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 of some of her most promising sons. Different as were those occasions, one thought, the chief thought, remained the same-that our lives are not our own; our times are in God's band. To-day there is the same submission, and happily no sadness. To-day we celebrate life and pro- gress, a greatly extended Empire, and a long 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 wo 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.
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 man- hood, 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," we pray not only that He may "Grant the 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 wo thank God for the long and glorious and prosperous Reign of Victoria the Good. We thank Him for her example, and for her love. 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 our Queen and our Country? If so, may that thought inspire us with the lofty aim and determination that in the service of God we may be as loyal to Him as we are to our earthly Sovereign, lest in the end it be our sorrow to utter the great Cardinal's great lament,
Had I but served my God with half the zeal I served my king, He would not in mine age Have loft mo naked to mine enemies,
naked to the enemies of pride, greed, am- bition, and egoism. As we revere and serve our Queen, shall we not also revere and serve our God, rendering to all their due? You remem- ber how the ideal knight, by personal intercourse with, and influence over, and encouragement of his companion knights, declared.
I made them lay their hands in mine and swear To reverence their Kirg, as if he were Their conscience, and their conscience as their King, To break the heathen, and uphold the Christ, To rido 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 sona encompass her, The love of all her daughters chorish her, The love of all her people comfort her.
+4
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 hymn was sung, during which the offertory, which was for the organ restoration fund, was col-
-
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 P that in that time the whole personnel of her Privy Council has changed ? that every Bishop'slected 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 fu 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 havo blossomed and borne fruit; and the gathered and garnered seeds have been re-sown. During these sixty years there has been a “quiet, Some gradual, orderly, and organic growth.
of you may have assisted it; all of us are pri- vileged to utilise it; it has been fostered under
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the wise and affectionate rule of our beloved | Queen; and weinherit the sacred duty of giving
To Thee, O God, be praise,
Bole 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.
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
This nation with Thy blessing; Our Queen preserve in peace,
'Her people's love possessing;
[July 1, 1897,
And may 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 ita 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 am, 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.
The service, which was very impressive, con- sisted of Mass, the Te Deum, and the Benedic. tion, and oconpied one hour. The church was very tastefully decorated with fresh flowers. The congregation was a large one and filled the entire building.
Amongst those present we noticed the Con- suls for Spain, France, Austria-Hungary, and Belgium in their full uniform, the two first- named being also accompanied by their Vice- Consuls. There were also present several English, Spanish and Portuguese naval officers, also in full dress, Mr. J. J. Francis, Dr. Hartigan, and many other well-known residents, a party of Volunteers, the Roman Catholic members of the 1st West Yorks and Royal Artillery, sailors from the British Navy, and a contingent from the Spanish oruiser Reina Cristina.
At the conclusion of the service the whole congregation stood up and the choir, consisting mostly of boys from the St. Joseph's College, sang very impressively “ God save the Queen.'
SERVICE AT THE JEWISH SYNAGOGUE.
The following is the order of the special service: held in the Jewish Synagogue on Sunday, 20th
June:-
Pealm C.
The opening of the Hékhal and the reading of "Roms memu Adonai Elohenu" while the Sepher Torah in being taken to the Tebah.
Special Prayer composed by Mr. 8. A. Joseph. Sermon by Mr. S. A. Joseph. Text-Prov. XX. v.28: Meroy and truth preserve the
king: and his throne is upholden by mercy, Psalm XXI. verses 1-7., and LXXII. Prayer for the Queen and Royal Family, Psalm XXIX. will be read whilst the Sepher. Torah
being returned to the Hékhal. The service will conclude with "Yegdal"
The special prayer, was as follows:- Almighty God, we beseech Thee to hearken unto the prayer and the supplication which, we Thy servants make unto Thee to-day and the thanksgiving and praise we offer Thee for all Thy marvellous loving kindness and meroy un- to our beloved Sovereign Queen Victoria. This day the Lord hath appointed; we rejoice a are glad in it.
Unto Thee O God' we give thanks for having preserved unto us a wise and beneficent ruler full of the spirit of wisdom and understanding whose counsellors and administrators are men of justice and equity, making no distinction be- tween race and race, having one law for rich and poor, for strong and weak, for the native and for him who is a stranger in the land. We thank Thee for Thy great mercy to us in pro- tecting and sustaining her until this day, yea in all these sixty years. Thou hast upheld her throne with mercy and established her Govern ment with justice. Thou hast extended her dominion froni sea to sea and carried her soep to the uttermost ends of the earth. nations hast Thon brought under her and she has been a kind and loving mothe kthem alli
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