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He cometh shall find so doing." The words again seem to apply with peculiar emphasis to the Queen. In spite of her four-score years she was still "so doing," faithful and wise, when the call came. No flagging of the industrious hand; no failing of the loving faithful heart; no cloud- ind of the wise and clear brain. Still carrying on her stewardship, the Lord came and called her swiftly and peacefully to Himself. A blessed ending to a blessed life, or rather a bless- ed entrance into the better life. Ah! my friends and fellow-subjects, may we not indeed praise God for what he has done for us and for her. May we not praise Him and bless His Name that He gave us such a Queen? May we not praise Him that He made her what she was? May we not bless Him also for the peace, and rest, and joy now given to His servant, faithful and wise. But let us not close without remembering that thero is yet another lesson that we may learn from her life, besides that of thanksgiving. There is the lesson to be learned from her example. For we
are stewards. To each one of us has God given talents," to some inore, to some less, to some ten, to some five, to some one. To each of us has He given his or her work to do; abilities and op- portunities and powers to be used in His ser- rice. None of us can for a moment compare our position or duties with those of our Queen; but we must all remember this, that bo our trust great or small, it is a trust, a trust from God Himself. Your life, your powers, your position, your influence, whatever they may be, are given to you by God Himself, to be used for the benefit of others to God's glory. May God make each one of us to be faithful and wise stewards! May God grant that when our Lord shall come, He may find us so doing as He found our beloved and honoured. Queen
too
[February 9, 1901. ments on this verse to point out that the gates of Heaven are open to all righteous people, be they Jews or Gentiles. The use of the word "Goy, which means equally a nation or a Gentile, is especially commented upon as showing that Heaven is not exclusively the Jew's portion. It is not necessary to be an Aaronite, a Levite, or an Israelite, in order to inherit eternal life and happiness in the world to come. Another. illustrious Rabbi, a President of the Great Synhedrion, ssid if a Gentile lives up to the law, he may be esteemed the equal of the High Priest, for it is written in Leviticus Chap. xviii. v. 5" Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments; which if a man do he shall live in them; I am the Lord." He lays emphasis on the use of the word "man" and includes in that term any man of whatever colour or creed. The paraphrasers Jonathan who flourished over nineteen hundred years ago, before the time of this great Rabbi, and Aquilas, who lived in the first century of the Christian Era, both explained the phrase He shall live in them," mentioned in the text, as meaning eternal life, thus showing that no one is debarred from enjoying it who is leading a virtuous life. Truly, then, the portion of our Queen in the happiness of the world to come is assured!
In the
Ecclesiastes, Chap. vii. v. 1, is translated "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. This translation is not a clear one. original the idea of the death and birth is con- nected with the possessor of "a good name," meaning that the day of his death is better than the day of his birth. The life of our Queen affords a beautiful illustration of this text. When she was born, no one dreamt that such a great and virtuous ruler was destined to grace this earth, whose high qualities as wife, mother, and Queen would make her an example for all time; but the day of her death sees all heads bowed in reverence before her grave and all tongues speaking her praise.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND weighty stewardship. Never in the history of | upon herself. At the time of her coronation, I mankind has any man or woman been called to the Dean of St. Paul's, Sydney Smith, preach- rule an Empire so vast as that of which she ing in the Cathedral said, "What limits to the was monarch. Even at the time of her acces-glory and happiness of our native land, if the sion the Empire far surpassed in extent and in Creator should in his mercy have placed in the population any of the great empires of the heart of this royal woman the rudiments of ancient world.” Of late she has ruled over more wisdom and mercy; and if giving them time than a sixth part of the habitable world, to expand and to bless our children's children and considerably more than a sixth part of with her goodness, He should grant to her a its population. In addition to that, her long sojourning upon earth, and leave her to reign influence with the rulers of other nations over as till she is well stricken in years. What has of necessity been immense. I mention these glory! what happiness! what joy! what bounty things, not from any foolish desire to boast of of God! These words were indeed "a prophe- the greatness of the British Empire, but in tical aspiration," and most richly has God an- order to bring clearly before your minds the swered the prayers of her people offered for her tremendous (I can use no other word) responsi- day by day and year by year. Most richly has bilities of the Queen's position. And when she He blessed her, and in so doing has He blessed was called to assume these responsibilities, she us, in giving us a Queen so faithful and so wise. was but eighteen years of age! True, she had Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when great and wise advisers. True, she had for twenty-one years the help of her wise and noble Consort. Yet the burden was hers alone, and she had to bear the ultimate responsibility alone, for more than sixty years. How then did she bear it? Our text describes the qualifications of a good steward, and no words in the English language will better describe the character of our late most gracious Queen than those supplied us by our Lord. Him- self Faithful and Wise." Faithful - faithful to God who appointed hor; faith- ful to her people who were committed to her care; faithful to the laws which she administered; faithful to her pledges; faithful in word, in work, in life. Let me quote one striking incident to illustrate how, in her reign, she maintained her faithfulness to her God and to her people. At the time when the Govern- ment of India was transferred from the East India Company to the direct rule of the British Crown, the Queen issued a Proclamation to the inhabitants of India. The question of the rela- tionship of the Government to Christian work amongst the natives had, for some time pre- viens, been the subject of much discussion, and the part of the Proclamation which referred to that question had to be drawn up with nuch care. A draft was considered and ap- proved by the Cabinet, and sont to the Queen for signature. But the Queen objected to its spirit and wording, and requested that another draft should be prepared, indicating the line she wished to be adopted. This second draft she accepted in substance, but made certain emendations with her own hand. The word neutrality" as indicating her attitude towards religion she erased from the document, and with her own hand she wrote, “Firmly relying ourselves on the truth of Christianity and acknowledging with gratitude the solace of re- ligion, we disclaim alike the right and the desire to impose our convictions on any of our subjects." Further, at the end of the Pro- clamation, she added the words, "May the God of all power grant to Us and those in authority auder Us strength to carry out these our wishes for the good of our people." Faith ful to her God, she avowed her conviction of the truth of Christianity and placed her. self before India as. a Christian Queen. Faithful to her people, she would not hamper or hinder their liberty of conscience. And as throughout her long and prosperous reign, her people trusted her; the world trusted her; be cause all men knew that she was faithful. And because she was faithful she was wise. Faithful to Him who is the source of all wisdom, she re- ceived from Him the wisdom necessary for her great task. In all her ways she acknowledged Him, and He directed her paths. We can well imagine how, when she came to the throne, she must have echoed the prayer of Solomon, "Oh Lord my God, thou hast made thy steward Queen; and I am but a little child; I know .not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people that can- not be numbered nor counted for multi- tude. Give thy servant therefore an un- derstanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy so great a people ?" And the thing pleased the Lord and He gave her a wise and understanding heart. And, by this God-given wisdom she has reigned; by her wisdom she has strengthened her Kingdom; by her wisdom she has knit together the Empire; by drawing all hearts into one, focussing them
Victoria.
The old hymn "O God our help in ages past" was then sung, followed by the final prayers and bonediction by the Bishop.
The service terminated with Beethoven's "Marche Funebré," impressively played like the opening voluntary by Mr. A. G. Ward, the organist, after which the choir and clergy left in silence, and the congregation dispersed.
THE JEWISH SERVICE. At the Jewish Synagogue Ohel Leah a Memorial Sevice' to her late Majesty Queen Victoria was held on Sunday, the 3rd inst. In the absence of a Rabbi, Mr. S. A. Joseph prepared and delivered the following address and prayers:--
"My dear Fellow Congregants: We have assembled here to-day to pay our last tribute to our late beloved Queen. It is our duty, morally and religiously.
In the nineteenth verse of the fourth chapter of the Ethics of the Fathers, Rabbi Simeon says "There are three crowns, the crown of the Law, the crown of the Priesthood, the crown of Royalty; but the crown of a good name excels them all." She has attained all those four crowns; the crown of the British Empire, the greatest the world has ever seon; the crown of the law, for there was no sove- reign more obedient to the Law of God than herself; the crown of Priesthood, for she was the Head of the Church and Defender of her Faith; and the crown of a good name which is her highest praise, and which will endure as long as the memory of man will last. Happy is the nation which has produced such a ruler, and happy is the generation which saw her. Indeed a good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth.
In reflecting upon what special blessing to pray for on behalf of her successor and the Empire ovor which she ruled, I am confronted with the same difficulty that the wayfarer felt in that beautiful parable in the Talmud. The wayfarer was thirsty, hungry and footsoro, when he saw a tree bearing luscious fruit, giving a plea- sant shade, and nourished by a stream rippling close by. He partook of the fruit, reposed in the shade, and refreshed himself in the stream; and. when about to depart, addressing the tree, he said,
Oh tree! How shall I bless thee? If I wish thee sweet, fruits, your fruits are as sweet as To shed tears they can be; if I wish thee pleasant shades, over, and to moara the loss of a right-your shades are pleasant enough; if I wish eous person is considered by our religion for a cool stream to run close by thee and a meritorious action, so it is not the feelings of nourish thee, thou hast it already. What then gratitude and loyalty alone that brings us to shall I ask for thee? I shall ask this, that may gether to-day; the occasion has it religions every branch and offshoot that spring from claims also. It has been said by one of our thee be like thee," and in the same spirit we most illustrious Rabbis that "It is unnecessary pray that every successor of our dear Queen to make monuments for the righteous; their shall be like her. May her great nation con- deeds will commemorate them equally well." tinue to prosper as they did in her time, inspired How completely this saying is exemplified in by the imperishable memory of her blameless
Can har and noble life! the case of our beloved Queen !
Will memory perish from the mind of man? it be possible to write the history of the 19th Sovereign of the Universe, and Lord of Tords. In Thy hands are the life of every creature, and the century with her name left out?
-1 propose to take for my text to-day the pass- soul of every human being. There is no God ba
were Thee, and no Saviour but Thyself. All things age in Isaiah, Chap. xxvi. v. 2.
created by Thee and are the work of Thy hands. gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth Thou hast made the world and the fulness thereof,
The Midrash com- the heavens and all their hosts. the truth may enter in."
"Open ye
the
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