FUNERAL SERVICE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1132, 29 January 1884, Page 3

FUNERAL SERVICE.

A Masonic funeral service iu connection with the sad death of the late Mr John Heney was held in the Presbyterian Church, Geraldine, last Sunday, Bro. the Rev. G. Barclay, Chaplain of the local Lodge, officiating. About 60 Masons, many of whom came from a distance, met in their Lodge room at 10 a.m., and marched in procession, headed by the Masters, to the Presbyterian Church, where Divine service commenced at 11 a.m. by singing Psalm xxv. The exposition comprised the parables of the 'Ten Virgins,' the necessity of always being prepared for the coming of the Lord, or our call from this earthy pilgrimage, was vividly brought before the congregation, and the parable of the ' Talents,' where r rom the necessity of making diligent use of such talents as had been given us waß insisted on ; our reward or otherwise in proportion lo results being a certainty. After a hymn, the Rev. Mr Barclay took for the text of his sermon DeuteroDomy xxxii-29 ' O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end,' and preached a very eloquent seimon. He commenced by giving a vivid description of the scene presented at the preaching of the grand sermon by the great leader of Israel ; the scenery, the vast audience, and the aged preacher delivering his last address to those tor whom he had suffered so much, and who was at the end of his sermon to be placed in hislast resting place, not by man, or even in the sight of man, but by the Angels of God. After giving a lucid synopsis of the matter of the sermons or addresses of Moses to the people entrusted to his charge—which not only comprised moral government, but national—the preacher returned to his text with the question ' What is our latter end I Ihe coffin closed, lowered into the grave the yellow soil thrown iu -iras that the encU No ! emphatically No ! He then showed by reference \o. the Word of God our certain hope of a resurrection—which was in reality [the beginning of macis latter end. St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. John were all made to give their testimony to that which is the real and only stay of the believer : to the redemption by the death of our Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ upon the Cross. The necessity of obedience to the will of God—a; expressed in his Word —during life, wai strongly urged, and the fact of a man's good and bad actions in life, even to the least of them, following him not only in life by the influence on his own moral nature, on that of his descendants and those within reach of that influence, but, after death, to the day of iudgment—and on earth to future venerations. The sermon was closed by a most feeling reference to the estimable qualities of their deceased brother, John Henev, whose upright carriage—physical and moral—cheerful countenance, and that hearty grasp of the hand he was wont to give on all occasions, were touchingly brought to remembrance ; and also Mr Heney's usefulness in the circle in which he lived- as a member of Road Board, School Board,Church Committee -indeed, everywhere that his influenca could be used for good. His love for Masonry, which though in part a mysteiy to many in that Church, could not but exercise a great influence in the world; all its symbols emblifying some great moral quality, all its tenets insisting on the consistent use of those qualities, and above all, its brotherly love and charity. Its love and reverence for the Word of God,its prayerfvlness (for Masons were not j ashamed to pray, and never met without j invoking the blesssing of the Great 1 Architect of the Universe), were bound to make it an instrument of good, and by adding to its symbols and their use the symbol of the Cross, and believing in the efficacy of the great sacrifice thereon offered, they might all surely hope to meet in that great Lodge above, eternal in the heavens. The hymn ' A few more years shall roll,' concluded the service, after which the brethren returned to the Lodge in procession, Bro. R. S. Cook again officiating as Marshal.