SERMON TO VOLUNTEERS.

Waikato Argus, Volume VIII, Issue 670, 8 June 1900, Page 4

SERMON TO VOLUNTEERS .

Bjermon preached at St. Peter’s, Hamilton, on Whit Sunday, 1900, at a church parade of the First Waikato Mounted Infantry, by Rev. H. D. A. Major, M.A. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether wo live we live unto the Lord; and whether we die we die unto the Lord; whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord’s.— Romans xiv., 7 and 8.

The Apostle St. Paul in these wotds sets forth a great principle, but one that we human beings are slow to realise, and only too apt to forget viz,, that we are responsible creatures. Responsible not merely for ourselves but for others; responsible not merely in this world but also in that which is to come ; responsible not merely to our fellow men, to public opinion, to the laws of the land, to our own sense of fitness and propriety 'but to Christ, The King of All Men, the Lord of Life and Death, who died and rose again that He might be the Lord both of the dead and of the living.

What a difference it would make in the way we view life, and in the way we live it too, if we could only feel this to be the case. That neither in life nor death are we isolated or solitary ; that how we live and die is no purely personal mutter affecting ourselves alone, and one which we may decide just as we please. We are related to God on the one hand, aud to man on the other, and though we may try to ignore or shirk these relationships, we cannot escape the responsibilities which they involve. It is not a matter of choice for us whether we live or whether we die; perforce we live, perforce we die, hence we are responsible both in oar living and dying to Him who formed us both to live and to die, and who lived and died for us that we might learn to do both according to those eternal principles upon which He acted. How different would life seem, how lull of meaning, of purpose would it be if we felt that wo were living unto Him now, that we were fellow labourers with him now, that the aims and methods of Him, the Lord of Life and Death were ours also. How different too would death seeem it we felt that we must die also unto Him, in His service, subject to His will, die also after His fashion-that death would mean for us not annihilation and corruption, not sloth aud self pleasing, but a life of greater possibilities, wider usefulness, higher service; a life not separated from the present but the natural outcome of it. This life lived “ unto the Lord ” is, I am- sure we should find, the life best worth living, and this death “ unto the Lord ” the death best worth dying. The death is one of gain, the life one of discipline and service ; it is the life of Him who came " not to be ministered unto but to minister.” And though we may not think it now, such is the prevalence of false ideals; there is no other human life that is true life. Any other life the

further it goes the more cramped, listless, joyless, loveless, aimless it becomes, until it narrows itself down to death, not the deaththatChristdied,which wasapaasage to a higher life, but that death which fie came to destroy, eternal death ; the death of body and soul. The motto, you know, of the Prince of Wales is ‘ ‘ Ich dien I serve ;it was the motto of the Son of God incarnate also. It should be the motto of each one of us. But when churches and nations, communities and individuals adopt some other motto for life such as “ I am exalted,” “ I stand alone,” " I rule and am great,” “ I grow rich,” “ I take mine ease,” “ I follow my own will,” they will speedily find that these things that they have aimed at, and perhaps grasped as the sum total of existence, wilt pass away from them, and with them life itself, Service really prevents nations and men growing old, lor both are as old as they feel. Time passes ; life does not pass ; it becomes fuller, deeper, stronger, as the aim (if it be a worthy one) becomes more absorbing. “ This mean man seeks a little thing to do, and quickly does it; This great man with a high aim to pursue dies ere he knows it.” Usefulness, the power to be of use to others; the ability to do our share in the work, to be done ; the capacity for service Is the only reason for life in this world, and, for all we know, in all other worlds too. What can you do for others ; what are you doing for others is the question ? If as a church, or as a community, or as individ- ' uals, our answer is nothing , then we may be sure as sure as if we had seen it written in letters of stars across the sky, that our days are numbered, that we are at the point of death, that others who can and will work for God and

humanity will take our place, and that we, like unused muscles shall waste away of atrophy. To-day is an occasion of rejoicing and thanksgiving. To-day we are glad because those who have insulted our honour, oppressed our countrymen, invaded our territory, ravaged our property, slaughtered our soldiers have been humiliated and defeated. Is that all? As fighting animals; even as citizens of the State we might rejoice, but hardly us members of the Church of God. One reason for our tejoicing is 1 hope, because the British victories mean, in the simplest, plainest and truest language, greater usefulness for the British nation. They mean the acquisition of fresh territory which may be' governed not by that corruption, partiality, tyranny, self-interest, hatred of progress, which have characterised the political life of the Transuaa), but by those principles of freedom, justice, purity, toleration and enlightenment which are the very foundation stones of the constitution and administration of the British Empire, and which, let us ever remember it, are. so long as they are honoured and practised, of more value even than fleets of ironclads and batteries of artillery, because they, those Christain manly principles are the only means by which you can develop and preserve a courageous, patriotic, disciplined. Godfearing population from which (without conscription and press-gangs) you can draw the men who will man those fleets and work those batteries till death or victory is theirs. Again we rejoice, I hope, because a war is drawing to a close which has been the means of uniting the races of the British Empire. It has shown us that as one of our poets writes:

“No distance breaks the ties of blood, Brothers are brothers evermore.” It has been the means of making real to ourselves, and to the world at large, the bonds of love and loyalty which bind every part of the Empire to the Home land. The result of which is that it the faintest cry of “ Help ” is uttered by one ; all shout “ To the Rescue.” Ringing in our ears we hear : “ Britain’s myriad voices call, Son, bo welded one and all, Into one Imperial whole, One with Britain heart and soul. One life, one flag, one fleet, one throne, Britons, hold your own.” This uniting of our scattered populations is one of the greatest steps in the fulfilment of our Imperial destiny. Harmony and union mean strength; strength means power for greater usefulness, greater capacity to hear our burden and discharge our duty in the world’s history, and so hasten the coming of the Kingdom of God.

I take it that it was no ehance or accident that the Australian Commonwealth Hill should be laid before the liritish Parliament at the very time that the colonies of the Empire were assisting the Motherland to obtain justice and good government for their oppressed fellow colonists in South Africa, There is something behind this busy murmur of the world, these hurrying feet, these multitudinous voices. There are thoughts—ideas —that ate generated not by the brains of individuals; thoughts that arc

not the collective wisdom of the multitude, but ate, I believe-the thoughts of ofOod—tho Mighty Thinker— working through the brains of those created in His image. 'I Ie e mv mat waves of thought and feeling ’lnn pa.-a over whole nations, even eonin ■ in., i>t o^rfnin times, they are I believe, the re uli. >1 the direct inspiration of he Spirit of God, whose w minus outpouring on the Infant Church no c nuiieiiicrate on this day; they are witnesses of God’s voice speaking to ns; ill y aie manifestations of God’s ever-present spirit guiding and educating humanity. These are the thoughts that usher in new ages and lift the world onward to the groat end when the kingdoms of this world shall 1 erome not merely in name and ideal, but in reality and truth the kingdoms of God and of his Christ. This feeling of relationship, and with it the sense of responsibility, is one of these great age - thoughts. As a nation we are beginning to realise in a deeper and wider sense than perhaps ever before, the truth of the words “ No man liveth unto himself.” A duty, a destiuy lies before us. We are not isolated little colonies living to grow fat and prosperous, but parts of a great Empire that must sink into the. dust unless her sons realise their relationship and duty to her, and her relationship and duty to mankind. Let us then feel and declare that though other nations may believe it to be right to live unto themselves, we know we cannot. Though other Empires may feel themselves justified in preying upon the weak and helpless, wo cannot. Though other countries may conquer to rob, to domineer, to aggrandise, we dare not. Though other peoplas may boast of their victories, in peace and war, as if gained by their own strength and cunning, wc are not ashamed to proclaim that to God belonged the victory, that His blessing alone can give good success. Tnat obedience to His laws, acting on those eternal principles of right which He has revealed to men can alone procure His blessing and countenance. As a consequence we rejoice, because we feel that God’s favour rests upon us, that He (as Lord Roberts' wired after the surrender of Cronje) has answered the nation’s pravers. When Rudyard Kipling wrote ‘•The Recessional,” “Lest we Forget,” his words came home with stunning force to the hearts of many Englishmen, because underneath all our pomp and power, there was a feeling that the manhood of the race was failing, that wealth and ease had impaired the dogged courage aud strong faith of our fathers, that the Empire built up through many centuries had reached its highest point, its furthest bound, and that as Nineveh and Tyre, Egypt and Rome had had their day and ceased to be, so also we should topple down into the dust. We (eel now that it is not so. That God has a destiny for ns, and I think that many of ns feel also that a spirit of faith and prayer has helped us even more than naval guns and mounted infantry. We realise that no man or nation acting and fighting in the spirit of that prayer which Lord Roberts sent to every soldier in the army in Sooth Africa could possibly fail. It is so simple, so humble, so strong, so brave, I cannot but read it to you: “ Almighty Father, I have often sinned against Thee. 0 wash me in the precious blood of the Lamb of God. Fill me with Thy Holy Spirit that I may lead a new life Spare me again to see those whom I love at home or fit me for Thy presence in peace. Strengthen us to quit ourselves like men in our right and great cause, keep us faithful unto death, calm in danger, patient in suffering, merciful as well as brave; true to our Queen, our country, and our colours. If it is Thy will enable us to win victory for England, but above all grant us the better victory over temptation and sin, over life and death, that we may bo more than conquerors through Him who loved us and laid down His life for us, Jesus, our Saviour, the Captain of the Army of God. Amen,” We rejoice, too, I think I may say it in all sincerity, with a chastened and hallowed joy for those who have died in the war and offered their lives as sacrifices on the altar of their country. We are glad that they were permitted to die in a great cause—they lived and died for something ; for duty, for the cause of right and empire. They lived not like dumb driven cattle, they walked not with aimless feet, they did not die, not knowing why or caring how; “ Not unto themselves ” they lived and died. Death for the Christian is but an incident in life; for those who have tried to do their duty it means removal to a higher life. We rejoice then because they are now: “Not spilt like water on the ground, Not wrapped in: dreamless sleep profound, Not wandering in unknown despair, Beyond Thy voice, Thine arm, Thy care; Not left to lie like fallen tree,— Not dead, but living unto Thee.”

And now to make something of what I have said bear upon our own lives. If we would live lives worth living, let us live not unto ourselves, but as related beings, as members of a Nation and a Church. Let each of us try by doing our own work well, by fulfilling that vocation to which we are or may be called to contribute our share to the well-being of the community in which we live. Let us try, moreover, to take up some branch of work beyond it, something which the need for daily bread does not demand from us, some work for which the church, the Empire, the community will be the better, and you who try it will find that though this work may, aye and certainly must, cost you energy, time, money, which perhaps you find hard to afford, that it is work a thousand times worth doing, because it is done not as a matter of self-interest (though it will prove to you to be the greatest blessing); because it is done not to please yourself (though it will turn out to be a means of no little joy), but because it is done as the outcome of that great principle contained in the Apostle’s words, “ No man liveth unto himself.” Because it is done with a pure, unselfish motive, you will find, I repeat, that it will prove a source of the greatest personal benefit, a means of the deepest and truest pleasure, a fountain of eternal life, of living waters, springing up in what is, perhaps, your narrow, sordid, aimless, individual life, refreshing, energising, and sweetening your whole nature. We cannot all be hero.es And fill a hemisphere With some great deed of daring, Some act that mocks at fear ; But we can fill a lifetime With kindly acts and true ; There’s always noble service For noble souls to do.