THANKSGIVING SERVICES AT S. ANDREW'S, CAMBRIDGE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2126, 23 February 1886, Page 2

THANKSGIVING SERVICES AT S. ANDREW'S, CAMBRIDGE.

The harvest festival service which were commenced on Friday last, were continued at the usual hours for divine services on Sunday. There were full congregations both in the morning and evening. His Lordship, Dr. NevilJ, Bishop of Duncdiu, assisted by Archdeacon WillU, and the "Rev. H. S. Davies, of Hamilton, officiated, and delivered the sermon. His Lordship t'ooklhis text from S. John, chapter 0, v4rses, "When Jesus then lifted up his his eyes and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat ?" Everyone was familiar with the miracle here recorded. Jesus asked the question to prove his disciples, for he himself knew what he was about to do. He wished to make them conscious that there was more than merely bodily hunger ; that it was for other purposes of teaching for all time as a symbolic miracle. The miracles of Christ were more than wonderd, they were ;full of sublime teaching. The disciples showed their inability to meet the difficulty. He, however, would prove his sufficiency with a Miuule word full of power. ' The supply of food offered was so indequate that it seemed a mockery for such" "a. multitude. There was a distinct method in Our Lord's performance. He blessed, He brake, and He gave to His disciples to distribute. He fed the people by the hands of His Church. We gather from this two great principles, first, the helplessness of man ; second, the Omnipotence of God. In 'order to ensure any effectual effort two things must be combined, the agency of piUn with the Benediction of God in relation to humanatfairs. This applies even with" regard to things most natural. To gain, success there must, then, be two in*struirjentalities, human action and Divine blessing?" "Insuch things as in our preparations for the harvest, we first get ready the soil, sow the seed, and them reap the corn. These are things natural. We do not think of combinijigthe two forces— we think we are 1 quite Independent of Divine influence. We go through all the process, we beein independent of God's agency, and we thiuk we are successful. Is it so ? In our ordi nary conversation we do not stop to examine the meaning of our words and phrases. What are the laws of nature? What is nature ? Is it a deity ? It is a fiction, a creation of our own ? The laws of nature are nothing more than God's previdence exhibited to our observation. If we suppose the ungathered harvest is the result of our own efforts, we are like the foolish disciples in the lesson before us. We think the spiritual harvest is no concern of on is, but entirely God's affair. That 1 m one of our mistakes. Did not our Saviour say the harvest was ripening in Palestine? and He was then teaching of the spiritual harvest, and prayed that the labourers might be found to take it in. There must be the human effoit with the "Divine "Benediction. The lesson in the miracle appeals to us. There are multitudes to whom we should contribute out of our abundance, the inhabitants of the isles of the|Pacinc, the' millions in China; we should send labourers to them. Then again in our own land, in our our neighbourhood and amongst our own kindred. In the land of our adoption is there nothing for us to do to extend the work of the Church? Here are opportunities from God to join with Him in doing good work and reaping a rich harvest. Christ only received from the disciples five barley loaves and two small fishes, but he returned to them more tban they gave, they filled twelve baskets of fragments which the whole Church received in return. Thus would we recoive the Divine binding manifold in return for our spiritual labours. His Lordship administered the Holy Communion after the service.