-
Articles/Ads
Article CHURCH SERVICE. Page 1 of 2 Article CHURCH SERVICE. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Church Service.
CHURCH SERVICE .
IN connection with the Bangor Union Lodge , No . 746 ( LC ) , a special service was held on Sunday , 23 rd inst ., in the Parish Church , Bangor , by kind permission of , the Dean of Down . Bev . Dr . O'Loughlin , rector of Lurgan , was the preacher on the occasion , and there was a large attendance , not only of Brethren , but also of the general public . The collection was on behalf of
Masonic charities . The Brethren assembled in the Masonic Hall , where a procession was formed , and the members marched to the church wearing regalia . Bev . Dr . O'Loughlin , who selected as his text I John , iii . 16 — " And we ought to lay down our lives for the Brethren "said : —When reading the inspired records one becomes
conscious of the special style , mode of thought , and manner of stating truth peculiar to each writer . The controlling spirit , instead of destroying or suspending , seems but to have intensified it , and we can recognise the manner of St . Paul from St . John and St . Matthew or any other of the sacred writers by their special peculiarities . In the writings of St . John we read the
words of one who reclined on the Master s breast . He comes to us like an angel of light , with the glory of heaven , and he tells us of the love of God revealed in the Christ to whom he witnessed , of whose fulness he had received , and the effect that revelation should have in the dealings of man with man . St . Paul , on the other hand , studies the want of man , analyses his
nature , perceives its want , and finds the remedy in that " fulness " which is spoken of by St . John . Now , this diversity in description and standpoint of observation enables us to view the truth from different points of vantage . It suits itself to the different temperaments of humanity , and one supplementing the
other , like the various instruments in a well-filled band , reveal in combination a fuller harmony . Also , it gives a key , I think , in the manner of God's dealing with men . He does not destroy their personality , but in a manner intensifies their responsibility , and this suggests the thoughts I would desire to place before you to-day—responsibility to God and obligation to fellow-man .
This thought is not confined to Christianity , but in the teaching of Christ is has obtained a fulness of meaning and a sanction so powerful as it never had before ; and any departure from Christian faith must weaken and endanger it . Now , I will make a statement that may seem strange to some and likely to invite contradiction till considered . The practice of this virtue
is opposed to nature and cannot be supported by reason . Its only sanction is from the supernatural . The trend of nature is to struggle for existence—to drive the weakest to the walland just because it is the weakest . Everywhere around us the struggle is relentlessly waged . The bloom of the garden is a victor ' s crown , wrung from defeated and destroyed competitors .
The song of the bird is the song ot victory also , over destroyed competitors—dead individuals , dead races , dead species , crushed out in the struggle—and the struggle goes on . At first nature seems either confused and miserable or exuberant and joyous , just as we approach her . She is like a rough sea taking its colour from the sky ; a mass of heaving , broken waters , continually
changing , savage and sad or bright or exuberant , leaping in the glory of a bountiful life . Yet , on closer investigation it is changeless and becomes fascinating in its savage sadness . Nature is red in tooth and claw ; underneath her smile or her frown it is one continual struggle , unceasing , unsympathetic , and—and it is not nature that teaches us , "We ought to lay down our life for the Brethren . "
So far as nature ( as we are familiar with herj speaks , this is a breach of one of her fundamental laws . But not only is it unnatural , but it is also immeasurable , so far as man ' s reason goes . I do not see in nature any reason why I should give up one pleasure or forego one desire because it may cause sorrow to others , or injure those of the future . Eeason tells me to
struggle for my own hand , in the game of life , to exercise every power I can , without scruple , that will bring me the greatest amount of pleasure . Why should I deny myself anything for posterity ? Posterity has never or can never do anything for me . Why should I consider the weak ? Nature tells me to crush them . But the supernatural sanction of religion introduces new
principles as guides to human conduct , and philanthropy and benevolence only spring from faith in them . Without faith they have no basis , and only in the Christian religion is there a sufficient basis given for widely extended philanthropy—that philanthropy that breaks across the bounds of family , of race , of clime , of colour ; that embraces all in its operations , high and low , rich and poor , cultured and uncultured ; the outcome of the
recognition ot the fact that we are the children of God , and all men are Brethren ; that the interests of the individual are subordinate and involved in tbe inteiests of the lace ; that we each are parts of a great whole—an organism full of an organic life , tccial and spiritual—and that the highest attainment of our being is to be got m the development and perfection of this great body corporate ; that there is a higher life than can be got from
Church Service.
meat and drink and pleasure , which is experienced in sympathy , self-denial , and love , and is often found in losing . This God teaches us in the rev . lations of Himself in Christ Jesus ; this is the " narrow gate " which they who find are blest ; this is the reign of love , and " God is love . "
But in the larger life of the great body corporate the life of the individual , though involved , is not lost ; rather it is intensified and ennobled , as was noticed in the effects of God ' s Spirit on Hia servants whom he inspired to write , and in the advance of the whole is the advance of the faithful individual , for in its fullest glory , in its highest attainment , in its ideal perfection , when all
things are fulfilled , he shall have his share . He himself shall rejoice in the glory of which he partakes . " He shall be like the Master at his appearing . " This thought I would desire to place before you—service and reward—whilst speaking of this great corporate life that claims our highest service , and of which we each are integral parts . I would desire to point you to the
inspired record , in which it is described as centred in Christ , from whom it is derived . He is the head and centre of it . Like as we possess a common life from Adam , we possess a fuller life from Him . " But the first is of the earth , earthy ; the second is the Lord from Heaven . " The one is death ; the other is life . The one is natural ; the other is supernatural . The one is
the fight for self against our neighbour ; the other is the subjection of self for our neighbour . This comes from the fact that our neighbours are , with us , members of one common body . Their interests are ours . If one part suffers aU parts suffer with it . The eye cannot say to the hand it has no need of it , and if the hand suffers pain the eye suffers with it in sympathy .
But not only is there a common life existing in this corporate body ; there is also a common purpose . Men are described as living stones in a spiritual house , each occupying his own place , supporting aud being supported by others . Now , the cement of this building , the life of the body , is love . It radiates from its foundation , its heart , its head . It is revealed in the love that
gave His life for us , and because of it " we ought to lay down our life for the Brethren . " Note how our Divine Master impresses that common duty upon us . In bulk He did not leave His Church much at His departure , but what He gave it was living —the seeds of great things , which should fill the whole earth . Two sacraments and one prayer the Church only possess
immediately from Him . And what is a leading thought in each of them ? Is it not Brotherhood ? The baptising into the one body ; the drinking from the same cup ; the eating from the same broken loaf ; the uniting in a common prayer beginning with the words , " Our Father ? " These sacraments , this prayer , has done
more than all the armed hosts this world has ever seen , all the agitation , all the life struggle of this world in furthering the welfare of men not only for eternity , but for time ( which is , after all , but a link in the chain of eternity ) , for they are the expressions of Him who is the new life , and who conveys Himself to us !
It is worth noticing , as may be expected , how this life revealed itself in philanthropic and benevolent action . How men were so influenced by it that they gave their life , not so much for a cause as for men . The operation of love , that did not measure cost , or weigh consequences—nor consider the glory to be gained by success—but only the betterment of those to
whom they brought the message . Men who felt the obligation , and did not shrink iroin it—the duty of laying down their life for the Brethren . And every man who is doing honest , selfdenying work is doing that more or less . The army of faithful followers is not confined to those who have witnessed with their blood and made a good confession in the presence of a scoffing
multitude who did them to death , or to missionaries surrounded by teeming masses of heathen . It is just as truly working—it may be in a smaller way ( God knows)—in the slum , when one woman whom God has blest with this world ' s goods brings to another who has not , because she is her sister ( and as a sister ) , some of her blessings and shares them then with her , making , as
it were , these common things a sign in a great sacrament of love . It is acting when the strong helps the weak ; when some pleasure is given up to make another happy . The young girl , turning her back on the pleasant afternoon at the tennis match , with its bright and pleasant company , and staying at home to make the hours of the invalid less wearisome , is influenced by it .
Opportunity is ever present , and also , thank God , we see it so much practiced . The daily loss , the daily sacrifice of self , in love for others ( which is the following of the Master ) is not so unusual as to demand comment ; any man who sacrifices himself for the good of others , with a disinterested love , is influenced by it . It may be in what is called spiritual work ; it may be in social or
political work ; it may be mistaken work done on wrong lines ; it may be unsuccessful work , that invites thoughtless contempt and derision ; but before God it must be a great religious work , having in it the spirit of the Master—the spirit of sacrifice and love . It is the laying down one ' s life for the Brethren . In addition to the evidence of this life in the faithful actions
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Church Service.
CHURCH SERVICE .
IN connection with the Bangor Union Lodge , No . 746 ( LC ) , a special service was held on Sunday , 23 rd inst ., in the Parish Church , Bangor , by kind permission of , the Dean of Down . Bev . Dr . O'Loughlin , rector of Lurgan , was the preacher on the occasion , and there was a large attendance , not only of Brethren , but also of the general public . The collection was on behalf of
Masonic charities . The Brethren assembled in the Masonic Hall , where a procession was formed , and the members marched to the church wearing regalia . Bev . Dr . O'Loughlin , who selected as his text I John , iii . 16 — " And we ought to lay down our lives for the Brethren "said : —When reading the inspired records one becomes
conscious of the special style , mode of thought , and manner of stating truth peculiar to each writer . The controlling spirit , instead of destroying or suspending , seems but to have intensified it , and we can recognise the manner of St . Paul from St . John and St . Matthew or any other of the sacred writers by their special peculiarities . In the writings of St . John we read the
words of one who reclined on the Master s breast . He comes to us like an angel of light , with the glory of heaven , and he tells us of the love of God revealed in the Christ to whom he witnessed , of whose fulness he had received , and the effect that revelation should have in the dealings of man with man . St . Paul , on the other hand , studies the want of man , analyses his
nature , perceives its want , and finds the remedy in that " fulness " which is spoken of by St . John . Now , this diversity in description and standpoint of observation enables us to view the truth from different points of vantage . It suits itself to the different temperaments of humanity , and one supplementing the
other , like the various instruments in a well-filled band , reveal in combination a fuller harmony . Also , it gives a key , I think , in the manner of God's dealing with men . He does not destroy their personality , but in a manner intensifies their responsibility , and this suggests the thoughts I would desire to place before you to-day—responsibility to God and obligation to fellow-man .
This thought is not confined to Christianity , but in the teaching of Christ is has obtained a fulness of meaning and a sanction so powerful as it never had before ; and any departure from Christian faith must weaken and endanger it . Now , I will make a statement that may seem strange to some and likely to invite contradiction till considered . The practice of this virtue
is opposed to nature and cannot be supported by reason . Its only sanction is from the supernatural . The trend of nature is to struggle for existence—to drive the weakest to the walland just because it is the weakest . Everywhere around us the struggle is relentlessly waged . The bloom of the garden is a victor ' s crown , wrung from defeated and destroyed competitors .
The song of the bird is the song ot victory also , over destroyed competitors—dead individuals , dead races , dead species , crushed out in the struggle—and the struggle goes on . At first nature seems either confused and miserable or exuberant and joyous , just as we approach her . She is like a rough sea taking its colour from the sky ; a mass of heaving , broken waters , continually
changing , savage and sad or bright or exuberant , leaping in the glory of a bountiful life . Yet , on closer investigation it is changeless and becomes fascinating in its savage sadness . Nature is red in tooth and claw ; underneath her smile or her frown it is one continual struggle , unceasing , unsympathetic , and—and it is not nature that teaches us , "We ought to lay down our life for the Brethren . "
So far as nature ( as we are familiar with herj speaks , this is a breach of one of her fundamental laws . But not only is it unnatural , but it is also immeasurable , so far as man ' s reason goes . I do not see in nature any reason why I should give up one pleasure or forego one desire because it may cause sorrow to others , or injure those of the future . Eeason tells me to
struggle for my own hand , in the game of life , to exercise every power I can , without scruple , that will bring me the greatest amount of pleasure . Why should I deny myself anything for posterity ? Posterity has never or can never do anything for me . Why should I consider the weak ? Nature tells me to crush them . But the supernatural sanction of religion introduces new
principles as guides to human conduct , and philanthropy and benevolence only spring from faith in them . Without faith they have no basis , and only in the Christian religion is there a sufficient basis given for widely extended philanthropy—that philanthropy that breaks across the bounds of family , of race , of clime , of colour ; that embraces all in its operations , high and low , rich and poor , cultured and uncultured ; the outcome of the
recognition ot the fact that we are the children of God , and all men are Brethren ; that the interests of the individual are subordinate and involved in tbe inteiests of the lace ; that we each are parts of a great whole—an organism full of an organic life , tccial and spiritual—and that the highest attainment of our being is to be got m the development and perfection of this great body corporate ; that there is a higher life than can be got from
Church Service.
meat and drink and pleasure , which is experienced in sympathy , self-denial , and love , and is often found in losing . This God teaches us in the rev . lations of Himself in Christ Jesus ; this is the " narrow gate " which they who find are blest ; this is the reign of love , and " God is love . "
But in the larger life of the great body corporate the life of the individual , though involved , is not lost ; rather it is intensified and ennobled , as was noticed in the effects of God ' s Spirit on Hia servants whom he inspired to write , and in the advance of the whole is the advance of the faithful individual , for in its fullest glory , in its highest attainment , in its ideal perfection , when all
things are fulfilled , he shall have his share . He himself shall rejoice in the glory of which he partakes . " He shall be like the Master at his appearing . " This thought I would desire to place before you—service and reward—whilst speaking of this great corporate life that claims our highest service , and of which we each are integral parts . I would desire to point you to the
inspired record , in which it is described as centred in Christ , from whom it is derived . He is the head and centre of it . Like as we possess a common life from Adam , we possess a fuller life from Him . " But the first is of the earth , earthy ; the second is the Lord from Heaven . " The one is death ; the other is life . The one is natural ; the other is supernatural . The one is
the fight for self against our neighbour ; the other is the subjection of self for our neighbour . This comes from the fact that our neighbours are , with us , members of one common body . Their interests are ours . If one part suffers aU parts suffer with it . The eye cannot say to the hand it has no need of it , and if the hand suffers pain the eye suffers with it in sympathy .
But not only is there a common life existing in this corporate body ; there is also a common purpose . Men are described as living stones in a spiritual house , each occupying his own place , supporting aud being supported by others . Now , the cement of this building , the life of the body , is love . It radiates from its foundation , its heart , its head . It is revealed in the love that
gave His life for us , and because of it " we ought to lay down our life for the Brethren . " Note how our Divine Master impresses that common duty upon us . In bulk He did not leave His Church much at His departure , but what He gave it was living —the seeds of great things , which should fill the whole earth . Two sacraments and one prayer the Church only possess
immediately from Him . And what is a leading thought in each of them ? Is it not Brotherhood ? The baptising into the one body ; the drinking from the same cup ; the eating from the same broken loaf ; the uniting in a common prayer beginning with the words , " Our Father ? " These sacraments , this prayer , has done
more than all the armed hosts this world has ever seen , all the agitation , all the life struggle of this world in furthering the welfare of men not only for eternity , but for time ( which is , after all , but a link in the chain of eternity ) , for they are the expressions of Him who is the new life , and who conveys Himself to us !
It is worth noticing , as may be expected , how this life revealed itself in philanthropic and benevolent action . How men were so influenced by it that they gave their life , not so much for a cause as for men . The operation of love , that did not measure cost , or weigh consequences—nor consider the glory to be gained by success—but only the betterment of those to
whom they brought the message . Men who felt the obligation , and did not shrink iroin it—the duty of laying down their life for the Brethren . And every man who is doing honest , selfdenying work is doing that more or less . The army of faithful followers is not confined to those who have witnessed with their blood and made a good confession in the presence of a scoffing
multitude who did them to death , or to missionaries surrounded by teeming masses of heathen . It is just as truly working—it may be in a smaller way ( God knows)—in the slum , when one woman whom God has blest with this world ' s goods brings to another who has not , because she is her sister ( and as a sister ) , some of her blessings and shares them then with her , making , as
it were , these common things a sign in a great sacrament of love . It is acting when the strong helps the weak ; when some pleasure is given up to make another happy . The young girl , turning her back on the pleasant afternoon at the tennis match , with its bright and pleasant company , and staying at home to make the hours of the invalid less wearisome , is influenced by it .
Opportunity is ever present , and also , thank God , we see it so much practiced . The daily loss , the daily sacrifice of self , in love for others ( which is the following of the Master ) is not so unusual as to demand comment ; any man who sacrifices himself for the good of others , with a disinterested love , is influenced by it . It may be in what is called spiritual work ; it may be in social or
political work ; it may be mistaken work done on wrong lines ; it may be unsuccessful work , that invites thoughtless contempt and derision ; but before God it must be a great religious work , having in it the spirit of the Master—the spirit of sacrifice and love . It is the laying down one ' s life for the Brethren . In addition to the evidence of this life in the faithful actions