The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1881-11-12
= L Nj OF
Preached at st. Andrews Cathedral by the
Lord Bishop of Honolulu. on Sunday.
November 6, 1881, before their Males
ties the King and Queen.
Luke 11 IS. occupy IN I ONE

ties the King and Queen.
Luke xix Is. Occupy TIL I come"
The parallels of our Blessed Lord are
mostly drawn from circumstances with
which everyone is familiar. The cornfields
in the time of sowing OF. of r~eaping-Or the
cultivation and pruning of the trees-a
marriage festival these in turn furnished
matter for divine teaching. Political events
were but seldom referred to, for these are
transient and soon forgotten or, if remem-
bered, are less applicable to all generations,
and all nationalities, than circumstances
of everyday life. In this respect the
parable of the pounds from which the text
il taken Is somewhat exceptional. 1t coll
tains an ~undoubted, and, what mast nave
been at the time, n very striking reference
to a political event which was still fresh in
the minds of the Jewish people. The pic
ture that the parable presents of n certain
nObleman going into 4 far country to re-
ceive for himself n kingdom, and to return,
must have instantly recalled TO the minds
Of his hearers the journey of ArchelauS to
Rome, after the death of HerOd, to obtain
the confirmation of his fathers will be-
queathing to him, in place of his elder
brother Antipas, the sovereignty OF JGdea !;
and when the parable presented the further
picture of the message that followed him
from his fellow citizens We will not have
this man TO reign over us'-there would
have flashed into every mind the remem-
brance of the deputation that followed the
hated Archelaus to the Imperial Court to
oppose his claims.
1t is not, then, a merely imaginary cir
cumstance which forms the groundwork
of a parable in which our Blessed Lord
sets before us his own departure from the
earth, to receive from the Father the
sovereignty over the race He had redeemed,
and to take His seat at God's right hand,
invested with all power in heaven and
earth, until that day when He shall come
again in glory, and all the holy angels in
attendance on His Majesty, to reward every
man according as his work shall be. On
the contrary the point and force that the
parable derives from its reference to recent
events in Jewish history supplies the Divine
sanction for drawing spiritual lessons from
current earthly events, and making matters
of temporal. interest the means of deepen
ing in our souls our hold upon eternal
Truth.
Surely, then, il cannot be amiSs if, whilst
we thank Almighty God, as we have lone
to-day, for the safe return of our Sovereign
to his island throne, we find matter in an
event which has filled the city with re-
joicing, to lift our thoughts to a higher
place. The enthusiastic welcome which
greeted His Majesty's return to his own
shores, after travelling the entire circuit
of the globe on n visit to many kingdoms
and cities, both in the East and West, is
suggestive of a very serious inquiry Are
we waiting and watching for the return of
the King of Kings and Lord of Lords,
knowing that He will come at an hour
WIlen we look not IOr nltly anu VIII nnu the
world less prepared for His coming than
this city was for His Majesty's arrival on
the 29th of October? Are our hearts so full
of gratitude for the redemption that Christ
has wrought? Are we so longing and
waiting for His salvation, that we should
greet His advent with hosannas, such as
those that hailed his entry into Jerusalem
before His Passion, when the streets were
strewn with palm-branches, and carpeted
with the robes Of an enthusiastic throng I?
Or Qra Va like those who sent n maGGQ Dp IN
Rome to oppose the claims of Archelaus to
a crown Are we among those who refuse
to take Christ's easy yoke upon us, and
who will not own His title to the universal
sovereignty of mankind ? To such the
Second Advent of the Lord from heaven,
whether they be among the quick or dead,
mus bring fear and terror of that Majesty
which they all must own and they will
call upon the rocks to fall on them, and the
hills to cover them, inc hide them from
the wrath of the Lamb. Let us then to-day
lay to heart our Blessed Lords farewell
injunction. In the parting words of the
nObleman to his servants in the parable, we
may hear our Saviour speaking to US, and
saying in respect TO all the privileges of
nature and of grace that we enjoy: Occupy
till / come or, as 1T is in the Revised
Version, "Trade herewith till 1 come"
He speaks to all who are called by His name
to rulers and subjects to those IN au-
thOrity and those undeT authority to high
and low, rich and poor, and bids them
occupy till He comes" The pound de-
livered to each in the parable represents the
opportunities that each possesses for the
advancement of Christ's kingdom and
glory. Whether those opportunities be
great or small whether thy talents be
many or few, use them for this object-for
the one end that shall endure the wreck of
all earthly things.
The history of the world until the coming
of Christ is the history of the unfolding of
the eternal counsels of God for bringing
TOD H. -Ar1I H. D0IaaN,An - = A,nnNl.rl
The rise and fall of empires was made sub
s~ervient to this end and when the fulness
of time was come, Goo sent forth His Son
to take our nature upon Him, and, by His
death and resurrection, work out the mys-
terry of Redemption which was ordained
before the world was made. The time
when Christ was on earth Is the dividing
line in the worlds history. Since His
ascension, the onward march of Christ's
kingdom, and the gathering of the nations
into ii, has been the thread by which to
unravel the skein of history. To the cons
summation of that kingdom all things are
now tending and, when at length all the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed, then
will all earthly power and glory melt away,
and the Kingdoms of this world will become
the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ
"a kingdom which shall not be destroyed
and he shall reign for ever and ever. Here,
then, is the end we must ave in view, if
we would fulfil the injunction of our Lord
Occupy till i come" Great are the
blessings bestowed upon this Island State.
God grant that they may so be used as to
be the parents of richer blessings in the
future. 1t was not merely an Hawaiian
enconium of Hawaii that was expressed in
the greeting that first met Your Majesty's
eye a. you approached these shores "E
hoi, e ka ami O Hawaii, no ka OIL" For
though it be the least among the kingdoms
of the earth, yet Hawaii has many surpass-
ing eXcellences. In what other country is
there so little poverCy and want Behind
the stately buildings and palatial dwellings
of the cities of Europe is to be founda bject
there seems to be a suspension of the uni
versal law-that the poor shall never cease
out of the land. Where else can be enjoyed
greater security of life and property than is
enjoyed in his ~realm-where we can sleep
with open doors, and a lady may travel
alone from Kau to Niihau without fear of
molestation ? Though situate within the
tropics, the heat Of the climate is so tenn
pered by the beneficent trade winds that
immigrants from northern cline can pur-