The Henson Journals

[249]

Sunday after Christmas, December 29th, 1912.

Let every man seek God apart, & search out the Truth in the holy Scripture, preparing himself for a right understanding thereof, by steadfastly & sincerely practising such things as are plainly & uncontrovertedly contained therein, & expect illumination according to the best communication thereof, that is, answerably to our own faculties: otherwise if we bid all Reason, & History, & Human helps & Acquisitions quite adieu, the world will never be rid of Religious Lunacies & Fancies.

Henry Moore. Works "Cabbala". p. 184.

2nd edition. London. 1662.

I celebrated the Holy Communion at 8 a.m. in S. Margaret's. There were but 15 communicants, among them Fedarb. It was almost impossible to realize that this was my last Sunday in this place.

There was a large congregation at Mattins. I adapted the sermon which I preached at the Digbeth Institute in Birmingham, on March 31st 1909, after Bishop Gore inhibited me from preaching. By way of adding to its point, I introduced a quotation from yesterday's issue of the 'Westminster Gazette’, in which a gross exhibition [250] of wealth at a ball in Washington was justly censored.

After lunch I made a typed copy of most part of my 'farewell sermon’, & carried it to the "Times" Office.

At Evensong the church was thronged; many hundreds were unable to gain admission. An effort had been made to give a preference to the regular congregation. Burdett–Coutts, the member for Westminster, sate conspicuous in the Speaker's Pew. My text was taken from S. Paul's farewell address at Miletus; Acts xx. 32. 'And now I commend you to God, & to the word of His Grace, which is able to build you up, & to give you the inheritance among all them that are sanctified’. I preached for nearly 40 minutes, & was listened to with close & sympathetic attention. Carols were sung instead of the Anthem, & after the Benediction: & everything was wound up with "Old Hundredth", which was sung with immense fervour. After the service various people waited outside the Church for a final hand–shake. So ends my preaching in S. Margaret's. May God forgive, & accept it!

Lady Limerick came to supper: also Arthur Rawle & his wife, Linetta & Mary, Ernest Bennett, Gilbert, Reggie, & Bob. I sent the MS. of my sermon to the Editor of the "Church Family Newspaper" in response to his request.

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