Page:The World's Parliament of Religions Vol 1.djvu/95

ASSEMBLING AND WELCOME. 6/ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ; Praise him, all creatures here below ; Praise him above, ye heavenly host ; Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Then followed the second and third stanzas of the psalm: We are thy people, v/e thy care, Our souls and all our mortal frame : What lasting honors shall we rear. Almighty Maker, to thy name ? We'll crowd thy gates with thankful songs — - High as the heavens our voices raise ; And earth with her ten thousand tongues, Shall fill thy courts with sounding praise. Thus it came to pass, without preconcert or intention, that this first act of common worship, so far as it was expressed in English, was uttered in the Hebrew psalm and the ancient Christian hymn, as translated by leaders of three great orders of the English-speaking church, the Anglican, the Puritan and the Methodist. At the end of the psalm the hearts and voices of the multi- tude were led by Cardinal Gibbons in the Lord's Prayer; and at the close of the reverent silence which followed the Amen, President Bonney pronounced an address of welcome. address of president charles carroll bonney of "the world's congress auxiliary." Worshipers of God and Lovers of Man, — -Let us rejoice that we have lived to see this glorious day ; let us give thanks to the Eternal God, whose mercy endureth forever, that we are permitted to take part in the solemn and majestic event of a World's Congress of Religions, The impor- tance of this event, its influence on the future relations of the various races of men, cannot be too highly esteemed. If this Congress shall faithfully execute the duties with which it has been charged, it will become a joy of the whole earth, and stand in human history like a new Mount Zion, crowned with glory and marking the actual beginning of a new epoch of brotherhood and peace. For when the religious faiths of the world recognize each other as brothers, children of one Father, whom all profess to love and serve, then, and not till then, will the nations of the earth yield to the spirit of concord and learn war no more. It is inspiring to think that in every part of the world many of the