,transcriber's ,note3 ,italic text is   
denoted by underscores and bold  text by
 equal signs          ,,the ,,war ,,and 
,,the ,,gospel            ,,the ,,war   
,,and    ,,the ,,gospel      ,,sermons  
,,and ,,addresses ,,during    ,,the     
,,present ,,war      ,by    ,,henry     
,,wace1 ,d4,d41    ,dean of ,canterbury1
    ,hon4 ,fellow of ,brasenose         
,college1 ,oxford2    ,fellow of ,king's
 ,college1 ,london4      ,london3       
,,chas4 ,j4 ,,thynne1    #bh1           
,whitefriars ,street1 ,e4,c4      #aiag4
          ,,preface4      ,as is usual  
in ,cathedrals1 it is the duty of the   
,dean of ,canterbury  to preach on the  
chief ,festivals of the ,christian year2
 and most of  the following ,addresses  
have been delivered in the discharge of 
this  office4 ,my comfort in the        
performance of this duty1 especially to 
an  audience of soldiers1 in these      
solemn days1 has been the sense that ,i 
was commissioned to deliver the message 
of a ,gospel which has 8brought  ,life  

and ,immortality to light10 and which   
proclaims the good news of  the presence
 of a ,saviour in all the circumstances 
,of life or death4 ,i  have simply      
endeavoured1 therefore1 to bring some of
 the light of this  ,gospel to bear on  
the distressing and perplexing          
experiences which this  ,war has forced 
upon us all1 and especially upon those  
who have borne  its chief sacrifices4 ,i
 am sure that1 if only believed and     
realized1  the message of this ,gospel  
is sufficient to support and to         
strengthen  us under all such trials and
 strains2 and ,i hope ,i am not         
presumptuous  in offering these slight  
contributions towards that purpose to a 
wider  audience than my ,cathedral      
congregations4          ,h4 ,,wace4     
,,canterbury1 ,january #aiag4           
,,contents                              
,,page          ,i4 ,,the ,,christmas   
,,message 7preached in                  
,canterbury ,cathedral1 ,christmas ,day1
               #aiad7                   

#a         ,,ii4 ,,christmas ,,and ,,the
 ,,war 7preached in                     
,canterbury ,cathedral1 ,christmas ,day1
               #aiae7                   
#af        ,,iii4 ,,the ,,things ,,seen 
,,and ,,the ,,things               ,,not
 ,,seen 7preached in ,canterbury        
,cathedral1 ,easter ,day1 #aiae7        
#bh         ,,iv4 ,,the ,,easter        
,,message 7preached in ,canterbury      
,cathedral1 ,easter ,day1 #aiaf7        
#dj          ,v4 ,,the ,,need ,,and     
,,the ,,means ,,of ,,right              
,,judgment 7preached in ,canterbury     
,cathedral1 ,whit ,sunday1 #aiae7       
#ec         ,,vi4 ,,the ,,advent        
,,message ,,and ,,the ,,war             
7preached in ,canterbury ,cathedral1    
,advent ,sunday1 #aiad7                 
#fg        ,,vii4 ,,divine ,,judgment   
,,and ,,renovation                      
7preached in ,canterbury ,cathedral1    
,october #aath1 #aiad7                  
#hb       ,,viii4 ,,resistance ,,unto   
,,blood 7preached in                    

,canterbury ,cathedral1 ,good ,friday1  
,april #bast1 #aiaf7                    
#ig         ,,ix4 ,,intercession ,,for  
,,kings ,,and ,,rulers                  
7preached in ,canterbury ,cathedral the 
,day of the ,king's ,accession1 ,may    
#fth1               #aiae7              
#aje          ,x4 ,,the ,,christian     
,,sanction ,,of ,,war 7,address         
at the ,service of ,intercession in     
,canterbury               ,cathedral1   
,august #ith1 #aiad7                    
#aag         ,,xi4 ,,the ,,warning ,,of 
,,the ,,tower ,,of ,,siloam             
7preached in ,canterbury ,cathedral1    
,october #beth1 #aiad7                  
#abi        ,,xii4 ,,the ,,righteous    
,,ideal 7preached in ,canterbury        
,cathedral1 ,january #aeth1 #aiae7      
#adc       ,,xiii4 ,,reasons ,,for      
,,intercession 7preached in             
,canterbury ,cathedral1 ,june #agth1    
#aiaf7               #aeh        ,,xiv4 
,,the ,,eternal ,,source ,,of ,,goodness
               7preached at ,holy       

,trinity ,church1                       
,margate1 ,november #gth1 #aiae7        
#agc         ,,xv4 ,,the ,,national     
,,ideal 7preached in ,canterbury        
,cathedral1 ,january #crd1 #aiae7       
#ahh        ,,xvi4 ,,religion ,,and     
,,war 7from ,the ,record1               
,thursday1 ,september #crd1 #aiaf7      
#bjc       ,,xvii4 ,,prayer ,,for ,,the 
,,dead 7from ,the ,record1              
,friday1 ,november #bjth1 #aiad7        
#bae      ,,xviii4 ,,christ ,,and ,,the 
,,soldier 7preached in                  
,canterbury ,cathedral at the ,military 
,church ,parade1 ,september #bgth1      
#aiad7                 #bbh             
,,xix4 ,,the ,,eternal ,,life ,,of ,,the
 ,,soul 7preached               in the  
,nave of ,canterbury ,cathedral         
at the ,military ,church ,parade1       
,october               #aeth1 #aiaf7    
#bci          ,,the ,,christmas         
,,message4    ,a ,,sermon ,,preached    
,,on ,,christmas ,,day ,a4,d4 #aiad4    
8,and suddenly there was with the angel 

a multitude of the heavenly   host      
praising ,god1 and saying1 ,glory to    
,god in the highest1 and on   earth     
peace1 good will toward men40--,st4     
,luke ii4 #ac1 #ad4      ,if ,christmas 
this sad year is to be a real comfort   
and help to us1  we must realize very   
clearly what it is that was the cause of
 the  joy of the ,angels1 and has been  
always the source of the true joy of    
,christmas1 during the nineteen hundred 
years or more since that first  outburst
 of heavenly praise and song4 ,the      
reason had been announced by  one ,angel
 to the shepherds abiding in the fields 
in the words1 8,fear  not2 for1 behold1 
,i bring you good tidings of great joy1 
which shall  be to all people4 ,for unto
 you is born this day in the city of    
,david a  ,saviour1 which is ,christ the
 ,lord40 ,the ,jewish people were       
looking and  longing for the ,christ    
,who would come1 as is expressed in     
,zacharias'  song1 to deliver them from 
the hand of their enemies1 and to grant 

unto them that they 8might serve ,him   
without fear1 in holiness and           
righteousness before ,him all the days  
of their life40 ,this was the  promise  
which1 as ,zacharias said1 had been     
given by the mouth of ,god's  prophets  
since the world began1 for which they   
had craved through long  suffering1 and 
captivity1 and disappointment2 and it is
 this promise  which the angel declared 
was now fulfilled4 ,a ,saviour had been 
born to  them1 ,one ,who was able to    
realize for them the great hopes of     
blessing  which the prophets had held   
out4 ,he would be able1 in the words of 
another angel1 8to save them from their 
sins10 and by saving them from  their   
sins to save them from the sufferings   
and sorrows which those  sins had       
entailed upon them4 ,by the birth of our
 ,lord that had become  an accomplished 
fact4 ,there existed from that moment   
,one ,who stood  between heaven and     
earth1 between ,god and man1 and united 
both--the ,son  of ,god and the ,son of 

,man1 with power 8to save to the        
uttermost all  who come unto ,god by    
,him10 and able1 first by ,his sacrifice
 for our  sins1 and then by ,his        
exercise of the royal authority and     
power which  are entrusted to ,him1 to  
put down all enemies under ,his feet1   
and to  deliver up the ,kingdom to ,god 
the ,father1 8that ,god may be all in   
all40    ,that is the grand consummation
 which1 to the vision of the ,angels1   
was  comprehended in this simple saying1
 8,unto you is born this day in the     
city of ,david a ,saviour1 which is     
,christ the ,lord40 ,let us clearly     
observe that it is not merely the future
 hope1 but the present fact1  which     
causes the ,angels' rejoicing4 ,the     
,saviour is born1 the ,king is          
revealed1 the work of redemption is     
actually commenced4 8,glory to ,god10   
they exclaimed1 8in the highest1 and on 
earth peace2 goodwill toward  men40 ,the
 goodwill of ,god toward men is now     
embodied in the ,babe ,who  is ,christ  

the ,lord2 or1 as it is translated in   
the ,revised ,version  7in different    
words1 but with the same meaning71      
,god's goodwill is  manifested 8to men  
in whom ,he is well pleased40 ,it is    
much more than a  general declaration of
 peace and goodwill4 ,it is a grand     
revelation1 a  revelation which opened  
the heavens and evoked from a host of   
,angels1  such as had never before nor  
has since been seen1 a burst of glory to
  ,god for the blessing that from that  
moment there was a living ,saviour  in  
human form in the world4    ,now ,i wish
 to urge this fact upon you this morning
 in all its glorious  reality1 because  
it is in that fact alone that we can    
find comfort  and help amidst the dark  
distress of such a ,christmas as this1  
and  because it affords us the one      
supreme guidance in our deep perplexity4
  ,the feeling is in all our hearts1 and
 the phrase on many lips1 8,what  a     
contrast is exhibited by this tremendous
 and cruel war to the  words of hope and

 peace in the angels' song10 and the old
 complaint  is uttered1 ,where is the   
promise of ,his coming--the coming of   
the  ,prince of ,peace8 ,but we have    
only to consider the immediate sequel of
  the first ,christmas ,day1 to realize 
that the assurance given by the  angels1
 and their joy1 involved no such facile 
creation of a time of  peace and        
righteousness as the eager hopes of men 
imagine4 ,the first  result of the      
,saviour's coming to ,his people1 and   
claiming their trust  and allegiance1   
was that they rejected ,him and         
crucified ,him4 ,he  rose from the dead 
and sent ,his ,apostles to proclaim ,his
 resurrection  and ,his full assumption 
of ,his power as a ,king and ,saviour1  
but they  continued to reject ,him2 and 
the result was that1 instead of entering
  on that ,kingdom of righteousness and 
peace and glory of which their  prophets
 had spoken1 their nation was crushed in
 scenes of 8blood  and fire and vapour  
of smoke10 and all the bright hopes of  

,zacharias  were apparently             
extinguished4 ,so the world went on1    
,christmas after  ,christmas1 and       
century after century1 through          
successive scenes of war  and           
destruction and desolation1 of which the
 spectacles of which we  read day by day
 afford us a horribly vivid example4 ,if
 the angels' song  had meant simply to  
promise peace on earth1 it was          
contradicted by the  experience1 not    
merely of bitter times like the present1
 but by every  year and every century   
which followed4    ,but where1 then1 is 
the fulfilment of the promise8 ,you have
 the record  and the evidence of it in  
your ,new ,testament4 ,there1 in the    
history of  the ,apostles and disciples 
of our ,lord1 and in their ,epistles1   
you  behold a body of men whose souls   
are filled with peace1 and with the     
sense of the goodwill of ,god1 and who  
are living the life described  and      
enjoined by our ,lord in the            
,gospels--the life of the ,sermon on    

the ,mount1 and of ,his parting         
discourses to ,his disciples recorded by
  ,st4 ,john4 ,they are living in the   
midst of that world of passion and      
violence and tyrannical domination of   
which ,i have spoken1 and yet they      
speak to us in tones of the most        
profound peace1 and joy1 and hope1  and 
even exultation4 ,the reason is that1   
through faith in our ,lord1  in ,his    
sacrifice1 and in the promise of ,his   
spirit1 they have found  peace with     
,god--the peace of which the angels     
spoke2 they live in the  blessed        
assurance of ,his goodwill1 and they    
look forward with infinite  rejoicing to
 ,his return1 to establish1 as ,he      
promised1 a new heaven and  a new earth1
 wherein dwelleth righteousness4        
,that spiritual ,kingdom of             
righteousness and peace and joy in the  
,holy  ,ghost has subsisted continuously
 from that time to this4 ,it is here in 
the midst of us4 ,there are souls whom  
we are privileged to know1 who  are     

visibly living in that kingdom of       
,divine peace and goodwill1 and  who1   
when they leave us here1 pass1 as we and
 they are assured1 into  fuller         
realization of that kingdom1 looking    
forward to its complete  establishment  
and revelation at the ,day of the       
general ,resurrection4  ,that is the    
kingdom ,of the ,lord's elect1 of the   
,saviour's followers1  of the           
saints--perfect or imperfect1 but still 
saints1 of all ages1  the ,church of    
,christ and the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,it is
 a kingdom within  which every          
,christian soul is admitted by baptism  
to his place and  his privilege1 and it 
rests only with him to claim its        
blessings by  his faith and his life4   
,in a word3 the ,acts of the ,apostles  
and the  ,epistles are the record of the
 fulfilment of the angels' promise of   
peace and love and ,divine goodwill1 for
 all who would submit to the  ,king and 
,saviour whose advent they proclaimed1  
and who would receive  ,his blessings in

 the way in which ,he offered them4 ,to 
all whom would  8repent and believe and 
be baptised in the ,name of ,jesus      
,christ for the  remission of sins10 the
 promises of the angelic song were      
fulfilled1  and they have been fulfilled
 similarly to this hour4    ,but has the
 promise1 then1 no bearing on the       
ordinary secular life  of mankind8 ,are 
the instincts of men wrong in looking   
eagerly to it1  as they have done from  
generation to generation1 for the       
prophetic  assurance of peace between   
men1 as well as of peace between men and
  ,god--of goodwill from man to man1 as 
well as from ,god to man and man  to    
,god4 ,most certainly they have not been
 wrong in that eager hope and           
expectation2 but where they have been   
wrong1 and still are wrong1 is in  their
 conception of the methods and means by 
which that secular peace  and those     
purely human blessings and happiness are
 to be realized4 ,if  ,christ is1 as the
 angels said1 the ,saviour1 the ,saviour

 of the world2  if ,he is the ,king ,who
 alone can save ,his people from their  
sins2 and if  war and all the miseries  
of the world are1 in one form or        
another1 the  consequences of those     
sins1 then the only way of obtaining    
salvation  from those sins1 and         
deliverance from those miseries which   
are ,god's  judgments upon them1 is by  
submitting ourselves entirely to ,him1  
repenting of our failure in obedience to
 ,him1 living only by ,his laws1  and   
seeking ,his grace and ,his ,spirit for 
our guidance and inspiration4  ,have we 
done that8 ,has ,europe at large been   
doing it these last fifty  years8       
,people ask how such a war as this can  
be possible after nineteen  centuries of
 ,christianity4 ,what do you mean by    
,christianity8 ,if you  only mean that1 
during the greater part of those        
centuries1 there has  been a general and
 nominal acknowledgment of the authority
 of ,christ  and of ,his laws1 such a   
description of the condition of the     

world  during that time may be allowed4 
,but if you mean a real submission  of  
the mass of men and women1 in heart and 
life1 to the will1 the  love1 and the   
,spirit of ,christ1 then we have not    
really had nineteen  centuries of       
,christianity1 and the state of the     
modern world1 out  of which this war has
 arisen1 has not been a ,christian      
state4 ,it is  notorious for instance1  
and not impugned anywhere1 that the     
spirit of  ,germany1 which has provoked 
this war1 has not only not been a       
,christian  spirit1 but has been        
violently anti-,christian4 ,the ,divine 
authority  of ,christ as the ,king and  
,saviour of the world has been openly   
and  vehemently impugned for at least a 
generation or two1 especially in  the   
public and authoritative teaching in the
 ,universities1 which have  such immense
 influence in ,german life4 ,christ to  
them has not been the  ,king of kings   
and ,lord of ,lords1 the very           
incarnation of ,god1 8the  brightness of

 ,his glory and the express image of    
,his person40    ,if we are honest1 we  
must also acknowledge that in far too   
great a  degree the same failure has    
prevailed among ourselves4 ,it has1 to  
say  the least of it1 not been          
sufficiently recognized in our          
literature of  late years1 or in our    
public life1 that 8all form is formless1
 order  orderless10 which is not        
entirely subject to ,christ and informed
 by  ,his ,spirit4 ,the very vice with  
which we now charge the ,germans has    
been more than a temptation among       
ourselves4 ,we have had great writers   
among us exalting statesmen and kings of
 the past on the ground of  their mere  
strength4 ,it was a great ,english      
writer of the last century  who         
glorified ,frederick the ,great of      
,prussia as an example of a really      
strong king2 and it is not a long step  
from that glorification to the  worship 
which has been paid on the ,continent of
 late to the supremacy  of strength and 

self-assertion4 ,that is not the        
,christian spirit1 and  the 8red ruin   
and the breaking up of laws10 into which
 ,europe is now  plunged1 is to be      
charged1 not to any weakness in         
,christianity1 but  to a grievous       
neglect1 and in some degree to the very 
negation1 of  ,christianity4    ,the    
peace and goodwill which the message of 
the angels promised is1  in fact1 within
 the scope of ,christianity1 and might  
be realized in  the world at large1 but 
solely on the condition of the true     
methods  being observed--on condition1  
that is1 of ,christ1 and the law of     
,christ1 being acknowledged from the    
heart as the true and only source  of   
peace and truth and goodwill1 and on the
 condition of penitent1  humble1 and    
earnest devotion to ,him4 ,that is the  
one supreme condition  on which peace to
 the world is promised by the ,gospel4  
,when emperors1  and kings1 and         
statesmen1 and soldiers1 and men and    
women in general  believe the angels'   

proclamation that ,christ is their only 
,saviour1  their only ,king1 that ,he   
alone1 by ,his sacrifice1 ,his laws1 and
 ,his  grace can save ,his people from  
their sins1 then1 but then only1 may    
they hope in the life of the ,state1 as 
well as in that of the ,church1  to     
realize the angels' promise of peace and
 goodwill4 ,in a word3 it is  not by    
strength1 nor by liberty1 nor even by   
law1 that the blessings of  which       
,christmas holds out the promise can be 
realized4 ,it is only by  ,christian    
liberty1 ,christian law1 and ,christian 
strength--that is to  say1 liberty and  
law1 and strength exerted in obedience  
to the will of  ,christ--that these     
blessings can be obtained4 ,it is not   
,christianity  that has failed2 it is   
not the angelic song that has           
disappointed us4  ,it is nominal        
,christians who have failed1 from not   
being ,christians  in reality4 ,and the 
angelic song has proved its truth by the
 very  disasters which have fallen upon 

men who have not lived as though        
,christ were their ,saviour and their   
,king4    ,but1 thank ,god1 if these    
considerations point to our weakness1   
they  also point to our hope1 and to the
 means for our deliverance4 ,we have    
still as much reason to rejoice as the  
angels had when they sang this  song1   
because the great joy of it lies in the 
eternal fact that there  is a ,saviour  
and there is a ,king1 ,who1 if ,his     
people will trust ,him1  will save them 
from their sins and all the miseries    
that their sins  involve4 ,if our own   
lives and the life of our nation and the
 life of  ,europe can be made truly     
,christian1 if we can bring more of the 
love  of ,christ and the life of ,christ
 into our daily existence1 we have the  
assurance that ,he will save us1 and    
will extirpate the abuses and the       
falsehoods which have brought the       
nations of ,europe to this terrible     
pass4    ,in a few days we are to have a
 ,day of ,humble ,prayer and            

,intercession  to ,almighty ,god4 ,let  
it be1 above all1 a day of humble       
acknowledgment  of our failure as       
individuals and as a nation in ,his true
 faith and  obedience4 ,i would fain it 
had been called by the good old         
,christian  and ,english name of a ,day 
of ,humiliation4 ,we ought to be        
humiliated4  ,we have1 in such ways as  
,i have indicated1 been contented with a
  half-,christian life in public affairs
 and in society4 ,we and our  men of    
letters1 and men of learning1 and men of
 affairs1 have been  affected with the  
same half-heartedness in our allegiance 
to ,christ1  which shocks us when we see
 it displayed in all its nakedness in   
other  countries1 and especially in the 
one which is chiefly opposed to us4     
,let us be humiliated for it before     
,god1 not caring1 in comparison with    
our true relation to ,him1 what         
interpretation the world may put on our 
repentance4    ,but let us also rejoice 
more than ever in the assurance of      

,christmas  that a ,saviour has been    
born to us1 that we have an eternal     
,king in our  ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 ,who
 can save us from our sins1 and our     
ruin1 and  ourselves1 if we will but    
give ourselves up to ,him absolutely4   
,let us  realize with infinite          
thankfulness that the souls of those who
 are now  sacrificing their lives for us
 are in ,his saving and merciful hands4 
,let us be reminded by the angelic      
vision that we ourselves1 and the  souls
 of those who have passed and are       
passing away1 are not brought  merely   
into contact with the 8blackness and    
darkness and tempest0 of  war1 but are  
come unto 8,mount ,zion1 to the city of 
the living ,god1  and to an innumerable 
company of ,angels1 and to the general  
assembly  of the ,church of the         
,firstborn and to ,christ the ,judge of 
all1 and to  the spirits of just men    
made perfect40 ,let us realize this more
 than  we have yet done4 ,let us realize
 the truth of the ,angels' proclamation 

that ,christ and ,christ alone is our   
,saviour and our ,king1 that ,he alone  
can save us1 individuals and nations    
alike1 from our sins2 and then1  in     
spite of all the distress and anxiety   
which surrounds us1 this may  prove the 
most blessed ,christmas of our lives1   
and it may bring us a  happiness which  
will last unto life eternal4            
,,christmas ,,and ,,the ,,war4    ,a    
,,sermon ,,preached ,,on ,,christmas    
,,day ,a4,d4 #aiae4     8,who hath saved
 us and called us with an holy calling1 
not according   to our works1 but       
according to ,his ,own purpose and      
grace1 which was   given us in ,christ  
,jesus before the world began1 but is   
now made   manifest by the appearing of 
our ,saviour ,jesus ,christ1 ,who hath  
abolished death1 and hath brought life  
and immortality to light   through the  
,gospel40--#b ,tim4 i4 #i1 #aj4         
,there has never been an occasion in our
 own lives1 and there have been  few    
occasions in the world's history1 on    

which we have had more reason  for      
unbounded thankfulness for the blessed  
message of ,christmas4 ,we  are         
celebrating this ,festival to-day in a  
sadder and darker world than  any of us 
can remember1 amid scenes of bloodshed  
and desolation1 of  which an adequate   
description can only be found in the    
lurid pictures  of the ,book of         
,revelation1 with war and hatred all    
around us instead of  peace and good    
will1 and with death and destruction    
raging over a great  part both of       
,europe and of ,asia4 ,if we had to     
confine our vision to  the present      
world1 and to the prospects it offers1  
men's hearts might  well1 in our ,lord's
 words1 be 8failing them for fear1 and  
for looking  after those things which   
are coming on the earth02 but ,christmas
 breaks  upon this dark scene with a    
message and a promise1 which enable us  
to  lift our hearts and hopes above this
 present world and this earthly  scene4 
,the heavens are opened2 a great        

illumination bursts upon the  world2 and
 an innumerable multitude of the        
heavenly host are heard  singing1 in    
tones of rejoicing and thankfulness1    
8,glory to ,god in the  ,highest1 and on
 earth peace1 good will towards men40   
,they are good  tidings of great joy1   
proclaiming peace and good will from    
,god towards  men--good tidings of great
 joy which shall be to all people1 that 
unto  us was born that day in the ,city 
of ,david 8a ,saviour1 which is ,christ 
the ,lord60 ,such tidings of great joy  
are the very things for which our       
hearts are yearning amid the distresses1
 bereavements and sorrows1 and  the     
overwhelming anxieties of the moment1   
and such are the tidings  which         
,christmas brings4 ,let us beware of    
allowing the heavy burdens  and sorrows 
of the hour to obscure1 or to muffle1 to
 our hearts these  tidings of great joy4
 ,on the contrary1 the darker the hour1 
the heavier  the burden2 let us open our
 hearts the more to this glory of ,god  

shining round about us1 as on this day1 
and to the tidings of great joy  which  
are proclaimed to us by the ,angelic    
,choir4    ,it is well we should        
remember1 in the first place1 that1 even
 though to  ourselves this hour is      
peculiarly dark1 it is but an           
aggravation1 and  we may hope a         
comparatively brief one1 of human       
experience throughout  all history4     
,that history has been from the first   
marked by two  aspects1 in the sharpest 
contrast to one another4 ,in the first  
place1  from century to century it has  
been one of incessant struggle1 of war1 
of the rising of nation against nation  
and kingdom against kingdom2  and the   
,book of ,revelation depicts the world  
as ending in scenes of  greater struggle
 and desolation than have ever gone     
before4 ,that has  been the terrible    
reality of human experience from the    
commencement  to the present time4 ,but1
 on the other hand1 throughout these    
distressing scenes there has always been

 heard a moral and spiritual  ,voice1   
assuring men that ,god was controlling  
all these sufferings and  struggles1 and
 that all was working for good1 alike to
 the world at  large and to the         
individual4    ,you have the            
representation of the experience of     
every generation of  men in the pages of
 the ,bible1 and especially of the      
,prophet ,isaiah4  ,he is known as the  
,evangelical ,prophet1 because he       
depicts in deeper  and nobler tones than
 any other inspired voice that blessed  
promise of  good will1 of which the     
final proclamation was uttered to-day4  
,but let  us bear in mind the           
circumstances under which the glorious  
promises  which we recite and sing at   
this season were uttered4 ,let us listen
 to  ,isaiah's own description of them  
in the twenty-fourth chapter3 8,behold1 
the ,lord maketh the earth empty1 and   
maketh it waste1 and turneth it  upside 
down1 and scattereth abroad the         
inhabitants thereof4444 ,the  land shall

 be utterly emptied and utterly spoiled3
 for the ,lord hath  spoken this        
word4444 ,all joy is darkened2 the mirth
 of the land is  gone4 ,in the city is  
left desolation1 and the gate is smitten
 with  destruction40 ,these were the    
visible realities around him1 but he is 
inspired to look over them and through  
them2 and he ends that passage  by      
declaring that 8it shall come to pass in
 that day1 that the ,lord  shall punish 
the host of the high ones that are on   
high1 and the kings  of the earth upon  
the earth20 and that1 at the last1 8the 
moon shall  be confounded1 and the sun  
ashamed1 when the ,lord of ,hosts shall 
reign  in ,mount ,zion1 and in          
,jerusalem1 and before ,his ancients    
gloriously40  ,isaiah and his           
fellow-,prophets were surrounded by     
scenes of war and  bloodshed and        
desolation as terrible as any we have   
around us in our  own day1 and it was   
over these fields of battle and         
destruction that  the glorious songs    

were heard which are our delight and    
encouragement  at this season4 8,comfort
 ye1 comfort ye my people saith your    
,god4 ,speak  ye comfortably to         
,jerusalem1 and say unto her that her   
warfare is  accomplished1 that her      
iniquity is pardoned2 for she hath      
received at  the ,lord's hand double for
 all her sins40 ,there is nothing more  
amazing  in the experience of the human 
heart1 and more inspiring to ourselves1 
than that these grand songs of hope and 
deliverance and comfort should  have    
echoed over the desolate fields of      
,judea1 and lived in the hearts  of a   
people who were as crushed1 and all but 
destroyed1 as any of the  ruined nations
 of ,europe of the present day4    ,it  
has been the same all through history4  
,even where there was not the  inspired 
voice of ,revelation1 there was still   
among the ,greeks and  ,romans the      
ineradicable hope of a ,golden ,age2 and
 an inner witness  of ,god's ,spirit    
kept alive in the whole human race a    

firm belief in  ,his justice and ,his   
ultimate deliverance1 both for the world
 and for  individuals1 from age to age4 
,let us not think1 therefore1 that in   
the  strain and distress and suffering  
of the present hour we are undergoing   
any novel or special experience2 and if 
we should be tempted to be out  of      
heart1 let us be shamed by the faith of 
the past1 by the inspiration  of the    
,prophets1 and even by the uninspired   
faith and courage of  mankind at large4 
,let us believe1 through all1 as they   
did1 that the  ,lord reigneth1 and that 
though 8clouds and darkness are round   
about  ,him1 righteousness and judgment 
are the habitation of ,his seat40 ,the  
birth of our ,lord1 which we celebrate  
to-day1 and the ,divine ,voice  which   
spoke in ,him through human lips1 have  
given us a final assurance  that ,he is 
reigning1 and that ,he will judge the   
world in righteousness4    ,but it has  
done other things1 of which my text more
 particularly  speaks1 which are a      

source of still greater joy and         
assurance to us  individually4 ,by the  
message which our ,lord brought us1 an  
infinite and  blessed light has been    
thrown over the great mystery which     
darkened  the minds1 and dimmed the     
faith1 of men before ,his time4 ,the    
,apostle  says that our ,saviour 8hath  
abolished death1 and hath brought life  
and immortality to light through the    
,gospel40 ,though looking first1  as we 
may and ought1 with the ,prophets1 to   
the ultimate vindication  of            
righteousness and justice throughout the
 world1 by the fulfilment  of ,god's    
judgments in the struggles of mankind1  
there still remained1  and there remains
 at this moment1 to many hearts among   
us1 the mystery  of the sacrifice of    
life which such judgments involve--the  
mystery  of the destruction of thousands
 of lives precious in themselves1 and   
infinitely dear to those who loved them1
 and who lived with them and  for them  
here4 ,before the ,gospel1 men's hearts 

strained at the burden  of that mystery1
 and it is wonderful that human nature  
endured it with  such courage and       
patience2 but now1 says the ,apostle1   
,god's purpose and  grace in this bitter
 experience 8is made manifest by the    
appearing of  our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 
,who hath abolished death1 and hath     
brought life  and immortality to light  
through the ,gospel40    ,it would be   
rather truer to the original1 and more  
closely  corresponding with the facts1  
to say--not that our ,lord hath         
abolished  death1 for1 alas6 that still 
remains around us--but that ,he hath    
brought death to nought1 annihilated its
 power1 and destroyed its  strength4    
8,the last enemy10 we are told1 8which  
shall be destroyed is  death02 but      
meanwhile1 for every ,christian soul1   
its greatest distress  and terror is    
gone because our ,lord has thrown a     
glorious illumination  upon it1 and has 
8brought life and immortality to light  
through the  ,gospel40 ,he has enabled  

us to see beyond the grave1 beyond those
  dreadful battlefields1 strewn with the
 bodies of those whom we had  loved and 
honoured1 and has made manifest to us   
that they still live  on in a new life1 
and a glorious immortality4 ,who can    
estimate the  mercy to sad and sorrowing
 hearts of the establishment of that    
blessed  hope on the firm assurance of  
our ,lord ,himself1 who1 after suffering
 an  agonizing death here1 appeared to  
,his ,apostles and declared1 8,fear not2
  ,i am the first and the last3 ,i am   
,he that liveth1 and was dead2 and1     
behold1 ,i am alive for evermore1 ,amen2
 and have the keys of hell and  of      
death08 ,the pain of bereavement        
remains--that is like the loss of  a    
limb1 which time alone can soften--but  
the definite assurance1 from  the       
,saviour's lips1 that those who have    
died in ,his faith and obedience  have  
entered on a new and blessed life1 must 
be of infinite comfort  to those who    
loved them4 ,we are not left any longer 

to hopes and to  future expectations2   
but can grasp the assurance of present  
realities  which are vouched for by the 
,saviour who took our nature upon ,him1 
who  lived our life1 and died our death1
 and showed ,himself alive beyond  the  
grave4 ,this is what we owe to the      
,saviour's birth1 with all the  gracious
 revelation of which it was the         
commencement4    ,the ,apostle's        
assurance goes1 indeed1 beyond this     
illumination of our  present experience1
 and seems to throw a glorious light    
upon the whole  history of mankind4     
8,god10 he says1 8hath saved us1 and    
called us with  an holy calling1 not    
according to our works1 but according to
 ,his own  purpose and grace which was  
given us in ,christ ,jesus1 before the  
world  began40 ,it is now made manifest 
by the appearing of our ,lord ,jesus    
,christ1 but it existed from all        
eternity 8before the world began40  ,if 
so1 then through those long ages which  
preceded our ,lord's birth1  this life  

and immortality were given to the       
millions to whom ,his ,name  had not    
been manifested1 but who died in the    
discharge of their duty1  and who       
faithfully made the sacrifices which    
were involved in ,his  government and   
just judgment of the world4 ,christ     
revealed the wars and  sufferings of    
this world as the inevitable consequence
 of the operation  of ,god's            
righteousness and justice upon the evil1
 the sin1 and the  ,godlessness of      
mankind4 ,sooner or later those sins and
 evils gather to  a head1 in some great 
corruption of society and political     
life1 in some  enormous crime of        
ambition or pride2 and the righteousness
 and justice  of ,god1 working through  
the ordinary laws of human nature1      
evokes some  tremendous reaction against
 them2 and we behold the overthrow of a 
great ,empire1 or a ,european           
,revolution1 or a world-wide clash of   
the  forces of right and wrong4 ,that is
 the course of history1 as determined   

before the world began by the           
inscrutable righteousness and wisdom of 
,god4    ,that is the condition under   
which the world now exists1 and people  
who talk of abolishing war are like     
people standing on the crater of  a     
great volcano1 and trying to persuade   
themselves that there will be  no more  
eruptions4 ,as long as there is evil in 
the world and ,god's  righteousness in  
the world1 you will have the moral      
reactions between  the two bursting from
 time to time into some awful           
conflagration like  the present4 ,that  
is the revelation of the whole ,bible1  
brought to its  culmination in the ,book
 of ,revelation4 ,but what was          
manifested to-day1  and proclaimed by   
the ,heavenly ,hosts1 was ,god's love   
and mercy to  the individual souls who  
have been the victims of these          
convulsions1  and who might seem to have
 been treated as mere passing elements  
in  the temporal scene4 ,at the ,birth  
of ,christ1 and by means of it1 were    

manifested and assured ,god's peace and 
good will to every soul of man  who     
passes through this brief scene of      
struggle and1 it may be1 of  death4 ,it 
proclaims that for each individual soul 
death may be said to  have been in      
effect abolished1 that for every one of 
them1 according to  the eternal purpose 
of ,god1 8life and immortality0 have    
been prepared  and assured2 and that the
 struggles and sufferings of this mortal
 life1  terrible as they may be1 are not
 worthy to be compared with the glory   
that was designed1 before the world     
began1 for those who do the will  of    
,god4 ,this is the blessed revelation of
 ,christmas1 and it is our  privilege to
 fix our eyes and our hearts upon it1   
amid the sorrows and  troubles of the   
moment2 and in proportion as we do so1  
we shall respond  with our whole hearts 
and souls to the exhortation of the same
 ,apostle4  8,therefore1 my beloved     
brethren1 be ye steadfast1 unmovable1   
always  abounding in the work of the    

,lord1 forasmuch as ye know that your   
labour is not in vain in the ,lord40    
,,the ,,things ,,seen ,,and ,,the       
,,things ,,not ,,seen4    ,,preached    
,,in ,,canterbury ,,cathedral1 ,,easter 
,,day1 #aiae4     8,for which cause we  
faint not2 but though our outward man   
perish1 yet   the inward man is renewed 
day by day4 ,for our light affliction1  
which   is but for a moment1 worketh for
 us a far more exceeding and eternal    
weight of glory2 while we look not at   
the things which are seen1 but   at the 
things which are not seen3 for the      
things which are seen are   temporal2   
but the things which are not seen are   
eternal40--#b ,cor4 iv4   #af4          
,these touching words of ,st4 ,paul are 
based upon the grand truth to  which    
,easter ,day is a standing witness4     
8,therefore10 he says1 or 8for  which   
cause1 we faint not40 ,that cause is    
stated in the verse just  before1       
8,knowing that ,he ,which raised up the 
,lord ,jesus shall raise  up us also    

with ,jesus1 and shall present us with  
you40 ,the ,apostle  had just been      
giving a vivid description of the       
extreme strain1 and  almost mortal      
struggle1 in which the work of his      
ministry involved him4  8,we are        
troubled10 he says1 8on every side 444  
always bearing about  in the body the   
dying of the ,lord ,jesus1 that the life
 also of ,jesus  might be made manifest 
in our mortal flesh4 ,so then death     
worketh in  us1 but life in you40 ,the  
,apostle was undergoing a strain which  
was  draining the very life of his body1
 in order to preach the ,gospel which   
was bringing life to the souls of       
others2 but he endured it in the        
knowledge that1 even if it involved the 
sacrifice of his life1 ,he ,who  raised 
up the ,lord ,jesus would raise him up  
also by ,jesus1 and present  him in a   
new life at the day of the              
,resurrection4 ,in this knowledge1  his 
experience that his outward man was     
perishing did not make him  faint1 for  

he knew that his inward man was being   
renewed day by day4  ,if he was daily   
dying1 he was but experiencing the dying
 of the ,lord  ,jesus2 and thus1 by     
entering into closer sympathy with his  
,lord1 he  was becoming united also with
 ,his life4 ,christ's resurrection in   
glory  was an assurance to him of his   
own resurrection1 and the sufferings of 
the moment were as nothing to him in    
comparison with that glory4 ,that       
affliction was1 after all1 light and    
momentary1 when it was realized  that it
 was working out for him1 more and more 
exceedingly1 an eternal  weight of      
glory4 ,the things which he saw and felt
 at the moment were1  after all1 but    
temporary1 whereas the things which were
 not then  visible were eternal4 ,if the
 earthly frame1 which was his present   
tabernacle1 were dissolved by death1 he 
knew that there was ready for  him 8a   
house not made with hands1 eternal1 in  
the heavens40    ,is not this           
application of the great message of the 

,resurrection  peculiarly opportune and 
welcome to us at the present moment8 ,we
 are  living through a time when the    
things that are seen are distressing and
  painful beyond anything in our        
experience--we might perhaps say1 in the
  experience of ,christian ,europe4 ,we 
seem to have gone back1 on a sudden1  to
 the days before the flood1 when 8the   
earth was corrupt before  ,god1 and the 
earth was filled with violence02 and we 
seem to need a  re-issue of the ,divine 
proclamation1 after that world of       
violence had  been swept away3 8,surely 
your blood of your lives will ,i        
require2 at  the hand of every man's    
brother will ,i require the life of man4
 ,whoso  sheddeth man's blood1 by man   
shall his blood be shed2 for in the     
image  of ,god made ,he man40 ,the curse
 of this violence and bloodshed is being
  inflicted1 day by day1 upon           
innumerable homes2 and day by day we    
each  apprehend it for our own families4
 ,in order to stay the curse1 the  blood

 of our own brothers and sons is being  
poured out like water1 and  the         
desolation of our homes is becoming more
 and more appalling4 ,the  blood-stained
 fields of ,belgium1 ,france and        
,poland1 the engulfing of  the innocent 
lives of women and children in the      
ocean--these are the  things that are   
seen2 and we need some supreme          
assurance--nay we need  some ,divine    
revelation--if we are to live through   
such experiences  in faith1 and hope1   
and in ,christian charity4 ,we mourn1   
day by day1  the loss of precious lives1
 and we are appalled at the thought of  
the  further sacrifices of such lives1  
young and mature1 which we fear must  be
 required2 and so far as we look only on
 the things thus seen1 our  hearts might
 well fail us4 ,like ,st4 ,paul1 as he  
describes himself in  the context1 8we  
are troubled on every side 444 we are   
smitten down1  though not destroyed40   
,let us then observe the manner in which
 the ,apostle meets this  overwhelming  

oppression4 ,he looks off from the      
things which are seen  to the things    
which are not seen2 8for10 he says1 8the
 things which are  seen are temporal 7or
 temporary71 but the things which are   
not seen are  eternal40 ,perhaps that is
 the first condition for our seeing     
things in  their true light4 ,it is very
 difficult for us not to have our vision
  almost wholly occupied by the visible 
things around us1 which are also  the   
things of which we are the most         
immediately sensible1 and which         
naturally absorb our ordinary thoughts1 
feelings and energies4 ,yet1 as  a      
matter of fact1 as ,st4 ,paul reminds   
us1 they are a very small part  indeed  
of the realities with which we are      
surrounded4 8,the things which  are seen
 are temporal1 but the things which are 
not seen are eternal40    ,eternal as   
compared with temporary6 ,do we often   
realize sufficiently  what that         
comparison means8 ,what is the longest  
life here8 ,call it  one hundred years1 

and what is that compared with life     
eternal1  everlasting1 never ending8    
,that is the ultimate reality with which
 we  are all concerned4 ,our hearts are 
filled1 first1 with the thoughts of     
youth1 then with those of manhood1 then 
with those of old age2 but  there lies  
before us1 before each one of us1 an    
interminable existence1  in which we are
 destined to experience profounder      
happiness1 or  profounder unhappiness1  
than any we have experienced here4 ,all 
that has  exercised our thoughts and    
feelings here will indeed leave its mark
  upon us1 but it will all pass away2 it
 is essentially temporal1 and  there    
lies before us an unending existence for
 weal or woe4    ,so far1 therefore1 as 
any individual life is concerned1 so far
 as  those young lives are concerned1   
whose premature loss is so bitter to    
their nearest and dearest1 and seems so 
sad to all of us1 it is well  we should 
clearly realize that to the individual  
life itself1 a few  years more or       

less--nay1 half a life-time more or     
less--is practically  insignificant4    
,are there fifty1 or forty1 or thirty   
years behind it8  ,there is all eternity
 in front of it4 ,there is a fulness of 
life and  joy1 and even glory1 before   
it1 which can never end4 ,to one who has
  lived1 and who dies1 in the true faith
 and love of ,christ1 all the  gracious 
and glorious promises of our ,lord and  
,his ,apostles are fully  assured2 and  
even if1 in any particular case1 we may 
not have the  full evidence of that     
entire ,christian devotion1 we may      
surely apply  to every life which is    
willingly sacrificed at the call of     
duty1 for a  righteous cause1 and with a
 generous self-surrender1 the assurance 
of  ,st4 ,paul1 that ,god will render   
8to every man according to his deeds4   
,to them who by patience in well-doing  
seek for glory1 honour1 and             
immortality1 eternal life02 or1 as he   
says again1 8,glory1 honour1 and  peace 
to every man that worketh good1 to the  

,jew first and also to the  ,gentile40  
,or1 as we may surely paraphrase it1 to 
the ,christian first1  and also to every
 human soul4 ,if1 in fact1 our vision   
were merely  confined to this world1 and
 we did but catch a doubtful glimpse of 
what is beyond it1 the spectacle of the 
sacrifice of human life1 and            
particularly of young human life in a   
war like this1 would be scarcely        
endurable4 ,but let us have1 not merely 
that 8gleam beyond it10 of which  the   
,christian poet speaks1 but that clear  
vision beyond it1 of an  eternal life of
 which our ,saviour assures us1 and of  
8the grace of the  ,lord ,jesus ,christ1
 and the love of ,god1 and the          
fellowship of the ,holy  ,ghost10 in the
 peace of which that eternal life will  
be spent1 and we  may be able to feel1  
like ,st4 ,paul1 that the affliction of 
the moment  is light1 in comparison with
 the eternal abundance of glory which   
awaits the soul in the future4    ,we   
are too apt1 in a word1 to take our     

stand within the horizon of  this life1 
and to judge of all things as they are  
reflected in this  world's mirror2 but  
if we would see them in their true      
perspective and  so measure their real  
values1 we must take our stand in the   
life beyond  the grave4 ,we must look1  
not at the things which are seen1 but at
 the  things which are not seen2 for the
 things which are seen are temporal1    
but the things which are not seen are   
eternal4 ,in some degree1 though  not to
 the same extent1 we may apply a similar
 consideration to the  sufferings of    
nations1 and of the world as a whole1 in
 a great war4 ,it  is revealed to us in 
the ,book of the ,revelation of ,st4    
,john that1 at  the consummation of all 
things1 after scenes of carnage which   
are at  least equal in their horror to  
the dreadful spectacle now before our   
eyes1 a new heaven and a new earth will 
be created1 by ,him ,who sits  upon the 
throne making all things new4 ,even so  
far as the present  world is concerned1 

the sufferings and sacrifices involved  
in great  wars have doubtless won for   
future generations the greatest         
blessings  of true ,christian           
civilization--liberty1 order1 peace1 and
 justice4  ,it might1 indeed1 be thought
 that the price of such blessings was   
too  high1 if we judged of the          
sacrifices of individual lives in the   
light  only of the things that are seen2
 but when we can feel that every  life  
thus sacrificed1 that every suffering   
thus unselfishly endured1  works out for
 the sufferer himself an exceeding and  
eternal reward1  we can look to the     
things which are not seen1 and can again
 realize  that1 in comparison with them1
 it is not too much to speak1 with ,st4 
,paul1 of 8our light affliction which is
 but for a moment40 ,that is the  grand 
comfort1 also1 of the mourners who are  
left behind1 who may be  similarly      
assured that1 in their patient          
acceptance of their bitter  share of    
these sacrifices1 they will be united   

with those they have  loved and lost1 in
 the eternal blessedness to which ,st4  
,paul looks  forward4    ,but who does  
not realize that we need very strong    
evidence1 and the  firmest assurances1  
to sustain flesh and blood amid such    
bitter trials  as men and women are now 
experiencing--fathers and mothers1 wives
 and  sisters1 lovers and friends8 ,it  
is not1 perhaps1 even a ,st4 ,paul whose
  word alone would be sufficient to bear
 that strain4 ,if we had only that  to  
depend on we could but speak of hope and
 trust2 we could hardly say1  as he goes
 on to say1 that 8we know0 that if our  
earthly house of this  tabernacle be    
dissolved we have a building of ,god1 a 
house eternal  in the heavens4 ,but the 
ground of his knowledge was the reality 
of  our ,lord's resurrection1 and the   
assurances which our ,lord1 when so     
raised1 had given him4 ,we know1 he     
says1 8that ,he ,who raised up the      
,lord ,jesus shall raise up us also by  
,jesus40 ,the great certainty from      

which ,st4 ,paul's ,gospel starts is    
that our ,lord1 ,who had undoubtedly    
suffered death in its most agonizing    
form1 had not less undoubtedly  risen   
from the dead1 and appeared again and   
again to ,st4 ,paul1 as to  many others1
 and had given him the personal         
assurances on which we are  invited to  
rely4 ,that is the cardinal fact of the 
,christian ,faith4 ,had  our ,saviour   
not risen1 had ,he not appeared in such 
a form as to prove  that ,he had        
completely overcome death1 then we      
should still1 at the  best1 have been in
 the region of hopes and imperfect      
beliefs1 and of a  yearning trust4 ,we  
could not have said1 with the ,apostle1 
that we know  that ,christ is risen from
 the dead1 and become the first-fruits  
of them  that slept4 ,but now it is no  
mere prophet or ,apostle1 but the risen 
,saviour ,himself1 ,who stands in the   
midst of human life1 as ,he stood in    
the midst of ,his disciples on the      
morrow of ,his resurrection1 and ,who   

said ,himself1 8,i am the ,resurrection 
and the ,life4 ,he that believeth on    
,me1 though he were dead1 yet shall he  
live1 and whosoever liveth and          
believeth in ,me shall never die40      
,those were ,his own words2 that is the 
conviction ,he stamped upon the mind and
 heart of such men as ,st4 ,paul1  ,st4 
,peter1 and ,st4 ,john2 and that is the 
sure foundation on which we  stand in   
believing that1 if we suffer and die    
with ,christ1 we shall  also live with  
,him4    ,let me only add that this     
blessed revelation can only bring its   
full  blessing and comfort in proportion
 as we realize1 for our own souls1  and 
for all who are dear to us1 that union  
with ,christ in spirit which  is        
essential to our union with ,him in     
life1 here and hereafter4 8,if  any     
man10 says ,st4 ,paul1 8have not the    
spirit of ,christ1 he is none of  ,his40
 ,there are1 no doubt1 degrees in which 
men can possess that spirit  of ,christ2
 and even if we possess it in but a     

feeble degree1 we may  humbly trust that
 ,he will not disown it1 and that ,he   
will grant us some  portion of ,his     
grace and of ,his life4 ,but if this    
eternal life1 this  life of abundant    
glory1 is open to us all provided we are
 in union with  ,him1 which of us will  
not be moved by the afflictions of the  
present1  and the eternal promise of the
 future1 to seek for ever closer union  
with that ,lord of ,life1 looking less  
and less at the things that are  seen1  
and more and more at the things that are
 not seen1 and knowing  that our life is
 hid with ,christ in ,god8              
,,the ,,easter ,,message4    ,,preached 
,,in ,,canterbury ,,cathedral1 ,,easter 
,,day1 #aiaf4     8,if ye then be risen 
with ,christ1 seek those things which   
are above1   where ,christ sitteth on   
the right hand of ,god4 ,set your       
affection on   things above1 not on     
things on the earth1 for ye are dead1   
and your   life is hid with ,christ in  
,god4 ,when ,christ1 ,who is our life1  

shall   appear1 then shall ye also      
appear with ,him in glory40--,col4 iii4 
#a-d4      ,easter ,day brings us the   
most blessed message that could possibly
 be  proclaimed at any time2 but at     
present it is perhaps more blessed and  
more appropriate than at any other time 
in our experience4 ,it tells  us1 in the
 first place1 that ,christ was raised   
from the dead after ,his  crucifixion1  
and now sits at the right hand of ,god1 
,who has highly  exalted ,him1 and given
 ,him a name that is above every name4  
,but it  tells us1 also1 that the       
blessedness of that resurrection is open
 to  all of us1 and that we are admitted
 to share in the glory which ,christ    
won for ,himself2 so that when ,christ1 
,who is our life1 shall appear  we also 
shall appear with ,him in glory4 ,if we 
appreciate what these  assurances mean1 
we shall be lifted up by them into the  
apprehension  of realities which        
transform our whole life in this world1 
and enable  us to look beyond it1 to an 

eternal existence of the highest        
spiritual  bliss hereafter4    ,there   
are two ways in which men may think of  
their position in life4  ,the realities 
of this life may be predominant in their
 thoughts1 so  as almost to absorb their
 whole minds4 ,that1 ,i fear1 is the    
natural  tendency of most of us4 ,the   
claim which the things of this world    
make  upon us is so incessant1 and often
 so intense1 that we have too often     
neither the energy nor the inclination  
to look beyond it4 ,there have1  indeed1
 been good and brave men1 who have said 
that we should not look  beyond it2 that
 we should concentrate all our energies 
on the work  and the duties imposed upon
 us1 and leave the future to take care  
of itself1 even though it be that vast1 
and1 as we believe1 eternal  future1 on 
which we shall enter at death4 ,that was
 necessarily the  attitude of good men  
before the revelation of the ,gospel4   
,there have  been1 unhappily1 some good 
men among us in recent times who        

practically  live a similar life1 not   
realizing or believing the truths that  
are  opened to them by the ,gospel1 but 
content to do their duty to the best  of
 their power4 ,i fear a similar life is 
practically lived by too many           
,christians4 ,their interest and their  
thoughts are mainly absorbed in  this   
present visible world1 in their duties1 
their pleasures1 and their  worldly     
happiness2 and they do not1 for the most
 part1 think of much  beyond4 ,one      
consequence of this attitude of mind is 
that they judge of  all occurrences by  
their effect on this life2 and          
particularly they  are apt to consider  
all the dispensations of ,god's         
providence1 all  ,his judgments and all 
,his mercies1 with reference to their   
effect on  this world4 ,how is it       
possible1 for instance1 they ask1 that a
 ,god of  perfect goodness and love can 
permit such an awful dispensation to    
fall upon men as a great war like the   
present1 that ,he can allow the         

sufferings1 and the bereavements1 and   
the miseries which such a war  involves8
 ,i think1 if we are candid with        
ourselves1 we shall find that  when that
 question is acutely felt1 it is        
practically with reference  to this life
 that it is urged4 ,why should there be 
all this suffering  in the world in     
which we are now living8 ,why should so 
many young and  precious lives be       
sacrificed8 ,why should so many homes be
 darkened1 and  so many hearts all but  
broken1 in this present time8 ,it is the
 present  suffering and the present time
 that are uppermost in our thoughts4 ,we
  are apt to speak and think as if the  
life in the present world of those  who 
are lost had been the matter of greatest
 consequence for them1  and as if we    
were without any positive compensation1 
to them and to  ourselves1 except the   
victory of the cause for which they laid
 down  their lives4    ,now the great   
blessing of the ,easter message is that 
it entirely  reverses this aspect of    

life4 ,it reveals to us1 on the         
assurance of  ,christ and ,his          
,apostles1 that this world and this life
 are a very small  thing indeed compared
 with the realities which ,christ has   
revealed  to us by ,his resurrection4   
,he has revealed to us1 first for       
,himself  and in ,his own person1 and   
secondly for ourselves1 that the world  
in  which we really live is an eternal  
and spiritual realm1 in which we  are   
privileged to be in the company of      
,christ ,himself1 and of all the  souls 
who1 from the commencement of the world1
 have lived and died in  harmony with   
the spirit of ,christ and the will of   
,god4 ,that is the  real life into which
 every one in this congregation is      
admitted1 if  he will4 ,one of those    
great men in the past1 to whom ,i have  
referred1  imagined the case of men     
having lived all their lives in a cave  
to  which only broken beams of sunlight 
penetrated1 and who had no idea of  the 
splendid vision of the sun1 and of the  

earth with all its beauties1  which     
would burst upon their vision the moment
 they stepped outside  their cave4      
,that1 as his marvellous wisdom         
perceived1 is the case of  too many     
among us1 even among ,christians4 ,we   
have our caves1 created by  the temporal
 interests and obligations around us2   
and broken gleams1  from the truths of  
the ,gospel which we imperfectly        
realize1 afford  a dim religious light  
to our condition4 ,but1 in reality1     
there is a  spiritual1 a glorious1 and  
an eternal world around us1 which will  
burst  upon us with overpowering        
splendour when1 after death1 we step out
 of  the cave of this flesh4 ,the       
problems of ,god's dispensations1 both  
to  the world at large and to ourselves1
 are beyond our comprehension and       
solution1 because they have reference   
not merely to this world1 in  which most
 of us live for no more than three score
 years and ten1 but  to that eternal and
 infinite world of spirits1 which will  

endure for  ever1 and which is beyond   
our ken4 ,to each individual soul1 young
 or  old1 the question of chief         
importance is not what happens to them  
in  this world1 whether their life be   
short or long1 whether it be a happy    
life or a sad one1 but what happens to  
them afterwards1 in that eternal        
career1 which opens to them all at      
death4 ,the only true ,christian        
attitude1 as the ,apostle says          
elsewhere1 is to 8look not at the things
  which are seen1 but at the things     
which are not seen1 for the things      
which are seen are temporal1 but the    
things which are not seen are  eternal40
    ,but what are these things that are 
eternal8 ,that is one of the most       
precious parts of the ,christian        
revelation4 ,in some respects1 of       
course1 they must remain unknown to us  
while we are in the flesh1 for  8eye    
hath not seen nor ear heard1 neither    
have entered into the heart  of man1 the
 things which ,god hath prepared for    

them that love ,him40  ,but though we do
 not know what the external             
circumstances of that life  will be1 we 
do know1 because ,christ ,himself1 and  
,his ,apostles on ,his  authority1 have 
revealed it to us1 what the essential   
part of them will  be so far as our     
spiritual nature is concerned4 ,they    
will be simply  and precisely the       
spiritual things which are the highest  
and best in  this world4 ,they will be  
perfect truth1 and peace1 and love1 and1
 in a  word1 all those graces and       
perfections which were manifested in    
,christ  ,himself4 ,the ,apostle bids us
 8seek those things that are above1     
where  ,christ sitteth on the right hand
 of ,god02 and then he proceeds to      
explain what those things are4 8,put    
on10 he says1 a few verses further1  8as
 the elect of ,god a heart of           
compassion1 kindness1 humility1         
meekness1 long suffering2 forbearing one
 another1 and forgiving one  another2   
444 even as ,christ forgave you1 so also

 do ye2 and above all  these things1 put
 on love1 which is the bond of          
perfectness 444 and  whatsoever ye do in
 word or deed1 do all in the name of the
 ,lord ,jesus1  giving thanks to ,god   
the ,father through ,him40 ,that is the 
character of  the future world1 the     
future society1 to which we have the    
privilege of  being admitted at death3 a
 world in which all the graces and      
glories  of the ,christian character    
exist1 without any of the imperfections 
by  which even the holiest lives are    
clouded here2 a world of perpetual      
thanksgiving to ,god the ,father for the
 love with which ,he has loved us2  a   
world in short which is ablaze with the 
light and warmth of all love  and truth4
    ,one blessed consequence from this  
revelation of the nature of the         
spiritual world1 in which the risen     
,christ reigns1 is that we can enter    
it1 and live for it1 even in the present
 life1 without any disregard  of the    
obligatory claims which this world has  

upon us4 ,however busy a  man's life1   
however absorbed he may necessarily be  
in the requirements  and duties of his  
daily occupations1 he can also be       
exerting his  energies of thankfulness  
and prayer to ,god1 of truth and love   
and  compassion and meekness and peace1 
which make the life of the eternal      
world4 ,there is no occupation or       
condition of life in which those        
blessed graces may not be exerted and   
cultivated2 and men and women  may thus 
live in the spirit and light ,of        
,heaven1 even while they are  confined  
within the cave of the flesh4 ,in       
proportion as they are living  in this  
light even here1 they are being prepared
 for the eternal ,heaven  of the future2
 they are fulfilling1 all the more      
completely1 their duty  to the society  
and the life of this world because they 
are guided by  the illumination1 both of
 the present ,heaven which overshadows  
their  souls1 and of the future ,heaven1
 of which the approaching gleams throw  

flashes of light across their path4     
,but what ,i would more particularly    
ask1 at the present moment1 amid  the   
strain and distress of these months and 
years of war1 is whether  the promise of
 this eternal blessedness1 the vision of
 this unseen  and eternal world1 does   
not justify the ,apostle's description  
of all  the sorrows and sufferings which
 he and his fellows underwent1 as  8our 
light affliction1 which is but for a    
moment40 ,if this world were  the main  
scene of our life and of our hopes1     
there would be something  appalling in  
the destruction1 or mutilation1 of so   
many of the best  lives among us1 and   
the cruel bereavement of those who are  
left  behind4 ,but in the light of this 
revelation1 is it not our privilege  to 
regard it all as 8a light affliction1   
which is but for a moment10  and which  
is working for us all1 for those who are
 taken and for those  who are left1 a   
far more exceeding and eternal glory8   
,what does it  matter to a life1 however

 young and bright1 that it should be cut
 short  in this world if1 through death 
in the discharge of duty1 it passes  to 
the full enjoyment of those 8things that
 are with ,christ10 in that  world where
 ,christ will welcome it with the       
greeting3 8,well done1 good  and        
faithful servant1 enter thou into the   
joy of thy ,lord80 ,it is1  indeed1 a   
hard fate for those whose life in this  
world is1 for the  future1 maimed by    
injuries1 or marred by bereavement4 ,but
 for them1  too1 there is the assurance 
of ,christ that if they suffer with     
,him1 and  in sympathy with ,him1 they  
shall also be glorified together1 and   
that  all they suffer1 in obedience to  
,his will here1 will help them forward  
in the way that leads to everlasting    
life4 ,these are not mere human  hopes  
and imaginings2 they are the express    
promises and assurances of  the ,lord1  
,who suffered and died upon the ,cross1 
and of those ,apostles1  whom ,he       
commissioned to bring ,his message to   

the world4 ,this ,heaven1  of the       
present and the future1 has been        
constituted by them the great  reality1 
the greatest of all realities1 the      
supreme reality1 of our  lives1 here and
 hereafter2 and in proportion as we look
 at everything  here in the light of it1
 the sorrows and sacrifices of this life
 are  reduced to comparatively small    
proportions1 and the hope and the       
blessings of the eternal life become the
 great ,heaven1 the glorious  vault of  
,god's light and love by which we are   
surrounded4    ,it is thus that ,easter 
,day brings home to us a message which  
satisfies  the deepest cravings and     
necessities of life1 and affords a      
practical  solution of the difficulties 
which1 without such a revelation1 are   
involved in the miseries of war4 ,war   
itself1 indeed1 points to some  such    
solution1 and compels men in practice to
 embrace it4 ,it has been  said that war
 is the greatest of educators1 and there
 are various  senses in which this is   

true4 ,it educates1 it exercises1 it    
manifests1  as nothing else does1 some  
of the highest excellences of human     
nature3  self-sacrifice1 endurance1     
mutual devotion1 faith and loyalty1 and1
  in ,tennyson's pregnant phrase1 8all  
that makes a man40 ,but perhaps its     
greatest educative influence consists in
 the fact that it compels men  to act1  
without hesitation1 on the instinct1    
which ,god has implanted  in their      
hearts1 that nothing in this world is of
 any importance in  comparison with the 
maintenance and the assertion of        
righteousness1  truth1 justice1 and     
mercy4 ,the mass of a people may be     
living in  comfort and luxury1 with     
their minds and affections mainly       
engaged in  the energies1 the pleasures1
 and the interests of this life2 but as 
soon as some great challenge is offered 
to those supreme principles  of         
righteousness and mercy1 on which the   
whole fabric of true human  life        
depends1 their hearts spring up with an 

instinct that everything  they value in 
this world must be sacrificed in defence
 of those moral  and spiritual causes4  
,the moment the note is struck of a     
great war  for righteousness1 like the  
present1 that moment men and women feel 
compelled1 by their very nature1 to 8set
 their affection on the things  above10 
not on the things of this world2 they   
realize1 that to this  world they must  
become practically dead1 and live for   
those high  moral and spiritual causes  
which are the supreme treasures of      
mankind1  and that1 in this sense at all
 events1 their 8life is hid with ,christ
  in ,god40 ,if1 as we may confidently  
say1 we are warring for right and       
truth1 and for the maintenance of the   
will of ,god among men1 we may  then    
apply even to the war itself1 and all   
the national and individual  sacrifices 
it entails1 the thankful conviction of  
the ,apostle that  8our light           
affliction1 which is but for a moment1  
worketh for us a far  more exceeding and

 eternal weight of glory40 ,it is       
working out for our  nation and ,empire1
 and for the world at large1 the        
establishment on  a firmer basis than   
ever of true ,christian civilization4   
,those whose  lives are sacrificed are  
but brought by death into the nearer    
presence  of ,christ1 where ,his love   
and ,his mercy1 no less than ,his       
justice1 will  be still more to them    
than in the world they leave2 and those 
who are  left behind may learn to prize 
the privilege of suffering with their   
,saviour1 that they may in time be      
glorified with ,him4          ,,the     
,,need ,,and ,,the ,,means ,,of ,,right 
,,judgment4    ,,canterbury ,,cathedral1
 ,,whit ,,sunday1 #aiae4     8,the      
,comforter1 which is the ,holy ,ghost1  
,whom the ,father will send in   ,my    
,name1 ,he shall teach you all things1  
and bring all things to your            
remembrance1 whatsoever ,i have said    
unto you40--,st4 ,john xiv4 #bf4        
,never in our time1 perhaps never in the

 history of the world1 has there  been  
such urgent occasion as there is to-day 
for joining with all  our hearts1 in the
 prayer of the ,whit ,sunday ,collect1  
that ,god will  grant us1 by the help of
 ,his ,spirit1 8to have a right judgment
 in all  things40 ,we have before our   
eyes the most tremendous illustration   
ever  afforded of the awful consequences
 which may ensue from the absence of    
such a right judgment1 and the          
prevalence of a wrong judgment4 ,in the 
first place1 the war itself is entirely 
due to the exercise of a wrong  judgment
 by some person or persons4 ,nothing but
 a great misjudgment1 on  one side or   
the other1 of the circumstances which   
occasioned the war1  or of its          
consequences1 could have precipitated   
all the nations of  ,europe into such a 
deadly and disastrous conflict4         
,every statesman1 of course1 thinks that
 some other statesman has  blundered1   
but the mutual recriminations form at   
least a general  confession of wrong    

judgment somewhere4 ,when we see such   
wrong judgment  possible among the      
ablest and most powerful men in ,europe1
 in a  matter which involves the        
sacrifice of tens of thousands of lives1
  the desolation of thousands of homes1 
and the devastation of some  of the     
fairest countries in ,europe1 have we   
not need to cry to ,god1  with the most 
intense earnestness1 that ,he will grant
 to us1 and to  all who act for us and  
with us1 the help of ,his ,spirit to    
give us a  right judgment in all things8
 ,this gift of a right judgment may     
seem1  perhaps1 in ordinary times1 a    
comparatively small matter to be treated
  as the culminating blessing won for us
 by the ,death and ,resurrection  and   
,ascension of our ,lord4 ,this is the   
final festival of the series  which     
commemorates the great events of ,his   
,life2 for ,trinity ,sunday1  which     
follows1 does but sum up the whole      
substance of the ,christian  revelation1
 as that of the ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy

 ,ghost4 ,the ,whit ,sunday  ,collect   
embodies the final craving of the       
,christian life1 for those  gifts which1
 on our ,lord's ,ascension1 ,he became  
empowered to bestow  upon ,his ,church4 
,but we may appreciate1 at this time1   
better than ever  before1 why all those 
gifts are summed up in the prayer that  
we may be  granted a right judgment in  
all things4 ,upon that right judgment in
  the leaders of the ,christian nations 
depends the peace of the whole  world1  
and the possibility of ourselves leading
 a peaceable life in all  godliness and 
honesty4 ,it is demonstrated1 by the    
most awful example  ever given1 that all
 the wisdom1 all the experience1 all the
 knowledge  of human nature1 accumulated
 for twenty centuries1 are insufficient1
 of  themselves1 to ensure that right   
judgment2 and we are driven to-day to   
act upon the exhortation of ,st4 ,james1
 8,if any man lack wisdom1 let him  ask 
of ,god0 and 8it shall be given him40   
,but this failure of good judgment in   

the political management of the  world  
is not the only1 nor the most terrible1 
exhibition which is  afforded at the    
present time of the grievous liability  
of human nature  to form wrong          
judgments4 ,the worst and most          
distressing exhibition of  all is seen  
in the moral perversion of one of the   
greatest of ,european  nations4 ,unless 
our own judgment is absolutely          
perverted1 ,germany has  become         
possessed by an utterly false1          
un-,christian1 and even inhuman         
judgment in moral conduct4 ,the case was
 justly summed up in a letter  published
 the other day by an eminent member of  
our ,church1 the ,dean of               
,exeter--8,women outraged1 treaties     
broken1 inoffensive citizens1 women  and
 babes1 murdered wholesale by land and  
sea1 wells poisoned1 deadly  gases      
taking the place of manly conflict1     
,houses of ,god ruthlessly  destroyed1  
fair lands desolated1 noble cities      
destroyed without  provocation1 without 

reasonable object or purpose1 the world 
filled  with abominable lies1 the hymn  
of hate chosen as a national anthem1 and
  a baleful curse placed1 as a nation's 
prayer1 on the lips of children1  and   
placarded in the streets1 a fit sequel  
to the hymn of hate0--this  is the moral
 and religious spectacle which ,germany 
now exhibits1 and  its rulers and guides
 not only allow these things to be done1
 but have  pleasure in them that do     
them4 ,it is not merely that these      
un-,christian  and inhuman things are   
done1 but that they are justified1 that 
they are  treated as lawful and         
meritorious1 that the spirit which      
promotes them  is recognized and        
applauded as the right spirit--this is  
the amazing  and appalling exhibition of
 wrong judgment which ,germany now      
offers to  the world4    ,let us1       
moreover1 if we would duly appreciate   
the lesson to be derived  from such a   
spectacle1 bear in mind the character   
and capacities of the  nation by which  

it is exhibited4 ,we should bear in mind
 that ,germany  is probably the most    
highly educated country in ,europe2 its 
science1  its literature1 its arts1 its 
industry have been among the finest     
that the world has seen4 ,in religion it
 gave ,europe the ,reformation2  and the
 great ,protestant nations of the world1
 alike in ,europe and  ,america1        
recognize the immense spiritual debt    
they have owed to it in  the past4 ,our 
own theological literature1 during the  
last century1  has acknowledged an      
immense debt to it1 and ,german scholars
 have1 in  our own time1 been in the    
front rank of the learning of the world4
 ,it  is a country which was proud of   
its culture1 and1 in such matters as  ,i
 have mentioned1 with full justice4 ,no 
thoughtful man can treat the  ,germans1 
as a nation1 as inferior to any other in
 ,europe1 in all the  externals of such 
culture4 ,all the achievements of past  
history1 all  the acquisitions of       
,christian civilisation1 lay open before

 them1 as  much as before ourselves1 and
 they are bound to us by intimate ties  
of  blood and of common interests4 ,it  
is a nation1 in short1 with every       
equipment which human intellect1 and    
art1 and ,nature can bestow2 and  yet1  
notwithstanding all this1 the nation1 as
 a whole1 has formed a  judgment so     
false and inhuman1 on the very elements 
of moral duty1 that  we are forced to   
recognize that in fighting it we are    
fighting not  merely a political foe1   
but a moral outlaw from ,christian      
civilisation4    ,if such an awful      
perversion of judgment is possible1 have
 we not  reason to tremble at the       
possibilities of human error8 ,the      
horrors ,i  have recalled are a disgrace
 to ,germany2 but let us not disguise   
from  ourselves the lamentable fact that
 they are also a disgrace to human      
nature4 ,to this1 we must realize1 human
 nature can come1 in spite of           
literature1 and science1 and art1 and   
the traditions of generations1  and     

profound religious capacities4 ,one     
cannot divide the ,germans from  all    
other human races1 or even from         
ourselves1 and say that they have  a    
human nature of their own4 ,it is our   
common human nature which1 in  this     
case1 has succumbed to such a degraded  
judgment1 and which has  become false to
 the inherited principles of ,christian 
civilization4  ,what we ought to learn  
from so distressing a spectacle is the  
absolute  need of some influence higher 
than any that mere human nature1 when   
left to itself1 can exert1 if the moral 
judgment1 the moral sense1 the  moral   
character of nations and races1 and of  
ourselves among them1  are to be kept   
true to the ideals towards which human  
nature1 at its  best1 has always been   
striving1 and which our ,lord ,jesus    
,christ has  revealed as the eternal    
standard established by ,god4 ,i am     
afraid  there can be no doubt respecting
 one cause1 at all events1 of this      
terrible degradation4 ,for the last     

generation or two1 in consequence  of   
the prevalence in ,germany of a false   
philosophy and an extravagant           
criticism1 the minds of the educated    
classes in that country have  been      
imbued with a complete distrust of the  
,scriptures1 and of the  revelation of  
,god in ,christ2 and1 in consequence1   
they have abandoned  all deference to   
the authority of ,god's ,word and the   
example and  teaching of our ,lord4 ,i  
believe1 indeed1 that faith in ,god and 
,god's  ,word1 and love of ,christ1     
still subsist in much of their old      
intensity  among the simpler classes of 
the ,german nation--among numbers to    
whom  the name and the teaching of      
,luther are still a venerated influence4
  ,but they have ceased to mould the    
character and guide the thoughts of  the
 educated classes1 and the consequence  
is that human nature has  broken loose  
from all control1 and has abandoned     
itself to an unbridled  lust of power   
and of earthly pleasure4    ,it is      

painful to contemplate such a spectacle1
 and to recall it to  you2 but it is    
necessary we should realize what it     
means1 if we are  to learn the lesson   
which is the most imperative for us at  
this  moment1 and if we are to take home
 to our minds the full blessing of  the 
promise of ,whit ,sunday4 ,it is        
encouraging to bear in mind that a      
similar spectacle and crisis existed in 
the world at the time when our  ,lord   
spoke the words of the text4 ,the ,roman
 ,empire1 although1 like the  ,german   
nation1 it rendered great services to   
mankind1 was in ,his day  developing    
into a terrible despotism1 and its      
rulers were becoming  the incarnation of
 a ruthless and unscrupulous force4 ,the
 age of the  twelve ,csars1 some of whom
 were monsters of violence and vice1 was
  commencing2 and at that moment there  
appeared another influence1 that  of the
 twelve ,apostles1 who proclaimed in the
 world the authority and  the           
inspiration of another ,king1 their     

,lord and ,master1 who taught  the      
blessedness of another ideal--the ideal 
of poverty of spirit1 of  mourning1 of  
meekness1 of mercy1 of purity1 and of   
peacemaking4 ,the  two ideals struggled 
side by side for three centuries2 but   
the spirit  of violence proved unable to
 crush the spirit of meekness1 and had  
at  last to acknowledge its superiority1
 and to submit1 in great degree1 at  all
 events1 to the authority and example of
 our ,lord4 ,the mostly highly          
organized physical force that the world 
at that day had ever seen was  slowly   
but surely undermined by the spirit of  
,christian meekness and  love2 and from 
that moment ,christian principles of    
conduct extended  their authority more  
and more over the whole range of worldly
 life1  and even over the fierce        
passions and struggles of war4          
,gradually  there became established    
those principles of chivalry under      
which1 as  our great philosophical      
statesman described it1 there prevailed 

8that  sensibility of principle1 that   
chastity of honour1 which felt a stain  
like a wound1 which inspired courage    
whilst it mitigated ferocity1  which    
ennobled whatever it touched1 and under 
which vice itself lost  half its evil by
 losing all its grossness40 ,that great 
amelioration of  human passion and of   
human evil was won by the persistent    
contemplation  and assertion of the     
authority and example of our ,lord1 and 
by the  perpetual inculcation of the    
teaching of ,his ,apostles4 ,the ,spirit
  of ,god1 descending as on this great  
day1 inspired ,evangelists and          
,apostles to write those ,gospels in    
which the ,person1 the teaching1  and   
the example of our ,saviour are so      
marvellously depicted1 and  those       
,epistles in which they are brought home
 to our hearts with such  touching      
force4 ,the same ,spirit was vouchsafed 
to the great teachers  and leaders of   
the ,church1 and quickened in the hearts
 of the people  at large the gracious   

seed which was thus sown4 ,if the new   
embodiment  of the rule of force in     
human affairs is to be effectually      
overcome1  it can only be by the same   
means4 ,it cannot be done by our arms   
alone4  ,force alone is no remedy for   
force4 ,the ,spirit of ,christ as it    
lives in  the ,books of the ,new        
,testament1 must again make its appeal  
to the minds  and consciences of the    
nations of ,europe2 and the ,spirit of  
,god1 acting  through those examples and
 exhortations1 must bring home to us1   
once  more1 the life and love of        
,christ1 must open men's hearts to      
receive  ,his image1 and so enable them 
once more to have a right judgment in   
all  things4    ,the prayer of the      
,collect1 therefore1 should turn our    
hearts and minds1  at this juncture1 to 
the supreme necessity1 if we would save 
ourselves  from the dangers of wrong    
judgment1 and if1 according to a famous 
saying1 we would 8save ,europe by our   
example10 of submitting our  hearts and 

lives with the deepest earnestness to   
the ideals set before  us in the        
,scriptures1 and especially in the      
teaching and example of  our ,lord and  
,his ,apostles1 as the only sufficient  
means of maintaining  a right judgment  
among us on the great moral problems of 
life4 ,as a  nation we have hitherto    
enjoyed unique advantages in this       
respect4 ,to  no other nation in the    
world has it ever been given to have the
 ,word  of ,god1 the whole ,word of     
,god1 read aloud in our churches1       
,sunday by  ,sunday1 for more than three
 hundred years2 and to have thus had the
  words and deeds of ,christ1 and the   
exhortations of ,his ,apostles1 and  the
 devotions of ,psalmists and ,prophets1 
impressed upon our minds  week by week1 
and sometimes day by day1 until much of 
them has become  the most familiar of   
all the records of our memories4 ,there 
has been  another means1 moreover1      
especially in ,scotland1 but in ,england
 also1  by which we have been kept in   

constant touch with the same influence1 
and that is the custom1 which generally 
prevailed till recently1 of  ,family    
,prayer1 and the reading of the ,holy   
,scriptures in the family  circle4 ,by  
these means that ,divine ,seed was sown 
in the hearts of young  and old1 and it 
could not but produce much fruit4 ,if we
 desire to  preserve the ,christian     
instincts1 which can alone protect us   
against  such dreadful relapses into a  
world of violence and ungoverned passion
  as human nature has been proved       
capable of1 let us submit ourselves     
with renewed earnestness to those       
,divine ,words1 and to that ,christian  
discipline1 which have maintained for so
 long1 in this country1 the  character  
of ,christian gentlemen and gentlewomen1
 and have upheld among  us1 in spite of 
our many faults and failures1 at all    
events the main  principles of a right  
judgment4 ,when our ,lord says1 in the  
text1 that  ,his ,spirit would bring all
 things to the remembrance of the       

,apostles1  whatsoever ,he had said unto
 them1 ,he gave a promise which was in  
the  first instance fulfilled1 as ,i    
have said1 in the writings of the       
,evangelists and the ,apostles1 but to  
which it is also the privilege  of every
 ,christian to appeal4 ,if we will read 
,his ,scriptures1 ,he will  open our    
minds to understand them1 ,he will bring
 home to us1 by ,his  fellowship1 the   
,grace of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ and  
the ,love of ,god2 ,he  will save us    
from false judgments of all kinds2 and  
will enable us to  uphold in our own    
hearts1 and in the world at large1 that 
truth and  love1 that meekness1         
gentleness1 and humility1 for the       
protection of  which we are now         
appealing to the arbitrament of battles1
 and of the  ,god of battles4 ,may ,he  
grant us victory in that appeal2 and    
when it  has been granted to us1 let us 
strive to render the victory secure by  
living more devoutly in ,his faith and  
fear1 and seeking more diligently  the  

,grace of ,his ,holy ,spirit4           
,,the ,,advent ,,message ,,and ,,the    
,,war4    ,,in ,,canterbury ,,cathedral1
 ,,nov4 #bi1 #aiad4     8,because ,he   
hath appointed a day1 in which ,he will 
judge the world in   righteousness by   
that ,man ,whom ,he hath ordained2      
whereof ,he hath given   assurance unto 
all men1 in that ,he hath raised ,him   
from the dead40      ,the season of     
,advent1 with which the ,church's year  
reopens brings to  us a message of      
peculiar appropriateness and            
encouragement at the  present moment4   
,it does so because it lays the         
corner-stone of the  grand edifice of   
the ,gospel1 or the good news of ,god1  
of which we  shall follow the           
construction through the ,church's year4
 ,what is the  special message of       
,advent8 ,it is the message of that     
grand verse in the  ,psalms1            
8,righteousness and judgment are the    
habitation of ,his seat40 ,it  proclaims
 to us the message of the prophets1     

opened to us in triumphant  tones by the
 prophet ,isaiah in the ,lesson of      
to-day1 that righteousness  is the very 
foundation on which ,god is building up 
society2 that it  is the very root from 
which our own lives and the life of our 
nation  derive their existence2 that it 
was to promote this righteousness that  
our ,lord came into the world at ,his   
first ,advent in great humility2  and   
that it is to establish that            
righteousness finally that ,he will     
come again in great glory to judge the  
quick and the dead4 ,this is the        
beginning of ,god's revelation to us1   
and it is also the end and the          
culmination of ,his revelation4 ,it is  
the beginning of the ,gospel1 and  it is
 also the end of the ,gospel4    ,if we 
would understand the blessing of the    
,gospel1 we must begin  with the        
conviction that the one great object for
 which this whole  dispensation of human
 society exists is that complete        
righteousness1  the glory of the ,divine

 righteousness1 may be established in   
it1 and  that nothing but this can      
promote either the glory of ,god or the 
happiness of man4 ,read the ,psalms with
 this consideration in your mind1  and  
,i think you will be deeply impressed   
with the fact that every  prayer to ,god
 embodies a prayer for the establishment
 of right against  wrong2 so that the   
,psalmist only dares to pray for himself
 so far as  the deliverances and        
successes he prays for are in harmony   
with the  righteous will and purposes of
 ,god4 ,every prayer is in the spirit of
  the exquisite ,psalm of this evening3 
8,deliver me1 ,o ,lord1 from mine       
enemies3 for ,i flee unto ,thee to hide 
me4 ,teach me to do the thing that      
pleaseth ,thee1 for ,thou art my ,god3  
let ,thy loving spirit lead me forth    
into the land of righteousness40 ,we    
have no right to ask or expect help  on 
any other condition than that2 for the  
one supreme work which ,god is  working 
day by day1 and year by year1 and       

century by century1 is the  realization 
in human life of what that righteousness
 and judgment are1  which are the       
foundation of ,his throne4    ,advent   
reminds us1 in the first place1 of this 
grand and simple fact1  and bids us make
 it the starting point of all our       
,christian thought  and hope2 but it    
gives us the further assurance that ,god
 is not  only carrying forward that work
 of righteousness now1 but that ,he     
will complete it hereafter4 ,it repeats 
that message which ,st4 ,paul           
proclaimed to the world at large1       
through the ,athenians1 that 8,god hath 
appointed a day in the which ,he will   
judge the world in righteousness  by    
that ,man ,whom ,he hath ordained2      
whereof ,he hath given assurance  unto  
all men1 in that ,he hath raised ,him   
from the dead40 ,that was  the          
culmination of ,st4 ,paul's ,gospel to  
the people of ,athens4 ,that  is the    
culmination of the message of the       
,gospel to ourselves at the  present    

day4 ,what do we need more than all at  
this moment8 ,what are our  minds full  
of but the dreadful spectacle before us 
of the whole earth  filled with         
violence1 of an awful outbreak of       
hatred1 unrighteousness1  injustice1    
wanton cruelty1 and barbarity8 ,the     
words of ,isaiah read  this morning are 
exactly applicable to the spectacle of  
,belgium and  ,france at this moment3   
8,your country is desolate2 your cities 
are  burned with fire2 your land1       
strangers devour it in your presence1   
and it is desolate1 as overthrown by    
strangers4 ,and the daughter of  ,zion  
is left as a cottage in a vineyard1 as a
 lodge in a garden of  cucumbers1 as a  
besieged city40 ,might not our hearts   
almost fail us  as we contemplate such a
 volcanic eruption of injustice and     
violence  after nineteen centuries of   
,christianity8 ,but our hearts will not 
fail  us1 any more than the heart of    
,isaiah failed him in his day4 ,and why8
  ,because of this assurance--an        

assurance deep down in our souls--that  
this unrighteousness cannot prevail4    
,that conviction lies very deep in      
human nature1 even apart from ,god's    
revelation in the ,psalms and the       
,gospel4 ,but by this revelation it is  
given an irrefragable strength1  and we 
grasp with the deepest conviction the   
assurance of the ,psalmist3  8,let the  
floods clap their hands1 and let the    
hills be joyful together  before the    
,lord1 for ,he is come to judge the     
earth1 with righteousness  to judge the 
world1 and the people with ,his truth40 
,that is the message  of ,advent1 and   
there never was a time in history when  
we could grasp it  more thankfully with 
all our hearts and souls4    ,there is  
something inexpressibly elevating and   
inspiring in this  message of a future  
judgment and of the final vindication of
  righteousness1 as it enables us to    
look beyond this present scene  of      
distress and trouble1 to realize that   
all that is passing around  us is in    

reality only part of a far larger and   
grander scene1 and  that the events of  
the hour are but a brief passage in a   
universal  history1 which has been      
carried forward for centuries under     
,god's  hand1 and is being worked out   
under ,his guidance to a glorious and   
righteous conclusion4 ,if you allow your
 gaze and your thoughts to be  fixed    
mainly on your own lives1 on the lives  
of your own generation1  or even of our 
own national history1 you may well be   
distressed and  perplexed at the        
apparent defeat of righteous causes and 
purposes1 at  the overthrow of the      
laborious work of years of peace1 at    
what seems  like the destruction of     
those bonds of human society to which   
prophets  and saints and soldiers and   
statesmen had devoted their labours and 
their very lives for generations4 ,so it
 seemed to ,isaiah in his day2  so it   
seemed to ,habakkuk when he exclaimed1  
8that judgment doth never  go forth40   
,so it has seemed to many a devoted     

servant of ,god and man1  if he trusted 
only to his own eyes1 from generation to
 generation4  ,nothing but prophecy1 the
 prophecy of the ,old and ,new          
,testaments1  is1 in fact1 adequate to  
the strain thus put upon men and women  
by  these experiences4 ,but only        
believe1 as the prophets assure you1    
only  believe as our ,saviour declared1 
and as ,his ,apostles proclaimed  by    
,his commission1 that it is but part of 
one great history1 one  great universal 
dispensation1 in which ,god is steadily 
ensuring1 by  whatever means may in ,his
 ,divine wisdom be necessary1 the       
supremacy of  righteousness and the     
overthrow of evil1 and you can then live
 through  it1 and struggle through it1  
not merely with the patience1 but with  
the  exultation1 which marked the       
,jewish prophets and psalmists4 ,belgium
 and  ,northern ,france are now passing 
through the very experiences1 to the    
letter1 which ,isaiah described in the  
case of the people of ,israel in  his   

day2 but ,isaiah looked through all     
these distresses to a time when  8the   
,lord's ,house should be established in 
the top of the mountains and  should be 
exalted above the hills1 and all nations
 should flow into  it02 when 8out of    
,zion should go forth the law1 and the  
word of the  ,lord from ,jerusalem02    
when 8,he should judge the nations1 and 
should  rebuke many peoples1 and should 
beat their swords into ploughshares1    
and their spears into pruning hooks1    
when nation should not lift up  sword   
against nation1 neither should they     
learn war any more40 ,that  was         
,isaiah's assurance1 even in the dark   
days he describes4 ,we have  a          
hundred-fold more ground for the same   
assurance when it has been  proclaimed  
to us by our ,lord ,himself1 and sealed 
with ,his blood1 and  countersigned with
 the assurance and the blood of ,his    
,apostles and  ,saints4    ,even from   
this general point of view1 the message 
of ,advent comes to us  with a supremely

 inspiring force in the crisis of our   
great national  struggle1 but it has    
other aspects of profound grace and     
comfort as  well as of warning4 ,the    
most gracious1 perhaps1 of all its      
aspects is  the assurance it gives us   
that the final judgment of the world1   
the  final establishment of             
righteousness1 the final reward of the  
good1  will be in the hands of our ,lord
 ,jesus ,christ4 ,this1 of course1 is a 
matter of faith1 based on positive      
revelation1 resting on the personal     
assurance of our ,lord and ,his         
,apostles4 ,it is no matter of          
speculation1  no matter of opinion1 but 
a positive statement of fact1 which is  
one of  the corner-stones of the        
,christian religion4 ,there is too much 
tendency  at present to resolve that    
religion into matters of mere human     
thought and feeling and hope1 and to    
make its acceptance depend on its       
conformity to modern ideas2 but there is
 no possibility of treating in  that    

manner such a point of definite1        
momentous1 fundamental fact as  that our
 ,lord ,jesus ,christ has been appointed
 by ,god to be the ,judge of  quick and 
dead1 to sum up the whole world's       
destiny1 and to assign to  each one of  
us1 to every one in this congregation1  
his place hereafter  in the ,kingdom of 
,god or outside it4 ,the office of      
judge1 even in this  world1 is a solemn 
one4 ,how infinitely awful is the       
position of the  ,eternal ,judge of all6
 ,now the substance of the revelation of
 ,advent  is that this great office is  
not veiled1 as it was to the ,jews1 and 
as it must needs be1 without revelation1
 to all the world1 in the  mysterious1  
distant1 and dread form of the absolute 
majesty of ,god  ,himself2 but that it  
is formally delegated to ,one ,who is   
not only the  ,son of ,god1 but the ,son
 of ,man1 to the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1  
,who took our  flesh and blood upon     
,him1 ,who died for us and rose again4  
8,god hath  appointed a day10 ,st4 ,paul

 says1 8in the which ,he will judge the 
world  in righteousness by that man     
,whom ,he hath ordained 444 ,whom ,he   
raised from the dead40 ,the grace which 
is involved in this declaration  is so  
infinite that ,i hesitate to speak      
freely of it in my own words1  and ,i am
 thankful to be able to express it in   
language of one of the  most            
authoritative of all divines1 our own   
,bishop ,pearson1 in his grave  and     
deliberate ,exposition of the ,creed4   
8,if10 he says 7page #cje71  8we look   
upon the judgment to come only as       
revealing our secrets1 as  discerning   
our actions1 as sentencing our persons1 
according to the  works done in the     
flesh1 there is not one of us can expect
 life from  that tribunal at the last   
day4444 ,it is necessary1 therefore1    
that  we should believe that ,christ    
shall sit upon the throne1 that our     
,redeemer shall be our ,judge1 that we  
shall receive our sentence1 not         
according to the rigour of the law1 but 

the mildness and mercies of  the        
,gospel2 and then we may look not only  
upon the precepts1 but also  upon the   
promises of ,god4 ,whatsoever sentence  
in the sacred ,scriptures  speaketh     
anything of hope1 whatsoever text       
administereth any comfort1  whatsoever  
argument drawn from thence can breed in 
us any assurance1  we can confidently   
make use of them all in reference to the
 judgment  to come2 because by that     
,gospel which contains them all we shall
 be  judged4 ,if we consider ,whose     
,gospel it is1 and ,who shall judge us  
by  it1 #8we are the members of ,his    
,body1 of ,his ,flesh1 and of ,his      
,bones2  for which cause ,he is not     
ashamed to call us brethren4' ,as one of
 our  brethren ,he hath redeemed us1 ,he
 hath laid down ,his life as a ransom   
for us4444 ,well1 therefore1 may #8we   
have boldness and access with           
confidence1' by the faith of ,him unto  
the throne of that ,judge1 ,who is  our 
brother1 ,who is our ,redeemer1 ,who is 

our ,high ,priest1 ,who is our          
,advocate1 ,who will not by ,his word at
 the last day condemn us1 because  ,he  
hath already by the same word absolved  
us1 saying1 #8,verily1 verily1  ,i say  
unto you1 he that heareth ,my word1 and 
believeth on ,him that sent  ,me hath   
everlasting life1 and shall not come    
into condemnation1 but is  passed from  
death into life4'0    ,at a time when   
death is all around us1 when so many of 
our nearest and  dearest and best may   
pass at any moment through the shadow of
 death to  the judgment which is beyond1
 it is of infinite comfort to be assured
  by this ,divine message that they     
pass1 not to a severe tribunal which    
will judge them by the letter of the    
law1 and by a strict estimate  of their 
faults1 but to this gracious and        
merciful throne of their  ,brother1     
their ,advocate1 and their ,redeemer1   
,who will judge them with  infinite     
mercy and equity4 ,i do not hesitate to 
say that ,he will judge  them with      

peculiar sympathy1 because they have    
died in the very cause  in which ,he    
died ,himself1 and which it is ,his     
office as a judge to  maintain--the     
cause of righteousness4 ,in the ancient 
,church1 martyrdom  was regarded as     
ensuring remission of sins and          
absolution4 ,soldiers1 no  doubt1 would 
feel that it would be putting their case
 too high to place  their sacrifice of  
their lives in the cause of their ,king 
and country1  in a war like this1 on    
quite the same level as the heroic      
martyrdom of  the great ,saints of old4 
,but it is a sacrifice of the same      
nature4 ,it  is coloured by the virtue  
of the sacrifice of ,christ ,himself1   
and of  ,his followers2 and we may      
confidently be assured that those who   
meet  their death on the battlefields of
 this war in the spirit of faith in     
,christ1 and in simple devotion to duty1
 will be received by ,him in the  sense 
of those gracious words1 8,well done1   
good and faithful servant10  and may    

hope to be admitted in some degree into 
the joy of their ,lord4  ,according to  
the judgment of the ancient ,church1 and
 the greatest of  our own ,divines1 we  
may confidently bear the memories of    
them in our  prayers before that ,throne
 of gracious judgment--not presuming to 
know1  or desiring to know1 more than   
this1 that they are in the hands of ,one
  ,who is at once a ,judge and a        
,saviour1 and trusting that1 in praying 
for ,his gracious and merciful reception
 of them1 we are but giving  expression 
to the yearnings of ,his own ,divine and
 ,human ,heart4    ,such are some of the
 blessed assurances which the ,advent   
,season brings  us1 and we cannot be too
 thankful for them in our present time  
of  distress4 ,but it brings us one     
lesson of warning1 which it is equally  
important for us to bear in mind4 ,a war
 like this is undoubtedly a  judgment4  
,it springs from the sins of men1 from  
their passions and  their lusts1 their  
lack of love1 their unrighteousnesses of

 various  kinds4 ,war shows us death1   
and all that is involved in death1 as   
the natural consequence of human        
passions1 when not controlled by  the   
spirit of ,christ and the ,will of ,god4
 8,when lust hath conceived  it bringeth
 forth sin1 and sin1 when it is         
finished1 bringeth forth  death40 ,that 
is the law of ,nature4 ,it applies more 
or less to all  who are engaged in war1 
and we1 in this war1 must not shrink    
from  acknowledging our part in the     
accumulation of human wrong which has1  
at length1 exploded into this scene of  
violence and misery4 ,advent1           
therefore1 bids us look into our own    
hearts and lives1 and ask  ourselves    
what there has been in them which is not
 in conformity with  the ,will of ,god  
and with the law of the ,saviour ,who is
 to be our ,judge4  ,one immense        
blessing conferred on us by the         
knowledge that ,he will be  our ,judge  
is that we know1 by ,his teaching and by
 ,his example1 what  are the principles 

of that righteousness and judgment which
 it is ,his  office to enforce4 ,it     
points us to the records of ,his love   
and teaching  in the ,gospels1 to the   
messages of ,his ,apostles1 and to the  
,bible  which was ,his law1 as our guide
 in daily life in all circumstances  and
 relations4 ,that is the standard by    
which we shall be hereafter  judged2 and
 in proportion as we believe and realize
 this1 shall we  devote ourselves to its
 study and strive after its fulfilment4 
,we are  sadly reminded now that in this
 world there is no comfort on which we  
can permanently rely2 but there is one  
comfort in life and in death of  which  
we may be assured2 it is that which our 
,lord revealed to us1 when  ,he gave us 
at once this command and this assurance1
 8,if ye love me1  keep my commandments4
 ,and ,i will pray the ,father1 and ,he 
shall give you  another ,comforter1 that
 ,he may abide with you for ever40 ,let 
us seek  that comfort in life and in    
death1 and it will not fail us4         

,,divine ,,judgment ,,and ,,renovation4 
,,canterbury ,,cathedral1 ,,october #aa1
 #aiaf4     8,and ,he that sat upon the 
throne said1 ,behold1 ,i make all things
   new40--,rev4 xxi4 #e4      ,these    
words were uttered by ,him that sitteth 
on the throne1 as the  interpretation of
 the grand vision which passed before   
the ,apostle at  the conclusion of the  
,revelation vouchsafed to him4 8,i saw10
 he says1  8a new heaven and a new      
earth3 for the first heaven and the     
first earth  were passed away4444 ,and  
,i heard a great voice out of heaven    
saying1  ,behold1 the tabernacle of ,god
 is with men1 and ,he will dwell with   
them1  and they shall be ,his people1   
and ,god ,himself shall be with them1   
and  be their ,god4 ,and ,god shall wipe
 away all tears from their eyes1 and    
there shall be no more death1 neither   
sorrow1 nor crying1 neither shall  there
 be any more pain3 for the former things
 are passed away4 ,and ,he  that sat    
upon the throne said1 ,behold1 ,i make  

all things new40    ,but this vision was
 the sequel of fearful scenes which had 
passed  before the ,apostle as the      
future course of the ,divine judgments  
was unrolled before him4 ,he had        
witnessed a terrible succession of      
destructions1 and plagues1 and wars1    
falling upon the inhabitants of  the    
earth1 involving miseries and sufferings
 incalculable4 ,he had seen  passing    
before him the awful punishments        
inflicted upon the enemies of  ,god1 of 
,christ1 of righteousness1 and truth4   
,one quotation in the final  scene will 
be enough to remind you of the nature of
 the visions4 8,i saw  an angel10 says  
the ,apostle 7chapter xix4 #ag71        
8standing in the sun2  and he cried with
 a loud voice1 saying to all the fowls  
that fly in the  midst of heaven1 ,come 
and gather yourselves together unto the 
supper  of the great ,god2 that ye may  
eat the flesh of kings1 and the flesh of
  captains1 and the flesh of mighty men1
 and the flesh of horses1 and of  them  

that sit on them1 and the flesh of all  
men1 both free and bond1  small and     
great40 ,at length1 when these fearful  
plagues and judgments  are completed the
 ,apostle sees a great white throne and 
,him that sat  on it1 from ,whose face  
the earth and the heaven fled away1 and 
there  was found no place for them4     
,then the books were opened1 and the    
dead1  who stood before ,god1 both small
 and great1 were judged1 every man      
according to their works4 ,then it is1  
after this awful consummation1  that the
 ,apostle sees a new heaven and a new   
earth4 ,and ,he that sits  upon the     
great white throne says1 8,behold1 ,i   
make all things new40    ,such1 in      
brief1 is the burden of the ,book of    
,revelation4 ,it will  be observed that 
it involves these two cardinal points3  
,first1 the  judgment and the           
extirpation of all that is evil by a    
series of  struggles and agonies2 and   
secondly1 after this terrible           
experience1  the creation of all things 

new4 ,the first part1 however1 in the   
process of the ,divine administration1  
consists of a series of scenes  of      
miseries1 disasters1 and bloodshed than 
which nothing more terrible  can be     
imagined1 and which are described with a
 lurid force to which  no other human   
writing offers anything comparable4 ,war
 and disease  and the confusion of all  
the elements of human society1 and even 
of  heaven and earth1 are brought before
 us1 until men are reduced to  cry to   
the very mountains and rocks to cover   
them4 ,all is described  as the         
inevitable result of the wrath of ,god  
against evil and its  representatives1  
and a fearful joy is ascribed to the    
heavenly beings  who behold this        
vindication of the ,divine              
righteousness4 ,the four and  twenty    
elders fall on their faces and worship  
,god1 saying 7xi4 #ag71 8,we  give ,thee
 thanks1 ,o ,lord ,god ,almighty1 ,which
 art and wast and art to  come1 because 
,thou hast taken to ,thee ,thy great    

power and hast reigned4  ,and the       
nations were angry1 and ,thy wrath is   
come1 and the time of  the dead1 that   
they should be judged1 and that ,thou   
shouldest give  reward unto ,thy        
servants the prophets1 and to the       
,saints1 and to them  that fear ,thy    
,name1 small and great1 and shouldest   
destroy them which  destroy the earth40 
,and then in awful response are heard1  
in the temple  of ,god1 8lightnings and 
voices1 and thunderings1 and an         
earthquake and  great hail40    ,these  
dread scenes1 these fearful judgments1  
are depicted as the  inevitable         
preliminary in the manifestation of the 
,divine ,will and  the establishment of 
the ,divine ,kingdom4 ,this is the main 
fact which  stands out broadly from the 
,book4 ,it is not necessary1 for the    
purpose  of appreciating this1 to       
comprehend the signification of each of 
the  awful scenes which are predicted4  
,how far they are capable of any        
explanation before the final events may 

well be doubted4 ,old ,testament        
prophecy remained in great part         
mysterious until the moment of its      
accomplishment1 and the full            
interpretation of ,christian prophecy   
can hardly be less dependent upon its   
actual realization4 ,but one  thing is  
plain1 that the establishment of the    
,kingdom of ,christ upon  earth1 the    
full realization of all its promises of 
peace and goodwill1  the complete       
manifestation of the glory and power of 
its ,king--that  these great hopes and  
blessed promises cannot1 according to   
the ,book  of ,revelation1 be realized  
without the world passing through scenes
  of fearful struggle and misery1 and   
without the execution of ,divine        
judgment upon the evil and falsehood    
with which it abounds4    ,these are    
stern truths which it is well for us to 
bear in mind amidst  the terrible scenes
 which are now being enacted in the     
present war4 ,the  ,new ,testament      
begins with promises of peace1 and it   

ends with a vision  of peace and glory  
in which ,god will wipe away all tears  
from our  eyes2 but the warning is      
conveyed to us1 through the mouth of the
 last  ,apostle1 that this blessed      
condition cannot be reached except      
through a  manifestation of ,divine     
justice and ,divine wrath1 which will   
bring upon  earth and upon all mankind  
inconceivable miseries4 ,the sins of men
 must  be brought into judgment4 ,the   
,divine righteousness must expose their 
real character by the consequences they 
naturally involve4 ,the truth  must be  
manifested that there is a ,judge of all
 the earth1 ,who brings  every work of  
man into judgment1 whether it be good or
 whether it be  evil2 and the evil in   
the works of men is so deep and         
far-reaching  that its judgment must    
needs involve the most terrible         
suffering4 ,in  proportion as ,god takes
 to ,himself ,his great power and       
reigns1 the  first result must be seen  
in these agonies of human nature1 and   

must  culminate in the disruption of the
 very elements of nature itself4    ,it 
is well we should remind ourselves how  
fearfully these pictures  of the        
,apostle of love have been fulfilled in 
the history of the  world since his     
time4 ,it was not long after he wrote1  
when a series  of persecutions broke    
upon the ,christian ,church1 which were 
at length  avenged by terrible intestine
 wars between the heads of the ,roman   
,empire1 and in due course of time1 by  
the overthrow of that ,empire  itself in
 a long series of wars and devastations1
 which can only be  fitly described in  
some of the vivid language of the       
,apocalypse itself4  ,it would be       
appalling if we could realize the extent
 to which ,europe  was filled with      
8blood and fire and vapour of smoke0    
during the five or  six centuries which 
elapsed between the overthrow of the    
,roman ,empire  and the establishment of
 the ,christian civilisation of the     
,middle  ,ages4 ,then followed the      

incalculable miseries and untold        
bloodshed  involved in the contest      
between the ,christian and the          
,mohammedan  world1 throughout the long 
period of the ,crusades4 ,add to this   
all the  intestine wars between         
,christians themselves during the       
,middle ,ages1  and the fearful         
devastation of which the ,east was the  
victim in the  course of ,mohammedan    
conquests and revolutions1 and you have 
before  your eyes a picture not         
adequately described elsewhere than in  
this  terrible ,book4 ,the ,reformation 
was followed by a long series of wars1  
during which a great part of the surface
 of ,europe suffered the most  cruel    
devastations2 and even to the present   
day the whole world open to  our        
observation has been suffering from     
almost continuous bloodshed in  one part
 or other of its surface4    ,the scenes
 which strike us with such horror at    
this moment are but a  specimen of      
agonies which have been endured for long

 generations in  the successive         
struggles of mankind2 and if we are     
horrified at the  wars and agonies      
around us1 we may be reminded1 by the   
readiness of all  nations for such      
conflicts1 that they are almost the     
normal condition  of humanity4 ,in the  
middle of the last century ,burke       
calculated that1  assuming the numbers  
of men then upon earth to be computed at
 #ejj  millions at the most1 the        
slaughter of mankind in the various wars
  and revolutions which were known up to
 that date amounted to upwards  of      
seventy times that number1 or #ce1jjj   
millions4 ,that1 on what  he thought a  
moderate estimate1 represents the amount
 of bloodshed  which the passions of men
 had1 up to his time1 inflicted upon    
human  society4 ,how much more is to be 
added to that tremendous calculation    
for the wars which have followed since  
that date in the ,east and ,west8       
,taking these facts into account1 we    
shall see good reason to recognize  that

 the ,book of ,revelation1 in its       
fearful scenes1 is but a true           
description of the actual experience of 
mankind4 ,the plagues1 and              
destructions1 and slaughters which that 
,book depicts1 as the result of  the    
just judgments of ,god1 have1 as a      
matter of fact1 been realized1  and it  
is through scenes of suffering and      
misery of this nature that  the world is
 being conducted by the ,divine justice 
to its ultimate goal4    ,but we have   
the more reason to be inexpressibly     
thankful that that  goal is revealed to 
us as one of peace and bliss4 ,it is    
when we bear  in mind the miseries and  
agonies which the ,book of ,revelation  
depicts1  and which are brought so      
bitterly home to us by such a war as the
  present1 that we realize the full     
force of the promise that 8,god shall   
wipe away all tears from their eyes1 and
 there shall be no more death1  neither 
sorrow1 nor crying1 neither shall there 
be any more pain3  for the former things

 are passed away40 ,seeing what the     
world has  been hitherto1 and the       
miseries by which it is burdened now1 we
 might  well despair of such a result1  
unless we had the express assurance of  
,revelation that there is ,one sitting  
upon the throne ,who gives this  as the 
very definition of ,his work1 8,behold1 
,i make all things new40  ,we should1   
indeed1 be ungrateful not to recognize  
that the state of  things around us     
contains in itself some pledge and      
earnest of this  revelation4 ,grievously
 as the passions of mankind degrade them
 in  practice1 there is nevertheless    
publicly recognized1 in principle1  a   
higher standard of responsibility1 a    
higher and more universal  obligation to
 maintain peace and goodwill on earth1  
than at any  previous time in the       
world's history4 ,even amidst such a war
 as is now  waging1 principles have been
 established for its conduct1 which     
produce  a great alleviation of its     
miseries1 compared with those which were

  suffered in the great struggles of    
nations and of races in previous  ages1 
or even during the last century4 ,but   
still1 none must feel more  grievously  
than those who have the conduct of human
 affairs how slight  would be our hopes 
of the establishment of complete peace  
on earth1 did  it depend simply on the  
wisdom or strength of even the wisest   
leaders  of mankind4 ,they cannot       
extirpate the passions which are the    
real  ultimate cause of the wars and    
fightings among us4 ,they cannot take   
out  of men's hearts the lusts which war
 in their members1 and which nullify    
the best laws and institutions4 ,our    
hope lies in the assured faith  that all
 the terrible scenes of which the earth 
is full1 like those  in the ,book of    
,revelation1 are under the control of   
,him that sitteth  on the throne1 that  
they are working out great purposes of  
truth and  justice1 that the actions of 
all men1 small and great1 are subject to
  ,his ultimate judgment1 and that1     

finally1 when the issues of right and   
wrong in this world have been thus      
worked out1 in a manner which shall     
vindicate the truth and righteousness of
 ,god1 ,he will fulfill ,his great      
work1 in which ,he is even now engaged1 
of making all things new4    ,it is1    
indeed1 an unconscious faith of this    
kind which sustains men1  and has ever  
sustained them1 amidst the confusions   
and sufferings of  life and history4 ,a 
deep instinct compels them to believe   
that they are  in the hands of a ,god of
 justice and truth1 and to appeal to    
,him in  the midst of their struggles1  
and even in those crises in which their 
best efforts seem to be defeated4 ,but  
it is the special privilege1 the        
special grandeur1 of the ,christian     
,faith to have an explicit assurance  of
 this truth from the mouth of the ,judge
 ,himself4 ,he said unto ,his  ,apostle1
 8,write1 for these words are true and  
faithful40 ,he1 the ,king  of ,peace1   
left with ,his last ,apostle the        

warnings and the promises of  this      
,book4 ,lest men should be discouraged  
by the terrible experiences  through    
which they were yet to pass1 ,he warned 
them beforehand that  such experiences  
were inevitable1 and that the world     
would have to  pass through a purgatory 
of this kind2 but at the same time ,he  
told  them that1 when judgment was      
completed1 a new ,heaven and a new      
,earth  would be the result1 and ,he    
bade them be assured that1 amidst       
whatever  darkness and confusion1 ,he   
was sitting on the throne making all    
things  new4    ,all that we have to do 
individually is to see that we are true 
to ,him1  and in our hearts live in     
obedience to ,his will4 ,in the text ,he
 goes  on to say to the ,apostle1 8,i am
 ,alpha and ,omega1 the beginning and   
the  end4 ,i will give unto him that is 
athirst of the water of life freely4    
,he that overcometh shall inherit all   
things2 and ,i will be his ,god1  and he
 shall be ,my son40 8,blessed10 he says 

again1 8are they that do  ,his          
commandments1 that they may have right  
to the tree of life1 and  may enter in  
through the gates into the city4 ,for   
without are dogs1  and sorcerers1 and   
whoremongers1 and murderers1 and        
idolaters1 and  whosoever loveth and    
maketh a lie40 ,we are not able1 with   
our limited  and earthly vision1 to     
discern 8the work that ,god worketh from
 the  beginning of the world10 or the   
course of ,his judgments in the world   
at large4 ,that is beyond us1 and we    
must submit and take our part1  whatever
 it may be1 in these mysterious         
manifestations1 possessing  our souls in
 the patience which such assurances as  
those in the text  can alone provide4   
,but we can have the comfort1 for our   
own selves1  of passing through this    
strange and painful scene in sure and   
certain  hope of our ultimate           
blessedness1 provided in our own hearts 
and souls  we give ourselves up to the  
rule and the order of ,him ,who is the  

,beginning and the ,end1 the ,first and 
the ,last1 provided we make it the      
whole purpose of our lives to do ,his   
commandments1 and1 by ,his grace1       
overcome the evil which besets us in our
 own lives4 ,our personal and  private  
lives reflect in greater or less degree 
those stern experiences  which this     
,book describes in the case of the world
 at large4 ,we have  our sins1 and as   
the consequences of our sins our        
sufferings and  sorrows1 desolations and
 punishments of various kinds1 and we   
must  expect to have to bear them till  
the moment of our departure arrives4    
,but by ,god's grace we are also allowed
 in some measure to anticipate  the     
privilege which is held out to the world
 at large1 and which is our  own        
ultimate hope4 ,the fulfilment of the   
blessed promise of making all  things   
new is not merely commenced1 but1 if we 
will1 is consciously  commenced1 within 
our hearts and souls while we are upon  
earth4 8,we  ourselves10 says ,st4      

,paul1 8groan within ourselves1 waiting 
for the  adoption1 to wit1 the          
redemption of our body10 just as 8the   
whole  creation groaneth and travaileth 
in pain together until now40 ,but we    
have the first-fruits of the ,spirit4   
,his grace is within us at all  times to
 give us new hearts and new spirits1 to 
introduce ,his peace  into our souls1   
and to enable us to spread that peace   
around us4 ,let  us only seek it        
faithfully1 and the renewing and        
replenishing water of  life will restore
 us and maintain our energies1 and will 
be in us as a  well of water springing  
up into everlasting life4               
,,resistance ,,unto ,,blood4            
,,canterbury ,,cathedral1               
,,good-,,friday1 ,,april #c1 #aiaf4     
8,ye have not yet resisted unto blood1  
striving against sin40--,heb4   xii4 #d4
      8,ye have not yet resisted unto   
blood1 striving against sin40 ,that is  
the manner in which the author of the   
,epistle to the ,hebrews applies  the   

,cross of ,christ as an example and an  
inspiration to ,christians4 ,he  is     
exhorting them to 8lay aside every      
weight1 and the sin which doth  so      
easily beset us10 and to 8run with      
patience the race that is set  before   
us10 8looking unto ,jesus the ,author   
and ,perfecter of our ,faith1  who1 for 
the joy that was set before ,him1       
endured the ,cross40 ,it is an  aspect  
of our ,saviour's ,cross which it is    
most important to realize  if its       
significance for ourselves is to be duly
 appreciated4 ,what was  it that brought
 our ,lord to the ,cross8 ,of course1   
the ultimate cause  was that the will of
 ,god required that sacrifice to be made
 for the  expiation of human sin4       
8,him10 said ,st4 ,peter1 8being        
delivered up by  the determinate counsel
 and foreknowledge of ,god1 ye have     
taken1 and  by wicked hands have        
crucified and slain40 ,but ,god's       
counsel and will  were worked out by    
human agencies2 and it is of infinite   

interest to  consider what were the     
motives which led men like the leaders  
of the  ,jewish nation to commit the    
awful crime of putting to death the ,son
 of  ,god1 manifested in perfect human  
nature4 ,the simple explanation is that 
,he 8resisted unto blood1 striving      
against sin40 ,our ,lord strove against 
sin1 and sinners could not endure ,his  
antagonism2 and the opposition  between 
the two was so intense that one or other
 of the two antagonists  had to be      
overpowered4 ,that is the substance of  
the story of our  ,lord's life as told  
by the ,evangelists4 ,our ,lord came    
proclaiming that  the ,kingdom of       
,heaven was at hand--a ,kingdom with    
higher claims and  severer judgments    
than the ,jews could tolerate4 ,it      
claimed a spiritual  perfection instead 
of a legal one1 an obedience of the     
heart instead  of a mere compliance in  
external acts2 it penetrated into the   
secrets  of the conscience2 and our     
,lord further declared that ,he ,himself

 was  the ,judge by ,whom these claims  
would be enforced4 ,the ,jewish rulers  
felt that this amounted to superseding  
themselves and their authority1  and    
they treated our ,lord as a usurper who 
must be suppressed4 ,the  tremendous    
denunciation of the ,scribes and        
,pharisees3 8,woe unto you1  ,scribes   
and ,pharisees1 hypocrites10 was an act 
of open and righteous  hostility to the 
authorities who had rejected ,his       
mission and spurned  ,his claims4 ,they 
felt that ,he or they must be           
overthrown1 and they used  the ,roman   
,government to destroy ,him4    ,it thus
 appears that our ,lord's crucifixion   
was the culminating  struggle in the    
never-ceasing battle between right and  
wrong1  righteousness and sin1 in which 
the history of mankind consists4 ,our   
,lord appeared as the representative of 
absolute righteousness1 and ,he  was put
 to death because men could not endure  
that righteousness4 ,in  ,his rejection 
by the ,jews and ,his crucifixion by the

 ,roman ,governor1  the highest official
 representatives of human righteousness 
at that  time and place combined to     
condemn themselves4 ,but they could not 
have  consummated that sacrifice without
 the consent and even co-operation  of  
our ,lord ,himself4 ,he had power1 if   
,he had chosen to exert it1 to  destroy 
them and assert ,his ,divine supremacy4 
8,thinkest thou10 ,he  said1 8that ,i   
cannot now pray to ,my ,father1 and ,he 
shall presently  give ,me more than     
twelve legions of angels8 ,but how1     
then1 shall the  ,scriptures be         
fulfilled1 that thus it must be80       
,instead of destroying  ,his enemies1   
,he submitted to be put to death        
,himself4 ,he allowed the               
unrighteousness of human nature to break
 in full force upon ,his own  head2 ,he 
,himself became its victim1 and a victim
 of such infinite  greatness as to      
constitute an expiation for all the sin 
of mankind4 ,sin  and evil can only be  
avenged by an adequate exhibition and   

endurance  of their consequences4 ,but  
that endurance and that manifestation   
were  afforded1 in the highest          
conceivable form1 in the destruction1 so
 far  as men could effect it1 of perfect
 goodness and holiness4 ,that was  what 
our ,lord's submission to the ,cross    
involved4 ,when that expiation  had been
 made to ,god and ,god's righteousness1 
our ,lord assumed ,his  full authority  
as a ,saviour and a ,judge1 and1 by ,his
 ,resurrection and  ,ascension1         
established the ,kingdom of ,heaven in  
all its grace and  power4 ,henceforth   
men have lived under that dispensation  
of love as  well as of justice1 and the 
,cross has been held aloft among them as
 the  means and the assurance of        
forgiveness and of grace4    ,no human  
being can imitate our ,lord in that     
supreme act of  self-surrender to ,his  
,father's will1 by which ,he abandoned  
all ,his  right and power to avenge     
,himself on ,his enemies1 and became the
  supreme victim1 and therefore         

atonement1 for human sin4 ,but it is    
possible for men to follow ,him in the  
course of action which brought  ,him to 
that awful decision and agony4 8,he     
resisted unto blood1 striving  against  
sin40 ,so far as we strive against sin  
and evil1 whatever the  consequences to 
ourselves1 we are following ,him to the 
foot of the  ,cross4 ,it is not the mere
 endurance of suffering1 the mere       
surrender  of life in itself1 which     
renders us followers of our ,lord in    
,his  sacrifice3 men have endured much  
and sacrificed much for more or less    
selfish reasons1 for ambition or for    
military glory and power4 ,but  the     
essence of our ,lord's sacrifice was    
that it was made in the cause  of       
righteousness and truth only4 8,to this 
end was ,i born10 ,he said1  8and for   
this cause came ,i into the world1 that 
,i should bear witness  unto the truth40
 ,we are following ,him so far as in all
 our words and  acts we are bearing     
witness unto the truth4 ,that witness   

may at any  time involve suffering and  
death4 ,god has so constituted mankind  
that  few great causes have ever been   
finally won without the voluntary       
sacrifice of life4 ,that sacrifice may  
sometimes be made1 like that of  our    
,lord and of the martyrs1 by the        
voluntary endurance of the cruel        
penalties inflicted by the enemies of   
the truth2 or it may be endured  in     
obedience to the claim of lawful        
authorities that we should take up  arms
 and offer our lives1 in defence of some
 righteous cause4 ,men may  act in our  
,lord's spirit if they submit to wrong  
in their own persons1  rather than      
avenge themselves4 ,but the authorities 
who1 as ,st4 ,paul  says1 are the       
ministers of ,god1 are bound to protect 
those committed  to their charge1 and   
for that purpose have a right to call   
upon those  under them to use the sword 
at their command to defend the right4   
,in  so using the sword at the command  
of their rulers1 at whatever cost to    

themselves1 they also are acting in     
,christ's spirit1 because they are      
upholding righteousness and asserting   
the truth in the manner required  by    
their duty4 ,to all forms of organized  
sin the witness of the ,jewish          
sacrifices holds good4 8,without        
shedding of blood is no remission40     
,that1 so long as the present           
dispensation lasts1 is the unalterable  
law  of ,god's ,will and ,word4         
,soldiers1 therefore1 who are obeying a 
lawful  command in defence of the right1
 are offering their lives in the spirit 
in which ,christ endured the ,cross1 and
 may claim the comfort of being  fellows
 with ,him in the 8holy war0 of right   
against wrong4    ,but if the ,cross of 
,christ is to be the centre of our      
lives1 we must  strive to live in all   
things1 and not only in such great      
crises as  those of war and the         
battlefield1 in the spirit which brought
 our ,lord  to ,his ,cross--the spirit  
of absolute obedience in all things to  

the  righteous will of ,god4 ,what the  
,spirit of the ,cross requires of us  is
 the absolute surrender of our own wills
 to the will of ,god1 and  the constant 
endeavour to bear witness to that will1 
and to promote  it in every part of our 
lives4 ,it is not the mere meditation on
 the  sufferings of the ,cross which    
will bring us into harmony with it4     
,the ,apostles do not dwell much on     
them1 profoundly as they must have  been
 moved by them4 ,what they dwell on is  
the spirit which moved our  ,saviour to 
accept them and to bear them4 ,that     
spirit is to be discerned  throughout   
,his life1 as well as in ,his agony in  
the garden and in ,his  sayings on the  
,cross4 ,it is embodied in ,his gracious
 words3 8,whoever  shall do the will of 
,my ,father which is in ,heaven1 the    
same is ,my  brother and sister and     
mother40 ,the ,cross is the highest and 
final  expression of ,his devotion and  
,his ,father's will2 but we can follow  
that spirit in every duty1 however      

humble4 ,if the ,national ,mission is   
to fulfil its object1 it must impress   
that spirit of supreme devotion  to the 
will of ,god1 as revealed in ,christ1   
upon the nation as a whole1  and the    
,cross must become the symbol of our    
national1 no less than of  our          
individual1 life4          ,,the        
,,king',s ,,accession ,,and             
,,intercession4    ,,canterbury         
,,cathedral1 #aiae4     8,i exhort1     
therefore1 that1 first of all1          
supplications1 prayers1   intercessions1
 thanksgivings1 be made for all men3 for
 kings1 and for   all that are in       
authority3 that we may lead a quiet and 
peaceable life   in all godliness and   
honesty40--#a ,tim4 ii4 #a4      ,it is 
in fulfilment of the duty prescribed in 
this text that we  hold every year a    
,service of ,thanksgiving and           
,intercession on the  anniversary of our
 ,king's accession to the throne1 and ,i
 am sure we  all know and appreciate the
 abundant reasons we have for offering  

such  thanksgivings4 ,we know that every
 public action of the ,king since he    
came to the throne has borne witness to 
his unreserved devotion to the  welfare 
of his subjects in all parts of his     
,empire4 ,his visit1 for  instance1 to  
,india was a very arduous and anxious   
undertaking1 and was  prompted by his   
own desire to assure the ,indian people 
of his deep  personal care for them1 and
 also to strengthen the bonds between   
them  and his subjects at home2 and no  
doubt the generous service which        
,indian princes and soldiers are now    
rendering to the ,empire on the  plains 
of ,flanders is in great measure due to 
the influence of that  visit1 in        
deepening the loyalty and devotion of   
his ,indian subjects4  ,we have had     
abundant evidence1 moreover1 in the last
 few months1 of  the ,king's deep       
sympathy with his people in the sorrows 
and losses  which this war is inflicting
 upon them4 ,he has sent his son and    
heir  to serve with his soldiers at the 

,front1 and has himself visited them    
there to thank and cheer them1 and he   
has lately set a very conspicuous       
example of personal self-denial in the  
ordinary habits of life4 ,we see  that  
the ,king and ,queen live for the good  
of their subjects1 and for  the         
promotion of all that is good and true  
and gracious throughout  their vast     
,empire1 and that their example is one  
of the chief  influences which are      
working among us for these noble ends4  
,knowing and  appreciating all this1 ,i 
need not say more to induce you to join 
with a  full heart to-day in the words  
of our ,service1 and to 8yield unfeigned
  thanks to ,god0 that ,he was pleased1 
as on this day1 to place ,his  servant  
our ,sovereign ,lord ,king ,george upon 
the throne of this realm4    ,but ,i    
think it may be desirable and opportune 
to lay some special  stress on those    
intercessions which we are bidden to    
offer 8for  kings and for all that are  
in authority1 that we may lead a quiet  

and peaceable life in all godliness and 
honesty40 ,those words remind  us1 first
 of all1 that the purpose of ,god1 so   
far as this world is  concerned1 is that
 we may live a life of peace in all     
godliness and  honour--a state of peace 
in which men may enjoy the happiness for
  which ,god intended them1 in which    
they may 8replenish the earth and       
subdue it10 and develop to the utmost   
the faculties and capacities  with which
 ,god has endowed them4 ,that is the    
main object to be kept in  view for the 
purpose of the present life4 ,the next  
fact of which the  words remind us is   
that the maintenance of these peaceful  
conditions  of life depends mainly upon 
,kings and all that are in authority4   
,it  does not depend merely upon ,kings1
 but also upon those in authority1  who 
are the ,kings' ,ministers4 ,in some    
parts of the world1 as in this  country1
 ,kings no longer have the power by     
themselves1 and of their own  motion1 to
 determine the course of public affairs1

 to keep the peace or  to declare wars4 
,yet their position must always give    
them an immense  influence in the       
government of a nation2 and even now1 in
 the two  greatest countries of         
,europe--,germany and ,russia1 they have
 not merely  the supreme control1 but   
the supreme initiative1 in affairs of   
,state4  ,the peace of the world1 the   
possibility of our living a quiet and   
peaceable life1 depends in ,europe1 in  
the main1 on the rulers of ,russia  and 
,germany1 upon those in authority in    
,france1 and upon the ,king of  ,england
 and his ,ministers4    ,it is a        
momentous fact1 and a surprising one to 
realize4 ,god has so  constituted       
mankind that the welfare of the masses1 
of the millions of  ordinary men and    
women1 depends upon the actions of a few
 dozens of  the leading men in the      
various countries of ,europe4 ,we are   
proud of  being a constitutional        
country1 and of the fact that by the    
election  of members of ,parliament--by 

selecting1 that is1 the members of the  
,house of ,commons--the vast majority of
 ,englishmen have a voice in  creating  
their own ,government2 and to a certain 
extent in that way we  govern ourselves4
 ,but nevertheless1 in the last resort1 
the fate of the  country depends upon   
the dozen or two men who are placed in  
power by  the ,house of ,commons4 ,it is
 a simple fact that the mass of the     
people  in this country had no voice    
whatever in determining whether we      
should  or should not enter upon this   
terrible war4 ,it was determined for us 
in  the course of a few hours by the    
,king's ,ministers1 and by the action   
they took in their relations with other 
countries4 ,in the nature of the  case  
it must be so4 ,whether they will or    
not1 great masses of people  and great  
nations cannot do without a ,government2
 and when they have  established one1   
that ,government must necessarily act in
 many critical  emergencies without     
waiting to consult the people whom it   

governs4 ,a  nation and its ,king1 with 
his ,ministers1 constitute as much one  
body1  to use ,st4 ,paul's image1 as the
 various elements and limbs of the human
  body and its brain4 ,we become one    
single organism1 under the control  and 
management of the brain of that         
organism1 which is the ,king and  his   
,ministers4 ,it is an awful             
responsibility for men to have entrusted
  to them1 to be able to declare war and
 thus to launch many millions  of men in
 their own country1 and hundreds of     
millions of men in the  ,empire and in  
other countries1 upon a gigantic        
struggle1 of which all  we know for     
certain at the outset is that it will   
involve a sacrifice  of tens of         
thousands of lives1 the devastation of  
fair countries1 and  the waste of       
enormous treasure4 ,but so it is and    
ever must be4 ,in the  freest republics 
that ever existed the chief rulers have 
had similarly  to act as the brain of   
the whole people2 and it depends on     

their wisdom  and faithfulness1 not     
merely at critical moments1 but in that 
daily  administration of affairs out of 
which critical moments arise1 whether   
the people shall live a quiet and       
peaceable life or not4    ,we must add  
to this the fact--which no one would be 
more ready  to recognize than these     
leaders and rulers1 ,kings1 ,ministers1 
or  ,presidents1 themselves--that the   
affairs with which they have to deal1   
the problems they have to solve1 are too
 vast and mysterious to be  fully       
grasped by any human brain1 and that    
they are liable to the  most grievous   
miscalculations4 ,if you need evidence  
of this1 look at  the outbreak of the   
present war4 ,our rulers in this country
 had no  idea at all1 within a few days 
of the event1 that such a war was about 
to break upon us2 the rulers of all     
other nations have been loudly          
proclaiming1 ever since it began1 that  
they are not responsible for it1  and   
that it would not have happened but for 

circumstances which they  could not     
foresee or control4 ,there seem1 indeed1
 to have been wild and  unscrupulous    
spirits in ,germany who were eager for  
it1 and who had long  been intriguing   
for it2 but none the less it burst upon 
,europe suddenly  and unexpectedly1 and 
it baffled the foresight of ,european   
statesmen in  general4 ,in the face of  
such imperfect competence for these     
problems  of statesmanship1 and of such 
enormous responsibility for them1 are   
we not compelled to stretch out our     
hands towards ,heaven1 and implore      
,god's guidance for the rulers who are  
feeling their way amidst such  dim      
lights--8for kings and for all in       
authority10 upon whose words  and       
actions the fate of the world and its   
peace1 the happiness and  the very life 
of millions of men and women are        
dependent8 ,if1 indeed1  we could not do
 so1 we might well despair4 ,we should  
behold before us  a mass of nations     
rising against one another1 blinded--as 

we see in  ,germany that nations can be 
blinded--by passion and pride1 and      
fighting  wildly1 almost like men in the
 dark1 and we might well feel helpless  
before such a chaos4 ,but knowing1 as it
 is the privilege of ,christians  to    
know1 that 8the ,lord sitteth above the 
water-floods10 that 8the ,lord          
remaineth a ,king for ever10 knowing1 as
 another ,psalm says1 that 8the  ,lord  
is ,king1 be the people never so        
impatient4 ,he sitteth between the      
cherubim1 be the earth never so         
unquiet10 we cry unto the ,lord in our  
trouble1 and implore ,him to deliver us 
out of our distress4    ,there is       
another reason for our thus appealing to
 ,him1 which is1 that  we are assured by
 ,his ,word that the whole history of   
the world has  been under his control1  
and that ,he has been directing its     
course  throughout1 and determining the 
fate of nations for ,his own purposes4  
,we have before us the most conclusive  
evidence of this in the history  of the 

,jews4 ,the course of their history and 
their position in the  world at the     
present day were announced to ,abraham  
and ,moses thousands  of years ago1 and 
they have fulfilled1 and are now        
fulfilling1 the  place and the function 
in the world which were then assigned to
 them4  ,there is nothing1 accordingly1 
on which the ,bible insists more        
urgently  and constantly than that the  
great issues of war and history are in  
the  hands of ,god4 ,it is not merely   
that ,he exercises a general controlling
  influence over them1 but that ,he has 
,his own purposes1 which ,he is         
gradually fulfilling by means of 8the   
unruly wills and affections  of sinful  
men40 ,it teaches us that 8except the   
,lord build the house  they labour in   
vain that build it2 except the ,lord    
keep the city the  watchman watcheth but
 in vain40 ,he does not merely interpose
 in the  course of the building1 but ,he
 is the ,builder4 ,he is building up1   
through the ages1 some great design1 and

 all nations will be made in  the end to
 conform to it4    ,it is certain1 for  
instance1 that it was not by our design 
or  forethought1 or our skill1 that the 
,empire which we are now called on  to  
defend was built up4 ,a hundred years   
ago--nay1 fifty years ago--no  statesman
 seems to have imagined that the        
,british ,empire would grow1  or could  
grow1 to the vast dimensions it now     
possesses4 ,not merely  did they not    
imagine it--some of them actually       
deprecated its growth4  ,it has not been
 by our will and design1 but in great   
measure against  them1 that the ,british
 nations have been developed into one   
great  body politic4 ,it must be the    
hand of ,god which we see in all that   
development4 ,we have1 whether we will  
or no1 a great work laid upon  us all   
over the world--in ,india1 in ,america1 
and in the ,islands of  the sea--and we 
recognize that it is by ,god's will that
 this task and  responsibility1 which is
 at the same time a great privilege1 has

 been  laid upon us4 ,we may well1      
therefore1 implore continually ,his help
  and guidance in the discharge of it4  
,is it not1 then1 an imperative  duty1  
is not ,st4 ,paul right in putting it in
 the very forefront of our  duties1 that
 we should offer up supplications1      
intercessions1 urgent  prayers for the  
,king and for all in authority under    
him1 that they  may be guided to know   
,god's will in the vast problems which  
are set  before them8 that 8,god's      
wisdom may be their guide and that ,his 
,arm may  strengthen them10 and that ,he
 may direct their actions and endeavours
  to ,his own glory1 to the             
accomplishment of ,his great designs1   
and to  the welfare of our people8      
,let us ask ourselves earnestly whether 
we have realized1 as we ought1  since   
this war began1 that it is in ,god's    
hands1 and not in ours1 to  determine   
its issue4 ,war is not merely an appeal 
to the sword--it is1  in a far higher   
degree1 an appeal1 the final appeal1 to 

,god ,himself4  ,lord ,bacon observes   
that great soldiers and ,commanders have
 always been  conspicuous for their     
acknowledgment that the issues of their 
great  battles and campaigns all        
depended upon some supernatural power4  
,they  knew better than others the      
infinite accidents and chances upon     
which  the issue of war depends1 and    
they realized that it was in ,god's     
power  to determine that issue as ,he   
pleased4 ,i fear it must be owned that  
we  have not1 as yet1 acknowledged this 
truth in the present war as much as  we 
ought4 ,if we had1 would not the        
,services of ,intercession in this      
,cathedral and elsewhere be more        
frequently and more earnestly attended8 
,let us be reminded then1 by this       
,service of ,prayer and ,supplication1  
on the anniversary of the ,accession of 
our ,king1 how deeply he and  his       
,ministers need that prayer and         
intercession1 how wholly dependent  they
 are1 in bearing the momentous burdens  

laid upon them1 upon 8the  good hand of 
our ,god upon them02 and let us         
henceforth 8pray without  ceasing0 for  
,god's blessing upon our ,king1 and     
particularly1 at this  time1 for his    
victory over the bitter enemies by whom 
he has been  forced into this dreadful  
struggle4          ,,the ,,christian    
,,sanction ,,of ,,war4    ,,at ,,the    
,,service ,,of ,,intercession ,,for     
,,the ,,king',s ,,naval ,,and ,,military
 ,,forces  ,,in ,,canterbury            
,,cathedral1 ,,august1 #aiad4      ,we  
are assembled here this afternoon1 at   
the call of our ,king in  ,council and  
of our ,archbishop1 for the purpose of  
solemn intercession  with ,almighty ,god
 on behalf of his ,majesty's naval and  
military  forces now engaged in war4    
,that is in accordance with the solemn  
practice of our fathers at all the great
 crises of our history2 and  it is only 
about fourteen years since we were      
similarly interceding  with ,almighty   
,god in this cathedral1 when the ,king's

 forces were  engaged in an arduous     
struggle in ,south ,africa4 ,but the    
gravity of our  present struggle is     
greater than that of any in the memory  
of living  men1 perhaps greater than    
that of any other in our history4 ,the  
very  existence of our ,empire1 and even
 the independence of our ,kingdom1 is   
at stake2 and the ,power by which we are
 threatened has been1 of late  years1   
deemed the greatest military force in   
,europe1 and a naval force  only second 
to our own4 ,it may be that the         
capacities and resources  of our        
,kingdom and ,empire will be strained as
 they have never been  strained before1 
and that all our manhood1 and even our  
womanhood1  will be called upon for all 
the force and endurance of which they   
are  capable4 ,prayer to ,god is        
incumbent upon us at all times2 but     
there  are special reasons why1 in a    
great war1 it is the most important of  
all duties1 and the most precious of all
 privileges4 ,the issues of war  are1 in

 an extraordinary degree1 beyond the    
control of man4 ,the issue  of a battle 
or a campaign may1 in fact1 be          
determined by incidents1  moral and     
physical1 which no human power can      
foresee or control4 ,our  own           
deliverance from the ,spanish ,armada   
was certainly determined1 in an         
incalculable degree1 by the tremendous  
storm which wrecked the ,spanish  fleet 
at the critical moment2 and again and   
again in history have  great battles    
been decided by influences of that      
nature1 or by some  incalculable turn in
 the feeling and temper of an army4     
,consequently1  when nations go to war  
they place themselves and their fortunes
 in the  hands of ,god in a more        
absolute manner than in any other human 
affairs4  ,that is what we have now done
 by declaring war against ,germany2 and 
we  have1 therefore1 more reason than at
 any other time in our history to  fall 
before ,god's footstool1 and to implore 
,him for the protection and  blessing   

which ,he1 and ,he only1 can give us4   
,it is still more true now  than in the 
,psalmist's time that 8there is no king 
that can be saved by  the multitude of  
an host1 neither is any mighty man      
delivered by much  strength2 an horse is
 counted but a vain thing to save a man1
 neither  shall he deliver any man by   
his great strength4 ,behold the eye of  
the  ,lord is upon them that fear ,him1 
and upon them that put their trust in   
,his mercy40 ,in that spirit we now bow 
before ,his throne--in the words  of our
 daily prayer in time of war and        
tumult--before the throne of  8the only 
,giver of all victory40    ,coming      
before ,him in these solemn             
circumstances1 and with this  momentous 
petition1 it becomes us to ask ourselves
 whether we are doing  so in a spirit1  
and with a cause1 in which we can expect
 ,his blessing1  and a favourable answer
 to our prayers4 8,if ,i incline unto   
wickedness  with my heart10 says the    
,psalmist1 8the ,lord will not hear me40

 ,if we  are to offer our prayers with a
 believing and confident heart1 we must 
have our conscience clear2 and before   
men ask ,god's blessing in so           
tremendous an issue as that of war1 they
 must consider with the most  solemn    
earnestness whether they can feel       
assured that what they are  doing and   
asking is in accordance with ,his will4 
,as to the lawfulness of war itself1    
though some good ,christian minds  are  
troubled by the question1 the answer    
seems clear and simple4 ,war  is        
justifiable for the same reason that it 
is lawful to put men to  death for great
 crimes1 like murder and treason4 ,the  
conscience of  mankind at large1 the    
conscience of ,christian ,states at     
large1 has  uniformly wielded the sword 
of justice in avenging and averting1 by 
the  punishment of death1 such crimes of
 violence and treachery as destroy  the 
very frame of ,society4 ,that use of the
 sword of justice1 moreover1  has the   
express support of ,revelation1 for ,st4

 ,paul has declared that  the ruler     
8beareth not the sword in vain2 he is   
the minister of ,god1  an avenger to    
execute wrath upon him that doeth evil40
 ,but if it is  lawful to use the sword 
of justice against individuals1 it must 
be  equally lawful to use it against a  
community of individuals--in other      
words1 against a society1 or a nation1  
who are unjustly destroying or          
threatening the lives and the peace of  
another society or nation4 ,the  use of 
the sword--which is an elementary name  
for war--has been shown  by thousands of
 years of experience to be1 in the last 
resort1 the only  effectual means of    
punishing and preventing unjust         
violence4 ,it is vain  to argue what    
might be possible or desirable if man   
were an uncorrupt  creature4 ,he is1 as 
a matter of fact1 a sinful creature2    
and1 as ,st4  ,paul plainly says1 it is 
,god ,himself who has put the sword into
 the  hands of human authority to       
punish1 and to restrain1 the effects of 

that sinfulness4    ,thus the mere fact 
of our resort to the sword need not of  
itself burden  our consciences4 ,but if 
this account of its awful purpose be    
true1 one  indispensable condition for  
its use is obviously requisite4 ,if the 
purpose of the sword is to punish       
injustice1 then we must take care  that 
it is used for that solemn purpose only4
 ,it was not given to men  to enable    
them to gratify their ambition or pride1
 or to enlarge their  kingdoms at their 
pleasure1 or for any selfish purpose    
whatever4 ,he  who draws the sword for  
any purpose but that of upholding       
justice and  judgment on the earth is   
committing the crime of murder on the   
vastest  scale1 and renders himself     
justly liable to the stern use of the   
sword  against himself4 ,if1 therefore1 
we are to come before ,god with a clear 
conscience at this moment1 we must be   
able to say1 from our hearts1  that we  
have not now drawn the sword from any   
selfish motive1 or under  the influence 

of any violent passion1 but that we have
 drawn it simply  and solely in the     
discharge of our bounden duty1 and in   
fulfilment of  just promises and        
engagements to our neighbours4 ,my      
brethren1 ,i believe  it may be         
confidently asserted that this country  
has never been engaged  in a war in     
respect to which this could be said with
 more unqualified  confidence than in   
the present case4    ,i think1 indeed1  
we may thankfully consider1 in reviewing
 our long  history1 that the wars by    
which our ,empire has been developed and
  established have1 on the whole1 been  
of this character1 and have  not been   
prompted by either national or dynastic 
ambition4 ,the  wars under ,queen       
,elizabeth1 in which the germs of our   
,empire were  laid1 were mainly prompted
 by a just indignation against the cruel
  and superstitious tyranny of ,spain2  
and the wars of ,marlborough  and       
,wellington were similarly fought to    
protect ,europe against an  overbearing 

and unjust domination4 ,in the heat of  
those struggles we  may have been       
betrayed1 in some instances1 into an    
unjust use of the  sword2 but1 on the   
whole1 we may thank ,god that the wars  
which have  established ,great ,britain 
in its present position have been--at   
least  mainly--fought in just causes4   
,certainly in the present instance we   
have no other motive or object4 ,we     
covet no other nation's possessions2  we
 have not interfered--and do not desire 
to interfere--with any other  nation's  
affairs2 we would not willingly exert   
our influence for any  other purpose but
 that of promoting righteousness and    
freedom2 and if1  in our later history1 
we have erred1 as human beings can      
hardly avoid  erring sometimes1 the     
errors have been due to a failure of    
judgment1  and not of motive or         
intention4 ,as to the particular        
occasion of this  war1 we have offered  
no provocation whatever1 except what has
 been  called 8the strong antipathy0 of 

right to wrong2 the provocation which   
adherence to promise and treaties must  
ever offer to those who would  break    
them2 the provocation which defence of  
the weak must ever offer  to those who  
would overbear them4 ,we can say in a   
word1 with a good  conscience1 that we  
are at least earnestly endeavouring to  
act as the  servants of ,him of ,whom   
the ,psalmist exclaims3 8,the ,lord is  
,king2 the  earth may be glad thereof2  
yea1 the multitude of the isles may be  
glad  thereof4 ,clouds and darkness are 
round about ,him2 righteousness and     
judgment are the habitation of ,his     
seat40 ,it is in the cause of that      
righteousness and judgment that we      
desire to act4    ,but there is one     
other condition that we must fulfil1 if 
we are to  dare to claim the favour of  
,god in this great struggle4 ,we must   
not  only ask whether we are upholding  
righteousness in our public action  but 
whether we are observing it in our own  
hearts1 and in our national  life4      

,sufferings1 we are told in our ,prayer 
,book1 may be sent 8to  correct and     
amend in us whatever doth offend the    
eyes of our ,heavenly  ,father40 ,can we
 fail to be sensible that there is much 
in our lives1  both private and public1 
which must offend ,his eyes8 ,our       
private sins  must be left to our       
private consciences4 ,but who has not   
listened  during the last few years1    
with a painful sense of their justice1  
to reproaches among ourselves at the    
luxury1 the extravagance1 the  reckless 
pursuit of pleasure1 the general        
self-indulgence1 which have  been too   
prevalent among us8 ,with what heart can
 men appeal for ,god's  favour and      
protection1 in their hour of need1 who1 
in their hours of  well-being1 have     
neglected ,his worship and disregarded  
,his ,word and  ,sacraments8 ,before    
going into battle as a nation and as    
individuals1  let us seek ,his          
absolution in that comprehensive prayer 
of our ,litany  8that it would please   

,him to give us true repentance1 to     
forgive us all  our sins1 negligences1  
and ignorances1 and to endue us with the
 grace  of ,his ,holy ,spirit to amend  
our lives according to ,his ,holy       
,word40    ,in so far as we approach    
,him in this spirit1 we may humbly hope 
for  ,his blessing on the bravery and   
the self-sacrifice of our sailors and   
soldiers4 ,those sacrifices1 moreover1  
alike for them and for ourselves1  will 
be relieved of their worst bitterness1  
and will be glorified by  a sacred and  
,divine example4 ,they will not be      
fruitless sacrifices4  ,they will be    
sacrifices which will win for the       
fellow-countrymen of  those who offer   
them1 and for the world at large1 grand 
additions to  that edifice of           
righteousness and judgment1 of          
,christian civilization1  towards which 
the hopes of mankind are directed with  
an inexpressible  yearning4 ,if this war
 results1 as we now pray that it may1 in
 the  reassertion of principles which   

were in danger of being forgotten  or   
overridden1 in the re-establishment of  
the faith of treaties1  and in the      
protection of the weak against the      
strong1 it will have  established for   
,europe and the world a great           
consolidation and advance  in the       
essential principles of national truth  
and justice4 ,it is a  comparatively    
poor thing to die for glory1 or for     
power and wealth2  but it is a grand    
thing to die for righteousness and      
equity1 for the  ,god who allows us to  
be ,his instruments in upholding them1  
and for  the ,king and country whose    
call we are proud to obey4 ,if1         
moreover1  men go to war in this spirit1
 they may claim a still more ,divine    
privilege4 ,in the sacrifice which      
soldiers make in a righteous cause1     
they are following1 in the most         
essential characteristic1 the 8author   
and finisher of our ,faith10 the        
8,captain of our ,salvation10 whose     
work is summed up in that soldier-like  

phrase1 8,he resisted unto  blood1      
striving against sin40 ,the soldier who 
sheds his blood on the  battlefield in a
 righteous cause1 and with a righteous  
purpose1 is  doing the very thing that  
,christ did1 and he may be assured of   
,christ's  approval and blessing4 ,in   
quiet times we may fail to realize      
adequately  the solemn truth that1      
whenever we receive the ,holy           
,communion1 we are  receiving spiritual 
benefits which were won for us by the   
sacrifice of  the ,body and ,blood of   
our ,saviour ,christ4 ,if war1 in one   
aspect1 is a  horrible thing1 so was the
 ,cross2 but the whole hope of the      
salvation  of mankind1 here and         
hereafter1 was won by that ,divine      
bloodshed2 and  its grace and glory are 
reflected over every battlefield1 in    
which  blood is shed in the long        
struggle against unrighteousness4 ,in   
these  convictions1 and with these      
solemn resolves1 let us now appeal to   
,god1  in firm and humble faith1 for    

,his help in this hour of need2 and let 
us  enter into this dread conflict with 
the full assurance that 8,god is our    
refuge and strength1 a very present help
 in trouble40          ,,the ,,warning  
,,of ,,the ,,tower ,,in ,,siloam4       
,,preached ,,in ,,canterbury            
,,cathedral1 ,,october #be1 #aiad4      
8,i tell you1 ,nay2 but1 except ye      
repent1 ye shall all likewise           
perish40--,luke xiii4 #a-e4             
8,except ye repent1 ye shall all        
likewise perish40 ,in these solemn      
words1 twice repeated1 our ,lord affords
 us a flash of light upon the           
principles and methods of the ,divine   
judgments1 and utters a solemn  warning2
 and ,i think that both the revelation  
and the warning will be  found intensely
 applicable to the distressing          
sufferings and anxieties  through which 
we and our country are now passing4 ,our
 ,lord had been  speaking about the     
severity of the ,divine justice1 and    
about the  blindness of men in not      

foreseeing the approach of ,his         
judgments4 8,ye  hypocrites10 ,he said1 
8ye can discern the face of the sky and 
of the  earth2 but how is it that ye do 
not discern this time8 ,yea1 and why    
even of yourselves judge ye not what is 
right80 and ,he warns them that  if they
 fall into the hands of justice1 they   
will not depart thence  till they have  
paid the very last mite4 ,at this       
mention of the ,divine  judgment1 some  
who were present told ,him of a dreadful
 act of violence  which had recently    
occurred1 of some ,galilans1 8whose     
blood ,pilate  had mingled with their   
sacrifices40 ,it would seem they were   
members of  an extremely zealous sect of
 ,jews1 who objected to the custom which
  then prevailed of offering sacrifices 
in the ,temple for the welfare of  the  
,roman ,government2 and ,pilate treated 
their conduct as treasonable1  and had  
them slaughtered in the ,temple while   
they were offering their  own           
sacrifices4 ,the object of the          

interruption seems to have been to  ask 
our ,lord whether these men had brought 
such a punishment upon  themselves by   
unusual sin1 and it may also have been  
intended to tempt  ,him to pronounce    
some censure on ,pilate1 and thus to    
bring ,himself into  conflict with the  
,roman authorities4 ,but our ,lord's    
reply lifts the  matter at once out of  
any personal or local bearings1 and lays
 down a  principle which applies to all 
such tragedies4 8,suppose ye10 ,he said1
  8that these ,galilans were sinners    
above all the ,galilans because  they   
suffered such things8 ,i tell you1 ,nay2
 but1 except ye repent1 ye  shall all   
likewise perish40 ,he drives the truth  
home by applying it to  another recent  
tragedy1 which might have seemed a mere 
accident4 8,those  eighteen10 ,he said1 
8upon whom the tower in ,siloam fell1   
and slew them1  think ye that they were 
sinners above all men that dwelt in     
,jerusalem8  ,i tell you1 ,nay2 but1    
except ye repent1 ye shall all likewise 

perish40  ,it is not for you1 ,he seems 
to say1 to be curious about the reason  
why  these particular men have suffered 
in this way4 ,what you should do is  to 
learn that you are all liable to suffer 
in the same way1 and that  you will do  
so unless you repent4    ,now1 it will  
be seen that there is a momentous       
revelation contained  in these words1   
respecting the real cause of such       
dreadful disasters  as these two        
incidents illustrated4 ,when ,he says1  
8,except ye repent1  ye shall all       
likewise perish10 ,he clearly intimates 
that a ,divine  judgment is going       
forward in the world1 which sooner or   
later brings  suffering and destruction 
upon men in consequence of their sin4   
,even  what we might call a physical    
accident1 like the fall of a tower which
  kills eighteen persons1 is a warning  
to men that they are liable to  such a  
death at any moment1 and that1          
therefore1 they should repent  and be   
prepared for it4 ,it is an example of   

what may befall any of us1  and of what 
will befall all of us in one way or     
another1 unless we  repent4 ,if we look 
more particularly into the example of   
the men whom  ,pilate slaughtered1 we   
shall realize that it has a peculiarly  
close  application to our own day4      
,these men1 who were resisting the      
,roman  ,government1 were examples of   
the vehement passions which were at that
  time surging among the ,jewish people4
 ,our ,lord ,himself was the victim  of 
the fierce hatred of foreign influence  
which prevailed among the  people4 ,the 
priests and ,pharisees said among       
themselves1 8,what do we8  ,for this man
 doeth many miracles1 and if we let ,him
 thus alone1 all  men will believe on   
,him1 and the ,romans will come and take
 away both  our place and our nation40  
,and the ,high ,priest1 ,caiaphas1      
replied1 8,ye  know nothing at all1 nor 
consider that it is expedient for us    
that one  man should die for the people1
 and that the whole nation perish not40 

,thus it was that the passions of the   
,jewish people were worked up into  such
 blindness and wickedness1 that they    
committed the awful crime of  putting   
our ,lord to death2 and then in forty   
years the prediction of  our ,lord was  
fulfilled1 and the great mass of them   
perished in just  such a slaughter as   
that which ,pilate committed1 the blood 
of the  nation being shed in torrents in
 the ,courts of the ,temple1 and amidst 
its sacrifices4 ,these events--the      
massacre by ,pilate1 the murder of  our 
,lord1 the destruction of the ,jewish   
people--were not separate and           
disconnected events4 ,they were all the 
consequence of the sins and  evil       
passions which our ,lord denounced among
 the ,jews of ,his time2  and the       
disasters which the ,jews suffered were 
the judgments of ,god's  righteousness  
upon those sins4    ,now what this      
reveals to us is the constitution of    
that world of human  society amidst     
which we live4 ,the bedrock of it1 the  

basis of its  whole constitution1 is the
 righteousness of ,god and ,his         
unwavering  maintenance of ,his moral   
laws4 ,as the ,psalmist says1 8,clouds  
and  darkness are round about ,him10 and
 we cannot follow in all respects  ,his 
mysterious dispensations2 but one thing 
we know for certain1 that               
8righteousness and judgment are the     
habitation of ,his seat40 ,all ,his     
providential government of mankind is   
based on the assertion of right  and the
 punishment and repression of wrong2    
and1 as another prophet  says1 when you 
see ,god's judgments in the world you   
may be sure that  the object of them is 
that the inhabitants of the world may   
learn  righteousness4 ,but it is of the 
first importance we should realize  how 
those judgments are for the most part   
executed4 ,it is not1 as a  rule1 by the
 special and visible interposition of   
,god's hand4 ,there  have been times1   
indeed1 as on various occasions in the  
history of  the ,jews1 such as the      

deliverance of ,his people from ,egypt1 
when ,god  manifestly interposed1 by    
miraculous means1 to punish ,his enemies
 and  to deliver ,his people4 ,but for  
the most part1 and in the general course
  of history1 the moral and religious   
laws which ,god has established in      
human nature are left to work out their 
natural consequences1 and men  are      
punished not merely because of their    
sins1 but by their sins1 and  by the    
working out of their sins in their      
lives4 ,the explanation of the  chief   
troubles of mankind1 and in particular  
of the wars and sufferings  which have  
cursed the earth from generation to     
generation1 is contained  in that       
statement of ,st4 ,james3 8,from whence 
come wars and fightings  among you8     
,come they not hence1 even of your lusts
 that war in your  members8 ,ye lust and
 have not3 ye kill1 and desire to have1 
and cannot  obtain3 ye fight and war1   
yet ye have not1 because ye ask not4 ,ye
 ask1  and receive not1 because ye ask  

amiss1 that ye may consume it upon your 
lusts40 ,when the men and women of whom 
a nation is composed give way  to those 
lusts of which ,st4 ,james speaks1 to   
covetousness1 jealousy1  sensuality1 and
 untruthfulness1 they are gradually     
storing up the fuel  of passions for    
some great conflagration1 which arises  
in the natural  course of things1 as the
 consequence of some great public       
injustice  into which they are betrayed4
 ,they thus rouse the indignation of    
other  people1 they commit injustices   
which must be resisted1 and then the    
world is convulsed in some great war    
like the present4    ,war1 in fact1 is  
the natural penalty by which1 under     
,god's  constitution of the world1 the  
evil passions of men punish themselves4 
,we may take an example from the        
physical world4 ,the earth under our    
feet is held together1 and affords us a 
sure foothold1 by virtue of  certain    
physical and chemical laws which are    
perpetually at work in it1  such as the 

law of gravitation and the laws of      
chemical attraction4  ,they are always  
working silently1 and it is by means of 
the incessant  action of those laws that
 the whole face of the earth is         
maintained  from day to day4 ,but from  
time to time1 from some causes which we 
do not yet understand1 something occurs 
to disturb their ordinary  peaceful     
course1 and then by their own natural   
action they produce  some tremendous    
convulsions1 like earthquakes or the    
eruptions of  volcanoes4 ,so it is with 
the moral world of national and         
international  life4 ,it is maintained  
in peace and stability1 as a rule1 by   
the  principles of mutual trust and     
regard1 if not of love1 which are at    
the root of social and political life2  
but if falsehood and jealousy  and      
covetousness accumulate in some part of 
the world1 there is sure1  sooner or    
later1 to be a terrible convulsion and a
 devastating  eruption of 8blood and    
fire and vapour of smoke40 ,war is thus 

the  outburst1 the visible embodiment1  
of the passions behind it1 of the       
accumulated sins which nations and      
generations have been indulging4 ,we    
look with horror on war and all its     
miseries1 and justly so2 but what  we   
ought to look on with more horror are   
the sins and wickedness and  passions of
 which war is the inevitable result4    
,people say that war  is wrong1 and of  
course it is wrong that there should be 
war2 but the  wrong in it is not the    
actual waging of the war1 not at least  
the using  of the sword1 in the ,name of
 ,god1 to assert right against wrong2   
that  is the bounden duty of the lawful 
authority4 ,where the wrong lies is in  
the passions which make the war1 and    
which compel men to resort to so        
terrible a vindication of righteousness4
    ,have we not1 ,i must ask1 a glaring
 illustration of the profound moral     
principles thus asserted by our ,lord in
 the present war8 ,the means  of        
communication in our day enable us to   

realize the feelings which  are at work 
over the face of ,europe amidst this    
terrible convulsion2  and there is one  
fact which is appallingly conspicuous in
 that  manifestation4 ,that fact is the 
falsehood1 the hatred1 the violent      
imputations of evil motives1 the        
overbearing ambition which are at work  
in the great nation--for a great nation 
it is--with which we are at  war4 ,as ,i
 will presently observe1 ,i am far from 
acquitting ourselves  of all blame in   
the matter4 ,there was never a human    
struggle yet in  which either side was  
perfectly free from blame2 but as to the
 gross  misrepresentations which are    
eagerly disseminated abroad respecting  
the motives and the conduct of this     
country1 there can be no question       
whatever1 and no adequate excuse4       
,whatever faults and errors we have     
committed1 our statesmen have not been  
animated in the development of  our     
,empire by greed and selfish ambition1  
or by a mere desire to be  supreme over 

other nations4 ,so far as our enemies   
are acting upon these  ideas of our     
motives1 they are absolutely blind2 and 
there is nothing  more terrible in the  
revelations which this war affords than 
that  individuals and nations are       
capable of such absolute delusions1 on  
so  vast a scale1 respecting one        
another's motives and characters4 ,it is
  plain that what has made this war is a
 total absence of that ,christian       
charity between individuals and nations 
which ,st4 ,paul inculcates as  8the    
very bond of all virtues10 and which is 
therefore the bond of all  society4 ,the
 most heart-rending thing1 after all1 is
 not that we are at  war1 but that      
,christian nations should be capable1 in
 their daily life  and thought1 of such 
an absolute negation of those principles
 of moral  life and faith which our     
,lord came to establish among us4 ,our  
,lord here  warns us that unless men    
repent of this uncharitable temper1 and 
of the  sins associated with it1 war can

 never be abolished1 and we shall all   
perish in some fearful conflagration4   
,at present the conflagration1  like the
 tower in ,siloam1 has wrought its      
destruction mainly upon  others than    
ourselves4 ,a modern despot1 indignant1 
like ,pilate1 at  opposition to the     
claims of his nation1 has mingled the   
blood of  ,belgian men and women and    
children with their sacrifices1 with    
their  ruined churches and desolated    
homes4 ,but it is certainly not because 
a  people like the brave ,belgians were 
sinners above all men that dwelt  in    
,europe that they have thus suffered4   
8,i tell you1 ,nay10 our ,lord's  ,voice
 is heard in this text2 8but1 except ye 
repent1 ye shall all  likewise perish40 
,look to yourselves2 ask yourselves     
whether there are  or have been sins    
prevailing among you which1 under the   
laws of ,god's  righteousness1 must work
 out their evil consequence in your     
social and  national life2 and repent1  
lest ye likewise perish4    ,it is      

impossible1 in dealing with this        
subject1 not to express1 as  ,i have    
done1 a deep indignation at the motives 
and the spirit which  have been         
displayed by our enemies in this war4   
,but we should miss the  whole purpose  
of our ,lord's warning unless we applied
 it in the first  instance1 and in the  
main1 to ourselves4 ,let us bear in mind
 that what  has happened in ,belgium and
 ,france might in conceivable           
circumstances1  in the further          
development of scientific warfare1 in   
the air as well  as in the sea1 happen  
to ourselves2 and let us take to heart  
the clear  warning of our ,lord that the
 only way to avert such destructions1   
and  to avoid perishing ourselves1 is to
 repent1 and from our hearts to         
cultivate among us those principles of  
charity1 truth1 righteousness  and      
religion1 which alone can keep human    
nature in peace4    ,after all1 can we  
be sure that we are not partly to blame 
for this  war by our own faults and     

failures8 ,have our statesmen1 have we  
as a nation1 been looking facts in the  
face and meeting them with  faithfulness
 and self-sacrifice8 ,do not many among 
us ask whether this  war would ever have
 been possible if we had realized our   
danger and  our duty in time1 and       
prepared ourselves1 at whatever cost1 to
 avert  the danger8 ,how far have we1   
and those who guide us1 allowed         
ourselves  to be diverted from the truth
 of our condition by sectarian and party
  passions and uncharitable class       
jealousies8 ,have we seriously laid to  
heart 8the great dangers we are in by   
our unhappy divisions80 ,is it          
compatible with the love of ,god and of 
,christ that those divisions  should    
prevail so far as to lead to the        
curtailment of the ,christian           
instruction of our school-children1 and 
the secularization of property  left by 
our ancestors for the hallowing of      
,god's ,name and the promotion  of      
,christ's ,kingdom8 ,we have1 moreover1 

been on the verge of civil  war2 and the
 very possibility of such war is proof  
enough1 on the  principles we have been 
considering1 that some of the passions  
which  lead to all wars have been rife  
among us4 ,the possibility of that      
intestine war seems1 in fact1 to have   
been one of the considerations  which   
encouraged the present attack upon us4  
,add to all this the social  and        
personal vices1 against which good men  
among us and great societies  have been 
struggling for years1 and have we not   
abundant reason to  apply earnestly to  
our nation and to our individual selves 
the ,lord's  warning3 8,repent1 or ye   
shall likewise perish80 ,for my part1 ,i
 could  wish that we were afforded an   
opportunity1 by some solemn appointment 
of a ,day of ,national ,humiliation as  
well as ,intercession1 to search  our   
consciences in the sight of ,god1 and to
 unite in one great act  of national    
repentance4 ,but let us at least        
endeavour to discharge  this duty of    

repentance and amendment for our own    
souls and in our  individual lives2 and 
we may then be assured that we are doing
 the best  we can towards averting from 
our nation that suffering and ruin1     
which  are brought so closely home to us
 in the miseries of our ,allies4        
,,the ,,righteous ,,ideal4    ,,at      
,,canterbury ,,cathedral1 ,,septuagesima
 ,,sunday1 #aiae4     8,blessed is the  
man that walketh not in the counsel of  
the ungodly1   nor standeth in the way  
of sinners1 nor sitteth in the seat of  
the   scornful4 ,but his delight is in  
the law of the ,lord3 and in his law    
doth he meditate day and night40--,ps4  
i4 #ab4      ,it is with the utmost     
appropriateness that this psalm is      
placed first  in the ,psalter1 for it   
expresses the spirit which underlies all
 other  psalms1 and1 in fact1 the whole 
of the ,scriptures4 ,its message lies1  
indeed1 at the root of the religion of  
the ,old ,testament1 and of the  ,new   
,testament also4 ,let us notice1 in the 

first place1 that its opening  word--the
 word 8blessed0--is the keynote of the  
,scriptures from first  to last4 ,in the
 first chapter of ,genesis1 which we    
have read this  morning1 we read1 not   
only that ,god saw everything that ,he  
had made1  and behold it was very good2 
but more particularly1 that when ,god   
made  man ,he blessed them1 and gave    
them a special commission4 ,he placed   
them in the ,garden of ,eden1 in which  
,he made to grow every tree that  is    
pleasant to the sight and good for food1
 the ,tree of ,life also in  the midst  
of the ,garden4 ,he blessed them1 and   
intended them to be  blessed2 and ,he   
gave them a command which they had only 
to obey in  order to enjoy that         
blessing4 ,man forfeited the blessing by
 disobeying  the command2 but the last  
chapter of the ,bible1 which we have    
read this  evening1 describes the       
recovery of it by those who have        
faithfully  served ,him4 ,it describes a
 day when there shall be no more curse1 

but  the throne of ,god and of the ,lamb
 shall be in the new ,garden of the     
,tree of ,life4 8,the throne of ,god and
 of the ,lamb shall be in it2 and  ,his 
servants shall serve ,him2 and they     
shall see ,his face2 and ,his name      
shall be in their foreheads4 ,and there 
shall be no night there2 and  they need 
no light of lamp1 neither light of the  
sun2 for the ,lord ,god  giveth them    
light3 and they shall reign for ever and
 ever40 ,thus the  ,bible holds out1    
from beginning to end1 the prospect of  
blessedness1 or  perfect happiness1 as  
that which ,god designs for men1 and    
which will be  ultimately bestowed upon 
,his faithful servants4 ,between the    
beginning  and the end1 in the midst of 
this great dispensation1 when our ,lord 
appeared with ,his new covenant1 ,his   
message is described as a ,gospel1  as  
8good tidings of great joy10 and the    
first word ,he utters in that  great    
,sermon on the ,mount1 which contains   
his special teaching1 is this           

characteristic word 8blessed40 ,he      
repeats it again and again1 8,blessed   
be ye poor4444 ,blessed are ye that     
hunger now4444 ,blessed are ye that     
weep40 ,the promise of blessing is thus 
the keynote of our ,saviour's  message4 
,now this characteristic of the ,bible  
and of our ,saviour's teaching          
explains1 and in great degree justifies1
 the universal craving of  men and women
 for happiness4 ,the pursuit of         
happiness in one form or  another is the
 most universal motive of human conduct4
 ,it inspires some  of our best         
exertions1 and it prompts most of our   
sins4 ,the motive  of our first mother1 
as described in the third chapter of    
,genesis1  is still that of nearly all  
of us1 in one way or another4 8,when the
  woman saw that the tree was good for  
food1 and that it was pleasant  to the  
eyes1 and a tree to be desired to make  
one wise1 she took of  the fruit thereof
 and did eat40 ,the world1 the flesh1   
and the devil  are perpetually offering 

men fruits of this kind1 and the craving
 for  the happiness they promise is so  
great that men and women seize them1  in
 spite of the knowledge they have in    
their consciences that to do  so is     
wrong and against the will of ,god4 ,in 
daily life we find that  different      
fruits--forbidden fruits--appeal to     
different classes of men  and women1 but
 they are all liable to be attracted by 
some fruit or  other and to be possessed
 by some 8ruling passion40 ,it is       
striking1  moreover1 to look at the     
course of history1 and observe how      
different  fruits1 different ideals1    
have attracted the various nations of   
the  world4 ,to the ,greek the          
attraction was that of beauty and art1  
and  their temptation was to give       
themselves up to the pleasures which    
those ideals could afford them1 with but
 little moral restraint4  ,the fruit    
which most attracted the ,roman mind was
 that of rule and  power4 ,the passion1 
indeed1 for creating great empires has  

been  one of the strongest in mankind4  
,we see it in full strength in the      
great ,assyrian and ,babylonian empires1
 and1 unhappily1 we see it in  full     
force in a great nation of the present  
day4 ,these pleasures and  glories have 
accordingly been the subject of a vast  
amount of human  literature--poetry1 and
 history1 and song4    ,but the         
characteristic of the people of ,israel1
 and of ,jewish  literature1 is that    
none of these ideals of happiness1      
whether of  beauty or glory or power1   
have animated their best                
representatives4 ,the  one ideal which  
was always before the minds of their    
great prophets1  and poets1 and teachers
 was the ideal of righteousness1 the    
ideal of  the law of ,god1 which is the 
subject of this first ,psalm4 ,the      
truth1  with which the ,book of ,genesis
 opens1 that ,god has given a law to    
men1 that ,he has declared ,his will to 
them1 and given them statutes  and      
commandments in which that will is      

expressed--this is the supreme  thought 
in the mind of the ,jewish ,psalmist or 
prophet1 and1 in spite  of all their    
faults1 of the ,jewish nation as a      
whole4 ,psalm cxix4  is1 perhaps1 the   
fullest expression of this conviction   
and passion4  ,that psalm is one long   
variation of its opening verse1         
8,blessed are  they that are undefiled  
in the way1 and walk in the law of the  
,lord4  ,blessed are they that keep ,his
 testimonies1 and seek ,him with their  
whole heart40 8,o how love ,i ,thy law6 
it is my meditation all the day40  8,how
 sweet are ,thy words unto my taste6    
yea1 sweeter than honey to  my mouth6   
,through ,thy precepts ,i get           
understanding1 therefore ,i hate  every 
false way40 ,you will see that these    
phrases express a positive  passion in  
the mind of the ,psalmist for the law of
 ,god--as strong a  passion at least1 or
 even stronger1 than the passions of    
some men for  the pleasures of sense1   
and of others for the pleasures of      

ambition and  worldly success4 8,i      
opened my mouth10 says the ,psalmist1   
8and drew in  my breath1 for my delight 
was in ,thy commandments40 ,the whole   
frame of  the man1 his body as well as  
his mind1 is absorbed in this passion   
for  the law of ,god4 ,the ,jew craves  
for blessing1 or for happiness1 as much 
as the ,greek or the ,roman1 but he     
seeks that blessing in the knowledge    
and obedience of the law of ,god4 ,he   
knows it is to be found in the way  of  
righteousness and nowhere else4 ,thus   
the first ,psalm is a fitting           
introduction to all the rest4 8,his     
delight10 it says1 8is in the law  of   
the ,lord2 and in ,his law doth he      
meditate day and night4 ,and he  shall  
be like a tree planted by the waterside1
 that will bring forth  his fruit in due
 season4 ,his leaf also shall not       
wither2 and look1  whatsoever he doeth1 
it shall prosper40 ,this psalm1 in      
short1 embodies  the very essence of the
 belief of the true ,jew1 which is that 

the law  of ,god and the righteousness  
of ,god are the one source of all       
happiness  and blessedness1 and that the
 highest privilege of men and women is  
to give themselves up1 body and soul1 to
 the pursuit of the happiness  which is 
there to be found4    ,i think we shall 
all recognize that the tendency of men  
and women  is1 for the most part1 too   
different from this4 ,they may wish to  
do  right and to avoid wrong1 but it is 
comparatively rare for the supreme      
passion of their lives to be the pursuit
 of righteousness1 and for  the supreme 
love of their lives to be for the law of
 ,god4 ,is it not  our general tendency 
to pursue our own objects1 to seek      
enjoyment1  and happiness1 and success  
in our own ways1 and to regard the law  
of  ,god1 and the principles of         
righteousness1 as a controlling power1  
an  external authority1 which checks us 
when we are in danger of going  wrong   
and so far guides us8 but the love of   
it1 and the longing for  obedience to   

it1 is too rarely the main motive of our
 lives4 ,that is  the characteristic of 
those whom we regard as ,saints1 but it 
is not1 ,i  fear1 the characteristic of 
the mass of men and women4 ,this1       
however1  is the ideal put before us1   
throughout the ,scriptures1 as that     
which  ought to be predominant in our   
hearts and lives4 8,thou shalt love  the
 ,lord thy ,god10 says ,moses1 8with all
 thy heart1 and with all thy  soul1 and 
with all thy might40 8,this10 said our  
,lord1 8is the great  commandment40     
8,blessed10 according to this ,psalm1   
8is the man whose  delight is in the law
 of the ,lord1 and in ,his law doth he  
meditate day  and night40 ,it is not    
enough for such a man not to do wrong2  
his whole  soul is absorbed in the      
passion for doing what is right4 ,he    
believes  that the law of ,god has set  
before him a great ideal1 a vision of   
the  perfection of human nature2 and his
 great craving is to realize that  ideal
 and to be what ,god intended him to be4

 ,he knows that all blessing  is to be  
found in that law and in those visions  
of perfection1 and he  pursues them with
 his whole heart4    ,this spirit of the
 godly man is associated with another   
aspect of  the same truth which is ever 
present in the ,bible1 and which is very
  imperfectly realized among men in     
general4 ,we are apt to be satisfied    
with recognizing right and wrong as one 
of the many elements with which  we are 
concerned in life4 ,life is a vast scene
 of innumerable passions1  and          
interests1 and pleasures1 and           
schemes--personal1 social1 political1   
and imperial2 and nearly all of us      
recognize1 no doubt1 that right and     
wrong1 righteousness and justice1 have a
 momentous place among these  various   
energies and interests2 but in the light
 of the ,bible1 and in  the teaching of 
our ,lord1 that is a very imperfect view
 to take of  their position4 ,there1    
right and wrong1 righteousness and      
justice1 are  supreme over all other    

interests2 they are the foundation on   
which  the whole edifice of life is     
built up2 or they are1 as it were1 the  
very cement by which the whole is held  
together4 ,as the history of the        
,jewish people is told in the ,bible1   
every event in their career is  shown to
 turn on the question of their          
righteousness or wickedness4  ,god's one
 object is to educate them to be a      
righteous nation1 to keep  ,his         
commandments1 and statutes1 and         
judgments1 so that they may realize     
,his great design for them4 ,they suffer
 punishment1 such as invasion  by       
enemies1 or captivity by ,assyria or    
,rome1 not merely because of  the       
ambition of those nations1 and of their 
own comparative weakness1  but because  
they were becoming faithless to the law 
of ,god1 and not  living for ,his honour
 and glory4 ,all that the world1 and the
 worldly  historian1 might see of them  
was that they had provoked the ,assyrian
  or ,roman monarch by some act of      

self-assertion and pride1 and that  he  
avenged himself by invading and         
desolating their country4 ,but the      
prophetical men who wrote the ,books of 
,kings1 and other historical  ,books of 
the ,old ,testament1 went behind this   
immediate cause1 and  saw that it was by
 the providence of ,god that the people 
were thus  punished1 because they had   
forgotten the ,god of their fathers1 and
  were ceasing to serve ,him4 ,they were
 inspired to see this element of        
righteousness1 and of the law of the    
,lord1 as the most essential in  the    
whole history1 and asserting itself     
continually under the control  of ,god's
 providence4    ,i venture to think we  
might illustrate the matter by an       
example from  modern science4 ,we know  
now that the most important and         
universal  force in nature is that of   
which one of the most familiar forms is 
electricity4 ,we know that its influence
 in the form of light and  magnetism    
pervades the whole of nature2 we know   

that the very movements  of our limbs1  
of our hands and fingers1 are dependent 
upon it1 that  this is the force which  
animates our nerves and through them    
controls  our whole bodies4 ,we know    
that the element in which it works--the 
ether--pervades the whole universe1 and 
that the light which flashes  from stars
 hundreds of millions of miles away is  
due to this subtle  force4 ,and yet     
until less than a hundred years ago men 
hardly realized  its existence4 ,it was 
an unseen force1 which worked behind all
 other  forces1 and even men of science 
had but a dim appreciation of it4 ,so it
  was with this supreme force of        
righteousness1 until it was brought into
  full light by the revelation of the   
prophets and of our ,lord and ,his      
,apostles4 ,what they revealed to us1   
what the ,bible is teaching in every    
page1 what our ,lord1 above all1        
impresses on us with supreme force1 is  
that ,god's righteousness is like the   
ethereal fluid1 which is at once  the   

illuminating agent and the motive force 
of all human life4 ,it is  quiet for the
 most part1 and men hardly observe it2  
but on a sudden it  bursts out into some
 great storm1 like that which startled  
the author  of ,psalm xxix4 8,the voice 
of the ,lord is upon the waters3 the    
,god of  glory thundereth3 the ,lord is 
upon many waters40 ,we see the flash of 
the lightning of righteousness1 and hear
 the crash of its thunder4 8,the  voice 
of the ,lord divideth the flames of     
fire4 ,the voice of the ,lord  shaketh  
the wilderness40 ,that is the meaning1  
no doubt1 of a great war  like the      
present4 ,some evil had been            
accumulating1 some passions of  ambition
 and greed1 some failures in duty1 some 
defections from truth1  faults of one   
kind in one nation1 and sad failures of 
duty in another1  and1 on a sudden1 some
 spark lights an explosion1 and the     
whole world  is ablaze with flames of   
fire4 ,so it is also in our private     
lives4 ,we  may go on for a long time   

yielding to weaknesses1 or even sins1   
and  righteousness may seem to be       
silent1 the voice of conscience may seem
  to be a mere voice and not to be      
asserting its supremacy2 but1 on a      
sudden1 or after a long and gradual     
accumulation of wrong-doing1 ,god       
asserts ,his law1 our neglect of        
righteousness finds us out1 and ,god's  
justice is vindicated upon us4    ,these
 considerations ought to lead to a      
deeper devotion to those  principles of 
right and wrong1 and to that supreme    
vision of  righteousness which the      
,bible and our ,lord and ,his ,apostles 
impress  upon us2 but ,i would add that 
it is the great message we should take  
home to ourselves1 not merely in our    
individual lives1 but in our  national  
life4 ,we see before us a great nation1 
endowed with some of  the highest       
capacities of human nature1 allowing    
itself to be absorbed  more and more1   
year by year1 by a great passion for    
power and dominion  and supremacy in the

 world4 ,this passion has taken such    
hold on it  that it thinks itself       
justified in over-riding and defying the
 laws  of truth and justice and mercy1  
even in the imperfect form in which     
they have been formally recognized in   
the law of nations4 ,everything1  we are
 told1 must yield to the demands of a   
nation which believes that  a certain   
supremacy in the world is necessary for 
it4 ,the consequence  is that the air   
has to be cleared by this awful outburst
 of national  thunder and lightning4    
,but let us apply the danger and the    
lesson to  ourselves4 ,what is our own  
ideal as a nation and as an empire8     
,perhaps  we too have been in danger of 
being fascinated too much by that vision
  of empire4 ,it is a legitimate ideal  
when applied to right purposes1  and    
subject to the right control2 but those 
purposes must be those of  ,divine      
righteousness1 and the control is the   
control of the law of  ,god4 ,if we make
 it the main object of every power with 

which ,god has  entrusted us to promote 
,his laws1 to support and to spread     
further the  ,kingdom of ,his ,christ1  
to do righteousness and justice in the  
world1 so  far as our power and         
influence reaches2 if for that purpose  
we strive  to ensure that all our       
legislation1 and all our imperial and   
national  action1 is deliberately and   
constantly directed to the support and  
extension of the law of ,god and of     
,christ1 then we may hope for ,god's    
blessing on our achievements1 and may   
trust to be preserved from those        
perversions of national spirit1 and from
 that military and arbitrary  passion1  
against which we have at this moment to 
maintain so desperate  a struggle4 ,let 
us strive after this great object1 alike
 in ourselves1  in our country1 and     
throughout our ,empire1 and then we may 
hope that as  a nation we may be1 in the
 ,psalmist's words1 8like a tree planted
 by  the rivers of water1 that bringeth 
forth his fruit in his season10 and     

that whatsoever we do may prosper4 ,in a
 word1 as a nation no less than  as     
individuals1 let our delight be in the  
law of the ,lord1 and in ,his  law let  
us meditate day and night4              
,,reasons ,,for ,,intercession4         
,,canterbury ,,cathedral3 ,,day ,,of    
,,special ,,intercession ,,for ,,the    
,,war1 ,,june #ag1  #aiae4     8,the    
heathen make much ado1 and the kingdoms 
are moved3 but ,god hath   shewed ,his  
voice1 and the earth shall melt         
away40--,ps4 xlvi4 #f4      ,we are come
 here this evening to offer our earnest 
prayers and  supplications to ,god for  
,his help in this grievous and dangerous
 crisis  of our national life1 to       
entreat ,him to grant the victory to our
 ,king  and his ,allies1 and to deliver 
our nation1 our ,empire1 and the world  
from the violence and oppression with   
which they are threatened by the  enemy4
 ,in order that we may do so aright1 it 
is necessary we should  realize         
distinctly what is ,god's special       

concern with the war1 and  what is our  
own relation to ,him in respect to it4  
,now1 the one supreme  truth which ,i   
would urge upon you this evening is that
 the war1 as a  whole--its origin1 its  
course1 its end1 and its purpose--is in 
the  hands of ,god1 and that we must    
look to ,him1 and to ,him alone1 for our
  guidance in it1 and our deliverance   
from it4 ,i fear we are too much        
disposed to think of the natural causes 
of the war1 of the natural  means we    
have of conducting it1 and of the human 
and physical forces  which are engaged  
in it2 while we think of ,god as        
standing outside the  struggle1 and     
appeal to ,him to interfere in it1 as we
 might appeal to  some great human      
power1 in our extremity4 ,we are too    
much disposed  to act and think as if   
the result depended entirely on the     
number of  men we can put in the field1 
upon the munitions of war we can obtain1
  the guns and the shells and the other 
physical means we can bring  into       

action4 ,it is true that these          
thing--men and the munitions of         
war--are the indispensable instruments  
of success and victory4 ,even  in times 
when ,god interfered miraculously1 ,he  
required ,his people1 as  under ,joshua 
and ,david1 to put forth their full     
strength1 and to make  the utmost       
sacrifices for their cause4 ,but the    
main lesson which is  inculcated in the 
,scriptures respecting war is that it is
 one of ,god's  great agencies for      
carrying out ,his will and accomplishing
 ,his own  purposes1 and that its issue 
is in all cases absolutely in ,his      
hands4  ,it is ,he ,who permits war2 it 
is ,he ,who in the exercise of ,his     
righteous  judgment1 occasions war2 it  
is ,he ,who alone can determine the     
issue of  war2 and it is ,his purposes1 
and not ours1 which are brought to pass 
by  war4    ,if1 in fact1 we would      
apprehend our position and the position 
of our  ,empire and of ,europe in this  
war1 we must in spirit see ,god upon    

,his  throne1 permitting by ,his        
judgment the fierce passions of war to  
break  forth1 and controlling the whole 
course of the tremendous storms they    
involve by ,his justice and ,his will4  
,as the ,psalmist says1 8,the ,lord     
reigneth1 be the people never so        
impatient1 ,he sitteth between the      
,cherubim1 be the earth never so        
unquiet40 ,or1 again1 8,the ,lord is    
,king1  the earth may be glad thereof2  
yea1 the multitude of the isles may be  
glad thereof3 ,clouds and darkness are  
round about ,him1 righteousness  and    
judgment are the habitation of ,his     
seat4 ,there shall go a fire  before    
,him and burn up ,his enemies on every  
side4 ,his lightnings gave  shine unto  
the world3 the earth saw it and was     
afraid40 ,that might  be taken for a    
picture of war with the thunders and    
lightnings of its  8red artillery40 ,let
 us1 if we would turn this occasion to  
due account1  look up for a while from  
the human thunders and lightnings by    

which  the earth and sea are now shaken2
 let us raise our eyes and our hearts   
to the ,psalmist's vision of ,god       
sitting on ,his throne1 above all these 
earthly and human struggles and         
sufferings1 and though clouds and       
darkness are round about ,him1 yet      
controlling them by ,his righteous      
judgment4    ,let us look into this     
general consideration a little more     
particularly4  ,war is the result of    
human passion1 human error1 and human   
sin4 ,if  only men were unselfish1 wise1
 and true1 there would be no occasion   
for the struggles from which it springs2
 but instead of that they are  covetous1
 foolish1 and blind1 and ,god has so    
constituted mankind that  the ultimate  
appeal of these passions and follies    
must be made to  force2 and in the      
ordinary course of ,his providence ,he  
leaves them to  make that appeal4 ,he   
lets their passions work themselves out 
to their  natural results1 and so bring 
their own punishment upon themselves4   

,if1 indeed1 men sought ,his guidance   
and grace in all humility and           
earnestness before war broke out1 we may
 be confident ,he would guide  and      
control them2 but the very danger of    
their pride and their passion  is that  
it makes them forget ,him1 and then ,he 
suffers them to find  their need of ,him
 by leaving them to bear the            
consequences4 ,but  when those          
consequences have broken out into war1  
they are then1 in  the most absolute    
degree1 subject to ,his over-ruling     
hand4 ,it is an  essential              
characteristic of war that it sets      
forces loose which are  beyond          
calculation1 and beyond human control4  
,ordinary ways of action  are suspended1
 and we become subject to the most      
unexpected and most  incalculable       
influences4 ,we are beginning to see it 
ourselves in the  present war4 ,we are  
forced to resort to public measures     
which all  confess to be absolutely     
unprecedented2 and the whole world1 old 

and  new1 is immersed in dangers and    
disorders never before dreamed of4 ,but 
when men and nations are in this tumult 
and disorder and blindness1  then they  
realize1 as they too often fail to do in
 quiet times1  that they are absolutely 
dependent on ,god4 ,he has at ,his      
command  infinite natural and spiritual 
forces by which the result of a war  or 
a battle can be determined4 ,as in the  
famous battle of ,joshua1 or  in the    
destruction of the ,spanish ,armada in  
our own history1 storms  and tempests1  
or a mere turn in the weather1 or it may
 be added1 the  invisible interposition 
of some angelic agent1 may defeat all   
human  schemes and determine the issue  
of a battle1 and1 through a battle1  the
 fate of an ,empire4 ,of great          
commanders1 moreover1 no less than of   
kings1 the words of our ,collect are    
true1 that their hearts are in  ,god's  
rule and governance1 and that ,he       
disposes and turns them as it  seems    
best to ,his godly wisdom4    ,the      

message of the ,bible1 in fact1 from    
first to last1 the message of  ,jewish  
history1 and the message of the ,psalms1
 is that ,god is in a  pre-eminent      
degree the 8,lord of war10 with ,whom it
 lies to bring on  men the judgment of  
war1 to control war1 and to make wars to
 cease4  8,o come hither10 says the     
,psalm of my text1 8behold the works of 
the  ,lord1 what destruction ,he hath   
brought upon the earth4 ,he maketh wars 
to cease in all the world1 he breaketh  
the bow1 and knappeth the spear  in     
sunder1 and burneth the chariots in the 
fire4 ,be still1 then1 and  know that ,i
 am ,god3 ,i will be exalted among the  
heathen and ,i will be  exalted in the  
earth40 ,or1 as it is expressed in      
another ,psalm1 8,there  is no king that
 can be saved by the multitude of an    
host1 neither is  any mighty man        
delivered by much strength4 ,a horse is 
counted but a  vain thing to save a man1
 neither shall he deliver any man by his
 great  strength4 ,behold the eye of the

 ,lord is upon them that fear ,him1 upon
  them that put their trust in ,his     
mercy40 ,or1 once more1 8,we have heard 
with our ears1 ,o ,god1 our fathers have
 told us1 what ,thou hast done in  their
 time of old2 ,how ,thou hast driven out
 the heathen with ,thy hand1  and       
planted them in2 how ,thou hast         
destroyed the nations and cast them     
out4 ,for they gat not the land in      
possession through their own sword2     
neither was it their own arm that helped
 them2 but ,thy right hand and  ,thine  
arm1 and the light of ,thy countenance1 
because ,thou hadst a  favour unto      
them40    ,the first conviction1 then1  
with which we should come before ,god   
to-day  is that1 although the utmost    
efforts on our part are required1 still1
  when we have used the last ounce of   
our strength1 and made the last         
sacrifice of life and limb1 we are      
absolutely dependent for the issue  upon
 the will1 the power1 and the           
over-ruling providence of ,god4 ,we  are

 bound to fall at ,his feet as ,his     
helpless creatures1 absolutely          
dependent on ,his hand4 ,we are bound to
 recognize that the wealth and  power we
 enjoy1 the great position which this   
,empire occupies in the  world1 have    
been gifts from ,him1 and that we gat   
not this possession  by our own sword2  
neither was it our own arm that helped  
us2 but ,god's  right hand and ,god's   
arm1 and the light of ,his countenance1 
because ,he  had a favour towards us1   
for some great purposes of ,his own4    
,but what were those purposes8 ,if we   
feel that we are thus the  instruments  
of ,god's hand1 to be used as ,he       
pleases1 we must needs  ask1 with       
anxious earnestness1 ,what are ,his     
great purposes8 and can we  know whether
 we are acting in accordance with them8 
,we know that we  are not in the hands  
of an arbitrary power or an unreasoning 
will4 ,we  know that whatever ,god does 
is done with reason and justice and     
love4  ,here1 again1 it is our privilege

 to have revealed to us1 in ,god's      
,word1  the great purposes for which ,he
 is working4 ,his methods and ,his ways 
of carrying ,his purposes out are beyond
 our comprehension1 but ,he has         
graciously told us what those purposes  
are4 ,their great object is the         
manifestation of ,his glory1 ,his truth1
 ,his love1 to be the light1 the        
salvation1 the infinite happiness of    
man4 ,that was the object of the  whole 
of ,his work in establishing the people 
of ,israel in their land1  in protecting
 them1 in bringing punishments upon     
them1 in delivering  them from their    
enemies1 or allowing them to fall into  
captivity4 ,by  means of them--through  
their history1 their ,prophets1 their   
,psalmists1  and their ,kings--,he made 
known that grand revelation of ,himself 
which  is recorded in our ,bibles4 ,all 
these acts were done1 and their memory  
is preserved1 in order that all the     
world might see and learn that  in      
knowledge of ,him1 in obedience to ,him1

 in love to ,him and prayer  to ,him1 is
 life and health1 in body and soul1 in  
this world and in  the next4 ,let us be 
assured that that remains ,his purpose1 
and the  guiding rule of ,his           
providence1 throughout all history1 and 
in our  own1 to the present day4 ,if    
,god has given us wealth1 and strength1 
and  prosperity1 and imperial power1 we 
may be sure that it is in order that  we
 may be ,his instruments for the spread 
of ,his ,kingdom1 for bringing  the     
knowledge of ,christ and of ,christ's   
salvation to the ends of the  earth1    
that the love of ,christ1 the example of
 ,christ1 the law of  ,christ may be    
established throughout the world4 ,do   
not let us suppose  that there is any   
other object whatever in ,god's         
dispensations4 ,the  manifestation of   
,god in ,christ1 and the bringing of all
 human souls1  all human life1 into     
harmony with it1 into the full enjoyment
 of it1  and consequently into perfect  
obedience to ,his will--this is the end 

of  all the struggles1 of all the wars1 
of all the sufferings of mankind1       
mysterious as they are1 and utterly     
baffling to our feeble apprehension4    
,there is surely an infinite comfort in 
realizing this great revelation4  ,if we
 grasp the assurance that this is the   
sure and certain end  of ,god's         
dispensations1 we can bear with         
patience1 and even with  thankfulness1  
the sufferings and sorrows through which
 they are worked  out4 ,while we        
bitterly mourn the loss of those who are
 sacrificed in  such a war as this1 we  
can feel that they have laid down their 
lives  in the eternal battle in which   
,christ is the ,commander1 and in which 
we are all taking part1 and that we     
remain one with them1 and they one  with
 us1 in serving ,christ and asserting   
the will of ,god4        ,one army of   
the ,living ,god1        ,to ,his       
command we bow1      ,part of the host  
have crossed the flood1        ,and part
 are crossing now1    or will be        

crossing soon4 ,only let us take care1  
if we are to have the  reward1          
hereafter1 of having served in this     
great army1 that we are  working1       
fighting1 dying1 and suffering          
bereavement1 in the cause of  this great
 ,commander and in accordance with ,his 
will4    ,but if these are the purposes 
with which ,god has directed all        
history1  and controls all wars1 we     
cannot dare to come before ,him1 and ask
 for  ,his help1 unless the spirit in   
which we are joining in this war is  in 
harmony with ,his1 and unless we mean1  
with ,his help1 to act and  fight in    
entire devotion to ,him1 and in         
obedience to ,christ4 ,if we  fought    
merely to gain victory1 to assert the   
supremacy of our ,empire1  to establish 
our superiority over other nations1 we  
could not expect  ,his countenance and  
help1 and we should be affronting ,his  
,majesty and  ,his ,holiness by asking  
for it2 but these are not our aims4     
,they are1  it appears1 in the main1    

those of our enemy1 and for that reason 
we  may be confident that ,god's face   
will be against them4 ,but1 so far as   
we are fighting for a kingdom and an    
,empire which acknowledges in all       
things the sovereignty of our ,lord     
,jesus ,christ1 which endeavours to     
act1 to govern1 and to serve in         
accordance with ,his will1 and which    
will promote and protect the spread of  
,his ,kingdom--so far as we are         
conscious in our consciences that that  
is our aim--we may confidently  come    
before ,him and appeal to ,him to help  
us with ,his right hand and  ,his holy  
arm4 ,but we cannot thus serve ,him and 
obey ,him as a nation  unless we obey   
and serve ,him in our own individual    
lives2 and when  we kneel1 therefore1   
before ,him to-day we are called upon to
 pledge  ourselves1 with the utmost     
sincerity and earnestness1 to give our  
hearts and wills and lives up to ,him in
 all things1 with greater truth  and    
singleness of heart than we have ever   

yet realized4    ,if we look candidly   
into the recent life of our nation1 it  
must1 ,i  fear1 be acknowledged that we 
have in many respects grievously failed 
in this ,christian spirit4 ,the habits  
of our people have in too many  respects
 declined from the ,christian standard  
which was set us by our  forefathers in 
their best days4 ,the worship and       
service of ,god and  ,christ have not   
been held so high among us as the       
supreme duty of life4  ,we see it in the
 increasing neglect of the public       
worship of ,god1 in  a less general     
piety of life1 in a growing disposition 
to acquiesce  in standards of action    
which are not in all respects those of  
the ,new  ,testament2 in the failure to 
look to the authority of ,christ and    
,his  ,apostles as the supreme rule in  
all the relations of life1 in the       
relations of men and women1 in the      
ideals of domestic and private life4    
,we have lived too much for this life   
and too little for the next4 ,we  have  

cared too much for time and too little  
for eternity4 ,we shall not  be able to 
fulfil the purposes of ,god for our     
nation and for the world  unless we     
amend our lives in these respects1      
unless we humbly confess  our failure   
before ,him1 and set ourselves          
resolutely to live more  ,christian     
lives in the future4 ,if we kneel before
 ,him this evening in  this spirit of   
confession for the past1 and of         
heartfelt devotion for  the future1 we  
may come boldly to ,his throne of grace2
 and we may be  thankful to be assured  
that our country and our country's      
cause1 and  the welfare of all who are  
dear to us1 here and hereafter1 are in  
,his  hands4 ,you are invited to begin  
your supplication this evening with     
that penitential ,psalm1 in which ,david
 confessed from the bottom of his  heart
 his own grievous sin1 but was also     
inspired by ,god's ,holy ,spirit  to    
seek comfort and regeneration1          
righteousness and peace4 ,that is the   

spirit in which we should approach ,god 
at all times1 but especially  in a time 
of sore trial like the present2 and if  
we do so1 we may  confidently join in   
the concluding petition1 in which the   
,psalmist  beseeches ,god's blessing    
upon ,his nation4 8,the sacrifice of    
,god is  a troubled spirit2 a broken and
 contrite heart1 ,o ,god1 shalt ,thou   
not despise4 ,o be favourable and       
gracious unto ,zion2 build ,thou the    
walls of ,jerusalem4 ,then shalt ,thou  
be pleased with the sacrifice of        
righteousness10 with the devoted        
offerings and service of a regenerated  
and ,christian nation4 ,god grant it1   
for ,christ's sake4          ,,the      
,,eternal ,,source ,,of ,,goodness4     
,,preached ,,at ,,holy ,,trinity        
,,church1 ,,margate1 ,,november #g1     
#aiae4     8,every good gift and every  
perfect gift is from above1 and cometh  
down from the ,father of lights1 with   
whom is no variableness1 neither        
shadow of turning40--,st4 ,james i4 #ag4

      ,in these words a singularly vivid
 picture is set before us4 ,god is      
represented to us as the ,sun in the    
,heavens1 from ,whom light and warmth   
are perpetually streaming4 ,the text    
does not merely say that all good  gifts
 come from above and that none but good 
gifts come from thence4  ,it means also 
that those good gifts are perpetually   
being poured upon  us1 just as light and
 heat are perpetually flowing from the  
sun4 ,but  it points out one great      
difference between the physical sun and 
this  ,divine source of grace and glory4
 ,the sun and the other lights of the   
heavens which are dependent upon it are 
all liable to be obscured or  eclipsed4 
,they are 8subject to variableness and  
shadow of turning10  that is1 to the    
shadows occasioned by their turning in  
their daily  revolutions1 so that       
daylight is succeeded by the darkness of
 night1  and the moon waxes and wanes4  
,but the light of the ,divine glory and 
grace is never thus obscured from us4   

,it is perpetually shining1 and  we can 
enjoy its blessed influence at every    
moment4 ,god is the ,father  of         
,lights--the ,father of ,light of all   
kinds2 and all grace and truth  are     
perpetually proceeding from ,him4       
8,every good gift and every perfect     
boon is from above10 coming down        
continually from 8the ,father of ,lights
  with ,whom is no variableness1 neither
 shadow of turning40 ,this is the  great
 truth which is embodied in the         
beautiful words of the ,collect  just   
used1 8,lord of all power and might ,who
 art the ,author and ,giver of  all good
 things40    ,this is the first grand   
truth which is revealed to us by our    
,christian  faith4 ,it is involved in   
the revelation of ,god to us as our     
,father in  ,heaven1 and it is impressed
 on us in the ,sermon on the ,mount1    
when our  ,lord bids us live as 8the    
children of our ,father which is in     
,heaven3  ,who maketh the sun to rise on
 the evil and on the good1 and sendeth  

rain on the just and on the unjust40 ,it
 would be well for us to realize  this  
more fully and constantly4 ,we see the  
sun in the ,heavens2 we are  sensible of
 its lifegiving influences day by day2  
but we do not always  have so vividly   
before us the ,supreme ,sun of the      
spiritual ,heavens1  and we are tempted 
to live without the constant realization
 of ,his  presence4 ,there are1 indeed1 
experiences which are a great trial to  
our  faith in this constant ,presence1  
and which even make men and women ask   
themselves in perplexity whether there  
can be1 in reality1 any such            
perpetually ,divine source of all good  
things--whether any ,divine ,power  is  
really at all times pouring the best    
blessing upon mankind4 ,what is  the    
meaning1 for instance1 many anxious     
hearts have asked themselves  at a time 
like this--what is the meaning and the  
explanation of such  fearful miseries as
 the world is now suffering through the 
present war8  ,can it be a ,god from    

,whom all good things are perpetually   
coming ,who  permits half the world to  
fall into such distresses and agonies as
 we  have heard of lately1 and are daily
 hearing8 ,the evil in the world has  at
 all times been a perplexity to faith1  
and when manifested on such a           
tremendous scale1 when it rises before  
us in the monstrous form of an  awful   
war1 the question presses upon our      
hearts and minds with painful  force4   
,but the privilege of the ,christian is 
to maintain through all  these          
distresses the proclamation that the    
love of ,god1 the goodness  of ,god1 the
 mercy of ,god1 the blessing of ,god are
 still at work1  notwithstanding the    
clouds with which they seem obscured4   
,clouds and  darkness may be round about
 ,him1 but righteousness and judgment   
are the  habitation of ,his throne4     
,the general explanation of this great  
mystery is that these sufferings  are   
the means by which ,god asserts the     
supremacy of righteousness and  truth4  

,he has so ordered the world that       
unrighteousness1 ungodliness1  untruth1 
immorality of all kinds inevitably      
punish themselves by  leading to appeals
 to force1 and so provoke the wars and  
fightings  of which ,st4 ,james speaks  
in this ,epistle4 8,from whence10 he    
says1  8come wars and fightings among   
you8 ,come they not hence1 even of your 
lusts1 that war in your members8 ,ye    
lust and have not2 ye kill1 and  desire 
to have and cannot obtain0--can there be
 a truer description1  in brief1 of the 
origin of the present war8 ,these are   
,god's judgments1  in which ,he so      
orders the world that nations and       
individuals punish  themselves for their
 indulgence in covetous and unbridled   
passions4  ,they will not submit to be  
checked by conscience or by reason1 and 
therefore ,god leaves them to the       
natural consequences of their mutual    
lusts and violences4 ,in fact1 the      
miseries of war are a conspicuous       
instance of the great truth that good   

things are always coming from  ,god4    
,vengeance for evil is a good thing2 and
 the punishment1 even  the bitter       
punishment1 of selfishness1 whether in  
individuals or in  national life1 the   
severest punishments of covetousness1   
arrogance1  forgetfulness of ,god1      
disobedience to ,christ--these          
punishments are  good things2 and if    
,god is chastising ,europe for such     
sins1 and  ourselves in no small        
measure1 ,he is doing it at once in     
judgment and  in mercy4 ,it is a warning
 to every nation1 and to every man and  
woman1  to consider in what respect they
 have been failing in their duty to ,god
  and to ,christ1 to their neighbour1   
and even to themselves1 and to pray     
,god to open their eyes and enable them 
to repent and amend4 ,what we see       
before us in a convulsion like this1 is 
the outburst of the lightnings  and     
thunders of righteous judgment1 and if  
it brings men to their knees  in        
penitence and amendment of life1 it may 

prove one of ,god's greatest  blessings 
to the world4    ,we may understand this
 the better if we consider1 more        
particularly1  the means by which ,god  
is always pouring upon the world those  
blessed  influences of goodness and     
righteousness of which the text and the 
,collect speak4 ,they tell us that ,he  
is like the sun in the heavens  pouring 
,his bright beams upon us and the world 
at large4 ,where is that  ,sun8 ,it is  
in the ,person of our ,lord ,jesus      
,christ1 in all ,his words  and deeds1  
and in those ,scriptures which1 as ,he  
said1 testify of ,him4  ,the answer is  
contained in the truth that 8,god1 ,who1
 at sundry times  and in divers manners 
spake in times past unto the fathers1 by
 the  prophets1 hath in these last days 
spoken unto us by ,his ,son1 ,who is    
the brightness of ,his glory and the    
express image of ,his ,person40 8,no    
man10 we are told1 8hath seen ,god at   
any time4 ,the only begotten ,son  ,who 
is in the bosom of the ,father1 ,he hath

 declared ,him40 ,he declares  ,him in  
various ways4 ,in the first place1 the  
grace and truth and glory  of ,god are  
seen in the ,face of ,jesus ,christ1 in 
,his life as recorded  in the ,gospels1 
and in ,his words4 8,he that hath seen  
me10 said our  ,saviour ,himself1 8hath 
seen the ,father40 ,it is ,god ,himself 
,who is seen  in every act and word of  
,jesus ,christ1 and if we want to know  
,god1 to  realize ,his character and    
,his will1 we have only to study the    
life and  words of our ,lord1 and we see
 it all in vivid human features4 ,god in
  ,christ is as visible to the eyes of  
our hearts and minds as the sun in  the 
heavens4 ,as the physical sun is visible
 to every human eye1 so the  sun of the 
spiritual world--,god ,himself--is      
visible to every human mind  in the     
person of our ,lord4 ,this comparison is
 as old as the ,psalms4  8,the heavens10
 says the #aith ,psalm1 8declare the    
glory of ,god1 and the  firmament       
sheweth ,his handiwork10 and then it    

proceeds1 8the law of  the ,lord is     
perfect1 converting the soul1 the       
testimony of the ,lord  is sure1 making 
wise the simple40 ,the law of the ,lord 
of which the  ,psalmist spoke was that  
revelation of the ,will of ,god which   
was given  to the ,jews at sundry times 
and in divers manners1 and is recorded  
in the ancient ,scriptures4 ,but that   
law is now summed up1 explained1        
enlarged1 and perfected in the face of  
,jesus ,christ1 and in ,his words4  ,in 
,him is ,god to be seen4 ,in ,him is the
 source of the highest moral and        
spiritual goodness4    ,the ,collect    
goes on to pray 8,graft in our hearts   
the love of ,thy ,name1  increase in us 
true religion1 nourish us with all      
goodness40 ,the ,name  of ,god means the
 character of ,god1 and if we are to    
love character we  must see it1 and we  
can see it in ,jesus ,christ and nowhere
 else4 ,if  you wish to love ,god1 you  
must learn to love ,jesus ,christ4 ,to  
love ,god  is to love righteousness1    

truth1 and goodness1 and in ,jesus      
,christ we  see them in life and in     
human reality4 ,righteousness1 goodness1
 truth1  purity1 grace1 may be loved1   
indeed1 in the abstract2 but the love   
for them must be infinitely deepened if 
we see them concentrated in a  living   
person1 so that the love of them is     
identified with the love of  ,him4 ,if1 
in fact1 we would keep the love of these
 great things alive  in our hearts1 if  
we would continually deepen it1 if we   
would have  the eyes of our minds and   
hearts opened more and more1 the supreme
  necessity is that we should learn more
 and more of ,jesus ,christ1 live  with 
,him by constant study of ,his deeds and
 words1 and so open our  souls to the   
impress of ,his grace and truth4 ,the   
history of the world  since ,he lived   
and died is the sufficient proof of this
 fact4 ,the  ,christian ,church1 which  
is charged with the duty and the        
privilege of  living in ,his spirit and 
working in ,his name1 has1              

notwithstanding many  failures and      
faults1 held up before the world the    
highest standard  of goodness and truth4
 ,there is no more conspicuous          
illustration of  this influence of      
,christ and ,his ,church than the fact  
that the noble  ,societies which1 by    
their devoted care of the wounded1 now  
mitigate the  horrors of war1 are called
 8,red ,cross0 ,societies1 and were     
founded and  maintained in obedience to 
the spirit of ,christ4 ,since ,christ   
came1  it is through ,him that all these
 good things do come1 and if we would   
enjoy them we must live and work in ,his
 light4    ,but this is far from being  
the sole means by which ,christ is the  
source  of all good things4 ,he promised
 ,his disciples before ,he died1 that   
,he  would send the ,holy ,spirit into  
the world ,who should bring to their    
remembrance all things that ,he had told
 them1 and should be to them and  to    
their followers an adviser and          
comforter1 such as ,he had ,himself     

been while ,he was with them--,who      
should convince them of sin1 of         
righteousness and judgment--teach them1 
that is1 what sin is1 and what          
righteousness is1 and bring home to them
 the nature of the judgment of  ,god4   
,he formed them into a ,society1 to be a
 perpetual witness of ,him to  the      
world2 and ,he established two          
ceremonies 7which we call ,sacraments7  
to be a perpetual pledge to ,his        
followers of ,his love and of ,his      
grace1  and to be a special means by    
which that grace should be bestowed on  
them2 so that the source of this ,divine
 illumination and bounty is not  merely 
,christ in the past1 in ,his life on    
earth1 as we read of ,him in  the words 
of the ,new ,testament1 but ,christ     
living and working in ,his  ,church by  
means of those words1 and by means of   
the ,sacraments which  testify of them  
and bring them home to every individual 
soul4 ,the  words of ,christ and the    
,sacraments of ,christ are means which  

can be  seen and handled1 by which the  
grace of ,god is manifested and conveyed
  to us4    ,moreover1 ,he has told us1 
as ,i have mentioned1 that the ,old     
,testament  throughout1 the ,law1 the   
,prophets and the ,psalms1 speak of     
,him1  reveal ,his character and ,his   
,will4 ,to the ,jews1 who had only the  
,old  ,testament1 ,he said1 8,search the
 ,scriptures1 for in them ye think ye   
have eternal life1 and they are they    
which testify of ,me40 ,combined1  these
 are the visible1 tangible1 and audible 
instruments by which the  8,lord of all 
power and might1 the ,author and ,giver 
of all good things10  shines into our   
hearts and speaks to our inmost souls4  
,there are1  indeed1 and always have    
been1 other influences in the world by  
which  goodness and truth are impressed 
upon us2 and there are1 and always  have
 been1 many gracious human influences by
 which they are upheld in  our hearts   
and in the world at large2 but these are
 all imperfect1  and liable to          

perversion1 in comparison with the      
influence of ,jesus  ,christ and ,his   
,church and the ,holy ,scriptures2 and  
we can never be  sure of their being    
kept true and unperverted1 except so far
 as they  are brought to the test1 and  
subjected to the influences1 through the
  ,person of ,jesus ,christ and of ,his 
words in the ,holy ,scriptures1 of that 
,lord of all power and might from whom  
all good things do come4    ,these      
considerations may help to explain to us
 the source of the evils  which have    
plunged ,europe into its present        
convulsions and they will  be the best  
guide to ourselves for our own action in
 the present and  the future4 ,it is1   
unhappily1 an unquestionable matter of  
fact that a  great part of ,europe1 and 
especially of ,germany1 has lost sight  
for a  generation or two of that ,sun of
 ,righteousness1 ,who is the ,author and
  ,giver of all good things4 ,they have 
rejected the authority of ,christ1  and 
denied the ,divine reality of the       

revelation of ,god's will in the  ,old  
,testament4 ,the consequence is that    
they have deprived themselves  of the   
influences of that ,divine light1 and   
have been setting up  standards of right
 and wrong in national and individual   
life1 which  are inconsistent with it4  
,some of the best instincts of a strong 
and  manly nation have consequently been
 perverted4 ,national ideals have  been 
pursued which are inconsistent with     
,christian civilization1 and  men have  
been driven by these perverted instincts
 and passions into the  hell of war4 ,we
 may be sure that ,europe will not again
 enjoy permanent  peace until1 by the   
merciful correction of that ,lord from  
,whom all good  things do come1 the love
 of ,his ,name has again been grafted in
 their  hearts1 and the true religion of
 our ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ  
revived and increased4    ,but it       
becomes us to apply to ourselves1 very  
seriously1 the same  considerations4    
,must we not admit that among ourselves 

also a similar  disregard of the only   
source from ,whom all good things do    
come has  been sadly and increasingly   
prevalent of late years1 and perhaps for
 a  generation or two past8 ,what is the
 meaning of the acknowledged falling    
off in attendance at ,divine ,worship1  
of the increasing disuse of family      
,prayers1 and of the daily reading of   
,scripture in the family1 and of  the   
less distinctively ,christian tone of   
much of our literature and  of our      
stage8 ,let us put it to our own        
consciences whether we live1  as we     
ought1 in the constant sense that it is 
only in the word of ,god  and of        
,christ1 as contained in the ,holy      
,scriptures of the ,old and ,new        
,testaments1 in constant subjection to  
,his word and to the influences  of ,his
 ,spirit1 that we can be sure of finding
 the true light to our  paths1 and a rod
 and a staff to comfort us amidst the   
temptations and  perplexities of the    
world8 ,do we live under the constant   

influences of  the ,scriptures1 and of  
the ordinances and ,sacraments of       
,christ8 ,if not1  it can only be       
because we do not believe the blessed   
assurances of this  text1 and of our    
,church's ,collect4 ,unless men and     
women are blinded for  the time by the  
influence of some strong passions1 or of
 some perverted  teaching1 could they   
fail to submit themselves day by day to 
the ,lord1  from ,whom all good things  
do come1 so that those good and gracious
  things may sink more and more deeply  
into their souls1 mould their           
characters1 and guide them more and more
 into the way that leadeth to           
everlasting life8 ,men will travel far  
to sunny lands for the healing          
influences of this world's sun upon     
their bodily health4 ,can they  fail1 if
 they realize the blessing offered them 
day by day1 to seek the  companionship  
of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ and ,his    
,father1 for the sake of  their         
spiritual health in this world and in   

the next8    ,let us then1 in the first 
place1 be led back by these present     
trials  and agonies to the only source  
of all truth and light for this world   
and the next1 to the words which ,god   
spake 8in sundry times and in  divers   
manners10 in ages past1 and above all1  
to those which ,he spake  by ,his ,son1 
the brightness of ,his glory and the    
express image of ,his  ,person2 and if  
we feel their supreme preciousness for  
ourselves1 let  us do everything in our 
power to promote and spread those sacred
  words and that divine light throughout
 the world1 as you are asked to  help in
 doing this morning4 ,here lies the only
 hope for ourselves1  the only hope for 
our people at large1 for our nation and 
empire4  ,let us henceforth join with a 
new earnestness in the prayer of the    
,collect3 8,graft in our hearts the love
 of ,thy ,name1 increase in us true     
religion1 nourish us with all goodness1 
and of ,thy great mercy keep us  in the 
same2 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord40

          ,,the ,,national ,,ideal4     
,,preached ,,in ,,canterbury            
,,cathedral1 ,,january #crd1 #aiae4     
8,ye shall walk in all the ways which   
the ,lord your ,god hath commanded      
you1 that ye may live1 and that it may  
be well with you1 and that ye   may     
prolong your days in the land which ye  
shall possess40--,deut4 v4   #cc4       
,we have been summoned this evening by  
our ,king and by the ,chief ,pastor  of 
our ,church1 to a ,service of humble    
prayer and intercession to  ,almighty   
,god on behalf of our ,nation and       
,empire now engaged in war2  and in the 
,form of ,humble ,prayer in which we    
have just joined there  is an           
exhortation explaining and urging upon  
us the spirit in which  that            
intercession should be made4 ,in        
addressing you this evening ,i  would   
draw special attention to one point in  
that exhortation4 ,before  all else1 we 
are told1 we must remember that those   
who would receive  good at the hands of 

,god must go to ,him in humility1 with a
 due sense  of their many faults and    
continual short-comings in ,his sight4  
,in  other words1 a humble prayer must  
be before all else a prayer of          
humiliation4 ,it is a principle which is
 impressed upon us every day  in the    
,exhortation at the beginning of our    
prayers4 8,the ,scripture10  we are     
told1 8moveth us in sundry places to    
acknowledge and confess  our manifold   
sins and wickednesses2 and that we      
should not dissemble  nor cloke them    
before the face of ,almighty ,god our   
,heavenly ,father2  but confess them    
with a humble1 lowly1 penitent and      
obedient heart2 to  the end that we may 
obtain forgiveness of the same1 by his  
infinite  goodness and mercy10 and we   
are surely bound1 on an occasion like   
this1  to take to heart the words which 
follow1 viz41 that 8although we ought   
at all times humbly to acknowledge our  
sins before ,god3 yet ought we  most    
chiefly so to do1 when we assemble and  

meet together0 as we do  to-day1 to     
implore ,his special mercy in the       
greatest crisis which our  nation and   
,empire has ever had to encounter4 ,if  
every morning and  evening ought to     
waken in us a humble1 lowly1 and        
penitent confession  of our sins1 surely
 an hour when1 as a whole ,nation1 we   
are seeking  ,god's merciful and        
gracious help calls for still deeper and
 humbler  confession of our sins4       
,there has been1 ,i fear1 some          
reluctance among us to yield ourselves  
to this penitent humiliation1 and it    
will be well therefore to remind        
ourselves a little of the reasons there 
are for it4 ,now the first  and most    
patent of all the reasons why we should 
recognize our sins  and wickedness is   
the bare and ghastly fact of this war in
 itself4  ,we are all distressed and    
grieved by it1 and are all saying what a
  horrible thing it is that war--and    
such a war--should be possible in a     
,christian ,europe4 ,but what we should 

first of all realize is that it  is a   
horrible exhibition of the sin and      
wickedness of human nature4  ,just      
contrast what ,europe was a few months  
ago with the scenes that  are now       
exhibited in ,belgium1 ,france1 and     
,poland4 ,a few months ago1  ,europe was
 a prosperous country1 full of wealth1  
comfort1 and enjoyment  of all kinds4   
,its many millions were engaged in quiet
 occupations  which employed their      
energies happily4 8,they ate1 they      
drank1 they  bought1 they sold1 they    
planted1 they builded40 ,fathers and    
mothers  and children1 families young   
and old1 cities and villages were in the
  enjoyment of plenty1 and full of hope 
for the future4 ,god had prospered      
them1 and there was much hope that the  
wants and sufferings which  were still  
the lot of too many among them might be 
gradually removed  by benevolent        
legislation and mutual help2 but1 on a  
sudden1 at a few  days' notice1 this    
scene of happiness1 and hope1 and       

well-being is  overthrown as if by an   
earthquake4 ,some parts of it are       
overwhelmed  by 8blood and fire and     
vapour of smoke10 and the whole of it1  
from  the extreme west of our ,isles to 
the ,east of ,russia1 from the ,baltic  
to the ,mediterranean is transformed    
into a vast ,barracks1 in which  sons   
and fathers are torn from their         
families1 leaving behind them  too often
 the lamentation and mourning of wives  
and mothers1 weeping  for those who are 
not4 ,the language of the prophet is not
 too strong  for the occasion 8,the land
 was a ,garden of ,eden and is become a 
desolate wilderness40 ,i ask you1 is not
 such a sudden and disastrous           
transformation the most clear proof we  
could have of some deadly evil  being at
 work in human nature8 ,what else1 but  
some deadly1 inherent  evil could in a  
few weeks or days blot out all peace in 
,europe and let  loose a sort of hell in
 human society and human life4 ,we were 
proud  of the growth of civilization1   

and were constructing all sorts of      
schemes of social and political         
development1 when1 on a sudden1 our     
civilization explodes1 and we find      
ourselves surrounded by its wrecks  in  
fire1 and ruin1 and carnage1 and hatred1
 and violence of all kinds4  ,all this  
explosive force of evil must have been  
there4 ,there must have  been           
corruptions1 and sins1 and vices at work
 which we did not surmise2  and fair as 
the life of ,europe seemed outside1 it  
must really have been  in some respects 
rotten to the core4 ,this war has not   
been imposed  upon ,europe from without1
 as it was when the great barbarian     
invaders  poured over it fourteen       
hundred years ago4 ,all this horror1 and
 misery1  and bloodshed1 and ruin has   
sprung out of the materials--out of the 
civilized materials--provided by ,europe
 itself1 and it must be some  internal  
disease1 some original vice and         
corruption which is revealed  to us in  
the ghastly spectacle which is now      

presented by so large a  part of the    
most favoured lands of the world4       
,some one perhaps may be tempted to say 
that this indictment applies to  the    
countries which have provoked this war1 
but not to ,europe at large2  but that1 
,i am sure1 would be1 if not unjust to  
those countries1 at  least not candid   
with respect to ourselves4 ,is it not   
the case that1 to  an increasing extent 
of late years1 the civilization of      
,europe has been  united1 and marked in 
the main by similar characteristics8    
,have not the  literature and many of   
the ideas of ,germany penetrated the    
literature  and the thought of ,france  
and ,england8 ,has there been           
conspicuous  among us any protest       
against the habits of thought1 the      
tendencies  of religious belief or      
unbelief1 the luxuries if not the waste 
of  living1 which have prevailed        
elsewhere8 ,if the life and civilization
  of ,europe has ended in this great    
catastrophe1 can we honestly stand      

aside and claim to be free of all blame1
 and to have had no share in  the       
tendencies and evils which have produced
 so horrible a result8  ,we shrink from 
them in their full development1 we      
denounce them1 we  resolve to fight     
against them to the last1 and to        
re-establish sounder  and more          
,christian principles of public and     
social life1 but dare we  say that we   
have not dallied with them8 ,can we     
honestly claim to have  repudiated them 
at their source1 so as to be free from  
any part or lot  in sins and errors     
which have led to so hideous a result8  
,i will not  try to drive such painful  
questions further home4 ,i will only say
 that  if we are honest with ourselves1 
we shall not venture to adopt the       
,pharisee's attitude and exclaim1 on a  
day like this1 8,god1 ,i thank ,thee    
that ,i am not as other men are1 or even
 as this ,german40 ,in a word1 we  have 
had some share1 at all events1 in the   
tone of thought and life  which has     

prevailed in ,europe for the last two   
generations1 and we  shall be more true 
to ,god and to ourselves if we are      
content1 on this  day of humble         
confession and intercession1 simply to  
exclaim 8,god be  merciful to me a      
sinner40    ,but confession of sin      
should be but the first step to         
amendment of  life1 and for the purpose 
of that amendment we must endeavour to  
realize more particularly what the sins 
are1 which in ,god's righteous  judgment
 have brought this misery upon us4 ,many
 of them we have  acknowledged in the   
,litany in which we have joined4 ,we    
have prayed  for deliverance from those 
sins wherein as a nation we have grieved
  ,god4 ,we have confessed to pride1    
boasting1 and self-sufficiency1 to      
covetousness1 worldliness1 and          
indifference to the needs of others1 to 
drunkenness1 impurity1 and all manner of
 self-indulgence1 to trusting  in our   
own strength and forgetting ,god1 to    
want of faith in ,god1 to  want of love 

to ,him and to one another1 to a want of
 charity towards  all men4 ,these are   
the sins charged upon us by the chief   
pastors of  our ,church1 and they       
constitute surely a grievous catalogue  
of vices1  sufficient in themselves to  
account for the failure of the          
civilization  of which we form a part1  
and to require us to humiliate ourselves
 very  deeply before ,god4 ,we are      
called upon by the ,archbishops not     
merely  to pray1 as we do in our daily  
,litany1 against those evils1 but to    
acknowledge that they are sins wherein1 
as a nation1 we have grieved  ,god4 ,now
 it must be left to our individual      
consciences to apply those  grievous    
confessions to our own hearts and lives4
 ,of some of them1  perhaps1 we shall   
all acknowledge ourselves to have been  
guilty2 and  we are bound to put it     
earnestly to our hearts and consciences 
how  far we have individually been      
guilty of them4 ,but it is not for the  
preacher1 who is deeply sensible of his 

own sins1 to press such charges  upon   
others4 ,i would rather adopt this      
evening the more gracious1 and1  ,i     
hope1 more helpful course of reminding  
you of the one supreme and  sufficient  
method by which all such sins1 whatever 
they may have been1  may be overcome1   
and may be averted for the future4      
,it is the method and the obligation    
impressed upon us in the text by  the   
great ,law ,giver of ,israel when he was
 laying the foundation of the  ,jewish  
nation4 ,it is instructive to remember  
that the discourses of  ,moses recorded 
in the ,book of ,deuteronomy are        
described as having for  their first and
 immediate object to lay down the       
principles on which  the ,jewish people 
could realize the great purpose which   
,god had in view  for them1 and could   
become a strong and prosperous nation4  
8,these10  said ,moses1 in the verses   
following the text1 8are the            
commandments1  and the statutes1 and the
 judgments1 which the ,lord your ,god   

commanded  to teach you1 that ye might  
do them in the land whither ye go to    
possess it3 that thou mightest fear the 
,lord ,thy ,god1 to keep all ,his       
,statutes and ,his ,commandments1 which 
,i command thee1 thou1 and thy son1  and
 thy son's son1 all the days of thy     
life2 and that thy days may be          
prolonged4 ,hear1 therefore1 ,o ,israel1
 and observe to do it2 that it  may be  
well with thee1 and that ye may increase
 mightily40 ,and then he  proceeds to   
sum up those statutes and judgments in  
the momentous words  which ,our ,lord   
,himself selected as the first and great
 commandment of  the ,law1 8,hear ,o    
,israel10 said ,moses1 8,the ,lord our  
,god is one ,lord3  and thou shalt love 
the ,lord thy ,god with all thine heart1
 and with  all thy soul1 and with all   
thy might40 ,that1 in the words of the  
book  in which our ,saviour sought the  
great principles of ,his own life1 and  
which ,he quoted again and again as     
laying down eternal truths--that  is the

 great principle on which a sound moral1
 religious1 and secure  national life   
must be founded--the principle of loving
 the ,lord our  ,god with all our heart1
 and with all our soul1 and with all our
 might4  ,the ,god ,whom the people of  
,israel were thus called on to love with
 all  their heart1 soul1 and might1 was 
the ,god ,who had delivered them out of 
,egypt and its bondage1 and ,who was    
about to establish them in the land  of 
,canaan by wonders and signs which could
 only have been wrought by  ,his supreme
 power1 and ,who1 in the most solemn and
 awful circumstances1  had declared at  
,mount ,sinai the cardinal laws of      
social and national  life4 ,the ,god to 
whom our ,saviour applies the principle 
was ,his ,own  ,father1 the ,god ,who is
 seen in ,his ,own words and in ,his    
ministry1 ,whose  will is so graciously 
explained to us in the records of ,his  
life and in  the words of ,his          
,apostles1 and ,whose character1        
therefore1 and will are  clearly and    

distinctly revealed4 ,our ,lord1 when   
,he adopted these words  of ,moses1     
declared to the whole world that in     
order that they may live1  and that it  
may be well with them1 and that they may
 prolong their  days in the peace and   
happiness ,he designed for them1 the one
 supreme  condition is that they should 
love the ,god ,who is ,his ,father1 with
 all  their heart1 soul1 mind1 and      
strength4 ,if they do that1 if the whole
  of their lives is submitted to ,his   
will as revealed by ,his ,son ,jesus    
,christ1 then they will have a supreme  
authority1 a secure guide in  their     
personal1 their family1 and their social
 life2 and ,he adds to the  assurance of
 ,moses the promise of ,his ,holy       
,spirit to interpret ,his will  to them 
and to assist them in their struggles4  
,that is the one and the  sufficient    
condition for realizing here on earth   
the blessing of the  peace which ,god   
designs for us4 ,life animated by that  
love would secure  it--and that alone4  

,now the one question it would be well  
for us to put to ourselves on  this day 
of confession and self amendment is     
whether it has not been  the chief      
wickedness1 and the growing wickedness1 
of ,europe at large1  and of ourselves  
in particular1 to fail to make this love
 of ,god1  this submission to ,god and  
to ,christ1 the one supreme principle   
and  inspiration of our whole life1     
private1 social1 and public4 ,i would   
ask whether religion1 as people         
generally understand it1 has not been   
allowed to become of late years1 in an  
increasing degree1 too much of a        
private and personal matter--a matter of
 individual preference1 a part  of a    
man's character which could hardly be   
treated as an absolute duty1  so that a 
man who did not live a religious life   
was1 as it were1 within  his rights1 and
 that he could not be treated as        
neglecting a supreme  obligation8 ,has  
it not been our temptation1 as a nation1
 to legislate  without a supreme regard 

to this first duty1 so as even to allow 
our  children and the children of the   
nation to be educated without supreme   
regard to it8 ,has not attendance at    
,divine ,worship been grievously        
neglected of late years as a consequence
 of this growing decay of the  love of  
,god8 ,have not the words of our ,lord  
and ,his ,apostles been  losing the     
authority which they used to possess    
among us1 and which  they must possess  
with all who believe them to be a       
revelation of the  supreme ,will of     
,almighty ,god8 ,as a consequence of all
 this1 has there  not been a grievous   
loss among us of the sense that we are  
all under  the judgment of ,god1 that we
 shall all stand before the judgment    
seat  of ,christ1 to give account of all
 that we have done in the body1 good  or
 bad8 ,and has not the most momentous of
 all controlling influences  been thus  
grievously weakened in our own lives8   
,it is enough for one  like myself to   
suggest the question4 ,it needs a       

prophet with a ,divine  ,mission to     
drive it home4    ,but the concluding   
considerations ,i would urge from such a
 review of  the condition of the        
,christian world1 and of our own world  
at this  moment1 is that if we would    
overcome the sins which have undermined 
the peace of ,europe and brought about  
the present awful convulsion1  if we    
would restore and re-establish among    
ourselves those principles  of          
,christian ,faith which alone can make  
the nation great and happy1  and keep it
 so1 the one effectual means which      
includes all others1  the one means     
which would at once enable us to know   
what we ought to  do and would provide  
us with the grace and power to fulfil   
it1 is to  deepen in our own souls1 and 
to revive all around us and among our   
people at large1 that love of ,god in   
,jesus ,christ which reveals to us      
8whatsoever things are pure1 whatsoever 
things are lovely1 whatsoever  things   
are of good report10 which gives us a   

supreme and eternal motive  for         
following it1 and which ensures us the  
power to overcome the  terrible         
temptations which beset us4 ,let us go  
home from these prayers1  not merely    
resolved to amend one particular fault1 
or to combat one  particular evil of our
 day1 but surrendering ourselves more   
absolutely  than we have yet done to the
 will and love of ,god our ,saviour1 in 
all  things bringing the revelation of  
,his will1 in our ,lord ,jesus ,christ  
and in the ,scriptures1 to bear more    
than ever on our private1 social  and   
public duties4 ,in short1 in the words  
of the text1 let us resolve1  as the    
supreme law of our life1 to walk in the 
ways which the ,lord our  ,god and our  
,saviour ,jesus ,christ have commanded  
us1 that it may be well  with us1 and   
that we may prolong our days in the     
country and the ,empire  in which ,his  
providence and ,his mercy have placed   
and supported us4          ,,religion   
,,and ,,the ,,war4    ,,from 8,,the     

,,record10 ,,september #bc1 #aiaf       
,the way in which this war is stirring  
the deepest thoughts of our  people has 
received a striking illustration during 
the last three weeks  in a discussion in
 the pages of the ,westminster ,gazette4
 ,in that able  journal religious       
questions have not ordinarily so        
congenial a home  as in the ,spectator1 
and it is the more illustrative of the  
tone of  the public mind that1 since    
,august #bhth last1 hardly a day has    
passed  without the appearance in its   
columns of letters of great earnestness 
on the subject of 8,religion and the    
,war40 ,the discussion was opened  on   
that day by an anonymous article under  
that title1 which opened  with these    
words3 8#8,verily ,thou art a ,god that 
hidest ,thyself4' ,the  words of the    
,prophet come back to me when ,i hear   
the preachers trying  to reconcile the  
terrors and horrors of this war with the
 idea of an  all-powerful and           
all-beneficent ,creator02 and around the

 difficulty  thus started the whole     
discussion has turned4 ,the writer says 
he has  listened1 during the last few   
months1 to many sermons1 and read many  
of  the articles and pamphlets and books
 8in which ,divines and ,philosophers   
have endeavoured to plumb these deep    
waters10 and he states briefly  the     
principal arguments that he has found in
 them4 ,it is not necessary  for the    
present purpose to quote them all1      
especially as ,i think the  writer has  
been unfortunate in his pulpits and his 
books4 ,several of  the pleas he quotes 
are mere platitudes1 such as 8that the  
ways of ,god  are unfathomable1 and that
 one must walk in faith and believe that
  things are somehow good40 ,the point  
to which he reduces the question is     
that under the strain of our present    
experience 8people see suddenly  that   
the doctrine of an omnipotent and       
all-loving ,creator1 as commonly        
expounded in pulpits1 is at war with the
 plain facts of the visible  world40 ,to

 this problem all the subsequent letters
 are directed1 and  they afford         
impressive and painful evidence of the  
distress with which  many men and women 
seem to be groping in perplexity4 ,there
 are many  striking and touching        
observations in them1 and sometimes1 as 
by ,lord  ,halifax1 the central         
principles of the ,christian ,faith are 
applied  to the problem4 ,but it is     
disappointing to find that it is not in 
the ,bible or in the ,christian ,faith  
that most of the writers seek  for a    
solution of their difficulties4 ,too    
many of them seek refuge  in            
philosophical discussions of matters    
like the ,divine omnipotence  and the   
abstract problem of evil4 ,the first    
writer comes to the  conclusion that    
8theology remains tangled up in its own 
conception of  omnipotence--which brings
 us at best to the conclusion that ,god 
has  so limited ,his own power as to    
permit the existence of evil1 and at    
worst invests ,him with attributes which

 are the reverse of benevolent10  and to
 this philosophical question writer     
after writer returns4 ,the  consequence 
is that the light which is thrown upon  
the whole problem  by the ,scriptures   
and by our ,lord ,himself is obscured in
 a maze of  philosophy and words4       
,what1 then1 has revelation to say upon 
the subject8 ,the first thing1  and the 
most important1 which it has to say is  
almost ignored in the  discussion4 ,as  
has been said1 the problem propounded by
 the opening  writer is to reconcile the
 terrors and horrors of this war with   
the  idea of an 8all-powerful and       
all-beneficent ,creator40 ,from the     
point of  view of the ,bible1 of the    
,psalms in particular1 and of our ,lord1
 that  description of the ,creator      
leaves out ,his most important          
attribute4  ,if we add as the ,psalms   
invariably imply1 8an all-righteous     
,creator10  an element is introduced    
into the problem which raises entirely  
fresh  considerations4 ,if you merely   

ask the question how the pain and       
misery of the war are compatible with   
perfect beneficence and perfect         
omnipotence1 the answer is obscure4 ,but
 if you introduce the question  of the  
compatibility of the permission of such 
suffering with perfect  righteousness   
combined with benevolence1 the problem  
is radically  altered4 ,god is dealing  
with a creature who is not merely       
capable of  pain and happiness1 but of a
 righteousness and a truth like ,his    
own2  and to bestow upon this creature  
happiness without righteousness would   
be inconsistent with the main object for
 which he was created1 and  such an idea
 would1 in fact1 involve a contradiction
 in terms4 ,once  recognize that there  
is no happiness possible for man except 
in the  harmony of his nature with the  
,divine righteousness1 and it is evident
  that the main object of an            
all-benevolent ,creator must be to      
produce  this righteousness in man1 and 
to repress and extirpate1 by whatever   

means may be requisite1 the evil which  
is incompatible with his  happiness4    
,now the ,scriptures1 from the third    
chapter of ,genesis to the last  chapter
 of ,revelation1 exhibit ,god as        
employing suffering as a remedy  for    
unrighteousness or sin4 ,it is a        
punishment1 but it is also a cure4  ,it 
may be such suffering as is involved in 
the condemnation of man to  eat his     
bread by the sweat of his brow1 instead 
of being able to 8put  forth his hand0  
and seize whatever he craved without    
effort4 ,it may be  the severer remedy  
of the punishment of death1 or the      
bitter surgery  of war4 ,but what the   
,scriptures reveal is that all the      
suffering of  life1 slight or severe1 is
 instituted by ,god1 and employed by    
,him1 to  promote and uphold that       
righteousness in man which can alone    
qualify  him for that harmony with ,god1
 which is the happiness for which he was
  intended4 ,the free will1 whatever its
 degree1 with which man has been        

endowed1 must be educated by the        
suffering which follows its misuse1  as 
well as by the satisfaction which is    
conferred by its right use4             
,accordingly it appears to be the       
cardinal fact of man's constitution     
that unrighteousness throws his nature  
into disorder1 and brings a  similar    
disorder into his whole social          
condition4 ,families1 societies1  and   
nations can only realize their true     
purposes1 they can only  exhibit a true 
order1 when the individuals of whom they
 are composed  are righteous1 and are   
thus qualified for their true functions4
 ,let  the individuals or component     
parts become disordered1 and the whole  
society must be disordered1 and involved
 in confusion and perhaps ruin4  ,i have
 sometimes imagined the case of a       
visitor introduced to some  vast        
machine1 working under immense pressure1
 and being told by his  guide that      
unfortunately every part of the machine 
was more or less  imperfect1 and some of

 the parts almost rotten4 ,would the    
visitor care  to expose himself long to 
the risks of the inevitable explosion8  
,but  that is exactly the case of every 
human society1 small or great4 ,all  the
 individuals of which it is composed are
 grievously imperfect1 and  some of them
 are positively vicious4 ,is it any     
wonder that it develops  antagonistic   
forces within itself1 and that sooner or
 later it bursts  into a great          
conflagration--the conflagration of a   
revolution or a  war8 ,god1 in fact1 by 
this constitution of mankind1 has       
provided that  unrighteousness shall    
punish itself4 ,he does not intervene1  
as a rule1  to inflict a special        
punishment4 ,he leaves men to work out  
their own  punishment1 and to realize   
from it that there was some corruption  
at  work in their lives4    ,if it be   
asked whether an all-powerful and       
all-beneficent ,being could  not have   
provided some less distressing method of
 education1 the  first reply may be that

 of ,bishop ,butler--that it is foolish 
for such  creatures as we are to try to 
devise schemes for the construction of  
better worlds than the one we live in4  
,but the ,gospel has provided an  answer
 which removes all temptation to such   
folly4 ,it reveals the  momentous fact  
that 8,god1 of ,his tender mercy1 did   
give ,his ,only ,son1  ,jesus ,christ1  
to suffer death upon the ,cross for our 
redemption40  ,there is no need to enter
 upon theories of the ,atonement in     
order to  appreciate the bearing of that
 solemn truth upon this problem4        
,christ1  ,who lived and died for our   
redemption1 found it necessary for that 
purpose to submit to the sufferings of  
the ,cross--sufferings at least  as     
bitter as any that are inflicted in     
war--and ,he said ,he submitted to  them
 because it was the will of ,his        
,father--of the ,god ,whom ,he called   
8,his ,father and our ,father1 ,his ,god
 and our ,god0--that ,he should do  so4 
,it is one satisfactory feature in this 

discussion that the moral  authority of 
,christ is generally recognized2 but it 
is very little  noticed1 if at all1 that
 that authority declares1 both by       
repeated  assurances1 and by the most   
touching personal experience1 that the  
infliction and endurance of death and   
agony are compatible with the  most     
perfect relations of love and tenderness
 between ,god and the  ,sufferer4       
,our ,lord has thus given ,his blessed  
personal sanction to what1 after  all1  
has been the instinctive belief of human
 nature1 even before ,he  lived and     
died4 ,cicero1 for instance1 in his ,de 
,officiis1 states it  more than once as 
a cardinal principle of human life and  
duty that  it is more contrary to nature
 to do or allow unjust acts than to     
endure any suffering1 loss1 or even     
death4 ,but the ,cross of ,christ       
elevates this inspiring and consoling   
conviction to the height of a  ,divine  
revelation and consolation2 and to those
 who realize it1 the  main practical    

problem of the sufferings of war is     
solved4 ,all such  suffering is ,god's  
remedy for moral evil1 and is allowed   
because it is  the only means by which  
man's nature can be purified and        
renovated4  ,from this point of view it 
becomes quite unnecessary to perplex    
ourselves with philosophical questions  
respecting omnipotence4 ,when ,god  has 
once established a constitution1 either 
for nature or for human  nature1 ,he has
 limited ,his ,own action by the laws of
 that constitution  so long as it lasts4
 ,he can1 indeed1 interfere with it for 
good cause2  and ,he has done so1 both  
in nature and human nature1 by miracle4 
,but  to interpose by miracle to avert  
all distressing consequences of those   
laws would be to abolish the            
constitution altogether1 and this ,he   
will  not do until the present          
dispensation is brought to an end4 ,for 
the  present1 ,god is governing and     
educating men by means of the laws which
  ,he has established1 both physical and

 moral1 and ,he leaves men to take  the 
consequences of their moral violations  
of those laws1 no less than  of their   
physical4    ,the example of ,christ1 in
 ,his submission1 should be enough to   
prevent  any man 8replying against ,god0
 for this constitution of things4 ,the  
reflection which should be aroused in   
our minds by such 8terrors and  horrors0
 as those of this war is1 on these      
principles1 that there  must have been  
something terribly false and vicious in 
the condition  of the nations of ,europe
 to produce so awful a manifestation of 
the  consequences of evil4 ,they are the
 consequences which1 under the laws  of 
human nature established by ,god1       
inevitably follow the prevalence  of    
unrighteousness2 and for that reason    
they are justly described in  ,scripture
 as the manifestation of 8the wrath of  
,god0 against evil4  ,on the principles 
of the ,christian ,faith1 in short1     
there is one  certainty amidst all our  
perplexities in this matter4 ,the war   

and all  its miseries reveal to us the  
fact that great injustices and moral    
evils were prevalent in ,europe1 and the
 greatness of the misery may  be taken  
as a measure of the greatness of the    
evil4 ,we think we see  these moral and 
religious evils in the state of our     
enemies1 and  particularly in the state 
of ,german life and religion4 ,but we   
shall  make a fatal mistake if we allow 
ourselves to think that all the evil    
and unrighteousness has been on their   
side4 ,if we are candid with  ourselves1
 we shall recognize that a disregard of 
,god and ,christ1  a grievous disbelief 
in the revelation and the guidance they 
have  given us1 and a consequent decay  
of religion1 and looseness of moral     
obligations of all kinds1 have been     
making way among us1 and have  affected 
not only our private life1 but our      
standards of public action4  ,we are    
discovering more clearly1 day by day1   
that if we are to meet  the terrible    
dangers by which we are threatened1 we  

must revive1 both  in public and in     
private1 the standards of ,christian    
principle which  we formally            
acknowledge--self-denial1 self-control1 
truth in word and  deed1 the fear of    
,god1 and the love of ,christ2 and in   
proportion as we  succeed in these      
efforts shall we find that the problems 
of 8religion  and the war0 are much     
simpler1 better understood by our       
fathers1 and  more easily grasped by    
ourselves1 than is supposed in the      
discussion  from which we started4      
,,prayer ,,for ,,the ,,dead4    ,,from  
8,,the ,,record10 ,,november #bj1 #aiad 
,the question of ,prayers for the ,dead1
 and particularly of the adoption  of   
such prayers in the public services of  
the ,church1 has for some time  been    
pressed forward among us1 and under the 
strain of the distressing  bereavements 
of the present war it is likely to      
become urgent4 ,an  attempt has more    
than once been made at ,st4 ,paul's to  
celebrate what  would have been a formal

 ,requiem for those who have fallen2 and
  though it has not yet been fully      
successful1 it may very likely be       
renewed4 ,in the forms issued by        
authority1 both at the time of the ,boer
  ,war and during the present war1      
supplications on behalf of the dead     
have been introduced1 which provoked a  
gentle remonstrance from even  so       
moderate and tolerant an ,evangelical as
 the ,bishop of ,durham4 ,other  forms  
will no doubt be prepared by authority  
for use at the national  intercession on
 the first ,sunday of next year2 and in 
many quarters  much anxiety is felt lest
 the introduction of such supplications 
should be further extended4    ,this    
anxiety will not be lessened by the     
deliberate observations on the  subject 
which were made by the ,primate1 in a   
sermon he preached at ,all  ,hallows1   
,barking1 on ,all ,souls' ,day1 which is
 fully reported in the  ,guardian of    
,november #e4 ,he said that 8we are not 
forgetful of the  long and mischievous  

abuse of the devotion0 of praying for   
the dead 8in  the later medival days1   
until10 as ,dr4 ,mason said 8it might   
almost  be said that the main object of 
religion in the fifteenth century had   
been to deliver souls out of the        
ever-heightening horrors of ,purgatory1 
and to ensure the living against        
incurring them40 8,we understand10  said
 the ,archbishop1 8why repression of    
these mischiefs1 prevention of  these   
perils1 took in our formularies and our 
,prayer ,books so stern1  so drastic1 a 
character that no explicit ,prayers for 
the departed at  all were admitted into 
the public language of the ,church1 and 
people  were taught to rely1 in those   
public offices1 upon that alone which   
can be definitely proved by ,holy       
,scripture4 ,i have no word of censure  
for those men--,laud and ,andrewes1     
remember1 were among them--who thus     
handled the difficulties which they had 
to face4 ,but10 the ,archbishop         
significantly proceeded1 8surely now    

there is place for a gentler            
recognition of the instinctive1 the     
natural1 the loyal craving of the       
bereaved2 and the abuses of the chantry 
system and the extravagances of  ,tetzel
 need not now1 nearly four centuries    
afterwards1 thwart or hinder  the       
reverent1 the absolutely trustful1      
prayer of a wounded spirit1 who  feels  
it natural and helpful to pray for him  
whom we shall not greet  on earth again1
 but who1 in his ,father's loving       
keeping1 still lives1  and1 as we may   
surely believe1 still grows from        
strength to strength  in truer purity   
and in deeper reverence and love4 ,i    
must not dwell on  that to-day1 but in  
our thought of what our ,college of     
,clergy can do1  and has already done1  
#8for the perfecting of the ,saints1 for
 the work  of the ministry1 for the     
edifying of the body of ,christ1' ,i do 
not like  to pass unmentioned a task of 
wise teaching and of careful guidance1  
which at a time of such special         

opportunity and need may appropriately  
be ours40    ,these1 ,i think it must be
 felt1 are very significant words4 ,they
  indicate clearly that1 in the mind of 
the ,archbishop's advisers1 the  present
 time of bereavement and distress       
affords an opportunity for  authorizing 
the use of ,prayers for the ,departed1  
which go beyond 8that  alone which can  
be definitely proved by ,holy           
,scripture40 ,now1 ,i hope  that1       
without any lack of respect1 ,i may say 
at once that1 while there  are1 as ,i   
believe1 many members of the            
,evangelical ,school to whom some       
modification in the language of our     
,prayer ,book in reference to the       
departed would not be unwelcome1 we     
should be unanimous in deprecating  in  
the strongest manner the introduction of
 anything beyond 8that which  can be    
definitely proved by ,holy              
,scripture0--meaning1 as no doubt the   
,archbishop does1 that which can be     
proved to be conformable to ,holy       

,scripture4 ,supplications which are not
 strictly conformable to ,holy          
,scripture may be 8natural0--too        
natural--8instinctive10 and prompted by 
a 8loyal craving40 ,but the very place  
and function of ,holy ,scripture  is to 
direct and control our natural and      
instinctive cravings2 and to  allow such
 natural and instinctive cravings to    
carry us beyond the  limits which a     
strict adherence to ,holy ,scripture    
would prescribe1 is  to abandon an      
essential principle of the ,church of   
,england1 and to  forsake the sure      
guidance which the revelation of the    
,gospel affords us4    ,this1 in fact1  
is the very source of the superstitions 
by which the  worship of ,god has been  
corrupted in the ,church of ,rome4      
,there is no  better illustration of    
this danger than is afforded by those   
abuses  in connection with the belief in
 ,purgatory1 which the ,archbishop so   
severely denounces4 ,the ,roman system  
of ,prayers for the ,dead did not       

originally rise from the doctrine of    
,purgatory1 though in their extreme     
form they were based on that doctrine4  
,but1 historically1 the doctrine  of    
,purgatory was developed out of an undue
 and unscriptural indulgence  of        
,prayers for the ,dead2 and in so far as
 natural instincts are allowed  at the  
present day to dictate any such         
unscriptural indulgence1 a  tendency    
will again be encouraged towards a      
belief in some form of  ,purgatory4 ,the
 ,archbishop asks whether we need be    
afraid of the abuses  of four centuries 
ago4 ,but it is not a question of the   
circumstances  of four centuries ago2 it
 is a question of the dangers of human  
nature in every century1 and not least  
in a century like the present1  when    
there prevails in the ,church an avowed 
drift towards the errors  against which1
 as the ,archbishop says1 even ,laud and
 ,andrewes thought  it necessary to be  
on their guard4 ,the condition of the   
departed is  a matter on which nature   

can tell us nothing4 ,our whole         
knowledge  respecting it1 all our hopes 
respecting it1 are derived from the     
revelations of our ,lord and ,his       
,apostles in the ,new ,testament2 and if
  we wish our prayers in relation to the
 dead to be in accordance with  truth1  
and to be acceptable to ,god1 we have   
more reason on this subject  than on any
 other 8to rely in our public offices   
upon that alone which  can be proved by 
,holy ,scripture40    ,this is so       
cardinal a principle of our ,church that
 ,i cannot but feel  confident that it  
is by an inadvertence1 if language is   
used by  any persons in authority which 
seems to imply a disregard of it4 ,i    
apprehend that what it really means is  
that our ,reformers excluded from  our  
,prayer ,book forms of ,prayer for the  
,dead which were in use in the          
primitive ,church2 and that an appeal is
 being made to that primitive  example  
as an authority for their               
reintroduction4 ,now1 ,i fully admit    

that primitive practice has a           
prima-facie claim to favourable         
consideration2 and1 as ,i have urged for
 years1 if that principle were  only    
acted upon1 the ,romish practices which 
are being forced upon our  ,church by   
the ritualistic party would be at once  
condemned4 ,what1  then1 let us ask1    
were the ,prayers for the ,dead which   
were in use in  the primitive ,church8  
,the description of them given by       
,bingham in his  account of the         
ceremonies at the interment of          
,christians in the ancient  ,church     
7vol4 viii41 ,oxford edition1 p4 #aea7  
is in perfect harmony with  that of     
,field and ,ussher1 and will not1 ,i    
think1 be questioned4 ,at the           
interment1 as at the ,communion         
,service1 8a solemn commemoration was   
made of the dead in general1 and prayers
 offered to ,god for them--some         
,eucharistical1 by way of thanksgiving  
for their deliverance out of  this      
world's afflictions1 and others by way  

of intercession that ,god  would receive
 their souls to the place of rest and   
happiness1 that  ,he would pardon their 
human failures1 and not impute to them  
the sins  of daily incursion1 which in  
the best men are remainders of natural  
frailty and corruption2 that ,he would  
increase their happiness1 and  finally  
bring them to a perfect consummation    
with all ,his ,saints by  a glorious    
resurrection40 ,the spirit and purpose  
of these prayers  is illuminated by an  
observation of ,archbishop ,ussher      
7,answer to a  ,jesuit1 chapter vii73   
8,in these and other prayers of the like
 kind we  may descry evident footsteps  
of the primary intention of the ,church 
in  such supplications for the dead1    
which was1 that the whole man1 not  the 
soul separated only1 might receive      
public remission of sins and a  solemn  
acquittal in the judgment of that ,great
 ,day1 and so obtain a  full escape from
 all the consequences of sin1 the last  
enemy being  now destroyed1 and death   

swallowed up in victory1 and a perfect  
consummation of bliss and happiness4    
,all which are comprised in that  short 
prayer of ,st4 ,paul for ,onesiphorus1  
though made for him while he  was alive3
 ,the ,lord grant unto him that he may  
find mercy of the ,lord  in that day40  
,in other words1 all these prayers are  
for those mercies and blessings  which  
are revealed and promised in ,holy      
,scripture1 and for them  alone4 ,they  
are not prayers for any alteration in   
the condition of  the ,christian soul   
during the mysterious period between    
death and  the ,resurrection1 respecting
 which very various opinions have been  
held by the ,fathers of the ,church4    
,they are simply prayers for the        
fulfilment1 especially at the ,day of   
the ,resurrection1 of those  promises of
 justification or acquittal1 and of     
final glory in body  and soul1 which are
 definitely given us in the ,new        
,testament4 ,the  objection has been    
raised that of the fulfilment of these  

promises we  have certain assurance1 and
 that therefore we need not pray for    
them4  ,but1 as ,ussher and ,field      
abundantly show1 this objection is based
  upon a serious misconception of the   
nature of prayer4 ,the ancient  ,church1
 in accordance with the whole spirit of 
the ,scriptures1 realized  the privilege
 of receiving everything from ,god in   
the nature of a  gift1 and therefore    
prayed to ,him for the very things ,he  
had most  surely promised4 ,it is in    
that gracious childlike spirit that     
these  supplications for the ,christian 
dead were made in primitive ,christian  
times2 and though that spirit has       
become1 unhappily1 somewhat obscured    
among us1 yet no one can use the        
petition 8,thy ,kingdom come0 without   
being sensible that he is praying for a 
blessing which is most certain4  ,for   
these prayers of the early ,church1     
therefore1 there was a full  warrant in 
,holy ,scripture1 and there is no       
occasion to appeal to any  other        

authority for them4    ,why1 then1 it   
will be asked1 should they not be used  
in the ,church of  ,england8 ,the first 
and chief answer is that1 in substance1 
they are  used4 ,in the ,burial ,service
 we pray 8that it may please ,thee      
shortly  to accomplish the number of    
,thine elect and to hasten ,thy kingdom 
that  we1 with all those that are       
departed in the true faith of ,thy ,holy
  ,name1 may have our perfect           
consummation and bliss in ,thy eternal  
and  everlasting glory40 ,that is a     
prayer in the very spirit described by  
,bingham and ,ussher as that of the     
primitive ,church4 ,nor can ,i interpret
  in any less comprehensive sense the   
prayer in our ,communion ,service1      
8that we and all ,thy whole ,church may 
obtain remission of our sins1  and all  
other benefits of ,his passion40        
,field's statement 7vol4  ii41          
,cambridge edition1 p4 #ig7 is fully    
justified by these prayers4  8,touching 
,prayer for the ,dead1 it is well known 

that ,protestants  do not simply condemn
 all prayer in this kind2 for they pray 
for  the ,resurrection1 public acquittal
 in the ,day of ,judgment1 and the      
perfect consummation and bliss of them  
that rest in the ,lord1 and the         
perfecting of whatsoever is yet wanting 
in them40    ,if1 therefore1 in the     
,revision of the ,prayer ,book now      
pending1 or  in official forms of       
intercession now under consideration1 it
 is  contemplated to add anything to the
 language of the ,prayer ,book1  what we
 have to ask is that such additions may 
be kept within these  scriptural and    
primitive limits1 and may not introduce 
petitions  which imply suppositions     
respecting the condition of the soul in 
the intermediate state1 of which        
,scripture tells us nothing4 ,even  the 
,archbishop's language might give some  
encouragement to such  suppositions1    
when he speaks of praying 8for him 444  
who still lives  and1 as we may surely  
believe1 still grows from strength to   

strength1  in truer purity and in       
deepened reverence and love40 ,whoever  
believes  that does so without warrant  
of ,scripture1 and prayer based on such 
a  belief has no authority in           
revelation4 ,the hope of the ,christian 
is  not that his soul will be gradually 
purified after death1 but that1 in  the 
words of the commendatory prayer in the 
,service of the ,visitation  of the     
,sick1 it may1 in death itself1 be      
washed in the blood of that  immaculate 
,lamb1 and presented1 when it leaves the
 body1 8pure and  without spot0 unto    
,god4 ,prayers1 in short1 which have any
 tinge of a  purgatorial view are       
unauthorized by ,scripture1 and         
inconsistent with  a most blessed       
element of ,evangelical hope and faith4 
,short of this1 ,i  could wish1 for my  
own part1 that we might imitate the     
purer forms of  prayer in the early     
,church by more specific mention of the 
departed1  as in what seems to me the   
beautiful expressions of the earlier    

,burial  ,service4 8,we commend into    
,thy hands of mercy1 most merciful      
,father1  the soul of this our brother  
departed1 and his body we commit to the 
earth1 beseeching ,thine infinite       
goodness to give us grace to live in    
,thy fear and love1 and to die in ,thy  
favour2 that when the judgment  shall   
come1 which ,thou hast committed to ,thy
 wellbeloved ,son1 both this  our       
brother and we may be found acceptable  
in ,thy sight40 ,after all1  in presence
 of the mysteries of death1 and of the  
condition of those  we have lost1 what  
prayer can be more comforting than one  
which simply  commends to our ,father's 
gracious hands1 through our ,saviour's  
merits  and grace1 the beloved soul     
after which we yearn8 ,that is a ,prayer
 for  the ,dead which may be offered    
without scruple and without cessation1  
and in which we may find1 day by day1   
and in every moment of sorrow and       
distress1 our refuge and our            
consolation4          ,,christ ,,and    

,,the ,,soldier4    ,,address ,,at ,,the
 ,,church ,,parade1 ,,in ,,the ,,nave   
,,of ,,the ,,cathedral1 ,,sept4 #bg1    
#aiad4     8,let not your heart be      
troubled2 ye believe in ,god1 believe   
also in   ,me40--,st4 ,john xiv4 #a4    
,my brethren1 when your ,commanding     
,officer did me the honour to ask  me to
 address you1 ,i thought ,i would try to
 bring before you1 in the  simplest and 
briefest form1 the special message which
 is brought by the  ,gospel of ,christ  
to men in such a position as that in    
which you now  stand--a position of     
great anxiety and solemn responsibility4
 ,you will  meet that responsibility1 of
 course1 in the manly and cheerful      
spirit  which has marked soldiers of    
great races at all times1 from the      
,jews1  ,greeks1 and ,romans to our own 
days4 ,but the ,gospel of ,christ has   
the  characteristic privilege of        
bringing good news to human nature in   
all  circumstances4 ,it sheds a new and 
blessed light on life and all its       

duties1 on death and all its fears1 and 
,i would fain impress on you1 in  one   
sentence of our ,saviour1 what is the   
supreme blessing and guidance  which it 
affords1 especially to soldiers4        
,that blessing is contained in the few  
words of my text3 ,ye believe in  ,god2 
believe also in ,me4 ,they are the first
 words of our ,saviour's  address to    
,his disciples1 at the moment when they 
were in great trouble  and anxiety1 on  
account of ,his having told them that   
,he was about to be  violently taken    
from them4 ,it was no ordinary trouble  
that they were  about to encounter1 but 
one of the greatest and bitterest that  
ever  befell human beings4 ,yet ,he     
begins1 at once1 by bidding them not be 
troubled4 ,let not your hearts be       
troubled1 ,he said4 ,but how were they  
to avoid it8 ,he gives them a short and 
sufficient reason3 ,ye believe  in ,god2
 believe also in ,me4 ,remember who they
 were4 ,they were ,jews1  full of the   
faith of the old ,covenant2 familiar    

with the psalms which  we sing every    
day1 believing in ,god as ,abraham did1 
as ,david did1 as  ,isaiah did1 and as  
,he ,himself had taught them to believe4
 ,that was  and is1 a grand faith to    
live in4 ,but our ,lord brought an      
addition to  it1 which made it1 and     
makes it1 infinitely better4 ,ye believe
 in  ,god1 ,he said2 believe also in    
,me4 ,he uses the same word of belief   
in ,himself which ,he had used of belief
 in ,god4 8,you put your trust in       
,god10 ,he seems to say2 8,you give     
yourselves up to ,him1 to obey ,his     
will for life and for death4 ,do the    
same for ,me4 ,give yourselves up  also 
to ,me1 to obey ,me1 to trust ,me and to
 love ,me40 ,the privilege of  doing    
that is the reason ,he gives them for   
not letting their heart be  troubled4   
,if they would obey and trust ,him with 
the same faith which  they gave to ,god1
 they would have still surer ground for 
comfort and  strength than if they only 
believed in the ,god of their fathers4  

,this was a great claim for our ,lord   
,jesus ,christ to make4 ,but ,he went   
on to shed ,his blood on the ,cross in  
attestation of it2 and1 according  to   
,his promise1 ,he rose again after being
 put to death1 to assure us  that ,he   
was the living ,son of ,god ,he claimed 
to be2 and that is our  sufficient      
reason for believing it4 ,for that      
reason we take ,his word  for it1 and   
trust everything ,he said4 ,but why does
 this assurance bring  that special     
comfort to ,his disciples1 and to       
ourselves1 which ,he  promises8 ,there  
are many reasons2 but on this occasion  
,i will mention  only the one which ,he 
,himself proceeds to state4 ,he goes on 
to declare  at once what is perhaps the 
greatest of all the comforts which ,he  
brings4 ,he tells us what is our eternal
 ,home1 whither ,he was ,himself  going1
 and where we are meant to go4 ,he says 
at once3 ,in ,my ,father's  house are   
many mansions2 if it were not so1 ,i    
would have told you4 ,i go  to prepare a

 place for you2 and if ,i go and prepare
 a place for you1  ,i will come again   
and receive you unto ,myself1 that where
 ,i am there  ye may be also4 ,every one
 of us must ask himself1 sooner or      
later1  where he is going2 what is his  
eternal ,home8 ,more especially must we 
ask ourselves this question when we are 
brought face to face1 in any  way1 with 
the great issues of life and death4     
,when nations are marching  in their    
millions to conflicts which must mean an
 early death to many  of them1 we must  
crave for an answer1 more than ever1 to 
the question1  ,what is beyond death8   
,what is the life into which we shall   
pass from  this world8    ,now1 in these
 few words1 our ,saviour gives us an    
assurance on this  question which is    
more than sufficient4 ,we shall go into 
a world in  which ,he is ready to meet  
us1 and in which ,he is preparing       
mansions  for us4 ,without the ,gospel1 
there is a complete veil over the future
  life4 ,but to the ,christian that veil

 is lifted by the ,saviour and ,his     
,apostles in some glorious details1 and 
above all--far above all--in  this3 that
 the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 that living  
,man of whom you read  in the ,gospels1 
,whose character stands out so clearly  
there1 in all  graciousness1 justice1   
love1 and power1 is preparing homes for 
us1 and  will be there to receive us    
unto ,himself4 ,david was inspired to   
sing1  ,when ,i walk through the valley 
of the shadow of death ,i will fear  no 
evil1 for ,thou art with me2 ,thy rod   
and ,thy staff comfort me4 ,it  was a   
great height of inspired faith to be    
able to utter that prayer  of trust in  
the great ,god of his fathers1          
surrounded1 as he then was1  by clouds  
and darkness4 ,but what a vastly greater
 blessing it is to  be able to say it of
 the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 ,whom we are 
privileged  to know1 not only as ,god1  
but as ,man in flesh and blood1 and to  
be  assured that in death1 as in life1  
we have with us all the sympathy1  all  

the tenderness1 as well as all the      
righteousness and justice1 which  ,he   
showed during ,his life on earth4 ,had  
,he not reason to say3 ,let not  your   
hearts be troubled2 believe in ,me8     
,but if it is to be a comfort to us to  
know that we shall be received by  the  
,lord ,jesus ,christ when we pass from  
this world1 and that1 whether  we pass  
suddenly or slowly1 we shall find       
ourselves in ,his hands1 we  cannot fail
 to realize that one condition on our   
own part is essential4  ,we must come to
 ,him with a character1 and in a        
condition1 which ,he  can approve4 ,he  
will meet us in two capacities2 first1  
as our ,saviour  and friend1 but also as
 our ,judge4 ,without waiting for that  
ultimate  judgment which ,he has        
announced1 the thought of our closer    
approach to  ,him at death must make us 
deeply apprehensive of ,his personal    
judgment  on our character and our      
lives4 ,if we desire to meet ,him in    
happiness1  we must be preparing        

ourselves1 while we are here1 so as to  
be at least  in general harmony with    
,his will and ,his character4 ,in       
consequence of  those inveterate sins of
 mankind1 which bring about wars and all
 other  such miseries1 ,he ,himself1    
with ,his own deliberate consent1 was   
brought  to death1 and sacrificed ,his  
life as an atonement for our evil2 and  
by that sacrifice ,he has won from ,god 
the ,father1 ,his ,father and our       
,father1 the right to forgive us and to 
judge us mercifully4 ,we may be  sure   
accordingly that ,he will receive us    
into the arms of ,his mercy1  and pardon
 our innumerable failures and offences1 
if we truly repent of  them4 ,but if we 
are to be at peace with ,him hereafter1 
in ,his mansions1  ,he must needs expect
 us1 while we are here1 to be trying to 
grow like  ,him1 and to be doing ,his   
will4 ,this accordingly is the second   
main  point which follows from this     
assurance of our ,lord4 ,it places us   
under  the strongest possible obligation

 to live here as ,christ would have us1 
in order that we may look forward with  
full hope to living with ,him           
hereafter4    ,consequently1 this       
promise of ,christ obliges us to        
,christen1 as it  were1 or to           
,christianize1 the work of our lives1   
and every duty or  profession in which  
we are engaged4 ,this is a principle    
which has  innumerable applications2 and
 ,i will only apply it this morning to  
one  aspect of the profession of a      
soldier4 ,men had great ideals before   
,christ came4 ,few things are nobler1 in
 the profession of arms1 than  the      
examples of self-sacrifice1 of bravery1 
of generosity1 exhibited  by the ancient
 ,jews1 ,greeks1 and ,romans1 and1 in   
our own days1 by the  ,japanese4 ,but   
the history of the ,christian world has 
shown that it  is possible to raise     
those ideals1 if not to a higher1 yet to
 a more  gracious1 height by adding a   
,christian touch or colour to them4 ,the
  knighthood of the ,middle ,ages1 for  

instance1 exhibited the highest         
qualities of a manly soldiery1 elevated1
 purified1 and illuminated  by the      
supreme graces of gentleness1 of mercy1 
of tenderness for the  weak1 of that    
impulse to save the suffering and the   
crushed1 which is  embodied in our      
,lord's character as 8the ,saviour40    
,the knight of the  ,middle ,ages was   
essentially the saviour of the weak1 the
 champion of  women1 bound by oath to   
uphold all right and righteousness1 to  
avenge  wrong1 to maintain1 in the midst
 of his stern duties1 the mercies and   
graces of ,christian feeling4 ,one of   
them1 as he stood at the bier of  the   
most famous knight of his day1 is       
described in the old romance as         
exclaiming3 ,and now1 ,i daresay1 that  
,sir ,lancelot1 there thou liest3  thou 
wert never matched of none earthly      
knight's hands2 and thou wert  the      
courtliest knight that ever bare shield2
 and thou wert the truest  friend to thy
 lover that ever bestrode horse2 and    

thou wert the truest  lover of a sinful 
man that ever loved woman2 and thou wert
 the kindest  man that ever stroke with 
sword2 and thou wert the goodliest      
person  that ever came among press of   
knights2 and thou wert the meekest man  
and the gentlest that ever ate in hall  
among ladies2 and thou wert the         
sternest knight to thy mortal foe that  
ever put spear in the rest4  ,can we    
fail to be sensible that1 even in such  
an imperfect example1  something of the 
grace of ,christian tenderness has been 
shed over the  character--an essence of 
,christian feeling1 which would make    
impossible  in such a soldier any brutal
 violence or wilful injustice8 ,it was1 
in  fact1 the conscious example of      
,christ which controlled them4 ,they    
all1  more or less1 resembled the knight
 of our own noble poet ,spenser3        
,for on his breast a bloody cross he    
bore1        ,the dear remembrance of   
his dying ,lord3      ,for ,whose sweet 
sake that glorious badge he wore1       

,and dead1 as living ever1 ,him adored2 
,upon his shield the like was also      
scored1        ,for sovran hope which in
 his help he had4    ,that is the true  
badge not only of ,christian service to 
the wounded1  but of ,christian warfare 
itself4    ,such1 my brethren1 is the   
spirit in which you can apply to your   
present  duties the exhortation of our  
,saviour in this gracious and cardinal  
text4 ,it bids you to add the belief in 
the presence of ,christ1 the  obligation
 of obedience to ,christ1 trust in      
,christ and love towards  ,him1 to all  
the other principles by which you are   
animated4 ,the fact  that you are here1 
that you are making great sacrifices1   
that you are  ready to make the greatest
 sacrifice of all1 for your country1 is 
proof  enough that you are animated by  
high and generous motives1 that you     
wish to live and die for the greatest of
 all causes1 for righteousness  and     
justice1 for your ,king and your        
country4 ,but if you would do the  best 

you can1 do one thing more4 ,take care  
to add the spirit of ,christ  to these  
motives and impulses2 strive to enter   
more deeply1 day by  day1 into ,his     
heart and will1 to realize more and     
more1 even in the  midst of war1 that   
8new commandment0 which ,he gave us1    
that we should  love one another2 and so
 prepare yourselves to meet ,him        
whenever you  have to do so1 as we all  
have1 soon or late1 in such a character 
that  ,he may be able to say to you3    
,well done1 good and faithful servant1  
enter thou into the joy of thy ,lord4   
,in a word3 ,you believe in ,god1  and  
in all that the ,name of ,god stands    
for--righteousness1 truth1  goodness of 
all kinds3 believe also in ,christ1 and 
let ,his love1 ,his  mercy1 ,his purity1
 ,his absolute self-sacrifice1 add ,his 
own peculiar  grace to all your words   
and deeds1 and then you may cherish the 
confident hope that where ,he is there  
you will be also4          ,,the        
,,eternal ,,life ,,of ,,the ,,soul4     

,,preached ,,in ,,the ,,nave ,,of       
,,canterbury ,,cathedral1 ,,at ,,the    
,,military ,,church  ,,parade1 ,,october
 #ae1 #aiaf4     8,o ,god1 ,thou art my 
,god2 early will ,i seek ,thee40--,psalm
 lxiii4 #a4      ,these words ought to  
be in the heart and the mouth of every  
soul in  this congregation4 ,they are   
the first words of a ,psalm1 which has  
been  used as a morning ,psalm by many  
generations of ,christians1 and it is   
the privilege of all of us to echo them4
 ,but let us consider carefully  what   
they mean4 ,who is the ,god to ,whom    
they speak8 ,we are in the ,house  of   
,god1 to worship ,god2 and we open our  
worship1 every ,sunday1 with  a ,psalm  
which tells us who ,he is4 8,the ,lord10
 it says1 8is a great  ,god1 a great    
,king above all ,gods4 ,in ,his hand are
 all the corners of  the earth1 and the 
strength of the hills is ,his also4 ,the
 sea is ,his1  and ,he made it3 and ,his
 hands prepared the dry land4 ,o come1  
let us  worship and fall down1 and kneel

 before the ,lord our ,maker40 ,that is 
the ,god to whom the ,christian speaks4 
,he is the ,god ,who made heaven and    
earth1 and whose will and power upholds 
them from hour to hour4 ,he is  our     
maker1 8and we are the people of ,his   
pasture1 and the sheep of ,his  hand40  
,in other words1 8,all things were made 
by ,him1 and without ,him  was not      
anything made that was made40    ,the   
word 8,god0 is too often used lightly in
 common conversation among  us1 but     
without due remembrance that it is the  
,name of the ,most awful  and supreme   
reality that can be thought of4 ,we do  
not use lightly the  name of our ,king1 
but ,god is the ,king of ,kings and     
,lord of ,lords4 ,our  lives and our    
souls are in the hollow of ,his hand    
every moment2 and if  we considered only
 ,his supreme ,majesty and our weak and 
passing frames1  we are perfectly       
insignificant beings before ,him4 ,but  
it is to this  ,being that the ,psalmist
 addresses the words 8,o ,god1 ,thou art

 my ,god2  early will ,i seek ,thee40   
,we may all say that1 as well as the    
,psalmist4  ,it is our privilege to     
speak to the ,king of ,kings1 the ,lord 
of ,lords1  as our own2 we may call ,him
 our ,god1 our own ,god1 we may tell    
,him that  we seek ,him1 that we seek   
,him above all things1 and we may say1  
as the  ,psalmist goes on to say1 8,my  
soul thirsteth for ,thee1 my flesh also 
longeth after ,thee3 in a barren and dry
 land where no water is4 ,thus  have ,i 
looked for ,thee in the sanctuary 7in a 
,cathedral like this7 that  ,i might    
behold ,thy power and glory40 ,how is it
 that humble and feeble  creatures like 
ourselves can thus call the ,god of     
heaven and earth our  own1 and speak to 
,him1 and tell ,him1 in this earnest    
language1 that we  cannot do without    
,him8 ,where1 above all1 can we find    
,him and approach  ,him8    ,the        
,psalmist used these words1 and we may  
use them too1 because this  ,god is the 
nearest of all things in the world to   

us1 and because we are  in daily contact
 with ,him in our hearts and souls4 ,it 
is true ,he is so  great and infinite1  
that ,he has made the world1 and all its
 marvels  and glories2 but we are more  
concerned to realize that ,he has made  
our own selves1 and our minds and hearts
 and consciences1 and when we  look into
 those hearts1 and listen to those      
consciences1 we are only  experiencing1 
in ourselves1 the work of ,his hands1   
and listening to ,his  voice4 ,above all
 other things1 ,god made right and      
wrong1 ,he made us to  realize the      
difference between right and wrong2 ,he 
made the truth1 and  enabled us to love 
it1 and to hate what is false2 in a     
word1 ,he made  our consciences and our 
minds2 and ,he lives and works in them1 
as much  as ,he does in the world at    
large4 ,it is very well for us to look  
up  to the heavens1 to think of ,him as 
the ,creator of all those stars and     
worlds1 or to look into the infinite    
mysteries of this world's life1  its    

minute elements and atoms2 but it is    
more important for us to think  of ,him 
as the ,giver1 and ,ruler1 and ,guide of
 our very souls and bodies1  ,who       
determined what we were made for1 and   
what we ought to do1 what  sort of a    
life we ought to live1 putting into our 
hearts the knowledge  of our duty1      
warning us of it by the constant voice  
of our consciences1  and bidding us     
realize that ,he will judge us1 for our 
obedience or  disobedience to ,his will 
and ,his commands4 ,think of ,god1 by   
all means1  in ,his greatness and ,his  
,majesty1 and ,his awful powers1 but    
then think  of ,him as actually in      
contact with you in your own souls1     
teaching you  and speaking to you in    
your consciences1 and calling to you1 by
 your  sense of right and wrong1 to     
remember that ,he is your judge1 and    
that  your very life and happiness      
depend upon your union with ,him4 ,that 
is  the thought of ,god that should be  
incessantly in our minds4 ,as the       

,scripture says more than once1 you need
 not go to the heavens to seek  ,him    
there1 you need not go into the depths  
of the earth to seek ,him  there1 but   
,he is near you1 nearer to you than     
anything else1 in your  very souls and  
consciences2 you hear ,his voice there1 
you feel the  influence of ,his ,spirit2
 there you can always find ,him1 you can
 turn to  ,him at any moment and say 8,o
 ,god1 ,thou art my ,god2 early will ,i 
seek  ,thee40    ,there is no reality in
 the world which can be compared1 in its
  momentous importance1 to this4 ,it    
must be brought home to us1 by the      
experience which is thrust upon us by   
the ,great ,war1 that everything  else  
with which we have to do1 everything    
else in the world1 passes  away from us4
 ,so it does indeed from everybody1 at  
all times1 whether  times of war or of  
peace4 ,there comes a time to every soul
 when it  has to leave the body1 and1   
with the body1 everything else with     
which  it has been associated in this   

world4 ,we all know it when we think    
seriously about it2 but the misfortune  
is that1 in ordinary life1 men  do not  
think seriously about it4 ,all their    
thoughts and interests  are engaged in  
the business and the pleasures and the  
interests of  this life1 and they seldom
 look beyond4 ,but in days like the     
present  we are forced to look beyond   
them4 ,you1 above all1 who1 at the call 
of duty1 have laid behind you1 for the  
present1 all the ordinary  interests of 
life1 and are offering yourselves to all
 the risks of the  battlefield--you have
 reason to ask1 with supreme            
earnestness1 what  is the reality for   
which you are making this sacrifice1 and
 what will  remain to you if the full   
sacrifice should be exacted from you4   
,it is the grand answer of our religion1
 to say that1 whatever happens1  ,god   
remains to you4 ,this ,god1 moreover1 is
 not a distant ,god1 not  merely the    
,maker of the heavens and the earth1 but
 your ,god1 the ,god  of your inmost    

soul1 the ,god of your conscience1 the  
,god whose eye  sees into your hearts1  
and ,whose hand has been with you from  
your  childhood1 to help you1 to guide  
you1 and to inspire you with all the    
thoughts of truth1 of manliness1 of     
faithfulness1 of purity1 which you  have
 felt working in you4 ,whenever the     
outward clothing of our souls  drops off
 from us1 whether in the death of old   
age1 or the death of  sickness1 or the  
death of the battlefield1 our souls will
 certainly  be in the immediate presence
 of ,one ,supreme ,reality2 and that is 
the  ,god with ,whom1 in our conscience1
 our souls have been in contact day  by 
day1 and night by night1 throughout our 
lives4 ,that is why we come  to worship 
,him here1 that is why we pray to ,him  
day by day1 and ,i hope  hour by hour1  
and minute by minute4 ,that is why we   
should say to ,him  like the ,psalmist  
8,o ,god1 ,thou art my ,god2 early will 
,i seek ,thee40  ,nothing else is of    
permanent and everlasting consequence to

 us1 but our  relation to ,him1 and our 
union with ,him--,his relation to us1   
and ,his  love of us4 ,while everything 
is shaking around us1 while the kingdoms
  are moved1 and lives seem thrown away 
as things of small value1 let  us       
remember that one great ,living ,being  
remains to all of us1 to those  whose   
lives are lost on earth1 and to those   
who remain1 and that is  the ,eternal   
,god1 the ,giver of all truth1 and      
righteousness and love2  and the greater
 the strain and stress of life and      
death1 the more may  we confidently     
exclaim1 in the tumult of the           
battlefield as much as in  the peace of 
this sanctuary1 8,o ,god1 ,thou art my  
,god2 early will ,i seek  ,thee40       
,but when and where are you to seek     
,him8 ,the question has been answered   
in the truths of which ,i have reminded 
you4 ,seek ,him in obedience to  that   
,voice of ,his1 which you hear in your  
consciences1 seek ,him in  obedience to 
those principles of right1 as against   

wrong1 which ,he has  implanted in you1 
and which ,his ,spirit is continually   
reviving in you2  seek ,him in trying1  
day by day1 to do ,his ,will as ,he has 
revealed it to  you in ,his word1       
especially as ,he has revealed it to you
 in the life  and teaching of ,his ,own 
,son1 our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,seek   
,him in those  sacraments and ordinances
 of ,his ,church which he has instituted
 for  our comfort4 ,if you obey our     
,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and try to follow 
,his  life1 ,his ,spirit will speak to  
you continually in your consciences1    
will help you to know your duty and to  
do it1 and you will be saying  in       
practice what you say in words3 8,o     
,god1 ,thou art my ,god2 early will  ,i 
seek ,thee40 ,our ,lord has told you    
that if you are true hearted in  trying 
to do this1 ,he will forgive you your   
failures and weaknesses1  that ,he has  
died to make atonement for them1 that   
,he will take you  by the hand as you   
pass from this life to the next1 and    

will be your  advocate and sponsor      
before the face of the righteous and    
,almighty ,god4  ,let us bring this     
spirit into all we do and all we think1 
and we shall  then be able to join in   
the succeeding words of this ,psalm1    
8,have ,i not  remembered ,thee in my   
bed3 and thought upon ,thee when ,i was 
waking8  ,because ,thou hast been my    
helper3 therefore under the shadow of   
,thy  wings will ,i rejoice4 ,my soul   
hangeth upon ,thee3 ,thy right hand hath
  upholden me40 ,may ,god grant us all  
this faith and this eternal life        
through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4       
,hunt1 ,barnard  ,co41 ,ltd41 ,printers1
 ,london and ,aylesbury4                
,,works ,,by ,,henry ,,wace1 ,d4,d41    
,dean of ,canterbury4      ,,some       
,,questions ,,of ,,the ,,day4           
,,biblical1 ,,national ,,and            
,,ecclesiastical4 ,first ,series1       
cheaper re-issue4   ,demy #hvo41 ,cloth1
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,considered in a ,series of ,warburton  
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re-issue4 ,crown #hvo41 ,cloth1 ,gilt1  
#a_/f net4           99       99        
99       99       99      ,,pamphlets4  
,one ,penny each4      ,the ,atonement4 
,the ,estimate and ,use of the ,holy    
,scripture in the ,church of ,england4  
,the ,church of ,england and ,roman     
,vestments4      ,the ,main ,purpose and
 ,character of the ,,xxxix ,articles4   
,london3 ,,chas4 ,j4 ,,thynne4          
99       99       99       99       99  
,transcriber's ,note    ,minor          
punctuation errors have been corrected  
7i4e4 missing periods74  ,original      
spellings and variations 7i4e4          
civilization and civilisation7  have    
been retained1 except for the following 
apparent typographical  errors3    ,page
 #ce1 8temporaly0 changed to 8temporal40

 7for the things which are  seen are    
temporal7    ,page #hi1 8eleswhere0     
changed to 8elsewhere40 7a picture not  
adequately  described elsewhere7        
,page #id1 8idolators0 changed to       
8idolaters40 7whoremongers1 and         
murderers1 and idolaters7    ,page #ajf1
 8thoughout0 changed to 8throughout40   
7gracious throughout  their vast        
,empire7    ,page #bbc1 8repecting0     
changed to 8respecting40 7respecting    
which very  various opinions have7      
,chapter ,,viii's sermon1 ,resistance   
,unto ,blood1 was incorrectly labeled   
as having taken place ,april #c1 #aiaf4 
,it has been corrected to read  ,april  
#ba1 #aiaf4 7,the correct date was      
listed in the ,table of ,contents47     
,the following inconsistencies were     
present in the original text3           
,differences in the titles given in the 
,table of ,contents and chapter         
headings for these sermons3             
,chapter ,,ix    ,chapter ,,xi          
,differences in the dates given in the  

,table of ,contents and chapter         
headings for these sermons3             
,chapter ,,xiii1 ,reasons for           
,intercession    ,chapter ,,xvi1        
,religion and ,war