RELIGIOUS WORLD.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 211, 4 September 1915, Page 14

RELIGIOUS WORLD.

COMFORT Itl TIME OF TROUBLE

(By REV. W. BEATTV.)

Tsnlm xlill. 5, f>: "Why iirt thoii so heavy, O my pout, ami why art thou so disquieted within mc? Hope thou In (Jorl, for 1 will yet phe Him thanks, which Is the help of ij.i o.untenanco iin.l my ii«U." Times of trial, public and personal, riis'it t,i make us reulUo tlmt t lie Bible in the main was written by ami tells ol suffering men. 1! :Ims differs altogether from abstract religious system* of doctrines and niMi-uU. It is thoretorv imperishable, let unbi'lieveis and critics s.tv tt'iiit they will, since there is always fullering i:i the world. It i- therefore tin- universal book, since every ehllil of man is a sufferer. We sustain an unspeakable 10.-s if we forget this human clement in the Scriptures, if we regard the sacred writers as mere gramophones, mechanically repeating a message, .\luny years ago ;in old military pensioner, who had much arlliciion to endure, told mc that he found the greatest comfort In reading the Book of .lob and the writings of Jeremiah, and seeing his own sorrows in theirs. There are many simple and unlearned men nnd women who enter far itrore deeply into tli■ - true meaning ot the Bible, nml di-ocrn far more clearly its inestimable worth than we clergy. who profess to expound it. 1 nm sure that count low thousand* in this and other land* to-day will feel the words of this Psalmist come home to their hejirt*. It is not certain who he *a', But, at any rate, he was an exile, driven from homo to take refuge in the wild and mountainous country beyond Jordan. In his adversity he wus mocked and t'Tmentrd by those who ridiculed his faith, and sneeringly asked: "Where is now thy God?"—a bitter trial when wr> are already struggling hard agttin«t doubt and despair. No doubt our lord's own anguish on t lie Cross wus intensified by the cruel and blasphemous jeer ot professedly religious men: '"He trusted in (iod: let Him deliver Him, if He will have Him. fur said. 'I am the Son ot God." 1 The 1.-nil mist was saddened by the memory of brighter days, which made the present seem even darker. "This is truth the poet sings, That a sorrow's crown »f Rnrrnw Is remembering linppler things." lh- had the awful feeling of licing forgot ten and forsaken by God, even though his prayer shows that he still clung to his trust. He was surrounded by enemies, who, if they did not hi* body, troubled and oppressed n:s He was deprived of the public ■worship of Cod, which had been n joy and a delight to him. And ?o, divided between faith and doubt, he communes and reasons with himself: "Why art so heavy, fn bowed down. () my soul, and why art thou so du-qtiieted within mc? ilope thou in God. for 1 vH\ yet thank Him, which is the help Cf my countenance and my God." KAITH AND HOPE CONJOINED. St. Paul rightly couples together faith and hope. If we have a real trust in the power, wisdom, love, goodness, righteousness, mercy of (Jod. we must hope, we must still look for better things m this world and in another. While we cannot have a .sure and certain hope, unless it is grounded on this trust, and v<l in our own forecasts and anticipations. And St. Paul, who so often insists th.it we are saved from Mn and torment of conscience by faith, by tnnt in our Father and Saviour, also tells irs that we are saved by hope, and reminds the Ephesians that when they were without God in the world they were also without hope. It is a certain historical fact that liie Gospel of Jesus Christ brought hope to a world which was sunk in despair. J think we may reverently conclude that our Lord Himself could not have borne the crushing burden of His agony if He had not been cheered by hope as well as sustained by trust. He never appears to have contemplated His passion and death apart from His resurrection and return to the Father. In the Kpi-tle to the Hebrews we are told that for the joy that was set before Him He endured the Cross, despising the shame. It seems to mc that one ot our greatest need.-- is to have our ho]io quickened, nourished, strengthened. It ye have the feelings of niPn an.'! Women, of Christian-* and patriots, we cannot be light-hearted during a season of such widespread and terrible suffering, when Ik-rcc and dogged assaults are being iraJe not only on the freedom, the very life of our own and other nations, but actually on the of civilisation and humanity. We can scarcely fail to be sometimes heavy and disquieted in soul. But, like the INalmist, we ran hope in G<",d. and be sure that our hope will not be disappointed. He rules in righteousness. The only certain and inevitable evenr in human history is the coming of Hir> Kingdom of lovp and joy and peace. \\> are never in danger .if hoping too much; always in danger ot hoping far too !i:t!c. For we are apt to judfje by outward appearances, nnd to forget that the things which are •/••il «re temporal, the things which arc not =cen are eternal. HOPE OF i-.OO]) FROM WAR. And this war. horrible as it is, has, 1 think, given u> new grounds for hope. Before it began t'.u-re wa.s an impression in th.- mi rub i.i many that the average colonial did not lake life \ery seriously, was not sufficiently alive to" his higher obligations as a citizen and a patriot, might, not b.- able and willing to bear . the strain ol" a tremendous crisis. Events have ►hown that our men are capable of n heroism which hap never been (surpass-d in the annals of the world. We have abundant cause to bless the Lord, Who teacheth their hands to war and their lingers to light, Who bestows on them the spirit of ghostly strength, and nerve* them to risk lift and limb in the buttle against His enemies and the enemies of mankind. Some of us have learned to look on our young men with new reverence, as possessing capacities unsuspected or, at any rate, greatly under-estimated, of eelfsocriflce, valour, and endurance. I believe that we can look with more confidence than ever before, to the future of this glorious country, which the jnercy and kindness of God have given us as our home. And there are Iresh grounds for hope in the splendid outburst of crenerosity and eagerness to serve and to "help on the part of so many men, and more especially so, of many woman in the Dominion. Wheru such a spirit Bervades a people there is hope for a noble and honourable future. Ana inrelv it is a g oo d omen thafc the P art y frit which £ such a distracting and 6 /"lS influence in political life, d Tre as in the Motherland, checked 16 ? \l if not altogether cast out. and curbed ii_" ot | flcted what the ef final yici*»Z« -. .

GOD FIGHTS AGATNST EVIL. As has been pointed out, almost every calculation of an enemy that had been cunningly and unscrupulously plotting , iijjaiiirit the world has been disappointed ' and baffled. The words still stand true: "He tnketh the wise in their own craftiness." Every week that the Allies hold their own,. or even hinder their opponents from obtaining a decisive victory, is in our favour. Never once in the long record of human history has the cause of tyranny, brutality nml falsehood had a permanent an,l "stable triumph. And it would be impious to suppose that God's righteous rule has ceased, or that He is unable to cope with. thr might of His enemies. While, therefore, we ought to be prepared for a long and severe struggle, and for the heavy sa.riliccs of various kinds which it wi-ll involve, we nn still be hopeful, us prophet-, psalniisls, apostles were in even darker and more menacing times. Boasting and despair are alike unworthy of those who profess to believe that till , kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. 11OPK FOR THOSE SLAIN' IN BATTLE. Lnstly, we should have o good hope for thoeC win) have fallen in this war. The keynote of the burial service of our Church ii il sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who phull change tho body of. our humiliation, that it may be fashioned like unto the body of His ••lory through the mighty working, whereby lie i.- able to subdue all thing* to Himself. This lio|k- is not grounded on lho sand of our fallible and presumptuous judgment as It the spiritU.il n.nJi'.im of the departed, but, on our f.i.ili in the purpose of Him Who will have all men to be saved in the fuli, perfect and sufficient sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Who hath taken away the sins of tlie world. Am] if it be trim that whosoever will lose his life ehoJI save it unto life eternal, what better preparation for death could there be than to be ready to die for the sake of others? NO PRAYERS FOR THE DKAD. 1 do not invite you to pray for the departed. Such intercessions were deliberately discontinued by the Church of Kngland, rightly nud wisely, as I think. I am convinced that we have more need to pray for ourselves, that we may be saved from selfishness nnd cowardice, than for those who counted not tln-ir lives dear to them, if only they could do their duty. 1 am sure that we can leave them with entire confidence in th>; Imtids of their merciful <iod and Saviour, to Whom they are infinitely dearer than to us. To pray for the spirits of just men made perfect, for those who are with God in joy nnd felicity, appears as reasonable as for caterpillars In a ti.uk corner of a garden to prsy for the butterflies who are rejoicing in the blight sunshine. Far more in accordance, to my mind, with Uie spirit of the Xe.v Testament are the lines written by an American poet <n the engineer of a river steamer, who. when the vessel caught tire, stuck to bis pn*t, and saved the lives of all at the expense of hi* own: — lie weren't ri" »nlnt—but nt judgment !il run my chance with Jim "I.ongsiUc of some rilou* gentlemen That wouldn't shake hand* blm. He seen bis duty, a <!en«l Mire thin*. And went for tt there nnd thpu: And Chrlsi ain't going f> be too hard On a man that died for men." CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES. Dr. James Hope Moulton. of Didebury Weeleyan ( ollege, has accepted, ail invitation from the V.M.C.A. to go out to Ind.a for twelve month* to work amongst the students at Bombay. Yorkshire Congregational I'nion recently had a roll prepared, which showed that ii.200 men had joined the colours from tlie Congregational churches of that county. Mr. and Mre. Tennyson Smith are working amongst the troops in Enghwid, under the auspices of the V.M.C.A. In some meetings three fourths of the men took the pledge, :\fr. Tennyson t-mith. it will he remembered, conducted a torn persnee cimpa-ign in Aucklaiul many ycuris ago. The veteran Ilaptift divine. Dr. Clifford, upon being nominated as president of the National Brotherhood for 1018, replied: "If the Brotherhood movement is prepared to take the risk, incident to an old fogey, who will then be SO years of age. undertaking euch grave responsibilities, [ will accept the nomination.' . The pa*t week has been a gala one with the Baptists of Auckland, owing to tho series of services in connection with the Diamond Jubilee celebration. The fact that the Rev. Archibald G. Brown (formerly pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London), wns in Auckland and took part in the services was an additional attraction. The last of the foundation members of the church, sixty years afro. only died lafct October, namely, Mr. R. B. Sbaiders. who had attained the ripe age of 9U years. A petition urging that women communicants should be eligible for election to all Anglican Church councils and assemblies now open to men communicants is being prepared for presentation to the Representative Church Council in England. "The exclusion of women," says the petition, "from the ruridecanal and diocesan conferences, from the Houses of Laymen, and from tbe Representative Church Council, is an infraction of that spiritual equality of tho sexes which is a fundamental principle of the Christian faith." At present women Bit only on parochial church councils. The Rev. Harry Scott, after months of tedious illness.'has been compelled to reign his pout ns assistant home secretary of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Entering Cheshunt College as a missionary student under Dr Reynolds, he was ordained in ISS3 to the UM.S. New Guinea Mission, where he served as junior colleague of Dr. Chalmers, and took part in translating the Goepele into he language of Murray Island. Before long, however, Mr. Scott proved unaWe to bear the strain of the tropical climate of Torres Straits. Returning to Kngland. he filled, for a short time, a pastorate at Hereford before joining the stair of the Bible Society. Dr. W. H. Cummingß, who has just died in 'England, aged S3 years, was the. musician who adapted a Fustgeeang of Mendelssohn's to the hymn, " Hark, the Herald Angels Sing!" which is now sung, all over the English-speaking world. He' ■was trained as a chorister at St. Paul's I Cathedral and the Temple Church. At I the age of sixteen he wus organist at' Waltham Abbey, and was aftewards tenor singer at Westminster Abbey and' the Chapels ftoyal. m& flrst ' • Maccab a V» at l rioßinger Was in " tutefor VWT he San ß M * Bl ' b »ti-< tute for Sims Reeves. After establish-' m c » great reputation i n England l and the; United States, he became pS sor of singxng at the Royal Acad'mv of M«ne. ft oa lew , to 191 0 he was Prin-1 cj-al of the Guildhall School of Music'