HAS WELLINGTON FORGOTTEN GOD?

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 141, 12 December 1923, Page 14

HAS WELLINGTON FORGOTTEN GOD?

The B.ev. F. E. Harry's "hot-point talk" in the Vivian Street-Baptist Church on Sunday answered, the -question "Has Wellington Forgotten God V" The speaker said the Scriptures asserted that "th« nations that forget God • He turned into hell'— not the hell of the hereafter, but a hell upon earth, .for nations were judged in this - world, individuals in the next. And what was true of a nation was true of _a city. When a city forgot God its civic affairs were mismanaged, its police were corrupt,, its Press was polluted and partisan, and its moral tone was bestir. There was no doubt that the consciousness of God was an unfailing restraint-on • evil passions, arid an inspiration to heroic and righteous deeds. Anyone who lived in this city could with half an eye gee that wo had not forgotten God. Wellington was managed by a body of public-spirited, honest men—however prejudiced by politics or limited in outlook—who sought to advance the.city in every way. Its police were trustworthy, its Press was impartial (except where the liquor question was concerned), and its moral tone was not lower than that of other cities. It was easy, £ w? v*r ' to dißcern .80m e ugly things, to allude to some manifest weaknesses, and to point out serious moral defects. Gambling, drinking, and inordinate pleasureseeking were eating away the very fibre of our nation's manhood and womanhood. There were many who forget God, and they must face Him at last. But th« churches were being attended better. The Uospel was being heard and heeded by thousands. Hundreds of fine, well-known citizens were setting a worthy example to the young by their Christian conduct and unselfish service. There were many splendid philanthrope agencies at work—hospitals, orphanages, uplifting associations s?™T c; 'n S £ <* sorts-and these were signs that God was not forgotten