THE KING'S CALL FOR UNITED PRAYER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3330, 9 January 1918, Page 53

THE KING'S CALL FOR UNITED PRAYER.

DAY OF INTERCESSION HELD. That the nation " may have the clearsightedness and strength necessary to tho victory of our cause," the King called upon his people to devote a special day to prayer for tho blessing of Almighty God Upon their endeavours. 6—last Sunday—was accordingly set aside for petition and thanksgiving in ; all tho churches throughout the dominions, and hie Majesty's letter, which is in 'the following terms, was read at tho services hold then: To My People, — The world-wide struggle for the triumph of right and liberty is entering upon its last and most difficult phase. The enemy is striving, by desperate assault and subtle intrigue, to perpetuate the wrongs already committed and stem the tide of a free civilisation. .We have yet to complete the great task' to which, more than threo years ago, we dedicated ourselves. At such a time I would call upon you to devote a special day to prayer, that we may have the clear-sightedness and strength necessary to the. victory of our cause. This victory will be gained only if we steadfastly remember the responsibility which rests upon us, and in a spirit of reverent obedience ask the blessing of Almighty God upon our endeavours. With hearts grateful for tho Divine guidance which has led us so far. towards our goal, let us seek to be enlightened in our understanding and fortified in our i courage in facing the sacrifices we may yet have to make before our. work is done. I therefore hereby appoint January 6 —the first Sunday of the year —to be set aside as a special day of prayer and • thanksgiving in all the churches throughout 'my dominions, and require that this proclamation be read at the services held on that day. Geoege R.I. /NEW ZEALAND MINISTERS' APPEALS. The Prime Minister-on Saturday, in calling attention to the fact that the Sabbath had been appointed by the King for such services said, according to.a Press Association telegram: " I trust that His Majesty's request will be complied with, that special sermons will be , preached, and" 'that the public generally will by their attendance acknowledge the Supreme Being and make a satisfactory response to the King's wish. It is an opportunity for showing that our hearts are with our. brave soldiers, and it is specially fitting that the blessing of Divine Providence should be invoked at a time like this, when the Empire 13 passing through the greatest crisis in its history." The Minister of Internal Affairs (Hon. G. W. Russell), also issued a reminder, and suggested that probably our greatest hymn, that which begins "O 1 God Our Help in Past" might be used for the occasion. A GENERAL RESPONSE. In compliance with the proclamation issued by his Majesty the King, Sunday last was set aside by tho churches in and about Dunedin, and throughout Otago generally as 'a day of special prayer audi thanksgiving. Large congregations were the rule. At First Church, the Rev. Graham H. Balfour, in the course of his sermon, said • We thank God for our present position, notwithstanding reverses and disappointment.' We thank Him, too, for the spirit of service and sacrifice among so many of our people. At the same time wo have to acknowledge that there has been and is much amiss. The latest totalisator figures are an ugly revelation. And many arc still saying of Him who is the supreme gift of God: "We will not have this man to reign over us." At St. Paul's Cathedral, tho Primate, in the course of his address said the lesson to bo learnt from the war was that the exclusive pursuit of sectional interests, whether on the scale of nations or of clashes, was contrary to the. highest good and prone to result in ruin to the separated circle itself. The interests of humanity was a greater thing than the interests of a naton or a class. At Knox Church, the Rev. R. Evan Davies in the course of his sermon, said: "Wo needed to be awakened to the great moral and religious issues at stake. There were sins which threatened to dry up tho fountain of our national life. Race suicide and intemperance were amongst tho most flagrant, and they were symptoms of a deadly disease which in time would utterly destroy us. The war was calling the nation back to God, and wo believed that sho would respond. A nation" that had given so many lives on the altar of sacrifice could not. and: would not, die." At Trinity Methodist Church the Rev. W. A. Hay said we should look on America, Britain, and even Germany as God's instrument to bring the race to an acknowledgment of the authority of God 1 . At Hanover Street Baptist Church the Rov. A. North said that if we wore on God's side, tho issue was assured, and indications were not wanting that an overruling power had intervened and stayed the overwhelming forces of tho enemy in tho earlv days of tho war.

At the Synagogue the Rev. M. Diamond in the course of his address, said:—"But even from the dark pit of war the virtues of a righteous nation nr'aTit shine as resplendently as noonday. .From this indescribable horror of human slaughter /the untarnished soul of the British Empire rose up in groat glory—in the glory of pity, and deep compassion for humanity."

At the Tabernacle. Mr S. G. Griffith said avo must, face the fact that, while mifhfc was miprht. right wa3 mightier, and that that individual or nation was stronger which had tho mighty power of omnipotent God.

At St. Joseph's Cathedral, the Rev. Father Coffey. Adm., preached an appropriate sermon. At. the Moray Place Congregational Church the Rev. W. S. Fernie in tho

course of his address reminded his hearers

that tho result of tho struggle was in tho hands of God. At St. Matthew's Church, Canon CurzonSiiggers said, we must recast our ideas about life and duty, and learn that pleasure and profit wero not tho standards by which human conduct is tried. Appropriate services and sermons were given in all tho other churches in and about Dunedin.