NATIONAL INTERCESSION.

Colonist, Volume LVIII, Issue 14539, 17 October 1917, Page 1 (Supplement)

NATIONAL INTERCESSION.

SERVICE AT THE CHURCH STEPS

(From "The Colonist," Oct. Bth.) The service hold at the Church Steps yesterday afternoon as the city or" .Nelson's general participation in the day of national intercession in connection with the war, though taken part in by a considerable assemblage, was not at-| tended in the numbers which might well! have been expected on such an occasion. The Protestant ministers of the city arranged the order of service, which was as follows: —Hymn, "O God, our help in ages past" ; confession and intercession, Rev. J. Laird B.A. j lesson, Daniel ix. 3 to 20, the Bishop of .Nelson (Dr. Sadlier); intercession lor the Empire and nation, the Dean of Nelson (Dr. \Vo3ks); hymn,'"God oi our Fathers, known of old" ; address, liev G. li. Gibb, 8.A.; hymn, "Holy Father, in Thy Mercy" ; intercession : '•Combatants and their .Relatives," llev. W. Baumber; the Rational Anthem. The Mayor and City Councillors and members of other public bodies and of the clergy were seated on the platform. -The" 12th. Regiment Band took part in the proceedings, and led the hymns. . The, Rev. G. H. Gibb, in his address, said that they had met to intercede at the Throne of Grace for our Empire and 6ur righteous cause. He would :direct attention to the words contained in the Ist or.d 2ndl verses of the 6th chapter of Hosea.^ "Come 1et,.,, us return unto the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal, us; He hath smitten and He will bind us up. • After two days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight." The children of Israel were then in an evil plight. Their hereditary foes were sweeping down upon them. The heart of the nation was rotten. There was neither truth nor honour; the worship of strange gods had corrupted the nation, and social and moral evils were rampant. It was then that Israel bethought them of the long-forgotten God and brought forth the scorn of Hosea, who was not impressed! He knew that the repentance was only skin-deep, that the' people did not .repent of their sins, but feared the consequences of their^eyit deeds and the strong hand of-..an avehg^; ing foe, and in distress of- mind rim: cried "0 Ephraim, what shall Ido unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do| unto thee? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew itj goetli away." Between the scene depicted in these versos and pur. present state of affairs there was more'Vthah a passing analogj\ ■ For three Ylorig;;and j dreadful years our nation had; beeii ht war, andifc was-only now that it was clearly recognised- th&frwe conkl not winj by force of arms alone,, and. the nation) perceived that it was only by prayer, the people believing in and obeying Christ,, that we could see victory. There were, three things which he would put before his hearers, he trusted clearly, j as essential to realise. The first v/asj that if ever there was a time for earar est, nay, oven importunate, prayev. that time was the present. That did not mean that we should relax our efforts to win the war —they should be doubled or trebled if possible —but we. should not rely-upon our human -institutions but upon Divine Avisdonx and might. The disposal of events for the final ordering rested with God. In time of national peril and distress we turned to the Lord who is our strength and succour and sure defence, it was to bo ever borne in. mind that the highest function of prayer was to bung our hearts into unison with the heart and. mind oi" God. Not a Jehovah,_ a God of war, a God of any favoured nation, but God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who sent His 01117 begotten son into the workl to die for Jew and Gentile, Briton and ■ Gei ■ man, alike. We could never expect God to do anything for us that was not in accordance with His Uoly and impartial love, if as God's children we would work -with Him, doing thtv best for ourselves and each other, -,s a nation acting in harmony with lie divinely revealed'will, then would v? re] ceive God's help. The call was, -'VVilij ye be co-workers with God?" Our! duty was plain,' and we should rise and' gladly respond; we should see that the cause was God's cause, not ourselves ask God to.-help us. The second question was, "In view of thesasconskit-ra-tions, what should we pray for" Our nation as a whole, and pavtievtlorly its leaders, should be conscious of God being present in this conflict as a iivirg spirit making Himself \ii..\vn to us in the call to duty. We should pray that the nation should see rhat .-fie is the instrument that God .'.ses to ;<<r-imi>hsh

His purpose to overthrow the evil which threatens the whole, of thecviJ TTied. ied world; we should rise a boy o yu: «•)>• national aims, but without losing sight of them. We should pray on such a day as that day that each one snouli cons-e----crate himself to .some service in the great struggle, which was. not against ourselves, alone, but ay.-i.'r.-t <!«id also. >Ye should determine as a people that we would not rest until ■ with , Gud'o strength right was -uiuiicatecl, ttr»>',gs redressed, justice done, and iveedom secured, and it be made impossible as far as.man could make it; that there t-hmiici Ibe no repetition el these evils,. the«e crimes, on God'-5 f.'«ir earth.. And the [third thing was, "Whits doea >ueb I prater involve " It brought u,s right dome to our own mmds and consciences-' Such prayer indicated that we as a people sincerely repented past sirs. There must be throughout this land a turning of people to God. Mo lip peni-^ tence would avail us in the present hour. We must put away what Avas contrary to the mind and will of God. We must confess our own sins; there was a terrible danger of confessing the sins of others; this was a case of "Your sin, my sin, the national sins"; there was no Vicarious penitence. Such prayer - involved that what was wrong and unjust amongst us must be put away. It implied that justice should be done in this land ■; that there should not be any neglect of our wounded men; that, ample"provision should be. made for all dependents; that class distinctions should, bo abolished, and all political jealousies'and strife banished. It entailed that for mammon worship and' self-pleasing there should be substituted the real worship of God; that we should seek first His righteousness and His righteousness alone. It demanded that rice and drink, a shame and hindrance to -. winning the .war, should''-be abolished. It implied that Christians of all creeds should become one united body in the service of Christ their Lord and common Master. It involved that all revengeful feelings should be taken from our hearts, and above-all that the people of this land should see the absolute need of the divine new creative power which existed in the Gospel of Christ. Only ."so'could we be delivered front the incomplete manhood of our lower ■ selves Onlj so, the war ended, should men be united in a common brotherhood as sons oi God. God was the hearer andanswerei of prayer, but to pray to God shoulc be to seek to bo at one with God; onlj thus could' God be truly with us and His power work through us. To praj to Got!■■'merely to help us*in our aims apart from His aims, /was no true prayer at all, but if the people of this land and Empire realised in all humility that their aims should !be Gpd;s aims, and devoted themselves to the accomplishment of those aims, ther could we confidently look forward' to ultimate triumph. Then, whatevei befell. God would bo with as now ami forever, • ■ \ \ ,