THE DELIVERANCE OF PALESTINE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 153, 24 March 1919, Page 6

THE DELIVERANCE OF PALESTINE

WHAT IT SIGNIFIES

SERMON BY BISHOP SPROTT

Two windows, one to commemorate the freedom of tho Holy Land from Ihe tyranny of the Turk and the other to serve as a thankolfering for tho cessation of hostilities on November 11, were dedicated by the Bishop of Wellington at St. Mary's Church, Karori, yesterday morning. Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Henderson, of Karori, presented the window perpetuating General Allonby's victory, and the other was the gift of Jlr. and Mrs. If. Cook, of Friend Street, Karori. The windows are beautifully tt'esigned and the subjects represented are the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and tho Purification. A large congregation witnessed the ceremony, and special prayers and hymns were used for the occasion. Bishop Sprott road the lessons, and took for the text of his sermon the first three verses of tho 126 th Psalm: "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zio'n ire were liku them that dream." "Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: (hen said thoy among the heathen, the Lord hattt done great things for them." "Tho Lord hath aone great things for us, ivhereof we ate glad.' His Lordship said he did not think it possible to conceive any moro important events worthy of everlasting commemoraation than tho two which they were met. to celebrate that morning. The city of Jerusalem had a place in the heart and affections of the great part of tho human race, and had gone through experiences of tragedy and glory such as he supposed no other city had evei gone through. It held a place in their thoughts as tho siimbol and synonym of that ideal city -that ideal state of human society which mankind was ever striving to realise. It had entered into their hearts and prayers, and the name and its glories had 'become the very staple of Christian worship and Christian song. It was not to Konie, not to Athens, not to any other centre of civilisation, but to Jerusalem that thoy owed the conception of civic -righteousness. From no other centre had such a passionate enforcement of civic rightcousnessi come as from Jerusalem. B\it it was not only the civic ideal that it stood for—it stood for the eternal home of hearts. Jerusalem wa3 dear to the Jews of old, not merely because it was the city of their national life, but also and chiefly •because «they regarded it as the home of God—tne dwelling place of God. So that, having that feeling about it, which.'no other people had over had so passionately and strongly about any spot on earth, it had become the centre and the true home-the true dwellingplace of God. It was the Eternal City. It had come to tako a new place in their thoughts and imagination.

Hiflher Purpose at Work. The verses from the Psalm he had read celebrated the return to Zion-Jeni-salem-of the exiled Jews after the fall of the Babylonian Empire in 536 B.C. The writer spoke of their deliverance us a thing that they could hardly credit; it seemed too wood to be true. It was no wonder, because the fall of the Babylonian Empire, brought about by the triumph of Cyrus .the Persian, waa indeed an unexpected thing-* thine of dramatic suddenness. With the execution of the German Empire, which, fell the other day, he supposed no other great world empire had fallen so suddenly as did that ancient Empire.of Babylon. No one could have told beforehand, oven if they could have foreseen the triumph of Cyrus, that he was going to reverse the whole policy of the Babylonian Empire, which had been- the deportation of peoples to other territories, and that the first act of his triumph would be the restoration of the deported peoples to their own countries. A few years ago they would not have credited that Jerusalem would be delivered so speedily. In the whole course of the great war he did not know anything in which they could see more clearly the guiding of a Higher Will than their own, because the British peoplo must sorrowfully admit and confess that the deliverance of Palestine was not part of their programme when they entered the war. It was rather an unpleasant and sad thins to think of, that, four years ago. our statesmen should have proposed to the Turkish Government that if they remained neutral during the war, Britain would undertake to guarantee the integrity of the Turkish Empire after 1 , -* war. Happily for our honour, the Turkish Government thought victory won I"' be to the Germanic Powers, and they determined to east in their lot with ""■ Germans. It was evidently a Higher Will than their own that had prevented the British people from interposing their power to maintain the integrity of the Turkish Empire. They did not intend to achieve that when they entered the war; they were driven ijito it. After they had embarked on the war and had all the experiences of Qallipoli, it would have seemed incredible if they had been told that they were to be the deliverers of Jerusalem, but 60 it Im' , turned out. In the - unexpected thin? \that had happened he thought- there could be seen Rime higher purpose at work. It would bo very risky to.make any attempt at a forecast of the possible results of the event. A larger, higher, Divine purpose would be ultimately ful'filled. If thoir human purposes coincided with it, then so much the better, but if they did not coincide they would bo futile.' One might hope Hmt the deliverance of Jerusalem might lead to a raconstitution of the Jewish nation. The Jewish nation had, among other thhigs, taught them the "saeredness of nationality. The New Testament singled out from the differentiating races one race through which all the families of the earth might be blessed. The Old Testament's great burden was the principle of nationality. It taught that it was part of tho Divine order that the human Tace should consist of varieties and types of national -life, each having its own particular characteristics, but nono enjoying any special favour. Each was to in-ake its own special contribution to the welfare of the whole. ' . ' Vices of Commercialism. As tho result of the deliverance of Palestine they might see a reconstituted Jewish .nation—not that all the Jews everywhere would go to live in Palestine, but that there should be a contrq of the race. If it were w> one might imagine that all the great gifts of the Jewish people might be regenerated and developed. "Wo are all rather apt to despise the Jew. We aro apt to think that he, lv.ore than anybody else, has developed ! the vices that are mainly associated with commercialism," the Bishop went on. I "We are not ourselves free from the vices of commercialism, but we think tho Jew is pre-eminent in them. Have we ever asked ourselves why that may be true? The reason is that he lias lost his national life." In the glorious days of tin: Old Testament tho Jews were a pastoral and agricultural people. Tho commerce of tho land was carried on by the original inhabitants, the Cnananites. In tho Hebrew language the word Caananite meant "merchant." When he lost his nationality, when he lost all tho interests that were associated with nationality, vlion he had no country and no national lifo. tho Jew became exclusively engaged in ono pursuit, thnt of commerce. If tlm Je v had n land of his own there waa no reason why that narrow division should not expand into a rich and varied national life, and that all the great gifts of the unique race might be available for tho benefit, of the world. He did not think it a bit extravagant that, such a. tiling could be. Referring to the signing of the armistice. Dr. Sprott said that as a consequence of the experience of the last tour years the world had a new estimate of "war, and now, as novel , before, was soekiii"- riome method wherein- it might realise Ihe vision of Isaiaii of Jerusalem, "Hint men shall learn tho art of war no ;iiore. Ho felt sure that the only way by which the tremendous practical difficulties that beset the League of Nation!? could be overcome was for all men to gather once morn around the liisen Lord as tho living centre of their human ideal, and to realise that He wae the true' Lord and King of men. "If you and I can help tho world to realise that Kingship of Christ, then thore is some hope, but I do not think there is any hope otherwise," declared Bishop Sprott in conclusion,