DAY OF NATIONAL PRAYER.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 January 1918, Page 6

DAY OF NATIONAL PRAYER.

BY ROYAL PROCLAMATION. a 0 OBSERVANCE IN NEW PLYMOUTH. !, li 1 In accordance with the proclamation c issued by liis Majesty the King that s Sunday, January (i, should be observed 1 tliroughout the Empire as a day of spe- t rial prayer and thanksgiving, appropriate o services were held in all the New Ply- i mouth churches yesterday. Special ser- a mons were preached and prayers offered, a and the King's proclamation read. There 8 were good congregations at most of the 9 services, and in connection with the 11 c o'clock service at St. Mary's Church, c there was a parade of Veterans and Boy ' Scouts, both organisations being well re- ) presented. i COMBINED SERVICE. 8 c In addition to the, services in the * churches, a united intercessory service 1 Was held in the People's Picture Palace, '' at 3 p.m.. yesterday. The service was s organised and conducted by the New } Plymouth Ministers' Association. The c building was filled in every part. The * Rev. W. A. Sinclair presided, and there 1 were also on the platform Archdeacon j Evans, Mr. W. A. Collis (Deputy-Mayor), ; the Revs. 0. Blundell, F. G. Harvie, A. C. ' Seivewright, H. L. Richards, and Adju- ( tant Hultquist (Salvation Army). The f singing was led by the Citizens' Band, 1 unaer tne leadership of Mr. T. Hughes, 1 of Waitara. The service, which was of 1 a very devotional character, and was i most imnfessive throughout, was opened with theTtading of the King's proclama- j tion by the Rev. W. A. Sinclair. The ' general confession, collect, and Lord's 1 Prayer were led by the Rev. F. G. Harvie. - Tiie Psalms (Nos. 42 and 121) were read antiphonally, the Rev. H. L. Richards 1 leading the reading. The lesson (Psalm 1 45) was read by the Rev. A. C. Seivewright. Prayers for the King and Empire, soldiers and sailors, wounded and dying, sorrowing and bereaved, and for victory and peace, were offered by the 1 Rev. 0, Blundell. The address was delivered by the Ven. Archdeacon Evans, and was based on, Revelation XII, verse 7. The archdeacon said: "Some time ago the Kaiser stated that he would soon bring the British people to their knees. He has done so, but not in the way he intended. The British people arc indeed on their knees; not in fear or trembling at the power or frightfulness of the enemy, but in solemn prayer to Aluiiglitv God for Divine assistance in their time of national danger, and thanksgiving for aid already received. The greatest power in the world is a nation on its knees in prayer, repentant or thankful. Some would remettlber how, during the Boer War, after that black Christmas week when reverses poured upon us, the British people were called by their King to prayer, and almost immediately our reverses were turned into successes. So to-day, while wc, together with our kinsfolk throughout the world, prostrate ourselves before our Lord and Maker, we do so with faith in victory and peace. The supreme sign of the degeneration of our enemies lies in the fact that they have never once expressed the slightest sorrow or repentance for the crime of plunging the world into war. Their great desire seems to be to lay the guilt of it at someone, else's door, blinding themselves to the truth that all the world knows they are the guilty parties. W'o have to deplore before God our national and individual shortcomings. We need to repent our want of real reigion. I don't think we realise, as we should, how far-reaching is this great conflict. Can it embrace in its combats Heaven mid Earth. Can it, indeed, be /that we are living in the time of which St. John caught a glimpse when he said: 'There was war in Heaven. Michael and his angels fought, against the Dragon and his hosts.' It seems like it. We know that the eternal principles of righteousness and justice must always clash against lawlessness and sin. But in this world it is largely material, while lit the other it is entirely spiritual. Can we conceive of Heaven being uninterested in such a world-wide conflict? Can we believe that millions of spirits can reach the other shore without carrying with them feelings that must profoundly move the Eternal World? In old pagan times it was thought by the heroes that the gods took the deepest interest in their conflicts, and personally favored one side or the other, according to the courage or piety of the hosts. Was there a modicum of truth in the old mythology? We cannot imagine the presence of munitions of war in the Heavenly world; but we can understand wonderful spiritual powers arrayed against each other. Do we tinderstand, indeed, that while we are- taking every advantage of the means which science has placed at our disposal for carrying on the war, we are at the same time taking part in an intense spiritual conflict? St. Paul tells his converts that they have to fight, not only against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, powers; against the world rulers of this darkness; against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the Heavenly places.' Is the present world-wide war but the material manifestation of a vaster, more profound struggle in the unseen world? I believe we arc indeed taking part in a tremendous spiritual warfare. A contributor to the Nineteenth Century Magazine writes these pregnant words: 'The Allies are, in fact, fighting for the very heart and essence of the Gospel. This is a great war of doctrines and ideals. It is fought in the unseen world. The war on the Earth is but the clashing with one another of invisible hosts.' If this is true, we are indeed assisting, and being assisted, in a wonderful conflict between the powers of light and darkIness, between truth and falsehood, between right and wrong, and between justice and lawlessness." ( Continuing, Archdeacon Evans said: General Smuts is generally admitted to be one of the greatest men in the Empire to-day. He said in a recent address 1 in South wales: "Do not he disheartened over any news you may hear. iDo not lose your sense of relative values. The • invisible forces of the universe and the conscience of mankind are all on your side I look upon this war as a great moral crusade. I believe that the nation which was strongest in the military sense will turn out to be the weakest, because it has the least moral stock. Stand firm, and I tell you victory is secure!" Believing this, I think we may humbly apply the words of holy Scripture to our Empire, "Behold God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid." Does not this put a different aspect upon this conflict ? Our gallant brethren are fighting for divine ideals—for God's kingdom in heaven and on earth. Our sacrifices are made not only for our country, our dear ones, for the wellheing of this world, splendid as these objects are, but for something which transcends them all; something we can only seo dimly through the mists of human limitations. We are indeed engaged in ft hdy war, and th« «ng«l« are

our allies. And if this is inched true, then we are opposed in this conflict; by powerful spiritual .enemies as well as physical. Can the conduct of our earthly adversaries be understood, viewed in any other light than this? Can a great nation, its rulers, its clergy, its teachers, its professors, its whole people, rejoice in and endorse .every unholy act in an miholy war, every" ibreack of human and international law, every diabolical cruelty, unless they are dominated by some fearful unseen spiritual power? The whole conduct of the enemy has been devilish, for you cannot conceive of spirits from 'hell acting more fiendlishly than our enemies have consistently 'acted. We are indeed fighting against a profound spiritual enemy. Yet through all, almighty God has sustained and preserved us! This thought does indeed raise our conceptions of the nature and range of the war in which we are e ,>agcd. And those heroic men, "who give their lives in support of God and right, must immediately receive Divine recognition and reward. So you will see that it is of the most profound importance now to educate and develop the spiritual part of us; to stimulate the growth of spiritual oharacter; to encourage the invisible, so that in the supreme crises of life we may have power to make the right decisions. It is when we realise this that we begin to understand the value of prayer. Prayer is the medium by which the spiritual is educated and developed. The true value of prayer is not what it gives, but what it does. More things are wrought by prayer than tbis world dreams of. How many miracles are being performed by prayer in this new age. I I look upon a changed heart and will, a new direction given to life, a great impulse towards holiness, a divine resignation under sorrow, as greater wonders than turning water into wine. I consider it to be a splendid miracle that commercial nations, like England and America, immersed in business, overwhelmed with the effort to mate money, should have been willing to enter a'great struggle on behalf of small nations, and to spend their money in torrents for the world's good. I believe it to be the result of prayer And i 9 not the uniting together of the Allies in this great- war a miracle? Think of them for a moment and wonder! British, Frsnch, Italians, Serbians, Indians, Belgians, Portuanese; men of different languages and nnese; men of different languages and religions, of customs and ideals, from all parts of the world; men divided by every conceivable distinction; yet all uniting to take up the cross for humanity. I look upon it as a wonderful tribute to prayer. Is it not a miracle that the Holy Land has been freed from the alien, largely by our young crusadersfrom the Antipodes, after being trodden under the foot of the Gentile for 800 years? Is prayer not responsible for this? So prayer is a great deal more important than many of us have understood. Prayer, too, is not something foreign introduced into our lives; it is the language of the spirit of man Many people, unfortunately, have given up going to church; they have got out of the habit of it It used to be nn inspiring sight to see parents and children jjoing to God's house together. i3ut it is the exception now, and I am sure it is a great loss to both parents and children. But have we not often mistaken the purpose of church-going? Is it not simply to pray to the Father in heaven; to lift up our hearts and thoughts to the One who loves us best, and who needs our prayers and praises to satisfy that love? So in private and in public devotion we ]carn to pray, toSlovelop our spiritual faculties to strengthen our spiritual wills. It is like the learning of music—flr»t the simple notes; then more difficult exercises; after that the groat harmonies, where the soul is iv, touch wTth the infinite and the music of heaven is heard upon earth It is the spirit produced by prayer that is so mu."h needed by our Empire and allies to-day. the spirit that is called faith; the spirit that reaches out for and appropriates the promises of God; the spirit that realises the invisible; the spirit that trusts almighty God to do the right and support the just. This i.s the spirit that produces cheerfulness. We may call it spiriting optimism. It is the spirit that can say: "Alt'hougK o'-r ships are sunk in scores; although our food becomes scarce and dear; although our husbands and sons are forced to sacrifice their noble lives; yet still we trust that God will manifest himself on the side of right; that might alone shall not be triumphant; that material things shall not be counted the most valuable." It was tIiW spirit that sustained the saints of old, of whom the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews said: "Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises," stopped the mouths of lions, escaped the e:lg» of the sword, from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to llight the armies of the aliens." Why, these words might have been written of the present day. Concluding, the Archdeacon said: I hope I shall not he considered irreverent when I say that perhaps the future historian will write of the present day something like this: "By faith in the unseen, Britain and her allies threw aside all material advantage and stood beside the broken Belgian" and Serbian people. By faith in the unseen the colonies and dependencies of the British Empire came to the help of thu motherland in her dire necessity. By faith in the unseen, parents gave their sons and wives their husbands to suffer for righteousness' sake. By faith in the unseen, the small British army in Flanders held the hosts of the enemy in the retreat from Jlons, and helped to save France and civilisation. By faith in the unseen, the same sadly thinned army burled back the tyrant's overwhelming hosts in the battle of the Marne. By faith in the unseen, men counted not their lives of value, but laid them down upon sea and land in the cause of righteousness. By faith in the unseen, men and women endured want and loneliness and bereavement, and counted it a righteous thing to suffer with the God." And I think the historian will add: 'Of whom the world was not worthy." And shall not' we, as we remember their deeds and the responsibilities still lying upon us, exclaim in the. words of the same writer: "Therefore, seeing that, we are surrounded by such a cloud of witnesses, who have suffered seeing the divisible, let us east aside every weight and run with patience the race set before us, looking up to Jesus, our king and leader in the faith, who will award the prize of victory." And so, with the whole British Empire, we bow before cur God and Father in solemn prayer ana praise. We pray that we ourselves may be changed; that our ideals may be ennobled; that our character may be sanctified; that our spiritual life may be fanned into a burning llame. We pray for our Empire, that it may be less unworthy to represent God in the world; that our people everywhere may be humble, cheerful, hopeful, resigned; that the British Em pire may ever stand for truth, justice, freedom, and true religion. Then we may look for speedy victory. At the conclusion of the address the General Thanksgiving was recited by the

whole congregation, and the service concluded with the pronouncement of the Benediction, followed by the singing of the National Anthem.