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THE KING’S BUSINESS
said, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth; but I say unto you. Blessed are the valiant, for they shall m ake the earth their throne. And ye have heard men say, Blessed are the poor in spirit; but I say unto you, Blessed are the g reat in soul and the free in spirit, for they shall enter into Val halla. And ye have heard men say, Blessed are the peacem akers; but I say unto you, Blessed are the w ar-m akers, for they shall he called, if not the children of Jahve, the children of Odin, who is g reater than Jahve.” If the professed followers of Christ Jesus had practiced His beatitudes with the same zeal, sacrifice, denial of self and fatal deter mination that is shown by Nietzsche’s fel low countrymen in practicing his, it would long ago have determined who is greater, “Jahve” or Odin. “W ar 'is punishment,” is the way Dr. John Timothy Stone, of Fourth Church, Chicago, sums up one of the significances of the awful contemporary struggle in Eu rope. One wonders if any of the Belgians, while they suffer the terrible rigors visited upon them by the German invaders, stop to think penitently of the brutalities, maim- ings and killings committed by their own countrymen on the defenseless black natives of the Kongo country a few years ago. Or do the British amid the present hour of their dismay recall how wickedly their military captains carried terror into China by the infamous “opium wars” of many years ago? Or may there not be a score still outstanding for the way in which covet ous adventurers of British birth nearly a score of years ago plotted to steal from the Boer farmers their treasures of gold and diamonds—a score not wiped out by the sincere British effort to be fair in that Quarter of the earth in the years since? Then there is. France’s awful record in Madagascar. “Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord.” Many astime in ages past the justice of God has held whole nations to atone for the deeds of their national leaders. And the justice of God is not an anachronism in the twentieth century. Whatever the outcome of the present bloody struggle, the hour must come when the retributions and allotments of the Ruler of the Universe
will be visible as the conflict’s most evident results .—The Continent. T he story of the book of Judges repeats itself. Trouble sends backsliders to God for help, and good comes out of war. A writer in The Scotsman gives an ac count of a great discovery fin their parish. The people had become prosperous in worldly things. They had moved out from the bustle and dirt of the city to the hills and dells beyond. He says they had be come superficial with a sense of self-secur ity, and a love of luxury and indulgence and ease. They built a new church for those who had pleasant homes on the slopes. But the spirit of prayer had departed. Sabbath desecration had come, attendance on church services had almost ceased, heathen philosophy and skepticism was ag gressive, and in every way God was not known or obeyed. Suddenly, away beyond the big city, away across the sea, was heard the boom, boom, under the stars. It was war. It changed everything. Faces be came stern; good-byes were said, and said with meaning; and not with courteous dis missal. Then came the word that “our soldiers were driven back, back, back." Was there to be no end of the tramp, tramp of men yielding before deatH? The people were in distress, They look for help, but none can help but God. To God they go. Before, the church bell rang, but few an swered. Now the church bell rings, and the people with one accord answer. T h e students of the Presbyterian Theo logical Seminary, at San Anselmo, Califor- , in reference to the Parkhurst telegram (see editorial on page 12 of this issue) took the following action: Resolved, “Whereas, the wine phase of the ques tion is being used as a blind behind which every vicious law and i home-destroying ele ment is fighting for existence; therefore, be it: Resolved, that we, the student body of the San Francisco Theological Seminary (Presbyterian), of San Anselmo, Califor-
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