King's Business - 1921-06

Tke Greatest Need of the Hour A Great Ethical Revival is Ou r Sorest Need. How It May be Brought About. BY DR. A. C. DIXON

ceive th e enemy in any way th a t may lead to his defeat. “ Camouflage," the a rt of deceiving th e eye, is a m ilitary virtue. One of the g reatest perils of peace is th e afterm ath of war which has in it these perverted ethical standards. Life is ap t to be cheap, if killing does not still carry w ith it some glamour of glory. When need prompts, robbery may still appear to be only “ taking. It is easy to carry th e lying strategy of war into business competition, and “ camouflage” in society and religion may still be a very useful art, to be cultivated w ith skill. W hatever be th e causes, those on the watch towers of observation are agreed th a t the crim inal and "divorce courts, the indelicacy, immodesty and some­ times indecency of woman’s dress, the spectacular obscenity of th e atre and movie, and the h u rtfu l realism of pop­ u lar novels, all indicate a very low moral tone. The need of th e hour from a reli­ gious, social, political, and economic point of view is a g reat ethical revival. P resen t conditions are a menace to the home, th e church and th e nation. If we study the th ree preceding verses, we will find the kind of revival which brings good eth ica l'co n d itio n s. P reaching ethics does no t make people moral. A study of Church history shows th a t ethical preaching has never made th e people bettor, b u t ra th e r worse. In ordeY to improve ethical con­ ditions, we need a g reat sp iritu al re­ vival. God is th e au tho r of such a revival, as th e P salm ist intim ates in th e words “W ilt THOU not revive us

T ex t- “W ilt T h o u n o t re v iv e u s a g a in : t h a t th e p eo p le m a y re jo ie e in T h ee - Shew lie T h v m ercy , O L o rd , a n d g r a n t u s i n y S a lv a tio n . I w ill h e a r w h a t G od th e L o rd w ill sp e a k ; fo r H e w ill sp e a k p e ace u n to H is p eo p le b u t le t th e m n o t tu r n a g a in to fo lly . S u re ly S a lv a tio n is n ig h th em th a t fe a r H im ; t h a t g lo ry m ay d w ell in o u r lan d . M ercy a n d tr u th a re m e t to ­ g e th e r - r ig h te o u s n e s s a n d p eace h av e k iss e d ea c h o th e r. T ru th sh a ll s p rin g o u t of th e e a r th a n d rig h te o u s n e s s sh a ll lo o k d ow n fro m h e a v e n .” P sa lm 85:6-1.1.

HE h e a rt of the text is in the words “ th a t glory may dwell in our land.“ W hat follows is a description of th e glory th a t the Psalm ist would like to have dwell in his land; and it is for th e most p art, an ethi­

cal glory. Mercy does not weakly condone sin, while tru th does not cruelly punish. Indeed, mercy and tru th have become so reconciled th a t they can dwell to ­ gether in loving fellowship. R ighteous­ ness has not been sacrificed for th e sake of peace. There is peace w ith righteousness, th e only kind th a t is worth while. Such conditions make good soil in which to p lan t seeds of tru th , the fru itage of which will be abundant. ■ -The words, “He will speak peace to H is people, b u t le t them not tu rn again to folly,” in tim ate th a t peace has its perils. The World W ar has left an af­ te rm ath of evil in all countries. There is a carnival of crime, and along several lines th e re has been a lowerng of eth i­ cal standards. The ethics of war has projected itself into th e tim e of peace. K illing in w ar is no t considered murder, b u t around it is a halo of glory. Sol­ diers do no t steal, they simply “ ta k e” w hat they w ant in tim es of need. S trategy is th e a rt of lying, so as to de­

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