January 1930
12
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
And war will not end through the influence of science, though a current magazine writer declares that it will. But unless science -is converted it will be used as it was in the last war as an emissary of hell, and will make the horrors of war all the more horrible. Only God can “make wars to cease from the ends of the earth.” Only the Prince of Peace can bring a peace that will prevail. And first, there must come judgment. Our peace-lovers, so fond of this prophecy of Isaiah about a warless world, nearly always leave out a part of the prophecy. Have we any right to believe and quote one part of a prophecy and ignore the other part? The first part of the prophecy declares that “ he will judge among the nations and rebuke many peoples.” “ When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isa. 26 :9 ). Before peace can come, judgment must come; before judgment can come, Christ must come. As the discerning poet Annie Johnson Flint, has said: There can be no peace in this age of bloodshed, Of strife and hatred and deep distrust; The bow and the spear shall not be broken, The sword in the scabbard shall never rust. Though kings take counsel and statesmen promise, Though people with people a pact shall make;
have, and that is God Himself. It may seem a harsh thing to say, but the recent conference between Great Britain and the United States has run true to form, lamentably true, shall we say, hopelessly true? For in all the official actions and utter ances o f nations that have come together to seek world peace during the decade since the tragic debacle o f the “war to end war,” whether at Versailles, Geneva, Locardo, Paris or Wash ington, there has been no turning to God in conscious helpless ness, and in expression of man’s need of Him to deal with the murder and suicide of war. In none of these official utter ances has God been appealed to in this way. Every appeal has been made to the alleged lofty, righteous and peace-loving na ture of man; i to the covenant-making and covenant-keeping honor o f men and nations; to the mighty arms of human govern ments to contract for peace and maintain peace. With almost unbelievable consistency God has been left out and the will and purpose and power o f man have been exalted. No, the nations have not yet learned “ the way of peace," because they have not recognized the fact that only God can make peace, that only the Prince of Peace can insure peace in permanence. The world needs peace, but its first and greatest need is—God. Another reason why the way of peace is not known by many today is because they ignore the sinful ness and selfishness of the human heart which cause all war and discord. “ From whence come wars and fight ings among you? Come they not hence, even o f your lusts that war in your members?” (Jas. 4 :1 ). As long as men are sinful, in heart, as long as they are selfish, as long as they have the carnal heart that is enmity against God, they cannot have permanent peace with one another. It was Isaiah who declared: “ There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.’’ , G od ’ s O rder is F irst R ighteousness , T hen P eace So we go on to say that there will be no peace that is universal and enduring in the world until righteous ness prevails in society. God’s order is, first— righteous ness, then— peace. The priest Melchizedek was well called first King of righteousness, then King of Salem (Peace). Unless the King of righteousness is first recog nized, the King of peace cannot reign. This is, the order revealed by Isaiah: “Judgment shall dwell in the wilder ness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work o f righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever” (32: 16 t 17). If we would ascertain what progress we are making toward peace in the world we must ask: “ To what extent are we progressing in personal and national and interna tional righteousness?” Perhaps the writer is mistaken, but he fails to see that much progress has been made by the Great War or since the war. There were those who fondly thought that the Great War would put an end to all war; but it did not, for nations are still armed and they are still claiming that they must be armed. “ Today we have peace, but it is the peace of exhaus tion,” says Charles E. Jefferson. “ Nations are not fight ing, because they are too weak. . . . Humanity is in a hospital, where she must stay for a season until she re cuperates from her bruises and wounds; and then she will fight again. There is no hope for a warless world through war. War only intensifies all the hatreds, and kindles all the passions to a hotter flame.” And peace will not come through the influence of edu cation. There never was a more highly educated nation than Germany and yet Germany precipitated the great catastrophe, fifteen years ago, at the very height of its intellectual preeminence.
They can sign no truce they will not sunder, And swear no oath that they will not break. There can be no peace till the King of glory Comes down to earth from the heavens above, To rule the world with a rod of iron, To judge in justice, to reign in love. Till the Throne of David is set in Zion, And all the kingdoms o f earth are one ,—-j No peace till His righteousness shall flourish, No peace till the will o f God is done.
Abundant Provision William Ridgway, in his quaint forceful manner, tells about the American soldier who carried a medal which entitled him to order a meal in any restaurant in New York, and enjoy it without having to pay a cent for it. He uses this as an illustration of the promise which God gave to Jacob when he was leaving home, “ I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest” (Gen. 28:15). Almost anyone might covet the privilege of entering into New York’s palatial restaurants and ordering their best meal free of charge. But this is a very trifling priv ilege when compared with the one we have mentioned, which God gave to Jacob so long ago and which He still freely offers to us today. How many young people, like Jacob, leaving home to make their way in the world, would jump eagerly at the offer of “ free provision” wherever they went. But alas, they fail to make use of the abundant provision for which their Bible vouches. If they have a Bible they probably leave it in their trunk, instead of studying it, and cashing its unparalleled promises. Think for a moment of what this one promise which we have been discussing implies. Positive assur ance that we will be kept wherever we go. It seems unbe lievable, yet there are countless numbers of people who deliberately turn their backs, as it were, on this offer and choose instead, to shoulder the responsibility of looking after themselves.— E. D. Hooey.
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