II
THE SPLENDOUR OF GOD
"O God, wonderful art Thou in Thy holy places: Thou wilt give strength and power unto Thy people. Blessed be God."—Ps. lxviii. 35.
At the great Convention of all the clergy of London in Advent, 1915, we saw reasons for thinking that what the world had been losing sight of was the majesty of God; the lowered sense of sin, the neglect of worship, the uppishness of man, the pessimism of the day, and the querulous impatience under discomfort, are all signs of the loss of the sense of the majesty of God.
But I want now to go farther than this; I want to prove that the only way to revive praise, hope, peace, sacrifice, and courage, is to revive a belief, not only in the majesty, but in the splendour of God. It was said not long ago that even good Christians believed all the Creed except the first clause of it.
But if we leave out the first clause, "I believe in God," see what happens.
1. Prayer becomes unreal. It is only a delight when it is felt to be communion with a very noble and splendid person.
"Lord, what a change within us one short hour
Spent in Thy presence can prevail to make!"[3]