There is another reason for our thus appealing to Him, which is, that we are assured by His Word that the whole history of the world has been under his control, and that He has been directing its course throughout, and determining the fate of nations for His own purposes. We have before us the most conclusive evidence of this in the history of the Jews. The course of their history and their position in the world at the present day were announced to Abraham and Moses thousands of years ago, and they have fulfilled, and are now fulfilling, the place and the function in the world which were then assigned to them. There is nothing, accordingly, on which the Bible insists more urgently and constantly than that the great issues of war and history are in the hands of God. It is not merely that He exercises a general controlling influence over them, but that He has His own purposes, which He is gradually fulfilling by means of “the unruly wills and affections of sinful men.” It teaches us that “except the Lord build the house they labour in vain that build it; except the Lord keep the city the watchman watcheth but in vain.” He does not merely interpose in the course of the building, but He is the Builder. He is building up, through the ages, some great design, and all nations will be made in the end to conform to it.
It is certain, for instance, that it was not by our design or forethought, or our skill, that the Empire which we are now called on to defend was built up. A hundred years ago—nay, fifty years ago—no statesman seems to have imagined that the British Empire would grow, or could grow, to the vast dimensions it now possesses. Not merely did they not imagine it—some of them actually deprecated its growth. It has not been by our will and design, but in great measure against them, that the British nations have been developed into one great body politic. It must be the hand of God which we see in all that development. We have, whether we will or no, a great work laid upon us all over the world—in India, in America, and in the Islands of the sea—and we recognize that it is by God’s will that this task and responsibility, which is at the same time a great privilege, has been laid upon us. We may well, therefore, implore continually His help and guidance in the discharge of it. Is it not, then, an imperative duty, is not St. Paul right in putting it in the very forefront of our duties, that we should offer up supplications, intercessions, urgent prayers for the King and for all in authority under him, that they may be guided to know God’s will in the vast problems which are set before them? that “God’s wisdom may be their guide and that His Arm may strengthen them,” and that He may direct their actions and endeavours to His own glory, to the accomplishment of His great designs, and to the welfare of our people?
Let us ask ourselves earnestly whether we have realized, as we ought, since this war began, that it is in God’s hands, and not in ours, to determine its issue. War is not merely an appeal to the sword—it is, in a far higher degree, an appeal, the final appeal, to God Himself. Lord Bacon observes that great soldiers and Commanders have always been conspicuous for their acknowledgment that the issues of their great battles and campaigns all depended upon some supernatural power. They knew better than others the infinite accidents and chances upon which the issue of war depends, and they realized that it was in God’s power to determine that issue as He pleased. I fear it must be owned that we have not, as yet, acknowledged this truth in the present war as much as we ought. If we had, would not the Services of Intercession in this Cathedral and elsewhere be more frequently and more earnestly attended? Let us be reminded then, by this Service of Prayer and Supplication, on the anniversary of the Accession of our King, how deeply he and his Ministers need that prayer and intercession, how wholly dependent they are, in bearing the momentous burdens laid upon them, upon “the good hand of our God upon them”; and let us henceforth “pray without ceasing” for God’s blessing upon our King, and particularly, at this time, for his victory over the bitter enemies by whom he has been forced into this dreadful struggle.
The Christian Sanction of War.
AT THE SERVICE OF INTERCESSION FOR THE KING’S NAVAL AND MILITARY FORCES IN CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL, AUGUST, 1914.
We are assembled here this afternoon, at the call of our King in Council and of our Archbishop, for the purpose of solemn intercession with Almighty God on behalf of his Majesty’s naval and military forces now engaged in war. That is in accordance with the solemn practice of our fathers at all the great crises of our history; and it is only about fourteen years since we were similarly interceding with Almighty God in this cathedral, when the King’s forces were engaged in an arduous struggle in South Africa. But the gravity of our present struggle is greater than that of any in the memory of living men, perhaps greater than that of any other in our history. The very existence of our Empire, and even the independence of our Kingdom, is at stake; and the Power by which we are threatened has been, of late years, deemed the greatest military force in Europe, and a naval force only second to our own. It may be that the capacities and resources of our Kingdom and Empire will be strained as they have never been strained before, and that all our manhood, and even our womanhood, will be called upon for all the force and endurance of which they are capable. Prayer to God is incumbent upon us at all times; but there are special reasons why, in a great war, it is the most important of all duties, and the most precious of all privileges. The issues of war are, in an extraordinary degree, beyond the control of man. The issue of a battle or a campaign may, in fact, be determined by incidents, moral and physical, which no human power can foresee or control. Our own deliverance from the Spanish Armada was certainly determined, in an incalculable degree, by the tremendous storm which wrecked the Spanish fleet at the critical moment; and again and again in history have great battles been decided by influences of that nature, or by some incalculable turn in the feeling and temper of an army. Consequently, when nations go to war they place themselves and their fortunes in the hands of God in a more absolute manner than in any other human affairs. That is what we have now done by declaring war against Germany; and we have, therefore, more reason than at any other time in our history to fall before God’s footstool, and to implore Him for the protection and blessing which He, and He only, can give us. It is still more true now than in the Psalmist’s time that “there is no king that can be saved by the multitude of an host, neither is any mighty man delivered by much strength; an horse is counted but a vain thing to save a man, neither shall he deliver any man by his great strength. Behold the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, and upon them that put their trust in His mercy.” In that spirit we now bow before His throne—in the words of our daily prayer in time of war and tumult—before the throne of “the only Giver of all victory.”
Coming before Him in these solemn circumstances, and with this momentous petition, it becomes us to ask ourselves whether we are doing so in a spirit, and with a cause, in which we can expect His blessing, and a favourable answer to our prayers. “If I incline unto wickedness with my heart,” says the Psalmist, “the Lord will not hear me.” If we are to offer our prayers with a believing and confident heart, we must have our conscience clear; and before men ask God’s blessing in so tremendous an issue as that of war, they must consider with the most solemn earnestness whether they can feel assured that what they are doing and asking is in accordance with His will.
As to the lawfulness of war itself, though some good Christian minds are troubled by the question, the answer seems clear and simple. War is justifiable for the same reason that it is lawful to put men to death for great crimes, like murder and treason. The conscience of mankind at large, the conscience of Christian States at large, has uniformly wielded the sword of justice in avenging and averting, by the punishment of death, such crimes of violence and treachery as destroy the very frame of Society. That use of the sword of justice, moreover, has the express support of Revelation, for St. Paul has declared that the ruler “beareth not the sword in vain; he is the minister of God, an avenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” But if it is lawful to use the sword of justice against individuals, it must be equally lawful to use it against a community of individuals—in other words, against a society, or a nation, who are unjustly destroying or threatening the lives and the peace of another society or nation. The use of the sword—which is an elementary name for war—has been shown by thousands of years of experience to be, in the last resort, the only effectual means of punishing and preventing unjust violence. It is vain to argue what might be possible or desirable if man were an uncorrupt creature. He is, as a matter of fact, a sinful creature; and, as St. Paul plainly says, it is God Himself who has put the sword into the hands of human authority to punish, and to restrain, the effects of that sinfulness.
Thus the mere fact of our resort to the sword need not of itself burden our consciences. But if this account of its awful purpose be true, one indispensable condition for its use is obviously requisite. If the purpose of the sword is to punish injustice, then we must take care that it is used for that solemn purpose only. It was not given to men to enable them to gratify their ambition or pride, or to enlarge their kingdoms at their pleasure, or for any selfish purpose whatever. He who draws the sword for any purpose but that of upholding justice and judgment on the earth is committing the crime of murder on the vastest scale, and renders himself justly liable to the stern use of the sword against himself. If, therefore, we are to come before God with a clear conscience at this moment, we must be able to say, from our hearts, that we have not now drawn the sword from any selfish motive, or under the influence of any violent passion, but that we have drawn it simply and solely in the discharge of our bounden duty, and in fulfilment of just promises and engagements to our neighbours. My brethren, I believe it may be confidently asserted that this country has never been engaged in a war in respect to which this could be said with more unqualified confidence than in the present case.