SPIRITUAL FORCES AND THE WAR.
rro TRH EDITOR Or TRIO " SPECIATOR.") Sin,—Mr. Lloyd George has given a rousing call to the nation, and it is perhaps not too much to hope that within a short time we shall at last be pulling every ounce of our weight so far as material force is concerned. But does any one believe that this is all that is required of us P Men, munitions, and money we must have, of course, and we cannot have too much of them; but it must surely be evident to all that our hope lies, not in material arms of destruction, but in something more intangible, but of infinitely greater value— namely, the power of the Spirit. We have been very slow to realize, what France and Russia understood long ago, that this war is not as other wars, merely a physical war, but a vast spiritual conflict, a reflection, as it were, of the eternal war that is being waged between the forces of good and evil. It has come as a purging and a cleansing to show the world the awfulness of evil, in order that the hidden evil of all time may be destroyed and the way be prepared for the coming of the new era. The war, therefore, can only be ended by spiritual means ; "not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit," saith the Lord of Hosts. Are we doing all we can to make ourselves fit allies of the Almighty? What is needed is that we should turn the direction of our thoughts towards the spiritual instead of the material, and should deliberately range ourselves on the side of God, to overcome the forces of evil which threaten to overwhelm the world. But the evil that has to be destroyed is not only in the ranks of our enemies, but in our own land and our own hearts, and it is this which must first be rooted out. When we have made a determined and self-sacrificing effort to rid ourselves of the twin devils of drink and lust, and of greed, cruelty, malice, and all selfishness, we shall then be ready to turn to God in absolute confidence and ask for His help in battle. That help, against which all material forces can avail nothing, will be freely given as soon as we show ourselves worthy of victory. Until that time comes, we cannot even wish for the war to cease. Is there no one who will rise up and give us the lead for which we are waiting—the call to repentance and prayer, so that the whole nation may purify itself as one man in thought, word, and deed? For only by the power so won shall we conquer and cast out, perhaps for ever, this hideousness of war.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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