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P.0TOJI5JPT.
The Commoner
AUGUST, 1922
R
, , hfi nrotcction of the disciples, but they
or forin,irh to bring them within the-definition
JBgressorB and Christ was "reckoned
anion
g them.
uv GREATEST PRACTICAL ARGUMENT
AGAINST WAR
ie ., ,. rt4 flnnnrnl "Rnnth ' Tilfinnn nnnn
bert BOOtn, intnVnrfilin.t-.inn is HtrAiierth-
theJS confirmed by the 10th and 11th verses
The above is the construction that Rev. Her
?rtB
i a tin
eneu ' ., nf Tnlur "Thnn Kniri Joans
I tho lfllll UllFl,xi'1 " ww . 1--- " ww.
tn Petor, Put lip thy sword into the sheath."
Si also the tftst and 62d verses of the 2(fth
Winter of Matthew , , '" ' '
ioth John and Matthew describe the incident
in which one of the disciples. -(John Bays that it
las impulsive Peter) dreSv his sword in defense
a( Christ and cut off the ear p the servant of the
high priest. Christ rebuked 'him for this 'resort
IiTjohn, He is reported as saying, "The cup
which my Father hath given me, shall I not
drink it?" In Matthew, Christ uses a terrific,
condemnation of force which is a continuing
prophecy, continuously fulfilled: "FoY all they
that take the sword shall perish with the sword,"
Christ adds J "Thinkest thou that I cannot now
pray to my Father, and he shall presently give
me more than twelve legions of angels?"
' These passages would seem to prove conclu
sively that the purchase of swqrds, advised by
the Saviour, was not with a view to use, but
rather for the fulfillment of prophecy. Instead
of giving comfort to militarists, the incident
brings out the strongest practical argument ever
advanced against war.
HOW GOD USES HUMA'N BEINGS
Next, we come to the statement of Ezra that
"The Lord stirred up the, spirit of Cyrus," The
king was not a worshipper' of Jehovah and yet he
received a communication from the Almighty.
We are not told the form in which this com
munication came. In other cases we have read
that an angel appeared or that, the voice of the
Lord was heard, but here the 'medium through
which the communication came is not given, but
the message was 'understood and acted upon. .God
uses human beings to accomplish His purposes;
sometimes they are conscious. of the call, and
sometimes they act without knowledge of the
hand that directs or of the purposes which they
are sent to accomplish.
In Exodus we read that the Lord dealt with
Pharaoh in quite a different way. Instead of stir
ring up the heart of Pharaoh to a great deed, he
"hardened Pharaoh's heart" that Goth's wonders
might be multiplied in the land of Egypt. It was -not,
however, until Pharaoh had conspired
against the Israelites and directed the murder of
the children.
SURRENDER OF A WICKED HEART
When one deliberately chooses sin and enters
upon a career of crime, God knows better than
man what punishment will be sufficient to ac
complish His purpose and to bring about the
surrender of a wicked heart. It required seventy
years of exile and captivity in Babylon to reduce
the children of Israel to submission; when the
work was accomplished and the change wrought
God stirred up the heart of a good king to win
immortal fame by a kindly act.
When Pharaoh set out to suppress a race by
Wiling the male children of the Jews at birth
! iet him nave hIs way until tne slaying of
the Egyptian first-born humbled ' this mighty
monarch and then Pharaoh let the Children of
jsrael go. God's mercy is as certain to aid those
wno do His will as His punishments are sure to
overtake the disobedient.
However God's message was conveyed to
Wis, it is evident that ho felt that he was act
SLli r divine compulsion, for in his proc
lamation he announced that the Lord God of
JSXen rad siven nim a11 the kingdoms of the
rlS i was an acknowledgment that 'many
SrS do not ffiake; too often kings attribute
uclr Power to their own ability and influence.
THE DANGEJEt OF PROSPERITY
w?f?ro tnkinS up the succeeding' verses, a
K lr regard to the effect of the captivity.
W i 7 continually forgot God. The prophets
JS fipt busy earning them that the wrath of
JJrlowed disobedience and that punishment
Bars'? The tribes Q rGn by Jealousies and
Ine T? amDitions: and then came overwholm
lootw 1' tno destruction of Jerusalem, the
People thQ temnle' and tt10 bondage of the
toene,filld one of the great lessons of his-
teonini moly at Prosperity sometimes wrecks
t!teVLa?Wollas' .individuals, while adversity
restreffmen nnd-nations through repent-
weepo ll ifiSSr him; an n
neTOendlMa Prhlie,,lnd a "ttcSfg ton!
wMiti? childless couple, possessing great .
nni' adPtsmo poor widow's child, the
neighbors are apt to exclaim, "Fortunate child "
Not ahvays. AnticIpated wciUh f d-
young men than it has ever blessed. A widow'!
son may have a better chance.
?n?E D?UBLE BLESSING OF HARDSHIPS
The pillars of the church, of the State, and of
commerce have net, as a rule, been the pampered
children of the wealthy; they have nearly all
come through hardship and privation. Hard
ships and privation confer a double blessing
they give discipline and prevent luxury.
Many a boy has found himself after his
patrimony has been squandered, but climbing is
easier when one begins at the bottom of the hill
-than when the ascent begins at the bottom of a
pit into which he has fallen. As the poet has '
put it:
The gates of hell are open night and day,
Smooth is the descent and easy is the way;
But to return and view the cheerful skies,
In this the task and mighty labor lies.
The Children of Israel had sinned and suffered,
and now we see regeneration wrought by bitter
experience. They had been born again, so to
speak; they are ready to bring forth works meet
for repentance. The fullness of time had come
and a deliverer was at hand.
Daniel's loyalty to God and the striking evi
dence given to God's guardianship over him, a
captive, had made its impression upon the
Babylonian empire and may have weighed large
ly in bringing Cyrus up to the high task which
he performed. The proclamation made by Cyrus
included all of the Israelites who desired to re
turn to Jerusalem "Who is there among you
of all His people?" There was-no compulsion;
if any remained, they were to help those who
prepared for the journey back to the homeland.
AN EXAMPLE IN GENEROSITY
The order' was obeyed, everybody was busy,
the great day to which they had looked forward
for seventy bitter years had at last arrived.
Cyrus set an example in generosity that could
not but have touched the hearts of the others.
He' sent for the vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had
brought, as spoils, from the temple at Jerusalem
and had put in the house of his heathen gods.
Mithredath, the treasurer, had kept count of
them five thousand four hundred gold and
silver pieces and all were sent back with the
returning exiles.
This act stands out in the life of Cyrus as evi
dence either of a very noble spirit or of complete
submission to the purpose of God. If the return
of the holy vessels taken in war was the
prompting of his own heart, it showed an
exalted character, a character quite different
from that of other kings and potentates of that
dav If, on the other hand, he recognized this
as a part of the command of the Almighty when
his heart was stirred to rolease the Children of
Israel, it shows how complete was his surrender
to the command of the Almighty.
And so the exiles set out on their return to
their beloved city. "God moves in a mysterious
way His wonders to perform." We may notat
the time be able to see the hand of God shaping
Se affairs of men, but it is apparent when we
look back over the past and see how all things
wk together for the carrying out of the divine
win.
THE JOY OF DOING GOD'S WORK
By WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
BIBLE TEXT-LESSON FOR AUGUST 6
(Ezra 3:10-13; G:14-1C)
And when "y't'o'Tn0?
2 WfitV. , pralsin and
for lift moroy ondureth for ever great shout, when
1 But many of the priests ana thaj , d
of tho fathers, who were uj naBtion f this
Seen the 1' re rtePr eye, wept with a loud
vS SS rSulAfd seethe noise of
V So that tho ""Pi" "tho nolso of the weonins
the ehout o : Joy tnm .tne ,tooutea nh a loud
&3S SSvK'fflS. SMS and th.y
jS&'lSSSti tWSsylne . Hagea. the
pronhot and Zocharlah tho son of Illo. And thoy
butldod, and finlehod It, according to tho comnmrijF
ment of tho God of Iaraol, and according .to tho'
commandment of Cyru&, and Darius, and Aftaxcr-'
xt king of Pcrala,
And this houso was flnlshod on tho third day Of
tho month Adar, which was In tho sixth year of
tho reign of Darius tho king.
And tho chlldron of lsraol, tho prlofcta, and tlid
Lovttes, and tho roat of tho chlldron of tho aaptlv'
Ity, kpt the dedication of this houso of God with
Joy.
The seven brief verses from the book of Earn
that we study today are a hallelujah chorus,
Thoy give us ono of the mbst exultant W?ons in
the Bible; they make plnin how .each nnd ovory .
one of us can live, hero and now, the life of 'do-
light.
A people released from bondage, after being
chastened by adversity, set out from Babylon"
to Jerusalem, in fulfillment of prophecy, to ro-i
build tho temple of the living God, With a zoal
deepened by suffering and enlarged by renewed
devotion, the Childron of Israel begin 'their Joy
ous task.
"And when tho builders laid tho foundation of
the temple of tho Lord, they sot tho priosto in
their apparel with trumpets, and tho Levites the
sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise tho Lord,
after the ordinance cf David 'king' of Isi-a'el. Anfl
they sang together by courso in 'praising and"
giving thanks unto the Lord; because ho is good,
for his morcy endureth for ever toWilrd Israel.
And all the people shouted with a great shbuf1,
when they praised the Lord."
It makes a great difference whether tthc work-,
or is happy or sullen. Only willing workers can
do their best; when willingness- rises into Joy,
work ceases to be work Tlendo, tlio important
of choosing a work in which ono takes pleasiire
and pride. No one can make much of a success
out of any work so long as it is drudgery to him
one seldom fails where his heart is in his work.
MORE MUSIC IN THE FIELD OF INDUSTRY
Just now our country and the World need mofe
music in the field of industry. ;
The antagonism between employer- and em
ployee is one of the most unfavorable signs of
the present day. There is a growing class con
sciousness among tho members of tho two groups,
known as capitalists and laborers that is, think-
ing in terms of class rather than in terms of the
whole. There is even an increasing dread of
what many regard as an inevitable conflict.
So long as this condition exists the laborer
cannot give to society the maximum of his pro
ducing power; neither can tho employer supply
the highest organizing and directing ability. The
future cannot be entirely bright until these two
classes lire brought into harmonious co-operation.
It is the business of tho Church to recon
cile differences by the establishment of justice
and- the cultivation of thp spirit of brotherhood.
The doctrine of "investigation before war,"
now embodied in treaties between this country
and three-quarters of the world, should bo ap
plied at home. Investigation before strike or
lockout not compulsory arbitration, but investi
gation with independence of actioji reserved
would go far toward removing suspicion and es
tablishing that friendship which is essential to
the best results. It would speak peace to the
industrial world.
THE TASKS OF LARGEST SATISFACTION
While every one should bo busy, every one has
a right to choose tho largest work that he can '
do it is his duty to do so. Only when each one
is engaged in the largest, task within his reach
can the total work done by all reach its maxi
mum. Between two tasks of equal size one has
a right to choose that which is most congenial
to his taste, for here, too, he is employing bis'
energies to the best advantage.
This does not mean that he should refuse
small tasks when large ones are not available
or that he should turn down unpleasant tasks and
spend his time in idleness, waiting for some
ting ho likes;- small tasks grow into largo ones
as tho talents are employed, and unpleasant tasks
become bearable when they are the only ones in
sight.
Of all the tasks, the unselfish ones yield the
largest satisfaction. There is an alloy in all that
we do for ourselves alone. "It is more blessed
to give than to receive," as any one can testify
who has tried both. The Children of Israel were
engaged in more than an altruistic work; it was
a religious undertaking, and religion touches tho
deepest springs in our lives.
A GREAT DAY SUCH AS FEW HAVE SEEN
"But many of the priests and Levites and chief
of the fathers,, who were ancient men, that had
seen tho first house, when the foundation of this
house was laid before their eyes, wept with a
loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy." ,
Tbey wept ,and shouted together; the foun-
A ,S
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iLa.&ju'ii -'.
