Newspaper Page Text
the great "Arcturus. with his suns." and say,
"I do not know whether, or not, there is any
one who guides them on their mysterious
way. ' ' He could say of those men whose mighty
intellects go out among the stars, and make
their awe-inspiring calculations, "I do not
know whether, or not, there is any life for
them beyond the few years of this earthly
life." That is all that he had to offer his fol
lowers, "I do not know." Yet there are some
who accept his dreary agnosticism with incom
prehensible enthusiasm.
In striking contrast with Colonel Ingersoll
stands Nezahualcoyotl, an early Mexican
ruler, before the conquest of that country by
Cortez. Prescott says of him in his "Conquest
of Mexico," "It would be incredible, that a
man of the enlarged mind and endowments of
Nezalmalcoytl should acquiesce in the sordid
superstitions of his countrymen, and still more
in tlic sanguinary rites borrowed by them from
the Aztecs."
On one occasion ho exclaimed, "These idols
of wood and stone can neither hear nor feel;
much less could they make the heavens and the
earth and man, the lord of it. These must be
the work of the all-powerful, unknown God,
Creator of the universe, on whom alone I must
rely for consolation and support."
Later, he built a magnificent temple, which
he dedicated to "The Unknown God, the Cause
of Causes." He allowed no image in this tem
ple, "as unsuited to the 'invisible God.' "
In a song or hymn composed by him, after
speaking of death, which visited all alike, he
adds, "Yet let us take courage, illustrious no
bles and chieftains, true friends and loyal sub
jects; let us aspire to that heaven, where all
is eternal, and corruption cannot come."
Shortly before his death he exhorted his son,
who was to be his successor, "Not to neglect
the worship of the unknown God."
Centuries ago, there lived a patriarch in a
distant land, whose crced was not "I do not
know." lie declared, without hesitation or
uncertainty, "But as for me, I know that my
Redeemer liveth, and at last he will stand up
upon the earth ; and after my skin, even this
body, is destroyed, then without my flesh shall
I see God ; whom I, even I, shall see on my side,
and mine eyes shall behold, and not as a
stranger." Job 19:25-27.
There was an ancient prophet, who contem
plated the mighty constellations circling above
him, and then exhorted men that they should
"Seek him that maketh the seven stars, and
Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into
the morning." Amos 5:8.
Later, the great Apostle of the Gentiles de
clared, "For we know that if our earthly
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we
have a building of God, an house not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens." 2 Cor.
5:1. And again, he says, "I know whom I
have believed, and am persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I have committed unto
him against that day." 2 Timothy 1:12.
Another sacred writer uses this sublime lan
guage, "And, Thon, Lord, in the beginning hast
laid the foundation of the earth ; and the heav
ens are the work of% thine hands: They shall
perish, but thou rcmainest; and they all shall
wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture
shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be
changed : but thou art the same, and thy years
shall not fail." Hebrews 1 :10-12.
Before all things, God, after all things, God,
"Even from everlasting to eyerlastiug, thou
art God."
New Bloomfield, Pa.
GOD'S HAND SEEN IN INCIDENTS OF THE
WORLD WAR
(We have had so many calls for extra copies
of our issue of August 2nd, containing this
article that our supply has been exhausted for
some time, and to supply the calls that came
since we are republishing it. ? Editors.)
(Note. ? The following abstract, by a mem
ber of Grace Covenant Woman's Auxiliary
Richmond, Va., is from a sermon by Dr. Elmer
Elsworth Helms, of Los Angeles, Cal., printed
in the July issue of "Serving-and- Waiting.")
"Thou art the God that doest wonders."
(Ps. 77:14.)
What God did in the War is the wonder
chapter of history, and proves that lie does
move in a mysterious way His wonders to per
form. And also, that He makes the wrath of
man to praise Him.
In the darkest hour of the War, some one
said to King George, of England, "How will it
ever end?" King George prayerfully replied,
"God will have to work a miracle." He did.
That is the answer. Because God is the God
that doeth wonders among the nations, is why
Germany had the War won seven times, and
then lost it.
L
It was four o'clock on the afternoon of April
22, 1915, that the Germans at Ypres turned
loose for the first time their deadly, poisonous
gas on the Allies. It was all unexpected, and
the allied armies, all unprotected, fell in wind
rows. They were piled up like bloated cord
wood. All Germany now had to do was to
march through, take the English channel, and
the world was hers. Then why didn't she do
it ? And why was this particular time selected
to turn loose the gas? It was not the military
but the meteorological authorities that fixea the
hour. Dr. Schmaus, the head of that depart
ment, announced to the German general in
charge that the direction of the winds was
fixed and settled for thirty-six hours to comc^
and they would carry the gas far over the
allied lines. So the gas was turned loose ?
when all of a sudden it whirled, and flung it
self back over the German army. The Ger
mans, gasping, strangling, staggered by the
thousands to their death.
Dr. Schmaus, in his official report, said, "In
forty years of the meteorological records of the
German Government, the wind never acted so
peculiarly before." And the doubly strange
and striking thing was, that the wind whirled
in only a small area.
In the story of Jonah we read, "And Je
hovah prepared a vehement wind." Where is
the factory where the winds are made? "lie
bringeth the wind out of His treasury." God
is the father of the wind. One hundred and
sixteen times the Bible tells of God's dealings
and doings with the wind.
n.
We now come to the darkest June of the
War. Germany and Austria have swept down
the Alps to swallow Italy. Just before them
lies Venice. Venice is the heart of Italy. To
have taken Venice at that time would not only
have broken the heart of Italy, but the Central
Powers could then easily have taken Rome,
Naples, Milan, all Italy. If at that crucial
hour Italy had fallen, the Allies would have
lost. All there was between the Central Pow
ers and victory was the Piave River. The
Piave is a slow, sluggish stream that sleeps it
self away 125 miles to the sea. The banks are so
flat that it is easy to fling over bridges or crosa
by boats. The Austrians and Germans crossed
over by the tens of thousands. They took no
food, for the granaries of Italy were just ahead.
Every soldier carried an empty chest. There
were automobiles, truck by the score, to bring
back the loot. They are now within six and
a half miles of Venice. The sky is red with the
flame of their victory and the air is rent with
their shouts, when, all of a sudden, out of what
had been a dead and dry sky an hour ago,
there burst a Niagara. And in an hour the
Piave was a racing, roaring, mad wide sea,
sweeping before it boats, bridges, trees, sol
diers. Whole battalions of Austrians and Ger
mans were swept to the sea. The Austrian and
German soldiers were cut oft from food sup
plies, and a great terror seized them, and the
Italians captured or killed more than 40,000
of them. General Foch said, "General Diaz did
his best." What would his best have amounted
to without God's best? General Diaz recog
nized this when, sobbing, he said, "Deus facit,"
God did it.
Job asks a very interesting question, "Hath
The rain a father? Jehovah causeth it to rain
grievously upon the earth." And Jehovah
sent thunder, lightning and rain. "He mak
eth a deluge of rain." "The Lord God send
eth torrents of rain." One hundred and two
times the Bible speaks of God's dealings with
the rain ? His rain.
m.
November 17, 1917. The German submarine
strength is at its tide. Night and day, for ten
months, they have been turning them out.
They have enough now to sweep the seas of
American soldiers and ships. It is done, the
war is won. The Berlin papers of those weeks
gloated over the winning of the war by the
submarine, when lo! the seas rolled and raged
and would not cease, and the submarines, be
ing unable to make their bases, were forced to
come to the surface and were captured or sunk.
One hundred and ninety-nine submarines, with
crews amounting to 3,000, were taken and the
back of the German submarine warfare was
broken, and Germany lost. "He maketh them
afraid with His storm." "Thou terrifiest them
at sea." "The Lord hath His way in the
whirlwind." Two hundred and nineteen times
the Bible tells of God's dealings with Ilia
storms at sea.
IV.
It is September 6, 1914, one month after the
war began. The Germans are in sight of Paris.
The Kaiser, from yon hill, through his glass,
can plainly see Eifel tower. The French have
but eight hours' ammunition. The orders are
already given, "When the last round is fired,
every man take to his heels." The archives of
the Government have been removed from Paris
southward, and the women and the children
have been taken out by the thousands. Eight
hours, and the war is done, and the world is
won. Only eight hours ? when all of a sudden
the Germans ceased firing, and did not begin
again for forty-seven hours. General Gallieni
commandeered every taxicab, automobile, car
riage, cart, wheelbarrow, everything that had
wheels in Paris and rushed munitions and men
to the front. When after forty-seven hours
the Germans began firing again, they were met
with such fury that they were pounded back,
and never in four years were the Germans so
near Paris again. The German generals in
charge, in their reports, said that they did not
know why they ceased firing. Only eight hour?
and the world is Germany's, and the Germans