THE present war has taught us many lessons concerning the danger of trusting in man. It may be safely said that Britain was never involved in a war where there was so much treachery. All the countries which have been trodden underfoot by the German menace have given ample proof of the existence of what has been known as the “Fifth Column,” with the sad result that the lives of thousands of patriotic men and women have been sacrificed, and the liberty of civilised humanity endangered, and now our beloved country stands alone to champion the cause of “right” against “might.” Our allies and those who asked for our help dealt shamefully with us, and have now left us to our fate, while there are not wanting signs that many of them would rejoice openly at hearing of our downfall. Under these circumstances there is much in the outward appearance of things to make us feel discouraged. However, this is not the time for us to mope and say that all is over.
We have indeed learned a bitter lesson as to the danger of trusting in human help but it is a lesson that is in full harmony with God’s exhortations in His Word. In the Book of Job, which is the oldest book in the Bible, we read: “Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity, for vanity shall be his recompence.” When we read elsewhere in the Bible that, “Surely every man is vanity,” we can read this as an exhortation not to trust in man. They are solemn words which Jeremiah utters when he says: “Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.” It is true concerning us as a nation that we departed from the Lord and made other nations, especially France, our confidence. At the beginning of the war we had much to say as to the steadfastness of the nations which remained neutral, and there was no question as to the faithfulness of France. One by one these neutral countries came under the heel of the oppressor, being aided, according to the public press, by the treachery of those who should have been patriots, but who would say that France would give up the struggle and seek a separate peace?
No one will deny but that these happenings have cast a very dark shadow over our beloved land, and caused the war to assume a more serious aspect for us than hitherto. We are cut off from human help as far as the continent of Europe is concerned, and facilities placed at the disposal of our enemy for attaining his purpose which he did not possess before, and to one who could not look further than the help which comes from an arm of flesh everything would seem to be against us. To the Christian, however, there is a higher source of help. He calls to remembrance what God did at other times and says: “The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.” He believes that God is “the same yesterday, to-day, and forever,” and, therefore, takes courage. When Jerusalem was surrounded by a strong force of the Assyrians, Rabshaketh might taunt, and with brutal vulgarity tell the inhabitants what he would do to them if they refused to submit to his terms, and in the pride of his heart blaspheme the living God, but he recklessly thought not that there was a Hezekiah in Jerusalem who betook himself to the God of battles, who manifested on this, as on many other occasions, that His strength is made perfect in the weakness of such as trust in Him, for we read: “And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred four score and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.”
We fully believe that by the bitter experiences which we are passing through, God is teaching us to cease from man. He did great things for us as a nation in times past, and by these things He was glorified, and we used to acknowledge it to His glory, but we began to trust in man and to ascribe the glory of our deliverances to our own strength and that of our allies. Can we expect in doing this, that God who will not give His glory to another, will suffer us to escape with impunity. By our alliance with France we have not gained, but lost much, from the point of view of morality, for we walked in their ways and did as they did. God had honoured us by making us the depository of the Gospel and the means for spreading it to the heathen, and we have forgotten our exalted position so far as to form an alliance with a nation where immorality is licensed by the State and made a source of revenue. In the light of this it is no wonder that God should permit us to be forsaken in our hour of need, and the mercy is that He has not cast us off altogether.
That He has not permitted matters to have been worse is an indication of His purpose to continue His favour towards us, and we ought to take that as a token for good. We are now grappling single-handed with a monster which may be reckoned as the enemy of true religion and the scourge of humanity. Have we learned the lesson taught in God’s Word that it is dangerous to trust in an arm of flesh? There are many signs that we have not, which indicates that we are not yet in sight of the end of this fearful catastrophe. We are not without grounds for believing that Britain will emerge victorious out of this deadly struggle, but she will have no room for boasting. As long as we will refuse to look away from our own resources to the God who has all things in the hollow of His hand we will prolong the struggle and cause God’s judgments to be felt heavier by ourselves. Our first aim ought to be to have God on our side, and in seeking that, we should humble ourselves before Him, confessing our sins, and seeking grace from Him to forsake them. Nationally, our language ought to be: “Come and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.”
There is still a remnant according to the election of grace in our beloved land who are wrestling with God in prayer. They are fighting the nation’s battles on their knees in secret, and have a weapon which is more powerful than all the weapons of war which are used in our day. We believe it was in answer to prayer that so many of our gallant young men were rescued at Dunkirk, for even the most careless admit that the accomplishment of that work was a miracle. God has in this given us an encouraging example of what He can do in answer to His people’s humble petitions, and it ought to be a lesson to us to be “instant in prayer” on behalf of our beloved land. Time and again God has taught us that vain is the help of man but that He will do much for those who wait upon Him. “Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee after the manner of Egypt. For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.” If, therefore, we were found as a nation committing our case to God and looking away from ourselves and others, He would soon work a deliverance for us, and bring down the pride of our enemies. When shall it be true of us that we have ceased from man, and are looking alone to God as He is revealed in Christ?—J. C.
Settle this great truth in your hearts, that no trouble befalls Zion, but by the permission of Zion’s God; and He permit-nothing out of which He will not bring much good at last to His people.—Flavel.