IN giving the above title to this article we are not thinking so much of the victorious city as of the city which stood the fiercest attack which probably was ever delivered in the history of war. Stalingrad was not the capital of the country, neither was it the most important city in Russia but as long as it stood the mad ambition of the ruthless Oppressor could not be realised. We, too, are facing a tremendous attack by powerful forces of vested interests and the devotees of pleasure. The armies are marching from various directions in an attempt to find a weak point in the defences; but from whatever direction the armies march there is one guiding mind directing the whole plan of campaign. That directing mind is Satan’s, the enemy of truth and holiness and man’s worst enemy. By subtlety and satanic skill he is the power which is energising the minds of millions in our day to strike at the strong bulwarks of religion in the hope that he will destroy the very heart of the citadel. True, he is confronted with the immovable granite rock of the eternal nature of divine law as expressed in the Ten Commandments. Upon that Rock millions have already dashed themselves but the blind infatuation instilled into them by their reckless and heartless leader sends wave after wave in one generation after another to realise when it is too late that they can make no impression upon that granite rock. It would be more probable that men could defy the law of gravitation throughout the immensity of God’s creation than that they could change the eternal laws of heaven. The immutability of divine law is not a figment of the imagination neither is it a device invented by ecclesiastics to fortify their position among men. In our time the observant watcher of the signs of the times can see the powerful reactionary forces marching from different quarters and attacking without hesitation laws and institutions which have proved invaluable for the peace and well-being of mankind. One of the most glaring and persistent of these attacks in our times is that which is being delivered against the Sabbath. Unfortunately our ranks are seriously divided on this very important question. Some who profess to be Christians say that the Sabbath is merely and ecclesiastical institution such as Hessey in his Bampton Lectures; others, again, say that as we are not under law but under grace in the new dispensation, therefore, the Fourth Commandment is not binding on Christians. This view of the Apostle’s statement arises from a complete misapprehension of the Apostle’s meaning and completely ignores the truth that moral law is eternal. Others, again, hold that the institution of the Sabbath is to be defended only on humanitarian grounds—a day in which the working man may rest and refresh body and mind. It is this division in the camp which prevents Christians presenting a united front to the well organized forces of the Enemy.
In facing a powerful enemy it is well that we should not by careless planning leave the rear exposed so as to be attacked by him from behind. It is well, therefore, that we should take our stand with the rock of unchanging law behind us. If in the defence of the Sabbath we lose sight of the Fourth Commandment as enshrined in the moral law we have handed over the pass to the Enemy and he will soon let us know how weak our position is. The present War is responsible for a good deal of loose thinking among otherwise intelligent men and one avenue in which their thoughts finds expression is the view they entertain of the Lord’s Day.
We have mentioned the War as responsible for a good deal of loose thinking. Some of our military leaders, by way of catering for the entertaining of the men under their command went out of their sphere requesting local authorities to open cinemas on the Lord’s Day and also asking for the setting up of Garrison Theatres. Fortunately we are not yet under the heel of Nazi rule and it would be well that these gentlemen should remember this. Let the men of the Forces, by all means, receive every kindness we can give them but the line must be drawn when worldly entertainments are asked for on the Lord’s Day. Then what about all the training, drills, etc. on the Sabbath Day. One must be hard pressed indeed if he thinks that these belong to works of necessity and mercy. We do not deny, of course, that in War many things require to be done that are not required in peace-time but there is a tremendous lot of things done on the Sabbath at present that are by no means necessary.
We now prefer a charge against ministers of religion for giving a helping hand to the breaking down of respect for Sabbath observance. Many of these played fast and loose with the claims of the Fourth Commandment. Some of them, as they saw their churches’ emptying awoke as from a dream but it was too late the enemy had invaded the citadel.
It would take more space than we can spare to refer to the various forces at work which are attacking the sanctity of God’s Day but some reference must be made to the agitation for the opening of theatres and cinemas on Sabbath. This agitation may be said to be led by the shock troops of the devil. At the time of writing these agitators are not getting it all their own way. The Lord’s Day Observance Society, London, is doing splendid work in exposing the hypocritical cant of these transgressors who are posing as actuated by disinterested charitable motives while all the time their hearts are after filthy lucre. Here is a quotation from the Lord’s Day Observance Magazine in which these pretenders are truthfully exposed:—”One of the most sickening features of these Sabbath-Desecrating attempts is in our opinion the hypocritical exploitation of War Charities in order to put money into the pockets of the artistes and promoters of these much-boomed “Sunday” Concerts. Amounts out of all proportions to those handed to Charity are often unaccounted for. For example, the Chairman of the Halifax Borough Licensing Magistrates, on November 11th, 1942, when granting licences for musical entertainments, made the following pungent analysis of the balance sheets of certain “Sunday” Charity Concerts held in that important town. He said: “I have before me at the present moment one balance sheet where the proceeds were £118 4s. 3d., out of which £7 8s 7d. was handed over to charity.” Of another financial return the Chairman also said:—We find that of the artistes—for half-an-hour’s work we will say—one is paid £25, another £30, a couple £39. In addition to that they have drawn travelling expenses £19 5s 10d. And there are also entertainment and expenses of artistes and band, £41 0s 1d. There are hotel expenses £17 13s. 9d. There are tips—I don’t know who gets the tips—of £1 16s. Out of total receipts of £416 8s. there is £160 for the Benevolent Fund. There is also another item—bouquets for the artistes, £5 5s.”
The tide is flowing strong against the defenders of the Sabbath law. The forces arrayed against us are powerful and intoxicated with success but time is on our side. In the Apostle’s impressive speech at Athens he tells his hearers that God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead (Acts, xvii. 30-31).” In other words God has given the most stupendous miracle ever wrought as an assurance to men of the coming of the Day of Judgment. Once a week as the Lord’s Day comes men are presented with a memorial of that stupendous miracle. Remove that memorial and one of the most impressive reminders to mankind of that tremendous Day when the secrets of the hearts of men will be revealed is removed out of the way. The ancient promise still stands—”If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it (Isai. lviii. 13, 14).”