THE Old Testament places on record an inspired narrative of the history of Israel as a nation, separated from the rest of the world and upon whom God did lift up the light of His countenance spiritually and in providence. He made known His Word and gave to them His commandments and established His worship in their midst. Yet time and again they rebelled and grievously provoked their God and benefactor. “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me” (Isa. i. 2), is the complaint of God against them repeatedly throughout their history. But in face of their evil and God-dishonouring backslidings, the voice of Divine long-suffering and mercy is heard from heaven, again and again saying, “Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord” (Jer. iii. 12).
Those who fear God in our own nation to-day and view with gracious grief the lamentable backslidings within our borders, may well be privileged to hear from the Truth and to discern from signal and serious providences, the Lord still speaking to Britain in these solemn words of exhortation, “Return, thou backsliding Israel.”
The people of this realm have been sliding backwards, spiritually and morally for many years now; and our iniquitous conduct testifies against us in manifold ways, that is, in a national sense. We have forgotten the Lord our God. The Bible, the book which testifies to us of God’s name, sin, salvation, morality and eternal realities, is a neglected book. Family worship is an institution now familiar to few homes relatively. And as for Sabbath observance, it is left to an “old-fashioned” minority to value and defend. Then Churches throughout the country are practically empty at the appointed times for the public worship of God, even where the tastes of the religious worldling are catered for by carnal ministers and ecclesiastical dignitaries. Where are the people? Why, worshipping other gods of course; maybe, for example, the “Sunday” newspaper. Further, we have become like Israel in the wilderness with regard to the manna, when they “loathed this light bread,” although it was still the miraculous provision of heaven. The divine, pure and soul-saving doctrines of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the gospel of peace through the blood of atonement for guilty sinners is light, unattractive and distasteful to the ear and heart of this generation. Give the people to-day a short philosophic address, surrounded with much music, the singing of combined choirs, solos, and the so-called dedication of flags and “colours”—of one kind or another—and this is the bread they delight to feed upon, in preference to the gospel which reveals the way of escape from hell and holds out a hope of heaven, to lost men, through the Son of God crucified and glorified.
We are wise to do evil; for even the Government of the country applied their minds, not very long ago, to introduce legislation to Parliament to permit the opening of the Festival of Britain, in London, on the Lord’s Day. But no thought of legislation to conserve the Sabbath. And so this perverted wisdom operates in numberless ways to establish, compatible with the unenlightened conscience, many evil practices in our midst.
And people are not ashamed to-day when they commit abomination. For instance, the reports of many divorce cases reveal the calm and unabashed attitude of men and women from all classes of society, in giving evidence upon conduct, at once abominable in the sight of God, in the light of the Seventh and Tenth Commandments, and to the minds of decent citizens. Not only is adultery rife in our land, but the heinous sin of covetousness. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife . . .” (Tenth Commandment). This is one of the great root sins of to-day. The Duke of Windsor, in his recent book, writes of the woman he loved and married, to the disparagement of the British Throne. The woman he professed to love was at the time a married woman. She had to obtain a divorce before the Duke himself married her. Shame has been indeed cast aside.
The prophets in these times, who prophesy falsely, are many in number. Not only do preachers and professors of theology, in professed Christian Churches, teach erroneous doctrines and remain silent regarding certain Biblical truths, such as election and eternal punishment; but they would, like Dr. Warr of St. Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh (as far as Scotland is concerned), have us turn back to pre-Reformation religion and practices according to the Anglican and Romish pattern. And here we would emphasise, that up-to-date teaching of some of these false prophets includes tolerance and charity for the Pope and his so-called Church, which is the “Mystery of Iniquity.” They thus cry out to Protestants, “Peace, peace, when there is no peace,” and when there cannot possibly be peace between the Christian Protestant and the anti-Christ of Rome.
But further, we refuse to receive correction at present; and the following words in Jeremiah are only too true of Britain now—“O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return” (Jer. v. 3). We have come through a second world war, crisis after crisis economically have beset us, the Korean War concerns our young manhood, the threat of a third world war hangs over the nation; and in addition, the Most High has recently taken the rod to us in Persia and now in Egypt. And yet there are no signs of a national return to the Lord and His precious Word and holy ways, in repentance and fruits answerable thereto. Even so, these words still sound out from the pages of Scripture, “Return, thou backsliding Israel.” May a day of the power of the Spirit of God, for Christ’s sake, bring the people of this our land to hear and obey the Truth.