By the Editor
The Signing of the Peace
We are told: ―
“By six o’clock when the first round of the Peace salute was fired, a dense crowd had gathered in front of Buckingham Palace, and as soon as the first shot from the artillery in the park was heard the small Royal Standard on the Palace was hauled down, and a much larger one· hoisted in its place. The King came out on to the balcony and made a speech.... He said: ‘Peace has been signed. So ends the greatest war in history. I join with you all in thanking God.’”
And the mighty crowd that had been cheering the Royal Family over and over again, sang:
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”
After the Prime Minister had signed the peace on behalf of his King and country, he, while the rest of the Plenipotentiaries were signing, wrote a letter to the King, telling him that peace had been signed. This letter (reproduced on next page) was sent to the King by aeroplane from France.
Why do I rewrite this page of British history? To turn our minds to higher, holier, things. Thankful we are, indeed, for the peace that God has given us, and we all with one heart say, “Praise God.”
But the peace of nations, and among nations, is not the peace of God. The agony of the earth, long drawn out through years of awful strife, is seeking amelioration from its sorrows in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. But not one word on that treaty signed there, that has altered by its clauses well nigh all the maps of the world, and has sought to bring a chord of harmony out of all the discords of mankind―not one word has been inscribed there that can tell how a sinner at war with God can know what it is to have peace with God.
It is a human document, the best doubtless that human brains could devise but it will ever carry with it the limitations of the human mind. It cannot give to the nations any hopes beyond the bounds of time. And the great tragedy of the soul stands confronting us―the soul in every human being―the soul that must live forever―the soul that must one day meet its God.
What is the charter for the nations that will give peace to man at war with his God? By whom has it been signed and ratified? What are its provisions?
The charter for the nations is the Bible—the inspired word of God. Peace for man at war with God has been settled and proclaimed. Its provisions are all clearly defined, by minds inspired by God, in the Book of God.
This charter of peace has been signed and ratified by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. It has been proclaimed on earth, and ratified before the throne of God in heaven.
In Romans 3 verse 10 to 20, we read the condition of all the world before God, and the character of every man and woman in the world. Please read these verses.
The Proclamation of God
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The Proclamation of the Saviour, the Son of God
The Proclamation of the Holy Ghost
If you will take God’s wonderful Book and read it for yourselves, you will see written there in letters of gold the imperishable and unchangeable provisions of grace that God has made for the human race. And remember as you read that “forever the word is settled in heaven.” And again remember that heaven and earth shall pass away; but God’s words shall never pass away. These words of mercy and, judgment will last in their integrity as long as God lasts.
Ah! men and women who may read this, would to God I could put the Word of God into your hands, and into the hands of every human being, and by believing prayer bring the winds of blessing from the four quarters of the world to blow upon you with Pentecostal power, so that the fact of the everlasting love of the everlasting God might fill your hearts, and you might know that the Son of God has made peace for you by His finished work on the cross of Calvary, and that His first word in resurrection to His gathered disciples “Peace”!
Your soul demands for its eternal peace a treaty of peace divine in its conception, and in its every clause. This you get by faith in Christ — the Christ of scripture. The Christian says, “He is my peace... who hath made peace.”
And when this poor world, shaken now by the wild convulsions and earthquakes of wars and internecine strife, shall he utterly destroyed by the judgment of God, there will be a home of peace for all who trust in Christ, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall rest as a diadem on every child of God.
Dear friends, help us to send far and wide God’s treaty of peace to a world at war with Him―and pray that His Holy Word may be blessed among all the nations of the earth. Please read our last page.