stir and fewer headlines in the daily press than would be given to the sinking of one

battleship, this people, of their own free will, have yielded the blood-bought rights of a

thousand years, handed over their most sacred liberties for the duration of the conflict,

voluntarily placed themselves in a state of bondage and accepted the possibility of a

curtailment of rights comparable with that obtaining in a slave state. For what reason?

There is but one answer: "There's a War on."

With this national lesson before his eyes the believer would do well to ponder its

application in the spiritual realm, and as he becomes conscious of many restraints, of

irksome limitations of his present enjoyment of spiritual freedom, let him acknowledge

that in their willing renunciation the children of this generation can teach a wonderful

lesson to the children of light, for true liberty must wait the crown of true peace for its

unrestricted enjoyment. "The liberty of the glory of the children of God" (Rom. 8: 21).

Among the conditions of life imposed by the Great War was one which was called

"The black-out". Like Israel, the believer can have "light" in his dwelling, but the

outside world will be found covered with a darkness that may be felt.  It is the

characteristic of our spiritual foe to work in darkness; our enemies, said the Apostle, are

"The rulers of the darkness of this world" (Eph. 6: 12).

For the safety of those who must walk abroad in the period of the "black-out" it was

arranged that while, owing to the conditions of the conflict, they were not permitted the

indiscriminate use of lamp or torch or to throw light upon any and every object, they

could use a torch of sufficient power to show their immediate path, and thus avoid

obstacles and find their required haven. When, therefore, we meet any who complain

that the Bible does not illuminate the vast geological ages preceding the advent of man;

when the Scriptures leave much unsaid regarding the nations outside Israel, and leave

untouched numerous philosophical problems, there is but one covering answer: "There's

a war on". The Scriptures have been given for the use of the wayfarer during the present

spiritual "black-out" and, if rightly used, they will indeed prove to be what the Psalmist

said God's Word was to him, "A lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"

(Psalm 119: 105).

To avoid accident during the darkness we were urged to look carefully before we

stepped off the curb into the traffic, and the Apostle advises the believer in similar

spiritual conditions, to "Walk circumspectly . . . . . because the days are evil" (Eph. 5: 15,

16). While the word "circumspectly" well conveys the idea of "looking all round", the

word akribos which it translates is one indicative of even more insistent care and

accuracy. There were, moreover, special crossings which were safe for pedestrians who