Hark, how the watchmen cry!
Attend the trumpet’s sound;
Stand to your arms, the foe is nigh,
The powers of hell surround.
Who bow to Christ’s command,
Your arms and hearts prepare;
The day of battle is at hand—
Go forth to glorious war. — Charles Wesley.
O Lord, thy work revive,
In Zion’s gloomy hour,
And let our dying graces live
By thy restoring power.
O let thy chosen few
Awake to earnest prayer;
Their covenant again renew,
And walk in filial fear. — Phebe H. Brown.
O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy. — Habakkuk 3:2
And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. — Mark 13:7
Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. — 1 Corinthians 16:13
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For ye wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. — Ephesians 6:11-12.
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.—2 Timothy 3:1-2
THE present hour is a time of bewilderment. The world is full of unrest. Christendom is in a perilous condition. Turn which way we will, we are confronted by portentous clouds full of danger and death. These things are so for the reason that we are living in a transitional age. The customs and habits of ages have been revolutionized by steam and electricity. Knowledge is increased, but private morals and civic virtues are far below the proper standard. The rum power was never more masterful, malignant, and aggressive than now. It antagonizes the kingdom of Christ constantly, vigorously, and everywhere. The dance, the theater, vile pictures, and vile literature combine to corrupt and destroy our youth. The Sabbath is recklessly desecrated; the house of God is abandoned, and the Bible is despised by millions of our people. Here and there are those who occupy chairs in schools of theology or pulpits in the churches who for the sake of appearing smart align themselves with the scoffers and infidels of this and other times and countries. Too many, working people, toilers with hand or brain, have taken themselves outside the range of Christian influence and more and more are becoming utterly earthy and of the earth, A thousand remedies might be proposed for this sad and alarming condition of affairs, but in all the range of possibilities there is but one sure remedy, and that is the living Gospel of the Son of God. It will surely destroy sin and cure all human ills if it can be put in practice in daily life. There is absolutely no call for any new truth; the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ meet in the fullest manner all the demands of these disturbed times. It is absolutely certain that in the dissemination of these teachings there is no occasion for extravagant, sensational contrivances. What is needed is the plain, simple, intense, persistent presentation in all our pulpits of the whole round of Gospel truths. Then there must be holy living on the part of all preachers and professors. In these the unbelieving world has a right to demand an illustration of the reality of Christian truth. The example must go with the precept. There is nothing like holy living to give emphasis to the Gospel.
By Bishop W. F. Mallalieu
Updated 2023 Nathan Zipfel
