I happened to have met on Friday morning,
before I decided to come down here, one of the most eminent Scottish
divines, a great and old friend of mine, Dr. Whyte of Edinburgh. We were
discussing what I have got to say today. I remarked to him, "I have only
one day on which to say it, and as that is Sunday afternoon I am very
much afraid my constituents won't listen to me." He replied, "If they
won't have you, come to Scotland, and we will give you the best Sunday
afternoon meeting you ever had." But I thought I would try Wales first.
[Cheers.] He told me that in the Shorter Catechism you are allowed to do
works of charity and necessity, and those who tell me that this is not
work of necessity do not know the need, the dire need, of their country
at this hour. At this moment there are Welshmen in the trenches of
France facing cannon and death; the hammering of forges today is
ringing down the church bells from one end of Europe to the other. When
I know these things are going on now on Sunday as well as the week days
I am not the hypocrite to say, "I will save my own soul by not talking
about them on Sundays." [Cheers.]
Do we understand the necessity? Do we realize it? Belgium, once
comfortably well-to-do, is now waste and weeping, and her children are
living on the bread of charity sent them by neighbors far and near.
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