Giant Hours With Poet Preachers

selections appearing i

e taken from the foll

nd The Fiery Cross Publ

y, New

HE VOICE OF WAR, PEACE

long has been accused of having no religion, really has a very definite one. He has a religion that embraces all the Christian virtues, such as love, sacrifice, brotherhood, and comradeship,

rth has ever suffered. Some of us have been thinking of this war in terms of Christian hope. We have thought that we see in it a new Calvary out of which shall come a new resurrection to the spiritual world. We have dreamed that men are bei

watchman in the night, like a sentinel crying through the very title of his second book, "All's Well." Then came The Vision Splendid, and soon we are to have The Fiery Cross. The publishers were kind enough to let me examine this last book while it was

ND IT

erica's reasons for b

does he do it better

e concluding stanza of

s high p

you going,

burdened p

r all God

His sweet S

ith you, Gr

sion S

poet addresses himself in lines

n most, to

in His ti

as White Knig

flower of

s Pilot by

well' what

sion S

enham writes we can hear the echoes of some great scriptural word of promise, or hope or faith or courage. The Christian, as well as those who never saw the

deep, tender understanding does he write in "To You Who Have Lost." You may almost

ow! I

ache, the empt

ang o

t sinks beneath

reless, still th

roken,... Oh, m

hink o

er think

w men get the

save a world

oblest death

God, and Righ

death is Im

's

here" cannot be buoyed by that, I know no

ts who have been in the midst of the conflict. We have become familiar with this picture, but no writer yet has caught its

oses-God

ope in Hi

time still

iery

; does not forget that the world is hungry for it; does not forget that it is the duty of the poets

AND IT

this great heart standing sentinel on the walls of the world, wa

! What of

ght w

uised and sicken

crime again

ys are

HE MORNI

*

-clouds and the

omise of the

rise, new char

o dry and all h

Christ loves

e shal

ith all the forc

ght. No more

gross agon

is time sha

ph of His

ut let, or

g of His

the Powers o

plumed for n

ow with radi

n loveline

T THE MORN

's

certain popular move-and success to it-to rebuild the destroyed cities of France and Belgium. But the rebuilding that the poet speaks of in "The Winnowi

tart, Lord, to

eter, and free

e and your bui

r Time and

's

as meaningful. Hearken it, ye world! Only in Him can the new spiritual world be built for "Time and Eterni

the world hen

l go up and

himself answers

Men of G

rything

e next-in their M

l the world he

ll go up and

ng, has the worl

y God's help

iery

mmortal," which is introduced, as are so many of Oxenham's poems, by a phrase from

your kn

eart and so

ars ma

, by His

e rough ways

iery

SS AND

me, every mother and father and child and wife who has suffered because of this war, shall henceforth understand the Christ and his cross the better. All through this writer's i

of His radi

ny a on

hrough the Va

larger

he grace of the

to meet

t not one but h

f the Cross,

sion S

at hope! Thank G

one type of German cruelty of which we have heard in the war dispatches several times and that have been

ame to, he

o a cros

Christs you

y count

ed dully i

become a

thought, 'all

y are cr

sion S

ruel experience who knows but that there may be such

ST AND H

commingle so closely that one overlaps the other. But always these two things stand out-the cross and the

mpathetically, having in mind again the lads that

ith wondrous

s He gentl

lessings brea

them in H

sion S

axter," we have a wonderful picture of the oft mentioned

was wondro

more wondr

holes just

ite hands

it was that w

o wondro

id the dying

cent re

er said it

now what C

sion S

d and Christ. "Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels" this poet takes seriously, thank God. This word from

soul of

of Chri

of Christ

one there

g which most

immor

*

love of Chr

cease to se

l man

e of imm

lls so sa

ist-an

iery

him. He knows that he must have the Christ if he wants to grow great enough to meet life's demands. In a

all my littl

great he

ide and t

ke of Chri

wn small a

t Thou ma

love of Chri

shalt make

iery

in Tolstoy's The Resurrection; an old-fashioned conversion of a human being; a Paul's on the road to Damascus experience. And the tragedy is that just about the time that the world

away m

away

me a

t I di

rags, the

e and t

e, yea

own to

me a

t I ha

sh me i

runnin

me wi

sh me

runnin

h runni

e, ah

e me al

of the

an of t

the soul

of def

of the

an of t

runnin

h runni

running

et and

e, ah

hall be

iery

ND HI

books. Behind the cross and behind the Christ stands the Father, and a treatment of this great poet's writings would not be c

h of the Father's voic

ad

there is-

ye may s

which ye ma

Life's High

our buildi

nce more a

Him, han

, in His Gra

hings that s

ng done a

sion S

n the service flag, which in "Each window shrines a name," he has felt God

ther all the

to His Go

pled, soiled

al them wi

l of them h

ever ye

e, and all h

purpose

et his f

ll Done' o

sion S

at those who give up all, to die for God's plan, to take the cross in suffering that

e admonished that we

gold and feet o

uild anew and

find G

o His

's

nderstand, we might find ourselves ineligible for the Kingdom, but the Book says everywhere, "He that believeth on me s

in characte

rt sight to

broken stro

m all th

hopes, of de

war, the use

ith larger,

ll see

Y WAS

's

y of darkness and hate and hurt and war and woe and want, of seeing hopel

od

se

lo

kn

ght is

ght is

ripeness o

His vast p

heir grace-wo

accomp

l see the p

eneficen

on in

on in

quers al

Dea

's

tion: ALF