April 1

" G ive the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness to the king’s Son. He will judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor with justice. The mountains will bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousnessø5In His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth."

Psalms 72:1-3

War is the result of the distrust and jealousies that prevail among the nations, and all of these are but expressions of the sinfulness of men’s hearts. Until all this is curbed there can be no lasting peace for mankind. Men may try to bring about universal peace by treaties and covenants, but as long as sin rules in their hearts their efforts will only end in disappointment and heart rending strife. Only when the Lord Jesus Christ asserts His power, at His second coming, will the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ (Revelation 11:15). Then all the glorious predictions of the prophets will be literally fulfilled and wars will cease out of the earth, for everywhere men will own the authority of Him who alone can carry out the divine program. So long as He is rejected, there must be conflicts and misunderstandings among the nations, but when He comes to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16), God’s will shall be done on earth as it is done in Heaven (Matthew 6:10).

Soon Thou shalt come in bright array,

With all Thy saints in train—

To conquer earth, erect Thy throne,

And o’er creation reign.

Lord, haste that bright expected day

When earth shall cease to groan;

When all Thine own shall be with Thee,

And Thou upon Thy throne.

Then streams of everlasting praise

To Thy blest name shall flow—

From all the ransomed in the skies,

And those on earth below.

—C. G. Crowston