The Discipline of War

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Discipline of War, The

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Title: The Discipline of War Nine Addresses on the Lessons of the War in Connection with Lent
Author: John Hasloch Potter
Release Date: November 1, 2005 [EBook #16979]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE DISCIPLINE OF WAR
Nine Addresses on the Lessons of the War in Connection with Lent FROM ASH WEDNESDAY to EASTER SUNDAY
WITH AN APPENDIX CONTAINING
SUGGESTED SUBJECT FOR MEDITATION, AND SUITABLE PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE, FOR EACH DAY IN LENT
BY THE REV.
J. HASLOCH POTTER, M.A.
_Hon. Canon of Southwark and Vicar of St. Mark's, Surbiton, Surrey_
London SKEFFINGTON & SON 34, Southampton Street, Strand, W.C. Publishers to His Majesty the King 1915

AUTHOR'S PREFACE
The war has introduced into countless lives new conditions, and has strangely modified, or emphasised, those already existing. These Addresses, prepared under much stress of other work, are intended to supply, in very simple fashion, hints for conduct and points for thought along the lines of our fresh or deepened responsibilities. An Appendix gives a suggested subject and a passage of Scripture for each day during Lent. May God the Holy Ghost, without Whom man's best labours are in vain, bless this little book to its purpose. Please say a prayer for the writer, who, as much as any, needs grace that he may try to practise what he preaches.
J. HASLOCH POTTER.
Surbiton. The Conversion of St. Paul. 1915.

FOREWORD
Kingston House, Clapham Common.
_January 19th, 1915._
My dear Canon,--
You have invited me to say a few words introductory to the little book you are putting forth, and of which you have sent me the advance proofs.
From the great excellence of that which I have read, I am convinced that your Lenten meditations on the Discipline of War, will be of pre-eminently spiritual value in a time when publications on the subject are multiplied. That the war is to leave us on a higher plane of self-discipline, and with higher ideals of citizen life and responsibility, every Christian must acknowledge. Your little Lenten scheme is just that which is needed to give reality and action to what might otherwise be left in the realm of theory. May the Holy Spirit make use of your work to the benefit of us all and for the Glory of God.
Your sincere friend,
CECIL HOOK, _Bishop._

CONTENTS
I PAGE
The Discipline of the Will 1
II
The Discipline of the Body 9
III
The Discipline of the Soul 18
IV
The Discipline of the Spirit 27
V
Discipline through Obedience 35
VI
The Discipline of Sorrow 44
VII
Discipline through bereavement 52
VIII
Discipline through Self-sacrifice 62
IX
Discipline through Victory 70
* * * * *
Appendix 81

THE DISCIPLINE OF WAR
I
=The Discipline of the Will=
ASH WEDNESDAY
Isaiah lviii. 6
"Is not this the fast that I have chosen?"
Discipline is the central idea of the observance of Lent. An opportunity, rich in its splendid possibilities, comes before us this year. Much of the discipline of this Lent is settled for us by those tragic circumstances in which we find ourselves placed.
God seems to be saying to us, in no uncertain tones, "Is not this the fast that I have chosen?"
Our amusements are already to a large extent curtailed, maybe by our own individual sorrows or anxieties; maybe by the feeling of the incongruity of enjoying ourselves while anguish and hardship reign supreme around us.
Our self-denials are already in operation, under the stress of straitened means, or the vital necessity of helping others less favoured than ourselves.
Our devotions have already been increased in frequency and in earnestness, for the call upon our prayers has come with an insistence and an imperiousness that brook no denial.
To this extent, and further in many directions, our Lent has been taken out of our own hands; ordered and pre-arranged by that inscrutable, yet loving, Providence which has permitted the War to come about.
Thus, at the very outset, we are brought into harmony with the central idea of discipline--not my will, but God's will.
Broadly, discipline is defined as "Mental and moral training, under one's own guidance or under that of another": the two necessarily overlap, and therefore we shall speak of God's discipline, acting upon us from outside, and of our own co-operation with divine purposes, which is our discipline of self from within.
In the forefront of the subject, and including every aspect of it upon which we shall touch, stands that tremendous word--will.
Have you ever attempted to gauge the mystery,