riotic. An exile by the rivers of Babylon, the Israelite
refused to forget Zion. "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right
hand forget its cunning"--that was the cry wherewith his unconquerable
soul faced an overwhelming destiny. And in this respect Jesus Christ
was true to His race. He was a patriot. He worshipped in the
synagogues, and went on pilgrimages to Jerusalem, because He loved the
national institutions of His country. One note of true patriotism is
anguish. It is when love is great that the folly and sin of the person
beloved pierce the heart.

The patriotism of the Founder of Christianity expressed itself in a cry
of agony which has reverberated through the centuries--"O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are
sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." That cry is the measure
of His patriotism.

Judged, then, by the example of its Founder, Christianity must produce
the spirit of love and loyalty towards one's own country. There was a
patriotism before Christianity, but it was that of arrogance,
aggression, and self-glorification. It was a patriotism which meted
out only contempt to other races. To the Jew the Greek was only a
Gentile dog; to the Greek the Jew was only a contemptible Barbarian.

But the patriotism which is animated by the Christian spirit is far
other. It is not the vaunting of pride nor the shouting of vulgar
ditties. It seeks the glory of its own country, but the glory it seeks
is the glory of the greater service rendered to humanity. Conscious of
its own defects, it does not condemn others. With eyes cleansed from
prejudice, it beholds the good in other races. It seeks the first
place for its own nation because it acts the noblest, loves the best.
All the elements which make up the strong power of patriotism--love of
family, love of neighbours, love of race, love of country--Christianity
has purified them all. True patriotism is, then, a fruit of the
Christian religion, a virtue which falls to be inculcated by the
Church. If Christianity be the projection of the Christ-life into the
midst of every generation, then the life that reflects the beauty of
Christ must be a life animated by the deepest love of one's country.

***

It was Dean Stanley who rendered God thanks in Paisley Ab