“That our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace,” Psalm 144:12.

Here in the island of Ireland, we are all familiar with granite. It is seen in large displays such as our Mountains of Mourne and in  the Irish Republic there is the extensive range of the Wicklow mountains. Smaller samples of this stone are seen in graveyards, marking the graves of the departed.

It is described as ‘an igneous rock consisting mainly of quartz, mica and feldspar. It is extremely durable, as it is not easily chipped or damaged by heat. Hundreds of colours can be found naturally, which makes granite a perfect design element to homes or businesses.’

Frequently it is used in the making of an ornamental stone to mark the building of a church and it is ‘ceremonially’ laid by a guest at a ‘stone-laying’ service, so familiar to Free Presbyterians.

The stone referred to in our text is not named but if we think of a granite stone we will easily understand the spiritual point that is to be observed in this verse.

Consider:

I. POLISHING BRINGS OUT THE INWARD BEAUTY OF GRANITE

This father is requesting of the Lord that daughters might experience the moving of His grace in her life whereby she may show forth a beauty that He alone can produce in a life. “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness,” 1 Chronicles 16:29. This world does not consider ‘holiness’ beautiful but the Lord does. It is that ‘beauty’ this father desires in daughters.

1. Not all rocks or stones can be polished. Were some rocks subjected to polishing they would merely crumble away. There is no richness in their composition that can be brought forth by polishing.

2. There are rocks which can be polished. Not all men and women consist of that which may be polished and made beautiful. By nature we are merely ‘clay’. But the marvellous grace of God transforms a sinner who believes the gospel and he/she becomes a ‘new creation’. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new,” 2 Corinthians 5:17. From the ‘clay of depravity’ the sinner is transformed and becomes one of the precious stone built into the spiritual temple of God. (more…)

The following headline appeared on the local BBC news site on Monday 22nd April, 2024.

 Joe McCann: Attorney general orders fresh inquest into Official IRA man’s death

The shooting of Joe McCann, fifty-two years ago this month, has been at the centre of an ongoing campaign by Republicans to have his death declared as murder.

This latest chapter in that controversy has stirred afresh for me memories of events some 58 years ago when providence placed me in the company of Joe McCann every day for three months.

I have written about that time before and this latest development prompts me to mount again the article I wrote back in 2016.

I am once again moved to ponder the merciful providence of God that brings men under the sound of the gospel and the all too common reaction of sinners to that mercy!

Below is the 2016 article I wrote on Joe McCann.

Sincerely in Christ’s name,

Ivan Foster
24th April, 2024

Joe McCann, IRA gunman, and his three months under the gospel

by Rev Ivan Foster

The death of IRA man, Joe McCann, is once again in the news. Attempts are being made to put on trial those soldiers who were involved in the firefight when Joe McCann was shot by paratroopers. McCann (24) was commander of the Official IRA’s third Belfast battalion. In February 1972, McCann was involved in the attempted assassination of Ulster Unionist politician John Taylor. He was regarded by the security forces as a dangerous terrorist. McCann was shot by soldiers in disputed circumstances in Joy Street in the Markets area, close to his home, on April 15, 1972. One of the men, Soldier C, is a grandfather from Hampshire, England, who served with distinction for 23 years. “How can this be justice?” he asked. “It is a disgrace. I was doing my duty in Northern Ireland, trying to protect the public and keep the peace. Now I am being thrown to the wolves.”

I had a close association with Joe in the Crumlin Road Jail for three months in 1966. Most Free Presbyterians will, I hope, know that Dr Ian Paisley, Rev John Wylie and I, a second year student at the Free Presbyterian Theological Hall, spent 90 days in prison as a result of being prosecuted for our part in a protest against the ecumenism of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland on 6th June 1966. (more…)

The folly of the DUP in going back in to Stormont and, by so doing, re-activating the means whereby the enemies of righteousness that are the political parties in Ulster (with the exception of the one member of the Traditional Unionist View party, Jim Allister, who sits there) were able to push their evil agenda for the future generation in Ulster, was clearly demonstrated yesterday in a debate on a motion calling on the Education Minister to support ‘compulsory, standardised, inclusive, high-quality, evidence-based and age-appropriate relationships and sexuality education’ (RSE) in schools.

The motion was passed by the Assembly. The DUP may have opposed the motion — though it must be noted that there appears to have been no reference to God’s Word and the moral standards of behaviour and lifestyle which He has ordained and thereby there was a failing to set forth the true and only real basis of opposition to the evil supported by the motion.

In truth, despite their feeble opposition, the DUP made such a debate and such a decision possible in the Assembly by their RETURNING to Stormont and that on the basis of their deceitful claim that they had won the argument on the implementing of a border in the Irish sea (the reason for their withdrawal) which excluded Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom!

We are still excluded from the UK and the DUP won no victory at all despite their repeated claims of such! A recent report in the ‘Belfast Newsletter’ had the following statement: “Consignments of fresh seafood are being either impounded or sent back to Scotland at Belfast port thanks to the Protocol.”

So much for the DUP’s victory. What a party of lies and chicanery it is! (more…)