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“Now it came to pass after this, that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead. And David said, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him. But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants come unto thee for to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land? Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the midst hard by their buttocks, and sent them away,” 1 Chronicles 19:1-4.

As I said in part one of this Gospel study, these verses formed part of my daily Bible reading on Monday, 25th November. As I read them I thought of the parallel there is between the kindness of David, the reaction of the Ammonite king and princes to his kindness and the parallel reaction of men to the greater kindness, by far, of the Word that the Lord sends to sinful man, amidst the mourning that sin has wrought universally amongst us!

Please consider: —

I. THE WORDS OF SYMPATHY TO THE MOURNERS CAME FROM A GREAT KING.

We are told that at that time, following a series of great victories by David over neighbouring nations, that it had all come about because, “Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went,” 1 Chronicles 18:13.

1. For David to take note of the sadness that had come upon the household of “Nahash the king of the children of Ammon”, by the death of the old king, was an act of gracious kindness. It is very obvious from the passage that David was engaged in the establishing of his kingdom with the help of the Lord. For him to take the time to consider the grief of the family of Nahash indicated his love and concern for the family of a man who had shown kindness to him (verse 2).

Likewise, we can say with the Psalmist that “The LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth,” Psalm 47:2. Yet, the “great King”, “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” John 3:16. That displays kindness and love at their ultimate level!

It has ever been a source of great wonder to me, and indeed to all who have experienced the saving grace of God, why he ever took notice of me. (more…)

“‭Now it came to pass after this‭, that Nahash‭ the king‭ of the children‭ of Ammon‭ died‭‭, and his son‭ reigned‭‭ in his stead.‭ ‭And David‭ said‭‭, I will shew‭‭ kindness‭ unto Hanun‭ the son‭ of Nahash‭, because his father‭ shewed‭‭ kindness‭ to me. And David‭ sent‭‭ messengers‭ to comfort‭‭ him concerning his father‭. So the servants‭ of David‭ came‭‭ into the land‭ of the children‭ of Ammon‭ to Hanun‭, to comfort‭‭ him.‭ ‭But the princes‭ of the children‭ of Ammon‭ said‭‭ to Hanun‭, Thinkest‭ thou that David‭ doth honour‭‭ thy father‭, that he hath sent‭‭ comforters‭‭ unto thee? are not his servants‭ come‭‭ unto thee for to search‭‭, and to overthrow‭‭, and to spy out‭‭ the land‭?‭ ‭Wherefore Hanun‭ took‭‭ David’s‭ servants‭, and shaved‭‭ them, and cut off‭‭ their garments‭ in the midst‭ hard by their buttocks‭, and sent them away‭‭,‭”‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ 1 Chronicles 19:1-4.

These verses formed part of my daily Bible reading on Monday, 25th November. As I read them I thought of the parallel there is between the kindness of David, the reaction of the Ammonite king and princes to his kindness and the parallel reaction of men to the greater kindness, by far, of the Word that the Lord sends to sinful man, amidst the mourning that sin has wrought universally amongst us!

The Saviour uttered those immeasurably kind words, recorded in Matthew: “‭Come‭‭ unto‭ me‭, all‭ ‭ye‭ that labour‭‭ and‭ are heavy laden‭‭, and I‭ will give‭‭ you‭ rest‭‭.‭ ‭Take‭‭ my‭ yoke‭ upon‭ you‭, and‭ learn‭‭ of‭ me‭; for‭ I am‭‭ meek‭ and‭ lowly‭ in heart‭: and‭ ye shall find‭‭ rest‭ unto your‭ souls‭.‭ ‭For‭ my‭ yoke‭ ‭is‭ easy‭, and‭ my‭ burden‭ is‭‭ light‭,‭”‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ Matthew 11:28-30.

The two terms the Saviour uses to describe mankind are “labour” and “heavy laden”.  The word “labour” carries the meaning of ‘weary, tired, exhausted with toil or burdens or grief.’  “Heavy laden” refers to the ‘placing of a burden upon, to load up.’

The Lord Jesus knows the heart and state of mankind better than any! In truth, apart from the Bible and the faithful expositions of its teaching by godly witnesses, there is nothing in all the annals of men that has come anywhere near describing the miserable state of the human heart or the origins of that misery!

The consequences of that misery and man’s reaction to it, the fruitless seeking after relief through drugs and alcohol, the delving deep in to pleasure-seeking, even man-contrived religion – all have availed nothing!

Yes, men have linked such behaviour, to a degree at least, to the wretched distress that is everywhere present among men. However, they have not, cannot, truthfully identify the reason for such misery nor prescribe an answer!

Man, the most intelligent and educated, is incapable of understanding his own heart. It is only revealed to men by the Word of God.

“‭The heart‭ ‭is‭ deceitful‭ above all ‭things‭, and desperately wicked‭‭: who can know‭‭ it?‭ ‭I the LORD‭ search‭‭ the heart‭, ‭I‭ try‭‭ the reins‭, even to give‭‭ every man‭ according to his ways‭, ‭and‭ according to the fruit‭ of his doings‭,‭”‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ Jeremiah 17:9-10.

Only the Lord can “search” and “try” (examine) the human heart. It remains an ‘enigma’ to the wisest of men who reject the Bible’s revelation of it.

The Gospel is God’s cure for the miseries that SIN has brought upon mankind. The origins of sin amongst men goes back to the day when Adam, the representative of humanity, for in him physically the seed of all humanity resided, disobeyed the terms of the Covenant which the Lord made with him as our representative.

The ‘Shorter Catechism’ explains the matter with great proficiency!

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Question 16: Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression?

Answer: The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity (1); all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first transgression (2).

(1). And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:28, KJV).

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:16-17, KJV).

(2). Therefore as by the offence of one [judgment came] upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [the free gift came] upon all men unto justification of life. (Romans 5:18, KJV). (more…)

The following headline appeared in the ‘Belfast Newsletter’ of Saturday, 22nd November 2025.

Paul Givan: Supreme Court ruling on RE is complex and cannot be ignored … but I want to offer reassurance that under my leadership, Christian faith will continue to shape education in Northern Ireland

The article is by Paul Givan, current Minister of Education in the Stormont ‘power-sharing executive’.

Whether in ignorance or a mere deceitful political ‘spin’, what Mr Givan proclaims is just not true! Sadly, such has become the ‘gullibility’ of the Ulster Protestant that, if the DUP were to issue these prevaricated press statements printed on a concrete brick, they would still be swallowed!

He states that ‘Christian faith will continue to shape education in Northern Ireland’ under his leadership.

In truth, that which is taught as ‘the Christian faith’ in schools today is not what the Bible teaches, and has not been for a long, long time!

It undoubtedly is what is proclaimed as ‘Christianity’ in the majority of pulpits today and from there, it migrated into the classrooms decades ago.

What it is in truth

What it really is, is a religious ‘hodgepodge’, born out of the combined blind folly of ‘ecumenical’ and ‘modernistic theological’ education advisors from both the camp which purports to be Protestant and the Romanist camp.

Mr Given states: ‘On Wednesday the UK Supreme Court delivered what has been described as “probably the single most important legal decision, certainly in the last century” concerning religious education and collective worship in Northern Ireland. This ruling has significant implications for our schools, and I want to address it clearly and decisively.

I know there will be many from a faith background who are anxious about the potential consequences of this judgment.’

This is not factually true. The UK Supreme Court decision is merely a development and a consolidation of that process of undermining the Bible in the classrooms of Ulster which began many years ago. The introduction to the classroom has been the MOST IMPORTANT DECISION affecting children since the Protestant Reformation!

The truth of the Gospel was surreptitiously removed from the classroom and supplanted by a meaningless jumble of words and phrases which are echoes of Bible terminology but utterly failing to convey the message of Christ, which may be summed up in His words, recorded in John 3:36.

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

Indeed, such terms, as here are used by the Saviour, were forbidden to be used by teachers as instructed many years ago in a Stranmillis College document for trainee teachers. (more…)