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An old acquaintance visited after 58 years!

“For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us,” Isaiah 33:22.

I first read this verse on 5th January 1965. It was my first day as a student for the gospel ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church. Dr Paisley was conducting class. He had however an appointment elsewhere and so he flicked through a Bible and chose this verse and said: “Give me an introduction, three points and a conclusion. I will be back shortly and I will see what you produced.”

There were three other students there that day. James McClelland was in his third and final year. James Beggs and William Beattie had been attending evening classes. All were therefore somewhat acquainted with the requirements of sermon preparation and immediately got down to examining the verse.

I looked at the verse in utter consternation for in truth, being only nine months a Christian, I had no idea what the verse was referring to. I had little or no understanding of the ministry of Isaiah or the character of the days he preached in or the message he was charged with delivering to Judah.

I really cannot recall what I put down on paper by way of ‘an introduction, three points and a conclusion’. I do know that it was not worth remembering. Dr Paisley returned in about an hour and as ‘fate’ would have it, he first asked me for my ‘production’. I will not tell you what his response was but I will say that I felt as never before my ignorance of God’s Word.

James McClelland, being James, jumped in to my defence and none too gently reminded Dr Paisley that it was my first day etc, and that he was being too hard on me. I will not give you a ‘word for word’ account of James’ intervention, though it is engraved in my memory, but it did have an impact on Dr Paisley. There was revealed to me for the first time that his bark was worse than his bite. He took up my scribbles again and said: ‘That’s not too bad at all. You could develop that alright!’

I am not ashamed to say that my lip was trembling most ominously but Dr Paisley’s latter response cheered me up somewhat!

So began a lifetime of learning God’s Word. Today, I am returning to this verse for the first time since that day long ago. I never did feel inclined to preach this verse, but today (Thursday, 1st June) in my daily I read it yet again, accompanied by the memories of that ‘dramatic’ start to my studies. I immediately felt that I would like to set down something of what I now understand the verse to mean. As I do so, I am very aware of the journey the Lord has led me on and the ‘tutors’ who helped on that journey and under God’s merciful blessing, were to me as Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:24-26), not least of which was my wife, Ann, in my early days, aye, and still so today.

Let me examine now that old verse which sits like a milestone in my memory. (more…)

A timely testimony from 130 years ago

Mary Ann Chaplin (1844-1922) a Strict Baptist lady, a member of ‘Ebenezer Chapel’, in Chelmsford, where I have preached in the past, was a strong Protestant. She was of Huguenot descent, one of eleven children.

The Lord began His work of grace in her heart early in life, and she was baptized at the age of fourteen. She wrote her first published piece of poetry when only eleven. She continued to write all her life, and herein is a sample of her gracious, wise and timely words, copied from one of her publications: “CHIMES FOR THE TIMES”, published in 1891.

M J Tryon, a Strict Baptist pastor in Stamford, in his preface to the second edition of “CHIMES FOR THE TIMES”, sent forth in 1907, said this: “Mrs Chaplin writes out of the abundance of her heart; believing deeply ‘Chimes’ ring forth no uncertain sound; thus they delight and cheer the heart of her fellow-pilgrims, who, though not possessing her gift of expression, can and do appreciate her grace and her gifts.”

Her reference, in the third verse, to the  ‘Throne’ and its ‘kowtowing’ to popery in Queen Victoria’s day, is even more relevant today!

Surely, “the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.”

THE POPE’S BLESSING

A Protestant Sigh

It came upon the Spanish fleet
Three hundred years ago,
As tangible a blessing as
A despot could bestow;
It took the form of cannonade,
Of thumbscrew, whip, and priest,
By which the Bible reading ones
Identified the Beast;
But this was England’s safety then,
And this was England’s hope, —
God’s curse has ever rested on
The blessing of the Pope.

Thumbscrew, and cannonade, and whip,
With all the flower of Spain,
Came cursing on to England, and
Went cursing back again;
They “raised the wind” by fraud or force,
Her liberties to smother,
But God — in answer to her cries—
In justice raised another.
Billow and fire and sturdy aim,
And English tact had scope,
When Heaven’s thunder laughed to scorn
The blessing of the Pope.

To-day the curse is in his heart,
The while with lips he blesses;
Infidel, Godless England, sees
No harm in his caresses;
The maudlin men of' “modern thought”
Can grip no standard truth;
And Jesuits in the English Church
Have Romanised our youth;
The very Throne has bent itself
To Leo’s trampling feet;
Can God do otherwise than let
Such sin with sorrow meet ?

We beckon on this blessing Pope!!
Who holds Victoria vile;
And fain would give her “moonlight” fare
As in the Sister Isle;
“No faith with Heretics” is still
The Papal undertone,
And Englishmen are fools who think
That Rome is kinder grown ;
“Kill, kill,” she says; let Manning’s words
Our sad attention win,
For life and liberty go out
When Leo’s power comes in.

He has learned wisdom (of a sort)
From signalised defeat;
So those who shrived the “moonlight” hordes
Are ordered to repeat —
How the “good Father” has a wish,
For English law to reign,
Lest boycotting and murder spoil
The plan of their campaign!
And though all history pours its light
On the deceptive wile,
Our fascinated Senators
Bow gratefully and smile.

Ah, here is England's danger now,
In spite of every hope, —
God’s curse has ever rested on
The blessing of the Pope;
The old Armada fought with Him,
But crumbled at His touch;
And England, if she bends to Rome,
Deserves His wrath as much.
Oh, for a prayer of th’ olden time,
One strong, low, gushing cry;
For error's crescent sweeps our sea,
And who can pass it by?

The battle is the Lord’s, my friends,
The battle is the Lord’s;
We are with Him whatever meed
The earthly state accords;
His grace, His truth, His promise, stand
As in the olden days,
He can afford to wait, though we
With indignation blaze;
But for our children, for ourselves,
For England’s common sense,
God drive conviction’s fire-ships through
This squadron of pretence!

Two of the many faces of Sinn Fein!!

The ‘Irish News’ carried the following headline in today’s (31st May) edition.

Sinn Féin’s John Finucane accused of ‘glorifying terrorists’ over plans to attend republican commemoration event

The advertised event is due to take place next month

The ‘Irish News’ report includes the following statements.

“SINN Féin’s John Finucane has been accused of ‘glorifying terrorists’ by plans to attend a republican commemoration event in Co Armagh next month.

Sinn Fein MP John Finucane is due to speak at the event. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA

He is listed as the main speaker at the South Armagh Volunteers Commemoration, which is due to be held at the Mullaghbawn Community Centre on June 11.

An advert for the event is featured beside a ‘Roll of Honour – South Armagh Brigade’, which lists more than 20 names.

But former DUP leader Arlene Foster, who shared the image of the advert for the event on social media, has criticised Mr Finucane’s plans to attend. ‘For all those fawning over Sinn Fein, here is one of their MPs glorifying terrorists and making it sound like a fun day out for all the family.’ She said the Sinn Féin MP would be ‘glorifying terrorists’ by speaking at the event.”

Part of the Terrorism Act, 2006 says this:

(3) For the purposes of this section, the statements that are likely to be understood by [a reasonable person] as indirectly encouraging the commission or preparation of acts of terrorism or Convention offences include every statement which—

(a) glorifies the commission or preparation (whether in the past, in the future or generally) of such acts or offences;

and

(b) is a statement from which members of the public could reasonably be expected to infer that what is being glorified is being glorified as conduct that should be emulated by them in existing circumstances.

The event which is planned for June 11th in South Armagh and at which the Sinn Fein MP is advertised as the main speaker is most assuredly an event which glorifies the IRA terrorists of the ‘South Armagh Brigade’, whose murderous ’exploits’ they are ‘honouring’! (more…)