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“O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee,” Daniel 9:7.

The words of Daniel above, go a long way to answering my question. The state of the nation is indeed very closely linked to the relationship it has with the Lord. This is a truth that is not only linked to Israel, the elect nation, but it applies most definitely to any nation that has been favoured by God with a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

No nation has been more favoured than that of the United Kingdom. Out of it went a translation of the Bible in 1611 which has shaped the English-speaking world, and still does. It was the birth place of the modern missionary movement in the eighteenth century, something that may be likened unto the aftermath or lesser repeat of the harvest of Pentecost.

But oh how that has changed! Today, the ‘official view’ of both the religious and the scientific world, is one based upon a total rejection of the Word of God, which if men were only to obey then they could say with the Psalmist: “O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments,” Psalms 119:5-6. (more…)

For a village of some 400 inhabitants, the sudden death, in a gas explosion at a shop and filling station, of ten of its villagers with ages ranging from five to fifty nine, is an unspeakable catastrophe.

We can only stand at a distance and grieve for those whose families have suffered such a loss. It seems so empty to give expression to sorrow but as one who has witnessed devastation on a similar scale on many occasions in my lifetime we can but offer sympathy and, above all, remember the sorrowing in prayer.

 (top row, left to right) Leona Harper, 14, Robert Garwe, 50, Shauna Flanagan Garwe, five, Jessica Gallagher, 24, and James O’Flaherty, 48, and (bottom row, left to right) Martina Martin, 49, Hugh Kelly, 59, Catherine O’Donnell, 39, her 13-year-old son James Monaghan, and Martin McGill, 49, the ten victims of explosion at Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday, 7th October.

There is One, only One, Who can comfort in such circumstances and He is the One spoken of in our old hymn:

Standing somewhere in the shadows you’ll find Jesus

He’s the only one who cares and understands.

Standing somewhere in the shadows you will find Him

and you’ll know Him by the nail prints in his hand

Some may point the finger at the Lord and blame Him for such a tragedy but to do so is wrong, very wrong! The ancient patriarch Job sets the standard and the pattern we must adopt in such circumstances. What sorrow came on that man in a moment! (more…)