Hugh McKail

I have mentioned a number of times in this blog that one of the main reasons that the covenanters in Scotland of the 17th century suffered so much was because they refused to acknowledge the English king and that he was the head of the church. The persecution was severe; in fact, the covenanters called it "the sifting time." How did these men, women, and children face such bloody times?

Hugh McKail was a covenanter preacher who was sentenced to death for his views of Christ as the only king. As he approached the scaffold he sang Psalm 31, and the crowd who was watching the proceedings began to sympathize with him. As he mounted the steps, the people began to groan and mourn, but he turned and said to them, "Friends and fellow sufferers be not afraid, every step of this ladder is a degree nearer heaven." At the top he said, "And now I do willingly lay down my life for the truth and cause of God, the Covenants and work of Reformation, which were once counted the glory of this nation: and it is for endeavouring to defend this and extirpate that bitter root of prelacy that I embrace this rope."

His final words were these: "As there is a great solemnity here, a confluence of people, a scaffold, a gallows, people looking out of windows; so there is a greater and more solemn preparation of angels to carry my soul to Christ's bosom . . . Farewell father, mother, friends and relations; farewell the world and its delights; farewell meat and drink; farewell sun, moon and stars; Welcome God and Father; welcome sweet Jesus Christ the mediator of the New Covenant; welcome blessed spirit of grace, the God of all consolation; welcome glory, welcome eternal life; welcome death! Into Thy hands I commit my spirit." At the age of 26, Hugh McKail gained the martyr's crown. There is only one king, and that is King Jesus; and that is worth dying for.

Fears of the Christian

What do you fear? Are you afraid of death? Sickness? Pain? Separation? Can you define your true fears? A unique answer to those questions was once given by Chrysostom, the great church father. Empress Eudoxia had been sending him deeply threatening letters, that is, against his very life. His response is illuminating: "Nil nisi peccatum timeo." That Latin saying is simply translated as "I fear nothing but sin." What do you fear?

Soldier of Christ

In his book De Corona Militis, Tertullian tells the story of a Christian soldier in the emperor's army who refused to wear a laurel wreath upon his head in honor of a sacred idol. All the other soldier's wore crowns of bays upon their heads, but not this soldier. He came under great ridicule and mockery from the other soldiers and, in particular, other Christian soldiers. Tertullian defends the man: "This soldier was more God's soldier, and more constant than the rest of his brethren, who presumed that they might serve two Lords, and, for avoiding persecution, comply with the heathen in their superstitious rites." This example, of course, raises the question for each of us: how often do I simply comply with culture so as not to be persecuted, ridiculed, or mocked. Are we not soldiers of Christ? Then let us stand at our post and let the world do its worst.

Christian Courage

When the great reformer Martin Luther was travelling to the Diet of Worms where he was to be tried by the church for heresy, he was warned he would be given no safe conduct. He was considered a heretic, and, therefore, worthy of abuse and even death. As Luther neared the city, a friendly priest came out and warned him, "Do not enter Worms!" But Luther, undismayed, turned his eyes on the messenger and said, "Even should there be as many devils in Worms as tiles upon the housetops, still I would enter it." "I was undaunted," said Luther, "I feared nothing." This reminds me of Psalm 3 in which David is under such fierce persecution, yet he can say: "I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around." How could he say such a thing? Because "O Lord, you are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head" (v. 3).

Our Utmost for His Highest

God's service is not easy and cheap. It may cost us dearly, but we are called to give our very best to the work of the kingdom. A good example comes from the life of the famous British soldier General Gordon. Because of his work in China in the nineteenth century, the government wanted to reward him with money and titles, but he refused all those honors. He was finally persuaded to accept a medal inscribed with his various military engagements. After his death, this medal could not be found. He had had it melted down and the proceeds given to the poor children of Manchester during a particularly severe famine. He wrote in his diary the following words: "The last and only thing I have in this world that I value I have given over to the Lord Jesus Christ."

Who is King of the Church?

When we examine candidates for the gospel ministry in presbytery often the first question we ask is, "Who is head of the church?" Many simply answer, "Jesus". In reality, I would argue that one needs to be more specific and say, "Jesus alone." The fact is that many of our Scottish Covenanter ancestors were martyred over that very issue in the 17th century.

One of the great antagonists against the covenanting church in Scotland in those days was a cruel, barbaric man named Claverhouse. His desire was to remove every Covenanter from this scene of time. He is well known as the murderer of John Brown. Alexander Peden says of his friend John Brown, "Brown was a clear shining light, the greatest Christian I ever conversed with." Claverhouse attempted to have John Brown take the Oath of Abjuration, but Brown refused to take it, "declaring as every true Covenanter did that they knew no king but Jesus Christ" (Horne, Torchbearers of the Truth, p. 90). Claverhouse then said to Brown, "Go to your prayers, for you are going to die." Brown's prayer was so moving that Claverhouse's soldiers refused to lift a hand against Brown; Claverhouse killed him himself.

Claverhouse, after the dreadful deed was done, turned to Isabel Brown, and said, "What thinkest of thy husband now, woman?" She replied, "I thought much good of him and now more than ever."

And, so, when we ask the question at presbytery of our ministerial candidates, "Who is the head of the church?", we hope and pray that they answer, "Jesus alone." That would have been the answer of our forebearers such as John Brown and other Covenanters like him!

The Testimony of the Holy Spirit

Many today feel that Christian belief in the Scriptures is not rationally justified. Faith is seen as an irrational necessity that is permissible only if it does not touch upon aspects of life that are governed by more sensible, rational analysis. Many today believe that faith deals with that which is unknown (unreal) and reason has to do with that which is the “real” reality.

On the contrary, belief in Scripture is not fideism (a belief that is arbitrarily chosen with no rational justification). Rather, Christians trust the Scriptures upon the most rationally justifiable grounds: the testimony of God, who does not lie. The Christian knows this testimony through the written word of God, and is made able to see its indisputability (despite spiritual blindness) by the Spirit of God. This is what Calvin called the “self-authentication” of Scripture. Elsewhere, he follows Hilary of Poitiers (a doctor in the early church), stating that “God is his own best witness.”

While we don’t shy away from demonstrating the truthfulness and reliability of the Scriptures in manifold ways, using reason and evidences, we know it will fall upon deaf ears without the Holy Spirit. Though all creation and providence affirm the message of Scripture, men are blind until the Spirit illuminates their minds. Calvin states, “unless this certainty [from the Spirit], higher and stronger than any human judgment, be present, it will be vain to fortify the authority of Scripture by argument.” Therefore, let Christians pray that the Spirit of God would mercifully revive hearts to hear his voice in the Scriptures.

ARG

Standing Your Post

A new exhibit has opened up in Charlotte this month: it is called a Day in Pompeii. For years archaeologists have been uncovering the remains of that city which was destroyed by the ash and lava of a devastating volcano. Researchers have discovered much evidence of people attempting to flee the catastrophe, and some people are forever "frozen" in a running position. But one man did not run. Burgess records that "At the city gate was found a skeleton of a Roman guard. There he had remained, both hands clutched about his weapon, while the very ground on which he stood trembled and the fiery ashes were gradually burying him; after these many centuries, he was found at his post of duty."

We Christians are to be soldiers for Christ. We live in enemy territory. And one day the world will come to an end, and it will be cataclysmic. And where will you be? Will you be running? Or will you be standing your post?

Submission to God's Will

In his A Faithful Narrative of Surprising Conversions, Jonathan Edwards tells of a young woman who was converted after having lived a riotous life. But soon after her conversion she was beset by severe physical trials that ended in a slow, painful death. As she faced the dark, fearful unknown her faith was strengthened by the Lord to the point of joy and exultation. Edwards writes:

"She had great longings to die, that she might be with Christ; which increased till she thought she did not know how to be patient and wait till God's time should come . . . 'I am quite willing to live, and quite willing to die; quite willing to be sick, and quite willing to be well; and quite willing for anything that God will bring upon me! And then,' said she, 'I felt myself perfectly easy, in a full submission to the will of God' . . . The same week that she died, when she was in distressing circumstances as to her body, some of the neighbors who came to see her, asked is she was willing to die? She replied, that she was quite willing either to live or die; she was willing to be in pain; she was willing to be so always as she was then, if that was the will of God. She willed what God willed. They asked her whether she was willing to die that night? She answered, 'Yes, if it be God's will.' And seemed to speak all with that perfect composure of spirit, and with such a cheerful countenance, that it filled them with admiration."

Partial Obedience to One's Call

The church needs people who obey the word of God and obey his calling to them. Adoniram Judson, after graduating from seminary, received a call from a very important church in Boston; he was to come as its assistant pastor. Many congratulated him on receiving such a desirable offer and position. Judson responded unexpectedly by saying, "My call is not here. God is calling me beyond the seas. To stay here, even to serve God in His ministry, I feel would be only partial obedience, and I could not be happy in that." The Forward reported after Judson's death that "The fashionable church in Boston still stands, rich and strong, but Judson's churches in Burma have fifty thousand converts, and the influence of his consecrated life is felt around the world." God does not want people of "partial obedience", but rather he wants those who obey him and keep his word.

Tithing

The Moody Monthly once reported a story of a church in Siam that was composed entirely of tithers: "There are 400 members, and every member tithes. They receive 40 stangs (less than twenty cents) and their rice each week. Of this, each gives weekly one-tenth. Because of this they have more for Christian work than any other church in Siam. They pay their own pastor, and have sent two missionary families to spread the Gospel in a community cut off from the outside world. They are entirely responsible for this work and are very earnest about it. They are intensely interested in all forms of Christian work, especially work for unfortunates of every kind, and their gifts for this kind of work are large. They not only have accepted Christ but also, having found him good, are making him known to others. And every member is a leper."

Humility

I recently heard the story of a young Scottish minister who was asked to be the guest preacher one Sunday morning in a large church in Glasgow. As he prepared to preach, he strode to the pulpit with eyes blazing, head held high, and with a demeanor of clear confidence in what he was doing -- and it bordered on arrogance. He preached and the sermon clearly did not go well. When he was done, he descended the pulpit slowly with his head bowed and tears in his eyes. The church's older and much more experienced pastor was there that morning, and so the young minister asked him what he did wrong. The wise pastor answered, "If you had gone up the pulpit the way you came down, that would have been a good start."

It reminds me of the story of the two covenanter pastors who were standing at the foot of the steps that led to the scaffold for their execution. One turned to the other and said, "I am less fearful to go up these steps than the steps into the pulpit."

J. Hudson Taylor and Martyrdom

J. Hudson Taylor's response to the news of the martyred CIM missionaries:
"Oh, think what it must have been," he said, "to exchange that murderous mob for the rapture of His presence, His bosom, His smile!" He paused, trying to control his voice. "They do not regret it now," he continued. "A crown that fadeth not away. They shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy.'" His mind had gone to the Book of Revelation (3:4).
Later, he penned these words in a letter to one of the families, "We thank God for the grace given to those who have suffered. It is a wonderful honour He has put upon us as a mission to be trusted with so great a trial, and to have among us so many counted worth of a martyr's crown...When the resumption of our work in the interior becomes possible we may find circumstances changed, but the principles we have proved, being founded on His own unchanging Word, will be applicable as ever. May we all individually learn the lessons God would teach, and be prepared by His Spirit for any further service to which He may call us while waiting for the coming of our Lord."

Submitted by JD

Proverbs

For the last year we have been reading through the Book of Proverbs in our Sunday morning worship service. At times, it feels as if we are drinking from a fire hydrant: one grand adage after another. Has this worship exercise really been worth it? I would answer with a resounding yes! Matthew Henry gets at the heart of the issue when he says: "What good use may be made of Proverbs? Those who are young and simple may by them be made wise, and are not excluded from Solomon's school, as they were from Plato's. But is it only for such? No; here is not only milk for babes, but strong meat for strong men. This book will not only make the foolish and bad wise and good, but the wise and good wiser and better."

How to Face Persecution

Broomhall, in his book Martyred Missionaries of China Inland Mission, tells the story of the persecution of missionaries in Shan-Si province, China during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. He quote a letter written by a missionary to her parents:

"The sufferings and privations we endured cannot be told, and I do not want to dwell upon them. The Master suffered, so must we follow in His footsteps, at least it is reserved for some to do so. May He accept how we bore it for His name's sake. I can truly say -- even for the little ones of the party -- no hatred seemed to be felt. Those of the children who knew a little compared it to how Jesus was treated, and spoke about the naughty soldiers who treated Jesus badly. Mr. and Mrs. Saunders' little Jesse, aged seven, who died on the road, said when they were stoned and beaten, 'They treated Jesus like this, didn't they mother?'"

Henry F. Lyte

In the last two Sunday evenings, Jake Spencer has been teaching us a hymn written by Henry F. Lyte called "Abide with Me; Fast Falls the Eventide" (#402 Trinity Hymnal). Jake also told us the story of the hymn, and I wanted to take a moment to put that history on paper for us as a congregation.

Henry Lyte was born in Scotland on June 1, 1793. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. And throughout his life he dealt with on-going and threatening health problems. Yet, he was a tireless pastor. For the final twenty-three years of his life, he pastored a small and poor church among fishing people at Lower Brixham, Devonshire, England. While there his health continued to worsen. His last sermon among the people was in 1847, and some recall that he had to crawl to the pulpit, a dying man preaching to his congregation. In his sermon he wanted to "induce you to prepare for the solemn hour which must come to all by a timely appreciation and dependence on the death of Christ." He then traveled to Italy to try and convalesce, but on his way he died in Nice, France and is buried there.

The hymn "Abide with me; Fast Falls the Eventide" was completed by Lyte shortly before his last sermon and his leaving his parishioners. It appears that he knew his time was short. He wrote, "I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless; ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness. Where is death's sting? where, grave, they victory? I triumph still, if thou abide with me."

Answer to Prayer

In 1932, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was on an extended visit to the United States. He was engaged to speak at the Chautauqua Conference Center. He had not planned on going there, but, at the last minute, one of the speakers got sick. Lloyd-Jones was hurriedly put in his place. This was a week long engagement, starting on Monday and ending on Friday. Over the years the conference had become secularized, but there were a few Christians who continued to pray for better things to come for it. On Monday, July 11 some thirty people came to hear him (although there were thousands at the conference). By Friday, Lloyd-Jones' final service, was moved to the concert hall which held 6,000 people and the place was packed.

A Kindred Spirit

The well known Princeton theologian B.B. Warfield tells the following story about a US army officer:

"He was in a great western city at a time of intense excitement and violent rioting. The streets were overrun daily by a dangerous crowd. One day he observed approaching him a man of singularly combined calmness and firmness of mien, whose very demeanour inspired confidence. So impressed was he with his bearing amid the surrounding uproar that when he had passed he turned to look back at him, only to find that the stranger had done the same. On observing his turning the stranger at once came back to him, and touching his chest with his forefinger, demanded without preface: 'What is the chief end of man?' On receiving the countersign, 'Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him for ever' -- 'Ah,' said he, 'I knew you were a Shorter Catechism boy by your looks!' 'Why, that was just what I was thinking of you,' was the rejoinder."