The Covenant of Grace and the Preaching the Song of Solomon ‘This Silence’

Christian Life (Part 3) - Page 4 (Part 3) - Page 8 Page 16

A Trustworthy Saying
1 Timothy 1:12-17 (Part 3, page 12)

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Philippians 1 v 9-11
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Christian Life (Part 3)
Theme verses
Philippians 1:9-11

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FIRST WORD
As I write these words we have recently started to
meet together once again as a church family, following
over three months of being in ‘lockdown.’ What a
delight it is to be able to gather once more as God’s
people and worship him together!

In the third chapter of the book of Ezra we are told

about another day, many years ago, when worship was
restored. God’s people had recently returned from their
time in exile, and for the first time in many years they
could gather in Jerusalem to worship God together. This
chapter teaches us five key principles for worship which
are relevant for the church in our day.

1) Worship was their top priority

As chapter 3 begins, it is likely that the Jews have only
been back in Jerusalem and its surrounding regions for
a week or two. Many tasks lie before them: repairing
houses, tending to fields, finding work, and so forth.
But what was their top priority? To worship God! And
so, “the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem”
(v1). Everything else could wait; nothing else was as
important as this. First and foremost, they would
worship God. May we have the same priority today, to
gather with God’s people and worship him - whatever
else competes for our time and our attention.
2) Worship was the key to their unity
Throughout the chapter, the note of unity is repeatedly
struck. They gathered as “one man” to Jerusalem (v1),
they worked together (v8-9) as the work of rebuilding
the temple got underway, and “all the people” praised
God for the progress that had been made (v11). How
could these 50,000 or so people, who had travelled from
various parts of the Persian Empire, enjoy such instant
unity? Because worship was their top priority! They
were united together because above all they desired to
worship God.
As we gather together as the church there are many
differences amongst us, but when worshipping God
through his Son Jesus Christ and by the power of the
Holy Spirit is our top priority, the church enjoys blissful
unity!
3) Worship was the source of their comfort
Having recently returned from the exile, the Jews found
that there were many adversaries now living in the land
(see 4:1ff). The enemy was all around them! But this only
spurred them on to get the altar rebuilt and resume the
worship of God in Jerusalem. Notice the connection in
verse 3: “They set the altar in its place, for fear was on
them because of the peoples of the lands.”
When we are aware that the Enemy is close at hand,
prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking someone
to devour (1 Peter 5:8), where can we find comfort? In
drawing near to God in worship, and being strengthened
and comforted through the means of grace.
4) Worship was in line with God’s word
After roughly seventy years in exile, how would the Jews
worship God now that they were back in Jerusalem?
Was this a good opportunity to try something different,
something novel, in worship? Far from it! Time and again
in this chapter we are told that they worshipped God in
line with his word (see especially verses 2-6).
We need not (and must not!) invent ways to worship God.
He has told us already how he desires to be worshipped,
so we must worship him in line with his word.
5) Worship was from the heart
Worshipping God in line with his word does not mean
that our worship must be formulaic and bereft of
emotion. Rather, our worship should be from the heart.
In Ezra chapter 3, the concluding scene describes the
worship of those who had returned from the exile. Their
worship was a surprising mixture of joyful shouts and
weeping (v13): joy for what God had done for them
already, but weeping for the ongoing struggles they
were experiencing.
Give thanks to God that our worship services have
been restored. And, as we gather to worship Sunday
by Sunday, may these five principles characterise our
worship: may worship be our top priority, the key to our
unity, and the source of our comfort as we worship God
in line with his word, from the heart.

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 The Covenant of Grace and the
Christian Life (Part 3)
T his series is about what the covenant of grace is
and how it affects our lives as Christians. Part one
explained that the covenant of grace is God’s one plan of
salvation to rescue all his elect by the work of Jesus Christ.
We looked at how Romans 4 entails that if Paul used
Abraham and David as examples of the way that Christians
today are justified in a legitimate manner, which the Spirit’s
inspiration guarantees, then those men had to be justified
in exactly the same way as we are: by faith alone in the
Messiah. God has always saved his people in the same way
then, which is what we mean by the covenant of grace.
Part two then looked at how the covenant of grace helps
us to read our Bibles well. 1 Corinthians 10:1–6 very clearly
shows how all of Scripture is about Christ, and we need
to see all of Scripture in reference to Christ. Christ is the
substance of the covenant, meaning no matter what the
outward feature of God’s people might be at a given time,
God’s true people are bound to him in Christ. Part three
now thinks more in depth about what God’s people ‘look
like’ now.
Part two outlined a distinction between the substance
and the administrations of the one covenant of grace.
Just like the substance of a trip to the ice cream shop is
always a scoop of ice cream but that substance may be
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delivered in the administration of a cup or a cone, so too
the substance of the covenant of grace is always that God
will be a God to us by the work of Christ, but that promise
may be administered through the symbols and types of the
Old Testament sacrifices and ceremonial laws or through
the more direct applications of the preached Word and the
sacraments in the church. Part three’s purpose is to dig
more deeply into our present administration in the new
covenant to see why the church is necessary and why we
have to be involved in the church if we are to experience
God’s covenant the way that we must.
The new covenant is the administration of the covenant of
grace that we experience. The Westminster Confession of
Faith 7.6 describes this administration:
“Under the gospel, when Christ the substance was
exhibited, the ordinances in which this covenant is
dispensed are the preaching of the Word, and the
administration of the sacraments of Baptism and the
Lord’s Supper, which, though fewer in number, and
administered with more simplicity and less outward glory,
yet in them it is held forth in more fullness, evidence, and
spiritual efficacy, to all nations, both Jews and Gentiles; and
is called the New Testament.”
 hands because we are not able to hold such a thing in that
way. We do need that substance administered. In the same
way, we are not able to put our hands directly on Christ
himself in a crassly literal and physical way, so we need an
administration that delivers Christ to us. In our era, God has
appointed the church and its duties as the administration
that delivers Christ to us now.

The application toward which this article is driving is the

absolute necessity of being involved in our local churches
as the foremost expression of our life with God, but the
distance to that application needs to be bridged here by a
firmer theological footing about the nature of the church
and the continuity of God’s people in the one covenant
of grace. Even though the church as God’s people in the
new covenant’s administration of the covenant of grace
certainly looks different in terms of its makeup and
practice, that does not mean that there are no principles
from Israelite life and worship that no longer apply to
us. Ephesians 2:11–22 contains some very profound
reflections upon how God is creating his one people by
bringing together Jews and Gentiles through Christ’s
reconciling work, which in this instance reconciles people
both to God – most fundamentally – but also to one
another:

As part two argued, the substance of the covenant of “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles

grace in all its administrations has always essentially been in the flesh, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is

Christ and his benefits. God has always promised to be called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by

God to us by Christ’s work. The Westminster Confession hands— 12 remember that you were at that time

explained that same position that Christ is the substance separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth

of the covenant of grace, and in the new covenant, this of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having

administration directly displays the substance. Whereas no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ

if you get your ice cream – the substance – in a cup – Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by

the administration – you have to the blood of Christ. 14 For he

consume that substance indirectly

The application toward himself is our peace, who has
made us both one and has broken
by using a spoon, with a cone –
another administration – you can
which this article is driving down in his flesh the dividing wall

access the substance directly. The is the absolute necessity of hostility 15 by abolishing the
law of commandments expressed
new covenant exhibits Christ, the
substance, in that direct manner. of being involved in our in ordinances, that he might create
in himself one new man in place of
The new covenant’s function as local churches as the the two, so making peace, 16 and
the direct administration of the might reconcile us both to God
covenant of grace’s substance raises
foremost expression of our in one body through the cross,
a particular question though: What
life with God thereby killing the hostility. 17 And
he came and preached peace to
is this administration supposed to
be like? what is this administration you who were far off and peace
of the new covenant? It should be clear that we do need to those who were near. 18 For through him we both
the substance delivered to us in some administration. We have access in one Spirit to the Father.
cannot buy ice cream and have it scooped directly into our

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 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but
you are fellow citizens with the saints and members
of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of
the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the
cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being
joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In
him you also are being built together into a dwelling place
for God by the Spirit.”
Pastors, for some reason, often feel the need to state
things that most of you already know, so apologies, but
it must be remembered that Paul wrote this letter to the
Christians in Ephesus, who were predominantly Gentiles.
The majority of this letter’s first readers did not belong
to God’s Old Testament people, which means that they
were converts to the faith in every sense of the word; they
were not previously members in the covenant community,
accepting Jesus’ true identity when he arrived. Paul’s
explanation of what it meant for them to join the church,
however, sheds a lot of light on the church’s relationship to
Old Testament Israel.
Paul explained in this passage that Christ’s saving work
had made Gentile Christians part of God’s one unitary
people, who always had a relationship to Christ even
before he came as the incarnate
saviour. It is easy to overlook the which means that Christ’s
implications of Paul’s statement
in verse 12 that the Gentile
work removed our
believers ‘were at that time condemnation under the
separated from Christ, alienated
from the commonwealth of Israel covenant of works, but did
and strangers to the covenants
of promise.’ There are two so in a way that brought
immensely profound truths within
these few words. First, there is
people who used to be
a relationship of being separated opposed together.
from Christ and not being part of
the commonwealth of Israel, which was the community
of the covenant promises. This relationship between
these categories entails that membership in Israel as
God’s community provided the opportunity to be united
to Christ, which is identical to the way that people in the
church as God’s community are provided that opportunity
to be united to Christ. Israel had, and the church has,
a relationship to Jesus Christ, which is cemented in
individuals by faith alone. Jesus Christ has always been the
saviour of God’s people who had faith in the Messiah who
would come or who has come.
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Second, the other profound truth in verse 12, which Paul
spelled out in verses 12–22, is that when the Gentiles
were united to Christ, they were also brought into the
commonwealth of Israel. Did you catch that when you read
the passage? The Gentiles ‘were at that time’ not members
of Israel, but verse 13 says in contrast that ‘now in Christ
Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by
the blood of Christ.’ Certainly, this nearness means being
reconciled to God by the forgiveness of sins, but in context
it also entails being joined to the commonwealth of Israel.
Christ brings Christians into Israel. This membership in
Israel does not mean that we become national citizens
of the ethnic or geopolitical people group, but that we
are grafted into God’s community, since the church is
Israel. Paul was very clear in verse 14–16 that Christ is
our peace, which means that Christ’s work removed our
condemnation under the covenant of works, but did so
in a way that brought people who used to be opposed
together. Christ has made ‘one new
man in place of the two,’ meaning
one people for himself instead
of distinct groups of Jew and
Gentile. Christ’s work to save
us from God’s wrath also has
the effect to ‘reconcile us both
to God in one body through the
cross, thereby killing the hostility.’
The forgiveness of sins by Christ
creates a unified people, which
Paul was happy to describe as the
commonwealth of Israel, even in
the new covenant.
Paul’s understanding that Israelite believers were united
to Christ does raise a rich question of application for us in
the new covenant administration of the covenant of grace,
even if you think right now that this article had lost sight of
its promise for that application. We must ask the probing
question: would any Israelite have been able to fathom
the possibility of a relationship with God apart from the
structures of community life that God had revealed in the
old covenant? To be specific: would any faithful Israelite
have accepted the notion that someone could be in a true
relationship with God apart from taking part in the divinely

commanded features of Old Testament religious life, such
as the sacrificial system, participation in the mandated
gatherings of God’s people, and Sabbath observance?
The plain answer is ‘no.’ If an Israelite had suggested that
they were in a true relationship with God, but had simply
discovered that they can walk faithfully with God in a new
way that they had discovered, apart from the things that
God had commanded his people to do as the way to relate
to him, that would not have ended well for them. Certainly,
no one within God’s people would have accepted them as
a true believer, and it would have been obvious that they
were inventing their own religion to suit themselves, but
pretending to love the true God.
We need to understand that the same principle holds
true in the new covenant administration of the covenant
of grace. The new covenant does not differ from the old
covenant in that it permits people to relate to the true
God in any way that they might choose, as some people
imagine. It differs in that the types and shadows have
given way to realities. New covenant people do not gaze
upon actions of animal sacrifices or grain offerings or
festival and dietary mandates that symbolized what Christ
would do, but we hear the direct message about what
Christ has done. Too many have dreamed that Christ’s
pronouncement that new covenant people worship ‘in
spirit and in truth’ means that we can opt how we want to
worship God, as if riding my horse in the forest or walking
on a mountaintop or watching the sunset are equally viable
forms of relating to God as going to Lord’s Day worship to
hear the gospel preached and to receive the sacraments.
The new covenant’s freedom is not that God does not
require us to walk in relationship in a specific way, but
that the way we are required to walk with him clearly sets
forth the substance of the covenant of grace and does
not demand exhausting repetition of ceremonies. Not in
regards to the requirements of becoming right with God
in the first place but in terms of our ongoing Christian life,
anyone who wants to walk in relationship with God must
do so according to the mode of community practice that
God himself has revealed to us. God has revealed that we
need to be under the discipline of ministers and elders,
to hear the preaching of the gospel, and to receive the
sacraments. There are many facets of the Christian life, but
the official church is the apparatus in which those facets
are supposed to take place.
In the covenant of grace, the church is the necessary
place in which we commune with God. Our Lord has not
given us the right to invent any way we choose to have a
relationship with him. Many people pretend that they are
insightful when they claim that it is narrow-minded to think
that the only way to walk with God is by being involved
in the normal patterns of the church. The truth is that
they have forgotten who has authority. In any governed
community, the authority is not in the individual but in the
sovereign and in the written constitution. God has defined
how sinners can be right with him: by Christ’s benefits in
the covenant of grace. The Scripture is the constitution
of the covenant of grace, and the Scripture outlines how
the new covenant administration of the covenant of grace
is meant to walk with God by participation in the church.
We should not lament that God has told us the way that
his people are supposed to be. We should rejoice. It is an
amazing thing that God would reveal to us how we might
have a relationship with him by Christ and how we continue
that relationship by being part of the church. We are not
burdened by ceremonial laws that remind us always of
our sin and misery, but are called to hear the gospel about
Christ himself preached as we are held accountable within
the community of the faithful. The covenant of grace helps
us to understand our place as the people who walk before
God as members of his church.
Harrison Perkins serves as assistant minister at
London City Presbyterian Church, a congregation of
the Free Church of Scotland. He and his wife Sarah
are from Alabama, but the Lord moved them to the
UK in 2016. While doing further studies at Queen’s
University Belfast, Harrison served at a church
in Northern Ireland, which quickly became and
remains ‘home’ to him and Sarah, before taking the
call in London in late 2018.
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 Preaching the Song of Solomon
(Part 3)
A s stated in my previous articles,
it is very difficult to find any
actual progression or storyline
to the poetry in the song. It is
much more a series of recurring
themes in a relationship of love
between Christ and his church.
One prominent theme is that of
“advance and withdrawal” and then
once again of return. As one well-
known commentator of a previous
era (George Burrowes) put it, “The
Christian life is a series of visits
and withdrawals of our Lord, of
revivals of grace in our hearts and
of exposure to trials.”
So, the Song reflects these changing
seasons in the Christian’s life as
well. We are all familiar with ups
and downs in the Christian life: the
warmth and zeal and enthusiasm at
certain times of our lives, only to be
followed by dullness and heaviness
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of heart, and sometimes even
outright coolness or lukewarmness
to the things of God. The church
too has her seasons of advance
and withdrawal - of revival and of
retreat. Churches can face times
of stagnation and decline and then
sometimes, often quite suddenly,
there are times of refreshing
from the Lord, and new members
are added and conversions are
seen once again, and the whole
atmosphere of the church swings
upwards, most often seen in its
prayer meetings. So, whether we
are talking about the individual
Christian life or the wider church,
we all experience seasons of change
and variety in the spiritual life. We
have our own spiritual equivalents
of winter, summer, spring and
autumn —all such seasons are
apparent in church life too, and
just like it is in the world itself,
seasons arrive at different times
and stages depending upon where
you are geographically located in
the world. So some nations, some
churches, some Christians, may
be experiencing good times and
renewal times—for others winter
seems to be the season at present.
The Song of Solomon also shows us
these features - spiritual seasons.
We shall consider chapter 2, but
you can also find similar themes in
chapters 3-7.
At the beginning of chapter 2 up
to verse 7 we have seen the bride
in times of joy and prosperity,
she was truly happy, a summer
time experience of being at the
banqueting house and being held
firmly by the enveloping arms of
the bridegroom, sitting beneath his
shade and eating his fruit. This was
a lovely time for the bride; all was
 to last for very long as she pricks
up her ears in verse 8 and hears
his voice from afar, from across
the hills, and the voice seems to be
getting louder and stronger as he
returns to her - so she cries out,
“Behold, he cometh ….. The voice of
my beloved.”
So, here we have described a return
of the Lord to his church, or to the
individual believer, a nearness after
perhaps a time of discouragement
or trial — or perhaps after a time of
spiritual defeat and sadness— and
this might be for reasons of spiritual
attack or because of personal sin
and neglect. So the first sign of
Christ’s return was this hearing
of his voice. How important the
word of God is in the Christian’s
life, the preached word to our souls
especially. We need to listen out
for his voice, especially when there
are times of dullness and spiritual
lethargy, and the Lord seems
distant.
sweet and peaceful and content.
The bride has already explained (in
She had just heard another of the
verses 8 and 9) how fleet footed
great “I am” statements from the
the Lord was and how he could
Lord in verse 1: “I am the rose of
suddenly appear again (and also
Sharon and the lily of the valleys.”
disappear)— just like the Lord
What words of peace and comfort
actually did in his post-resurrection
- how joyous such times are in the
appearances to the disciples
Christian life.
(e.g. Luke 24:31). But this sudden
re-appearance also reminds us of
However, we read in verse 7 of
the equally sudden coming of the
chapter 2 how the bride was aware
Holy Spirit at Pentecost — suddenly
that this happy situation could
he came, suddenly his word burst
so easily be disturbed and upset,
forward and suddenly his sheep
so she makes what becomes a
heard his voice and responded and
recurring appeal to the daughters
were converted in multitudes—
of Jerusalem: “I charge you, O ye
and such has been the nature of
daughters of Jerusalem …….that ye
countless awakenings and revivals
stir not up, nor awake my love till he
in church history down the years.
please.” As chapter 2 continues we
When he comes, nothing can or will
do find a sudden wintry chill seems
stop him—not mountains (verse 8)
to come on, as the bride finds the
nor even walls (verse 9). Our wall is,
bridegroom has departed and gone
of course, our sin, which is always
away and there is now a loneliness
the barrier to our relationship with
and absence. But it doesn’t seem
the Lord, but he sees it all, he peers
through the lattice/window, nothing
is hidden from his sight. However,
this position of the Lord in verse 9 ,
hidden out of sight from the bride,
is also the present situation of the
church in the world. We can only
glimpse him, see him through the
window lattice, but we can’t touch
him—we can hear him, but not
actually be fully with him—because
of the wall. This wall represents not
just our sin but everything in this life
that separates us from God—our
fallen natures, our situations in this
world as compared to the release
and freedom we shall experience
at death as we enter the other side
of the wall, when sin shall be no
more. However even now, we can
still hear him, his voice penetrates
the wall, we know he is near. One
day these walls that limit us, like
the walls of Jericho, will be suddenly
dissolved —at the shout of God,
the voice of the archangel, the
trumpet of God, then the Lord shall
descend from heaven. But as verse
9 tells us, there are even here in
this life windows, gaps and lattices,
and occasionally we do get a
spiritual glimpse of the Lord, of the
bridegroom—he does show himself
at times—at special times — this
may be at the Lord’s Supper, or the
reading and preaching of the word.
Occasionally there is a deep felt
sense of the nearness of the Lord.
The call from the Lord in verse 10
is also the more general ultimate
call to the church. To come away, to
escape from behind the wall— this
is perhaps ultimately the call to
heaven —to rise up and come away.
We are reminded of the high priestly
prayer of the Lord in John 17, when
the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father
with words in which he expressed
his desire for his church: “Father, I
will, that they also whom thou hast
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 given me be with me where I am,
that they may behold my glory.” Our
Lord wants his church to be with
him in heaven. The Lord wants to
have his church with him in glory
- he wants us to rise up and come
away - to leave the world behind
the wall - to realise that ultimately
our place is not down here behind
the wall, but up there with him.
However, we have to wait for his
call to us to come unto him - we
don’t determine when that should
be, but we must be ready when the
call comes. “Rise up my love, my fair
one and come away.” This is surely
a good verse at the Christian’s
death bed. When that call has come,
we shall fully know that the new
eternal season has also come, it has
begun— that’s what the Lord tells
us here in verses 11 to 13: winter
has changed and gone and spring is
here. To die in the faith is to leave
the winter of this world behind the
wall, for the glories of heaven, the
eternal spring and beauty of where
Christ is.
Another theme we find here in
chapter 2 is that whenever the Lord
speaks about the bride throughout
the Song it is always in rather
surprising terms. He can only ever
see and speak of her in superlative
terms. He refers to her repeatedly
as “the fair one” (verse 10), or “thou
fairest among women” (1:8,15).
The Lord is so pleased with his
bride and takes such delight in his
church, which he has purchased
with his own blood and whom he
is preparing and transforming into
his spotless bride for the great
marriage day of the Lamb. So, the
application is obvious for us—if
Christ so magnifies his church, so
ought we to also , and not to speak
evil of her— that doesn’t mean of
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course there cannot be genuine
criticism or rebuke when called for.
In case we might be in danger of
thinking this is all too other-worldly,
then the end of chapter 2 issues
another call from the bridegroom
to the bride — for a more ‘here
and now’ response. Where is the
bride when this call comes to her
in verse 15? Verse 14 tells us that
she is in the clefts of the rock, in the
secret places of the stairs, and that
the Lord wants to hear from his
church—to hear her voice, to see
her - this then is to be the church
at her regular worship — sweet
is our voice in worship. Here then
also is the believer in his/her private
devotions. The Lord wants to see us
and hear us in such times.
However, this further call of the
Lord in verse 15 is a warning to
the church to watch out. The Lord
is extremely concerned for “the
tender grapes” of verse 15 (also
see verse13). These tender grapes
have a good fragrance; they are
the early grapes during the time of
blossom—they are a promise of
much to come. We are all probably
familiar with this repeated imagery
of vines and fruit in the scriptures.
The fruit is what is vital, that is what
the Lord is looking for and seeking
after and occurs when a person
is brought into a vital, living union
with the main stem who is the Lord
himself (John 15). To begin with the
fruit is small and hardly noticeable.
These are the tender grapes— so
young, so fragile, so tiny and yet so
perfectly formed with much future
potential. Like a developing baby in
the womb —all perfectly formed
and with so much promise for
growth and advance.
Likewise, our spiritual fruit is
tender and vulnerable— as some
babies might also be inside some
of the wombs of mothers who
live in godless societies - such
may need protection and nurture.
So the newborn Christian, the
young convert, or perhaps too,
the covenant child growing up
in a Christian home, needs to be
nurtured and protected from all
the dangers around them of the
godless and wicked. For example,
serious consideration needs to be
given as to what sort of schooling
environment such a tender grape
should be put into, and indeed the
question has to be asked if that
is even possible anymore in our
modern anti-Christian culture?
The passage tells us how the
Lord is extremely concerned for
these tender grapes, and warns
here of dangers—the spoiling and
destruction of such little ones.
What and where is the danger?
The Lord is quite clear that it is
the foxes—some of which may
themselves be quite small - “the
little foxes” — perhaps they are
more dangerous because they
can squeeze through small gaps
in the fences and hedgerows and
get into the vineyards and wreak
havoc, and they can more easily
hide themselves. Perhaps then
these are the small sins, the little
transgressions, the white lies, the
harmless looking types. Our Lord
Jesus once spoke of a big fox (Luke
13:32), King Herod Antipas, who
wanted to kill him, and he told the
Pharisees who had conveyed that
message, “go tell that fox….”.
Jesus summed up the whole of
Herod’s character in that one animal
- the fox—cunning, scheming,
brazen, deceptive, cowardly, a
murderer.
Foxes want to spoil the vines -
Christ and his church. So “catch the
foxes” says the bridegroom—take
them out before they get you—
watch out for them, because they
are looking out for you. You see,
tender grapes are more easily
deceived—they are young and
immature - children need to be
protected and nurtured - they
are not to be thrust out into the
godless world as little missionaries.
Ezekiel also spoke about false
teachers being like foxes in the
deserts- see Ezekiel 13:4. So it
is sin that spoils – individuals,
churches, denominations and
families— so the command in
verse 15 here goes forth “to catch
them”. We are not to ignore them,
or leave them alone hoping they’ll
go away—they are not innocent
tourists in the vineyard—they
are bent on destruction and spoil.
Think of all the godless ideas
around in the popular culture and
the media all seeking to spoil, to
get into our churches and homes
— whether that be evolutionism,
antinomianism, false forms of
worship, or a whole host more—
we are to catch them - stop them.
But also, there are more personal
attacks on the believer — such as
the bride herself lamented over
back in chapter 1 verse 7 when she
cried out “they made me keeper
of the vineyards, but mine own
vineyard I have not kept”. How easy throughout the Song and recur
it is to neglect our own souls! (1 Tim in differing forms, but the overall
4:16) picture is one of betrothal and of a
journey towards the final marriage
So, here we have seen that the consummation supper. There are
Lord has called his church to come seasons along the way—advances
away to heaven with him, and that’s and withdrawals—there are
where we are headed; we go there dangers and there are delights, but
laden with our mature fruit - but the all shall finally be well for those who
path there is full of these dangerous are truly possessed by the Saviour.
predators.
However, there is encouragement
found here too in the bride’s
testimony, in what is surely one
of the great verses of assurance
in all of scripture (verse 16), “my
beloved is mine and I am his.”
That will remind the beleaguered
Christian that no fox will ever be
able to strip him or her, or indeed
the church, of what is theirs.
This is a verse of possession: the
bridegroom has paid the purchase
Neil Beatson. After over 25 years of
price for his bride, sealed in his
pastoral ministry in Africa (mainly
blood, and nothing will stop that
South Africa, but also a few years in
final marriage consummation. Here Tanzania) Neil and his wife returned
is great assurance indeed. But we to Ireland 5 years ago. After a couple
have to wait, it will not be yet - until of years of medical locum work in
the day breaks (verse 17). However, the South of Ireland, Neil became the
until that day the Christian is surely minister of Erne West Evangelical
persuaded of his security in Christ church two and a half years ago. Last
(see 2 Tim 1:12). year, Erne West Evangelical Church
was incorporated into the Evangelical
So, we have looked at some themes
Presbyterian Church.
in chapter 2 which reverberate
11
 A Trustworthy Saying
1 Timothy 1:12-17
(Part 3 of series)
As we continue this series of articles in the book of 1
Timothy, we turn now to verses 12-17 of the first chapter.
In the middle of this section is one of the great summaries
of the gospel:
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full
acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (1:15)
Thomas Bilney was one of the early martyrs of the
Reformation, and this verse was instrumental in his
conversion. He wrote:
“I chanced upon this sentence of St Paul (O most sweet
and comfortable sentence to my soul!) in 1 Timothy 1. “It
is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be embraced,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of
whom I am the chief and principal.” This one sentence,
through God’s instruction and inward working… did so
exhilarate my heart, being before wounded with the
guilt of my sins, and being almost in despair, that even
immediately I seemed unto myself inwardly to feel a
marvellous comfort and quietness, insomuch that “my
bruised bones leaped for joy”. After this, the Scripture
began to be more pleasant unto me than the honey or
12
the honeycomb.”
I trust that as we meditate upon this verse it will
exhilarate our hearts and fill us with marvellous comfort
– just as much as it did for Thomas Bilney all those years
ago.
The fact that Paul calls this phrase a “saying” probably
means that it was a phrase that was common currency in
the early church. Maybe it was a line from a hymn, or part
of an early Christian creed. But wherever this saying was
from, Paul gives it the apostolic seal of approval.
The saying describes a rescue story. It talks of a certain
person coming to rescue certain people from a certain
situation. That’s what the gospel is, in essence; the story
of a rescue. A certain person came to rescue certain
people from a certain situation.
I’d like to consider this saying by asking three questions of
the rescue story that it describes:
1) Who is the rescuer?
Paul tells us three different things about the Rescuer in
this story. The first is that he is Christ. That is his official
title.
It’s the Greek version of the Hebrew word ‘Messiah’. It God, eternal and unchangeable. But, a little over two
means the promised, anointed King, whom God would thousand years ago he came into the world. He took to
provide to rescue, rule and defend his people, forever himself a human nature, born here on earth as the person
and ever. He would be the King over an eternal Kingdom Jesus, to fulfil the role of being the Christ, the promised
– of his dominion there would be no end. The rescuer in King.
this story is that promised King – the one whom the Old Who is the rescuer in this great story? Christ Jesus, who
Testament prophets wrote about, and for whom they came into the world!
were looking, in eager expectation of his arrival. At last,
this promised King, this Christ, came to be the rescuer. 2) Who are those rescued?
The second thing that we learn about the rescuer is that
he is Jesus. That’s his given name. I don’t know if they Paul just has one word to describe those rescued. He
had birth certificates in those days, but if they did then simply calls them “sinners”. Christ Jesus came into the
when Mary and Joseph went to the world to save sinners.
registry office to register the birth, He is fully divine as well. To be a sinner means to be someone
that’s the name they would have who has rebelled against God in
written on the birth certificate. And as far as his divine their heart. As we sometimes say
In fact, the name Jesus literally to the children in our church, “SIN”
means, “the LORD saves” – which nature is concerned, means you say to God, “Shove off
again underlines the fact that this
person is the one who would come
he pre-existed his God! I’m in charge! No to your rules!”
The bible is very clear: this is a
to the rescue. conception. He is God universal condition. With the single
But there is one further thing that exception of Jesus Christ, sin has
Paul tells us about the rescuer in the Son, the second had its wicked way with every
this statement. Yes, he is the Christ, human being who has ever lived.
the promised King. Yes, he is Jesus.
person of the Trinity, “All have sinned, and fall short of
But look at what Paul says next
fully God, eternal and the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
about him. “Christ Jesus came into The consequence of this is that we
the world.” It is easy to skip past unchangeable. all are guilty before God, facing his
those words as if they don’t add right, just punishment for our sin,
very much to the rescue story. But, actually, there is which goes on forever, in hell. Paul says to the Ephesians:
something profound that Paul is saying here. “you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you
When a new baby is born, we sometimes use this phrase once walked, following the course of this world, following
don’t we? “Such and such a couple have had a baby boy, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at
who came into the world on such and such a date.” But, work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all
strictly speaking, that phrase doesn’t really make sense once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the
when we use it in that way. That baby didn’t “come into desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature
the world”, because that baby has never been anywhere children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians
else but the world - you just couldn’t see him before! But 2:1-3)
the entirety of his existence has played out in this world, Amazingly, these are the people whom Christ Jesus came
and in this world alone. into the world to save! He didn’t come to save good
But when Paul says that this rescuer, Christ Jesus, “came people. He didn’t come to call the righteous but sinners.
into the world”, he is using that phrase in its exact, He came to save lost, helpless, rebellious, hell-deserving
literal sense. Yes, as far as the human nature of Jesus is sinners, like me and like you.
concerned, he had never existed anywhere else before
his conception. But there is more to Jesus than just his 3) What is the rescue?
human nature. He is fully divine as well. And as far as his
divine nature is concerned, he pre-existed his conception. If Christ Jesus who came into the world is the rescuer,
He is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, fully and if those whom he came to rescue are sinners, what

13
 actually is this rescue? When Paul says, “Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners”, what is meant by
those two little words in English, “to save”?
The answer is that Jesus saved his people by dying for
them. When he went to the cross, though he was without
sin himself, he took upon his own shoulders all the sin
and all the guilt of all of his people, and then suffered all
of their punishment, all of their hell, on the cross, once
and for all. He did it for them, so that they wouldn’t have
to go there themselves. Do you see, there is an amazing
love at the heart of this rescue story? That the rescuer
would suffer so much in order to rescue those who don’t
deserve it!
Paul says to the Romans, “One will scarcely die for a
righteous person—though perhaps for a good person
one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for
us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:7-8)
The gospel is the greatest rescue story there is! Paul says
that it is summed up for us in a trustworthy way in this
little saying, just eight words in the Greek: “Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners.”
Not only is this saying trustworthy in itself; more than
that, it is “deserving of full acceptance”. That is, it is a
saying that demands a response, and the right response
is to accept it, fully. Let me ask you, what have you done
with this saying, and all that it teaches us?
Have you accepted what it says about who Jesus is – that
he is the eternal Son of God, who took to himself a human
nature and came into this world as the person Jesus, so
that he can fulfil the role of being the promised Messiah,
the Christ?
Have you accepted what this saying says about who you
are – that whatever else you are, at the end of the day
you’re a sinner before God, deserving his condemnation,
and in desperate need of rescue?
And have you accepted what this saying tells us about
what Jesus has done? He came to save sinners, and he
did so by dying for them. Have you trusted him to be your
rescuer?
This is a trustworthy saying, and is deserving of full
acceptance!
In the verses that surround this saying, Paul unpacks
for us the grand scale of this rescue story. He shows
the scale of this rescue in three different dimensions.
He shows us the personal dimension of this rescue,
the global dimension of this rescue, and the eternal
dimension of this rescue.
14
The personal dimension of this rescue
In verses 12 to 14, Paul speaks of his own, personal
experience of this rescue. You know what Paul was like
before he was rescued by Jesus. He says, “formerly I was
a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.”
In Acts 26, when he is making his defence before Agrippa,
Paul talks about what he was like before he was a
Christian. He says, “I myself was convinced that I ought
to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of
Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up
many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from
the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast
my vote against them. And I punished them often in all
the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and
in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to
foreign cities.”
Paul was a great enemy of the church. He was convinced
that he should do everything in his power to stamp out
the church, and oppose Jesus in every way. That’s why in
verse 15 he describes himself as the foremost of sinners.
It is hard to think of anyone who had been so intent on
persecuting the church, and opposing Christ. Paul was the
foremost sinner, but Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners, and that’s what he did for Paul.
On the Damascus Road, Paul met the risen Jesus, and
was not only converted, but as well as that he was
commissioned, in due course, to take the gospel to
the Gentile world. Paul says, “The grace of our Lord
overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in
Christ Jesus.”
Paul describes the grace of Jesus Christ like a mighty
river, which cannot be contained, cannot be stopped,
cannot be hemmed in, and it bursts its banks, and
this irresistible grace sweeps up everything in its path,
even the foremost of sinners like Paul, swept up into
overflowing grace. This overflowing grace of Jesus, when
it came to Paul, completely changed Paul. He says, “The
grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and
love that are in Christ Jesus.” As someone has put it,
when the Nile overflows, crops abound. And when grace
overflows, faith and love spring up.
Paul saw this miraculous, dramatic change going on
within his life. He used to hate Jesus, but now he trusts in
Jesus, he puts all his faith in Jesus, depending on him to
be his rescuer. And he used to hate the church, he wanted
Christians killed, he cast his vote against them so they
would be put to death. But now, he loves them. They are
his brothers and his sisters. And this new found faith in
Jesus and love for fellow Christians, Paul says, can only
be attributed to the grace of Jesus, which overflowed even
for him.
If you are a Christian, the same is true for you as well. I
don’t know what you might have been like before you
were a Christian, but today you trust Jesus, and you love
his people, and it’s only because you yourself were swept
up in the overflowing grace of Jesus Christ!
The global dimension of this rescue
Paul now considers not just his own salvation, but the
salvation of all the other millions of people from across
the world and down the centuries who will come to
experience the same grace of Jesus.
As Paul reflects on his personal experience of the grace
of Jesus, it makes him ponder this question: “Why, in
eternity past, did God choose to save me?”
In one sense, the answer to that question is the same
for Paul as it is for every other Christian. He chose you
because he loves you, and he loves you because… he
loves you! There is no deeper reason than the love of God,
his mere good pleasure.
Yet, Paul knows that there is something unique about
his own experience of grace. There was an additional
reason why Paul, in particular, should be swept up in the
overflowing grace of Jesus. He tells us why in verse 16:
“But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the
foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience
as an example to those who were to believe in him for
eternal life.”
By showing this grace and mercy to someone like Paul,
Jesus was putting on display his perfect patience, for the
benefit of everyone who, later on, would come to believe
in him for eternal life. When God chose Paul for salvation,
it was for your benefit as well!
There are days when as Christians we sin, sometimes in
dreadful ways, and we start thinking to ourselves, “This
is the last straw. Am I even a Christian anymore? Surely
not! Jesus is going to reject me, because he’s run out of
patience with me.”
But, in Scripture, stands the example of the apostle Paul,
in whose experience of grace is displayed the perfect
patience of Jesus. If grace can flow even to Paul, that
same grace can flow to us as well, no matter what sins
we have fallen into – through faith in Jesus his grace
flows to us as well!
The eternal dimension of this rescue
The repercussions of this great rescue accomplished by
Jesus will echo not just throughout the world and down
the centuries, but even into eternity, and forevermore.
The eternal dimension is this: “To the King of the ages,
immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory
forever and ever. Amen.”
This great rescue, accomplished when “Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners”, will redound to God’s
glory, for all eternity! If you’re a Christian, ten million
years from now, you will still be talking about it, and
singing about it, in glory!
Commenting on this verse, John Calvin writes, “[Paul’s]
enthusiasm breaks out into this exclamation, since he
could find no words to express his gratitude… For what
could be more wonderful than Paul’s conversion? At the
same time, he admonishes us all by his example, that we
should never think of the grace shown in God’s calling
without being lost in wondering admiration… How great
a deep is the glory of God!”
Notice how Paul describes God in this verse:
He is “the King of the ages”. He is the God who reigns over
all things – both in this age, and in the age to come.
He is the “immortal” God. He is not subject to decay and
destruction. He is the God in whom there is life itself,
imperishable and incorruptible.
He is the invisible God. As Paul will say in the final chapter
of this letter, this God “dwells in unapproachable light,
whom no one has ever seen or can see.”
And he is the only God. There is none like him.
And it is to this God that Paul, astounded by grace,
ascribes “honour and glory forever and ever.”
Amen!
15
 FROM THE CHURCHES
This Silence by Hazel McMinn
(Written 29th March 2020 during the Coronavirus pandemic,
and inspired by an evening walk)
We dawdle aimlessly along the lane and
out towards the usually noisy, rushing
road–the dog and I,
out for our daily exercise,
fresh air and companionship.
The hedgerows display the soon-to-open
leaves on hawthorns, briers and privets–
the fields and paths have dried somewhat,
since the winter’s deluge.
And all around is silence.
Along the way, the new-formed, ready-to-open
buds on the hardy shrubs shout out
that Spring is here­–
“We’ll soon be flowers!”
a sunshine-bright array of yellow blossoms,
alongside the constant clusters
of silvery leaves, and beside the stems of
creamy-white and buttercup-yellow heads
of daffodils and the jewel-blue hyacinths,
standing to attention.
And the silence.
The extra hour has lengthened the
brightness of daytime, promising that
summer is on the way and dreary days of
winter have almost passed.
The twin lambs race across the field, and
gambol and play with their new-born
friends, signs of new life and hope,
while their proud mothers use the fading light to
fill their stomachs with the last morsels of
the day, before lying down beside their
babies to sleep contentedly.
Surrounded by silence.
Above, the new moon hangs high up in
the darkening sky, accompanied by the
‘Evening Star’. The golden orb of sun
slowly slips behind the horizon–its fiery
rays emblazoning the passing clouds with
tongues of flame, outlining the rows of
aged trees and defining their graceful
shapes and resting shadows.
And all is silence.
16
Coronavirus, so small, unseen, unheard,
unknown, has succeeded in closing down
our world. The like has never before been
experienced and hopefully never will be
again. Our lives, every one of us, affected
in some or every way. All seems hopeless,
uncertain, frightening and dangerous. But
God knows all about it and is still in control.
In this strange silence.
Each day is like the one before for us,
shut-in, no duties or routines as we knew them.
How good that it is Springtime!
How thankful for the garden–
grass to cut, rubbish to rake,
weeds to pull, paths to brush.
The usually mundane and tiresome tasks
of everyday life take on a new meaning
–they are lifesavers, employing us usefully,
rescuing us, rewarding us with pleasing tidiness,
and inspiring us to plan for digging and planting
in the coming not-too-distant days.
Thank you, God, for Springtime–
new life, new hope, and my darling robin faithfully
returning for his daily crumbs.
All still in silence.
Will this strange era end? Will better times return?
No-one on earth can answer these concerns.
But we can hope and, better still,
can trust the God who made us all
and everything around us, and has allowed
the present circumstances to prevail.
He can change, heal, remake, renew when
the time is right. From dust we came at the
beginning–to dust we will return–and in
between our lives are but a vapour quickly
passing away. Each day is precious–enjoy
every moment, never procrastinate.
Even in this silence.
FROM THE CHURCHES
This Silence...
One day, and may it not be long, dear Lord,
we trust that things will return to a
semblance of normality. But many years
may pass before life becomes as we knew it before.
Meantime we must take stock,
weigh up the pros and cons of life,
get things in order, prioritise, review our
values and standards, Give God His Place,
return to holiness and pureness of living,
value life from conception until natural
demise, remembering our mortality and
God’s immortality, and with His help,
make the best of every day, enjoying the
precious, simple things of life.
And the silence.
Conclusion
May God have mercy on us all and give us
grace to cope in these troubled, anxious,
uncertain and extraordinary days. May He
guide, direct, renew and revive us so that
we will be as new creatures in a new,
better and more wholesome world.
Mankind has forgotten God, our Creator
and Sustainer. Can we be surprised that
He has given us up to our own devices?
In this surrounding gloom and
despondency, and during these days of
silence, may we hear the still small voice
of God, calling us to repent,
to love and serve Him, and to pay heed not
only to His warnings, but also to His
promises, one especially precious to me:
“Be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your
requests be made known to God, and the
peace of God which passeth all
understanding shall keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus”.
Philippians Ch. 4 v 6& 7
God be with us all.
Obituary of Rosemary McKinstry
(Ballyclare EPC)
Rosemary McKinstry, a long-standing member of Ballyclare
EPC, passed into the immediate presence of her Saviour in
the late evening of Sunday 1st March 2020. She had spent
the previous six months in nursing care, first at Antrim Area
Hospital, then in Inver Intermediate Centre Unit and finally at
Clonmore, Newtownabbey–in each of which she had received
excellent care and been a wonderful patient and tribute to her
Lord.
Our sympathies go to her dear husband Harold with whom
she was able to celebrate 60 years of happily married life in
December last, and who has been her faithful visitor through
that six-month period of illness. Sympathy is also due to
her daughter Valerie and son-in-law George, both of whom
demonstrated wonderful devotion and love, and also to
grandsons Jonathan and Thomas and their respective families.
Rosemary had become a great-grandparent in the autumn to
Emerald Rose, born and living in the United States of America,
and whom, despite the many hopes, she was not to meet.
Born and brought up in Ballyclare, Rosemary had enjoyed a
happy childhood and had come to faith in Christ aged eleven
under the faithful influence of an aunt who had often spoken
of the need of new-birth. She would be an able comptometrist
and a valued and trusted employee at Shorts Brothers, but
marriage brought family and Rosemary delighted in the new
home and role. She was an ardent cook with a particular
emphasis on baking. She was an able lady and had an eye for
administrative detail in support of Harold’s many ventures.
They were a great team. Later life would see Rosemary in
a new role looking after her two grandsons–a role that she
relished.
Rosemary was something of a gospel stalwart. She had a
keen mind, set on understanding, a love for the Scriptures and
an ardent desire for the salvation of others. Over the years
she had been a fervent supporter of the Ballyclare Christian
Workers’ Union, but also of the Disabled Christian Fellowship,
the Eschol Trust and Blythswood Care. She generally shunned
the limelight but was there to do the work. Her concern was
that people should know Jesus Christ as she herself had come
to know him.
Rosemary’s funeral service was held shortly before the
lockdown in Ballyclare when the focus of our thinking was
God’s gracious dealings in salvation with Lydia whose heart had
been opened. It is to our great comfort that Rosemary is with
Jesus which is far better.
17
 FROM THE CHURCHES

Opportunity Knocks in Ardcarn Estate.

Knock EPC were invited along to a community event in Ardcarn Estate (just up the road from the church) on Monday 13th July.
The community group recommended that 2 people man the stall, so David Fairley and I went along. There were just a small
number of stalls along with a barbecue stand and a DJ for the afternoon. The weather was sunny and we felt privileged to be
there. We brought a gazebo and some signs, plenty of literature to give away, and some freebies for the boys and girls.
The Lord gave us opportunity to speak to lots of different people throughout the afternoon, and it was a blessing to
reconnect with some now grown-up kids from years ago. Please pray that the literature would be read and that many would
seek the Lord.

RJ

18
FROM THE CHURCHES

Junior MINI-Camp Day in North Belfast

Junior Camp has been privileged to minister into the lives of
many children over the years, some of whom have very few
church connections or little Christian support from home.
We took the decision this year to try to reach these boys
and girls in a mini-camp event: just a Saturday afternoon
in a park maintaining the Covid-19 rules as best we could.
The Lord blessed the afternoon with lovely weather and His
presence throughout.

On Saturday 18th July, we met at Grove playing fields in

North Belfast. Camp kids (14) and camp leaders (4) reunited
together; we were also joined by David and Alison Burke
with little Finn sleeping in his buggy. It was great to have
some of the team back together! It was brilliant to meet the
children in person again!

We played camp games. We did camp craft – making our

own glitter slime! We had a camp meeting which was a
“Who did it?” talk on the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The boys and girls participated well and listened intently.
After some worksheets and some more games we all
enjoyed a camp barbecue together. The whole afternoon
really was a sweet taste of Junior Camp!

Please join us in praying for these children; pray that the

Lord would help young believers to grow and mature in their
young and tender faith, even though they have very little
support around them. Pray also for God to open the hearts
and minds of those who, as yet, don’t believe; pray the Lord
would have mercy and save. Each child went home with a
goody bag of sweets and treats and a book to help them
read their bibles – pray that God would stir their hearts to
read His Word.

Robert & Julie for Junior Camp

19
 FROM THE CHURCHES
John Flavel and Covid-19
Around ten days before the UK Prime Minister announced
lockdown on the country in light of the coronavirus
pandemic that is sweeping across the nations of the world
I was reading ‘All Things Made New – John Flavel for the
Christian Life’.
I have been using this excellent little book as part of my daily
devotion,s and on the morning in question I came to chapter
10, ‘Trust God in Tough Times’, part of a series of sermons
Flavel preached based on the text Isaiah 26:20,
‘Go my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind
you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has
passed by’.
How those words struck me as we entered into a period
of confinement in our homes and yet they are words of
immense comfort as Flavel teaches us how to live trusting in
Christ through tough times.
Shutting the doors behind us excludes that which is outside
and helps focus our minds and thoughts on the Lord God of
heaven and earth.
God’s Power
In the midst of fear and anxiety Flavel reminds us in this
sermon of God’s omnipotent and all-sufficient power. It
is the room that is most safe and secure for distressed
believers in a stormy day. ‘The Lord does whatever pleases
him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all
their depths’. (Psalm 135:6)
Recent newspaper articles have not been slow to point
out that the current crisis shows world leaders to be
powerless in this pandemic as the nations grind to a halt.
Flavel reminds us that God’s power is the supreme power
and an everlasting power. ‘Time will decay the power of the
20
strongest creature, and make him faint and feeble, but the
Creator of the ends of the earth will not grow tired’.
God’s Promises
No one knows how long this present situation will last
but we can be sure that it will have a major impact on
life for most of 2020 and possibly beyond. The economy,
employment or unemployment together with a recovery of
normal day to day living will take some time. It’s at times
like this that believers need to meditate on God’s Word and
dwell on those exceeding rich and precious promises.
‘So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I
am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold
you with my righteous right hand’. Isaiah 41:10
Many promises have been made by our political leaders,
promises of better days ahead when all this is over, but they
are promises that may not be kept.
We have the sure promises of God that will never fail. His
children have a future that is safe and secure, an inheritance,
incorruptible and undefiled.
God’s Providence
God is working out his purposes, the key verse is Romans
8:28 where we are told that God ‘works all things together
for good to those who love him and to those who are called
according to his purpose’. That’s the comfort Christian
people have in the present situation. All things are in God’s
hands and all things are under his control for those who love
him and to those who are called according to his purpose.
Thomas Watson exhorts those who are effectually called to
honour our high calling, and ‘to walk in a manner worthy of
the calling into which you have been called’. (Ephesians 4:1)
FROM THE CHURCHES
God’s children in a time of crisis are to show a quiet
confidence in the Lord and to exhibit that rare jewel of
Christian contentment.
God’s Peace
As we contemplate the power, promises and providence of
God in the midst of a distressing and uncertain time we have
an assurance found earlier in this chapter, ‘You will keep him
in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you’. Isaiah 26:3.
When fear and anxiety close in on us let us take note of this
‘perfect peace’ and cast all our cares and anxieties on him
because he cares for us.
The concluding words are taken again from Thomas Watson,
‘What though the sea roar, though the earth be unquiet,
though the stars are shaken out of their place, you need not
fear. You are called, and therefore are sure to be crowned’.
Harold Gibson is an elder in Stranmillis Evangelical Presbyterian
Church, Belfast and was editor of the Evangelical Presbyterian
magazine 2005-2012
All Things Made New,
John Flavel for the Christian
Life
Selected and Edited by Lewis
Allen. Banner of Truth Trust
Evangelical Bookshop £3.85
(RRP £4.80)
As you pray using the following general headings,
consider the suggested scriptures (from the book
of Romans) and allow them to shape your praises
and petitions.
Suffering church
Pray for Christians around the world who suffer
hunger, poverty, injustice, war and natural
disaster.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be
constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the
saints and seek to show hospitality. 12:12-13
Persecuted church
Pray for believers in restricted nations and those
who are persecuted for the sake of Christ.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not
curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep
with those who weep. 12:14-15
Missionary endeavours
Pray for missionaries you know and for
missionary work, looking very different under
COVID-19. Pray for people living in spiritual
darkness.
Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.
15:21
God’s word
As sermons are more than ever made available
online and as churches begin to reopen, pray for
those who minister God’s word and for those who
hear it.
Now to him who is able to strengthen you
according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus
Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery
that was kept secret for long ages but has now
been disclosed and through the prophetic writings
has been made known to all nations, according to
the command of the eternal God, to bring about
obedience of faith–to the only wise God be glory
forevermore through Jesus Christ! 16:25-27
21
 BOOK REVIEWS
Title: Amaze them with God
Author: Kevin DeYoung
38 pages.
RRP £2.99 Our Price: £1.99

Most of my Christian friends

understand that as somebody who
is Reformed, I am going to favour
books that are hardbacks and
Youth 1000+ pages long.
Pray for children and young people returning to Oh, and they have to be written by
school or college and facing a tide of ungodliness. somebody who died at least 100 years ago, but preferably
Do not be conformed to this world, but be not later than in the 17th century. But to their shock (and
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by mine!) one of my favourite books, and one that I re-read
testing you may discern what is the will of God, often, was written by somebody who is still alive, even
what is good and acceptable and perfect. 12:2 not much older than me. In fact, it originally appeared as
one of the chapters in ‘Don’t Call It a Comeback: The Old
Local churches Faith for a New Day’ which DeYoung has also edited. And
Pray for one another in your congregation and the it is only a small paperback and takes twenty-something
wider EPC family. minutes to read in total. And what a captivating read
For as in one body we have many members and that is! There are seven short chapters - 1. Hope for the
do not all have the same function, so we, though Future, 2. The Secret to Reaching the Next Generation, 3.
many, are one body in Christ, and individually Grab Them with Passion, 4. Win Them with Love, 5. Hold
members of one another. 12:4-5 Them with Holiness, 6. Challenge Them with Truth, and
7. Amaze Them with God. Those titles on their own show
Government that DeYoung is on a mission to explain truths that greatly
Pray for rulers at local, national and international need to be heard, and he does that in a simple, yet profound
level, giving thanks for the level of law and order way. My copy is full of underlining and exclamation marks.
we enjoy. Obvious things are stated, because we cannot afford to
For there is no authority except from God, and ignore them, e.g. ‘[I]f our evangelical faith is boring to us,
those that exist have been instituted by God. 13:1 it will be boring to others.’ (p. 9), ‘[T]he evangelical church
has spent far too much time trying to figure out cultural
Personal witness engagement and far too little time just trying to love. If we
Pray for unconverted family, friends, neighbours listen to people patiently and give them the gift of curiosity,
and colleagues and for a good testimony among we will be plenty engaged.’ (p. 11) ‘[C]ount on it: when the
them. church discovers cool, it won’t be cool anymore.’ (p. 12) and
Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, many more punchy points like these. No word is wasted,
and sing to your name. 15:9 and it is full of biblical truth. He doesn’t claim to hold the
secret of reaching the next generation for Christ, in fact he
Confidence in God argues that there is no secret to discover: instead we need
Bring all that concerns you, great and small, to to concentrate on THE thing that really matters – growing
God. in Christ-likeness, which is what faithful believers have
For from him and through him and to him are all sought to do since the church began. And you may think – ‘is
things. To him be glory forever. Amen. 11:36 it not obvious? I knew all that already.’ I would encourage
you to listen to what DeYoung is saying nevertheless, as
I guarantee that it will be worthy of your time. You will be
surprised to find how encouraging and REFRESHING that
little read will be! And this is not just for church officers,
read it as parents and grandparents, and buy many copies to
distribute among your church members.

Andrzej Stelmasiak
22
 BOOK REVIEWS
Title: Canon, Covenant and Christology: Rethinking Jesus and
the Scriptures of Israel
Author: Matthew Barrett
Publisher: London: Apollos, 2020
RRP £16.99 Our Price: £12.75
Matthew Barrett’s Canon,
Covenant and Christology argues
that Jesus Christ fulfills the Old
Testament Scriptures, which
demonstrate both Christ’s
divine identity and Scripture’s
truthfulness. Barrett’s point is
that the whole Bible is Christian
Scripture and is relevant for
members of Christ’s church. Specifically, the Old Testament
is not a mere collection of stories – even if we acknowledge
them as inspired stories – but entirely points to Jesus. Christ
is the point of the whole Bible.
Barrett first outlines the way that his proposal fits
within common evangelical understandings of Scripture.
He argues that in an attempt to do justice to the Scripture’s
human authors, evangelicals have become too overly
enamoured with grammatical-historical exegesis, which
means that even evangelicals deny that Scripture can
mean anything other than what the original human author
understood it to mean. To put this in perspective, it would
be difficult to imagine that the original author of Psalm 2
understood that Psalm to be fully about the Messiah, even
if that was an undertone. To follow only the grammatical-
historical approach to reading Scripture means that
Christians should deny that Psalm 2 points forward to Jesus
as God’s Son who conquers the nations with the gospel
rather than the sword, since the first author would not have
that in mind as he wrote this portion of Scripture. Barrett
rightly argues that since God inspired the Scripture and was
not limited to what the human author could understand
from his time and place in history, the Scripture can mean
more than (certainly not less than or contrary to) what the
original author would have comprehended.
Barrett then explained how Scripture is a covenant
document that is connected to God’s saving actions for his
people. The pattern of God’s revelation is that he foretells
through inspired authors what he will do for his people,
then he acts on behalf of his people, then he explains again
through inspired authors what he did for his people. For
example, we see in the Exodus events that God tells Moses
that he will rescue Israel, then God rescued Israel from
Egypt, then God inspired the first five books of the Bible in
order to explain what he had done in rescuing Israel from
Egypt. This point links to the argument that Old and New
Testaments are Christian Scripture because God promised
in the Old Testament to act through the Messiah, even at
places indicating the Messiah’s divine identity. God fulfilled
these promises by acting in the Son to accomplish salvation.
The New Testament Scriptures are then the God-inspired
account of Christ’s work in fulfilling God’s Old Testament
promises.
Barrett takes the Gospels of Matthew and John as
test cases to demonstrate how the Gospels point to Jesus
as the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scripture, even in
ways that the original Old Testament authors may not have
been able to understand fully from their perspective. The
way that the Gospel authors depict Jesus recapitulating the
history of Adam and of Israel, but remaining faithful rather
than unfaithful, is one major way that the Gospels show
that Jesus fulfills the Scriptures, even narrative portions of
Scripture.
This book is filled with lots of thought-provoking
insightful exegesis. Readers should appreciate the way that
Barrett draws connections between the Old Testament and
the Gospel narratives. These points effectively demonstrate
how Jesus is the culmination of all of God’s inscripturated
revelation. The way that Jesus indeed fulfills the Scripture,
and self-consciously understood himself to be fulfilling the
Scripture, in turn points to the Scripture’s inspired nature.
The doctrines of Christ and Scripture are, therefore, mutually
informing. In all these ways, this book is well worth reading.
Members of Presbyterian churches should be familiar
with the idea that Christ should be preached from the Old
Testament. In that regard, the major point of this book
should not be new to readers of this magazine. If anyone
has wondered why that is the case though, this book will
help you understand that. On the other hand, even if you do
understand why Christ must be preached from all Scriptures,
this book is full of biblical insights that will make your heart
rejoice at that truth again.
23
 Best of the Blogs
A selection of online blogs and articles to challenge and
encourage you in your walk with God and his people…
Trusting Jesus Together (Jared Olivetti)
www.gentlereformation.com/2020/07/15/trusting-jesus-
with-those-who-disagree/
“The Enemy, capital “E”, is afoot. Seizing opportunities
afforded by pandemic and politics, by vicious murders and
violent mobs, he prowls like a lion. He wields the weapons
we’ve granted him: the echo chambers of social media, the
tribalism of modern America, and the potent mix of hatred
and fear which often drives us.”
Will Membership Make a Difference? (P.J. Tibayan)
www.desiringgod.org/articles/will-membership-make-a-
difference
“How pleasant it is when a church family lives together in
harmony (Psalm 133:1). For those of us who have tasted
and seen the goodness of God in our church fellowship, we
deeply desire our Christian friends to experience the same.
But many of our friends believe attendance is enough,
especially when supplemented with the wealth of resources
Christians have online.”
The Puritan Sabbath (Joseph A. Pipa)
www.tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2011/06/the-puritan-
sabbath/
“From the time of the Reformation until the mid-twentieth
century, the great majority of Protestant Christians
held fairly strict views regarding the observance of
Sunday. With the encroachment of liberalism, the rise of
dispensationalism, and the ubiquitous presence of the
television, this practice has so declined that today only a
small minority of Christians in the West hold this position.”
Are Churches “A Major Source of Coronavirus Cases?” (Tim
Challies)
www.challies.com/articles/are-churches-a-major-source-
of-coronavirus-cases/
“The New York Times recently ran a column headlined
“Churches Were Eager to Reopen. Now They Are a Major
Source of Coronavirus Cases.” The lede is alarming: “The
virus has infiltrated Sunday services, church meetings and
youth camps. More than 650 cases have been linked to
reopened religious facilities.” It all sounds very alarming,
but does the Times make its case that churches are a major
source of infections? Not even close.”

Thinking Theologically About Racial Tensions: The Image of

God (Kevin De Young)
www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/thinking-
theologically-about-racial-tensions-the-image-of-god/
“The image of God seems like an obvious and already agreed
upon foundation for talking about race, but it has more to
teach us and more ways to correct us than we might at first
realize.”

Resuming Breakneck Speed (Mark Loughridge)

www.gentlereformation.com/2020/07/04/resuming-
breakneck-speed/
“Life out of balance—that’s what life was before the
Coronavirus slowed us all down. One of the things that I
have really enjoyed over the last few months has been the
fact that people have time—time to talk, to chat, to catch
up. Even in our own family it has been nice to have everyone
round the kitchen table at lunch and at tea—and for meal
times not being hurried for me to get out to meetings or the
girls to ballet. Life has been lived at a different pace. And
it has been good. More balanced. I don’t know if you have
found that too—but I suspect that many have.”

24