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MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF THE FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND MARCH 2020 • £2.00
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Editor • John Macdonald The Editor, The Record, Beltone, Moray Street Blackford PH4 1QF editor@freechurch.org
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Cover: Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash
Published • The Record is produced by The Free Church of Scotland, Free Church Offices, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH1 2LS 0131 226 5286 offices@freechurch.org
CONTENTS
WELCOME TO THE MARCH RECORD
F
rom
the
planning
of
flood
defences
04 WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? The Editor
to
preparations for containing a virus outbreak, the news cycle continues to prove that politics and
The decisions made by our elected representatives, locally and nationally, affect our lives in ways large and small. While we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom, our calling to ‘do justice and love mercy’ (Micah 6:8) inevitably brings us into the realm of politics. This month’s Record contains some different perspectives on our often complicated relationships with the political kingdoms God has placed us in. The German sociologist, Max Weber, described politics as the ‘slow boring of hard boards’ — change is a difficult and slow process, and we constantly face resistance. If we should become discouraged, Roddie Rankin shows us where to find the antidote. Our minister is preaching through the book of Daniel on Sunday evenings. As we follow the story of the exiles, we see that — even in the heart of the Babylonian empire — God’s will is done. Let us take courage when the political tide turns against us. We do not have our trust in princes, mortal men who cannot save (Psalm 146:3). Our God reigns. All politics is local. Let us know what’s happening in your congregation. Reading about outreach events, mission work, testimonies and other news is a huge encouragement to all of us. •
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WORLD NEWS Brazil, Belgium, Nigeria, Burundi, Iraq, China, North Korea, India
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PRAYER DIARY
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FREE CHURCH NEWS Bon Voyage from Bon Accord, Giving a reason, Is Arran calling you? Prince William to address General Assembly
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OBITUARIES: REV JOHN H. MACLEAN, DAVID FORD, DR. NEIL GALBRAITH, ANGUS MACAULAY
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THE CONDUCT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER John Knox
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THE RECORD RECOMMENDS...PODCASTS
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A TIME TO BE SILENT Roddy Rankin
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SCRIPTURE UNION. HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE IN SCOTLAND TO EXPLORE THE BIBLE
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ETS NEWS Thomas Davis
If you have any news articles please send them to dayspring.macleod@icloud.com.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES James W. Fraser
Yours in Christ
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THY KINGDOM COME Dayspring MacLeod
John
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WHY DID GOD RAISE JESUS FROM DEATH? PART 4 Iain Gill
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BOOK REVIEWS
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MISSION MATTERS David Meredith
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SAOTHAIR AN EARRAICH Janet MacPhail
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POETRY PAGE Unknown Author
Cover: Photo by Gleren Meneghin on Unsplash
government are consequential.
That in all things he might have the pre-eminence Colossians 1:18 2020
40 POST TENEBRAS LUX Catriona Murray
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BY THE EDITOR Populist politics passes by on the other side
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?
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The sacrifice and patience required to love neighbours is alien to populism. Yet it is this same sacrifice and patience that we are commanded to exhibit.
C
hristian values are under threat in modern democracies, but not in the way you might think.
Populism stands in opposition to Jesus’ ethic. If we don’t keep hold of the command ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’, this new political current is liable to sweep us away.
THE RISE OF POPULISM Populism is on the rise across the world. In the first global, empirical study of modern populism, Jordan Kyle and Limor Gultchin found that there were four populist leaders or political parties in power in 1990; seven in 2000; but twenty in 2018. Populist parties are major players in most democracies today. The four largest democracies in the world — India, the United States, Indonesia and Brazil — are all governed by populists. As is the UK, following an election where the two main parties were led by populists from different sides of the political spectrum. One quarter of Europeans voted for populist parties at their last election. Since populist movements have emerged on both the left and the right over the course of democracy’s history, they can be difficult to recognise. But, at its heart, populism is founded on antagonism between ‘us’ and them’. Kyle and Gultchin identify two claims which unite all populists. First, that a country’s ‘true people’ are locked in conflict with outsiders, such as establishment elites, big business or migrants. Second, that nothing should constrain the will of the true people. Populism is an ideology based on division; on emphasising the differences between people; on creating — but not loving — enemies.
THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE
Photo by Julien Borien on Unsplash
Populists arise in democratic systems of government. They gain influence by appealing to voters and winning their support. Often, they represent and give a voice to sections of the electorate who feel they have been ignored. They have also been shown to have a positive effect on voter turnout at elections. Academics like Chantal Mouffe have argued that populism can revitalise democratic politics, and suggest that critics are merely defending a failed status quo. Nevertheless, populism’s problems outweigh its positives. The ideology is associated with what political scientists have termed ‘democratic backsliding’. It is common for populists in power to attack the institutions of democracy. Donald Trump has made a sport of verbally assaulting the American press, declaring the news media ‘the enemy of the people’. The human rights watchdog Freedom House has downgraded Hungary to the status ‘partly free’ after Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party used its parliamentary majority to restrict the rights of groups like the Romany population, Hungary’s largest ethnic minority. In Venezuela the arch-populist, Hugo Chávez, protected himself from opposition by bringing the judiciary and National Election Council under his control. Indeed, there is even concern among lawyers and think-tanks that our own populist leader, Boris Johnson, may seek to challenge the independence of UK courts in retaliation for the Supreme Court overturning his prorogation of Parliament last year. Despite posing as the voice of the people, a populist government is four times more likely to damage democratic institutions than a non-populist one, according to Kyle and Gultchin. This is the result of an ideology built on self-interest and alienation.
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O Father of mercy, and God of all consolation, seeing all creatures acknowledge and confess You as Governor and Lord, it becomes us, the workmanship of Your own hands, at all times to revere and magnify Your Godly Majesty: first, because You have created us in Your own image and similitude; but mainly because You have delivered us from that everlasting death and damnation, into which Satan drew mankind by means of sin, from the bondage of which neither man nor angel was able to set us free; but You, O Lord, rich in mercy and infinite in goodness, have provided our redemption to stand in Your only and well-loved Son, whom, out of genuine love, You gave to be made man, like us in all things (except for sin), so that in His body he might receive the punishments due for our transgression, by His death to make satisfaction to Your justice, and by His resurrection to destroy him that was author of death, and so rescue and bring, again, life to the world, from which the entire offspring of Adam were most justly exiled. O Lord, we acknowledge that no creature is able to comprehend the length and breadth, the depth and height of that most excellent love of Yours, which moved You to show mercy where none was deserved; to promise and give life where death had got a victory; to receive us into Your grace where we could do nothing but rebel against Your justice. O Lord, the blind dullness of our corrupt nature will not allow us to weigh these most ample benefits of Yours sufficiently; yet, nevertheless, at the commandment of Jesus Christ our Lord, we present ourselves to this, His Table (which He has bequeathed to be used in remembrance of His death until His coming again), to declare and witness before the world that by Him alone we have received liberty and life; that by Him alone You acknowledge us to be Your children and heirs; that by Him alone we have access to the throne of Your grace; that by Him alone are we possessed of our spiritual kingdom, to eat and drink at His Table; with whom we have our way of life presently in heaven; and by whom our bodies will be raised up again from the dust, and will be placed with him in that endless joy, which You, O Father of Mercy, have prepared for Your elect, before the foundation of the world was laid. And these most inestimable benefits, we acknowledge and confess to have received, from Your free mercy and grace, through Your one and only beloved Son, Jesus Christ: for which therefore, we Your Congregation, moved by Your Holy Spirit, render You all thanks, prayer and glory, for ever and ever. This done, the Minister breaks the bread and gives it to the people, who distribute and divide the same amongst themselves, according to our Saviour Christ’s commandment, and likewise gives the cup. During this time, some part of the Scriptures is read, which vividly sets forth the death of Christ,
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to the intent that our eyes and senses may not only be occupied in these outward signs of bread and wine, which are called the visible word, but that our hearts and minds also may be fully fixed in the contemplation of the Lord’s death, which is represented by this holy Sacrament. And, after the action is done, he gives thanks, saying: Most merciful Father, we give You all praise, thanks and glory, because You have condescended to grant to us miserable sinners so excellent a gift and treasure as to receive us into the fellowship and company of Your dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord; whom You gave over to death for us, and have given Him to us as necessary food and nourishment to everlasting life. And now we beg You also, O Heavenly Father, to grant us this request; that You never allow us to become so alienated as to forget such worthy benefits, but rather imprint and fasten them securely in our hearts, so that we may grow and increase daily more and more in true faith, which is continually exercised in all kinds of good works; and much rather, O Lord, confirm us, in these perilous days and rages of Satan, that we may constantly stand and continue in the confession of the same to the advancement of Your glory, who are God over all things blessed for ever. So be it. The action thus ended, the people sing the 103rd Psalm, “My soul, give praise” etc., or some other thanksgiving; which, once it has ended, one of the aforementioned blessings before is recited, and so they rise from the Table, and leave. To the Reader: If it should be that anyone marvels why we follow this Order, rather than any other in the Administration of this Sacrament, let him diligently consider that, first of all, we utterly renounce the errors of the Papists; secondly, we restore to the Sacrament its own substance, and to Christ His proper place. And, as for the words of the Lord’s Supper, we recite them, not because they would change the substance of the bread or wine, or that the repetition of it should perform the Sacrament with the intent of the sacrificer (as the Papists falsely believe), but they are read and pronounced, to teach us how to conduct ourselves in this action, and that Christ might witness to our faith, as it were with His own mouth, that He has ordained these signs for our spiritual use and comfort. We first, therefore, examine ourselves, according to Saint Paul’s rule, and prepare our minds so that we may be worthy partakers of such high mysteries. Then, taking bread, we give thanks, break and distribute it, as Christ our Saviour has taught us. Finally, the ministration being ended, we give thanks again, according to His example, so that there is nothing attempted in this holy action without His word and warrant. •
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THE RECORD RECOMMENDS PODCASTS Technology gives us unprecedented access to preaching and theology, but it can be hard to separate the signal from the noise. Here are seven podcasts to nourish the Christian mind. HELP ME TEACH THE BIBLE New episode every fortnight In this series, produced by The Gospel Coalition, Nancy Guthrie interviews a range of teachers and preachers to find out how they teach through specific books of the Bible.
ASK N.T. WRIGHT ANYTHING New episode every fortnight For the past two years, leading New Testament scholar and author Tom Wright has been answering listeners' questions on everything from prayer, free will and Old Testament violence to spiritual gifts, marriage, and Jesus’ return.
JOURNEYWOMEN New episode every week Recognising that the Christian life is not meant to be lived alone, Hunter Beless meets Christian leaders and thinkers to ask how women seeking to glorify God should navigate the challenges they face.
5 MINUTES IN CHURCH HISTORY New episode every week A bitesize look at the people, events and places which have shaped the story of Christianity. Host Dr Stephen Nichols sheds light on the way our unchangeable God has worked in his church in previous generations.
GENERATION PODCAST New episode every week The Record’s own David Meredith, the Free Church’s Mission Director, sits down with a variety of guests from within and beyond the Free Church to discuss Christian mission.
RENEWING YOUR MIND WITH R.C. SPROUL New episode daily A staple radio broadcast since 1994, Renewing Your Mind is now available as a podcast focussed on in-depth Bible teaching and addressing the big issues facing Christians today.
MORTIFICATION OF SPIN New episode every week Carl Trueman, Todd Pruitt and Aimee Byrd hold a casual conversation about the challenges faced by the contemporary church and the things that count in the Christian life.
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POETRY PAGE FIVE MINUTES AFTER I DIE BY UNKNOWN AUTHOR Loved ones will weep o'er my silent face, Dear ones will clasp me in sad embrace, Shadows and darkness will fill the place, Five minutes after I die. Faces that sorrow I will not see, Voices that murmur will not reach me, But where, oh, where will my spirit be, Five minutes after I die? Quickly the years of my life have flown, Gathering treasures I thought my own, There I must reap from the seed I have sown Five minutes after I die. Naught to repair the good I lack, Fixed to the goal of my chosen track, No room to repent, no turning back, Five minutes after I die. Now I can stifle convictions stirred, Now I can silence the Voice oft heard, Then the fulfilment of God's sure Word, Five minutes after I die. Mated for aye with my chosen throng, Long is eternity, O, so long, Then woe is me if my soul be wrong, Five minutes after I die. O, what a fool—hard the word, but true, Passing the Saviour with death in view, Doing a deed I can ne'er undo, Five minutes after I die.
ŠKzenon - stock.adobe.com
If I am flinging a fortune away, If I am wasting salvation's day "Just is my sentence," my soul shall say, Five minutes after I die. God help you to choose! Your eternal state Depends on your choice, you dare not wait; You must choose now; it will be too late Five minutes after you die.
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