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“Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left,” Joshua 23:6.

Courage (the word carries the meaning, ‘lay hold of strongly and firmly) is often urged upon those who are required to obey the commands of God.

The great John Bunyan captured the meaning of these words in his famous hymn.

Who would true valour see,
Let him come hither;
One here will constant be,
Come wind, come weather
There’s no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.

Whoso beset him round
With dismal stories,
Do but themselves confound;
His strength the more is.
No lion can him fright,
He’ll with a giant fight,
But he will have a right
To be a pilgrim.

Hobgoblin, nor foul fiend,
Can daunt his spirit;
He knows he at the end
Shall life inherit.
Then fancies fly away,
He’ll fear not what men say,
He’ll labour night and day
To be a pilgrim.

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Here are some examples of the usage of the word among the many that are recorded in the Bible.

“Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it,” Deuteronomy 11:8.

“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it,” Deuteronomy 31:6-7.

“And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee,” Deuteronomy 31:23.

“Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them,” Joshua 1:6. (more…)

“‭Let‭ the high‭ ‭praises‭ of God‭ ‭be‭ in their mouth‭, and a twoedged‭ sword‭ in their hand‭;‭ ‭to execute‭‭ vengeance‭ upon the heathen‭, ‭and‭ punishments‭ upon the people‭;‭ ‭to bind‭‭ their kings‭ with chains‭, and their nobles‭‭ with fetters‭ of iron‭;‭ ‭to execute‭‭ upon them the judgment‭ written‭‭: this honour‭ have all his saints‭. Praise‭‭ ye the LORD‭,‭”‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ Psalm 149:6-9.

One old saintly soldier of Christ made this comment on these words of the Psalmist.

“Cromwell’s Ironsides were sneeringly called Psalm singers; but God’s Psalm singers are always Ironsides. He who has a ‘new song in his mouth’ is ever stronger, both to suffer and to labour, than the man who has a dumb spirit and a hymnless heart. When he sings at his work, he will both do more and do it better than he would without his song. Hence, we need not be surprised that all through its history the Church of God has travelled ‘along the line of music’.” —‭William Taylor.‬

Cromwell’s ‘Ironsides’ were providentially used to overthrow and punish the wickedness of Charles I and his evil regime.

Sadly the people of England preferred the degenerate ways of the Stuarts to the more devout ways of Oliver Cromwell. Consequently, after the death of the ‘Lord Protector’, at 59 years of age, in 1658, the people of the ‘ruling classes’ of England brought back the Stuart rule and Charles II, if anything a more wicked version of his father, was placed upon the throne!

So ended a very important era in the history of these Isles. The causes Oliver Cromwell espoused, dissenting preachers and their message, were virtually outlawed under Charles II. It was during his reign that the ‘Great Ejection’ took place!

The ‘Great Ejection’ followed the Act of Uniformity in 1662 in England. Several thousand Puritan ministers were forced out of their positions in the Church of England. It was largely a consequence of the ‘Savoy Conference’ of 1661.

That Conference was convened by Gilbert Sheldon, in his lodgings at the Savoy Hospital in London. The Conference sessions began on 15 April 1661, and continued for around four months. By June, a deadlock became apparent.

The conference was attended by commissioners: 12 Anglican bishops, and 12 representative ministers of the Puritan and Presbyterian groups. Each side also had nine deputies (called assistants or coadjutors). The nominal chairman was Accepted Frewen, the Archbishop of York.

The object was to revise the Book of Common Prayer. Richard Baxter for the Presbyterian side presented a new liturgy, but this was not accepted. As a result the Church of England retained internal tensions about governance and theology, while a significant number of dissenters left its structure and created non-conformist groups retaining Puritan theological commitments.

In 1662 the Act of Uniformity followed, mandating the usage of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and spurring the Great Ejection.

The Act of Uniformity prescribed that any minister who refused to conform to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer by St Bartholomew’s Day (24 August) 1662, should be ejected from the Church of England. This date became known as ‘Black Bartholomew’s Day’ among Dissenters, a reference to the fact that it occurred on the same day as the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre of 1572.

Oliver Heywood estimated the number of ministers ejected at 2,500. This group included Richard Baxter, Edmund Calamy the Elder, Simeon Ashe, Thomas Case, John Flavel, William Jenkyn, Joseph Caryl, Benjamin Needler, Thomas Brooks, Thomas Manton, William Sclater, Thomas Doolittle and Thomas Watson. Biographical details of ejected ministers and their fates were later collected by the historian Edmund Calamy, grandson of the elder Calamy.

Although there had already been ministers outside the established church, the Great Ejection created an abiding concept of non-conformity. Strict religious tests of the ‘Clarendon Code’ and other ‘Penal Laws’ left a substantial section of English society excluded from public affairs, and also university degrees, for a century and a half. (more…)

I am compelled to send out this article in response to what is reported in the ‘Belfast Newsletter’ today!

I have two questions for Carla Lockhart, a Free Presbyterian, as a result of what she is here reported to have said.

“Wherein was she ‘honoured’ to escort the man guilty of forcing upon the children attending state schools here, the abominable, ungodly and perverted ‘Statutory guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education’ and did she, as a professed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, while she had ‘some very direct conversations with him in recent days about a perceived lack of understanding of Unionism and our culture’, take time to rebuke him for his defiance of God and his lack of understanding of His Holy Law by his action on RSE?”.

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Praise for Twelfth and Thirteenth displays in Lurgan, Loughbrickland, Banbridge, Portadown and Scarva

DUP MP Carla Lockhart said she was honoured to bring the Secretary of State to Lurgan for the Twelfth and give him a “baptism of culture”.

By Graeme Cousins

Published 14th Jul 2023

The Belfast Newsletter

The Upper Bann representative believes that the region excelled over the past few days in terms of Orange Order and Royal Black Preceptory parades.

She said: “What a display of culture – Lurgan, Loughbrickland, Portadown, Scarva, Banbridge and every town and village in between excelled.

“It was an honour to host the Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris at the Co Armagh parade in Lurgan. With over 50,000 spectators, 70 bands and hundreds of Orangemen he got a baptism of culture .

Carla Lockhart gave Chris Heaton-Harris a tour of Brownlow House during the Co Armagh Twelfth in Lurgan

“We have had some very direct conversations with him in recent days about a perceived lack of understanding of Unionism and our culture. Yesterday was a great opportunity for him to see first hand the rich fabric of pageantry, colour and faith that makes our Twelfth of July so special. (more…)