An uneasy peace reigned in Northern Ireland for two weeks until the middle of July when renewed violence broke out. The situation appears to be deteriorating rapidly and, unless the Lord in His mercy prevents it, civil war could break out. The failure of the Government to deal firmly with the I.R.A. menace has left the troops in Northern Ireland exposed to their murderous attacks. The policy pursued by the Government in attempting to isolate the I.R.A. gunmen from their Roman Catholic supporters appears to be supremely futile. Until our Government realise that the objectives of the I.R.A. and the objectives of the R.C. Church are one, and act accordingly, we see little prospect of peace in that strife torn province.
Let us continue to pray for the Cause of Christ in Ireland—that it may be preserved in the midst of great dangers and that the forces of darkness which assail it may ultimately be overthrown.
Law as well as Gospel
Britain’s deepest need at the present time is a sense and conviction of sin, as it is futile to speak of the need of evangelical repentance and reformation as long as the individual and the nation do not know what they are to repent of, and reform from. The supernatural application of the Moral Law of God, by the sovereign omnipotent of the Holy Ghost, to the individual conscience, is the only way of producing a supernatural sense and conviction of sin. The Scriptural proofs of that statement are “By the Law is the knowledge of sin”, and “When He, the spirit of truth, will come, He will convince the world of sin,” Conviction of sin precedes evangelical repentance, as evangelical repentance is the fruit of a supernatural faith’s view of the heinousness of sin in the light of the moral Law and Calvary’s Cross. The proof of the genuineness of evangelical repentance is its practical fruit of evangelical reformation or new obedience. It is evident, therefore, that the British pulpit must return to the preaching of the Law as the school-master to bring sinners to Christ, if there is to be an individual and national sense of sin, repentance towards God, faith unfeigned in the Lord Jesus Christ, and national practical godliness. It is very evident that the preaching of the Law is a rare thing in British pulpits to-day — hence the utter lack of individual and national sense of sin, the the prevailing indifference to the universally and perpetually-binding obligation of the eternal claims of God, as manifested in the Moral Law, to our obedience. love, service, worship, and trust. the Prevailing so-called gospel of love and mercy, without reference to the infinite holiness and justice of God, is merely another carnal gospel, which is of Satan. (F.P. Mag., Nov. 1940)
The Common Market
On Thursday, 13 July, the Third Reading of the European Communities Bill was passed in the House of Commons by a majority of 17 votes. The supporters of the Common Market will no doubt be jubilant that the last main hurdle has been overcome. The House of Lords is expected to pass the Bill by a large majority and then it will receive the Royal Assent.
To all appearances, therefore, Britain’s entry into the enlarged Community is only a matter of time. We are now, however to go by appearances. The Lord reigns and is able to overturn the best-laid pland of men. Man proposes but God disposes. Let us continue to pray that the Lord may yet intervene to save our nation out of the hand of her enemies, and prevent a confederacy being formed between our nation and the mainly Romanist-dominated nations of Europe, which would involve national recognition of, and ultimately subjection to the system of Anti-Christ.