Notes of an Address delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Trinitarian Bible Society, in London, 24th May, 1949, by REV. WM. GRANT, Halkirk.*
* This address appeared in Quarterly Record of Trinitarian Bible Society. It is printed here after corrections made.—Editor.
LAST week the Supreme Court of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland met in Glasgow, and my brethren there wished me to convey a message of goodwill to you, and to express their earnest desire that the Trinitarian Bible Society would go from strength to strength in a steadfast adherence to the Bible as God’s infallible Word.
The portion of Scripture on which I desire to base my remarks is in Psalm 11, verse 3. “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” This Psalm was composed at a time when the Psalmist was in the midst of danger, in perilous times. Two voices were speaking, one saying to him, “Flee as a bird to the mountain, flee for your life,” and the activities of the enemy were such that the Psalmist found himself in temptation. But while on the one hand there was the voice of the enemy, on the other there was that of faith saying, “In the Lord put I my trust. The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven.”
Under the unrighteous reign of Saul the foundation of civil government was being destroyed. There are foundations which may be destroyed and there are those which cannot be destroyed. Have we not witnessed in recent years the destruction of the foundation of civil government as in the case of Germany and other countries? “Righteousness alone exalteth a nation” we read, and no nation can be secure on any other foundation. “The nation that forgets God shall perish.”
The superstructure of society needs a solid foundation. Idealistic and vain philosophies will not suffice. They must come to bankruptcy. To-day, amidst all the evil “isms” of this sin-tossed world we see the instability of the work of men. Yes, there are foundations which may be destroyed as seen in the home life of many in our land to-day. Parental control, juvenile delinquency and the divorce courts point to this very sad fact. Jeremiah exclaimed, “Lo! they have rejected my word, and what wisdom is in them?” Wisdom, where is it in Britain to-day? As we look around we see lawlessness and the crumbling of trust between man and man. We see the Lord’s Day being replaced by the continental Sunday and the Bible being replaced in many homes by the Sunday newspaper. Thus foundations are being destroyed.
As individuals we need a foundation for eternity upon which to rest our souls. That is not to be found in a mere sentimental religion nor on the sandy foundation of self-righteousness, but upon the merits of Christ’s finished work—the great atonement. Yes, the foundation upon which the individual builds, if it be not that which God has laid in Christ, must fail.
But there are foundations which cannot be destroyed.
The foundation of the Church of God as consisting of his people, whatever their nationality, whatever the colour of their skin, is Christ, and that endures for ever. Then we have the foundation book, the Bible, which is God’s precious and infallible Word. It is being assailed by enemies, by sceptics, atheists, rationalists, modernists and others. Can they destroy it? They may destroy it in its usefulness to our generation, but, because it is the Word of God it will endure for aye. Men seek to destroy it at the present day in denying inspiration, trifling with the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, justification by faith and the great atonement. Thus efforts are being made with an increasing determination to destroy our foundation book and to leave us with a mutilated Bible. It is because this work is going on that I join with you here to-day.
Hitherto we in Scotland supported the National Bible Society and did so heartily. We do not belittle the work which they have done, but we witnessed that Society change its constitution. Scriptural constitutions are valuable foundations not to be trifled with, and destroying such is the work of the enemy. Why did that Society change its constitution? They did it in order that they might be free if desired to bring in other versions of the Scriptures, whereas, hitherto their constitution had bound them to the Authorised Version. We opposed that change to the utmost, but they carried out their intention. Consequently we are not prepared to support them, and so we look to the Trinitarian Bible Society which is anti-modernistic. We look back to the days when your Society came into existence and recall the fact that two prominent Scotsmen, Dr. George Thompson, of Edinburgh, and Robert Haldane, fought a similar battle when the British and Foreign Bible Society included the Apocrypha with the Old and New Testaments. This inclusion, they said, would increase the sale of the Bible on the continent among Roman Catholics, but, be it noted that the Apocrypha is not part of the inspired word. Those who originated your Society were supported by Dr. Thompson and Robert Haldane and others in Scotland. We are now coming together again to fight a battle in which we adhere to the Bible as infallible from Genesis to Revelation. We wish to hold fast to the doctrines contained therein. Thus we are glad to meet on common ground.
Alas, to-day we find the Third Person of the ever-adorable Trinity denied. The work of the Holy Spirit is not regarded as a necessity, the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ is utterly disregarded and so we have the rising flood, the flood that endangers foundations, but let us seek grace to hold fast in the midst of perilous times.
I noticed that an eminent English judge remarked a few weeks ago, speaking of the Authorised Version, and emphasising its literary value, that no man is entitled to call himself educated unless he knows his Bible. By that standard education is very low to-day. We are not a Bible-reading generation and that is our loss. Modernism has, spiritually, a withering effect. We have much to learn and should be warned by the downfall of Germany where Biblical criticism developed disastrously. Well may it be said, “Lo! they have rejected my word, and what wisdom is in them?”
There is the foundation covenant of grace which cannot be destroyed. If it could be the righteous would despair. If the foundations of civil government, and of home life, etc., are in so many ways being destroyed, what can the righteous do. “The Lord is in His temple: In the Lord put I my trust,” said the Psalmist. Yes, there is one to whom they pray and they have every encouragement to come and make their request known unto God.
We come to the Bible, not to judge it, but to be judged by it: it is the standard. We have no reason to be ashamed of it, but rather glory in it. It is doing the work intended. It is being scattered, as we have heard this afternoon, by this Society to all parts of the world. Therefore, we join with you, not merely as the branch of the church which I represent in Scotland, but all, whatever their denomination, who desire the circulation of the word in its purity. That is the task which lies more and more before this Society, and so, whatever foundations give way let us look to the Strong for strength and to the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ as we go on our way, each one seeking to do what is laid to his or her hand in this precious work.
We read with regret recently of a Professor in the New College, Edinburgh, teaching students for the ministry, that no Old Testament prophecy refers to the Lord Jesus Christ and denies the resurrection of Christ. When such teach that the Bible account of creation and the history of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, etc., is fictitious, is it not time for those who love the truth and value the souls of men to rally round the standard. The flood is rolling in. Let us seek to be on our guard. We are enveloped by false doctrine like a cloud of poisonous gas. Where lies the remedy? Not in the hand of men, but in the Mighty Power that operated on the day of Pentecost. We have the Bible. Let us seek to scatter the precious seed, for the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for mankind. God reigns and Communism, Romanism and every other power of darkness will come down in accordance with the Divine will.
Let us seek unitedly on both sides of the border to advance the work of the Trinitarian Bible Society. Let us prove loyal to it while it proves loyal to its constitution. May the Lord bless His Word and give us many tokens of His love and favour in the midst of all the discouragements of these perilous times.