Eccleston Hall, London.
Eccleston Hall, London, is a familiar name in Free Presbyterian homes throughout our church, as we have been connected with it since almost the first stated Free Presbyterian Church services were held in London. It is, therefore, with deep regret that we have to announce that this Hall, the Head-quarters of the world-famous Scripture Gift Mission, was destroyed by fire on Monday afternoon 23rd April, at 3.30 p.m., due to an explosion in the basement. Within a few minutes it was like a blazing furnace. It is marvellous, and the doing of the Lord, that the fifty-five members of the staff of the S.G.U. escaped with their lives, though ten were injured, and five of them detained in hospital. It was thought at first that no lives were lost when the entire staff had been accounted for, but when a lady-secretary regained consciousness, after twenty-four hours, she asked what became of the Maltese translator, who occasionally called there, and had been speaking to her before the explosion. Search was resumed, and his body was discovered in the debris. In addition to the loss of the Hall, and much other valuable stock, the S.G.U. lost £30,000 worth of Bibles. One has the feeling, however, that the Scripture Gift Mission will yet rise from this fiery ordeal to be more extensively useful than ever before, and that is saying a great deal, because the S.G.U. circulated the Scriptures of Truth in almost every nook and cranny of the inhabited world, and in more languages and dialects probably than any other Bible-distributing organisation in the world.
I feel sure that it is the desire not only of the London Free Presbyterian Congregation, but of our church as a whole, that we should take advantage of this sad and distressing opportunity to extend to Mr. Ashley Baker, the Secretary of the S.G.U., and all the members of his staff, our sincere thanks for, and deep lasting appreciation of the uniform courtesy and obliging consideration, they showed to us throughout the course of the years. As occasion required it, their consideration was kindly, self-sacrificing and ungrudging. Our mutual friendship was characterised by the most cordial harmony. We would also take advantage of this opportunity to thank Rev. A. A. Campbell, B.A., of Grove Chapel, Camberwell, and the two Strict Baptist pastors who have offered us accommodation.
We have thus, as a congregation, lost our place of worship in London, and while we are at present holding services in Bridewell Hall, Headquarters of the London City Mission, exactly opposite the charred remains and blackened walls of Eccleston Hall, it is at almost five times the expense of our services in Eccleston Hall. It can, of course, only be a temporary arrangement, and we regret that, for the time being our Gaelic service has to be cancelled, and may be also the Sabbath School. In this connection, I am afraid that many people in our church, and readers of our magazine, have got the mistaken view that our London Church Building, or Church Purchase Fund had been either closed, or indefinitely suspended. This is certainly not the case. Our Church Building Fund is over £900, but in London, as distinguished from the Highlands of Scotland, we are compelled, by force of circumstances, to speak in terms of thousands and not hundreds of pounds regarding building or purchasing a church. This, by the way, ought to emphasise to our people in Scotland their privileges, with their own free manses and churches, when compared with our heavy outlay in the payments of rents for a flat and a hall. As a congregation, despite this mysterious dispensation of Divine Providence, in connection with a Hall that was preserved intact throughout the aerial bomb-bardment of London, we have deep reason for gratitude to the Most High that this did not happen the previous day (Sabbath) when we would have assuredly been trapped in the upstairs hall, and ushered into Eternity in the twinkling of an eye. “This is the doing of the Lord and wondrous in our eyes.”
J. P. MacQueen.
Gift of Bibles to London Congregation.
On account of the disastrous fire at Eccleston Hall, London, our congregation there lost their pulpit Bible and a number of other Bibles kept on the premises. But the Trinitarian Bible Society has quickly and most generously stepped in with the gift of a handsome pulpit Bible, and 100 other copies of the Bible, for the congregation. The minister, Rev. J. P. MacQueen and the Congregation, deeply appreciate this gift and token of Christian good will toward them. We take this opportunity of expressing sincere thanks to The Trinitarian Bible Society for their prompt and practical help given to our London friends. We would also add that friends throughout the Church feel the greatest sympathy for our London Congregation in the loss of their long standing place of Worship, in Eccleston Hall. And we herewith express our sincere sympathy with the Scripture Gift Mission, from whom Eccleston Hall was rented, and who lost everything in the fire. Mysterious are the ways of the Most High, many a time, in His dealings with His people who seek to serve Him with devotion, but His people are to wait, pray and be patient at such times, until He appear for their deliverance and comfort.
Thousands of New Testaments Seized in Spain.
Lord Alexander of Hillsborough, in the House of Lords on 3rd May, asked whether steps had been taken in Spain to protect human rights and religious freedom. In reply, Lord Reading, Minister of State, revealed that more than 9,000 copies of the New Testament had been seized by the Spanish Ministry of Information at the premises of the British and Foreign Bible Society in Madrid. And 20,000 copies of various books of the New Testament were also taken. The British Embassy had asked for an investigation with the object of getting the property restored. Lord Reading said that the Government deplore the seizure of these Testaments. We are gratified at the vigilance of Lord Alexander, as a member of the House of Lords, in regard to activities of a Romish character. This is not the only occasion on which he has raised questions critical of the anti-Christian activities of the Church of Rome. And he appears to be aware, as others are, of the suppression of anything of a Protestant character in Spain. It is a deplorable, yet characteristic, manifestation of the Romish attitude to the Bible, although they aver nowadays that their people are permitted to read the Bible. If and where, this is permitted, it is what is called the Douay Version of the Bible alone that is permitted, with its priestly insertions and comments, giving a Romish and unscriptural meaning to many parts of the Word of God. The Protestant and Authorised Version of the Bible is hated by the Roman Catholic Church. Their action in Spain is exactly what they would do in Britain, if they had the power. Rome is the same in principle, the world over: For lack of power, in the mercy of God, they cannot act everywhere as in Spain. What would be said, if the British Government seized thousands of Roman Catholic Bibles in this Country? We wonder if the general public are still blind to the menace of Rome.
Education Committee Gives Bibles.
The Education Committee of Lanarkshire, it is reported, has decided that a Bible is to be given to 18,000 pupils of the secondary departments of Lanarkshire schools. This is an heartening decision indeed, and one worthy of commendation, and imitation by other Education authorities throughout Scotland. Put the Bible into the hands of the children, the rising generation, would be a good slogan for Scotland. This is the seed of the Kingdom of God, and God the Holy Ghost can make it savingly fruitful in the experience of boys and girls. This indeed is a merciful act, when so many parents who have abandoned Church and Bible, never think of reading the Bible with their children or putting a copy into their hands. The money spent in this matter is well spent. May the God of the Bible give many of these pupils a mind to read His Word, outside their regular school activities.
Trinitarian Bible Society and Children.
Since writing our note on the gifts of Bibles to School children in Lanarkshire, we have come across the following interesting information in the Trinitarian Bible Society Quarterly Record for April—June viz., A survey of the year’s activities will be given by the General Secretary of the Society, and Mr. Bentley will tell of the valuable aid given by the Society in providing Bibles for new Sabbath Schools established in the new housing estates throughout the Country. The great need of getting the Bible into the Homes of Britain is significantly met in this way, through the children, and many parents have thanked God for the neat little Bibles which the children have brought home with them and asked to have read to them.
This desirable result is mentioned in a recent letter received from a friend with a deep interest in the welfare of the children and the parents also in his district. He writes: “You will be pleased to know that on Sabbath afternoons we have over 100 of the children who bring their Bibles along to the Sabbath School and Bible Classes, and I know that quite a number of them are reading them at home and getting their parents to read them to them, so we feel that the Word of God is getting into the homes of the people.”
Original Secession Church Re-unites with the Church of Scotland.
Last year the United Original Secession Church, in Scotland, applied to the Assembly of the Church of Scotland, to be received into that Church. From the historical point of view, this may be called a return to or a re-union with the Church of Scotland on the part of the Secession Church. The history of the Secession Church goes back to the beginning of the 18th Century, and to the controversies entered into by Rev. Ebenezer Erskine, Rev. Ralph Erskine, and others, within the National Church. that is the then Church of Scotland. Before 1732, their relations with the General Assembly were strained in the controversy as to the treatise, The Marrow of Modern Divinity, which book was condemned by the Assembly. And the Secession Church was ultimately formed after the Erskines and others over the question of patronage, and a case of alleged heresy involving Prof. John Simson, Glasgow, announced their secession in a formal protest of November 16th, 1733. And this is the point to note now in consideration of this history: that the original founders of this body left the National Church over 200 years ago, not because of any one act of that church, but because of a “a course of defection from our reformed and covenanting principles.” And now in 1956, the present United Original Secession Church has decided that “no fundamental principle now separates the Synod of United Original Seceders from the Church of Scotland.” The majority in the present Original Secession Church, prior to this re-union, certainly loved little or nothing of the character, theology, and doctrine of the Erskines and other Secession fathers, or they could not possibly walk into the “fold” of the present-day Church of Scotland. This modern National Church is permeated with “defection from our reformed and covenanting principles.” And yet nine ministers and congregations in Scotland are welcomed back to unspeakably greater defection from Reformed principles and practices, than ever prevailed in the National Church in 1733. We make no apology for quoting:—”Birds of a feather flock together.” Three congregations of the Secession Church have refused to enter the Church of Scotland, viz., in Arbroath, Kilwinning, and Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh. As to how they will fare, in view of the transference of missions, properties and funds to appropriate Church of Scotland authorities, we know not. It is a miserable and wretched commentary on the religious trends in Scotland, when those having specific historical links with the eminently godly and gifted Erskines, walk with open eyes into the realm and atmosphere of modernism. It is to be feared those eyes are spiritually blind. The one time minister of Kilwinning Original Secession Church, the late Rev. Mr. Matthews, was really the only out and out evangelical and faithful minister in that denomination, forty and more years ago; at least known to Free Presbyterians. If Scotland will be visited by days of power from the right hand of God, then the people will return to the purity, holiness and majesty of the doctrines and gospel preached by such as the Erskines and many others in days past. We direly need such a day, irrespective of all the religious optimism in many quarters.
Work for “Tell Scotland.”
The Church of Scotland’s General Finance Committee in its report to the General Assembly makes the following observations:—”There were many claiming membership in the Church who had no conception of Christian stewardship. These members attended public worship at rare intervals, usually at Communion seasons, and they contributed in a similarly spasmodic manner. The financial position of the Church was indicative of the spiritual condition of its members.”
These statements are the bold, sad truth, of conditions prevailing in the Church of Scotland. Here the Tell Scotland Movement has more than enough work to do, to put such a state of matters right if they would and if they could. But alas! this movement seems to have a complete lack of understanding as to what a truly converted sinner is, and who have a right from the Lord to sit at His Table, as members in the Christian Church. It is amazing to us that a Church Committee can issue such strictures on its members, and yet that such members are not seen to be but worldly hypocrites, who should be disciplined and deprived of their membership. The fact is that such darkness prevails in the said Church, that the scriptural and spiritual answer to the question, “What is a true Christian?” is either not known generally, or not applied when adding names to their Communion Rolls. The movement referred to should be the “Tell the Church of Scotland Movement.” Of course spiritual life is needed before there can be any spiritual or Christ honouring movement.