Thomas Halyburton was born in 1674. His father George had been a minister in Perthshire until he was ejected from his charge in 1662, along with hundreds of others who refused to submit to the new ecclesiastical regime under Charles II. Thomas Halyburton followed his father’s principles and became minister of Ceres, in Fife, in 1700. Ten years later he was appointed a professor of divinity in St Andrews. Throughout his ministry he faced a struggle with ill health and died in 1712. He was buried in St Andrews beside another worthy minister and divinity professor, Samuel Rutherford. In the words of Rev Hugh Cartwright, Halyburton “has been regarded as one of the most distinguished Scottish theologians. Hugh Martin described Halyburton and [William] Cunningham as ‘the two greatest theologians that Scotland has ever produced’. John Duncan regarded Halyburton as ‘a minor John Owen’, in the same category as Herman Witsius, and classed his Memoirs with Augustine’s Confessions and Bunyan’s Grace Abounding.”1
High praise indeed for Halyburton as a theologian! Yet a man’s godliness is not necessarily on the same level as his theological ability. In this case, however, there is no question about the standard of Halyburton’s godliness. Let us listen to him on his deathbed, as he welcomed a visitor: “Come and see your friend in the best case that you ever saw him in – longing for a deliverance and hastening to the coming of the day of God; waiting for the salvation of God, on a bed of roses, though nature and skin may not say so – a bed perfumed. And, man, I sent for you; I longed to see you that I might give you encouragement in an ill world to preach the gospel, and stand by Christ, that has been so good to me. This is the best pulpit that ever I was in. I am now laid on this bed for this end, that I may commend my Lord.
“All these soft clothes are like sacking about me, and yet I have perfect ease of spirit. My breast is drawing together as sorely as if it were with cords, and still the Lord keeps composure. What is in this? I would have scarcely believed, though I had been told it, that I would have kept in the right exercise of my judgement under this racking pain. Whatever come of
1Introduction to Thomas Halyburton, Works, vol 1, James Begg Society, 2000, p v.
it, I am sure I am a demonstration that there is a reality in religion; and I rejoice in this, that God has honoured a sinful worm to be a demonstration of His grace. . . . Worthy is the Lamb to receive glory.”2
There was clearly a reality in Halyburton’s religion. Still relatively a young man, not yet 40, suffering in his chest and from a skin complaint and experiencing extreme pain, he confronts death and eternity with a God-given confidence. He can commend God, who has redeemed his soul and has prepared him for eternity; so he can look forward to spending eternity in the presence of the God who saved him.
This issue of The Free Presbyterian Magazine is due to appear about the time when the year 2018 passes into 2019. This is a time when we would all do well to consider our own position in view of death. No one can deny that death will come to everyone, sooner or later; yet no one is justified in presuming that he or she will be spared for many years, or even days, before having to leave this world. And if a time comes when we recognise a serious failure of health, for instance, that leaves us with little prospect of continuing much longer in this life, could we, like Halyburton, feel a legitimate degree of confidence that death will bring us into a better world?
Many, when experiencing serious illness, have observed that it is not a good time to seek the Lord. This surely means that we ought to feel a real sense of urgency when we read or hear the call: “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near” (Is 55:6). This verse reminds us that a time is coming when, if we do not make use of our present opportunity to seek the Lord, we will not be able to find Him; it will be too late. For those who have passed away from this world unprepared, it will then be too late to seek the Lord; so their final destination must be hell, with its endless punishment.
One would imagine that most, if not all, readers of this Magazine accept the teachings of the Bible about eternity, but one cannot believe that they all take seriously the implications of these teachings. Do you take seriously the words of Jesus about “wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Mt 13:42)? They point us (1) to a tremendous, unending sadness, a complete absence of happiness, exacerbated by a total lack of hope for the future; and (2) to a persistent rebellion of spirit.
All this emphasises the danger of refusing to follow the directions God gives in Isaiah 55:6. Yet it is a thoroughly selfish attitude that lies behind many people’s refusal to serve God now, while promising themselves that they will seek Him before the end comes, expecting to enter the blessedness of heaven thereafter. Now we know that one of the thieves suffering on a
2Quoted in John Macleod, Some Favourite Books, Banner of Truth, 1988, pp 17-18.
cross beside Jesus found mercy when he sought the Lord almost at the last moment of his life. But we also know that the other thief continued in rebellion and hardness of heart to the very end. There is great sin involved in a continuing refusal to give up one’s sins and forsake worldliness and carelessness. Correspondingly there is great sin in the lack of desire to serve God, however limited the way that is open to us, for all the rest of the time we are spared in this world.
When we are within reach of at least some of the means of grace, we should ensure that we make good use of them. Even if we are not able to attend public worship, where the Scriptures are expounded and applied, we may read the Bible and come to the throne of grace to “call upon” the Lord for mercy, for in all these means of grace, the Lord is not far from us.
At the end of a sermon entitled, “Abundant Pardon”, on Isaiah 55:7, C H Spurgeon addressed his hearers earnestly: “What if that mercy should be slighted? What if there should be such abundant mercy, and it should be rejected? What if we do despite to the mercy of God, and to the blood of His dear Son? Those that are unwilling to be forgiven doubly deserve to be left to their own deserts. If God speaks you fair and you will not have Him, you must not wonder if by-and-by He changes His note.
“The lamp holds out to burn, and while it burns you may have mercy. It will soon burn out, remember. The longest life is short, and after that there will be no further mercy, no terms of grace. The mercy seat will be gone, and the judgement throne will fill its place. O if God only gave us five minutes to find mercy in, surely if we were not fools, we should avail ourselves of it; but while He has lingered with some of you for 50 years, and still lingers, do not provoke Him; but ‘today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts,’ but turn unto Him.”3
A new year reminds us that time is passing, and apparently with increasing swiftness. Our time to seek the Lord, and to call on Him for mercy is becoming steadily shorter and we do not know how long is left. It should be obvious that, in spite of his pain and discomfort, Thomas Halyburton’s position was eminently desirable: he was safe, on the verge of a blessed eternity. He had not left seeking salvation until the last possible moment; early in life he had recognised that “there is a reality in religion”, in true Christianity, for those who come to God through Jesus Christ. May we also recognise this and seek the Lord while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is near! Let us remember that “now is the accepted time . . . now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2). Tomorrow may be too late.
3 C H Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol 20, London, 1875, p 552. The sermon was preached in 1874.