Select Practical Writings, by Robert Traill, published by the Banner of Truth Trust in their Puritan Paperbacks series, 282 pages, £6.25, obtainable from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom.
Those who are familiar with Traill’s savoury and searching sermons will agree with the statement in the Introduction to this edifying book: “Of the value of Traill’s writings it would now be superfluous to speak; that has been equally confirmed by his contemporaries, and by each succeeding generation. . . . They have recognised the vigour of his intellect, the conclusiveness of his reasoning, and the pure, simple and nervous [vigorous] style in which they have been embodied; and better still, they have appreciated the zeal, the sincerity, and fervent piety with which his writings are pervaded.”
The prefatory note says of him: “Friend of William Guthrie of Fenwick, attendant of James Guthrie of Stirling on the scaffold, son of the Greyfriars church manse where the 1638 Covenant was signed, Scot ordained in England, exile in Holland, prisoner on the Bass Rock, scholar, preacher and saint – Robert Traill lived to span the ripest period of the Puritan age”.
These select practical writings, first published in 1845 by the Free Church of Scotland and now part of the present publisher’s Puritan Paperbacks series, consist of 17 sermons. They are practical, not only in the sense that the preacher very closely applies to his hearers the doctrine expounded from the text,
but also that he handles particularly practical subjects such as, Frustrating the grace of God (six sermons on Galatians 2:21, “I do not frustrate the grace of God . . . ”), “By What Means Ministers May Best Win Souls”, Sinners entering in at the strait gate (three sermons), and Believers working out their salvation. Other sermons deal with God being a consuming fire, God being the Father of the godly, God revealing His deep things to the soul by His Spirit, and the unsearchable riches of Christ. The last two sermons in the book explain clearly the difficult passage, Hebrews 6:4-6, about the impossibility of restoring certain enlightened ones who have apostatised from their profession of Christianity.
“What is it to frustrate this grace of God?” Traill asks in his first sermon. He answers, “The word that I remember in the original is used, ‘Ye make void’ (or ‘reject’) ‘the commandments of God’. . . . The true grace of God itself can never be frustrated; it always reaches its end, for it is almighty: but the doctrine of the grace of God is many times rejected. . . . The grace of God is an irresistible principle of salvation: never man had one mite of the grace of God but he was saved by it. Christ Jesus hath two quivers, if I may so say: there is a common quiver, out of which He draws some arrows, and shoots them at sinners, and they can fence against these well enough, and never be hurt by them; but then He hath other arrows, that are marked with His love, and sent by His power, and there is no guarding against them.”
On winning souls, Traill says, “How little of Jesus Christ is there in some pulpits! . . . Whatever the law doth in alarming sinners, it is still the gospel-voice that is the key that opens the heart to Jesus Christ. Would ministers win souls? Let them have more of Jesus Christ in their dealing with men, and less of other things that can never profit them that are exercised therein.”
He preached a most solemn and searching sermon, on God being a consuming fire, on a Thursday before the administration of the Lord’s Supper in London (it was the first time he preached in the city). He was concerned about the lack of the holy, gracious fear of God and the weakness of it among many professing Christians, as evidenced especially by their loose conduct and light views of sin. Serious meditation on God, says Traill, is “the most clear token of a lively serious Christian. . . . Let a man set aside some time every day, or in the silent watches of the night, to muse and think again and again of God, and of what is revealed of Him in His word and works, and let the heart be exercised therein, and you will be finding light and life flowing in upon your soul; you will find fear of that glorious One quickening your soul.”
His sermon on the unsearchable riches of Christ is truly a wonderful compendium of Scripture teaching on the person and work of the Saviour.
Towards the end of his third sermon on Matthew 7:13,14: “Enter ye in
at the strait gate . . . ”, he encourages believers: “After reflecting on and examining of your way, if you find you are in the strait way that leads to life, then, I exhort you, be cheerful: go on in the strength of the Lord. Your way hath a good end, and you shall shortly feel it: your helper is strong. Be painful and diligent; strive on, wrestle, press through all! Weary not of well-doing; mind your work heartily; your reward is sure. Bring forth your faith and patience, and use them nobly, for great shall be your victory in the latter end of the day.”
We heartily commend the prayerful perusal of this volume. There are parts of it which require more than ordinary concentration, but Traill is a master in rightly dividing the Word of God. May his Select Practical Writings be blessed to many to bring them to be doers of the Word. (Rev) N M Ross
Protestant ViewPraying to the “Saints”
The awful corruption exhibited in the worship of the Church of Rome extends to the adoration of images (which was noted in a previous comment) and also to praying to the “saints” and to venerating their relics. It is important that Protestants have an intelligent understanding of the biblical reasons why such practices are idolatrous and why, consequently, any participation in Romish worship is sinful.
The English theologian Edward Stillingfleet (1635-1699) responded to the popish argument that Revelation 5:8 is a reference to the saints making ongoing intercession in heaven. He maintained that the prayers of the saints mentioned there refers to their prayers on earth, not to any ongoing intercession in heaven.1
Stillingfleet also dealt with the suggestion that praying to the saints in heaven is no different from requesting a believer on earth to pray on one’s behalf. He noted that requesting prayer from a Christian on earth involves no danger of believing that they are in a position to grant the blessing we desire, whereas invoking the “saints” in heaven may very readily lead to the false idea that they actually have the power to bestow such blessings as might be requested. This is to attribute divine powers to mere creatures and, when introduced into services of worship, makes such worship idolatrous. While Rome professes not to hold such a view, in practice it encourages that very thing. Rome teaches that departed believers are “mediators of intercession”
1Stillingfleet, The Doctrines and Practices of the Church of Rome Truly Represented, Edinburgh 1845, pp. 81-91.
but not “mediators of redemption”. It is this subtle and unbiblical distinction which Roman Catholics use to justify including the names of “saints” in their prayers while they are professing to call upon God.
In his notes on Stillingfleet’s work, William Cunningham refers to the Romanist dogma that God grants spiritual blessings through the merits and grace of the saints. This deadly teaching not only leads to idolatrous worship; it entirely subverts the scheme of salvation through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. The Word of God unambiguously asserts that there is “one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5) and that “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” but that of Christ (Acts 4:12). AWM
Notes and Comments
Online Abuse
There is much hateful abuse in circulation at the moment. To some extent this may always have been the case, but the internet and social media now allows so-called “trolls” to express their opinions immediately and anonymously in a way they would have had no outlet for in the past. Lack of respect for authority and indifference to the feelings of others fuel online abuse. By changing letters in offensive words, writers avoid the censorship of the search engine, but the threats and filthy language are obvious. Since the Fall, the heart of man has been “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer 17:9), but the Evil One is taking advantage of the ease of modern communication to stir people up to share publicly the wickedness and hatred that is in their hearts.
The abuse received by members of all parties in all the UK assemblies is shocking, with female members being particularly singled out. The Labour MP, Diane Abbot, said, “When I was a new member of parliament, you might get one racist letter a week. But that was because if you were racist and you wanted to abuse an MP, you had to write a letter, you had to put it in an envelope, you had to put a stamp on it and you had to put it in the letter-box. Now, some days, we can get hundreds of items of abuse, depending on what happened the previous day. It’s the volume of it which makes it so debilitating, so corrosive, and so upsetting. It’s the sheer volume and the sheer level of hatred that people are showing.” Some MPs did not stand for re-election at recent polls, and some who were elected are thinking of resigning because of the constant abuse and threats of physical and sexual violence, and even death, to themselves and their family members.
Another example is the treatment meted out to those who do not go along with the agenda put forward by the “trans” community. The novelist, J K Rowling, is still under attack for saying that there are two sexes, male and female, and standing firmly by that. The university professor, Kathleen Stock, asserted that we are created male and female and was hounded into resigning by a combination of wilful ignorance of her published work on the subject of gender, and juvenile hysteria. Our national acquiescence in the LGBTQ+ agenda can be described by this quote from the American philosopher and mathematician, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, who says, “Quite small minorities can corral large but quiescent majorities into apparent obedience to the minority conviction, so long as the minority are fiercely intolerant, and the latter disposed to opt for a quiet life. Particularly this is true where deferring to the minority doesn’t too greatly inconvenience the majority.”
A further sad example of online abuse is the dreadful bullying which goes on between school children. The cruelty is considerable and terribly malicious. Self-worth is stripped to unbearably low levels; this has in some cases resulted in the suicide of the victims. One doesn’t expect children to be so hardened in their wickedness as this form of behaviour would indicate. The lack of a Christian upbringing must play a part.
Truly “the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel” (Prov 12:10). The Lord Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself” (Lk 10:27). FRD
The Cairngorm Tragedy and the Sabbath
The Cairngorm tragedy of November 1971 has recently been in the public eye on its fiftieth anniversary. Five teenage schoolchildren and a group leader died on the Cairngorm plateau when they got trapped in a blizzard for two days. They ascended around Saturday lunchtime, meaning to spend the night in a bothy and then to return a different way on the Sabbath, but they could not navigate in the blizzard and they never reached the bothy.
Many lessons were learned from the sad event, regarding both school trips and mountaineering arrangements, but one lesson that was not learned had to do with honouring the Sabbath. As with many other mountaineering mishaps, if the victims (and their parents) had respected the Sabbath, they would not have been on the mountain at that time. “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to
ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it” (Is 58:13,14).
DWBS
Judging Right Judgement
One consequence of the Cairngorm tragedy was the demolition of three “emergency shelters” which the army had built on Cairngorm. The first party from the school trip reached one of these stone shelters and survived, but the second party failed to do so and was trapped in the open, with six out of eight dying.
Opinions were divided as to the wisdom of retaining the shelters. On the one hand, the shelters had saved the lives of the members of the first party; on the other hand, the shelters had contributed to the deaths in the second party because the children would not have been on Cairngorm plateau in such circumstances had the shelters not existed. Furthermore the shelters were badly situated, sometimes disappearing under feet of snow for the winter, and there had been calls for their demolition even before the tragedy occurred. After much discussion and disagreement, even among mountain-rescue experts, the shelters were demolished in 1975.
In online comments on the Cairngorm tragedy, the demolition of these shelters receives recurring denunciation. Many lay hold on the obvious argument that “shelters save lives” and do not realise that there were strong arguments on the other side as well. Because they can grasp one obvious aspect, they assume that they have a full understanding of the whole issue, from which they infer that the demolition of the shelters was a stupid and thoughtless response to the tragedy and worthy of condemnation. The idea that one simple argument automatically suffices to settle a discussion is the essence of a trap. The hungry animal sees a clear reason for entering the trap, but misses the even stronger reason for staying out.
“The Lord is a God of judgement” (Is 30:18), and one aspect of the image of God in man is that we should be judicious in the exercise of judgment. We must be ready to hear opposing points of view and come at last to a balanced conclusion. “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (Jas 1:19). “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him” (Prov 18:13).
DWBS
Church Information
Student Licensed
At its meeting on November 23, the Zimbabwe Presbytery licensed Mr T Mwedzi to preach the gospel. (Rev) S Khumalo, Clerk of Presbytery
FREE PRESBYTERIAN PLACES OF WORSHIP
Scotland
Aberdeen: 2 Alford Place, AB10 1YD, Sabbath 11 am, 6 pm; Tuesday, 7.15 pm. Rev D W B Somerset BSc DPhil, 18 Carlton Place, Aberdeen, AB15 4BQ; tel: 01224 645250.
Bracadale Duirinish-Strath: Struan: Sabbath 12 noon. Glendale and Vatten: Sabbath 6pm, alternately. Thursday 7 pm, rotating between Struan, Vatten and Glendale. Contact Rev I D MacDonald; tel: 01478 612110.
Dingwall: Church, Hill Street, IV15 9JP: Sabbath 11 am, 6.30 pm; Wednesday 7.30 pm. Beauty (Balblair): Sabbath 6.30 pm, Thursday 7.30 pm. Rev A W MacColl MA PhD, 10 Achany Road, Dingwall, IV15 9JB; tel: 01349 866546.
Dornoch: Sabbath 11.30 am. Manse: tel: 01862 810615. Bonar: Sabbath 6 pm. Wednesday 7.30 pm (alternately in Dornoch and Bonar). Laig: Church and Manse: no F P services. Contact Mr J Campbell; tel: 01863 766296.
Edinburgh: 63 Gilmore Place, EH3 9NU, Sabbath 11 am, 6 pm; Thursday 7.30 pm. Rev D Campbell MA, 35B Barnton Avenue West, Edinburgh EH4 6DF; tel: 0131 312 8227, e-mail: dcampbell1560@gmail.com.
Farr (by Daviot): Sabbath 12 noon. Tomatin: Sabbath 12 noon. Stratherrick: Sabbath 12 noon. (Each of these services is held once in three weeks as intimated). Contact Mr M J Schouten; tel: 01463 221776.
Fort William: Monzie Square, Sabbath 11 am, 6 pm as intimated. Manse: 15 Perth Place, PH33 6UL; tel: 01397 708553. Contact Mr D A McKinnon. Tel: 01397 702597.
Gairloch (Ross-shire): Sabbath 12 noon, 6 pm. Prayer meeting in Strath, Thursday 7.30 pm. Manse: tel: 01445 712247. Contact Rev D A Ross; tel: 01445 731340.
Glasgow: St Jude’s Church, 137 Woodlands Road, G3 6LE. Sabbath 11 am, 6.30 pm; Wednesday 7.30 pm. Rev R MacLeod BA, 4 Laurel Park Close, Glasgow, G13 1RD; tel: 0141 954 3759.
Greenock: Sabbath 2.30 pm, held in Free Church of Scotland hall, 14 Jamaica Street, PA15 1XX. Sabbath 2.30 pm. Contact Rev R MacLeod; tel: 0141 954 3759.
Halkirk: Sabbath 11.30 am, 5.30 pm; Thursday 7.30 pm. Rev W A Weale, F P Manse, Bridge Street, KW12 6YG; tel: 01847 831758. Thurso: Duncan Street; and Strathy: no services meantime.
Harris (North): Tarbert: Sabbath 12 noon, 6 pm. Tarbert and Stockinish: Tuesday 7.30 pm alternately. Rev J B Jardine BD, F P Manse, Tarbert, Isle of Harris, HS3 3DF; tel: 01859 502253, e-mail: northharris.fpc@btopenworld.com.
Harris (South): Leverburgh: Sabbath 12 noon, 6 pm; Wednesday 7 pm. Sheileboct: as intimated. Rev K M Watkins BA, F P Manse, Ferry Road, Leverburgh, Isle of Harris, HS5 3UA; tel: 01859 520271.
Inverness: Chapel Street, IV1 1NA; Sabbath 11 am, 6.30 pm; Wednesday 7.30 pm. Rev K D Macleod BSc, 11 Auldcastle Road, Inverness, IV2 3PZ; tel: 01463 712872.
Kinlochbervie: Sabbath 6 pm; Scourie: Sabbath 11:30 am, Tuesday 7 pm (as intimated). Contact Dr A Ross; tel 01971 502099.
Kyle of Lochalsh: Sabbath 6 pm. Manse: tel: 01599 534933. Contact Rev D A Ross; tel: 01445 731340.
Laide (Ross-shire): Sabbath 12 noon, 6 pm; Wednesday 7.30 pm. Rev D A Ross. F P Manse, Laide, IV22 2NB; tel: 01445 731340.
Lochcarron: Sabbath 11 am, 6 pm; Wednesday 7 pm. Manse.
Lochinver: Church. No F P services at present.
Ness: Sabbath 12 noon, 6 pm; Wednesday 7 pm. Manse: tel: 01851 810228. Contact Rev K M Watkins; tel: 01859 520271.
North Tolsta: Sabbath 12 noon, 6 pm; Thursday 7.30 pm. Manse: tel: 01851 890325. Contact Rev J R Tallach; tel: 01851 702501.
North Uist: Bayhead: Sabbath 12 noon, 6 pm; Thursday 7.30 pm (fortnightly). Manse: tel: 01876 510233. Contact: Rev J B Jardine; tel: 01859 502253.
Oban: Church. No F P services at present.
Perth: Pomarium, off Leonard Street. Sabbath 11 am, 6 pm; Wednesday 7.30 pm. Rev A B MacLean, 5 Main Road, Luncarty, PH1 3EP; tel: 01738 828762.
Portree: Sabbath 12 noon, 6.30 pm; Wednesday 7 pm.. Rev I D MacDonald BA, F P Manse, Achachork, Portree, IV51 9HT; tel: 01478 612110.
Raasay: Sabbath 12 noon, 6 pm. Contact Rev I D MacDonald; tel: 01478 612110.
Shieldaig: Sabbath 11 am; Applecross: Sabbath 6pm. Tuesday 7 pm (alternately in Shieldaig and Applecross). Shieldaig manse: tel: 01520 755259, Applecross manse: tel: 01520 744411. Contact Rev D A Ross; tel: 01445 731340.
Staffin: Sabbath 12 noon, 5 pm; Wednesday 7 pm. Manse: Clachan, Staffin, IV51 9HY tel: 01470 562243.
Stornoway: Matheson Road, Sabbath 11 am, 6.30 pm; Thursday 7.30 pm. Achmore: Sabbath 12 noon; Tuesday 7 pm. Rev J R Tallach MB ChB, 2 Fleming Place, Stornoway, HS1 2NH; tel: 01851 702501.
Uig (Lewis) Miaivaig: Sabbath 12 noon, 6 pm; Wednesday 12 noon. Manse: tel: 01851 672251. Contact Rev K M Watkins; tel: 01859 520271.
Ullapool: Sabbath 11 am, 6 pm; Wednesday 7.30 pm. Manse: Quay Street, IV26 2UE; tel: 01854 612449. Contact Rev D A Ross; tel: 01445 731340.
England
Barnoldswick: Kelbrook Road, Sabbath 11 am, 6 pm; Wednesday 7.30 pm.; South Manchester: Sabbath 6.00 pm, in Trinity Church, Massie Street, Cheadle (entry at rear of building); Wednesday 8 pm, alternately in Sandbach and Gatley. Contact Mr R Middleton, 2 Emerald Drive, Sandbach, CW11 4ND; tel: 01270 761673.
Broadstairs: Sabbath 11 am, 5 pm at Portland Centre, Hopeville Ave, St Peter’s; Tuesday 7 pm at Friends’ Meeting House, St Peter’s Park Rd. Contact Dr T Martin; tel: 01843 866369.
London: Zoar Chapel, Varden St, E1 2AW. Sabbath 11 am, 6.30 pm; Wednesday 7.15 pm. Manse: 6 Church Ave, Sidcup, Kent, DA14 6BU; tel: 0208 309 1623. Contact Mr Hugh Campbell; tel: 01923 442497.
Northern Ireland
Larne: Station Road. No F P services. Contact Rev R Macleod; tel: 0141 954 3759.
Canada
Cheley, Ontario: Church and Manse, 40 Fourth Street SW. Sabbath 10.30 am, 7.30 pm; Tuesday 8 pm. Contact: Mr David Kuiper; tel: 519 363 0367.
Vancouver: Burnaby Community Room, 3605 Gilmore Way, Burnaby, BC, V5G 4X5. No services at present. Contact: Mr Hector Ross, tel: 1-647-355-0844; e-mail: hector.ross@outlook.com, or Mr David Kuiper; tel: 1-519-363-0367; e-mail: info@fpchurchvancouver.ca.
USA
Santa Fe, Texas: Church and Manse, 4031 Jackson St 77517. Sabbath 10.30 am, 5 pm; Wednesday 7.30 pm. Contact Mr Joseph Smith; tel: 409 927 1564.
Australia
Grafton, NSW: 172 Fitzroy Street. Sabbath 11 am, 6.30 pm; Wednesday 7.30 pm. Rev G G Hutton BA PhD, 3 Martin Crescent, Junction Hill, NSW 2460; tel: (02) 6644 6174; e-mail: grafton@internode.on.net.
Sydney, NSW: Corner of Oxford and Regent Streets, Riverstone. Sabbath 10.30 am, 6 pm; Wednesday 7.30 pm. Rev G B Macdonald BSc, 60 Hamilton St, Riverstone, NSW 2765; tel. (02) 9627 3408; e-mail: sydneyfpchurch@aapt.net.au.
New Zealand
Auckland: 45 Church Street, Otahuhu. Sabbath 11 am, 6 pm; Wednesday 7.30 pm. Rev J D Smith, 9 Pedlar Place, Conifer Grove, Auckland; tel: 09 282 4195.
Carterton: 124 High Street North, Carterton. Sabbath 11 am, 4 pm; Wednesday 7.30 pm. Contact: Mr Hank Optland, P O Box 150, Carterton, 5743; tel: 02 7432 5625.
Gisborne: 463a Childers Road. Sabbath 11 am, 6 pm; Wednesday 7.30 pm. Rev C Hembd, 14 Thomson St, Gisborne 4010; tel: 06 863 3140.
Tauranga: 45 Cliff Road. Sabbath 11 am, 6 pm; Thursday 6.30 pm (once a month as intimated locally). Contact: Rev J D Smith; tel: 09 282 4195.
Singapore
Singapore: Metropolitan YMCA Singapore, 60 Stevens Road, Singapore 257854: Sabbath: 9.30 am and 5.30 pm at Palm Room; Wednesday: 7.30 pm, at Cypress Room. Contact: Mr Bernard Yong, 4 Chuan Place, Singapore 554822; tel: (65) 6383 4466, e-mail: byong1@singnet.com.sg.
Ukraine
Odessa: F P Mission Station, 3 Pestelya Street, 65031. Sabbath 12 noon, 6 pm; Wednesday 6 pm. Rev D Levitskyi; tel: 00 38 048 785 19 24; e-mail: dlevitskyi@gmail.com; or contact Mr I Zadorozhnyi, P O Box 100, Odessa-91, 65091; e-mail: antipa@eurocom.od.ua.
Zimbabwe
Bulawayo: Lobengula Township, PO Magwegwe, Bulawayo. Rev S Khumalo, F P Manse, Stand No 56004, Mazwi Road, Lobengula, PO Magwegwe, Bulawayo; tel: 00263 9407131, e-mail: skhumalo.byc@gmail.com.
Ingwenya: Church and Secondary School. Postal Address: Ingwenya Mission, Private Bag T5445, Bulawayo.
Mbuma: Church and Hospital. Postal Address: Mbuma Mission Hospital, Private Bag T5406, Bulawayo.
New Cannaan: Church.
Zenka: Church.