Good Morning,
Every now and then to kind of re-energize my ARP batteries I go back and read the sermons and writings of our founding fathers. Whether it be Ebenezer Erskine or Alexander Moncrieff, or even an “adjacent” Seceder like Thomas Boston I am always in comfort as they minister Christ unto my soul. However, there is one who always hits the spot when it comes to building up my heart in peace, and that is the brother of the more honored minister at Stirling, Ralph Erskine.
Outside of it just being kind of cool that we have man by that name as a root of the Associate movement he has the habit of exhibiting our Redeemer like no other. In fact out of all of his works the most well-known are without a doubt his Gospel Sonnets. These songs of faith show a depth of understanding of the fullness of the grace of God that a man could only know it if he was personally acquainted with such a theme. It’s interesting that out of Scotland’s famous men of spiritual prowess in those days, men like the Bonar brothers or Robert Murray M’Cheyne few remember his hymns of admiration. Part of the reason undoubtedly is that the younger Erskine was still of the school of thought that believed that the praise of the congregation gathered together in public worship on the Lord’s Day should be only that of the 150 psalms of David, and because of this his writings never gained the public popularity of his Scottish brothers. Yet a careful and worthwhile look at them will I believe illustrate for us a godly help with few parallels.
It's interesting that Ralph should come to such a place that he would be so moved to give glory to his God with such seraphic language. Better said maybe it was because his biography is one of personal tragedy (he lost his first wife, Margaret Dewar, as well as suffering through the death of many children) and ecclesiastical trials that he knew the presence of the Lord so well. Not that difficulties are ever good, but it is a blessing to see how the Almighty uses them to our advantage by growing our appreciation for His love as it is expressed in us through the Spirit’s indwelling grace. It is that kind of understanding that led Ralph Erskine to be the sort of preacher, pastor, and father that he was. The picture of Christ in Philippians 2 was the model of the kind of believer Erskine was, and it is why his legacy is so dear to so many. The richness of his testimony to the kindness of his savior is a balm from Gilead for the sin-sick soul. So without further ado I want to bless you with a an example of a sonnet that moves the heart to consider the blessing of Holy Scripture in order to help along in prayer and worship today.
The song below is a preface to a sort of “Systematic Theology” that was put together by admirers and uses the spiritual songs of Ralph Erskine to teach a whole body of divinity:
Hark, dying mortal, if the Sonnet prove
A song of living and immortal love,
'Tis then thy grand concern the theme to know
If life and immortality be so.
Are eyes to read, or ears to hear a trust?
Shall both in death be cramm'd anon with dust?
Then trifle not to please thine ear and eye,
But read thou, hear thou, for eternity.
Pursue not shadows wing'd, but be thy chase
The God of glory, on the field of grace:
The mighty hunter's name is lost and vain,
That runs not this substantial prize to gain.
These humble lines assume no high pretense,
To please the fancy, or allure the sense,
But aim, if everlasting life's thy chase,
To clear thy mind, and warm thy heart thro' grace.
A marriage so mysterious I proclaim, Betwixt two parties of such different fame,
That human tongues may blush their names to tell, To wit, the Prince of Heav'n, the heir of hell!
But, on so vast a subject who can find
Words suiting the conceptions of his mind?
Or, if our language with our thought could vie.
What mortal thought can raise itself so high?
When words and thoughts both fail, may faith and
pray'r Ascend, by climbing up the scripture-stair:
From sacred writ these strong espousals may Be explicated in the foll'wing way.
I am hardly a poetical scholar, but you can see a structure of discipleship as Erskine works his way through the sonnet. The question at the front is answered by the statement at the end and everything in between is calculated to answer any and all questions as to why the Bible is the one and only means by which we can know the eternal truths of reality and the God by whom they are made known to all men. A person can mightily hunt and pursue treasure in all the seven seas yet they will never find what they are looking for, and the certainty is all people everywhere, whether they want to consciously admit it or not, are seeking the answers to life, its purpose, its meaning, and ultimately its end (meant here not philosophically per se, but chronologically).
Where has Ralph himself discovered the rapturous beauty of a response? He tells us clearly and unapologetically that is in the very word of the living God itself. A person might inquire about where has he learned this, and the example is in the one who has revealed Himself in His Son. Go to and fro in your own peril, walk among the shadows while ignoring the great and Almighty LORD who casts that shadow over all creation, and your quest will end in failure, and ultimately in your own destruction. Whereas those who “ascend the spiritual stairs”, will close this life with a heart warmed by the Heavenly fire full of the grace and comfort of the presence of Jesus Christ, the author of Scripture herself.
I hope you have been helped by Ralph Erskine this morning and I encourage you to read more on our ancestors that you may be enriched by their love for our common savior.
A place to look:
https://www.solid-ground-books.com/detail_1540.asp
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Benjamin Glaser
Pastor, Bethany ARP Church