HE THE PEARLY GATES WILL OPEN Fredrick A. Blom, 1867–1927 Translated by Nathaniel Carlson, 1879–1957 But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. (1 Corinthians 2:9 KJV) Out of the repentant heart of a backslidden Swedish pastor came this deeply emotional and vividly worded hymn, which expresses his renewed faith in God. After serving as the minister of several churches, Fredrick Arvid Blom somehow fell into deep sin and even was in prison for a time. “I drifted from God,” he explained, “and became embittered with myself, the world, and not the least with ministers who looked on me with suspicion because I was a member of the Socialist Party.” Then like a “dove when hunted” or “a wounded fawn,” Blom cried in anguish to his heavenly Father, who in “love divine” forgave him and healed his broken heart and life. From this restoration came this lovely text, which has since comforted many sorrowful hearts with the assurance of a never-ending divine love and a promise of an eternal heavenly home. God’s people need not fear death. Instead we ought to view it as the beginning of a new form of life—the entering into an eternal abode with our loving Savior, who will Himself open heaven’s gate to welcome us home. Love divine, so great and wondrous, deep and mighty, pure, sublime! Coming from the heart of Jesus—just the same thru tests of time. Like a dove when hunted, frightened, as a wounded fawn was I; brokenhearted, yet He healed me—He will heed the sinner’s cry. Love divine, so great and wondrous! All my sins He then forgave! I will sing His praise forever, for His blood, His pow’r to save. In life’s even-tide, at twilight, at His door I’ll knock and wait; by the precious love of Jesus I shall enter heaven’s gate. Chorus: He the pearly gates will open, so that I may enter in; for He purchased my redemption and forgave me all my sin.
For Today: John 14:2, 3; 2 Corinthians 5:1, 6, 8; Revelation 7:9, 16, 17
Try to comfort someone who is ill or fearful of death with the strong promises of Scripture that remind us of the welcome in heaven awaiting each true believer in Christ. Or, if you have opportunity, try to reassure someone who has been away from God that there is forgiveness and divine love for all who will truly repent and turn again to seek renewed fellowship with God. Sing this musical testimony as you go—
ON JORDAN’S STORMY BANKS Samuel Stennett, 1727–1795 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. (1 Corinthians 15:19) In this day of the “throwaway” and the temporary, Christians must live according to their belief in eternity. The apostle Paul reminded the believers at Corinth that if their hope in Christ were related only to this life, they would be the most miserable men of all (1 Corinthians 15:17–19). The anticipation of God’s tomorrow makes it possible for Christians to live joyfully today—regardless of life’s circumstances. He liveth long who liveth well! All other life is short and vain; He liveth longest who can tell of living most for heavenly gain. —Horatius Bonar What Canaan was to God’s chosen people of the Old Testament, the “heavenly places” are to New Testament believers. God has raised us up with Christ so that even now we can sit with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). Living in Canaan, our spiritual heavenlies, should be the Christian’s daily experience as well as a foretaste of our eternal glory. We, like the Israelites, must faithfully follow our Leader and foresee and enjoy our possessions now. Samuel Stennett was one of the most respected and influential preachers among the dissenting or non-conformist groups of his times. He pastored a Baptist church on Little Wild Street in London, England, for an entire lifetime. The tune, “Promised Land,” is one of the many traditional melodies used in the United States during the early part of the 19th century. The hymn was first published in its present form in 1895. On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand and cast a wishful eye to Canaan’s fair and happy land, where my possessions lie. All o’er those wide extended plains shines one eternal day; where God the Son forever reigns and scatters night away. No chilling winds nor pois’nous breath can reach that healthful shore; sickness and sorrow, pain and death are felt and feared no more. When shall I reach that happy place and be forever blest? When shall I see my Father’s face and in His bosom rest? Chorus: I am bound for the promised land, I am bound for the promised land; O who will come and go with me? I am bound for the promised land.
For Today: Numbers 14:7–9; Isaiah 35:10; Revelation 21:1–4
Determine to set your sights and values more strongly on eternity and heavenly gain. Go forth with a buoyancy to your step and this song upon your lips—
MY SAVIOR FIRST OF ALL Fanny J. Crosby, 1820–1915 You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. (Psalm 16:11) The strong, triumphant spirit of American hymnwriter Fanny Crosby was an inspiration to everyone who knew her. Even though she was blind from six weeks of age because of improper medical treatment, she never revealed bitterness or depression. At one time a well-intentioned minister remarked to her: “I think it is a great pity that the Master, when He showered so many gifts upon you, did not give you sight.” “Do you know,” replied Fanny, “if at birth I had been able to make one petition to my Creator, it would have been that I should be born blind.” “Why?” asked the surprised clergyman. “Because when I get to heaven, the first sight that shall ever gladden my eyes will be that of my Savior!” For Fanny, the anticipation of heaven was the joy of seeing her Lord “face to face.” Although she wrote 8,000 or more gospel song texts on many different subjects, the themes of heaven and the Lord’s return seem to have been her favorites. In no other hymn does she picture more vividly her hope of seeing the beauty of Christ’s welcome, standing by His side, and witnessing firsthand His scars of redemption. What moving scenes Fanny Crosby has created for us to ponder in these vividly worded lines! When my lifework is ended and I cross the swelling tide, when the bright and glorious morning I shall see, I shall know my Redeemer when I reach the other side, and His smile will be the first to welcome me. O the soul-thrilling rapture when I view His blessed face and the luster of His kindly beaming eye; how my full heart will praise Him for the mercy, love and grace that prepare for me a mansion in the sky. O the dear ones in glory, how they beckon me to come, and our parting at the river I recall; to the sweet vales of Eden they will sing my welcome home—but I long to meet my Savior first of all. Thru the gates to the city, in a robe of spotless white, He will lead me where no tears will ever fall; in the glad song of ages I shall mingle with delight—but I long to meet my Savior first of all. Chorus: I shall know Him, I shall know Him, and redeemed by His side I shall stand; I shall know Him, I shall know Him by the print of the nails in His hand.
For Today: Philippians 3:20, 21; 2 Peter 1:4, 11; Revelation 21:10–21; 22:1–5
Contemplate once more some of the joys of Heaven promised in the Bible. Share your enthusiasm with a Christian who needs this encouragement.
The recordings and artefacts of Bangor’s earlier beginnings date back to circa 500BC, during the late Bronze Age, where significant treasures found in the three Ballycroghan Swords. Otherwise, there really is not much noteworthy during this period history of Bangor, or at least there are few major events worth talking about through the coming 1,000 years. Until the arrival of Christianity in Bangor and the establishment of Bangor Abbey.
Establishment of Bangor Abbey (558AD)
The early history of Bangor centres around Bangor Abbey which was established by St Comgall in 558. The Abbey was widely recognised as a centre of learning and its importance is highlighted in the Mappa Mundie which showed Bangor as one of only four settlements in the whole of Ireland. At the time of Comgall’s death in 602 there were 3000 monks under his guidance. The most famous of these monks was Columbanus who along with 12 colleagues left Bangor in 585 to spread Christianity throughout Western Europe. Columbanus and his followers set up monasteries in many parts of Europe including France, Germany Austria Switzerland and Italy. The Swiss city of St Gallen which was founded on the spot where one of the monks Gall had erected his hermitage.
800 Viking Raids
The monastery at Bangor continued to flourish until the late 8th Century when the Vikings began raiding monasteries along the Irish Coast looking for treasure. They raided Bangor on a number of occasions and finally destroyed the monastery and stole its treasures in 824. Fortunately, some of the manuscripts created in Bangor had been taken by missionary monks to the continent to escape the Vikings and have therefore survived. During the Viking invasions and occupation, many monasteries were plundered and monk’s put to the sword. Churches and libraries burnt to lead to a decline in Christianity in Ireland.
1123 Malachy restores Abbey
In 1123 Malachy was appointed Abbot and began to revitalize Bangor’s Christian Heritage. He built the first stone church in Bangor and the remnants can be seen today in Malachy’s wall which runs parallel to Abbey Street. The Abbey was finally dissolved by James I.
1605 Plantation by Scots
In 1605 James I granted lands in North Down to a Scotsman James Hamilton and he was the founder of the present town of Bangor. He began building new houses and introduced a large number of fellow Scots to inhabit them. Bangor became a borough in 1613 and was given status as a port. In 1637 Hamilton built the Customs House and watchtower (now Tower House). Hamilton’s direct line of descent died out in 1670 but in 1710 the heir to Bangor lands Anne Hamilton married Michael Ward of Castle Ward and the Ward family were to play an important role in the expansion and development of Bangor over the next two centuries. Colonel Robert Ward improved the harbour, erected several cotton mills and promoted the local textile industry. However Bangor’s time as an industrial town was relatively brief as following a series of the fires in the cotton mills in the 1850’s they were closed down. In 1852 his grandson the Hon RE Ward built Bangor Castle which is now the Town Hall.
1865 Coming of Railway
Then Bangor began to find a new role with the coming of the railway in 1865. It began to become established as an important seaside resort and attract many affluent businessmen and professionals from Belfast who were able to enjoy the pleasant environment and commute to work by rail or paddle steamer. This led to a more than doubling of the population and a building boom of many of the Victorian villas which overlook the seafront today. RE Ward’s sole heir was his daughter Maude who married Lord Clanmorris from Mayo in 1878. She died in 1941 and is buried in Castle Park. She had ten children including Barry Bingham who won the VC at the Battle of Jutland and his valour was recognised by the presentation of the gun from a German submarine which now sits close to the War Memorial in Ward Park.
Early Twentieth Century
The early years of the 20th Century saw many new developments in Bangor. Between 1905 and 1914 the Marine Gardens, Ward Park, Ballyholme Park and Stricklands Glen were acquired for the benefit of residents and tourists. This expansion slowed down following the First World War but developments accelerated again in the 1930’s with the building of the Tonic Cinema, Pickie Pool and Caproni’s Palais De Dance. Unfortunately these buildings have all been demolished but at the time they were widely praised and recognised as state of the art developments.
More Modern Times
In the years following the Second World War Bangor continued to grow both as a tourist resort and a commuter town for Belfast city centre. However, by the late sixties, Bangor’s role as a tourist attraction changed as many tourists particularly from Scotland and North of England who previously spent a week in Bangor sped off to any cheap package holidays in the sun. In addition to the increase in private cars Northern Ireland tourists came for the day and would no longer stay overnight. As a result, Bangor’s tourist role declined with hundreds of guest houses and hotels closing down. At the same time Bangor’s population grew rapidly particularly during when the seventies and eighties some fled Belfast to avoid the troubles and by 2011 it had passed 60,000.
The serious situation in Ulster today is comparable with the tragic days of the early 1920s. Politicians are at their wits’ end and God’s people are praying for another revival.
In the 1920s Ulster was dispirited by serious unemployment and mass emigration. A reign of terror brought fear and a sense of hopelessness. Politicians had no answers. In the mercy of God a measure of deliverance came in an unexpected way. A time of revival swept away much of the terror and brought peace back to a stricken land.
The instrument God was pleased to use was the unlikely William Paterson Nicholson. Born in Bangor, Co. Down, in 1876, he went to sea at the age of sixteen and for seven years lived the life of a godless young man. But his mother never stopped praying. On a short visit home in 1899 he told his mother that her prayers had been answered and that he had put his trust in Christ for salvation.
His training at the Bible Training Institute in Glasgow made a deep impression on him. James Orr brought a new dimension to his understanding of Bible truth. James Denny gave him a new appreciation of the person and work of Christ, while Alexander Whyte’s fierce exposure of sin and the remainders of sin in the hearts of the unregenerate made such an impact on him that this became one of the main features of his preaching.
His fame as a speaker spread far and wide and in 1925 he spoke at the Jubilee Convention at Keswick. More surprisingly when Dr Stuart Holden was unable through illness to conduct a mission at Cambridge University in 1926, Nicholson was asked to take his place. His friends were afraid that he would prove a misfit, but the records of the union show that more than a hundred undergraduates professed faith in Christ.
The truths he emphasized
The secret of his usefulness under God lay in his total commitment to the infallible Word of God. His missions always began with a series of searching messages to the converted. He believed in the power of God’s law to convict the sinner and he preached the law as a preparation for the gospel. Few preachers exposed the nature and effects of sin as he did. The sinner was not a sick man who needed help but a dead man who needed life.
He expounded clearly and faithfully the atoning work of Christ on the cross. His emphasis on the blood as the only means of redemption was made in almost every address. He was scathingly severe in his condemnation of theological liberals and Unitarians and all others who questioned the deity of Christ and the power of his atoning blood.
His application of the Word was personal and pointed as he stressed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. He never presented an ‘easy believism’ or stooped to cheap ‘decision making’. His confidence in the sovereignty of God was evident in all his preaching. His work was a lasting work because it was based on salvation by grace alone.
The blessings that followed
Nicholson’s introduction to his ministry in Ulster was as difficult as it possibly could have been, for his first mission was in his home town of Bangor. But he survived the test and the people, some out of interest and some out of curiosity, came in large numbers to hear him. Many entered into a saving relationship with Christ. Throughout the province, over a period of about three years, thousands were converted. Reports presented to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland stated that over a hundred congregations of the church had been blessed in a singular way. In Belfast’s Shankill Road Mission more than 2000 professed faith in Christ. Newington Presbyterian Church, Belfast, reported that in a three-week campaign 1100 people had been counselled. St Enoch’s Presbyterian congregation recorded that 1,500 had sought the Lord and his grace. In the towns and villages of Ulster many more thousands came to know the Lord.
In the wider sphere of Christian work there were notable evidences of blessing. Membership in the Christian Endeavour movement increased from 5000 to 10,500 in three years. Church membership in many cases doubled. The number of young men who offered themselves for the work of the gospel ministry showed a marked increase and many congregations were refreshed and strengthened by the addition to office of godly elders and Sabbath school teachers.
The practical results of Nicholson’s preaching were equally striking. The years that followed the partition of Ireland in 1921 were filled with strife and bloodshed and the horrors of a threatened civil war. Many citizens had been armed since 1912. Fear and suspicion stalked the streets of Belfast and the province as a whole was filled with anxiety and distress. In the providence of God the blessings of revival averted disaster and these, coupled with faithful preaching from many pulpits, healed the wounds of the stricken province.
The restitution of stolen property was another feature of this work of grace. Many of the workers at the Harland and Wolff’s shipyard, at that time one of the largest in Europe, had come under the influence of the gospel. A special depot was set up to deal with the large quantity of stolen goods that were returned by workmen who had been converted.
W. P. Nicholson’s memory is still revered by many who thank God for his ministry, although his later work in Ulster did not have the same impact. He died on 29 October 1959 and was buried in Bangor cemetery.
The serious situation in Ulster today is comparable with the tragic days of the early 1920s. Politicians are at their wits’ end to try to find an acceptable solution. God’s people are praying for another revival. They are anxious to avoid the counterfeit as appears in the various forms of decisionism and in different aspects of the charismatic movement. There is no room for complacency. The day of small things is not to be despised. There must be unwavering confidence in the sovereignty of God and the power of his Word. There is much encouragement for those who pray, for God’s promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14 is faithful and guarantees fulfilment: ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
This is my personal collection of thoughts and writings, mainly from much smarter people than I, which challenge me in my discipleship walk. Don't rush by these thoughts, but ponder them.
Milo 