Watchman, what of the night?

‘Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?’

In these solemn days when the bands of Secular Humanism and Atheism have joined forces to destroy evangelical Protestantism, these words from Isaiah21:11 are particularly poignant. GB has become the hub of the global secularist movement; there is a systematic rejection of the authority of God’s infallible Word and a dangerous dependence on human reasoning. The secularist movement is said to have been the engine of ‘new labour’; certainly over the past few years secular humanism has gained great prominence politically and also in the media.

Against the backdrop of atheism, the religion of foolishness, secular humanism has found fertile soil in which to cultivate its pragmatic plants; when the existence of God is questioned, then secular humanism comes into its own; take God out of the equation and humanism begins to promote its religion of selfishness. While atheism is busy using evolution to throw God out of science and society; humanism is busy using secularism to establish man’s authority as predominant.

In recent times, the spiritual darkness, generated by atheistic secular humanism, that has started to settle on mainland GB, has begun to drift over the province of Ulster. Ulster has had the privilege of being the last bastion of evangelical Protestantism left in the UK, that is, until the dark shadows of error began to gather.

There were many political initiatives tried in Ulster over the years, to bring an end to sectarian violence and to end the ever spiralling cost of death and devastation. More recently, the Westminster and Dublin governments drew up a plan whereby the conflict in Ulster would cease; the first blue print was released as the ‘Good Friday’ or the ‘Belfast’ agreement. This agreement was top heavy with secular humanist philosophy and dangerously low on foundational Scriptural and Biblical principle and was met with limited success.

However, when the Belfast agreement was subjected to a little more secular air brushing at St Andrews, it became acceptable to the leader of Ulster evangelical protestants, Rev Ian Paisley. ‘Watchman, what of the night?’ Mr Paisley signed up to the agreement which is based upon secular humanist principles, and then took his seat with unrepentant terrorists in government. The present political settlement in Ulster has put the pragmatism of secular humanism above the principles of, truth, justice, holiness, mercy, charity, faith and love which are pillars upon which evangelical Protestantism stand; all this happened on the watch of Rev Ian Paisley. ‘Watchman, what of the night?’

What is more astounding is that the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster fully supports such a government and refuses to censor its ministers and office bearers who helped to implement it. Its’ all very well to protest against the leader of the nominal Christian rump, the Pope, but not a word of condemnation on those that advocate a political settlement based on secular humanistic ideals. ‘Watchman, what of the night?’

The night of atheistic secular humanism is advancing rapidly, obscuring the One that is ‘the way the truth and the life’ God has said; ‘I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.’ (Isa62:6-7) ‘Watchman, what of the night?’


Rev Mervyn Cotton (Heb13:6)