Now, as you've heard, I've already been assigned this
subject. Why do we celebrate the 12th of
July? Now that is a great question,
and one that demands A straightforward, plain, simple
answer. Yet the reality is, the answer
is not really so simple. You see, the 12th of July, also
known as the Glorious 12th, is really the climax of the
marching season of the Orange Order.
During this period and around the 12th of July, large parades
are held by the Orange Order all over this province.
The marching season takes place in towns and villages.
Locally there are of course district church services.
And then there's the county demonstrations.
Streets are adorned with union flags.
In the Ulster Standard, bonfires are usually and traditionally
lit in the 11th of July. In Northern Ireland, the 12th of
July is a public holiday. Similar demonstrations are held
in various parts of the world where the Orange families found
Scotland, mainly in Glasgow, England, around Merseyside and
Liverpool Republic of Ireland. We could think of the
demonstration in Rosnyla, in County Donegal, in Australia, in
Canada and even in Africa in the land of Togo.
There is an Orange Lodge there. You see, when it comes to the
12th of July, hundreds of thousands flocked to watch the
parade. There's a desire to get to the
place of the demonstration and of course it's an opportunity to
celebrate our heritage, our cultural identity, our freedoms.
It's an opportunity to meet with old friends and to make new
ones. You see to those that are Ulster
born and bred we wouldn't want to miss the 12th.
I remember a young girl being in New York on the 12th of July and
had her own little period down 5th Ave with her own little
orange cholera on. I know of a man who went to book
us holidays said to the girl he wanted to book a holiday in July
and he says but I don't want to go on the 12th fortnight.
And she says, but there isn't 12 fortnights in July.
There's only two. She she was English and she
didn't really understand the 12th fortnight was sacrosanct.
And I can remember on my 25th wedding anniversary, only
missing 112th. And that was because I was in
Cyprus. And I can tell you the 12th of
July was a miserable day because I was missing my brethren and
missing my parade. You see.
Let's ask the reason why we celebrate the 12th of July and
of course you see people answer. Well it has to do with King
William the Third crossing the Boyne in 1690, fighting against
James the 2nd and defeating the Jacobite army.
Now we know that. We know the 12th of July marks
the victory of King William the Third Prince of Orange over the
Roman Catholic King James the Second.
People already know that. But but let's dig a little
deeper. Why are you marching, son?
Why are you marching, lady? And of course, the focus is on
the victory over King James by King William the 3rd at the
point. But that's only part of it.
That's only a small part. Now, it's a real part.
Don't get me wrong, it's a constituent part, but it's not
the whole reason. And you see, many youngster
Protestants today do not know the real history of why we
celebrate the 12th of July here in Northern Ireland and further
afield in the way that they do. Now, let me explain something to
you. And this is the key phrase for
this morning. The 12th of July is a
celebration of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the
Williamite settlement that followed.
You see, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Williamite
settlement that followed has historical, has theological, has
of course, cultural significance.
So therefore the chief purpose of this lecture today is to
inform our people about the origins, the evolution and the
meaning behind the festivities on the 12th day of July.
We're going to emphasise the importance of remembering.
The book of Job says remember the battle and that's what we're
going to think about. Understand our Protestant
heritage and history, number of things.
First of all, let's think about the origins of the 12th of July.
When did the 12th of July periods begin?
Let's think about the early history you see after the Irish
rebellion of 1641 and the Irish rebellion was an attempt by the
Roman Catholic Gentry in Ireland to seize power from the English
governing authority and 10s of thousands running even into
100,000 of Protestants were massacred in cold blood.
And the anniversary of the Irish rebellion in 1641 is on the 23rd
of October. And to mark the anniversary of
the ending of the Irish rebellion in 1641, Protestants
gathered to celebrate and they tried to celebrate in the sense
of having a parade. There was another attempt that
parading arose from the commemoration of the birthday of
King William of Orange in the 4th of November 1650 and these
were prayed, were popular for a time and then they faded in
their popularity. The 12th of July itself
originated as a celebration of the Battle of Ocrum.
I'm going to hear in a moment the Battle of the Ocrum was the
most significant battle of the William 8 wars here in Ireland.
The Battle of Ocrum was fought in the 12th of July 1691 and
many historians would acknowledge the significance of
the Boeing but would openly state that the Battle of Akram
was the most decisive battle of the William 8 wars.
See, it was during this battle that the predominantly Roman
Catholic Jacobite army was destroyed with their surrender
of course, at Limerick. And during the 18th century
there used to be a parade to celebrate the Battle of Akram on
the 12th of July. Bonfires, flags, parades.
The Battle of the Boeing was usually a smaller parade than
the parade connected with the Battle of Okram until eventually
the 2 events were merged into one.
So that's really the early history of when the 12th of July
parades began. Think of the later history.
You see, the chief reason for the merger of the two events was
the British switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian
calendar in 1752. Eleven days were unaccounted for
and this moved the normal date of the Battle of the Boyne,
which was on the 1st of July 1690, to the 12th of July.
And then the Battle of Ochram was moved from the 12th of July
to the 23rd of July. So that was one of the reasons
why there was a switch. Another reason, of course, for
the switch was the formation of the Orange Order in the 21st of
September in 1795. And the Orange Order, rightly
so, put a lot of emphasis in the Battle of the Boyne.
Why? Due to King William, the Prince
of Orange presence there. And the third reason, of course
it was in 19/17/90, was a time of resurgence of Roman
Catholicism. The Battle of the Boeing, as the
little booklet emphasises, was the easier of the two battles.
It was maybe more appealing in the sense to the Orange Order
that King William the Third was present there and crossed the
Boeing. And that Battle of the Boeing,
the Jacobite army was more easily righted.
You see, during the Battle of Ockram, it was a harder battle.
The the both sides fought well. They fought hard.
Large numbers died 5 to 7000 in that battle.
Did you know that the first Orange Order March took place in
the 12th of July 1796 here in County Armagh, in good old
Portadown, also in Lurgan and in Warringstown.
So that's really the later history and that's from that
date. Then the 12th of July 1796,
there have been Orange Order parades marking the 12th of
July, significantly to the Battle of the Boyne and and also
enamoration of the Battle of Okram.
So that's really the origin of the 12th of July.
Secondly, think about the observation of the Glorious
Revolution. You see, before the Glorious
Revolution of 1688. It's important that we
understand the context and the historical narrative behind it.
So you've got to think of life here before 1688 and here in
Northern Ireland that had an impact.
It's historically, it is politically, it is religiously
connected to key events on the mainland.
Let me backtrack for a moment. Think of the English Civil War
1642 to 1651. What was the English Civil War?
It was a fight between King and Parliament.
The King's supporters were called Cavaliers.
The supporters of Parliament were called Roundheads.
The leader of the Parliament was Oliver Cromwell, known as the
Lord Protector, and his opponent was King Charles the First, King
of England, Scotland and Ireland, and the climax of the
civil war resulted in the beheading of King Charles the
1st for treason on the 30th of January 1649.
His son, King Charles the Second was declared King of Scotland on
the 5th of February 1649. Later on, in the 3rd of
September 1651, Oliver Cromwell defeated Charles the Second at
the Battle of Worcester. King Charles fled to mainland
Europe and it was only after the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658
that the monarchy was restored. Charles the Second was received
in London to public a claim on the 29th of May 1660.
King Charles the Second was considered to be one of the more
popular kings. His reign seemed to be marked by
less religious tension, especially in Ireland.
He died in 1685 and he left no legitimate heir to the throne.
He was succeeded then by his brother.
His brother was called James. Now it was this James that was
deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
Bear with me now because we're dealing with history.
We're dealing with facts. Facts are stubborn things.
James was Crown King of England, King of Ireland as James the
Second on February the 6th 1685 and King of Scotland as James
the 7th. Now, during his reign, there was
a power struggle for a number of things.
One, there was a power struggle for religious tolerance. 2 there
was a power struggle over the principle of absolutionism.
Absolutionism is about the King's right to rule with
absolute power. And then of course, there was a
struggle over the divine right of kings.
The divine right of kings was all about a monarch deriving
their power, their right to rule from God alone, with no
accountability for their actions to either Parliament or the
people. There was a power struggle over
discontent with James's rule itself.
There was a power struggle over disconnection from his reign due
to his leanings away from the Protestant religion towards
Roman Catholicism. Now listen to me carefully.
In 16681669, James the Second was admitted into the Roman
Catholic Church. Now, he didn't fully embrace all
the heretical, fanciful Roman Catholic views at that time, as
other monarchs had displayed. In contrast, for example, he
permitted his eldest daughter Mary to marry the Protestant
William of Orange in 1677. He was also a spokesman for the
conservative Anglican courtiers who believed his views of the
monarchy coincided with Ayers. Now at up to that point, the
Queen was childless. However, the conversion of the
king to Roman Catholicism alarmed the Gentry and the
general public. Let me ask the question, does it
really matter what religion the king is?
Roman Catholic. Protestant.
Is it really so important to get bothered about?
There's a simple answer, and I'll tell you the simple answer.
Yes, it is. Why?
Because of the power and influence of the Roman Catholic
Church. The people of that day, the the
Gentry and the people of that day were fearful of a Roman
Catholic resurgence in their country.
They had every reason to be alarmed.
Let me give you some thoughts. The Gunpowder Plot of 16 O five
Guy Fawkes and twelve others attempted to blow up Parliament.
The 30 year war that reached in Europe 1618 to 1648 was one of
the most devastating conflicts of the European history.
The 30 year war was largely executed by the Roman Catholic
Church against the Protestant people of Europe.
Then you had the English Civil War 1642 to 1651, and of course
this saw a treacherous English king with strong Roman Catholic
leanings attempting to overthrow the largely Protestant backed
English parliament. We could add in the Spanish
Armada 1588, a Spanish attempt to land a Roman Catholic army in
England. The spirit of 1588 is alive and
well. We could add in the reign of
Mary, Queen of Scots 1516 to 1558, Bloody Mary as she was
known when thousands of faithful Protestants were put to death
for their faith. Just read the Fox's Book of
Martyrs and then look into European history, the cruel and
tolerant domination of the Roman Catholic Church.
Do you want an example? Think of the Saint Bartholomew
Day Massacre, 24th to 25th of August 1572.
We could even go further back and throw in the Spanish
Inquisition of 1478 when a refusal to convert to Roman
Catholicism meant imprisonment, deprivation, torture,
deposement, even death. You see people ask me today why
is it important to have a Protestant monarch and the
answer is a Roman Catholic one with strong leanings to Roman
Catholicism either than abetted by the Roman Catholic Church
will be dreaded by the Protestant people of the United
Kingdom. You see, true Protestantism has
done much to bring peace and stability and law and order into
the land. True Protestantism is about
religious freedom and a tolerance, and where the spirit
of the Lord is, there is liberty.
But false religion, including Roman Catholicism, has a
tendency of intolerance, of opposition, of cruelty.
And it's very important that we know and learn our true
Protestant history. It's important that we stand for
it. It's important that we celebrate
it together. See, let me tell you this
morning, and in a sense it's great to be here.
And in another sense, it's sad that the CWU hall is not packed
out like it was in former times because our true freedoms depend
on it. False religion brings you into
bondage. False religion will damn your
soul. You see, isn't it so sad?
Often in our celebrations, we'll ask the question, why is
celebrating Sun? Why are you marching, Sun?
The heart and mind is empty, it's artificial.
There's a shallowness. You see, often we have forgotten
the very God who gave us these freedoms, who gave us these
liberties in the 1st place. Someone has said a nation that
forgets God as how tyrants forge their changes.
And I urge you this morning, in the Lord's name, seek to know
your history, seek to teach it to others.
Love your history, appreciate it.
Seek to honour God and seek to honour good men who've gone
before us, who've handed us the torch.
Be prepared. Fight for your freedom.
Isn't That's what Paul says in Galatians 5 and 1.
Stand fast, therefore in the liberty where with Christ hath
made us free, and may not untangled again with the yoke of
bondage. He was talking about Gospel
freedoms. Be prepared to pay the cost,
even to the point of blood to defend these freedoms.
Let me move on slightly. In 1673, James the Second
resigned all of his officers rather than take the anti Roman
Catholic oath. This was an oath imposed by the
Test Act. This decision helped make as
Roman Catholic leanings known not just to the Gentry.
But to the wider public, and when his first wife died, he
remarried. Who did he marry?
A Roman Catholic Princess, a lady by the name of Mary of
Medina. Mary of Medina was a devout
Roman Catholic. And now the general public was
in no mood to let the monarchy slip back into the clutches of
the Roman Catholic Church. You see, the general public, the
land that Gentry, they had fresh memories of the bloody English
Civil War. They had fresh memories of the
legacy of Roman Catholic treason and plots.
They knew that rule under the Church of Rome spelled
persecution and tolerance and mistrust.
From 1679 to 1681 there was 3 successive parliaments strove to
exclude James, the Second by statute without success, and
during this crisis James spent long periods in exile in
Brussels or in Edinburgh, one of my favourite cities in the
United Kingdom. In 1682 he returned to England.
He resumed his leadership of the Anglican Tories and came to the
throne again on the 6th of February 1685.
An unsuccessful rebellion led by the Duke of Monmouth in England
and the Duke of Argyll in Scotland in the summer of 85
marked a turning point in the King's attitude.
He began now to really distrust his subjects.
These rebellions were brutally put down and the power of the
army increased, with James granting new regiments, new
Roman Catholic officers. This last act provoked A quarrel
between the King and Parliament in it. 1686 these divisions
increased. Roman Catholics were permitted
to the Privy Council again and the High Office of Government.
1687 James the Second continued in a slide towards a new Roman
Catholic polity. He dismissed his Anglican
brothers in law, the Earl of Clarendon and the Earl of
Rochester. He allowed Magdalene College and
Oxford to be used as a Roman Catholic college.
He appointed a people nuncio's office assigned to Saint James's
Palace, one of the most senior royal palaces in the country.
And then in April 1687, the Declaration of Indulgence was
issued, suspending the laws against Roman Catholics and
Protestant dissenters alike. The Parliament was also
dissolved. He also launched a campaign to
win over Protestant dissenters and secure a more amenable
parliament. You see, nobody really knew the
King's mind except the Lord. You see, on the one hand, was he
going to maintain the genuine principle of freedom of religion
or is it going to attempt to establish Roman Catholicism as
the dominant, if not the exclusive religion in England?
And here's a lesson, young people, boys and girls, a lesson
for life. And simply this nail your
colours to the mask. Let everyone know who you
believe in and what you believe and why.
You see, you cannot sit on the fence.
You cannot sit on the fence confused, because if you're
confused, everybody else will be confused.
See, it doesn't do any good. You cannot be a friend of all,
President Henry Truman said. Who tries to please everybody,
ends up pleasing nobody. The philosophy of a soft,
tolerant approach keeping everybody happy is fundamentally
flawed. And it's that philosophy of a
soft, tolerant approach keeping everybody happy that's
fundamentally flawed. That is destroying the
evangelical Protestant church in our land at this time.
The Timur approach leads to confusion, distrust, and
contempt for many. There's apathy among the public
today. A friend to all is not really a
true friend at all. We need men of conviction in the
preaching of the Word of God. Men of conviction and political
office. Men who like Daniel and his
friends and Nebuchadnezzar's time, Shadrach, Meshach and
Abbeneggo. Men who will not bend OR burn or
budget. Men who will give you an honest
answer, Men who will give you a straightforward answer, Men who
are not afraid of confrontation. You see how many are asking
today and they've asked me, This is a church man.
Where is the God of Elijah? Why is he not coming to our Eid
like in former time? I want to turn it round.
I'm going to ask this question, Where are the Elijahs of God?
Romans 831 says of God before
us, who can be against us? And sadly, you see, here's the
problem. This king, King James the
second, he was a king that blew in two directions.
Some of his actions seemed to support the Protestant cause,
while at the other times his actions had very strong leanings
towards the Church of Rome and he ended up pleasing neither
side. His unscapableness led to his
end. Let's learn from history.
Let's not the repeat the restiks of the past.
Be responsible for what you believe in.
Be responsible for what you stand for despite the
opposition. Remember, we're called in the
Bible to stand fast against the whales of the devil.
Let me say Thirdly, we've looked at the origins of the 12th of
July. I have given you there some
observations of the Glorious Revolution.
Let's think about the overview of the Glorious Revolution, the
beginnings in 1687 there was the most unwelcome news in England.
The Queen was pregnant. Normally that would be great
news, but the prospect of a Roman Catholic heir and
successor sent shock waves throughout the Gentry and the
general public. A Roman Catholic heir to inherit
the throne of England, along with James's policies and
leanings to Roman Catholicism inflamed the majority of the
nobility and the Gentry. The siege of fear and distrust
all came to the fore. So in the spring of 1687,
leaders contacted William of Orange when of Orange was the
champion of the Protestant cause in Europe against the Roman
Catholic army of Louis the 14th of France.
And here's the real spark that the fuse that ignited it was
ignited by James the Second himself.
He reissued his declaration of indulgence April the 2nd, 1688.
And in May the fourth he went further.
He ordered it to be read in the churches.
The Archbishop of Canterbury at that time and six of his bishops
protested. They petitioned.
The king asked him to withdraw the order.
He refused. So these men did the right
thing. They subsequently published
their petition for the general public to read.
James the Second responded. He issued A seditious libel
petition against the seven churchmen and it was only on the
30th of June the 1688 that the seven bishops were acquitted.
This was a defeat for James and on that very same day, the 30th
of June, 16887 leaders Englishmen sent a letter
inviting William of Orange to bring an army to England.
By September 1688 it was clear that William of Orange intended
to come to aid his fellow Protestants in England, and in
the 5th of November 1688 William landed at Brixham in Torbay in
County Devon. The flagship said it all.
The liberties of England. The Protestant religion I will
maintain. But when William landed, James's
Protestant officers deserted to William's forces.
They did so in large numbers. James the Second's daughter Anne
defected, also a nervous James. Then James the Second fled to
France, lived a wee while in Kent and then moved on to France
on December the 23rd of that year in the new year.
So we're moving now to the 12th of February 1688.
The Convention Parliament declared that James had
advocated the throne and the next day, the 13th of February
1689, Parliament offered the crown to William and Mary.
The Scots Parliament followed suit in May 1689.
The Glorious Revolution, that's its beginnings.
It was a bloodless revolution. It was no drawn out campaign.
There was no massive loss of life.
There was no bloodshed. It was supported by the majority
of the people in the country. It was a permanent thing.
And what did it produce? What did it promote?
It promoted religious tolerance. It promoted freedom of speech,
freedom of the press, the independency of the judges.
It promoted A parliamentary democracy.
It produced a constitutional monarchy and it produced a Bill
of Rights. Let me just read to you from a
document that I have in December 1689.
One of the most important constitutional documents in
English history was the Bill of Rights.
This Act established restrictions on the royal
prerogative. It provided, among other things,
that the sovereign could not suspend laws passed by
Parliament, levy taxes without parliamentary consent, infringe
the right to petition, raise a standing army during peacetime
without parliamentary consent, unduly interfere with
parliamentary elections, punish members of either House of
Parliament for anything said during debates, require
excessive bail, or inflict cruel and unusual punishments.
That was all part of the Bill of Rights that was there in 1689.
That's the beginnings of the Glorious Revolution very
quickly. Think of the battles you see.
I'm now thinking of the William 8 wars in England.
King James the second Roman Catholic leanings had a big
impact on Ireland in 1685 in the military Reform Act which
impacted upon England, Scotland and Ireland had the aim of
eliminating local Protestant influence.
The Earl of Triconal, a man by the name of Richard Tolbert.
He was tasked with disarming the Protestant militias in Ireland.
He was able to muster a big army of Roman Catholics that they
were known as Jacobites. They were loyal to King James
the Second. Triconal set about establishing
Jacobite dominance in Ireland, in the South and in the north.
James the Second. With French support he had the
aim to retake the English throne.
Ireland was going to be his lunch pad, so on the 12th of
March 1689 he landed in Kinscale with an army of 6000 French
soldiers. Soon the South of Ireland was
occupied, nearly all the north come under his control.
There was only two major strongholds of Protestant
resistance, Enniskillen and Londonderry.
And of course you know the history.
We're going to hear about it in the Siege of Londonderry and
another of the lectures here, how the Jacobites lay siege to
Londonderry on the 7th of December.
Remember, the 13 apprentice boys in defiance of the invader shut
the gates to the cry of no surrender.
And in the end, Londonderry survived, despite the hardship,
despite the loss of life, despite the treachery held out.
And even when the second attempt was made, which began in the
18th of April, with James the Second present in the
battlefield, remember, the town was called upon to surrender.
They refused. The siege really began properly.
Jacobites didn't storm the walls, they wanted to starve the
people out. The siege lasted remember 105
days from the 8th of April to the 1st of August in 1689 when
the boom was broken and the city was relieved.
Whenever the boom was broken in the 1st of August 1689, the
Jacobite army retreated South towards Enniskillen.
Then they were forced to withdraw also from Enniskillen
because they couldn't conquer that town either.
And during this period William had dispatched the landing force
of some 20,000 men under the Duke of Schaumburg.
He was a highly seasoned military veteran.
His army was mainly Dutch, some English and a few 1000 Deans.
Schaumburg landed in Bangor on the 13th of August.
In 1689 he took Carrick. He advanced southward towards
Dublin. James's army had now reached
Drakata. He decided to block Schomburg's
movements and by September the two forces that took up camps on
the opposite side of Dundalk and winter there.
In the meantime James of course got reinforcements from France.
Another 6000 French Musketeers. The time now brings us to March
1690. During March 1690 King William
had convinced Parliament to head an army of 15,000 soldiers.
He landed in Carrick June the 14th 1690.
King James the Second choose to settle on a defensive position
on the southern banks of the Boeing 25 miles north of Dublin,
the 29th of June. William of course came from
Carrick where he landed. Remember he landed the 14th of
June 1690. There's a stone there in
Carrickfergus that marks the place where he first set his
foot. He arrived in Belfast on the
19th of June. They had a solemn service there
in Saint George's Church. The minister preached on When
thy passes through the waters, I'll be with thee.
Isaiah chapter 43, verse two. One of my favourite texts of
scripture at Hillsborough. When he stopped there he issued
a warrant granting A pension, I like this, a pension of £1200 a
year to the Presbyterian ministers of Northern Ireland.
That was a reward for their loyalty.
He then moved on to Scarva, came to Newry and then on to the boy
and he set up his hits quarters across the river from James.
Now let me understand this. James had an army of 23,000 men.
The majority were Irish Catholics.
They were trained under the Earl of Triconal.
He had 6000 French soldiers. The French soldiers had seen
combat. The Irish troops had little
experience. They had outdated muskets.
James the Second was a poor military commander.
He had little experience and at the Boeing James the Second
placed the bulk of his forces along the river.
It was deployed in such a way to counter Williams attack.
Detachment of Dragons were tasked with destroying bridges
guarding Fords like the crossing at Drakada and the village of
Ross Neri Williams army. It was half British and Dutch
and a few 1000 deals and a few 100 Huguenots.
The Dutch soldiers were seasoned troops from the war against
France. They were armed with modern
flintlock muskets. William's army had eight times
more military pieces than James King.
William had proven his military skills in the defence of the
Netherlands. And William had a plan, of
course. I believe it was God's plan.
He had wisdom from God. He had sought the Lord in
prayer. William had a three pronged
strategy on his right flank to send a troop of Calvary and 3000
infantry men, the Royal Regiment of Foot 1689 to cross the river
at slain in the centre, the Duke of Schaumburg with 20,000 men
and then on the left flank King William would lead 1/3 force
across the river to attack James's left flank.
The three flanks would be executed simultaneously.
So on the 1st of July you've got to try and picture this down
your head. On the 1st of July William's
right ring began to move South toward Rossnery.
They were held up there until mid morning due to the number of
Jacobite Dragoons. William's left flank began to
move and he split his flank into 3 grips, 1 to dry bridge, one
for Yellow Island and one for Old Bridge.
The Duke of Schaumburg attacked James's centre.
There was fierce fighting. William himself crossed the
Boing at Milford. James the Second ordered a
measured withdrawal of his army and his army was allowed to
escape mostly intact. Now let me emphasise, William
didn't destroy the Jacobite army at the Boing, Neither did he
pursue the Jacobite army who fled in retreat from the Boing.
The Battle of the Boing was a great victory for King William,
great victory for liberty and freedom, but it was not a fully
decisive battle. It was not a a total victory.
James, the 2nd Army fell back to Dublin.
There's a story told that when James arrived in Dublin himself,
he buried his troops, claiming that they had fled the battle,
that they had sadly let him down.
And a noble lady has reported to have said, well, I see Your
Majesty has beaten them in the race.
The army of course then fell back to Limerick.
James the Second fled to France and as I've already told you,
the decisive battle of the Glorious Revolution was the
Battle of Ocrum in 1691. The Battle of Ocrum 1691 was
fought on the 12th day of July. Each army had roughly 20,000
men. The core of the Jacobite army
was the old Irish Army. 4000 well trained Calvary were
amongst. They occupied A2 mile strong
defensive position using hedges, bogs, hillsides and at 2:00 PM
that day in the 12th of July they cannoned each other's
position. The Dutch officer Godbert D
Gimkel Gimkel was urged to press the battle that day finished the
job by the Williamite infantry general Hugh Mackay, and at 5:00
PM to 6:00 PM the battle reached the centre.
The English Scots regiments under Hugh Mackay attempted A
frontal assault on Kill Camadin Hill.
They suffered healthy losses, they had to often weave deep in
waters. The left flank also took heavy
casualties as they advanced on low ground.
Gimkel tried to force away across the Causeway, which was
covered by the Jacobite Walter Burke's regiment from their
positions in Occam Castle, and it was a Brigadier by the name
of Kirky who led 4 battalions secured the position and the
captain of the Royal Horse Guards got across the Causeway.
In the third attempt they reached the town of Ocrum, the
Jacobite French Calvary officer French Charlemont de St Rehu.
He was decapitated by a cannonball and after his death
the Jacobite army seemed to collapse.
The battle raged on to 9:00 PM and by then the Jacobites had
been pushed over Kill Mcadden Hill.
They fled towards the bog. The Jacobites suffered a lot of
casualties in retreat. The Battle of Ochrem was over.
5000 to 7000 dead. One of the bloodiest battles
fought in the British Isles. You ask anybody what's the most
bloodiest battle fought in the British Isles in our history?
I wonder how many could tell you it was the Battle of Okram on
the 12th of July in 1691. How many could tell you there
was 5000 to 7000 died? You see, that was a decisive
battle. The Jacobite army had lost
James's, The second campaign in Ireland was over.
The Jacobite army had lost many experienced officers, lots of
equipment, lots of supplies. The final stand was at Limerick
and when the city was surrounded, the city surrendered
to the Williamite forces and that brought an end to the
Williamite War in Ireland. Now think with me as we wrap
this up this morning, the glorious Revolution.
I've already given you some of the beginnings, the backgrounds.
We've talked a little already about the bounties, but think
about the outcome you see as you read about these battles and
these little booklets that look as wonderfully produced as you
read about the will you made wars in Ireland.
We do well to appreciate the freedom that we enjoy Today.
I want to tell you this, the freedoms that we enjoy today are
Protestant freedoms and they were bought in blood.
We have a heritage bought in blood.
I've largely forgotten it today. Think of many lives that were
lost in conflict, brave soldiers who made and paid the ultimate
sacrifice. Think of our freedoms that we
enjoy here today and pour it down.
Freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, freedom of thought,
belief, opinion. Freedom of the press, freedom of
peaceful assembly, freedom of association, freedom of
movement, freedom of speech, freedom to protest.
You see, these are all freedoms, freedoms that have been won,
freedoms that have come about because of bloodshed, freedoms
that must be protected and preserved in our nation.
And I mean not today, right down through the centuries.
The 12th of July is a day of celebration, a day to remember
our history and our heritage. William crossed the board.
It's also a time to remember the William 8 Revolution and the
Bill of Rights that came after that.
But I want to tell you this at the back of it, we should have a
deep sense of thankfulness to Almighty God, be thankful unto
him and bless His name. Raising up King William the
Third Prince of Orange for our deliverance.
Could you imagine if we'd been under the jackboot of the Roman
Catholic Church from that time to this day?
You see, a sense of superness should come upon us.
We remember the sacrifice of those who fought and died for
our freedoms. These sacrifices ought to be
remembered, ought to be honoured.
They're they're not to be treated lightly.
You see, these freedoms should act as a great deterrent to any
man. Let it be king or Parliament or
Prime Minister who may attempt to trade or erode or take away
our freedoms. It was William Pitt the Younger
that said the British Prime Minister.
Necessity, I must do this. Necessity is the plea for every
infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants.
It is the creed of slaves. He said that in eighteen O 6.
How relevant is that today? Let me finish this morning by
asking this question. What is the Protestant religion?
I'm going to tell you the answer.
The Protestant religion is the purest form of Christianity as
taught by our Lord Jesus Christ and His holy Apostles and the
early church, and rediscovered by the godly reformers of the
16th century in the Protestant Reformation.
Remember the Protestant Reformation centred around 5
Solas. See the clues in the name the
Protestant religion. Protestants were those who
protested against the corruption and false teaching of the Roman
Catholic Church. Protestants stood for truth.
They protested against error and with their only tool for gauging
what is truth was the Word of God, the Bible, to the law and
to the testimony. If they speak not according to
this word, it is because there's no light in there.
And from the very day when the Empire Constantine the Great
declared Christianity to be the state religion of the Roman
Empire in 312 AD, the Roman Catholic Church has steadily
moved away from the Bible, embraced heretical and serious
error and non biblical teaching that has brought about much
corruption and confusion. And remember, the Church of Rome
and his heyday exercised and dominated great cruelty to all
who opposed her. What do we believe today?
We believe in solar Scripture, the Scripture alone, our creed
and our conduct, our belief in behaviour.
We embrace the Bible alone as the sole authority in all
matters of faith and practise what saith the Scriptures.
That's what we need to rediscover.
Sole agratia, grace alone. For by grace you see it through
faith and not not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast.
What is grace? See, grace is more than God's
riches at Christ's expense. It includes that.
It is that, but it's much more because grace is the unmerited,
undeserved favour to criminals and lawbreakers.
Because remember, for all of sinned and come short of the
glory of God, and we can do nothing to earn or merit the
favour of a holy God. And God deals with us in the
basis of free, sovereign grace, Grace alone.
And then think of the third one soul of Phaidi, Faith alone.
Faith is the instrument through which we receive Christ and
God's blessing, but as many as received.
And they are giving power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe in His name. See true faith, the gift of God.
It's implanted within us by the power of the Holy Spirit in the
new birth. And it's that gift of faith
enables and us to receive Christ inclines us to Christ.
And of course the 4th solar was solar Christos, Christ alone.
Here's the heart of the gospel. Somebody asked me some time ago
which church saves. I give them the answer none.
Why? Because the Bible says neither
is our salvation in any other, for there's no other name under
heaven given among men, for by we must be saved.
Remember the Lord Jesus said to Thomas in the upper room, and to
others who were there. Jesus saith unto him, I'm the
way, I'm the truth, I am the light.
And if you go to the heart of the gospel, 2nd Corinthians 521
For he that is God hath made him, that is Christ to be sin
for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. And the heart of the gospel is
this, that on the cross. You see, let me back up, Why did
Jesus die? And people say, but I believe
that Jesus died on the cross. But why?
Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.
He was buried in rose again the third day according to the
scriptures. And what does that really mean?
Christ died for our sins. It means that not only was he a
substitute, not only was he a surety paying the debt that we
couldn't pay to the Brooklyn, not only was he a sin bearer,
but he was a sin offering. And on the cross He was
suffering the wrath of God and there was an imputation going
on. Christ took the guilt and
punishment of our sin. He bare our sins of his own body
in the tree. It's guilt and punishment.
He took it upon himself. God the Father treated him as
the biggest Sinner ever. You've got to realise that
that's what was happening at the cross.
This is all part and parcel of the heart of the gospel.
And then of course, the flip side of that is the righteous
life of Christ is put to our account through faith, and God
treats us as legally and perfectly justified in the
sight. There's the doctrine of
justification coming in there, and that's the heart of the
gospel. Christ offered a once and for
all sacrifice for sin, shed his precious blood.
In the ground of that blood, atonement was made and Christ
took our guilt and punishment and by faith we can have Christ
righteousness and we can say the Lord is our righteousness.
What about sola de Gloria? The glory of God alone.
Whatsoever you do, even in eating and drinking, do all to
the glory of God. God receives all the glory and
I'm going to finish now. You'll be saying Amen after 55
minutes. I'm glad I don't preach as long
and carried off, but I believe today that we need to stand and
rediscover what the Protestant religion is.
We need to know what we believe and why.
Let's embrace these five solas. Let's believe them.
Let's hold them aloft and say this is part of our heritage,
this is part of our history. Have I asked you this morning as
we finish? Are you a true Protestant?
I'm going to tell you something. I'm sorry brother.
This happened in the Shankill Rd when the late Doctor Paisley was
alive in his high day, he met very, very prominent men from
Belfast and different parts of our province and he was asked to
come and give a talk, just a talk lecture on this question.
What is a true Protestant? And he preached exactly as I am
telling you what a true Protestant is connected to these
five solos and much more. Sadly, there was a man there
that I'm not named, not sure if the man's still alive, but he
stood up and he said this. According to Doctor Paisley's
definition, we are not true Protestants, we are loyalists.
There's a difference. And that psyche has seeped
through the Protestant people in working class areas all over
this province. And I believe we have a duty, we
have a responsibility to go and teach them our history and
heritage of true Protestantism and say this is what we are,
this is what we believe. And they call you to stand forth
for these truths. We're standing today against
militant, resurgent Roman Catholicism.
We're standing against militant atheism and secularisation.
We're standing against progressive liberalism that want
to destroy the family unit. And we're destroying it.
Standing against Irish republicanism with its social
secular agenda to to drag Northern Ireland out of the
United Kingdom and into a super European state, a socialist
superstate. This is relevant.
This is up to date. We need to stand.
If you're a true Protestant, you'll admit you're a hell
deserving Sinner. You'll acknowledge you're broken
God's law and you're guilty in God's eyes.
You'll acknowledge you need a Saviour, and the only Saviour is
Jesus Christ, and in simple faith you'll come to him and
pray out God. Be merciful to me the Sinner,
and you'll discover peace with God.
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Have you got that peace with
God? Have you got the knowledge of
sins forgiven? Can you say that you're born of
the Spirit and washed in the precious blood of Christ?
Can you rejoice? For God so loved the world that
He gave us only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.