Gospel tract surrounding the Apprentice Boys of Derry parades.
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The great catalyst for resistance was that defining moment when thirteen apprentice boys took the initiative and slammed the gates in the very face of the enemy. The reverberations of that bold action are still resounding to this present hour.
The spirit of resistance soon caught fire among the now awakened people with numbers swelling every day, from Lisburn, Antrim, Dungannon, Coleraine, Limavady and indeed the whole land: Londonderry had become a city of refuge.
Military men and soldiers began to assemble horses and troops; David Cairnes and others organised arms and munitions, for supplies even at this late hour were scanty. An undisciplined enemy stood by and let it all happen.
Care was taken to make a fortress out of a walled city which, but for the tenacity and dogged ness of the defenders, would never have been impregnable and "in truth to a military eye the defences of Londonderry appeared contemptible". The calibre of the men and their indomitable spirit would give them the edge. One grave peril, however, remained within; namely their governor Lt Col Robert Lundy, for Lundy was a traitor.
As the enemy closed in, to the dismay of the defenders, stalwart men were pulled back, good positions were lost, including the important passes; this was due to the subterfuge of the said Robert Lundy. However, things were about to change - enter Captain Adam Murray.
Captain Murray advanced towards the city with a large number of cavalry. Lundy, realising his plans to surrender the city would be thwarted, attempted to lock him out; Murray, however, was received with a rapturous welcome. The defenders of Londonderry were refreshed by his speech, which electrified the large crowd and culminated in a confrontation with Lundy and his arrest. Londonderry was again saved, galvanised into action, by this great man - Adam Murray.
The garrison was far from passive in its defence; they sallied forth to meet their antagonists at Pennyburn where the enemy's most senior officer, General Maumont, lay dead, personally slain by the small sword that Murray wielded so adroitly. (Maumont's swordmanship was legendary). These bold men were to feature in another clash at Pennyburn, and in two battles at Windmill Hill, the second of which was the most significant action of the siege. The debt to the Enniskillen men must never be forgotten. They divided and harried the enemy; without them Londonderry would have been lost.
This was to be the longest siege in British history. For 105 days they held out with grim determination, until 8,000 lay dead from famine, plague, bullet and bomb. The people subsisted on a diet of horseflesh, dogs, rats, mice, salted hides, tallow and starch pancakes, and indeed resolved to eat the enemy and their own corpses rather than surrender.
Despite the arrival of the fleet weeks earlier, with all the resources the
inhabitants of the city needed, its inactivity and seeming indifference only
added to their misery.
On 28th July 1689, after sunset, with little wind and a low tide, three
vessels were seen sailing up the Foyle. The Dartmouth
thundered on the batteries that guarded the boom; their fire lighted the livid
faces of the relief force in the darkness as the Mountjoy and
the Phoenix charged the boom assisted by Shelley in the longboat
from the Swallow. Captain Browning of the Mountjoy made the
ultimate sacrifice, dying under fire in sight of his native city. So ended this
great siege - the bells of the rescued city answered in joyous defiance.
Dear friend, please continue on our journey through history to the present time; our final destination is Eternity. Consider history and learn from it; remember those people, afraid to make a choice or take a stand. At the critical moment the "brave thirteen" closed the gates; the choice was made for the city. You also have a choice to make - no-one can make it tor you - fear no frown, for your eternal future is at stake. It took courage - to stand out when the masses were indifferent, unsure or downright opposed to doing the right thing - it still does. Not everyone is prepared to go against the tide of popular opinion and face the music for it.
In light of the declaration by the unchanging scriptures of truth of the universal sinnership of all humanity, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God", Rom 3 v 23, could I implore you, with all earnestness. Have you had a time in your life when, in all your need, you looked to Christ as your one and only Saviour and pledged your allegiance to Him as the King of kings? As it is written, "Every knee should bow.... every tongue should confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father." Phil 2 v 10,11. Some bow in time to His sovereign sway. All His enemies will submit and bow the knee in submission and subjugation in Eternity. Be assured of God's deep interest in you. He has compassion and love for sinners; Christ refuses none that come to Him. John 6 v 37. There is pardon for the past, and peace for the future; the joy of sins forgiven can be yours for, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." John 3 v 36.
Hell is full of spineless cowards - "The tearful, and unbelieving.... shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Rev 21 v 8 - Don't be one of them.
Do I believe that "stuff"? - with all my heart, for the truth is
indestructible and unavoidable, whether you believe it or not. "Let
God be true, but every man a liar." Rom 3 v 4. Today
some, perhaps even you, will hear for the last time - we plead with you, take
care of your eternal soul, "For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man
should boast." Eph 2 v 8-9.
Dear reader, just as Captain Browning, in that dark and fearsome night sailed
into the very jaws of death, sacrificially giving his life to bring relief to
a doomed and desperate people whom he loved, so this points us to a more moving
and momentous act, which has no parallel in human history for it was the greatest
and noblest deed, when the Lord Jesus laid down His life purposefully in the
gloom of dark Calvary. He was upon that cross of shame to save you, dear friend,
from hell. "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure
for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward
us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Rom
5 v 7,8.
Don't be the victim of peer pressure, but rather let your sentiment be "My old companions, fare ye well, I will not go with you to hell."
Make your choice, weigh the issues at stake and take your stand with a rejected King, soon to return and take the reins of government - putting all His foes beneath His feet. "If God be for us, who can be against us?... Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?... I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, ... nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come ... shall be able to separate us from the love of God." Rom 8 v 31-39.
"I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST:
FOR IT IS THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION
TO EVERYONE THAT BELIEVETH"
Rom 1 v 16
