Reading Richard Sibbes Aloud

For more than two years, Mark Dever has been quietly at work creating a collection of audio files.  These are recordings of himself reading the sermons of Richard Sibbes, as though he were preaching them.  If you have not been listening to these sermons, I highly recommend them.  He has around 40 files so far, and shows no sign of stopping any time soon.

Check out the growing archive here.

Sermons of William Still Now Available!

As I understand it, the audio of sermons of William Still have been somewhat of a difficult thing to get one's hands on - until now.  I had always heard that his sermons were kept under lock and key in some vault below the earth in some salt mine with a guard at the door.  Apparently these were mere legendary tales.  Over at Monergism, they have made 140 of Still's sermons available.  You can get to the directories for these sermons by following the links below:

Genesis (44 Part Series [Added 5/23/12]
1 Samuel (25 Part Series)
2 Samuel (19 Part Series) [Added 5/ 21/12]
On The Gospel According to Luke (79 Part Series)
On the Prophet Daniel (12 Part Series)
On the Psalms (24 Part Series)
Hosea (11 Part Series) [Added 5/31/12]
The Prophecy of Isaiah (47 Part Series)  [Added 5/18/12]
Judges (14 Part Series) [Added 7/12/12]
2 Peter (14 Part Series) [Added 5/31/12]
Micah (7 Part Series) [Added 6/27/12]
Nehemiah (14 Part Series) [Added 7/18/12]
James (13 Part Series) [Added 5/31/12]
Acts (35 Part Series) [Added 5/31/12]
Colossians (14 Part Series) [Added 5/31/12]
The Gospel According to John (54 Part Series) [Added 5/31/12]
Hebrews (37 Part Series) [Added 5/31/12]
1 Corinthians (26 Part Series) [Added 5/31/12]
Joshua (23 Part Series) [Added 5/31/12]
Leviticus (22 Part Series) [Added 5/31/12]
Zechariah (14 Part Series) [Added 5/31/12]
Ezra (10 Part Series) [Added 7/18/12]
Romans (19 Part Series) [Added 6/1/12]
2 Timothy (4 Part Series) [Added 6/1/12]
Psalms 25-45 & 120-134 [Added 8/8/12]
Proverbs (33 Part Series) [Added 6/5/12]
Ecclesiastes (12 Part Series) [Added 6/5/12]
1 Thessalonians (9 Part Series) [Added 6/7/12]
Zechariah (14 Part Series) [Added 6/19/12]
1 Kings (22 Part Series) [Added 6/20/12]
2 Kings (22 Part Series) [Added 6/20/12]
Galatians (16 Part Series) [Added 6/20/12]
Ephesians (13 Part Series) [Added 7/11/12]
Philippians (12 Part Series) [Added 7/13/12]
1 Peter (8 Part Series) [Added 7/14/12]
Revelation (24 Part Series) [Added 7/14/12]

Guidance Series
The Devil Series
The Life and Work of Paul
Bible Character Studies
The Ten Commandments
What is it to be a Christian?
The Atonement of Christ
An Exposition of the Westminster Confession (27 Part Series) [Added 5/31/12]
There are also 10 sermons of Still's available over at SermonAudio.

While you are at it, if you have no familiarity with William Still, I might recommend beginning with his books The Work of the Pastor and Towards Spiritual Maturity.

Shedd on Knowledge in the Afterlife

I spent the afternoon reading a sermon by American Presbyterian theologian W.G.T. Shedd (1820-1894) titled "The Future State a Self-Conscious State." This was taken from his volume Sermons to the Natural Man. In the sermon, Shedd argues that our quality of knowledge in the afterlife will differ significantly from what we enjoy here. Specifically, Shedd is focused on the knowledge which natural men - who do not know God - will enjoy in the afterlife.

Shedd's sermon is based on 1 Cor. 13:12, which reads, "Now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."

The three broad points which Shedd's sermon is laying forth are as follows:

I. "The human mind, in eternity, will have a distinct and unvarying perception of the character of God." Shedd - nearly quoting Lewis (anachronistically), says the following: "The future state of every man is to be an open and unavoidable vision of God. If he delights in the view, he will be blessed; if he loathes it, he will be miserable. This is the substance of heaven and hell. This is the key to the eternal destiny of every human soul. If a man love God, he shall gaze at him and adore; if he hate God, he shall gaze at him and gnaw his tongue for pain."

II. "He will know himself even as he is known by God." This is so dreadful, says Shedd, because man spends so much time hiding behind willful self-deception, which will no longer protect man once he knows himself as God knows him.

III. He will have "a clear understanding of the nature and wants of the soul." Connected to this point, he says the following: "Man has that in his constitution, which needs God, and which cannot be at rest except in God. A state of sin is a state of alienation and separation from the Creator. It is, consequently, in its intrinsic nature, a state of restlessness and dissatisfaction."

In the beginning, Shedd argues that "a false theory of the future state will not protect a man from future misery." He then argues, on top of this, that "indifference and carelessness respecting the future life will not protect the soul from future misery." (This point seems especially relevant in our own day of shallow thinking, frequent distraction, and naively optimistic indifference.)

In his conclusion to part one of the sermon, Shedd concludes that "only faith in Christ and a new heart can protect the soul from future misery." He goes on:

You must love this holiness without which no man can see the Lord. You may approve of it, you may praise it in other men, but if there is no affectionate going out of your own heart toward, the holy God, you are not in right relations to Him.

I just shared the cliff's notes version of the sermon, but it is almost a shameful summary, because it is one of the most glorious and tremendously insightful sermons I have read in recent memory. In conclusion, I want to recommend Shedd's volume of 20 sermons in Sermons to the Natural Man. You can get this volume for free in various formats from Project Gutenberg by clicking here.

Newly Translated Turretin Sermon

A sermon by Francis Turretin titled "The Happiness of the People of God" has been very recently translated into English from the original french by Riley from Reformed.us, and it is truly one of the most incredible sermons I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Actually, the scope of the sermon is most remarkable, because it is in a sense a tremendous overview of the work of God among covenant Israel and the promises of Israel being for the Church today. It is indeed one of the grandest, most epic, and comprehensive sermons I can recall in all my history of reading and listening to great sermons. One thing which stood out immediately to me was that Turretin over and over again repeats the central claim of John Piper's book God is the Gospel, that God's greatest gift to the Church is Himself. Throughout the sermon, Turretin repeatedly refers to him as "the happy Lord," and talks continually of God Himself as the source of the Christian's joy, and he anchors this happiness in God's own happiness within the Trinity before the creation of the world.

But, with God one never fails to find in his possession all the contentment and joy for which one could wish, because there is none but he, who being an eternal and infinite Being, is able to fill the vast capacity of our desires and grant to us in the enjoyment of sovereign good.

Had this sermon been around when John Piper wrote Desiring God, I could almost guarantee that Piper would have quoted Turretin. In one particularly remarkable section, which I am about to quote, Turretin refers to our union with God, and in particular discusses our union with each person of the Trinity. Read it slowly and take it in, because what Turretin has to share is worth two minutes of concentration.

[T]his marvelous union does not only take place with regard to the general Divinity, but also with each Person of the Holy Trinity in particular, with whom we have a communion so intimate, that as we glory in belonging to them, we may also assure ourselves that they belong to us.  That is why baptism, which is the seal of this covenant, is administered to us in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, to teach us that by this sacrament we are engaged to the service of these three divine Persons to whom we are consecrated.  They also promise to us their blessing and their grace, and all Three engage themselves, if one must speak so, to work to accomplish our salvation.  In effect they each work according to the unique manner which is attributed to them: the Father by his grace, the Son by his merit, and the Holy Spirit by his efficacy.

The Father elects by his counsel, the Son redeems us on the cross, and the Holy Spirit sanctifies us in our hearts.

The Father gives us his promises, the Son signs them in his blood, and the Holy Spirit seals them with his signet.

The Father ordains salvation to us, the Son acquires it, and the Holy Spirit applies it.

The Father adopts us to be his children, the Son purchases us to be his members, and the Holy Spirit regenerates us to be his temples.

So we become objects of the love of these three adorable Persons, and as the Father takes particular care of us as his children, the Son and the Holy Spirit give themselves to us with all their graces.

Jesus Christ makes himself ours in all his offices.  He is our Surety to make satisfaction for us, our Head to give us life, our Prophet to promise us salvation in his word, our Priest to merit it by his blood, and our King to apply it to us by his power.

The Holy Spirit is ours with all his gifts.  He is our Doctor to teach us in our ignorance, our Comforter to gladden us in our afflictions, our Sanctifier to cleanse us of our stains, and our Life to deliver us from our death.  In short, we find nothing in the Holy Trinity which is not ours, and which does not work for our good. 

This is actually my own first exposure to Turretin. I know that his Institutes were only recently translated into English, and now more than ever, I want to read them.

In addition to "The Happiness of the People of God," Reformed.us also have another Turretin sermon translated, and it is his sermon "Jesus' Tears for Jerusalem," which I have yet to read; though you can guarantee I will be reading it soon. My only other thought is that we need to encourage our friends at Reformed.us to keep up the good work and to continue translating these Turretin sermons, for it is a great service to the Church.

The Place of Anger in the Christian Life

I just finished listening to a sermon on Ephesians 4:26-27 by my friend Justin Estrada about anger in the Christian life, which can be heard here. Justin graduated from RTS last May and is now on his way to Oxford to work on a Ph.D. in Old Testament. I would commend the sermon to your listening. Justin does a fine job in explaing the text and passionately applying it to the people of God. I am particularly thankful for Justin's pointing out of the proper place for anger within the Christian worldview and the guardrails he sets for it.