Henry Law Shows True Delight in Christ

Henry Law puts your average career-minded pastor to shame with the following quote from the Preface to his book The Gospel in Genesis:

To see [Christ in scripture] is my prime delight. To testify it is my happiest duty. Devoted loyalty to Him who is the first and last, the sum and substance of all Scripture, impels me. Earnest zeal for the undying souls of men constrains me. I know, and am intensely persuaded, that all peace, all joy, all salvation, are in Jesus. My eyes are widely open to the fact that men are blessed, and are blessings, just in proportion as they live, ever gazing on Christ, ever listening to His voice.

Shame, then, and guilt and woe would be my portion, if I should leave any effort untried to unfold His glorious image. Let me rather use every power of life and pen to magnify and exalt Him—to beseech men to ponder Him—to search for Him—to receive Him—to love Him—to follow Him—to serve Him—to commend Him—to live in Him, and through Him, and for Him. I would thus strive, the Spirit helping, to assail and melt and conquer hearts, that Christ may there be enthroned, in all His rightful majesty, a beloved and adored Lord.

Who will deny that the happiest man on earth is he who is most enriched with enlightened views of Christ, and acts out most devotedly this faith? He lives at heaven's high gate.

Quite a convicting thing to read - either if you're burned out, or if you're like me and planning to enter the pastorate at some point. It is men like these whose shoulders we stand upon whenever we go to publicly proclaim the word of God to Christ's sheep.

Finding Josph Caryl Online

Green Baggins shared a wonderful post on the Westminster divine, Joseph Caryl's commentary on Job, particularly about how to preach about Job's friends. After all - is it all bad theology? If so, how do you preach through 20+ chapters of bad doctrine? I won't spoil Caryl's answer - you can look at Green Baggins to see what he has to say about it.

I was so impressed with Caryl's insights and Lane's glowing endorsement of Caryl's 12-volume set that I started to look online to see if I could find any versions of the book in electronic format, since $250+ dollars for this impressive set of commentaries is a bit out of my reach at the moment. The best I could find was two very rewarding eBooks, thanks to Google.

1. The first is Caryl's exposition of Job 18-21. It is an exact facsimile and pretty rough going, but if you really want to see what the man has to say, this is a good place to start.

2. The second is a set of selections from Caryl's work on Job titled A Directory for the Afflicted, which was printed in 1824 by John Berrie. This is a much more readable typeset than the one listed above, but obviously, it is a far from complete abridgement. As Berrie says in his introduction, he did this abridgement for those who lacked the time to read all twelve volumes of Caryl's work. I can certainly sympathize with Berrie's sentiments. I am one of those of whom he is referring, I think. I have loaded this into my Kindle, and was tremendously blessed by Caryl's thoughts on only the first two verses of chapter one, so far!

3. If you want an electronic, scanned, PDF copy of the entire original set of commentaries, you can get the whole thing for $6 from Puritan Books. That's a fine bargain for a set of books that would normally set you back $250. I just purchased this set from Puritan Books, as a matter of fact, and it is a fine, readable copy of all 12 volumes. However, as you might have guessed, the print is in ye olde English font, with 's's that look like 'f's.

One of my favorite insights which I already received from Caryl was a side-comment he made regarding the reference to Job as being a "perfect man."

Job was a perfect man, not absolutely, but in comparison of those that were all over spotted with filthiness, or only painted with godliness. A perfect man is one whom you may know by his tongue, and his actions are a transcript of his inner-man.

Watson's Six Ingredients of True Repentance

I recently found a used copy of Thomas Watson's book The Doctrine of Repentance. I have merely perused my copy so far, but I wanted to share Watson's summary of the six ingredients which he argues from Scripture, combine to produce true repentance. None of these six things are optional. "If any one ingredient is left out," Watson says, "it loses its virtue."

1. Sight of sin
2. Sorrow for sin
3. Confession of sin
4. Shame for sin
5. Hatred for sin
6. Turning from sin

Grace Gems has the book for free on their site.

Almost (saved)

It's a Snow Day Miracle!

In my line of work, it is occasionally too hazardous to do my job. Today was called off as a snow day, which is exciting. Even more exciting - the mail man came to my door with this lovely gem. In the providence of God, it came on a day when I did not have to work. All glory and praise to God in Heaven!

He gives snow like wool;
he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.
-Psalm 147:16

The Digital Library of Classic Protestant Texts

A friend pointed me to this incredible resource for guys like me who are looking for texts of old classic Protestant theological works (of course, with the end in mind of converting the files into Amazon Kindle format). It's The Digital Library of Classic Protestant Texts. They sort the texts by theological schools, differentiating between Anglican, Puritan, Lutheran, Arminian, Unitarian, Quaker, and Reformed/Calvinist.

It appears that the texts are converted from nearly illegible PDFs and painstakingly converted into text format. As an example of the source materials which they create these wonderful text files from, simply look at this page from a William Perkins book which they converted into readable English text. The fact that these are originals also means that it's a wonderful site if you read Ecclesiastical Latin. The only books I've been able to read on the site were the works by the Puritans. They have many texts which I've never seen anywhere else in any readable format. For example:

• A Golden Chain, by William Perkins
• A Body of Divinity, by James Usher
• Cases of Conscience, by William Perkins
• The Covenant of Life Opened, by Samuel Rutherford
• A Letter to the Duke of Somerset, by Peter Martyr Vermigli (one of his few English writings)
• An exposition of the Apostles' Creed, by William Perkins

If you speak Latin, they also have Peter Martyr's masterpiece Loci Communes. I found the Perkins writings most delightful because it's so hard to find any websites where Perkins' writings are not being posted in text format, but for excerpts, such as you find at A Puritan's Mind.

Theodicy in Response to Ehrman

I've seen quite a few bloggers recommending Rhology's review of Bart Ehrman's 2008 book God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question - Why We Suffer. Let me throw in my own endorsement of the review, as well. In the review, Ehrman's book receives a brief and cutting critique, but it is then followed up by a masterful and wholly biblical theodicy, which everyone ought to read.

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.

Horton on the Atheist Catechism

For over three centuries now, atheists and skeptics have catechized the West in the belief that as cultures progress, belief in God or at least the extraordinary divine intervention in nature and history will wane. What proponents forget is that this concept of "progress" itself presupposes a certain kind of faith: an interpretation of reality that requires personal commitment. Among other things, it presupposes that reality is entirely self-creating and self-regulating (autonomous), such that the very idea of a personal God who enters into a world that we have defined as "without God" already precludes the possibility of entertaining specific claims to the contrary...Narrative paradigms are resilient. They can be overthrown, but everyone works hard at preserving them from impeachment.

-Michael Horton; The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way

Horton's Systematic Theology is available at Westminster Bookstore for 45% off for one week only. I will personally be taking advantage of this deal. Having previewed the first chapter on the Kindle, I can definitely say that you've never read a systematic theology that was this fresh, this relevant, and this involved in the current theological issues that the Reformed world is dealing with.

With Great 'Text-To-Speech' Comes Great Responsibility

Yes, your Kindle is a small miracle. Yes, the robots now read to you. Yes, it's incredible. But with great power comes great responsibility, and that means knowing when to say no to your newfound powers. This month is my one-year anniversary with my Kindle, and I've learned that there are pitfalls when it comes to using the text-to-speech function.

The text-to-speech (TTS) function is acceptable for relaying narratives such as biographies, histories, and even fictional story-telling. However, there are exceptions to this. For example, something is lost in having Dickens read to you. I'm sorry, but it's true. On the flipside, having the new Dexter novel read aloud to you probably makes the terrible prose more digestible.

On the other end of things, there are some things which just do not benefit from text-to-speech. For example, using TTS to read the Puritans for the most part is not advisable. This is because there are just some books which we're supposed to read slowly and think about as we're reading it. Reading Thomas Watson's The Saint's Spiritual Delight is a wonderful experience. But you miss out on so many opportunities for profound reflection when you just let the text fly by you. I could give more examples of this in action, but I think we all know some books that you just shouldn't let fly past you.

So today's lesson: just because you can... doesn't mean you should.

Glorifying God In Visiting the Dentist

I leave my house in ten minutes to go to the dentist's office. I have a slight phobia of spending money, ergo, I also am afraid of the dentist. Here are a few ways in which I have tried to strategize for giving God the glory when I go to the dentist.

1. I glorify God by remembering that as a sinner I deserve terrible suffering and death. I will remember God's kindness in this situation:

A) God's kindness in giving me a doctor at all.
B) God's kindness in the invention of novacaine.
C) God's kindness in providing the money to pay the dentist.
D) God's kindness in sparing me the pain of further toothaches.

2. I glorify God by trusting in him (Ps. 56:3).

A) By trusting that my life is His in all ways.
B) By trusting that whatever happens, He is always good.

3. I glorify God as I experience my toothache:

A) By remembering the suffering of Jesus and how much greater it was than what I am experiencing.
B) By remembering that my bodily pain is a mercy in that it tells me when damage is happening to my body.
C) By remembering how much suffering I truly deserve for my sinfulness and rebellion against God.
D) By reminding myself of the pleasures of heaven and how fleeting any pain which we experience is in light of eternity.
E) By remembering the suffering saints throughout the world, most of whom would give anything for a toothache to be their biggest problem.

A White Stone and a Secret Name

I just stumbled across this nugget from Lewis regarding a verse in the book of Revelation. The part about God loving all infinitely might be uncool, but the rest is liquid gold.

It is said 'To him that overcometh I will give a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it'. What can be more a man's own than this new name which even in eternity remains a secret between God and him? And what shall we take this secrecy to mean? Surely, that each of the redeemed shall forever know and praise some one aspect of the divine beauty better than any other creature can. Why else were individuals created, but that God, loving all infinitely, should love each differently? And this difference, so far from impairing, floods with meaning the love of all blessed creatures for one another, the communion of the saints. If all experienced God in the same way and returned Him an identical worship, the song of the Church triumphant would have no symphony, it would be like an orchestra in which all the instruments played the same note... . For doubtless the continually successful, yet never completed, attempt by each soul to communicate its unique vision to all others (and that by means whereof earthly art and philosophy are but clumsy imitations) is also among the ends for which the individual was created.

C.S. Lewis; The Problem of Pain, ch. 10

Why Only One Nation? A Response to Bruce from Project: The King and I

Bruce over at Project: The King and I has been reading through the Bible. I've been following his blog just because I find it interesting to see what an atheist thinks about the Bible as he reads through it. Well, today's reading was from Genesis 34 and 35. He has a sense of humor because he titled the post "The One Where Rachel and Isaac Die" (a blatant Friends reference). He concluded today's post by asking an honest question:

My question, that I've wanted to ask since early on is:
Why is God only blessing one family, The linage of Abraham? He seems to be a personal god to the one family (Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, etc) and others must win favor with the family to benefit from God's power. To me this comes off not as a god that loves and provides for his creation so much as a personal mentor/bodyguard for a wealthy family.

I could have posted in his comments, but I'm very congnisant of trying not to put long responses in comment sections on other blogs, so I'm hoping he'll read my response that I will post here.

Bruce,

When you see God working so narrowly with only one man and one family, keep in mind that the first principle being exercised is God's freedom in choosing (election). The principle illustrated by God's choice of one family is his freedom. He could have presented himself to any family, but he chose to show himself to and link his glory with the destiny of this one man and his descendants, not out of obligation, but freely.

The second principle in God's choosing one family through whom to reveal himself (which is what Abraham and his descendants were) is that there is a universalistic end to this choosing. Recall God's statement to Abraham: "all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen. 12:3). As Biblical theologian Geerhardus Vos once said, "The election of Abraham..was meant as a particularistic means towards a universalistic end."



Picture God's revelation of himself as sort of a tree. When creation was young (early in Genesis) God's revelation was very wide, like the roots of a tree - it extended to all mankind through Adam and his children. Everyone knew God through His revelation to Adam and Eve. Eventually, humanity became unrepentant and lived in open rebellion against God and forgot their Creator (Now picture the tree narrowing into a trunk). When God again reveals himself, it is to one man (Abraham). It is at this point that the spectrum of revelation and divine favor narrows to Abraham and his family.

However, the end of this narrowing of divine favor/revelation in Abraham and his family is not meant to stay that way. Eventually, in Jesus (yes, this is where all of this is leading - just keep reading the book) the branches of the tree broaden once again when the Gentiles are allowed to be ingrafted into the tree. (Now picture the branches of the tree extending as broadly as possible.) So the end goal is not as particularistic as things look right now, in Genesis 35 and 36. You will have to wait several thousand years, but the end game is much broader than one simple family or nation. Until then, everything that is happening is setting the stage for the Messiah who is to come, under the law, so that he could live in perfect obedience to that law and die for his people. All of this is setting the stage for the One who eventually is to come.

I hope this is helpful, Bruce.

Gregory of Naziansus: Prayer Before Reading Scripture

Father of Christ, all-seeing, hear our prayers;
Look kindly on your servant’s solemn song.
He turns his footsteps down a godly path,
Who knows, while living, the ingenerate God,
And Christ, the king who bans all mortal ills.
Once, out of pity for our hard-pressed race,
Freely conforming to the Father’s will,
He changed his form, taking our mortal frame
Though he was God immortal, freeing us all
From Tartarus’s bondage by his blood.

Come now, refresh this soul of yours with words—
Pure, godly sayings from this sacred book;
Gaze here upon the servants of your Truth
Proclaiming life in voices echoing heaven!

Christianity and Liberalism Revisited: Live Stream

Westminster Seminary California will be holding their annual conference this weekend on "Christianity and Liberalism Revisited." They are live webcasting the conference. Go here for more details.