This is the inaugural post of a new concept here at Pursuing the Fruit entitled "Fresh Picked Daily". As I am somewhat new to the blogosphere and certainly post significantly less than my cohorts, I am hoping this will be an easy and efficient way of using this blog to promote other blogs and report current events that catch my attention. My hope is that it gets me motivated to update this site on a regular basis.
This idea is not original, in fact, those that are veterans to this medium implement the same kind of concept... this is one reason I decided to produce "Fresh Picked". The other reason is practicality... I am constantly on the lookout for products, news and resources that are consistent with the reformed evangelical worldview (and I often have dozens of tabs open in my Internet browser that eventually get deleted since I am obsessive compulsive about organizing bookmarks); this is an effective way of consolidating my findings.
So without further adieu, I present to you... The Fresh Picked Daily:
Lectio Continua Expository Commentary: Kim Riddlebarger (The Riddleblog) has posted the lineup for a New Testament Commentary series set to be released in 2012. I'm excited about this because some of my favorite pastor-theologians will be providing pulpit-experience to their respective editions. Daniel R. Hyde (Matthew), Iain D. Campbell (Luke), J.V. Fesko (Romans), Sinclair Ferguson (Colossians), Hywel R. Jones (1-3 John), Kim Riddlebarger (Jude-2 Peter) and Joel R. Beeke (Revelation) are amongst the contributors.
Free Kindle Books: Over at "Bring the Books" Adam Parker has been providing links to download classic works from Puritan and Reformed authors such as Bavinck and Ridderbos; Machen; Rutherford, Sibbes and Watson; Goodwin, Gurnall, Luther, Manton and Owen; Perkins; Bunyan, Kuyper, Pink and Spurgeon; Anselm, Augustine, Dickson and Taylor and more! If you have a Kindle or an E-Reader... I highly suggest you head over there and take up this great offer.
Top Commentaries: Keith Mathison has compiled a list of his top 5 commentaries for each book of the Bible. Tim Challies has provided that list for us over at Ligonier. If you are thinking about buying a commentary to fortify your study of Scripture, consult this list prayerfully before you purchase one.
The Gospel Coalition: Since there are a few things I would like to highlight from TCG, I thought I would have a general category. First off, the latest issue of Themelios has arrived (you can find back-issues here). Also, all of the audio and video is now available from The Gospel Coalition's 2011 National Conference. Make sure you check out The Gospel Coalition Albuquerque (audio is available for their 2011 Gospel Coalition Regional Conference (Clarus) featuring G.K. Beale and Carl Trueman) and The Greater Columbus Gospel Coalition (who will be having Paul David Tripp as the plenary speaker in their 2011 For the Sake of the Gospel Conference in November).
Founders Breakfast: On June 14, 2011, Wayne Grudem will be addressing themes from his book "Politics According to the Bible" at the Founders Breakfast in Phoenix, AZ. Tickets for "You, Your Church and Your Government" are $20 and the registration deadline is June 6. Founders is a ministry of Tom Ascol, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, FL (Founders Blog).
That does it for "Fresh Picked Daily"... make sure to follow me on Twitter and find me on Facebook for updates. I am also on The City. Soli Deo Gloria!
Showing posts with label Reformed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reformed. Show all posts
18 May 2011
12 May 2010
Love and Justice Combined
"If we represent the atonement as founded only in the righteousness and justice of God, we fail to do justice to the love of God as a moving cause of the atonement, and afford a pretext to those enemies of the satisfaction theory of the atonement who like to represent it as implying that God is a vindictive being, who is concerned only about His own honor. If, on the other hand, we consider the atonement purely as an expression of the love of God, we fail to do justice to the righteousness and veracity of God, and we reduce the sufferings and the death of Christ to an unexplained enigma."
Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (p. 368)
Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (p. 368)
27 September 2009
Discipleship: Psalm 119
Strange... it doesn't feel like I have been meeting with my elder for discipleship for over 18 weeks. How the time flies! The focus of this week's study was "Pe"... a passage that consists of verses 129-136.
"Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The unfolding of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, because I long for Your commandments. Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is Your way with those who love Your name. Keep steady my steps according to Your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me. Redeem me from man’s oppression, that I may keep your precepts. Make Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes. My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep Your law. (Psalm 119:129-136, ESV)
129 Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them.
Question: How many people agree with the Psalmist; that God's testimonies (i.e. His Word, the Bible, the Law, the Gospel, etc. etc.) are WONDERFUL? Furthermore... how many professing "believers" or self-proclaimed Christians echo his sentiments? If we are truly regenerate, we should have a hunger for God's testimonies. We should crave the precepts of the Lord. A Christian should have an appetite for Scripture; it should be pleasing to him or her. One should have a desire to delve into it for "reproof, correction, and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16) amongst other things.
One constant problem I encounter amongst "evangelicals" is the erosion of inerrancy (borrowing the term from a G.K. Beale book that I look forward to reading; click for more information). There is an ongoing attack on the authority and inerrancy of Scripture and one of the most dangerous protagonists are cloak-and-dagger "evangelicals"... false believers who make God in their own culturally relative image. The fact that our sovereign God has magnified His name and His word above all things should make us tremble with reverence when we approach his wonderful testimonies.
For a reformed perspective, that is to say biblical orthodoxy... see the Westminster.
"the sublime and admirable wisdom which he found comprehended in the divine law led him to regard it with reverence... " (John Calvin)
"Its effects upon the consciences of men, both for conviction and comfort, are wonderful; and it is a sign that we are not acquainted with God's testimonies, or do not understand them, if we do not admire them." (Matthew Henry)
It should also be noted that it is not of our volition to delight in God's testimonies. A person can not "decide" to love Scripture... one can not voluntarily consider the Bible to be truly wonderful. The regenerative power of the Holy Spirit in "the new birth" (John 3), creating "a new being" (2 Corinthians 5:17) with "a new heart and spirit" (Ezekiel 36:26) causes us to walk in God's statutes, obey His commands (Ezekiel 36:27) ... and thus, consider His testimonies to be wonderful.
"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12-13, ESV)
"it is impossible for any man to keep the law of God from the heart, unless he contemplate it with feelings of reverence: for reverence is the beginning of pure and right subjection. Accordingly, I have said that many despise God's Word, because they think it inferior to the acuteness of their own understandings. Yea, many are led to break forth more audaciously into this heaven-daring contempt, from the vanity of showing their own ingenuity. But, although worldly men may flatter themselves in that proud disdain of the divine law, yet the commendation which the Prophet pronounces upon it still holds true, that it comprehends mysteries which far transcend all the conceptions of the human mind." (John Calvin)
"Those that see God's word to be admirable will prize it highly and preserve it carefully, as that which they promise themselves great things from." (Matthew Henry)
"It is wonderful that God should have borne testimony at all to sinful men, and more wonderful still that his testimony should be of such a character, so clear, so full, so gracious, so mighty... Their wonderful character so impressed itself upon his mind that he kept them in his memory: their wonderful excellence so charmed his heart that he kept them in his life... his religion was soul work; not with head and hand alone did he keep the testimonies; but his soul, his truest and most real self, held fast to them." (Charles Spurgeon)
130 The unfolding [entrance] of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.
"If we begin at the beginning, and take it before us, we shall find that the very first verses of the Bible give us surprising and yet satisfying discoveries of the origin of the universe, about which, without that, the world is utterly in the dark. As soon as the word of God enters into us, and has a place in us, it enlightens us; we find we begin to see when we begin to study the word of God." (Matthew Henry)
"when the words of God enter into the chambers of the heart then light is scattered on all sides. The word finds no entrance into some minds because they are blocked up with self conceit, or prejudice, or indifference; but where due attention is given, divine illumination must surely follow upon a knowledge of the mind of God." (Charles Spurgeon)
Light...
"As soon as a man enters upon reading the Scriptures, if he has any degree of understanding of the things in them, they immediately throw light into his mind; or, however, as soon as ever the word has an entrance into the heart, and through the Spirit, power, and grace of God, makes its way and has a place there, that being opened by the Lord for that purpose, light arises in darkness." (John GIll)
"And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:3-4, ESV)
"This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5, ESV)
"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it... The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him." (John 1:4-5, 9-10, ESV)
"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12, ESV)
"For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6, ESV)
"The great use for which the word of God was intended, to give light, that is, to give understanding, to give us to understand that which will be of use to us in our travels through this world; and it is the outward and ordinary means by which the Spirit of God enlightens the understanding of all that are sanctified." (Matthew Henry)
"Christ by his Spirit opens their understandings, that they may understand the Scriptures; and by means of them gives them an understanding of himself, and of those things which make them wise unto salvation, and make for their spiritual peace and comfort, and their eternal welfare." (John Gill)
"The sincere and candid are the true disciples of the word. To such it gives not only knowledge, but understanding." (Charles Spurgeon)
"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7, ESV)
"They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading." (Nehemiah 8:8, ESV)
131 I open my mouth and pant, because I long for Your commandments.
"Here the Holy Spirit teaches with what earnestness of soul the knowledge of divine truth is to be sought." (John Calvin)
"whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14, ESV) [see also Isaiah 55)
"As a person out of breath does, through walking or running; he stops and pants, and opens his mouth, to draw in air to his relief: or as hungry and thirsty persons pant for food and drink, and open their mouths to receive it, before it can well be brought to them." (John Gill)
"As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for You, O God." (Psalm 42:1, ESV}
"My soul is consumed with longing for Your rules at all times." (Psalm 119:20, ESV)
132 Turn to [look upon] me and be gracious [merciful] to me, as is Your way with those who [are custom to] love Your name.
It is God who looks upon man and not the other way around... the Lord unconditionally grants mercy according to His will, and will continue to do so to those He has been gracious towards (both divine forbearance and redemption). The Psalmist recognizes that grace and mercy are of the Lord, much like justice... and he understands that the wrath of God is the result of justice for the payment of the sin debt (Romans 6:23), which he deserves. But God, being rich in mercy (see Ephesians 2), grants unmerited favor (and faith, love for His name, etc.) to those that he foreordained for salvation and was pleased to punish His Son, Jesus, the second Person of the triune God as a substitution for sinners.
"This, then, is the prayer of an afflicted man, who, when apparently destitute of all help, and unable to come to any other conclusion than that he is neglected and forsaken of God, yet reflects with himself, that, for God to forsake him, was foreign to his nature and to his usual manner of procedure... the Prophet's sole ground of confidence in asking this from God is his free goodness. Whence we gather that, although he was a man of eminent sanctity, yet the undeserved grace of God was his only refuge." (John Calvin)
"He asks not for the operations of God's hand... a good look is enough; and for that he does not plead merit, but implores mercy." (Matthew Henry)
"Not as in himself; a sinful creature will not bear looking upon by the Lord, especially with the strict eye of justice; but as in Christ, and clothed with his righteousness; and so not merely in a providential way, though that is a favour, but in a way of special grace and mercy... the Lord had turned from him, and had hid his face, which had given him trouble; and therefore he desires he would turn again to him, and show him his face and favour." (John Gill)
"Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted." (Psalm 25:16, ESV)
"If he looked in stern justice his eyes would not endure us, but looking in mercy he spares and blesses us." (Charles Spurgeon)
"The dealings of God with those that love him are such that a man needs not desire to be any better dealt with, for he will make them truly and eternally happy." (Matthew Henry)
Those who love God's name (see Psalm 138:2b) love His attributes (loving, sovereign, holy, righteous, etc.)
"...we must perceive the very clear testimonies by which he fortifies our faith, so that we need not doubt that all the godly are the objects of his regard; only we must endeavor to be among the number of those who love his name. By this title is meant genuine believers; for those who only slavishly fear God are not worthy of being reckoned among his servants. He requires a voluntary obedience from us, so that nothing may be more delightful to us than to follow whithersoever he calls us. It is, however, at the same time to be observed, that this love proceeds from faith; yea, the Prophet here commends the grand effect of faith, by separating the godly, who lean upon the grace of God, from worldly men, who, having given their hearts to the enticements of the world, never lift up their minds towards heaven." (John Calvin)
133 Keep steady [direct] my steps according to Your promise [by Your word], and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
"Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping [directed to keep] Your statutes!" (Psalm 119:5, ESV)
"Lead me in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it." (Psalm 119:35, ESV)
"...the only rule of living well is for men to regulate themselves wholly by the law of God... God deals bountifully with men, when he invites them to himself by his word and doctrine... all this is lifeless and unprofitable, until he govern by his Spirit those whom he has already taught by his word." (John Calvin)
"We ought to walk by rule; all the motions of the soul must not only be kept within the bounds prescribed by the word, so as not to transgress them, but carried out in the paths prescribed by the word, so as not to trifle in them. And therefore we must beg of God that by his good Spirit he would order our steps accordingly." (Matthew Henry)
"...it is not in the power of man to order and direct his steps: this is done by the Lord; and such who acknowledge him in their ways, and apply to him for direction, are and shall be thus favoured by him." (John Gill)
"I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps" (Jeremiah 10:23, ESV)
God can "prevent" people from sinning...
"Then God said to him [Abimelech] in the dream, 'Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against Me. Therefore I did not let you touch her [Abraham's wife, Sarah]." (Genesis 20:6, ESV)
"The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in His way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand." (Psalm 37:23-24, ESV)
"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV)
"The freedom of the godly consists solely in this—that they are governed by the Spirit of God, and thus preserved from succumbing to iniquity, although harassed with hard and painful conflicts." (John Calvin)
"The dominion of sin is to be dreaded and deprecated by every one of us; and, if in sincerity we pray against it, we may receive that promise as an answer to the prayer." (Matthew Henry)
"For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:14, ESV)
"It is a sad thing to be enslaved to any lust or sin, be it what it will: sin reigns over wicked men even unto death; and it oftentimes has great power over good men, puts them upon doing that which is evil, and hinders them from doing that which is good..." (John Gill)
"Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression." (Psalm 19:13, ESV)
134 Redeem me from man’s oppression, that I may keep your precepts.
Believers are redeemed (bought), out of slavery to sin, by the blood of Christ. The Psalmist is praying for God's redemption from external oppression (sinful men oppressing him) or internal oppression (his own sinful nature's oppressive bondage), so that he may better live according to God's will.
"When he was overwhelmed on all sides with injuries, he betook himself to God as his deliverer... We are taught from this passage, that when engaged in contest with the wicked, we ought not to suffer our minds to be actuated by malice, but that, however violently and unjustly they may assault us, we should rest; contented with the deliverance which God bestows, and with that alone; and again, that every instance in which we experience the grace of God in delivering us, should be a spur to incite us to follow after uprightness." (John We are taught from this passage, that when engaged in contest with the wicked, we ought not to suffer our minds to be actuated by malice, but that, however violently and unjustly they may assault us, we should rest; contented with the delivers. nee which God bestows, and with that alone; and again, that every instance in which we experience the grace of God in delivering us, should be a spur to incite us to follow after uprightness." (John Calvin)
"David prays that he might live a quiet and peaceable life, and might not be harassed and discomposed by those that studied to be vexatious... whom God can control, and whose power is limited." (Matthew Henry)
"Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men!" (Psalm 9:20, ESV)
"Some render it, 'from the oppression of Adam'... of the sin of Adam, and as a prayer to be delivered or redeemed from it; as the Lord's people are by the blood of Christ..." (John Gill)
"So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy." (Psalm 106:10, ESV)
"Give Your servant a pledge of good; let not the insolent oppress me." (Psalm 119:122, ESV)
"Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God." (Psalm 119:115, ESV)
"The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil." (Zephaniah 3:15, ESV)
"It is said that oppression makes a wise man mad, and no doubt it has made many a righteous man sinful. Oppression is in itself wicked, and it drives men to wickedness. We little know how much of our virtue is due to our liberty; if we had been in bonds under haughty tyrants we might have yielded to them, and instead of being confessors we might now have been apostates." (Charles Spurgeon)
135 Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.
"he seeks to win the fatherly favor of God—for nothing is to be hoped for from Him unless we have an interest in his favor—but he at the same time, shows the greatness of the blessing." (John Calvin)
"He is very ambitious of his Master's favour, accounting that his happiness and chief good." (Matthew Henry)
"Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is Your way with those who love Your name." (Psalm 119:132, ESV)
"the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you" (Numbers 6:25, ESV)
"...he seeks for no favour from others, but only from his own Lord and Master." (Charles Spurgeon)
"...only when God illumines the minds of his believing people with the true knowledge of the law, that he delights them with the beams of his favor." (John Calvin)
"If God hides his face from us, it is because we have been careless in keeping his statutes; and therefore, that we may be qualified for the returns of his favour, we must pray for wisdom to do our duty." (Matthew Henry)
"The most favoured believer needs teaching; even when he walks in the light of God's countenance he has still to be taught the divine statutes or he will transgress." (Charles Spurgeon)
[see vv. 12, 26, 33, 73, 104, 124]
136 My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.
We should, as Christians, be sorrowful over sin. Sorrowful not merely due to our own transgressions; penitence for disobedience... but Christians should also grieve the sins of others; the ignorant, apathetic, and reprobate alike.
Please take a look at the Westminster Confession of Faith; Chapter 6
"You cannot be sorrowful for others' sins unless you be first sorrowful for your own sins... It is hypocrisy to pitch upon other men's sins and neglect your own ; as some will zealously declaim against public disorders, yet neglect their own hearts; as the crafty lapwing will go up and down fluttering and crying to draw the fowler from her own nest. We have a nest of sin of our own, and we are loath it should be rifled and exposed to public view... True zeal for injuries done to God would ease itself by tears rather than anger. True penitents will not satisfy themselves only with public humiliation, to which law, custom, and example may draw them; but will make conscience of this duty in their families, yea, in secret, where no eye seeth them but God's." (Thomas Manton)
"Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." (Romans 1:32, ESV)
"...discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways." (Proverbs 2:11-15, ESV)
[Thank you to Rev. James O'Brien for commending to me The Complete Works of Manton]
"Wherever the Spirit of God reigns, he excites this ardent zeal, which burns the hearts of the godly when they see the commandment of the Most High God accounted as a thing of nought. It is not enough that each of us endeavor to please God; we must also desire that his law may be held in estimation by all men." (John Calvin)
"He wept not for his troubles, though they were many, but for the dishonour done to God... The sins of sinners are the sorrows of saints. We must mourn for that which we cannot mend." (Matthew Henry)
"He wept in sympathy with God to see the holy law despised and broken. He wept in pity for men who were thus drawing down upon themselves the fiery wrath of God. His grief was such that he could scarcely give it vent; his tears were not mere drops of sorrow, but torrents of woe... None are so affected by heavenly things as those who are much in the study of the word, and are thereby taught the truth and essence of things." (Charles Spurgeon)
[See Matthew 23:37-39]
Links...
Reformed Forum (A reformed theology media network)
Sola Scriptura (A.A. Hodge; Outlines of Theology: Chapter 5)
The Sufficiency of the Word of God (a sermon by James Montgomery Boice)
"Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The unfolding of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, because I long for Your commandments. Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is Your way with those who love Your name. Keep steady my steps according to Your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me. Redeem me from man’s oppression, that I may keep your precepts. Make Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes. My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep Your law. (Psalm 119:129-136, ESV)
129 Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them.
Question: How many people agree with the Psalmist; that God's testimonies (i.e. His Word, the Bible, the Law, the Gospel, etc. etc.) are WONDERFUL? Furthermore... how many professing "believers" or self-proclaimed Christians echo his sentiments? If we are truly regenerate, we should have a hunger for God's testimonies. We should crave the precepts of the Lord. A Christian should have an appetite for Scripture; it should be pleasing to him or her. One should have a desire to delve into it for "reproof, correction, and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16) amongst other things.
One constant problem I encounter amongst "evangelicals" is the erosion of inerrancy (borrowing the term from a G.K. Beale book that I look forward to reading; click for more information). There is an ongoing attack on the authority and inerrancy of Scripture and one of the most dangerous protagonists are cloak-and-dagger "evangelicals"... false believers who make God in their own culturally relative image. The fact that our sovereign God has magnified His name and His word above all things should make us tremble with reverence when we approach his wonderful testimonies.
For a reformed perspective, that is to say biblical orthodoxy... see the Westminster.
"the sublime and admirable wisdom which he found comprehended in the divine law led him to regard it with reverence... " (John Calvin)
"Its effects upon the consciences of men, both for conviction and comfort, are wonderful; and it is a sign that we are not acquainted with God's testimonies, or do not understand them, if we do not admire them." (Matthew Henry)
It should also be noted that it is not of our volition to delight in God's testimonies. A person can not "decide" to love Scripture... one can not voluntarily consider the Bible to be truly wonderful. The regenerative power of the Holy Spirit in "the new birth" (John 3), creating "a new being" (2 Corinthians 5:17) with "a new heart and spirit" (Ezekiel 36:26) causes us to walk in God's statutes, obey His commands (Ezekiel 36:27) ... and thus, consider His testimonies to be wonderful.
"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12-13, ESV)
"it is impossible for any man to keep the law of God from the heart, unless he contemplate it with feelings of reverence: for reverence is the beginning of pure and right subjection. Accordingly, I have said that many despise God's Word, because they think it inferior to the acuteness of their own understandings. Yea, many are led to break forth more audaciously into this heaven-daring contempt, from the vanity of showing their own ingenuity. But, although worldly men may flatter themselves in that proud disdain of the divine law, yet the commendation which the Prophet pronounces upon it still holds true, that it comprehends mysteries which far transcend all the conceptions of the human mind." (John Calvin)
"Those that see God's word to be admirable will prize it highly and preserve it carefully, as that which they promise themselves great things from." (Matthew Henry)
"It is wonderful that God should have borne testimony at all to sinful men, and more wonderful still that his testimony should be of such a character, so clear, so full, so gracious, so mighty... Their wonderful character so impressed itself upon his mind that he kept them in his memory: their wonderful excellence so charmed his heart that he kept them in his life... his religion was soul work; not with head and hand alone did he keep the testimonies; but his soul, his truest and most real self, held fast to them." (Charles Spurgeon)
130 The unfolding [entrance] of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.
"If we begin at the beginning, and take it before us, we shall find that the very first verses of the Bible give us surprising and yet satisfying discoveries of the origin of the universe, about which, without that, the world is utterly in the dark. As soon as the word of God enters into us, and has a place in us, it enlightens us; we find we begin to see when we begin to study the word of God." (Matthew Henry)
"when the words of God enter into the chambers of the heart then light is scattered on all sides. The word finds no entrance into some minds because they are blocked up with self conceit, or prejudice, or indifference; but where due attention is given, divine illumination must surely follow upon a knowledge of the mind of God." (Charles Spurgeon)
Light...
"As soon as a man enters upon reading the Scriptures, if he has any degree of understanding of the things in them, they immediately throw light into his mind; or, however, as soon as ever the word has an entrance into the heart, and through the Spirit, power, and grace of God, makes its way and has a place there, that being opened by the Lord for that purpose, light arises in darkness." (John GIll)
"And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:3-4, ESV)
"This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5, ESV)
"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it... The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him." (John 1:4-5, 9-10, ESV)
"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12, ESV)
"For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6, ESV)
"The great use for which the word of God was intended, to give light, that is, to give understanding, to give us to understand that which will be of use to us in our travels through this world; and it is the outward and ordinary means by which the Spirit of God enlightens the understanding of all that are sanctified." (Matthew Henry)
"Christ by his Spirit opens their understandings, that they may understand the Scriptures; and by means of them gives them an understanding of himself, and of those things which make them wise unto salvation, and make for their spiritual peace and comfort, and their eternal welfare." (John Gill)
"The sincere and candid are the true disciples of the word. To such it gives not only knowledge, but understanding." (Charles Spurgeon)
"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7, ESV)
"They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading." (Nehemiah 8:8, ESV)
131 I open my mouth and pant, because I long for Your commandments.
"Here the Holy Spirit teaches with what earnestness of soul the knowledge of divine truth is to be sought." (John Calvin)
"whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14, ESV) [see also Isaiah 55)
"As a person out of breath does, through walking or running; he stops and pants, and opens his mouth, to draw in air to his relief: or as hungry and thirsty persons pant for food and drink, and open their mouths to receive it, before it can well be brought to them." (John Gill)
"As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for You, O God." (Psalm 42:1, ESV}
"My soul is consumed with longing for Your rules at all times." (Psalm 119:20, ESV)
132 Turn to [look upon] me and be gracious [merciful] to me, as is Your way with those who [are custom to] love Your name.
It is God who looks upon man and not the other way around... the Lord unconditionally grants mercy according to His will, and will continue to do so to those He has been gracious towards (both divine forbearance and redemption). The Psalmist recognizes that grace and mercy are of the Lord, much like justice... and he understands that the wrath of God is the result of justice for the payment of the sin debt (Romans 6:23), which he deserves. But God, being rich in mercy (see Ephesians 2), grants unmerited favor (and faith, love for His name, etc.) to those that he foreordained for salvation and was pleased to punish His Son, Jesus, the second Person of the triune God as a substitution for sinners.
"This, then, is the prayer of an afflicted man, who, when apparently destitute of all help, and unable to come to any other conclusion than that he is neglected and forsaken of God, yet reflects with himself, that, for God to forsake him, was foreign to his nature and to his usual manner of procedure... the Prophet's sole ground of confidence in asking this from God is his free goodness. Whence we gather that, although he was a man of eminent sanctity, yet the undeserved grace of God was his only refuge." (John Calvin)
"He asks not for the operations of God's hand... a good look is enough; and for that he does not plead merit, but implores mercy." (Matthew Henry)
"Not as in himself; a sinful creature will not bear looking upon by the Lord, especially with the strict eye of justice; but as in Christ, and clothed with his righteousness; and so not merely in a providential way, though that is a favour, but in a way of special grace and mercy... the Lord had turned from him, and had hid his face, which had given him trouble; and therefore he desires he would turn again to him, and show him his face and favour." (John Gill)
"Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted." (Psalm 25:16, ESV)
"If he looked in stern justice his eyes would not endure us, but looking in mercy he spares and blesses us." (Charles Spurgeon)
"The dealings of God with those that love him are such that a man needs not desire to be any better dealt with, for he will make them truly and eternally happy." (Matthew Henry)
Those who love God's name (see Psalm 138:2b) love His attributes (loving, sovereign, holy, righteous, etc.)
"...we must perceive the very clear testimonies by which he fortifies our faith, so that we need not doubt that all the godly are the objects of his regard; only we must endeavor to be among the number of those who love his name. By this title is meant genuine believers; for those who only slavishly fear God are not worthy of being reckoned among his servants. He requires a voluntary obedience from us, so that nothing may be more delightful to us than to follow whithersoever he calls us. It is, however, at the same time to be observed, that this love proceeds from faith; yea, the Prophet here commends the grand effect of faith, by separating the godly, who lean upon the grace of God, from worldly men, who, having given their hearts to the enticements of the world, never lift up their minds towards heaven." (John Calvin)
133 Keep steady [direct] my steps according to Your promise [by Your word], and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
"Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping [directed to keep] Your statutes!" (Psalm 119:5, ESV)
"Lead me in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it." (Psalm 119:35, ESV)
"...the only rule of living well is for men to regulate themselves wholly by the law of God... God deals bountifully with men, when he invites them to himself by his word and doctrine... all this is lifeless and unprofitable, until he govern by his Spirit those whom he has already taught by his word." (John Calvin)
"We ought to walk by rule; all the motions of the soul must not only be kept within the bounds prescribed by the word, so as not to transgress them, but carried out in the paths prescribed by the word, so as not to trifle in them. And therefore we must beg of God that by his good Spirit he would order our steps accordingly." (Matthew Henry)
"...it is not in the power of man to order and direct his steps: this is done by the Lord; and such who acknowledge him in their ways, and apply to him for direction, are and shall be thus favoured by him." (John Gill)
"I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps" (Jeremiah 10:23, ESV)
God can "prevent" people from sinning...
"Then God said to him [Abimelech] in the dream, 'Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against Me. Therefore I did not let you touch her [Abraham's wife, Sarah]." (Genesis 20:6, ESV)
"The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in His way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand." (Psalm 37:23-24, ESV)
"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV)
"The freedom of the godly consists solely in this—that they are governed by the Spirit of God, and thus preserved from succumbing to iniquity, although harassed with hard and painful conflicts." (John Calvin)
"The dominion of sin is to be dreaded and deprecated by every one of us; and, if in sincerity we pray against it, we may receive that promise as an answer to the prayer." (Matthew Henry)
"For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:14, ESV)
"It is a sad thing to be enslaved to any lust or sin, be it what it will: sin reigns over wicked men even unto death; and it oftentimes has great power over good men, puts them upon doing that which is evil, and hinders them from doing that which is good..." (John Gill)
"Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression." (Psalm 19:13, ESV)
134 Redeem me from man’s oppression, that I may keep your precepts.
Believers are redeemed (bought), out of slavery to sin, by the blood of Christ. The Psalmist is praying for God's redemption from external oppression (sinful men oppressing him) or internal oppression (his own sinful nature's oppressive bondage), so that he may better live according to God's will.
"When he was overwhelmed on all sides with injuries, he betook himself to God as his deliverer... We are taught from this passage, that when engaged in contest with the wicked, we ought not to suffer our minds to be actuated by malice, but that, however violently and unjustly they may assault us, we should rest; contented with the deliverance which God bestows, and with that alone; and again, that every instance in which we experience the grace of God in delivering us, should be a spur to incite us to follow after uprightness." (John We are taught from this passage, that when engaged in contest with the wicked, we ought not to suffer our minds to be actuated by malice, but that, however violently and unjustly they may assault us, we should rest; contented with the delivers. nee which God bestows, and with that alone; and again, that every instance in which we experience the grace of God in delivering us, should be a spur to incite us to follow after uprightness." (John Calvin)
"David prays that he might live a quiet and peaceable life, and might not be harassed and discomposed by those that studied to be vexatious... whom God can control, and whose power is limited." (Matthew Henry)
"Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men!" (Psalm 9:20, ESV)
"Some render it, 'from the oppression of Adam'... of the sin of Adam, and as a prayer to be delivered or redeemed from it; as the Lord's people are by the blood of Christ..." (John Gill)
"So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy." (Psalm 106:10, ESV)
"Give Your servant a pledge of good; let not the insolent oppress me." (Psalm 119:122, ESV)
"Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God." (Psalm 119:115, ESV)
"The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil." (Zephaniah 3:15, ESV)
"It is said that oppression makes a wise man mad, and no doubt it has made many a righteous man sinful. Oppression is in itself wicked, and it drives men to wickedness. We little know how much of our virtue is due to our liberty; if we had been in bonds under haughty tyrants we might have yielded to them, and instead of being confessors we might now have been apostates." (Charles Spurgeon)
135 Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.
"he seeks to win the fatherly favor of God—for nothing is to be hoped for from Him unless we have an interest in his favor—but he at the same time, shows the greatness of the blessing." (John Calvin)
"He is very ambitious of his Master's favour, accounting that his happiness and chief good." (Matthew Henry)
"Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is Your way with those who love Your name." (Psalm 119:132, ESV)
"the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you" (Numbers 6:25, ESV)
"...he seeks for no favour from others, but only from his own Lord and Master." (Charles Spurgeon)
"...only when God illumines the minds of his believing people with the true knowledge of the law, that he delights them with the beams of his favor." (John Calvin)
"If God hides his face from us, it is because we have been careless in keeping his statutes; and therefore, that we may be qualified for the returns of his favour, we must pray for wisdom to do our duty." (Matthew Henry)
"The most favoured believer needs teaching; even when he walks in the light of God's countenance he has still to be taught the divine statutes or he will transgress." (Charles Spurgeon)
[see vv. 12, 26, 33, 73, 104, 124]
136 My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.
We should, as Christians, be sorrowful over sin. Sorrowful not merely due to our own transgressions; penitence for disobedience... but Christians should also grieve the sins of others; the ignorant, apathetic, and reprobate alike.
Please take a look at the Westminster Confession of Faith; Chapter 6
"You cannot be sorrowful for others' sins unless you be first sorrowful for your own sins... It is hypocrisy to pitch upon other men's sins and neglect your own ; as some will zealously declaim against public disorders, yet neglect their own hearts; as the crafty lapwing will go up and down fluttering and crying to draw the fowler from her own nest. We have a nest of sin of our own, and we are loath it should be rifled and exposed to public view... True zeal for injuries done to God would ease itself by tears rather than anger. True penitents will not satisfy themselves only with public humiliation, to which law, custom, and example may draw them; but will make conscience of this duty in their families, yea, in secret, where no eye seeth them but God's." (Thomas Manton)
"Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." (Romans 1:32, ESV)
"...discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways." (Proverbs 2:11-15, ESV)
[Thank you to Rev. James O'Brien for commending to me The Complete Works of Manton]
"Wherever the Spirit of God reigns, he excites this ardent zeal, which burns the hearts of the godly when they see the commandment of the Most High God accounted as a thing of nought. It is not enough that each of us endeavor to please God; we must also desire that his law may be held in estimation by all men." (John Calvin)
"He wept not for his troubles, though they were many, but for the dishonour done to God... The sins of sinners are the sorrows of saints. We must mourn for that which we cannot mend." (Matthew Henry)
"He wept in sympathy with God to see the holy law despised and broken. He wept in pity for men who were thus drawing down upon themselves the fiery wrath of God. His grief was such that he could scarcely give it vent; his tears were not mere drops of sorrow, but torrents of woe... None are so affected by heavenly things as those who are much in the study of the word, and are thereby taught the truth and essence of things." (Charles Spurgeon)
[See Matthew 23:37-39]
Links...
Reformed Forum (A reformed theology media network)
Sola Scriptura (A.A. Hodge; Outlines of Theology: Chapter 5)
The Sufficiency of the Word of God (a sermon by James Montgomery Boice)
18 September 2009
Week(s) in Review
Picking up where I left off a few weeks ago...
"He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-13, ESV)
More from "Complete In Him" by Michael Barrett...
Chapter 4: Regeneration (New Life in the Gospel)
"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7, KJV)
"Adam has no physical life until he received the special breath of God." (p. 75)
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature..." (2 Corinthians 5:17a, KJV)
"Just as Adam required God's breath for physical life, every sinner requires a gracious and special intervention of God to bring him to spiritual life." (p. 76)
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us [made us alive] together with Christ" (Ephesians 2:4-5, KJV)
The Definition of New Life
"Regeneration refers to the implantation of the principle of spiritual life into the heart of the sinner that results in an instantaneous, radical, and obvious change of nature affecting the whole governing disposition of life. (p. 76)
"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26, KJV)
"The prophet's description of the old heart as stony portrays and inward nature that is cold, unfeeling, and hard. A petrified heart is utterly dead, incapable of functioning." (p. 77)
"...old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17b, KJV)
The Westminster Larger Catechism
"Effectual calling is the work of God's almighty power and grace, whereby (out of his free and special love to his elect, and from nothing in them moving him thereunto) he does, in his accepted time, invite and draw them to Jesus Christ, by his Word and Spirit; savingly enlightening their minds, renewing and powerfully determining their wills, so as they (although in themselves dead in sin) are hereby made willing and able freely to answer his call, and to accept and embrace the grace offered and conveyed therein." (Question 67)
The Westminster Shorter Catechism
"Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel." (Question 31)
The Baptist Confession of Faith
"This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not on account of anything at all foreseen in man. It is not made because of any power or agency in the creature who is wholly passive in the matter. Man is dead in sins and trespasses until quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit. By this he is enabled to answer the call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed by it. This enabling power is no less power than that which raised up Christ from the dead. " (Chapter 10, section 2)
Mark 5:41-42; John 11:43-44 (Jesus makes the dead alive)
"When the Spirit of God implants the principle of life within the soul, the regenerate soul will evidence all the vital signs of a spiritual life." (p. 79)
"Man's spiritual death and inability are answered by God's gracious provision in the atoning death of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ." (p. 79)
The Exposition of New Life
"Being dead in our trespasses and sins means that more than anything else we need life, and God graciously according to His divine power 'hath given unto us all things tha pertain unto life and godliness.' (2 Peter 1:3, KJV)." (p. 79)
Imagery of regeneration...
Circumcision (Deuteronomy 30:6)
Resurrection (Ephesians 2:5-6)
Creation (Ephesians 2:10)
Spiritual baptism (1 Corinthians 12:13)
New covenant (Jeremiah 31:33)
John 3...
1. You MUST be born again (verse 7)
2. The Son of Man MUST be lifted up (verse 14)
"The possibility of the first depends on the performance of the second." (p. 80)
The Necessity of New Life
"As in the first birth a physical life issues from previous nonexistence, so in the second birth a formerly nonexistent spiritual life comes into being." (p. 80)
John 3:3, 7...
Please take into account the footnotes on the link:
"the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both again and from above"
"This sense of the word is perhaps more pertinent to man's need because it calls special attention to the divine source of spiritual life which guarantees the necessary qualifications for entrance into the kingdom of God." (p. 80)
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:6, KJV)
"A second birth from his mother's womb would produce the same sinful and corrupt flesh as the first birth." (p. 81)
The Agent of New Life
"born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:13, KJV)
The New Birth is a Spiritual Work
1. Christ's definition: Character
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5, KJV)
"The linking of 'water and spirit' is a literal device called hendiodys (Greek); 'one through two'... Being born 'of water and of spirit' refers, consequently, to spiritual water, which pertains ultimately to spiritual cleansing." (p. 83)
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:5)
"Christ is teaching that the new birth involves an inward cleansing from the filthiness and pollution that preclude entrance into heaven. Such a cleansing is spiritual work because man is absolutely incapable of cleansing himself (see Jeremiah 2:22)." (p. 83)
2. Christ's affirmation: Success
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:6, KJV)
The New Birth is a Sovereign Work
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8, KJV)
"the Greek terms for 'wind' and 'spirit' (click here) are exactly the same word." (p. 84)
The Provision for New Life
"The gospel, the good news, is that God has provided the means and the way whereby dead, spiritually oblivious sinners can receive the necessary life." (p. 85)
Based in the Love of God...
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16, KJV)
LOVE...
"It's stimulus is within God who loves and not in the world which is loved... God's love for the world makes no sense since the world consists of sinners who are highly repulsive and unworthy of love... The word 'so' designates not the degree to which God loves, but the way in which God demonstrated His love for the world... The two 'that' statements (different words in the Greek text) define the way in terms of consequence and purpose." (p. 85)
"Given that the supreme and eternal object of the Father's love is His only begotten Son (John 17:23-24), the sacrificial giving of the Son heightens the magnitude of God's love for the world." (p. 86)
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." (Ephesians 2:4-5, ESV)
In men's study, we are currently in chapter 25 of "Introducing Christian Doctrine" by Millard J. Erickson, discussing The Humanity of Christ.
Chapter 25: The Humanity of Christ
"God is high above us, so much so that He cannot be known by unaided human reason." (p. 224)
"And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth." And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech." So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth." (Genesis 11:3-9, ESV)
The reason I have entered this passage into my notes is to show the sovereign power of God. I once heard someone articulate the fact that as they conspired to build a tower to heaven in order to exalt themselves, God still "went down"... they were not even close to God's glorious dwelling place. My elder, when answering the question "Where is heaven?" in a current Q&A session at church, gave the example of the Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (the first man in space) and Nikita Khrushchev's comment: "Gagarin flew into space, but didn't see any God there"... the reason he didn't is much like Genesis 11 account; he didn't go high enough... he couldn't.
"We are unable by our own moral effort to counter sin, to elevate ourselves to the level of God." (p. 224)
"the validity of the work accomplished in Christ's death, or at least its applicability to us as human beings, depends upon the reality of His humanity, just as the efficacy of it depends upon the genuineness of His deity." (p. 224)
Jesus' Intercession...
"If He was truly one of us, experiencing all of the temptations and trials of human existence, then He is able to understand and empathize with us in our struggles as humans." (p. 224)
"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16, KJV)
The Biblical Evidence
Physical Human Nature
1. Human body... He was born; conceived in the womb of a woman.
2. Genealogy... He has ancestors... and most likely genetic traits and characteristics.
3. His life... He grew; nourished by food and water (see Matthew 4:2; John 19:28; John 4:6)
4. He suffered physically and died (see John 19:34)
5. His (and others') use of the word 'man' (see John 8:40; Romans 5:1,15; 1 Corinthians 15:21, 47-49)
This is what the Prophet Daniel wrote (500-600 years before His birth) concerning Jesus...
"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him." (Daniel 7:13)
6. He "became" human (see John 1:14; 1 John 4:2-3a)
7. Others' perception of His "physicality" (see 1 John 1:1)
Early Heresies Regarding the Humanity of Jesus
Docetism (dokeō [Greek]: "to seem or appear")
"Jesus only seemed to be human." (p. 227)
All matter is evil, God is holy.
"Jesus was more like a ghost, an apparition, than a human being." (p. 227)
[see also Gnosticism and Marcionism]
Apollinarianism (Condemned at the Council of Constantinople [AD 381]
Apollinarius was the Bishop of Syria [4th century]
(Jesus) "must have had a human nous (soul, mind, reason) as well as a divine nous." (p. 227)
John 1:14 ("the Word became flesh")...
"flesh was the only aspect of human nature involved" (p. 227)
Jesus was a composite...
"What He (the Word) took was not the whole of humanity but only flesh, that is the body." (p. 227)
"Jesus was human physically, but not psychologically, He had a human body, but not a human soul. His soul was divine." (p. 228)
I will again focus on the Westminster Confession for more information on Christ's humanity...
"The Lord Jesus, in His human nature thus united to the divine, was sanctified, and anointed with the Holy Spirit, above measure, having in Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; in whom it pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell; to the end that, being holy, harmless, undefiled, and full of grace and truth, He might be thoroughly furnished to execute the office of a Mediator and Surety.Which office He took not unto Himself, but was thereunto called by His Father, who put all power and judgment into His hand, and gave Him commandment to execute the same.
This office the Lord Jesus did most willingly undertake; which that He might discharge, He was made under the law, and did perfectly fulfil it; endured most grievous torments immediately in His soul, and most painful sufferings in His body; was crucified, and died, was buried, and remained under the power of death, yet saw no corruption. On the third day He arose from the dead, with the same body in which He suffered, with which also he ascended into heaven, and there sits at the right hand of His Father, making intercession, and shall return, to judge men and angels, at the end of the world.
The Lord Jesus, by His perfect obedience, and sacrifice of Himself, which He through the eternal Spirit, once offered up unto God, has fully satisfied the justice of His Father; and purchased, not only reconciliation, but an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven, for those whom the Father has given unto Him." (The Westminster Confession of Faith; Chapter 8, Sections 3-5)
A continuation of my discipleship curricula; Psalm 119 verses 121-128:
121 I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors.
"Having done justice for others that were oppressed, he begs that God would do him justice and avenge him of his adversaries." (Matthew Henry)
[The assumption here is that the author of this Psalm is King David. Though the author is not known with absolute certainty, David is widely considered to be the human author of this Psalm]
Vocationally...
"David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people." (2 Samuel 8:15, ESV)
Personally...
"See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it." (1 Samuel 24:11, ESV)
"As he everywhere promises his aid to the afflicted who are unrighteously oppressed, it is no superfluous protestation which the Prophet makes, that he had not provoked his enemies, but had restrained himself from all injury and wrong-doing, and had not even attempted to requite evil for evil. In asserting that he had at all times done judgment, he means that whatever rite wicked practiced, he steadfastly preserved in following after integrity and never turned aside from what was just and right in any of his public or private transactions." (John Calvin)
"Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all." (Romans 12:17, ESV)
"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as King and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land." (Jeremiah 23:5, ESV)
122 Give your servant a pledge of good (surety); let not the insolent oppress me.
"Christ is our surety with God; and, if he be so, Providence shall be our surety against all the world." (Matthew Henry)
"In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised." (Psalm 10:2, ESV)
"The prayer is to this effect, that God would not suffer the wicked to exercise, their cruelty against us at their pleasure, but that He would interpose as a Defender to save us." (John Calvin)
123 My eyes long (fail) for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.
"Though our eyes fail, yet God's Word does not, and therefore those that build upon it, though now discouraged, shall in due time see His salvation." (Matthew Henry)
Failing for salvation...
"allthough there was no prospect of an end to his calamities, and although despair presented itself on every side, yet he strove against temptation even to the fainting of the soul... his eyes fail him not because they become fatigued, but because through earnest looking they contract as it were a dimness, and that yet he does not cease to wait continually for the salvation of God." (John Calvin)
Salvation in this sense is not the faith in Christ by grace, but rather the continual, temporal provision and providence of God for His people. However, the righteous promise would be the fulfillment of God's promise of a Messiah... the longing or failing can be considered a "painful earnestness".
"rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Romans 5:3-5, ESV)
"...the righteousness which Christ, who is God as well as Man, has wrought out; and which His Father has approved of, accepted, and imputes to His people, and justifies them with..." (John Gill)
"My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word." (Psalm 119:81, ESV)
124 Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, and teach me your statutes.
Divine mercy...
"The Prophet... magnifies the greatness and excellence of the benefit of being instructed in the divine law, when he requests that it may be bestowed upon him as a free gift" (John Calvin)
"...it is great mercy on God's part that He condescends to instruct us in His commands." (Charles Spurgeon)
"In difficult times we should desire more to be told what we must do that what we may expect, and should pray more to be led into the knowledge of scripture-precepts than of scripture-prophecies." (Matthew Henry)
125 I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies!
"It is God's prerogative to give an understanding, that understanding without which we cannot know God's testimonies." (Matthew Henry)
"If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority." (John 7:17, ESV)
"The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant." (Psalm 25:14, ESV)
"We are to confess ourselves fools, and then our Lord will make us wise, as well as give us knowledge. The best understanding is that which enables us to render perfect obedience and to exhibit intelligent faith..." (Charles Spurgeon)
"the Scriptures, which testify of the will of God... are only rightly understood by those who have their understandings opened and enlightened; or have an understanding given them, that they may understand them, so as to receive and embrace the doctrine, and do the precepts of them: and such an understanding is the gift of God, and owing to his powerful and efficacious grace." (John Gill)
"Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45, ESV)
126 It is time for the LORD to act, for your law has been broken.
"It is possible a godly man may sin against the commandment, but a wicked man would sin away the commandment, would repeal God's laws and enact his own lusts. This is the sinfulness of sin and the malignity of the carnal mind... We must do what we can for the support of the sinking interests of religion, and, after all, we must beg of God to take the work into his own hands." (Matthew Henry)
"It is the peculiar work of God to restrain the wicked, and even to punish them severely when he finds that their repentance is utterly hopeless... It is a pure and honest zeal which moves him to desire the destruction of the wicked despisers of God; for he adduces no other reason for the prayer, than that the wicked destroyed God's law." (John Calvin)
"Men make void the law of God by denying it to be his law, by promulgating commands and doctrines in opposition to it, by setting up tradition in its place, or by utterly disregarding and scorning the authority of the lawgiver... when the church of God is trampled down, and her message is derided, we may expect to see the hand of the Lord stretched out for the revival of religion, the defense of the truth, and the glorifying of the divine name. The Lord can work either by judgments which hurl down the ramparts of the foe; or by revivals which build up the walls of his own Jerusalem. How heartily may we pray the Lord to raise up new evangelists, to quicken those we all early have, to set his whole church on fire, and to bring the world to his feet. God's work is ever honourable and glorious; as for our work, it is as nothing apart from him." (Charles Spurgeon)
Made void His law...
"atheists and deists (deny the authority of them); Pharisees (preferred their oral law to the written word); Papists (by their unwritten rituals and doctrines); false teachers (wrest the Scriptures, and put false glosses on them, and handle the word of God deceitfully); all profane sinners (bid defiance to the law, abrogate it, and set up a law of their own, and frame mischief by it)... It is proper, in declining times, for good men to bestir themselves and be in action, to attempt the revival of religion, to do all that in them lies to support the cause of God, and to vindicate his honour and glory." (John Gill)
127 Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold.
"David saw that the word of God answers all purposes better than money does, for it enriches the soul towards God; and therefore he loved it better than gold, for it had done that for him which gold could not do, and would stand him in stead when the wealth of the world would fail him." (Matthew Henry)
"the reason why he esteemed God's law as more valuable than gold and precious stones, was because he had fixed in his mind a thorough persuasion of the truth, that although God may connive for a time at wickedness, the making havoc of all uprightness and equity will not always remain unpunished... when the wicked claim to themselves an unbridled liberty, it behoves us to contemplate with the eyes of faith the judgments of God, in order to our being thereby quickened to the observance of the divine law." (John Calvin)
"in the judgment of the wise, God's laws are more enriching, and bring with them more comfort than all the choicest treasures." (Charles Spurgeon)
"His love was the more inflamed and increased towards it by the contempt it was had in by others." (John Gill)
128 Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right; I hate every false way.
"He loved all God's commandments because he esteemed them to be right, all reasonable and just, and suited to the end for which they were made. They are all as they should be, and no fault can be found with them; and we must love them because they bear God's image and are the revelations of his will." (Matthew Henry)
"We perceive then how the Prophet, inspired with a holy jealousy for the law, contended against the wicked rebellion of those who despised it. And assuredly, when we see that the ungodly mock God with such effrontery, at one time rising up audaciously against him, trod at another perverting every part of the law, it becomes us to be the more inflamed with zeal, and to be the more courageous in maintaining the truth of God. The extreme impiety of our age especially demands of all the faithful that they should exercise themselves in this holy zeal. Profane men strive to outdo one another in scornfully aspersing the doctrine of salvation, and endeavor to bring God's sacred Word into contempt by their derisive jeers. Others pour forth their blasphemies without intermission. We cannot, therefore, avoid being chargeable with the crime of treacherous indifference, if our hearts are not warmed with zeal, and unless we burn with a holy jealousy. The Prophet not merely says, that he approved of God's law wholly and without exception, but he adds, that he hated every way of lying, or every false way. And, undoubtedly, no one subscribes in good earnest to the law of God, but he who rejects all the slanders by which the wicked taint or obscure the purity of sound doctrine." (John Calvin)
"The censure of the wicked is a certificate of merit; that which they sanction we may justly suspect, but that which they abominate we may ardently, admire. The good man's delight in God's law is unreserved, he believes in all God's precepts concerning all things... His detestation was as unreserved as his affection; he had not a good word for any practice which would not bear the light of truth. The fact that such large multitudes follow the broad road had no influence upon this holy mail, except to make him more determined to avoid every form of error and sin. May the Holy Spirit so rule in our hearts that our affections may be in the same decided condition towards the precepts of the word." (Charles Spurgeon)
That is all for now. Be on the look out for more frequent, shorter blog entries in the future. Please take the time to visit some of the blogs in "My Blog List" and check out the links in the "Internet Resources" area. Also, I will be concluding all of my entries with a few links for you to visit...
Office Hours (A Westminster Seminary California podcast; hosted by R. Scott Clark)
The Spurgeon Fellowship (Media Resources; primarily for pastors)
Calvin's Commentaries (Online commentaries of one of the most gifted expositors ever)
Grace and peace be with you. Soli Deo Gloria!
"He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-13, ESV)
More from "Complete In Him" by Michael Barrett...
Chapter 4: Regeneration (New Life in the Gospel)
"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7, KJV)
"Adam has no physical life until he received the special breath of God." (p. 75)
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature..." (2 Corinthians 5:17a, KJV)
"Just as Adam required God's breath for physical life, every sinner requires a gracious and special intervention of God to bring him to spiritual life." (p. 76)
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us [made us alive] together with Christ" (Ephesians 2:4-5, KJV)
The Definition of New Life
"Regeneration refers to the implantation of the principle of spiritual life into the heart of the sinner that results in an instantaneous, radical, and obvious change of nature affecting the whole governing disposition of life. (p. 76)
"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26, KJV)
"The prophet's description of the old heart as stony portrays and inward nature that is cold, unfeeling, and hard. A petrified heart is utterly dead, incapable of functioning." (p. 77)
"...old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17b, KJV)
The Westminster Larger Catechism
"Effectual calling is the work of God's almighty power and grace, whereby (out of his free and special love to his elect, and from nothing in them moving him thereunto) he does, in his accepted time, invite and draw them to Jesus Christ, by his Word and Spirit; savingly enlightening their minds, renewing and powerfully determining their wills, so as they (although in themselves dead in sin) are hereby made willing and able freely to answer his call, and to accept and embrace the grace offered and conveyed therein." (Question 67)
The Westminster Shorter Catechism
"Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel." (Question 31)
The Baptist Confession of Faith
"This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not on account of anything at all foreseen in man. It is not made because of any power or agency in the creature who is wholly passive in the matter. Man is dead in sins and trespasses until quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit. By this he is enabled to answer the call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed by it. This enabling power is no less power than that which raised up Christ from the dead. " (Chapter 10, section 2)
Mark 5:41-42; John 11:43-44 (Jesus makes the dead alive)
"When the Spirit of God implants the principle of life within the soul, the regenerate soul will evidence all the vital signs of a spiritual life." (p. 79)
"Man's spiritual death and inability are answered by God's gracious provision in the atoning death of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ." (p. 79)
The Exposition of New Life
"Being dead in our trespasses and sins means that more than anything else we need life, and God graciously according to His divine power 'hath given unto us all things tha pertain unto life and godliness.' (2 Peter 1:3, KJV)." (p. 79)
Imagery of regeneration...
Circumcision (Deuteronomy 30:6)
Resurrection (Ephesians 2:5-6)
Creation (Ephesians 2:10)
Spiritual baptism (1 Corinthians 12:13)
New covenant (Jeremiah 31:33)
John 3...
1. You MUST be born again (verse 7)
2. The Son of Man MUST be lifted up (verse 14)
"The possibility of the first depends on the performance of the second." (p. 80)
The Necessity of New Life
"As in the first birth a physical life issues from previous nonexistence, so in the second birth a formerly nonexistent spiritual life comes into being." (p. 80)
John 3:3, 7...
Please take into account the footnotes on the link:
"the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both again and from above"
"This sense of the word is perhaps more pertinent to man's need because it calls special attention to the divine source of spiritual life which guarantees the necessary qualifications for entrance into the kingdom of God." (p. 80)
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:6, KJV)
"A second birth from his mother's womb would produce the same sinful and corrupt flesh as the first birth." (p. 81)
The Agent of New Life
"born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:13, KJV)
The New Birth is a Spiritual Work
1. Christ's definition: Character
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5, KJV)
"The linking of 'water and spirit' is a literal device called hendiodys (Greek); 'one through two'... Being born 'of water and of spirit' refers, consequently, to spiritual water, which pertains ultimately to spiritual cleansing." (p. 83)
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:5)
"Christ is teaching that the new birth involves an inward cleansing from the filthiness and pollution that preclude entrance into heaven. Such a cleansing is spiritual work because man is absolutely incapable of cleansing himself (see Jeremiah 2:22)." (p. 83)
2. Christ's affirmation: Success
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:6, KJV)
The New Birth is a Sovereign Work
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8, KJV)
"the Greek terms for 'wind' and 'spirit' (click here) are exactly the same word." (p. 84)
The Provision for New Life
"The gospel, the good news, is that God has provided the means and the way whereby dead, spiritually oblivious sinners can receive the necessary life." (p. 85)
Based in the Love of God...
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16, KJV)
LOVE...
"It's stimulus is within God who loves and not in the world which is loved... God's love for the world makes no sense since the world consists of sinners who are highly repulsive and unworthy of love... The word 'so' designates not the degree to which God loves, but the way in which God demonstrated His love for the world... The two 'that' statements (different words in the Greek text) define the way in terms of consequence and purpose." (p. 85)
"Given that the supreme and eternal object of the Father's love is His only begotten Son (John 17:23-24), the sacrificial giving of the Son heightens the magnitude of God's love for the world." (p. 86)
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." (Ephesians 2:4-5, ESV)
In men's study, we are currently in chapter 25 of "Introducing Christian Doctrine" by Millard J. Erickson, discussing The Humanity of Christ.
Chapter 25: The Humanity of Christ
"God is high above us, so much so that He cannot be known by unaided human reason." (p. 224)
"And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth." And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech." So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth." (Genesis 11:3-9, ESV)
The reason I have entered this passage into my notes is to show the sovereign power of God. I once heard someone articulate the fact that as they conspired to build a tower to heaven in order to exalt themselves, God still "went down"... they were not even close to God's glorious dwelling place. My elder, when answering the question "Where is heaven?" in a current Q&A session at church, gave the example of the Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (the first man in space) and Nikita Khrushchev's comment: "Gagarin flew into space, but didn't see any God there"... the reason he didn't is much like Genesis 11 account; he didn't go high enough... he couldn't.
"We are unable by our own moral effort to counter sin, to elevate ourselves to the level of God." (p. 224)
"the validity of the work accomplished in Christ's death, or at least its applicability to us as human beings, depends upon the reality of His humanity, just as the efficacy of it depends upon the genuineness of His deity." (p. 224)
Jesus' Intercession...
"If He was truly one of us, experiencing all of the temptations and trials of human existence, then He is able to understand and empathize with us in our struggles as humans." (p. 224)
"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16, KJV)
The Biblical Evidence
Physical Human Nature
1. Human body... He was born; conceived in the womb of a woman.
2. Genealogy... He has ancestors... and most likely genetic traits and characteristics.
3. His life... He grew; nourished by food and water (see Matthew 4:2; John 19:28; John 4:6)
4. He suffered physically and died (see John 19:34)
5. His (and others') use of the word 'man' (see John 8:40; Romans 5:1,15; 1 Corinthians 15:21, 47-49)
This is what the Prophet Daniel wrote (500-600 years before His birth) concerning Jesus...
"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him." (Daniel 7:13)
6. He "became" human (see John 1:14; 1 John 4:2-3a)
7. Others' perception of His "physicality" (see 1 John 1:1)
Early Heresies Regarding the Humanity of Jesus
Docetism (dokeō [Greek]: "to seem or appear")
"Jesus only seemed to be human." (p. 227)
All matter is evil, God is holy.
"Jesus was more like a ghost, an apparition, than a human being." (p. 227)
[see also Gnosticism and Marcionism]
Apollinarianism (Condemned at the Council of Constantinople [AD 381]
Apollinarius was the Bishop of Syria [4th century]
(Jesus) "must have had a human nous (soul, mind, reason) as well as a divine nous." (p. 227)
John 1:14 ("the Word became flesh")...
"flesh was the only aspect of human nature involved" (p. 227)
Jesus was a composite...
"What He (the Word) took was not the whole of humanity but only flesh, that is the body." (p. 227)
"Jesus was human physically, but not psychologically, He had a human body, but not a human soul. His soul was divine." (p. 228)
I will again focus on the Westminster Confession for more information on Christ's humanity...
"The Lord Jesus, in His human nature thus united to the divine, was sanctified, and anointed with the Holy Spirit, above measure, having in Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; in whom it pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell; to the end that, being holy, harmless, undefiled, and full of grace and truth, He might be thoroughly furnished to execute the office of a Mediator and Surety.Which office He took not unto Himself, but was thereunto called by His Father, who put all power and judgment into His hand, and gave Him commandment to execute the same.
This office the Lord Jesus did most willingly undertake; which that He might discharge, He was made under the law, and did perfectly fulfil it; endured most grievous torments immediately in His soul, and most painful sufferings in His body; was crucified, and died, was buried, and remained under the power of death, yet saw no corruption. On the third day He arose from the dead, with the same body in which He suffered, with which also he ascended into heaven, and there sits at the right hand of His Father, making intercession, and shall return, to judge men and angels, at the end of the world.
The Lord Jesus, by His perfect obedience, and sacrifice of Himself, which He through the eternal Spirit, once offered up unto God, has fully satisfied the justice of His Father; and purchased, not only reconciliation, but an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven, for those whom the Father has given unto Him." (The Westminster Confession of Faith; Chapter 8, Sections 3-5)
A continuation of my discipleship curricula; Psalm 119 verses 121-128:
121 I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors.
"Having done justice for others that were oppressed, he begs that God would do him justice and avenge him of his adversaries." (Matthew Henry)
[The assumption here is that the author of this Psalm is King David. Though the author is not known with absolute certainty, David is widely considered to be the human author of this Psalm]
Vocationally...
"David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people." (2 Samuel 8:15, ESV)
Personally...
"See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it." (1 Samuel 24:11, ESV)
"As he everywhere promises his aid to the afflicted who are unrighteously oppressed, it is no superfluous protestation which the Prophet makes, that he had not provoked his enemies, but had restrained himself from all injury and wrong-doing, and had not even attempted to requite evil for evil. In asserting that he had at all times done judgment, he means that whatever rite wicked practiced, he steadfastly preserved in following after integrity and never turned aside from what was just and right in any of his public or private transactions." (John Calvin)
"Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all." (Romans 12:17, ESV)
"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as King and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land." (Jeremiah 23:5, ESV)
122 Give your servant a pledge of good (surety); let not the insolent oppress me.
"Christ is our surety with God; and, if he be so, Providence shall be our surety against all the world." (Matthew Henry)
"In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised." (Psalm 10:2, ESV)
"The prayer is to this effect, that God would not suffer the wicked to exercise, their cruelty against us at their pleasure, but that He would interpose as a Defender to save us." (John Calvin)
123 My eyes long (fail) for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.
"Though our eyes fail, yet God's Word does not, and therefore those that build upon it, though now discouraged, shall in due time see His salvation." (Matthew Henry)
Failing for salvation...
"allthough there was no prospect of an end to his calamities, and although despair presented itself on every side, yet he strove against temptation even to the fainting of the soul... his eyes fail him not because they become fatigued, but because through earnest looking they contract as it were a dimness, and that yet he does not cease to wait continually for the salvation of God." (John Calvin)
Salvation in this sense is not the faith in Christ by grace, but rather the continual, temporal provision and providence of God for His people. However, the righteous promise would be the fulfillment of God's promise of a Messiah... the longing or failing can be considered a "painful earnestness".
"rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Romans 5:3-5, ESV)
"...the righteousness which Christ, who is God as well as Man, has wrought out; and which His Father has approved of, accepted, and imputes to His people, and justifies them with..." (John Gill)
"My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word." (Psalm 119:81, ESV)
124 Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, and teach me your statutes.
Divine mercy...
"The Prophet... magnifies the greatness and excellence of the benefit of being instructed in the divine law, when he requests that it may be bestowed upon him as a free gift" (John Calvin)
"...it is great mercy on God's part that He condescends to instruct us in His commands." (Charles Spurgeon)
"In difficult times we should desire more to be told what we must do that what we may expect, and should pray more to be led into the knowledge of scripture-precepts than of scripture-prophecies." (Matthew Henry)
125 I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies!
"It is God's prerogative to give an understanding, that understanding without which we cannot know God's testimonies." (Matthew Henry)
"If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority." (John 7:17, ESV)
"The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant." (Psalm 25:14, ESV)
"We are to confess ourselves fools, and then our Lord will make us wise, as well as give us knowledge. The best understanding is that which enables us to render perfect obedience and to exhibit intelligent faith..." (Charles Spurgeon)
"the Scriptures, which testify of the will of God... are only rightly understood by those who have their understandings opened and enlightened; or have an understanding given them, that they may understand them, so as to receive and embrace the doctrine, and do the precepts of them: and such an understanding is the gift of God, and owing to his powerful and efficacious grace." (John Gill)
"Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45, ESV)
126 It is time for the LORD to act, for your law has been broken.
"It is possible a godly man may sin against the commandment, but a wicked man would sin away the commandment, would repeal God's laws and enact his own lusts. This is the sinfulness of sin and the malignity of the carnal mind... We must do what we can for the support of the sinking interests of religion, and, after all, we must beg of God to take the work into his own hands." (Matthew Henry)
"It is the peculiar work of God to restrain the wicked, and even to punish them severely when he finds that their repentance is utterly hopeless... It is a pure and honest zeal which moves him to desire the destruction of the wicked despisers of God; for he adduces no other reason for the prayer, than that the wicked destroyed God's law." (John Calvin)
"Men make void the law of God by denying it to be his law, by promulgating commands and doctrines in opposition to it, by setting up tradition in its place, or by utterly disregarding and scorning the authority of the lawgiver... when the church of God is trampled down, and her message is derided, we may expect to see the hand of the Lord stretched out for the revival of religion, the defense of the truth, and the glorifying of the divine name. The Lord can work either by judgments which hurl down the ramparts of the foe; or by revivals which build up the walls of his own Jerusalem. How heartily may we pray the Lord to raise up new evangelists, to quicken those we all early have, to set his whole church on fire, and to bring the world to his feet. God's work is ever honourable and glorious; as for our work, it is as nothing apart from him." (Charles Spurgeon)
Made void His law...
"atheists and deists (deny the authority of them); Pharisees (preferred their oral law to the written word); Papists (by their unwritten rituals and doctrines); false teachers (wrest the Scriptures, and put false glosses on them, and handle the word of God deceitfully); all profane sinners (bid defiance to the law, abrogate it, and set up a law of their own, and frame mischief by it)... It is proper, in declining times, for good men to bestir themselves and be in action, to attempt the revival of religion, to do all that in them lies to support the cause of God, and to vindicate his honour and glory." (John Gill)
127 Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold.
"David saw that the word of God answers all purposes better than money does, for it enriches the soul towards God; and therefore he loved it better than gold, for it had done that for him which gold could not do, and would stand him in stead when the wealth of the world would fail him." (Matthew Henry)
"the reason why he esteemed God's law as more valuable than gold and precious stones, was because he had fixed in his mind a thorough persuasion of the truth, that although God may connive for a time at wickedness, the making havoc of all uprightness and equity will not always remain unpunished... when the wicked claim to themselves an unbridled liberty, it behoves us to contemplate with the eyes of faith the judgments of God, in order to our being thereby quickened to the observance of the divine law." (John Calvin)
"in the judgment of the wise, God's laws are more enriching, and bring with them more comfort than all the choicest treasures." (Charles Spurgeon)
"His love was the more inflamed and increased towards it by the contempt it was had in by others." (John Gill)
128 Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right; I hate every false way.
"He loved all God's commandments because he esteemed them to be right, all reasonable and just, and suited to the end for which they were made. They are all as they should be, and no fault can be found with them; and we must love them because they bear God's image and are the revelations of his will." (Matthew Henry)
"We perceive then how the Prophet, inspired with a holy jealousy for the law, contended against the wicked rebellion of those who despised it. And assuredly, when we see that the ungodly mock God with such effrontery, at one time rising up audaciously against him, trod at another perverting every part of the law, it becomes us to be the more inflamed with zeal, and to be the more courageous in maintaining the truth of God. The extreme impiety of our age especially demands of all the faithful that they should exercise themselves in this holy zeal. Profane men strive to outdo one another in scornfully aspersing the doctrine of salvation, and endeavor to bring God's sacred Word into contempt by their derisive jeers. Others pour forth their blasphemies without intermission. We cannot, therefore, avoid being chargeable with the crime of treacherous indifference, if our hearts are not warmed with zeal, and unless we burn with a holy jealousy. The Prophet not merely says, that he approved of God's law wholly and without exception, but he adds, that he hated every way of lying, or every false way. And, undoubtedly, no one subscribes in good earnest to the law of God, but he who rejects all the slanders by which the wicked taint or obscure the purity of sound doctrine." (John Calvin)
"The censure of the wicked is a certificate of merit; that which they sanction we may justly suspect, but that which they abominate we may ardently, admire. The good man's delight in God's law is unreserved, he believes in all God's precepts concerning all things... His detestation was as unreserved as his affection; he had not a good word for any practice which would not bear the light of truth. The fact that such large multitudes follow the broad road had no influence upon this holy mail, except to make him more determined to avoid every form of error and sin. May the Holy Spirit so rule in our hearts that our affections may be in the same decided condition towards the precepts of the word." (Charles Spurgeon)
That is all for now. Be on the look out for more frequent, shorter blog entries in the future. Please take the time to visit some of the blogs in "My Blog List" and check out the links in the "Internet Resources" area. Also, I will be concluding all of my entries with a few links for you to visit...
Office Hours (A Westminster Seminary California podcast; hosted by R. Scott Clark)
The Spurgeon Fellowship (Media Resources; primarily for pastors)
Calvin's Commentaries (Online commentaries of one of the most gifted expositors ever)
Grace and peace be with you. Soli Deo Gloria!
30 August 2009
Week in Review
I have decided to give the blog another go... I am hit with so much information on a daily basis; I feel it is only necessary to reflect it with hope of edification.
I am currently reading "Complete in Him: A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying the Gospel" by Michael P.V. Barrett. I have been describing it as an "entree" book... there is no salad or appetizer; only meat. The preface and introduction are both rich in reformed theology and orthodoxy, which blends with Scripture passages throughout the entire book, but this is no scholarly text. While it is rich in doctrine, it is designed to enrich the spiritual lives of the readers by educating them. The theological implications of biblical doctrine are to be chewed, digested and properly applied. Here is an excerpt from my notes:
CHAPTER 3: Conversion (The Response to the Gospel)
"How the needy sinner responds to the gospel of Jesus Christ is a matter of life and death." (p.51)
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6, KJV)
Old Testament evangelistic message
"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:7, KJV)
"Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" (Ezekiel 33:11, KJV)
New Testament...
"...The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:15, KJV)
"...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..." (Acts 16:31, KJV)
CONVERSION
"the Bible teaches that regeneration precedes and gives impetus to saving faith and repentance." (p. 51)
"...the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14, KJV)
"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses" (Colossians 2:13, KJV)
"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." (1 Corinthians 2:12, KJV)
Faith
The Baptist Confession of Faith
"The grace of faith by which the elect are enabled to believe, so that their souls are saved, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts, and is ordinarily brought into being by the ministry of the Word..." (Chapter 14, Section 1)
The Westminster Larger Catechism
"Justifying faith is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and Word of God..." (Question 72)
Express statements from Scripture:
"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." (Acts 5:30-31, KJV)
"When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." (Acts 11:18, KJV)
"And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace" (Acts 18:27, KJV)
Saints are those "who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places," (Ephesians 1:19-20, KJV)
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8, KJV)
"For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake" (Philippians 1:29, KJV)
I am currently reading Chapter 4: Regeneration (New Life in the Gospel)... which I will most likely add some of the notes in the near future.
The North Pointe Baptist men's study is currently reading "Introducing Christian Doctrine" by Millard J. Erickson and it is a weekly encouragement to wake up at the crack of dawn on Fridays and discuss systematic theology. We are currently discussing the doctrine of the humanity of Christ; we just finished the doctrine of the deity of Christ. Here are my notes:
CHAPTER 24: The Deity of Christ
"our understanding of the person and work of Christ grows directly out of the doctrines of humanity and of sin." (p.216)
The Biblical Teaching
Jesus' Self-Consciousness
"His angels" (Matthew 13:41)
The angels of God... the kingdom of God = "His Kingdom"
Ability to forgive sins (Mark 2:5)
"the exercising of a divine prerogative... the power to actually forgive sins." (Robert Stein)
Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28)
Relation to the Father (John 10:30)
"If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him." (John 14:7, KJV)
Preexistence (John 8:58)
"a mode of being which has a definite beginning..." contrasted with "one that is eternal" (Leon Morris)
Trial and Condemnation (John 19:7)
"...the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?" (Matthew 26:63-68, KJV)
Acceptance of deific attribution (John 20:28)
Juxtaposition with the Old Testament (Matthew 5:21-28)
"Jesus is claiming to have the power in Himself to lay down teaching as authoritative as that given by the old testament prophets." (p. 218)
Power over life and death (John 5:21
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25, KJV)
Jesus' applied expressions (John 5:2-18)
The Gospel of John
"The prologue particularly expresses this idea John says, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.' He has both identified the Word as divine and distinguished the Word from God. It is not a simple monotheism of modalistic monarchianism that he is describing here. The remainder of the Gospel supports and amplifies the thrust of the prologue." (p. 218)
"But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, 'Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?' Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, 'He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.' These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him." (John 12:37-41, KJV) [see also Isaiah 6:8]
The Epistle to the Hebrews
"...the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:3, KJV) [see also Romans 11:36]
"the Son is superior to angels (1:4-2:9); Moses (3:1-6); and the high priests (4:14-5:10)." (p.218)
The Pauline Epistles
Colossians 1:15-20
2 Timothy 4:1 [see also 2 Corinthians 5:10]
Philippians 2:5-11 ("form" = "morphé" (the set of characteristics which constitutes a thing what it is)
Historical Departures from Belief in the Full Deity of Christ
Ebionism: A sect of heretical Jewish Christians who denied the real deity of Christ.
According to Ebionists, "Jesus was... an ordinary man possessed of unusual but not superhuman or supernatural gifts of righteousness and wisdom." (p. 220)
They denied the virgin birth (Joseph was Jesus' biological father).
Arianism (condemned at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD)
[JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ARE ARIANISTS]
"A central conception in the Arian understanding of Jesus is the absolute uniqueness and transcendence of God [NOTE... GOD THE FATHER]. God (the Father) is the one source of all things, the only uncreated existent in the whole universe. He alone possesses the attributes of deity. Everything other than God has come into being through an act of creation by which He called it into existence out of nothing." (p. 221).
This is the end of the systematic theology notes, but I want to include the Westminster Confession's articulation of the deity of Christ:
"The Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, being very and eternal God, of one substance and equal with the Father, did, when the fullness of time was come, take upon Him man's nature, with all the essential properties, and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin; being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the virgin Mary, of her substance. So that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion. Which person is very God, and very man, yet one Christ, the only Mediator between God and man." (The Westminster Confession of Faith; Chapter 8, Section 2)
I am also currently going through discipleship with one of my elders... we are studying Psalm 119. This last week we were discussing verses 113-120. Along with my notes, I have included some reformed commentary...
113 I hate the double-minded (vain thoughts), But I love Your law.
"Those who are of opinion that the word seaphim, the first in the verse, and which is rendered crooked thoughts, is an appellate noun, translate it, those who think evil; but it is more correct to understand it of the thoughts themselves, and this interpretation is very generally adopted. The noun, saeph, properly signifies a branch, but it is applied metaphorically to the thoughts, which, growing out of the heart, as branches from the trunk of a tree, spread themselves in every direction. As there is no doubt that in this passage the term is taken in a bad sense, I have added the epithet, crooked, which the etymology of the word requires. As the branches of a tree shoot out transversely, entangled and intertwined, so the thoughts of the human mind are, in like manner, confusedly mingled together, turning and twisting about in all directions." (John Calvin)
"O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved.How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you?" (Jeremiah 4:14, ESV)
"the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.." (James 1:6-8, ESV)
Whoa... hold on. Doesn't Jesus say to "love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27,35)? How can the Psalmist say he "hates the double-minded"? There is a difference between our enemies and God's enemies. Let's look at a few commentaries on these passages in the gospel accounts...
"...he who shall bring his mind to love those who hate him, will naturally refrain from all revenge, will patiently endure evils, will be much more prone to assist the wretched. Christ presents to us, in a summary view, the way and manner of fulfilling this precept, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. For no man will ever come to obey this precept, till he shall have given up self-love, or rather denied himself, and till men, all of whom God has declared to be connected with him, shall be held by him in such estimation, that he shall even proceed to love those by whom he is regarded with hatred... We learn from these words, how far believers ought to be removed from every kind of revenge: for they are not only forbidden to ask it from God, but are commanded to banish and efface it from their minds so completely, as to bless their enemies. In the meantime, they do not fail to commit their cause to God, till he take vengeance on the reprobate: for they desire, as far as lies in them, that the wicked should return to a sound mind, that they may not perish; and thus they endeavor to promote their salvation. And there is still this consolation, by which all their distresses are soothed. They entertain no doubt, that God will be the avenger of obstinate wickedness, so as to make it manifest, that those who are unjustly attacked are the objects of his care. It is very difficult, indeed, and altogether contrary to the disposition of the flesh, to render good for evil. But our vices and weakness ought not to be pleaded as an apology. We ought simply to inquire, what is demanded by the law of charity: for, if we rely on the heavenly power of the Spirit, we shall encounter successfully all that is opposed to it in our feelings." (John Calvin; Matthew 5:44)
"God said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour; and by neighbour they understood those only of their own country, nation, and religion; and those only that they were pleased to look upon as their friends: yet this was not the worst; from this command, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, they were willing to infer what God never designed; Thou shalt hate thine enemy; and they looked upon whom they pleased as their enemies, thus making void the great command of God by their traditions, though there were express laws to the contrary (see Exodus 23:4, 5; Deuteronomy 23:7)." Matthew Henry; Matthew 5:44)
Christ was simply correcting the false teaching of the Pharisees in these passages. The "neighbor" in "Love your neighbor as yourself" included enemies as a subgroup, much like friends would be included. Those of a different nationality (even if your country is at war with them), those of a different race (even though there might be racial tension or a historical tragedy)... those different than you; "the other" are still considered neighbors and we are to love them (not explicitly emotional love... but biblical, dutiful love). They are still made in the image of God and we must share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. It is my observation that we should love those "temporal" enemies in a true sense: biblically; we are commanded to do so and it is our duty to speak the truth in love and share the gospel with them so they may be won to Christ (we should also love them practically with good works and tangible service). However, we should hate those "spiritual" enemies with a holy hatred... the unregenerate are our friends and enemies. Ephesians 2 says that they are "dead in trespasses and sins... following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air... carrying out the desires of the body... by nature children of wrath." They are slaves to sin, doing the work of their master... Satan. We hate them in the sense that they blaspheme God; they are idolaters... they serve the prince of the power of the air, but (we must remember, lest we be proud) we too were once like them. We love them in the sense that they are dead and unable to revive themselves... as we were. They are blind to the truth and only God can resurrect them by the Spirit. We love them by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them... the evangelical call that we pray leads to an effectual call. We must also take into consideration that there are the reprobate, but since we do not know who is elect/reprobate... we share the gospel with everyone, knowing it is of the power of God's spirit that elects people to faith in Christ Jesus.
"The LORD knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of the LORD, Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away." (Psalm 37:18-20, ESV)
114 You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.
"Preservation of life is entirely owing to the protection of God" (John Calvin)
"David, when Saul pursued him, often betook himself to close places for shelter; in war he guarded himself with his shield. Now God was both these to him, a hiding-place to preserve him from danger and a shield to preserve him in danger, his life from death and his soul from sin. Good people are safe under God's protection. He is their strength and their shield, their help and their shield, their sun and their shield, their shield and their great reward, and here their hiding-place and their shield. They may by faith retire to him, and repose in him as their hiding-place, where they are kept in secret. They may by faith oppose his power to all the might and malice of their enemies, as their shield to quench every fiery dart." (Matthew Henry)
"...you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:3, ESV)
"You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance." (Psalm 32:7, ESV)
"In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one." (Ephesians 6:16, ESV)
115 Depart from me, you evildoers, For I will keep the commandments of my God!
"Those that resolve to keep the commandments of God must have no society with evil-doers; for bad company is a great hindrance to a holy life. We must not choose wicked people for our companions, nor be intimate with them; we must not do as they do nor do as they would have us do." (Matthew Henry)
"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14, ESV)
"Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity." (Ephesians 4:17-19, ESV)
"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." (Ephesians 5:11, ESV
"Depart from me, all you workers of evil..." (Psalm 6:8, ESV)
Jesus echoes the words of the Psalmist in one of the most difficult passages in the New Testament...
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?' I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.' (Matthew 7:21-23, ESV)
Psalm 119:115 also brings to mind Joshua's final address to Israel...
"Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:14-15, ESV)
116 Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope
"...true stability is to be found no where else but in the word of God; and that no man can steadfastly lean upon it but he who is strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit. We must therefore always beseech God, who alone is the author and finisher of faith, to maintain in us this grace." (John Calvin)
"those that hope in God's word may be sure that the word will not fail them, and therefore their hope will not make them ashamed." (Matthew Henry)
"...the righteous shall live by his faith." (Habakkuk 2:4, ESV)"I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes..." (Romans 1:16, ESV)"I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me." (1 Timothy 1:12, ESV)
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15, ESV)
117 Hold me up, and I shall be safe, And I shall observe Your statutes continually.
"It is the true wisdom of faith to consider all his benefits as the result or fruit of his promises, of which, if we make no account, the enjoyment of all his good things will be of little advantage to us, or rather will often prove hurtful and deadly." (John Calvin)
"If God's right hand uphold us, we must, in his strength, go on in our duty both with diligence and pleasure." (Matthew Henry)
118 You reject all those who stray from Your statutes, For their deceit is falsehood.
"God overthrows all the despisers of his law, and casts them down from that loftiness which they assume to themselves... the wicked gain nothing by their wiles... they are rather entangled in them... The word remyah, signifies a subtle and crafty device. Interpreters, indeed, often translate it thought; but this term does not sufficiently express the propriety and force of the Hebrew word. The prophet means, that, however well pleased the wicked are with their own cunning, they yet do nothing else than deceive themselves with falsehood." (John Calvin)
"All departure from God's statutes is certainly an error, and will prove a fatal one. These are the wicked of the earth; they mind earthly things, lay up their treasures in the earth, live in pleasure on the earth, and are strangers and enemies to heaven and heavenly things. Now see how God deals with them, that you may neither fear them nor envy them... He resists the proud and will triumph over those that oppose His kingdom. Proud persecutors trample upon His people, but, sooner or later, He will trample upon them." (Matthew Henry)
"We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things." (Romans 2:2, ESV)"But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed." (Romans 2:5, ESV)
119 You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross; Therefore I love Your testimonies.
"the vengeance of God against the wicked is not all at once manifested, so that they completely perish, or are exterminated from the earth; but as God, in rooting them out one after another, shows himself to be the judge of the world, and that he is purging the earth of them." (John Calvin)
"So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous" (Matthew 13:59, ESV)
"Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel; take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness." (Proverbs 25:4-5, ESV)
120 My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.
"We require to be subdued by fear that we may desire and seek after the favor of God. Since fear, then, is the beginning of love, the prophet testifies, that he was awakened by a heart-felt fear of God to look well to himself. Nor is the mortification of the flesh so easy a matter, as that every one should consent to enter upon it, without the constraint of violent means; and, therefore, it is not wonderful if God struck his servant with terror, that, in this way, he might bend his mind to a holy fear of him." (John Calvin)
"Good men have need to be restrained from sin by the terrors of the Lord, especially when judgment begins at the house of God and hypocrites are discovered and put away as dross." (Matthew Henry)
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:7, ESV)
Well... that is it for now. Please take a look at these links:
Matthew Henry's Method of Prayer (an online resource edited & revised by Ligon Duncan)
I am currently reading "Complete in Him: A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying the Gospel" by Michael P.V. Barrett. I have been describing it as an "entree" book... there is no salad or appetizer; only meat. The preface and introduction are both rich in reformed theology and orthodoxy, which blends with Scripture passages throughout the entire book, but this is no scholarly text. While it is rich in doctrine, it is designed to enrich the spiritual lives of the readers by educating them. The theological implications of biblical doctrine are to be chewed, digested and properly applied. Here is an excerpt from my notes:
CHAPTER 3: Conversion (The Response to the Gospel)
"How the needy sinner responds to the gospel of Jesus Christ is a matter of life and death." (p.51)
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6, KJV)
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12, KJV)
"Sinners must meet the terms and conditions of the gospel if they are to enjoy personally the benefits of Christ." (p. 51)Old Testament evangelistic message
"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:7, KJV)
"Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" (Ezekiel 33:11, KJV)
New Testament...
"...The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:15, KJV)
"...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..." (Acts 16:31, KJV)
CONVERSION
"the Bible teaches that regeneration precedes and gives impetus to saving faith and repentance." (p. 51)
"...the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14, KJV)
"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses" (Colossians 2:13, KJV)
"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." (1 Corinthians 2:12, KJV)
Faith
The Baptist Confession of Faith
"The grace of faith by which the elect are enabled to believe, so that their souls are saved, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts, and is ordinarily brought into being by the ministry of the Word..." (Chapter 14, Section 1)
The Westminster Larger Catechism
"Justifying faith is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and Word of God..." (Question 72)
Express statements from Scripture:
"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." (Acts 5:30-31, KJV)
"When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." (Acts 11:18, KJV)
"And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace" (Acts 18:27, KJV)
Saints are those "who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places," (Ephesians 1:19-20, KJV)
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8, KJV)
"For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake" (Philippians 1:29, KJV)
I am currently reading Chapter 4: Regeneration (New Life in the Gospel)... which I will most likely add some of the notes in the near future.
The North Pointe Baptist men's study is currently reading "Introducing Christian Doctrine" by Millard J. Erickson and it is a weekly encouragement to wake up at the crack of dawn on Fridays and discuss systematic theology. We are currently discussing the doctrine of the humanity of Christ; we just finished the doctrine of the deity of Christ. Here are my notes:
CHAPTER 24: The Deity of Christ
"our understanding of the person and work of Christ grows directly out of the doctrines of humanity and of sin." (p.216)
The Biblical Teaching
Jesus' Self-Consciousness
"His angels" (Matthew 13:41)
The angels of God... the kingdom of God = "His Kingdom"
Ability to forgive sins (Mark 2:5)
"the exercising of a divine prerogative... the power to actually forgive sins." (Robert Stein)
Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28)
Relation to the Father (John 10:30)
"If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him." (John 14:7, KJV)
Preexistence (John 8:58)
"a mode of being which has a definite beginning..." contrasted with "one that is eternal" (Leon Morris)
Trial and Condemnation (John 19:7)
"...the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?" (Matthew 26:63-68, KJV)
Acceptance of deific attribution (John 20:28)
Juxtaposition with the Old Testament (Matthew 5:21-28)
"Jesus is claiming to have the power in Himself to lay down teaching as authoritative as that given by the old testament prophets." (p. 218)
Power over life and death (John 5:21
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25, KJV)
Jesus' applied expressions (John 5:2-18)
The Gospel of John
"The prologue particularly expresses this idea John says, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.' He has both identified the Word as divine and distinguished the Word from God. It is not a simple monotheism of modalistic monarchianism that he is describing here. The remainder of the Gospel supports and amplifies the thrust of the prologue." (p. 218)
"But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, 'Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?' Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, 'He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.' These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him." (John 12:37-41, KJV) [see also Isaiah 6:8]
The Epistle to the Hebrews
"...the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:3, KJV) [see also Romans 11:36]
"the Son is superior to angels (1:4-2:9); Moses (3:1-6); and the high priests (4:14-5:10)." (p.218)
The Pauline Epistles
Colossians 1:15-20
2 Timothy 4:1 [see also 2 Corinthians 5:10]
Philippians 2:5-11 ("form" = "morphé" (the set of characteristics which constitutes a thing what it is)
Historical Departures from Belief in the Full Deity of Christ
Ebionism: A sect of heretical Jewish Christians who denied the real deity of Christ.
According to Ebionists, "Jesus was... an ordinary man possessed of unusual but not superhuman or supernatural gifts of righteousness and wisdom." (p. 220)
They denied the virgin birth (Joseph was Jesus' biological father).
Arianism (condemned at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD)
[JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ARE ARIANISTS]
"A central conception in the Arian understanding of Jesus is the absolute uniqueness and transcendence of God [NOTE... GOD THE FATHER]. God (the Father) is the one source of all things, the only uncreated existent in the whole universe. He alone possesses the attributes of deity. Everything other than God has come into being through an act of creation by which He called it into existence out of nothing." (p. 221).
This is the end of the systematic theology notes, but I want to include the Westminster Confession's articulation of the deity of Christ:
"The Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, being very and eternal God, of one substance and equal with the Father, did, when the fullness of time was come, take upon Him man's nature, with all the essential properties, and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin; being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the virgin Mary, of her substance. So that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion. Which person is very God, and very man, yet one Christ, the only Mediator between God and man." (The Westminster Confession of Faith; Chapter 8, Section 2)
I am also currently going through discipleship with one of my elders... we are studying Psalm 119. This last week we were discussing verses 113-120. Along with my notes, I have included some reformed commentary...
113 I hate the double-minded (vain thoughts), But I love Your law.
"Those who are of opinion that the word seaphim, the first in the verse, and which is rendered crooked thoughts, is an appellate noun, translate it, those who think evil; but it is more correct to understand it of the thoughts themselves, and this interpretation is very generally adopted. The noun, saeph, properly signifies a branch, but it is applied metaphorically to the thoughts, which, growing out of the heart, as branches from the trunk of a tree, spread themselves in every direction. As there is no doubt that in this passage the term is taken in a bad sense, I have added the epithet, crooked, which the etymology of the word requires. As the branches of a tree shoot out transversely, entangled and intertwined, so the thoughts of the human mind are, in like manner, confusedly mingled together, turning and twisting about in all directions." (John Calvin)
"O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved.How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you?" (Jeremiah 4:14, ESV)
"the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.." (James 1:6-8, ESV)
Whoa... hold on. Doesn't Jesus say to "love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27,35)? How can the Psalmist say he "hates the double-minded"? There is a difference between our enemies and God's enemies. Let's look at a few commentaries on these passages in the gospel accounts...
"...he who shall bring his mind to love those who hate him, will naturally refrain from all revenge, will patiently endure evils, will be much more prone to assist the wretched. Christ presents to us, in a summary view, the way and manner of fulfilling this precept, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. For no man will ever come to obey this precept, till he shall have given up self-love, or rather denied himself, and till men, all of whom God has declared to be connected with him, shall be held by him in such estimation, that he shall even proceed to love those by whom he is regarded with hatred... We learn from these words, how far believers ought to be removed from every kind of revenge: for they are not only forbidden to ask it from God, but are commanded to banish and efface it from their minds so completely, as to bless their enemies. In the meantime, they do not fail to commit their cause to God, till he take vengeance on the reprobate: for they desire, as far as lies in them, that the wicked should return to a sound mind, that they may not perish; and thus they endeavor to promote their salvation. And there is still this consolation, by which all their distresses are soothed. They entertain no doubt, that God will be the avenger of obstinate wickedness, so as to make it manifest, that those who are unjustly attacked are the objects of his care. It is very difficult, indeed, and altogether contrary to the disposition of the flesh, to render good for evil. But our vices and weakness ought not to be pleaded as an apology. We ought simply to inquire, what is demanded by the law of charity: for, if we rely on the heavenly power of the Spirit, we shall encounter successfully all that is opposed to it in our feelings." (John Calvin; Matthew 5:44)
"God said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour; and by neighbour they understood those only of their own country, nation, and religion; and those only that they were pleased to look upon as their friends: yet this was not the worst; from this command, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, they were willing to infer what God never designed; Thou shalt hate thine enemy; and they looked upon whom they pleased as their enemies, thus making void the great command of God by their traditions, though there were express laws to the contrary (see Exodus 23:4, 5; Deuteronomy 23:7)." Matthew Henry; Matthew 5:44)
Christ was simply correcting the false teaching of the Pharisees in these passages. The "neighbor" in "Love your neighbor as yourself" included enemies as a subgroup, much like friends would be included. Those of a different nationality (even if your country is at war with them), those of a different race (even though there might be racial tension or a historical tragedy)... those different than you; "the other" are still considered neighbors and we are to love them (not explicitly emotional love... but biblical, dutiful love). They are still made in the image of God and we must share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. It is my observation that we should love those "temporal" enemies in a true sense: biblically; we are commanded to do so and it is our duty to speak the truth in love and share the gospel with them so they may be won to Christ (we should also love them practically with good works and tangible service). However, we should hate those "spiritual" enemies with a holy hatred... the unregenerate are our friends and enemies. Ephesians 2 says that they are "dead in trespasses and sins... following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air... carrying out the desires of the body... by nature children of wrath." They are slaves to sin, doing the work of their master... Satan. We hate them in the sense that they blaspheme God; they are idolaters... they serve the prince of the power of the air, but (we must remember, lest we be proud) we too were once like them. We love them in the sense that they are dead and unable to revive themselves... as we were. They are blind to the truth and only God can resurrect them by the Spirit. We love them by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them... the evangelical call that we pray leads to an effectual call. We must also take into consideration that there are the reprobate, but since we do not know who is elect/reprobate... we share the gospel with everyone, knowing it is of the power of God's spirit that elects people to faith in Christ Jesus.
"The LORD knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of the LORD, Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away." (Psalm 37:18-20, ESV)
114 You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.
"Preservation of life is entirely owing to the protection of God" (John Calvin)
"David, when Saul pursued him, often betook himself to close places for shelter; in war he guarded himself with his shield. Now God was both these to him, a hiding-place to preserve him from danger and a shield to preserve him in danger, his life from death and his soul from sin. Good people are safe under God's protection. He is their strength and their shield, their help and their shield, their sun and their shield, their shield and their great reward, and here their hiding-place and their shield. They may by faith retire to him, and repose in him as their hiding-place, where they are kept in secret. They may by faith oppose his power to all the might and malice of their enemies, as their shield to quench every fiery dart." (Matthew Henry)
"...you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:3, ESV)
"You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance." (Psalm 32:7, ESV)
"In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one." (Ephesians 6:16, ESV)
115 Depart from me, you evildoers, For I will keep the commandments of my God!
"Those that resolve to keep the commandments of God must have no society with evil-doers; for bad company is a great hindrance to a holy life. We must not choose wicked people for our companions, nor be intimate with them; we must not do as they do nor do as they would have us do." (Matthew Henry)
"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14, ESV)
"Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity." (Ephesians 4:17-19, ESV)
"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." (Ephesians 5:11, ESV
"Depart from me, all you workers of evil..." (Psalm 6:8, ESV)
Jesus echoes the words of the Psalmist in one of the most difficult passages in the New Testament...
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?' I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.' (Matthew 7:21-23, ESV)
Psalm 119:115 also brings to mind Joshua's final address to Israel...
"Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:14-15, ESV)
116 Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope
"...true stability is to be found no where else but in the word of God; and that no man can steadfastly lean upon it but he who is strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit. We must therefore always beseech God, who alone is the author and finisher of faith, to maintain in us this grace." (John Calvin)
"those that hope in God's word may be sure that the word will not fail them, and therefore their hope will not make them ashamed." (Matthew Henry)
"...the righteous shall live by his faith." (Habakkuk 2:4, ESV)"I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes..." (Romans 1:16, ESV)"I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me." (1 Timothy 1:12, ESV)
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15, ESV)
117 Hold me up, and I shall be safe, And I shall observe Your statutes continually.
"It is the true wisdom of faith to consider all his benefits as the result or fruit of his promises, of which, if we make no account, the enjoyment of all his good things will be of little advantage to us, or rather will often prove hurtful and deadly." (John Calvin)
"If God's right hand uphold us, we must, in his strength, go on in our duty both with diligence and pleasure." (Matthew Henry)
118 You reject all those who stray from Your statutes, For their deceit is falsehood.
"God overthrows all the despisers of his law, and casts them down from that loftiness which they assume to themselves... the wicked gain nothing by their wiles... they are rather entangled in them... The word remyah, signifies a subtle and crafty device. Interpreters, indeed, often translate it thought; but this term does not sufficiently express the propriety and force of the Hebrew word. The prophet means, that, however well pleased the wicked are with their own cunning, they yet do nothing else than deceive themselves with falsehood." (John Calvin)
"All departure from God's statutes is certainly an error, and will prove a fatal one. These are the wicked of the earth; they mind earthly things, lay up their treasures in the earth, live in pleasure on the earth, and are strangers and enemies to heaven and heavenly things. Now see how God deals with them, that you may neither fear them nor envy them... He resists the proud and will triumph over those that oppose His kingdom. Proud persecutors trample upon His people, but, sooner or later, He will trample upon them." (Matthew Henry)
"We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things." (Romans 2:2, ESV)"But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed." (Romans 2:5, ESV)
119 You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross; Therefore I love Your testimonies.
"the vengeance of God against the wicked is not all at once manifested, so that they completely perish, or are exterminated from the earth; but as God, in rooting them out one after another, shows himself to be the judge of the world, and that he is purging the earth of them." (John Calvin)
"So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous" (Matthew 13:59, ESV)
"Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel; take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness." (Proverbs 25:4-5, ESV)
120 My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.
"We require to be subdued by fear that we may desire and seek after the favor of God. Since fear, then, is the beginning of love, the prophet testifies, that he was awakened by a heart-felt fear of God to look well to himself. Nor is the mortification of the flesh so easy a matter, as that every one should consent to enter upon it, without the constraint of violent means; and, therefore, it is not wonderful if God struck his servant with terror, that, in this way, he might bend his mind to a holy fear of him." (John Calvin)
"Good men have need to be restrained from sin by the terrors of the Lord, especially when judgment begins at the house of God and hypocrites are discovered and put away as dross." (Matthew Henry)
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:7, ESV)
Well... that is it for now. Please take a look at these links:
Matthew Henry's Method of Prayer (an online resource edited & revised by Ligon Duncan)
Theological Foundations (Reformed Theological Seminary course on iTunes U... taught by Derek Thomas)
Reformed Perspectives Magazine (click here and sign up to receive free reformed theology articles in e-mail)
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