Owen's Method in Controversy

In volume 3 of John Owen's works, a discourse on the Holy Spirit, Owen provides his method of proceeding in controversy (and here he is speaking particularly of controversy concerning the Spirit's person and operations). He speaks of those who "unduly rage against persons who have imbibed [imaginations and errors], falling upon them with violence and fury . . . . The course . . . of opposing errors and false spirits by praying, preaching, and writing is despised by them. . ." (37).

But, Owen asserts, "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:4-5, KJV). So the course "particularly suited to obviate the evil mentioned is to give a full, plain, evident declaration from Scripture of the nature and operations of the Holy Spirit of God" (37).

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 17

Chapter 22 of 2 Samuel provides a Davidic song that David spoke to YHWH "on the day when YHWH delivered him from the hand of his enemies, and from the hand of Saul" (2 Sam. 22:1). The Psalter essentially reproduces this song as Ps. 18. And God's sovereign activity in the psalm ranges wide. To comment on that activity would be to comment on nearly every verse. I urge the reader to recall this song when reading through Samuel and read Samuel in the light of it. A most salutary exercise!

So one brief comment on the text. David, a military man through and through, says, God "trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze" (2 Sam. 22:35). By God David can run against a troop, and by God he can leap over a wall (2 Sam. 22:30). This man's military prowess was given him by God. Think about that. Meditate on what sort of sovereignty we're talking about for this to be true. How many variables are involved in David's being or not being the military man he was, and in David's achieving success or not in battle?

Journaling a Spiritual Discipline?

I don't journal. I don't have a diary. A while back I tried. Yet I decided that I'd rather study God's will, works, and ways instead of recording my feelings and experiences (especially if not connected with God's will, works, and ways). It is commonplace in our day to hear of the great importance of the "spiritual discipline" of doing a diary or journal. I frankly don't buy it. I'm not totally against it. But I'm suspicious of it's value. And here's one reason why (from Spurgeon): 

I do not believe in keeping a detailed diary of each day’s experience, for one is very apt, for want of something to put down, to write what is not true, or at least not real. I believe there is nothing more stilted or untruthful, as a general rule, than a religious diary; it easily degenerates into self-conceit.

HT: Tim Challies

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 16

In an earlier post (Part 13) I pointed out David's plea for the Lord to thwart Ahithophel's counsel (2 Sam. 15:31). In 2 Sam. 17:14 it gets answered. And the means God used included David's encouragement to Hushai to return to Absalom to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel (2 Sam. 15:34). Awesome! 'Tis mystery all! So Absalom and his men thought the counsel of Hushai was better than Ahithophel's. And we're also given the reason why God "ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel." It's crystal clear: "that YHWH might bring harm upon Absalom" (2 Sam. 17:14).

Now how did God ensure that would happen? How did he know that they would embrace that counsel and not Ahithophel's, especially when Absalom had previously thought that Ahithophel's counsel was as from God? Well, isn't the answer obvious? God heard David's plea. And the Lord of the spirits of all flesh worked his sovereign will once again. Can what he purposes be turned back? Whatever is under the whole heaven is God's (Job 41:11). So let no one darken "counsel by words without knowledge" (Job 38:2).

Proverbs and Wisdom in the ANE

It's often said that the book of proverbs contains proverbs from the ANE outside of Israel or proverbs similar to noncanonical proverbs from the ANE. Fine. There's undoubtedly truth in this. Yet we ought to recall 1 Kgs. 4:29-30. The wisdom given to Solomon was given by the infinitely wise God. And Solomon's wisdom, beginning with the fear of the LORD as it does (Prov. 1:7; 9:10), far outstrips the merely natural wisdom found in even the best of the noncanonical ANE wisdom literature. For the canonical wisdom found in Proverbs is Spirit; but the noncanonical wisdom found in the ANE is flesh. Is there any overlap? Sure. For God's Spirit even animates and illuminates pagans. Yet the distinction between the canonical and noncanonical wisdom literature must be firmly maintained. One is heavenly, the other earthly. One is supernatural, the other natural. One is spiritual, the other carnal.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 15

In line with the subject matter of the previous post on Calvinism Everywhere, Part 14, consider also 2 Sam. 16:22-23. In fulfillment of 2 Sam. 12:11, Absalom "went into his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel." This accorded with Ahithophel's counsel (2 Sam. 16:21). Moreover, this counsel, we read, was esteemed both by David and by Absalom "as if one consulted the word of God"! Verse 23 adds, "so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed."

Is this shocking to you? Were David and Absalom wrong in discerning this counsel of Ahithophel "as if one consulted the word of God"? But it accords with that word in 2 Sam. 12:11 exactly. God's word came to pass yet again. And the only proper response—worship! Fear and trembling! Behold your God! Behold him ruling his world and creatures with infinite power and skill. And adore that holy majesty, hand over mouth, arms laid down, knees bowing low.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 14

Continuing with the fallout of David's sin with Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 13ff, in the light of 2 Sam. 12:10-11, let's consider an intriguing passage: 2 Sam. 16:5-14. There we read of one Shimei who curses David continually. And Abishai didn't like this one bit (2 Sam. 16:9). "But the king [David] said, 'What have I to do with you . . . ? If he is cursing because the LORD has said to him, "Curse David," who then shall say, "Why have you done so?"'" (2 Sam. 16:10). Then David adds, "Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to" (2 Sam. 16:11). David appears to be interpreting this harassment in view of 2 Sam. 12:10-11. And he knows, in any case, that this could not happen unless the Lord had ordained it.

Now although we're not typically in David's position (at least I hope not!), do we ever respond this way, aware of our own sin and its social consequences? Do we acknowledge—ever—the Lord's sending a messenger of Satan to keep us humble? (2 Cor. 12:7).

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 13

Recall 2 Sam. 12:10-11. This prophetic word from Nathan to David comes within YHWH's rebuke for David's sin. We see this terrible word fulfilled in 2 Samuel 13ff; there we see the fallout of David's sin. To cite all the text would be to urge you to read it. And to read all the text in light of 2 Sam. 12:10-11 would be a lesson in God's glorious sovereignty governing all things according to his word.

As you read, consider how all the evils that arise in David's house have been brought to pass by the word of the Lord. We see rape, murder, deceit, inhumanity, intrigue, conspiracy, defection, treachery, all manner of evil. Even David's right hand man Ahithophel turns on him (2 Sam. 15:31). It is an awesome word given and effected by an awesome God. Look at it, and stand in awe. Does not beholding his glory herein cause you to tremble and bow low in adoration, to fear so great and awesome a God? It does me. I love the glory of this great God of Scripture. I want to see more of it and live in accord with it. But I will not worship that weak and pathetic god fashioned by man, a god who is at the whim of mortals.

Now zoom in on one frame of these unfolding scandals. David is on the run from Absalom in 2 Samuel 15. And in 2 Sam.15:25-26 he utters what might seem to some like a fatalistic word. But David knows that he lives and moves and has his being in the hands of YHWH (Acts 17:28; actually, even the pagans knew this!). He shall do this or that at God's good pleasure, if God wills, if God bestows favor, as God sees fit. Regarding Ahithophel's treachery and defection, David knows his only hope: a plea for the sovereign Lord to make Ahithophel's counsel foolishness (2 Sam. 15:31). Don't you want to live your life aware of the same sovereign divine reality? I do.

Motherhood as a Mission Field

This post on mothering at Desiring God is salutary stuff. Oh what a high and glorious calling! The highest! Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that preaching was the greatest, highest calling of all. In my view, he was close. Second only to the biblical calling of mothering biblically, preaching is the greatest, highest calling.

The Sum and Substance of our Christian Profession: Produced by the Spirit

"No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, which is the sum and substance of our Christian profession, but by [the Holy Spirit] (John Owen, Works, vol. 3, p. 19).

The Great Wisdom and Glorious Work of God

A while back I made a beginning at poking away at John Owen's Pneumatologia. On account of pressing responsibilities and unforeseen circumstances, I was sidetracked a while. But I've gotten back into Owen's unsurpassed work on the Spirit. And I'm enjoying it thoroughly. Here's a taste:

When God designed the great and glorious work of recovering fallen man and the saving of sinners, to the praise of the glory of his grace, he appointed, in his infinite wisdom, two great means thereof. The one was the giving of his Son for them, and the other was the giving of his Spirit unto them. 

And hereby was way made for the manifestation of the glory of the whole blessed Trinity; which is the utmost end of all the works of God. Hereby were the love, grace, and wisdom of the Father, in the design and projection of the whole; the love, grace, and condescension of the Son, in the execution, purchase, and procurement of grace and salvation for sinners; with the love, grace, and power of the Holy Spirit, in the effectual application of all unto the souls of men—made gloriously conspicuous.

 —John Owen, Works, vol. 3, p. 23. 

Is Jesus Lord of All? Or Playing It Safe?

Is Jesus Lord of all? Uh oh. That sounds dangerous. Might get us in real trouble. Like the prophets. Like the apostles. Like the holy saints and martyrs of old. Like Jesus.

Ruling in the Fear of the LORD

Is 2 Sam. 23:3f a dead letter for rulers and governors? My answer: Not if Jesus rose from the dead. Not if Jesus is Lord of all.

Another text comes to mind: Ps. 2:2-3. I wonder how the apostles would have understood this? Huh. Wish we knew. Hey, wait a minute: Acts 4:26. Ahh! Well, I guess that means the rest of the psalm applies. So, princes and rulers of the earth, "Kiss the Son" (Ps. 2:12).

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 12

Chapter 12 of 2 Samuel always hurts to read. It contains, of course, Nathan's rebuke to David, and the fallout of David's sin with Bathsheba. Much instruction might be gained from considering the scope of the chapter, but since my stated aim is to expound "Calvinism Everywhere," I shall limit myself to a few verses highlighting the holy and heavenly reign of the high King of heaven.

After Nathan utters his stinging rebuke, "You are the man!" he says: "Thus says YHWH, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more'" (2 Sam. 12:7-8). God anointed David king over Israel. God delivered David out of Saul's hand. God gave David his master's house. God even gave David his master's wives into his arms. God also gave him the house of Israel and of Judah. Then he says, "I would add to you as much more." Raw sovereignty rises to plain view for faith to behold and bow before. God has governed all that has come to pass, including David's multiple wives being given into his arms. I'll not deal at all here with the ethical troubles this gives us. I simply want to reckon with what the text straightforwardly says: God did it.

Well then, you might say, did God therefore do David's sin?

The Glory of the Gospel: The Ministry of the Spirit

Owen commenting on the "ministry of the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:8):

The ministry of the Spirit is either that ministry which the Spirit makes effectual, or that ministry whereby the Spirit in his gifts and graces is communicated unto men. And this is what gives unto the ministry of the gospel both its glory and its efficacy. Take away the Spirit from the gospel and you render it a dead letter, and leave the New Testament of no more use unto Christians than the Old Testament is of unto the Jews.

 —John Owen, Works, vol. 3, p. 26. 

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 11

In 2 Samuel 10, we read of the Ammonites and the Syrians joining forces to battle Israel. Joab, the commander of Israel's army, saw that the battle set against him would be fierce. So he "chose some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Syrians" (2 Sam. 10:9). "The rest of his men he put in charge of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites" (2 Sam. 10:10). Then Joab said, "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may YHWH do what seems good to him" (2 Sam. 10:11-12).

Now that's revealing. Joab and his brother Abishai take the necessary steps to win this battle. Joab chooses the best men. Abishai prepares his men. They agree to help each other if the enemy is too strong. And then they stir each other up to be courageous for their people and the cities of their God. And yet. They know something. Even after all the preparations, God must grant victory. God will determine the outcome. God will "do what seems good to him" (2 Sam. 10:12). This is Calvinism. And there Joab and Abishai lived. And there I love to be.

Two Giants on Faith

Packer on faith: "Faith is . . . an empty hand stretched out to receive Christ, grasping him and holding him fast."

Luther on faith: "Faith taketh hold of Christ, hath him present, and holdeth him enclosed, as the ring doth the precious stone."

—J. I. Packer, Honouring the People of God: Collected Shorter Writings on Christian Leaders and Theologians, vol. 4, p. 8.  

Coming Clear

". . . the rule that operates in preaching, as in all teaching and instruction of any sort, is that you can say what you can see. When a thing is clear to you, and no inner reserve holds you back, the words you need to express it come naturally; but if you can't see it you can't say it" (J. I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit, p. 211).

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 10

In 2 Samuel, David rises to the throne. And he "became greater and greater." Why? Or how? "For YHWH, the God of hosts, was with him" (2 Sam. 5:10). Sounds like the favor shown to Joseph, who rose and succeeded, "because YHWH was with him" (e.g., Gen. 39:21, 23). And David knew that God had effected his rise to power (2 Sam. 5:12). David did not bring this to pass. Read 1 Sam. 16ff. David did not seek the throne, not even after he was anointed by Samuel. Even then he waited on YHWH to bring to pass his rise to power, although he could have taken Saul's life countless times. But God did it. God brought it to pass. And David knew it.

Then YHWH told David, "I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand" (2 Sam.5:19). And so he did (2 Sam. 5:20, 24, 25; 8:1). In fact, "YHWH gave victory to David wherever he went" (2 Sam. 8:6, 14). We've seen this before, haven't we? God hands peoples over. God grants military victory. God reigns supreme, in salvation and in judgment.

Now turn two chapters later in the narrative. There we listen in to the great promises of the Davidic covenant. And the striking element, almost impossible not to notice—God initiates and resolves to bring to pass his good pleasure! Although David had not sought kingship, he now seeks to do something for YHWH, namely, build him a house (2 Sam. 7:2-3). But the word of YHWH won't have it (2 Sam. 7:4-5). He then declares through Nathan the prophet what he will do for David, namely, build him a house. See 2 Sam. 7:8-14. How many times does YHWH say that he will do this or that? Read it. It's striking. He is the Lord. And he reigns over all. His purposes will come to pass. None shall say to him, "What are you doing?" and thwart his plans. Nor shall any make plans and succeed, unless the Lord grants success. For the sovereign LORD is great, and there is none like him, no God besides him. And David knew it (2 Sam. 7:22). David knew that this was the God who drove out a nation and its gods before his people, whom he redeemed from Egypt (2 Sam. 7:23).

A Father's Firm Affection

Here's a good word to fathers from Doug Wilson, entitled Love Tanks. Loving fathers are crucial and yet in short supply. We live in a fatherless society. So may God bestow on our churches the glory of dads imitating him. Talk about being salt and light.

Reading Wilson's post, my mind easy drifted to thinking about my father-in-law. I'm deeply grateful for his love toward his daughter for years before I ever came on the scene. She's an exceedingly beautiful woman in large measure on account of her father's steadfast love. So I bless God for that man's labors of love. He got, I think, the balance that Wilson discusses just about right. And I've learned a lot from him (and I'm still learning). Thank you, God in heaven! And thanks, Dad Haag!

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 9

In noting a number of texts that point up the Lord's absolute sovereignty, particularly in Samuel through Chronicles, it seems that some of the same notes shall be struck again and again. So here strikes a number of notes already heard. But to recall these things is no trouble for me and is safe for us (Phil. 3:1).

Moving along, 1 Sam. 23:4 is no exception. We read once again of God's promise to give over an enemy into someone's hand, this time the Philistines into David's hand. And then one reads in 1 Sam. 23:5 this: "So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah." Wait a minute. I thought God gave over the Philistines into David's hand. He did. And he did it through David. But God was behind it all.

Contrast this with Saul's attempt to lay hold on David for evil. Saul had said, "God has given him into my hand. . ." (1 Sam. 23:7). Oh really. Just like in v. 4, right? No. See 1 Sam. 23:14: "God did not give him into his hand." Not a hair of David's head could perish apart from God's sanction.

Next we see the glory of YHWH in taking life that he gave.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 8

Moving through Samuel, God's sovereign glory continues to shine brightly. After the Lord rejects Saul from being king, he provides for himself a king after his heart (1 Sam. 16:1; 13:14). And no one saw this provision coming, not David, not anyone (1 Sam. 16:6ff). YHWH chooses the youngest, a keeper of sheep, David. And YHWH chooses him because he has looked on David's heart and found a man after God's heart.

Now should the heart of David be thought of as prepared by YHWH for the mediatorial and typical role he would assume in redemptive history? This is not explicit. Yet 1 Sam. 16:1 does seem to point in this direction. For there YHWH says, "I have provided for myself a king among his sons." It sounds as though God had prepared and shaped David to be king. No doubt his heart, then, the core of who David was, oriented after God's heart as it was, was part of the provision.

Another text in this chapter speaks similarly to an earlier text cited (Judg. 9:23-24) in this series on Calvinism everywhere. If you're with me as we've moved through all these texts, no comments are really necessary. So I'll simply record the text: 1 Sam. 16:14ff. There we read of an "evil spirit from the LORD" that torments Saul after the Spirit of YHWH had departed from him (cf. 1 Sam. 18:10; 19:9-10, NASB).

Can our view of God embrace these sorts of texts. Or have we fashioned a god to our own liking? Are texts like these rushed over and forgotten for kinder, gentler texts that don't mess up our hair?

The triune God is the Lord, and he is Lord everywhere. And in case you've forgotten, it's called Calvinism.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 7

So we're pressing on with beholding theocentrism everywhere, because we're pressing on with reading the Bible and pressing on in a God-centered universe.

First look at 1 Sam. 14:23. YHWH is said to have saved Israel. Now go ahead and read what preceded v. 23 in 1 Samuel 14:1ff. Consider all the human plotting and acting. Now look again 1 Sam. 14:23. That all of the human plannings and actings that worked toward victory for Israel were means of the Lord's working may be seen by the first word of 1 Sam. 14:23: "So" (taking the waw of the Hebrew preterite form for "to save" inferentially, which is how the ESV, NIV, NASB, HCSB, KJV, and NAB take it). This points up that what came about was YHWH's work. But men, free agents, were planning and doing, you say. Yes. And men are clay. But God is the potter. And he fashions, shapes, and deploys his pots according to his good pleasure (see Jer. 18:4ff; Rom. 9:20ff). 


To add to the tension, see also 1 Sam. 14:45: Jonathan worked the salvation. But I thought YHWH did (v. 23). Well, who worked it? Jonathan, or YHWH? The answer, of course, is "Yes." Both did (1 Sam. 14:46). But Jonathan is the means of the salvation. God is the orderer and ordainer of it. Jonathan is an actor who is animated. God is the actor who animates. Remember, God is the potter, we are the clay. Always. Never the other way around.  

The Goal of Christian Society

"The highest end and happiness of men is to view God's excellency, to love him and receive expressions of his love; and that therefore their greatest business is to meditate on and use means to understand God's bounty, and to express suitably their love; this love including all those other affections which depend upon it and are necessarily connected with it, which we call worship. The highest end of society, therefore, must be to assist and join with each other in this" (Jonathan Edwards, Works, vol. 13, p. 291).

Jesus is Lord: The Basic Christian Confession

In confessing Jesus as Lord (e.g., Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 12:3), we Christians are not simply saying that Jesus is a great king. That he is, to be sure. We are not simply saying that he is king or sovereign of our lives, though he is. But we are declaring much more. We are confessing nothing less than that he is God over all, blessed forever (Rom. 9:5). Jesus is the sovereign covenant King of the old covenant, even YHWH, King of the nations, before whom there is no other. He is Lord of all. And if he is not Lord of all, he is not worthy to be Lord of any life, he is not a great king at all. But he is in fact Lord of all. And every tongue shall confess this in due course (Phil. 2:9-11).

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 6

Recently it was raining and thundering hard. It was awesome. The sovereign Lord was baring his arm in the heavens yet again. I love this display of holy majesty in God's glorious governance of the created order, which the Lord himself sustains by the word of his power (Heb. 1:3).

And then I thought about how unbelief speaks of the weather (always). Naturalism pervades the discussion. Boring. Idolatrous. Flip on the weather channel. What do you see and hear? Not glory, but unbelief. It's rather painful and tragic that there is never, ever any reference to the glory of God. But it's everywhere. His glory can't be hidden, despite unbelief.

Consider conversations with believer and unbeliever alike. Not one conversation in a hundred about hail, snow, rain, lightning, thunder, tornado, hurricane, tsunami, or the like acknowledges the holy hand of heaven majestically moving heaven and earth. His puny creatures stand by as the living Lord speaks glory into our world and respond perfectly pathetically. Shame on us! Hallowed be your name, O Father in heaven! As our Lord taught us to pray, May your name be hallowed, sanctified, regarded, adored, marveled at, acknowledged, praised, blessed! (Matt. 6:9). Forevermore!

Now in the course of 1 Samuel 12 there are numerous displays of God's sovereign glory.

The High Temperature of High Office

Ambrose Bierce's definition of abdication seems apropos for the current leadership of the White House: "An act whereby a sovereign attests his sense of the high temperature of the throne" (The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary, p. 7).

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 5

Here are yet more glorious texts telling of the glorious reign of God over all (and they just keep coming, being everywhere as they are): 1 Sam. 2:21 (over the womb); 1 Sam. 2:25 (over wills); 1 Sam. 5:6 (afflicting with tumors); 1 Sam. 6:19 (smiting irreverence in his holiness; note also the response in 1 Sam. 6:19-20); 1 Sam. 7:10 (throwing pagans into confusion and routing them militarily); 1 Sam. 10:9 (changing hearts).

Now note especially 1 Sam. 2:25. Why did Eli's son's not listen to the voice of their father? Autonomous free will that God would not touch? No. That's clearly not what the text says. Yes, they are responsible, as the whole Bible loudly shouts, and held responsible, as the narrative bears out. But, the text says that they did not listen to their father "because it was the will of the Lord to put them to death." God's purpose had a hand in their free choice, a decisive hand.

Look also at 1 Sam 5:6ff, an awesome statement of God's sovereign judgment on the Philistines. God's heavy hand on the Philistines was manifested in tumors breaking out (vv. 6, 9, 12). Now do we even have categories for reckoning with tumors from God, suffused with naturalistic and deistic assumptions as we are? Is a tumor sent from God even a possibility in our minds? Are most Christians today deists?

The Peace of God

"Peace in the New Testament carries all the dimensions of meaning that the great Hebrew word shalom, to which it corresponds, had come to bear. Shalom signifies the stable state of well-being, personal and communal, external and internal, that the fullness of God's blessing brings" (J. I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit, p. 216).

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 4

Another glorious text highlighting God's glorious governance of all things:

1 Sam. 2:6-8: "The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and on them he has set the world."

Be sure to take to heart what is really being declared here by Hannah. When life is given, who does it? When life is taken, who's responsible? Whether a person goes down to Sheol or is lifted up (we might now say, goes to heaven or hell) is determined by whom? And so on. Again and again note the Actor. God is supreme over all.  And blessed is Hannah for knowing and exulting in it. Additionally, in many respects this prayer of Hannah is programmatic for Samuel. As you read through Samuel, consider how the themes found in her confession recur throughout.

Repeatedly in the Bible it is declared that all things are "from him and through him and unto him" (Rom. 11:36). This is God's glory. I'd even say that Rom. 11:36 is the single most comprehensive statement in the Bible and should be the framework of any biblical or systematic theology. It is all-embracing, the matrix of all theologizing and living blessedly forevermore.

Does our Dung Stink?

How does Prov. 14:34 fit into American exceptionalism?

One might wonder sometimes whether Americans think their dung doesn't stink.  

Global Cooling

Joel Belz records this eye-opener in the June 4, 2011 edition of World:

Seems strange these days, but in the mid-'70s, Newsweek didn't think it was strange to sound a major warning concerning the phenomenon [global cooling]. The glaciation of the whole planet was considered by many to be a strong and even "imminent" likelihood.

I really think that this sort of phenomenon points to God's sense of humor. "He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord hold them in derision" (Ps. 2:4). And I doubt he's half so impressed with "science" as we are. I confess I'm impressed with some things achieved by science, but not everything that passes for science. I also confess that although I sometimes grow angry at the political circus full of political clowns here in our big tent homeland, I don't get angry about global warming: I just laugh jollily; it cheers me up.

The Depth of the Gospel

"The things of the gospel are depths. The things of the gospel . . . are the deep things of God" (Thomas Goodwin, Works, vol. 4, passim; quoted in Fred Sander's The Deep Things of God, p. 97).

So let's get on with plumbing those depths!

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 3

Here are a slew of texts highlighting God's glorious governance of all things (note the italics):

Judg. 10:6-8: "The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the LORD and did not serve him. So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead."

Judg. 11:21: "And the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them . . ." (cf. Judg. 11:32; see also Judg. 20:35).

Judg. 13:1: "And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years."

Judg. 14:1-4: "Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines.
Then he came up and told his father and mother, 'I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.' But his father and mother said to him, 'Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?' But Samson said to his father, 'Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.' His father and mother did not know that it was from the LORD, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines."

Ask yourself how many times some "evil" comes to pass in these verses? And who's ruling over it? And, of course, he's ruling in righteousness without doing any wrong. Shall not the Judge of all the earth always do what is just (Gen. 18:25)?

Sexual Intercourse, Old School

At Doug Wilson's Blog and Mablog, you'll find a fine, succinct account of marriage biblically defined. Here's a clipping:

A marriage requires two components or elements. The first is old school sexual intercourse and the second is a socially recognized set of vows, committing the couple to a legally recognized and protected state of marriage. If one or the other is missing, then so is the marriage. 

To use the language of philosophy, each of these is a necessary condition for marriage (without which, not), but not a sufficient condition. In other words, you can't have a marriage without the presence of both of these elements, but the mere presence of one of them does not constitute or create the marriage. The absence of either will result in no-marriage, but the presence of either does not automatically result in marriage. You must have both together. 

The first element is the one flesh union (Gen. 2:24).

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 2

More texts in Judges showing the sovereignty of God everywhere (with comments along the way), which is what Calvinism at its truest and best is:

Judg. 6:1: "The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of YHWH, and YHWH gave them into the hand of Midian seven years." Was Midian ultimate here? Who is said to be acting?

Judg. 9:23-24: "And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers."

Now note that it is God who does the sending. Again he is the primary actor. Note also the purpose clause: "that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal. . . ." The sending of the evil spirit had an aim. And whose purpose was that? God's. What authority! He commands even the evil spirits and they obey him (cf. Mk. 1:27). Also note how many free agents in Judges 9 make choices and exercise their wills. The evil spirit, the men of Shechem, Abimelech, and more. Yet God acts and achieves his goal: Judg. 9:56-57. This is absolute dominion. This is Calvinism. And there I love to be.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 1

So here begins a series of posts that simply point out the inescapable glory of God's sovereignty everywhere. Repeatedly (and this has happened for years now), I'm blown away by text after text as I read through the Scriptures each year. For example, a recent reading included Judges 5. And there we read in v. 2: "That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the LORD!"

Now why, I ask, is there a call to bless YHWH when "the leaders took the lead" and when "the people offered themselves willingly"? The leaders acted. Sounds volitional. The people willingly offered themselves, not unwillingly, not against their will, not coerced. Sounds like a free act of the will. So why does YHWH get praise for this? Shouldn't the leaders and shouldn't the people get praise for exercising their free will so well?

Of course the reason is clear for those who are "willing" to look at texts without philosophical and theological bias. God is praised here because the leading of the leaders and the willingness of the people was God's willing and acting behind and underneath their willing and acting. It's called sovereign grace. It's called absolute dominion. It's called Calvinism. And there I love to live. There God's glory shines brightest. There I return again and again (inescapably and willingly) as I read holy Scripture—to bow low before the sovereign Lord. Blessed be YHWH for leaders when they lead and for the people when they offer themselves willingly. 


(See also 2 Cor. 8:16 for a New Testament text that comes to mind with the same upshot.)

Calvinism Everywhere: Preface to Series

Calvinism everywhere. That's my religion. And I'm sticking to it. Why? you ask. Well, because it's biblical, and it's everywhere. So here is a preface to the beginning of a series on Calvinism everywhere. It will not pretend to be comprehensive. But it will provide a significant sampling of the total scriptural witness.

The focus of this series of posts will be Judges through Chronicles. The reason for this focus is twofold: 1) this is mainly narrative; and 2) this is a neglected portion of holy writ. Now although many Christians in our time affirm the systematic statements concerning sovereignty of God found, say, in the epistles (e.g., Eph. 1:11, where God is said to be the one who works "all things after the counsel of his will"; see also Rom. 11:36), we characteristically don't see and acknowledge his sovereignty in the narrative and details of our unfolding lives, which lives are part of an unfolding narrative set on the grand stage of redemptive history. So this much neglected narrative portion of Scripture (Judges through Chronicles) sets God's sovereignty in bold relief against the backdrop of a storyline worked out in real history with the perspective of an "omniscient narrator." So it seems to me to be peculiarly helpful for the modern day American Christian who tends to view God's involvement in the world in a truncated and compartmentalized way. As this series unfolds, it will be clear how much we are actually out of step with Scripture in the way we think about God's presence, judgments, rule, care, and grace in our world.

One more exceedingly important word, a caveat really. When I say Calvinism, let it be crystal clear what I mean. I mean (and this is what I always mean and what I believe everyone should mean when using the technical term) what J. I. Packer means as set forth in his fine book A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (129): 

A Really Good Question (A Stumper)

"If America was better educated before we established a Department of Education than it has been since, why do we continue to have such a department?" (Angelo M. Codevilla, The Ruling Class, p. 83).

Now that's a good question. Can anyone answer this? Hurry! Someone get all the smart people, like maybe a committee of Harvard and Stanford graduates from among the Ruling Class, to help us with this challenging, even puzzling question. Till that committee forms, we shall live with perpetual uncertainty, wandering in a labyrinth of our small minds.

There's Knowing, and then There's Knowing: Information and Wisdom

"There are many knowing souls, but there are but a few wise souls. . . . It is not the most knowing Christian, but the most wise Christian, that sees, avoids, and escapes Satan's snares" (Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, 244).

Luther on Genesis 1

"It has been rightly said concerning the first chapter of Genesis that it's impossible to exhaust it in preaching. It's the greatest part of the Old Testament, and the New Testament is a revelation of the Old" (Luther, Works, vol. 54, p. 59).

Luther on the Marks of a Good Preacher

Some time ago Carl Trueman posted two helpful posts about Luther's thoughts on what makes a good preacher.  Take a look at part 1 and part 2 over at reformation 21.

Luther on Studying Theology: Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio

Many big fat books pour forth today on interpreting Scripture. Hermeneutics, traditionally described as the science and art of interpretation, is the name of the discipline. And much of this is helpful and useful and profitable instruction. Yet, the single most important piece of hermeneutical counsel I’ve ever read (apart from Scripture itself) comes from Luther’s pen (which derives the counsel from Scripture itself!). And this comes from the Preface to the Wittenberg Edition of Luther’s German Writings (Luther’s Works, vol. 34, "Career of the Reformer," 283–288).

There he instructs not, speaking precisely, in hermeneutics as such, but in studying theology. He instructs in how to become a decent theologian. And though this instruction is not the sort given in hermeneutical instruction today, yet it has great bearing on the discipline. I do wish, hope, and pray that more teachers today said the sort of things Luther said when teaching others how to learn at Scripture's feet.

Luther describes the nut of the matter on page 285:

I want to point out to you a correct way of studying theology, for I have had practice in that. If you keep to it, you will become so learned that you yourself could (if it were necessary) write books just as good as those of the fathers and councils. . . . This is the way taught by holy King David (and doubtlessly used also by all the patriarchs and prophets) in the one hundred nineteenth Psalm. There you will find three rules, amply presented throughout the whole Psalm. They are Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio [prayer, meditation, Anfechtung (affliction, conflict, severe soul-struggle)].

Works Necessary for Salvation in Luther's Theology?

I cite the following approvingly. Don't ever let any Roman Catholic say that works are not essential in Luther, not to mention the Protestant stream (flowing from Scripture, as it does).

From the Preface to the Wittenberg Edition of Luther's Writings:

Neither councils, fathers, nor we, in spite of the greatest and best successes possible will do as well as the Holy Scriptures, that is, as well as God himself has done. (We must, of course, also have the Holy Spirit, faith, godly speech, and works, if we are to be saved.)   

—Luther's  Works, vol. 34, Career of the Reformer, p. 284. 

Can You Spot Humility?

Is humility obvious? I mean, can we spot it when it's really in someone? We think we know what it looks like, or feels like, or sounds like. But do we? There is a false humility which is really nothing more than the fear of man, a pretended lowliness that cowers before mortals. But surely humility must begin with our vertical relationship with God. Shouldn't it? And Jas. 4:6-10 points us in the right direction.

Following upon rebuke concerning friendship and whoredom with the world (Jas. 4:1-5), James says: "But [God] gives more grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'" Now before we rush to apply this, we must first ask what he means by "the humble." Who are the humble? Well, the next several verses tell us what humility looks like. This is plain because by v. 10 James has not changed the subject: "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exult you." Humility before the Lord is still the topic. So what does it look like? Eight bullet imperatives show us the way.

• "Submit yourselves therefore to God" (v. 7)
• "Resist the devil" (v. 7)
• "Draw near to God" (v. 8)
• "Cleanse your hands" (v. 8)
• ". . . and purify your hearts" (v. 8)
• "Be wretched and mourn and weep" (v. 9)
• "Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom" (v. 9)
• "Humble yourselves before the Lord" (v. 10)

May the Lord truly humble us and help us to recognize the real thing in others.

A Blog Fast

Fasting is good and biblical. And it does not always have to be from food, though that is a good practice for those of us who are almost always stuffed. Other kinds of fasting are good, too, if purposive and the time spent away is redeemed in holy activity. So, as I've already sort of been doing a fast, I'm now going to make it official: I'm taking a blog fast. I don't intend to blog until May some time. If the Lord wills, and I'm still alive, and you happen to drop in, see you then.

The LXX and the Protestant Doctrine of Scripture

It is no news that the NT widely uses the Septuagint (LXX) and that this was the OT of the Church until the Reformation when the Hebrew (Masoretic Text, MT) became the Church's OT. But this continues to blow me away. And perhaps it ought to blow away some of our assumptions about the Hebrew Bible.

Now, briefly (there is so much to think about and say, so perhaps more later), what does this awesome fact have to say about our doctrine of Scripture? What are the implications?

Children's Church?

Perhaps you also have puzzled with me over the common practice (and therefore unquestioned practice) of so many (probably easily the majority) evangelical churches of sending the children out (even as old as 10 years in my experience!) of the corporate gathering (usually during the sermon). I've often wondered how this can be such a fixed practice when there does not seem to be a shred of biblical precedent for such a practice. There certainly is no injunction for this sort of thing. On the contrary, it seems that without questioning the children are always present in the assemblies' gatherings (see, for example, Deut. 31:12-13 and Josh. 8:35).

So how did we get here? To my knowledge this is an aberration without support in the Christian Church until very recently in the individualistic West. But if you question the practice, you get looked at like you are striking at some fundamental of the faith. I dare say that we often do this to cater to our modern, consumeristic churchgoer. Were we to sideline "children's church," we'd lose half our members to other churches who don't. And we can't have that!

Calvin on the Authoritative Prophetic Word

Calvin on the prophets speaks powerfully and stirringly. Here's a comment on Hos. 1:2, where it says, "The beginning of the word of YHWH in Hosea."

God then spoke in Hosea, or by Hosea, for he brought forth nothing from his own brains, but God spoke by him; this is a form of speaking with which we shall often meet. On this, indeed, depends the whole authority of God's servants, that they give not themselves loose reins, but faithfully deliver, as it were, from hand to hand, what the Lord has commanded them, without adding any thing whatever of their own.

So let no man so boldly dare to speak a word in the name of the Lord from his own brains. And may God be pleased to raise up more and more who faithfully propound nothing but the word of the Lord. The Lord has spoken, who can but prophesy?

Luther on Children at the Table

Martin Luther said many fine and provocative things with which we should disagree. But with the following word about children at the Table of the Lord paedobaptists ought not to disagree:

When in 1 Corinthains Paul said that a man should examine himself, he spoke only of adults because he was speaking about those who were quarreling among themselves. However, he doesn't here forbid that the sacrament of the altar be given even to children (Vol. 54, Luther's Works, p. 58).

Luther seems consistent biblically and theologically with his paedobaptist stance. So why do so many paedobaptists today act like credobaptists when it comes to the Supper?

Two Covenants in Deuteronomy?

Two texts in Deuteronomy have given me pause over the years, even puzzled me. They are Deut. 5:2-3 and 29:1. And the pause and puzzlement surround this question: Are two covenants to be understood, or one? Often it is stated that what we see here is covenant renewal. So the covenant "besides the covenant . . . made with [Israel] at Horeb" (29:1) is not a different covenant, but the same, only refreshed, as it were. This may be true, but I'm not sure yet. I'm not convinced. The language sounds stronger than that of renewal. And, look closely, the text does not call the covenant made with the present generation a renewed covenant. It almost sounds like old versus new covenant language.

So what's going on here? I'm not sure yet, but I raise this question. And wait for light from above. It seems that there are already—here in Deuteronomy—intimations of the inadequacy and impermanence of the old covenant and the expectation of a new. This should not surprise anyone either. For, after all, the law-covenant does not nullify the covenant promise to Abraham. Paul points this up in Galations 3 as immensely important. But, as I said, I wait for more light. And I acknowledge that the standard view may well be right.

The Sovereign Spirit Blows Where He Wills

In recent weeks, both in sermons and in my reading, I have bumped up against John 3. Or, more aptly, John 3 has met me like a mighty rushing wind. And one truth in particular is on me, not least because I'm aware personally and culturally of how little we get this, we who try to manage and domesticate the absolutely sovereign and free God in countless ways. Without success, of course. He is God. He is the Lord. He does as he pleases. And none forces his hand.

Here's a word about a word from Jesus in John 3 from Thomas Brooks: "The Spirit is free in the works of conversion, and, as the wind, he blows when, where, and how he pleases" (Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, p. 225).

The Mutual Funds of Missions Funding

Here's a cut-to-the-chase, no-nonsense post on missions with all sorts of sound thinking (even if offensive). I've thought similar things almost all by my lonesome for years (though I couldn't articulate it all half so well as it is articulated here). Have a look. Do we need to rethink missions, oh evangelical? I'd answer: "Yes! Yes! and Yes!" (While jumping up and down on my head, blue in the face, trying to get someone's attention.) I'd love to see our missionaries looking less haggard on furlough. And I'd love to see our missionaries more equipped, qualified, and backed to do the work to which they've been called. Wouldn't you?

Faith Overcomes the World

How does one overcome the power of sin, the seduction of Satan, the worldliness of the world, and the onslaught of hell? Thomas Brooks answers:

It is only faith in Christ that makes a man triumph over sin, Satan, hell, and the world (1 John 5:4). It is only faith in Christ that binds the strong man's hand and foot, that stops the issue of blood, that makes a man strong in resisting, and happy in conquering. Sin always dies most where faith lives most. The most believing soul is the most mortified soul. Ah! sinner, remember this, there is no way on earth effectually to be rid of the guilt, filth, and power of sin, but by believing in a Saviour. It is not in resolving, it is not complaining, it is not mourning, but believing, that will make thee divinely victorious over that body of sin that to this day is too strong for thee, and that will certainly be thy ruin, if it be not ruined by a hand of faith (Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, p. 220).

Resolutions are good, but they often fail. Our resolve often proves powerless, but faith overcomes the world.

Resolved

Here's my last post on Edwards' Resolutions (for now). I love this man's intensity. Oh Lord, give me some of that man's spirit!

61. Resolved, that I will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind from being fully and fixedly set on religion, whatever excuse I may have for it—that what my listlessness inclines me to do, is best to be done, etc.

62. Resolved, never to do anything but duty; and then according to Eph. 6:6-8, do it willingly and cheerfully "as unto the Lord, and not to man; knowing that whatever good thing any man doth, the same shall he receive of the Lord."

67. Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.

—Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 16, pp. 753-759.

Evangelical: A Cultural, not a Theological, Term

Usage governs meaning. The semanticists and lexicographers agree. Given that this is so, and given that evangelical no longer means what it once did, it is high time to live with the fact that it is merely, by and large, a cultural, not a theological, term. It's merely descriptive of a vague and amorphous culture that is not theologically defined. For my part, I can no longer consider myself an evangelical. It doesn't mean anything. I'm happy with reformed evangelical, however, as that delimits what is meant by evangelical. Of course I'm showing my hand here. And I think we all should. Open statement of the truth is apostolic (2 Cor. 4:2).

It seems to me that the orthodox, if they want to hang on to the term (and there is good reason for doing so), would do well to add a delimiting descriptor before evangelical, such as reformed evangelical. And I also think that all would do well to become reformed evangelicals and self-consciously confessionally stand in the line of that rich heritage, embracing confessionally the riches and blessings of the Reformation. (Yes, I'm grinning.)

Sensuality and Covetousness: Like Hand in Glove

Rob Bell is a false teacher. He has clearly perverted the Gospel of the grace of God. And this did not start, by the way, with his teaching about the absence of a populated hell.

Now given that he is a false teacher, although he is garbed in light, the deeds of darkness are doubtless manifest there (or soon will be). In particular, there is undoubtedly sensuality and covetousness in Rob Bell, which fit false teachers like hand in glove. See 2 Peter and Jude. If such perversion and ungodliness have not yet been uncovered, wait a while. Without repentance those filthy deeds of the flesh will be unmasked, and those who see him as an angel of light will see him that way no more (hopefully).

But the prayer of the Church ought to be that God would grant Bell repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, delivering him from the snare of the devil (2 Tim. 2:24-26). However, let it be said with Paul, if anyone does not love the Lord Jesus, let him be anathema (1 Cor. 16:22).

Resolved

Yet another round of resolutions from Edwards:

58. Resolved, not only to refrain from an air of dislike, fretfulness, and anger in conversation, but to exhibit an air of love, cheerfulness, and benignity.

59. Resolved, when I am most conscious of provocations to ill-nature and anger, that I will strive most to feel and act good-naturedly; yea, at such times, to manifest good nature, though I think that in other respects it would be disadvantageous, and so as would be imprudent at other times.

60. Resolved, whenever my feelings begin to appear in the least out of order, when I am conscious of the least uneasiness within, or the least irregularity without, I will then subject myself to the strictest examination.

—Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 16, pp. 753-759.

Resolved

Here are two more from Edwards' Resolutions, which devastate me, especially as I consider the way I dishonored my parents as a child and young man. And so I pray: "O God, remember not the sins of my youth, and instruct this sinner in the everlasting way, according to your steadfast love and for the sake of your goodness."

46. Resolved, never to allow the least measure of any fretting uneasiness at my father or mother. Resolved to suffer no effects of it, so much as in the least alteration of speech, or motion of my eye: and to be especially careful of it, with respect to any of our family.

47. Resolved, to endeavor to my utmost to deny whatever is not most agreeable to a good, and universally sweet and benevolent, quiet, peaceable, contented, easy, compassionate, generous, humble, meek, modest, submissive, obliging, diligent and industrious, charitable, even, patient, moderate, forgiving, sincere temper; and to do at all times what such a temper would lead me to. Examine strictly every week, whether I have done so (Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 16, pp. 753-759).

"Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way!" (Ps. 25:7-8).

Republocrat

I just finished Carl Trueman's book Republocrat. It's a good book for those who look to Fox News or MSNBC (or the like) for their politcal nourishment. Otherwise, it's not all that helpful or insightful. Where it is helpful is in giving an outsider's perspective on American politics (Trueman is a British Christian). But any Christian who reads his Bible, and believes what is says, will not find himself Trueman's target.

The Beginning and End of Marriage

Doug O'Donnell's exposition of Mt. 19:1-12 last Lord's Day offers exemplary careful and balanced instuction on an emotionally and existentially charged topic. The teaching points in the direction of holy and wise love regarding marriage matters and, above all, points toward seeking the things of the kingdom. Doug expounds with sensitivity and care Jesus' teaching on the perpetually relevant and difficult issue of divorce. In my judgment, Doug's view about the weightier matters of the law in relation to divorce exhibits sound biblical balance and maturity. And this relation probably needs to be thought about and taught more, lest we find ourselves among the loveless and merciless legalists.

Gospel-Centered Preaching and Pastoring

Pastor Jay Thomas has begun a series on Colossians at his new post, Chapel Hill Bible Church. The sermons flowing from this ministry will doubtless prove to be a great resource beyond the local church in which they are first preached.

Congratulations Jay on your new assignment! And may the Lord multiply and increase his Word in your midst and beyond through many years of fruitful ministry—filling the earth with the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

The church's website provides biographical bits about Jay and Rebecca. You may also want to see the twelve priorities that shape Jay's life and ministry.

Hosea and Amos: Root and Fruit

How are the books of Hosea and Amos related? Both prophets ministered in the eighth century B.C. Both spoke into the northern kingdom a message of impending judgment. Yet their messages—to the same target audience—were quite different, at least in emphasis. So how are they related? In the literature on the book of the twelve, known to most more familiarly as the minor prophets, it is has been suggested that Hosea and Amos are related and perhaps never circulated independently. The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) has Amos after Hosea, not Joel, as in the Masoretic text (the standard text of the Hebrew). So how shall we their think of their relation?

I suggest that we see them related as root and fruit. Hosea strikes at the corrupt root in Israel, namely, idolatry. The people had played the whore with foreign deities. And Amos strikes at the corrupt fruit of social injustice and oppression. The culturally elite and wealthy walked all over the poor commoner. Now do you see the connection? Root and fruit. Idolatry always has social consequences.

May Hosea and Amos speak anew to us today, those of us who all too easily separate root and fruit.

Resolved

I'm still enjoying Edwards' famous Resolutions. Here are two more I find stirring:

40. Resolved, to inquire every night, before I go to bed, whether I have acted in the best way I possibly could, with respect to eating and drinking.

43. Resolved, never henceforward, till I die, to act as if I were anyway my own, but entirely and altogether God's. . .

—Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 16, pp. 753-759.

Collective Bargaining

Here's a biblical take on collective bargaining from Doug Wilson.

Self-seeking Blinds the Soul

From Thomas Brooks' Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices:

Self-seeking blinds the soul that it cannot see a beauty in Christ, nor an excellency in holiness; it distempers the palate, that a man cannot taste sweetness in the word of God, nor in the ways of God, nor in the society of the people of God. It shuts the hand against all the soul-enriching offers of Christ; it hardens the heart against all the knocks and entreaties of Christ; it makes the soul as an empty vine, and as a barren wilderness: 'Israel is any empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit to himself (Hos. 10:1). There is nothing that speaks a man to be more empty and void of God, Christ, and grace, than self-seeking. The Pharisees were great self-seekers, and great undervaluers of Christ, his word and Spirit. There is not a greater hindrance to all the duties of piety than self-seeking. Oh! this is that that keeps many a soul from looking after God and the precious things of eternity. They cannot wait on God, nor act for God, nor abide in those ways wherein they might meet with God, by reason of self (p. 189).

Incidentally, it is obvious that Brooks lived in primitive times. The masses, at that time, were not enlightened by the modern doctrine of self-esteem. But had Brooks lived in our enlightened times, how might he have put his instruction?

So let's meditate upon Phil. 2:3-11. And be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves (Jas. 1:22).

A Lie is like a Snowball

Sunday afternoon rest and refreshment often includes some jovial reading in Luther's Table Talk. If for no other reason than that the reading is immensely fun, Table Talk ought to be read widely (especially by tight-shoed and clean-nosed religious folk). Here's a picturesque Lutheran point, free of charge:

"A lie is like a snowball. The longer it is rolled on the ground the larger it becomes" (No. 342).

(Feel free to reuse without acknowledging your source. He's dead, and wouldn't have minded anyway.)

Resolved

Here are some of Edwards' resolutions on speech and self-control.

First, on speech:

16. Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.
31. Resolved, never to say anything at all against anybody, but when it is perfectly agreeable to the highest degree of Christian honor, and of love to mankind, agreeable to the lowest humility, and sense of my own faults and failings, and agreeable to the Golden Rule; often, when I have said anything against anyone, to bring it to, and try it strictly by the test of this Resolution.
34. Resolved, in narrations never to speak anything but the pure and simple verity.
36. Resolved, never to speak evil of any, except I have some particular good call for it.
70. Let there be something of benevolence, in all that I speak.

And on self-control:

20. Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking.
39. Resolved, never to do anything that I so much question the lawfulness of, as that I intend, at the same time, to consider and examine afterwards, whether it be lawful or no: except I as much question the lawfulness of the omission.
56. Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

(Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 16, pp. 753-759)

Resolved

Still more resolutions from Edwards' justly famous Resolutions, which he wrote at age nineteen:

28. Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.
30. Resolved, to strive to my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace, than I was the week before.
44. Resolved, that no other end but religion, shall have any influence at all on any of my actions; and that no action shall be, in the least circumstance, any otherwise than the religious end will carry it.

Oh that God might raise up more teenagers like this!

Satan's Coming Assaults

"In a calm, prepare for the storm" (Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, p. 181).

A Heart of Perfect Forgiveness

Here now is a stellar exposition of Matt. 18:21-35: A Heart of Perfect Forgiveness. Stellar, I say, mainly because it simply gets at the heart of the matter, a matter which is always relevant for all of us who know incalculable mercies in Christ and who still sin and get sinned against. Forgiveness is a going concern and need. Day by day. Both ways, up and down, left and right. So thank you, Lord Jesus, for this parable mediated through one of your gifts to the Church.

Another reason to listen to this sermon: here's a preacher, a Neanderthal one might think, who still believes what Jesus actually said about hell. Hell is real, friends. And we need to reckon with Jesus' words in this regard far more than we're wont to do. From time to time we ought to find ourselves sick to our stomachs and shedding tears as we consider the doctrine of hell and all those heading there. This is serious. Words cannot do the doctrine and reality justice. Eternal torments, eternal wrath, eternal misery. Forever and ever, without relief, no letting up. Horrific I say! Unbearable! And this is the lot of all who do not recieve the forgiveness of God in Christ and extend it to others. Oh let us heed this merciful word and get serious! God help us, have mercy on us.

Riches and Honor were Nothing to Him

From McIntyre's The Hidden Life of Prayer:

"Pius IV, hearing of Calvin's death, exlaimed: 'Ah, the strength of that proud heretic lay in this, that riches and honour were nothing to him'" (106).

Storms Beneath Our Feet, Sky Above All Blue

In a recent post I mentioned McIntyre's book The Hidden Life of Prayer: The life-blood of the Christian. Chapter 7 is called "The Hidden Riches of the Secret Place." There, one benefit of secret prayer that McIntyre notes is that "prayerfulness produces a singular serenity of spirit" (105). He continues:

When one looks into the quiet eyes of him that sitteth upon the throne, the tremors of the spirit are stilled. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is but a noise; and the valley of the shadow of death is tuneful with songs of praise. Storms may rave beneath our feet, but the sky above is blue. We take our station with Christ in heavenly places; we dwell in the Sabbath of God.

'Here I lie,' said Thomas Halyburton when his death-hour was drawing near, 'pained without pain, without strength yet strong.' Seguier, a French Protestant, who was sentenced to death, was mockingly asked by one of his guards how he felt. He replied, 'My soul is as a garden, full of shelter and fountains.'

May we know that secret place so that in the day of our dying we shall be serene and assured within, ready to glorify God in death. The Hidden Life of Prayer is available at amazon. Take up, and read!

Resolved

More resolutions from Edwards' Resolutions:

9. Resolved, to think much on all occassions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.
10. Resolved, when I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom and of hell.
17. Resolved, that I will live so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
18. Resolved, to live so at all times, as I think is best in my devout frames, and when I have clearest notions of things of the gospel, and another world.

In our day, we do the exact opposite of what Edwards was trying to do in resolutions nine and ten. We don't like bad feelings that attend such thoughts. And they seem rather morose to us. However, this was Puritan wisdom, and wisdom indeed (Ps. 90:10, 12). At least Moses would have agreed with Edwards (or maybe Moses informed Edwards' thinking; I'm taking an OT criticism class right now, and I'm a bit muddled on the direction of these things).

A side bar: Just think about what the psychologists and psychiatrists (the modern day religious intelligentsia) could say today of someone like Edwards. He was probably pathological from his birth, certainly from his "conversion" onwards.

Resolved

From Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions:

4. Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it.
7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.

This young man was serious. And as a biographer once noted of him, it appears that Edwards really did aim at keeping, and in measure did keep, his seventy resolutions, written as a young man, all the way to the end.

The Value of Trials

Here's a little poem I rather like, recorded in The Hidden Life of Prayer: The life-blood of the Christian, by David McIntyre:

Trials make the promise sweet,
Trials give new life to prayer,
Trials bring me to his feet,
Lay me low, and keep me there.

By the way, if you're looking for a good little book to provide instruction for your prayer life, McIntyre's is helpful. It's a simple, short read. Yet it's packed with golden insights.

Little Ones

If you were looking for a pride-flattening message for your swollen self, this O'Donnell sermon should help you become smaller (as I hope and pray is happening to me). Preached last Sunday, based on Matt. 18:1-14, called "Little Ones," this word is health-giving for those of us who, like Nebuchadnezzer, walk in pride. God is able to humble the proud. And God is able to restore our reason, delivering us from the madness of pride.

The word is also a good word about the seriousness of sin, corporately and individually. Sin is deadly and damaging. And these blood earnest words of Jesus are unpacked for faith to respond soberly, seriously, even violently, warring against rebellious hands, feet, eyes. Souls are at stake. Our souls. Baptized souls. Church-going souls. Outwardly tidy and clean, educated and sophisticated middle-American souls. Then following this word, a word which ought to make even the holiest saint tremble, words of comfort, words of joy, words of the Shepherd's never-ending, always pursuing love lift the heart to see the Father's heart, and leave it subdued. And surrounded by angels.

One word about the mechanics of the exposition. Pastor O'Donnell follows the text tightly (always helpful), betraying that he's done some serious homework, instructing most helpfully how the four pericopes hold together, relate, and mutually interpret one another. Enjoy.

Spurgeon on Suffering

The following is from Piper's talk on Charles Spurgeon from the 1995 Bethlehem Conference for Pastors. Spurgeon's words are indented as quotations. Piper's comments start at the far left. My words are in brackets.

[Spurgeon says this about suffering:]

"It would be a very sharp and trying experience to me to think that I have an affliction which God never sent me, that the bitter cup was never filled by his hand, that my trials were never measured out by him, nor sent to me by his arrangement of their weight and quantity" (see note 51).

[Piper comments:]

This is exactly the opposite strategy of modern thought, even much evangelical thought, that recoils from the implications of infinity. If God is God he not only knows what is coming, but he knows it because he designs it. For Spurgeon this view of God was not first argument for debate, it was a means of survival.
Our afflictions are the health regimen of an infinitely wise Physician. He told his students,

"I dare say the greatest earthly blessing that God can give to any of us is health, with the exception of sickness ... If some men, that I know of could only be favoured with a month of rheumatism, it would, by God's grace mellow them marvelously" (see note 52).

51. "The Anguish and Agonies of Charles Spurgeon," p. 25.
52. An All Round Ministry, p. 384.

Begrudge Not Your Sufferings O Child of God

The child of God ought not to begrudge the sufferings sent by his heavenly Father, nor should the child of God merely endure them. They are assigned and apportioned by grace for great and wise and holy purposes from the loving hand of a sovereign covenant God who reigns in pain and pleasure.

Here are some texts that have helped me over the years to think about trials and pain and suffering:

"Before I was afflicted I went astray,
     but now I keep your word" (Ps. 119:67).

"It is good for me that I was afflicted,
     that I might learn your statutes" (Ps. 119:71).

"I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous,
     and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me" (Ps. 119:75).

God afflicts us in faithfulness for holy ends. Such rock-solid truths ought to raise in our minds the great value and blessing of sufferings. And we also ought to remember that our sufferings are only sanctified as valuable and worthy of prizing on account of the purchase of the blood of the Son of God. His blood purchased that every thing coming the way of the believer works for his good.

So what sufferer who has tasted the goodness of the Lord in appointed pain will not praise him and thank him and honor him on account of it? The suffering of the child of God has been transformed by the cross and crown of Christ. And I bless and praise my Father whose rod is pleasant pain. I feel very loved of the Lord because I am a chastened son.

Christians are a Royal Priesthood, Part 3

As promised, here now are ways two through five that Christians offer up spiritual sacrifices to God according to Edwards' exposition of 1 Pet 2:9-10. (Two posts ago I gave the first of five.)

Second, Edwards says:

This spiritual priesthood offers to God the sacrifice of praise. Many of their sacrifices under the law were sacrifices of peace-offerings, which were mostly for thanksgiving and praise. But the spiritual sacrifice of the hearty and sincere praises of a saint, are more acceptable to God than all the bulls, and rams, and he-goats that they offered.

Here Edwards cites Heb. 13:15 and Ps. 50:23, among other texts.

Third, he says:

The next sacrifice which is offered by this spiritual priesthood, is obedience, sincere obedience. The sacrifices under the law did not only represent Christ's satisfying for sin by suffering, but they also represented Christ's obeying in suffering; for the sacrifices under the law were not only for propitiation, but they were for purchasing benefits, and so typified not only the satisfaction, but merit, which was by obedience.

 In this section Edwards cites Rom. 12:1; Ps. 40:6-8; and 1 Sam. 15:22.

O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Salvation

After being laid low with some illness of late and feeling sluggish in my walk with God for some time, I recall a few favorite paragraphs outside the Bible. It's from Augustin's Confessions.

Lord, I am your servant, born of your own handmaid. You have broken the chains that bound me; I will sacrifice in your honor. Let me praise you in my heart, let me praise you with my tongue. Let this be the cry of my whole being: Lord, there is none like you. Let them say this and, in answer, I beg you to whisper in my heart, I am here to save you.

Who am I? What kind of man am I? What evil have I not done? Or if there is evil that I have not done, what evil is there that I have not spoken? If there is any that I have not spoken, what evil is there that I have not willed to do? But you, O Lord, are good. You are merciful. You saw how deep I was sunk in death, and it was your power that drained dry the well of corruption in the depths of my heart. And all that you asked of me was to deny my own will and accept yours.

But, during all those years, where was my free will? What was the hidden, secret place from which it was summoned in a moment, so that I might bend my neck to your easy yoke and take your light burden on my shoulders, Christ Jesus, my Helper and my Redeemer? How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose and was now glad to reject! You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure, though not to flesh and blood, you who outshine all light yet are hidden deeper than any secret in our hearts, you who surpass all honour though not in the eyes of men who see all honor in themselves. At last my mind was free from the gnawing anxieties of ambition and gain, from wallowing in filth and scratching the itching sore of lust. I begain to talk to you freely, O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Salvation (Book IX, Section 1).

Christians are a Royal Priesthood, Part 2

Edwards' second point (see here for the first) in explaining the priestly service of Christians is this: "Secondly, Christians are also a priesthood with respect to their offerings to God." Here he cites 1 Pet. 2:5: "you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." Well, what are these sacrifices? Edwards lists five ways Christians offer spiritual sacrifices to God.

First, "Christians offer up their own hearts to God in sacrifice: they dedicate themselves to God (Rom. 6:13)." And this happens in two ways: "the first is when the heart is broken for sin. A sacrifice, before it can be offered, must be wounded and slain. The heart of a true Christian is first wounded by a sense of sin, of the great evil and danger of it, and is slain with godly sorrow and true repentance. . . . The second way is when a Christian offers his heart to God, flaming with love. The sacrifice of old was not only to be slain, but to be burnt upon the altar; it was to ascend in flame and smoke, and so to be a sweet savour to God" (Works, vol. 2, Hickman ed.).

In the next and last post in this brief series, I'll post the other 4 ways Christians offer up spiritual sacrifices to God according to Edwards' exposition.

Deep, Wide, Decisive Repentance

Alright! Alright! I repent! I repent! I'll never do it again!

(Actually, in recent weeks I've been trying to turn from that hideous practice, so deeply woven into my typing tendencies, but now enough moral opprobruim has been cast to make my repentance deep, wide, and decisive. Please note the beginning of my repentance in posts of late. My older posts still betray the man I once was. Oh the shame, the shame!)

Christians are a Royal Priesthood, Part 1

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was a great preacher. And his available sermons are a treasure. I'm currently reading one on 1 Pet. 2:9-10. There are three parts: 1) True Christians are a chosen generation; 2) True Christians are a royal priesthood; and 3) True Christians are a holy nation. I'm going to focus in on the second part for a few posts.

The nature of the universal priesthood of all believers is perhaps, oddly enough, neglected among evangelicals. By letting Edwards assist us a little in thinking this matter through, I don't suppose that he's given us anything like a comprehensive view of our priesthood. Yet he highlights some elements that I think we may neglect. The first one, however, I think we largely get, though we could surely grow in our experience and appreciation of this.

Here's the first point under the heading "True Christians are priests of God": "First, Every true Christian is allowed as near an access to God, and as free a use of the sacred things, as the priests were of old." Speaking of the nature of the old covenant, Edwards says: "Agreeably to the nature of that dispensation, there were not those special discoveries of the grace and love of God that are now made, and which invite rather than forbid near access" (Works, vol. 2, Hickman ed.).

But now! Full and free and filial access! (Eph. 2:18).

This High Mountain . . . That Lowly Hill

Last Sunday's New Covenant Church exposition of Matt. 17:1-13, 22-23 by Pastor Doug O'Donnell was a fine exposition. He nailed the details and flow of thought. You may listen to it at the NCC website.

A Clear Head and Warm Heart

As we Christians engage our social, political, and economic landscape, as is right to varying degrees according to gifting, calling, and opportunity, we must keep clear our heads and warm our hearts. There is so much muddle in our world, and the temptation is to slip off the point.

The apostle Peter can help us pilgrims as we move toward the celestial city never feeling at home here till, at length, we arrive at our long-awaited and intensely-desired destination: "Girding up the loins of your mind, being sober-minded, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 1:13); and "fervently love one another from the heart" (1 Pet. 1:22). Now, in case we've forgotten by chapter four, Peter states it still stronger: "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another" (1 Pet. 4:8). This is no small matter in a world without hope (Eph. 2:12) and where love grows cold (Matt. 24:12).

So, a clear head and warm heart. That's in large measure the Christian's daily focus. Let's be there! Let's live there!

Resolved

Em and I regularly try to do some common reading together for the sake of edifying discussion. This year we're beginning with the Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards. He wrote seventy resolutions while he was nineteen years old, firm determinations of his by which he assessed himself weekly.

He begins the Resolutions this way:

Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ's sake.

Reading these never fails to stir up my cold, dull, lifeless, irresolute soul. Here are two that rebuke my indolent soul every time:

5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.
6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

I groan at what a lazy, irresolute and passionless man I often am. After knowing the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ so long, yet I still sink again and again into a dull, lifeless frame. Come, Spirit, come. And breath on me anew.

Resist Him in the Faith

Just a reminder (mainly to self) that we are in a cosmic battle, where everything is at stake—including the soul:

"Be sober! Be vigilant! Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking anyone to devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being accomplished by your brothers in the world" (1 Pet. 5:8-9).

Piper on his Return from Leave of Absence

I enjoyed reading Piper's thoughts about the leave of absence the Pipers took for eight months. But the portion that left me most encouraged, and even in tears, was this word which says so much about who John Piper is, and why he differs so much from so many other leaders today, and why his example is truly exemplary and worthy of imitation:

Eleven days after I return to ministry, I turn 65. One could look at this two ways: 1) it’s the age most people retire, or 2) it’s the age Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and led England and the Western World to victory over Hitler’s aggression. I find Churchill much more inspiring than retirement.

The whole update may be found at the DG blog.

Jesus' Substitutionary Descent into Egypt

Do you ever find yourself scratching your head about how Matthew uses the Old Testament? It seems to be a common experience. It really should not be as difficult for us to understand as it is. Yet our received methods make it hard for us to handle Scripture biblically.

But here I do not want to take time to discuss how our modernist methods have moved us away from an apostolic and Christ-like handling of Scripture (for that, see Peter Leithart's book Deep Exegesis). I only want to provide a compact understanding of Matthew's usage of Hos. 11:1 in Matt. 2:15 given by William Dumbrell, since it is considered one of the more difficult texts in Matthew's use of the Old Testament:

Matthew's use of Hosea 11:1 (Matt. 2:15) has the sequence [from 11:1-11] in mind. Jesus in an incarnational descent into Egypt undergoes oppression with his people, to whom, although they do not deserve it, the possibility of a second exodus will be granted (The Faith of Israel, 182).

This seems plain. And if one mentally embraces the deep and wide theological structures of Scripture that include Jesus as the new and true Israel and as a second Adam, the representative head of a new humanity and holy nation, the reading is almost facile.

Wencel Bible Memorization Plan 2011

In addition to regularly reading Scripture together, Emily and I have tried to lay up in our memories portions of Scripture together. So we've memorized a handful of psalms, we've been doing Titus together, and we laid hold of Isaiah 53 this past year. This coming year we're planning on doing Ephesians, some psalms, and probably miscellaneous proverbs. Here's the plan:

Jan. & Feb. '11:     Ephesians 1 & Psalm 2
Mar. & Apr. '11:   Ephesians 2 & Psalm 8
May & June '11:    Ephesians 3 & Psalm 32
July & Aug. '11:     Ephesians 4 & Psalm 46
Sept. & Oct. '11:   Ephesians 5 & Psalm 56
Nov. & Dec. '11:   Ephesians 6 & Psalms 128

The Particular Selective Love of God

From Jonathan Edwards' sermon on 1 Pet. 2:9-10, Christians are a Chosen Generation, a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a Peculiar People:

The electing love of God is singly of every particular person. Some deny a particular election, and say that there is no other election than a general determination, that all that believe and obey shall be saved. Some also own no more than an absolute election of nations. But God did from all eternity singly and distinctly choose, and set his love upon, every particular person that ever believes, as is evident from Gal. 2:20: 'Who loved me and gave himself for me' (Works, vol. 2, Hickman ed., 938).

You'll perhaps notice that Edwards addresses here the same Arminian arguments thrown up today, which still blow away like chaff before the mighty rushing wind of the Word of God.

Wencel Bible Reading Plan 2011

Emily and I have now read the Scriptures together at least three times in our shortly more than three years of marriage. Some portions we've read more. For example, we read the New Testament and Psalms twice while reading the rest of the Old Testament once during our first year of marriage. But each year, thus far, we've gone through the whole of Scripture together.

Now by together I mean that we've been on the same reading plan. We've actually only read about half of the scheduled reading aloud in each other's presence while sitting down together. There are 929 chapters in the Old Testament, 260 in the New Testament, making 1189 total. Maybe we've done about 500 to 600 hundred of these actually together aloud each year, usually in the morning and evening as we start and end our days together in prayer. The sweet effect this has had on our marriage is untold and inestimable. And these have been, without a doubt, some of our sweetest and deepest times together in conversation and reflection and planning and hoping and longing.

Going Home

In 1856, Charles Spurgeon preached a sermon the Sunday before Christmas called "Going Home." In it he prepared his growing church to speak of Christ's salvation at Christmas gatherings through their testimonies of what God had done for them.

Spurgeon had become pastor of New Park Street Church in 1854. The church had 232 members. The membership rose to 4,000 by Christmas of 1856. So Spurgeon prepared the large number of new converts for returning home at Christmas.

Among many practical points of counsel, including "Christmas is suited for sharing the gospel with family and friends," "Don't expect sharing to be easy," and "Tell your story seriously, not flippantly," the most helpful for me was this: "Be alert for one-on-one opportunities to share your story." Spurgeon enlarges on this point:

Do not tell this story to your ungodly friends when they are all together, for they will laugh at you. Take them one by one, when you can get them alone, and begin to tell it to them, and they will hear you seriously. . . . You may be the means of bringing a man to Christ who has often heard the Word and only laughed at it, but who cannot resist a gentle admonition.

HT: Sovereign Grace Ministries' blog

What is Necessary for a Good Prayer

Martin Luther was a man who knew how to pray. And so it is good to listen to his counsel on this matter. It is especially good for those of us who, with undoubtedly virtually every last modern American, scarcely know what it means to be devoted to prayer.

What follows is from the introduction to a sermon Luther preached in 1519 called "On Rogationtide Prayer and Procession":

Two things are necessary so that a prayer is good and so that it is heard. First, we must have a promise or a pledge from God. We must reflect on this promise and remind God of it, and in that way be emboldened to pray with confidence. . . . No one obtains anything from God by his own virtue or the worthiness of his prayer, but solely by reason of the boundless mercy of God. . . . Second, it is necessary that we never doubt the promise of the truthful and faithful God. . . .

Sounds like 1 John 5:14-15. Now meditate on Mk. 11:24; Lk. 11:9-13; Jas. 1:5-8. And pray.