Not Only What, But Also Why

Dinner time discussion in Christian homes should be rich and upbuilding. One important way for this to come to pass is for the head, the man, to lead in discussions intentionally. Give direction. Oftentimes we Christians will discuss, as we live in the world, the things wrong with the world. We are very good at describing the what that's out there. But we're not as good at describing the why of what's out there.

So try this, men: when you are discussing what is wrong in the world, ask the why question. Why is it that way? Why do unbelievers do this or that? Why does he or she believe this, or why do they practice that? Try it. You're digging deeper: you're asking worldview and worship questions; you're discerning doctrinal and religious commitments. You're thinking Christianly.

The God of the Thunderbolt

Expounding Psalm 29, C. H. Spurgeon speaks sanely of God's wondrous works in the world:

"Natural causes, as men call them, are God in action, and we must not ascribe power to them, but to the infinite Invisible who is the true source of all."

And,

"Thunder is in truth no mere electric phenomenon, but is caused by the interposition of God himself. Even the old heathen spake of Jupiter Tonans; but our modern wise men will have us believe in laws and forces, and anything or nothing so that they may be rid of God."

—C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, vol. 1, part 2, pp. 29-30. 


We need to see more of what Spurgeon saw in this glorious theater, which we call the universe, and we need to give glory to the God who governs all things after the counsel of his will, no exceptions whatever. Our God, Father, Son, and Spirit, he reigns. Our God is the God of the thunderbolt.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 35

We read in 1 Chronicles 29 of the freewill offerings of the people of Israel for the temple project. Apparently, they gave rather wonderfully. For David blessed the LORD (1 Chr. 29:10) that the people offered so freely with a whole heart (1 Chr. 29:9). It seems that David blessed YHWH for the riches and strength of the people who offered, for YHWH rules over all (v. 12).

David then seems to be more explicit about why the people offered freely. He is certainly acknowledging that the wealth they offered was from YHWH's hand (v. 16). But he seems to be saying more than this in v. 14: "But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own we have given you." Is David saying that the LORD put this in their hearts? It surely seems so. Included in the "all things" is their willingness to give generously. And it seems to be a separate point than that their treasures are from YHWH, for he says "and of your own we have given you" (1 Chr. 29:14). Moreover, he goes on to pray that YHWH would "keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you" (v. 18). If he keeps such there, in their hearts, presumably YHWH put such there, in their hearts, in the first place! Bless the LORD! Do it again, LORD! To us! For your name's sake!

So again we see that YHWH is sovereign over the hearts of men. And when we do good, it is his doing, and so we ought to thank and praise and bless him for it. "Not unto to us, O LORD, not unto us, but to your name give glory" (Ps. 115:1).

Edwards' Trinitarianism

Here is a good summary of Jonathan Edwards' trinitarianism from his Discourse on the Trinity (Works, vol. 21, Yale, 131):

This I suppose to be that blessed Trinity that we read of in the holy Scriptures. The Father is the Deity subsisting in the prime, unoriginated and most absolute manner, or the Deity in its direct existence. The Son is the Deity generated by God's understanding, or having an idea of himself, and subsisting in that idea. The Holy Ghost is the Deity subsisting in act, or the divine essence flowing out and breathed forth, in God's infinite love to and delight in himself. And I believe the whole divine essence does truly and distinctly subsist both in the divine idea and divine love, and that therefore each of them are properly distinct persons.

I think that there are more biblical foundations in Edwards' understanding of the Trinity than is sometimes supposed. I wonder if he's not be heard as he ought regarding certain angles on the Trinity in Scripture that have not been noted enough. I'm less sure about Edwards' philosophical foundations, although even here it seems to me that he always attempts to think within the conceptual world of the Scriptures. His brief Discourse on the Trinity is certainly worth reading and pondering. At the very least, one comes away appreciating texts that are plainly trinitarian but perhaps too often overlooked.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 34

A striking recounting of Saul's death is retold in 1 Chronicles 10. Striking, because we're told two truths side by side: that Saul killed himself (1 Chr. 10:4); and that YHWH took his life (1 Chr. 10:13-14). Saul's breach of faith with the LORD ultimately ends in suicide—a suicide wherein YHWH is said to have put Saul to death! That's what the text says! Read it carefully, and again I say, Behold your God! And again I say, Bow low in worship before him! He is Lord of all, or he's not Lord at all.

We read of the same sort of thing again in the case of Judas. He went out and hung himself after betraying the Son of God (Mt. 27:5). For the Scriptures had predicted this, and the Scriptures must be fulfilled (Jn. 13:18-19, 25-27; cf. Acts 1:16). This all happened that we might know that Jesus is YHWH (Jn. 13:19; see the Greek), and YHWH is the uncontested Lord who alone rules human history.

The Threefold Office of the Holy Spirit

How might one summarize succinctly the work of the Holy Spirit? In his Discourse on the Trinity, Jonathan Edwards does well, I believe. He says that the office, or work, of the Holy Spirit is threefold: "to quicken, enliven, and beautify all things; to sanctify intelligent creatures; and to comfort and delight them."

First, "He quickens and beautifies all things. So we read that 'the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters' (Gen. 1:2).

Second, the Spirit "sanctifies created spirits, that is, he gives them divine love: for the Scripture teaches us that all holiness and true grace and virtue is resolvable into that, as its universal spring and principle. . . . It is the office of the person that is God's love to communicate divine love to the creature. In so doing, God's Spirit or love doth but communicate of himself." Here Edwards cites 1 Jn. 4:12-13; Jn. 14:16-18; 17:26;  2 Cor. 6:6; Rom. 5:5; 8:9-10; 15:30; Phil. 2:1; Gal. 5:13-16; Col. 1:8.

Third, the last office of the Holy Spirit "is to comfort and delight the souls of God's people." Here Edwards cites Acts 9:31; 13:52; Rom. 14:7; 1 Thess. 1:6.

—Jonathan Edwards, "Discourse on the Trinity," Works, vol. 21, pp. 123-126. 

Holy Sonnet X

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

—John Donne (1572-1631)

God's Holiness: God's Infinite Love To Himself

Q: What is God's holiness?

A: God's holiness consists in "God's infinite love to himself. . . . As all creature holiness is to be resolved into love, as the Scripture teaches us, so doth the holiness of God himself consist in infinite love to himself. God's holiness is the infinite beauty and excellency of his nature. And God's holiness consists in his love to himself. . . ."

—Jonathan Edwards, "Discourse on the Trinity," Works, vol. 21, p. 123.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 33

A strong statement of God's sovereignty and of free human agency comes to us in 1 Chr. 6:15: "YHWH sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar." YHWH does the sending. Clearly. But Nebuchadnezzer's hand is involved. Clearly. So who is responsible for the exile? Answer: YHWH (as primary agent) and Nebuchadnezzar (as secondary agent). YHWH uses Nebuchadnezzar as a tool. But there's a difference between using a tool as a tool and using a person as a tool. And so this metaphor breaks down at certain points. All metaphors do. Nebuchadnezzer is a tool in YHWH's hands, but he's not exacly like a tool since he's personal. And persons make free choices. We see this everywhere in the Bible.

And maybe we shouldn't even use the tool metaphor (although Scripture itself does), since we're given a metaphor in the text that points up the point. It is "by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar" that YHWH sends his people into exile. Who has control of that hand? Well, all of us would say, the body and head to which the hand is attached. Right? Right. But. But God. God rules over that hand. So says the text.

So Nebuchadnezzar freely chose to oppress Judah; he felt no constraint whatsoever in doing this. However, ultimately God was behind it. How he was behind it, let no one pretend otherwise, is shrouded in mystery. And so we're left with tension. But we're not left doubting that God rules over men's decisions and actions. And we're also not left wondering why God would use a wicked king to take his people into a foreign land: for "Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith" (1 Chr. 9:1).

A Submissive Woman in the White House?

Pastor Doug Wilson's post addressing Michelle Bachmann's flubbing the questions coming her way regarding submission ought to be read widely. We need to think like Christians regarding these issues, and we need to respond with backbone and shrewdness. Bachmann, for all her talk about having a titanium spine, rather leaves us doubting whether she can stand firm. And many of us are wondering about her husband's spine, too. If any is to vote for Bachmann, her husband needs to be taken into account. And what kind of man is he?

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 32

Now we find ourselves in Chronicles in this series of posts on "Calvinism Everywhere." And I want to point to two answered prayers and two military moves in the opening genealogical lists.

First, there is the now famous (made famous infamously) prayer of Jabez (1 Chr. 4:9-10). We're not told much about Jabez. But we are told that he "was more honorable than his brothers" (v. 9). Presumably this is because he "called upon the God of Israel" (v. 10). He seems to have prayed for three things: the blessing of an enlarged border; that God's hand might be with him; and that God would protect him from evil. And the text tells us: "And God granted what he asked" (v. 10). Now consider what sort of God the Lord must be to grant these requests. We often don't dwell on such; but doing so should open our eyes. If he's not the Lord of all history, he could grant none of these.

The same is true for the second prayer, this time found in chapter five in a brief section on the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (1 Chr. 5:18ff). These tribes, we're told (v. 18), had valiant men who were warriors, carrying shield and sword, drawing the bow, expert in war. They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab (v. 19). They "prevailed over them" as YHWH gave them "into their hands" (v. 20). Why? "For they cried out to God in the battle, and he granted their urgent plea because they trusted in him." Again, I ask, what sort of God must YHWH be to be able to grant such urgent pleas? If he were not sovereign of all, he could grant no such thing. And so "many fell, because the war was of God" (v. 22). And this "war of God" is the first of what I mentioned above as "military moves." God's military moves.

The second "military move" came when Manasseh "broke faith with the God of their fathers, and whored after the gods of the peoples of the land . . ." (1 Chr. 5:25). The divine reaction to this idolatry: "So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, the spirit of Tiglath-pilesar king of Assyria, and he took them into exile, namely, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh . . ." (1 Chr. 5:26).

Here it is again. We've seen this before. The God of the spirits of all flesh moves man in military might against a rebellious people. Is this divine coercion? Are the determinists right after all? Of course not. We've got a whole canon to keep us from such conclusions. God is utterly sovereign everywhere at all times; and man is completely responsible for his free choices. Scripture makes these tandem realities crystal clear. Let's live with the mystery, live with the tensions, live without full comprehension. But, for the glory of God, for the display of his excellencies, for the worship of his name, let's never, under any circumstances, deny his absolute dominion over all, in all, and through all.

God is Love

Commenting on 1 Jn. 4:16, Jonathan Edwards says this of the Spirit:

The Apostle tells us that 'God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.' Which confirms not only that the divine nature subsists in love, but also that this love is the Spirit: for it is the Spirit of God by which God dwells in his saints, as the Apostle had observed in the thirteenth verse, and as we are abundantly taught in the New Testament. 

—Jonathan Edwards, "Discourse on the Trinity," Works, vol. 21, pp. 109-144.

Bibline Blood

Charles Spurgeon:

Oh, that you and I might get into the very heart of the Word of God, and get that Word into ourselves! As I have seen the silkworm eat into the leaf, and consume it, so ought we to do with the Word of the Lord—not crawl over its surface, but eat right into it till we have taken it into our inmost parts. It is idle merely to let the eye glance over the words, or to recollect the poetical expressions, or the historic facts; but it is blessed to eat into the very soul of the Bible until, at last, you come to talk in Scriptural language, and your very style is fashioned upon Scripture models, and, what is better still, your spirit is flavored with the words of the Lord.

I would quote John Bunyan as an instance of what I mean. Read anything of his, and you will see that it is almost like the reading the Bible itself. He had read it till his very soul was saturated with Scripture; and, though his writings are charmingly full of poetry, yet he cannot give us his Pilgrim’s Progress—that sweetest of all prose poems — without continually making us feel and say, “Why, this man is a living Bible!” Prick him anywhere—his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak without quoting a text, for his very soul is full of the Word of God. I commend his example to you, beloved.

—”Mr. Spurgeon as a Literary Man,” in The Autobiography of Charles H. Spurgeon, Compiled from His Letters, Diaries, and Records by His Wife and Private Secretary, vol. 4, 1878-1892 (Curtis & Jennings, 1900), p. 268.


HT: Justin Taylor

Is Wright Right?

Here's an assertion made by N. T. Wright regarding common readings of the gospels: "Many 'Christian' readings of the gospels have screened out the political overtones of Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom. . ." (The New Testament and the People of God, 149). I believe Wright is right on this one.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 31

Rounding off the book of Kings, I want to begin with an assertion about the book from Richard Hess: "Foremost in the book of Kings is the reign of the single God of Israel" (Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament, ed. Kevin Vanhoozer, 119). Hess then adds, "The final grand statement of God's sovereignty is that of 2 Kings 17, where the author reflects on the fall of the northern kingdom, attributing it to the worship of other dieties and the abandonment of the one true God of Israel" (120). God reigns, as noted many a time in earlier posts, not only in salvation but also in judgment. And so for her treachery, Israel goes into exile under Assyrian domination (2 Kgs. 15:29; 17:6).

The God who can touch a king and make him a leper (2 Kgs. 15:5) is the God who can call for the reigning superpower to be "the rod of his anger" (Isa. 10:5; 2 Kgs. 17:7-8, 20; 18:11). And then, after Assyria serves the Lord's purposes, she would be punished—repaid for her pride—and become a heap of ruins (Isa. 10:12ff; 2 Kgs. 19:21ff). And this comes both according to God's foreordination (2 Kgs. 19:25) and in response to Hezekiah's prayer (2 Kgs. 19:14-19). Well sure, for YHWH is the sovereign, he alone, over all the kingdoms of the earth; he has made heaven and earth. And he hears prayers "that all kingdoms of the earth may know that [YHWH is] God alone" (2 Kgs. 19:19). We then get a glimpse of his might, as YHWH responds to Hezekiah's plea and strikes "down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians" (2 Kgs. 19:35), effectively protecting Judah. For a time.

But Assyria is not the only instrument wielded by the Lord.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 30

We've seen in the history of Samuel and Kings that the LORD often saves Israel from foreign superpowers. But I think it's fair to say that he doesn't usually bless his people through a wicked king. Wicked kings usually bring destruction upon a people. Certainly that is in large measure the story of Kings. But because God is compassionate and gracious, and because he keeps his covenant promises, we see in 2 Kings 14 something unusual.

Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria in the fifteenth year of Amaziah, king of Judah (2 Kgs. 14:23). "And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD" (2 Kgs. 14:24). And yet God used him to restore the border of Israel, according to his word through Jonah (2 Kgs. 14:25). Why? "For the LORD saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter; for there was none to help Israel. But the LORD had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash" (2 Kgs. 14:26-27).

Israel could not be blotted out. She was the chosen line, the line of the messianic seed. And so God's purposes would come to pass through a preserved people. His steadfast sovereign love endures forever!

Sonnet CXVI

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
   If this be error and upon me proved,
   I never writ, nor no man ever loved.


—William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 29

In 2 Kgs. 9:1, we read that Elisha has one of the sons of the prophets head for Ramoth-gilead to anoint Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, as king over Israel. The problem here was that there was still a king in Israel, namely, Joram. But after Jehu was doused with oil, he heard this word from one of the sons of the prophets: "I anoint you king over the people of YHWH, over Israel. And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of YHWH" (2 Kgs. 9:6-7). And so it all comes to pass (2 Kgs. 9:24-26, 30-37; 10:6-17). Go ahead and read the sobering, gruesome description of this whole affair. Nothing of the word of YHWH fell to the ground, a word he had spoken concerning the house of Ahab, for YHWH did what he said he'd do by his servant Elijah (2 Kgs. 10:10). And lest we suppose that Jehu acted out of step with God's will in this regard, we have this text: 2 Kgs. 10:30.

Now something sounds all wrong about this to our ears. Jehu is anointed to strike down the house of Ahab his master, and Jezebel and apparently all connected with her were massacred. Yet this was YHWH's vengeance, avenging on Jezebel the blood of YHWH's servants the prophets, and the blood of all YHWH's servants. Indeed God's ways are not our ways, but there they are, his ways in plain view in Scripture. Look at them head on, embrace them in faith, and bow low to worship the Lord who governs all things justly.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 28

As I move into 2 Kings for this series on "Calvinism Everywhere," I'm going to turn a corner and back away from trying to include as many statements as I readily see about God's absolute dominion. There's just so much there, on every page really. And a lot of this material is repetitive, including elements of God's reign already pointed up in Judges through 1 Kings (e.g., a king dies "according to the word of the LORD," 2 Kgs. 1:17; or an army is given victory from the LORD, 2 Kgs. 5:1; or YHWH calls for a famine, 2 Kgs. 8:1). Not that going over these things is unprofitable. It would be. But I simply want to focus on texts that angle in on the subject in certain ways. So I'm going to highlight certain passages only, those that are particularly striking or relevant or insightful for us, as I see things.

One thing to be duly reckoned with is how God's spokesmen (in this case, first Elijah, then Elisha) say that something will come to pass, and then it does (e.g., 2 Kgs. 4:16-17, where the Shunammite woman bears a son to her husband in his old age according to the word of Elisha; cf. 2 Kgs. 4:42-44). The prophetic word and God's will are one.

Another thing to take note of is how a man of God prays that God will do something remarkable and unusual, and he does it (e.g., 2 Kgs. 4:32-37, where Elisha asks YHWH to raise the Shunammite's son from the dead, and he is raised; or 2 Kgs. 6:18, when Elisha asks YHWH to strike the Syrians with blindness, and he does so).

Next, there's the divine sending of a deluding influence to cause the Syrians to flee before Israel: "the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, 'Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites  and the kings of Egypt to come against us.' So they fled away . . ." (2 Kgs. 7:6-7).

And then there's the divine prophetic prediction of Elisha that Ben-hadad king of Syria would die and Hazael would take his place and work great evil (2 Kgs. 8:7-15). For YHWH had shown this to Elisha (2 Kgs. 8:14; cf. 2 Kgs. 10:32). There's also the predication of the man of God from way back in 1 Kgs. 13:1-2 that Josiah would throw down idolatry in his zeal for the law of God, which came to pass (2 Kgs. 23:13-16). And this prediction comes 300 years before its fulfillment! (Never mind the incredulous scholars who scoff; what else would we expect from their unbelief?)

Where, please tell me, can anyone legitimately perceive a second or an inch or an action where the God and Father of the Lord Jesus does not reign by his almighty Spirit? I confess (willingly and freely, choosing my words advisedly, without any coercion) that I perceive none. This God—the God of the Bible—he reigns among the nations! And there is no other!

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 27

Moving forward through Kings, 1 Kings 22 relates Micaiah's prophecy against Ahab. Really all one needs to do is read it, meditate upon it, and push away all saccharine notions of a sweetie nice deity that flood in with this or that philosophical objection. So here it is (1 Kgs. 22:19-23):

And Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, 'I will entice him.' And the LORD said to him, 'By what means?' And he said, 'I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, 'You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.' Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you.

What follows is predictable, for it was predicted (even Ahab heard it!). Ahab is struck in battle by a certain man who "drew his bow at random" (1 Kgs. 22:34). Random ha! The phrase "at random" is the ESV's effort to get across the Hebrew idiom "in his innocence/integrity" (so also the NIV, NAB, and NASB). The Holman Christian Standard Bible translates the phrase "without taking special aim." Those who've read the prophesy know for certain that this all, "random" arrows included, came to pass "according to the word of the LORD" (1 Kgs. 22:38). That is, Ahab believed the prophecy from the lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets (1 Kgs. 22:12, 22), rushed off into battle at Ramoth-gilead (1 Kgs. 22:29), and died (1 Kgs. 22:37), according to the word of the LORD.


The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, YHWH is his memorial name, this God, he is the God of bows drawn at random, bows that strike kings according to the prophetic word, which prophetic word revealed that YHWH's "declared disaster" (1 Kgs. 22:23) against a certain king included the means of a lying spirit in the mouth of the king's prophets.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 26

In 1 Kgs. 20:35ff, we read of one of the sons of the prophets who wanted to deceive Ben-hadad, king of Syria (see 1 Kgs. 20:38). So he "said to his fellow at the command of the LORD, 'Strike me, please.' But the man refused to strike him. Then he said to him, 'Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as you have gone out from me, a lion shall strike you down.' And as soon as he had departed from him, a lion met him and struck him down."

How shall we take "at the command of the LORD" and "you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD"? Was this prophet's word truly of YWHW? It would seem, in context, that it was. Nothing seems to point in the other direction. That the word was fulfilled also accords with the criteria for prophetic predictions given in Deuteronomy 18. Moreover, in the light of all of Scripture, and in the light of 2 Kgs. 17:25 in particular, I'm inclined to say that this was a predication truly based on "the command of the Lord." But whether I'm reading this one aright or not, 2 Kgs. 17:25 makes it abundantly clear that YHWH is the sort of God who sometimes sends lions to to take lives.

Do we have categories for this as we think about who God is and how he reigns today? It seems to me that the generality of us all have a category of "nice things" and a category of "bad things." We attribute the "nice things" to God; the "bad things" we attribute to another. That "another" may be Satan, may be nature, may be evil agency, may be chance or whimsy, but rarely do we conceive that YHWH is the kind of God who sometimes sends lions to take lives. We've got to read the Word of God more closely, and seek to see all through that enlightening lens. After all, we're in the story. And as characters of the grand narrative, we're either in step or out of step with the story's Main Character. Do we know and acknowledge who the Main Character really is? Do we know his character and ways?

The Freedom of a Christian

In 1520 Martin Luther put to print three key works of the Reformation. They were The Address to the German Nobility, The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and The Freedom of the Christian. The first two I have yet to read, but the last one I’ve now read three times. And it was only upon this third reading recently that I’ve begun to understand what Luther was after and how important this work was (and even still is). And I found myself praying in line with Elisha’s request to Elijah, “O Lord, give me a double portion of that man’s spirit!” (2 Kgs. 2:9). That is, of Luther’s.

In this tract, dedicated to Pope Leo X by Luther “as a token of peace and good hope,” Luther makes a bold claim. He says to Leo X: “It is a small book if you regard its size. Unless I am mistaken, however, it contains the whole of Christian life in a brief form, provided you grasp its meaning” (343). The whole of the Christian life? That is bold. The work is only about thirty-five pages in the American edition of Luther’s Works (vol. 31, Career of the Reformer: I).

Luther sets down two propositions in this little book, he says, “for the unlearned—for only them do I serve” (344). They are these: 

A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.
A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.

What follows in this tract is stirring stuff for faith. And so I highly commend it to your faith. And I urge you to read it more than once as well. I, for my part, shall doubtless read it again and again from time to time. There is so much foundational doctrinal matter upon which to build one’s life. And it’s only been with the addition of some years in the faith that I’ve begun to grasp something of the power of Luther’s points. No one will agree with Luther on all of his exegesis. But no one should read Luther for careful, meticulous exegesis. Read Calvin for that. Read good modern commentaries for that. But for bold spirited formulation of some of the big guns of our religious weaponry, Luther is tops, perhaps without peer regarding the doctrines of faith.

You may purchase vol. 31 of Luther's Works at amazon. Or you may read another translation for free online here, parts 1, 2, and 3, under the heading Concerning Christian Liberty.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 25

The familiar Elijah narrative warrants careful consideration. But this post will only look at those elements that highlight the theme of this series on Calvinism everywhere. Feel free, however, to read that choice section of Old Testament narrative again and again. No one's stopping you from much instruction and encouragement. Even much fun.

Elijah predicts, as YHWH's spokesman, that "there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word" (1 Kgs. 17:1). And of course you know what happens, if only because it's included in this series of posts. And then we read, in the narrative of Elijah's conversation with the widow of Zarephath, that the God of Israel said this to the widow: "The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that YHWH sends rain upon the earth" (1 Kgs. 17:14). Then predictably, by now, we read in v. 16 the fulfillment of the prediction: "The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah." Are you yet getting used to that wonderful phrase, "according to the word the LORD"? And then, also predictably, shortly thereafter, there was rain (1 Kgs. 18:45). For the mouth of the Lord had spoken.

Next chapter, in the showdown with the prophets of Baal, after they've gone through their goofy gyrations, to absolutely no effect whatever, apart from lacerations and mutilations, Elijah prays to the Lord of heaven and earth: "Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God . . . (1 Kgs. 18:37). So fire falls from Heaven and consumes offering, wood, stones, dust, licking up also the water in the trench. This is done, and I make note of it here, that we might know that YHWH, Father, Son, and Spirit, he is God. There is no other. This is his own world, and his will will be done. And so rounding off the narrative before Elisha's call, we read once again of more deaths predicted, as in the previous chapters, "according to the word of the LORD." See 1 Kgs. 19:17.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 24

In 1 Kings 14, Jeroboam's wife is charged to visit Ahijah, the prophet of the Lord. She meets this word for Jeroboam: "Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart . . . therefore behold, I will bring harm . . . (1 Kgs. 14:7-10). God had made Jeroboam king. He wasn't a self-made man. (No one is.) And yet Jeroboam cast God behind his back (1 Kgs. 14:9).

So YHWH promises to bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam (1 Kgs. 14:10). This will include much carnage for dogs and birds to eat (1 Kgs. 14:10-11). Can we be sure? Oh yes; "for the LORD has spoken it" (1 Kgs. 14:11). There then follows a word about Jeroboam's child alone going to the grave (1 Kgs. 14:13), which appears to be a good thing in the context, as in Abijah only, among all Jeroboam's offspring, did YHWH find "something pleasing." So the child dies, "according to the word of the LORD" (1 Kgs. 14:18). Now "YHWH will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam" (1 Kgs. 14:14). Remember, he is the one who raises up and throws down kings.

So Jeroboam breaths his last (1 Kgs. 14:19-20) and Nadab his son begins to reign over Israel (1 Kgs. 15:25). But his reign ends rather abruptly when Baasha conspires against him and slays him (1 Kgs. 15:27-28). "And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed . . . according to the word of the LORD" (1 Kgs. 15:29). And we're even told why YHWH sent this massacre: "It was for the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned and that he made Israel to sin . . . (1 Kgs. 15:30).

Then, although Baasha was exalted by God (it was the Lord's doing, again, as always), yet since he was made of the same stuff as Jeroboam, he hears a similar word about his house being swept away like Jeroboam's: 1 Kgs. 16:2-3. When Baasha sleeps with his fathers, Elah his son comes to the throne (1 Kgs. 16:6, 8), which is followed fairly swiftly by his assassination and replacement by Zimri (1 Kgs. 16:10). And "according to the word of the LORD" (1 Kgs. 16:12), Zimri lays waste to "all the house of Baasha" (1 Kgs. 16:11).

This is sordid stuff, isn't it? And it comes to pass, all of it, down to where the droplets of blood spattered, "according to the word of the LORD," a not insignificant phrase, a phrase to be pondered.  

Owen's Hermeneutics: A Breath of Fresh Air

In the modern West, there is almost universally such a strong sense of progress that the past is incessantly despised or looked upon with condescension. I don't think the fields of linguistics and hermeneutics are exempt either. Older handlers of language are frequently spoken of as apes that simply plopped noncontextual dictionary definitions into the meaning of words in a given context, ignoring like idiots the obvious, namely, the larger linguistic structures of which the words partake.

Now in saying this sort of thing, I don't want to dismiss the real instances of progress that have been made, nor ignore the shortcomings or bone-ignorance of the past. But I do want to say that our sense of progress is a bit overblown, and oftentimes overweeningly arrogant. Moreover, and this is my chief concern, important methods and approaches and lessons are sometimes lost.

What follows now is a small sampling (three statements) from John Owen's work on the Spirit, from the third volume of his Works, with my brief commentary along the way. The first one particularly pleases me.

Here is Owen on hermeneutics: "Scripture is able of itself to manifest its own intention and meaning unto humble and diligent inquirers into it" (47).

This sort of statement is conspicuously absent in modern

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 23

So the divided kingdom was ultimately from God (1 Kgs. 12:24). And it would appear that the lion that killed the man of God in 1 Kgs. 13:24 was also from God as recompense for his disobedience to God's word. What's instructive here is how the immediate and broader contexts must be called to mind to conclude that the lion was sent by God. The snapshot (either the verse or paragraph, or if you were there without a biblical worldview) would simply picture a lion mauling a man. And why would any suppose that this was God's doing?

Assassination of Body and Character

What is murder? Assassination of someone's body. What is slander? Assassination of someone's character.

—Colin Gunton, The Christian Faith, p. 44.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 22

In response to Solomon's request (1 Kgs. 3:9), God was pleased to put wisdom into the mind of Solomon (1 Kgs. 10:24), more it seems than any before him or after him (save One, the Holy Son). His wisdom and wealth (which were connected) took away the breath of the Queen of Sheba (1 Kgs. 10:5). Although she had heard of Solomon's fame (1 Kgs. 10:1), upon seeing his wisdom she exclaimed, "The half was not told me!" (1 Kgs. 10:7).

But Solomon's wealth of wisdom did not keep him from making shipwreck upon the love of many foreign women, who stole away his heart after false gods (1 Kgs. 11:1ff). So Solomon worshiped abominations, doing evil in the sight of YHWH, not following him wholly as David had done (1 Kgs. 11:5ff). Almost needless to say, YHWH was angry with Solomon (1 Kgs. 11:9). The LORD told Solomon, "I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. . . . But I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen" (1 Kgs. 11:11-13). We see here, then, the raw and just reign of God.

Moreover, YHWH raises up an adversary against Solomon, not once (1 Kgs. 11:14), not twice (1 Kgs. 11:23), but thrice (1 Kgs. 11:36; 12:1, 15). And he did this not only from among the nations, but even from Solomon's own lusting loins, which produced Rehoboam. So Rehoboam gets one tribe from the Lord; and Jeroboam gets ten tribes from his hand (1 Kgs. 11:31). This division in the kingdom comes, remember, on account of corrupt worship (1 Kgs. 11:33). Because of this, though not forever, YHWH afflicts the offspring of David (1 Kgs. 11:39).

Now what shall we make of all this? Well, we shall make out in

Another Blog Fast

I'm taking a one week blog fast. I'm going under for an intensive theology class this week at Wheaton College. When I come up, I'll be back. Wifey is taking the class with me, our first class together (though we've been in the school of Christ together for over four years). It should be a good week with my bright and beautiful bride, who is like the holy women of old. Thinking about the deep things of God with Emily is undoubtedly one of the greatest joys of my life.

Can Wicked Rulers be Allied with YHWH?

Here's a pertinent rhetorical question for our land: Ps. 94:20. Never confuse one party or other with the kingdom of God. But never think, either, that the kingdom of God has nothing to do with politics. Jesus is Lord of all, and every knee will bow (Phil. 2:9-11). God has raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenlies, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come (Eph. 1:20-21).

Would that the preachers in our land would lay hold of their pulpits and preach Ps. 2:10-12 like they believed it, effectively banishing our silly sacred/secular mindset, our privatized and truncated religious thinking and living. Either Jesus is Lord of all, or he's not. And professing Christians in North America often want him to be Lord just of their little churches (usually just Sunday morning, perhaps, if Jesus is lucky) and their little hearts (during devotional time, if we even touch our Bibles). But, Jesus is Lord of all. We don't make him Lord of anything. The Lord God has appointed his Christ to rule the nations. So King Jesus reigns. And every national knee will bow: "All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name" (Ps. 86:9).

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 21

First Kings 8 records Solomon's magnificent prayer at the dedication of the temple. The depths and heights of biblical theology and typology here reach far and climb high. And were I up to the daunting task, I'd do a whole series on this far-reaching sinew of Scripture that goes back to Genesis and forward through the cross and resurrection on into Revelation. Would that preachers took up this text in our churches for series of 10-12 weeks or more! There's so much here!

But, for now, we'll focus in on only a few elements to stay on topic: Calvinism Everywhere. The whole of 1 Kings 8:22-53 is a prayer. And so God's almighty ability to do what is asked for is assumed. Solomon was sure of God's ability to carry out what he purposed, for this God speaks with his mouth, and fulfills with his hand (1 Kgs. 8:24). I shall not highlight what is prayed for and then fulfilled, however, though that would be profitable. Rather I shall look at some portions where God has sent some providential dealing Israel's way (in line with the covenant curses of Deuteronomy).

On account of Israel's pervasive sinfulness and covenant-breaking—"for there is no one who does not sin" (1 Kgs. 8:46)—God fulfills what he threatened in Deuteronomy. Solomon knows these curses are coming; that's why he prays. And these are the coming covenant curses: defeat before the enemy (1 Kgs. 8:33); drought conditions (1 Kgs. 8:35); famine, pestilence, blight, mildew, locust, caterpillar, plague, sickness, siege conditions (1 Kgs. 8:37); exile into the land of their captors (1 Kgs. 8:46). These conditions, Solomon assumes, come about from the hand of the covenant Lord on account of covenant-breaking disobedience. When these curses fall, when Israel goes into exile, all will acknowledge the hand of YHWH (1 Kgs. 9:9). And the covenant Lord alone can deliver from the bitter fruit of faithlessness. He sends distress and destruction; he also sends salvation and deliverance. 


So behold your God, O man! And turn in trust and pray—toward the place where his name now dwells (Jn. 1:14; 2:18-22). For there is one mediator appointed between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5-6), the true temple, the ultimate meeting place with God, where God's holy presence fully and finally dwells (Col. 1:19; 2:9).

Delighting in The Spirit's Person and Work

John Owen on the Holy Spirit is quickly proving to be life-changing for me. I don't think I can be the same after working through volume three of his works. I don't say this flippantly; and I don't say this infallibly. After all, the Spirit is sovereign and moves as he pleases (1 Cor. 12:11), blowing where he will (Jn. 3:8). But I do say it advisedly.

I think I've only been able to say this sort of thing a handful of times in my walk with God. Another one of these seasons was spending a whole year with Professor Greg Beale in Principles of Interpretation and New Testament Theology at Wheaton College. This season profoundly shaped my approach to the Bible, my understanding of eschatology, and my appreciation for God's inbreaking new creation kingdom in the risen Christ. Yet another was being introduced to the prophetic preaching of John Piper. In particular I experienced  electric soul shock upon hearing Piper preach in person for the first time. My whole being was moved. Never before had a man brought such unction and power with his message.

So, similarly perhaps, here's a serious word for me, and I think for all, from Owen on the importance of our response to the Spirit's ministry in the world:

But now the Lord Jesus Christ, being ascended unto his Father, hath committed his whole affairs in the church and in the world unto the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-11). And it is on this design of God that the person of the Spirit may be singularly exalted in the church . . . and with respect unto him it is that the church in its present state is capable of an apostasy from God. And whatever is found of this nature amongst any, here it hath its beginning; for the sin of despising his person and rejecting his work now is of the same nature with idolatry of old, and the Jew's rejection of the person of the Son (Works, vol. 3, p. 44).

We need to think long and hard about this warning from Owen. And we need to consider whether or not we honor the Spirit fully, sow to him duly, and delight in him truly. Do we grieve him? Do we quench his holy motions?

May the Lord and Giver of life be pleased to blow through our land and give us life indeed through the Son, working in us not only a zeal to avoid despising the Spirit's person and work, but more, a zeal to delight in and prize sensibly his person and work. O God our Father, give us a felt sense of the glory of the gift of your Son's Spirit! All we possess, that is to say, infinite glory and treasure, we do possess in the Spirit.

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 20

So on into the book of Kings. In 1 Kgs. 2:12 we read of Solomon's firmly established kingdom. But how did this come about when Adonijah had seized the throne with substantial support? Well, "it was [Solomon's] from the LORD" (1 Kgs. 2:15). Such is the way things tend to go when God governs the universe.

We also read that the LORD's word from 1 Sam. 2:27-36 was fulfilled: 1 Kgs. 2:27. As I said, such is the way things tend to go when God governs the universe.

This is Calvinism—God, sovereign everywhere. Come, join the joy ride. Come, and worship before the Lord.

Where is Your Faith Focused?

John Owen on the prominence of the Spirit in the New Testament as an object of our faith:

The Holy Spirit, the doctrine concerning his person, his work, his grace, is the most peculiar and principal subject of the Scriptures of the New Testament, and a most eminent immediate object of the faith of them that do believe. . . .

—Works, vol. 3, p. 23.

Grace and Mercy Grounded in Love

Yesterday's Lord's Day sermon on Eph. 2:1-10, preached by NCC pastor Andrew Fulton, provided liberating food for the dull duty-bound believer. More than that, though, good as that was for me, it also stirred me to contemplate more clearly the nature of grace and mercy in relation to love, which I've wondered at for years. I think the Lord has given me some light.

So what is the mercy of God, what is the grace of God, and what is the love of God? And how do grace, mercy, and love relate? This text—Eph. 2:4-5—brings these together plainly and brightly. First, I'll give definitions that I believe are governed by the context of this text. Then I'll try to bring them together.

So what is the mercy of God? Simply stated, mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve. This is the negative side, we might say. Born and dead in transgressions and sins (Eph. 2:1), God's mercy comes in and pities the suffering and misery of our condemnation and judgment under the Judge's just wrath. And God withholds exactly what we deserve. He does not condemn the guilty.

So then, what is the grace of God? Well, it is the positive side: grace is God giving us what we don't deserve. Grace gives us a free gift we didn't and can't earn. Grace gives lavish generosity to those who've been stubbornly and persistently stingy and sinful. It moves way beyond mercy.

Mercy says, "I will not sentence you to death, a death that is your due for rebelling against the law of the Lawgiver, for spitting in the face of your good and kind King, for worshiping (delighting in and desiring and loving) the creature and creation rather than (supremely delighting in and desiring and loving) the Creator—who is blessed forever! Amen!" (Rom. 1:25). So speaks Mercy. 


But Grace comes in, wonder of wonders, and says, "I will move beyond granting pardon. Wonderful as mercy is, I will do more. I will seat you in the heavenlies in my risen and exalted Son and make you a co-heir of all that is his (Eph. 2:6; cf. Rom. 8:17). The tripersonal God of infinite love and joy and sweetness will be your everlasting portion and treasure and enjoyment. I know you spit in my face. I know you disregarded my glory. And so I showed you stunning mercy. But that's not all. I also want to make you my son, with all the privileges and possessions of that status." So speaks Grace.


Well then, what is love, if it's not what's already been described? It is this: love is the infinite fountain-like heart of God that pours forth mercy and grace on greasy ingrates from all eternity and on into all eternity. "Because of the great love with which he loved us" (Eph. 2:4). Notice that love grounds the mercy that's gone before to deal with our condition in Eph. 2:1-3. And notice that love then also grounds the grace that lavishes upon us what follows in Eph. 2:5-7. Love is the bottom of all the free mercy and grace of God that comes to us through Christ in the gift of his Spirit. 


And this Holy Spirit is the love between the Father and the Son, now poured out through the risen and living Savior and Lord of all—on us—on dirty, grimy, slimy, unholy idolaters. This Spirit is the life of God given to us in union with the risen Son—we who were cold corrupting corpses in trespasses and sins. Now, because of grace and mercy, bottomed in eternal love, now we live with the very life of the risen Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. He made us alive with him—by grace you have been saved! (Eph. 2:5). O praise the glory of this great triune grace! (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14). This is the free, unfettered gift of God—so no boasting! (Eph. 2:8-9). Except of grace, glorious grace. God's grace.


So love is the bottom of this grace and mercy, the eternal love of the Father, Son, and Spirit (Eph. 1:4). But how may we know this love? What does it look like? I'm glad you asked, for I'm glad to tell you. It looks like this: "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us" (1 Jn. 3:16); "God did not spare his own Son" (Rom. 8:32); "God gave his only unique Son" (Jn. 3:16); "Christ loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). Love looks like the cross. Love looks like Christ crucified. Love looks like the King killed. For you, and for me. 

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 19

Second Samuel 24 begins with God's anger burning against Israel, and so YHWH incites David against them (2 Sam. 24:1). I discussed this in the last post on Calvinism Everywhere. Here I want to direct your attention to what happened after David's heart struck him (for taking a census) and he confessed his sin (2 Sam. 24:10).

Through the prophet Gad YHWH speaks and gives David three options from which to choose. For his sin, God could send three years of famine upon the land; or God could make David flee before his foes for three months; or God could send three days' pestilence through the land (2 Sam. 24:12-13). Which will it be, David, from the hand of the sovereign Lord? David chooses pestilence; so YHWH sends pestilence (2 Sam. 24:14-15). And 70,000 die.

Now consider those three options again. They assume absolute sovereignty. God's total control over nature, wills, and disease is plain. And it is at these three points that we moderns routinely refuse to recognize the hand of God. Nature? Come on. We know famines occur due to natural, not supernatural, processes (hence nature). God doesn't interfere with such things, at least not ordinarily. Right? And being chased by foes would mean God would have to bring some pressure to bear upon the human will, since being chased by men or not involves free choice. And we know God doesn't interfere with free choice. Don't we? And pestilence? You've got to be kidding. This is just pure biology and pathophysiology. Germs happen. Cells dysfunction. We can even describe the mechanisms of many diseases. But God sending disease? Sounds really primitive, even mean-spirited and bad-tempered, and (of course) unloving. So God wouldn't do that. God couldn't do that.

But there you have it. It's in the text. God will send one of the three options before David: famine, foes, or disease. (And, incidentally then, he'll withhold the other two.) Now what sort of God are we talking about to be able to bring such to pass? With whom are we reckoning? With whom do we have to do? The God of the spirits of all flesh, the God of heaven and earth, the God of armies. YHWH is his name, Father, Son, and Spirit, working his wondrous will from all eternity. O bow low, soul, and do obeisance, and marvel, and adore! Adore the God of Calvinism, the God of this world, the God of the Bible. Holy is he! (Ps. 99:5,9).

From All That Dwell Below The Skies

Based on Ps. 117, here's a glorious 1719 hymn written by Isaac Watts:

From all that dwell below the skies
let the Creator's praise arise;
let the Redeemer's name be sung
through every land, by every tongue.

In every land begin the song;
to every land the strains belong.
In cheerful sound all voices raise
and fill the world with joyful praise.

Eternal are your mercies, Lord;
eternal truth attends your word.
Your praise shall sound from shore to shore
till the suns shall rise and set no more.

Your kingdom come, Lord! Hallowed be your name! Through every land, by every tongue, from shore to shore!

St. Patrick's Breastplate

I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever,
By power of faith, Christ's Incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan River;
His death on cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the Cherubim;
The sweet 'Well done' in judgment hour;
The service of the Seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death-wound and the burning
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
salvation is of Christ the Lord.


* The original Irish text can be found at wikisource. The translation is by Cecil Frances Alexander (1823-1895).

Calvinism Everywhere, Part 18

Reviewing the names of David's mighty men, 2 Sam. 23:9ff recounts the victories wrought by the Lord: "And YHWH brought about a great victory that day . . . and YHWH worked a great victory" (2 Sam. 23:10,12).

Now break your brains over these two texts juxtaposed: 2 Sam. 24:1 and 1 Chr. 21:1. Very likely here we have important critical issues (like time of composition) to consider when considering this sort of tension. But theologically (after all, I'm arguing, along with the Bible, that we live in a theocentric universe!) something like the cosmic stage of Job 1:6-12 undoubtedly undergirds the historical unfoldings in 2 Sam. 24:1. Ponder the scene of Satan getting permission from the Lord in Job 1, and ask yourself if the same sort of scenario might not fit 2 Sam. 24:1 and 1 Chr. 21:1. Although, I'll venture an addition: that God himself is said to incite David on account of anger makes this scenario slightly different from that of Job 1. For there Satan initiated; here YHWH initiates.

Oftentimes these texts are spoken of as problem texts. Okay, I know what is often meant, and I'm okay with this after a fashion. However, more and more I have a felt sense that the problem is in me, the problem is in us, not in the text. My head and heart are out of step with the Spirit, and my wisdom, as Job's (Job 38-41), falls far short of the counsels of the everlasting, infinitely wise triune God of Scripture—who has to lisp in infinite condescension to speak intelligibly to us!

So "I lay my hand on my mouth" (Job 40:4). And I tremble at "putting God in the wrong" (Job 40:8). I fear "darkening counsel by words without knowledge" (Job 38:2). I fear hearing the living Lord say: "Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me" (Job 38:3). His judgments, they are upright—they are altogether true and just, good and wise, faithful and everlasting! How "unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" (Rom. 11:33). "This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true . . ." (2 Sam. 22:31). A joy to declare it—yes!—this "LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation" (2 Sam. 22:47). Amen, and amen.

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).