“There are many texts we could use to show that the Bible is without error, but here’s the simplest argument: Scripture did not come from the will of man; it came from God. And if it is God’s word then it must all be true, for in him there can be no error or deceit” (Kevin DeYoung, Taking God At His Word, 39).
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Economics, Career, and Calling
Gary North recently gave a lunchtime seminar on “Careers for Austrians” at Mises University 2014.
CCRC: Psalm of the Month for July, 2014
At CCRC we are endeavouring to learn/focus on a Psalm or song each month. Psalm 145:15-21 – “The Eyes of All upon Thee Wait” from the Cantus Christi hymnal is July’s song of the month. Below is a mediation for this month’s Psalm.
Meditation on Psalm 145
David’s Psalm of Praise
I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.
They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
This is a “Psalm of praise” composed by David, but this Psalm can be prayer-sung everywhere, always, and by all Christians. From the beginning to the end, the inclusio “bless [thy/his holy] name for ever and ever” identifies what is at the heart of Christian living: Doxology – specifically, to give God glory with our mouths/words, e.g. “I will extol thee, my God, O king; . . . Every day will I bless thee” (vv. 1-2); “men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness” (vv. 6-7); “My mouth shall speakthe praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever” (v. 21).
The “song” that David sings about God’s righteousness is the exact same tune sang by those with regenerate hearts. The Church has experienced the love of God, therefore, the Church “for ever and ever” sings:
The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy
The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom . . .
Let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever. (vv. 7-8, 13a, 21b)
The Church while living in the Country of Man (Earth), which is being transformed into the Kingdom of God, sings Psalm 145:2, Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever, and this song echoes and harmonizes with the song sang in the Country of God (Heaven) by the four beasts, who, before the throne of God and without ceasing, sing both day and night: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come (Revelation 4:8). Christians are in the world but not of the world, therefore, we sing heavenly songs; Christians sing eternal songs about eternal life in an eternal kingdom, where they serve an eternal King.
Commenting on Psalm 145, Patrick Henry Reardon, a pastor in the Orthodox Church, notes that: “The Kingdom of Christ is not of this world; it is truly eternal and transcendent and belongs to heaven. Accordingly, the words and sentiments of our psalm [Psalm 145] repeatedly raise the mind above the earthly things to the realm of eternal life.” God’s greatness is eternal, it is unsearchable (v. 3), therefore, this means that every day is a new day for Doxology and Praise; every day is a new day to sing about the righteousness of God!
The Holy Ghost gave David these inspired words so believers might bend their lives with word-and-songtowards their heavenly home. Don’t be dismayed by the fires of life or the vale of tears, but rather lift up your heart to the Lord by singing David’s song, for The Lord preserveth all them that love Him (v. 20). Christians call out to the Lord when they sing David’s “Psalm of praise”, and the Lord has promised that “[He] is nigh unto all them that call upon him . . . and will save them” (vv. 18-19). We sing songs about the God who saves us, for Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!
Psalm 145 – David’s “Psalm of Praise”
A hymn in acrostic form; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Acrostic poems usually do not develop ideas but consist rather of loosely connected statements. The singer invites all to praise God (Ps 145:1–3, 21). The “works of God” make God present and invite human praise (Ps 145:4–7); they climax in a confession (Ps 145:8–9). God’s mighty acts show forth divine kingship (Ps 145:10–20), a major theme in the literature of early Judaism and in Christianity. [Source]
Become Calvinistic . . . You Know You Got Nothing Better To Do! ;-)
“I became what is popularly known as a “Calvinist” sometime in 1988. It is a long and sordid tale, and to this day I am not quite sure what happened. There were various factors in play, as there always are with such things. The first was that I was preaching through Romans. I can recall telling one of our elders that I did not know what I was going to say when I got to “those chapters.” When I began preaching through the book, I was not Calvinistic, and when I finished, I was. So that was one factor. I got to chapter eight and decided, “Oh, well,” and just preached what it said. After all, I had nothing better to do” (Douglas Wilson, A Study Guide to Calvin’s Institutes, 11).
U.S.A.
Wise words from R.C. Sproul, Jr. regarding America and Independence Day.
There are a host of shameful episodes in the history of these United States — people were bought and sold like cattle. Others were locked into government camps simply because of their racial background. Eugenics was embraced and practised. And today perverts parade in the streets. All of these, as dark as they are, however, pale in comparison to our great national ignominy — the wholesale slaughter of the unborn. For forty-one years now we have been a nation whose highest government protects over a million murders each year, and worse, whose citizens will commit over a three thousand murders of the unborn just today. Whether we consider our government, or our people, we are wicked. How then can we wave our flag, sing odes to our national patrimony, pledge our allegiance? . . . Independence Day should be for the Christian a day of mourning and repentance, a day of confessing our dependence on the finished work of Christ. It should be a day to remember that we, like our true founding father, seek a city whose builder and maker is God. It should be that day when we fly the white flag of surrender, and pray that the King of Glory would come in. A day when the blood of the babies on our hands drives us into the bloodstained hands of the Innocent One.
More People = Acceleration in Higher Standard of Living
“The more people there are, the greater the potential for innovation. Every human mouth comes not just with a pair of hands, but with a brain. That is why as the world’s population has increased, the standard of living has also increased, and at an accelerating rate” (Robert Zubrin, Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudo-Scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism, 9).
What Are You
“Marriage simply amplifies what a person is” (Douglas Wilson, Reforming Marriage, 34).
Soccer
Defeated. 🙁
I haven’t been following World Cup 2014 as closely as I would like, but saddened today by Belgium’s victory over the USMNT.
Humor helps, however.
Also, today over at First Things even Colin Garbarino shared his thoughts on soccer.
I’ve heard so many Americans complain about soccer being boring. I’ve also heard those people complain that soccer players flop too much. Flopping, especially in the penalty area, might be the cure for boring soccer. . . . A “flop” is when a player tries to convince the referee that he was fouled. Players have to convince him because in soccer it’s nothing until the referee says it’s something. Referees have authority to interpret both the rules and the events on the field pretty much however they wish. I know that makes some of you football-instant-replay fanatics uncomfortable, but if you just accept that there’s no objective reality in soccer, I know you’ll be much happier.
LOL!
CCRC Song/Psalm of the Month for June, 2014
At CCRC we are endeavouring to learn/focus on a Psalm or song each month. Psalm 72 – “O Lord, Thy Judgements Give the King” from the Cantus Christi hymnal is June’s song of the month. Below is a meditation for this month’s Psalm.
Meditation on Psalm 72
– A Psalm for Solomon –
Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.
For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised. There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they ofthe city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.
– The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. –
Originally Psalm 72 would have been a prayer for the coronation (“anointing”) of Solomon. Enduring-kingship is a repeated theme: verse 11 – Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him; verse 17 – His name shall endure for ever.
Note how David’s prayer for his son is not selfish or self-serving; David asks for God to give the king thy judgments . . . and thy righteousness unto the king’s son (verse 1), and the motivation behind this prayer is in order that Solomon might be a servant-king, endowed with wisdom, thus, enabled to judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment (verse 2). David prays this prayer for Solomon because David is a man after God’s own heart. David loves Israel, and when he is gone he wants Israel to be cared for by a good king. David knows that if the king is righteous then the people will be righteous and flourish (verse 7).
Solomon did become a wise king. 1 Kings 4:30-31 says, And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. Solomon, however, was not perfect, and later on in 1 Kings many of his moral failures are recorded. Because of Solomon’s sin eventually (after his death) the kingdom was torn in two.
Psalm 72, however, is not only a prayer for Solomon, it is also a prophecy regarding a different king—the Messiah. Jesus Christ is the anointed-king who truly has an enduring-kingship. He not only binds broken Israel back together post-Exile, but Christ also binds broken man back together (see Isaiah 57:19; Ephesians 2:17; Galatians 3:27-28). David prayed for Solomon to be a servant-king, and Solomon was, but only in part. However, Jesus Christ is the son of David who fulfilled David’s prayer. Consider just verses 1-8:
- Jesus is the son of David to whom righteousness is given (verse 1, see Isaiah 11; Matthew 1:1 & 3:17).
- Jesus judges people with righteousness (verse 2, see Matthew 25:32).
- Jesus uses mountains to bring peace to people (verse 3, see Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7; see also the crucifixion at Golgotha, the little hill called Calvary, in Matthew 27).
- Jesus saves the children of the needy, and breaks in pieces the oppressor (verse 4, see Psalm 2).
- Jesus is feared throughout all generations (verse 5, see Habakkuk 2:14).
- Jesus enduring-kingship is a life-giving rain that will water the entire earth (verse 6, see John 7:38).
- Jesus ensures that the righteous will flourish, that is, the Church will multiply and get dominion (verse 7, see Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).
- Jesus’ enduring-kingdom will extend from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth (verse 8, see Daniel 2:44-45).
Psalm 72 ought to be one of the most joyful songs sung by the Church of Christ. In this song we are proclaiming the righteousness of King Jesus, the redemption he secures for men, and both the arrival and the permanence of the Kingdom of God. Truly Christ’s redemptive work was once for all (Hebrews 10:10), therefore, with faith we hope for things unseen: we victoriously celebrate Christ’s enduring-kingship, both here and now, all-the-while anticipating the consummation of eternal life when we will sit down at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9).
In 1 Corinthians 13:12 Paul says, For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. Today when Christians sing Psalm 72 it is a prayer that we know will be answered in full, but it in praying this prayer it is like seeing through a glass darkly. However, when Christians sing Psalm 72:19 at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb – And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen and Amen – it will be face to face with God. Changed from glory to glory, what once was our prayer will have been changed into enduring-praise that proclaims the attributes of Christ’s enduring-kingdom!