Richard Baxter Poem on Facing Death

Posted by on

The “Poem of the Week” on my office door this week is Richard Baxter’s “Lord, It Belongs Not to My Care,” which I encountered while re-reading Packer’s Knowing God. It is a powerful testimony of trusting God, come what may. The hymn was published in 1681 in Baxter’s Poetical Fragments, where it is accompanied by this notation, “This Cov­e­nant my dear Wife in her for­mer Sick­ness sub­scribed with a Cheer­ful will.” This affirmation of trust, then, was not an idle abstract thought for Baxter, but one rooted in the real challenge of facing death.

Lord it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and serve Thee is my share,
And this Thy grace must give.

If life be long, I will be glad,
That I may long obey;
If short, yet why should I be sad
To welcome endless day?

Christ leads me through no darker rooms
Than He went through before;
He that unto God’s kingdom comes
Must enter by this door.

Come, Lord, when grace hath made me meet
Thy blessèd face to see;
For if Thy work on earth be sweet
What will Thy glory be!

Then I shall end my sad complaints
And weary sinful days,
And join with the triumphant saints
That sing my Savior’s praise.

My knowledge of that life is small,
The eye of faith is dim;
But ’tis enough that Christ knows all,
And I shall be with Him.

-Richard Baxter

 

Our Need for Augustine’s Hermeneutics

Posted by on

praise seeking understandingI have greatly enjoyed the introduction to Jason Byassee’s Praise Seeking Understanding: Reading the Psalms with Augustine. I’m still working on the rest of the book, but the intro itself deserves to be read as we think about how we interpret the Bible. Byasee does not suggest the Fathers got it all right, but argues that our modern approaches have weaknesses which need supplementing from the Fathers. The Fathers had weaknesses which modern tools can help. In essence he is calling for us to read the Bible along with the church through the ages.

Here are a few quotes where I think he correctly points out some weaknesses in much of typical modern interpretation and identifies the key strength of Augustine and other church fathers.

 

“This book was born out of the experience of leading a congregation. As a preacher I spent a great deal of fruitless time seeking biblical commentaries to help me read scripture well for the sake of the church. I have found modern commentary helpful for certain things – in clarifying historical events or linguistic problems with greater confidence than ancient commentators could, for example. Yet I found ancient commentators more helpful in doing the most important thing that Christian preaching and teaching must do: drawing the church to Christ.” 1

“Now, Augustine’s ability to translate is legendarily limited, and he himself laments it. His hermeneutics and his actual exegetical leaps often call for mockery among modern students of biblical hermeneutics. And yet, for all that, his exegesis itself is lovely, and it is more precisely aimed at the church’s goal of reshaping persons in the image of Christ than ours tends to be.” 1

“I am convinced that the fathers generally and Augustine specifically have been almost entirely excluded from modern conversations about exegesis and from its actual conduct in seminaries and churches. While the fathers have their exegetical faults, they also have much to teach us. Most importantly, their telos in exegesis is often right, precisely where ours is frequently wrong.” 3

“Yet its [the patristic tradition’s]attempt to progress toward a specifically Christian goal, to conduct exegesis with this telos in mind, is a great improvement on exegesis done with no such eschatological orientation. Augustine does exegesis as though Jesus is head of the body of the church, and we who are doing the exegesis are members of the body united under this head. Christians should be hard-pressed to disagree.” 3

Prayer, the Very Essence of Religion

Posted by on

“Since prayer is that act by which we turn our will to God, prayer is of the very essence of religion . . . . Prayer is the most direct expression of faith, because prayerfully turning our thoughts and will to God is the initial step from thought about God to full assurance of God.  By the same token prayer is the most direct expression of love.  It is an offering of highest priority, since the first thing we owe God is our thinking and willing. (Adolf Schlatter, cited in Robert Yarbrough, 1-3 John, 298)

The Church, More than What It Seems

Posted by on

“These two days [John 1:29-34] witnessed the beginning of the greatest institution in the world, – the Christian Church, – and the end of prophecy, which reached its goal when its last representative stood in the presence of Jesus, and, with pointing finger, designated Him as the Lamb of God.  To outward seeming they were but a little knot of poor Jews.  How kings and Caesars would have scoffed, if told that they were the nucleus of a movement which would shatter their thrones and reshape the world!  ‘The kingdom of God cometh not with observation.’”

Alexander Maclaren, The Gospel of John (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1893), 12.

“He Hears Us”

Posted by on

First John 5:14 gives us a powerful assurance in prayer: “he hears us.” This is our “confidence” John says. Yarbrough’s discussion of this truth is moving & instructive.

“The loftiest attainment of errant mortals petitioning before the heavenly throne is not to gain God’s compliance but to be fully assured of his listening ear – whatever external results our prayers do or do not precipitate from God’s side. ‘If we know that he hears us, whatever we request,’ it is enough. The highest divine response to the petitioner is not to put human prayer in the driver’s seat of destiny but to assure the one who prays that all requests are duly considered and acted on so as to maximize the coming of God’s kingdom and the fulfillment of his will – the attitudinal common denominator that Jesus taught should characterize all his disciples’ prayer.

Therefore, when John writes that ‘we know that we have the requests that we have requested from him,’ he is affirming that to know that God hears, to trust that he always acts in a wise and timely fashion, and to commune prayerfully with him in that settled assurance is in itself the deepest gratification of those who have eternal life in his Son (cf. 5:11 …).”

R. Yarbrough, 1-3 John, 302

Read, Pray, Sing

Posted by on

April 12-13, 2013 the Ryan Center for Biblical Studies will be hosting the conference, “Read, Pray, Sing: The Psalms as an Entryway to the Scriptures.” The conference theme captures two key points about the Psalms. First, the Psalms have been given to us to use in reading, praying and singing. Too often, all we do with them is read. Reading the Psalms is wonderful, but there is no need for us to miss these others uses which have been such a rich blessing to the church through the ages. The psalms give us words to express ourselves to God, tutoring us in growing in a rich relationship with God.

Secondly, the Psalms teach us the rest of the Bible. Martin Luther was fond of calling the Psalter a “mini-Bible” saying that all the themes of the Bible are summarized here in miniature. In fact as we seek to use the Psalms in our prayers and song, we are schooled in reading the scriptures in light of Christ, as Jesus himself taught us (Luke 24:27).

So, we will pursue this theme together being led by plenary speakers Andy Davis and Heath Thomas with breakout sessions from several Union faculty members. Also on Friday night we will have a Psalm-sing, taking the opportunity to sing a variety of Psalms in different styles.

The conference is intended for pastors, bible study leaders and anyone who wants to enhance their own study of the Scriptures. Until March 11 (the early registration deadline) the cost is only $50.

Pastors, Seek Souls not Fame

Posted by on

“they who are called to preach the gospel, to teach the flock of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to lead them, cannot do their duty, unless they lay all ambition aside and seek not to please men, not to be seen, nor to be in reputation. They must account all this as vanity, and content themselves to build the Church, to procure the salvation of souls, to magnify the Majesty of our Lord Jesus, and cause all to submit themselves obediently to God.  To be short, let it suffice them to put forth the simplicity of the Gospel, to enrich those who desire to be satisfied with God’s blessings. Let them content themselves herein, and not covet as many do to be exalted, to be esteemed for their showy babbling and lofty speech, for their subtleties, for their fine and sharp wits, for their fleeting, pretentious displays. All these things (he says) must be laid underfoot, or else we can never serve God and his Church.  And therefore this knowledge that men so much seek for is but a mere vanity, because there is no soundness nor substance in it.”

(Calvin, preaching on 1 Timothy 6:20)

This quote is challenging and helpful in a variety of ways. In spite of mischaracterizations to the contrary, we see here Calvin urging pastors to labor in order to “procure the salvation of souls.” Also, here we are reminded that we cannot pursue God’s glory and our own glory at the same time. We cannot simultaneously build the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of self, though it is so easy to build the kingdom of self and simply rename it, “Kingdom of God.” To be useful to God in the salvation of souls and the building up of his church and thus to hear Him say “Well done,” is of so much more value than winning the applause of our contemporaries- despite the inner clamor of our hearts for the immediate gratification of the praise of man.

Tornado & Providence, Union University & William Cowper

Posted by on

Today is the fifth anniversary of the tornado that devastated so much of the campus of Union University. You can see a nice news story from a Tennessee TV station here.

Five years ago tonight my family sat down to dinner with Bob Cali, a Union student and a fellow church member. Dinner was interrupted as the sirens went off, and we gathered into our laundry room. We sang hymns as we waited, and occasionally Bob & I slipped out to get another taste of the dessert which was interrupted (that pie has now been dubbed by my kids as “storm pie”). Then, my wife and I heard the sound we had often heard described but had never before experienced- a sound like a train, which we realized meant a tornado was just then passing very near our home. We huddled with our crew and waited, not knowing we were entering a defining moment in our lives and the life of our community.

The story has been told in full elsewhere, most notably in Tim Ellsworth’s book, God in the Whirlwind: Stories of Grace from the Tornado at Union University. To reflect back on that time, the fact that everyone survived, that the university survived, the amazing leadership of the university administration, and the various fruit which came from it all is a lesson in providence.

Reflecting on that today, my mind returned to this poem by William Cowper, which captures our experience quite well. The biblical truths expressed here are a great comfort and a spur to move ahead boldly with great confidence in a great God.

Light Shining Out of Darkness

God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the LORD by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding ev’ry hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow’r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
GOD is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.