taken from david herbert donald's 'lincoln'..
'..during the months when the president seemed to be on a radical course, it was the conservative republicans who demanded that he reorganize his cabinet. for instance, in early september, samuel galloway warned that the cabinet members' 'selfish purposes (had) over-borne their patriotism' and tried to persuade l to drop chase, whom he considered too radical on the slavery question. even within the cabinet itself, montgomery blair, after consulting with seward, went to the president with a report that the nation was 'going to ruin for the want of a proper head to the war depat.' and begged him to oust stanton.
but after early november most of the demands for cabinet changes came from the radical, antislavery wing of l's party. in calling for a reorganization of the cabinet, radicals often hoped to oust smith, who was 'nothing but a doughface', and bates, who was 'a fossil of the silurian era'. but the chief focus of their attention was seward, who had come to represent everything that was wrong with the l administration. the secretary of state, they alleged, had never had his heart in the war; he had tried to negotiate with the confederate envoys during the secession crisis; he had opposed making a stand at fort sumter; he had been mcClellan's principal defender; he had opposed, and then delayed, the issuance of the emancipation proclamation; he and thurlow weed had undermined the candidacy of radical general wadsworth for governor of new york. the publication in december of seward's diplomatic dispatches to charles francis adams, the american minister in london, gave further evidence that the secretary failed to understand the meaning of the american conflict; as late as july 5, seward denounced both 'the extreme advocated of african slavery and its most vehement opponenets', the abolitionists, as being equally responsible for the civil war. 'seward must be got out of the cabinet', joseph medill of the chicago tribune announced. 'he is l's evil genius. he has been president de facto, and has kept a sponge saturated with chloroform to uncle abe's nose'.
l became aware of the full extent of the hostility to the secretary of state on december 16, three days after the battle of fredericksburg, when a messenger brought him a not from seward; 'i hereby resign the office of secretary of state of the united states, and have the honor to request that this resignation may be immediately accepted'. in identical language frederick w. seward, his son, resigned as assistant secretary of state. with a face full of pain and surprise the president turned to senator preston king of new york, who accompanied the messenger, and asked; 'what does this mean?'
king reported that because of the immense popular excitement over the defeat at fredricksburg there had been an extraordinary caucus of republican senators that afternoon in order 'to ascertain whether any steps could be taken to quiet the public mind and to produce a better condition of affairs'. the real purpose of the caucus became clear when senator wilkinson accused seward of exercising 'a controlling influence upon the mind of the president' and predicted that 'so long as he remained in the cabinet nothing but defeat and disaster could be expected'. senator grimes offered a resolution declaring a want of confidence in the secretary of state and calling for his removal from office. the highly respected jacob collamer argued that 'the president had no cabinet in the true sense of the word', and sharp-spoken william pitt fessenden said that 'there was a back-stairs influence which often controlled the apparent conclusions of the cabinet itself'. he refused to name seward but declared that 'senators might draw their own conclusions'. taken by surprise, the friends of the secretary of state were nevertheless able to prevent unanimous adoption of grimes's resolution of censure. frustrated, seward's opponents pressed for adjournment until the next day and, by a vote of 16 to 13, got their way.
king had not stayed for the final vote but went immediately to seward's house, where he repeated the proceedings to the secretary. 'they may do as they please about me, but they shall not put the president in a false position on my account', said seward. he wrote out a letter of resignation.
that evening the president called at seward's house but found the secretary resolute in his determination to resign. he wired his family, who had been planning to join him in the capital, not to come, and he and his son began packing up their books and papers in preparation for a return to his home in auburn, new york.
keeping seward's resignation secret during the next two days , the president anxiously awaited the outcome of the republican caucus. for months the radicals in this group had been in frequent contact with secretary chase, who fed them stories of l's failure to consult with his cabinet advisers. for instance, he told zachariah chandler that there was 'at the present time no cabinet except in name'; though the heads of departments met now and then, 'no reparts are made; no regular discussions held; no ascertained conclusions reached'. chase was also the source of fessenden's statement about seward's 'back-stairs' influence at the white house. believing chase's rumors, the caucus agreed on a resolution calling for 'a change in and a partial reconstruction of the cabinet'. the senators then voted unanimously-with only two republican senators absent, and senator king not voting-to name a committee to present their views to the president.
l, who had a good idea of what went on in the caucus, was in anguish because of this new assault, coming so close after the devastating news from fredericksburg. when he met browning in the afternoon of december 18, he asked, 'what do these men want?' and he answered himself; 'they wish to get rid of me, and i am sometimes half disposed to gratify them'. 'we are now on the brink of destruction..it appears to me the Almighty is against us, and i can hardly see a ray of hope'.
but when the committee representing the senate caucus called at the white house at seven o'clock that evening, he had regained his composure, and he greeted his visitors with what fessenden called 'his usual urbanity'. patiently he listened as collamer, the chairman of the committee, read resolutions that the senators had agreed on, which, in very general terms and without mentioning any names, called for changes in the composition of the cabinet so that its members would agree with the president 'in political principles and general policy' and urged that no important military command should go to anyone who was not 'a cordial believer and supporter of the same principles'.
wade then bluntly censured l for entrusting the conduct of the war to 'men who had no sympathy with it or the cause' and blamed republican defeats in the recent elections on 'the fact that the president had placed the direction of our military affairs in the hands of bitter and malignant democrats'.
after professing confidence in the integrity and patriotism of the president, fessenden alleged 'that the cabinet were not consulted as a council-in fact, that many important measures were decided upon not only without consultation, but without the knowledge of its members'. seward, he claimed, exerted an injurious influence upon the conduct of the war. branching out in his indictment, he went on to say that the commanders of the armies were 'largely pro-slavery men and sympathized strongly with the southern feeling', and some of them, like mcClellan, had use their position to blame the administration for failing to support them and their men.
at this point l interrupted. from his long experience in the courtroom he knew the value of a well-timed digression as a way of defusing hostility. if the occasion had not been so serious, he might have told the senators an anecdote. instead, producing a large bundle of papers, he spent nearly half an hour in reading aloud his letters to mcClellan, showing that the government had consistently sustained him to the best of its powers.
by the time the senators got back to their main subject, their tempers had cooled and nobody got very excited about sumner's charge that seward had written offensive diplomatic dispatches, 'which the president could not have seen or assented to'.
after three hours the meeting broke up without taking any action. by the end of the session the president was, as fessenden thought, 'apparently in cheerful spirits', and he promised to give careful consideration to the resolutions submitted by the committee. as they left the white house, radical republicans were exultant 'at the prospect of getting rid of the WHOLE CABINET' and chandler rejoiced with 'our best and truest men' that they were going to oust seward, 'the millstone around the administration'.
the president had other plans. the next morning at a cabinet meeting were all members except seward were present, he reported on the resignation of the secretary of state and on his visit from the committee representing the republican caucus. he observed that they considered seward 'the real cause of our failures'. 'while they believed in the president's honesty, he said in his quaint language, 'they seemed to think that when he had in him any good purposes mr. seward) contrived to suck them out of him unperceived'. he then asked the cabinet members to meet with him again, 'to have a free talk', that evening at seven thirty.
the committee was invited for the same hour and as senators and cabinet members met in the anteroom, they exchanged looks of wild surmise. (to conjecture or guess) the president began the meeting with a long statement, commenting 'with some mild severity' on the resolutions presented by the senators the previous evening, admitting that he had not been very regular in consulting the cabinet as a whole, but arguing 'that most questions of importance had received a reasonable consideration' and that he 'was not aware of any divisions or want of unity'. he then called on the members of the cabinet to state 'whether there had been any want of unity or of sufficient consultation'.
most of the cabinet members unhesitatingly agreed that they had indeed been consulted on important matters, but chase was in a very embarrassing position. if he now repeated his frequent complaints to the senators, his disloyalty to the president would be apparent. if he supported l's statement, it would be evident that he had deceived the senators. chase tried to get out of the trap by blustering' that he should not have come here had he known that he was to be arraigned before a committee of the senat'. but finding no escape, he swallowed both truth and consistency and averred 'that questions of importance had generally been considered by the cabinet, though perhaps not so fully as might have been desired' and that there was no want of unity in the cabinet.
the meeting went on for some time after that, as senators repeated all the familiar charges against seward, but it was evident that chase's forced admission had undercut the case against the secretary of state. at one o'clock, when the senators and the cabinet officers left the whit house, no conclusion had been reached, but there was a general feeling that there would be no changes in the cabinet.
chase began to realize that his position was untenable and wrote out his resignation as secretary of the treasury. the next morning when l summoned him to the white house, he brought the letter with him. he, along with stanton and welles, was already in the executive office when the president arrived. turning at once to the treasury secretary, l said; ' i sent for you, for this matter is giving me great trouble'. chase stammered that he, too, had been painfully affected by the meeting the previous night and that he had prepared his resignation.
where is it? asked l quickly. 'i brought it with me,' said chase, taking a paper from his pocket. 'i wrote it this morning'.
'let me have it', said l, his long arm and fingers reaching out for the document, which chase was apparently reluctant to release. evidently the secretary intended to say more, but l took the letter and opened it. 'this...cuts the gordian knot' he said with a triumphant laugh. 'i can dispose of this subject now'.
then stanton offered his resignation, but l brushed him aside. 'you may go to your department' he told the secretary of war. 'i don't want yours'. then he ended the interview abruptly; 'i will detain neither of you longer.
having both seward's resignation and chase's in his hand, the president declined to accept either and insisted that both men remain in his cabinet. they balanced each other, he told senator ira harris of new york. remembering how as a boy in indiana he had worked out a way to carry pumpkins while he was on horseback, he told the senator: 'i can ride on now. i've got a pumpkin in each end of my bag!'
Thursday, June 28, 2012
6.28.2012 LINCOLN'S PASSIVISM
this is taken from 'lincoln' by david herbert donald. Lincoln seems a man, more than any i have ever known or known about, who combines the ability do act with great power in the lowliest manner. often i find myself silently weeping as i read of something he says, the manner in which he goes about a matter, his patient suffering...he has a wiff of Jesus about him that is beautiful to me.
this author portrays him in a way i have yet to encounter. his thesis is to attempt to understand why lincoln related to events in the way he did. it is wholly different than other lincoln books i have read. it has
1. helped me to understand the civil war much better as to how it actually progressed.
2. it has shown lincoln, who, to this time i was of the hopeful opinion that he was a follower of Christ, in a way that makes me think not so certainly in that direction. the author states that in the crisis of the presidency his references to God increased and seemingly his faith in God increased also. he never was a member of a church and rarely attended is my understanding...i hope to see him in when, by God's grace, i may come there.
below is what the author feels is the key to understanding Lincoln in his handling of circumstances and situations he encountered..
'..this biography highlights a basic trait of character evident throughout l's life; the essential passivity of his nature. l himself recognized it in a letter he wrote on april 4, 1864, to albert g. hodges, a fellow kentuckian, who asked him to explain why he had shifted from his inaugural pledge not to interfere with slavery to a policy of emancipation. after relating how circumstances had obliged him to change his mind- how emancipation and the use of african-american soldiers had become military necessities-the president concluded; 'in telling this tale i attempt no compliment to my own sagacity. i claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me'.
from his earliest days LINCOLN HAD A SENSE THAT HIS DESTINY WAS CONTROLLED BY SOME LARGER FORCE, some higher power. turning away from orthodox christianity because of the emotional excesses of frontier evangelicalism, he found it easier as a young man to accept what was called the Doctrine of Necessity, which he defined as the belief 'that the human mind is impelled to action, or held in rest by some power, over which the mind itself has no control'. later he frequently quoted to his patner, william h. herndon, the lines from hamlet;
there's a divinity that shapes our ends,
rough-hew them how we will.
from l's fatalism derived some of his most lovable traits; his compassion, his tolerance, his willingness to overlook mistakes. that belief did not, of course, lead him to lethargy or diddipation. like thousands of calvinists who believed in predestination, he worked indefatigably for a better world-for himself, for his family, and for his nation. but it helped to buffer the many reverses that he experience and enabled him to continue a strenuous life of aspiration.
it also made for a pragmatic approach to problems, a recognition that if one solution was fated not to work another could be tried. 'my policy is to have no policy' became a kind of moto for l-a motto that infuriated the sober, doctrinaire people around him who were inclined to think that the president had no principles either. he might have offended his critics less if he had more often used the analogy he gave james g. blaine when explaining his course on Reconstruction: 'the pilots on our western rivers steer from POINT TO POINT as they call it-setting the course of the boat no farther than they can see; and that is all i propose to myself in this great problem'.
both statements suggest l's reluctance to take the initiative and make bold plans; HE PREFERRED TO RESPOND TO THE ACTIONS OF OTHERS. they also show why l in his own distinctively american way had the quality john keats defined as forming 'a man of achievement', that quality 'which shakespeare possessed so enormously...Negative Capability, that is WHEN A MAN IS CAPABLE OF BEING IN UNCERTAINTIES, MYSTERIES , DOUBTS, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason'.
this author portrays him in a way i have yet to encounter. his thesis is to attempt to understand why lincoln related to events in the way he did. it is wholly different than other lincoln books i have read. it has
1. helped me to understand the civil war much better as to how it actually progressed.
2. it has shown lincoln, who, to this time i was of the hopeful opinion that he was a follower of Christ, in a way that makes me think not so certainly in that direction. the author states that in the crisis of the presidency his references to God increased and seemingly his faith in God increased also. he never was a member of a church and rarely attended is my understanding...i hope to see him in when, by God's grace, i may come there.
below is what the author feels is the key to understanding Lincoln in his handling of circumstances and situations he encountered..
'..this biography highlights a basic trait of character evident throughout l's life; the essential passivity of his nature. l himself recognized it in a letter he wrote on april 4, 1864, to albert g. hodges, a fellow kentuckian, who asked him to explain why he had shifted from his inaugural pledge not to interfere with slavery to a policy of emancipation. after relating how circumstances had obliged him to change his mind- how emancipation and the use of african-american soldiers had become military necessities-the president concluded; 'in telling this tale i attempt no compliment to my own sagacity. i claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me'.
from his earliest days LINCOLN HAD A SENSE THAT HIS DESTINY WAS CONTROLLED BY SOME LARGER FORCE, some higher power. turning away from orthodox christianity because of the emotional excesses of frontier evangelicalism, he found it easier as a young man to accept what was called the Doctrine of Necessity, which he defined as the belief 'that the human mind is impelled to action, or held in rest by some power, over which the mind itself has no control'. later he frequently quoted to his patner, william h. herndon, the lines from hamlet;
there's a divinity that shapes our ends,
rough-hew them how we will.
from l's fatalism derived some of his most lovable traits; his compassion, his tolerance, his willingness to overlook mistakes. that belief did not, of course, lead him to lethargy or diddipation. like thousands of calvinists who believed in predestination, he worked indefatigably for a better world-for himself, for his family, and for his nation. but it helped to buffer the many reverses that he experience and enabled him to continue a strenuous life of aspiration.
it also made for a pragmatic approach to problems, a recognition that if one solution was fated not to work another could be tried. 'my policy is to have no policy' became a kind of moto for l-a motto that infuriated the sober, doctrinaire people around him who were inclined to think that the president had no principles either. he might have offended his critics less if he had more often used the analogy he gave james g. blaine when explaining his course on Reconstruction: 'the pilots on our western rivers steer from POINT TO POINT as they call it-setting the course of the boat no farther than they can see; and that is all i propose to myself in this great problem'.
both statements suggest l's reluctance to take the initiative and make bold plans; HE PREFERRED TO RESPOND TO THE ACTIONS OF OTHERS. they also show why l in his own distinctively american way had the quality john keats defined as forming 'a man of achievement', that quality 'which shakespeare possessed so enormously...Negative Capability, that is WHEN A MAN IS CAPABLE OF BEING IN UNCERTAINTIES, MYSTERIES , DOUBTS, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason'.
Friday, June 22, 2012
6.23.2012 WEEDS AND SIN
i once had the job to paint a picket fence for a farmer who started a now flourishing chicken farm in the souderton area. at the time he was in his 80s. as i was beginning to sand and prep the fence he came out for a little while with a small spade and started vehemently, viciously, aggressively digging away at some pachysandra growing near the fence! a bit surprised and amused at the time, i think i learned some things after he retired into the house and i had time to muse over what he did there. i got a number of unspoken 'lessons'.
1. when you work, give it your all! (the spartans said, 'sweat every day')
2. the thought came...here is a man who for many years has done battle with 'weeds' (ie. PLANTS GROWING WHERE YOU DON'T WANT THEM!) and plants left to grow where they should not be CAN DO GREAT DAMAGE to the plants that should be there...and consequently to earnings.
3. one can teach others by what they do and how they do it!
this all (especially #2) led me to some further, fruitful reflection.. about my asphalt walkway in the back yard. over the years it has begun to crack up, especially in the area where the grass meets the asphalt. i began to pay a lot more attention to this area. i began to establish a small distance between the grass and the asphalt and noticed that the ongoing and increasing damage to the walk STOPPED dead in its tracks! i was and continue to be thrilled with this realization: that TINY, SEEMINGLY INSIGNIFICANT PLANTS...IN THE WRONG PLACE CAN DO GREAT DAMAGE to things seemingly much stronger.. now my walk is no longer in danger of being destroyed by silent, easily overlooked, infinitesimal encroachment by living plants.
this has led to further reflection. SIN, like these little, seemingly innocent plants, IS A LIVING THING and is continually doing corrosive damage in my life.
am i thoughtful about what is going on in and around me.
am i watchful to refuse to allow tiny little thought sins grow into things that absolutely destroy me spiritually.
am i praying and seeking to identify sin at its inception...and then
am i ACTIVELY RESISTING it in prayer...AND NOT LETTING UP!!! until it is gone.
may God make me as watchful and as aggressive in getting rid of my sins, as levi alderfer was with the plants that would silently ruin his fence.. MAY GOD HELP ME WEED OUT EVERY TINY LITTLE SIN AS SOON AS I AM AWARE OF IT and MAY HE GIVE ME A WATCHFULNESS AND AN AGRESSIVENESS TO REFUSE TO ALLOW IT TO REMAIN IN MY HEART/LIFE FOR EVEN A NANOSECOND! thank you dear levi for being the instrument by which God has blessed my life. may He grant me be like you in the seen and in the unseen world.
1. when you work, give it your all! (the spartans said, 'sweat every day')
2. the thought came...here is a man who for many years has done battle with 'weeds' (ie. PLANTS GROWING WHERE YOU DON'T WANT THEM!) and plants left to grow where they should not be CAN DO GREAT DAMAGE to the plants that should be there...and consequently to earnings.
3. one can teach others by what they do and how they do it!
this all (especially #2) led me to some further, fruitful reflection.. about my asphalt walkway in the back yard. over the years it has begun to crack up, especially in the area where the grass meets the asphalt. i began to pay a lot more attention to this area. i began to establish a small distance between the grass and the asphalt and noticed that the ongoing and increasing damage to the walk STOPPED dead in its tracks! i was and continue to be thrilled with this realization: that TINY, SEEMINGLY INSIGNIFICANT PLANTS...IN THE WRONG PLACE CAN DO GREAT DAMAGE to things seemingly much stronger.. now my walk is no longer in danger of being destroyed by silent, easily overlooked, infinitesimal encroachment by living plants.
this has led to further reflection. SIN, like these little, seemingly innocent plants, IS A LIVING THING and is continually doing corrosive damage in my life.
am i thoughtful about what is going on in and around me.
am i watchful to refuse to allow tiny little thought sins grow into things that absolutely destroy me spiritually.
am i praying and seeking to identify sin at its inception...and then
am i ACTIVELY RESISTING it in prayer...AND NOT LETTING UP!!! until it is gone.
may God make me as watchful and as aggressive in getting rid of my sins, as levi alderfer was with the plants that would silently ruin his fence.. MAY GOD HELP ME WEED OUT EVERY TINY LITTLE SIN AS SOON AS I AM AWARE OF IT and MAY HE GIVE ME A WATCHFULNESS AND AN AGRESSIVENESS TO REFUSE TO ALLOW IT TO REMAIN IN MY HEART/LIFE FOR EVEN A NANOSECOND! thank you dear levi for being the instrument by which God has blessed my life. may He grant me be like you in the seen and in the unseen world.
6.22.2012 I PRAY EZEKIEL 36.25-7; LUKE 6.27,8;37,8
my life experience spiritually has been, roughly speaking;
1. fearing i would die and go to hell as a child. this period was marked with a number of prayers for Jesus to come into my heart and save me and trying to ape what i saw older believers do...but no words other than the occasional short ejaculatory prayer when in great, perceived danger or when i thought i ought to... and reading the bible which made no sense to me and was dry as dust. i silently, almost unconsciously gave up on religion.
2.finally realizing i was a sinner in my early twenties. up to this time i viewed myself as 'good'. there was a kind of crisis which culminated in romans 6.11 in my junior year of college, prayer and...a change of sorts. for the first time the bible 'became alive'. i began to read it voraciously and then 'felt called to be a pastor' and went to seminary and studied the bible and became a pastor and became a pharisee for i continually was very aware of the 'fact' that i did alot of 'good' things and was better than other men. this period lasted nearly 30 years. spiritually it was like kissing through a screen door..no, not even that good..it was like knowing about Jesus as a fact rather than personally knowing and interacting with Him. in that period i remember, after reading the life of the great evangelist, george whitefield, God changed my heart to believe romans 9 which i had wrestled with and rejected quietly years before. i now believed that:
a. there is no injustice with God. v14
b. He said to moses,
'I will have mercy on who I have mercy..I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion'. v15
c. (salvation does not depend on
the man who wills
the man who runs, but on
God who has mercy v16
d. the Scripture said to pharaoh,
'for this very purpose i raised you up to demonstrate My power in you and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole world. v17 so then...
e. He has mercy on whom He desires
f. HE HARDENS WHOM HE DESIRES v18 (this was the sticking point for me...was God going to be who He says He is or was i going to make Him into what i wanted Him to be? that is the question for every human being to resolve..do i believe Him or do i not believe Him. notice in the next verse indicators of rejecting God...'you will say to me then, 'why does He still find fault?...who resists His will?) v19
g. who am i who answers back to God?
h. the thing molded will not say to the molder, 'why did You make me like this', will it? v20
i. the potter has a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use. v21
j. God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and make His power known, endures with much patience VESSELS OF WRATH PREPARED FOR DESTRUCTION all throughout human history to the end of time. v.22 (this was another 'bone' i could not choke down on my own!)
k. God does this (j. above) in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy (LIKE ME..finally!!!...and i did nothing at all...He did it all!) which He prepared beforehand for glory.
l. He said to hosea,
'I will call those who were not My people, 'My people' and her who was not beloved, 'beloved'...and
'it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, 'you are not my people',
there they shall be called sons of the living God.'
m. God, speaking through His prophet isaiah, made it clear that even His special covenant people israel avoided total annihilation as a nation only by His intervention...isaiah says,' except the Lord of sabaoth had left to us a posterity, we would have become as sodom and would have resembled gomorrah (both of which God totally destroyed except for Lot and his two daughter who He had to take by the arm and hurry them out to keep them from being likewise destroyed!) v29
3. #1 and 2 were marked by MY EFFORTS to seek and know and obey Jesus. #3 came within a year after my divorce in 2001. one day, out of the blue..as it seems, a tiny little thought came...
GOD IS CHASTENING ME...
i thought of hebrews 12.7f
'it is for discipline that you endure;
GOD DEALS WITH YOU AS SONS
for what son is ther whom his father does not discipline?
but, if you are without DISCIPLINE, of which ALL ARE PARTAKERS,
then you are illegitimate children and not sons'.
it started to flood into my heart that that had been my state for nearly 50 years of life...all the time thinking i was so good and yet lost as a skunk..wretched... blind, deaf, dumb, crippled, leprous, dead.
i thought of what i was currently doing.... stealing all God's tithe $ over a period of years and using it to buy 4 properties in allentown...so i could 'serve' God fulltime!
GOD WAS CHASTENING ME FOR THE FIRST TIME...I KNEW HE WAS CHASTENING ME.
I WAS HIS CHILD!
He had birthed me!
i hadn't done a thing!!
He was real..for the first time!!!
He was there..all the time... in my heart!!!!
He and i were were constant companions!!!!!
i still don't know when it happened...but it was sometime before...something i was not aware was happening..unless it happened when reading whitefield. i remember distinctly thinking when i close the book that a telescope in my hand had been turned around. when i opened the book i was passing judgment upon God (looking out the wrong end of the telescope)..when i closed it i knew one thing...that GOD WOULD BE PERFECTLY JUST IF HE SENT EVERY PERSON HE EVER CREATED TO HELL..INCLUDING ME. (looking out the right end)
4.within the last few years God is withdrawing..in a weird kind of sense. we still have an intimacy. i still have the sense that He is always with me...but He is progressively showing me my real heart. it is a truly awful sight. it's too awful to put in words. among the many verses He is speaking to me through, the three most potent now are:
A. luke 13.24 strive (AGONIZE) to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and WILL NOT BE ABLE. and along with this..luke 14.26f if anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes and even his own life, he CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE. whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me CANNOT BE My disciple.
this combined with God showing me my true inner self many times leaves me stunned and stupefied and brought very low spiritually. this was the time when i was going to do things for God. He leaves me no doubt that i am not in anyway qualified to do anything for Him. this is a time of great disappointment and brokenness...
B, these next two have been transformed into ejaculatory prayers as a result of this. the first is the heart transplant passage in ezekiel 36.25-7. it comes out something like, Lord, i cannot do what You are asking me to do. i have absolutely no heart for me. You have shown me that. I NEED A NEW HEART! do what You say here:
SPRINKLE CLEAN WATER ON ME and make me clean
CLEANSE ME FROM ALL MY FILTHINESS AND ALL MY IDOLS
GIVE ME A NEW HEART
REMOVE THE HEART OF STONE from my flesh
GIVE ME A HEART OF FLESH
PUT YOUR SPIRIT WITHIN ME
CAUSE ME TO WALK IN YOUR STATUTES
help me BE CAREFUL TO OBSERVE YOUR ORDINANCES
C. the other prayer that i am often led to pray these days is from luke 6.27-8,36-8
Lord You see my heart toward this person! oh Lord help me
LOVE MY ENEMIES
DO GOOD TO THOSE WHO HATE ME
BLESS THOSE WHO CURSE ME
PRAY FOR THOSE WHO SPITEFULLY ABUSE ME
BE MERCIFUL just as my heavenly Father is merciful
NOT TO JUDGE (ie. you are bad!)
NOT TO CONDEMN (ie. as a result of your badness, i don't want to have anything to do with you...i want to keep you at a distance and, if possible, work it so that i don't have to have anything to do with you!)
PARDON (ie. literally...i ask You Lord..to help me IMMEDIATELY (AS SOON AS I REALISE IT!) SEND AWAY every sin done against me or against anyone in such as way that i could always pray 'Lord, forgive me my debts owed to You as i forgive those who owe me debts..with the realization that in that moment I AM GLORIOUSLY FORGIVEN!!!!)
GIVE..good measure..pressed down..shaken together..running over!
oh Lord i AM desperately wicked. SAVE ME from myself and my many wicked thoughts, words and deeds. i know my only hope of salvation is in You and in the death and resurrection of Your son Jesus.
Lord, what in the world does it mean to a sinner like me when You say;
'I HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST and IT IS NO LONGER I WHO LIVE but Christ lives in me..
if any man is in Christ HE IS A NEW CREATURE; the OLD THINGS HAVE PASSED AWAY; behold NEW THINGS HAVE COME..??!
Lord, my only hope is that i am caught in the wretched distance between how You choose to see me as one with Christ and my actual, sin-filled moment by moment experience. deliver me and make my heart like You so that i may think, say and do what would please You...
1. fearing i would die and go to hell as a child. this period was marked with a number of prayers for Jesus to come into my heart and save me and trying to ape what i saw older believers do...but no words other than the occasional short ejaculatory prayer when in great, perceived danger or when i thought i ought to... and reading the bible which made no sense to me and was dry as dust. i silently, almost unconsciously gave up on religion.
2.finally realizing i was a sinner in my early twenties. up to this time i viewed myself as 'good'. there was a kind of crisis which culminated in romans 6.11 in my junior year of college, prayer and...a change of sorts. for the first time the bible 'became alive'. i began to read it voraciously and then 'felt called to be a pastor' and went to seminary and studied the bible and became a pastor and became a pharisee for i continually was very aware of the 'fact' that i did alot of 'good' things and was better than other men. this period lasted nearly 30 years. spiritually it was like kissing through a screen door..no, not even that good..it was like knowing about Jesus as a fact rather than personally knowing and interacting with Him. in that period i remember, after reading the life of the great evangelist, george whitefield, God changed my heart to believe romans 9 which i had wrestled with and rejected quietly years before. i now believed that:
a. there is no injustice with God. v14
b. He said to moses,
'I will have mercy on who I have mercy..I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion'. v15
c. (salvation does not depend on
the man who wills
the man who runs, but on
God who has mercy v16
d. the Scripture said to pharaoh,
'for this very purpose i raised you up to demonstrate My power in you and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole world. v17 so then...
e. He has mercy on whom He desires
f. HE HARDENS WHOM HE DESIRES v18 (this was the sticking point for me...was God going to be who He says He is or was i going to make Him into what i wanted Him to be? that is the question for every human being to resolve..do i believe Him or do i not believe Him. notice in the next verse indicators of rejecting God...'you will say to me then, 'why does He still find fault?...who resists His will?) v19
g. who am i who answers back to God?
h. the thing molded will not say to the molder, 'why did You make me like this', will it? v20
i. the potter has a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use. v21
j. God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and make His power known, endures with much patience VESSELS OF WRATH PREPARED FOR DESTRUCTION all throughout human history to the end of time. v.22 (this was another 'bone' i could not choke down on my own!)
k. God does this (j. above) in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy (LIKE ME..finally!!!...and i did nothing at all...He did it all!) which He prepared beforehand for glory.
l. He said to hosea,
'I will call those who were not My people, 'My people' and her who was not beloved, 'beloved'...and
'it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, 'you are not my people',
there they shall be called sons of the living God.'
m. God, speaking through His prophet isaiah, made it clear that even His special covenant people israel avoided total annihilation as a nation only by His intervention...isaiah says,' except the Lord of sabaoth had left to us a posterity, we would have become as sodom and would have resembled gomorrah (both of which God totally destroyed except for Lot and his two daughter who He had to take by the arm and hurry them out to keep them from being likewise destroyed!) v29
3. #1 and 2 were marked by MY EFFORTS to seek and know and obey Jesus. #3 came within a year after my divorce in 2001. one day, out of the blue..as it seems, a tiny little thought came...
GOD IS CHASTENING ME...
i thought of hebrews 12.7f
'it is for discipline that you endure;
GOD DEALS WITH YOU AS SONS
for what son is ther whom his father does not discipline?
but, if you are without DISCIPLINE, of which ALL ARE PARTAKERS,
then you are illegitimate children and not sons'.
it started to flood into my heart that that had been my state for nearly 50 years of life...all the time thinking i was so good and yet lost as a skunk..wretched... blind, deaf, dumb, crippled, leprous, dead.
i thought of what i was currently doing.... stealing all God's tithe $ over a period of years and using it to buy 4 properties in allentown...so i could 'serve' God fulltime!
GOD WAS CHASTENING ME FOR THE FIRST TIME...I KNEW HE WAS CHASTENING ME.
I WAS HIS CHILD!
He had birthed me!
i hadn't done a thing!!
He was real..for the first time!!!
He was there..all the time... in my heart!!!!
He and i were were constant companions!!!!!
i still don't know when it happened...but it was sometime before...something i was not aware was happening..unless it happened when reading whitefield. i remember distinctly thinking when i close the book that a telescope in my hand had been turned around. when i opened the book i was passing judgment upon God (looking out the wrong end of the telescope)..when i closed it i knew one thing...that GOD WOULD BE PERFECTLY JUST IF HE SENT EVERY PERSON HE EVER CREATED TO HELL..INCLUDING ME. (looking out the right end)
4.within the last few years God is withdrawing..in a weird kind of sense. we still have an intimacy. i still have the sense that He is always with me...but He is progressively showing me my real heart. it is a truly awful sight. it's too awful to put in words. among the many verses He is speaking to me through, the three most potent now are:
A. luke 13.24 strive (AGONIZE) to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and WILL NOT BE ABLE. and along with this..luke 14.26f if anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes and even his own life, he CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE. whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me CANNOT BE My disciple.
this combined with God showing me my true inner self many times leaves me stunned and stupefied and brought very low spiritually. this was the time when i was going to do things for God. He leaves me no doubt that i am not in anyway qualified to do anything for Him. this is a time of great disappointment and brokenness...
B, these next two have been transformed into ejaculatory prayers as a result of this. the first is the heart transplant passage in ezekiel 36.25-7. it comes out something like, Lord, i cannot do what You are asking me to do. i have absolutely no heart for me. You have shown me that. I NEED A NEW HEART! do what You say here:
SPRINKLE CLEAN WATER ON ME and make me clean
CLEANSE ME FROM ALL MY FILTHINESS AND ALL MY IDOLS
GIVE ME A NEW HEART
REMOVE THE HEART OF STONE from my flesh
GIVE ME A HEART OF FLESH
PUT YOUR SPIRIT WITHIN ME
CAUSE ME TO WALK IN YOUR STATUTES
help me BE CAREFUL TO OBSERVE YOUR ORDINANCES
C. the other prayer that i am often led to pray these days is from luke 6.27-8,36-8
Lord You see my heart toward this person! oh Lord help me
LOVE MY ENEMIES
DO GOOD TO THOSE WHO HATE ME
BLESS THOSE WHO CURSE ME
PRAY FOR THOSE WHO SPITEFULLY ABUSE ME
BE MERCIFUL just as my heavenly Father is merciful
NOT TO JUDGE (ie. you are bad!)
NOT TO CONDEMN (ie. as a result of your badness, i don't want to have anything to do with you...i want to keep you at a distance and, if possible, work it so that i don't have to have anything to do with you!)
PARDON (ie. literally...i ask You Lord..to help me IMMEDIATELY (AS SOON AS I REALISE IT!) SEND AWAY every sin done against me or against anyone in such as way that i could always pray 'Lord, forgive me my debts owed to You as i forgive those who owe me debts..with the realization that in that moment I AM GLORIOUSLY FORGIVEN!!!!)
GIVE..good measure..pressed down..shaken together..running over!
oh Lord i AM desperately wicked. SAVE ME from myself and my many wicked thoughts, words and deeds. i know my only hope of salvation is in You and in the death and resurrection of Your son Jesus.
Lord, what in the world does it mean to a sinner like me when You say;
'I HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST and IT IS NO LONGER I WHO LIVE but Christ lives in me..
if any man is in Christ HE IS A NEW CREATURE; the OLD THINGS HAVE PASSED AWAY; behold NEW THINGS HAVE COME..??!
Lord, my only hope is that i am caught in the wretched distance between how You choose to see me as one with Christ and my actual, sin-filled moment by moment experience. deliver me and make my heart like You so that i may think, say and do what would please You...
6.21.2012 I WANNA DIE!
quite frankly i wish i were not here on earth. that is one of a myriad of indicators that my SELF nature is very alive and doing well. Jesus Christ, who i pronounce as my Lord and savior, clearly says to me, LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED; BELIEVE IN GOD; BELIEVE ALSO IN ME. but my old wicked nature cannot take it and i am inclined to agree with myself rather than to submit to Jesus' word. so forsaking the fountain of living waters i continue, vainly, to hew out my broken cisterns than can hold no water and leave me cracked and dry. when i am not running to substitutes for Him and drugging myself into insensibility just to get through the next period of time...i find it intolerable to live as one of the mass of human beings who find it possible to live, and even 'be happy' in the midst of a holocaust centered in my home nation (and by infecting countless peoples around the world with our horrendous wicked example and even encouragement)...a holocaust (lit. whole burnt offering) now more than 9 times the magnitude of the little one in nazi germany between 1939-45..they murdered 6 million jews, we have, so far, murdered 55+ million babies and, due to our wicked influence, over 1.25 billion have been reported since 1960.) the baby holocaust is constantly brought up as 'wicked', 'horrible', something we should never allow to be repeated...while at the same time half of our population FIGHTS to make sure that women keep having 'choice', 'health care', the right to murder their own offspring...why? choice...not wanting to take responsibility for what they have done. they willingly went to bed. they are not some helpless group of preyed upon innocents. yet they are not only allowed, they are supported and surrounded with the force of 'law' to have this right to murder another human being. why are men not given the right to murder born children up to 2 years of age in the name of choice? then both genders both made the decision to get into bed. both should have the choice to avoid responsibity for their actions?
this is HOLOCAUST CUBED! nazi victims had some ability to escape but these are ALL, NOT ONLY 1. DEFENSELESS, THEY ARE 2.VOICELESS AND 3. INNOCENT...unlike the jews in nazi europe.
but i have to keep living here. there is no 'get out of jail' card. why? because i am just as evil as the murderers as...so i get stuck here with them. God would be absolutely just if He sent every single man, woman, boy and girl to hell for the human heart, every one... including mine, is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. who can know it. i get very enraged by the sins of the next guy but my own i suckle, cuddle and cherish...as heinous as they be...
look at the portrait of man...every one of us.
there is none righteous
not even one
there is none who understands
there is none who seeks for God
all have turned aside
together they have become useless
there is none who does good
there is not even one
(now he focuses on my mouth)
their throat is an OPEN GRAVE (i kill other human beings with my mouth...and do so for all to see...thinking myself fully justified to murder them for what they have said, done, looked like(!) etc.)
with their tongues they keep DECEIVING (i am a congenital liar. lying tints, clings to or wholly characterizes my speech)
the POISON of asps is under their lips (behind soft smiles and smooth words poison (murder) lurks if you cross me or if i'm having a bad day or whatever i legitimize as the reason for your just demise)
the litany continues...
whose mouth is full of CURSING and BITTERNESS
their feet are SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD
DESTRUCTION and MISERY are in their paths
and the path of peace have they not known
now the reason for all this
THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES
every man is a murderer at heart...
if i have to stay here...living with myself...living with all murderers around me...who one...and all find it so easy to live in the midst of ongoing infant genocide...would You put a FEAR OF YOU in my heart?! I WANNA DIE TO MYSELF, LORD!...if not, take me out of here now.
this is HOLOCAUST CUBED! nazi victims had some ability to escape but these are ALL, NOT ONLY 1. DEFENSELESS, THEY ARE 2.VOICELESS AND 3. INNOCENT...unlike the jews in nazi europe.
but i have to keep living here. there is no 'get out of jail' card. why? because i am just as evil as the murderers as...so i get stuck here with them. God would be absolutely just if He sent every single man, woman, boy and girl to hell for the human heart, every one... including mine, is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. who can know it. i get very enraged by the sins of the next guy but my own i suckle, cuddle and cherish...as heinous as they be...
look at the portrait of man...every one of us.
there is none righteous
not even one
there is none who understands
there is none who seeks for God
all have turned aside
together they have become useless
there is none who does good
there is not even one
(now he focuses on my mouth)
their throat is an OPEN GRAVE (i kill other human beings with my mouth...and do so for all to see...thinking myself fully justified to murder them for what they have said, done, looked like(!) etc.)
with their tongues they keep DECEIVING (i am a congenital liar. lying tints, clings to or wholly characterizes my speech)
the POISON of asps is under their lips (behind soft smiles and smooth words poison (murder) lurks if you cross me or if i'm having a bad day or whatever i legitimize as the reason for your just demise)
the litany continues...
whose mouth is full of CURSING and BITTERNESS
their feet are SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD
DESTRUCTION and MISERY are in their paths
and the path of peace have they not known
now the reason for all this
THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES
every man is a murderer at heart...
if i have to stay here...living with myself...living with all murderers around me...who one...and all find it so easy to live in the midst of ongoing infant genocide...would You put a FEAR OF YOU in my heart?! I WANNA DIE TO MYSELF, LORD!...if not, take me out of here now.
Monday, June 11, 2012
6.11.2012 JOHN WYCLIFFE and his english precursors - lechler
the men in england who prepared the way for wycliffe were:
1. ROBERT GROSSETETE, bishop of lincoln d1253 although a part of the catholic church he ran counter to the church in every single area where the church ran counter to a true, spiritual care of souls.
2. HENRY BRACTON , the greatest lawyer of england in the middle ages, was a practical jurist, but also a learned writer upon english common law. both as a municipal judge and scientific jurist, he maintained the rights of the state in opposition to the church and sought to define as accurately as possible the limits of secular and the spiritual jusrisdictions.
3. WILLIAM OF OCCAM was a dignitary of the franciscan order who eventually became a strenuous leader of the opposition against the absolutism of the papacy.
4. RICHARD, who became ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH, an older contemporary of wycliffe, opposed the medicant (begging) orders. he set forth and maintained the following propositions:
a. Jesus Christ, during His sojourn upon earth, was indeed always a poor man, but
b. he never practised begging as Hiws own spontaneous choice
c. he never taught any one to beg
d. on the contrary, Jesus taught that no man should practice voluntary begging
e. no man can either prudently or holily determine to follow a life of mendicancy
f. mendicancy forms no part of the rule of the franciscans
g. a bull of alexander IV, of 1255, is not directed against any of the above propositions
h. for the purposes of confession, the parish church is always more suitable for the parishioner than any church or chapel of the begging monks
i. for hearing confessions the parish priest is always preferable to the begging monk
5. THOMAS BRADWARDINE, d1349
his testimony while still a student at oxford..
'i was at one time, while still a student of philosophy, a vain fool, far from the true knowledge of God, and held captive in opposing error. from time to time i heard theologians treating of the questions of Grace and Free Will, and the party of pelagius appeared to me to have the best of the argument. for i rarely heard anything said of grace in the lectures of the philosophers, except in an ambiguous sense; but every day i heard them teach that we are the masters of our own free acts and that it stands in our own power to do either good or evil, to be either virtuous of vicious , and such like. and when i heard now and then in church a passage read from the apostle which exalted grace and humbled free-will,-such, ie. as that word in romans 9, 'so then it is not in him that willeth, nor in him that runneth, but in God that showeth mercy', and other like places,- i had no liking for such teaching, for towards grace i was still unthankful. i believed also with the manicheans, that the apostle, being a man, might possibly err from the path of truth in any point of doctrine. but afterwards, and before i had become a student of theology, the truth before memntioned struck upon me like a beam of grace, and it seemed to me as if i beheld in the distance, under a transparent image of truth, the grace of God as it is prevenient (coming before, antecedent) both in time and nature to all good deeds-that is to say, the gracious will of God which precedently wills, tha, he who merits salvation shall be saved and precedently works this merit of it in him, God in truth being in all movements the primary mover. wherfore, also, i give thanks to Him who has freely given me this grace.' (very similar to what God did in me through the reading of the biography of george whitefield by arnold dallimore all the times I sought Him 'nothing happened', but when He sought me, in a miraculous flicker He saved and changed me!) note: see more on bradwardine right after #6 below.
6. final precursor influencing wycliffe was the langland poem, 'THE VISION OF PIERS PLOWMAN'
professer henry morley reviews it thus..'so ends the vision, with no victory attained, a world at war, and a renewed cry for the grace of god; a new yearning to find Christ, and bring with Him the day when wrongs and hatred are no more. the 14th century yielded no more fervent expression of the purest Christian labour to bring man to god. langland lays fast hold of all the words of Christ, and reads them into the divine law of love and duty. the ideal of a christian life shines through his poem, while it paints with homely force the evils against which it is directed . on points of theology he never disputes, but an ill life for him is an ill life, whether in pope or peasant. he is a church reformer in the truest sense, seeking to strengthen the hands of the clergy by amendment of the lives and characters of those who are untrue to their holy calling...this extraordinary manifestation of the religion, of the language, of the social and political notions, of the english character, of the condition of the passions and feelings of moral and provincial england, commences , and with chaucer and wycliffe completed the revelation of this transition period, the reign of edward III. throughout its institutions, language, religious sntiment, teutonism is now holding its first initiatory struggle with latin christianity (in the form of the roman catholic church). in chaucer is heard a voice from the court, from the castle, from the city, from universal england, in wy is heard a voice from the university, from the seat of theology and scholastic philosophy, from the centre and stronghold of the hierarchy-a voice of revolt and defiance, taken up and echoed in the pulpit throughout the land against the sacerdotal domination. in the vison of piers plowman is heard a voice from the wild malvern hills, the voice, it should seem, of an humble parson, a secular priest. he has passed some years in london, but his home, his heart, is among the poor rural population of central mercian england...the visonary is no disciple, no precursor of wy in his broader religious vies. the loller of peirs plowman is no lollard-he applies the name as a term of reproach for a lazy, indolent vagrant. the poet is no dreamy speculative theologian- he acquiesces, seemingly with unquestioning faith in the creed and in the usages of the church. it is in his intense, absorbing moral feeling that he is beyond his age. with him outward observances are but hollow show, mockeries, hypocrisies, without the inward power of religion. it is not so much in his keen, cutting satire on all matters of the church, as his solemn installation of Reason and Conscience as the guides of the self-directed soul, that he is breaking the yoke of sacerdotal domination. in his constant appeal to the plainest, simplest scriptural truths, as in themselves the whole of religion, he is a stern reformer. the sad, serious satirist, in his contemplation of the wold around him, the wealth of the world and the woe, sees no hope but in a new order of thins, in which, if the hierarchy shall subsist, it shall subsist in a form, with powers, in a spirit totally opposite to that which now rules mankind...the poet who could address such opinions, though wrapt up in prudent allegory, to the popular ear, to the ear of the peasantry of england; the people who could listen with delight to such strain, were far advanced toward a revolt from latin christianity. truth, true religion was not to be found with, it was not known by pope, cardinals, bishops, clergy, monks, friars. it was to be sought by man himself, by the individual man, by the poorest man, under the sole guidance of reason, conscience and the grace of God , vouchsafed directly, not through any intermediate human being or even sacrament, to the self-directing soul. if it yet respected all existing doctrines, it respected them not as resting on traditional of sacerdotal authority. there is a manifest appeal throughout, and unconscious installation of scripture alone, as the ultimate judge. the test of everything is a moral and prely religious one-its agreement with holiness and charity.'
BRADWARDINE continued...his theological views are exhibited in a systematic form in 'of the cause of God', for the author has the consciousness of appearing like an advocate in defence of God's honour, in standing forward to oppose pelagianism, and to exalt the agency of God's free and unmerited grace in the conversion and salvation of man. he by no means conceals from himself that in so doing he is swimming against the current of prevailing opinion, for it is his own remark that 'the doctrine is held by many either that the free will of man is of itself sufficient for the obtaining od salvation; or if the confess the need of grace, that still grace may be merited by the power of the free will, so that grace no longer appears to be something undeserved by men, but something meritoriously acquired.
he remained within the roman catholic church and had no desire to place himself in antagonism to the church.
the only other influence before wy were the waldensians of italy...he was unaware of them though. s shhus and luther stand on wycliffe'
the following, taken from the preface of the 'latin harmony of the gospels' which prior clement of lanthony, in monmouthshire wrote in the second half of the twelfth century and this preface is believed to have been written by john wycliffe:
the author of the preface takes as his text the saying of Christ, 'blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it'; and he draws from it in particular the conclusion that 'christians ought to travail day and night upon the text of Holy Writ, especially upon the gospel in their mother tongue'. 'and yet', he remarks, 'men will not suffer it that the laity should know the gospel, and read it in their common life in humility and love.' hereupon he continues as follows;- 'vut covetous clerks of this world replay and say that laymen may soon err and therefore they should not dispute of christian faith. alas! alas! what cruelty is this, to rob a whole realm of bodily food because a few fools may be gluttons and do harm to themselves and others by their food taken immoderately. as easily may a proud worldly priest err against the gospel written in latin, as a simple layman err against the gospel written in english....what reason is this, if a child fail in his lesson at the first day, to suffer never children to come to lessons for this default? who would ever become a scholar by this process? what antichrist is this who, to the shame of christian men, dares to hinder the laity form learning this holy lesson which is so hard (strongly) commanded by God? each man is bound to do so, that he be saved, but each layman who shall be saved is a real priest made of God and each man is bound to be a very priest.
but worldly clerks cry, that holy Writ in english will set christians in debate and subjects to rebel against their sovereigns; and therefore it shall not be suffered among laymen. alas! how may they more openly slander God, the author of peace, and His holy law, fully teaching meekness, patience, and charity?...thus the false jews, namely, high priests, scribes and pharisees, cried on Christ that He made dissension among the people. o Jesus Christ! Thou that didst die to confirm Thy law and for ransom of Christian souls, stop these blasphemies of antichrist and worldly clerks and make Thy holy gospel known and kept of Thy simple brethren and increase them in faith, hope and charity and meekness and patience, to suffer death joyfully for Thee and Thy law. Amen, Jesu, for Thy mercy!'
..wycliffe had already grasped the idea, 'the Bible for the people!'
later when wycliffe was targeted in his latest years he was always in danger. he was well aware of this and stood prepared to endure still further persecution for the cause of Christ and even to end his life as a martyr. in his trialogus he says, 'we have no need to go among the heathen in order to die a martyr's death; we have only to preach persistently the law of Christ in the hearing of rich and worldly prelate (those high in the catholic church) and instantly we shall have a flourishing martyrdom, if we hold out in faith and patience'.
a portrait of the man...'it is not, however, in his intellect that wy's personality centres, but in his will and character. with him, so far as i can see, all thinking, every INTELLECTual achievement, was always a way to an end-A MEANS TO MORAL ACTION AND WORK-it never terminated in itself. and this serves to explain, apart from the fact that wy shared in many of the faults of his time, many of the weak sides of his performances as an author. there are, speaking generally, tow kinds of natures, one manifesting itself in art, the other in practical action. natures of the former class seek their satisfaction in the works which they complete-the painter in his pictures, the sculptor in the plastic forms which he produces, the musician in his harmonic creations, the poet in his poetry, and the prose writer in his prose. that every part of the work should make the wished-for impression; that the whole world make an unity complete in itself; that the form should so shape itself in harmony with the substance as to give full satisfaction to the mind and be at once lovable and fair, elevating and attractive; to these ends is directed all the effort of the artist. that is the reason why one sketch after another is made and thrown away and attempt follows upon attempt; the thinking mind, the critical eye, the improving hand, the smoothing file never rest till a perfect work stands before the artist. to these artistic natures, certainly, wy does not belong, but as certainly to the men of practical action and work. it is not beauty of form, not its harmony and the full expression of it-in a word, not the work itself as a completed performance which floats before the eye of such men; it is in action and work themselves that they seek their satisfaction-in the service of the truth, in the furthering of the good, in work for man's weal and god's glory. to this class of natures wy belonged. at no time was it his aim to give to his addresses, sermons, scientific works, popular writings, etc., an artistic shape, to polish them, to bring them to a certain perfection of form; but to join his hand with others in the fellowship of labour, to communicate to others what he knew, to serve his native country, to promote the glory of God, the kingdom of Christ, and the salvation of souls. that was what he wanted to do and to serve God therein ws his joy and satisfaction. if only what he said was understood; if his spoken word was only kindling to men's souls, whether spoken form the chair or the pulpit; if his written word was only effective, and his action was only followed by any good fruit, then it troubled him little that his style was though to be without finish or without beauty, or perhaps even wearisome; in the end he neither knew nor cared how it stood with his productions in these latter respects.
it is true that the repetitions which wy allowed himself go far beyond the permissible limit...but in compensation for these defects, wy always communicates himself as he is, his whole personality, undissembled, tue and full. as a preacher, as well as a writer, he is always the whole man. scarcely any one has stamped his own personality upon his writings in a higher degree or has carried more of morality into his action than wy. wherein, then, consists the peculiarity of his personality?
wy was not a man a feeling, but a man of intellect. luther was a genial soul. on one occasion he begs his readers to take his words, whoever mocking and biting they may be, 'as spoken form a heart which could not do otherwise than break with its great sorrow'. wy never said such a thing of himself. he is a man in whom the intellect predominates-pure, clear, sharp, penetrating. with wy it is as if one felt the sharp, fresh, cool breath of the morning air before sunrise; while in luther we feel something of the kindly warmth of the morning sun himself. it was only possible to a predominantly intellectual nature to lay so great stress as wy did upon the demonstration of the christian verities. even in the fathers of the church he puts a specially high value upon the philosophical proofs which they allege in support of the doctrines of the christian faith. manifestly it is not merely a result of education and of the scholastic tone of his age, but in no small degree the outcome of his own individuality, that the path in which he moves with so strong a preference is that of speculation and even of dialectical demonstration.
in wy, along with the intellectual element thus decidedly expressed, there is harmoniously combined a powerful will, equally potent in independent action and energetic in opposition-a firm and tenacious, a many, yea, a heroic will. it is impossible to read wy's writings with an unprejudiced and susceptible mind, without being laid hold of by the strong manhood of mind which everywhere reveals itself. there is a force and fullness of character in his feeling and language which makes an overmastering impression, and keeps the mind enchained. wy sets forth his convictions, it is true, in a learned manner, with dialectical illustration and scholastic (medieval philosophical) argumentativeness. and yet one sees that it is by no means a one-sided intellectual interest alone which moves him. his conviction has unmistakably a moral source. he confesses openly himself that the conviction of the truth is reached much more in a moral way than by pure intellect and science.
it is certain that he arrived at his own convictions more in a moral than a merely intellectual way; and hence his utterances have equally the stamp of decisive thinking and of energetic moral earnestness. we recognise everywhere the moral pathos, the holy earnestness which wells up from the conscience and the depths of the soul. and hence the concentrated moral force which he always throws into the scale. whether he is compelled to defend himself against the imputation of petty by-ends and low-minded feeling, or whether he is speaking to the consciences of those who give their whole study to human traditions instead of god's word, or whether he takes occasion to address moral warnings to young men, he invariably delivers his pithy words with a foulness of moral earnestness and with an arresting force. from the intensity with which he throws his whole soul into his subject springs also the warmth of feeling with which wy at one time repudiates that which he is opposing and at other times rejoices in some conquest which he has won. not rarely he manifests a moral indignation and horror in the very midst of a learned investigation, where one is not at all prepared for such an outburst of flaming feeling. at other times, in the very middle of a disputation with opponents, he breaks out into joyful thanksgiving and praise to God that he has been set free from the sophisms by which they are still held fast. the contrast between trains of scholastic reasoning and such sudden outpourings of feeling is surprising and arresting in a high degree; and this inner fire of inspiration and heart-fervour, long hidden beneath the surface and only now and then darting forth its tongues of flame, well explains and excuses many literary faults. for whence come these frequent outbursts? and wither do they tend? in very many cases wy enters into regions of thought into which he is drawn by his heart and the innermost feeling of his soul. often in such episodical passages have i come upon the most elevating outpourings of his moral pathos-the most precious utterances of a healthy piety. if we follow him in such places, we find no reason to regret it. the reader accompanies the author with growing veneration and love; and at the close he will not only be fain to forgive him for a digression, but in spirit he warmly presses his hand with elevated feeling and a thankful heart. what seemed a literary fault proves, upon an unprejudiced and deeper view, to be a moral excellence.
the intense feeling and warmth of the man manifests itself ever and anon in the personal apostrophes (a digression in the form of address to a person not present) which he addresses to an opponent, as well as in the manner in which he very often speaks of himself in quite a personal way. on all occasions, indeed, he comes forward with entire straightforwardness and unreserved sincerity; never in any way concealing the changes of opinion through which he has, it may be, passed; openly confessing the when he has previously done homage to an error; declaring frankly what are his aims and praying that by the help and in the fear of God he may be steadfast to the end. as a preacher, in particular, wy at all times proves himself a man of perfect integrity and at every stage of his inner development reflects it faithfully as in a mirror. at all times, whatever was highest and best in the convictions at which he had arrived he truthfully published from the pulpit; and from this perfect integrity and honour it comes to pass that his sermons furnish a standard for the state of his knowledge and manner of thinking at every stage of his career.
the personality of wy includes also a rich vein of wit and humour. to these he often allows a diverting play of cheerful banter, as when, in speaking of the practice of taking money in the confessional, as though penitence could prove itself to be genuine in that way, he indulges in the word-play (in latin)...or when, in his investigations of church property, he mentions, on the basis of an old legend, that when the apostle paul was on his way to jerusalem with the money which he had collected for the church there, his road was beset with robbers, whereeas at all other times, he added, the apostle travelled in perfect safety because (in latin).even in the midst of serious discussions and in polemical pieces, he loves now and then to strike a more cheerful note. on one occasion he says:- 'fortune has no such kind intentions for me as that i should be in a position to bring forward any proof on matters of church property which could have any weight in the eyes of the doctor (a learned opponent with whom wy was at the time engaged). to every proof which i have produced, his reply has commonly been, that it is defective both in substance and form. but verily that is not the wy to untie knots, for so might a magpie contradict all and every proof. i proposed the question whether the king of england is entitled to deprive the clergy who are his subjects of the temporalities, when the transgress. in reply, hellily leaves the question in this form unanswered and introduces quite a different subject-like the woman, who, when asked, 'how far is it to lincoln?' gave for answer-'a bag full of plums'. like hers is his answer: 'the king cannot take away from his clergy any of their temporalities, ie. he cannot strip them of their property by an exercise of arbitrary power'.
when certain theologians of his day by their scholastic sophistry almost made sport of the bible, by first maintaining that, in any particulars, its language is impossible and offensive, ie. when taken according to the letter, or in the carnal verbal sense; and then, professing the deepest reverence for the scriptures, pretended to redeem their honour by a different translation,-wy's opinion of them was, that they come in sheep's clothing, but bite with fox's teeth, and thrust out, to boot, an otter's tail. it is just what the fox does when he makes peace with the poultry and gets into the hen-roost. he is no sooner in than he falls to work and makes good use of his teeth. when they pretend that the scriptures cannot have the apparent sense, but only the orthodox sense which they put forward, is it not, in fact, says wy, as unworthy a proceeding as to bring a false accusation against a men, though it is acknowledged immediately after that he has been lied against, or to break a man's head, though directly afterwards a healing plaster is handed to him?
in such cases, indeed, his wit and humour easily pass over into mockery and sarcasm; and hence an objection sometimes made by his opponents that he had recourse to satire as a controversial weapon. in one place i find him defending himself against the accusation of having allowed himself to use irony against an opponent. he says , 'if He who sitteth in the heavens laughs at them (psalm 12.4), so also may all men who stand on God's side bring that school of theologians to shame with raillery, with reproaches, or with proofs, as God had given them severally the ability. elijah, too, poured out bitter mockery and scorn upon the priests of baal (I kings 18.27), and Christ Himself severely reproached the pharisees in rough and disdainful words (matthew 22). when any one, from a motive of love to his neighbour, breaks out into words of reproach and scorn, in order to defend God's honour and to preserve the church from errors, such a man, if uninfluenced by revenge and ambition, does a work worthy of praise'.
although the personality of wy comes out in his writings thus strongly, this by no means implies that he had any wish or design to put himself forward. on the contrary, he desires to place in the foreground One far higher than himself, the Lord Christ. his wish is to prepare the way for Him-as once did john the baptist-his design is to promote 's glory and Christ's cause. in face of a reproach which one of his opponents had cast at him, that he set forth unusual views from a motive of ambition or of hostile feeling, he gives this solemn assurance in a passage already mentioned:-'let God be my witness, that before everything i strive for God's glory and the good of the church, from reverence of holy scripture, and adherence to the law of Christ'. he has the consciousness, in all humility and in joyful confidence, that it is the cause of God and of the cross and gospel of Chris, for which he fights and labours. and just because it is not with his own petty honour but with the honour of god that he has to do, he does not even hesitate in making some confessions from which otherwise of concern for his own personal credit would have held him back, ie. 'i confess that in my own case i have often, from a motive of vain ambition, departed from the doctrine of scripture both in my reasonings and my replies, while my aim was to attain the show of fame among the people, and at the same time to strip off the pretensions of ambitious sophists;. this consciousness that he was contending not for himself, but for God's honour and Christ's cause, was also the source of the joyful courage and the confident hope of final victory which filled his breast even in the menacing prospect of persecution; and, perhaps, even of an approaching death-blow to himself and his fellow-combatants. he grew holy himself with the holy aims which he pursued; his personal character was exalted by the cause which he served ; and THE CAUSE WHICH HE SERVED WAS NEVER THE TRUTH AS MERE KNOWLEDGE, BUT THE TRUTH AS A POWER UNTO GODLINESS. he has always and everywhere in view the moral kernel, 'the fruits'; not the leafage, but THE FRUIT, IS EVERYTHING IN HIS REGARD. it was from glowing zeal for the cause of God, sincere love to the souls of men, upright conscientiousness before God, and heartfelt longing for the reformation of the church of Christ, that he put forth all his energetic and indefatigable labours for the restoration of the church to her original purity and freedom, in which she had flourished in the primitive christian age.
1. ROBERT GROSSETETE, bishop of lincoln d1253 although a part of the catholic church he ran counter to the church in every single area where the church ran counter to a true, spiritual care of souls.
2. HENRY BRACTON , the greatest lawyer of england in the middle ages, was a practical jurist, but also a learned writer upon english common law. both as a municipal judge and scientific jurist, he maintained the rights of the state in opposition to the church and sought to define as accurately as possible the limits of secular and the spiritual jusrisdictions.
3. WILLIAM OF OCCAM was a dignitary of the franciscan order who eventually became a strenuous leader of the opposition against the absolutism of the papacy.
4. RICHARD, who became ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH, an older contemporary of wycliffe, opposed the medicant (begging) orders. he set forth and maintained the following propositions:
a. Jesus Christ, during His sojourn upon earth, was indeed always a poor man, but
b. he never practised begging as Hiws own spontaneous choice
c. he never taught any one to beg
d. on the contrary, Jesus taught that no man should practice voluntary begging
e. no man can either prudently or holily determine to follow a life of mendicancy
f. mendicancy forms no part of the rule of the franciscans
g. a bull of alexander IV, of 1255, is not directed against any of the above propositions
h. for the purposes of confession, the parish church is always more suitable for the parishioner than any church or chapel of the begging monks
i. for hearing confessions the parish priest is always preferable to the begging monk
5. THOMAS BRADWARDINE, d1349
his testimony while still a student at oxford..
'i was at one time, while still a student of philosophy, a vain fool, far from the true knowledge of God, and held captive in opposing error. from time to time i heard theologians treating of the questions of Grace and Free Will, and the party of pelagius appeared to me to have the best of the argument. for i rarely heard anything said of grace in the lectures of the philosophers, except in an ambiguous sense; but every day i heard them teach that we are the masters of our own free acts and that it stands in our own power to do either good or evil, to be either virtuous of vicious , and such like. and when i heard now and then in church a passage read from the apostle which exalted grace and humbled free-will,-such, ie. as that word in romans 9, 'so then it is not in him that willeth, nor in him that runneth, but in God that showeth mercy', and other like places,- i had no liking for such teaching, for towards grace i was still unthankful. i believed also with the manicheans, that the apostle, being a man, might possibly err from the path of truth in any point of doctrine. but afterwards, and before i had become a student of theology, the truth before memntioned struck upon me like a beam of grace, and it seemed to me as if i beheld in the distance, under a transparent image of truth, the grace of God as it is prevenient (coming before, antecedent) both in time and nature to all good deeds-that is to say, the gracious will of God which precedently wills, tha, he who merits salvation shall be saved and precedently works this merit of it in him, God in truth being in all movements the primary mover. wherfore, also, i give thanks to Him who has freely given me this grace.' (very similar to what God did in me through the reading of the biography of george whitefield by arnold dallimore all the times I sought Him 'nothing happened', but when He sought me, in a miraculous flicker He saved and changed me!) note: see more on bradwardine right after #6 below.
6. final precursor influencing wycliffe was the langland poem, 'THE VISION OF PIERS PLOWMAN'
professer henry morley reviews it thus..'so ends the vision, with no victory attained, a world at war, and a renewed cry for the grace of god; a new yearning to find Christ, and bring with Him the day when wrongs and hatred are no more. the 14th century yielded no more fervent expression of the purest Christian labour to bring man to god. langland lays fast hold of all the words of Christ, and reads them into the divine law of love and duty. the ideal of a christian life shines through his poem, while it paints with homely force the evils against which it is directed . on points of theology he never disputes, but an ill life for him is an ill life, whether in pope or peasant. he is a church reformer in the truest sense, seeking to strengthen the hands of the clergy by amendment of the lives and characters of those who are untrue to their holy calling...this extraordinary manifestation of the religion, of the language, of the social and political notions, of the english character, of the condition of the passions and feelings of moral and provincial england, commences , and with chaucer and wycliffe completed the revelation of this transition period, the reign of edward III. throughout its institutions, language, religious sntiment, teutonism is now holding its first initiatory struggle with latin christianity (in the form of the roman catholic church). in chaucer is heard a voice from the court, from the castle, from the city, from universal england, in wy is heard a voice from the university, from the seat of theology and scholastic philosophy, from the centre and stronghold of the hierarchy-a voice of revolt and defiance, taken up and echoed in the pulpit throughout the land against the sacerdotal domination. in the vison of piers plowman is heard a voice from the wild malvern hills, the voice, it should seem, of an humble parson, a secular priest. he has passed some years in london, but his home, his heart, is among the poor rural population of central mercian england...the visonary is no disciple, no precursor of wy in his broader religious vies. the loller of peirs plowman is no lollard-he applies the name as a term of reproach for a lazy, indolent vagrant. the poet is no dreamy speculative theologian- he acquiesces, seemingly with unquestioning faith in the creed and in the usages of the church. it is in his intense, absorbing moral feeling that he is beyond his age. with him outward observances are but hollow show, mockeries, hypocrisies, without the inward power of religion. it is not so much in his keen, cutting satire on all matters of the church, as his solemn installation of Reason and Conscience as the guides of the self-directed soul, that he is breaking the yoke of sacerdotal domination. in his constant appeal to the plainest, simplest scriptural truths, as in themselves the whole of religion, he is a stern reformer. the sad, serious satirist, in his contemplation of the wold around him, the wealth of the world and the woe, sees no hope but in a new order of thins, in which, if the hierarchy shall subsist, it shall subsist in a form, with powers, in a spirit totally opposite to that which now rules mankind...the poet who could address such opinions, though wrapt up in prudent allegory, to the popular ear, to the ear of the peasantry of england; the people who could listen with delight to such strain, were far advanced toward a revolt from latin christianity. truth, true religion was not to be found with, it was not known by pope, cardinals, bishops, clergy, monks, friars. it was to be sought by man himself, by the individual man, by the poorest man, under the sole guidance of reason, conscience and the grace of God , vouchsafed directly, not through any intermediate human being or even sacrament, to the self-directing soul. if it yet respected all existing doctrines, it respected them not as resting on traditional of sacerdotal authority. there is a manifest appeal throughout, and unconscious installation of scripture alone, as the ultimate judge. the test of everything is a moral and prely religious one-its agreement with holiness and charity.'
BRADWARDINE continued...his theological views are exhibited in a systematic form in 'of the cause of God', for the author has the consciousness of appearing like an advocate in defence of God's honour, in standing forward to oppose pelagianism, and to exalt the agency of God's free and unmerited grace in the conversion and salvation of man. he by no means conceals from himself that in so doing he is swimming against the current of prevailing opinion, for it is his own remark that 'the doctrine is held by many either that the free will of man is of itself sufficient for the obtaining od salvation; or if the confess the need of grace, that still grace may be merited by the power of the free will, so that grace no longer appears to be something undeserved by men, but something meritoriously acquired.
he remained within the roman catholic church and had no desire to place himself in antagonism to the church.
the only other influence before wy were the waldensians of italy...he was unaware of them though. s shhus and luther stand on wycliffe'
the following, taken from the preface of the 'latin harmony of the gospels' which prior clement of lanthony, in monmouthshire wrote in the second half of the twelfth century and this preface is believed to have been written by john wycliffe:
the author of the preface takes as his text the saying of Christ, 'blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it'; and he draws from it in particular the conclusion that 'christians ought to travail day and night upon the text of Holy Writ, especially upon the gospel in their mother tongue'. 'and yet', he remarks, 'men will not suffer it that the laity should know the gospel, and read it in their common life in humility and love.' hereupon he continues as follows;- 'vut covetous clerks of this world replay and say that laymen may soon err and therefore they should not dispute of christian faith. alas! alas! what cruelty is this, to rob a whole realm of bodily food because a few fools may be gluttons and do harm to themselves and others by their food taken immoderately. as easily may a proud worldly priest err against the gospel written in latin, as a simple layman err against the gospel written in english....what reason is this, if a child fail in his lesson at the first day, to suffer never children to come to lessons for this default? who would ever become a scholar by this process? what antichrist is this who, to the shame of christian men, dares to hinder the laity form learning this holy lesson which is so hard (strongly) commanded by God? each man is bound to do so, that he be saved, but each layman who shall be saved is a real priest made of God and each man is bound to be a very priest.
but worldly clerks cry, that holy Writ in english will set christians in debate and subjects to rebel against their sovereigns; and therefore it shall not be suffered among laymen. alas! how may they more openly slander God, the author of peace, and His holy law, fully teaching meekness, patience, and charity?...thus the false jews, namely, high priests, scribes and pharisees, cried on Christ that He made dissension among the people. o Jesus Christ! Thou that didst die to confirm Thy law and for ransom of Christian souls, stop these blasphemies of antichrist and worldly clerks and make Thy holy gospel known and kept of Thy simple brethren and increase them in faith, hope and charity and meekness and patience, to suffer death joyfully for Thee and Thy law. Amen, Jesu, for Thy mercy!'
..wycliffe had already grasped the idea, 'the Bible for the people!'
later when wycliffe was targeted in his latest years he was always in danger. he was well aware of this and stood prepared to endure still further persecution for the cause of Christ and even to end his life as a martyr. in his trialogus he says, 'we have no need to go among the heathen in order to die a martyr's death; we have only to preach persistently the law of Christ in the hearing of rich and worldly prelate (those high in the catholic church) and instantly we shall have a flourishing martyrdom, if we hold out in faith and patience'.
a portrait of the man...'it is not, however, in his intellect that wy's personality centres, but in his will and character. with him, so far as i can see, all thinking, every INTELLECTual achievement, was always a way to an end-A MEANS TO MORAL ACTION AND WORK-it never terminated in itself. and this serves to explain, apart from the fact that wy shared in many of the faults of his time, many of the weak sides of his performances as an author. there are, speaking generally, tow kinds of natures, one manifesting itself in art, the other in practical action. natures of the former class seek their satisfaction in the works which they complete-the painter in his pictures, the sculptor in the plastic forms which he produces, the musician in his harmonic creations, the poet in his poetry, and the prose writer in his prose. that every part of the work should make the wished-for impression; that the whole world make an unity complete in itself; that the form should so shape itself in harmony with the substance as to give full satisfaction to the mind and be at once lovable and fair, elevating and attractive; to these ends is directed all the effort of the artist. that is the reason why one sketch after another is made and thrown away and attempt follows upon attempt; the thinking mind, the critical eye, the improving hand, the smoothing file never rest till a perfect work stands before the artist. to these artistic natures, certainly, wy does not belong, but as certainly to the men of practical action and work. it is not beauty of form, not its harmony and the full expression of it-in a word, not the work itself as a completed performance which floats before the eye of such men; it is in action and work themselves that they seek their satisfaction-in the service of the truth, in the furthering of the good, in work for man's weal and god's glory. to this class of natures wy belonged. at no time was it his aim to give to his addresses, sermons, scientific works, popular writings, etc., an artistic shape, to polish them, to bring them to a certain perfection of form; but to join his hand with others in the fellowship of labour, to communicate to others what he knew, to serve his native country, to promote the glory of God, the kingdom of Christ, and the salvation of souls. that was what he wanted to do and to serve God therein ws his joy and satisfaction. if only what he said was understood; if his spoken word was only kindling to men's souls, whether spoken form the chair or the pulpit; if his written word was only effective, and his action was only followed by any good fruit, then it troubled him little that his style was though to be without finish or without beauty, or perhaps even wearisome; in the end he neither knew nor cared how it stood with his productions in these latter respects.
it is true that the repetitions which wy allowed himself go far beyond the permissible limit...but in compensation for these defects, wy always communicates himself as he is, his whole personality, undissembled, tue and full. as a preacher, as well as a writer, he is always the whole man. scarcely any one has stamped his own personality upon his writings in a higher degree or has carried more of morality into his action than wy. wherein, then, consists the peculiarity of his personality?
wy was not a man a feeling, but a man of intellect. luther was a genial soul. on one occasion he begs his readers to take his words, whoever mocking and biting they may be, 'as spoken form a heart which could not do otherwise than break with its great sorrow'. wy never said such a thing of himself. he is a man in whom the intellect predominates-pure, clear, sharp, penetrating. with wy it is as if one felt the sharp, fresh, cool breath of the morning air before sunrise; while in luther we feel something of the kindly warmth of the morning sun himself. it was only possible to a predominantly intellectual nature to lay so great stress as wy did upon the demonstration of the christian verities. even in the fathers of the church he puts a specially high value upon the philosophical proofs which they allege in support of the doctrines of the christian faith. manifestly it is not merely a result of education and of the scholastic tone of his age, but in no small degree the outcome of his own individuality, that the path in which he moves with so strong a preference is that of speculation and even of dialectical demonstration.
in wy, along with the intellectual element thus decidedly expressed, there is harmoniously combined a powerful will, equally potent in independent action and energetic in opposition-a firm and tenacious, a many, yea, a heroic will. it is impossible to read wy's writings with an unprejudiced and susceptible mind, without being laid hold of by the strong manhood of mind which everywhere reveals itself. there is a force and fullness of character in his feeling and language which makes an overmastering impression, and keeps the mind enchained. wy sets forth his convictions, it is true, in a learned manner, with dialectical illustration and scholastic (medieval philosophical) argumentativeness. and yet one sees that it is by no means a one-sided intellectual interest alone which moves him. his conviction has unmistakably a moral source. he confesses openly himself that the conviction of the truth is reached much more in a moral way than by pure intellect and science.
it is certain that he arrived at his own convictions more in a moral than a merely intellectual way; and hence his utterances have equally the stamp of decisive thinking and of energetic moral earnestness. we recognise everywhere the moral pathos, the holy earnestness which wells up from the conscience and the depths of the soul. and hence the concentrated moral force which he always throws into the scale. whether he is compelled to defend himself against the imputation of petty by-ends and low-minded feeling, or whether he is speaking to the consciences of those who give their whole study to human traditions instead of god's word, or whether he takes occasion to address moral warnings to young men, he invariably delivers his pithy words with a foulness of moral earnestness and with an arresting force. from the intensity with which he throws his whole soul into his subject springs also the warmth of feeling with which wy at one time repudiates that which he is opposing and at other times rejoices in some conquest which he has won. not rarely he manifests a moral indignation and horror in the very midst of a learned investigation, where one is not at all prepared for such an outburst of flaming feeling. at other times, in the very middle of a disputation with opponents, he breaks out into joyful thanksgiving and praise to God that he has been set free from the sophisms by which they are still held fast. the contrast between trains of scholastic reasoning and such sudden outpourings of feeling is surprising and arresting in a high degree; and this inner fire of inspiration and heart-fervour, long hidden beneath the surface and only now and then darting forth its tongues of flame, well explains and excuses many literary faults. for whence come these frequent outbursts? and wither do they tend? in very many cases wy enters into regions of thought into which he is drawn by his heart and the innermost feeling of his soul. often in such episodical passages have i come upon the most elevating outpourings of his moral pathos-the most precious utterances of a healthy piety. if we follow him in such places, we find no reason to regret it. the reader accompanies the author with growing veneration and love; and at the close he will not only be fain to forgive him for a digression, but in spirit he warmly presses his hand with elevated feeling and a thankful heart. what seemed a literary fault proves, upon an unprejudiced and deeper view, to be a moral excellence.
the intense feeling and warmth of the man manifests itself ever and anon in the personal apostrophes (a digression in the form of address to a person not present) which he addresses to an opponent, as well as in the manner in which he very often speaks of himself in quite a personal way. on all occasions, indeed, he comes forward with entire straightforwardness and unreserved sincerity; never in any way concealing the changes of opinion through which he has, it may be, passed; openly confessing the when he has previously done homage to an error; declaring frankly what are his aims and praying that by the help and in the fear of God he may be steadfast to the end. as a preacher, in particular, wy at all times proves himself a man of perfect integrity and at every stage of his inner development reflects it faithfully as in a mirror. at all times, whatever was highest and best in the convictions at which he had arrived he truthfully published from the pulpit; and from this perfect integrity and honour it comes to pass that his sermons furnish a standard for the state of his knowledge and manner of thinking at every stage of his career.
the personality of wy includes also a rich vein of wit and humour. to these he often allows a diverting play of cheerful banter, as when, in speaking of the practice of taking money in the confessional, as though penitence could prove itself to be genuine in that way, he indulges in the word-play (in latin)...or when, in his investigations of church property, he mentions, on the basis of an old legend, that when the apostle paul was on his way to jerusalem with the money which he had collected for the church there, his road was beset with robbers, whereeas at all other times, he added, the apostle travelled in perfect safety because (in latin).even in the midst of serious discussions and in polemical pieces, he loves now and then to strike a more cheerful note. on one occasion he says:- 'fortune has no such kind intentions for me as that i should be in a position to bring forward any proof on matters of church property which could have any weight in the eyes of the doctor (a learned opponent with whom wy was at the time engaged). to every proof which i have produced, his reply has commonly been, that it is defective both in substance and form. but verily that is not the wy to untie knots, for so might a magpie contradict all and every proof. i proposed the question whether the king of england is entitled to deprive the clergy who are his subjects of the temporalities, when the transgress. in reply, hellily leaves the question in this form unanswered and introduces quite a different subject-like the woman, who, when asked, 'how far is it to lincoln?' gave for answer-'a bag full of plums'. like hers is his answer: 'the king cannot take away from his clergy any of their temporalities, ie. he cannot strip them of their property by an exercise of arbitrary power'.
when certain theologians of his day by their scholastic sophistry almost made sport of the bible, by first maintaining that, in any particulars, its language is impossible and offensive, ie. when taken according to the letter, or in the carnal verbal sense; and then, professing the deepest reverence for the scriptures, pretended to redeem their honour by a different translation,-wy's opinion of them was, that they come in sheep's clothing, but bite with fox's teeth, and thrust out, to boot, an otter's tail. it is just what the fox does when he makes peace with the poultry and gets into the hen-roost. he is no sooner in than he falls to work and makes good use of his teeth. when they pretend that the scriptures cannot have the apparent sense, but only the orthodox sense which they put forward, is it not, in fact, says wy, as unworthy a proceeding as to bring a false accusation against a men, though it is acknowledged immediately after that he has been lied against, or to break a man's head, though directly afterwards a healing plaster is handed to him?
in such cases, indeed, his wit and humour easily pass over into mockery and sarcasm; and hence an objection sometimes made by his opponents that he had recourse to satire as a controversial weapon. in one place i find him defending himself against the accusation of having allowed himself to use irony against an opponent. he says , 'if He who sitteth in the heavens laughs at them (psalm 12.4), so also may all men who stand on God's side bring that school of theologians to shame with raillery, with reproaches, or with proofs, as God had given them severally the ability. elijah, too, poured out bitter mockery and scorn upon the priests of baal (I kings 18.27), and Christ Himself severely reproached the pharisees in rough and disdainful words (matthew 22). when any one, from a motive of love to his neighbour, breaks out into words of reproach and scorn, in order to defend God's honour and to preserve the church from errors, such a man, if uninfluenced by revenge and ambition, does a work worthy of praise'.
although the personality of wy comes out in his writings thus strongly, this by no means implies that he had any wish or design to put himself forward. on the contrary, he desires to place in the foreground One far higher than himself, the Lord Christ. his wish is to prepare the way for Him-as once did john the baptist-his design is to promote 's glory and Christ's cause. in face of a reproach which one of his opponents had cast at him, that he set forth unusual views from a motive of ambition or of hostile feeling, he gives this solemn assurance in a passage already mentioned:-'let God be my witness, that before everything i strive for God's glory and the good of the church, from reverence of holy scripture, and adherence to the law of Christ'. he has the consciousness, in all humility and in joyful confidence, that it is the cause of God and of the cross and gospel of Chris, for which he fights and labours. and just because it is not with his own petty honour but with the honour of god that he has to do, he does not even hesitate in making some confessions from which otherwise of concern for his own personal credit would have held him back, ie. 'i confess that in my own case i have often, from a motive of vain ambition, departed from the doctrine of scripture both in my reasonings and my replies, while my aim was to attain the show of fame among the people, and at the same time to strip off the pretensions of ambitious sophists;. this consciousness that he was contending not for himself, but for God's honour and Christ's cause, was also the source of the joyful courage and the confident hope of final victory which filled his breast even in the menacing prospect of persecution; and, perhaps, even of an approaching death-blow to himself and his fellow-combatants. he grew holy himself with the holy aims which he pursued; his personal character was exalted by the cause which he served ; and THE CAUSE WHICH HE SERVED WAS NEVER THE TRUTH AS MERE KNOWLEDGE, BUT THE TRUTH AS A POWER UNTO GODLINESS. he has always and everywhere in view the moral kernel, 'the fruits'; not the leafage, but THE FRUIT, IS EVERYTHING IN HIS REGARD. it was from glowing zeal for the cause of God, sincere love to the souls of men, upright conscientiousness before God, and heartfelt longing for the reformation of the church of Christ, that he put forth all his energetic and indefatigable labours for the restoration of the church to her original purity and freedom, in which she had flourished in the primitive christian age.
6.10.2012 PSALM 89
spurgeon introduces this psalm in his 'treasury of david', a commentary on the psalms.
this is the COVENANT PSALM, whih, according tothe jewish arrangement coses the third book of the psalms. it is the utterance of a believer, in presence of great national disaster, pleading with his God, urging the grand argument of the convenant He made with david, and expecting deliverance and help, because of the faithfulness of Jehovah. on another level Jesus Christ is seen in many places starting with v4, '(speaking to david) thy seed will i extablish forever'.
it is a maschil for it is instructive..he who is taught by the holy Spirit to be clear upon the covenant of grace will be a scribe well instructed in the things of the kingdom.
written by ethan the ezrahite: perhaps the same person as jeduthun, who was a musician in david's reign; was noted for his wisdom in solomon's days, and problably survived till the troubles of rehoboam's period. if this be the man, he must have written this psalm in his old age, when troubles were coming thick and heavy upon the dynasty of david and the land of judah..
psalmist
1. i will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever
2. with my mouth will i make known Thy faithfulness to all generations
for i have said
3. mercy shall be BUILT UP forever
4. Thy faithfulness shalt Thou ESTABLISH in the very heavens
Jehovah
1. I have MADE A COVENANT with My chosen
2. I have SWORN unto david My servant.
3. thy seed will I ESTABLISH forever, and
4. BUILD UP thy throne to all generations. SELAH
psalmist
1. and the heavens shall praise Thy wonders, o Lord
2. Thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints
? for who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord
? who among the sons of the might can be likened unto the Lord
3. God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and
4. to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him
O Lord God of hosts,
? who is a strong Lord like unto Thee? or
? (like) to Thy faithfulness round about Thee?
5. Thou rulest the raging of the sea:
6. when the waves thereof arise, Thou stillest them
7. Thou hast broken rahab (egypt) in pieces, as one that is slain;
8. Thou hast scattered Thine enemies with "Thy strong arm.
9. the heavens are Thine
10. the earth also is Thine:
11. as for the world and the fulness thereof, Thou hast founded them.
12. the north and the south Thou hast created them:
13. tabor and hermon shall rejoice in Thy name
14. Thou hast a mighty arm
15. strong is Thy hand, and
16. high is Thy right hand.
17. justice and judgment are the habitation of Thy throne:
18. mercy and truth shall go before Thy face.
blessed is the people
19. that KNOW the joyful sound:
20. they shall WALK, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance
21. in Thy name shall they REJOICE all the day: and
22. in Thy righteousness shall they BE EXALTED.
for Thou
23. art the glory of their strength: and
24. in Thy favour our horn shall be exalted
25. for the Lord is our defense; and
26. the Holy One of israel is our king
then Thou spakest in vision to Thy holy one, and saidst,
27. I have LAID HELP UPON one that is mighty;
28. I have EXALTED one chosen out of the people.
29. I have FOUND david My servant;
30. with My holy oil have i ANOINTED him:
31. with whom MY HAND SHALL BE ESTABLISHED:
32. Mine arm also shall STRENGTHEN him
33. the enemy shall not be exact upon him; nor
34. the son of wickedness afflict him.
35. and I will BEAT DOWN his foes before his face, and
36. PLAGUE them that hate him. but
37.
this is the COVENANT PSALM, whih, according tothe jewish arrangement coses the third book of the psalms. it is the utterance of a believer, in presence of great national disaster, pleading with his God, urging the grand argument of the convenant He made with david, and expecting deliverance and help, because of the faithfulness of Jehovah. on another level Jesus Christ is seen in many places starting with v4, '(speaking to david) thy seed will i extablish forever'.
it is a maschil for it is instructive..he who is taught by the holy Spirit to be clear upon the covenant of grace will be a scribe well instructed in the things of the kingdom.
written by ethan the ezrahite: perhaps the same person as jeduthun, who was a musician in david's reign; was noted for his wisdom in solomon's days, and problably survived till the troubles of rehoboam's period. if this be the man, he must have written this psalm in his old age, when troubles were coming thick and heavy upon the dynasty of david and the land of judah..
psalmist
1. i will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever
2. with my mouth will i make known Thy faithfulness to all generations
for i have said
3. mercy shall be BUILT UP forever
4. Thy faithfulness shalt Thou ESTABLISH in the very heavens
Jehovah
1. I have MADE A COVENANT with My chosen
2. I have SWORN unto david My servant.
3. thy seed will I ESTABLISH forever, and
4. BUILD UP thy throne to all generations. SELAH
psalmist
1. and the heavens shall praise Thy wonders, o Lord
2. Thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints
? for who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord
? who among the sons of the might can be likened unto the Lord
3. God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and
4. to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him
O Lord God of hosts,
? who is a strong Lord like unto Thee? or
? (like) to Thy faithfulness round about Thee?
5. Thou rulest the raging of the sea:
6. when the waves thereof arise, Thou stillest them
7. Thou hast broken rahab (egypt) in pieces, as one that is slain;
8. Thou hast scattered Thine enemies with "Thy strong arm.
9. the heavens are Thine
10. the earth also is Thine:
11. as for the world and the fulness thereof, Thou hast founded them.
12. the north and the south Thou hast created them:
13. tabor and hermon shall rejoice in Thy name
14. Thou hast a mighty arm
15. strong is Thy hand, and
16. high is Thy right hand.
17. justice and judgment are the habitation of Thy throne:
18. mercy and truth shall go before Thy face.
blessed is the people
19. that KNOW the joyful sound:
20. they shall WALK, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance
21. in Thy name shall they REJOICE all the day: and
22. in Thy righteousness shall they BE EXALTED.
for Thou
23. art the glory of their strength: and
24. in Thy favour our horn shall be exalted
25. for the Lord is our defense; and
26. the Holy One of israel is our king
then Thou spakest in vision to Thy holy one, and saidst,
27. I have LAID HELP UPON one that is mighty;
28. I have EXALTED one chosen out of the people.
29. I have FOUND david My servant;
30. with My holy oil have i ANOINTED him:
31. with whom MY HAND SHALL BE ESTABLISHED:
32. Mine arm also shall STRENGTHEN him
33. the enemy shall not be exact upon him; nor
34. the son of wickedness afflict him.
35. and I will BEAT DOWN his foes before his face, and
36. PLAGUE them that hate him. but
37.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
6.9.2012 LARRY NORMAN 1947-2008
Larry Norman is my hero. why? because he knew he was a sinner like i am..who seems to have known the grace and forgiveness of God. Hallelujah! i know very few like him..publicly professing sinners. it's lonely when you are the only sinner you know...no one to talk to but Jesus..no one to relate to be people who remain only in books or on recordings and such. i recently received a cd of his which was a gift from God and refreshed me greatly. i gave it to my daughter Kate's little girl, Mikayla (hebrew for 'who is like the Lord') on her first birthday around the 15th of may. i pray that she early becomes a sinner like her peba so we can relate at the deepest level. this is a song of his that fits me exactly and so forms a cry to God from my heart.
I AM A SERVANT
i am a servant
i am listening for my name
i sit here waiting
i've been looking at the game
that i've been playing
i've been staying much
when you are lonely
you're the only one to blame
i am a servant
i am waiting for Your call
i've been unfaithful
so i sit here in the hall
how can You use me
when i've never given all
how can You choose me
when You know i'd quickly fall
so You feed my soul
You help me grow
You let me know
You love me
i might feel worthless now
but i've made a vow
i will humbly bow before Thee
o please use me
I am lonely
i am a servant
getting ready for my part
there's been a change
a rearrangement in my heart
at last i'm learning
there's no returning once i start
to live's a privelege
to love is such an art
but i need your help to start
oh please purify my heart
i am Your servant
i've heard that larry norman recorded about 100 albums. there is very little music i relate to like his, 'christian' or otherwise. when i heard this i wistfully thought, it will never happen!, of how neat it would be to get everything he ever recorded. just my flesh again...not fully satisfied with Jesus yet..
Friday, June 8, 2012
6.8.2012 PSALM 89.30-4 ARE YOU IN SIN AND WELL? HELL MAY BE A HEARTBEAT AWAY.
ARE YOU DISOBEYING GOD? ARE THINGS GOING WELL? BE ALARMED.
ARE YOU CRUSHED FOR YOUR SINS..AND STILL CRAWLING TOWARD GOD? BE ENCOURAGED. (note: i thank God for speaking to me through this psalm. the verses below are, if by God's grace can be internalized, such a potential help not only in my harsh judgment of others, but also in my dispair with the growing awareness of my own personal sins..which at times can seem overwhelming, unconquerable, damning. Hallelujah! what a savior! may He find me always in the latter position above.)
psalm 89:
30 if his children forsake My law and walk not in My judgments
31 if they break My statutes and keep not My commandments
32 then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes.
33 nevertheless My lovingkindness will I will not utterly take from him, nor suffer My faithfulness to fail.
here is comfort to those who are true branches and CONTINUE TO BRING FORTH FRUIT IN THE MIDST OF ALL THE TRIALS THAT BEFALL THEM, that God will not suffer them to be cut off by their corruption. if anything in them should provoke God to do it, it must be sin. now for that, you see how Christ promiseth that God will take order therewith and will purge it out of them. this is the covenant made with david, (as he was a type of Christ, with whom the same covenant is made sure and firm,) that 'if his seed forsake My law and walk not in My judgments', - what! presently turn them out of doors and cut them off, as those He meant to have no more to do with? what! nothing but utter rejection? is there no means of reclaiming them? never a rod in the house? yet- 'then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes; whip out their stubbornness and sinfulness; 'but my lovingkindness will i not utterly take from him' as I did from saul, as it is in I chronicles 17.13.
let the saints consider this, that they may return when they are fallen and submit to Him and his nature and suffer him to do what he sill with them and endure cutting and lancing and burning so long as he cuts them not off; endure chastening and all His dealings else, knowing that all the fruit is but to take away the sin, to make them 'partakers of His holiness'; and 'if by any means', as paul speaks of himself, (philippians 3.11) be the means what it will, it is no matter. and God, if at any time He seems to cut thee off, yet it is but as the incestuous corinthian was cut off, that 'the flesh might be destroyed and the spirit saved'. thomas goodwin
'if his children forsake My law' an objection is supposed: 'suppose this seed who are included in the covenant fall into transgression, who shall the covenant stand fast then?' the covenant, with the seed, shall stand for ever, but the seed must be a holy seed. then the objector supposes- 'suppose the seed become unholy?' well, God explains- ' if is children forsake My law, and walk not in My judgments'- that is, if the seed practically fall away- 'if they break my statutes and keep not My commandments; then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. nevertheless My lovingkindness will i not take from him, nor suffer My faithfulness to fail'. make the case. what is it that God will do? the case supposed is that the seed of Christ forsakes the law and breaks His statutes. i need not say to you that that is realized every day. these are not the ungodly or the unconverted that are spoken of, but God's own children. do you say, 'can they be guilty of breaking God's statutes, and forsaking God's law?' WE DO IT EVERY DAY. there is no single day of our lives that we do not do it...
how astonished many would be, if they knew what the real case was of those perhaps whom they admire, and think highly advanced and exalted in the divine life, if they were to know the falls, the wretched falls, falls in heart, in word and in practice; if they were to know the deep distress that the children of go, who are far advanced as they suppose in the divine life, are continually suffering from the effect of such transgression! that is exactly what God says; He comes and contemplates such a case and He says, 'if they break My statutes and keep not my commandments, then'-what? what will god do? some people say, 'then god will leave them'. those who object to the doctrine of final perseverance say this: 'it is true He will preserve the believer from the toils of the devil and the temptations of the world, but not from the breaking forth of his own natural evil. he may be betrayed by that, and finally lost. god exactly meets that case; he contemplates the worst case-actual transgression. He says, 'if a child of mine breaks my law'. He does not say anything about the devil or the outward temptations of the world; but He says, 'if they forsake my law and break my statutes'. let us be instructed by God. He does not say He will leave them and forsake them. make what He will do! He say-'I will visit their transgressions with the rod and their iniquity with stripes'. that is the provision which God has made in His covenant; and it is delightful to see how God has contemplated our case to the uttermost. there is nothing in our history that God has not met in the covenant with Christ. if you are in union with Christ, and a partaker of the covenant, your case is met in every conceivable emergency. nothing can befall you which is not contemplated-nothing which God has not provided for. even if you fall, God has provided for it; but take heed; THE PROVISION INVOLVES MUCH THAT WILL BE TERRIBLE AND DESPERATELY PAINFUL TO YOUR MIND. there is nothing to encourage sin about it; there is nothing to give us license, nothing to lead a man to boast, 'i am safe at last'. be it so; but safe how? how will god secure their safety? 'I will visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes'.
capel molyneux
'if His children forsake My law' if they fall into sins of commission; if they shoot beyond the mark. 'and walk not in my judgments'. transgression and disobedience (that is, every commission and omission) receiveth a just recompense of reward', hebrews 2.2 john trapp
'His children' 'banin' (?) (hebrew) His sons, ie. christians, born through the griefs of Christ on the cross, like the pangs of one in travail. geier
v30 a man may forsake the doctrines of the gospel. he may fall into great errors, great aberrations from Truth; he may forsake the ordinances of the Lord's house, though he sees God's word is clear upon the point. he esteems those things as nothing worth, which the Lord esteems so well, that He has given them to His church as a sacred deposit, which she is to convey down to the last posterity till time shall be no more. and what is still more-a man may forsake for a time the principles of the precious gospel of the living God. but i can imagine a state still more solemnly affecting that even this. it is a part of God's wisdom, (and it is for our good that it is so - all God's wisdom is for his people's good)-it is a part of the wisdom of God, that sin should lead to sin; that one neglect shall pave the way to another; that that which is bad shall lead to that which is worse, and that which is worse shall prepare the way for that which is worst...the longer i live, the more i am brought to this-to know that there is not a sin that ever was committed, but i need the grace of god to keep me from it. james harrington evans
v30-4 God here says two things; first, that he will chastise them, next, that He will not, on that account, cast them out of his covenant. O wonderful tempering of the kindness and severity of God! in which He finds His own glory and believers their safety! the heavenly Father loves the blood and marks of His Christ which He sees upon them, and the remains of faith and godliness which are preserved hidden in the depth of their heart, this is why He will not cast them off. on the other hand, He considers that it accords neither with His wisdom nor His holiness to bestow His grace and salvation upon those who do not repent for having cast off his law and given themselves up to iniquity. in order to harmonize these opposite desires, He takes the rod and chastises them, to arouse their conscience, and to excite their faith; to restore them, by the repentance which His discipline produces, to such a state, as that He may be able to bestow upon them, without shame, the blessings he has promised to the children of His Son; just as a wise parent, by moderate and judicious correction gradually draws back his son from those irregularities of life into which he has plunged; and thereby preserves his honour, and himself the pleasure of being able to love and please him without misgiving. or, as a skillful surgeon, by the pain which his knife, or cautery, or bitter potions, cause his patient, saves his life, and wards off death. jean daille
when our heavenly Father is, as it were, forced to put forth His anger, He then makes use of a father's rod, not an executioner's axe. He will neither break His children's bones, nor His own covenant. He lashes in love, in measure, in pity and compassion thomas lye, 1621-1684
v32 'then will I visit their transgression with the rod', He does not simply say, i will smite them; but, i will visit with the rod. it is one thing merely to smite, it is another thing to smite by visiting. for visitation implies oversight and paternal care. the metaphor is taken from those who undertake to watch over the sick or train up children, or tend sheep. he does not say, i will visit THEM with the rod; but, I will visit THEIR TRANSGRESSION with the rod. we ought to think perpetually, what it is the rod of God visits in us, that we may confess our transgressions, and amend our lives. musculus
v33 'I will not utterly take from Him' why 'from Him'? because all God's lovingkindness to His people is centred in Christ. does God love you? it is because He loves Christ; you are one with Christ. your transgressions are your own; they are separate from Christ; but God's love is not your own; it is Christ's; you receive it because you are one with Him. how beautifully that is distinguished here- 'if they transgress, i will punish THEM; but my lovingkindness will i not take from Him' -in whom alone they find it; and in union with whom alone they enjoy it capel molyneux
v33 'from Him' the words, 'nevertheless My lovingkindness will I not utterly take from Him' are worthy of consideration; for the question being about those who are chastised, it would appear that he should have written from THEM, and not from HIM. but the prophet has thus worded it, because, being the children and members of His Christ, the favours which God bestows upon us belong to Him in some manner; and it seems that the psalmist wishes to show us hereby, that it is in Jesus Christ, and for the love of Him alone, that God bestows favours on us. and that which follows, in the 34th verse, agrees herewith,- 'My covenant will i not break' -for it is properly to Jesus Christ, on account of His admirable obedience, that God the Father has promised to be merciful to our iniquities, and never to leave one of those to perish who are in covenant with Him. jean daille
v34 'My covenant will I not break' He had said above, 'if the children of david break my statutes'; and now, alluding to that breach, He declares that He will not requite them as they requite Him, 'My covenant will I not break', implying, that although His people may not altogether act in a manner corresponding to their vocation, as they ought to do, He will not suffer His covenant to be broken and disannulled on account of their fault, because He will promptly and effectually prevent this in the way of blotting out their sins by a gratuitous pardon. john calving
ARE YOU CRUSHED FOR YOUR SINS..AND STILL CRAWLING TOWARD GOD? BE ENCOURAGED. (note: i thank God for speaking to me through this psalm. the verses below are, if by God's grace can be internalized, such a potential help not only in my harsh judgment of others, but also in my dispair with the growing awareness of my own personal sins..which at times can seem overwhelming, unconquerable, damning. Hallelujah! what a savior! may He find me always in the latter position above.)
psalm 89:
30 if his children forsake My law and walk not in My judgments
31 if they break My statutes and keep not My commandments
32 then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes.
33 nevertheless My lovingkindness will I will not utterly take from him, nor suffer My faithfulness to fail.
here is comfort to those who are true branches and CONTINUE TO BRING FORTH FRUIT IN THE MIDST OF ALL THE TRIALS THAT BEFALL THEM, that God will not suffer them to be cut off by their corruption. if anything in them should provoke God to do it, it must be sin. now for that, you see how Christ promiseth that God will take order therewith and will purge it out of them. this is the covenant made with david, (as he was a type of Christ, with whom the same covenant is made sure and firm,) that 'if his seed forsake My law and walk not in My judgments', - what! presently turn them out of doors and cut them off, as those He meant to have no more to do with? what! nothing but utter rejection? is there no means of reclaiming them? never a rod in the house? yet- 'then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes; whip out their stubbornness and sinfulness; 'but my lovingkindness will i not utterly take from him' as I did from saul, as it is in I chronicles 17.13.
let the saints consider this, that they may return when they are fallen and submit to Him and his nature and suffer him to do what he sill with them and endure cutting and lancing and burning so long as he cuts them not off; endure chastening and all His dealings else, knowing that all the fruit is but to take away the sin, to make them 'partakers of His holiness'; and 'if by any means', as paul speaks of himself, (philippians 3.11) be the means what it will, it is no matter. and God, if at any time He seems to cut thee off, yet it is but as the incestuous corinthian was cut off, that 'the flesh might be destroyed and the spirit saved'. thomas goodwin
'if his children forsake My law' an objection is supposed: 'suppose this seed who are included in the covenant fall into transgression, who shall the covenant stand fast then?' the covenant, with the seed, shall stand for ever, but the seed must be a holy seed. then the objector supposes- 'suppose the seed become unholy?' well, God explains- ' if is children forsake My law, and walk not in My judgments'- that is, if the seed practically fall away- 'if they break my statutes and keep not My commandments; then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. nevertheless My lovingkindness will i not take from him, nor suffer My faithfulness to fail'. make the case. what is it that God will do? the case supposed is that the seed of Christ forsakes the law and breaks His statutes. i need not say to you that that is realized every day. these are not the ungodly or the unconverted that are spoken of, but God's own children. do you say, 'can they be guilty of breaking God's statutes, and forsaking God's law?' WE DO IT EVERY DAY. there is no single day of our lives that we do not do it...
how astonished many would be, if they knew what the real case was of those perhaps whom they admire, and think highly advanced and exalted in the divine life, if they were to know the falls, the wretched falls, falls in heart, in word and in practice; if they were to know the deep distress that the children of go, who are far advanced as they suppose in the divine life, are continually suffering from the effect of such transgression! that is exactly what God says; He comes and contemplates such a case and He says, 'if they break My statutes and keep not my commandments, then'-what? what will god do? some people say, 'then god will leave them'. those who object to the doctrine of final perseverance say this: 'it is true He will preserve the believer from the toils of the devil and the temptations of the world, but not from the breaking forth of his own natural evil. he may be betrayed by that, and finally lost. god exactly meets that case; he contemplates the worst case-actual transgression. He says, 'if a child of mine breaks my law'. He does not say anything about the devil or the outward temptations of the world; but He says, 'if they forsake my law and break my statutes'. let us be instructed by God. He does not say He will leave them and forsake them. make what He will do! He say-'I will visit their transgressions with the rod and their iniquity with stripes'. that is the provision which God has made in His covenant; and it is delightful to see how God has contemplated our case to the uttermost. there is nothing in our history that God has not met in the covenant with Christ. if you are in union with Christ, and a partaker of the covenant, your case is met in every conceivable emergency. nothing can befall you which is not contemplated-nothing which God has not provided for. even if you fall, God has provided for it; but take heed; THE PROVISION INVOLVES MUCH THAT WILL BE TERRIBLE AND DESPERATELY PAINFUL TO YOUR MIND. there is nothing to encourage sin about it; there is nothing to give us license, nothing to lead a man to boast, 'i am safe at last'. be it so; but safe how? how will god secure their safety? 'I will visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes'.
capel molyneux
'if His children forsake My law' if they fall into sins of commission; if they shoot beyond the mark. 'and walk not in my judgments'. transgression and disobedience (that is, every commission and omission) receiveth a just recompense of reward', hebrews 2.2 john trapp
'His children' 'banin' (?) (hebrew) His sons, ie. christians, born through the griefs of Christ on the cross, like the pangs of one in travail. geier
v30 a man may forsake the doctrines of the gospel. he may fall into great errors, great aberrations from Truth; he may forsake the ordinances of the Lord's house, though he sees God's word is clear upon the point. he esteems those things as nothing worth, which the Lord esteems so well, that He has given them to His church as a sacred deposit, which she is to convey down to the last posterity till time shall be no more. and what is still more-a man may forsake for a time the principles of the precious gospel of the living God. but i can imagine a state still more solemnly affecting that even this. it is a part of God's wisdom, (and it is for our good that it is so - all God's wisdom is for his people's good)-it is a part of the wisdom of God, that sin should lead to sin; that one neglect shall pave the way to another; that that which is bad shall lead to that which is worse, and that which is worse shall prepare the way for that which is worst...the longer i live, the more i am brought to this-to know that there is not a sin that ever was committed, but i need the grace of god to keep me from it. james harrington evans
v30-4 God here says two things; first, that he will chastise them, next, that He will not, on that account, cast them out of his covenant. O wonderful tempering of the kindness and severity of God! in which He finds His own glory and believers their safety! the heavenly Father loves the blood and marks of His Christ which He sees upon them, and the remains of faith and godliness which are preserved hidden in the depth of their heart, this is why He will not cast them off. on the other hand, He considers that it accords neither with His wisdom nor His holiness to bestow His grace and salvation upon those who do not repent for having cast off his law and given themselves up to iniquity. in order to harmonize these opposite desires, He takes the rod and chastises them, to arouse their conscience, and to excite their faith; to restore them, by the repentance which His discipline produces, to such a state, as that He may be able to bestow upon them, without shame, the blessings he has promised to the children of His Son; just as a wise parent, by moderate and judicious correction gradually draws back his son from those irregularities of life into which he has plunged; and thereby preserves his honour, and himself the pleasure of being able to love and please him without misgiving. or, as a skillful surgeon, by the pain which his knife, or cautery, or bitter potions, cause his patient, saves his life, and wards off death. jean daille
when our heavenly Father is, as it were, forced to put forth His anger, He then makes use of a father's rod, not an executioner's axe. He will neither break His children's bones, nor His own covenant. He lashes in love, in measure, in pity and compassion thomas lye, 1621-1684
v32 'then will I visit their transgression with the rod', He does not simply say, i will smite them; but, i will visit with the rod. it is one thing merely to smite, it is another thing to smite by visiting. for visitation implies oversight and paternal care. the metaphor is taken from those who undertake to watch over the sick or train up children, or tend sheep. he does not say, i will visit THEM with the rod; but, I will visit THEIR TRANSGRESSION with the rod. we ought to think perpetually, what it is the rod of God visits in us, that we may confess our transgressions, and amend our lives. musculus
v33 'I will not utterly take from Him' why 'from Him'? because all God's lovingkindness to His people is centred in Christ. does God love you? it is because He loves Christ; you are one with Christ. your transgressions are your own; they are separate from Christ; but God's love is not your own; it is Christ's; you receive it because you are one with Him. how beautifully that is distinguished here- 'if they transgress, i will punish THEM; but my lovingkindness will i not take from Him' -in whom alone they find it; and in union with whom alone they enjoy it capel molyneux
v33 'from Him' the words, 'nevertheless My lovingkindness will I not utterly take from Him' are worthy of consideration; for the question being about those who are chastised, it would appear that he should have written from THEM, and not from HIM. but the prophet has thus worded it, because, being the children and members of His Christ, the favours which God bestows upon us belong to Him in some manner; and it seems that the psalmist wishes to show us hereby, that it is in Jesus Christ, and for the love of Him alone, that God bestows favours on us. and that which follows, in the 34th verse, agrees herewith,- 'My covenant will i not break' -for it is properly to Jesus Christ, on account of His admirable obedience, that God the Father has promised to be merciful to our iniquities, and never to leave one of those to perish who are in covenant with Him. jean daille
v34 'My covenant will I not break' He had said above, 'if the children of david break my statutes'; and now, alluding to that breach, He declares that He will not requite them as they requite Him, 'My covenant will I not break', implying, that although His people may not altogether act in a manner corresponding to their vocation, as they ought to do, He will not suffer His covenant to be broken and disannulled on account of their fault, because He will promptly and effectually prevent this in the way of blotting out their sins by a gratuitous pardon. john calving
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