Song of the Drunkards

JESUS FACED A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF OPPOSITION FOR HIS HARD WORDS AND UNFLINCHING DEVOTION TO YAHWEH. NO SURPRISE THEN IF WE FIND OUR NAME FESTOONED IN BARROOM BALLADS (CF. PS 69:12).

Envying the Wicked

February 10, 2013 in Bible - OT - Psalms, Meditations

Psalm 37:1–4 (NKJV)
1 Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
This morning David warns us to beware how we relate to the wicked. David’s warning reveals a keen insight into the wiles of the human heart and the way in which the righteous can be subtly ensnared by the lure of vice.
Notice that David’s warning is two-fold. Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. In typical Hebrew parallelism the two sides of David’s statement help to reinforce and explain one another. So note that David warns us lest we fret because of evildoers. To fret is to worry, to fuss, to agonize or be vexed. But fretting can manifest itself for a variety of reasons – so David explains the trajectory of the fretting with his second warning: don’t be envious of the wicked. The type of fretting is an envious fretting – a fretting that secretly or openly casts a longing glance toward the apparent prosperity of the wicked or their indulgence of certain sins.
David’s twofold warning – don’t fret; that is, don’t be envious –reminds us that one of the reasons we often get in a huff and puff toward those who are practicing wickedness is that secretly, in our hearts, we would like to be doing the same thing. We think that the wicked are getting a free pass to do all the fun stuff while we have to be all prudish and stick with the straight and narrow. Starched collars and all that. Secretly, in our hearts, we are still defining the good life according to the world’s measure. We’re saying to ourselves, “My, I wish I could get away with that.”
But David reminds us that if we think this way, we are being deceived and our hearts are not right before the Lord. If we find ourselves fretting and worrying because of evildoers, envious of their supposed liberties, then we haven’t yet reckoned with the Lordship of Christ. God rules and reigns and this means that these folks are going to be destroyed and that their wickedness is as foolish as pouring kerosene on kindling amid a forest fire. Their days are numbered and the folly in which they are engaged is not something we should envy – no more than envying a child who is preparing to stick his hand in the beautiful blue flames on the stovetop.
So what of you? What are you treasuring in your heart? Have you been secretly envying the state of the wicked? Saying to yourself, “My, I wish I could get away with that.” Then consider and take to heart the word of the Lord:
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Reminded that we often envy the wicked rather than pity them for their folly, let us kneel and confess our sin to the Lord.

A Biblical Case for Infant Baptism

February 6, 2013 in Baptism, Ecclesiology, Old Testament, Sacraments

Our men’s group is currently reading Book IV of John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. Finding ourselves in the midst of his defense of infant baptism, I decided to take the time to reformat a paper I wrote some years ago when I was still a credobaptist and moving toward paedobaptism. As Calvin makes clear in his defense, the linchpin of the argument for paedobaptism is the correspondence between circumcision and baptism. Being keenly aware of that I did a fair amount of meditating and wrestling with that very issue. This paper was the fruit of that meditation. I hope you enjoy it.

The Significance of Circumcision

Preference vs Principle

February 1, 2013 in Bible - NT - James, Holy Spirit, Meditations, Sanctification

James 1:22-25 (NKJV)
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
It is imperative for us as the people of God to distinguish between being men and women of preference and being men and women of principle. The text before us today provides the basis for this distinction and so let me explain it briefly.
A man or woman of preference is one who would prefer things to be a certain way but who can’t seem, for one reason or another, to accomplish his objective. He would prefer to be sexually pure, but he just can’t seem to resist looking at pornography. She would prefer to be respectful to her husband, but he’s just so unworthy of respect. He would prefer to succeed in his schoolwork well, but his friends invited him to a party this weekend. She would prefer to live a life characterized by joy and gladness, but what her parents did to her when she was young is just too much to forgive. He would prefer to have obedient children, but the children God has given him are difficult and his wife just doesn’t do a good job with them. She would prefer to be content, but all her friends have so many more clothes than she. He would prefer to make it to church each Lord’s Day, but it’s simply too hard to get the whole family ready ahead of time. She would prefer not to gossip, but she’s just so lonely she needs someone to talk with.
Contrast these scenarios with a man or woman of principle. He knows it is sinful to be sexually impure, and so he does whatever is necessary to shield himself from temptation. She knows that she must respect her husband, and so she begins honoring him with her words and actions, praying that her heart attitude will gradually change. He knows that all hard work, including school work, brings a profit, so he skips the party to study for his exam. She knows that God commands her to be joyful, and so she confesses her sin of bitterness and refuses to listen to her own sob story. He knows he is responsible for the state of his children, and so he asks his wife’s forgiveness for failing to train them and then he sets about to make them obedient. She knows that contentment is not an option, and so she meditates on the Word of God and rejoices that God is her portion in the land of the living. He knows that his family needs to be in worship every Lord’s Day, and so he organizes everything Saturday evening so they can make it. She knows it is a sin to gossip, and so she confides her loneliness to the Lord and looks for ways to praise others with her words.
What kind of man or woman are you? Are you a man or woman of preference or of principle? If the former heed the warning of James –
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Reminded that we often fail to be men and women of principle and that we make excuses for our disobedience, let us kneel and ask our Lord’s forgiveness.