In the School of Christ | Psalm 128

By R.C. Sproul Jr. 5/01/2013

     It is not hard to complain about the government’s schools. The government, at least during every election cycle, seems less than satisfied with its own product, ever promising us that it will improve. Atheists complain about prayers before football games. Christians complain about the teaching of sexual (im)morality. Everyone complains about graduation rates and test scores.

     What precious few complain about, however, is where the schools succeed. A cursory study of both the founding fathers of the modern American educational system and its most esteemed pundits in our own day demonstrates that schools are not actually designed to train up scholars, that their goal is neither intellectual nor moral giants. Rather, they function to prepare men and women to work. School-to-Work programs, Vision 2020—these are just rehashings of the original Frankfurt School philosophy. Schools exist to create workers. It is less important, in this model, what is said between the bell that rings at 8:30 a.m. and the bell that rings at 9:15 a.m., and more important that the bells ring. We learn to think about an artificial, hermetically sealed body of information for a time. Then, when the bell rings, we turn our attention to some other artificial, hermetically sealed body of information, until another bell rings to tell us to go home. The entire system looks at children as if they were widgets, entering the education factory as toddlers and coming out the other side when they are grown.

     This is not how God designed the rearing of children. To be sure, our children must learn things. But they are not so much widgets in a factory as they are plants around our tables (Psalm 128). They are not products to be manufactured but lives to be nurtured. The Bible presents the raising of children in natural and organic terms, rather than mechanical or industrial terms.

Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the LORD

Psalm 128 A SONG OF ASCENTS.

1  Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
2  You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

3  Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
4  Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the LORD.

5  The LORD bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
6  May you see your children’s children!
Peace be upon Israel!   ESV

     This is why we are called, according to the Shema, to speak to our children of the things of God when they lie down and when they rise up (Deut. 6:7). This poetic expression should itself be seen organically. That is, Moses is assuredly not saying, “Don’t speak to your children of these things when they are seated,” or, “Do speak to them when they walk by the way, but if they are jogging, be silent.” That is, Moses is talking about an immersive educational experience — we are to talk about the things of God with our children always and everywhere.

     The things of God are to be the very warp and woof of our daily conversation. God does not here call us to be sure to have or add Bible curricula to our educational programs. He does not command us to sign our children up for Bible memory programs at our local churches. He does not require that we hire others to teach them their catechism answers. Instead, He tells us parents that we are to speak with our children about the things of God all the time.

     In order to do this, of course, we who are parents first must be thinking about the things of God all the time. Most of us are the products of schools that taught us to divide our lives, to separate what we think about Jesus and what we think about our work, to separate what we think about our work and what we think about our play. We give time to Jesus on Sundays, perhaps on Wednesday nights, and, if we are peculiarly pious, every day during our quiet times. These all may be terribly good things, but not if they are hermetically sealed. We dare not believe that Jesus matters only during these times while He is beside the point the rest of our days.

     When Jesus calls us to seek first His kingdom, He is not narrowing our focus. He is not saying: “Set aside kingdom building for your best hours of the day. Then, when you are tired, you can go about your own business.” Jesus does not reign in one kingdom that we pursue through the means of grace and in another kingdom that we pursue some other way. He does not take His world and slice it into class periods. Rather, He ever, always, and everywhere reigns. How we live our lives must not merely acknowledge that, but subsist in it. Therefore, how we train our children must not merely acknowledge that, but subsist in it. It is not enough that we say a blessing over our days and go on as if the One to whom we have prayed can be ignored.

     The Shema tells us not only of the God of the covenant, but of the first law of the covenant — that we are to teach the covenant to our children. The Shema, in a new covenant context, calls us to acknowledge and proclaim the lordship of Christ over all things. It is a clarion call to all God’s people to rejoice in God’s reign over all things. It is a constant reminder that Jesus is not a subject to be mastered, but that we are subjects of Jesus, the Master. The school of Christ never takes a weekend. The school of Christ never takes a vacation. The school of Christ never takes a snow day. And the school of Christ hands out diplomas only when we die.

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     R.C. Sproul Jr. has served previously as a pastor, professor, and teacher. He is author of numerous books. Some are listed below.

     R.C. Sproul Jr. Books |  Go to Books Page

Whither Warfield?

By Keith Mathison 3/1/2010

     While perusing the internet recently, I happened across a discussion among some Reformed Christians about the concept of geocentrism — the belief that the earth is stationary and at the center of the universe. Some of the participants in the discussion were arguing that the Bible teaches geocentrism. Others were arguing that science has definitively proven that the earth circles the sun, therefore the Bible must not be teaching geocentrism. As I read through the discussion, it became clear that several participants saw the entire debate as a conflict between Scripture and science. As they saw it, those who reject geocentrism are rejecting the Bible. In another similar online discussion, a Reformed participant confessed that if he were ever convinced that the universe was billions of years old, he would renounce Christianity because such a discovery would mean the Bible is untrue.    I don't get this discussion at all. Columbus proved in 1492 that the world is round. If we really believed the Bible wouldn't we have known that long ago? All Columbus did was prove the Bible true.Consider Isaiah 40:22 and Job 26:20.

(Is 40:22) 22  It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;

(Job 26:10) 10  He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters
at the boundary between light and darkness.

     Although there are those who will find the debate over geocentrism or the age of the earth interesting, this is not the main point. The deeper issue involves the way we as Reformed Christians think about and approach questions involving the relationship between Scripture and science. Must the questions be framed in the way these forum participants have framed them? Must we assume that if some scientific idea is proven true, we have no choice but to reject our faith? Or is there a better way?

     I believe the nineteenth and early twentieth-century theologians at Princeton provide some helpful guidance in approaching the subject. If we look at the work of Charles Hodge, A. A. Hodge, and Benjamin B. Warfield, we notice several striking things about the way they dealt with the issue. These men were in agreement on several fundamental principles. To begin with, they were all conservative, confessional Reformed theologians who were staunch defenders of the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture.

     They were also in general agreement on questions involving the relation of science and Scripture. They believed that truth, whether taught in Scripture or found in nature, is not ultimately contradictory. They agreed that when science and Scripture appear to contradict each other, either the scientific interpretation of God’s creation is in error or the Christian interpretation of Scripture is in error, or both are in error. They agreed that science had helped Christians correct wrong interpretations of Scripture in the past and could conceivably do so again in the future. All of this meant that when looking at any proposed scientific idea or theory, they had one basic question: “Is it true or not?” They answered this question by examining the evidence for and against the theory.

     The key point here is that the Princetonians were able to understand the conceptual difference between God’s Word and their interpretation of that Word. They understood that Scripture was is  infallible and inerrant but that their interpretation of it was not. Their interpretation of Scripture could be mistaken. It was this basic understanding that allowed them to deal with the scientific questions of their day in a way that we today seem to have forgotten. Today, when there is an apparent contradiction between science and Scripture, we assume that the contradiction must be real, and we assume that it is due to the mistaken interpretation of nature. This is one possibility, but it never seems to occur to us, as it did to the Princetonians, that the apparent contradiction may also be due to a mistaken interpretation of Scripture — or a mistaken interpretation of both.

     We need to be very clear on one point. The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy denies “that scientific hypotheses about earth history may properly be used to overturn the teaching of Scripture on creation and the flood” (Art. XII). However, as R.C. Sproul explains in his commentary on the Statement, this simply means that the actual teachings of Scripture cannot be overturned by external sources (Scripture Alone, p. 152). Using the medieval debate over geocentrism as an illustration, he explains that science can sometimes “correct false inferences drawn from Scripture” or even “actual misinterpretations of the Scripture” (ibid., 153). Here Dr. Sproul is simply echoing the nuanced approach of the Princetonians by distinguishing between God’s infallible Word and our fallible interpretations of that Word and of His world.

     The Reformed approach of the Princetonians is necessary to regain because it allows us to evaluate any scientific proposal or theory without fear because we know that the truth God has revealed in His Word and the truth about His created universe cannot ultimately contradict each other. When we understand that any apparent contradiction between the two is the result of an incorrect interpretation of either Scripture or nature, then we are able to look at any scientific proposal (that is, interpretation) and ask the same question the Princetonians asked, and the only one that really matters, namely: Is it true or not? We may at times be required to humbly admit error in our interpretation of Scripture. The scientist may at times be required to humbly admit error in his interpretation of God’s creation, but when all is said and done, we can rest assured knowing that God is true.

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Per Amazon, Keith A. Mathison (MA, Reformed Theological Seminary; PhD, Whitefield Theological Seminary) is dean of the Ligonier Academy of Biblical and Theological Studies and an associate editor of Tabletalk magazine at Ligonier Ministries. He is editor of When Shall These Things Be: A Reformed Response to Hyper-Preterism and associate editor of The Reformation Study Bible. He lives in Lake Mary, Florida, with his wife and children.

Keith Mathison Books:

• 1     Postmillennialism: An Eschatology of Hope
• 2     The Shape of Sola Scriptura
• 3     Given for You: Reclaiming Calvin's Doctrine of the Lord's Supper
• 4     From Age to Age: The Unfolding of Biblical Eschatology
• 5     Dispensationalism: Rightly Dividing the People of God?
• 6     A Reformed Approach to Science and Scripture
• 7     Not a Chance: God, Science, and the Revolt against Reason
• 8     When Shall These Things Be?: A Reformed Response to Hyper-Preterism

The Bible Heals

By Robert Jeffress 2023

The Bible Heals

     The image of a double-edged blade can be misleading. Certainly, there is an element of weaponry to the Bible. For example, Jesus used Scripture to counter Satan’s temptations in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1–11). But a two-edged sword can also be used to free us from the entanglements of wrong thinking and wrong behavior.

•     If we believe disobeying God will lead to freedom, we get bound up in misery.

•     If we believe we’re responsible for our own well-being, we get bound up in worry.

•     If we believe money is the key to happiness, we get bound up in greed.

•     If we believe revenge is the best response to mistreatment, we get bound up in bitterness.

     The Word of God slices through our wrong beliefs, freeing us from the resulting wrong behavior — and saving us from a world of hurt.

     The blade of God’s Word can pierce to the very heart of who we are. That’s not an easy job, given our limitless potential for self-delusion. As the prophet Jeremiah said, our hearts are deceitful and cannot be trusted (Jer. 17:9). Only the Bible can reveal our true motives for, say, teaching a Bible-study class, fixing a meal for a bereaved family, or writing a check for a church project.

     God’s purpose in slicing us open is not to hurt us but to heal us. He is the surgeon who cuts open His patients to remove the tumors of sin destroying their lives. The Great Physician uses the scalpel of His Word to expose sin and bring healing.

The Bible Guides

     In Psalm 32:8, God promised, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.” The primary means He uses to guide us is His Word.

     David said, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105). The illumination he was talking about is similar to that of a flashlight, something that allows us to see a few feet—not a few miles—ahead of us. God rarely provides us with enough light to see every step we need to take in the future, perhaps so we’re not tempted to run ahead of Him. But He promises to give us enough direction to take the next step.

The Bible Inspires

     The Bible connects us with a wisdom deeper than our own and a power greater than our own. It allows us to see past the mundane aspects of our existence and glimpse the things of God — truths of lasting value, truths that bring joy and fulfillment, truths that change lives.

     The Bible tantalizes us with stories of people very much like us — ordinary folks who dared to do something big, who allowed their faith to overrule their fear, and who were used by God to accomplish extraordinary things. Then the Bible encourages us to believe that God can do the same in us. It whispers to our souls, If not you, then who? If not now, then when?

A Personal Testimony about God’s Word

     The core belief of God’s Word is not just a theological truth for me; I have experienced the transforming power of Scripture in my own life. When I was in college, several of my liberal professors attacked the Bible and attempted to discredit it. Listening to that steady stream of teaching had a profound effect on me. I stopped reading the Bible and seriously questioned whether I wanted to give my life to preaching it.

     However, the exposure to that kind of teaching led me to dive into my own study of Scripture. I wanted to find out for myself if the Bible was true. As a result of my study, I came away with two assurances. First, I gained the assurance of the trustworthiness of the Scripture. I discovered the truth of Isaiah 40:8: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” I hope you, too, come away from this chapter with the absolute assurance that you can trust the Bible to be God’s Word.

     Second, I discovered that the Bible has the power to transform my life. God’s Word will lift you up above your present circumstances, whatever they are, and give you the confidence that God is working out His plan in not just the world in general but your world in particular. Even when things seem to be out of control, Scripture assures us that God has a plan He is working out. God said in Jeremiah 1:12, “I am watching over My word to perform it.”

     The Bible — the inspired, inerrant, active Word of God — is the primary tool the Holy Spirit uses to produce change in us. The wisest thing we can do is to commit to studying it, seeking out its treasures, and applying its wisdom to our lives.

Robert Jeffress, What Every Christian Should Know: 10 Core Beliefs for Standing Strong in a Shifting World (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2023)

The Christian Club

By W. Robert Godfrey 3/1/2010

     Many American churches are in a mess. Theologically they are indifferent, confused, or dangerously wrong. Liturgically they are the captives of superficial fads. Morally they live lives indistinguishable from the world. They often have a lot of people, money, and activities. But are they really churches, or have they degenerated into peculiar clubs?

     What has gone wrong? At the heart of the mess is a simple phenomenon: the churches seem to have lost a love for and confidence in the Word of God. They still carry Bibles and declare the authority of the Scriptures. They still have sermons based on Bible verses and still have Bible study classes. But not much of the Bible is actually read in their services. Their sermons and studies usually do not examine the Bible to see what it thinks is important for the people of God. Increasingly they treat the Bible as tidbits of poetic inspiration, of pop psychology, and of self-help advice. Congregations where the Bible is ignored or abused are in the gravest peril. Churches that depart from the Word will soon find that God has departed from them.

     What solution does the Bible teach for this sad situation? The short but profound answer is given by Paul in Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” We need the Word to dwell in us richly so that we will know the truths that God thinks are most important and so that we will know His purposes and priorities. We need to be concerned less about “felt-needs” and more about the real needs of lost sinners as taught in the Bible.

     Paul not only calls us here to have the Word dwell in us richly, but shows us what that rich experience of the Word looks like. He shows us that in three points. (Paul was a preacher, after all.)

     First, he calls us to be educated by the Word, which will lead us on to ever-richer wisdom by “teaching and admonishing one another.” Paul is reminding us that the Word must be taught and applied to us as a part of it dwelling richly in us. The church must encourage and facilitate such teaching whether in preaching, Bible studies, reading, or conversations. We must be growing in the Word.

     It is not just information, however, that we are to be gathering from the Word. We must be growing in a knowledge of the will of God for us: “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Col. 1:9). Knowing the will of God will make us wise and in that wisdom we will be renewed in the image of our Creator, an image so damaged by sin: “Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (3:10).

     This wisdom will also reorder our priorities and purposes, from that which is worldly to that which is heavenly: “The hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of truth, the gospel” (1:5). When that Word dwells in us richly we can be confident that we know the full will of God: “I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known” (1:25). From the Bible we know all that we need for salvation and godliness.

     Second, Paul calls us to expressing the Word from ever-renewed hearts in our “singing.” Interestingly, Paul connects the Word dwelling in us richly with singing. He reminds us that singing is an invaluable means of placing the truth of God deep in our minds and hearts. I have known of elderly Christians far gone with Alzheimer’s disease who can still sing songs of praise to God. Singing also helps connect truth to our emotions. It helps us experience the encouragement and assurance of our faith: “That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (2:2–3).

     The importance of singing, of course, makes the content of our songs vital. If we sing shallow, repetitive songs, we will not be hiding much of the Word in our hearts. But if we sing the Word itself in its fullness and richness, we will be making ourselves rich indeed. We need to remember that God has given us a book of songs, the Psalter, to help us in our singing.

     Third, Paul calls us to remember the effect of the Word to make us a people with ever-ready “thanksgiving.” Three times in Colossians 3:15–17 Paul calls us to thankfulness. When the “word of Christ” dwells in us richly, we will be led on to lives of gratitude. As we learn and contemplate all that God has done for us in creation, providence, and redemption, we will be filled with thanksgiving. As we recall His promises of forgiveness, renewal, preservation, and glory, we will live as a truly thankful people.

     We need the word of Christ to dwell in us richly today more than ever. Then churches may escape being a mess and become the radiant body of Christ as God intended.

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     Dr. W. Robert Godfrey is president emeritus of Westminster Seminary California, a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow, and author of many books.

W. Robert Godfrey Books

• 1     Learning to Love the Psalms
• 2     Learning to Love the Psalms Study Guide
• 3     God's Pattern for Creation: A Covenantal Reading of Genesis 1
• 4     A Survey of Church History, Part 1 A.D. 100-600 Study Guide
• 5     John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor
• 6     Learning to Love the Psalms
• 7     An Unexpected Journey: Discovering Reformed Christianity
• 8     A Survey of Church History, Part 6 A.D. 1900-2000 Study Guide
• 9     Reformation Sketches: Insights into Luther, Calvin, and the Confessions
• 10     Westminster Seminary California - A New Old School
• 11     Theonomy: A Reformed Critique
• 12     The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary
• 13     Sola Scriptura: The Protestant Position on the Bible
• 14     John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor
• 15     Pulpit Aflame
• 16     A Survey of Church History, Part 4 A.D. 1600-1800 Study Guide
• 17     R.C. Sproul, Thabiti Anyabwile ,Alistair Begg , D.A. Carson,Sinclair B. Ferguson W. Robert Godfrey,Steven J. Lawson,R.C. Sproul Jr.,Derek W.H. Thomas'sHoly, Holy, Holy: Proclaiming the Perfections of God [Hardcover](2010)
• 18     Pleasing God in Our Worship (Today's Issues)
• 19     Holy, Holy, Holy: Proclaiming the Perfections of God
• 20     Puritan Papers: 5 Volume Set
• 21     God's Pattern for Creation, A Covenantal Reading of Genesis 1 by W. Robert Godfrey (2003-10-20)
• 22     Precious Blood: The Atoning Work of Christ
• 23     A Survey of Church History Teaching Series, Part 3: AD 1500-1600
• 24     Always Reformed: Essays in Honor of W. Robert Godfrey
• 25     Survey of Church History (Part 3 Anno Domini 1500-1620)
• 26     John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor [Paperback] [2009] (Author) W. Robert Godfrey

The Sinkhole Syndrome

By Donald S. Whitney 3/1/2010

     You know the story. A man has been a believer in Christ for decades. To all outward appearances he’s a man of Christian faithfulness and integrity. He has maintained a reputation as a fine example of public and private faithfulness to the things of God for decades. Then, without warning, it all collapses into a sinkhole of sin. Everyone wonders how it could have happened so quickly. In most cases, it soon becomes known that—like most sinkholes—the problem didn’t develop overnight.

     Several years ago, this man likely had a relatively consistent devotional life through which the Lord often refreshed, strengthened, and matured him. But with each passing year, his busy life became ever busier. Increasingly he saw his devotional life more as a burden—a mere obligation sometimes—than a blessing. Because of the massive doses of Bible teaching he’d heard—in addition to the knowledge gained teaching church Bible classes himself—he began to imagine that he needed less private prayer and Bible intake than when he was younger and not as spiritually mature. Besides, he had so many other God-given responsibilities that surely God would understand that he was too busy to meet with Him every day.

     One small concession led to another; one plausible rationalization led to the next, until the devastating day when a tipping point was reached and the spiritual weakness developed by too many private compromises could no longer sustain even the appearance of Christian integrity. And into the sinkhole fell his reputation, witness, ministry, and perhaps much more.

     If you’re a strong, young Christian, passionate about the things of God, and you find it impossible to imagine yourself coming to such a condition: beware. This situation could easily be yours in a few years. The words of 1 Corinthians 10:12 are an apt admonition here: “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

     I’ve been in pastoral ministry for twenty-four years. For fifteen years I’ve been a professor of biblical spirituality. I’ve written several books and many articles related to spirituality. I speak on the subject to future ministers and missionaries on a daily basis in the seminary classroom, and in churches and conferences around the country almost every weekend. And yet I will freely admit that it’s harder for me to maintain my devotional life now than ever in my life. That’s because I’m busier now than ever. I have many more responsibilities than I had as a young man. And they all take time, time that must come from somewhere.

     As the pressures of life increase and more deadlines loom, it becomes harder to maintain time for the devotional life. And herein is where the erosion begins.

     At the outset it’s likely that very few will know when the hidden part of your spiritual life begins crumbling. Just as imperceptible movements of water underground can carry away the earth beneath long before anyone on the surface perceives it, so the pressures of life can secretly displace the soil of our private spiritual disciplines long before the impact of their absence is visible to others. The more public parts of a Christian’s life, such as church involvement and various forms of ministry, can often continue with little observable change right up until the awful moment of collapse and the hypocrisy is revealed.

     I’m sure you’re already familiar with many factors that undermine intimacy with Christ. Realize that it’s almost certain that the “time-thieves” trying to steal from your time with God will only increase as the years pass. My hope is that this article will alert you to this subtle, creeping tendency so that it won’t overtake you.

     Never be deceived by the temptation to think that with the increasing spiritual maturity you expect to come with age, the less you will need to feast your soul on Christ through the Bible and prayer. What Jesus prayed in John 17:17 for all His followers—“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth”—applies to us all throughout our lives.

(Jn 17:17) 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

     Jesus practiced what He prayed for us. While Jesus is infinitely more than our example, nevertheless, He is also our example of sanctified living, of life coram Deo. The Bible tells us that Jesus regularly attended when God’s people assembled to hear the Scriptures (Luke 4:16) and also that He would get alone to meet with His Father (Matt. 14:23). Jesus’ followers need both the sustaining grace that comes through the public worship of God as well as that which comes to us when we meet with Him individually.

     I don’t want to minimize the role of the church in preventing spiritual shipwreck in the life of the believer. In this piece, however, I am writing to warn those who will increasingly be tempted to think that frequently meeting God with others can compensate for seldom meeting with Him alone.

     There are seasons of life when our devotional habits may be providentially altered. But the general rule is that those reconciled to God through the cross of His Son need conscious, personal communion with Him every day until the day they see Him face to face. And the ordinary means by which He gives it is through the personal spiritual disciplines found in Scripture, chief of which are the intake of the Word of God and prayer.

     Pursue the Lord with a relentless, lifelong, obstacle-defying passion. Resolve never to let your daily life keep you from Jesus daily.

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     Don Whitney has been Professor of Biblical Spirituality and Associate Dean at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY since 2005. Biography

Donald S. Whitney Books:

• 1     Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
• 2     Praying the Bible
• 3     Family Worship
• 4     Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health
• 5     How Can I Be Sure I'm a Christian?: What the Bible Says About Assurance of Salvation (LifeChange)
• 6     Spiritual Disciplines within the Church: Participating Fully in the Body of Christ
• 7     Simplify Your Spiritual Life: Spiritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed
• 8     The Call to Ministry
• 9     A God Entranced Vision of All Things: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards
• 10     Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life/Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health
• 11     10 Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health [10 QUES TO DIAGNOSE YOUR S -OS]
• 12     The Pure Flame of Devotion: The History of Christian Spirituality
• 13     Finding God in Solitude: The Personal Piety of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) and Its Influence on His Pastoral Ministry (American University Studies)
• 14     Onward, Christian Soldiers: Protestants Affirm the Church (Reformation Theology Series)
• 15     By Donald S. Whitney - Family Worship: In the Bible, in History & in Your Home (1905-07-13) [Paperback]

Psalm 144

By Don Carson 7/9/2018

     Verses 12-14 of Psalm 144 picture an idyllic situation in the land: sons and daughters multiplying and healthy, barns filled with produce, cattle filling the fields, trade flourishing, military defenses secure, freedom from some regional superpower, basic prosperity and contentment in the streets. What will bring about these conditions?

     The answer is summarized in the last verse: “Blessed are the people of whom this is true; blessed are the people whose God is YAHWEH” (Ps. 144:15). This last line means more than that these people happen to have preferred a certain brand of religion. It means, rather, that if this God — the one true God — owns a people — a people who in confessing him as their God trust him and worship him and obey him — that people is blessed indeed. And because this last verse is a summarizing verse, the unpacking of this notion is found in the rest of the Psalm.

     The Psalm opens in praise to “the LORD my Rock” — a symbol that is evocative of absolute stability and security. This God trains the hands of the king for war: that is, his providential rule works through the means of supplying and strengthening those whose responsibility it is to provide the national defense, while they for their part rely on him and do not pretend their military prowess is somehow a sign of innate superiority (Ps. 144:1-2). Far from it: human beings are fleeting, nothing but passing shadows (Ps. 144:3-4). What we must have is the presence of the Sovereign of the universe, his powerful intervention: “Part your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, so that they smoke” (Ps. 144:5). When the Lord takes a hand, David and his people are rescued from danger, oppression, and deceit (Ps. 144:7-8). What this evokes is fresh praise “to the One who gives victory to kings, who delivers his servant David” (Ps. 144:10). When God takes a hand, the result is the security and fruitfulness described in verses 10-15.

     Here is a balance rarely understood — still more rarely achieved. It applies every bit as much to, say, revival in the church, as it applies to the security and prosperity of the ancient nation of Israel. On the one hand, there is a deep recognition that what is needed is for the Lord to rend the heavens and come down. But on the other hand, this generates no passivity or fatalism, for David is confident that the Lord’s strength enables him to fight successfully. What we do not need is an arrogant “can do” mentality that tacks God onto the end, or a clichéd spirituality that confuses passion with passivity. What we do need is the power of the sovereign, transforming God.

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Don Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and co-founder (with Tim Keller) of The Gospel Coalition. He has authored numerous books, and recently edited The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures (Eerdmans, 2016).

     Don Carson Books |  Go to Books Page

Read The Psalms In "1" Year

Book Three

Psalm 73

God Is My Strength and Portion Forever
73 A Psalm Of Asaph.

1 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.
11 And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

ESV Study Bible

By John Walvoord

The Reward for Righteousness

     Psalm 1:1–6. The contrast between the future of the righteous and the wicked is a constant theme of the  Psalms. Beginning with  Psalm 1, the blessed man was one who delighted in the law of the Lord (v.  2 ), but the wicked were destined to be judged (v.  5 ). The psalmist frequently spoke of the present joys of walking with the Lord, but coupled with this were prophecies of future reward (v.  3 ). This is fulfilled in history and prophecy.

     Psalm 15:1–5. David stated that the one who walks with the Lord and has a righteous life “will never be shaken” (v.  5 ). This is fulfilled in history.

     Psalm 18:1–50. The Lord was  ( is ) a fortress (v.  2 ) and a support for the righteous (v.  18 ). The Lord’s “unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever” is another statement of God’s ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic covenant (v.  50 ). This is fulfilled in history and prophecy.

     Psalm 25:1–22. The godly man was promised “days in prosperity” and that “his descendants will inherit the land” (v.  13 ). No one who trusts the Lord will “be put to shame” (v.  2 ). This is fulfilled in history and will be fulfilled in the millennium.

     Psalm 37:1–40. Blessings on the “meek” included inheriting the land and enjoying peace (v.  11 ). The inheritance of the righteous “will endure forever” (v.  18 ). Also stated is that “the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever” (v.  29 ). This is fulfilled in history and will be fulfilled in the millennium ( Amos 9:15 ).

     Psalm 55:16–19, 22. David exhorted the distressed to “cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall” (v.  22 ). This is fulfilled in history.

     Psalm 62:12. David declared that the Lord will reward those who have served Him well (v.  12 ). This is fulfilled in history and prophecy.

     Psalm 73:24. Asaph expressed confidence that he would receive guidance in his present life and “afterward you will take me into glory.” This is fulfilled in history and prophecy.

     Psalm 121:1–8. The unfailing care of the Lord and His watchfulness over the righteous is promised. “The LORD will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore” (vv.  7–8 ). This is fulfilled in history and prophecy.

Messianic Prophecy and the Kingdom

     Messianic prophecy usually includes the  Psalms that are specifically messianic, such as  Psalms 2, 16, 22, 40, 45, 69, 72, 89, 110, and  118. Some  Psalms not formally included in the messianic  Psalms nevertheless may refer to Christ. Among these are the eschatological  Psalms, 96–99, which refer to the enthronement of the King.

     Psalm 1:1–6. The book of  Psalms opens in  Psalm 1 with a general contrast between the blessed man, who will be blessed in time and eternity, and the wicked man, who will be judged and perish. This theme is carried throughout the book of  Psalms. This is fulfilled in history and prophecy.

     Psalm 2:1–12. Immediately following this introductory  Psalm, Psalm 2 describes God’s purpose to put His Son as King on Mount Zion. The opening verses prophesy the rebellion of the world against the Lord. In response, “the One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them” (v.  4 ). This describes the attitude of God toward worldly power. In God’s prophetic purpose, however, He rebuked them in anger and terrified them in wrath, saying, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill” (v.  6 ). The Lord also declared His eternal decree (vv.  7–9 ). God the Father was revealed as saying to the Son, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father” (v.  7 ). This will be fulfilled in the millennium.

     This passage has been variously interpreted by biblical scholars because it refers to the sonship of Christ. The best interpretation is that Jesus Christ has always been a Son in relation to the Father, but that the declaration of this was made in time. Some scholars have advanced other views, such as that Christ became the Son by incarnation, by baptism, or by resurrection. The interpretation also relates to the question as to whether Christ was a Son eternally by eternal generation. In  John 3:16, God is declared to have given “his only begotten Son” (KJV). Because the word begotten implied beginning in time, it seemed a contradiction of eternal sonship. Probably the best solution is to hold that it referred to His eternal sonship — with the thought of having the life of the Father — without complicating it with the concept of a beginning.  Isaiah 9:6 referred to Christ as “a son” who “is given.” Because the decree of God that declared Christ a Son is eternal, evidence seems to support the concept that He is eternally His Son, but that the revelation of this fact is made in time.

     Important to this purpose of God is the fact that God will subdue all things under the Son: “I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery” ( Ps. 2:8–9 ). The fact that Christ will rule as an absolute monarch is supported by other prophecies.  Revelation 19:15 declared, “Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’” In interpreting this passage, it is quite clear that Christ did not accomplish this at His first coming, and that the premillennial interpretation that He will accomplish this after His second coming fits the prophetic Scriptures on this subject. The messianic  Psalms generally pictured Christ on the throne of the Father now awaiting His future triumph, when He will subdue the earth and sit on the throne of David.

     In view of this coming judgment, kings and rulers were exhorted to “serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for His wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him” ( Ps. 2:11–12 ).

     Early in the book of  Psalms this general theme of the coming King is made a central revelation. In the Davidic covenant David was declared to be a son of God ( 2 Sam. 7:14 ). How much more is the eternal Son of God the rightful King who will reign on the throne of David.

     Psalm 8:1–4. This is considered one of the messianic  Psalms because verses  4–6 were quoted in  Hebrews 2:6–8. The  Psalm itself considers creation as a work of God: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place” (v.  3 ). In view of God’s great work as Creator, man, by comparison, was insignificant.  Psalm 8:4, which was quoted in  Hebrews 2, states, “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” This is fulfilled in Christ ( Heb. 2:6–8, 10 ).

     Psalm 8:5–8. The habitation of Christ on earth is compared with the glory that He had when he returned to heaven: “You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor” (v.  5 ). As the book of  Hebrews continues to treat this revelation, it is summarized in  Hebrews 2:8, “In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.” Christ now has not realized subjection of the whole world, suffering death on the cross and being made “perfect through suffering” ( Heb. 2:10 ). His right to rule is affirmed, “You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet; all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas” ( Ps. 8:6–8 ).

     The contrast of  Psalm 8 was between Christ and Adam. It was God’s intent that Adam should rule the world, but this was interrupted by the entrance of sin into the situation. Now Christ has fulfilled what was originally Adam’s responsibility. Having suffered on earth and gone through the humiliation of death, Christ now has been exalted to heaven, and it is God’s purpose ultimately for Him to rule over the earth. This Scripture will be completely fulfilled when Christ comes back in His second coming.

     Psalm 9:1–20. Though this  Psalm is not considered a messianic  Psalm, nevertheless it anticipates the coming rule of Christ. “The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice” (vv.  7–8 ). Though this passage goes beyond judgment in the millennial kingdom to the universal judgment of all men, it has a particular fulfillment in Christ’s reign on earth ( Rev. 19:11–15; 20:11–15 ). This will be fulfilled in the millennium ( Rev. 19:15; 20:11–15 ).

     Psalm 10:1–18. Verse  16 states, “The LORD is King forever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.” This anticipated the future reign of Christ on earth. This will be fulfilled in the millennium.

     Psalm 14:7. The future restoration of Israel is predicted, stating that when this occurs at the time of the second coming Jacob will “rejoice and Israel be glad!” This will be fulfilled at the second coming.

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Every Prophecy of the Bible: Clear Explanations for Uncertain Times

The Continual Burnt Offering Mark 12:17

By H.A. Ironside - 1941

July 9

Mark 12:17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.   ESV

     There is no conflict of duties between the spiritual life and one’s earthly responsibilities. The more truly we love God, the more sincerely will we seek the good of mankind. We express our faith in God by our love for our fellow men (1 John 3:23). The Christian should be an example in his community of devotion to everything that is good and for the well-being of his neighbors. But this does not involve a recognition of the present world order as the fulfillment of the divine ideal. So long as earth’s rightful ruler, the Lord Jesus Christ, is rejected there will never be perfect government in this scene. Nevertheless, “the authorities that exist are appointed by God” (Romans 13:1), in the sense that they exist only by His permissive will, hence the importance of subjection to the existing authority in any given country.

     If human edicts be positively opposed to the expressed will of God, the Christian is to obey God rather than man (Acts 4:19). Where conditions are such that he can with good conscience cooperate with the government, he is to do so. Any other course would be contrary to the spirit of Him who said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”


1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

Romans 13:13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

Acts 4:19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge,   ESV

Children of a free-born race,
Happy in your dwelling-place,
As your blessings ye retrace,
Think from whence they flow.
Think of that creative Hand,
Author of the sea and land,
By whose power the nations stand,
In their weal or woe.

The Continual Burnt Offering: Daily Meditations on the Word of God

The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Translated by Henry Beveridge

     11. I hold then (as has always been received in the Church, and is still taught by those who feel aright), that the sacred mystery of the Supper consists of two things--the corporeal signs, which, presented to the eye, represent invisible things in a manner adapted to our weak capacity, and the spiritual truth, which is at once figured and exhibited by the signs. When attempting familiarly to explain its nature, I am accustomed to set down three things--the thing meant, the matter which depends on it, and the virtue or efficacy consequent upon both. The thing meant consists in the promises which are in a manner included in the sign. By the matter, or substance, I mean Christ, with his death and resurrection. By the effect, I understand redemption, justification, sanctification, eternal life, and all other benefits which Christ bestows upon us. Moreover, though all these things have respect to faith, I leave no room for the cavil, that when I say Christ is conceived by faith, I mean that he is only conceived by the intellect and imagination. He is offered by the promises, not that we may stop short at the sight or mere knowledge of him, but that we may enjoy true communion with him. And, indeed, I see not how any one can expect to have redemption and righteousness in the cross of Christ, and life in his death, without trusting first of all to true communion with Christ himself. Those blessings could not reach us, did not Christ previously make himself ours. I say then, that in the mystery of the Supper, by the symbols of bread and wine, Christ, his body and his blood, are truly exhibited to us, that in them he fulfilled all obedience, in order to procure righteousness for us-- first that we might become one body with him; and, secondly, that being made partakers of his substance, we might feel the result of this fact in the participation of all his blessings.

12. I now come to the hyperbolical mixtures which superstition has introduced. Here Satan has employed all his wiles, withdrawing the minds of men from heaven, and imbuing them with the perverse error that Christ is annexed to the element of bread. And, first, we are not to dream of such a presence of Christ in the sacrament as the artificers of the Romish court have imagined, as if the body of Christ, locally present, were to be taken into the hand, and chewed by the teeth, and swallowed by the throat. This was the form of Palinode, which Pope Nicholas dictated to Berengarius, in token of his repentance, a form expressed in terms so monstrous, that the author of the Gloss exclaims, that there is danger, if the reader is not particularly cautious, that he will be led by it into a worse heresy than was that of Berengarius (Distinct. 2 c. Ego Berengarius). Peter Lombard, though he labours much to excuse the absurdity, rathers inclines to a different opinion. As we cannot at all doubt that it is bounded according to the invariable rule in the human body, and is contained in heaven, where it was once received, and will remain till it return to judgment, so we deem it altogether unlawful to bring it back under these corruptible elements, or to imagine it everywhere present. And, indeed, there is no need of this, in order to our partaking of it, since the Lord by his Spirit bestows upon us the blessing of being one with him in soul, body, and spirit. The bond of that connection, therefore, is the Spirit of Christ, who unites us to him, and is a kind of channel by which everything that Christ has and is, is derived to us. For if we see that the sun, in sending forth its rays upon the earth, to generate, cherish, and invigorate its offspring, in a manner transfuses its substance into it, why should the radiance of the Spirit be less in conveying to us the communion of his flesh and blood? Wherefore the Scripture, when it speaks of our participation with Christ, refers its whole efficacy to the Spirit. Instead of many, one passage will suffice. Paul, in the Epistle to the Romans (Rom. 8:9-11), shows that the only way in which Christ dwells in us is by his Spirit. By this, however, he does not take away that communion of flesh and blood of which we now speak, but shows that it is owing to the Spirit alone that we possess Christ wholly, and have him abiding in us.

13. The Schoolmen, horrified at this barbarous impiety, speak more modestly, though they do nothing more than amuse themselves with more subtle delusions. They admit that Christ is not contained in the sacrament circumscriptively, or in a bodily manner, but they afterwards devise a method which they themselves do not understand, and cannot explain to others. It, however, comes to this, that Christ may be sought in what they call the species of bread. What? When they say that the substance of bread is converted into Christ, do they not attach him to the white colour, which is all they leave of it? But they say, that though contained in the sacrament, he still remains in heaven, and has no other presence there than that of abode. But, whatever be the terms in which they attempt to make a gloss, the sum of all is, that that which was formerly bread, by consecration becomes Christ: so that Christ thereafter lies hid under the colour of bread. This they are not ashamed distinctly to express. For Lombard's words are, "The body of Christ, which is visible in itself, lurks and lies covered after the act of consecration under the species of bread" (Lombard. Sent. Lib. 4 Dist. 12). Thus the figure of the bread is nothing but a mask which conceals the view of the flesh from our eye. But there is no need of many conjectures to detect the snare which they intended to lay by these words, since the thing itself speaks clearly. It is easy to see how great is the superstition under which not only the vulgar but the leaders also, have laboured for many ages, and still labour, in Popish Churches. Little solicitous as to true faith (by which alone we attain to the fellowship of Christ, and become one with him), provided they have his carnal presence, which they have fabricated without authority from the word, they think he is sufficiently present. Hence we see, that all which they have gained by their ingenious subtlety is to make bread to be regarded as God.

14. Hence proceeded that fictitious transubstantiation [636] for which they fight more fiercely in the present day than for all the other articles of their faith. For the first architects of local presence could not explain, how the body of Christ could be mixed with the substance of bread, without forthwith meeting with many absurdities. Hence it was necessary to have recourse to the fiction, that there is a conversion of the bread into body, not that properly instead of bread it becomes body, but that Christ, in order to conceal himself under the figure, reduces the substance to nothing. It is strange that they have fallen into such a degree of ignorance, nay, of stupor, as to produce this monstrous fiction not only against Scripture, but also against the consent of the ancient Church. I admit, indeed, that some of the ancients occasionally used the term conversion, not that they meant to do away with the substance in the external signs, but to teach that the bread devoted to the sacrament was widely different from ordinary bread, and was now something else. All clearly and uniformly teach that the sacred Supper consists of two parts, an earthly and a heavenly. The earthly they without dispute interpret to be bread and wine. Certainly, whatever they may pretend, it is plain that antiquity, which they often dare to oppose to the clear word of God, gives no countenance to that dogma. It is not so long since it was devised; indeed, it was unknown not only to the better ages, in which a purer doctrine still flourished, but after that purity was considerably impaired. There is no early Christian writer who does not admit in distinct terms that the sacred symbols of the Supper are bread and wine, although, as has been said, they sometimes distinguish them by various epithets, in order to recommend the dignity of the mystery. For when they say that a secret conversion takes place at consecration, so that it is now something else than bread and wine, their meaning, as I already observed, is, not that these are annihilated, but that they are to be considered in a different light from common food, which is only intended to feed the body, whereas in the former the spiritual food and drink of the mind are exhibited. This we deny not. But, say our opponents, if there is conversion, one thing must become another. If they mean that something becomes different from what it was before, I assent. If they will wrest it in support of their fiction, let them tell me of what kind of change they are sensible in baptism. For here, also, the Fathers make out a wonderful conversion, when they say that out of the corruptible element is made the spiritual laver of the soul, and yet no one denies that it still remains water. But say they, there is no such expression in Baptism as that in the Supper, This is my body; as if we were treating of these words, which have a meaning sufficiently clear, and not rather of that term conversion, which ought not to mean more in the Supper than in Baptism. Have done, then, with those quibbles upon words, which betray nothing but their silliness. The meaning would have no congruity, unless the truth which is there figured had a living image in the external sign. Christ wished to testify by an external symbol that his flesh was food. If he exhibited merely an empty show of bread, and not true bread, where is the analogy or similitude to conduct us from the visible thing to the invisible? For, in order to make all things consistent, the meaning cannot extend to more than this, that we are fed by the species of Christ's flesh; just as, in the case of baptism, if the figure of water deceived the eye, it would not be to us a sure pledge of our ablution; nay, the fallacious spectacle would rather throw us into doubt. The nature of the sacrament is therefore overthrown, if in the mode of signifying the earthly sign corresponds not to the heavenly reality; and, accordingly, the truth of the mystery is lost if true bread does not represent the true body of Christ. I again repeat, since the Supper is nothing but a conspicuous attestation to the promise which is contained in the sixth chapter of John--viz. that Christ is the bread of life, who came down from heaven, that visible bread must intervene, in order that that spiritual bread may be figured, unless we would destroy all the benefits with which God here favours us for the purpose of sustaining our infirmity. Then on what ground could Paul infer that we are all one bread, and one body in partaking together of that one bread, if only the semblance of bread, and not the natural reality, remained?

15. They could not have been so shamefully deluded by the impostures of Satan had they not been fascinated by the erroneous idea, that the body of Christ included under the bread is transmitted by the bodily mouth into the belly. The cause of this brutish imagination was, that consecration had the same effect with them as magical incantation. They overlooked the principle, that bread is a sacrament to none but those to whom the word is addressed, just as the water of baptism is not changed in itself, but begins to be to us what it formerly was not, as soon as the promise is annexed. This will better appear from the example of a similar sacrament. The water gushing from the rock in the desert was to the Israelites a badge and sign of the same thing that is figured to us in the Supper by wine. For Paul declares that they drank the same spiritual drink (1 Cor. 10:4). But the water was common to the herds and flocks of the people. Hence it is easy to infer, that in the earthly elements, when employed for a spiritual use, no other conversion takes place than in respect of men, inasmuch as they are to them seals of promises. Moreover, since it is the purpose of God, as I have repeatedly inculcated, to raise us up to himself by fit vehicles, those who indeed call us to Christ, but to Christ lurking invisibly under bread, impiously, by their perverseness, defeat this object. For it is impossible for the mind of man to disentangle itself from the immensity of space, and ascend to Christ even above the heavens. What nature denied them, they attempted to gain by a noxious remedy. Remaining on the earth, they felt no need of a celestial proximity to Christ. Such was the necessity which impelled them to transfigure the body of Christ. In the age of Bernard, though a harsher mode of speech had prevailed, transubstantiation was not yet recognised. And in all previous ages, the similitude in the mouths of all was, that a spiritual reality was conjoined with bread and wine in this sacrament. As to the terms, they think they answer acutely, though they adduce nothing relevant to the case in hand. The rod of Moses (they say), when turned into a serpent, though it acquires the name of a serpent, still retains its former name, and is called a rod; and thus, according to them, it is equally probable that though the bread passes into a new substance, it is still called by catachresis, and not inaptly, what it still appears to the eye to be. But what resemblance, real or apparent, do they find between an illustrious miracle and their fictitious illusion, of which no eye on the earth is witness? The magi by their impostures had persuaded the Egyptians, that they had a divine power above the ordinary course of nature to change created beings. Moses comes forth, and after exposing their fallacies, shows that the invincible power of God is on his side, since his rod swallows up all the other rods. But as that conversion was visible to the eye, we have already observed, that it has no reference to the case in hand. Shortly after the rod visibly resumed its form. It may be added, that we know not whether this was an extemporary conversion of substance. [637] For we must attend to the illusion to the rods of the magicians, which the prophet did not choose to term serpents, lest he might seem to insinuate a conversion which had no existence, because those impostors had done nothing more than blind the eyes of the spectators. But what resemblance is there between that expression and the following? "The bread which we break;"--"As often as ye eat this bread;"--"They communicated in the breaking of bread;" and so forth. It is certain that the eye only was deceived by the incantation of the magicians. The matter is more doubtful with regard to Moses, by whose hand it was not more difficult for God to make a serpent out of a rod, and again to make a rod out of a serpent, than to clothe angels with corporeal bodies, and a little after unclothe them. If the case of the sacrament were at all akin to this, there might be some colour for their explanation. Let it, therefore, remain fixed that there is no true and fit promise in the Supper, that the flesh of Christ is truly meat, unless there is a correspondence in the true substance of the external symbol. But as one error gives rise to another, a passage in Jeremiah has been so absurdly wrested, to prove transubstantiation, that it is painful to refer to it. The prophet complains that wood was placed in his bread, intimating that by the cruelty of his enemies his bread was infected with bitterness, as David by a similar figure complains, "They gave me also gall for my meat: and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink" (Psalm 69:21). These men would allegorise the expression to mean, that the body of Christ was nailed to the wood of the cross. But some of the Fathers thought so! As if we ought not rather to pardon their ignorance and bury the disgrace, than to add impudence, and bring them into hostile conflict with the genuine meaning of the prophet.

16. Some, who see that the analogy between the sign and the thing signified cannot be destroyed without destroying the truth of the sacrament, admit that the bread of the Supper is truly the substance of an earthly and corruptible element, and cannot suffer any change in itself, but must have the body of Christ included under it. If they would explain this to mean, that when the bread is held forth in the sacrament, an exhibition of the body is annexed, because the truth is inseparable from its sign, I would not greatly object. But because fixing the body itself in the bread, they attach to it an ubiquity contrary to its nature, and by adding under the bread, will have it that it lies hid under it, [638] I must employ a short time in exposing their craft, and dragging them forth from their concealments. Here, however, it is not my intention professedly to discuss the whole case; I mean only to lay the foundations of a discussion which will afterwards follow in its own place. They insist, then, that the body of Christ is invisible and immense, so that it may be hid under bread, because they think that there is no other way by which they can communicate with him than by his descending into the bread, though they do not comprehend the mode of descent by which he raises us up to himself. They employ all the colours they possibly can, but after they have said all, it is sufficiently apparent that they insist on the local presence of Christ. How so? Because they cannot conceive any other participation of flesh and blood than that which consists either in local conjunction and contact, or in some gross method of enclosing.

     Christian Classics Ethereal Library / Public Domain

     Institutes of the Christian Religion