I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. Psalme 122:1, (Geneva Bible)

His Wounds, Our Cure
by Matthew Hale (1609-1676)

he Prince of Darkness, flushed with vict’ry
In our first parents’ first apostasy,
Usurped a lawless sovereignty on man,
Revolted thus from his first Sovereign.

And though by that apostasy he found,
Under the chains of death, his vassal bound,
Yet to secure his temper, he overspread
The world with darkness, and thereby did lead

His captives as he please. Thus he bears
His rule usurped near four thousand years;
Except some small confined plantation,
Within a family or nation.

But now to put a period to this reign
Of this usurper, and to reduce again
Man to his just subjection, ’tis decreed
That man from this just subjection shall be freed.

And this not by the absolute command
Of an immediate pow’r, nor shall the bands
Of angels, glorious hosts, engaged be
To rescue man from this captivity.

But God an unsuspected means intends,
And yet most suitable unto this end.
Sin stained our nature, and the serpents’ wile
Did man of innocence and life beguile;

By man his head is crushed; the lawful Lord
Unto His creature man to his life restored;
A virgin’s Son is born; this rising sun
The world’s enthralling darkness overruns.

A Child to us is born, whose innocence
Our nature’s spot and stain doth purge and cleanse;
His wounds, our cure; his bonds our liberty;
His death becomes our life, our victory.

—from Worthy Is the Lamb (Soli Deo Gloria, 2004).

Psalme 124 (Geneva Bible)
A song of degrees, or Psalme of Dauid.

1 If the Lord had not bene on our side, (may Israel now say)
2 If the Lord had not bene on our side, when men rose vp against vs,
3 They had then swallowed vs vp quicke, when their wrath was kindled against vs.
4 Then the waters had drowned vs, and the streame had gone ouer our soule:
5 Then had the swelling waters gone ouer our soule.
6 Praysed be the Lord, which hath not giuen vs as a praye vnto their teeth.
7 Our soule is escaped, euen as a bird out of the snare of the foulers: the snare is broken, and we are deliuered.
8 Our helpe is in the Name of the Lorde, which hath made heauen and earth.

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Could it be that the Emergent Church has its roots in the Reformation? If the EC ever solidifies into anything historically significant (it won’t), will they count Erasmus as one of their Church Fathers? In 1524, Desiderius Erasmus published Diatribe seu collation de libero arbitrio (Diatribe on Free Will). Luther responded in 1525 with De Servo Arbitrio (On the Enslaved Will), which we know as The Bondage of the Will. I have just begun reading Luther’s work and, so far, his words and those of the translators in their introduction seem strikingly applicable to the EC.

Consider this passage from the translator’s Historical and Theological Introduction:

   Why did Erasmus and Luther approach the discussion of ‘free-will’ in such contrasting attitudes of mind? The answer is not far to seek. Their divergent attitudes sprang from two divergent conceptions of Christianity. Erasmus held that matters of doctrine were all comparatively unimportant, and that the issue as to whether a man’s will was or was not free was more unimportant than most. Luther, on the other hand, held that doctrines were essential to, and constructive of, the Christian religion, and that the doctrine of the bondage of the will in particular was the corner-stone of the Gospel and the very foundation of faith. Here we are confronted with the deepest difference that there was, or could have been, between the two men; and we must say a little more about it.
   Christianity, to Erasmus, was essentially morality, with a minimum of doctrinal statement loosely appended. What Erasmus professed that he desire to see in Christendom was a return to an apostolic ‘simplicity’ of life and doctrine, and this he thought could be brought about simply by eliminating the superstitions and abuses which had crept into the Church’s life over the centuries. The Reformation that Erasmus actually advocated under the name of ‘the philosophy of Christ’ as the true, slimmed, ‘simple’ version of Christianity, turns out on inspection to be no more than a barren moralism. Erasmus recognizes no organic dependence of practice upon faith. That the life which pleases God springs only from living trust in Christ as the Word of God sets Him forth that is something that the great humanist never saw. That is why he could profess to find so little pleasure in theological dogmatizing that he would gladly side with the Sceptics whenever Scripture and the Church allowed him to do so although, as he hastened to explain, he uniformly submitted his judgment to these authorities, whether he understood the reasons for what they ordained or not. Luther takes him severely to task for this remark, and not without justice. Erasmus cannot be acquitted of the charge of doctrinal indifferentism. His attitude was that what one believes about the mysteries of the faith does not much matter; what the Church lays down may safely be accepted, whether right or wrong, for the details of a churchman’s doctrine will not affect his living as a Christian in this world, nor his eventual destiny in the world to come therefore, however sure one might be that the Church was a some point wrong, one is never justified in disrupting Christendom about it (as Luther was doing); peace in the Church was of more value than any doctrine. The churchman would be wise not to bother his head about problems of doctrinal definition, but to concern himself simply with guiding his life by the moral law of Christ. In particular, the question as to whether or not man’s will is free, to Erasmus’ mind, can be ignored with perfect safety; it can have no possible bearing on man’s endeavor to keep the law of Christ, except perhaps to distract and discourage him. Wisdom and humanity alike dissuade us from prying too deeply into such an abstruse subject; and it is a sign of pride and folly when a man lays much stress upon it. The Christian church is better off without rash ventures of that sort. [emphasis added]

At first glance, Erasmus’ stated willingness to submit to Scripture and the Church may seem incompatible with the EC, but it really is not. Like Erasmus, the EC gives the desultory nod to Scripture. At the same time, any dogma (however noncommittal) is the result of a consensus (however loose) of “the community,” which is the EC’s version of the Church. Erasmus’ main resemblance to the EC is, obviously, his disdain for dogma and his willingness to discard doctrine as unimportant and even harmful.

In Luther’s own introduction, he takes Erasmus to task for an offense that screams EC to even the most casual observer:

I forbear at the moment to mention further the fact that, in your usual way, you have taken vast pains throughout to be slippery and evasive. You are more canny than Ulysses in the way you suppose yourself to be steering between Scylla and Charybdis—you would have nothing actually asserted, yet you would seem to assert something! Who, I ask, but one who could catch Proteus himself could bring forth anything to touch people like you?

Luther begins his Review of Erasmus’ Preface by demonstrating “the necessity of assertions in Christianity.”

Away, now, with Sceptics and Academics from the company of us Christians; let us have men who will assert, men twice as inflexible as very Stoics! Take the Apostle Paul—how often does he call for that ‘full assurance’ which is, simply, an assertion of conscience, of the highest degree of certainty and conviction. In Rom. 10 he calls it ‘confession’—‘with the mouth confession is made unto salvation’ (v. 10). Christ says, ‘Whosoever confesseth me before men, him will I confess before my Father’ (Matt.10.32). Peter commands us to give a reason for the hope that is in us (I Pet. 3.15). And what need is there of a multitude of proofs? Nothing is more familiar of characteristic among Christians than assertion, take away assertions, and you take away Christianity. Why, the Holy Spirit is given to Christians from heaven in order that He may glorify Christ and in them confess Him even unto death—and is this not assertion, to die for what you confess and assert? Again, the Spirit asserts to such purpose that He breaks in upon the whole world and convinces it of sin (cf. John 16.8), as if challenging it to battle. Paul tells Timothy to reprove, and to be instant out of season (2 Tim. 4.2); and what a clown I should think a man to be who did not really believe, nor unwaveringly assert, those things concerning which he reproved others! I think I should send him to Anticyra! [Anticyra was a health resort used for treating mental illness.]
   But I am the biggest fool of all for wasting time and words on something that is clearer to see that the sun. What Christian can endure the idea that we should deprecate assertions? That would be denying all religion and piety in one breath—asserting that religion and piety are nothing at all. Why then do you—you!—assert that you find no satisfaction in assertions and that you prefer an undogmatic temper to any other? [italics original, boldface added]

What do you think? Could Luther not have been writing to Brian McLaren and his ilk? I could continue offering examples, but since I find Luther’s words more delightful to read than to type, I will return to reading, and encourage you to do the same.

Edmund had developed a taste for the finer things in life – Baroque music, English double guns, Cuban cigars, eighteen-year-old Glenlivet – and he indulged himself with them regularly. One of the more frivolous habits he had was to go to Jake’s barber shop once a week, on Saturday, for a shave. It was so relaxing to lie back in the chair and have the hot cloth on his face, and then just lie there while the barber shaved him. At five dollars a week, it wasn’t a bad deal.

One Saturday, Edmund arrived at the barber shop to find Jake gone for the weekend. Taking his place was his daughter, Grace, who had was home from beauty school and was well qualified to fill in. He sat back in the chair, relaxed, and had his regular shave. When it was done, he sat up and stroked his face. It felt even smoother than usual. He looked in the mirror.

“Wow, nice job. You’ll put your old man out of a job, if you stick around,” he said.

Grace smiled. “Well, thank you,” she replied, “that’ll be twenty dollars.”

“Twenty dollars?” Edmund exclaimed, “Jake only charges five!”

“Well, Dad’s not here, and I charge twenty. You’ll be satisfied, I promise,” she said.

Grudgingly, Edmund paid and left. The next day when he got up, he looked in the mirror. His face was as smooth as the day before. “Strange,” he thought. On Monday, it was the same, and Tuesday and Wednesday, also. Finally, after a couple of weeks passed, he went to the barber shop for a haircut.

“Morning, Edmund!” Jake greeted him cheerfully, “Haven’t seen you in a while. Where’ve you been?”

“Well, Jake, it’s the strangest thing. Since the last time I was in for a shave, my whiskers just haven’t grown. I’m as smooth as the day I was shaved.”

“Really? And when was that?”

“Well, it was a few weeks ago. You were gone that weekend, and your daughter was filling in. Did a great job, too, but she charged me twenty bucks!”

“Oh, I see,” Jake replied, knowingly. “You were shaved by Grace. Once shaved, always shaved.”

I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. Psalme 122:1 (Geneva Bible)

HYMN 7, C. M.
An evening song.
by Isaac Watts
(1674-1748)

read Sovereign! let my evening song
Like holy incense rise;
Assist the offerings of my tongue
To reach the lofty skies.

Through all the dangers of the day
Thy hand was still my guard,
And still to drive my wants away
Thy mercy stood prepared.

Perpetual blessings from above
Encompass me around,
But O how few returns of love
Hath my Creator found!

What have I done for him that died
To save my wretched soul?
How are my follies multiplied,
Fast as my minutes roil

Lord, with this guilty heart of mine
To thy dear cross I flee;
And to thy grace my soul resign,
To be renewed by thee.

Sprinkled afresh with pard’ning blood,
I lay me down to rest,
As in th’ embraces of my God,
Or on my Savior’s breast.

—from The Psalms & Hymns of Isaac Watts. Hymns and Spiritual Songs. Book II: Composed on Divine Subjects (Soli Deo Gloria, 1997).

salme 131 (Geneva Bible)
A song of degrees or Psalme of Dauid.

1 Lorde, mine heart is not hautie, neither are mine eyes loftie, neither haue I walked in great matters and hid from me.
2 Surely I haue behaued my selfe, like one wained from his mother, and kept silence: I am in my selfe as one that is wained.
3 Let Israel waite on the Lord from hencefoorth and for euer.

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And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy computer, thine old computer, thy 286, and take thee an operating system, Windows XP, into the land of Moriah; and there load the OS onto the 286 upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and packed up the 286 and the Windows XP, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and install the OS, and come again to you. And Abraham took the 286, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the Windows XP in his hand, and the keyboard and mouse; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the 286 and the OS: but Windows XP requires exceedingly more memory than hath the 286. And Abraham said, My son, God will provide the RAM.

I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. Psalme 122:1, (Geneva Bible)

CHRIST ALONE

O God,

hy main plan, and the end of thy will,
is to make Christ glorious and beloved
in heaven
where he is now ascended,
where one day all the elect will behold his glory
and love and glorify him forever.
Though here I love him but little,
may this be my portion at last.
In this world thou hast given me a beginning,
one day it will be perfected in the realm above,
Thou hast helped me to see and know Christ,
though obscurity,
to take him, receive him,
to possess him, love him,
to bless him in my heart, mouth, life.
Let me study and stand for discipline,
and all the ways of worship,
out of love for Christ;
and to show my thankfulness;
to seek and know his will from love,
to hold it in love,
and daily to care for and keep this state of heart.
Thou had led me to place all my nature
and happiness
in oneness with Christ,
in having heart and mind centered only on him,
in being like him on communication good
to others;
This is my heaven on earth,
But I need the force, energy, impulses of they Spirit
to carry me on the way to my Jerusalem.
Here, it is my duty
to be as Christ in this world,
to do what he would do,
to live as he would live,
to walk in love and meekness;
then would he be known,
then would I have peace in death.

—from The Valley of Vision, Arthur Bennett, editor (Banner of Truth Trust, 2002).

salme 138 (Geneva Bible)
A Psalme of Dauid.

1 I will praise thee with my whole heart: euen before the gods will I praise thee.
2 I will worship toward thine holy Temple and praise thy Name, because of thy louing kindenesse and for thy trueth: for thou hast magnified thy Name aboue all things by thy word.
3 When I called, then thou heardest me, and hast encreased strength in my soule.
4 All the Kings of the earth shal praise thee, O Lorde: for they haue heard the wordes of thy mouth.
5 And they shall sing of the wayes of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord is great.
6 For the Lord is high: yet he beholdeth the lowly, but the proude he knoweth afarre off.
7 Though I walke in the middes of trouble, yet wilt thou reuiue me: thou wilt stretch foorth thine hand vpon the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall saue me.
8 The Lord will performe his worke toward me: O Lorde, thy mercie endureth for euer: forsake not the workes of thine handes.

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I don't know anything about the Brandon Biblical Theology Conference, except that it took place in Brandon, Florida on the 12th-14th of this month and that it featured a stellar line-up of speakers (Phil Johnson, Pastor Chris Pixley, and Dr. Robert Reymond). O yes, and JD Hatfield (Voice of Vision) was in attendance and is now home and blogging his notes. It looks more interesting than anything going on here, so what are you waiting for? Start clicking:

Session 1 - Chris Pixley
Session 2 - Phil Johnson
Session 3 - Robert Reymond
Session 4 - Phil Johnson Part Deux
Session 5 – Q & A
Session 6 – Dr. Reymond II
Session 7 – Johnson III
Session 8 –Todd Murray

Update: The audio for this conference is now available here.

Building with Gold, Silver, and Precious Stones
What Is Indwelling: The Old Testament Background
Day Two First Thought
The Ministry of the Spirit in John, Part 1: Jesus and the New Birth
The Ministry of the Spirit in John, Part 2: Jesus the Temple Builder
The Ministry of the Spirit in the Christian Life, Part 1: The Work of the Spirit in the Book of Acts
The Ministry of the Spirit in the Christian Life, Part 2: Spirit Empowered Hope for the Past, Present, and Future: Romans 5:1–11
Northbrook Conference Recap

There has been a lot written lately on the subject of “Lordship Salvation”. For quite some time now, Jonathan Moorhead has been antagonizing challenging a few of his readers who hold to what they call “Free Grace” theology. More recently, Pulpit Magazine has been posting articles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, more to come…) by John MacArthur, Bible teacher on Grace to You and author of The Gospel According to Jesus. In a corresponding series, Phil Johnson is writing How I got drawn into the Lordship debate (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, more to come…), chronicling his journey to his involvement in The Gospel According to Jesus and his present position at Grace to You. Nathan Busenitz has offered his input (1, 2, 3) as well at Pulpit Magazine.

Today, Nathan Casebolt has written Why Lordship Salvation Matters. Nathan’s introduction to the Lordship debate was very similar to my own. Before the publication of The Gospel According to Jesus, I had no idea that anyone could hold to such an absurd theology as so-called “Free Grace”. The Ryrie Study Bible was a hot item at the time, and the first study Bible I had ever seen, but I didn’t have one (I had been warned of his Calvinist tendencies – something I have never bothered to investigate – and wanted no part of that damnable heresy). Only recently have I realized how widespread this unbiblical nonsense is. Perhaps you are under the impression that there is a separation between Jesus as Savior and Jesus as Lord. If so, I encourage you to read the posts I have linked, and get a copy of The Gospel According to Jesus.

Finally, a word about terminology. John MacArthur has said that he doesn’t like the term “Lordship Salvation”, and I agree. It is a name given to Biblical Soteriology by its opponents, and implies, not accidentally, legalism. Yet Dr. MacArthur uses the term because it has become commonly understood and won’t go away. I suggest that we need a good term for the opposite (wrong) view. The “no-Lordship” moniker given by Biblical theologians is clumsy, in my opinion. “Free Grace” is the title preferred by its advocates, but that doesn’t fit. “Feckless Grace” would be more like it, if they want to maintain the “FG” abbreviation and the word “grace”. It’s a little rough, though, don’t you think? I suggest “Lordless Salvation”. Of course, that’s not entirely accurate, since someone must be lord – if not Jesus, then self. But I think it’s close enough. It’s certainly as appropriate as “Lordship Salvation”. If it catches on, it may be my only original contribution to… well, anything.

A couple for you pastors

A pastor had been gone to the Shepherd’s Conference. Upon his return, like Moses descending Sinai, he found that his congregation had built a giant golden “zero” and placed it at the front of the sanctuary. All were present, bowing and praying before the image.

The pastor was devastated with grief, rent his shirt, and cried out in a loud voice, “Is nothing sacred?”

At our former church, I used to preach occasionally in our pastor’s absence. On one such Sunday, after the service, I overheard one of the members greeting a visitor.

“I’m Gladys Dunn,” she said.

The visitor replied, “Me too!”

I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. Psalme 122:1, (Geneva Bible)

Behold, I Am Vile
by John Newton (1725-1807)

Lord, how vile am I,
Unholy and unclean!
How can I dare to venture nigh
With such a load of sin?

Is this polluted heart
A dwelling fit for Thee?
Swarming, alas, in every part,
What evils do I see!

If I attempt to pray,
And lisp Thy holy name,
My thoughts are hurried soon away,
I know not where I am.

If in Thy word I look,
Such darkness fills my mind;
I only read a sealed book,
But no relief can find.

Thy gospel oft I hear,
But hear it still in vain;
Without desire, of love, or fear,
I like a stone remain.

Myself can hardly bear
This wretched heart of mine;
How hateful, then, must it appear
To those pure eyes of Thine?

And must I then indeed
Sink in despair and die?
Fain would I hope that Thou didst bleed
For such a wretch as I.

That blood which Thou hast spilt;
That grace which is Thine own,
Can cleanse the vilest sinner’s guilt,
And soften hearts of stone.

Low at Thy feet I bow,
Oh, pity and forgive;
Here will I lie, and wait till Thou
Shalt bid me rise and live.

salme 145 (Geneva Bible)
A Psalme of Dauid of prayse.

1 O my God and King, I will extoll thee, and will blesse thy Name for euer and euer.
2 I will blesse thee dayly, and prayse thy Name for euer and euer.
3 Great is the Lord, and most worthy to be praysed, and his greatnes is incomprehensible.
4 Generation shal praise thy works vnto generation, and declare thy power.
5 I wil meditate of the beautie of thy glorious maiestie, and thy wonderfull workes,
6 And they shall speake of the power of thy fearefull actes, and I will declare thy greatnes.
7 They shall breake out into the mention of thy great goodnes, and shall sing aloude of thy righteousnesse.
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great mercie.
9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercies are ouer all his workes.
10 All thy workes prayse thee, O Lord, and thy Saints blesse thee.
11 They shewe the glory of thy kingdome, and speake of thy power,
12 To cause his power to be knowen to the sonnes of men, and the glorious renoume of his kingdome.
13 Thy kingdome is an euerlasting kingdome, and thy dominion endureth throughout all ages.
14 The Lord vpholdeth all that fall, and lifteth vp all that are ready to fall.
15 The eyes of all waite vpon thee, and thou giuest them their meate in due season.
16 Thou openest thine hand, and fillest all things liuing of thy good pleasure.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his wayes, and holy in all his workes.
18 The Lord is neere vnto all that call vpon him: yea, to all that call vpon him in trueth.
19 He wil fulfill the desire of them that feare him: he also wil heare their cry, and wil saue them.
20 The Lorde preserueth all them that loue him: but he will destroy all the wicked.
21 My mouth shall speake the prayse of the Lorde, and all flesh shall blesse his holy Name for euer and euer.

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Like it or not, the majority of our neighbors—yours and mine—call October 31st “Halloween.” Unless you live in an Amish community, you cannot simply ignore it. Even if you choose to ignore it, you cannot do so passively; you must actively avoid it. So what should you do about Halloween? I don’t intend to answer that question; not directly, anyway. I will state a few facts, make a few observations, and tell you what we do and why.

Anyone who examines Halloween thoroughly and honestly must admit that it is, at its core, a celebration of evil. Evil spirits, ghosts (the souls of the dead walking among us), witches—all of these represent the evil (Satanic) side of the supernatural world. Those are the facts of Halloween. Another fact, and one that few think of, is that it is simply unacceptable to knock on a neighbor’s or stranger’s door and demand candy. How that ever got to be an accepted practice among civilized people is beyond me.

In spite of those facts, I grew up with Halloween. I went trick-or-treating. We had Halloween parties—not “harvest celebrations,” “All Saints Day” parties (I’m not recommending that, with all the Catholic baggage it brings), but Halloween parties—complete with scary costumes and paper skeletons. I went out as a vampire. I slicked my hair back and wore a black cape and fangs. On no occasion did I become demon possessed or engage in witchcraft. One year, however, I and my partner in crime did change costumes and hit every house in town twice. An early start, a good plan, and a very small town made that possible. All in all, Halloween was just good, clean fun, and no harm done. I see no reason to believe it is much different today. Yet we do not now participate in Halloween.

Our kids do not trick-or-treat, and we do not have Halloween parties, for the reasons stated in the second paragraph of this article. The axiom “no harm, no foul” does not apply in our home. It is a matter of principle. However, while we can choose not to actively participate, we do not have the option of ignoring Halloween. Let’s consider a few of our options:

1. Leave home, go to the mall (not really an option here in God's country), go anywhere so we’re not home when those pesky kids come to the door. I suppose this is an acceptable option, but really, what are we accomplishing by allowing a mostly benign custom to drive us from our homes?
2. Shut off the lights and sit in the basement watching movies (or something), pretending we’re not home. I agree with Tim Challies that this presents a poor witness. Not that I think answering the door and handing out candy is a particularly good witness; after all, every infidel in town is doing the same thing. There is no positive witness in handing out candy. However, there is definitely a negative witness in ignoring people who come to our doors.
3. What we do: stay home, answer the door, be friendly, hand out candy, eat candy, have fun, and don’t waste any time thinking about how much more righteous we are than those horrible parents whose kids are ringing our doorbell—because we’re not. Don’t misunderstand me, I didn’t say our choice is not more right than theirs—why else would we do it?—but right does not equal righteous.

This October 31st, we will be remembering the Reformation by going around town nailing ninety-five theses to every door in town. Each child gets a hammer, a nail apron, and . . . No, seriously, we will be at home watching Martin Luther (1953), spilling popcorn on the floor, and generally having fun. I might get this one and make it a double feature. At some point, someone will express the hope that not too many more trick-or-treaters come so there will be lots of candy left over. That someone might even be me. It really doesn’t matter, though, because we will surely buy more as it goes on sale November 1st. Nope, that doesn’t make me a hypocrite. Not at all.

“Of the perspicuity of Scripture”
taken from The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther:

Now I come to another point, which is linked with this. You divide Christian doctrines into two classes, and make out that we need to know the one but not the other. ‘Some,’ you say, ‘are recondite, whereas others are quite plain.’ Surely at this point you are either playing tricks with someone else’s words, or practicing a literary effect! However, you quote in your support Paul’s words in Rom. 11: ‘O the depth of both the riches and knowledge of God!’ (v. 33); and also Isa. 40: ‘Who gave help o the Spirit of the Lord, or who hath been his counsellor?” (v. 13). It was all very easily said, either because you knew that you were writing, not just to Luther, but for the world at large, or else because you failed to consider that it was against Luther that you were writing! I hope you credit Luther with some little scholarship and judgment where the sacred text is concerned? If not, behold! I will wring the admission out of you! Here is my distinction (for I too am going to do a little lecturing—or chop a little logic, should I say?): God and his Scriptures are two things, just as the Creator and his creation are two things. Now, nobody questions that there is a great deal hid in God of which we know nothing. Christ himself says of the last day: ‘Of that day knoweth no man, but the father’ (Matt. 24.36); and in Acts 1 he says: ‘It is not for you to know the times and seasons’ (v. 7); and again, he says: ‘I know whom I have chosen’ (John 13.18); and Paul says; ‘The Lord knoweth them that are his’ (2 Tim. 2.19); and the like. But the notion that in Scripture some things are recondite and all is not plain was spread by the godless Sophists (whom now you echo, Erasmus)—who have never yet cited a single item to prove their crazy view; nor can they. And Satan has used these unsubstantial specters to scare men off reading the sacred text, and to destroy all sense of its value, so as to ensure that his own poisonous philosophy reigns supreme in the church. I certainly grant that many passages in the Scriptures are obscure and hard to elucidate, but that is due, not to the exalted nature of their subject, but to our own linguistic and grammatical ignorance; and it does not in any way prevent our knowing all the contents of Scripture. For what solemn truth can the Scriptures still be concealing, now that the seals are broken, the stone rolled away from the door of the tomb, and the greatest of all mysteries brought to light—that Christ, God's Son, became man, that God is Three in One, that Christ suffered for us, and will reign forever? Are not these things known, and sung in our streets? Take Christ from the Scriptures—and what more will you find in them? You see, then, that the entire content of the Scriptures are as clear as can be, to pronounce them obscure on account of those few obscure words. if words are obscure in one place, they are clear in another. What God has so plainly declared to the world is in some parts of Scripture stated in plain words, while in other parts it still lies hidden under obscure words. But when something stands in broad daylight, and a mass of evidence for it is in broad daylight also, it does not matter if there is any evidence for it in the dark. Who will maintain that the town fountain does not stand in the light because the people down some alley cannot see it, while everyone else in the square can see it?
   There is nothing, then in your remark about the ‘Corycian cavern’; matters are not so in the Scriptures. The profoundest mysteries of the supreme Majesty are no more hidden away, but are now brought out of doors and displayed to public view. Christ has opened our understanding, that we might understand the Scriptures, and the Gospel in preached to every creature, ‘Their sound is gone out into all lands’ (Ps. 19.4). ‘All things that are written, are written for instruction’ (Rom. 15.4). Again: ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for instruction (2 Tim. 3.16). Come forward then, you, and all the Sophists with you, and cite a single mystery which is still obscure in the Scripture. I know that to many people a great deal remains obscure; but that is due, not to any lack of clarity in Scripture, but to their own blindness and dullness, in that they make no effort to see truth which, in itself, could not be plainer. As Paul said of the Jews in 2 Cor. 4: ‘The veil remains on their heart’ (2 Cor. 3.15); and again ‘If our gospel be hid, it is hid to then that are lost, whose hearts the god of this world hath blinded’ (2 Cor. 4.3–4). They are like men who cover their eyes, of go from daylight into darkness, and hide there and then blame the sun, of the darkness of the day for their inability to see, so let wretched men abjure that blasphemous perversity which would blame the darkness of their own hears on to the plain Scriptures of God!
   When you quote Paul’s statement, ‘his judgments are incomprehensible, you seem to take the pronoun ‘his’ to refer to Scripture; whereas the judgments which Paul there affirms to be incomprehensible are not those of Scripture but those of God. And Isaiah 40 does not say ‘who has known the mind of Scripture?’ but: ‘who has know the mind of the Lord?’ (Paul indeed, asserts that Christians do know the mind of the Lord; but only with reference to those things that are given to us by God, as he there says in 1 Cor. 2 (v.12). You see, then, how sleepily you examined those passages, and how apt in your citation of them—as apt are almost all your citations for ‘free-will’! So, too, the examples of obscurity which you allege in that rather sarcastic passage are quite irrelevant—the distinction of persons in the God head, the union of the Divine and human natures of Christ, and the unpardonable sin. Here, you say, are problems which have never been solved. If you mean this of the enquiries which the Sophists pursue when they discuss these subjects, what has the inoffensive Scripture done to you, that you should blame such criminal misuse of it on to its own purity? Scripture makes the straightforward affirmation that the Trinity, the Incarnation and the unpardonable sin are facts. There is nothing obscure or ambiguous about that. You imagine that Scripture tells us how they are what they are; but it does not, nor need we know. It is here that the Sophists discuss their dreams; keep your criticism and condemnation for them, but acquit the Scriptures! If, on the other hand, you mean it of the facts themselves, I say again: blame, not the Scriptures, but the Arians and those to whom the Gospel is hid, who, but reason of the working of Satan, their god, cannot see the plainest proofs of the Trinity in Godhead and of the humanity of Christ.
   In a word: the perspicuity of Scripture is twofold, just as there is a double lack of light. The first is external, and relates to the ministry of the Word; the second concerns the knowledge of the heart. If you speak of internal perspicuity, the truth is that nobody who has not the Spirit of God sees a jot of what is in the Scriptures. All men have their hearts darkened, so that, even when they can discuss and quote all that is in Scripture, they do not understand or really know any of it. They do not believe in God, nor do they believe that they are God’s creatures, nor anything else—as Ps. 13 puts it, ‘The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God’ (Ps. 14.1). The Spirit is needed for the understanding of all Scripture and every part of Scripture. If, on the other hand, you speak of external perspicuity, the position is that nothing whatsoever is left obscure or ambiguous, but all that is in the Scripture is through the Word brought forth into the clearest light and proclaimed to the whole world.

A young woman was preparing for her wedding. Forgetful by nature, she was afraid that she would forget something important. When the day arrived, she rose and immediately began mentally rehearsing the ceremony.

“First, I go down the aisle, stand at the altar, and listen to the wedding song.” She repeated this over and over, shortening it as the morning passed.

“Down the aisle, stand at the altar, wedding hymn. Down the aisle, stand at the altar, wedding hymn. Down the aisle, stand at the altar, wedding hymn. Down the aisle, stand at the altar, wedding hymn.”

Finally, she had condensed it to the shortest phrase possible.

“Aisle, altar, hymn. Aisle, altar, hymn. Aisle, altar, hymn…”

I reioyced, when they sayd to me, We wil go into the house of the Lord. Psalme 122:1 (Geneva Bible)

HYMN 7, L. M.
Crucifixion to the world by the cross of Christ.
Galatians vi. 14
by Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

hen I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

See from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown!

[His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er his body on the tree:
Then am I dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.]

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

—from The Psalms & Hymns of Isaac Watts. Hymns and Spiritual Songs. Book III: Prepared for the Holy Ordinance of the Lord's Supper (Soli Deo Gloria, 1997).

salme 2
(Geneva Bible)

1 Why doe the heathen rage, & the people murmure in vaine?
2 The Kings of the earth band themselues, and the princes are assembled together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
3 Let vs breake their bands, and cast their cordes from vs.
4 But he that dwelleth in the heauen, shall laugh: the Lord shall haue them in derision.
5 Then shall hee speake vnto them in his wrath, & vexe them in his sore displeasure, saying,
6 Euen I haue set my King vpon Zion mine holy mountaine.
7 I will declare the decree: that is, the Lord hath said vnto me, Thou art my Sonne: this day haue I begotten thee.
8 Aske of me, and I shall giue thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the endes of the earth for thy possession.
9 Thou shalt krush them with a scepter of yron, and breake them in pieces like a potters vessell.
10 Be wise nowe therefore, ye Kings: be learned ye Iudges of the earth.
11 Serue the Lorde in feare, and reioyce in trembling.
12 Kisse the sonne, least he be angry, and ye perish in the way, when his wrath shall suddenly burne. blessed are all that trust in him.

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