I've been working for the past 2+ weeks on my wife's computer, which, in technological terms, can best be described as a Girl's Computer®. It serves its function quite well, but it is definitely a weaker vessel compared to my Manly Machine®. Worse than the absent muscle is the desk setup, which is very uncomfortable for me. Anyway, I've been putting off fixing mine for reasons of time and economics. I have been busy trying to get some home remodeling done prior to the fast-approaching graduation shindig for my eldest daughter. That should explain both the time and economic constraints.

I've decided to come back, at least in a limited capacity, in spite of the present difficulties, because an amazing number of you keep coming even when I post nothing at all. Why do you do that? Is it the handsome picture at the head of the blog? Whatever it is, here I am, at your service. I spent the day going through my Bloglines, which I had not looked at since the crash, and I have posted one big Bucket O' Links. You may have already read many of them, but there they are.

I also want to direct you to some other good sources you can glean links from. First, as you likely already know, Challies A La Carte brings some great links that I never would come across in my reading. Then, of course, there is the King of linkage, Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds. More recently, Ken Fields has installed a copycat to my On the Web blog. He does such a good job that I'm considering plugging it into my sidebar and hoping no one notices. Not really--his colors wouldn't match.

I'll post something more substantive soon, at least by next Lord's Day. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

From my Scripture reading this morning:

1 Chronicles 10:1-14 Then the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines pursued after Saul and after his sons, and the Philistines smote Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua the sons of Saul. 3 And the battle was sore against Saul; and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers. 4 Then said Saul to his armor-bearer, Draw out thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and mock at me: but his armor-bearer would not, for he was sore afraid: therefore Saul took the sword and fell upon it. 5 And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon the sword, and died. 6 So Saul died and his three sons, and all his house, they died together. 7 And when all the men of Israel that were in the valley, saw how they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities, and fled away, and the Philistines came, and dwelt in them. 8 And on the morrow when the Philistines came to spoil them that were slain, they found Saul and his sons lying in mount Gilboa. 9 And when they had stripped him, they took his head and his armor, and sent them into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it unto their idols, and to the people. 10 And they laid up his armor in the house of their god, and set up his head in the house of Dagon.    11 When all they of Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 Then they arose (all the valiant men) and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried the bones of them under an oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days. 13 So Saul died for his transgression, that he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and in that he sought and asked counsel of a familiar spirit, 14 And asked not of the Lord: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.

Saul turned from God to a medium, and it cost him his kingdom, his life, and the lives of his sons. That is one of the lessons of this chapter, and probably the one that stands out to most readers. But there is another lesson in this account that is more easily overlooked. It is found in two facts:

1. Saul took his own life. Of his own free choice, he fell on his sword, intentionally killing himself (v. 4).
2. God took Saul’s life. As judgment for his disobedience and idolatry, God killed Saul (v. 13-14).

Are these facts contradictory? Not at all. They only demonstrate that God exercises his sovereignty over the actions and wills of men.

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

HYMN 10, S. M.
Parting with carnal joys.
by Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

y soul forsakes her vain delight,
And bids the world farewell,
Base as the dirt beneath my feet,
And mischievous as hell.

No longer will I ask your love,
Nor seek your friendship more;
The happiness that I approve
Lies not within your power.

There’s nothing round this spacious earth
That suits my large desire
To boundless joy and solid mirth
My nobler thoughts aspire.

[Where pleasure rolls its living flood,
From sin and dross refined,
Still springing from the throne of God,
And fit to cheer the mind;

Th’ Almighty Ruler of the sphere,
The glorious and the great,
Brings his own all-sufficience there,
To make our bliss complete.]

Had I the pinions of a dove,
I’d climb the heav’nly road;
There sits my Savior dressed in love,
And there my smiling God.

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

salme 48 (Geneva Bible)
A song or Psalme committed to the sonnes of Korah.

1 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praysed, in the Citie of our God, euen vpon his holy Mountaine.
2 Mount Zion, lying Northwarde, is faire in situation: it is the ioy of the whole earth, and the Citie of the great King.
3 In the palaces thereof God is knowen for a refuge.
4 For lo, the Kings were gathered, and went together.
5 When they sawe it, they marueiled: they were astonied, and suddenly driuen backe.
6 Feare came there vpon them, and sorowe, as vpon a woman in trauaile.
7 As with an East winde thou breakest the shippes of Tarshish, so were they destroyed.
8 As we haue heard, so haue we seene in the citie of the Lord of hostes, in the Citie of our God: God will stablish it for euer. Selah.
9 We waite for thy louing kindnes, O God, in the middes of thy Temple.
10 O God, according vnto thy Name, so is thy prayse vnto the worlds end: thy right hand is full of righteousnes.
11 Let mount Zion reioyce, and the daughters of Iudah be glad, because of thy iudgements.
12 Compasse about Zion, and goe round about it, and tell the towres thereof.
13 Marke well the wall thereof: beholde her towres, that ye may tell your posteritie.
14 For this God is our God for euer and euer: he shall be our guide vnto the death.

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Phil Johnson & Don Green
David Legge
David Strain
R.C. Sproul

Grace be with you, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

emptation called—she called my name;
’Twas nothing new, but just the same
Enticing call with promise sweet,
“Come taste my wine,” she did entreat.

I sought the source of that sweet voice—
It seemed as though I had no choice.
Although I searched, I found her not,
But found the pleasure she had brought.

I smelled the scent of her perfume
That lingered there inside my room.
I drank the wine that she had mixed,
Though it was sweet, I was perplexed.

I sought companionship to share
Forbidden pleasure, fine and fair,
But promised company had flown
And left me guilty, and alone.

The wine that I had drunk in haste
Soon left a bitter aftertaste;
Perfume so sweet, the scent of rose,
Began a-burning in my nose.

Who was this temptress who beguiled,
Who my conscience had defiled?
Who had done this thing to me?
I would search, and find, and see!

I looked around out in the dark—
Perhaps a devil there did lurk!
I searched the streets all through the town;
My nemesis could not be found.

And then I heard her voice again:
“Come home, come home, you’ll find me then.
I’ve been here waiting. Don’t delay!
Come to my side, and with me stay.”

I came back home, there to seek
The evil one who made me weak.
There! ’twas the voice! It seemed to call
Out from the glass upon the wall.

How can this be? I thought with fear,
Who can it be? There’s no one here!
I stilled my heart, prepared to see,
Looked in the glass—saw only me.

But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. —James 1:14

From Revival & Revivalism by Iain Murray:

From the general introduction to the period of the Second Great Awakening we turn to some particular observations.
   In the first place, if it be asked, What special means were used to promote these revivals? The answer is that there were none. The significance of this fact will be more apparent in later pages. This is not to say that the spiritual leaders of this new era held the view that the gospel could be advanced without means being employed. They were united in regarding such an attitude as a serious abuse of the doctrine of divine sovereignty. As Ebenezer Porter affirmed:

The God of this universe is not dependent on instruments . . . He could fill the world with Bibles by a word, — or give every inhabitant of the globe a knowledge of the gospel by inspiration. But he chooses that human agency should be employed in printing and reading and explaining the Scriptures. God is able to sanctify the four hundred millions of Asia, in one instant, without the agency of missionaries; but we do not expect him to do this without means, any more than we expect him to rain down food from the clouds, or turn stones into bread.

These men were united in the belief that God has appointed the means of prayer and preaching for the spread of the gospel and that these are the great means in the use of which he requires the churches to be faithful. There are no greater means which may be employed at special times to secure supposedly greater results. It is therefore the Spirit of God who makes the same means more effective at some seasons than at others.    This has perhaps not always been as evident as it was in 1800. Sometimes revivals have coincided with the emergence of hitherto unknown preachers whose abilities have been credited with securing change. But in the case of the Second Great Awakening, nearly all the preachers prominent at the outset had already been labouring for many years. . . .
   The facts are indisputable. A considerable body of men, for a long period before the Second Great Awakening, preached the same message as they did during the revival but with vastly different consequences — the same men, the same actions, performed with the same abilities, yet the results were so amazingly different! The conclusion has to be drawn that the change in the churches after 1798 and 1800 cannot be explained in terms of the means used. Nothing was clearer to those who saw the events than that God was sovereignty pleased to bless human instrumentality in such a way that the success could be attributed to him alone. . . . Jeremiah Hallock, a leader in Connecticut, wrote: ‘As means did not begin this work of themselves, so neither did they carry it on. But as this was the work of the Omnipotent Spirit, so the effects produced proclaimed its sovereign, divine author.’ Asahel Hooker, another eminent Connecticut pastor, drew the same conclusion after seeing the same change among his own people: ‘It is the evident design of Providence to confound all attempts which should be made by philosophy and human reason to account for the effects wrought without ascribing them to God, as the marvelous work of the Spirit and grace.’

I’m going to kill two birds with one 12-gauge light target load. First, Jen posted a quote from G.K. Chesterton that highlights a sad literary truth: “The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.” Hard to believe, isn’t it? Sure, there may be a verse or two on cheese hidden away somewhere in a Shel Silverstein book, but I’m afraid this beautiful gift has been almost entirely, inexplicably, overlooked by the poets. I aim to rectify that.

Second, Brian, the sheepish one, has tagged me with one of those meme things. I reserve the right to arbitrarily choose to participate or not in any meme. Participation in this meme does not obligate me participate in any others. So there. So, here you go: cheese (or cheesy) poetry and 7 things that others may not know about me.

Cheese Couplets

Colby is fine, but what I like better
Is the lovely bouquet of extra-sharp cheddar.

For a good, tasty snack that will never miss,
Try a nice dunkel bier and a platter of Swiss.

My lips smack
When I eat Pepper Jack.

Grab a sheep and pull and squeeze—
That’s what it takes to make Bleu cheese.

Though Muenster cheese may sound quite German,
It’s American, like Munster (Herman).

Feta is a royal treat,
Although it smells a lot like feet.

When cheese smells bad, it means that it’s good—
I’d say that of my verses, if only I could.

7 Things about Me that You Might not Know

1. I scored high on my driver’s license and hunter’s safety tests. The rest of my academic record is a wreck. In spite of my lack of formal education, I am a grammar tyrant. If you use the word “like” improperly, I might correct you — even if you’re in the middle of a sermon. I even appreciate it when others correct my grammar, spelling, & punctuation. I also love math. I admire those guys who memorize π to a bunch of decimal places. Off-hand, I can do 3.141592. I’m such a nerd that I actually use all those digits when I do geometry.
2. Six of my eight children were born at home. I delivered four of them myself. My wife helped a little. She came in pretty handy.
3. I have worked with dairy, swine, and beef. Pigs are smarter than cows. Cows are smarter than sheep. Sheep are smarter than Democrats. Democrats are smarter than straw bales. I have also worked in construction. Straw bales are smarter than drywall hangers.
4. I‘ve been busted for drag racing on the highway. When I told my story — “We weren’t racing, I was just passing” — the judge laughed out loud. I was passing. Unfortunately, I was in the right lane.
5. I’ve only been kissed by two women other than my wife. The first was my boss’s wife at a New Year’s Eve party. I never saw it coming. The second was a girl in a bar in Glasgow, Montana, who found out it was my birthday. I’m pretty sure she had thrown up recently. My kissing experiences after that have been much better.
6. Andrea Bocelli is my favorite tenor. Christopher Parkening is my favorite guitarist. Yet I have a few Hank Williams tracks on my computer.
7. My rugged good looks are only rivaled by my poetic skill.

There you go. Am I not a wonder to behold?

Yes, that is the same title as Dan Phillips used. Since he said a lot of what I was thinking (and a lot more), I thought I might as well use it. Dan correctly states that Spiderman 3 contains a lot of good moral principles, but horrible theology. Dan’s objections begin where mine did, with this statement from the movie: “First, you must do the hardest thing. You must forgive yourself.” I've previously written on this subject here. Read Dan’s article, in which he concludes: “Spider-Man 3 is a fun, expertly-done movie. It contains a nice bit of moralizing. It preaches an appalling sermon.”

I only have two things to add to what has already been said.

First, assuming we buy the psychoskubalon of self-forgiveness (as though such a thing as a sin against self exists), it is not hard to forgive ourselves. What could be more self-indulgent? and what is more definitive of human nature than self-indulgence? Letting ourselves off the hook for our sins is as natural as breathing.

Second, in answer to the objection, “Well, you know, it's not a Christian movie. You can't expect them to get it right,” I reply, “You're right. In fact, I should expect them to get it wrong; and when they do, I should be prepared to say so.” You see, whenever anyone, whether Christian, Roman Catholic, Jew, Muslim, or atheist opens his mouth on anything touching on God, theology, or spirituality, he is obligated to get it right. God will accept nothing less. There is only one God, one Way, one Truth, one Life. God makes no allowance for false theology, even due to ignorance.

“But it's just a movie. It's just entertainment. No one came to hear a sermon.” But they did hear a sermon — a moralistic, man-centered sermon. A sermon that leads away from Christ, even while promoting moral character. That is damning, and it needs an answer.

This does not mean you can't go see Spiderman 3 and enjoy it for the entertaining (though mediocre) work of ignorant men that it is. Just be prepared to answer those who praise the good moral of the story with the true Gospel.

The following quote from Revival & Revivalism by Iain Murray continues in the same vein as the one posted earlier this week.

. . . A Baptist author, . . . describing the revival at Hartford in 1798–1800 , wrote: ‘The Lord seems to have stepped out of the usual path of ordinances, to effect his work more immediately in the displays of his Almighty power, and outpouring of his Spirit; probably to show that the work is his own.’
   Thus what characterizes a revival is not the employment of unusual or special means but rather the extraordinary means of blessing attending the normal means of grace. There were no unusual evangelistic meetings. No special arrangements, no announcements of pending revivals. Pastors were simply continuing in the services they had conducted for many years when the great change began. That is why so many of them could say, ‘The first appearance of the work was sudden and unexpected.’ Their theology taught them that there is no inherent power in the truth to convert sinners and they rejoiced in the knowledge that the size of the blessing which God is pleased to give through the use of means is entirely in his own hands. As William Rogers of Philadelphia wrote to Isaac Backus in 1799, ‘The revivals of religion which you speak of are peculiarly illustrative of the glorious doctrines of grace, — “the wind bloweth where it listeth”.’
   On the subject of means, something needs to be said more particularly on prayer. As with the truth that is preached, prayer has no inherent power in itself. On the contrary, true prayer is bound up with a persuasion of our inability and our complete dependence of God. Prayer, considered as a human activity, whether offered by few or many, can guarantee no results. But prayer that throws believers in heartfelt need on God will not go unanswered. Prayer of this kind precedes blessing, not because of any necessary cause and effect, but because such prayer secures an acknowledgement of the true Author of the blessing. And where such a spirit of prayer exits it is a sign that God is already intervening to advance his cause. One thing that can be said with certainty about the 1790s, before any general indications of a new era were to be seen, is that there was a growing concern among Christians to pray. Later on, when the evidence of records from those years was compared, it was recognized that across the Union, from Connecticut to Kentucky, the 1790s were marked by a new spirit of intercession.

—Iain Murray, Revival & Revivalism, 128-129

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

The Covenant
by John Newton (1725-1807)

he Lord proclaims his grace abroad!
Behold, I change your hearts of stone;
Each shall renounce his idol-god,
And serve henceforth the Lord alone.

My grace, a flowing stream proceeds
To wash your filthiness away;
You shall abhor your former deeds,
And learn my statutes to obey.

My truth the great design ensures,
I give myself away to you;
You shall be mine, I will be yours,
Your God unalterably true.

yet not unsought, or unimplored,
The plenteous grace I shall confer;
No—your whole heart shall seek the Lord,
I’ll put a praying spirit there.

From the first breath of life divine,
Down to the lat expiring hour,
Thy gracious work shall all be mine,
Begun and ended by my pow’r.

salme 55 (Geneva Bible)
To him that excelleth on Neginoth.
A Psalme of David to give instruction.

1 Heare my prayer, O God, and hide not thy selfe from my supplication.
2 Hearken vnto me, and answere me: I mourne in my prayer, and make a noyse,
3 For the voyce of the enemie, and for the vexation of ye wicked, because they haue brought iniquitie vpon me, and furiously hate me.
4 Mine heart trembleth within mee, and the terrours of death are fallen vpon me.
5 Feare and trembling are come vpon mee, and an horrible feare hath couered me.
6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a doue: then would I flie away and rest.
7 Beholde, I woulde take my flight farre off, and lodge in the wildernes. Selah.
8 Hee would make haste for my deliuerance from the stormie winde and tempest.
9 Destroy, O Lord, and deuide their tongues: for I haue seene crueltie and strife in the citie.
10 Day and night they goe about it vpon the walles thereof: both iniquitie and mischiefe are in the middes of it.
11 Wickednes is in the middes thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streetes.
12 Surely mine enemie did not defame mee: for I could haue borne it: neither did mine aduersarie exalt himselfe against mee: for I would haue hid me from him.
13 But it was thou, O man, euen my companion, my guide and my familiar:
14 Which delited in consulting together, and went into the House of God as companions.
15 Let death sense vpon them: let them goe downe quicke into the graue: for wickednes is in their dwellings, euen in the middes of them.
16 But I will call vnto God, and the Lord will saue me.
17 Euening and morning, and at noone will I pray, and make a noyse, and he wil heare my voice.
18 He hath deliuered my soule in peace from the battel, that was against me: for many were with me.
19 God shall heare and afflict them, euen hee that reigneth of olde, Selah. because they haue no changes, therefore they feare not God.
20 Hee layed his hande vpon such, as be at peace with him, and he brake his couenant.
21 The wordes of his mouth were softer then butter, yet warre was in his heart: his words were more gentle then oyle, yet they were swordes.
22 Cast thy burden vpon the Lord, and hee shall nourish thee: he wil not suffer the righteous to fall for euer.
23 And thou, O God, shalt bring them downe into the pitte of corruption: the bloudie, and deceitfull men shall not liue halfe their dayes: but I will trust in thee.

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Bret Capranica
Steve Weaver
Phillip M. Way
Jason Robertson
John MacArthur
Phil Johnson & Don Green
David Legge
David Strain
R.C. Sproul

Grace be with you, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the interest of promoting Christian education, and to expand my practice of promoting other people’s work, I’ve decided to do a periodic book give-away. I haven’t decide how often, but I am tentatively thinking it will be quarterly, or monthly, at most. Now, I need your input. I will probably begin with a simple drawing, but I would like to try something more creative, like a contest. However, I want it to be fair, and I haven’t thought of a contest that I could judge fairly. I would appreciate any clever ideas you might have.

Iain Murray writes of “Five Leaders in the Northeast” during the Second Great Awakening:

The secret of the influence of these men was that in their being much with Christ they were indeed the reflectors of ‘his beams’.
   But if it be asked how they attained to being such close disciples the answer may be surprising. It was not that they had reached some higher ground in the way of holiness. On the contrary, what marked them most was their low views of themselves. ‘The leading element of Doctor Griffin’s Christian character’, remarked Sprague, ‘was a deep sense of his own corruptions and of his entire dependence on the sovereign grace of God.’ ‘I fear that I am little better than a cumberer of the ground,’ Spring recorded in his diary, and Payson, similarly, often noted the pain of his unworthiness and his failure as a Christian. On 18 December 1817 he recorded in his diary: ‘Began to think, last night, that I have been sleeping all my days; and this morning felt sure of it . . .  How astonishingly blind have I been and how imperceptible my religious progress.’ again, in 1821 he told a ministerial friend, ‘My parish, as well as my heart, very much resembles the garden of the sluggard; and what is worse, if find that most of my desires for the melioration of both proceed either from pride, or vanity of indolence.’
   Statements such as these show us the nature of the relationship with God that these men had. Their felt need lay behind their frequent prayer and their dependence on Christ. Earnestness in prayer, says Payson, requires a true view of oneself: ‘You cannot make a rich man beg like a poor man; you cannot make a man that is full cry for food like one that is hungry: no more will a man who has a good opinion of himself cry for mercy like one who feels that he is poor and needy.’

—Iain Murray, Revival & Revivalism, 218-219

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

THE GOSPEL WAY

Blessed Lord Jesus,

o human mind could conceive or invent
the gospel.
Acting in eternal grace, thou art both
its messenger and its message,
lived out on earth through infinite compassion,
applying thy life to insult, injury, death,
that I might be redeemed, ransomed, and freed.
Blessed be thou, O Father, for contriving this way,
Eternal thanks to thee, O Holy Spirit,
for applying this way to my heart.
Glorious Trinity, impress the gospel on my soul,
until its virtue diffuses every faculty;
Let it be heard, acknowledged, professed, felt.
Teach me to secure this mighty blessing;
Help me to give up every darling lust,
to submit heart and life to its command,
to have it in my will,
controlling my affections,
moulding my understanding;
to adhere strictly to the rules of true religion,
not departing from them in any instance,
nor for any advantage to escape evil,
inconvenience or danger.
Take me to the cross to seek glory from its infamy;
Strip me of every pleasing pretence of righteousness
by my own doings.
O gracious redeemer,
I have neglected thee too long,
often crucified thee,
crucified thee afresh with my impenitence,
put thee to open shame.
I thank thee for the patience that has borne with me
so long,
and for the grace that now makes me willing
to be thine.
O unite me to thyself with inseparable bonds,
that nothing may ever draw me back from thee,
my Lord, my Saviour.

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

salme 62 (Geneva Bible)
To the excelletn musician Ieduthun. A Psalme of David.

1 Yet my soule keepeth silence vnto God: of him commeth my saluation.
2 Yet he is my strength and my saluation, and my defence: therefore I shall not much be mooued.
3 How long wil ye imagine mischiefe against a man? ye shalbe all slaine: ye shalbe as a bowed wall, or as a wall shaken.
4 Yet they consult to cast him downe from his dignitie: their delight is in lies, they blesse with their mouthes, but curse with their hearts. Selah.
5 Yet my soule keepe thou silence vnto God: for mine hope is in him.
6 Yet is hee my strength, and my saluation, and my defence: therefore I shall not be mooued.
7 In God is my saluation and my glory, the rocke of my strength: in God is my trust.
8 Trust in him alway, ye people: powre out your hearts before him, for God is our hope. Selah.
9 Yet the children of men are vanitie, the chiefe men are lies: to lay them vpon a balance they are altogether lighter then vanitie.
10 Trust not in oppression nor in robberie: be not vaine: if riches increase, set not your heart thereon.
11 God spake once or twise, I haue heard it, that power belongeth vnto God,
12 And to thee, O Lord, mercie: for thou rewardest euery one according to his worke.

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Bret Capranica
Steve Weaver
Phillip M. Way
Jason Robertson
John MacArthur
Phil Johnson & Don Green
David Legge
David Strain
R.C. Sproul

Grace be with you, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Divine Justice and the Doctrine of Election

In spite of the clarity with which Scripture addresses this topic, many professing Christians today struggle with acceptance of God’s sovereignty—especially when it comes to His electing work in salvation. Their most common protest, of course, is that the doctrine of election is unfair. But such an objection stems from a human idea of fairness rather than the objective, divine understanding of true justice. In order to appropriately address the issue of election, we must set aside all human considerations and focus on the nature of God and His righteous standard. Divine justice is where the discussion must begin.
   What is divine justice? Simply stated, it is an essential attribute of God whereby He infinitely, perfectly, and independently does exactly what He wants to do when and how He wants to do it. Because He is the standard of divine justice, by very definition, whatever He does is inherently just. As William Perkins said, many years ago, “We must not think that God doeth a thing because it is good and right, but rather is the thing good and right because God willeth and worketh it.”
   Therefore, God defines for us what justice is, because He is by nature just and righteous, and what He does reflects that nature. His free will—and nothing else—is behind His justice. This means that whatever He wills is just; and it is just, not by any external standard of justice, but simply because He wills it.
   Because the justice of God is an outflow of His character, it is not subject to fallen human assumptions of what justice should be. The Creator owes nothing to the creature, not even what He is graciously pleased to give. God does not act out of obligation or compulsion, but out of his own independent prerogative. That is what it means to be God. And because He is God, His freely determined actions are intrinsically right and perfect.
   To say that election is unfair is not only inaccurate, it fails to recognize the very essence of true fairness. That which is fair, right, and just is that which God wills to do. Thus, if God wills to choose those whom he will save, it is inherently fair for him to do so. We cannot impose our own ideas of fairness onto our understanding of God’s working. Instead, we must go to the Scriptures to see how God Himself, in his perfect righteousness, decides to act.

—John MacArthur, from his forward to Lawson’s Foundations of Grace (Reformation Trust, 2007), 8–9.

Let men therefore acknowledge that since they are born of Adam, they are depraved creatures and therefore can conceive only sinful thoughts until they are transformed by Christ’s work and are remade by His Spirit into a new life. It should not be doubted that the Lord declares the very mind of man to be depraved and altogether infected with sin, so that all the thoughts that proceed from his mind are evil. If the foundation itself has such a defect, it follows that all man’s affections are evil, and his deeds covered with the same polution. . . . For since their mind is corrupted with contempt of God, pride, self-love, and ambitious hypocrisy, all their thoughts are contaminated with the same vices. . . . The very affections of nature, which in themselves are laudable, are vitiated by original sin . . . men are born evil. It shows that as soon as they are old enough to think, they already have radically corrupt minds . . . depravity pervades all our senses. . . . God is not to be blamed for this. The origin of this disease stems from the defection of the first man, because of whom the order of the creation was subverted. . . . although all rush to do evil acts, no one is forced into this except by the direct inclination of their own hearts. When they sin, they do so because they want to sin.

—John Calvin, as quoted by Lawson in Foundations of Grace (Reformation Trust, 2007), 59.

When I first went online about six years ago, I got a lot of email forwards promising rewards from Microsoft, Coca-cola, etc. if I would forward the email to as many people as possible. Then they petered out and finally stopped coming. I thought that maybe people had wised up, but now I’ve started getting them again. The latest one promises a new laptop computer. Scrolling down the page, I found that the email had originated with our elementary school principal. He had received it from a colleague. Nowhere Elementary School — Educating the Suckers of Tomorrow.

I’m considering sending a junk email of my own to everyone who forwards me one of these hoaxes. It would look something like this:

What do you think? Too sarcastic?

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

HYMN 10, L. M.
Christ crucified, the wisdom and power of God.
by Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

ature with open volume stands,
To spread her Maker’s praise abroad;
And every labor of his hands
Shows something worthy of a God.

But in the grace that rescued man
His brightest form of glory shines;
Here, on the cross, ’tis fairest drawn,
In precious blood and crimson lines.

[Here his whole name appears complete;
Nor wit can guess, nor reason prove,
Which of the letters best is writ,
The power, the wisdom, or the love.]

Here I behold his inmost heart,
Where grace and vengeance strangely join,
Piercing his Son with sharpest smart,
To make the purchased pleasure mine.

O! the sweet wonders of that cross,
Where God the Savior loved and died
Her noblest life my spirit draws
From his dear wounds and bleeding side.

I would for ever speak his name,
In sounds to mortal ears unknown;
With angels join to praise the Lamb,
And worship at his Father’s throne.

—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 69 (Geneva Bible)
To him that excelleth upon Shoshannim. A Psalme of David.

1 Save mee, O God: for the waters are entred euen to my soule.
2 I sticke fast in the deepe myre, where no staie is: I am come into deepe waters, and the streames runne ouer me.
3 I am wearie of crying: my throte is drie: mine eyes faile, whiles I waite for my God.
4 They that hate mee without a cause, are moe then the heares of mine heade: they that would destroy mee, and are mine enemies falsly, are mightie, so that I restored that which I tooke not.
5 O God, thou knowest my foolishnesse, and my fautes are not hid from thee.
6 Let not them that trust in thee, O Lord God of hostes, be ashamed for me: let not those that seeke thee, be confounded through mee, O God of Israel.
7 For thy sake haue I suffred reproofe: shame hath couered my face.
8 I am become a stranger vnto my brethren, euen an aliant vnto my mothers sonnes.
9 For the zeale of thine house hath eaten mee, and the rebukes of them that rebuked thee, are fallen vpon me.
10 I wept and my soule fasted, but that was to my reproofe.
11 I put on a sacke also: and I became a prouerbe vnto them.
12 They that sate in the gate, spake of mee, and the drunkards sang of me.
13 But Lord, I make my praier vnto thee in an acceptable time, euen in the multitude of thy mercie: O God, heare me in the trueth of thy saluation.
14 Deliuer mee out of the myre, that I sinke not: let me be deliuered from them that hate me, and out of the deepe waters.
15 Let not the water flood drowne mee, neither let the deepe swallowe me vp: and let not the pit shut her mouth vpon me.
16 Heare me, O Lord, for thy louing kindnes is good: turne vnto me according to ye multitude of thy tender mercies.
17 And hide not thy face from thy seruant, for I am in trouble: make haste and heare me.
18 Draw neere vnto my soule and redeeme it: deliuer me because of mine enemies.
19 Thou hast knowen my reproofe and my shame, and my dishonour: all mine aduersaries are before thee.
20 Rebuke hath broken mine heart, and I am full of heauinesse, and I looked for some to haue pitie on me, but there was none: and for comforters, but I found none.
21 For they gaue me gall in my meate, and in my thirst they gaue me vineger to drinke.
22 Let their table be a snare before them, and their prosperitie their ruine.
23 Let their eyes be blinded that they see not: and make their loynes alway to tremble.
24 Powre out thine anger vpon them, and let thy wrathfull displeasure take them.
25 Let their habitation be voide, and let none dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute him, whome thou hast smitten: and they adde vnto the sorrowe of them, whome thou hast wounded.
27 Laie iniquitie vpon their iniquitie, and let them not come into thy righteousnesse.
28 Let them be put out of the booke of life, neither let them be written with the righteous.
29 When I am poore and in heauinesse, thine helpe, O God, shall exalt me.
30 I will praise the Name of God with a song, and magnifie him with thankesgiuing.
31 This also shall please the Lord better then a yong bullocke, that hath hornes and hoofes.
32 The humble shall see this, and they that seeke God, shalbe glad, and your heart shall liue.
33 For the Lord heareth the poore, and despiseth not his prisoners.
34 Let heauen and earth praise him: the seas and all that moueth in them.
35 For God will saue Zion, and builde the cities of Iudah, that men may dwell there and haue it in possession.
36 The seede also of his seruants shall inherit it: and they that loue his name, shall dwel therein.

ecommended
Sermons

Bret Capranica
Steve Weaver
Phillip M. Way
Jason Robertson
John MacArthur
Phil Johnson & Don Green
David Legge
David Strain
R.C. Sproul

Grace be with you, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am sorry to say I have not prepared a post in honor of our fallen soldiers this Memorial Day. However, I will be remembering them with much gratitude for the sacrifices made on our behalf. Let us also be grateful to those who serve now, and if we have the opportunity, thank them while they live.

My Memorial Day post last year: Memorial Day 2006.

Don't be alarmed. It's just a picture. The actual book I'm giving away is much better. Well, the cover art is not as good, but the content will be much more satisfying. Here is how this will work this time. You email me by clicking here. Say whatever you want in the email, like maybe how brilliant, handsome, and charming I am, or make suggestions and offer constructive criticism, or say nothing at all if you prefer. Just include your name and make sure the subject line says "Book Give-away I," and you'll be entered in a drawing which will take place the first week in July. I am opening this first give-away to all who wish to enter. In the future, I may limit it to residents of the U.S. if shipping costs get out of hand.

And now, the book. I will be sending the lucky winner a book that I have recently finished (a new copy, not mine) and enjoyed very much. You may have read excerpts here, here, here, here, and here. It is Iain Murray's Revival & Revivalism: The Making and Marring of American Evangelicalism, 1750–1858. This is a good history of that era in America, and while more detail would have been nice at times, it could hardly be expected in only 480 pages covering over a century and the lives of dozens of significant men. At any rate, it is an excellent place to start and quite an engaging and easy read.