The Trinity, A Prayer

Heavenly Father, blessed Son, eternal Spirit,
  I adore Thee as one Being, one Essence,
  one God in three distinct Persons,
  for bringing sinners to Thy knowledge and to Thy kingdom.
O Father, Thou hast loved me and sent Jesus to redeem me;
O Jesus, Thou hast loved me and assumed my nature,
  shed thine own blood to wash away my sins,
  wrought righteousness to cover my unworthiness;
O Holy Spirit, Thou hast loved me and entered
  my heart, implanted there eternal life,
  revealed to me the glories of Jesus.
  Three Persons and one God, I bless and praise Thee,
  for love so unmerited, so unspeakable,
  so wondrous, so mighty to save the lost
  and raise them to glory. ~ "The Trinity" from The Valley of Vision

In a class on worship that I am taking, our professor, Dr. Derek Thomas, has encouraged us to write out prayers on various subjects so that we can think about how we would lead a congregation in prayer before a sermon. Leading a group of dozens, hundreds, or thousands in prayer is much harder than you might think (that is, if you have already imagined getting past your fear of public speaking, which almost all of us have). The practice of extemporaneousness prayer is a good one and one for which our puritan and Presbyterian forefathers fought hard to maintain. But, even these traditions called for what they termed "studied prayers"--prayers that had been planned and thought through and then delivered without notes. That is what he is encouraging us to develop.

Below is one I wrote on the Trinity. Now, I know it is not going to compare to the above poetry from The Valley of Vision, but I hope you find it helpful, perhaps something you can pray through, and perhaps a blessing to your soul.

Triune God, this morning we want to praise You and the glories of Your existence as thee-in-one. We praise You because You are one being, one essence, one God; yet three persons. We praise you because You are three persons of one substance, power, dignity, and eternity; yet distinct in roles and authority. We praise You because You show us the meaning of equality amid authority and submission.

Father, we praise You because You are neither begotten nor proceeding, You are coequal with the Son and the Spirit, and You exercise supreme authority among the Godhead. Son, we praise You because You are eternally begotten of the Father, You are coequal with the Father, and You submit to His authority. Holy Spirit, we praise You because You eternally proceed from the Father and the Son, You are coequal with them both, and You submit to their authority. Truine God, we praise You because Your existence shows us what it means to be one in essence and to have equality, authority, submission, and love. This is a great mystery to us that brings joy to our hearts, though, nay, because we will never fully comprehend the beauty of Your Triune subsistence.
Father, we want to particularly focus on praise to You now. We praise You because You are the supreme Architect of creation, redemption, and consummation. By Your intense love, You chose us in Jesus before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in Your sight. By Your eternal wisdom, You spoke the creation of this universe in which we exist, this world in which we live, and our very lives with which You have blessed us. By Your gracious immanence, in times distant past You revealed Yourself to Your people through covenants, promises, and prophecies until the fullness of time came and You revealed Yourself to us through Your incarnate Son, Jesus. By Your justice and justifying love, You sent Jesus to redeem Your people—to be our perfect and eternal sacrifice—so that we might be saved from Your wrath and adopted as Your sons and daughters. By Your mighty plan, You will one day send Jesus again to finish what have You have started and bring us home to glory forever.

Son, we want to particularly focus on praise to You now. We praise You because You are the Accomplisher of creation, redemption, and consummation. By Your power, You were the word of the Father that brought this universe, this world, and our very lives into existence. By Your humility and for the joy set before You, You condescended to our level, were born of a woman, lived a sinless life, revealed the glory of the Father, suffered for our sins, died for our sins, and were raised to break the power of death and secure our justification, adoption, sanctification, and glorification. By Your wisdom and experience as our High Priest, You stand before the Father, always interceding for Your people as our Advocate. By Your obedience to Father and love for Your Church, You will one day return to finish what You have started and bring us home to glory forever.

Holy Spirit, though You turn the spotlight from Yourself toward the Son, we want to particularly focus on praise to You now. We praise You because You are the Sustainer and Finisher of creation, redemption, and consummation. By Your grace, You hovered, even brooded over creation, sustained it, and continue to uphold it, even as I pray. By Your power, You anointed Jesus for His ministry, guided Him through this world to the cross, and raised Him from the dead. By Your love and Your grace, You were poured out by Jesus at Pentecost, unite believers to Jesus, and sanctify us so that we might daily be conformed to the likeness of Jesus. By Your wisdom, You help with our infirmities, show us our need of Jesus, draw us to repentance, give us the words to pray when we can only groan, and strengthen and unite the Church for the task the Father has for us during this life. By Your glory, You will one day give us new bodies for the new heavens and the new earth when Jesus returns to bring us home to glory forever.

Triune God, we can only marvel at Your equality, love, authority, submission, and perfectly united work in this universe, redemption history, and our very lives. How great is the mystery of You as one, yet three! Please allow beauty of that mystery to sink down into every nook and cranny of our lives so that we might learn how to love, learn how to lead, learn how to submit, and learn be united in our work in our individual lives, in our marriages, and as Your Church.

Glory be to the Father, glory be to the Son, and glory be to the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

By His Grace,

Taylor

Imprecatory Psalms: "let curses come upon him!"

"It is legitimate at times for God's present people to utter prayers of imprecation or pleas for divine vengeance--like those in the psalms--against the recalcitrant enemies of God and his people. Such expression is consistent with the ethics of the Old Testament and finds corresponding echo in the New." Crying for Justice: What the Psalms Teach Us About Mercy and Vengeance in an Age of Terrorism (pg. 109)

The imprecatory (cursing) psalms have been a point of debate and sometimes embarrassment for Christians.  What do we do with psalms that say things like "let curses come upon him!" and "May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!"? They are in God's Word, so unless you want to dispense with divine inspiration (which some do, but that is another debate), then you have to figure out what to do with them. I want to recommend this book: Crying for Justice: What the Psalms Teach Us About Mercy and Vengeance in an Age of Terrorism by John N. Day. It is an excellent resource that argues for a righteous place for the imprecatory psalms "in extreme instances, used when God's people face sustained injustice, hardened enmity, and gross oppression." (pg. 115)

Day starts out by stating the case he is going to argue and some basic tenants that should guide the discussion (see the below quote from his conclusion). Then, in Part 1, he analyzes some of the common attempts to rationalize (or ignore) these psalms and finds them wanting. He also brings the much-needed cultural context to the imprecatory psalms by analyzing cursing in the context of the Ancient Near East. This is extremely important because in our modern culture we think of cursing very differently from the ancient Hebrews, Canaanites, Mesopotamians, Hittites, etc. Day reminds modern-day readers:

[I]n the community of Israel, as in the broader ancient Near East, the legitimate curse was an expression of human powerlessness.... It was directed against powerful or unconvictable offenders. Indeed, the legitimate curse was an act of faith that God's desire for justice, as expressed in the Law and ethical teachings of religion, would be reflected in real life. When viewed in this light, the so-called imprecatory psalms and other imprecatory texts, which seem so vicious and strange to the modern reader, are seen to be expressions of faith in the just rule of Yahweh in situations in which the covenant member or community can see no other source of help or possible means of securing just treatment. (pg. 37)

In Part 2, Day takes a look at the three toughest psalms--Psalm 58; 109; 137--because they represent the three major categories of imprecation--social enemy, personal need, and national need. Justification for these three psalms will give one the lens through which to view the smaller, less harsh imprecatory psalms. Finally, in Part 3, Day looks at the imprecatory Psalms in light of the New Testament. He irons out the apparent contradictions and shows examples of New Testament imprecation (cursing) that fall into the category of use "in extreme instances." Overall, the New Testament shows us that:

Whereas "love and blessing" is the dominant ethic for the believer within both testaments, "cursing and calling for divine vengeance" reflect the believer's extreme ethic. They are a legitimate resort in extreme circumstances, against the hardened, deceitful, violent, immoral, and unjust. (pg. 115)

Finally, Day sums up his whole book in his conclusion. This is the most useful part of the book. If you do not have time to read the whole book, read the conclusion (about seven pages). Day pretty much writes his own book review in the conclusion by summarizing his main argument and all of his chapters. If you run across something you are not sure about or do not understand, then you can go to that chapter for the expanded discourse. Below is the beginning of that conclusion:

This present work has argued and defended the premise that the imprecatory psalms' retain an appropriate place in the life of the Christian church. It is legitimate at times for God's present people to utter prayers of imprecation or pleas for divine vengeance-like those in the psalms-against the recalcitrant enemies of God and his people. Such expression is consistent with the ethics of the Old Testament and finds corresponding echo in the New.

This position is rooted, first, in the establishment of the psalms' theology of imprecation as the very essence of Torah. The principles of such theology were well established in the promise of divine vengeance expressed in the Song of Moses, the principle of divine justice outlined in the lex talionis, and the assurance of divine cursing as well as blessing articulated in the inaugural covenant of God with his people. Second, this theology continues essentially unchanged through to the end of the canon and is used to undergird the imprecations in the New Testament, infrequent though they are.

Moreover, in addressing this issue of imprecations in the psalms, certain factors were initially noted.

First, the vengeance appealed for by the pious in the imprecatory psalms was never personally enacted. Rather the appeal was always explicitly or implicitly addressed to God. The realization of that vengeance was left to him alone.

Second, the characteristically impassioned imprecatory pleas were based on the covenant promises of God. The most notable of these promises is "he who curses you, I will curse" (Gen. 12:3), and "vengeance is mine, I will repay" (Deut. 32:35).

Third, both testaments record examples of God's people on earth calling down curses or crying for vengeance, the expression of neither sentiment accompanied by any textual hint of divine disapproval. Rather, in their limited and appropriate circumstance, such utterances are presented as justified and commendable. Indeed, Scripture records an instance in which God's perfected saints in heaven appeal for divine vengeance, using language reminiscent of certain of the imprecatory psalms. They are comforted by the assurance that judgment is near (Rev. 6:9-11). (pp. 109-10)

If you want to read more you will have to buy the book or borrow a copy. I really recommend that because it is well worth your time. (I would say you can borrow my Kindle copy but I just check and apparently this book is one of the few you cannot loan from Kindle to Kindle.) If nothing else, the perhaps Day's closing words will convince you to read this book:

Thus, Christians can find in the imprecatory psalms a divinely instilled source of strength and honor and can feel permitted to use them, as appropriate, in corporate and individual worship. In this, the Christian must embrace the tension inherent in reflecting both "the kindness and severity of God" (Rom. 11:22). It is a tension that previous generations of the faithful have also faced. The imprecatory psalms are a reminder that a war is raging. It is a war of opposing powers, with casualties, traitors, and triumphs. The principal weapon of that warfare is the dual-edged message of the gospel--a message not of sweet passivity, but of life and death itself. (pg. 116)

By His Grace,
Taylor

Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts

"Our lives are also cluttered with a lot of 'if onlys.' 'If only I had done this,' or 'if only that had not happened.' But again, God has no 'if onlys.' God never makes a mistake; God has no regrets. 'As for God, his way is perfect' (Psalm 18:30). We can trust God. He is trustworthy." ~ Jerry Bridges, Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts

This month's free audio book from ChristianAudio.com is Jerry Bridges' Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts. This is an excellent book that deals with relating to God midst the darkness and pain that we will at times encounter in life. Stand to Reason has given a helpful summary of the book just in case you want to learn more about it. But, if you jump on it now, you get it for free and can listen to it on your drive to work or something like that. So, even if you do not like it, you have not spent any money! Here is part of Stand to Reason's summary:

Bridges says there are three truths about God that we must keep in mind throughout our times of suffering:
In the arena of adversity, the Scriptures teach us three essential truths about God—truths we must believe if we are to trust Him in adversity. They are:

• God is completely sovereign.
• God is infinite in wisdom.
• God is perfect in love. 

Someone has expressed these three truths as they relate to us in this way: "God in His love always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty He has the power to bring it about."
The rest of the book follows that outline, looking to the Bible to expand on each of these points, exploring how they all fit together, and addressing objections and misconceptions. Here are some excerpts...

 Go read the rest of the summary for yourself and download the free audio book.

By His Grace,
Taylor