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

I Love the Church and the True Religion that Forms It

With all the word floating around the Internet about the video "Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus," I thought I would repost an article I wrote a while ago expressing why I love the Church. Now, do not get me wrong, as I said in the post previous to this one, there is a lot to like about Mr. Bethke's video. I also do not want to beat this subject to death, but those of you who know me know that I am a master of that (it is one of my many sins). When we start to emphasize the things we dislike about contradiction in the Church (one of the main reasons people say, "I hate religion"), we miss out on what the Church is, the true religion that formed it, and the many things to love about it. Below is why I love the Church reposted (and slightly updated):

Every Sunday, right before we take communion at my church, we repeat the words of the Apostle’s Creed. I must confess, sometimes I drone through them without really considering what they mean. However, many times lately the words "I believe in… the holy catholic Church…" have stuck in my mind. Believing that the catholic Church (i.e. the invisible, universal Church) is holy is tough, especially when those in the Church hurt me, hurt those I love, or embarrass me; but they are Jesus’ bride and my people, the "holy catholic Church".

Ronald Rolheiser, in his book The Holy Longing, wrote that "to be connected to the church is to be associated with scoundrels, warmongers, fakes, child-molesters, murderers, adulterers, and hypocrites of every description. It also, at the same time, identifies you with saints and the finest persons of heroic soul within every time, country, race, and gender…because the church always looks exactly as it looked at the original crucifixion, God hung among thieves." Most days I am one of those thieves and no one in their right mind would want to confess me as one of their own. There are other days, only by the grace of God, where I show a glimpse of the "heroic soul" that Mr. Rolheiser wrote about and someone might dare to claim me. Jesus, however, claims me and loves me on all those days, which means I need to do the same for the rest of His Church, His bride.

Loving the Church is hard sometimes. All of us know what it is like to be embarrassed or ticked off by someone in our family but they are our family and we love them. Well, the Church is my spiritual family (whom I will spend eternity with) and there are a lot more of them than in a normal family. There are millions, which means many more opportunities to be embarrassed or ticked off. I heard about a Christian congressman in Florida who wanted to make some law that would force all the science books to be rewritten to say that the earth is the center of the solar system. He claimed that the heliocentric model was all a sham and he tried to prove it from a gross misuse of the Bible. That really burns me up, but Jesus claims him as part of His bride so I cannot disown him. Every time I look at Joel Osteen I want to smack that stupid smile off his face and staple his lips shut, but (this may sound radical but I think it is true) he belongs to Jesus so he belongs to me. John Wesley used to really get under my skin (even though he has been dead for more than 200 years) until I started to read his journals and found things like, "Everybody who belongs to Jesus belongs to everybody who belongs to Jesus." He is right.

Being connected to the millions of the Church also means many more opportunities to be pleased and encouraged by "heroic souls." I could mention the hundreds of Christian organizations that fight hunger, sex trafficking, and all other sorts of injustice but that would be too obvious. I would rather write about my professor's fourteen-year-old daughters who love to sit and talk with the elderly at their church because his daughters "like to hear them talk about Jesus." That makes me proud. I would rather talk about how my church loves on the marginalized in our city—the men on the street, the addicts, and transgendered, to name a few. That makes me proud. I would rather talk about my hero, Steve Brown, who runs two ministries that could easily take up all his time and yet he still takes the time to mentor young seminarians like me. He gets a lot of flak from many Christians (some in my denomination) because of his radical teaching on grace but he does not retaliate (no matter how much he may want to) and practices what he preaches by giving them grace. He makes me proud. I have several missionary friends preaching the gospel in countries where there is civil unrest or it is a capital crime. They make me proud. At our PCA General Assembly last year I met a Palestinian Reformed Christian and a Messianic Jew who were working together to spread the gospel in Palestine. In a group meeting one of them said this when asked how the gospel makes Jews and Arabs relate differently:

I believe that in Christ we have a common ground so Jews and Arabs, yes, but the common ground is the gospel and is our Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ. Me as a Palestinian I have to choose day after day, if not moment by moment that I want to reconcile with my brothers, my Jewish brothers, because the challenge is an instant challenge, endless challenge. It is in my home. It is affecting me day after day. Therefore, I say that we have to be committed to each other. So it’s not just an emotional reaction. It’s not just that I love and pray for my brother, but I am committed through Christ who brings us into a new creation to be together, to be supportive to each other, to love each other, and to embrace each other…. So as a sum up for all this, I believe from all my heart, that we, Palestinian Christians, together with Messianic believers have a message that politicians have never delivered. It’s Christ, the Prince of Peace that makes us peace-makers and through that we can love and live a life that is worthy, a Kingdom life.

That makes me really proud and I feel honored to have known these men, men of whom the world is not worthy.

Entering into a covenant relationship with Jesus means being a part of His bride, the "holy catholic Church." He is a lot more accepting than I would be if I were Him, but that is why He is God and I am not. I may not always like her but the Church is His bride, so I must love her. She is an ugly bride, no doubt, but she is loved dearly by Him and will one day be fully conformed to His likeness. Until then, she is still my people and I can never forget that.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Love, Hate, Jesus, and Religion

There is a video that has gone viral all over the Internet called, "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus." It is worth watching because there is a lot good about it. The guy who made the video, Jeff Bethke, brings up some good points (all of which are not new) and does so in a very artful, compelling way. It is also obvious that Mr. Bethke loves Jesus and stands on grace alone. That is great. Grace is all I can stand on too. When people say, "You don't want cheap grace." I say, "Yes I do; it is all I can afford." So, I really like the majority of what he has to say. One of my favorite lines is, "The Church is not a museum for good people, it is a hospital for the broken." That is true and I am glad it is because if it was not, I would not belong in the Church. So, again, it is worth watching. Click on the link above and go watch it. Go ahead, I will wait........

Now that you have watched the video, there are some things that still need to be said. Some people have said some unfair things about the video and others have taken it hook, line, and sinker without thinking about the video critically. A couple of guys, however, have said some very balanced, respectful things that need to be said about this video that I would also recommend you reading/listening to. (If you want to skip my statements and go to theirs, and I would not blame you if you did, then just scroll down a little.) The main problem with the video is that it starts out saying, "What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion?" Well, if you told me that I would say, "You are wrong" because Jesus did not come to abolish religion. He came to fulfill and establish true religion. You can maybe make that statement if you redefine the word "religion" but then you confuse the issue. It is catchy today to say, "I am not religious; I love Jesus." But, I am sorry, that means you are religious. There is more that can be said on this and both the guys I mention below say it better than I can, so I will let them say it. Here are a couple of links you should read to get you thinking about what might not be so good about this video and saying "I hate religion":

• Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason talked about it on his radio program a few days ago and you can listen to that here. I highly recommend you listen to it. 
• If you want to go a little further and deeper, Kevin DeYoung of The Gospel Coalition has more to say, but again, I think it is respectful and charitable to Mr. Bethke.

By His Grace,

Taylor