Saint Paul Cathedral Choir: Psalm 150 – YouTube.
For our music meditation today we include this powerful version of Psalm 150 composed by John Rutter and sung by the Saint Paul Cathedral Choir. Using the modern versions of trumpet, organ, and cymbal God is praised “according to His excellent greatness” (v.2). May this piece lift you up to praise the Lord “in his sanctuary” (v.1). Click on the link above to enjoy the video.
As we meditate on psalm 56 this Lord’s day, we also lay to heart these words of John Calvin on v.4 about relying on God’s Word in the midst of danger:
4. In God I will praise his word Here he grows more courageous in the exercise of hope, as generally happens with the people of God. They find it difficult at first to reach this exercise. It is only after a severe struggle that they rise to it, but the effort being once made, they emerge from their fears into the fullness of confidence, and are prepared to grapple with the most formidable enemies. To praise, is here synonymous with glorying or boasting. He was now in possession of a triumphant confidence, and rejoiced in the certainty of hope. The ground of his joy is said to be the divine word; and this implies, that however much he might seem to be forsaken and abandoned by God, he satisfied himself by reflecting on the truthfulness of his promises. He would glory in God notwithstanding, and although there should be no outward appearance of help, or it should even be sensibly withdrawn, he would rest contented with the simple security of his word. The declaration is one that deserves our notice. How prone are we to fret and to murmur when it has not pleased God immediately to grant us our requests! Our discontent may not be openly expressed, but it is inwardly felt, when we are left in this manner to depend upon his naked promises. It was no small attainment in David, that he could thus proceed to praise the Lord, in the midst of dangers, and with no other ground of support but the word of God.
Psalm 56 is our next psalm to consider for our Sunday worship preparations. When we come into God’s house for public worship, we must come with His Word in our hearts – guiding us in our worship, teaching us the truth about God and about ourselves, and showing us Christ in Whom alone is our access to God and acceptance with God. And because the book of Psalms is also our songbook for worship, we have been working our way through the Psalms. Psalm 56 is also set in the context of David’s suffering at the hands of Saul as well as others. As the heading indicates, it was at the time when he fled to King Achish in Gath and pretended to be a madman (I Sam.21:10-15). As David went through this experience, he made this his prayer and song:
Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.
2Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High.
3What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
4In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
5Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.
7Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God.
8Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
9When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.
10In God will I praise his word: in the Lord will I praise his word.
11In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
12Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee.
13For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
By these words David expresses his firm trust in the Lord, that he fears not man but places his confidence in the Lord his God, v.3,4. He cries out for mercy because of the threat of the wicked men determined to take his life, v.1. Though they speak against him and plot his ruin, he knows God is with him and for him, v.9. So much so that God even stores up all his tears, v.8. And therefore he is filled with thoughts of worship, v.10ff.. He will praise God for His Word; because God’s vow is on him, he will render praises to Him. Ultimately, this praise and his life of thanks are rooted in God’s saving grace, v.13.
Here too we see David as a type of Christ – suffering wrongfully, crying out to his God, receiving His mercy (even while suffering God’s wrath for the sins of His people on the cross), and being delivered from death through the resurrection, so that He walks before God in the light of the living on behalf of David and all His elect children. Yes, behold Christ the Sufferer – and the Savior in this word of God!
And therefore we too can pray and sing this Psalm – standing by faith in Christ. Suffering for His sake. Bearing His reproach. Crying out for mercy. Fearing not man but trusting in our sovereign God. And worshiping Him because in Christ we are saved from sin and death and saved unto everlasting life. For the glory of God! May we so praise our faithful God this day.
Passages Interactive Bible Exhibit : Exhibit Overview.
I am excited to make you aware of a relatively new but amazing collection of Bibles, ancient manuscripts, and other Biblical/historical artifacts. It is known as the “Green Collection”, after its founder and owner, Steve Green (not the singer!), who is part of the family that owns and operates the Hobby Lobby stores. The collection (also known as “Passages”) is now part of a museum located in Oklahoma City, OK, though they do have a traveling display as well (currently in Rome and Atlanta).
I have linked you to the homepage of the exhibit. Be sure to browse around at the site, including checking out all the remarkable replica display rooms they have for the collection. I want to make a visit here someday – anyone want to come along? Let’s start a tour group! We could take in the Dunham Bible Museum at Houston Baptist University too! And stop in at the Gruber collection in Chicago (Lutheran Seminary). And another stop at the University of Michigan which holds the largest collection of Greek NTs in the U.S. (More on these another time.)! Well, you get the point.
Here is a short description of the collection from the “Passages” website:
In 2009, Hobby Lobby purchased its first biblical artifact. Today Green devotes half his time to what has become known as The Green Collection, among the world’s newest and largest private collections of rare biblical texts and artifacts. The collection of more than 30,000 biblical antiquities will eventually become the core of an international, non-sectarian museum of the Bible and will be the subject of ongoing scholarly research through the Green Scholars Initiative.
Queen marks anniversary of King James Bible – Yahoo! News.
This past Wednesday marked a special royal tribute to the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. Queen Elizabeth II attended the special ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London, which included a procession of rare KJV Bibles to the altar. You may read the rest of the brief report above, along with more pictures.
The KJV is certainly worthy of this kind of “royal” treatment. What is sad, however, is that the Church of England has long ago left the heritage of the Reformation and the era of the KJB. For Archbishop Rowan Williams to praise the KJV as he did is not merely a slap in the face to the godly translators of the KJV, but also and far more seriously to the Lord, whose Word is trampled under foot by these liberal church leaders.
God does not will us to honor a translation above His holy Word. It is reverence for and obedience to His Word and truth that count. May we remember that too in this year of celebrating the 400th of the KJV.
It’s Friday, and that means time for a little lighter side. Which brings me to my title above. Yes, I did work on plenty of books again at the Seminary this past week. And yes, we will have our “brat fest” lunch today. But the big news was the buck that passed by my window yesterday. I was able to grab my camera, head upstairs, and take this photo of him. Of course, Prof.R. Cammenga was beside himself! “If only we could have had him in the photo with his bow drawn”, suggested Prof.B. Gritters! Sorry, Profs., but I like the photo just as it is. Click on the photo to get the full screen look.
From the website “Warrior Librarian Weekly” comes this bit of humor for librarians and those who still use libraries. I hope you enjoy:
Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device, trade-named: B.O.O.K.
B.O.O.K is a revolutionary break-through in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It’s so easy to use, even a child can operate it.
Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere, even sitting in an armchair by the fire; yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc.
Here’s how it works:
B.O.O.K. is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. The pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence.
Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs. Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now, B.O.O.K.s with more information simply use more pages. Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet.
B.O.O.K. may be taken up at any time and used merely by opening it.
B.O.O.K. never crashes or requires rebooting, though, like other devices, it can become damaged if coffee is spilled on it and it becomes unusable if dropped too many times on a hard surface. The “browse” feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an “index” feature, which pin-points the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval.
An optional “B.O.O.K.mark” accessory allows you to open B.O.O.K. to the exact place you left it in a previous session — even if the BOOK has been closed. B.o.o.k.marks fit universal design standards; thus, a single Bookmark can be used in B.O.O.K.s by various manufacturers. Conversely, numerous B.O.O.K. markers can be used in a single B.O.O.K. if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the number of pages in the B.O.O.K. You can also make personal notes next to B.O.O.K. text entries with optional programming tools, Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Styli (P.E.N.C.I.L.S.).
Portable, durable, and affordable, B.O.O.K. is being hailed as a precursor of a new entertainment wave. B.O.O.K.’s appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking to invest. Look for a flood of new titles soon.
Heathorn. R.J. (1962). Punch Magazine, May 9, 1962.
Circulated through bulk emails, 2000, 2001.
Today we return to Augustine’s “Confessions”, which I continue to read on my Kindle. I am into Book V where Augustine is still confessing his sins of being influenced by the Manichees and particularly by Faustus, a “great snare of the Devil”. Here he touches on their (and his) love of knowledge, especially about creation, while neglecting the Creator.
Yet many truths concerning the creature retained I from these men, and saw the reason thereof from calculations, the succession of times, and the visible testimonies of the stars; and compared them with the saying of Manichaeus, which in his frenzy he had written most largely on these subjects; but discovered not any account of the solstices, or equinoxes, or the eclipses of the greater lights, nor whatever of this sort I had learned in the books of secular philosophy. But I was commanded to believe; and yet it corresponded not with what had been established by calculations and my own sight, but was quite contrary.
Doth then, O Lord God of truth, whoso knoweth these things, therefore please Thee? Surely unhappy is he who knoweth all these, and knoweth not Thee: but happy whoso knoweth Thee, though he know not these. And whoso knoweth both Thee and them is not the happier for them, but for Thee only, if, knowing Thee, he glorifies Thee as God, and is thankful, and becomes not vain in his imaginations. For as he is better off who knows how to possess a tree, and return thanks to Thee for the use thereof, although he know not how many cubits high it is, or how wide it spreads, than he that can measure it, and count all its boughs, and neither owns it, nor knows or loves its Creator: so a believer, whose all this world of wealth is, and who having nothing, yet possesseth all things, by cleaving unto Thee, whom all things serve, though he know not even the circles of the Great Bear, yet is it folly to doubt but he is in a better state than one who can measure the heavens, and number the stars, and poise the elements, yet neglecteth Thee who hast made all things in number, weight, and measure.
Augustine, Saint; The Works of Saint Augustine (2006-06-19). The Confessions of Saint Augustine (Optimized for Kindle) (Kindle Locations 1004-1016). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
Ruins of Oldest U.S. Protestant Church May Be at Jamestown – NYTimes.com.
This fascinating story appeared in the New York Times this past Sunday, Nov.13, 2011. I love early American history, especially the story of the early Protestant Christian settlements. Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrims attract a lot of attention, but Jamestown is equally deserving. Here is a great introduction to a part of her history. Read the rest of this report at the link above; below is how it begins.
JAMESTOWN — For more than a decade, the marshy island in Virginia where British colonists landed in 1607 has yielded uncounted surprises. And yet William M. Kelso’s voice still brims with excitement as he plants his feet atop a long-buried discovery at the settlement’s heart: what he believes are the nation’s oldest remains of a Protestant church.
The discovery has excited scholars and preservationists, and unearthed a long-hidden dimension of religious life in the first permanent colony.
It may prove to be an attraction for another reason: the church would have been the site of America’s first celebrity wedding, so to speak, where the Indian princess Pocahontas was baptized and married to the settler John Rolfe in 1614. The union temporarily halted warfare with the region’s tribal federation.
Such is the title of the third chapter in Tony Reinke’s new book Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books (Crossway, 2011). You will recognize the play on words here. Usually the saying is “Seeing is believing”, because we all know the power of the visual and how “a picture is worth a thousand words”. But Reinke’s point in this chapter is that while God has indeed given us images and has communicated to us visually, His primary method of communication is the verbal, i.e., by means of words. Hence, His own book to us, the Bible. And His warning to us in the second commandment about the power of images, especially when it comes to learning the truth about Him and worshiping Him accordingly.
Reinke points to the “troubling trend” in our day toward the visual; he has good comments about the threats to reading in our “image-saturated” society. This too is a chapter we need to read if we are to have a proper theology of reading (God-centered). I will leave you with a couple of quotes, and encourage you to get this book and devour it – for the good of your reading!
This trend is troubling because the immediate appeal of visual entertainment is at odds with the gradual unveiling of literary treasure. Entertainment is passive and easy; books require an active mind and diligence. Books typically get ignored. …What will we lose if we ignore books? And what will we lose if we fill our lives for the next twenty years with sitcoms, movies, ESPN, video games, and the Internet? What will we gain if we fill our lives for the next twenty years with disciplined reading? ..This chapter is about images and books, but more fundamentally it’s about the trajectory of your life (p.40).
So the point of this chapter is simple: the difficult work required to benefit from books is at odds with the immediate appeal of images. As Christians living in an image-saturated world, we must guard our conviction about the vital importance of words and language. For it is words and language that best communicate meaning.
In a world so easily satisfied with images, it’s too easy to waste our lives watching mindless television and squandering our free time away with entertainment. We have a higher calling. God has called us to live our lives by faith and not by sight – and this can mean nothing less than committing our lives to the pursuit of language, revelation, and great books (p.50).
The Three R's Blog 