The Heidelberg Catechism in Translation: A World-Wide Reformed Catechism! (2)

In our year-long series covering the history and content of the Heidelberg Catechism during this year of commemorating its 450th anniversary (1563-2013), we began last Thursday a brief mini-series looking at the translations of the “HC”. The fact that this Reformed catechism was translated into five (5) languages after only five years and into eleven (11) languages after only a little more than twenty-five years, shows how popular (and needed!) it was and how quickly it spread to other parts of Europe during the great Reformation of the 16th century (The Heidelberg Catechism In Its Newest Light, J.I.Good, 1914 – pp.7-9). God was certainly at work in this, providing for His newly formed church (Re-formed according to the Word of God) a precious tool for her continued growth in knowledge and godliness throughout the world. And we can be thankful that from the original German it was translated into many languages to reach many peoples with the Reformed faith.

It is always an interesting question as to which was the first language into which the “HC” was translated. It had been assumed the Latin, since this was “the universal language of the day”, but as it turns out, Dutch was probably the first. And that because of a small Dutch Reformed congregation in northwest Germany. Amazing! Here is what Good writes concerning this:

It has been a question which language had the honor of the first translation. No less than three translations appeared in that first year. Heretofore, it has been supposed that the Latin version, made by Rev.Mr.Lagus, of Heidelberg, together with Professor Pithopoeus, of the Latin school there, was the first. For Latin was the universal language of that day, the language of literature, commerce and diplomacy; and so the catechism eas early translated into that language for use in the higher schools and universities. But the late Professor Doudes, of the University of Utrecht (in the Netherlands -cjt), who was one of the great authorities on the catechism, has in his researches unearthed two Dutch translations of 1563, one published at Heidelberg. The other was published at Emden, that Reformed city at the northwestern corner of Germany. Now this Emden translation was made from the second edition of the catechism, while the Latin was made from the third edition. The Emden Church may, therefore, have made this translation before the third edition appeared. The truth probably was that the Reformed Church at Emden, the first of the Reformed Churches in Germany, seems to have been so delighted to have another Reformed Church in Germany that it did not wait long, but hastened to put itself under the powerful protection of the Elector of the Palatinate by publishing his catechism in Dutch, which was the language of Emden at that time, so that it might be used in its churches and schools. From these facts it looks very much as if the Dutch translation was made before the Latin. But whether so or not, the catechism soon came into use in the Netherlands, for in 1566 (the picture of the title page in Dutch has this date -cjt) it was used in Amsterdam by Peter Gabriel, in spite of the persecutions of that time, and in 1568 it, together with Calvin’s catechism, was adopted by the Dutch synod of Wesel. Later this adoption was completed by the action of the Dutch synod of Dort in 1574. In 1618-1619 the General Synod of the Reformed Churches of Europe, also held at Dort, adopted it, and thus virtually made it the ecumenical symbol of the Reformed Churches, because that synod had in it delegates from most of the National Reformed Churches. This Dutch translation is now used in South Africa, in the Dutch East Indies, in the Dutch West Indies and in Dutch Guiana in South America (pp.4-5)

 

An Interview with John Piper – Tabletalk

Desiring God: An Interview with John Piper by John Piper | Reformed Theology Articles at Ligonier.org.

The May 2012 Tabletalk again features an interview with a contemporary Reformed/Calvinistic person, and this month the interview is with John Piper, well-known pastor (recently retired) of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. The entire interview is interesting, but one part of it in particular grabbed my attention. It has to do with Piper’s being a slow reader (a “turtle”), something to which I too can relate. You will learn how he turned that “weakness” into a love for poetry – reading it but also writing it.

Here is the pertinent part of the interview; find the rest at the Ligonier link above.

TT: We have heard you say that you read slowly. Is that a disappointment? A hindrance? How do you think about that?

JP: It used to bother me more than it does now. I have tried to stop kicking against this gift of God. The gift of slowness relates to poetry. The fact that hundreds of the pages of God’s inspired Word are devoted to poetry makes me aware that God thinks the sound of language matters.

God has blessed and humbled me with the inability to speed-read. I read about the same speed that I talk. I hear what I read as I read it. Speedreading consultants say that pronouncing the words—even in your head—turns a rabbit reader into a turtle. No use. I’m a turtle.

So I take heart that so much of the Bible is poetry. It is self-evident to me that poetry is not meant to be speedread, but ordinarily read aloud. So now I see that God has forced me to hear. He has forced a slow savoring of the way things are written to be heard as well as seen.

Slowness means I can’t do lots of things other scholars and pastors can do. But when I consider what slowness offers, I give thanks. Consider this observation about what happens when poetry is read aloud and read well by a person who understands it:

Even after almost three millennia of written literature, poetry retains its appeal to the ear as well as to the eye; to hear a poem read aloud by someone who understands it, and who wishes to share that understanding with someone else, can be a crucial experience, instructing the silently reading eye ever thereafter to hear what it is seeing. (John Hollander, ed., Committed to Memory: 100 Best Poems to Memorize, p. 1)

I would recommend that pastors develop the habit of slowing down in their reading when they are reading things that were written with craft and not just as information transmission.

The Need of the Church: Listen to God – W. Robert Godfrey

The Church and Psalm 81 by W. Robert Godfrey | Reformed Theology Articles at Ligonier.org.

Part of my Sunday reading yesterday included this month’s Tabletalk, which is devoted to the theme of the great “Shema”, the introduction to the law found in Deut.6:4-5. Dr.Robert Godfrey tied in nicely to this theme with his article under the rubric “For the Church”. Showing how Psalm 81 (especially v.8b) points us to the same words as the “Shema”, he relates how Psalm 81 speaks to the church’s greatest need at the present hour, and indeed throughout church history: to listen to God. I appreciated this article much, and believe that Godfrey is correct in his estimation of the church’s need. If we ever stop listening to God through His Word, we are done as His church and people.

Here is a portion of the article. You will find all of it at the Ligonier link above.

What does the church most need today? In answering this important but rather general question, Psalm 81 is uniquely important and helpful. This psalm obviously contains beautiful promises and clear directions to help the people of God. But careful study of this psalm will deepen our appreciation of it, increase its value for us, and show us how distinctive it is for helping the church.

As we study psalms, we soon learn that the central verse of a psalm is often significant as a key to its interpretation. The central line of Psalm 81 is the heart of that psalm, as the plaintive cry of God is heard: “O Israel, if you would but listen to me!” (v. 8b). Perhaps this line will resonate more profoundly with the readers of this issue of Tabletalk if we translate it, “O Israel, if you would but hear me!” The center of Psalm 81—indeed the whole psalm—is a reflection on the Shema.

…As the Shema was crucial to the Torah, so it is central to the Psalter and to the Christian life. God’s people must hear His Word, particularly to reject false gods (v. 9) and to walk in His ways (v. 13). They must not follow their own wisdom (v. 12). How sad to contemplate that God might give us what we think is good for us.

The Lord reminds His people that in history He has been the Deliverer and now promises that when we open our mouths in prayer, He will hear us and meet our needs (v. 10). He is the God who preserves and provides for the needs of His own.

The failure of Israel to hear the Word of God was rectified by God’s own Son. Jesus always heard and honored God’s Word. His Father delighted in Him for that reason: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 17:5). Jesus perfectly listened and followed so that His people would have a complete and perfect salvation. The Father continues to call His people to listen, now directing them to the words of His Son: “listen to him” (Matt. 17:5). The salvation and health of the church depend on it continuing to listen to God’s Word.

Calvinistic Cartoons: Flights of Fancy

Calvinistic Cartoons: Flights of Fancy.

And for the second part of our “Friday Fun” today, how about a couple of Eddie Eddings “Calvinist Cartoons” once again? These are always witty as he takes jabs at the latest evangelical trends, while maintaining good Calvinist humor. Today I have selected a couple of pokes at the Emergent Church movement. Enjoy!

Vatican Files no. 19 – Reformation21

Vatican Files no. 19 – Reformation21.

I have also referred several times to this on-going series on contemporary Roman Catholicism at the website “Reformation21″. This is actually a post I had saved last month (April 2013), and just yesterday I received notice that #20 in this series has been posted for this month. I believe it is important for us as 21st century Reformed Protestants to stay informed of the modern church of Rome. These posts by an Italian Reformed Baptist church planter in Rome are significant for our understanding of what Rome continues to do and teach. You will find this one and the latest one significant too.

Here is a part of #19; follow the “Ref21″ link above to read all of it, and to find #20.

Left Without Words: How Roman Catholicism is Reshaping the Evangelical Vocabulary

 

“The beginning of wisdom is the definition of words” (Socrates). If you define a word in a certain way you make claims about reality. Our postmodern culture has stirred us to come to terms with the fact that words do not have stable meanings but exist in an flux that drives them in one way or another depending on the interests of their users. This is the current situation of the word “Evangelical”.

Evangelical Catholicism and the Current Genetic Modification

 

The recent book by George Weigel, Evangelical Catholicism (New York: Basic Books, 2013) is a clever attempt to re-engineer the word by overlooking its Biblical focus, by severing its historical roots and replacing them with other roots, by changing its doctrinal outlook, by staffing its experiential ethos differently, and by renegotiating its religious use. In other words, this is a genetic modification of a word.

…According to Weigel, Evangelical is a qualifying adjective, not a noun. The noun which carries “thick” meaning is Catholicism. Curiously, what used to be termed as “Roman Catholicism” is now shortened to “Catholicism” alone. All the Roman elements of Roman Catholicism are nonetheless part of EC: sacraments, Mariology, hierarchy, traditions, papacy, devotions, etc. To this “Catholicism” Weigel adds the adjective “Evangelical,” which basically refers to the depth of convictions and the passion to make them known. EC is a full orbed Roman Catholicism practiced with strong impetus and missionary zeal. Catholicism is the doctrinal and institutional hardware, while “Evangelical” is the sociological and psychological software. While doctrine deeply remains Roman Catholic, the spiritual mood is called Evangelical.

“Authors on the Line”: The Role of the Psalms in the Life of the Church

The Role of the Psalms in the Life of the Church Authors on the Line – Desiring God.

I have noted here several times before Desiring God‘s “Author’s on the Line” podcast feature. After receiving notices of some of the latest ones, which usually relate to subjects of broad interest to Christians – and Calvinistic ones especially – I thought I would reference this fine program once again. The one I have linked above is from March of this year and involves an interview by Tony Reinke with Gordon Wenham, who has a new book out on the Psalms (see the picture here and the link to it below).

There is a renewed interest in the OT Psalter on the part of the church today, and of course, those of us who have a long tradition of Psalm-singing always have an interest in the OT Psalter. So it might be worth your while to listen to this podcast. Here is the introduction that accompanies it. Once at the “DG” website, you will find the link to the audio file.

The Book of Psalms is an amazing gift to the church. Says John Piper, “The Psalms, more intentionally than any other book of the Bible, is designed to carry, express, and shape our emotions, to give vent to them — all of them, and shape them, to reign them in, and to free them up, to explode them, and to kill them when they should be killed.”

The Psalms are useful for shaping our emotions, and rich devotional fuel for the soul, but how are these ancient Psalms to function in the life of the gathered church in weekend worship? Most of us don’t sing from the Psalter, or even recite from the Psalms on a typical Sunday, although such a practice seems to be assumed by the early church (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16).

So we recently went online with Old Testament scholar Gordon Wenham to think more about the place of the Psalms in the life of the local church. Wenham, 70, now serves as an adjunct professor at Trinity College, Bristol. He is the author of several books and commentaries, and from his home in Bristol he talked with us about his newest book, The Psalter Reclaimed: Praying and Praising with the Psalms (Crossway, 2013).

The History of Christianity in 25 Objects: The Gutenberg Bible

The History of Christianity in 25 Objects: The Gutenberg Bible | Challies Dot Com.

On his blog Tim Challies is doing a great church history series centered on 25 objects of significance in the history of Christianity. The above-linked article is #9 of the series, and centers on the Gutenberg Bible and the impact of the Gutenberg press on church history. If you have even the smallest remembrance of this significance, you know that it was great – especially for the Reformation. Challies’ series is interesting and informative – find links to the rest of his posts in this series at the bottom of the page to which you are taken.

This is how he introduces this subject (object!):

The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas in Austin contains a copy of what many people consider the most valuable book in the world. The Gutenberg Bible is not only the oldest surviving book to be printed using moveable type, but also the first complete book to be produced with that technology. The volume in the University of Texas is one of only 20 complete copies to survive. Though its value is merely speculative as it has been almost 40 years since a copy was last sold, there is no doubt that if it were put on the market today, it would shatter all existing records. (The edition at the Harry Ransom Center was purchased in 1978 for $2,400,000.) As we survey the history of Christianity in 25 historical objects, Gutenberg’s Bible represents his great contribution to history in the movable type printing press.

Lord's Day 18: There for Our Good

Reblogged from URC Psalmody:

• 

Although we arrived at the Heidelberg Catechism’s section on Christ’s death and resurrection too late for Easter, the Catechism’s explanation of Christ’s ascension coincides nicely with Ascension Day, which our churches will celebrate next Thursday.  And so, continuing into the eighteenth installment in this URC Psalmody series, we turn tonight to Lord’s Day 18.

46 Q.  What do you mean by saying: ‘He ascended into heaven’?

Read more… 1,146 more words

Fitting for our Ascension Day remembrance today, as well as for our commemoration of the 450th anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism, is this post by Michael Kearney from last week. As he continues his "HC" series this year from a musical perspective (especially the Psalms), he treated Lord's Day 18 on the ascension using versifications of Psalm 24, 47, 89, and 68 - including the Protestant Reformed Psalm Choir on Ps.24. Let the words of the catechism enlightened by the words of these Psalms lead our souls to lift up in praise our ascended Lord Jesus! -CJT

Word Wednesday: “Classic, Classical” – and “Classis”!

Today let’s gather up our Wednesday word of the week from the Reader’s Digest Family Word Finder once again. And looking through it last evening I came across the two adjectives “classic” and “classical”, which are easy to confuse. So, let’s let our “word finder” help us keep them straight.

classic, classical adj.

1. ‘Carl Sandburg wrote a classic biography of Lincoln. Sneezing and a sore throat are classic symptoms of a cold’: definitive, authoritative, absolute, accepted, traditional, model, archetypal, prototypal, exemplary; excellent, outstanding, distinguished, distinguishing, first-class, first-rate, consummate, masterly, ageless, heroic, enduring, epic.

2. ‘Latin is a classical language. Caesar was a hero of classical antiquity’: ancient Greek or Roman; Greco-Roman.

3. -n. ‘Dicken’s “A  Tale of Two Cities” is a literary classic’: masterpiece, standard work; prototype, archetype, model, first-class example, paragon.

ant. 1. bad, poor, inferior, awful, terrible, lousy, second-rate; unrepresentative, atypical. 2.modern. 3. piece of junk, trash.

Usage note; Both ‘classic’ and ‘classical’ can be used to mean standard, typical, or the highest or memorable class: ‘a classic (or ‘classical’) case of measles’, The 1929 Packard is a classic (or classical) car. However, ‘classical’ is preferred when referring to the ancient Greeks and Romans or their literary ‘classics’: ‘The classical culture of Rome (of ancient Rome as opposed to modern Rome), a classical beauty (like that of ancient Greek or Roman statues).

Word origin: ‘Classic’ comes from Latin ‘classicus”, meaning first-class.’ The word first came to be applied to the standard Greek and Roman authors in the phrase ‘scriptores classici’, ‘first-class writers.’

Which makes me think of another good derivation: our word “classis”, as in “Classis East” and “Classis West”, the two main ecclesiastical and geographical divisions of churches in the PRC. My Webster’s New World College Dictionary (4th edition, c.2002) defines “classis” as “a governing body in certain Reformed churches, consisting of the minister and representative elders from each church in a district”. With Classis East meeting this morning in my home church (Faith PRC), it is good for us to remember that the church truly is Christ’s “first-class” body. She is a classic and classical! Not because of anything in her, but because He loved her, died for her, and lives within her. Let us pray for her in all her life and labors.

Sunday Worship Preparation – Psalm 115

Once again our Triune God and Father in Jesus Christ calls us to gather for public worship of Him on this Lord’s Day. As we answer this call with believing and obedient hearts, we take Psalm 115 as our guide. The psalmist of this particular song is also unknown, but this is what the Spirit of Christ gave to the human writer to put down for the profit of the whole church of Old and New testaments:

Psalm 115

Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.

²Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?

³But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

⁴Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

⁵They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:

⁶They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:

⁷They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

⁸They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

⁹O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

¹⁰O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

¹¹Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

¹²The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.

¹³He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.

¹⁴The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children.

¹⁵Ye are blessed of the Lord which made heaven and earth.

¹⁶The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

¹⁷The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.

¹⁸But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord.

You will immediately notice the relevance of this psalm for our worship. It opens with that ringing cry for Jehovah alone to receive glory, and that because He alone is God, even the sovereign Lord. The unbelieving heathen (including the “new” atheists of our day) may taunt us with the question of where our God is, but the believing people of God know: He is in the heavens on His throne, performing all His sovereign plan and pleasure. In the meantime, where are the “gods” of the heathen? Well, they are idols (vanities, empty lies) and mere images of nothing. They are the product of men’s imaginations and the work of his hands. Notice how the psalmist contrasts Jehovah God with these “gods” of the nations (vss.4-8). And as dumb and deaf, as motionless and powerless, as these idols are, so are those who put their trust in them. Do we see then, that our own worship of the one true God means we must forsake all our own idols as well as those of the world about us? Entering the holy courts of the Lord means that we drop our lying vanities at the door and come to give God alone the glory!

In harmony with this truth that Jehovah alone is God, the psalmist calls and encourages the believing people of God to put their trust in Him alone (vss.9-16). The repetition of the call stresses its importance – and reveals our dullness and slowness to trust in the Lord. Simply look back on this week. When things were good, we forgot to trust Him because we thought we didn’t need God as our help and shield. And when things were rough, we still were slow to trust Him because we thought we could handle things by ourselves – we could be our own help and shield. But God teaches us that it is not so – by His Word and by His providences. And we learn (oftentimes, the hard way!) to trust the sovereign Lord as our only help and shield. As we stand – and bow! – in His presence today, let us reveal our trust in Him alone. Let us give Him all the glory – and give none to ourselves!

We are also encouraged to worship the only true and living God here. Note how the psalmist does so with the words of vss.12-16. God has been mindful of us – what a thought is that! Puny, insignificant, speck of dust, sinful me?! and you?! Yes, even us. From all eternity mindful of us. Thinking of us in Christ and for His sake. Mindful to create us as unique persons. Mindful to elect us to redemption in His Son. Mindful to send Christ to accomplish all our salvation. Mindful to plan our whole lives in perfect wisdom. Mindful to carry out that plan in absolute sovereignty. All for our good, even our everlasting good. Because He would bless us. O, He will bless us, because He is the Blessed God, and because He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus (Eph.1:3). Indeed we are blessed, people of God!

And what do such blessed people do? They bless the Lord, “from this time forth and for evermore” (v.18).  The dead can’t and don’t praise Him (v.17), but we are alive in our risen Savior and by His Spirit! So “praise the LORD”, fellow worshippers! Let us this day bless the One Who has so richly blessed us.

If you desire to meditate on Psalm 115 through music, I encourage you to listen to some versifications of this psalm at the PRC Psalter page. Here is one such versification to get you started (Click on the title to hear piano accompaniment):

308.  The Living and True God.  Psalm 115.  L.M.  (4 stanzas)

1. Not unto us, O Lord of heaven,
But unto Thee be glory given;
In love and truth Thou dost fulfill
The counsels of Thy sovereign will;
Though nations fail Thy power to own,
Yet Thou dost reign, and Thou alone.

2. The idol gods of heathen lands
Are but the work of human hands;
They cannot see, they cannot speak,
Their ears are deaf, their hands are weak;
Like them shall be all those who hold
To gods of silver and of gold.

3. Let Israel trust in God alone,
The Lord Whose grace and power are known;
To Him your full allegiance yield,
And He will be your help and shield;
All those who fear Him God will bless,
His saints have proved His faithfulness.

4. All ye that fear Him and adore,
The Lord increase you more and more;
Both great and small who Him confess,
You and your children He will bless;
Yea, blest are ye of Him Who made
The heavens, and earth’s foundations laid.

5. The heavens are God’s since time began,
But He hath given the earth to man;
The dead praise not the living God,
But we will sound His praise abroad,
Yea, we will ever bless His Name;
Praise ye the Lord, His praise proclaim.