"Never Forget" - to what end?

Ten years ago today the United States was attacked by Terrorists. The destruction of the two towers of the world trade center are vividly remembered. Today many had as their Facebook status and tweets "Never Forget". Why?

Before I jump into that, this morning's sermon was on the text of 2 Samuel 1. David has just learned that Saul, the king who had been pursuing him to death, and Jonathan, the king's son who was also David's great friend, have died in battle. How did he respond to the death of his rival?

"Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!" - 2 Samuel 1:19 (c.f. 27).

David mourns the fact that Saul, the anointed of the Lord and leader of His people Israel, has died. Why? Personally, Saul's death will be very advantageous to David. Why doesn't he rejoice?

This topic then leads the Christian to the following passages: Romans 12:15 and Matthew 5:4.

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

David didn't rejoice because he mourned the loss to the people of Israel. His mourning with them put him closer to them. We, too, should mourn with those who mourn... not that we should be lost in a world without hope, but that like Christ we should bring the hope of Christ to a world that is lost.

So, back to "never forget". Is the desire to "never forget" an excuse to never forgive? Does our grief lead us to become mongers of hate against the Muslim extremists? If so, what will happen after years of dehumanizing a faceless enemy? We would likely become the terrorists.

If "never forget" is to remember the sacrifice of first responders who put themselves in harm's way to protect others, this is worthwhile to remember. The selfless acts of such men and women should draw our eyes to the One who put Himself in our place.

I think the part I hope to "never forget" is how the nation was humbled and turned to God in repentance and faith. Are we still humbled? Or have we grown proud once again? God brought Israel down from their pride by conquering them by a pagan king - Nebuchadnezzar. God then humbled Nebuchadnezzar, the height of human power of his day. God can and will humble us. Let us repent and turn to Him. As we remember the loss to this nation of 10 years ago, let us weep with those who still hurt. But let us bring them the hope of Jesus Christ.

Bricks

During the month before classes began I chipped away at the work study hours for my first year. Before classes began I had over 100 hours! Praise the Lord! A majority of work was pressure washing, cleaning bricks, and painting (a shed, windows, whiteboards, and parking lot stripes). This type of work was really enjoyable for me. Yes, you heard me right. I enjoyed the physical labor. I think part of it was the fact that for the past five years I’ve spent most of my days sitting in front of a computer or at best crouched over a circuit board with a soldering iron. The work that I’ve been able to do reminded me that God gave me a body - a body that is strong and capable. There’s more though. I think the best thing about painting (or pressure washing, etc.) is the time it affords the mind to think. Let me share with you my thoughts:

Bricks are used to build buildings and walls. They are held together by mortar. Together, they distribute weight, support one another, and form an even and stable barrier to wind, rain, sun, bugs and persons. Bricks together are a unit. You don’t usually look at the side of a brick house and say, “Look at those bricks”. You might say, “Look at that wall” or “look at that building”. They form a whole. That is the good side of bricks and mortar. During my work with bricks last month, however, I saw another side. There was once a shed at the opening of the entry to the Seminary Parking Lot. It was here when I visited a year ago. It was not here when my wife and I moved in. Instead, there was a large pile of bricks elsewhere on the grounds. My work was to “clean” a portion of these bricks. This meant firing a 3600 PSI pressure washer at the bricks until the old mortar came off. As the dirt and old bits of sand removed from the bricks they flew everywhere, even sometimes sticking to me. The work was a little bit like Christ’s work. Let me explain. These old bricks were useless. They were “rubble”. They weren’t fit for new construction. Why? They still had the old mortar stuck to them. That which originally held them to one another and made them a cohesive whole was now keeping them from being clean - from being useful in a new wall. All that changed when they were washed. This mortar and sand and dirt was removed - through a pressure intensive process - and ended up off the bricks - and on me! Once cleaned the bricks were as good as new and were stacked neatly and will soon be put to use in repairing an old wall. The analogy is like this: we are dirty bricks. Not just dirty... but useless rubble. We have sins which cause us to cling to the world and to other sinful persons. Christ breaks up the sin. He works powerfully by the Holy Spirit to remove the power of sin over our hearts. He even took our sins upon Himself and died for them... for us. By His work we are renewed. We are then united in a new building project. Christ builds us into His Church.

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. - 1 Peter 2:4-5

Maybe its a bit of a stretch. Maybe I had too much time to think. Even so, I marvel that Jesus Christ has chosen to use a stone (or even a pebble) like me in His Building. To Him be the glory!

Favorites... in Context

My 16 month old son loves books. He can't read of course, but he likes the pictures and voices and sounds that his mother and I make when we read to him. Usually, though, he has a favorite page. Sometimes he'll pick up a book and turn right to his favorite. He wants to look at a particular page's drawing or hear my elephant impression. There's been times that we've been reading a book and once we've passed his favorite page, he'll turn back the page to "re-play" his favorite part. If I don't let him go back he'll wiggle out of my lap to find a different book or toy. If it's not his favorite, he doesn't want to hear or look at it!

I find that in many ways my son is like me. The saying goes, "like father, like son". I have my favorites. This can be especially true of Psalms. Looking back at my practices over the last few years, I tend to sing the same familiar selections during family worship. Perhaps I'm not the only one who does this. For a recent post I was looking up the lyrics to Chris Miner's "God be Merciful to Me (Psalm 51)". I was reminded as I compared it to the ESV translation that verses 16 to 19 were omitted. In a sense, I think this is understandable. Even at only 6 stanzas, its a long song. Perhaps the last four verses were meant to be sung as an accompanied selection. But there's the problem: where is it? If I didn't know better (and for a long time I didn't) I'd have thought that I knew all of Psalm 51 when in fact I was missing some of the larger picture; I was missing the rest of the story.

All this to say that the little book, Singing the Songs of Jesus has made me thirst a little bit to know the context. I think as my son grows up he'll learn more of the stories I read to him. That doesn't mean he won't still love that favorite drawing or laugh when Daddy does the elephant impression. Perhaps the drawing will take on more meaning as he realizes what it means to the plot. Perhaps he'll like the elephant impression because it helps him to feel like he's part of the story. Perhaps that what I want, too.

The Words Change Us

I'm gearing up to do a Psalter review soon: The ARP Psalter. Reading the preface by Rev. David Vance and Dr. Gabriel C. Statom, though, I was struck by the following words which contrast the Psalms of the bible with other songs.

When we sing other songs, we feel at times that the words should change. But something very different occurs when we sing the psalms. The words do not have to change. We have to change. The words change us.

Wow. I don't think I'd ever thought about that. It reminds me to a conversation I had in college. During my days at the University of Missouri - Columbia (go TIGERS!) I attended RUF (Reformed University Fellowship). It was through this ministry that I made my deepest friendships and learned much of how to be a Christian and college student. I remember one time after the RUF large group meeting one of my friends wrestling with something. We had just sang "God, Be Merciful To Me" during the time of praise. My friend was offended at what he took to be an error in the song. Particularly, he didn't like the first lines of the last stanza:

Sinners then shall learn from me,
And return, O God, to Thee ...

He said, 'that's arrogant, how can I sing about others as sinners needing to return to God when I'm a sinner?' It was a well meant question; my friend was truly aware of his sin. What I didn't realize at the time, though, was that the whole song is taken from a Psalm. The verse my friend wrestled with was first penned not by Christopher Miner but by King David. This Psalm of repentance gives us a look at David's sorrow over his sin with Bathsheba. But he, himself, says after crying out to be purged, regenerated, and restored, "Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you." (Psalm 51:13) Had I made this connection at the time I would have had something better to encourage my friend with.

1) David is right to ask for this. David is not merely crying out as a sinner. He is crying out as a mediatorial king who is a sinner. Not only will David suffer for his sins, but His people will also unless one more righteous than he stands in his place. This Psalm points us forward to Christ. Christ must be our King. When David asks that transgressors (sinners) be taught, He's referring to the teaching that comes from someone redeemed. Once he, David, receives the forgiveness that's found only through Christ, he desires that this example of God's forgiveness be granted to others who can then be enfolded in the flock (i.e. "sinners will return to you").

2) It is right for us to ask this. I think sometimes when I sin I am so conscious of my own sin and my own need of forgiveness that I forget that God has plans for people other than myself. God wants to forgive through Christ... but that is often so that His forgiveness is shown to others who have not yet experienced it. Looking at this Psalm in this way gives us an awareness of others that many hymn writers overlook. God forgave David not just for David's sake but also for ours. God may forgive us now not just for our sake but for the sake of His people He's not yet called to Himself. Again, it underscores the point of the ARP Psalter preface: "the words do not have to change. We have to change. The words change us". Vance and Statom continue, "The words enter our hearts, our very being, and they teach us how to be men and women after God's own heart. They are a perfect model of devotion and a mold which gives proper form to your Christian experience."

David was a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22). As we sing the Psalms of David, the Psalms do not conform to us, but by God's grace our hearts are conformed to Christ, David's greater son.

Singing the Songs of Jesus - A Review

Book Review

Title: Singing the Songs of Jesus - Revisiting the Psalms
Author: Michael Lefebvre

Binding: Paperback

Pages: 160

Cost: $12

Review:

About two weeks ago I got a copy of this book. Even the title caught my attention. It's an easy read and is well written. Having read it I now find myself wanting more. Don't misunderstand me! There is nothing missing from Lefebvre's book. It actually has everything I could hope for in addressing how the Psalms are Jesus' and that they are meant to be sung in the Christian Church. The problem is that this book has opened my eyes to the fact that even though I've been singing the Psalms in worship for the last 4 years (and to some degree my whole life), there's so much more to them that I've missed. Here's just a short list of the more that this book, Singing the Songs of Jesus, has brought (and I expect will continue to bring) to Psalm singing in my life.

More of Christ's Kingship - In this little book, especially the latter half of chapter two and all of chapter three, I was exposed to a role of The King that I had never thought of: worship leader. Lefebvre rightly identifies the executive leaders of Israel as not just war heroes but leaders of the people into the worship of God. This isn't just for Israel, though. It is for the Christian Church. Christ is our King and as such He leads us into the worship of God the Father and He does so using His songs. As Christians sing the Psalms in worship, King Jesus sings to God the Father. King Jesus sings to His people and He leads them to sing with Him to The Father and to one another. I'd be putting it lightly to say that this is revolutionizing my understanding of corporate praise. Even this paragraph doesn't do justice Lefebvre's treatment in this little book.

More Union with Christ - Lefebvre anticipates some of the difficulties that those unfamiliar with the Psalms encounter. Among these are imprecatory, lament, and penitential Psalms. Can a Christian call for judgment on the wicked or moan about the state of the fallen world? Does Christ, who was without sin, confess His sins in penitential Psalms? Using vivid analogies and even working through tough exemplary Psalms, Lefebvre shows that the Psalms thrust us out of our comfort zone. We cannot sing them outside of having Christ lead us in singing them. They also show us the degree to which Christ identifies Himself with us as our sin-bearer.

More Meditation - In Singing the Songs of Jesus, Psalms are contrasted with non-inspired hymns as having the Spirit-inspired ability to bring the Christian worshiper to heart felt praise. Though Psalms can and do declare praise for God (as most hymns do exclusively) they have an added element which stirs the emotions of the soul. They do this by meeting the believer where they are: living in a fallen world, often suffering, wrestling with doubt, dealing with sins of others but also their own sins. The Psalms lead us to glory, but they follow the path God has prescribed. Ultimately they bring us to the meditations of Jesus. These truly are His songs.

So to wrap things up...

If you are a Christian, I recommend this book to you. It will show you how to better see Christ in your worship. It will help you to better understand the 150 Psalms of the bible. If your experience is anything like mine, it will excite you to worship God. Whether in personal devotion or as an 8 lesson group study (7 chapters + epilogue/closing), this book is well worth $12.

If you are a Psalm Singing Presbyterian, I recommend this book to you. If you feel you know everything you need to know to sing the Psalms, read this book. I truly believe there's something in here for everyone; whether a long time student of the Psalms or just a beginner. Michael Lefebvre is able to tackle deep topics but to do so in a way from which anyone with a basic understanding of the Bible can benefit.

Psalm Shaped Liturgy

This morning I worshiped with the saints at Grace Church in Gibsonia, PA. One of the things about the worship service that stood out to me was the congregational singing. We sang Psalm 104. We sang all of Psalm 104. If you're not familiar, this is a long Psalm. It is 35 verses in length; five separate selections from the Book of Psalms for Singing. It took the whole worship service to sing it. When I think about it, though, this is appropriate. Here are some thoughts:

Psalm 104, like the many wonders of Hebrew poetry, has a great structure to it.

1-4 - God is majestic, exercising dominion over the elements.

5-9 - God has appointed the foundations and boundaries of the earth that cannot be thwarted.

10-15 - God sustains his creation from necessities of food and water to extravagances of wine and oil.

16-18 - God has provided shelter particular to the needs of each of His creatures.

19-23 - God marks the time for seasons and days; setting the sun and moon in their orbits.

24-30 - God is praised for the variety of His creatures and their continual dependence upon Him.

31-35 - A declaration of praise to God; He is to be feared.

I recall interacting with a friend who was taking a ministry of worship class at a local Southern Baptist Seminary. He said that the professor was instructing them in what I will call "Psalm Shaped Liturgy". Basically in class they studied the structure of a Psalm. They looked to each part and tried to supply a corresponding worship element. For example, if the Psalmist is expressing repentance then a corporate confession of sin might be read in unison. If the Psalmist is expressing praise to God, then a sermon on that topic would be appropriate. These ideas that my friend experienced in his class impressed me. It really reminded me that the Psalms are tools God has given to meditate and ultimately to lead our hearts to worship. My friend made a good point, 'it's not just some arbitrary order of service; it's a reflection of how God wants us to worship Him. The worship leader is submitting to God's instruction through the Psalm.'

Anyway, this morning's worship service reminded me of this concept. As we returned to the same spot in our Psalters 5 times it really impressed me that the Psalms are each a literary whole. We gain more from them by seeing their progression, their structure. In Psalm 104 in particular, the Psalmist moves from point to point underlining again and again God's majesty as creator and sustainer of the world. By the end we can do little else than praise Him!

His Emotions

I'm just three chapters into Singing the Songs of Jesus, and I have to say that this book is amazing. This last chapter in particular, "Recognizing Christ in 'Praising Conversations'" has left me meditating upon a conversation I had a few months back with a friend.

My friend leads in a praise band in a local church. He was telling me the tension going on in their worship. The new worship director desires to see some new praise choruses while my friend has had a growing appreciation for historic hymns. He voiced one of his complaints with the contemporary worship songs similar to this, 'you sing the same phrase 10 times... how many times can you say that you're happy and how happy you're happy?' I remember my contribution to this conversation. I told my friend that the Psalms have great depth of emotion. They remind us that we have emotions (happy, sad, angry, doubtful) and that God intends for us to bring these emotions into His praise. John Calvin has called the Psalter "The Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul". (I forgot to mention that the closest thing the Psalter has to a repeated praise chorus is Psalm 136.)

Looking back on what I told my friend, there's something I feel I should have added. Seeing Michael Lefebvre's point, that the Psalms are conversations between Jesus, God the Father, and us, I feel that I was missing a huge point. The Psalms don't only tell us emotions we experience. The Psalms tell us the emotions He experienced. Jesus was full of emotion. He was fully human. In a way, the Psalms give us a deeper view into His emotions than the gospels do. I realized that I've been oblivious to this, but now I see so much of what I've been missing. By His grace, as today's Christians come to appreciate and use the Psalter we will better understand not just our own emotions, but also His.

A Window into Jesus' Humanity

While running some errands with my friend, Paul, he mentioned to me something I'd never thought about. He said, 'The gospels give you a view of Jesus' divinity; his miracles and so forth. The Psalms is where we turn to learn Jesus' humanity.'

I'd never really thought of it like that... and I think it's still worth pondering. I do know that there is a depth of Jesus' emotion that we find in the Psalms. More to follow...

The Songs of Jesus

I'm about to begin reading Singing the Songs of Jesus by Michael Lefebvre. Though I haven't read past the cover yet, something already stands out to me. Have you ever thought about the songs Jesus sang? What words comforted Him when He was sad? What poetry did He meditate on? The Psalms aren't just songs about doctrine, about theology, or even about Christ. They are more. They are also Christ's songs. He sang them. He meditated upon them. He lived them.

There are two passages that have made me think about this. One is Matthew 26:30.

30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

What song did they sing after the first Lord's Supper? There can be little doubt that they sang from one (or more) of the Psalms. Many of the Psalm headings in the Septuagint use the word "hymn". And what would be better fitting for Jesus and his disciples to sing during the Passover season than the songs that feastgoers had sung for generations?

The second passage is Hebrews 2:11-12.

11 ... That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying, "I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise."

The "he" in this passage is Jesus. The quotation is ascribed to Jesus. It is something Jesus is "saying". But notice the words... it is Psalm 22:22. The writer to the Hebrews is saying that Psalm 22:22 is Jesus' words. Now notice what Jesus says, "in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise". Jesus sings with the congregation! He sings the Psalms in the midst of His people. This is what excites me about "the songs of Jesus". They are His songs, but because we are His they are our songs, too.

Have you never read?

In my reading for my upcoming gospels class I came across the parable of the tenants. This parable of Jesus is recorded in parallel accounts in Matthew 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12, and Luke 20:9-18. In the story a king is away and leaves his vineyard to tenants. He sends servants to gather the harvest from the tenants but they are beaten, dishonored, or killed. The landowner then sends his son whom the tenants kill. The part of these passages that struck me, though, was the passage Jesus ends with. He quotes from Psalm 118.

22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

It is obvious that the Pharisees and the chief priests were among those that heard these parables because they knew that it was them that Jesus was speaking against. These were the people who took pride in their study of the scriptures. Surely they had read this Psalm. Doubtless they had chanted or sung this Psalm as it is the last of the Psalms sung during Passover, the great Hallel. Notice how Jesus introduces it, "Have you never read...?" Notice the irony. Of course they've read it! They've sung it. They should know it. And yet what Jesus is pointing out is that they missed the point of it.

The point of Psalm 118:22 is that Jesus is the cornerstone, or the head of the corner. He defines where the boundary of the walls will be. He was rejected, though, by the Jewish leaders of his day and sent to death by them.

There were two things that struck me as I was reading this parable of Christ. First, this Psalm is about Him. It had always been about Him. It was about Him for the many years that the Psalm was sang during Passover. It is about Him as Christians sing it today. Second, we need to remind one another that this Psalm is about Him. Just as the Pharisees and chief priests may have read the words but failed to see the Christ standing before them, we can have hearts that are hardened to the true Christ who is revealed in the Psalms. But for those all who have hearts that have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, we can sing in this Psalm of Christ, the cornerstone, but also the rejected one; the sufferer.

For further study, see how the Apostlic writers continued to preach and write about Psalm 118:22. Acts 4:11, Ephesians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:7.

Overpaid Pastors... an Issue!

One of the blessings of sharing with the world that you're leaving your current job and heading to seminary is that some of your coworkers who you didn't otherwise know very well open up to you. I've been blessed to get to know better some men who either have been or are headed to seminary themselves. It has been a blessing to see God calling many to serve Him. I am reminded that Jesus told the 72, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Luke 10:2).

One conversation I didn't expect to have was with a Christian who had recognized a problem in his church: overpaid pastors. From the small conservative congregations I've been a part of this seems like a strange fiction, but he assured me it was true. Where the average person in the pew makes over $300K it can be the tendency for the pastor to begin to look like the layman. My friend was appalled that the administration budget had swelled to $1.3 million. He was ready to accept a practice he'd seen in an Apostolic bretheren congregation, where all members would pay their tithe only once a year (usually coinciding with harvest time).

I think overpaid pastors can be a real issue. Quite often, though, the problem is underpaid pastors. Paul instructs us "Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,' and, 'The laborer deserves his wages'" (1 Timothy 5:17-18). Pastors need to be paid. But, they often don't need the temptation to be over paid. I think one way to guard against this is to be part of a larger denomination. When there is visibility there is often accountability. Sometimes God's church in a wealthy area experiences overwhelming physical blessing. Often God's church in a poor area struggles. Being united together can cause the rich to give to the poor. Perhaps the problem of overpaid pastors is rooted in disjoint congregations.

Vamanos!

In High School I went on a short term mission trip to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Actually I went three times. I remember that the team was composed of a bunch of white people from Missouri. We jokingly referred to ourselves as "Gringos". Everywhere we went our team leader, Billy, would shout, "Gringos, listos?" (Ready, Gringos?), and everyone would shout, "Vamanos!" (we go!).

For a long time I've been preparing for a big life change. This life change involves leaving my job, moving cross country, and beginning school again. My wife and son will pull up our roots here and go. I think the three of us feel like shouting "Vamanos!" We are ready. We are ready to be in a new place. I'll be studying theology instead of designing electrical circuits. It will be a new culture (I hear they pronounce Carnagie, Car-neigh-gie). It will be new church family. We will adjust to low or no income. In many ways it will be like starting over.

At the same time, knowing that we're leaving has led us to look at how God has blessed us while we've been here. He has. We have people who know us and love us. We have grown. From a single new college grad to newly-marrieds to young parents, God has brought us through it all. Praise Him. Trust Him. Since God has provided so bountifully above what we could ask or think (Ephesians 3:20), we look to Him to provide for our every need in this next step to which He's called us.

Listos? Vamanos!

Psalm Singing Church Map

Check out this map of congregations that sing the Psalms exclusively:


View Exclusive Psalmody Churches (North America) in a larger map

A special thanks to Tim from www.exclusivepsalmodychurches.wordpress.com for his efforts to create and keep this map up to date. If you haven't tried singing Psalms, check the map for an opportunity near you!

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and songs of the Spirit, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. - Col 3:16

Covenants Lesson 2: The Adamic Covenant

This is Lesson 2 of a series...
http://drytheology.blogspot.com/2011/03/covenants.html

Intro

Last lesson we talked about the nature of covenants in general. Recall that “covenant” is a biblical term referring to a relationship between two people. Covenants have promises, stipulations, relationship, representative headship, signs, and seals. Covenants can be between man and man, God and God (i.e. between persons of the Trinity), or between God and man. This lesson will focus on the aspect of covenant between God and man, particularly, the first covenant between God and man.

The First Covenant

When we think about a covenant between God and man, what do we think of? Recall that last lesson we talked about the distance between God and his creatures being so great that there’s nothing necessitating Him to enter into covenant with them. God could have created man and never offered anything higher than enjoyment of what God had made. In free grace God did enter into a covenant with man and he did so with the first man, Adam.

Adam’s First Nature

How was Adam different from us in the way he was created? There are many ways! Two ways in particular are critical to understanding the first covenant between God and Man. The shorter catechism helps identify them:

WSC Q. 10. How did God create man?
A. God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.
Gen. 1:26-28; Col. 3:10; Eph. 4:24.

• Scripture teaches us that God made Adam (and all things) very good. Adam was sinless. He retained the fullness of God’s image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. Put it this way, if God commanded Adam, “Be righteous”, Adam had ability to do it. If God instructed Adam, “Be holy”, Adam would be able to; he was already both righteous and holy! Contrast that with us, if God told us, “be perfect”... can we? No!

WSC Q. 16. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression?
A. The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity; all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him in his first transgression.
Gen. 2:16-17; Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:21-22.

• Adam was a representative head. Consider that if the King of Spain entered into a treaty with the Emperor of China, the King’s actions would have implications for all the subjects of Spain. In the same way, what Adam did in this covenant had implications for everyone who he represented.
  

Covenant Entered

So, we’ve established that Adam is able to do what God might command of him and that whatever he does he does for all of his natural descendants after him. So, does God in fact enter into covenant with Adam? Yes!

Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17
8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

What is the significance of God’s placing Adam in the garden with the two trees? What should we notice about the specific command God had given Adam?

WCF 7.2. The first covenant made with man was a covenant of works, wherein life was promised to Adam, and in him to his posterity, upon condition of perfect and personal obedience.
Rom. 5:12-20; Gen. 2:17

WSC Q. 12. What special act of providence did God exercise toward man in the estate wherein he was created?
A. When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death.

What would be Adam’s reward if he kept the covenant? Life abundantly for himself and all mankind (Symbolized in the tree of life).
What would be Adam’s curse if he broke the covenant? Death for himself and all mankind.
The difference between the reward and curse was Adam’s work. That is why this first covenant is referred to as the covenant of works. Recall that Adam was fully capable (due to his pristine, unfallen nature) of keeping the command. Did he do so? What was the result? Read Genesis 3.

Covenant Broken

Adam broke the covenant God had made with him by eating the forbidden fruit. So doing he earned death for himself and all of his descendants. Paul tells us this in Romans 5.
Romans 5:12-14,17-19
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
...17 ... because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man...
18 ... one trespass led to condemnation for all men, ... 19 ...by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, ...

Recall also WSC Q. 16. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression?

The situation following Genesis 3:6 is incredibly bleak. Because of what Adam had done he would die. Not only that but Eve would die, Seth, Cain, and Abel would die. This continues today: our parents will die or may have died already, each of us will someday die. Why do we all die? It is because we are descended from Adam - who broke the covenant! If Adam is our covenant head and he merited death, we too will die!

The problem is twofold. First, Adam’s sin alone was enough to condemn the whole human race. Furthermore, every natural descendant of Adam’s has inherited the inability to not sin. Man’s whole nature is no longer righteous and holy but corrupt (this is called original sin).

Hosea 6:7
But like Adam [or a man] they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.

A Covenant Promised

Is that the end of the story? We’re all doomed to die; no hope in the world? No. NO! That’s not the end.

Genesis 3:15
14 The Lord God said to the serpent, ...
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring [seed] and her offspring [seed]; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

In the middle of pronouncing judgment, God speaks of redemption. Note these 2 things:

• “I will put enmity...” God will change the disposition of the heart. He will change their affections from serving Satan to serving God.
• “he shall bruise your head...” The promised seed would strike Satan in the head... he would give Satan a mortal wound. This is the promise of a coming savior: Jesus Christ.

Look back at Romans 5:12-20. Adam’s role as representative head is typological of Christ. Adam merited death for himself and all his natural descendants. Christ, on the other hand, merited forgiveness of sins, reconciliation, adoption as sons, and eternal life for all his spiritual descendants.

The question that we all must ask ourselves: who is my representative head? Am I under Adam or under Christ? Is my representative before God the one who was disobedient or obedient? The difference is to be under the covenant of works (which was broken and cannot be kept by us) or the covenant of grace (which is fulfilled in Christ).

1 Corinthians 15:21-22
21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

Reading the Bible on your Android device

OK, You've gotten an Android tablet or smartphone and it's got all these cool features, but how can you make use of it in daily devotions? What options are available to make reading God's Word convenient and free? Here are a few I've found and I'm glad to share them.

My preferred modern English translation for daily reading is the English Standard Version (ESV) copyrighted from Crossway Bibles.

If you have any other phone OS/translations/apps/etc. you've been using and want to share your experience, feel free to leave a comment below! Also feel free to ask me if anything below is unclear.

Web Versions
Without downloading an app you can begin reading this translation free using Good News Publisher's website and Android's stock web browser. Here's a link:

http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/browse/


One nice feature from this website is the through the bible in a year devotions. I bookmark this site and use it for my daily readings:

http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/through.the.bible/


It can also be helpful to make a shortcut to this website from your Android homescreen.

Dolphin Browser HD
https://market.android.com/details?id=mobi.mgeek.TunnyBrowser&feature=search_result

If you like the ESV Bible web interfaces above and want an environment more conducive to reading, try installing Dolphin Browser HD. This web browser application allows you to keep your screen lock from timing out before you get to the end of the page (if you're a slow reader like me) and allows you to use re-purpose the volume up/down buttons to scroll up and down the page.

ESV Bible (Crossway)
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.subsplash.esv&feature=search_result

Crossway recently came out with their own app which is freely available in the Android Market. It is the only free option I've found which includes cross references. It also downloads the whole text of the Bible to your phone so you aren't constantly relying on having an internet connection. You can also share verses you're pondering on Twitter or Facebook directly within the app. It does have some drawbacks, though.

First, it's a huge download (13 MB) so unless you have Froyo and can move it to your SD card, it'll be eating up a large chunk of your phone's onboard memory. I also had trouble downloading and installing the program (about 6 unsuccessful attempts!) and I think this was related to its size.

Second, it doesn't remap the volume buttons for scrolling (like the dolphin browser, above).

Third, while you can easily follow the cross reference links, the back button exits the app instead of returning to the previously selected passage.

Update: I've also found the Crossway ESV Bible app to force close a few times.

Hopefully in future revisions they can address some of these issues... but even so, it's already free and usable.

Amazon Kindle for Android
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.amazon.kindle&feature=search_result

If you need the Bible to be on your device but can't fit the entire 13 MB ESV Bible app from Crossway, consider downloading the Amazon Kindle App. The size of the app is only 3.5 MB and you can then download the ESV Bible for free from the kindle store within the app (you'll need to create an Amazon account if you don't already have one).

http://www.amazon.com/Bible-English-Standard-Version-ebook/dp/B001EOCFU4/ref=zg_bstf_154606011_30

The Kindle app is nice for straight reading through and will sync wirelessly with any other Kindle devices. It also has that nice volume button scrolling feature. It also allows you to resize the text and change white text over black background or vice versa (or sepia tone!).

Update: The Kindle app is also has a feature to "lock" the screen from shifting between portrait and landscape. This can be really handy if you read the bible while lying down.

The free version of the ESV for kindle, though, is not very good for jumping around in the text and does not have cross references.

Read It!
With all these free options for getting the Bible onto your Android device, chose one and get it. But don't stop there. The Bible is the Word of God and it is meant to be treasured!

Proverbs 7:1-3 (esv.to/Proverbs7.1-3)
7:1 My son, keep my words
and treasure up my commandments with you;
2 keep my commandments and live;
keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
3 bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.

Covenants Lesson 1: What is a Covenant?

This is Lesson 1 of a series...
http://drytheology.blogspot.com/2011/03/covenants.html

The Significance of Covenant
Did you know that the English Standard Version of the bible uses the word “covenant” in 301 verses? (The Hebrew word berith, covenant, occurs over 280 times in the Old Testament. The translators of the OT into the Greek Septuagint chose the Greek word diatheke in place of the Hebrew berith. In the NT diatheke occurs 33 times.)

Did you know that the Reformed Presbyterian (RP) Church has a history of calling themselves “Covenanters”? (The major covenants in our history would be the Scottish National Covenant of 1638, the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643 and the American Covenant of 1871)

In this lesson, we’ll explore the idea of covenant in general. In future lessons, we’ll look at specific covenants in theology, the bible, and in Church History. So first, what is a covenant?

The Definition of Covenant
Though not in the larger or shorter catechism themselves, the question is asked in the catechism for young children:
Q. 22. What is a covenant?
A. An agreement between two or more persons.

O Palmer Robertson calls a covenant “A bond in blood sovereignly administered”#.

Covenant consists of 2 parts,"The 1st without the 2nd is no more than a promise: the 2nd without the first is no less than a law." - John Ball

What does the word “covenant” make you think of?

* Promises - Covenants are a way for someone to promise to another they will perform something.
* Stipulations - These are requirements for those within the covenant.
* Contract - The idea of covenant has legal implications. When a covenant is made between two parties there will either be covenant keepers or covenant breakers.
* Relationship - Recall that marriage is called a covenant.
* Representative Headship - Kings would sometimes enter into covenants. The covenants they entered had implications for all of their subjects. In the same way, we see that when God enters into covenant with this or that man.
* Signs and Seals - The sign and seal for marriage is the wedding ring. God often signifies his covenant relationships with signs (e.g. rainbow, circumcision, etc.)

Covenants between Men

• Covenants between husband and wife

Marriage is a covenant between one man and one woman. Both of these are equals in the covenant of marriage. The promise is made by the man to be a ‘loving and faithful husband as long as the both shall live’. He submits himself to stipulations that he will remain faithful to her. She makes similar promises and commitments.

Though they knew each other before the wedding day as boyfriend and girlfriend; fiancée and fiancé, their relationship takes a whole new turn at the formal inauguration of their marriage. Here they exchange their vows and seals of the marriage covenant. From this time forth they are to fulfil the promises and stipulations throughout their relationship. They are to love and serve one another until they die.

• Covenants between suzerain (or lord) and vassal

Sometimes covenants are entered into between two parties which are not equal. A suzerain, or lord, is a strong political power and may exercise dominance over a weak vassal state. This would be done by entering a covenant. The suzerain would offer to “be nice” to the vassal in return for the vassal to perform some service to the suzerain. The vassal would accept the offer and perform the service. It is important to remember that it is the suzerain who initiates this relationship. It would make no sense for a weak nation to say to a strong one, “here are the terms of the relationship between us two”. It is always the right of the suzerain to offer the relationship and the vassal to accept the terms offered.

Covenant between God and Man
The idea of a covenant is very foundational not just to RP’s but to how God deals with mankind in general.

Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) 7.1
The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto Him as their Creator, yet they could never have any fruition of Him as their blessedness and reward, but by some voluntary condescension on God’s part, which He hath been pleased to express by way of covenant.

What is the WCF saying?
Basically, it is saying that when God created the world, He didn’t owe them anything. Just that something exists does not entitle it to anything except that God voluntarily chooses to bless it. This reminds us that in some ways God’s covenants with mankind are like that of a suzerain to a vassal. We cannot make up our own terms of relating to God and offer them for Him to accept or reject. To relate to God and receive blessing and reward we must accept the terms of relating with Him that He has offered.

Covenants

Prepared for Sabbath evening instruction for Covenant Youth of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Shawnee

Resources
Constitution of the RPCNA
The Christ of the Covenants - O. Palmer Robertson
A Treatise on the Covenant of Grace - John Ball

1. http://drytheology.blogspot.com/2011/03/covenants-lesson-1-what-is-covenant.html
2. http://drytheology.blogspot.com/2011/04/covenants-lesson-2-adamic-covenant.html

Oh, The Places You've Gone!

Dynamics

Heard a great choir concert Saturday night... and the members of the choir joined us for worship this LORD's day. It left me thinking...

Have you ever listened to a piece of choral music that begins so softly that you are straining to hear? The unison vocals start softly and slowly but in time divide into harmonies. The music gains speed and volume and suddenly you begin to think, "that's loud". Then the song approaches its climax where all voices are almost to a shout...

I think sometimes it's good to think about the dynamics of music. Often I find that every song I sing on Sunday is the same volume; the same intensity. It's days like today, when the sheer number of voices singing praises to God doubles that I realize that worship can be louder. I was even tempted to think, "this is what worship should be like..." But then it struck me. Today's worship turned up the volume... but it doesn't even compare. My mind can't even fathom the singing of heaven, when we will join all the saints as one voice together with angels... singing praises to our God!