The Wanderer

Anselm Mulliner is a character in one of P. G. Wodehouse’s short stories, entitled “Anselm Gets His Chance,” available in the collection Eggs, Beans and Crumpets, for those interested. Anselm is curate of the parish of Rising Mattock in Hampshire, a man who “when he was not dreaming fondly of Myrtle Jellaby . . . [was] chafing at his vicar’s high-handed selfishness in always hogging the evening sermon from late in April till well on in September” (107).

Without going into the details, Anselm’s superior, a certain Rev. Sidney Gooch, finds himself unable to preach due to the possession of a magnificent black eye, obtained in a scuffle with a burglar purloining a book of stamps. Anselm must preach at evensong, and the chance must be seized:

In Anselm’s deportment and behaviour on the following morning there was nothing to indicate that his soul was a maelstrom of seething emotions. Most curates who find themselves unexpectedly allowed to preach on Sunday evening in the summer time are like dogs let off the chain. They leap. They bound. They sing snatches of the more rollicking psalms. They rush about saying ‘Good morning, good morning,’ to everybody and patting children on the head. Not so Anselm. He knew that only by conserving his nervous energies would he be able to give of his best when the great moment came.

To those of the congregation who were still awake in the latter stages of the service his sermon at Matins seemed dull and colourless. And so it was. He had no intention of frittering away eloquence on a morning sermon. He deliberately held himself back, concentrating every fibre of his being on the address which he was to deliver in the evening.

He had had it in him for months. Every curate throughout the English countryside keeps tucked away among his effects a special sermon designed to prevent him being caught short, if suddenly called upon to preach at evensong. And all through the afternoon he remained closeted in his room, working upon it. He pruned. He polished. He searched the Thesaurus for the telling adjective. By the time the church bells began to ring out over the fields and spinneys of Rising Mattock in the quiet gloaming, his masterpiece was perfected to the last comma.

Feeling more like a volcano than a curate, Anselm Mulliner pinned together the sheets of manuscript and set forth.

The conditions could not have been happier. By the end of the pre-sermon hymn the twilight was far advanced, and through the door of the little church there poured the scent of trees and flowers. All was still, save for the distant tinkling of sheep bells and the drowsy calling of rooks among the elms. With quiet confidence Anselm mounted the pulpit steps. He had been sucking throat pastilles all day and saying ‘Mi-mi’ to himself in an undertone throughout the service, and he knew he would be in good voice.

For an instant he paused and gazed about him. He was rejoiced to see that he was playing to absolute capacity. Every pew was full. There, in the squire’s high-backed stall, was Sir Leopold Jellaby, O.B.E., with Myrtle at his side. There, among the choir, looking indescribably foul in a surplice, sat Joe Beamish. There, in their respective places, were the butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker and all the others who made up the personnel of the congregation. With a little sigh of rapture, Anselm cleared his throat and gave out the simple text of Brotherly Love.

I have been privileged (said Mr Mulliner) to read the script of this sermon of Anselm’s, and it must, I can see, have been extremely powerful. Even in manuscript form, without the added attraction of the young man’s beautifully modulated tenor voice, one can clearly see its magic.

Beginning with a thoughtful excursus on Brotherly Love among the Hivites and the Hittites, it came down through the Early Britons, the Middle Ages and the spacious days of Queen Elizabeth to these modern times of ours, and it was here that Anselm Mulliner really let himself go. It was at this point, if one may employ the phrase, that he – in the best and most reverent spirit of the words – reached for the accelerator and stepped on it.

Earnestly, in accents throbbing with emotion, he spoke of our duty to one another; of the task that lies clear before all of us to make this a better and sweeter world for our fellows; of the joy that awaits those who give no thought to self but strain every nerve to do the square thing by one and all. And with each golden phrase he held his audience in an ever-tightening grip. Tradesmen who had been nodding somnolently woke up and sat with parted lips. Women dabbed at their eyes with handkerchiefs. Choir-boys who had been sucking acid drops swallowed them remorsefully and stopped shuffling their feet.

Even at a morning service, such a sermon would have been a smash hit. Delivered in the gloaming, with all its adventitious aids to success, it was a riot.

It was not immediately after the conclusion of the proceedings that Anselm was able to tear himself away from the crowd of admirers that surged around him in the vestry. There were churchwardens who wanted to shake his hand, other churchwardens who insisted on smacking him on the back. One even asked for his autograph. But eventually he laughingly shook himself free and made his way back to the vicarage. And scarcely had he passed through the garden gate when something shot out at him from the scented darkness, and he found Myrtle Jellaby in his arms.

‘Anselm!’ she cried. ‘My wonder-man! However did you do it? I never heard such a sermon in my life!’

‘It got across, I think?’ said Anselm modestly.

‘It was terrific. Golly! When you admonish a congregation, it stays admonished. How you think of all these things beats me.’

‘Oh, they come to one.’ (117-120)

Compare Paul:

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. (Gal 1.6-10)

Or again:

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. . . . Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (1Cor 2.1-5, 12-13)

So, do you keep a little stash of ‘archangel sermons’ to preach at that church or that conference, should you ever be invited – the real doozies that you can slide out if ever they are required? Do you chafe that you never really get your chance to pour the sauce, or that someone else always hogs the evensong limelight? Do you ever slave over the style of your words and their delivery with a view to securing an effect upon men by means of the words and their delivery alone? Perhaps you will preach away this weekend. You might preach to five, or to five hundred. Will you prepare, deliver and expect differently in each place? To be sure, you might rise to the occasion differently, the personal and spiritual dynamics in each environment will be different, but will your spirit be different? Will you preach on brotherly love, with a stunning excursus on said virtue among the Hivites and the Hittites, to the applause of men, or will you preach a crucified Christ in your crucified style to the glory of God? Will you play to the gallery or remember the great cloud of witnesses? Will you perform for men or serve the Lord?

John Starke interviews Fred Zaspel in the light of Zaspel’s work on the Lion of Princeton:

Zaspel has produced his new The Theology of B. B. Warfield, and in reading Warfield – all of Warfield – he found that many interactions with the “Lion of Princeton” have either misread him or failed to read him fully.

Fans of Warfield will find this interesting, and those who aren’t may be stimulated to discover more. The interview is a 30 minute recording here. For what it is worth, Zaspel makes the good suggestion that a fine place to get to grips with Warfield is his excellent little volume of sermons, Faith & Life. I heartily concur.

Cornelius Van Til gives us a taste of his childhood in his essay,  Why I Believe in God. Referring to an occasion in which, sleeping in the family barn one night, he felt a child’s terror of the dark and its inexplicable noises, he speaks of the reaction he knew his parents would have had:

Yet I know what they would have said. Of course there were no ghosts, and certainly I should not be afraid anyway, since with body and soul I belonged to my Savior who died for me on the Cross and rose again that His people might be saved from hell and go to heaven! I should pray earnestly and often that the Holy Spirit might give me a new heart so that I might truly love God instead of sin and myself.

How do I know that this is the sort of thing they would have told me? Well, that was the sort of thing they spoke about from time to time. Or rather, that was the sort of thing that constituted the atmosphere of our daily life. Ours was not in any sense a pietistic family. There were not any great emotional outbursts on any occasion that I recall. There was much ado about making hay in the summer and about caring for the cows and sheep in the winter, but round about it all there was a deep conditioning atmosphere. Though there were no tropical showers of revivals, the relative humidity was always very high. At every meal the whole family was present. There was a closing as well as an opening prayer, and a chapter of the Bible was read each time. The Bible was read through from Genesis to Revelation. At breakfast or at dinner, as the case might be, we would hear of the New Testament, or of “the children of Gad after their families, of Zephon and Haggi and Shuni and Ozni, of Eri and Areli.” I do not claim that I always fully understood the meaning of it all. Yet of the total effect there can be no doubt. The Bible became for me, in all its parts, in every syllable, the very Word of God. I learned that I must believe the Scripture story, and that “faith” was a gift of God. What had happened in the past, and particularly what had happened in the past in Palestine, was of the greatest moment to me. In short, I was brought up in what Dr. Joad would call “topographical and temporal parochialism.” I was “conditioned” in the most thorough fashion. I could not help believing in God — in the God of Christianity — in the God of the whole Bible!

Christian parents: how are you conditioning your children? Either you must or someone else will. You may refrain from ‘indoctrinating’ your children, as the world calls it, when the world and Satan agree to do so the same. Until then, though there be no tropical showers of revival in your home or in your church, make sure you keep the relative humidity very high, that the “olive plants all around your table” (Ps 128.3) may grow up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, being saved and equipped to serve by him.

How many churches have recently heard a series or even a sermon drawn from the prophet Micah? How many Christians would recognise even the better known phrases of the man of Moresheth? He lurks among other prophets quickly overlooked as minor, rarely touched and probably little understood.

Dale Ralph Davies redresses the balance somewhat in this excellent commentary (Evangelical Press, 2010, 189pp). Beginning with a devastating illustration that leaves the liberal critic looking a little foolish, and providing an overview of the whole book, he then guides us through the three main sections of the book: through judgement to preservation, through judgement to peace, and through judgement to pardon. Under each section shorter elements are supplied in the author’s own vivid and illuminating translation, discussed briefly, and then pointedly and movingly applied to the church of Christ today.

The author’s ability and readiness to cut to the chase is welcome. He is clearly abreast of other material old and new, and gives us a swift and sure assessment of various interpretive issues, leaving us with little (or significantly reduced) doubt as to the Spirit’s probable intended meaning. Indeed, so surefooted and definite is the writer that there is a significant danger of simply being carried along and allowing him to do all the work for us. Micah’s messianic focus is made to shine brightly at appropriate points, and equally plain throughout is the Lord’s holy hatred of sin.

Those who have previously used and enjoyed the author’s commentaries on other Old Testament books will need little persuading to take up and read this new offering. For any reader who has not yet had the pleasure of making his acquaintance, this would be a fine place to start, and they may find themselves wondering how Micah so quickly yields up treasures they have never before appreciated.

I should imagine that many gospel ministers (who might otherwise not have touched the prophet with a reverent bargepole) are picking up this book and after a few pages beginning to wonder whether or not there might be a series or a few sermons in Micah after all. If they make this book a tool to help them and not merely a template to follow, then they will be right.

Moving on more swiftly, if you still have no idea why you should care about the fact that John Calvin has just had his 500^th birthday, then Calvin for Today, edited by Joel Beeke (RHB, 2009, 296pp), may be the collection with which to start. Bringing together the addresses from the 2009 conference of the Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, it is a deliberately popular, entry-level survey of Calvin the man and his faith and life. Considering Calvin and his Bible, as a theologian, Calvin and the church, Calvin’s ethics, and his contemporary impact, a range of contributors bring their minds and hearts to bear on some fifteen separate topics. If some of the material coming out of the quincentennial has seemed too dense and weighty, here is an antidote, providing accessible but careful scholarship in engaging fashion. (Amazon)

Following on from This Little Church Went to Market and This Little Church Stayed Home, in This Little Church Had None: A Church in Search of the Truth (Evangelical Press, 2009, 236pp) Gary Gilley continues his assessment of the illness of the church in the modern West, perhaps with particular emphasis on the US. Though by definition any snapshot of a situation dates quickly, there is plenty here that will remain relevant for some time. The author begins by looking at six problems the church faces: seeker-sensitivity, the emergent movement, paganism, the prosperity gospel, pragmatism and the new atheism. Having analysed the problems, he moves on to the solutions, calling for true spiritual leadership by men who are confident of the truth of God’s Word. His co-author steps in particularly in the final section, calling the saints to evangelism that speaks of a holy God, sinful men, judgment to come, and a great Saviour. One particular virtue of this book is its clarity and brevity in providing a helpful overview of present assaults on the church of Christ (from within and without), and calling her simply and plainly to stand where she should and trust whom she should and do what she should. Not ground-breaking, but earnest and helpful. (Amazon)

How many well-intentioned efforts to read systematically through the Scriptures have come a cropper on the book of Numbers (Evangelical Press, 2009, 479pp)? With his final commentary on the Pentateuch in this EP Study Commentary series, John Currid puts in the hands of believers a helpful guide not merely to get us through this book but to feed us from it. Showing how the Book of Numbers centres on the worship of the God who is present with his people in the wilderness, guiding us carefully through alternating sections of lawgiving and historical narrative with penetrating insights, and with thoughtful applications along the way, the author equips us to profit from our tour through the wilderness to the borders of Canaan. Currid says no more than needs to be said, never allowing us to get bogged down in multiple competing perspectives but rather giving a clear and concise understanding of the text. Knowledge and wisdom combine to make this a very helpful addition to any library for those who need stimulating direction through this portion of God’s Word. (WTS/Amazon)

Another helpful commentary in this line, in Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi (Evangelical Press, 2010, 255pp) Iain Duguid illuminates the three too-often neglected prophets who close out our Old Testament. Taking particular pains to demonstrate how much these authors are taken up with the Messiah and his coming, and with this series’ familiar pattern of clear exegesis and crisp application, Duguid uses these low-key authors in low-key settings to highlight lessons for churches like ours, too readily obsessed with glitz and glamour, who forget that our true glory is God with us, whether or not that glory is publicly displayed. Preachers or leaders of Bible studies or Christians working through their Bibles – anyone who has wondered at Haggai’s concern for God’s house, stumbled through Zechariah’s visions, or felt that they are missing something in Malachi – will find clear instruction, helpful guidance and heartening exhortation in this volume. Where many readers might feel that they are not quite getting what they might, here is a commentator who takes us by the hand, and – without treating us like nincompoops – helps to clear a way for us to enjoy the treasures of these men of God. (Amazon/Monergism)

Why On Earth Did Jesus Come? by John Blanchard (Evangelical Press, 2009, 40pp) is a booklet about Jesus Christ. Debunking all manner of myths and mistakes along the way, it sets out the reality of and reason for the incarnation of Christ with the author’s customary clarity and logic. Drawing constantly upon the gospel records, setting forth the truth and addressing objections along the way, Mr Blanchard builds to a punchy climax with a call to acknowledge the truth, repent of sin and believe in the Son of God. If you are giving gifts this Christmas, and want to add to the stack something that will bring Christ to bear, Why On Earth? would make a very useful addition to your Christmas stockpile. (WTS/Amazon/Monergism)

Born of the author’s own excitement at his discovery of the overarching theme of Scripture and how the great mountain chain of God’s covenants binds the whole together, From the Garden of Eden to the Glory of Heaven: God’s Unfolding Plan and How it Relates to Christians Today by James R. Williamson (Calvary Press, 2008, 240pp) sets out to bring that perspective within the reach of all of God’s people. With simplicity and balance, James Williamson treads along that mountain range, introducing the concept of covenants and zeroing in on God’s redemptive promises and purposes, before leaping from peak to peak, from Noah to Abraham to Moses to David and then to the New Covenant in Christ Jesus, before driving home some further lessons. The whole is thoroughly orthodox. The author’s Baptistic convictions naturally colour his approach at certain points; many will appreciate a book on covenant theology grounded in such a perspective. Enthusiastic and earnest, this is an excellent and thought-provoking introduction to covenant theology. As such, readers should not anticipate engagement at every point of contention and debate. This is essentially a positive book from which – caught up with the splendour of God’s saving plan – readers can progress to further study and rumination. (Amazon)

Piety’s Wisdom: A Summary of Calvin’s Institutes with Study Questions (RHB, 2010, 368pp), a series of studies by J. Mark Beach through Calvin’s Institutes, would be a useful tool for those who might have missed the opportunity that the 500^th anniversary year provided to dig into the man himself, or those who felt that they simply lacked the capacity to do so. After brief introductions to man and book, Beach guides us through the Institutes in brief segments, beginning with an orientation (allowing us to follow the flow and development of the whole) and then a summary of each chapter of Calvin’s work (sometimes further subdivided for ease of understanding). Each unit ends with questions for reflection and discussion. Eschewing the infantile exercise in basic comprehension provided by many study questions, here we face demands for genuine and critical engagement with Calvin’s thought. All in all, whether for groups or individuals, this would be an excellent means of studying the Institutes at a slight distance, or as an insightful guide alongside them. (WTS/Amazon/Monergism)

The Philippian church is sometimes considered as the one model church to which an epistle was written. While not denying the blessings that they had received, Hywel Jones also recognises that Paul had good reason for writing to the Philippian church, and it is this perspective which guides his straightforward but helpful commentary, For the Sake of the Gospel (Philippians Simply Explained) (Evangelical Press, 2010, 167pp). Determined to protect the church from stagnation, division and declension, Paul writes a letter of instruction and exhortation, urging these saints to walk worthy of the gospel. While the language is generally simple, the occasional knotty problems of exegesis and application quickly reveal the author’s depth of understanding and degree of insight. Thus guided, we are able to enjoy this commentary communicating a stirring call to hold fast to the truth and to live a life of godliness. Those looking for a simple overview of the letter, or an easy introduction to it, might confidently start here. (Amazon)

Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus (Crossway [RE:LIT], 2010, 176pp) is Don Carson’s attempt to get to the heart of the gospel and to address it in brief scope. He does so with a written record of five addresses on significant passages of Scripture concerning Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection. Delivered at a conference in Seattle, these still have something of the flow and form of speech. As we would expect from Mr Carson, there is a wide range of reference outside the Scriptures, helpfully illustrating the text or its principles, and demonstrating the continuing applicability of those principles to our world. Occasional passages are particularly penetrating and powerful. In one sense, there is nothing new here, nor should there be; rather, we have the simple presentation of the scandal of the cross, the gospel of the crucified Christ which remains the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes. (WTS/Amazon/Monergism)

This careful and colourful biography makes splendid reading: carefully constructing the context into which Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born and in which he was raised, tracing the influences intellectual and spiritual which contributed to his formation as man and Christian, and considering the principles and practices which he inculcated and worked out in his own life and the life of others, in Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (Thomas Nelson, 2010, 608pp) Eric Metaxas gives what seems an honest view of this complex, even contradictory character. For the most part, while the author’s esteem of his subject is evident, readers are left to make their own judgement of Bonhoeffer’s faith and life. His historical circumstances, theological convictions, intellectual pursuits, ecumenical commitments, educational dreams, spiritual aspirations and political actions are all laid out in their intricate relationships, revealing both harmony and tension. So much here to commend, so much to admire, and yet at points serious questions to raise. A book to engage both the mind and heart. (WTS/Amazon)

Ryan McGraw gives us some stimulating thoughts on our reading of history, after himself reading The Cambridge Companion to Puritanism. His key contention is that we are better equipped to understand and appreciate the Puritans when we have a full-orbed view of them, not merely a narrow and sometimes overly-biased or myopic one. He concludes:

For my part, while I seek to benefit and to learn from history, I find that I am better equipped to do this in proportion to my knowledge of what actually happened, rather than viewing events entirely through idealized devotional literature. I do not mean to disparage such literature, but rather to supplement it with a more robust and full view of history.

The Cambridge Companion to Puritanism is a useful place to begin in order to better understand the origins, culture, development, and scope of Puritanism. The better you understand the Puritans and the national and international factors that made them who they were, the more your souls will profit from reading them.

Gary Brady begins a brief and interesting series on Alexander MacLaren (1826-1910) here:

This year sees the one hundredth anniversary of the death of the Baptist minister Alexander MacLaren. May 5, 1910, was the exact day of his death, at the age of 84. He died in Edinburgh, after a 65 year long ministry. He was born February 11, 1826, in Glasgow. Though of decidedly Scottish origin, he spent most of his life in England. . . .

In an age which has been charmed and inspired by the sermons of Newman and Robertson of Brighton, there were no published discourses which, for profundity of thought, logical arrangement, eloquence of appeal, and power over the human heart, exceeded in merit those of Dr MacLaren.

It is a stimulating series concerning a fascinating man, with his gifts and graces made known and the tensions of his faith and life revealed. Worth a look.

A Portrait of Paul: Identifying a True Minister of Christ (more information here) hit the shelves yesterday. The 48 hour sale is still on at two places, making the book available for only $5 (list price $18, or a 72% saving).

• At Westminster Bookstore the sale will end at 11.59PM on Thursday 21st October.
• At Reformation Heritage Books (who should ship to the United Kingdom) the sale ends at 9.00AM on Thursday 21st October.

I hear it is flying off the shelves in its ones and twos . . .

UPDATE: The sale is over, but the book is still being sold at less than the list price at both those places, and the others listed (follow the MORE INFORMATION tag in the sidebar or the link above).

UPDATE: Grace Books International is selling it half-price for the month of October, while Monergism Books have reviewed it here.

Denfield  C.M.

Psalm 73
Though God is good, I nearly fell
When I saw wicked men:
I envied their prosperity
And almost stumbled then.

I said, “No trouble bars their way,
Their boasting does not cease;
Though pride and violence mark their path,
They live and die in peace.”

“They mock at God, yet live at ease,
While I have served in vain,
For all day long I have been plagued,
And every dawn brings pain.”

To speak thus would have been a lie,
Yet truth I could not see,
Until I saw their fearful end
When in the sanctuary:

You set them in a slippery place
And suddenly they’re doomed;
When, in a moment, terrors come,
They swiftly are consumed.

My heart was grieved, my mind was dark,
But you took my right hand.
You’ll guide me with your counsel sure
Till I in glory stand.

For whom have I in heaven but you,
What joy on earth besides?
My flesh and heart may quickly fail,
But God my strength abides.

Those far from God shall perish all;
In Christ I shall draw near:
My trust is in the Lord alone,
I shall your works declare.

©JRW

See all hymns and psalms.

In his outstanding Glimpses of the Inner Life of Our Lord (Tentmaker Publications, 1995), William G. Blaikie comments on the joy of Christ, and how ours might be a mirror of his:

For let us mark, ere we close, how Christ indicates that when His joy abides in us our joy is full. “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” Joy depends much less on what we have, than on what we are. You may give me this and that, and everything that can be thought of, yet raise in my soul no wave of joy. But change me inwardly; make me like Jesus; let me, like Him, hate wickedness and love righteousness with the whole force of my nature; let me abide, like Him, in the Father’s love; let my heart, like His, flow over with loving feelings on every side; let me, like Him, delight in doing God’s will, and in finishing, day by day, the work given me to do; let me, like Him, live in expectation of the glory that is to be revealed when He appears with His holy angels, and His redeemed are all gathered from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south; shall not my joy then be pure, deep and real: a joy unspeakable and full of glory?

The lighter forms of joy, when they involve no sin, need not be banished from our life – bodily recreation, social mirth, lively books and lively conversation. But their place will be secondary; the great fountain will be Christ’s fountain. Nay, we will be jealous over ourselves with godly jealousy, lest we so drink of the lighter joys of life as to spoil our relish for the deeper river that makes glad the city of our God.

Fountain of living waters, of which he that drinks shall never thirst again, happy they that dwell beside thee, and drink thy crystal stream! There is gladness in their hearts more than in the time when the corn and wine are most abundant to others. This, too, it is their privilege to know, that when all life’s sorrows are past, and their feet stand within the gates of the New Jerusalem, it is the same joy they shall experience, but in far higher measure, when the Lamb in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and lead them by living fountains of water, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (90-91)

You mean, suits like these?

Albert Mohler has finally broken cover, acknowledging that though Lecrae does not float his boat, he is a big fan of the intricate harmonies of a capella balladeers, Boyz . . .

Oh, wrong end of the stick, apparently. Let’s try again:

Al Mohler notes that advertising is starting to reflect a world in which genuine, mature masculinity is being valued once more.

A New York Times article describes the style trajectory for the new breed in these words:

You lose the T-shirt and the skateboard. You buy an interview suit and a package of Gillette Mach 3 blades. You grow up, in other words.

Mohler comments:

The crisis of delayed manhood for so many boys and young men is now well documented, and the larger culture reflects this phenomenon. Advertising does not rule the world, but it is a powerful indicator of the cultural direction. Advertisers make it their business to know where the culture is headed. This new trend can only be seen as good news, even if it does not yet represent any profound recovery of sanity in the society.

One important aspect of this report ties directly to a vital aspect of biblical masculinity — the reality and value of a man’s work. These advertisers are [not?] shifting merely to older and more rugged males, but to men who look like they just might be able to hold a job and do it well.

That is a healthy and promising dimension of this new development. One statement from this article deserves to be imprinted on the male brain: “You grow up, in other words.”

Read it here.

PS One of the gentlemen from the popular beat combo pictured is apparently called ‘Wanya’. This can only be regarded as a retrograde step, if it is not, indeed, an entirely fictionary name.

PPS If this is true in the world, I wonder how long it will be before the skinny sk8r boiz and tattooed grungers of the professing church will suddenly find Biblical justification for looking smart and serious? Good job we are not slaves to culture . . .

Today is the official date of publication for A Portrait of Paul: Identifying a True Minister of Christ. As you probably well know by now, all the guff about it can be read, watched and heard here.

I think I should probably feel something apart from, “Well, it’s too late to change anything now . . .” but “Phew!” hardly seems more profound.

- 48 hour sale -

Anyway, the gentlefolk at Westminster Bookstore are making the book available here for the next 48 hours at the stonkingly generous price of $5 (the list price is eighteen of your terrestrial dollars, so you will be saving some 72%), a price that is being matched here by our esteemed and equally generous publisher, Reformation Heritage Books (who, whisper it softly, actually ship to the United Kingdom).

I am not sure when it will wash up on these shores through RHB’s British distributor, Evangelical Press, but I shall let you know when it does. In the meantime, if you are in the US you can get it cheap as chips.

Phew.

Tim Challies gives us a piece by George D. Watson, a Wesleyan minister who did the bulk of his ministry in the early 20th century. There is a wealth of wisdom in what he writes:

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25)

If God has called you to be truly like Jesus in all your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility. He will put on you such demands of obedience that you will not be allowed to follow other Christians. In many ways, He seems to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.

Others who seem to be very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and scheme to carry out their plans, but you cannot. If you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

Others can brag about themselves, their work, their successes, their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing. If you begin to do so, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

Others will be allowed to succeed in making great sums of money, or having a legacy left to them, or in having luxuries, but God may supply you only on a day-to-day basis, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, a helpless dependence on Him and His unseen treasury.

The Lord may let others be honored and put forward while keeping you hidden in obscurity because He wants to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade.

God may let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him and get the credit, but He will make you work and toil without knowing how much you are doing. Then, to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work which you have done; this to teach you the message of the Cross, humility, and something of the value of being cloaked with His nature.

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch on you, and with a jealous love rebuke you for careless words and feelings, or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem distressed over.

So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign and has a right to do as He pleases with His own, and that He may not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you.

God will take you at your word. If you absolutely sell yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and let other people say and do many things that you cannot. Settle it forever; you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue or chaining your hand or closing your eyes in ways which others are not dealt with. However, know this great secret of the Kingdom: When you are so completely possessed with the Living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven, the high calling of God.

Let me ask what ought to be your thoughts concerning these solemn truths which I have delivered to you? I know what my thoughts were; they made me go to my bed unhappy. They made me very grateful because I hope I have believed in Jesus Christ; yet they made me start in the night, and wake this morning with a load upon me. I come here to say to you, must it be so that you will always remain unbelievers, and abide under the wrath of God? If it must be so, and the dread conclusion seems forced upon me, at any rate, do look it in the face, do consider it. If you are resolved to be damned, know what you are at. Take advise and consider. O sirs, it cannot need an argument to convince you that it is a most wretched thing to be now under the wrath of God. You cannot want any argument to show that it must be a blessed thing to be forgiven—you must see that. It is not your reason that wants convincing, it is your heart that wants renewing.

Charles Spurgeon, MTP 1913, Sermon #1012: “The unbeliever’s unhappy condition”

Solemn truths must be preached tomorrow, and solemn truths must be heard: heaven and hell hang in the balance, the fate of immortal souls depends on the outcome.

Preacher: does the thought that some of those who hear you are yet unsaved make you go to bed unhappy? Will the prospect of wrath make you start from your sleep? Will you wake in the morning with the weight of the truth a burden upon your soul?

If the truth about the lost does not trouble us, why should it trouble anyone else? In the words of Bunyan, we must preach what we feel, what we smartingly do feel.

From Paul Helm, who comments on Wayne Grudem’s Politics and Geron & Wehner’s City of Man, concluding thus:

So you see, this is the perennial problem for would-be Christian cultural and political analysts. Usually, by the time they come to write their books, they have stepped over the line. Repeat after me: Such analysts are not doctors and teachers in the church. Isn’t that a shame? No, it is not. Rather, it sets in relief what should be the glory of the Christian church – that the body of Christ is an Accident and Emergency Unit of men and women of various political hues and outlooks, and of none: social misfits, political oddballs, the proud, the vain, carpet-baggers as well as the filthy rich, and those who could not care less. Each affirming the fact of being united with Christ in his death and resurrection. Such it was from the beginning. Why should it be any different now?

Happy?

From a sermon by David Clarkson on Philippians 3.8, concerning the excellent knowledge of Christ:

In knowing Christ we know the glorious excellencies of God, John xiv. 7.  The Father and Christ are so like, as he that knows the one knows the other also, sees the Son, sees the Father.  This is so apparent, as Christ seems to wonder that Philip, who had seen him, should speak as though he had not seen the Father, ver. 8, 9.  He is known in the knowing of Christ, and seen in the seeing of Christ.  Hence he is called ‘the image,’ Col. i. 15, – that which represents, and in a lively manner holds forth to us, the infinite perfections of God; therefore styled, Heb. i. 3, ‘the character,’ – not a shadow of him, not a dead, superficial representation of him, such as pictures and portraitures are, but a living, express, subsisting, perfect representation.  The similitude seems to be borrowed from a signet’s impression, which represents all the sculptures and lineaments of the seal.  But no similitude can reach this mystery; only this we learn by this expression, that as Christ is perfectly distinct from, so is he a full and perfect resemblance of the Father, of the same nature and essence with him, so that there is no perfection in the Father but the same is substantially in the Son, so that in knowing Christ we apprehend (as weakness will suffer) the excellencies of God; hence the glory of God is said to shine in the face of Christ, 2 Cor. iv. 6, so that those who know Christ, thereby see the glory of God in the face of Christ.  That knowledge, that light which discovers Christ, discovers the glorious excellencies of God, the brightness whereof appears in the face of Christ.  Nor is this only true of Christ as he is the Son of God, of the same nature with the Father, but also as he is Mediator.  In the great work of redemption, the Lord caused his glory to pass before the sons of men.  Never was there such a full, such a clear, discovery of God’s glorious perfections, as was made to the world in Christ.  In him we may see infinite power, wisdom, justice, mercy, holiness; glorious truth, faithfulness, unchangeabless [sic]; the glory of love, of free grace, of goodness; he even caused all his goodness to pass visibly before us in Christ, so that he who knows Christ knows all these glorious excellencies; ergo, &c.

“The Excellent Knowledge of Christ” in The Works of David Clarkson (1864, reprint, Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1988), 1:255.

I heard on the wireless this morning that the Chilean miners are finally arriving on the surface after 69 days underground. To see them stepping out of that pod is quite a gripping spectacle. We see the dignity, determination, vigour, passion, drive, imagination, invention, and grit of humankind. We see love and hope and faith, after a fashion. We see much to commend, and much that makes us glad.

Here is man, made in the image of God, and we rejoice.

And then we hear the testimony of our leaders that this goes to show that when we are united, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.

And it seems that no-one has yet learned the lesson of Babel, and we weep.

Spiky stuff from the Exiled Preacher, channelling Robert Letham.

Charles Spurgeon:

The best definition I have ever met with is, “to think rightly of ourselves.” Humility is to make a right estimate of one’s-self. It is no humility for a man to think less of himself than he ought, though it might rather puzzle him to do that. Some persons, when they know they can do a thing, tell you they cannot; but you do not call that humility? A man is asked to take part in some meeting. “No,” he says, “I have no ability;” yet, if you were to say so yourself, he would be offended at you. It is not humility for a man to stand up and depreciate himself and say he cannot do this, that, or the other, when he knows that he is lying. If God gives a man a talent, do you think the man does not know it? If a man has ten talents he has no right to be dishonest to his Maker, and to say, “Lord, thou hast only give me five.” It is not humility to underrate yourself, Humility is to think of yourself, if you can, as God thinks of you. It is to feel that if we have talents, God has given them to us, and let it be seen that, like freight in a vessel, they tend to sink us low. The more we have, the lower we ought to lie. Humility is not to say, “I have not this gift,” but it is to say, “I have the gift, and I must use it for my Master’s glory. I must never seek any honor for myself, for what have I that I have not received?” But, beloved, humility is to feel ourselves lost, ruined, and undone. To be killed by the same hand which, afterwards, makes us alive, to be ground to pieces as to our own doings and willings, to know and trust in none but Jesus, to be brought to feel and sing—

“Nothing in my hands I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling.”

Humility is to feel that we have no power of ourselves, but that it all cometh from God. Humility is to lean on our beloved, to believe that he has trodden the winepress alone, to lie on his bosom and slumber sweetly there, to exalt him, and think less than nothing of ourselves. It is in fact, to annihilate self, and to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ as all in all.

Apparently, Hollywood moguls – who are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light – are tailoring their products to Christian audiences in a bid to maintain revenues. Whack in a Bible verse that sounds like it might be relevant, talk about faith, hope and love, market it in the right way, and you can be confident – in the US at least – that the Bible belt will bite, and you will be guaranteed a bit of wonga:

Grace Hill Media, a marketing firm in the vanguard of the Hollywood drive to reach Christian viewers, has already promoted nearly 300 films and reaches more than 150,000 ministers.

“I don’t know if you’ve seen a contemporary church service lately but they’re pretty big, modern places with lots of TV screens, definitely not your grandfather’s church with an organ,” says Jonathan Bock of Grace Hill, who is a lifelong Christian [at least for the purposes of this interview?].

Does this sound like we have conquered the culture for Christ, or simply that we have managed to persuade ourselves that we are being all funky and relevant while the world has found another way to take professing Christians for a ride?

Am I being cynical? Listen to one pastor:

“The silver screen is the pulpit of today,” Mr Hotsenpiller told The Sunday Telegraph. “People get their values, their depiction of God, from the silver screen. It doesn’t mean it’s the best pulpit, but you have got a ton of people listening.”

Some pulpit. Some God. No wonder we’re in trouble.

If there is anything Zambia can teach you, it’s patience.

So says Katryn Belke, working with LION of Zambia, as she struggles to buy toasters and get visas. A good post to read for a balanced perspective on mundane frustrations (reminding us of how easy we have it in ‘the West’), and some prompting us to remember that God is in control.

From James Smith, in Our Father and Comforter: Or, God the Portion of His People:

Surely, if parents realized the value of their children’s souls; if they had a vivid sight of the danger to which they are exposed; if they felt that they must be saved by the Lord Jesus–or perish for ever–then they would act very differently toward them!

Could a parent, if he believed the Scriptural representation of hell, as a place of torment; and saw that his child hung over that ever-burning lake as by a thread–and might, at any moment, by some accident, be plunged into the bottomless abyss; I say, if he saw and believed this–could he let his child go on, day after day, and month after month, without the tender expostulation, the affectionate appeal, and the heart-felt prayer with him? I think not!

Alas! alas! We do not half believe in the horrors of hell, in the danger of our children, and in the absolute necessity of faith in Christ, in order to for them to be saved–or we could never live as we do!

What anxiety is manifested about their health and their education; and what indifference about their never-dying souls! One feels at times ready to conclude that many professing Christian parents must be half infidels, or wholly insane–to act as they do!

Reader, suppose your child was dying. His pulses are faint and few. He breathes short and hard. You approach his bedside. You take his hand in yours. He asks, “Father, did you believe I was a sinner? Did you know that it was possible I might die young? Were you aware that, without faith in Christ–I must perish forever? Did you, father?”

“I did, my child.”

“Then how could you be so cruel, so hard-hearted, as to treat me in the way you have? You never took me aside to talk to me seriously. You never endeavored to impress upon my mind the importance of spiritual things. You never earnestly warned me to flee from the wrath to come. You never lovingly invited me to the Lord Jesus Christ. You never prayed with me as if you believed I was in danger of going to hell, and could only be saved by the grace of God. You were very earnest about temporal things–but indifferent about spiritual realities. You knew that I was going to hell–and you did not try to prevent it. Now I am lost! Lost for ever–and you are the cause of it! Or, at least, you are accessory to my everlasting damnation!”

Or, suppose you were before the Great White Throne, and the Judge seated thereon, and you meet your children there. One of them points to you, and says, “There is my mother! She showed great concern about my body–but she never showed anxiety about my soul. She never knelt by my side in prayer. I never heard her plead with God for my soul, nor did she ever, in downright earnest, plead with me. I charge her, before the Judge of all–with cruelty to my soul; and throughout eternity I shall curse the day that ever I had such a parent! No name will excite my enmity, or draw forth my bitter reproaches, like the name of my mother! I am lost, lost forever–and my mother never heartily tried to prevent it!”

Parents, how could you bear this? Parents, parents! By all the tender ties that unite you to your children, I beseech you to seek, first, principally, and most earnestly–the conversion of your children!

HT: Grace Gems.

David Murray offers us some stimulating thoughts on procrastination:

Not quite sure who, but someone once said, “Tomorrow is the only day on the devil’s calendar.” I disagree actually because the Devil can also destroy our souls by making us look back with despair at all our yesterdays. But it’s certainly true that many, many souls are in hell because they left a convicting Gospel sermon saying,”Tomorrow. Tomorrow.” Felix is in very bad and very large company (Acts 24:25).

You should read it, but probably not today.

Tim Keller brings us some fascinating thoughts on a possible overemphasis on the shift between modernity and postmodernity:

Here’s an example. The new Christian Smith book, Souls in Transition (Oxford, 2009), profiles the beliefs of young adults age 18 to 23. In an interview with Ken Myers on Mars Hill Audio, Smith relates how he often interviewed people and asked them if their moral convictions (some of which were very strong) were mainly subjective feelings or really true to reality. He found that most had difficulty even understanding what he was asking.

The underlying thread that ties all this together is the inconceivability of a moral order based on an authority more fundamental than one’s own reason or experience. That was the founding principle of the Enlightenment, and that is the cornerstone of the most recent generation. So how can we say the Enlightenment is over?

It’s not a piece strong on definite conclusions, but it is somewhat illuminating with regard to a right understanding of the spirit of the age in which we live.

Read it all here.

Kevin DeYoung offers twenty biblical ways:

1. Give God verbal declarations of praise (Rev. 4:8-9).

2. Live a life of noticeable piety (Matt. 5:16; James 1:27; 1 Peter 2:12).

3. Ask God for things in Jesus’ name (John 14:13). . . .

The rest are here,

God willing, the Westminster Conference for 2010 – “Standing firm: still Protestant?” – will take place later this year on Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th December at the Whitefield Memorial Church in Tottenham Court Road, London.  The brochure will be mailed out shortly, but you can download a pdf copy here (or click the picture) which can be printed out and used for bookings.

The planned schedule for the conference is as follows:

Tuesday 7th December

• The English Reformation today: revise, reverse or revert? (Garry Williams)
• Puritan attitudes toward Rome revisited (Guy Davies)
• The 1611 English Bible: an unlikely masterpiece (David Gregson)

Wednesday 8th December

• Repentance and sola fide: various Reformed approaches (Sam Waldron)
• Doomed from the start? The Edinburgh Conference of 1910 (Daniel Webber)
• Andrew Bonar (Malcolm MacLean)