Augustine: Our Hearts Seek Rest in God

From Augustine's Confessions, Chapter 1:

GREAT art Thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is Thy power, and of Thy wisdom there is no end. And man, being a part of Thy creation, desires to praise Thee,—man, who bears about with him his mortality, the witness of his sin, even the witness that Thou “resistest the proud,”—yet man, this part of Thy creation, desires to praise Thee. 

Thou movest us to delight in praising Thee; for Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee. 

Lord, teach me to know and understand which of these should be first, to call on Thee, or to praise Thee; and likewise to know Thee, or to call upon Thee. But who is there that calls upon Thee without knowing Thee? 

For he that knows Thee not may call upon Thee as other than Thou art. Or perhaps we call on Thee that we may know Thee. “But how shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? or how shall they believe without a preacher?” And those who seek the Lord shall praise Him. For those who seek shall find Him, and those who find Him shall praise Him. Let me seek Thee, Lord, in calling on Thee, and call on Thee in believing in Thee; for Thou hast been preached unto us. 

O Lord, my faith calls on Thee,—that faith which Thou hast imparted to me, which Thou hast breathed into me through the incarnation of Thy Son, through the ministry of Thy preacher.

--Augustine of Hippo, “The Confessions of St. Augustine,” in The Confessions and Letters of St. Augustine with a Sketch of His Life and Work, ed. Philip Schaff, trans. J. G. Pilkington, vol. 1, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1886), 45.

Desires That Come From the World

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever (1 Jn 2:15–17).

The Apostle John often teaches about the importance of love and that God is love (1 John 4:7-8), but he also reveals that God hates a certain type of love: love of the world (John 15:18–20). 

In this text, John expresses a particular kind of test - let's call it the "test of love." Positively, the Christian loves God and fellow Christians. Negatively, an absence of love for the world must habitually characterize the love life of those to be considered genuinely born again. “Love” here signifies affection and devotion. God, not the world, must have the first place in the Christian’s life (Matt. 10:37–39; Phil. 3:20) 

When John speaks of the 'world,' this is not a reference to the physical, material world but the invisible spiritual system of evil dominated by Satan and all that it offers in opposition to God, His Word, and His people (1 John 5:19; John 12:31; 1 Cor. 1:21; 2 Cor. 4:4; James 4:4; 2 Pet. 1:4). 

John tells us that the person who loves this system (or world) cannot have the love of the Father in him. Either one is a genuine Christian marked by love and obedience to God, or one is a non-Christian in rebellion against God, i.e., in love with and enslaved by the satanically controlled world system (Eph. 2:1–3; Col. 1:13; James 4:4). No middle ground between these two alternatives exists for someone claiming to be born again. The false teachers that John was battling in the community to which he is writing had no such singular love, but were devoted to the world’s philosophy and wisdom, thereby revealing their love for the world and their unsaved state (cf. Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:13; 1 Tim. 6:20; 2 Pet. 2:12–22).

James said a similar thing in James 4:4 - "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."

While the world’s philosophies and ideologies and much that it offers may appear attractive and appealing, it is deception. Its true and pervasive nature is evil and harmful. Its deadly theories are raised up against the knowledge of God and hold the souls of men captive (2 Cor. 10:3–5). 

How is it that men's souls are held captive? Through lust and the desires of the flesh and eyes. John uses the term 'desire' (or lust) negatively here for a strong desire for evil things. The term 'flesh' refers to the sin nature of man; the rebellious self dominated by sin and in opposition to God (Rom. 7:15–25; 8:2–8; Gal. 5:19–21). 

Satan uses the evil world system to incite the flesh and the eyes. Satan uses the eyes as a strategic avenue to incite wrong desires (Josh. 7:20, 21; 2 Sam. 11:2; Matt. 5:27–29). Satan’s temptation of Eve involved being attracted to something beautiful in appearance, but the result was spiritual death (Gen. 3:6 “pleasant to the eyes”). 

John also uses the phrase 'the pride of life.' The phrase has the idea of arrogance over one’s circumstances, which produced haughtiness or exaggeration, parading what one possesses to impress other people (James 4:16). All these things are "not of the Father." The world is the enemy of the Christian because it is in rebellion and opposition against God and controlled by Satan (1 John 5:19; Eph. 2:2; 2 Cor. 4:4; 10:3–5). The 3 openings presented - the desires of the flesh, the eyes, and the pride of life - if we allow access to sin, result in tragedy. Not only must the Christian reject the world for what it is but also for what it does.

As John notes, the Christian must not love the satanic world system because of its temporary nature. It is in the continual process of disintegration, headed for destruction (Rom. 8:18–22). But he who does the will of God abides forever! In contrast to the temporary world, God’s will is permanent and unchangeable. Those who follow God’s will abide as His people forever. While God offers eternal life to His children, the present age is doomed (cf. 1 Cor. 7:3; 2 Cor. 4:18).

Three Reasons You Can Shout for Joy Because of Easter

British preacher W. E. Sangster writes of the time when he first began to notice some uneasiness in his throat and a dragging in his leg. When he went to the doctor, they found that he had an incurable disease called progressive muscular atrophy. Told his muscles would gradually waste away, voice fail, and eventually becoming unable to swallow, Sangster threw himself into his work in British ministry work figuring he could still write and he would have even more time for prayer. "Let me stay in the struggle Lord," he pleaded. "I don't mind if I can no longer be a general, but give me just a regiment to lead." He wrote articles and books, and helped organize prayer groups throughout England. 

As predicted, Sangster's legs eventually became useless and his voice went out completely. But he could still hold a pen. On Easter morning, just a few weeks before he died, he wrote a letter to his daughter.  In it he wrote, "It is terrible to wake up on Easter morning and have no voice to shout out loud 'He is risen!' But I now realize it would be even more terrible to have a voice and not want to shout at all."

Sangster is right - we should want to shout for joy about Easter! It is a sad thing to understand what Easter and the resurrection means for us and not want to shout for joy about it! Let me give you several reason you can shout with joy about the Resurrection of Jesus.

1. The Resurrection tells you that you can count on God's promises.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus promised us that He would rise from the dead, and on the first Easter morning, that promise was fulfilled (John. 2:19-22). The Resurrection of Jesus, and the fulfillment of this promise, empowered and reinforced the disciple's faith. And it should do the same for us - because if Jesus' promise about the Resurrection is true, then all his other promises to us are true; such as the forgiveness of sins in Jesus, that He will be our constant companion, that we can have security knowing God will never forsake us, and we can have eternal life with God. If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, none of these promises would mean anything. The Resurrection of Christ is proof that we can rely on God and His promises. 

2. The Resurrection means you can enjoy life to its fullest.

Last month, a grandfather who was very dear to me died – and were it not for the Easter hope I have in Jesus’ resurrection, I would have no joy in thinking about seeing him again in Heaven. I would only have the grief in knowing I had lost him forever. But praise God that I have this assurance in Jesus Christ!

And I want you to have that joy too! To know that you are in a personal relationship with a resurrected Lord who will give you a life that is abundant with joyful experiences and meaningful purpose. Jesus described why he came to earth this way: 

“I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” – John 10:10

When you are in a relationship with Jesus, you can be completely sure of your future and the problems of this present day will not seem quite so formidable. With Christ and the promise of the Resurrection even the worst of times are still the best of times.

3. The Resurrection means your life can have meaning and purpose.

The Apostle Paul once said, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). The apostle sensed within himself not just the philosophy, the ideals, or influence of Christ but the person of Jesus. Christ moved in a radically new way. Easter promises us that He still does this to our lives. When salvation comes to our lives, Christ enters our hearts. God puts “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1: 27). He gives our lives purpose and meaning.

In giving our lives purpose, God like a heart surgeon cracks open your chest, removing your heart— poisoned as it is with pride and pain— and replaces it with his own. When you are united with Christ, when God hears your heart, He hears the still-beating heart of his Son and the vision and purpose of Christ's life becomes your own.

Rather than tell you to change, he creates the change. Do you clean up so he can accept you? No, he accepts you and begins cleaning you up. His dream isn’t just to get you into heaven but to get heaven into you. 

What a difference this makes! Can’t forgive your enemy? Can’t face tomorrow? Can’t forgive your past? Christ can, and he is on the move. You aren’t stuck with today’s personality. You aren’t condemned to grump-dom. You are changeable. You are tweakable. Even if you’ve worried each day of your life, you needn’t worry the rest of your life. So what if you were born with all of the problems and disadvantages you have now – you don’t have to die with them! God will change you through the same power that resurrected Jesus from the dead.

And he will change you to be like Jesus.

So shout for joy to the Lord because of Easter and the Resurrection. As W.E. Sangster said, "It is terrible to wake up on Easter morning and have no voice to shout, 'He is risen!' – but it would be still more terrible to have a voice and not want to shout at all." 

The Death of Jesus

Looking down at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built to mark the site of the crucifixion and burial tomb of Jesus

Isaac Watts (1674–1748), was a well-educated, prolific English poet, who composed “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” - a familiar hymn to many Christians - in 1707. It is said that Charles Wesley would have given up all his hymns to have composed this one. It captures the sorrow and compassion of Christ (“did e’er such love and sorrow meet”) and the personal response of the hymn writer to that sacrifice (“demands my soul, my life, my all”).

    When I survey the wondrous cross

    On which the Prince of glory died,

    My richest gain I count but loss,

    And pour contempt on all my pride.

    Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,

    Save in the death of Christ my God!

    All the vain things that charm me most,

    I sacrifice them to His blood.

    See from His head, His hands, His feet,

    Sorrow and love flow mingled down!

    Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

    Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

    His dying crimson, like a robe,

    Spreads o’er His body on the tree;

    Then I am dead to all the globe,

    And all the globe is dead to me.

    Were the whole realm of nature mine,

    That were a present far too small;

    Love so amazing, so divine,

    Demands my soul, my life, my all.

It's interesting to juxtapose that final stanza of Watts' hymn ("love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all...") and the crowd's demands in Luke 23:26-49. In Luke 23:21,23 the crowd demanded Jesus’s crucifixion (which we mark this Good Friday), and they cruelly embodied Jesus’s earlier warning that to follow him would mean to “take up the cross” (Luke 9:23; Luke 14:27). A variety of reactions on the way to “the Skull” and at the cross reflect the different ways people have responded to Jesus and his claims within the Gospel.

In crucifixion, the condemned man usually was forced to carry the crossbeam, which would then be fixed to an upright beam already erected at the execution site. A placard stating the crime of which he was convicted was sometimes hung around his neck for the walk to execution, and then it might be attached to the top of the cross. The condemned man was fastened to the cross either by ropes or by nails through the wrists and ankles; John 20:25 shows that the latter, more cruel, method was used for Jesus. Most victims of crucifixion took longer to die than is recorded of Jesus, sometimes several days.

Luke 23:26-49

26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. 28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 

32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” 

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” 

44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.

Thoughts

It's interesting that Luke says little about the physical aspects of crucifixion. His account focuses instead on the rejection. Repeated echoes of Psalm 22 (dividing clothes and casting lots [Ps. 22:18], mocking [22:6–7], the saving of God’s chosen one [22:8]) establish Jesus’s death as fulfilling the Old Testament role of the righteous sufferer (which underlies also Jesus’s last words, drawn from Ps. 31). The whole event is given theological depth by the supernatural signs of the darkness and the tearing of the temple curtain. Jesus’s suffering is not minimized, but his recorded words focus not on his own agony of abandonment (as in Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34) but rather on compassion for others (the women and the believing criminal) and confidence in his Father (23:46).

The demands for Jesus' life by the official governing bodies fulfill OT scripture. Pilate, Herod, and the religious bodies all signed off on the legality of the execution - an indictment upon the exceeding sinfulness of humanity. None can plead innocence - including ourselves. Blinded by sin, we would have done nothing essentially different from what they did. 

May God humble us to see ourselves as wholly unjust and the Son of God gloriously just. Through it all, God's justice would be executed upon His Son, in order that we might be freely justified. In this way, God would be both "just and justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26). 

You should meditate today on how the cross of Jesus both humbles us for our sins and affords us hope for complete forgiveness in Christ. 

Calvary speaks not only of justice but salvation. On the cross, Christ prayed for transgressors and He saved the thief dying next to Him. The temple veil was torn in tow, symbolic that now God has given access to Himself through the blood of Jesus Christ and the everlasting covenant. A Roman centurion too was saved. Thus in the darkest day of history we see the Lord Jesus doing the best works. 

Oh, how the cross reveals the mystery and wonder of God's will!

Are You Invested?

In his newspaper column called “Market Report,” business writer Bill Barnhart once explained the difference between investors and traders in the stock market. He wrote, 

“... a trader in a stock is making decisions minute-by-minute in the hope of shaving off profits measured in fractions of a dollar.

An investor, on the other hand, typically buys and sells stock based on views about the company and the economy at large.

In other words, traders are “wheelers and dealers.” They pursue short-term profits.

Traders may have no confidence whatsoever in the companies in which they buy stock but they go ahead and buy it, basically smelling an immediate payoff. 

By contrast, investors are in it for the long haul. They “chain themselves to the mast.” Investors commit their money to a stock, believing that over a period of years and even decades the stock will pay strong dividends and steadily grow in value. Investors aren’t flustered by the typical ups and downs of the market because they believe in the quality of the company, its leaders, and its product.

In the kingdom of God there are also investors and traders. They come to Christ with very different goals. Traders in the kingdom want God to improve their lot in this world but are not committed to much else. If following Christ means pain or hardship, traders quickly sell out. But investors in the kingdom stay true to Christ no matter what happens in this world, knowing that in the end, the promise of God is that eternal dividends await them in Jesus Christ.

So, I wonder if you are an investor or a trader? Do you pursue the kingdom of God and your relationship with Jesus for the immediate, short-term payoff like a trader would, eager to sell out when the going gets tough? Or do you rather have a more eternal view like the investor, content to stay committed no matter come what may?

It’s important to ask and answer this question for yourself, whether you are a trader or an investor, because the difference between the two is the difference between a Christian who flourishes over the long-term or a Christian who is stunted, who languishes, and who is in danger of losing the race set before them.

Richard B. Gaffin Jr.'s short introduction on the life of Geerhardus Vos

The following short introduction to the life of Geerhardus Vos is by Richard B. Gaffin from the Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation: The Shorter Writings of Geerhardus Vos, ed. Richard B. Gaffin Jr. (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2001), ix–xiii.

Vos was born of German parents in Heerenveen, in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands, on March 14, 1862. Following the completion of his secondary education he came to the United States in 1881, when his father accepted a call to a congregation of the Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The next seven years were spent in theological study, first in Grand Rapids, then at Princeton Seminary, and then in Germany at Berlin and Strassburg. During this last stage he spent time in the Netherlands, where he had contact with the leading figures in the Reformed community there, including Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck. In 1888 he received his doctor’s degree in Arabic studies from the philosophical faculty at Strassburg.

Already during his student days Vos provided unmistakable indications of remarkable scholarly ability. The period of European study was facilitated by a fellowship awarded by the Princeton faculty for a thesis on the Mosaic origin of the Pentateuch. This work was of such outstanding quality that soon after it was submitted it was published with an introduction by William Henry Green. It demonstrates a capacity for writing on crucial theological issues that is at once penetrating, thorough, and balanced. The character of his doctoral work indicates something of his breadth of interest and aptitude.

These unusual gifts did not go unrecognized. Even before the completion of his doctoral work he was approached with teaching offers. With the personal involvement of Kuyper he was offered the first professorship in Old Testament theology at the Free University of Amsterdam. However, in what was surely a consequential decision for the Reformed world, he declined, choosing rather to accept an appointment to the faculty of the Theological School of the Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, where he taught for five years beginning in the fall of 1888. During this period he was responsible for a wide range of subjects from Greek grammar to systematic theology and carried an instructional load that at times was as high as 25 hours per week. Nevertheless, he managed several major productions, notably his rectoral address of 1891, a historical study of the covenant doctrine in Reformed theology, in Dutch, and a multi-volume dogmatics, also in Dutch.

Sometime during the latter part of 1892 or early 1893 Vos made another crucial decision. He accepted appointment as professor to the newly created chair of biblical theology at Princeton Seminary. This was not an easy decision; he had been approached by the Seminary for the preceding academic year but had declined. But it proved to be the choice of a lifetime, for he remained there for 39 years, until retirement in 1932 at the age of 70.

The passing of time has cast a veil which makes it difficult to answer clearly a number of questions about this move to Princeton. What motives prompted it? Doubtless there were more than one. Some seem obvious: a lighter, more attractive teaching load, exposure to a larger and more varied student body, certainly too, the strategic importance of Princeton on the American theological scene. But none of these was decisive. Rather, judging from subsequent developments, it would appear that what was especially important and attractive to Vos was the opportunity to concentrate his efforts in the area of biblical theology.

This, in turn, raises a more important question. What is the background to Vos’s interest in biblical theology? What formative factors shaped his deep attraction to this discipline? Apart from a long-standing and deeply rooted interest in the doctrine of the covenant, it is difficult to find the answer to this question in either the Princeton or the Dutch tradition of Reformed theology as Vos was exposed to them. In 1891 the Princeton faculty had requested the Board of Directors to establish a professorship  of biblical theology. However, this action seems more to reflect a recognition of the growing importance of that field in the broader theological scene and of the need to give it a place in the curriculum than a strongly felt concern developing organically from work already being done at the Seminary. A conception of biblical theology is present, to be sure, in A. A. Hodge and B. B. Warfield, less clearly in Charles Hodge, but is not elaborated or given any special prominence, nor, more importantly, does it influence their theological methods in any significant way. On the Dutch side, Kuyper’s viewpoint is ambivalent. He rejects the notion of biblical theology. However, both he and Bavinck call for a study of the history of revelation, the latter especially emphasizing both the importance and traditional neglect of such study.

The period of study in Germany certainly must have stimulated Vos’s interest in biblical theology. But the “critical” conception he encountered there can hardly have been a decisive positive influence. At any rate, already in his inaugural address given in May, 1894, he provides a clear, fully developed discussion of the idea of biblical theology and its place among the other theological disciplines. The apparent conclusion is that Vos’s work in biblical theology is largely without direct antecedents and indicates the originality with which he wrestled with the matter of biblical interpretation in the Reformed tradition. It should also be emphasized, however, that he had a strong sense of his own place in that tradition and the thoroughly Reformed character of his work. Writing at the height of his career, he observed that Reformed theology “has from the beginning shown itself possessed of a true historic sense in the apprehension of the progressive character of the deliverance of truth. Its doctrine of the covenants on its historical side represents the first attempt at constructing a history of revelation and may justly be considered the precursor of what is at present called Biblical Theology.”

The long Princeton years were relatively quiet and untroubled, given over to teaching, research, writing, and occasionally preaching, with long and pleasant summers in the mountains of central Pennsylvania. Apparently there were no outside involvements or other complications which interrupted this pattern in any substantial way. Although he could and on occasion did state his position clearly and forcefully on the raging church controversy of this period, he did not, as did several of his colleagues, become extensively involved. Gentle and naturally retiring, he did not acquire a large following among the students. By many, perhaps the majority, he was probably more respected than understood. No doubt his lectures were like his writings, intrinsically difficult because of the wealth of insight packed into virtually every sentence.

The years of retirement appear to have been peaceful, spent first in southern California and then in Grand Rapids, where Vos died on August 13, 1949, at the age of 87. He lies buried in Roaring Branch, Pennsylvania, not far from the family summer home, beside his wife of 43 years, the author of the well-known Child’s Story Bible, who died in 1937. He was survived by three sons and a daughter.

Jonathan Edwards on Rulers and Magistrates

From Jonathan Edward's sermon, "God's Awful Judgment in the Breaking and Withering of the Strong Rods of a Community," dated June 26, 1748 a given on the occasion of the death of Col. John Stoddard:

Those that are by Divine Providence set in a place of public authority and rule, are called “gods, and sons of the Most High,” Psa. 82:6. And therefore it is peculiarly unbecoming them to be of a mean spirit, a disposition that will admit of their doing those things that are sordid and vile; as when they are persons of a narrow, private spirit, that may be found in little tricks and intrigues to promote their private interest. Such will shamefully defile their hands to gain a few pounds, are not ashamed to grind the faces of the poor, and screw their neighbors; and will take advantage of their authority or commission to line their pockets with what is fraudulently taken or withheld from others. When a man in authority is of such a mean spirit, it weakens his authority, and makes him justly contemptible in the eyes of men, and is utterly inconsistent with his being a strong rod.

But on the contrary, it greatly establishes his authority, and causes others to stand in awe of him, when they see him to be a man of greatness of mind, one that abhors those things that are mean and sordid, and not capable of a compliance with them: one that is of a public spirit, and not of a private narrow disposition; a man of honor, and not of mean artifice and clandestine management, for filthy lucre; one that abhors trifling and impertinence, or to waste away his time, that should be spent in the service of God, his king, and his country, in vain amusements and diversions, and in the pursuit of the gratifications of sensual appetites. God charges the rulers in Israel, that pretended to be their great and mighty men, with being mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink. There does not seem to be any reference to their being men of strong heads, and able to bear a great deal of strong drink, as some have supposed. There is a severe sarcasm in the words; for the prophet is speaking of the great men, princes, and judges in Israel (as appears by the verse next following), which should be mighty men, strong rods, men of eminent qualifications, excelling in nobleness of spirit, of glorious strength and fortitude of mind. But instead of that, they were mighty or eminent for nothing but gluttony and drunkenness.

The Unbegottenness and Aseity of God the Father

Excerpt from Richard A. Muller, Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics: The Rise and Development of Reformed Orthodoxy;  Volume 4: The Triunity of God (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003), 252–253.

"The initial proprietas distinctive of the Father is the negative property “unbegottenness” (agennesia) or as it is sometimes called “self-begottenness” (autogennesia), according to which his subsistence “non est ab alia persona, sed Filius & Spiritus ab ipso”—“is not from another person, but the Son and the Spirit are [both] from Him.” Even so, Scripture generally places the Father first in references to the Trinity (cf. Matt. 28:19; 1 John 5:7) not because of temporal precedence or greater dignity—for all three are eternal and possess the same perfections—but rather because “he is represented as begetting the Son and as sending the Holy Spirit” and is not himself begotten or sent by any. The Father, therefore, is traditionally identified as the principium, the “source” (sometimes the “cause”), and the “origin of all divinity” (originem totius Deitatis).

Thus, the primary positive personal property of the Father is that he is a se, of or from himself. This aseitas, moreover, is not merely the essential aseitas common to all persons of the Trinity, it is also the personal property of the Father: the Father is utterly self-existent, not only as God but also as Father—nor does the Father ever work by the power of another. The Father, unlike the Son and the Spirit, has no principium: he is ἄναρχον, whether according to essence or according to person. (The Son and the Spirit can be considered as existing a se only according to essence, given that their persons proceed from the Father as the principium of the Godhead.)"

Stephen Charnock: God's Providence is for our Comfort

Excerpt from Stephen Charnock, The Complete Works of Stephen Charnock, vol. 1 (Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; W. Robertson; G. Herbert, 1864–1866), 98–101.

"If all the providence of God be for the good of the church, if his eyes run to and fro to shew himself strong for them, it affords matter of great comfort. His providence is continual for them, Zech. 4:2. He hath seven pipes to convey kindness to them, as well as seven lamps whereby to discern their straits. His providence is as vast as his omniscience. The number of pipes belonging to the candlestick of the church is exact according to the number of lamps. The church’s misery cannot be hid from God’s eye, let it be in what part of the earth soever, for his eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth, and his sight excites his strength. Upon the sight of their distressed condition he watches only for the fittest opportunity to shew himself strong for them. And when that opportunity comes he is speedy in the deliverance of them: Ps. 18:10, ‘He rode upon a cherub, and did fly; yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.’ He doth not only ride upon a cherub, but fly. His wings are nothing but wind, which hath the quickest and strongest motion, which moves the greatest bodies, and turns down all before it. What is for the good of the whole hath an influence upon every member of the body.

1. It is comfort in duties and special services. Nothing shall be wanting for encouragement to duty, and success in it when God calls any to it, since all his providence is for the good of the church. Let there be but sincerity on our parts, in our attempts of service upon God’s call, and we need not fear a want of providence on God’s part. God never calls any to serve his church in any station, but he doth both spirit and encourage them. God hath in his common providence suited the nature of every creature to that place in which he hath set it in the world; and will he not much more in his special providence suit every one to that place he calls them to, for the service of his church? He did not forsake Christ in redeeming his church, neither will he forsake any in assisting his church. When Joseph of Arimathea would boldly demand the body of our Saviour, providence made the way plain before him; he meets with no check, neither from Pilate nor the priests, Mat. 27:58, Mark 15:43.

2. In meanness and lowness. It is one and the same God that rules the affairs of the whole world, of the church and of every particular member of it. As it is the same soul that informs the whole body, the meanest member as well as that which is most excellent. Not the meanest sincere Christian but is under God’s eye for good. The Spirit acts and animates every member in the church, the weakest as well as the most towering Christian. Baruch was but the prophet Jeremiah’s amanuensis or scribe, and servant to Jeremiah (who was no great man in the world himself), yet God takes notice so of his service, that he would particularly provide for him, and commands Jeremiah in a way of prophecy to tell him as much: Jer. 45:5, ‘I will bring evil upon all flesh, but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey, whithersoever thou goest.’

3. In the greatest judgments upon others. In an epidemical judgment upon the whole nation of the Jews, God would have a special care of Baruch. If he should cast his people far off among the heathen, and scatter them among the countries, yet even there he would be a little sanctuary unto them. His own presence should supply the want of a temple, so he is pleased to express himself, Ezek. 11:16. But how is it possible the great God can be but a little sanctuary? His eye is upon them to see their danger, and his hand upon them to secure them from it. His promise shall shield them, and his wings shall cover them, Ps. 91:4. While he hath indignation, he hath a secret chamber for their security, Isa. 26:20, an almighty shadow under which they abide, Ps. 91:1. In times of the most devouring danger he hath a seal to set upon their foreheads as a mark of his special protection. We never have so much experience of God’s care and strength as in times of trouble: Ps. 37:39, ‘He is their strength in time of trouble.’ He is a friend who is as able as willing, and as willing as able to help them, whose watchfulness over them is as much above their apprehension as it is above their merits.

4. In the greatest extremities wherein his people may be, there are promises of comfort, Isa. 43:2. Both in overflowing waters and scorching fires he will be with them; his providence shall attend his promise, and his truth shall be their shield and buckler, Ps. 91:4. That surely is a sufficient support; Christ thought it so, when he only said to his disciples, ‘It is I, be not afraid,’ John 6:17, 18. What though there be a storm, a darkness, and trouble, ‘It is I am he.’ The darkness of the night troubles not the pilot whilst he hath his compass to steer by. If all his providences be for the good of them that fear him, he can never want means to bring them out of trouble, because he is always actually exercised in governing that which is for their good, and till he sees it fit to deliver them, he will be with them. Great mercies succeed the sharpest afflictions, Jer. 30:5, 6, 7, &c. When there should be a voice of trembling, and men with their hands upon their loins, as women in travail, and paleness in their faces from the excess of their fears, in that day God would break the yoke from them, and they should serve the Lord their God, and David their king. Though the night be never so dark, yet it is certain the sun will rise and disperse its light next morning, and one time or other shew itself in its brightness. We have no reason to despond in great extremities, since he can think us into safety,—Ps. 40:17, ‘Lord, think on me,’—much more look us into it; his thoughts and his eyes move together.

5. In fear of wants. The power of the government of the world cannot be doubted. His love, as little as it seems, since it hath moved him to prepare heaven to entertain his people at the end of their journey, it will not be wanting to provide accommodation for them upon the way, since all things, both good and bad, are at his beck, and under the government of his gracious wisdom. His eyes run to and fro through the whole earth, not only to defend them in dangers, but supply them in wants, for his strength is shewed both ways. Doth he providentially regard them that have no respect for him, and will he not employ his power for, and extend his care to them that adore and love him, and keep up his honour in the world? He will not surely be regardless of the afflictions of his creatures. His people are not only his creatures, but his new creatures; their bodies are not only created by him, but redeemed by his Son. The purchase of the Redeemer is joined to the providence of the Creator. If he take care of you when he might have damned you for your sins, will he not much more since you are believers in Christ? And he cannot damn you believing, unless he renounce his Son’s mediation and his own promise. A natural man provides for his own, much more a righteous man: Pro. 13:22, ‘A good man leaves an inheritance to his children,’ much more the God of righteousness, a God who hath his eye always upon them. His eye will affect his heart, and his heart spirit the hand of his power to relieve them. He hath ‘prepared of his goodness for the poor,’ Ps. 68:10.

6. It is comfort in the low estate of the church at any time. God’s eye is upon his church even whilst he seems to have forsaken them. If he seem to be departed, it is but in some other part of the earth, to shew himself strong for them; wherever his eye is fixed in any part of the world, his church hath his heart, and his church’s relief is his end. Though the church may sometimes lie among the pots in a dirty condition, yet there is a time of resurrection, when God will restore it to its true glory, and make it as white as a dove with its silver wings, Ps. 68:13. The sun is not alway obscured by a thick cloud, but will be freed from the darkness of it. ‘God will judge his people, and repent himself concerning his servants,’ Ps. 135:14.* It is a comfort to God to deliver his people, and he will do it in such a season when it shall be most comfortable to his glory and their hearts. The very name Jerusalem some derive from Jireh Salem, ‘God will provide in Salem.’ The new Jerusalem is the title given to God’s church, Rev. 21, and is still the object of his providence, and he will provide for it at a pinch: Gen. 22:14, ‘Jehovah Jireh,’ God will raise up the honour and beauty of his church; great men shall be servants to it, and employ their strength for it when God shall have mercy on it, Isa. 60:10, 12; yea, the learning and knowledge of the world shall contribute to the building of it; ver. 13, ‘The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary. It shall be called the city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel, that she may know that the Lord is her Saviour, and her Redeemer, the mighty one of Jacob.’ As Christ rose in his natural, so he will in his spiritual body. If Christ when dead could not be kept from rising, Christ now living shall not be hindered from rising and helping his church. His own glory is linked with his people’s security, and though he may not be moved for anything in them because of their sinfulness, he will for his own name, because of its excellency: Ezek. 36:22, ‘I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name’s sake.’ As sorrows increased upon the Israelites, the nearer their deliverance approached.

Stephen Charnock: God's Glory Manifest in the Church

"It is in a man’s house where his riches and state is seen: it is in the church God makes himself known in his excellency, more than in all the world besides: Ps. 76:1, ‘In Judah is God known; his name is great in Israel. In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling-place in Sion.’ It is in his church he doth manifest his power. It is called, therefore, ‘a glorious high throne: Jer. 17:12, ‘A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.’ Kings use to display all their glory and majesty upon their thrones; in this sense heaven is called God’s throne, Isa. 60:1, because the prospect of the heavens affords us discoveries of the wisdom and power of God, more than in any other visible thing, both in their essence, magnitude, and motion: so is there a greater discovery of God’s attributes in the church (which is also styled heaven in Scripture) than in the whole world besides; there it is that the angels look to learn more of the wisdom of God than they understood before, Eph. 3:10. It is there the day of his power dawns, Ps. 110:3. It is there his saints see his power and his glory, Ps. 63:2; the sanctuary is called the firmament of his power, Ps. 150:1. The glory of God’s attributes is centred in Christ in a higher manner than in the creation; and in that work did excel themselves in what they had done in the framing of the world; and the church being the glory of Christ, all those attributes which are glorified in Christ, do in and through him shine forth more clearly upon the church, than upon any other part of the world. He styles himself their Creator, as much as the Creator of the whole frame of heaven and earth: Isa. 43:15, ‘I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.’ As though all the attributes of God, his power in creation, his holiness in redemption, were designed for none else but them: and indeed by virtue of the covenant they were to be so; for if God be their God, then all of God is theirs. What wisdom, power, sufficiency, grace, and kindness he hath, is principally for them. If God be their God, it is in their concerns he will glorify himself as a God in the manifestation of his perfections. This cannot be without the ordering all providences for their advantage."

--Stephen Charnock, The Complete Works of Stephen Charnock, vol. 1 (Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; W. Robertson; G. Herbert, 1864–1866), 86–87.

The Importance of the Trinity among the Protestant Reformers

An excerpt from Richard A. Muller, Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics: The Rise and Development of Reformed Orthodoxy;  Volume 4: The Triunity of God (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003), 143–144.

"Whether positively in their creedal and catechetical expositions and their various manuals or bodies of doctrine or in their responses to the early antitrinitarians, the Reformers uniformly gave testimony to the importance of the doctrine of the Trinity in their theology and to the necessity of respecting the mystery of the doctrine. The doctrine of the Trinity, according to the Reformers and their successors, belonged to the category of fundamental and necessary articles. Even Melanchthon’s early exclusion of the doctrine from his set of treated loci (albeit not from his listing of foundational topics) had more to do with issues related to speculation than with the question of necessary beliefs for Christians. When Melanchthon added an exposition of the doctrine to later editions of his Loci communes, the trinitarian model became the central issue of his doctrine of God, given far greater detail than the unity of essence and the attributes, for, as Melanchthon testifies, although the mystery of the Trinity is beyond all human comprehension, some attempt at expressing the doctrine must be made in order to distinguish Christian worship from that of the pagans.

In the confessions and theological systems of the Reformers the doctrine of the Trinity is almost invariably placed in the creedal or catechetical order, early on in the order of doctrines, preceded only by preliminary matters and the discussion of Scripture, and followed immediately by creation and providence. Insofar as many of these works do not have extended discussions of the divine essence and attributes, the doctrine of the Trinity receives the central place in the doctrine of God."

Jonathan Edwards Goes Digital

Those who love the writings of Jonathan Edwards will be pleased to know that Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, assisted by the Jonathan Edwards Center, has completed a high‐resolution scan of the entire Edwards Collections at both Yale University and Andover Newton Theological School.

Go to beinecke.library.yale.edu to view and use the scans. It is recommended that you first go to the Finding Aid Database, enter GEN MSS 151 (the record group number for the Edwards Collection), and bookmark or download the manuscript inventory. This will be needed in order to enter manuscript titles correctly into the digital scan collection. The work has been overseen by Professor A.C. (Adriaan) Neele, a member of the World Reformed Fellowship, who is Research Scholar, and Digital Editor at the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University, and Professor of Historical Theology and Director at the Jonathan Edwards Centre Africa of the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Richard Muller on Reformed "Uses" of Divine Infinity, Omnipresence, and Eternity

Excerpt from Richard A. Muller, Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics: The Rise and Development of Reformed Orthodoxy;  Volume 3: The Divine Essence and Attributes (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003), 362–364.

"The Reformed orthodox writers also indicate several practical consequences that ought to be drawn from the doctrine of God’s infinity, omnipresence, and eternity: as is the case with the other topics belonging to the doctrine of God, meditation on eternity was not a matter of philosophical interest or purely rational inquiry for the Reformed orthodox. The doctrine had significant implications for piety, which can be gathered under three specific categories: comfort to the godly; terror to the wicked; and incentive to press on toward the goal of salvation.

First, the issue of comfort. In the promise of salvation, God offers an infinitely valuable reward—“for as God is infinite, such is the Happiness he bestows.” From God’s greatness or omnipresence, Perkins argues, it follows that he is “the knower of the heart” from whom nothing is hidden. “This omnipresence of God ought to render us sure of his divine assistance in all dangers, and diligent in religion through all our lives, since he is ‘not far from every one of us’ (Acts 17:27). It is said that he is wise who lives in this world as in a temple, and thinks of God as everywhere present.” Thus Leigh similarly states that God’s omnipresence has the value of teaching the godly “to be sincere and upright, because they walk before God” (Gen. 17:1). God is present with all people and understands their inmost thoughts: “this should curb them from committing secret sins, and encourage them to perform private duties, Matt. 6:6”

Since it is eternal God and not a temporally limited being who orders and guides all things, believers can be certain that the goal of drawing the world toward “eternal felicity” is within the power of God. Since, moreover, God is eternally the same, he is a constant guide “all the days of their life” who will “after death receive us to the everlasting enjoyment of himself, and revive our dust.” In our present condition, consideration of God’s eternity provides “a mighty advantage for the strengthening of our faith in pleading with God for the same mercies, which he hath formerly bestowed upon others, because he is the same yesterday, today, and for ever.” The contemplation of the eternity of God also draws the mind away from transitory things and points human beings toward their own “capacity of … endless blessedness” far transcending the limited blessings of the world: “remember, when you are tempted for wealth or honour to wrong your soul, that these are not the eternal riches.” “Canst thou not run with patience so short a race,” Baxter writes, “when thou lookest to so long a rest?”

Second—the negative side of the doctrine: it cuts against the complacency of the wicked and, if believed by them, fills them with terror concerning their destiny. The wicked, Manton writes, “may outlive other enemies, but they cannot outlive God, who abideth forever to avenge his quarrel against them.” For their sin of preferring the creature to the creator, earth to heaven, temporal things to eternal, the wicked are deprived both of the eternal favor of God (which they scorned) and the delights of the natural order (which they wrongfully desired): “How just is it for God to make them everlastingly to lie under the fruits and effects of their own evil choice!” Eternity “is a terror to the wicked; he shall ever be to make them everlastingly miserable; as heaven is an eternal Palace, so hell is an everlasting Prison.” It is a primary mark of the saving knowledge of God that it removes or abolishes vain confidence in the transitory and looks to the eternal and unchangeable God as the foundation of our trust and as the one on whom we can “depend … in all things.”

Third, the concept of eternity offers a practical support and stimulus to the life of faith. Inasmuch as “practical” knowledge directs the knower toward a goal, Christians need to recognize that “the truth of [God’s] eternal being is the object of our faith” just as “the apprehension of him as our chief good and felicity is the object of our love.” This is so of God’s eternity since, in a penultimate sense, our faith seeks as its object “our participated eternity” as the goal of “all our desires and labors … the expectation of [which] fortifieth us against all the difficulties of our pilgrimage, and so directeth us what to mind, be, and do.” “We must carefully and earnestly seek him, place our happiness in him that is everlasting; all other things are fleeting; if we get his favor once, we shall never lose it; he will be an everlasting friend; his truth and mercy remains forever [Psalm 117:2; 146:6].” God’s eternity, as an article of our belief (1 Tim. 1:16) and as the ground of our soul’s eternal happiness, is a proper subject for daily meditation.

God’s love and election are also eternal, and he will give eternal life to all believers. That which is eternal, is perfect at once; therefore he should be adored and obeyed, his counsel followed.

Negatively, Baxter could argue that “the infidel and ungodly man that looks not after an eternal end, destroys all the mercies of God, and makes them no mercies at all” inasmuch, for example, our creation and continued being is a mercy of God, but only as “it is in order to our eternal end.” The denial of God’s eternity, Baxter continues, is therefore an assault on the truth and significance of all Christian doctrine.