The Government of Messiah is the Earth’s Principal Joy

“It is the mediatorial government of the Messiah which the Psalmist had more immediately in view; and this is the principal cause of joy to the earth and its guilty in-habitants. This is a kind of government peculiar to the human race; the upright angels do not need it, and the fallen angels are not favoured with it. This is invested in the person of Immanuel, ” who is made head over all things to his church,” Eph. i. 22; “to whom all power in heaven and earth is given,” Matt. xi. 27, and xxviii. 18. This is the kingdom described in such august language in Dan. ji. ver. 44, 45, and vii. 14. Luke i. 32, 33. Hence that Jesus who was mocked with a crown of thorns, and condemned as a criminal at Pilate’s bar, wears on his vesture and on his thigh this majestic inscription, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. Rev. xix. 16. And behold I bring you glad tidings; this kingdom of God is come unto you, and you are called to become its subjects, and share in its blessings. Wherever the gospel is preached, there Jehovah sits upon a mercy-seat in majesty tempered with condescending grace. From thence he invites rebels that had rejected his government to return to their allegiance, and passes an act of grace upon all that comply with the invitation. To his throne of grace he invites all to come, and offers them the richest blessings. From thence he publishes peace on earth, and good will towards men. From thence he offers pardon to all that will submit to his government, and renounce their sins, those weapons of re-bellion. From thence he distributes the influences of his Spirit to subdue obstinate hearts into cheerful submission, to support his subjects under every burden, and furnish them with strength for the spiritual warfare. He subdues their rebellious corruptions, animates their languishing graces, and protects them from their spiritual enemies. He enacts laws for the regulation of his church, appoints ordinances for her edification, and qualifies ministers to dispense them. He hath ascended up on high; he hath received gifts for men; and these he hath distributed, and given “some apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,” Eph. iv. 8, 11, 12. And it is by virtue of authority derived from him, that his ministers now officiate, and you receive his ordinances at their hands. Now how happy are we, that we live under the mediatorial administration! under the empire of grace!

—Let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad upon this account. And let us pray that all nations may become the willing subjects of our gracious Sovereign.

If this administration of grace had not yet been erected, in what a miserable situation should we have been! guilty, miserable, and hopeless! Let us rejoice that the King of heaven, from whom we had revolted, has not suffered us to perish without remedy in our unnatural rebellion, but holds out the sceptre of his grace to us, that we may touch it and live.” Samuel Davies, sermon: “The Divine Government the Joy of Our World”

Catholic Epistles veering more toward a Byzantine text form? This is getting interesting.

This is getting interesting. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the ECM NT looks like.

ECM ( Editio Critica Maior) is a project to produce a new revision of the Greek New Testament based on existing manuscripts and papyri, that is revolutionizing the field of textual criticism.  The Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung (INTF) in Münster has added computer data analysis to evaluate not only textual variants, but the relationship of variants to their reading and textual family. It sounds like there are some interesting changes. The catholic epistles have been published in the latest Nestlé-Aland 28^th edition published by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft (German Bible Society). Klaus Wachtel, a representative of the INTF spoke about the project at a gathering of the Society of Biblical Literature, and noted that the preferred text of the catholic epistles has veered more toward the Byzantine text compared to previous Nestlé-Aland editions! Startling admission. This could get interesting. The text of Acts, the gospels, and Pauline epistles are still a work in progress. I’m interested to see if these also veer more toward a Byzantine text type based on computer data driven analysis of variants, readings, and text families.

Quotes Daniel B. Wallace, “As INTF worked through the Catholic letters, they came to see much greater value of the Byzantine manuscripts than they had previously. In Wachtel’s presentation, he noted that the NA²⁷ displayed “prejudice against the Byzantine tradition” while the NA²⁸ recognized the “reliability of the mainstream tradition.” This is a welcome change in perspective, made possible because of exhaustive collations.”

Daniel B. Wallace

Overview

At the annual Society of Biblical Literature conference held in Chicago last month, the latest edition of the Novum Testamentum Graece, or the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament, was unveiled. This has been a long time coming—nineteen years to be exact. The Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung (INTF) in Münster is behind this production, and deserves accolades for its fine accomplishment. This is the first new edition of the Nestle-Aland text since the death of Kurt Aland, the founder of the INTF.

Inexplicably, even though the new text was available at SBL—both as just the Greek text and in diglot with English translations—it could not be acquired through Amazon until later. I pre-ordered a couple copies last April; the diglot arrived in November but the Greek-only text will not be released until January!

Several gave presentations on the new Nestle-Aland text at SBL. Klaus Wachtel of INTF gave an…

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A New Bible study starts next week in San Diego!

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is not only supremely elegant.  It is foundational to Christian doctrine.  If you are in San Diego next Wednesday, stop by and take part!

I have written a study guide organized in 13 lessons that we will use as a basis for a weekly Bible study.  It is entitled, Chosen To Be Holy: Ephesians. I will have copies to give away at the Bible study.

We will go through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians together.

starts: Wednesday, October 24, 6:30 PM

Mira Mesa Branch Public Library, San Diego

8405 New Salem ST

summary of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:

God has chosen you in Christ to be holy, to the praise of his glory, raised you with Christ from your former state of spiritual death, saved you by grace, and united you together into one body of Christ. Therefore, live accordingly.

http://www.reformationmiramesa.com

Augustine of Hippo on Revelation 20:3 “little season”

On the contrary, we are rather to believe that in these days there shall be no lack either of those who fall away from, or of those who attach themselves to the Church; but there shall be such resoluteness, both in parents to seek baptism for their little ones, and those who shall then first believe, that they shall conquer that strong one, even though unbound—that is, shall both vigilantly comprehend, and patiently bear up against him, though employing such wiles and putting forth such force as he never before used; and thus they shall be snatched from him even though unbound. The City of God, book 20, chapter 8

Galatians and the Mosaic Covenant

The Mosaic covenant, while being an administration of the covenant of grace, was a “legal administration.”
This means that it came along with a rigorous reapplication of the law of God broken in Eden, and many
statutes and commandments intending to teach the people of God “under age” as minors, so to speak, not to look for salvation in their
own works, as if the commandment had never been broken in Eden, but to look to Him who was to come. The
Judaizers in Paul’s day were misusing the Mosaic law by trying to make it a way of salvation, which it
was never intended to be, since Israel at Sinai had already broken God’s law in Adam, and in many other sins.
Now the Church has reached a mature stage compared with the Church at Sinai. We do not need all the “picture books”
and ceremonies. But looking back, we nonetheless see that the Mosaic covenant was one and the same with the New
Covenant.

John 1:16 nkj And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

These verses do not describe a difference in kind between the covenants of Moses and Christ, but an increase in degree of the same kind of thing. “grace for grace”

Eusebius on Christ’s fulfillment and cessation of prophecy/priesthood/kingship

Now there were among the Hebrews three outstanding offices of dignity, which made the nation famous, firstly the kingship, secondly that of prophet, and lastly the high priesthood. The prophecies said that the abolition and complete destruction of all these three together would be the sign of the presence of the Christ. And that the proofs that the times had come, would lie in the ceasing of the Mosaic worship, the desolation of Jerusalem and its Temple, and the subjection of the whole Jewish race to its enemies…The holy oracles foretold that all these changes, which had not been made in the days of the prophets of old, would take place at the coming of the Christ, which I will presently shew to have been fulfilled as never before in accordance with the predictions.” (Eusebius, Demonstratio Evangelica VIII)

A Fervent Prayer for Help in Keeping God’s Commandments–Psalm 119 Devotional (Tau)

ת Tau

169 Let my cry come before You, O LORD;
Give me understanding according to Your word.
170 Let my supplication come before You;
Deliver me according to Your word.
171 My lips shall utter praise,
For You teach me Your statutes.
172 My tongue shall speak of Your word,
For all Your commandments are righteousness.
173 Let Your hand become my help,
For I have chosen Your precepts.
174 I long for Your salvation, O LORD,
And Your law is my delight.
175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise You;
And let Your judgments help me.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
Seek Your servant,
For I do not forget Your commandments.  Psalm 119 nkj

The psalmist cries to the LORD for help, but in what?  He asks God to teach him His statutes.  There is a teaching through the ear.  When we hear the word of God, like when it is preached, we are being taught.  Likewise also when we read it.  But there is an inner teaching of the Holy Spirit as well, that all those who are born again (from above) enjoy.  We notice 5 things mentioned by the Psalmist:

1. He has sinned against God terribly and possibly often. (v176a)
2. He remembers God’s commandments. (v176b)
3. Despite his sin, he desires to follow the law of God and delight in it. (v174, This is a characteristic of those who are born again of the Holy Spirit.)
4. He prays a fervent prayer for the inner teaching of the Holy Spirit to make him to understand and keep the law of God–to go and do good instead of sin, obedience instead of rebellion. (v169, 170)
5. He praises God for the answer to prayer, when he is enabled to keep His commandments.(v175)

Let us follow the example of the psalmist.  We are sinners.  If you can relate to the confession, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep,” you’re like every other Christian.  If we hear, read, and delight in God’s law, as all those who are born from above will do, then let us pray fervently to ask God to give us understanding to keep it: His statutes and commandments, and to give us victory over sin in our life.  And praise Him for the gift of repentance that He gives in answer to prayer.

This brings us to the end of Psalm 119.  If you’ve been blessed by these posts, send me a message and let me know, as I consider whether to continue with other Psalms.  You might also consider subscribing to this blog by entering your email address in the widget on the right side of this page to receive new posts directly.

The Word of God is our Peace and Treasure–Psalm 119 devotional (Shin)

שׁ Shin

161 Princes persecute me without a cause,
But my heart stands in awe of Your word.
162 I rejoice at Your word
As one who finds great treasure.
163 I hate and abhor lying,
But I love Your law.
164 Seven times a day I praise You,
Because of Your righteous judgments.
165 Great peace have those who love Your law,
And nothing causes them to stumble.
166 Lord, I hope for Your salvation,
And I do Your commandments.
167 My soul keeps Your testimonies,
And I love them exceedingly.
168 I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies,
For all my ways are before You. Psalm 119 nkj

The word of the Lord is such a blessed thing for Christians, that we have “great peace” because of its commandments and promises, no matter what else life brings, even if the rich and powerful come after us for no reason.  The word of God is worthy of perfect praise.  Seven is the number of perfection in Scripture.  Those who have it have found a great treasure or “spoil” (KJV).  Far more than the loot or booty that the world may offer those who seek after it, the word of the Lord brings security and satisfaction to those who trust in Him as He has spoken in it.  We are blessed as Christians in America to have a glut of Bibles printed–and not only do we have Bibles, there are still faithful churches to be found, much more than in most other parts of the world, where the Bible is faithfully preached for our learning and understanding.  Meditate on God’s word, thank God for it, treasure it, and be at peace today and everyday.

The Word of God is Truth–Psalm 119 devotional (Resh)

ר Resh

153 Consider my affliction and deliver me,
For I do not forget Your law.
154 Plead my cause and redeem me;
Revive me according to Your word.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked,
For they do not seek Your statutes.
156 Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord;
Revive me according to Your judgments.
157 Many are my persecutors and my enemies,
Yet I do not turn from Your testimonies.
158 I see the treacherous, and am disgusted,
Because they do not keep Your word.
159 Consider how I love Your precepts;
Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.
160 The entirety of Your word is truth,
And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. Psalm 119 nkj

Every word of God is truth.  Though the world does not believe this, it is a truth that one day every tongue will acknowledge.  The world hates believers because it hates God, and in fact it has a hard time getting along with anyone in general, even unbelievers.  The wicked heart of man creates strife and conflict in this world.  In the meantime, Christian, in the midst of this unbelieving world, where treacherous enemies and persecutors are many, stick to the word of God.  Read it.  Hear it.  Meditate on it.  Read it together with others.  This word is your source of strength in a topsy-turvy world.  Those who trust in it, because of the Lord who gave it, will have inner life and peace no matter what the world brings.  It is a characteristic of those who are on the way of life, on their way to heaven, that they love the word of God.  The Holy Bible in the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments is our only sure guide that God has given for us to know him and serve him in this life.  Know it, believe it, obey it, and rejoice in it.  He will deliver all of those who trust in His word.

A Desperate and Manly Cry for Help Brings Deliverance–Psalm 119 devotional (Qoph)

ק Qoph

145 I cry out with my whole heart;
Hear me, O Lord!
I will keep Your statutes.
146 I cry out to You;
Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies.
147 I rise before the dawning of the morning,
And cry for help;
I hope in Your word.
148 My eyes are awake through the night watches,
That I may meditate on Your word.
149 Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness;
O Lord, revive me according to Your justice.
150 They draw near who follow after wickedness;
They are far from Your law.
151 You are near, O Lord,
And all Your commandments are truth.
152 Concerning Your testimonies,
I have known of old that You have founded them forever. Psalm 119 nkj

The Christian life is one of a struggle against the sinful flesh.  Even as redeemed children of God, trusting in His Son Jesus Christ for salvation, we commit sins daily, and these sins bring consequences.  God acts as a loving father to discipline his wayward children, and often it’s the cruel mercies of the wicked that come against us when we have failed to walk in obedience.  But the psalmist’s manly and desperate cry for help to God is our expression hope in Him for deliverance in these trials in life.  We cannot hope for deliverance from the cruelties of this world, or for victory over the sin that reigns in our bodies, unless we genuinely cry out to God for it.  Jesus said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6

Be like the psalmist, and cry out for help against sin reigning in your life today and everyday.  And go in faith that God will answer your desperate prayer.