Introduction There is much more to “end-times” or ultimate things (Eschatology) than what we say actually happens in the last days. We say what we do about eschatology because of what we think God is doing in history. At the center of . . . Continue reading →
Americans believe in and really like the extraordinary. We speak frequently—and not without some reason—of American exceptionalism. Since the 1720s Evangelical Christianity in America has been dominated by a desire to see and experience the extraordinary whether that be the attempt to . . . Continue reading →
For God in his mercy has permitted the powers of the intellect to remain, though differing greatly from what was in man before the fall. God commands us to cultivate our natural talents, and meanwhile adds both gifts and success. And it . . . Continue reading →
Because of the obsession with short-term results that may be contained with the terms and demands of a single life, the interest of community is displaced by the interest of career. The careerist teacher judges himself, and is judged by his colleagues, . . . Continue reading →
…there are many passing references to music scattered throughout the writings of the Fathers. Most of the passages deal with psalmody and vocal music, but a few are concerned with musical instruments. The authors of these passages were almost unanimous in rejecting . . . Continue reading →
For the great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie—deliberate, contrived, and dishonest—but the myth—persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. . . . Continue reading →
The Latin Bible was a major formative influence on the way the Reformed theologians interpreted Scripture. The King James Version/Authorized Version (1611) particularly reflects the influence of the Latin Bible but its influence reverberates in many English translations. It influenced their word . . . Continue reading →
The question has been raised as to just what the divines might have meant by the noun “psalms” in the Westminster Confession of Faith (1648).1 WCF 21.5 says, 5. The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear, the sound preaching and conscionable . . . Continue reading →
Praise ye him in the sound of the 1trumpet: praise ye him upon the viol and the harp. 1. Psalm 150:3 Exhorting the people only to rejoice in praising God, he maketh mention of those instruments which by God’s commandment were appointed . . . Continue reading →
(HT: Daily Signal)
Obj. 4. Further, In the Old Law God was praised with musical instruments and human song, according to Ps. 32:2, 3: “Give praise to the Lord on the harp, sing to Him with the psaltery, the instrument of ten strings. Sing to . . . Continue reading →
Dr. Girardeau has defended the old usage of our church with a moral courage, loyalty to truth, clearness of reasoning and wealth of learning which should make every true Presbyterian proud of him, whether he adopts his conclusions or not. The framework . . . Continue reading →
We Reformed folk like to think that what we do now in public worship is what we have always done. This is especially easy to do when we are cut off from or unaware of the original sources and practices of our . . . Continue reading →
Concerning his use of musical instruments, David is not the example given for us to imitate according to Calvin. Rather, in the Reformer’s interpretation, David uses the harp in bringing praise to theLord as an additional typological aspect to worship in the . . . Continue reading →
It should always be seen to that the song should not be light and frivolous, but that it have weight and majesty, as saith St. Augustine; and also that there is a great difference between the music that is employed for the . . . Continue reading →
Under the subject line “2k” P writes, If Abraham the sojourner had no trouble making secular deals with people in Canaan, why did he refuse the offer of possessions from the king of Sodom? What would have been so wrong if the . . . Continue reading →
. . . though this flattening of the covenant relationship throughout the course of history, before and after the fall, may have a superficial appeal, it has huge implications for the way we interpret the respective “work” of Adam and Christ, the . . . Continue reading →