Posts from 2012

Posts from 2012

The Sovereignty of God

There is no attribute more comforting to His children, than that of God’s sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials — they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is nothing for which the children of God ought more earnestly…

The Glorious Mystery of the Incarnation

In this meditation John Owen brings us face to face with the glorious mystery of the incarnation which we celebrate at Christmas: But had we the tongue of men and angels, we were not able in any just measure to express the glory of this condescension; for it is the most ineffable effect of the divine wisdom of the Father and of the love of the Son, — the highest evidence…

My God

My God, Thou art all my good in times of peace, my only support in days of trouble, my one sufficiency when life shall end. Help me to see how good Thy will is in all, and even when it crosses mine teach me to be pleased in it. Grant me to feel Thee in fire, and food and every providence, and to see that Thy many gifts and creatures are but Thy hands and fingers taking…

Importance of Worship

As one looks over the geography of the Book of Exodus a clear and somewhat surprising pattern emerges as Daniel Hyde draws our attention to in ‘God in Our Midst’. Exodus takes place in three geographic locations. The story opens where Genesis ends—with Israel in Egypt—and continues there in chapters 1–13 (cf. Gen. 50:22–26). After leaving Egypt in the dark of night, the…

Christ Our King

The Scriptures plainly declare that “the Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over it” (Ps 103:19). Christ is the Lord over his creation. His throne is in heaven, and He is king over creation. This kingship is ‘His official power to rule all things in heaven and on earth, for the glory of God, and for the execution of God’s…

Christ our Priest

The priestly office of Christ occupies a major place in the NT and includes not only a discussion of the office itself, but also of Christ’s sacrificial death to redeem sinners from their sin. In Hebrews we are told “to fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess” (Heb 3:1). We are informed that we “have a great high priest who has gone…

Christ our Prophet, Priest & King

It was John Calvin who brought the so-called ‘threefold office’ of Christ into prominence. The threefold office presents Jesus Christ as prophet, priest, and king, who in his saving work, fulfilled all the anointed offices of the Old Testament. For Calvin, ‘the Son of God, therefore, is not properly called Christ apart from his office, for it is there, in his official…

Two Kinds of Wisdom

It isn’t just wisdom that we need.  It’s a certain kind of wisdom.  There are two kinds.  There are two very different angles of vision for seeing everything, two opposing strategies for negotiating life, as the Bible makes clear in James 3:13-18.  One wisdom is “earthly, unspiritual, demonic.”  That’s blunt.  The other wisdom “comes down from above.”  The former wisdom…