10 People and Psalm 119

Manton/Wilberforce

1. Thomas Manton, a prolific 17th-century Puritan, wrote a massive, three-volume commentary exclusively on Psalm 119, spanning 190 separate chapters and over 1,600 pages.
2. George Wishart, Bishop of Edinburgh, in the 17th century (not to be confused with another Scot by the same name who was martyred a century earlier) was condemned to death for his faith. But when he was on the scaffold, he made use of a custom that allowed the condemned person to choose one psalm to be sung, and he chose Psalm 119. Before two-thirds of the psalm had been sung, his pardon arrived and his life was spared.
3. William Grimshaw of Haworth was accustomed to round-up the unwilling with a whip, prowling the village mid-service whilst the congregation was singing a psalm — a favourite one being Psalm 119, because it was the longest.
4. Matthew Henry the famous Bible commentator was raised on the Psalm. His father, Philip Henry, made the children meditate on one verse every single morning, cycling through the entire Psalm twice a year to foster a lifelong love for scripture.
5. William Wilberforce the 19th-century British politician who led the movement to abolish the slave trade frequently recited Psalm 119 from memory during his daily walks back from Parliament to calm his mind and maintain political courage.
6. David Livingstone the famous 19th-century Scottish pioneer missionary and explorer of Africa famously won a New Testament at his local church Sunday school when he was only 9 years old by flawlessly reciting the entire Psalm.
7. John Ruskin the art critic was made to emmorise the Psalm. He reflected heavily on it in his later years, famously noting how his mother's strict childhood enforcement of the chapter transitioned from feeling "repulsive" to becoming his most "precious" biblical text, representing an "overflowing and glorious passion of love for the Law of God".
8. Henry Martyn, the pioneer Anglican missionary to India in the early 19th century, famously memorised the entirety of Psalm 119 in 1804. During his arduous life of translating scriptures into local languages and facing exhaustion, he confessed that it was the Word of God alone that gave him strength.
9. Martin Luther held Psalm 119 in the highest regard, famously stating that he would not exchange a single leaf of it for the entire world. He viewed the psalm not just as a prayer, but as a core textbook for spiritual formation, using it to define his famous "three rules for studying theology" (prayer, meditation, temptation).
10. Charles Spurgeon, the "Prince of Preachers" deeply loved Psalm 119 and highly recommended the Exposition of Psalm 119 by Charles Bridges, calling it "worth its weight in gold."

Westminster Conference 2024 Day 2

Arthur

Weicken

Ebenezer

Our opening paper on day two was a little different in that our speaker Phil Arthur sat, owing to his current health problems. Also, he made good use of the powerpoint facility to guide us through his subject. The subject was Luther and the Peasants revolt 1524, 1525. Owing to Luther's exasperation with the peasants and his outspoken comments this has become a controversial subject. With no attempt to defend the indefensible Phil gave a sympathetic portrait of Luther as he interacted with Thomas Muntzer and the peasants. The famous quote from Luther is as follows

The peasants have taken upon themselves the burden of three terrible sins against God and man; by this they have merited death in body and soul ... they have sworn to be true and faithful, submissive and obedient, to their rulers ... now deliberately and violently breaking this oath ... they are starting a rebellion, and are violently robbing and plundering monasteries and castles which are not theirs ... they have doubly deserved death in body and soul as highwaymen and murderers ... they cloak this terrible and horrible sin with the gospel ... thus they become the worst blasphemers of God and slanderers of his holy name.

We had a good discussion on the perennial subject of the Christian and the civil government.

In the afternoon Florian Weicken from Zurich spoke on Bullinger and the Decades, the theological writings that had such a widespread effect in their time and beyond. This was an excellent introduction to the Swiss Reformer and his 50 sermon work of systematic theology. Discussion followed.

The last paper of the day marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of John Elias (1774-1841) and was an excellent survey of the who, the what, the how, etc, from Alun Ebenezer. Great conference once again. Can we expect another Elias? A lot has changed but the gospel has not.

For my John Elias blog see here.

Latest Lunch Time Lecture at the Library

There was another online lecture on Monday when Dr Ian Densham spoke on Calvin and worship. This is something of a companion piece to a previous lecture on Luther the Wittenberg Nightingale. We were about twenty or so listening in. The lecture can be found here on YouTube (the Luther one is also there - see here and my own lecture given the previous time = see here). The next lunch time lecture online is from Norman Hopkins on Joseph Ivimey, March 25. Our annual lecture is live at the Library and is on June 3, when David Campebell will speak on Alexander Stewart of Moulin.

Westminster Conference Papers 2021 Print Version Out

I note that the papers from the conference at the end of last year are now in print. There are eight papers altogether as we have included the two online papers from 2020 on Luther and Bellarmine. The final paper is the printed version of my own on Benjamin Beddome. It reads okay, with only two or three of the most minor of typos. Well done John Harris.

The Nightingale of Wittenberg

 

We had the first of our Autumn lectures in connection with the Evangelical Library on Monday. Dr Ian Densham, one of our trustees, gave an excellent lecture on Luther the Wittenberg Nightingale. The paper covered much of Luther's life but focussed on his love of music and his reforms in that area. Dr Densham showed both how radical and how conservative Lither was in his approach to this. He drew on a surprisingly large amount of secondary literature on the subject and referred positively also to audio programmes the BBC have produced on the subject such as this one here A square dance in heaven.

Evangelical Library Annual Lecture 2021

Yesterday we had about sixty there for the Annual Lecture of the Evangelical Library. This is the second time we have had the annual lecture in this format and although there are some disadvantages there are also some advantages to this form.

This year is the five hundredth anniversary of Luther's famous appearance before the Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms. We were taken very ably through the events that led up to and followed the Diet by David McKay, Professor of Systematic Theology, etc at the Reformed Theological College in Belfast and pastor of Shaftesbury Square Reformed Presbyterian church in the city.

We had

1. The Road to Worms - the debates at Augsburg and Leipzig and Luther's writings in that period.

2. The Confrontation at Worms - burning the papal bull, heeding the summons, answering the charges,  affirming the truth of the authority of Scripture alone

3. The Aftermath - the Wartburg, further fruitful work and subsequent controversy

There was a brief time for questions then our time came to an end. A very good evening.

10 People who died at the age of 62

No shortage of these

1. Martin Luther
2. D L Moody

3. Aristotle

4. Ludwig Wittgenstein

5. G K Chesterton

6. Peter Paul Rubens

7. Aneurin Bevan

8. Evelyn Waugh

9. Adam Faith

10. Henry Havelock

Westminster Conference 2020

CAPTIVE TO GOD’S WORD

You may be aware that the Westminster Conference this year has not been possible but there is a short online version next week. The two sessions will be

Tuesday 1st December 2020

2.00pm ~ LUTHER AND AUTHORITY

DAVID MCKAY ~ Pastor of Shaftesbury Square RPC, Belfast

Luther stands astride the history of the Reformation like a colossus. We all know, or think we know, his famous, “Here I stand …” But what governed his life and bound his heart? Who or what directed Luther’s steps? In some respects, he could be seen as a flamboyant rebel with a stiff neck. In others, he appears a humble subject with a bent knee. We need to see him in a milieu in which authority was very differently understood in comparison to our own day, and to learn how he wrestled with and submitted to authority, whether God’s or man’s.

3.15pm ~ BELLARMINE AGAINST THE REFORMERS

LEONARD O DE CHIRICO ~ Pastor of Breccia di Roma

If you read much Protestant and Reformed theology from the 16th and 17th centuries, especially of a more polemical kind, you are likely to come up against the name of Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621). Who was this man, and why was he such a significant interlocutor with the Reformers and their successors? Leonardo De Chirico will introduce the man, survey his works and his thought, and help us to understand how and why he became one of the most prominent and even respected opponents of the Protestant Reformation.

The conference will be on more than one platform. The Youtube link is

Westminster Conference 2020 on YouTube 

Westminster Conference 2020 on Facebook

So, God willing, the conference will run from 2pm until 5pm on Tuesday 1st December 2020. Two of our original speakers will be joining us to deliver two papers, followed by a round table discussion.

At 2pm, David McKay, pastor of Shaftesbury Square RPC, Belfast, will speak on Luther and Authority. After a short break, at 3.15pm Leonardo De Chirico, pastor of Breccia di Roma, will address us on Bellarmine against the Reformers. Immediately following this paper, our two speakers will participate 

in a moderated round table discussion. We expect to conclude by about 5pm.

Anyone is welcome to join us. We hope that this may be an opportunity for many who do not normally attend the conference in person to get a taste of the theology and history which we love to study and from which we delight to learn. Some eighty have registered so far.

As we are not holding a full conference this year, there will be no printed publication for 2020

10 Non-Welsh Welsh Names

Here are 10 common and less common names that I think of as Welsh but that are not Welsh in origin (Aled, Gareth, Hywel, etc). After each one I have given a rough figure of how many were born in Wales with that name between 1880 and 1990. The names tend to start off in England then spread to Wales where they dominate.

1. Haydn, Hayden or Haydon (thousands)
2. Byron (890 and more)
3. Mansel (810)
4. Denzil (474)
5. Luther (384)
6. Handel (267)
7. John Elias (166)
8. Calvin (71)
9. Omri (22)
10. Mozart (6)

10 Things in German History that happened on November 9

1. 1522. Birth of German theologian and Refomrer Martin Chemnits (I would have put Martin Luther here but he was born on November 10, 1473).

2. 1518. Pope condemns Luther's writings.

3. 1848. After being arrested in the Vienna revolts, left liberal leader Robert Blum was executed. Many see the execution as symbolic of the ultimate crushing of the German March Revolution in April, May 1849.

4. 1918: Emperor Wilhelm II was dethroned in the November Revolution by Chancellor Max von Baden, who published the news of an abdication before the Emperor had abdicated. Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the German republic from a window of the Reichstag. Two hours later, Karl Liebknecht proclaimed a "Free Socialist Republic" from a balcony of the Berliner Stadtschloss.

5. 1921. Publication of Der 9. November (The 9th of November) a novel by Bernhard Kellermann telling the story of the German insurrection of 1918.

6. 1922: German born Albert Einstein named winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect".

7. 1923: The failed Beer Hall Putsch, 8 to 9, marking the early emergence and provisional downfall of the Nazis.  During Nazi rule 9 November was a national holiday in Germany in memory of Nazis who died in the Beer Hall Putsch.

8. 1923: Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, chose 9 November for his return to Germany from exile in the Netherlands. It infuriated his father, the former emperor, who felt the anniversary of his abdication ill-chosen.

9. 1938: Kristallnacht. Known today in Germany as the Reichspogromnacht, on 9 to 10, synagogues and Jewish property were burned and destroyed on a large scale, and more than 400 Jews were killed or driven to suicide. The event demonstrated that the antisemitic stance of the Nazi regime was not as 'moderate' as it had appeared in earlier years.

10. 1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall ended German separation and started a series of events that ultimately led to German reunification and the Fall of Communism in eastern Europe.

Midweek Meeting December 5 2018

Good session Wednesday as we started on Isaiah 9:6. The twelve of us present, including one visitor. As ever, plenty to pray about and good prayers. Found lovely quotes from Luther and Oswalt. Luther

Therefore this is the chief article, which separates us from all the heathen, that you, O man, may not only learn that Christ, born of the virgin, is the Lord and Saviour, but also accept the fact that he is your Lord and Saviour, that you may be able to boast in your heart: I hear the Word that sounds from heaven and says: This child who is born of the virgin is not only his mother’s son. I have more than the mother’s estate; he is more mine than Mary’s, for he was born for me, for the angel said, “to you” is born the Saviour. Then ought you to say, Amen, I thank you, dear Lord. But then reason says: Who knows? I believe that Christ, born of the virgin, is the Lord and Saviour and he may perhaps help Peter and Paul, but for me, a sinner, he was not born. But even if you believed that much, it would still not be enough, unless there were added to it the faith that he was born for you…Take yourself in hand, examine yourself and see whether you are a Christian! If you can sing: The Son, who is proclaimed to be a Lord and Saviour, is my Saviour; and if you can confirm the message of the angel and say yes to it and believe it in your heart, then your heart will be filled with assurance and joy and confidence, and you will not worry much about even the costliest and best that this world has to offer…You see how a person rejoices when he receives a robe or 10 guldens. But how many are there who shout and jump for joy when they hear the message of the angel: To you is born this day the Saviour? … For, if it is true that the child was born of the virgin and is mine, then I have no angry God and I must know and feel that there is nothing but laughter and joy in the heart of the Father and no sadness in my heart ….

Oswalt

This point underlines the central paradox in Isaiah’s conception of Yahweh’s deliverance of his people. How will God deliver from arrogance, war, oppression, and coercion? By being more arrogant, more warlike, more oppressive, and more coercive? Surely, the book of Isaiah indicates frequently that God was powerful enough to destroy his enemies in an instant, yet again and again, when the prophet comes to the heart of the means of deliverance, a childlike face peers out at us. God is strong enough to overcome his enemies by becoming vulnerable, transparent, and humble – the only hope, in fact for turning enmity into friendship.

In Writing 131 now available

A new edition of In Writing is now available from the Evangelical Library. It includes Phil Arthur's 2017 annual lecture on Martin Luther and a piece I have written on David Brainerd.

Luther once again

It was good to be in Westminster Baptist Church once again on Monday for the Westminster Fellowship. Dr Robert Oliver spoke on first on Luther and then on what we can do to conserve the Reformation gains - namely in the areas of Scripture, worship and confessionalism. Dr Oliver is an excellent historian and was able to retell the story with quiet skill, highlighting things that I have missed so far this year (for example that Luther was a friar not a monk as he is usually called and how although Luther was generally unimpressed with Rome the hospitals did impress him). We had a good discussion session too. An interesting question was the construction of confessions. I sought to make the point that confessions are not only a doctrinal stick to beat out heretics but a doctrinal carrot that omits certain controversial matters in order to foster unity (my example was friends in Cyprus who omit the filioque clause in their standards not because they do not believe it but becasue it is such a cause of contention in the Greek speaking world; Mostyn Roberts referenced the way Christ's active obedoence is not stated in the Westminster Confession). This point appeared to be lost on some of those present. We were about twenty all told. Richard March from Milton Keynes chaired.

Reformation: The Story Of Martin Luther on BBC 4

There are a pair of 90 minute German dramas that were shown on BBC 4 still available here. The dialogue is in German (with some Latin) and English subtitles. Reflecting modern scholarship the dramas focus not only on Luther but also by way of contrast Thomas Muntzer. Carlstadt also features and Spalatin and Cranach get more of a role. There appears to be no Melanchthon. Under 16s are warned off becasue of some violence. All this helps to narrow down to the essential elements but like so many such dramas eagerness to be relevant means that we get a rather 21st century approach, the main characters not appearing to be from another age at all. The one thing it perhaps does do is to give one an opportunity of entering into the sort of mindset that lived through Reformtion.

Luther on justification

The third incomparable grace of faith is this, that it unites the soul to Christ, as the wife to the husband; by which mystery, as the Apostle teaches, Christ and the soul are made one flesh. Now if they are one flesh, and if a true marriage - nay, by far the most perfect of all marriages - is accomplished between them (for human marriages are but feeble types of this one great marriage), then it follows that all they have becomes theirs in common, as well good things as evil things; so that whatsoever Christ possesses, that the believing soul may take to itself and boast of as its own, and whatever belongs to the soul, that Christ claims as his.

If we compare these possessions, we shall see how inestimable is the gain. Christ is full of grace, life, and salvation; the soul is full of sin, death, and condemnation. Let faith step in, and then sin, death, and hell will belong to Christ, and grace, life, and salvation to the soul. For, if he is a husband, he must needs take to himself that which is his wife’s, and, at the same time, impart to his wife that which is his. For, in giving her his own body and himself, how can he but give her all that is his? And, in taking to himself the body of his wife, how can he but take to himself all that is hers?

In this is displayed the delightful sight, not only of communion, but of a prosperous warfare, of victory, salvation, and redemption. For since Christ is God and man, and is such a person as neither has sinned, nor dies, nor is condemned - nay, cannot sin, die, or be condemned - and since his righteousness, life, and salvation are invincible, eternal, and almighty; when, I say, such a person, by the wedding-ring of faith, takes a share in the sins, death, and hell of his wife, nay, makes them his own, and deals with them no otherwise than as if they were his, and as if he himself had sinned; and when he suffers, dies, and descends to hell, that he may overcome all things, since sin, death, and hell cannot swallow him up, they must needs be swallowed up by him in stupendous conflict. For his righteousness rises above the sins of all men; his life is more powerful than all death; his salvation is more unconquerable than all hell.

Thus the believing soul, by the pledge of its faith in Christ, becomes free from all sin, fearless of death, safe from hell, and endowed with the eternal righteousness, life, and salvation of its Husband Christ. Thus He presents to Himself a glorious bride, without spot or wrinkle, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word; that is, by faith in the word of life, righteousness, and salvation. Thus He betrothes her unto Himself "in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies" (Hosea ii. 19, 20).

Who then can value highly enough these royal nuptials? Who can comprehend the riches of the glory of this grace?

Martin Luther, On the Freedom of a Christian Man

Nick Needham on Luther

Nick Needham answering questions with Edward Malcolm seated

It was great to be at the Protestant Truth Society Conference today with about 50 or 60 others at the college and seminary in Finchley. I wanted to go to something on Luther this month and this was a good choice I'm sure. In the chair was Edward Malcolm of the PTS and the speaker was Nick Needham, pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church in Inverness and lecturer in church history at HTC in Dingwall. Nick is always worth hearing and he was very good today on the material and the formal principle of the Reformation, that is justification by faith and Scripture alone. Perhaps the first message on the formal principle was superior but both were excellent papers. We also had good question sessions following the two papers.

That first message included two excellent quotations that I will include in separate blogs.

Martin Luther Renegade and Prophet

Back in July last year, I bought a copy of Lyndal Roper's biography of the great Reformer. I really got into it early on but then put it down but I picked it up again more recently when we decided to do it at The Pastors' Academy Reading Group.

For various reasons numbers were down and only four of us gathered to discuss the book at our meeting yesterday. It's always good to talk over a book, however, and it was interesting to see what others thought. We agreed that it was a very readable and thorough book that gives a rounded picture of Luther - the good, the bad and the ugly. We were in agreement that no-one could really read this book and come away thinking Luther was some sort of plaster saint.

Be warned that some of the imagery, content and language in this book is outside the usual remit of evangelical publishing.

We were most dismayed at his advocacy of secret bigamy and some of his other advice on marriage and divorce and his manic insistence on the real presence, not to mention his magisterialism and his attitude to the Jews.

One thing we could not agree on is how well Dr Roper understands Luther.

Do get hold of the book if you want a very thorough treatment of the man that we're all talking about this month.

We will meet again in the new year, God willing and look at a book from the past. The exact tome is to be decided.

Spelling mistakes, etc

I know the idea of correct spelling and such like strikes some people as a rather pedantic. Perhaps it is but my fear is that inattention to such minutiae is symptomatic of a deeper malaise. Here is an example from my recent reading.

The Story of Everything by Jared C Wilson published by Crossway, page 13. Just over halfway down there is a reference to a "stunning climatic scene" in a film. A "stunning climactic scene" surely. See here.

More controversially I was surprised to see in Grace Alone Salvation as a gift of God by Carl Trueman published by Zondervan, page 128, that Luther strived for many years to gain assurance. I would have thought the strong form strove the obvious word to prefer there but I may just be out of sync there.

PS We have plenty of typos on this blog, which I try to correct but these are mistakes (or not mistakes in the case of the second example) not typos.

(I was going to include here Martin Luther Renegade and Prophet by Lyndal Roper published by Bodley Head, page 346 . At the beginning of the section on Anabaptists comes a reference to "ideas of millenarian violence". I thought it should be millennarian (as in Millennialism) but apparently not.

Luthers at the Uffizi

A couple from the church were in Florence recently. I was surprised to realise that the above picture which I recognised as a Cranach portrait of Martin and Katie is housed in the Uffizi there. Not sure how that happened.

Luther and the 9.5 Theses

This review for another little book recently appeared in Evangelical Times

Luther and the 9.5 Theses

by Kenneth Brownell

July 2017

Publisher: 10 Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-91127-236-6 

Pages: 104

Price: 4.99

Unless you have been hiding in a monastery, you will know that this year is the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation. A plethora of publications have appeared, drawing attention to this fact at various levels and from different points of view. This title comes from Dr Brownell, who has been pastor of East London Tabernacle for over 30 years.

This little book is one of the shorter contributions. It should not be sneered at, however, as in brief and accurate compass it not only gives you the essential story of Martin Luther and his 95 theses but places before us 10 theses for today. These follow careful reflection on the original historical debate, but also speak powerfully to today’s world.

To take one example, the third modern thesis is that ‘Unbiblical doctrines and practices in churches contradict or undermine the gospel and need to be challenged, repudiated and discarded if Reformational Christianity is to flourish’.

Brownell chases down some obvious culprits, such as liberalism, Romanism and the prosperity gospel. He also highlights two areas closer to home, namely pastoral care that is little more than pop psychology, and public worship that does not exalt the Triune God or build up God’s people before a watching world.

On page 62, the author refers to Luther as one who could write learned treatises as well as simple books. Dr Brownell is blessed with the same gift and this present volume is evidence of it. Like Luther’s own work, it is theologically informed writing that not only engages the mind but the will and the emotions also.

Like Luther’s Sermon on indulgences and grace, which was reprinted 24 times between 1518 and 1520, this book is designed for mass distribution. Let’s hope it gets it.