Heidelberg Catechism – Lord’s Day 39 on the Fifth Commandment with ESV

Lord’s Day 39

104. What does God require in the fifth Commandment?

That I show all honor, love, and faithfulness to my father and mother, [1] and to all in authority over me, [2] submit myself with due obedience to all their good instruction and correction, and also bear patiently with their infirmities, since it is God’s will to govern us by their hand. [3]

[1] Gen 9:24-25; Ex 21:17; Prov 1:8-9, 4:1, 15:20, 20:20; Eph 6:1-6, 22; Col 3:18, 20-24; [2] Mt 22:21; Rom 13:1, 2-7; 1 Pt 2:18; [3] Deut 27:16, 32:24; Prov 13:24, 30:17; Eph 6:4, 9; Col 3:19, 21; 1 Tim 2:1-2, 5:17; Heb 13:17-18

Genesis 9:24-25
24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”

Exodus 21:17
Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.

Proverbs 1:8-9
8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, 9 for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.

Proverbs 4:1
Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,

Proverbs 15:20
A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

Proverbs 20:20
If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

Ephesians 6:1-6
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. 5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,

Ephesians 6:22
I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.

Colossians 3:18
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

Colossians 3:20-24
20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Matthew 22:21
They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Romans 13:1
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

Romans 13:2-7
2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

1 Peter 2:18
Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.

Deuteronomy 27:16
“‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

Deuteronomy 32:24
They shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured by plague and poisonous pestilence; I will send the teeth of beasts against them, with the venom of things that crawl in the dust.

Proverbs 13:24
Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

Proverbs 30:17
The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.

Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:9
Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

Colossians 3:19
Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.

Colossians 3:21
Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

1 Timothy 2:1-2
1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

1 Timothy 5:17
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

Hebrews 13:17-18
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. 18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.

Zacharias Ursinus on Humility

VI. HUMILITY is to acknowledge that all the good which is in us, and done by us does not proceed from any worthiness or excellency which we possess, but from the free goodness of God, and so by an acknowledgment of the divine majesty, and our own weakness and unworthiness, to submit ourselves to God, to ascribe the glory of all the good which is in us to him alone, and so to fear God, to acknowledge and deplore our imperfections and faults, and not to desire any higher position for ourselves, than that which God has assigned to us, nor to be dissatisfied with our gifts, but by the help of God to remain contented and satisfied with our calling and position in life, and not to despise others who are placed in more desirable situations than ourselves, nor to hinder them in the discharge of their duty, but to acknowledge that others are, and may also become profitable instruments of God; and therefore to attribute and yield to them willingly the place and honor due them, and not to attribute to ourselves, or attempt that which it is not in our power to accomplish, nor claim for ourselves a higher degree of excellence than others possess, but to be contented with the gifts and position which God has assigned us, and so to devote all our gifts and endeavors to the glory of God and the salvation of our fellow men, even of those who are of the lower and more unworthy class, and not to murmur against God, if our hopes are disappointed, or we are despised, but in all things to attribute to God the praise of wisdom and righteousness. “Who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it.” “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” “Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” “Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” (1 Cor. 4:7. 1 Pet. 5:5. Matt. 18:4.  Phil. 2:3.)

The opposite of humility, as it respects the want of this virtue, is pride, or arrogance. Pride consists in attributing the gifts which we possess, not to God, but to our own worthiness, and natural powers, and so includes an admiration of self and of our gifts. He who is possessed of pride does not fear God, neither does he acknowledge or deplore his imperfections he is continually aspiring after a more elevated position and calling in life, and attributes to himself not in the strength of God, but in that of his own powers, what he does not possess attempts things beyond his strength, and foreign to his calling despises those who are above him in life, yields to none, but desires to go before and excel others, and directs his gifts and counsels to his own praise and glory is displeased with God and man, and frets and speaks against God when his desires and projects are not realised, and even accuses God of error and injustice when the divine arrangements do not fall in with the opinions and wishes of men. Or to express it more briefly, we may say, that pride consists in an admiration of self and of one s own gifts and attainments, attributing these gifts to itself, attempting things that do not properly fall within its sphere, and fretting against God, when disappointed in the gratification of its own wishes and desires. Of this vice it is said: “God resisteth the proud.” “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord.” (1 Pet. 5:5 Prov. 16:5.)

A feigned modesty or humility is the opposite of this virtue as it respects the other extreme. This affected modesty consists in courting the praise of humility by denying those things which any one in his own mind attributes to himself, whether he really possess them or not, and by refusing those things which he desires and endeavors to obtain secretly. “Moreover, when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (Matt. 6:16.) Aristotle terms it affected niceness, as though he would call it a feigned fastidiousness. Some translate the words used by Aristotle, vain glorious dissemblers.  The words of Aristotle (Ethic, lib. 4. cap. 7.) may be rendered thus: “Those who dissemble in things that are small and manifest, are called skilful dissemblers, and are generally despised; and sometimes it consists in pride, as the wearing of a Lacedemonian attire.” This counterfeit humility is, therefore, a pride that is two-fold.  pp. 514-515

Ursinus, Zacharias Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, n.d.)

For more, see http://www.seeking4truth.com/ursinus/zuquestion94.htm

Meredith Kline – Critique of the Disproportionality View of God’s Promised Reward to Adam

The following excerpt is from Kingdom Prologue, pp. 114-115 by Meredith G. Kline

Unfortunately, however, gospel grace has been commonly defined by the term unmerited. Then, when unmerited is also used for the divine benevolence in creation an illusion of similarity, if not identity, is produced. As a result the term grace gets applied to God’s creational goodness. And the mischief culminates in the argument that since “grace” is built into the human situation at the outset, the covenant that ordered man’s existence could not be a covenant of works, for works is the opposite of grace. If we appreciate the forensic distinctiveness of grace we will not thus confuse the specific concept of (soteriological) grace with the beneficence expressed in the creational endowment of man with his ontological dignity. We will perceive that God’s creational manifestation of goodness was an act of divine love, but not of grace. And we have seen that the presence of paternal love in a covenantal arrangement is no impediment to its being a covenant of works.

Another form of the attack on the Covenant of Works doctrine (and thus on the classic law-gospel contrast) asserts that even if it is allowed that Adam’s obedience would have earned something, the disproportion between the value of that act of service and the value of the proferred blessing forbids us to speak here of simple equity or justice. The contention is that Adam’s ontological status limited the value or weight of his acts. More specifically his act of obedience would not have eternal value or significance; it could not earn a reward of eternal, confirmed life. In the offer of eternal life, so we are told, we must therefore recognize an element of “grace” in the preredemptive covenant. But belying this assessment of the situation is the fact that if it were true that Adam’s act of obedience could not have eternal significance then neither could or did his actual act of disobedience have eternal significance. It did not deserve the punishment of everlasting death. Consistency would compel us to judge God guilty of imposing punishment beyond the demands of justice, pure and simple. God would have to be charged with injustice in inflicting the punishment of Hell, particularly when he exacted that punishment from his Son as the substitute for sinners. The Cross would be the ultimate act of divine injustice. That is the theologically disastrous outcome of blurring the works-grace contrast by appealing to a supposed disproportionality between work and reward.

The disproportionality view’s failure with respect to the doctrine of divine justice can be traced to its approach to the definition of justice. A proper approach will hold that God is just and his justice is expressed in all his acts; in particular, it is expressed in the covenant he institutes. The terms of the covenant – the stipulated reward for the stipulated service – are a revelation of that justice. As a revelation of God’s justice the terms of the covenant define justice. According to this definition, Adam’s obedience would have merited the reward of eternal life and not a gram of grace would have been involved.

Refusing to accept God’s covenant word as the definer of justice, the disproportionality view exalts above God’s word a standard of justice of its own making. Assigning ontological values to Adam’s obedience and God’s reward it finds that weighed on its judicial scales they are drastically out of balance. In effect that conclusion imputes an imperfection in justice to the Lord of the covenant. The attempt to hide this affront against the majesty of the Judge of all the earth by condescending to assess the relation of Adam’s act to God’s reward as one of congruent merit is no more successful than Adam’s attempt to manufacture a covering to conceal his nakedness. It succeeds only in exposing the roots of this opposition to Reformed theology in the theology of Rome.

The drift toward Rome is evidenced by the fruits as well as the roots of the views that repudiate the idea of merit and the law-gospel contrast. For blurring the concepts of works and grace in the doctrine of the covenants will inevitably involve the blurring of works and faith in the doctrine of justification and thus the subversion of the Reformation message of justification by faith alone.

Ursinus on Law and Gospel in Conversion

The means or instrumental causes of conversion are the law – the gospel, and again, the doctrine of the law after that of the gospel. For the preaching of the law goes before, preparing and leading us to a knowledge of the gospel: “for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Rom. 3:20.) Hence, there can be no sorrow for sin without the law. After the sinner has once been led to a knowledge of sin, then the preaching of the gospel follows, encouraging contrite hearts by the assurance of the mercy of God through Christ. Without this preaching there is no faith, and without faith there is no love to God, and hence no conversion to him. After the preaching of the gospel, the preaching of the law again follows, that it may be the rule of our thankfulness and of our life. The law, therefore, precedes, and follows conversion. It precedes that it may lead to a know ledge and sorrow for sin: it follows that it may serve as a rule of life to the converted. It is for this reason that the prophets first charge sin upon the ungodly, threaten punishment, and exhort to repentance; then comfort and promise pardon and forgiveness; and lastly, again exhort and prescribe the duties of piety and godliness. Such was, also, the character of the preaching of John the Baptist. It is in this way, that the preaching of repentance comprehends the law and the gospel, although in effecting conversion each has a part to perform peculiar to itself.  p. 472

Ursinus, Zacharias Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, n.d.)

For more, see http://www.seeking4truth.com/ursinus/zuquestion90.htm

Comfort from the Covenant of Redemption – Sacred Bond: Covenant Theology Explored

Knowing that our salvation was planned out by the triune God before the foundation of the world gives us unspeakable comfort.  If you are a Christian, it is because the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit covenanted together in eternity to save you.  You are not a Christian because you are better, smarter, or possess a softer heart than other people.  You are a Christian because the Father chose you in the Son, the Son fulfilled the conditions for your salvation, and the Spirit applied to you the redemptive benefits of the Son’s work.  When you are tempted to doubt your salvation, remember that Christ said, “It is finished,” and that the Father is satisfied with the work of his Son.  Your salvation remains secure, not because of anything you do, but because Christ finished the work the Father gave him to accomplish and satisfied God’s justice.  Consequently, the Father has highly exalted him.  The obedience-reward pattern in the covenant of redemption causes us to look to Christ rather than ourselves for assurance of our salvation.  pp. 37-38

Brown, Michael G. & Keele, Zach, Sacred Bond: Covenant Theology Explored; Reformed Fellowship, Inc. 2012, Grandville, MI

Lectures based upon this book are currently being delivered by Michael Brown and are available here: http://christurc.org/catechism_others.html

Michael Brown and Zach Keele,

Sacred Bond is an introduction to covenant theology geared to the lay reader. This book gives an introduction to the nature of a covenant and the various covenants in Scripture: the covenant of redemption, the covenant of works, the covenant of grace, the common grace (Noahic) covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, the Davidic covenant, and finally the new covenant. The authors explain how these covenants relate to each other and provide brief explanations of how these covenants relate to justification, sanctification, and the law/gospel distinction.

More about the book below.  HT: Pilgrimage to Geneva

Authors Michael Brown and Zach Keele are both Alumni of Wesminster Seminary California.

Click Here to Order the Book

An excerpt from the introduction:

“What is a covenant? A covenant is a formal agreement that creates a relationship with legal aspects. By relationship, we do not mean merely those relationships of husband-wife, or government-citizen—though these are included—but also the relationship of giving your word to do something. If you tell your neighbors that you will feed their dogs while they are on vacation, this is a commitment or agreement. You have a relationship with your neighbor just by being her neighbor, but giving your word that you will feed the dogs is a commitment, a covenant of sorts. A covenant can be commitment, promise, or oath. In fact, in the Bible, promise and oath are often used as synonyms for covenant.”

“People often ask me for a basic or introductory book on covenant theology. Now we’ve got one—Sacred Bond. Brown and Keele explain covenant theology in basic and readable terms. Better yet, they do so without succumbing to the tendency to talk down to the reader or make the complicated too simplistic—a common problem with introductory texts. This book does many things well, but perhaps the most important thing it does is that it will help people to better understand their Bibles. That, it seems to me, is what makes this book so valuable. And that is why you should buy it, read it, and digest it. To understand covenant theology is to understand the Bible.”—Dr. Kim Riddlebarger, pastor of Christ Reformed Church (URCNA) in Anaheim, CA, and author of A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times

“Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest this wonderful guide. In doing so, you will be much better equipped to know what you believe and why you believe it.”—From the foreword by Dr. Michael S. Horton, Professor of Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California

See more on Covenant Theology here: http://pilgrimagetogeneva.com/category/covenant-theology/

The Obligations Imposed on Abraham from Horton’s Systematic Theology

God did, of course, impose obligations on Abraham, but they were the consequence rather than the conditions of his promise.  In some sense, faith may be considered a condition of receiving Christ and all of his benefits, but even in this instance it is contrasted with works.  The works that believers are called to “walk in” are the way of life, not the way to life.  Despite its imperfections, this grateful response can be offered by us precisely because the stability of the covenant depends on Christ’s life of thanksgiving and his guilt offering cancels the sin clinging even to our best works.  While the moral commands continue to indicate the course that our sanctification is to take, it is from the gospel alone that we draw our strength.  Union with Christ is not a goal, but the presupposition, of our new obedience: “If we have died with him, we will also live with him;  if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself”  (2Ti 2:11-13). p. 617

Horton, Michael Scott (2011) The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way, Zondervan, Grand Rapids

Selections from The Pearl of Christian Comfort by Petrus Dathenus

The Pearl of Christian Comfort is a dialogue between Petrus Dathenus and Lady Elizabeth de Grave.  It is based upon letters Dathenus wrote to Elizabeth in 1584 that were later collected and published in 1624.  Dathenus is more mature in the Christian faith and in this dialogue graciously explains to Elizabeth how to rightly distinguish between law and gospel and to find comfort in the work of Christ.  Those familiar with the Heidelberg Catechism will find many echoes of it throughout this wonderful little book.  My goal is to highlight some quotes from this gem.

To set the context, Elizabeth confesses faith in Christ but finds herself with heaviness of heart due to her failures. “First of all, I feel that I am one of those who knows Gods will but does not do it (Luke 12:47). Therefore I can only expect to be afflicted with many stripes. After all, the Bible says plainly that all those who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law; for not those who hear the law but those who do the law will be justified (Rom. 2:12-13).” p. 5 (See a related post on Romans 2:13 and the Covenant of Works).

Dathenus on Law:

The law is a declaration of the unchangeable will of God. By the threat of eternal damnation it binds everyone to complete and perpetual obedience, to fulfill all that God has commanded in His commandments (Deut. 5:6; 27:26). Wherever either the Old or New Testament teaches that this perfect obedience is required of us, there the law is emphasized and taught (James 2:10; Gal. 3:12). p. 8

All precepts that admonish us and exhort us to perform all that we owe to God and to our neighbor are law. For example, the entire fifth chapter of Matthew, where Jesus says to us, “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause;…whosoever shall say, Thou fool” (Mat. 5:22); “whosoever looketh on a woman to lust” (Mat. 5:28); and all similar statements they are all the law, which demands of us that which we are not able to keep and requires what we are not able to perform. Just to cite another example, where Jesus says, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Mat. 19:17). There He speaks of and prods us with the law; also wherever He requires something similar of us. So also for various reasons Paul, Peter, John, and other apostles have done, in their writings and exhortations. p. 8

While it may seem unfair that the law commands perfect obedience, Dathenus in his counsel wisely directs Elizabeth to consider Adam, being created upright in the Garden.  He writes, “The law had its beginning when God created Adam in His image and implanted His law in Adams heart. The law of God was there then, as the image of God in which Adam was created, made as Paul says, in true righteousness and holiness.”  Elizabeth acknowledges “…Adam was created to rightly know and love his Creator, to obey Him and to do good to his neighbor in love.” Both here are echoing Heidelberg Catechism Q/A 6.

6. Did God create man thus, wicked and perverse?

No, but God created man good and after His own image, that is, in righteousness and true holiness, that he might rightly know God his Creator, heartily love Him, and live with Him in eternal blessedness, to praise and glorify Him.

Dathenus then draws out the distinction between Adam’s moral ability prior to the fall and our inability in our post fall condition to obey God perfectly as he has commanded.

“God not only gave Adam His law but also the ability and liberty to completely fulfill the law. For Adam, as he was created, was wise, pure, and immortal. Once Adam had fallen from innocence, he became a servant and slave of sin and of the devil. Adam stood before the choice of life and death, and by the exercise of his own free will, he chose death. By this fall Adam not only brought death to himself, but also to all his descendants.” p. 10

When Elizabeth questions the justice of God, Dathenus writes, “Notice that in creating humanity, God gave humans the freedom and ability to keep His law perfectly. How can it be unjust of God to require back from us what He has once granted us?” p. 12

Once Dathenus has laid the initial groundwork of the law, the discussion ensues regarding the Gospel.

Dathenus on Gospel:

The Greek word for gospel denotes joyful good news which causes people to speak and sing joyfully and be glad in heart, just like the good news that came to Israel that David had triumphed over the arrogant Goliath and slain him (1 Sam. 18:6).

Such also is the good news of the gospel that proclaims to us and tells us that God will be gracious to a poor sinner, and will forgive and forget our sins (Jer. 31:34; Heb. 8:12). Yes, for Christs sake (1 Tim. 1:15) God will regard us as holy and righteous (2 Cor. 5:21), out of pure grace, by faith alone, without adding any works (1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 3:28). p. 17

Watch for future posts.

The Pearl of Christian Comfort by Petrus Dathenus is available through Reformation Heritage Books.

Related Posts:

The Distinction between Law and Gospel in Reformed Faith and Practice by Michael Horton

Petrus Dathenus (1531-1588) – Law and Gospel (Portion of the Full Dialogue) at iustitia aliena

Properly distinguishing Moses and Christ from The Pearl of Christian Comfort at Reformedreader

The Gospel in the Narrow Sense, Herman Witsius

Selection on Trusting Christ in the Gospel from A Treatise on Spiritual Comfort by John Colquhoun, D.D

Source: A Treatise on Spiritual Comfort by John Colquhoun, D.D, pp.  180-184

3. Be persuaded to trust accordingly in Jesus Christ, for all the inestimable blessings and comforts of a free salvation, to yourselves in particular. Come, as unworthy, as lost sinners in yourselves; come, not upon the ground of any qualifications in yourselves, but upon the warrant afforded you by the gospel-offer, and intrust your whole salvation to the compassionate Saviour. Rely with unsuspecting confidence, on the faithful, the dear Redeemer, for the enjoyment of all that is offered to you, in the glorious gospel. There, all the love of his heart is, in and with himself, offered to you: trust therefore that he loveth you°. His consummate righteousness is granted to you: rely upon it for all your title to eternal life. All his salvation is also presented to you, for your acceptance: trust therefore that his right hand will save you.  Since it is all offered to you, as a free gift of grace; trust, with the entire approbation and consent of your hearts, that he will save you in a way of boundless grace. Seeing all the good things of this life, which are necessary for you, are likewise offered; trust that he will give you these also, in the kind, and the measure, that he sees good for you *.  All the promises of his eternal covenant, are, in the indefinite offer, left and directed to you: trust therefore that he will perform them to you, and so, save you with an everlasting salvation. The absolute promises of the Spirit and of faith especially, are, in the offer, given to you: trust that he will give his Spirit to you, and thereby enable you, yet more and more to believe in him. O that ye knew what a comfort it is, that the great Redeemer hath made it your duty, to trust at all times in Him, and in God through him. He commandeth you to trust in him, with all your heart’; and therefore you may be assured that, he will not deceive your confidence, nor disappoint your expectation. Ah! if a faithful and able friend but suggest, that you may depend on him for relief, in some external difficulty, ye will most readily confide in him, and believe that he will not deceive you; and yet, you cannot trust a faithful, an almighty Redeemer, though he com mandetb you to do it, and promiseth ” that lie will not turn away from you, to do you good ‘.”

4. Love not the good things of this world so, as to place, either your happiness, or your confidence, in them. No objects whatever can continue in your possession, except Christ and God in him. No mercies can either be satisfying, or sure to you, but ” the sure mercies of David u.” Set not, then,such a high value on any of the empty and transitory things of this world, as to put it in their power ever to disquiet your souls. Reproaches, injuries, losses,—these are all without you: they cannot come in to your souls to vex them; unless ye yourselves, open the door to let them enter. The Lord sends affliction upon your bodies, and it may be, permits men to injure you in your good names, and worldly estates; but it is yourselves only, who suffer these, or any other outward calamities, to enter and to vex your souls. The things of this world, are still so high in your estimation, and they lie so near to your heart, that you cannot suffer the loss of any of them, without vexation of spirit . Ah! that the world should seem so great, and that God in Christ should appear so small, in your view, as not to satisfy you, except when ye can have the world along with him! O watch diligently, against the inordinate love of earthly things; for it will dispose you to indulge distracting care, and repining opposition of spirit, to the holy disposals of adorable providence. It is anxious care, and peevish discontent, that are often, at first, the occasions of melancholy. They usually so disturb a man’s mind, as to render it defenceless against those temptations, respecting the state of his soul, with which Satan will afterwards assail him. The disquietness, which hath been occasioned by outward crosses, is then removed to his conscience, and so inflames it, that he begins to be for a long season, oppressed with many fears about the salvation of his soul. Thus, as if the Lord had not afflicted him enough, he adds to his own affliction. Only consider how heinous a sin it is, so to love the world, as to set up your own wills, in opposition to the holy will, and providence of the ‘Most High. By repining against Him, you secretly accuse him,and by accusing him, ye blaspheme his worthy name. Consider that, the resignation of your wills in every thing, to the will of God, is a principal branch of holiness; and that, it is in proportion as ye take complacency in His blessed will, that your hearts are comforted. O be persuaded to trust firmly that, God in Christ loves you and bestows Himself upon you, as your everlasting portion; and that, the Lord Jesus will give you that which is good, and withhold no good thing from you: for that is the way, through the Spirit, to mortify the inordinate love of the world.

5. Be not solitary, but as little and as seldom as possible. A time for retirement from company is, indeed, to those Christians who are well, a season of the greatest value for meditation, self examination, and prayer; but to you, it is a season of great danger. If the devil, with his temptations, assaulted Christ himself, when he found Him in a Wilderness, remote from company; much more will he assail you, if he find you solitary. It is your duty therefore to be, as often as attention to your other duties will permit, in the company of humble, faithful, and cheerful Christians; especially, of those whose views of the gospel are clear, whose faith is strong, and who can speak from experience, of deliverance from dejection of spirit. It may also be of advantage to you, if ye confer at a time, even with Christians, whose cases are similar to your own; in order to be satisfied, that your condition is far from being singular.

1 John iv. 16. p Ps. exxxviii. 7. % Acts xv. 11. 1 Fs. lxxxjv. 11. 9 Frov. iii. 5.

* Jer. xxxii-. 40. * Isa. Iv. 3,

The Mosaic Covenant: Works or Grace?

Reblogged from The Reformed Reader:

In his helpful book, An Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith, Robert Shaw (d. 1863) discussed the Mosiac (or Sinaitic) covenant in a way similar to Francis Turretin and other Reformed theologians.  Here’s what Shaw wrote in his comments on WCF 19.2.

“It may be remarked, that the law of the ten commandments was promulgated to Israel from Sinai in the form of a covenant of works. 

Read more… 292 more words

Was Robert Shaw pronounced outside of the bounds of Reformed Theology by holding to a Republication of the Covenant of Works? I don't think so! This is a very helpful post at The Reformed Reader

Related articles

• Beyond Calvin: Union with Christ and Justification in Early Modern Reformed Theology (1517-1700) (wateristhickerthanblood.wordpress.com)

Romans 2:13 and the Covenant of Works

In Romans 2:13, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.”  How is this passage to be applied in the Christian life?  This old post from the Heidelblog has a very helpful resource list.  The lead article by Joshua Martin has been particularly helpful to me in understanding the context of the passage and how it is to be understood.

http://heidelblog.net/2010/03/romans-213-and-the-covenant-of-works/

The article by Joshua Martin is available here: http://discoveredeemer.com/?p=223

Other resources include:
Charles Hodge – Commentary on Romans
http://lawtonprecepts.org/digital_library/HOD_ROMA.PDF

Robert Haldane – Commentary on Romans
http://lawtonprecepts.org/digital_library/HAL_ROMA.PDF