Self-righteous souls

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.

The hymn beginning with the first line “Self-righteous souls on works rely,” is No. 12 (page 9), in The Primitive Hymns, Spiritual Songs, and Sacred Poems by Benjamin Lloyd. This is where I first saw and heard it. It is uncredited in Primitive Hymns. William Gadsby’s A Selection of Hymns for Public Worship credits it to “A. C. R., 1790” (an author or source), titles it “Free Grace,” and references the Bible texts Romans 3:24, 1 Corinthians 15:10, and 1 Timothy 1:14.

The hymn meter is Long Meter (L.M.). I have sung it to the tune Heavenly Home, and I think it works well. However, that is not the tune I heard it used with when I first heard it sung. Neither do I know whether that tune is printed (if it is).

1. Self-righteous souls on works rely,
And boast their mortal dignity;
But if I lisp a song of praise,
Each note shall echo grace, free grace.

2. ’Twas grace that quickened me when dead,
And grace my soul to Jesus led;
Grace brought me pardon for my sin—
And grace subdues my lusts within.

3. ’Tis grace that sweetens ev’ry cross,
’Tis grace supports in ev’ry loss;
In Jesus’ grace my soul is strong—
Grace is my hope, and grace my song.

4. ’Tis grace defends when danger’s near;
By grace alone I persevere;
’Tis grace constrains my soul to love—
Grace, grace, is all they sing above.

5. ’Tis thus alone of grace I boast
And ’tis alone in grace I trust;
For all that’s past, grace is my theme—
For what’s to come, ’tis still the same.

6. In countless years of grace I’ll sing,
Adore and bless my heavenly King;
I’ll cast my crown before his throne,
And shout free grace, free grace, alone.

It’s not the length, and other quotes

The posting of quotes of human authors does not constitute agreement with either the quotes or their sources. (I try to confirm the sources that I give, but may miss on occasion; please verify if possible.)

“It’s not the length of what we say, but the weight of it.” -- Gregory Ford

“Morality may keep you out of jail, but it takes the blood of Jesus Christ to keep you out of hell.” -- attributed to Charles H. Spurgeon

“Jesus did it all or he didn’t do it at all.” -- Billy Jenkins

“If you get in trouble with money, God can get you out. If you get in trouble with God, no amount of money can get you out.” -- Pastor Herman Johnson

“The gospel is not the ABCs of Christianity. It is the A to Z of Christianity.” -- Adrian Rogers (This is also credited to Timothy Keller as “The gospel is not just the A-B-Cs but the A to Z of the Christian life.” Probably a number of people have made similar statements.)

“When God speaks, don’t just nod your head – move your feet.” -- Vernon Shazier

“If they’re not standing on Bible, they’re not standing on God.” -- Bridgett Mack

“We have not all sinned alike, but we all alike are sinners.” -- Herman Johnson

“There are ultimately no neutral lyrics. All songs share a message about how we should view the world.” -- Keith Getty

“I trust our grandfather’s Bible will maintain its hold on the mind of the English public against all comers, for it is so simple and yet so sublime, so homely and yet so heavenly in style.” -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon (“Love’s Medicines and Miracles,” January 21, 1877)

“A man’s prison is as it were his own house if he has but his friends about him.” -- Matthew Henry Commentary, on Acts 24:23

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” -- Albert Einstein

Seven aspects of church music

We might say that Colossians 3:16 expands the aspects of Christian singing to bring out seven things.

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

1. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom” The “devotional” aspect of Christian singing.
2. “teaching and …” The “educational” aspect of Christian singing. 
3. “… and admonishing” The “motivational” aspect of Christian singing.
4. “one another” The “congregational” aspect of Christian singing.
5. “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” The “biblical” aspect of Christian singing.
6. “singing with grace in your hearts” The “internal” aspect of Christian singing.
7. “singing with grace … to the Lord” The “vertical” aspect of Christian singing.

Felix again, Acts 24:25-27

Verse 25: Paul’s preaching of Christ and his reasoning of “righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come” caused Felix to tremble.[i] It touched something in his soul and brought a physical reaction. Nevertheless, he delayed and deferred, saying “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” No season is more convenient to respond to the gospel than “now.” “Behold, now is the day of salvation… To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Let all hearers consider (and not defer), “It the message of Christ and his righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come be true, what will become of me?” Felix’s delay allowed him to harden his heart, and repurpose his reason for hearing Paul.

Verse 26: “He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul,” reveals something of Felix’s character. Felix hoped that Paul or someone associated with Paul would pay him to release Paul. What Felix should have done because it was right, he would have done if the price was right. Notice also that, for that reason, Felix often called for Paul to come in to talk over things with him. This increasing frequency might offer more opportunities for Paul to ask if he might buy his way out of custody. He did “call for” but never found “a convenient season” to receive the things “concerning the faith in Christ” preached by Paul.

 

Verse 27: Ultimately, despite his personal hopes (money) and feelings (that Paul was no threat), Felix kept Paul in custody as a political favor to the Jews. Felix might outwardly justify his dubious detention of Paul as a favor to the Jews, and even good for Paul’s own safety. However, it was ultimately his inward ravening that kept Paul imprisoned. Paul had been held by Felix in Cæsarea for two years when Porcius Festus replaced him as governor.

 

Josephus records that Nero removed Felix and sent Festus as his successor (Antiquities, Book XX, 8.9-11). This was circa AD 60. Bock writes, “All we know of Festus comes from Acts and Josephus.”[ii]

---

[1] Paul never trembled before Felix, but Felix trembled before Paul. See Matthew Henry’s Commentary, Volume VI, page 315.
[2] Acts, Bock, page 696.

The Pope as Antichrist

Chapter 27, “Of the Church,” in the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith of 1742 (Chapter 26 in the 1689 2nd London Confession) says the following in the 4th section:

4. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the church, in whom, by the appointment of the Father, all power for the calling, institution, order or government of the church, is invested in a supreme and sovereign manner; neither can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof, but is that antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church against Christ, and all that is called God; whom the Lord shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.

[The proof texts given are: Col. 1:18; Matt. 28:18-20; Eph. 4:11-12; 2 Thess. 2:2-9.]

The Philadelphia Baptist Confession was once the dominant confession used by Baptists in the United States. It is a revision of the 2nd London Baptist Confession, with two articles/chapters added.

Knowing these Baptist confessions are a revision of the Westminster Confession, it is interesting to notice what is the same and what is different.

Westminster 25.6 There is no other Head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ: nor can the Pope of Rome, in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the Church against Christ, and all that is called God.

The portion about the “Pope of Rome” remains intact, with the exception of not using a capital letter to begin the word “Antichrist.” (Though the capitalization might not be all that significant, since capitalization was more fluid and not as standardized in the 17th century.)

The Baptists also added, “whom the Lord shall destroy with the brightness of his coming,” from 2 Thessalonians 2:8.

Various commentators on the confessions have noted that this text is dealing with ecclesiology rather than eschatology. Matthew Winzer represents one Reformed (Westminster) interpretation of the statement:

Propositionally therefore the statement about the antichrist only requires us to affirm (1.) that Christ alone is the head of the church, (2.) that the antichrist falsely assumes that headship, and (3.) the Pope, in falsely assuming that headship, acts as the antichrist. 

The 17th-century English Baptist minister Benjamin Keach identified the Pope of Rome with the horn in Daniel 7:21 that made war with the saints. He further said the prophecies of 1 Thessalonians 2 and 1 Timothy 4 “relate only to the Pope of Rome, and no other.” “If the Pope of Rome be not a man of sin, then Beelzebub is not a devil…he, and only he, is κατ εξοχην, the antichrist, and the very man of sin.” Tropologia, pp. 891-893

Until recently (perhaps to the last 100 years) it was common for Baptist and many Protestant church leaders to teach that whomever the Pope of Rome was at any particular time filled the roll of the antichrist. It seems to be rather uncommon today (probably on the one hand due to the spirit of ecumenism, and on the other hand to rise of dispensational eschatology identifying a singular person as Antichrist; additionally the New Hampshire Confession which superseded the Philadelphia Confession in the United States, does not mention the words pope or antichrist).

Bible verses on Antichrist:

• 1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
• 1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
• 1 John 4:3 and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
• 2 John 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

While the term antichrist seems to be used in a very limited and distinct sense by the apostle John, I think most teachers of salvation by grace through faith alone should be able to agree that the Roman Catholic system, its theology, and its head function in the spirit of antichrist. Hear Charles Spurgeon:

We must speak very hardly and sternly against error, and against sin; but against men we have not a word to say, though it were the Pope himself: I have no enmity in my heart against him as a man, but as anti-Christ...Every time you pass the house of Popery let a curse light upon her head: Thus saith the Lord:—“Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities” (Sermon “War, War, War”).

An Orthodox Baptist is

“…to be brief, an Orthodox Baptist is one who holds to the established faith without any reservations whatsoever…Beware of men who would obstruct the way to prevent Baptists from coming back to the Bible and taking their stand strictly on Bible grounds…Orthodox Baptists believe that the Bible is verbally inspired of God; that it was handed down from God to man, not in the rough to be worked over and polished by man’s wisdom, but as the finished product to be accepted as a complete rule of faith and practice for all ages, nothing added to it and nothing taken from it.” 

Louis Samuel Ballard in “L. S. Ballard Defines Orthodox Baptist,” The Orthodox Baptist, Thursday, August 8, 1935, p. 3

Psalm 12, metered

The following is a metrical rendition/translation of Psalm 12, common meter in six stanzas.

1. Help, Lord, because the godly man
Doth daily fade away;
And from among the sons of men
The faithful do decay.

2. Unto his neighbour ev’ry one
Doth utter vanity:
They with a double heart do speak,
And lips of flattery.

3. God shall cut off all flatt’ring lips,
Tongues that speak proudly thus,
We’ll with our tongue prevail, our lips
Are ours: who’s lord o’er us?

4. For poor oppress’d, and for the sighs
Of needy, rise will I,
Saith God, and him in safety set
From such as him defy.

5. The words of God are words most pure;
They be like silver tried
In earthen furnace, seven times
That hath been purified.

6. Lord, thou shalt them preserve and keep
For ever from this race.
On each side walk the wicked, when
Vile men are high in place.

This metrical versification appears in The Psalms of David: with a Selection of Standard Music Appropriately Arranged According to the Sentiment of Each Psalm or Portion of Psalm (William W. Keys, editor. Philadelphia, PA: William S. Rentoul, 1864. Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America, General Synod). It is also informally called the “Keys Psalter,” because of the editorial work of William Wallace Keys. In this book the versification is set with the tune Heber by George Kingsley. I have taken the liberty to change the verse numbering to stanza numbering, in order match the way it would be used in a song to match a tune. The psalter numbering matches the Bible verse numbers.

Taking offense

A true story illustrating a point, a reasonable, responsible, honest, and mature approach to things with which we disagree.

A gentleman from one of the churches of Christ (Disciples of Christ) attended a service with some of his friends at their Baptist Church. When the sermon was concluded, these friends – knowing that their Baptist pastor had preached things strongly and much at variance with what their friend believed – began to make apologies for the sermon. Rather than soak in the apologies, this gentleman rebuked his friends, asserting that he was not offended. He said that when he attended a Baptist Church, he expected Baptist doctrine to be preached! Why would he be offended by that? He explained that if they visit his church of Christ, his church’s doctrine will be preached. They do not have to believe it, but should not be offended by it. Why expect something different?

So, apply this to The Sacred Harp. The book, like it or not, is firmly rooted in Christian (mostly, if not nearly altogether, Protestant) theology. Folks need to deal with that up front, understand it for what it is, and not be offended! Why deliberately come to, join in, participate in a Christian tradition, and then decide to be offended by it?

---

Note: In the United States of America (but not here only) we have grown a culture of offense, watering and nurturing it, in which people think it is both their right to be offended and their right to fix the offense & the offender. This post is incited particularly by the recent revision of the 1991 edition of The Sacred Harp (one of 3 editions used) in such a way as to remove certain perceived offenses to people who are not part of “the people of the book.” In a strange case of cultural appropriation, non-Christians who like the style of music in The Sacred Harp have decided it is their right to remake it in their own image, to take our culture and mold it to fit theirs. Strangely, these same people usually oppose cultural appropriation when they think someone else is doing it!

Four aspects of church music

Ephesians 5:19 speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

1. “speaking to yourselves” The “congregational” aspect of Christian singing.
2. “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” The “biblical” aspect of Christian singing.
3. “singing and making melody in your heart” The “internal” aspect of Christian singing.
4. “singing and making melody … to the Lord” The “vertical” aspect of Christian singing.

Good Old Felix, Acts 24:22-24

Verse 22: Felix likely has “more perfect knowledge of that way” than the Jewish leaders presumed. There had been believers in Cæsarea at least from the time of Peter preaching to the household of Cornelius, a centurion held in respect of the people. Felix deferred or delayed a decision concerning Paul, with the excuse, “When Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will know the uttermost of your matter.” Over a two-year period (v. 27) there is no evidence that he conferred with Lysias, or, if he did, that it made any difference. These two years follow a pattern (cf. verses 24-27).

Verse 23: The results of the hearing.

 

• Paul is kept in custody of the Romans. Felix “commanded a centurion to keep Paul.”
• Paul is afforded a great amount of freedom within the custody. Felix commanded the centurion “to let him have liberty” and also to allow Paul’s friends and companions “to minister or come unto him.”

Paul was not secured in a common jail, but placed in the custody of a centurion. Paul’s custody could be described as both having liberty (v. 23) and bound (v. 27). He was not free to leave, but he had some freedom of movement and concourse.

 

Verse 24: At a point “after certain days,” Felix sat with his wife and called Paul to speak about “the faith in Christ.” Felix’s wife Drusilla was a Jewess, that is, a woman of the Jewish faith and nationality (cf. Acts 16:1). She was the daughter of Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:20-23),[i] a sister of Herold Agrippa II (Agrippa of Acts 25:13-26:32), and a sister of Bernice (Acts 25:13, 23; 26:30). Drusilla had a prior arranged marriage to Azizus, but (according to Josephus: Antiquities, Book XX. 7.2) had been persuaded by Felix to leave her first husband to become his (third) wife.

---

[i] Marcus Julius Agrippa, Herod Agrippa I, was a son of Herod Antipas (Matthew 14) and grandson of Herod the Great (Matthew 2).

Made in the image of God

I recently heard a Baptist preacher exclaim, “I’m not made in the image of God.” I almost believed him!😁Perhaps he identifies with the rest of God’s creatures rather than with man. Yes, man is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27; 9:6). Imago Dei is both Latin and theological terminology for “Image of God,” often used to express this biblical truth.[i]

Imago Dei is an expression of the connection between God and humanity. Man was made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). This does not mean that God who is a Spirit (John 4:24) was then in human form, but rather that mankind is made in God’s image in moral, spiritual, and intellectual essence, a creation of body, soul, and spirit that can commune with God in a way no other creature can. “Made in the image of God,” Imago Dei, makes man different than all other creatures in God’s creation.

The preacher’s argument was not that he was an animal rather than a man, but that after the fall man is no longer made in God’s image, but rather Adam’s image. “We lost that image,” he says. However, man did not “lose” the image of God, but that image was “marred” by sin in the fall of Adam. Consider the following Scriptures.

Man was made/created in the image of God.

• Genesis 1:26-27 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Man was made in the likeness (image) of God.

• Genesis 5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

Seth was begat in Adam’s likeness (v. 3) who was made in God’s likeness (v. 1)

• Genesis 5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

Over 1600 years after creation, God describes man as made in his image (and this as a feature governing his actions toward his fellow man).

• Genesis 9:6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

Over 4000 years after creation, the Bible describes man as being in God’s image (and this as a feature related to his actions and accountability toward God).

• 1 Corinthians 11:7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.

Over 4000 years after creation, the Bible again describes man as made in God’s similitude (image, likeness), and this as a feature related to his actions toward his fellow man.

• James 3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

There is a consistent thread that runs from creation into the New Testament, that man is made in the image of God. It is the basis of what sets man apart from the animals (Genesis 1:26-27) and even angels (Psalm 8:4-8), and a basis for instructing man how he ought to act and treat his fellow man (Genesis 9:6; 1 Corinthians 11:7; James 3:9). Yes, man has been marred by the fall, and only God through Christ can recover that ... but he still intrinsically has the image of God in which he was made. Failing to recognize this will lead to failure in correctly interacting before God with our fellow man.

---

[i] We rural folk will usually just simply say “image of God,” but you need to know Imago Dei if you read much about this in theological writings or even just on the internet.

We are to preach the Word

“We are to preach the Word, and if we do it properly, there will be a call to a decision that comes in the message, and then we leave it to the Spirit to act upon people. And of course He does ... I feel it is wrong to put pressure directly on the will. The order in Scripture seems to be this – the truth is presented to the mind, which moves the heart, and that in turn moves the will.”

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Behold the amazing gift of love

The following hymn is generally ascribed to Isaac Watts. However, it is a hymn from the 1781 Scottish Translations and Paraphrases, that paraphrased, revised, or reimagined an Isaac Watts hymn from Hymns and Spiritual Songs. In Three Books (1707). The author of the revision is unknown. The first stanza is based on Watts’s first stanza, and the fifth stanza is based on Watts’s fourth stanza. The first and fifth are most similar to Watts; however, other lines and phrases show dependence on Watts as well.

1781.

LXIII. I John iii. 1-4. (Author Unknown)

1. Behold th’amazing gift of love
The Father hath bestowed
On us, the sinful sons of men,
To call us sons of God!

2. Concealed as yet this honuor lies
By this dark world unknown—
A world that knew not when he came,
E’en God’s eternal Son.

3. High is the rank we now possess,
But higher we shall rise,
Though what we shall hereafter be
Is hid from mortal eyes.

4. Our souls, we know, when he appears,
Shall bear his image bright,
For all his glory full disclosed,
Shall open to our sight.

5. A hope so great and so divine
May trials well endure;
And purge the soul from sense and sin
As Christ himself is pure.

This hymn is set with tunes such as Rockingham (by Chapin), and St. Stephen (by William Jones).

The paraphrase is in common meter. The original Watts version was in short meter.

Book I, Hymn LXIV (Isaac Watts)

Adoption. I John iii. 1, etc. Gal. vi. 6.

1. Behold what wond’rous Grace

The Father hath bestow’d

On Sinners of a Mortal Race

To call them Sons of God!

2. ’Tis no surprising thing

That we should be unknown;

The Jewish World knew not their King.

God’s everlasting Son.

3. Nor doth it yet appear

How great we must be made;

But when we see our Saviour here,

We shall be like our Head.

4. A hope so much divine

May Trials well endure,

May purge our Souls from sense and sin,

As Christ the Lord is pure.

5. If in my Father’s love

I share a filial part,

Send down thy Spirit like a dove,

To rest upon my heart.

6. We would no longer lie

Like slaves beneath the throne;

My faith shall Abba, Father, cry

And thou the kindred own.

Every hour, in a sense, is the last hour, for we know not what hour the thief cometh. Every day, in a sense, is the last day, for we know not what shall be on the morrow. Every time, in a sense, is the last time, for we know not the times or the seasons.

Index for the Journal of Texas Baptist History

An index that might be useful for researchers, especially if they are looking into Texas Baptist history:

“Index for the Journal of Texas Baptist History, Volumes I-XX,” Courtney Lyons, pages 175-200.

Have ye not read?

Have ye not read?

Matthew 12:3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;

Matthew 12:5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

Matthew 19:4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

Matthew 22:31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,

Mark 12:26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

Mark 12:10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:

Luke 6:3 And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;

Have ye never read?

Matthew 21:16 and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

Mark 2:25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?

Did ye never read?

Matthew 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

Acts 24:17-21

Verse 17: “Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings.” Though a Christian “of the sect of the Nazarenes,” Paul still identifies with his people and his nation. For Paul bringing a gift from the Gentile Christians to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, compare I Corinthians 16:1ff; II Corinthians 8:1-9:15; Romans 15:25ff.

“Representatives or messengers of Gentile churches accompanied Paul on his last visit to Jerusalem as delegates bearing the contributions of their respective churches.”

Paul had not been in Jerusalem long enough to raise a rebellion. Additionally, if Paul worships the God of (the Jewish) fathers, if he believes the things written in the law and in the prophets, if he exercises himself to have a conscience void of offence toward God & men, and if he came to Jerusalem to bring alms and offerings – how very unlikely and very unbelievable that he would seek to profane the temple![1]

Verse 18-19: What the Jews found (“me purified in the temple”) versus what they charged (“gone about to profane the temple”). The “certain Jews from Asia” who found Paul purified in the temple “ought to have been” present before Felix to present their testimony and objections to his behavior. They were not.

Verses 20-21: Those present could not personally testify to that original charge. They were not at the temple. They were not eyewitnesses. Then let them testify specifically to any wrong they have witnessed that Paul has done. What he did before the council (who they are and represent) was to cry, “Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question by you this day.” There was nothing criminal about that.

---

[1] “As it was for a benevolent and pious purpose that he went up to Jerusalem, it was very improbable, perhaps he would suggest, that he would seek to profane the temple.” Acts of the Apostles, Ripley, p. 302.

The Singing Convention, Steger

The Singing Convention, by M. S. Steger, of Delray, Texas.

Melville Scott Steger (1855-1945) served as the chairman of the East Texas Sacred Harp Convention for several years, and continuously from 1910-1942. In several issues in 1902, the pages of the Texas Christian Advocate hosted a lively debate on the pros & cons of singing conventions. Because of the local and singing convention connection of M. S. Steger, I decided to copy and present his thoughts on the matter.

Texas Christian Advocate (Dallas, Texas), Thursday, September 18, 1902, page 2

Battle hymns sung by fearless men and women

Early singing schools in Indiana.

“During the winter months of the early years of our state’s history, the singing-school formed an important part of the social life of the people. It was a little like the class or chorus of to-day, which is led by the piano or an orchestra. The singing-master then pitched the tunes by the aid of the tuning-fork. He also beat time for the singers and thus kept them together. As there was no instrument to lead, the tone of each part was given to those selected to sing it, and on a certain beat the singing began. The selection was sung by note until the tune was very well known, then the words were sung. The songs of those days were as little like the songs we sing to-day as the pioneer life was like the life of the present. They were different both in words and music. They were battle hymns sung by fearless men and women while conquering the wilderness of the west. The notes used in the first singing-schools were called ‘buckwheat notes,’ because they were in shape like grains of buckwheat.”

Will H. Glascock, Young Folks’ Indiana; A Story of Triumphant Progress. Chicago, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1898, p. 140

The Presence of God worth dying for: Or, The Death of Moses

A favorite among Sacred Harp singers is the tune Minnesota. It incorporates 3 stanzas from the hymn “The Death of MOSES, Deut. xxxii. 49,50 and xxxiv. 5,6. Or The Enjoyment of GOD Worth Dying For” by Isaac Watts. The hymn was published in Horae Lyricae: Poems Chiefly of the Lyric kind, in Two Books (London: S. and D. Bridge, 1706, pp. 97-99).

This hymn extols the delight of seeing God, and faces the spectre of death that brings us there. Heaven is worth dying for! Watts weaves in the story of the death of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:48ff; 34:5-6) as the illustration of the noblest road to death and the sweetest grave in which to rest. “The kiss of death” is now an English idiom that refers to something that will cause certain failure or certain doom. Watts, however, accentuates death as the kiss of God which brings us into his presence.

Below the hymn appears as it is found in the 1709 “2nd Edition, Altered and Much Enlarged.” The title is altered to “The Presence of God worth dying for: Or, The Death of Moses,” and there are some minor alterations in the text. (Horae Lyricae: Poems Chiefly of the Lyric Kind, in Three Books (2nd Edition, Altered and Much Enlarged, London: J. Humfreys, 1709, Book I, pp. 148-149).  There are eight stanza in common meter.

1. Lord, ’tis an Infinite Delight
To see thy lovely Face,
To dwell whole Ages in thy Sight,
And feel thy vital Rays.

2. This Gabriel knows; and sings thy Name
With Rapture on his Tongue;
Moses the Saint enjoys the same,
And Heaven repeats the Song.

3. While the bright Nation sounds thy Praise
From each eternal Hill,
Sweet Odours of exhaling Grace
The happy Region fill.

4. Thy Love, a Sea without a Shore,
Spreads Life and Joy abroad:
O ’tis a Heaven worth dying for,
To see a smiling God.

5. Shew me thy face, and I’ll away
From all inferiour things;
Speak, Lord, and here I quit my Clay,
And stretch my airy Wings.

6. Sweet was the Journey to the Sky
And wondrous Prophet try’d;
Climb up the Mount, says God, and die;
The Prophet climb’d and died.

7. Softly his fainting Head he lay
Upon his Maker’s Breast’
His Maker kiss’d his Soul away,
And laid his Flesh to rest.

8. In God’s own Arms he left the Breath
That God’s own Spirit gave;
His was the noblest Road to Death,
And his the sweetest Grave.

Sacred Harp singer Stanley Smith of Ozark, Alabama wrote the tune Minnesota, choosing stanzas 1, 3, and 4 as his text, then adding a repeating chorus:

My blessed Lord,
My Savior and my King,
My ransomed soul will sing your praise
Through all eternity.

Stanley wrote this song in January 2004 and named the tune Minnesota because he “dedicated it to the Minnesota [Sacred Harp] singers.” It is published on page 210 in The Sacred Harp, Revised Cooper Edition, 2012. Select HERE to hear the song led by the composer at the 2019 East Texas Sacred Harp Convention.

Almost Forgotten, and other music links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• A Neglected American Classic -- “The Sacred Harp is a deeply communal form of prayer in the churches where it has been, and in some cases still is, practiced.”
• A Very Basic Introduction To Four-Part Singing -- “If you have no idea about what part you are – guess, and then change if you need to!”
• Almost Forgotten Sacred Harp Memory -- “After about 10 years of applying what was learned and observing how the music was written, I tried my hand at composing songs.”
• Baylor Digital Hymnals Collection -- “Currently, seventy-five hymnals have been digitized with complete metadata, including their respective tunes and first lines of text.”
• English Particular Baptist Singing and Congregational Worship Practices to 1700 -- “A large number of early Particulars generally did not practice congregational singing at all; this is apparent from Francis Cornwell’s 1646 Some Reasons Against Stinted Form of Praising God in Psalms...”
• Implications from Isaac Watts’s Trinitarian Controversy -- “A church’s songs do indeed more potently impact the theology of a congregation than that church’s Confessional statements.”
• In Praise of Low-Budget, Non-Professional Music Ministries -- “The ministry of music in our churches is vast and deep and wonderful.”
• Introducing “Collins,” a New Shape-Note Music Typeface for The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition -- “The new music typeface is named “Collins” in honor of the T. K. & P. G. Collins printing firm of Philadelphia who produced the first edition of The Sacred Harp in 1844.”
• Manifesto on Psalms and Hymns -- “Whatever our differences, no one maintains as a point of doctrine that we are prohibited from singing psalms.”
• Nine Choices for a Healthy Music Ministry -- “...some Christians listening to a subset of their number sing is nowhere commanded or exampled in New Testament churches.”
• Page Tracking Table -- “Songs of the Denson tradition Sacred Harp book, on different pages where they have appeared”
• Remembering Squire Parsons -- “Mr. Parsons was also ordained as a minister in 1979 at his home church, Trinity Baptist Church in Asheville, North Carolina.”
• The Page 37 Test: Identifying Basic Editions of The Sacred Harp -- “I’ve devised what I call the “Page 37 Test,” a simple way to distinguish between seven different editions of The Sacred Harp.”
• Why Music Thrives in Our Universities -- “Music isn’t necessarily an antidote to the many cognitive distortions that trouble our campuses, but it has enormous latent power...”

Baptist Groups - Confessional Baptist Association

Update on Baptist Groups in the USA outline:

In March 2022, the Association of Reformed Baptist Church of America (IV. 4.1.) has changed its name to the Confessional Baptist Association.

Twelve Days, Acts 24

Acts 24:11 because that thou mayest understand, that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship.

Of the twelve days referenced, Paul had been in custody of Felix five (24:1) and the soldiers three (21:33-23:33), one day of which overlaps – a puny amount of time in which to incite a rebellion! 

Twelve Days. 

• Day 1, Paul and company come to Jerusalem from Caesarea. Acts 21:17
• Day 2, The next day they meet with James. Acts 21:18
• Day 3, The next day Paul purified himself with the men already under vow. Acts 21:26
• Day 5, This day he was drawn out of the temple. Acts 21:27
• Day 6, Council gathered, the day after Paul was rescued, then held, by the Romans. Acts 22:30
• Day 7, The day after that, God comforts Paul during the nighttime; Paul learns of the plot against him during the daytime. Acts 23:11-12
• Day 7, Soldiers depart that same night to Antipatris, Acts 23:31
• Day 8, The next day they arrive with Paul at Cæsarea (five days begin here). 23:32-33
• Day 12, Paul stands trial before Felix that day. Acts 24:1

---

Note: To compare other calculations of the twelve days see, for example, William M. Ramsay, Pictures of the Apostolic Church (Philadelphia, PA: The Sunday School times, 1910, pp. 328-330); and John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament.

Credobaptism

Introduction.

“Us simple folk” are more likely to refer to “believer’s baptism” or “believer’s immersion” than to credobaptism – but credobaptism is good terminology, and sits well across from the more common or popular term “pedobaptism.”

Credobaptism (from the Latin word credo meaning “I believe” + baptism) is the practice of baptizing only those who make a conscious credible profession of faith. Believer’s baptism.

Pedobaptism, or paeodobaptism (from the Greek word paido meaning “child” + baptism) is the practice of baptizing infants or small children (usually on the credit of their parents being believers). Infant baptism.

More important than the right terminology is the right theology. Credobaptism is right biblical orthodoxy (right belief), biblical orthopraxy (right practice), and biblical orthokardy (right heart). Orthodoxy is always essential for Orthopraxy (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Romans 3:4; James 1:22-25); Orthopraxy is always essential to Orthokardy (Hebrews 8:5; John 14:15); Orthokardy is always essential to Orthodoxy (John 4:24; 13:35; I Corinthians 13:1-3). 

Credobaptism is Biblical.[i]

The biblical theology, orthodoxy. Credobaptism fits the doctrine of salvation, soteriology, and the doctrine of the church, ecclesiology. Salvation is by grace through faith, with a good confession required prior to baptism. The church is a congregation made up of a regenerate (born again, believing) membership. No fuzzy math is needed to fit credobaptism with these theologies.

The biblical example, orthopraxy. Throughout the New Testament there are clear examples of the baptism of adults who responded in belief to the preaching of the gospel. This is indisputable, even by those who practice pedobaptism. Infant baptism is at best inferred – but the inferred passages do not stand up to scrutiny. See “Household Baptisms” and “Unbelieving spouses and unbaptized children.”

The biblical unity, orthokardy. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism. In Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and much of the Protestant tradition, there are multiple baptisms – baptism of unknowing infants and baptism of professing believers; baptism by sprinkling, baptism by pouring, and baptism by immersion. The heart of the matter should dwell in unity.

Biblical theology and practice settle the matter. However, there are two supporting legs that fit properly into the biblical theology and practice.

Credobaptism is Practical.

The believing person submitting to baptism acts in a manner in response to God, answering a good conscience before God (1 Peter 3:21).[ii] That person will understand the purpose of baptism (Acts 8:37), encounter the rite in an experiential way (Acts 8:38), and remember the experience (Acts 8:39). Both the conscience and conscious are involved. There will be no mental void where baptism is concerned. You will not have to be told by someone else that you were baptized. The baptism of believers is meet, fitting, “suited to every sinner’s case.”[iii]

Credobaptism is Historical. 

Credobaptism is the historic New Testament practice – and the historic practice of the early churches before the rite was corrupted. It continued to be historical in churches that practiced it, even when most others had departed from biblical faith and practice. 

In some of the early sources such as the Didache, believer’s baptism can be seen, even though little additions were beginning to creep in.[iv] For example, that the persons being baptized are volitional believers is assumed, in that they are commanded to fast before they were baptized (Didache, 7.4).

The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus shows the build-up of non-biblical practice, while still maintaining a general baptismal base practice that arises from believer’s baptism. The catechumens were asked about their belief in God the Father, their belief in God the Son, and their belief in God the Holy Spirit.[v]

“That the churches of the post-apostolic age did not long remain faithful to apostolic precept and example in all respects [not just baptism, rlv] would be generally admitted.” (A History of Anti-Pedobaptism from the Rise of Pedobaptism to A.D. 1609, Albert Henry Newman, page 1)

Conclusion.

“Infant baptism was an inevitable consequence of the acceptance of the magical efficacy of water baptism itself to impart salvation. One countervailing error that slowed its introduction was the idea held and taught by some that ‘mortal sins’ committed after baptism could not be forgiven. Quite a reason to delay baptism to the expected end of life!”[vi]

This is not to say that every denomination that practices pedobaptism believes there is magical efficacy of salvation in the water. However, the origins of it are inexplicably tied to such superstitions, and the maintenance of the practice reveals a deficiency in applying sola scriptura to an extra-biblical, emotional, incremental, and traditional practice.

Credobaptism stands on solid ground. The Bible supports it. It is, unsurprisingly, universally recognized as scriptural by all Christian churches that practice some form of baptism. All other forms are on shifting sand.

---

[i] Most Bible students are forced to admit this – unless they have jettisoned baptism altogether. Baptism of believers is obvious, exampled, and necessary. Baptism of infants has no biblical example, is unnecessary, and must be extrapolated (after a fashion) from the old covenant circumcision.
[ii] The person about to submit to baptism or the person who has just been baptized is called a “baptizand.” That terminology is not in common use among most Baptists, at least in my experience.

[iii] Baptism is delayed until a credible profession of faith (credobaptism vs. pedobaptism) but not delayed after a credible profession of faith.
[iv] However, the additions likely were not in the original document.
[v] The three questions before baptism were: “Dost thou believe in God, the Father Almighty?” “Dost thou believe in Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who was born of the Holy Ghost, etc.?” “Dost thou believe in the Holy Ghost…?” The baptizand was required to answer in the affirmative, “I believe.”
[vi] Source lost, unknown (Or else I wrote this, but I do not remember that I did.)

Christianity and Liberalism

“The Christian gospel consists in an account of how God saved man, and before that gospel can be understood something must be known (1) about God and (2) about man. The doctrine of God and the doctrine of man are the two great presuppositions of the gospel. With regard to these presuppositions, as with regard to the gospel itself, modern liberalism is diametrically opposed to Christianity.”

J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism

Blessèd Redeemer

Isaiah 60:16 …I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer…

1 Timothy 1:15 …Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…

“Blessed Redeemer” is an interesting hymn that began with the tune first, then the words later. This is the reverse of the creation of most hymns (words first, then music). Henry Dixon Loes wrote a piece of music after listening to a sermon on the “Blessed Redeemer.” He gave the music to poetess Avis B. Christiansen, suggesting “Blessed Redeemer” as the theme. For this music she wrote the three stanzas and refrain below.

The hymn highlights the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. It describes Christ taking on the task of saving sinners – seeking their good without regard to his own, “blind and unheeding” to the cost to himself.  The last stanza exults in the believers’ loving response of eternal joyful appreciative praise. 

1. Up Calv’ry's mountain one dreadful morn,
 Walked Christ my Saviour, weary and worn;
 Facing for sinners death on the cross,
 That he might save them from endless loss.
 
Refrain:
Blessed Redeemer! precious Redeemer!
Seems now I see him on Calvary’s tree;
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading—
Blind and unheeding—dying for me!
 
2. “Father, forgive them;” thus did he pray,
E’en while his lifeblood flowed fast away;
Praying for sinners while in such woe—
No one but Jesus ever loved so. [Refrain]

3. O how I love him, Saviour and friend,
How can my praises ever find end;
Through years unnumbered on heaven’s shore
My tongue shall praise him for evermore. [Refrain]

The composer of the music, Harry Dixon Loes (1892-1965), was a long-time music teacher on the faculty of Moody Bible Institute.

Avis Marguerite Burgeson was born October 11, 1895, in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Andrew Burgeson (1868-1935) and Matilda Anderson (1872-1946). Avis attended the Moody Church. She married Ernest Christiansen in 1917. He would later become a vice president of Moody Bible Institute. Avis Christiansen wrote many Christian hymns, sometimes under her own and sometimes under pen names: Avis Burgesson, Christian B. Anson and Constance B. Reid. She began writing poems while still a child, encouraged in the endeavour by her grandmother. She died January 14, 1985. Avis and Ernest are buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Skokie, Cook County, Illinois.

Concerning her writing Avis Christiansen said: “I have been able, by His infinite grace, to pour out my soul in hundreds of songs of praise to my blessed Redeemer. He speaks through the commonplace things of life, if we are but listening for His gentle voice.”

Teachers are to be peacemakers, and other quotes

The posting of quotes by human authors does not constitute agreement with either the quotes or their sources. (I try to confirm the sources that I give, but may miss on occasion; please verify if possible.)

“Teachers are to be peacemakers according to James 3:18, but they are to bring peace by wielding a sword, the word of God.” -- Peter Van Kleeck Sr.

“If friends will not walk in the narrow way with us, we must not walk in the broad way to please them. Health is not infectious, but disease is.” -- J. C. Ryle

“It is much easier to contaminate something than to decontaminate it.” -- L. L. Martin

“When someone tolerates everything, he closes his mind to everything. He will not believe anything when he opens his mind to everything.” -- Kent Brandenburg

“The prophetic tasks of the church are to tell the truth in a society that lives in illusion, grieve in a society that practices denial, and express hope in a society that lives in despair.” -- Walter Brueggemann, Reality, Grief, Hope: Three Urgent Prophetic Tasks

“Your role is to plant the seed, not change their heart. Don’t get your role and God’s mixed up.” -- Denny Karchner

“The sovereignty of God is not a secondary doctrine; it’s a fundamental doctrine. It’s the foundation upon which all other doctrines are built.” -- Voddie Baucham

“The more we behold Christ, the more we are transformed. And the more we proclaim him, the more the church flourishes.” -- Stephen J. Wellum

“As long as night follows day and day follows night; God still lives, and the Bible is right.” -- Raymond Barber

“Remember that the word of God both informs and transforms.” -- Allen Thyssen

“Sometimes God is glorified when sick saints get well. But more often than not, God is glorified when sick saints die well.” -- Voddie Baucham

“If you do not bring your thoughts into captivity, your thoughts will bring you into captivity.” -- Calvin Allen

Church of the Thessalonians

Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1:1)

The salutatory expression “the church…which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ” is unique to the two Thessalonian epistles. 

The church is named from the people (Thessalonians) rather than the place (Thessalonica).

“…the church of the Thessalonians (local expression) which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ (spiritual distinction)…”

Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer suggests this unique address distinguishes them from the heathen or pagans (in God the Father) and from the Jews (in the Lord Jesus Christ).

1 Thessalonians 2:14 the churches of God which in Judæa are in Christ Jesus

2 Thessalonians 1:4 so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God