Ask your politician

MAYBE YOU CAN USE THIS TODAY!

I ran across a writing by a man named Tyson Zahner. I don’t know him. However, he developed some questions to in order to “tell when a politician is using Scripture faithfully vs. using Jesus to sell you something.” I think the questions are useful. Some of this idea developed out of his hearing Texas candidate James Talarico on the Joe Rogan podcast turning “the incarnation of Christ into a campaign ad for abortion.” (If you have the stomach for it, you can listen to Talarico on Joe Rogan Experience on YouTube. He claimed Mary “gave consent” to God at the Annunciation and that becomes a model for bodily autonomy; i.e. choosing abortion. He also said Jesus never mentioned abortion or homosexuality.) Though this started with Talarico, you can apply the questions to any politician on any side of the aisle (and those straddling the middle). I share Zahner’s questions in my own words (I can understand and hopefully present them better than way) because I think they can be helpful to Christians trying to cut through the noise. Don’t just run with one question alone; all five together will help a pretty clear picture to emerge out of the fog.

1. Is this position consistent with what the Christians have generally held for centuries, or has it just conveniently appeared more recently?

2. Does the position take into account the full counsel of Scripture, or just cherry-pick a verse or two while ignoring the context in which it sits (and the broader context of the whole of inspired Scripture)?

3. Is Scripture used to arrive at a conclusion, or twisted to fit a conclusion already held?

4. Does the argument hold up when applied consistently? For example, someone says, “Jesus never mentioned abortion” as if that settles the issue. So then will he apply that principle and say, “Jesus never mentioned sex trafficking” – and that makes sex trafficking okay. (I think it is easy to see the supposed logic crumbles under its own weight.)

5. Does the presenter of the position invite honest debate, or rather merely throw up Jesus as a shield to shut down disagreement?

Apply those to James Talarico and the answers indicate he is biblically wrong on abortion and homosexuality. Apply those to the positions of John Cornyn, Ken Paxton, Wesley Hunt, and Jasmine Crockett to see what you get. Apply those to Paula White, the President’s leader of the White House Faith Office. Apply them to any and all claiming the Bible approves their brand of politics. Apply them to you and me. Tyson Zahner has created and asked some helpful questions that work across the board.

And...

Just to be clear on Talarico, he is a very liberal Christian who does not accept the inspiration, infallibility, and authority of the Bible. The biblical positions I have heard him present are biblical nonsense.

Whales are fish: Biblical taxonomy

The Bible does not follow modern “Linnaean taxonomy” (rooted in the formulations of Carl Linnaeus in the 1700s). In ancient thought, classifications of creatures were grouped by movement and habitat rather than biology (e.g., sea vs. air vs. land; cf., for example, Genesis 1:28; Hosea 4:3). Consider this in regard to the modern classification of the bat as a mammal, while the Bible classifies bats with fowls of the air in Leviticus 11:13-19. Due to flight in the air, the bat is classified among the fowl of the air; due to swimming in the sea, the whale is classified among the fish of the sea. This seems to bother some modern folk. However, there is no reason for Christians to run away like frightened children just because the Bible uses its own classification system rather than following what has been developed by modern scientists. Why accept what men have said over what God has said?

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Note: “Linnaean taxonomy is a hierarchical system for classifying and naming organisms developed by Carl Linnaeus. It organizes biological diversity into categories like kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.” The fear of the difficult drives some commentators to affirm odd, unresearched, and false statements. For example, the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges commentary states: “It is scarcely needful to note that there are no whales in the Mediterranean.” There are actually a number of whale species found in the Mediterranean Sea.

A Farmer’s Prayer

 

Origin of picture unknown

God leads us along

The hymn “God Lead Us Along” alludes to numerous places in scripture, beginning with Psalm 23:1. Led through the water and fire leads us to Isaiah 43:2 – as well as thinking of the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea, and the three Hebrew children cast into the fiery furnace. God leads us wherever we go. He is strong, he is sure, he is trustworthy. “All things work together for good to them that love God…”

1. In shady green pastures, so rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear children along;
Where the water’s cool flow bathes the weary one’s feet,
God leads His dear children along.

Chorus:
Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.

2. Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,
God leads His dear children along;
Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,
God leads His dear children along.

3. Though sorrows befall us and Satan oppose,
God leads His dear children along;
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes,
God leads His dear children along.

4. Away from the mire, and away from the clay,
God leads His dear children along;
Away up in glory, eternity’s day,
God leads His dear children along.

The above song (words and music) – most often titled God Leads Us Along – is credited to George A. Young or G. A. Young, 1903. Other than a name, this author is unknown. The song is some books is recorded as “Copyright 1903, Purity Publishing Company, C. F. Weigle, Owner.” (although some later books, such as Tabernacle Hymns, give the copyright in 1903 by G. A. Young). The 1904 Catalogue of Title Entries of Books and Other Articles seems to clear this up as one of a group of 26 songs copyrighted December 30, 1903 by Purity Publishing Company, Austin, Illinois (Catalogue of Title Entries of Books and Other Articles Entered in the Office of the Register of Copyrights, Volume 40, No. 4 Library of Congress, at Washington, D.C., First Quarter, 1904, Whole No. 661. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1904, pp. 72-73).[i]

Purity Publishing Company was incorporated in 1904 in Chicago, Illinois, by S. Henry Bolton, Charles F. Weigle, and Clayton E. Ford. These men all seem to have been involved in the Holiness movement. In 1902, S. Henry Bolton was pastor of Austin Holiness Church, Austin, Illinois (being an area of Chicago Illinois). That same year, he was involved in incorporating the International Apostolic Holiness Union, based in Chicago. Clayton E. Ford is probably Clayton Ellsworth Ford, a building contractor and layman in the holiness movement. In 1907, his daughter Ida E. married Rev. James William Chaney at the Austin Full Gospel Tabernacle, Austin, Chicago, Illinois.

Charles Frederick Weigle (1871-1966) is the better-known of the three men. He was an evangelist and the author of the song, No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus. Weigle Avenue in Sebring, Florida is named in his honor. This hymn was supposedly written when his first wife left him. She was from a wealthy family; he became an itinerant evangelist.[ii] She did not want to live that way. He died at age 95 and is buried at the Pinecrest Cemetery in Sebring, Highlands County, Florida beside his second wife Carrie Hight Weigle. It appears that he was converted as a Methodist, then participated in the Holiness movement, and finally at some point became a Baptist.

The little bit of information we have about the author of God Leads Us Along (which is very little) has been passed on by Haldor Lillenas (1885-1959), the founder of the Lillenas Publishing Company. In the 1940s, Lillenas was able to locate the widow of George A. Young. According to his report of the story, George Young was a struggling carpenter and preacher. After many years of saving, around the beginning of the 20th-century he built a small home for his family. The joy and rest was short-lived. While he and his family were away from home at church services, rowdy hoodlums burned their home. The hymn “God Leads Us Along” was written with this event in on his mind.

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[i] Austin, Illinois is an area on the west side of Chicago, and the company later designated as being in Chicago.
[ii] The fact that the song was not published until 1932 – after Weigle was already married to Carrie Hight – calls in question the “when” part of this story.

In other words, b to threnody

• threnody, noun. A poem or song of mourning or lamentation.
• solipsism, noun. The view that the self is the only reality.
• sforzando, noun. (Music) A tempo mark directing to play a note with sudden, strong emphasis.
• Satanist, noun. a person who engages in any of a highly diverse group of religious, philosophical, or countercultural practices centered around Satan.
• quoz, noun. An odd, absurd, or ridiculous person or thing.
• pogonotrophy, noun. The act of cultivating, or growing and grooming, a mustache, beard, sideburns or other facial hair.
• plenipotentiary, noun. A person (especially a diplomat) Invested with full power to act on behalf of another.
• maladroit, adjective. Marked by a lack of adroitness; clumsy; inept; awkward in movement or unskilled in behavior.
• magister, noun. A master or teacher in ancient Rome; a male member/priest of the Fourth Degree in the Church of Satan (female, magistra); the possessor of a master’s degree.
• maga, noun. A female member/priestess of the Fifth Degree in the Church of Satan (male, magus).
• lucubration, noun. Laborious study or thought; the product of such laborious effort or study.
• lubrication, noun. Minimizing the friction force between surfaces sliding on each other, by lubricant (by a fluid, such as oil).
• lex talionis, noun. The principle or law of equal retaliation (i.e., a punishment inflicted should correspond in degree and kind to the offense of the wrongdoer, as “an eye for an eye”). Latin “law of talion” (i.e., retribution).
• grotto, noun. A cave or cavern; an artificial cavernlike recess or structure.
• Disneyfication, noun. The process of transforming real places, events, cultures, or ideas into simplified, sanitized, and commercially appealing entertainment.
• cosplay, noun. The practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, or video game (portmanteau of costume and play).
• Church of Satan, proper noun. A religious organization dedicated to the religion of Satanism as defined by Anton Szandor LaVey.
• cabal, noun. A secret political clique or faction; a small group of secret plotters; a mystical local group of Satanists.
• bicinium, noun. An unaccompanied composition for only two parts, especially one for the purpose of teaching counterpoint.

Maybe they’ll take up an offering

The following story told by a preacher that I heard in a chapel service over forty years ago. I have long since forgotten the name of the preacher who told it, but I well remember the story. It is a good illustration of one of the problems of the so-called “universal invisible church.” 

A member of a singing group contacted this pastor by telephone. The singing group was trying to schedule visits to sing at the various churches in his area. The pastor was not familiar with the group. The man who called explained that were not charging for coming; they only asked that the church take up an offering for them. In the process of the conversation, the pastor asked the singer what church they were members of. The man answered, “Oh, we’re part of the universal invisible church.” The pastor replied, “Well, why don’t you just sing for them, and maybe they will take up an offering for you.”

So ended the conversation.

Acts 28:7-10

Publius and his sick father, 28:7-10

Verse 7: The chief man of the island of Melita, Publius, had possessions in this section. As with the kind initial reception of the common people, so this leader “received us, and lodged us three days courteously.”

Verse 8: While they were lodging there, the father of Publius was or became sick “of a fever and of a bloody flux.” This afforded Paul another opportunity to confirm his faith by signs following (Mark 16:18 “they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”). Paul went in to the sick father of Publius. Paul prayed, laid his hands on him, and by the power of God healed him. Additionally, he repaid kindness with kindness. “to whom Paul entered in” suggests that this was neither asked nor expected by Publius, but that Paul saw the man’s condition and spontaneously rendered aid.

“There is a poignant thing here. Paul could exercise the gift of healing; and yet he himself had always to bear about with him the thorn in the flesh. Many a man has brought to others a gift which was denied to him.”[1]

Verse 9: Hearing of this, now the Melitans know the power of healing in Paul. Other diseased folk on the island came, and they were also healed. In the Greek language, verse 8 uses the word ἰαομαι for healed; verse 9 uses the word θεραπευω for healed.[2] For this reason, coupled with Luke writing “they honoured us, some have suggested that verse 8 refers to miraculous healing (by Paul) and verse 9 refers to medical healing (by Luke). Barcly writes, “…in verse 9 there is a very interesting possibility. That verse says that the rest of the people who had aliments came and were healed. The word used is the word for receiving medical attention; and there are scholars who think that this can well mean, not only that they came to Paul, but that they came to Luke who gave them of his medical skill.”[3] While this is within the realm of linguistic and practical possibility,[4] since Luke was a physician, this is a case of looking in the Bible for something that is not actually mentioned. The context does not suggest it. The two words are synonyms. The word θεραπευω simply means “to cure or heal,” is not limited to “therapeutic” or medical healing, and is used in reference to other miraculous healings recorded in the Bible (Cf. Matthew 4:23-24; 8:16; Mark 3:15).[5]

Verse 10: “honoured us with many honours” At times “honour” can mean some kind payment or honorarium,[6] but should not be considered so here, as if the Melitans paid Paul for working miracles. To receive payment for exercising the gift of healing would violate the apostolic commission: “he gave them power…to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease…freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:1, 8). “when we departed” In chronological order, the last statement of the sentence happens simultaneously with verse 11.

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[1] Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 189.
[2] θεραπευω from which Greek word, mediated through Latin, we get our English words such as “therapy” and “therapeutic.”
[3] Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 189.
[4] That is, in the meaning of words, and in relation to Luke’s profession.
[5] Even interchangeably in an immediate context, that is, using both words for the same miraculous healing, such as Matthew 8:7 (θεραπευω, I will come and heal him) and Matthew 8:8 (ἰαομαι, speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed). Luke himself uses θεραπευω for both miraculous healing and medical healing (Cf. for examples, Luke 4:23; 6:7; 8:43; 9:6; 13:14).
[6] Honorarium: a fee paid for a nominally free service; a payment in recognition of acts or services for which custom or propriety forbids a price to be set.

Criticizing criticizing

“We’ve stopped worshipping Christ and started worshipping ‘Nice’.” Charity Nicholson

It is certainly true that we can develop a hard and consistently critical spirit. However, try to combine criticizing and edifying. Criticism is most often viewed negatively in modern society – very negatively. But it isn’t inherently so (Galatians 2:11). Paul criticized Peter because he was “to be blamed.” Criticism is not mutually exclusive from encouraging, edifying, or helping. Sometimes we are in a place where we need to recognize what is wrong in order to do right!

Ironically, criticism is often criticized! The critics of criticism do not seem to see their critocrisy (critical hypocrisy). Nevertheless, criticism definitely serves a purpose. Over the years many criticisms I have received drove me to check my thoughts and beliefs. If taken seriously, the results will usually be that it causes you to confirm and strengthen your beliefs, or it causes you to modify and correct them. If we are the ones criticizing, we should consider to what end and to be careful to do it for the right reasons and in the right spirit. When we are receiving criticism, we should receive it in the right spirit (in order to benefit from it), whether or not it was given in the right spirit.

We must guard against developing a critical spirit. It is easy (perhaps natural) to develop one, and hard to guard against it. In many things in life and faith, I am and have been on the opposite end of the up side. In that position I have often found myself giving “the minority report,” so to speak. It can be a dangerous position to be in; one can develop a critical spirit, or just be perceived as having one. It was popular in our area in the 1960s-1980s (may still be, but I have relieved myself of the connection) to criticize folks who did not acquiesce to the prevailing new notions of how to do things. We were criticized as being “aginners” or “agin everything.” Certainly, there was some truth in the “against” part, even though we were the ones who had not changed, but it was not true in the “everything” part. (That charge was a carefully designed attack mechanism.) Sometimes it may be that diagnosing a critical spirit is in the eye of the beholder. All of us folks are often found being critical of being critical.

A person with a critical spirit delights in exposing the flaws of others, with an attitude of of fault-finding that seeks to tear others down rather than build them up. However, the popular secular definition of nice often does not align with the Christian worldview. Let us worship Christ, not nice. Let our criticisms proceed from the goal of building up, edifying one another.

...we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying... 2 Corinthians 12:19.

The Succession of Believers Baptism

“By all which you see by plentiful Evidence, that Christ hath not been without his Witnesses in every Age, not only to defend and assert the true, but to impugn, and to reject (yea even to death it self) the false Baptism. Insomuch that we are not left without good Testimony of a Series of Succession, that by God’s Providence hath been kept afoot, of this Great Ordinance of Believers Baptism even since the first times.”

The Succession of Believers Baptism, Henry D’Anvers, A Treatise of Baptism, London: Fran. Smith, 1674, pp. 321-322.

Never-failing God

A. J. Showalter found the hymn below, wrote a tune to go with it, copyrighted and published it in 1896 in Class, Choir and Congregation No. 2 (Dalton, GA: A. J. Showalter Co., 1896, Song No. 77). He credited the words to “Rev. Henry Burton, in ‘Evangelical Messenger.’” The words remind us that our God is an untiring unfailing God in whom we can fully trust.

1. There is an arm that never tires, 
So gentle, yet so strong;
The arm on which our grief expires, 
And sighing turns to song.
There is a well that never fails,
When earthly springs are low;
The weary heart in Bacca’s vales
Hears the soft overflow.

2. There is a light that never dies,
Clear shining through the years;
For changeless love lights up our skies;
The rainbow gilds our tears.
There is a song our souls may sing—
When lying in the dust,
A stricken bird with broken wing;
It is the song of trust.

3. There is a joy does not depart—
Whatever seeming ill
May throw its shadow on the heart—
The joy of his sweet will.
There is a rest, a Sabbath rest,
Beyond all sin and care;
But he who leans on Jesus’ breast,
Finds heav’n is everywhere.

Henry Burton served as a Methodist Episcopal minister in Rock County, Wisconsin, then returned to England and labored in the Wesleyan Methodist Church ministry beginning from 1865. He had emigrated to America with his parents 1855-56. They settled in Roscoe, Illinois, and Henry studied at Beloit College in Wisconsin, just across the state line, beginning in 1857. He graduated in 1862. Beloit conferred a “D. D. Degree” on Burton in 1900.

Henry married Ellen Williams Pearse in 1871, and they had five children. At least one son, Howard N. Burton, also became a Wesleyan minister.

Henry Burton was born November 26, 1840, the oldest son of Henry and Frances Burton. He died April 27, 1930 and was buried at Anfield. A brief biography of Burton can be found in The Beloit Alumnus, (Vol. XXIII, No. 8, June 1930, page 21), and also on the UK Wesleyan Methodist Church website.

Some of his works include:

• Wayside Songs of the Outer and Inner Life (London: T. Woolmer, n.d., circa 1886)
• Gleanings in the Gospels (London: Charles H. Kelly, 1896)
• The Gospel According to St. Luke (New York, NY: A. C. Armstrong, 1897)

His hymn “Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on” was chosen as the motto of the International Sunshine Society, at one time the largest philanthropic newspaper club in the world.

Have you had a kindness shown?

Pass it on.

’Twas not given for thee alone,

Pass it on.

Let it travel down the years,

Let it wipe another’s tears,

’Till in heav’n the deed appears--

Pass it on.

Who should administer, and other links

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

• Who Should Administer the Ordinances? -- “Just as your church (hopefully) does not allow just anyone to preach the Word, so also should your church think carefully about who administers the ordinances.”
• What Is the Jezebel Spirit and What Are It’s Characteristics? -- “In my estimation, it is far better to view this “spirit of Jezebel” as a sketch of specific character traits which can be deadly to a local body.”
• Voltaire’s Prediction, Home, and the Bible Society: Truth or Myth? Further Evidence of Verification -- “For years there have been those who dispute this story as to its validity.”
• The Subtle Art of Sentence Structure: How to Write Like a Pro -- “While varied sentence structures can enhance your writing, clarity and conciseness should always be your primary goals.”
• The Septuagint (LXX): A Scurrilous Imposter Set Against the Hebrew Old Testament -- “The LXX continues to be treated with a mystical reverence wholly out of proportion to its origins.”
• Spice—And Everything Nice -- “After the final tastings, the pavilion overflows with competitors, their supporters and curious onlookers.”
• Should I Stay or Should I Go? T.T. Shields, Benjamin Beddome, and Pastoral Transitions -- “The glory of God, not the influence of gifted men, governs the priorities for calling and appointing pastors.”
• Roasted Pecan Bark Syrup -- “Focus on gathering the loose, thinner strips, spreading the harvest across multiple trees to minimize any risk of damage.”
• Op-Ed: Leftists Hailing Recent ‘Victories’ Are Delusional -- “...it is New York City that will serve as the center point on the East Coast for the continuing failure of leftism.”
• La Tamalada: A Christmas Tamale Tradition -- “The old part of our tradition is sitting around a big table, spreading masa on the corn husks with the back of a spoon.”
• Is Phone Addiction Really That Bad? -- “Our addiction to dopamine media is training us to love much what ought to be loved little.”
• Immutability and Identity, Part Two -- “...let me briefly state that the AV never translates tam as ‘blameless,’ whereas all of the modern translations which I checked do translate it as ‘blameless.’”
• Immutability and Identity, Part One -- “Families change. Your family could change. Churches change. Your church could change. Nations change. Your nation could change. ”
• How to Survive a Cultural Crisis -- “It’s ironic that Christians are told not to impose their views on others, even as the threat of job loss or other penalties loom over Christians for not toeing the new party line.”
• How to Maintain Your Language Skills When You’re Not Using Them Regularly -- “...there are numerous strategies you can employ to keep your language skills sharp, even in the absence of consistent use.”
• How to Defuse Hostile Members Meetings -- “Hopefully this isn’t controversial advice, but members meetings are for . . . church members. And church members should be men and women who have made a credible profession of faith...”
• Five Misrepresentations of the Confessional Text position by Mark Ward in ‘The Septuagint and Confessional Bibliology’ in The Authority of the Septuagint -- “Mark Ward makes no serious reference to or any interaction with perhaps the key emphasis of the Confessional Bibliology movement.”
• Drawing the Line on Masculinity: Getting a Male Role Back -- “Men won’t get any role until they decide that there is a male role.”
• Doctoring Reality -- “Frontier physicians relied on confidence more than credentials.”
• Catechism by William Gadsby -- “Jesus Christ is the only refuge from the storm and the only foundation for a poor sinner to build his hopes upon.”
• A Tip of the Hat to Paris -- “France’s Eiffel Tower is taller and older, sure, but it’s rather bare.”
• Altered, Not Antique: The Latinized Greek Text of 1 Corinthians in GA 629 -- “...little has been written about the manuscript beyond scattered remarks that its text often conforms to Latin conventions.”
• An Historical Survey of Church Discipline -- “Decline in the practice of church discipline can also be directly tied to a lax attitude in the realm of regenerate church membership.”
• A Dandy Debut -- “Don Meredith, the first and perhaps most beloved Dallas Cowboy, found his second calling in the booth.”

Shifting sand

Certain non-Christian Sacred Harp singers accuse certain Christian Sacred Harp singers of moving the goalposts, changing the way things have been – when it is in fact those non-Christian singers who have moved the goalposts and changed the way things have been. Consider the facts of history. The book was compiled by two Baptist Christians in Georgia, with an eye to serving a (generally Protestant) Christian community. The texts were religious and patriotic texts that fit within their Christian worldview. For most of its history the Sacred Harp community moved along and within those norms. Within the norms, as well, was the idea that the singings were events to which anyone was welcome. One interviewee for the article “Sacred Harp: the punk rock of choral music” said, “I’m not religious” – in a world known for singing Christian religious texts – and added, “It’s rare that you find a group that all you have to do is want to be a member and you are.” I think that comment fairly summed up the past state of things. People came and they participated in singing. However, that is in the past. The present is not the past – not because the Christians moved, but because others took advantage of our good will. We didn’t cross the line. You crossed the line. You came and became part of the group. Eventually you were not satisfied with the group you were part of and wanted to change it.

You went:

• From “we’re here and we want to sing” to “we can’t sing those words.”
• From “we can’t sing those words” to “you can’t sing those words.”

Eventually some singers got tired of the gradual shifts, but suddenly now we are the bad guys when we say we are tired of it!

I do not stand on shifting sand
And fear the storm that rages;
But calm and sure, I stand secure
Upon the Rock of Ages.

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Note, in even more recent developments.

• From “we’re here and we want to sing” to “we’re here and we’re queer.”
• From “we’re here and we’re queer” to “we’re here, queer, and you cannot disapprove our lifestyle.”
• From “we’re here, queer, and you cannot disapprove our lifestyle” to “we’re here and we’re queering ‘The Sacred Harp’!”

Acts 28:1-6

Sticks and snakes in Melita, 1-6

Verse 1: Having escaped safely to land, they found “the island was called Melita.” Melita, mentioned only here in the Bible, is properly identified with the island currently called Malta (also sometimes referred to as Valletta). The island of Melita is about 50 or 60 miles south off the coast of Sicily. It is over 500 miles to the west (as the crow flies) from where the ship initially began (The fair havens) was headed (Phenice). The ship (which was ultimately headed to Italy) floundered helplessly out of control across the Adria in the clutches of a tempestuous storm. The Lord who has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm landed them all safely at a place on the way to Rome.

Verse 2: The barbarous people are the native people of Melita/Malta. Barbarians were non-Greek people who spoke a different language.[1] Compare Romans 1:14 and I Corinthians 14:11. Cold and raining at the time – coupled with the mention of a three-month winter stay (v. 11) – indicates they arrived in late fall or early winter. 

Verse 3: Paul was industrious. He did not merely enjoy the fire, but added fuel to it. In the process, a viper warmed by the heat fastened on his hand.[2]

Matthew Henry reminds us:

See how many perils human life is exposed to, and what danger we are in from the inferior creatures, which have many of them become enemies to men, since men became rebels to God; and what a mercy it is that we are preserved from them as we are. We often meet with that which is mischievous where we expect that which is beneficial; and many come by hurt when they are honestly employed, and in the way of their duty.[3]

Verse 4: The immediate reaction of the locals – “he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live” – certifies that the viper was a venomous creature.[4] Compare Amos 5:19 on the certainty of not escaping justice. See also Ecclesiastes 10:8. The religious, philosophical, or superstitious beliefs of the people of Melita included the idea of a divine law of retribution, that bad things happen to people because they have done bad things – “No doubt this man is a murderer.” What happened to Paul was proof enough to them. He could not escape justice. They thought like Job’s friends. Cf. Job 4:7-8; 8:6; 11:20; This is truth mixed with error. Some suffering is specific discipline or judgment because of sin (e.g., Numbers 12:1-10; II Samuel 12:14-18; Acts 5:1-11). Some suffering is for the glory of God, as well as our good (cf. Job 1:9-12; John 9:3; 11:4; 16:33; Acts 5:41; Romans 8:17-18; II Corinthians 4:17-18; Peter 4:12-14).

Verse 5: When the serpent fastened on Paul’s hand, he simply shook it off into the fire – a very nonchalant reaction to a snakebite! “he…felt no harm” suggests the bite did not hurt, but certainly attests that the normal effect of the poison did not affect Paul. Compare Mark 16:18 “they shall take up serpents…it shall not hurt them,” of which promise this is a fulfillment. The promise of Mark 16:18 is not an incitement for the apostles (or Christians) to go about handling snakes and drinking poison in worship services.[5] However, God’s miraculous protection of those in the apostolic age who do was a sign that followed them, affirming the belief they had and the gospel they preached.

Verse 6: Though Paul simply shook off the beast into the fire, the Melitans watched for Paul’s hand to swell and for him to drop dead. Nothing happened! Based on the fact of the serpent bite, the people took Paul for an evildoer; then based on the fact of no harm coming to Paul, “they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.” Oh, how fickle, how unstable, how double-minded, how tossed to and fro are the men who are not grounded in God’s word.

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[1] In modern usage, people most often mean an uncivilized savage by the word “barbarian.” This is not what it means in Acts 28:2. It is those that the Greeks and Romans could not understand, who in their native tongues seemed to be saying, “bar-bar bar-bar.”
[2] Viper, εχιδνα, a poisonous snake.
[3] Henry, Commentary, Vol. VI, p. 350.
[4] Some have sought to create a difficulty because there are now no vipers on the island of Malta. For example, Ramsay claims “that the snake was a constrictor, and not (as Luke calls it) a viper, which does not occur in Malta.” See Ramsay, Pictures of the Apostolic Church, p. 355. Simpler than denying Luke’s accuracy is to realize that this variety of snake was there when Paul visited, but is now extinct on the island. As an urban geographical area of 95 square miles holding over 450,000 people (2019, Eurostat), it is not surprising that certain wildlife has disappeared from the island.
[5] For example, the Church of God with Signs Following is a “Pentecostal Holiness Church” that not only believes that tongues, healing, and miracles are for today, but they also practice handling snakes and drinking poison during their church worship services. Most other Pentecostals who believe that miracles and signs are for today nevertheless interpret taking up serpents and drinking deadly things as symbolic rather than literal.

The republic is no more

“Many a head was bowed, many a broad chest heaved, and many a manly cheek was wet with tears when that broad field of blue in the center of which, like a signal light, glowed the lone star, emblem of the sovereignty of Texas, was furled and laid away among the relics of the dead republic.”

Written by Noah Smithwick, a blacksmith in attendance at a ceremony lowering the Republic of Texas flag at the republic/state capitol, February 19, 1846. (The Evolution of a State, or, Recollections of Old Texas Days, p. 283)

After the Texas flag was lowered from its place and folded, Anson Jones, last president of the republic, stated, “The Republic of Texas is no more.”

Anapestic Meter

What? What is that?

Awhile back, I ran across on Archive.Org the hymn book Sacred Poetry and Music Reconciled, Or, A Collection of Hymns Original and Compiled, by Samuel Willard. (Boston, MA: Leonard C. Bowles, 1830). In it I noticed several hymns labeled with the meters “C.M.A.,” “L.M.A.,” “S.M.A.” I had never noticed that kind of labeling before...

And I am always up for learning more about the meter designations. The hymn meter is the pattern of syllables and stresses in the hymn text. I have posted a number of times on the subject. Here are most, if not all:

1. Common Meter Extended hymns
2. Explanation of Meter, from The Baptist Standard Hymnal
3. Hymn meter
4. Hymn Meter Again
5. Hymn Meter Explanations and Information
6. Metrical Index of Tunes
7. Online metrical indices
8. 50th hymn meter

Willard’s explanation of his designations are as follows:

• L. M. A. - Long Meter Anapestic. 10.10.11.11. (usually, but not always; this also includes hymn with 4 lines of 11s. and one 8-line hymn that is 10.11.11.11.12.11.11.11.)
• C. M. A. - Common Meter Anapestic. 11.8.11.8.
• S. M. A. - Short Meter Anapestic. 8.8.11.8.

Some relevant excerpts from Willard’s book Sacred Poems:

A considerable number of hymns in this collection are in the anapestic measure, like the first, fourth, and eighteenth, containing in general three syllables for a measure or bar; while most of the tunes, which are named for them, have usually been sung in iambic verse, dividing each measure into two parts, the first a semibreve, or other notes equivalent to it, and the second a minim. If these hymns should be adopted in any society, where these tunes are not actually divided in the collections of music in use, the following rule will remove every difficulty in performing these or any other tunes of the kind, in the manner required; viz.

Let every measure, intended for three syllables, be divided into three equal parts, by splitting semibreves, or removing slurs, and let every part be sounded on the same tone, it would otherwise be. Thus, for instance, in the tune of Froome, named for the first hymn, let the slur be removed from the crotchets in the first full measure of the first line, and let the minim in the first measure of the second line be performed like two crotchets. The only exceptions to this rule are those, which are signified by numbers or points in several hymns, and which may be observed, or not, as may be found convenient. When the first syllable in a measure has the number 1 over it, it is to fill two thirds of the bar, and for the two following syllables, marked with the number 4, the last third of the bar. is to be divided, as in hymn 4. (pages 11-12)

Some of the metres are distinguished in this book into seven varieties, and are marked by the figures 1, 2, 3, &c. prefixed to the tunes, which are named. The first variety is pure iambic from the beginning to the end of every line. The second is precisely the same with the first, excepting a trochee in the beginning of the first line. With a little attention, the chorister will understand the other diversities, which, in the adaptation of tunes, are almost as important to be observed, as the difference of metre. (page 18)

Willard says that most of the named tunes in his book can be found in the Bridgewater, Handel and Haydn, and American Psalmody collections.

A little about Samuel Willard:

Samuel Willard, the son of William Willard and Catherine Wilder, was born April 18, 1775 (his daughter wrote 1776). His grandfather was a Congregational minister and his father a deacon. He graduated from Harvard College and became a Congregational minister. The initial council declined to ordain him due to his Unitarian tendencies, but a more liberal-thinking group was convened and ordained him. Willard became a long-time influential Unitarian in Massachusetts. He compiled two hymn books – Sacred Poems (1830), Regular Hymns: on a Great Variety of Evangelical Subjects and Important Occasions: with Musical Directions, for all the Varieties of Appropriate Expression (1824), and The Family Psalter (circa 1857). The latter may have never been published, and his other books probably found only limited use outside his region (and probably not much outside the Unitarian fold). His daughter writes:

…he gave much thought and time to the subject of sacred music. He composed many hymns; on his favorite plan of adapting the poetical to the musical emphasis. He left a manuscript collection of four hundred or more of these hymns;, about one hundred of which were composed in his eighty-second year. After his birthday of eighty-two he prepared an elaborate preface to this collection, in which he emphasized the idea, that sacred music and poetry, fitly adapted to each other, are to be among the great factors in harmonizing the discordant elements of the world. This collection he named ‘The Family Psalter’.” (Life of Samuel Willard, D.D. A.A.S. of Deerfield, Mass, Mary Willard, editor. Boston, MA: George H. Ellis, 1892, pp. 22-23)

As far as I have discovered, the C.M.A., L.M.A., and S.M.A. metrical designations seem to be limited in use to Willard’s work. They may have been created by him for his work, and not used elsewhere. In Regular Hymns, Willard does not use metrical designations, but simply gave tunes for the hymn. He wrote, “In general, I have named two tunes for each hymn, taken either from the third edition of Deerfield Collection, or the tenth of the Bridgewater Collection. Those from the former are marked with a star, and those from the latter with a cross; to prevent any mistake” (pp. x-xi).

Samuel Willard died October 8, 1859, and is buried at the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Deerfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts.

Baptists who were U.S. Presidents

Four men affiliated with Baptist churches have become President of the United States. Three were Democrats and one was a Republican. Two were northerners* and two were southerners.

1.     Warren G. Harding (Republican from Ohio, 1921–23), 29th president. He was a member and trustee of the Trinity Baptist Church, Marion, Ohio. He joined the church on May 6, 1883, when he was 17 years old and it was still called the Free Baptist Church. Historians have generally ranked Harding as one of the worst Presidents. This is based on the idea that he accomplished little while in office, and for corruption during his administration – several of his appointees went to prison for various scandals. I don’t think Harding himself was accused of improprieties beyond allowing it to go on.

2.     Harry S. Truman (Democrat from Missouri, 1945-1953), 33rd president. Truman is probably best known for following Roosevelt, being plain-spoken, and authorizing dropping the bombs on Japan. I know little about his presidency otherwise, or of his Baptist beliefs. At the age of 18, Truman was baptized at the Benton Boulevard Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri, where he was living at the time. He later became a member of the First Baptist Church of Grandview, Missouri, (then called the Grandview Baptist Church) in 1916. In 1945 Truman wrote, “I am a Baptist because I think that sect gives the common man the shortest and most direct approach to God.” (Source: Michael Devine, director of Harry S. Truman Library and Museum)

3.     James Earl “Jimmy” Carter (Democrat from Georgia, 1977-1981). Carter is often remembered for speaking of being born-again (and by some for giving away the Panama Canal). His presidency by many is thought of as ineffective, and after one term the American people replaced him with Ronald Reagan. At the time of his presidency he was a Southern Baptist, but later his church are affiliated with the more liberal Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. He was a popular Sunday School teacher at Maranatha Baptist Church, Plains, Georgia. As a Baptist he would be considered on the liberal end of the spectrum. No questionable moral dealings or improprieties are associated with his presidency.

4.     William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton (Democrat from Arkansas, 1993-2001). He was baptized by Park Place Baptist Church in Hot Springs, Arkansas. One of the most remembered acts of this Southern Baptist president is the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. Though a Baptist, the president and his family attended the Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. while he was president.

Related:

Abraham Lincoln was raised by Baptist parents, but he was never a member of any church. George Washington was purportedly baptized by John Gano during the Revolutionary War. Regardless of the truth of it – two of Gano’s grandchildren claimed in an affidavit that their aunt, John Gano’s oldest daughter, told them that her father had baptized Washington – it seems that George Washington remained outwardly affiliated with the Episcopal Church.

* Missouri may best be considered a “border state” rather than “Northern.”

Obey God

You can choose to run from God, but God can capture you on the ship you’ve chosen to flee on, and throw you in the belly of a whale. His arsenal is bigger and badder than yours. It’s best to just do as God says.

Our Master

1. Immortal Love for ever full,
For ever flowing free,
For ever shared, for ever whole,
A never-ebbing sea.

2. Our outward lips confess the name
All other names above;
Love only knoweth whence it came
And comprehendeth love.

3. We may not climb the heavenly steeps
To bring the Lord Christ down;
In vain we search the lowest deeps,
For him no depths can drown:

4. But warm, sweet, tender, even yet
A present help is he;
And faith has still its Olivet,
And love its Galilee.

5. The healing of his seamless dress
Is by our beds of pain;
We touch him in life’s throng and press,
And we are whole again.

6. Through him the first fond prayers are said
Our lips of childhood frame;
The last low whispers of our dead
Are burdened with his name.

7. Alone, O Love ineffable,
Thy saving name is given;
To turn aside from thee is hell,
To walk with thee is heaven.

The American Quaker poet and abolitionist, John Greenleaf Whittier, wrote the above poem.  This poem, entitled “Our Master” and originally written in 1856, appears in Whittier’s work, The Tent on the Beach, and other Poems (1867) on page 143-152. There it has 38 stanzas of 4 lines. Some portions of it have been adapted to Christian hymnals. The above seven stanzas are verses 1, 2, 5, 13, 14, 15, and 31 in the 1867 printing.

Whittier was born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, December 17, 1807, the son of John Whittier and Abigail Hussey. He grew up on a farm and also learned the trade of shoemaking. Whittier died September 7, 1892, and is buried at Union Cemetery in Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts.

The poetry of “Our Master” is often set to the tune Bishopthorpe by Jeremiah Clarke, an English chorister and composer born 1674 and died in 1707. Clarke composed both sacred and secular music. He is buried at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, England.

The “M’s” have it

Morphing off of a Facebook post by Pastor Jason Skipper, October 2025.

“M’s” you can mention in order to get in a big fuss with someone:

• Men only as preachers
• Music in church
• Modesty in apparel
• Manuscripts of the Bible

Traits of a good hymn

“A hymn ought to be as regular in its structure as any other poem; it should have a distinct subject, and that subject should be simple, not complicated, so that whatever skill or labour might be required in the author to develope his plan, there should be little or none required on the part of the reader to understand it. Consequently, a hymn should have a beginning, middle, and end.”

...

“A line is no more metre because it contains a certain concatenation of syllables, than so many crotchets and quavers, pricked at random, would constitute a bar of music.”

James Montgomery in his “Introductory Essay” to The Christian Psalmist; or, Hymns, Selected and Original, pp. xiv, xvi.

Immersion of the eunuch by Philip

Acts 8:38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

l. They both went down to the water.] Considering how frequently bathing was used in those hot countries, it is not to be wondered that baptism was generally administered by immersion, though I see no proof that it was essential to the institution. It would be very unnatural to suppose that they went down to the water, merely that Philip might take up a little water in his hand to pour on the eunuch. A person of his dignity had, no doubt, many vessels with him in his baggage on such a journey through so desert a country, a precaution absolutely necessary for travellers in those parts, and never omitted by them. See Dr. Shaw’s Travels, Pref. p. 4.

Philip Doddridge (1702–1751), “Philip Baptizes the Ethiopian Eunuch,” The Family Expositor; Or, a Paraphrase and Version of the New Testament, With Critical Notes, London: Frederick Westley and A. H. Davis, 1831, p. 403.

Today Philip Doddridge is perhaps best remembered as a hymnwriter. However, he was an important Non-conformist (Congregationalist) pastor, author, and educator in his day. The above quote from his comments on the baptism of the eunuch supply an oft-needed corrective to modern pedobaptists who would deny the early practice of immersion. Doddridge himself did not see immersion as inherent or essential to the ordinance, but nevertheless was able to read the immersion of the eunuch performed by Philip – without wearing pedobaptist glasses that saw it as a sprinkling or pouring.

His reference to “Dr. Shaw’s Travels” is as follows:

“We took Care in the first Place, to provide ourselves with a sufficient Quantity of Goat’s Skins, which we filled with Water, every four or five Days, or as often as we found it.” Travels; or Observations, Relating to Several Parts of Barbary and the Levant, Thomas Shaw, Oxford: At the Theatre, 1738, p. iv.

Yes, Doug, I am a genealogist

“A half truth masquerading as the whole truth becomes a complete untruth.” -- J. I. Packer

Last week, in contrast to Jonathan Burris, I mentioned that I have found non- and anti- KJV controversialists who are open, honest, and sincere.[i] I find others who are stuck playing one string on their banjoes and can pluck no other! In some cases, they may be willingly ignorant, determined to debate (regardless), and even deceivers & being deceived.

The Gary Hudson-Doug Kutilek-Rick Norton team of contenders seem to fit that description. They have lit on their “true truth,” found the one string they can pluck, and will not be dislodged from it regardless of the evidence. In “The TRUE Genealogy & Genesis of ‘KJV–Onlyism,’” Doug Kutilek writes:

In the realm of King-James-Version-Onlyism, just such a genealogy of error can be easily traced. All writers who embrace the KJV-only position have derived their views ultimately from Seventh-day Adventist missionary, theology professor and college president, Benjamin G. Wilkinson (died 1968), through one of two or three of his spiritual descendants.

They have determined to dismiss “King James Only” theology and history out of hand by foisting on it a genealogy error. Doug Kutilek and others have made a cottage industry out of it.

Find someone who believed only the King James Bible was the word of God before Benjamin Wilkinson? “Dismissed! They can’t be KJVO because that does not fit our pre-determined genealogical scheme.” If my Baptist ancestors never heard of Benjamin Wilkinson, J. J. Ray, Fuller, or Ruckman, but believed their King James Bibles represented the inspired word of God? “Dismissed! This can’t be so, because we have already set the parameters and drawn the lines.” There is no reasoning with these guys. They will not be budged by any kind of evidence. How do we know? We’ve tried, and they still won’t move.[ii] 

The H-K-N team excels in hypocrisy. When olden King James Bible supporters say they could accept some changes in the KJV, this team then erases them from the line of “KJV Only” supporters. However, when contemporary King James Bible supporters say they could accept some changes in the KJV, this team charges that these are lying and are still to be considered “KJV Only.”

These are:

• Deceivers, Deceiving, Being Deceived?
• Woefully Willfully Ignorant?
• Dogmatically Dead-Set to Debate?
• Quibblers Qualified in Quibbling?

“A half truth masquerading as the whole truth becomes a complete untruth.” -- J. I. Packer

---

[i] When I first became acquainted with him, I thought Mark Ward fit in that category. Continued interactions with him make me doubt it.
[ii] 1. One of Rick Norton’s perennial lines is that Archbishop Richard Bancroft (or another prelate or somebody) altered “robbers of temples” in Acts 19:37 to make it say “robbers of churches.” He can find one old 1671 quote to that effect; inflate the claim with dozens of others with no evidence other than the first claim; ignore the fact that that translation previously appeared in the translations of Tyndale, Coverdale, Matthew, Taverner, the Great Bible, and the Bishop’s Bible; ignore the fact that the King James translators used “churchrobber” in 2 Maccabees 4:42, clearly in reference to the temple; and then just keep repeating the claim ad infinitum. 2. Plenty of Pre-Wilkinsonian historical evidence has been provided of the existence of supporters of the exclusive use of the King James Bible as the word of God. It seems to be dismissed out of hand because they simply cannot be KJVO. For a few samples, see HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Congregational psalm-singing

I do not advocate exclusive psalmody (that all our worship songs must be based on the Psalms), and I am unsure of whether the author of these words, Alistair Roberts, does or does not. However, I think much of what Roberts says about psalm-singing in the excerpt below is a great corrective to what American church singing has devolved into, a performance-based consumer-oriented mess that steals the songs from the congregation. (And unfortunately, many congregations “love to have it so.”)

“Too often, modern worshipers treat worship as if it were something chiefly to be consumed by them as individuals (leading to a great concern that church music styles cater to their more general tastes in music consumption). Yet worship is not chiefly to be consumed quasi-passively, but to be an act. In the purposeful and practiced act of singing psalms together, we joyfully and lovingly present our hearts and our assemblies to God and we take his word into us. Because it is an act of worship, we should want to take time to learn how to do it well. Typically greater delight will follow.

“A huge obstacle to good psalm-singing is the ingrained passivity that comes with a lifetime of being consumers of music. Great psalm-singing is entirely achievable, but we must approach worship more as an act of making music before the Lord, demanding practice and effort.

“Indeed, the more the church’s music is driven by the musical tastes of religious consumers, the more divided it will be. The corporate act of making music has a power to unite that exceeds the unity produced by the convergence of private tastes in its consumption. Congregational psalm-singing is a form of expression of God’s Word by which, within the body of Christ, we address each other and by which Christ’s word and his Spirit indwell us (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:18-21). As we do it, the body can become self-aware in a new way. As we don’t merely sing along with performers at the front, but sing in unison or in harmony as a congregation, we take fuller ownership of the words that God has given us as our own joyful and purposeful expression and also receive those words from the lips of our neighbours.”

[Note: I do advocate that we need to sing more of the Psalms. Our singing is sadly lacking if we do not do so.]

Eternal honour be to him

HYMN CCCCXV.

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us. 1 John. iii. 16.

1. Eternal honour be to him,
Who saved us by his blood!
His love shall be our joyful theme,
The boundless love of God.

2. But few would die to save a friend,
He died to save his foes;
His love no measure has, nor end,
’Tis such as no man knows.

3. No words can tell its depth or height,
No love can equal his;
The love of God is infinite,
Like God himself it is.

4. No sacrifice appeared too great,
The love of God to prove;
And thence we learn to estimate
The greatness of his love.

5. Yet all we know is, that his love
Exceeds all others far;
How far, not all the hosts above
Are able to declare.

6. But what we know makes wealth and fame,
And pleasure seem but loss;
And renders dear the glorious name
Of him who bore the cross.

Hymnwriter Thomas Kelly (1769–1855) was a Church of Ireland clergyman from his ordination in 1792 to 1803. Relations between Kelly and the church had been strained, and in 1803 he formally broke with this church. He did not seek to form a new denomination, but the people who followed him were often dubbed “Kellyites.” His evangelical views were influenced by Rowland Hill, William Romaine, John Walker, and the Haldane brothers. Kelly was a prolific hymn writer, producing over 700 hymns. Kelly’s hymns were published in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns (1802), Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture (1804), and Hymns of Thomas Kelly, Never Before Published (1815). “Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious” is possibly his best-known and most printed hymn. “Blessed fountain, full of grace” appears on pages 366-367 of Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture (Fifth Edition, Thomas Kelly, Dublin: Martin Keene, 1820). This hymn is written in Common Meter, and might be paired with most any good Common Meter tune. Primrose would make a good selection, in my opinion.