Constitution Day

To celebrate Constitution Day, consider reading the United States Constitution.

Christianity is Christ

If you go to the tomb of Confucius, you’ll find it’s occupied. If you go to the tomb of Buddha, it’s occupied. But if you go to the tomb of Jesus, you’ll find it empty. He is a risen Savior.

Now that’s very important, because you can take Confucius out of Confucianism and still have Confucianism. Take Buddha out of Buddhism—you still have Buddhism. But you cannot take Jesus Christ out of Christianity and still have Christianity because Christianity is not a code. It’s not a creed. It’s not a cause. It is Christ Himself.

Adrian Rogers

The Weaver

“The Weaver,” a poem by Grant Colfax Tullar (1869-1950) often shows up in subtle and not so subtle variations. Here are a couple I have found.

1. Our lives are but fine weavings,
that God and we prepare,
each life becomes a fabric planned,
and fashioned in his care . . .

2. We may not always see,
just how the weavings intertwine,
but we must trust the Master’s hand,
and follow His design.

3. For He can view the pattern,
upon the upper side,
while we must look from underneath,
and trust in Him to guide.

4. Sometimes a strand of sorrow,
is added to His plan,
and though it’s difficult for us,
we still must understand.

5. That it’s He who flies the shuttle,
it’s He who knows what’s best,
so we must weave in patience,
and leave to Him the rest .

6. Not till the loom is silent,
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the pattern,
And explain the reason why:

7. The dark threads are as needful
In the Weaver’s skillful Hand,
As the thread of gold and silver
For the pattern He has planned.


1. My life is but a weaving
Between my Lord and me;
I cannot choose the colors
He worketh steadily.

2. Oft times He weaveth sorrow
And I, in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper,
And I the under side.

3. Not til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why.

4. The dark threads are as needful
In the Weaver’s skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.

5. He knows, He loves, He cares,
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives His very best to those
Who chose to walk with Him.

Churches on the move

In our day “churches on the move” likely conjures up an image of busy churches with all sorts of activities, maybe even a sideshow or two. In Baptist history, “churches on the move” are congregations that formed in one geographical location and moved to another. Perhaps the best known is “The Travelling Church,” which moved from Spotsylvania County, Virginia to the Kentucky District of Virginia – seeking religious freedom.[i]

We have a few of those “churches on the move” in Texas – three of which I am aware at the moment. The most famous is Daniel Parker’s Pilgrim Church. The minutes record its constitution July 26, 1833 in Lamotte, Crawford County, Illinois, include a meeting at Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, October 20, 1833, and show the first conference in Texas at Austin’s Colony, January 20, 1834.[ii] This was the first Baptist church in Coahuila y Tejas, and probably all of Mexico. Roman Catholicism was the official religion in Mexico, of which Texas was then a part.[iii] In Parker’s opinion, a Baptist church could not be legally organized in Coahuila y Tejas. However, to organize elsewhere and move to Texas would be permissible (or at least skirt the law without notice). Pilgrim Church, permanently located at Elkhart, Texas since 1848, is the oldest Baptist Church in the state of Texas.

Not as well-known are Pilgrim’s Rest and Prairie Lea.

Pilgrim’s Rest Primitive Baptist Church was constituted in Randolph County, Alabama, November 23, 1850, from members of the Shiloh Baptist Church. An entry in the Shiloh minutes on November 23rd states, “We, the undersigned members of Shilo church being regularly dismissed by letter and going to remove to the West, and being desirious to live in all the ordinances of the Lord and keep up a gospel discipling in his house and fearing that we might be deprived of these priveleges, agree to call a Presbytery and be constituted into a church.” This church formed for the purpose of moving west. Samuel Tine Owen, John Bunyan Owen, and Kindred K. Knight led the caravan – said to be some 150 persons, much more than just the church membership, of course. According to tradition, the group intended to strike out to California, but because of difficulties, deaths, and a pleasant stop in camp east of the Trinity River, they stayed in Henderson County, Texas. Pilgrim’s Rest in the Baxter Community is the first Baptist Church in Henderson County, and Elder Thomas Brittain the first pastor. Several area Primitive Baptist churches came from the Pilgrim’s Rest congregation, which disbanded some time before 1900.

The Prairie Lea Baptist Church was constituted in San Augustine County, Texas on June 30, 1850, several months before the Pilgrim’s Rest Church in Alabama. The original name was Shiloh Baptist Church. Elders William Brittain[iv] and Robert Turner served as the organizational presbytery. That fall the church joined the newly formed Eastern Texas Association of United Baptists. In May of 1851, this church body headed west. On June 21, 1851 they landed in the community of Prairie Lea. Prairie Lea is located in southwestern Caldwell County near the San Marcos River.  It is about ten miles southwest of Lockhart, on SH 80 between Luling and Martindale. Prairie Lea is a Southern Baptist congregation, affiliated with the district Bluebonnet Baptist Association and the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention.

Were there more traveling churches on the move in Texas Baptist history? If you know, please point us to the information! Thanks.

Austin-American Statesman, April 8. 1946, p. 7

---

[i] “Traveling Church,” by Thomas D. Clark in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, John E. Kleber, editor; Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1992, pp. 897. In 1891, George Washington Ranck wrote The Traveling Church: An Account of the Baptist Exodus From Virginia to Kentucky in 1781 Under the Leadership of Rev. Lewis Craig and Captain William Ellis, which is currently available in reprint.

[ii] The Records of an Early Texas Baptist Church. I. 1833-1847.

[iii] The colonization decree of 1823 stated, “The government of the Mexican nation will protect the liberty, property, and civil rights of all foreigners, who profess the Roman Catholic apostolic religion, the established religion of the empire.” I have always heard that those who moved to Texas agreed to be Catholic. If this following typical citizenship application is accurate and common, at least in their own minds they probably did not do so, while Mexican authorities looked at it differently (and some authorities probably “looked the other way”). In the Citizenship Application of Radford Berry, he stated he was “of the Christian religion.”

[iv] I am not aware of a relationship between William Brittain and Thomas Brittain, though there may be one.

A Tribute of Respect

Below is a link to a post on Mount Carmel Blog yesterday, “A Tribute of Respect” upon the death of of Lemuel Herrin (1787-1852). Herrin was an early Republic of Texas minister who came here from Tennessee circa. (M. Melton, chairman of the committee, married Herrin’s niece.)

Lemuel Herrin. A Tribute of Respect.

A Critique of A. J. Holt’s A Brief History of Union Baptist Church

I have recently renewed my research on Isaac H. Reed, one of the early Baptist preachers in Texas. In doing so, I reread Adoniram Judson Holt’s A Brief History of Union Baptist Church (Old North Church), written circa 1911. The material was republished in the East Texas Historical Journal, Volume 9, Issue 1, in 1971. It can be found online here:

https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1219&context=ethj

In May of 1838, Elder Isaac Reed led in constituting the Union Baptist Church about four miles north of Nacogdoches, Texas. It is one of the oldest Baptist churches in Texas.[i] In his Brief History, Holt recounts this and refers to other incidents in the history of the church. However, at times Holt is not careful in his assertions. At times he may have not had information available to him; in other cases he proves to have a faulty memory or careful research evaded him; other times his opinions may have gotten in the way. Here are a few places that deserve correction.

The writer of these lines, A.J. Holt, is perhaps the only living man at this time who was personally acquainted with Isaac Reed and M.G. Whitaker who came from Fayetteville, Tennessee in 1835. M.G. Whitaker was in the battle of Sanjacinto [sic] in 1836. They both had personal conversations with the writer of this sketch. So it seems well to me, at the urgent request of J.H. Summers. Sr. and John S. Orton, to perform this service. P. 61

Though he makes this claim more than once,[ii] it is not possible that Isaac Reed, founder of Union Baptist Church, “had personal conversations with” A. J. Holt. Adoniram Judson Holt was born in Kentucky on December 1, 1847. Eleven months later Isaac Reed (November 1848) died in Texas. Perhaps Holt knew Reed’s namesake grandson, also a Baptist preacher, and mistook him for the Isaac Reed who founded Union Baptist Church in May 1838.

It scarcely admits of a doubt that this was absolutely the first sermon ever preached in Texas. P. 62

It is generally agreed by historians today that other Protestant and even Baptist sermons preceded those of Isaac Reed. For example, in endnote four, Editor Jerry M. Self points out that “Yoakum indicates that a Methodist preacher, Rev. Henry Stephenson, preached in what is now Texas as early as 1818. A Baptist named Joseph Bays preached in 1827. H(enderson) Yoakum, History of Texas (2 vols. New York: Redfield, 1855), II, 536-38.”

These nine persons adopted a Confession of Faith found in Browns Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge  which is now in almost universal use among Baptists. P. 62

As before stated Union Church adopted at the beginning the Articles of Faith found in Browns Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, which virtually the same as is now found in Pendelton’s Manual which are almost in universal use by the Baptists of America.

It is not clear that Holt is correct in this assertion. It is likely that he is not. I do not have access to the original records, but rather the transcription printed by the church and pastor Gene Tomlin circa 1987, First Book of Church Minutes, 1838-1872: Old North Baptist Church, Nacogdoches, Texas. Tomlin includes this Confession of Faith in the booklet, but there is no record in the church minutes of its adoption when the church was constituted. Rather, the minutes of Saturday before the first Lord’s day in March 1855 mention “the Subject of an Articcle of faith for the need and practice of the church was taken up and resulted in adopting the artickle of faith as laid down in the encyclopedia of religious Knowledge. the church covenant laid down in the same work was also adopted.” It seems highly unlikely that if the church had adopted this confession of faith at the time of her constitution that there would have been a need to adopt it in March 1855.

A majority of the constituent members of the Union church came from the same locality in Tennessee. Now it transpires that this same Tennessee church, the Mulberry Church of Lincoln County, Tennessee, is well known to the writer of this sketch. P. 63

As written, this implies that the majority of members constituting the Union Church were from the Mulberry Church in Lincoln County, Tennessee. The list in the church minutes show one member from Bethel Church in Lincoln County, two members from Friendship Church in Bedford County, two members from Mount Moriah Church in Lincoln County, one member from the Mulberry Church in Lincoln County, one from the Liberty Church in Cooper County, Missouri, and two whose church affiliations are not mentioned. These latter two were slaves of the Whitaker family, and perhaps members of the Mulberry. Even if that is so, only a plurality were from the Mulberry Church.

In the first eight years of her history under the leadership of Elder Isaac Reed nothing unusual in the way of doctrine was mentioned. In 1845 Elder D. Lewis was called to the care of the church. He recommended that feet washing be observed. A resolution was also passed by the church to do so. But there is no record that it was ever carried into effect. Elder Lewis, as will be elsewhere recorded, only remained as pastor for three months and left the church in much confusion. It is reasonable to suppose that the innovation introduced was the occasion of this confusion. P. 64

There is a mention of “communion tomorrow and feet washing” the Saturday before the first Lord’s day in January, 1845, while the church was under the care of Elder David Lewis (though this is only his first month). There is no suggestion in the minutes that Pastor Lewis recommended or did not recommend the feet washing, though someone might have told Holt that it happened that way. By the standard that “there is no record [in later conference minutes] that it was ever carried into effect,” then one must also suppose they did not observe communion – since that is also not mentioned in the minutes. The simple facts are these. The monthly conference is recorded in the minutes. No reference is needed in the next conference minutes unless something is an ongoing issue to be addressed. That they observed the communion and feet washing after the church voted on this is not necessary or expected in the next conference minutes. To conclude that they did not observe such is a misunderstanding of how the minutes function.

Elder Lewis, as will be elsewhere recorded, only remained as pastor for three months and left the church in much confusion. It is reasonable to suppose that the innovation introduced was the occasion of this confusion. P. 64

Holt’s claim that Lewis only remained as pastor for three months is also incorrect. [Some of Holt’s years for other early pastors needs to be gone over as well.] He was called “to take the pastorial care of the church” at the conference in December 1844. He was present at most of the conferences through 1845, and was once again called as pastor “for the ensuing year” in December 1846. It is true that he “left the church in much confusion.” In May of 1846 the church appointed a committee “to know the cause why he [Bro. Lewis] absents himself from us as he fails to attend…” In June “bro. Lewis was dismissed from the care of the church.” That makes his official tenure about a year and a half rather than three months. Lewis is mentioned in August of 1846, and not again until in July 1847 when he is referenced as “in a state of exclusion” yet called to the pastoral church of the Border Church in Harrison County. The split in the Sabine Association in 1847 indicates the differences between David Lewis and the Union Church were regarding missionary societies, church auxiliaries, and such like. The “missionarys” were excluded from the Sabine Association. Taken with the information from the associational record, and once we understand the practice of feet washing was common among Baptists in East Texas during this period, it is not reasonable to suppose it created this confusion. Z. N. Morrell’s account in his Flowers and Fruits further supports that the problem between Lewis, Reed and the Union Church was Lewis’ thorough favor of mission methods, which was disapproved by Isaac Reed and others (See Morrell, pages 263-64).

Nothing more was recorded concerning feet washing for several years when a query was sent to the association as to whether feet washing was to be observed as a church ordinance. The record is silent as to the advice the association gave. Later under the pastorate of Sanders who was temporarily the pastor in the absence of C.H. Gibson who was ill in Hot Springs, the effort was made by Sanders to force the church into the observance of feet washing. J.H. Summers was the church clerk at the time and refused to participate in proceedings when Sanders asked the church to prefer charges against J.H. Summers but the church declined to take such a step. The matter was then dropped and nothing more was said or done. P. 64

The minutes of Saturday before the first Lord’s day in March 1855 again record the issue of feet washing. At the time the church adopted the Confession of Faith found in Brown’s Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, the church also asserted that they “will practice the ordinance of feet washing in the church.” Feet washing is not mentioned in that confession of faith, and it appears to me that the church is making their stance clear. The issues surrounding Sanders, Gibson, and Summers are not in the First Book of Church Minutes. Apparently, the minutes that might prove or disprove Holt’s assertion concerning the Gibson pastorate and Sanders interim were lost when the church clerk’s home burned in the 1920s. If the period in question of the query to the association is when the church was affiliated with the Mt. Zion Association, the association minutes can help. Mt. Zion association addressed two queries on the subject in a short period of time – first by a committee stating they did not believe it was an ordinance, and second by a resolution that the observance or non-observance of washing the saints’ feet should not be a test of fellowship. (Mt. Zion minutes, 1867, 1870.) Elder George Preston Birdwell wrote, “at one time 38 out of 42 churches in old Mt. Zion Association practiced ‘Foot-washing’.” (In a letter written approximately 1912 when Birdwell was “nearly 76 years old.”)

One member was excluded for joining the Free Masons. Afterwards it seems to have become questionable as to whether this constituted a real offense. A committee was appointed to carry to the association a query on the subject. But the advice of the association is not a matter of record. P. 65

On Saturday before the first Lord’s day in November 1848, N. W. Crain was “Excluded for joining the free Masons.” At the time, it “constituted a real offense” and agreed with the position the Sabine Baptist Association took on the subject of Masonry. (For example, in 1847 “the Association advise and request members of the Baptist order, not to attend the Lodge.”)

Union Church is now known as Old North Church. It was named Union however because other denominations were allowed to worship there. For several years the Primitive (?) Baptists had a day. The Methodists also had a day. Later the Primitives withdrew, likewise the Methodists still later and thus the church remains now to [be] occupied solely by the Missionary Baptists. P. 67

It is a long-standing tradition that this church was named Union “because other denominations were allowed to worship there.” This is likely anachronistic and apocryphal. There is no evidence that other denominations were worshipping at the Liberty School House at the time Union Church was organized. Certainly, there were no other denominational church organizations at the Sparks Settlement as early as May 1838. The editor gives this footnote about Holts (?): “Holt’s question mark, the point being that his own group represents lineal succession from the original church and not such ‘half-breed’ sects.” (P. 70)

---

[i] Union, now called Old North, is the oldest church organized in Texas with a continuous history to the present. The Pilgrim Church at Elkhart is older – organized in 1833 but not organized in Texas. An arm of Pilgrim Church, Hopewell at Cooks Settlement on the east side of the Angelina River in Nacogdoches County (Douglass area) was constituted September 17, 1837, in the fall before Union was constituted in the spring. Unlike Union/Old North, Hopewell no longer exists.

[ii] For example, “Elder Isaac Reed...was well known to this writer, as he lived to a ripe old age.” From “Nacogdoches Notes,” A. J. Holt, Baptist and Reflector (Nashville, Tennessee), Thursday, September 1, 1904, p. 3. Also, “I personally knew Isaac Reed and had from him the facts.” Found in Pioneering in the Southwest, p. 234.

Hymn Meter Again

Here are miscellaneous comments on hymn meter that I have written or collected – some of which may need more context for clarification. I have previous posts on hymn meter HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. These may help.

Unless they are irregular[i] or have prose texts, hymns follow a “metrical” pattern – that is, the hymn meter indicates the number of syllables in the lines in each stanza of a hymn. The number corresponds to the number of syllables per line of poetry. It further, in some cases, implies a certain stress pattern, such as iambic, trochaic, dactylic, or anapestic.[ii] This pattern of syllables and stress in the text is different from the meter of the music, which is the arrangement of the rhythm into measures and signified by the time signature (a symbol at the beginning of the musical staff, e.g. 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, etc.). The hymn meter is the pattern of syllables and stresses in the text itself. While there is some relationship between the two, they are not the same thing.

The listing of meter in hymn and tune books is generally based on a four-line stanza. The named meters – e.g., Common, Long, Short – are usually quatrains (four lines).When the letter “D” follows the meter designations, the pattern is repeated (doubled). For example, rather than four lines of stanza there will be eight lines.

Another metrical variation is the hymn with a standard meter and an added chorus or refrain. Most hymnals and songbooks do not count out the number of syllables in refrains.  In this case, if a hymn is listed as “C. M. with Refrain,”[iii] it means the stanzas are Common Meter, and the refrain is in addition to and does not correspond with that. (See At the Cross for an example.)  The only way to know for sure is to count the syllables in the refrain.

Common Meter (C. M.) is often referred to as ballad meter outside of hymnals (though some make a difference in common meter and ballad meter).

M. T.  means Meter Twelves (four lines of 12 syllables per line).

William Gadsby’s A Selection of Hymns, for Public Worship uses 104th for the 10.10.11.11 pattern, 112th for L. P. M., 122nd for S. P. M., and 148th for H. M. These less common meters were related to old psalm tunes. For example, H. M. (6.6.6.6.8.8.) was the meter for the Old Version Psalm 148.

Most of the numerical symbols are reasonably intuitive, but some are not. For example, many books use the label 8.7.4. The actual pattern of the hymn is 8.7.8.7.4.7.

The numerical symbols vary in the ways they are printed in different hymnals. For example, a four-line stanza of eight syllables might be listed in any of the following ways (and probably others).

• 8s.
• 88.88
• 8.8.8.8.
• 8,8,8,8.
• 88 88

Hymns written with a particular syllabic pattern may be sung to any tune in that same pattern, as long as the poetic foot/stress conforms. For example, “How tedious and tasteless the hours” (8s.) could only with difficulty be sung with Hamburg (L. M.), though both have eight syllables per line.

---

[i] Not the same from one stanza to another. Some editors call anything that does not fall into one of the more common metrical categories either “P. M.” or “Irregular.” Others distinguish between these terms, using P. M. for lyrics whose meters are definite, regular, but rare (an unusual meter that is unlikely to be matched by another hymn or tune) – as opposed to using “Irregular” to denotes lyrics whose syllable counts do not bear definition (as above, the syllable counts are not the same from one stanza to another). In this case, P. M. is “Peculiar Meter” or “Particular Meter.” Tunes labeled P. M. is usually not interchangeable with other tunes labeled P. M. However, in some books, P. M. stands for Psalm Meter, which is 8s.7s. or 8.7.8.7.

[ii] Some designations by some editors may intend to encompass rhyme patterns as well.

[iii] Or, “C. M. D. with Chorus.”

What’s Wrong With the World, 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.

• What’s Wrong With the World? -- "It is the fight within, rather than the battle without, that is the problem."
• What Do 26 of 27 Deadly American Mass Shooters Have In Common? -- "One commonality in 26 of the 27 of the worst recent incidents was made public eighteen months ago. But it got buried by the mainstream media."
• The Seductive and Destructive Lie of Art as Personal Taste, pt.1 -- "God rules everything in a believer’s life through scripture – it gives the truth about the whole of reality, the interpretation of every subject matter."
• The Allure of the Iron Cage: Reactions to Steven D. Smith’s The Disenchantment of Secular Discourse -- "Not everyone has the same religious background as you, so for your moral arguments to carry any weight you need to stop making faith-based arguments"
• Planned Parenthood ‘Grooms’ Girls For Abortions Using Sex Ed, Former Sex Educator Says -- "Planned Parenthood’s sex education grooms students for promiscuity, Cline believes, and this promiscuity leads them to abortion."
• Pastor whose child was shot at Texas church runs for office -- "I felt like something needed to be brought to the conversation, like civility and real intelligent discourse."
• “Jesus Died for Sinners”: Do Your People Know What This Actually Means? -- "Brothers, my point is a simple one: let’s not assume that our people know the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement."
• Facebook bans group trying to stop drag queen story hours for ‘hate speech’ -- "Anna Hall Bohach, founder of 500 Mom Strong, told LifeSiteNews over the phone that the group’s Facebook page was removed on Sunday after she received a final warning."
• Did Paul Prefer Singleness? -- "People react to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7 in a number of different ways."
• ‘Biology is not bigotry’: teacher blasts bill that would force teachers to receive LGBT ‘training’ -- "An elementary school teacher packed a powerful punch in a two-minute testimony last month…Despite Oslen’s testimony, the panel voted 6-0 to pass the legislation out of committee for consideration by the Democrat-led California Senate."
• Beto O’Rourke’s Campaign Ejected a Breitbart Reporter From an Event -- "The irony of Mr. O’Rourke, who has stated that he is the beneficiary of ‘white privilege,’ purporting to decide for black students who should be banned from events that are open to the press, or what they should feel, is not lost on us."
• Alyssa Milano Wants To Know Why Self-Defense Is a God-Given Right, Ted Cruz Explains -- "The right to self-defense is recognized repeatedly in the Bible, eg Exodus 22:2: ‘If a thief is caught breaking in at night & is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed,” Cruz added."
• Airport’s Ban on Plastic Water Bottles a Flight of Fancy -- "Politicians in California like to show how much they care about making the world a better place by banning things."
• Admonitions to a Disappointed Young-Earther -- "I’m disappointed that the enemy, who is delegitimizing the truth-claims of Christianity by undermining the authority of Scripture, is often met with so little resistance and so much well-meant, reasonable-sounding cooperation."

Where the gospel is preached

Don’t go where it is all fine music and grand talk and beautiful architecture; those things will neither fill anybody’s stomach, nor feed his soul. Go where the gospel is preached, the gospel that really feeds your soul, and go often.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

The Living Stone

The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.

God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.

The following psalm/hymn by Isaac Watts contains references to Psalm 118:22-28 (see above)[i] (Scripture text from Authorised Version Bible; Hymn text from Isaac Watts, The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and Apply’d to the Christian State and Worship, 1719). The previously innocuous-seeming poem has become a source of tension for Sacred Harp singers, especially with the new number of singers who like the music but do not agree with the theology. In her introduction of the tradition for beginning Sacred Harp singers, Lisa Grayson advises that some Sacred Harp singers “do not subscribe to the same religious beliefs as the poets who wrote the texts, yet still appreciate their often austere and haunting beauty.”[ii] We note that there are newcomers who “do not subscribe to the same religious beliefs as the poets who wrote the texts” and obviously do not always appreciate them!

In a piece titled Alternate words to “Stafford” someone wrote that “The theology of the poem is so outdated, and so universally rejected among both Christian and non-Christian persons, that many Sacred Harp singers today don’t like to sing Stafford.”[iii] While it is true that some Sacred Harp singers do not like to sing Stafford, it cannot be conceded that Watts’s poem and its “theology” is “universally rejected” among Christians. Further, some singers who have no problem with the words do not lead it because they are worried that they might offend someone. New Testament Christians will not agree with the assessment that the theology is outdated. Those who have adopted the theology of inclusivism are the only ones driven to this conclusion. Many of us can readily – and with no desire to offend – agree that Watts’s hymn and theology agree with the teachings of the New Testament. Those who reject Watts and “The Living Stone” may be either theologically inclusive, historically oblivious,[iv] or biblically illiterate – and in some cases all three. The person who rejects the theology of the New Testament will not be expected to espouse the theology of Isaac Watts’s paraphrase of Psalm 118:22-27. The person who espouses the theology of the New Testament should not be expected to reject the theology of Isaac Watts’s paraphrase of Psalm 118:22-27.

Those who reject the New Testament will argue there is nothing in Psalm 118 about envious Jews. However, Isaac Watts did not claim to make a strict metrical paraphrase of the Psalms. His poetry was “imitated in the language of the New Testament” and “applied to the Christian state and worship.” Therefore, Watts is free to bring in the New Testament context and interpretation of Psalm 118. The stone the builders refused is Jesus Christ. The builders who refused him were the religious and political leaders among the Jews. The stone, Jesus Christ, became the chief cornerstone on which the church was built, despite this rejection of the leaders – of whom it is said were envious or jealous of him. This is New Testament theology in the New Testament. Watts masterfully weaves all this into his “imitation” of Psalm 118:22-27.

An Hosanna for the Lord’s-day; or, a new Song of Salvation by Christ.

Psalm 118:22-27

1. See what a living stone v. 22

The builders did refuse; Matthew 21:42-43

Yet God hath built his church thereon, Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 3:21

In spite of envious Jews. Matthew 27:18, Mark 15:10, Luke 20:17; See also Acts 4:11-12, Acts 13:45, & Acts 17:5

2. The scribe and angry priest John 7:23, Matthew 27:40-42

Reject thine only Son; Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22

Yet on this Rock shall Zion rest, Isaiah 28:16

As the chief corner-stone. 1 Peter 2:6-7

3. The work, O Lord, is thine, v. 23

And wondrous in our eyes;

This day declares it all divine,

This day did Jesus rise. Romans 1:3-4

4. This is the glorious day  

That our Redeemer made; Revelation 1:10

Let us rejoice, and sing, and pray,

Let all the church be glad. v. 24

5. Hosanna to the King

Of David’s royal blood; Matthew 21:9

Bless him, ye saints, he comes to bring v. 26

Salvation from your God. Titus 2:11

6. We bless thine holy word, Luke 11:28

Which all this grace displays;

And offer on thine altar, Lord, v. 27

Our sacrifice of praise. v. 28

A reference to Psalm 118:22 is placed in Jesus’s parable of the householder and his vineyard (Matthew 21:33-46). The husbandmen are envious of the owner and his son, the heir, and kill the householder’s son in order to “seize on his inheritance.” The chief priests and Pharisees “perceived that he spake of them.” The religious leaders of Jesus’s day rejected him (John 1:11) – yes, Jesus, the chief cornerstone on whom the church was built.

No doubt some who avoid the poetry are sincere in an attempt to “Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God” (1 Corinthians 10:32). Many who reject the poetry are those that “make a man an offender for a word” (Isaiah 29:21).

This psalm/hymn taken candidly is not anti-Semitic. It is consistent with the New Testament record. Jesus was a Jew by birth, and so were his apostles and most of the early church. The writers who connected “Jews” and “envy” in the Gospels and Acts were Jews themselves. In general Jewish religious leaders vigorously opposed Jesus. Yet he died for them (John 11:49-51, Luke 23:34). They also opposed Paul, an apostle, a Jew, a former Pharisee. Yet his sensitivity for his people made him cry out “I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: who are Israelites” and “my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.” May we so be found.[v]

---

[i] Though labeled “Psalm 118:22-27,” the last line seems to bring in the praise of verse 28 as well.

[ii] “A Beginner’s Guide to Shape-Note Singing: Hints, stories, advice, and minutiae,” (by Lisa Grayson, Fifth edition 2012, p. 2)

[iii] Stafford from The Shenandoah Harmony. It seems to me that some effort has been made to keep the “envious Jews” Sacred Harp version of Stafford off You Tube. The Living Stone version (but without the “envious Jews” stanza, may be found HERE.

[iv] Specifically, to the history recorded in the Gospels. Interestingly, Jesus excoriated the Pharisees (see Matthew 23, for example), one of the primary Jewish religious groups who envied and rejected him as the chief cornerstone. Many people today similarly excoriate the historical Pharisees of Jesus’s day, as well as labeling those in the present with whom they do not agree “Pharisees.” Often, this latter group of “excoriaters” is made up of the same people who object to the terminology “envious Jews.”

[v] Of course, even this is offensive to those who have adopted inclusivist religion, for we (they say) should not say there is none other name than Jesus whereby we must be saved. Other religions purport to point to life eternal. Jesus said, “I am the life!”

The clock is running, 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 when possible.)

"I have convictions for which (I hope) I would be willing to die. I have none for which I would be willing to kill."

"The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present." -- Alice Morse Earle

"God rules everything in a believer’s life through scripture – it gives the truth about the whole of reality, the interpretation of every subject matter." -- Kent Brandenburg

"We believe that the local congregation is the fundamental unit of mission." -- Daniel Weiss

"Occasionally, weep deeply over the life you hoped would be. Grieve the losses. Then wash your face. Trust God. And embrace the life you have." -- John Piper

"If you always seek the validation of others, you will often be disappointed." -- Heard

"Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The years start unrolling slowly, but as they go by, the roll grows smaller, the cycles of the seasons come faster and faster until suddenly, there isn’t enough left." -- Unknown

"A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it." -- G. K. Chesterton

"We have often mourned over the attempts made to set the works of God against the Word of God." -- Dr. M’Cosh, quoted by Spurgeon in The Treasuries of David

"The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man." -- G. K. Chesterton

"Every pastor is an interim pastor." -- David Huffstutler

"Christianity is not a code, it’s not a creed, it’s not a cause -- it is Christ in you, the hope of glory." -- Adrian Rogers

Election, predestination, free will

Election, predestination, free will are complicated, but probably more complicated because we make it so. Kind of like kneading dough, if you do not know when to stop you mess it up and the bread is not good. What we do in going over and over and over these doctrines is that we make a mess of them. In a sermon on Jacob and Esau, Charles Spurgeon said God “saves man by grace, and if men perish they perish justly by their own fault. ‘How,’ says some one, ‘do you reconcile these two doctrines?’ My dear brethren, I never reconcile two friends, never. These two doctrines are friends with one another; for they are both in God’s Word, and I shall not attempt to reconcile them.” That is a good approach.

The Bible uses “elect” and “election” more than “predestination” or “free will”. Free is never used in the King James Bible as an adjective that modifies will. Almost every time it is an adjective – “freewill” – that modifies offerings, and once (Ezra 7:13) a noun that refers to Jews making a choice to go back to Jerusalem as opposed to the king decreeing which individuals would return. In the case of offerings, the offering that is “free” or chosen by the offerer as opposed to making an offering prescribed by law.

Elect does not always refer to the same kind of thing being elect. Sometimes it refers to the Jews as a chosen people, sometimes to the saved, and sometimes to Jesus Christ (Isaiah 42:1). There may be other types of references as well. Predestinate is used in the Bible four times, but the same idea also appears in words such as determined before, foreordained, and ordained before. We can tell from the Bible that there are things ordained beforehand (predestinated) by God. The chief argument among Christians seems to be over whether God predestinated only a select few (the elect) to be saved and then passed over the rest. Those who emphasize predestination say, “Yes.” Those who emphasize free will say, “No.” Somehow, this all works out in the mind of God – whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts – and will remain a mystery to us as long as we are in the flesh trying to figure it out. This is an intriguing discussion. We can discuss it “forever” – because we never figure it out. There are some obnoxious people on both ends of the spectrum who have it all figured out (to their own satisfaction) and think all the rest of us are Lilliputians.

Concerning free will, to a large degree Americans are influenced by our social constructs around freedom and liberty, and want everything to be fair in a way we see as fair. Biblically, mankind cannot be said to have a free will. That only applies to God, who can do anything he pleases. Man operates within the confines of his nature, which is sinful. Therefore, the Bible teaches than man is sinful, does not please God, does not seek God, and so on. Man, by both his nature and his will, is a child of wrath. If God did not seek man, man would never seek God. Yet, man is not absolutely passive in salvation, as some versions of predestination hold him to be. Rather, when God seeks man, convicts him of sin, and draws him by the Holy Spirit, man can seek and find God. He can repent and believe in Jesus Christ.

Miscellaneous news

Some links to miscellaneous bits of news:

• The text of the May statement made by Special Counsel Robert Mueller can be found HERE.
• The October 16, 2000 Justice Department view of “A Sitting President’s Amenability to Indictment and Criminal Prosecution” can be found HERE.
• H.R.5 - Equality Act has passed in the House of Representatives
• 116th Congress (2019-2020) “This bill prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system.”
• Doug Collins (Rep.-Ga.) made the following statement at a hearing on H.R. 5: “Don’t ignore the costs here — because they’re steep. H.R. 5 erases civil rights protections for biological women and sets the stage for children to fall victim — in permanent, unprecedented ways — to the confusion that often characterizes adolescence. If Democrats are determined to move this legislation forward, they must acknowledge it automatically privileges the rights of biological men over the rights of biological women. This bill will cause suffering that is far-reaching and, in many cases, enduring...”

A Passage for a Pastor, 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.

• A Passage for a Pastor Called to an Established Church -- "Every pastor is an interim pastor."
• Are There Critical Text Readings in the NKJV after All? A Nerdy and Detailed Response to a Set of Fair Questions -- "Now, even if my supporting point about the NKJV goes down, my central case stands..."
• Is Prostitution Work? -- "as Christianity declines, Christian values are no longer the foundation on which society is built and so as new values and norms are being established, new language is needed to help with that process."
• My Response to Mark Ward's Response to My List of Fifteen Deviations of the NKJV from the Underlying Original Language Text of the KJV -- "In a new post, he said none of them are legitimate examples, so I looked at his (and two assistants) arguments, and here is my conclusion about what they wrote."
• One Final Post on the NKJV Textual Deviations from the Text Behind the KJV -- "Mark is admitting to six [deviations of the text behind the NKJV from the underlying text of the KJV]."
• Science and Religion Should Not Fight -- "Let not science and religion be reckoned as opposing citadels, frowning defiance upon each other, and their troops brandishing their armour in hostile attitude."
• Straight Men Must Date “Trans Women” to Combat Hate, Say Activists -- "...just because everyone else lets the gender-dysphoric live in a fantasy world doesn’t mean that we—as heterosexual people of faith—have to play along..."
• Texas gov. signs bill making it illegal to kill babies who survive abortion -- "House Bill 16 requires that for any child born alive after an attempted abortion, doctors “must exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious physician would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age...”."
• The Good and Bad of Christendom -- "Religious toleration in the empire created conditions for the freedom...but when in 391 Emperor Theodosius I made Christianity the Roman Empire’s official...the church began to be the controlling influence in the entirety of the empire."
• US discards thousands of donated kidneys each year as patients die on waitlist, study says -- "The study found that the U.S. is more likely than France to throw away kidneys when the donor had hypertension, diabetes, had a heart attack or tested positive for Hepatitis C. But that doesn’t mean those kidneys can’t be used to save lives."
• What Is Church Membership? -- "Church membership, in other words, is not about “additional requirements.” It’s about a church taking specific responsibility for a Christian, and a Christian for a church."
• Why Faith Statements Won’t Save Us -- "Machen concluded that “despite the liberal use of traditional phraseology modern liberalism not only is a different religion from Christianity but belongs in a totally different class of religions”."