Bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond

O ye’ll take the high road, and I’ll take the low road,
And I’ll be in Scotland a’fore ye,
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.

We used to sing this song when I was in school (in Junior High, I think). I don’t recall anyone ever explaining what it meant. The teacher probably did, and I just wasn’t listening. A Scottish preacher gave the following explanation in a sermon I heard. He made a point about the death of a Christian. I now understand there are various versions of the “true meaning” of the song, but this explanation is by a Scotsman and a preacher, so I’m taking this story and sticking to it!

The song is about two Scottish prisoners held in an English jail and the song is penned the night before one is to be hanged and the other is to be released, and the one who is to be hanged will reach Scotland by the low road of death before the one who is to be released will reach Scotland by means of the high road journey. The one who is about to be released feels bad for the one who is about to be hanged. The one who is about to be hanged says, “Don’t feel bad for me,” because “you’ll take the high road and I’ll take the low road and I’ll be in Scotland before you!”

Loch Lomond by Peter Hollens
Loch Lomond by Peter Hollens and David Archuleta

We cannot conform, communicate, and symbolise

By communicating with idolaters in their rites and ceremonies, we ourselves become guilty of idolatry; even as Ahaz, 2 Kings 16:10, was an idolater, eo ipso, that he took the pattern of an altar from idolaters. Forasmuch, then, as kneeling before the consecrated bread, the sign of the cross, surplice, festival days, bishopping, bowing down to the altar, administration of the sacraments in private places, etc., are the wares of Rome, the baggage of Babylon, the trinkets of the whore, the badges of Popery, the ensigns of Christ’s enemies, and the very trophies of antichrist, – we cannot conform, communicate and symbolise with the idolatrous Papists in the use of the same, without making ourselves idolaters by participation.

George Gillespie

Master, at Thy feet adoring

1. My Lord, my Master, at Thy feet adoring,

I see Thee bowed beneath Thy load of woe;

For me, a sinner, is Thy life blood pouring;

For Thee, my Savior, scarce my tears will flow.

2. Thine own disciple to the Jews has sold Thee,

With friendship’s kiss and loyal word he came;

How oft of faithful love my lips have told Thee,

While Thou hast seen my falsehood and my shame.

3. With taunts and scoffs they mock what seems Thy weakness,

With blows and outrage adding pain to pain;

Thou art unmoved and steadfast in Thy meekness;

When I am wronged how quickly I complain!

4. My Lord, my Savior, when I see Thee wearing

Upon Thy bleeding brow the crown of thorn,

Shall I for pleasure live, or shrink from bearing

Whate’er my lot may be of pain or scorn?

5. O Victim of Thy love, O pangs most healing,

O saving death, O wounds that I adore,

O shame most glorious! Christ, before Thee kneeling,

I pray Thee keep me Thine for evermore.

English translation by Thomas Benson Pollock in 1887 and included in the 1889 Supplemental Hymns to Hymns Ancient & Modern. Jacques Bridaine (1701–1767) wrote the original French hymn – “Est-ce vous que je vois ô mon Maître adorable.”

The hymn meter is 11.10.11.10 (or 11s.10s.) and it is often sung to the tune Strength and Stay by John Bacchus Dykes.

Easter’s Coming

We approach a day called Easter, when many Christians and much of the world celebrate a day related to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Included in this celebration are various and sundry events that have no connection to his resurrection (e.g. Easter egg hunts) or a contrived connection to it (e.g. sunrise services). Amidst is all, with true hearts, let us glory in our Lord’s triumphant resurrection. Let us remember that with every baptism, we proclaim the gospel of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:4-6). In the memorial Supper we imply His resurrection through showing the Lord’s death till he come (1 Corinthians 11:26). EVERY first day of EVERY week should be a poignant reminder of the lesson of the empty tomb – “He is not here, He is risen!”

The Tragedy of William Cowper Brann, 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.

• The Tragedy of William Cowper Brann, Waco's Infamous Firebrand -- "Brann received much criticism for his assaults on Baylor University—he was even attacked."
• The original Baylor scandal: An 1890s coverup of murder, lynching and gunfights -- "...the real victim in the sordid affair is Antonia Teixeira, a 14-year-old Brazilian girl who ended up pregnant while at Baylor."
• The Customary Practice of Headcoverings: An Exegetical & Historical Study by Greg Price -- "…that the uncovered head of men and the covered head of women in worship (as taught by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11) were cultural and customary practices that are NOT specifically regulated by Scripture (per the Regulative Principle of Worship)."
• Teens hailed as 'hometown heroes' for picking up elderly man who fell and taking him home to clean his wounds -- "A group of five teenage boys in Caldwell, Idaho, are being hailed as hometown heroes after a video of them picking up an elderly man and bringing him home to clean his wounds went viral on Facebook."
• Southern Poverty Law Center Is a Hate Group -- "SPLC...uses its past legacy of fighting against racism to add legitimacy to their evolving agenda of hatred towards the large number of Americans who hold conservative and religious values."
• Seminary removes stained glass windows celebrating conservative takeover of SBC -- "Stained-glass windows immortalizing individuals who helped move the Southern Baptist Convention to a more theologically and socially conservative position in the late 20th century have been quietly removed from the chapel of one of the convention’s six seminaries."
• How to Make Your Own Almond Milk -- "...you can easily make your own, homemade almond milk rather than buying it from the store..."
• How a 29-Year-Old G. K. Chesterton Flipped 4 Arguments Against Christianity Upside-Down -- "…the reasons that I have for believing in Christianity are, in very many cases, to repeat those arguments which Mr. Blatchford, in some strange way, seems to regard as arguments against it."
• Dallas will no longer prosecute ‘petty crimes’ -- "There are few crimes that are “victimless,” and most victims are traumatized by the crimes committed against them."
• Congregationalism Doesn’t Stop at 8 p.m. -- "The congregation’s oversight of the church’s membership, discipline, and doctrine ought to be happening all the time."
• Blond vs. Blonde: What’s The Difference? -- "Further complicating matters is the fact that blond, in American English, is often the preferred default adjective while British English tends toward blonde. Can you say “confusing”?"
• A Case for Evening Worship: Sacred Rest and the Public Means of Grace -- "Holding two worship services on the Lord’s Day is one conspicuous way of fulfilling the purpose of the Christian Sabbath; it helps us keep the day holy by beginning and ending the day with the worship of God. It is difficult to set apart the whole day as a day of sacred rest and worship when there is only one service."
• Abortion clinic workers respond to 'Unplanned' movie — and they want out of the industry -- "The number of actual workers who have reached out is 94."
• 2 storm-related fatalities, multiple injuries after strong storms move across East Texas -- "Two children were killed in Angelina County and dozens injured in the Alto area after storms rolled through East Texas on Saturday."

The Shepherd and the C.E.O.

On the SBC Voices blog, Clayton Pruett, an SBC pastor in Illinois, wrote about The Shepherd and the C.E.O. Though I don’t agree with all points as he expressed them, I think the following excerpt below comparing the Shepherd and C.E.O highlights some problems with the “C.E.O mentality” that permeates American churches. It is good that someone in the SBC speaks against it.

·         C.E.O. Leaders use people for progress

o   Shepherd Leaders love and invest into people

·         C.E.O. Leaders see friendship and pastoral work as an obstacle to success.

o   Shepherd leaders see friendship and pastoral work as success.

·         C.E.O. leaders see accountability as a challenge to their authority.

o   Shepherd leaders see accountability as caring for their heart.

·         C.E.O. leaders know how to work the system and manipulate to get their way.

o   Shepherd leaders know how to work through things with others to get God’s way.

·         C.E.O. leaders build a talented team to carry out their vision.

o   Shepherd leaders build a talented team to cultivate the church and each other.

·         C.E.O. leaders see other churches as competition.

o   Shepherd leaders see other churches as family.

·         C.E.O. Leaders use the Bible to reveal their vision

o   Shepherd leaders use the Bible to reveal Jesus

You may read the entire article at the link above.

A Christian first

Brian Kilmeade of Fox News raised a stink concerning Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, a Muslim, questioning whether she was “an American first.” That story I leave for another day (if at all), but it brings to me the question whether anyone who is committed to his or her religion can be “an American first.” I am a Christian. I am a Christian first. I am an American geographically and politically, and was an American first chronologically (born by nature before born by the Spirit). I am a Christian second chronologically, by a new birth that made me part of the family of God and the kingdom of heaven. In the end being “a Christian first” means recognizing when push comes to shove “we ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

Perhaps a better question is “Can I be a Christian first and be a good citizen” or “Can I be a Christian first and be not threat to America?”

• “A Christian first” does not mean I am un-American or anti-American. The Bible teaches the Christian to be a good citizen (Romans 13:1-2), pray for the leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2), pay the taxes (Mark 12:17), and seek its peace (Jeremiah 29:7).
• “A Christian first” does not mean I place some other country’s interests before those of the United States. The Bible promotes an interest in the spiritual welfare of the people of all nations (Matthew 28:19; Psalm 33:12), but being “a Christian first” does not lead one to betray his or her own nation for another.
• “A Christian first” does mean that my citizenship is in heaven (2 Corinthians 5:20, Philippians 3:20) and I belong to a kingdom not of this world (1 Peter 2:9; John 18:36) – Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

I make no claim that I am doing a great, or even good, job of being “a Christian first.” Often I am a failure, but…

I am a Christian first.

...seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness...

Matthew 6:33

A sheaf of words

More words to consider:

• acronical, adjective. Of the rising or setting of a celestial object: occurring at or just after sunset.
• baby face, noun. A youthful, smooth, or innocent face; (also) the face of a baby. Frequently attributive, esp. as a nickname; cf. baby-faced adj.
• bluff charge, noun. An instance of a large animal moving aggressively toward a potential threat or prey, then abruptly stopping without attacking.
• bumfuzzle, verb. transitive (often in passive). To deceive, confuse, or astound (a person or group); to bamboozle, bewilder.
• burkini, noun. A woman’s two-piece swimsuit that covers the entire body, leaving only the hands, feet, and face exposed.
• ​dade, verb, transitive. To lead and support a person who totters or moves unsteadily, esp. a child learning to walk.
• dun, verb, transitive. To make insistent or repeated demands on (someone), typically for the repayment of a debt.
• entremets, noun. A light dish served between two courses of a formal meal; dishes served in addition to the main course of a meal.
• hammajang, adjective. In a disorderly or chaotic state; messed up. Chiefly in predicative use, esp. in all hammajang.
• monocarpic, adjective. Of a plant: bearing fruit only once during its life cycle.
• mush, musher; noun. An owner-driver of a cab; a cab driver who owns a small number of cabs.
• niffer, verb, transitive. To trade or exchange (a thing) for (also with) another thing.
• old sod, noun. Usually with the. One’s country of origin; spec. Ireland.
• patzer, noun. A poor player, a novice.
• picayune, adjective. Of little value or account; small; trifling (also, noun, formerly, in Louisiana, Florida, etc. a coin equal to half a Spanish real).
• quattrocento, noun and adjective. The 15th century in Italy, considered in terms of its art and architecture.
• routinier, noun and adjective. A medical practitioner who has been trained in various procedures but lacks broader knowledge or experience; one who applies treatments in a rigid, mechanical way.
• sprunking, noun. The action of beautifying or adorning oneself. Chiefly (and in earliest use) attributive, esp. in sprunking glass: a mirror.
• tarblish, adverb. To an acceptable degree; moderately, fairly, reasonably.

Undercutting their own claim

Those who argue for contemporary worship recognize distinctions in music that undercut their own claim that musical meaning is esoteric.

Even within contemporary music, there are genres and stylistic differences; everyone recognizes these differences and takes them into account when choosing songs and planning worship services. Indeed, much of the rejection of traditional worship music takes the form of critiquing what that music communicates: stiltedness, formalism, a distant God. It cannot work both ways: musical meaning cannot be waved off as a mere subjective interpretation on the one hand and then employed as an objection to traditional music on the other. Advocates of contemporary worship cannot claim that their music communicates the very same emotions as traditional hymnody while simultaneously disparaging what traditional hymnody communicates.

Michael Riley

The happy soul is fled

The following hymn by Baptist minister John Fawcett appears in Hymns Adapted to the Circumstances of Public Worship and Private Devotion (Leeds: G. Wright and Son, 1782). Though it often appears online with many less, the printing in the hymnbook contains seven stanzas.

Hymn XXVII. C. M.

On the death of the Rev. Mr James Hartley, late of Haworth.

1. Far from affliction, toil, and care,

The happy soul is fled;

The breathless clay shall slumber here,

Among the silent dead.

2. Slowly his earthly frame decay’d;

His end was long in sight;

Nor was his steady soul afraid

To take its awful flight.

3. The gospel was his joy and song,

E’en to his latest breath;

The truth he had maintain’d so long

Was his support in death.

4. Now he resides where Jesus is,

Above this dusky sphere;

He was no stranger to the bliss

While he sojourned here.

5. His body rests beneath the ground

’Till that tremendous day,

When the last trumpet’s thund’ring sound

Shall wake his sleeping clay

6. The church’s loss we all deplore,

And shed the falling tear;

We shall behold his face no more,

’Till Jesus shall appear.

7. But we are hast’ning to the tomb;

O may we ready stand!

Then, dearest Lord, receive us home,

To dwell at thy right hand.

According to Memoirs of the Late Rev. Wm. Crabtree (Isaac Mann, London: Button and Son, 1815, p. 20), Hartley died at Haworth in 1780, and had exercised “in the ministry as early as 1748.”

Atheist prayer?

Last Saturday I commented on Praying in Pennsylvania – which was primarily about a Christian lawmaker’s prayer in the Pennsylvania State House. Atheists want to pray too! Who knew?

The Pennsylvania State Senate, operating under their own rules, which are different from the House, invited Deana Weaver, a member of the Dillsburg Area Free Thinkers,[i] to offer a “prayer” at the opening of the Pennsylvania Senate on March 20, 2019. It included:

“We pray that the one principle that this great experiment of American democracy has taught us is that we are so much better when we work together in a spirit of inclusion. And so we pray. We pray for this democracy of the people, by the people and for the people. We pray for our government to serve all people equally.”

Commenting on the “aggressive” prayer by Christian Stephanie Borowicz, Weaver said, “We live in strange times.” You got that right! What in the world is a “prayer” by an atheist? There is no such a thing! There is no God to pray to, no expectation of answered prayer, merely a hypocritical formality and a desire to be “included.” Prayer is the act of invoking or calling upon a deity, spirit, etc., for aid, protection, inspiration, or the like; supplication. Our society keeps redefining things into oblivion, so that an atheist may invoke a deity “for aid, protection, inspiration, or the like.” Ha! If the Pennsylvania Senate wants to give an atheist a forum to address its opening, so be it. However, let us be honest and not pretend it is prayer.

Weaver delivered her first invocation at the Pennsylvania Senate in April 2015. Mike Argento atrociously announced, “since the world did not come to an end and the Senate wasn’t swarmed by locusts or pelted with a shower of frogs or hurled into a lake of fire, she was able to make a return trip.” By that standard, I’m sure we will see Argento in the forefront of encouraging Borowicz’s return trip to pray at the Pennsylvania House. The way they cried and hollered, you would think they were worried about the world coming to an end because of Borowicz’s prayer. Maybe it was just the case of the “hit dog” instead.

---

[i] This DAFT group has a strange way of educating people to the dangers of belief in a supernatural being. Their watchwords are supposed to be reason and science, yet a little fake prayer evidently doesn’t hurt either.

No Good Friday, take a Spring Holiday

According to Indiana Public Media, “In a memo to city employees last week, [Mayor John] Hamilton [of Bloomington, Indiana] announced Good Friday will now be known as ‘Spring Holiday’ and Columbus Day will now be known as ‘Fall Holiday.’ The change will affect how the paid time-off days are described for city employees.”

“Columbus Day” has not attracted much attention; it is far away and not as notable. However, the change of “Good Friday” to “Spring Holiday” has garnered attention and created something of a stir. Good Friday is a major day for many many folks in various Christian traditions.

Personally, I see Good Friday as a Roman Catholic invention. I do not recall Good Friday ever mentioned in my growing up days in a rural East Texas Baptist Church. Neither do I think it biblically corresponds to the day Jesus was crucified. Finally, the Bible does not set aside the crucifixion or birth of Christ as “church holy days.” This is not found in scripture. On the other hand, I am not fighting Good Friday as a holiday that our society recognizes. My place of employment gives the day, and I will take it regardless of what they call it.

Now the Roman Catholic “invention” has become a Mayor John Hamilton “unvention.” Hamilton wrote in a memo, “We are terrifically proud of our diverse workforce at the City. That diversity makes us stronger and more representative of the public we proudly serve. These updated names for two days of well-merited time off is another way we can demonstrate our commitment to inclusivity.” In reality, Hamilton’s words conceal a duplicitous aim to include by excluding, to not to offend (some) people by offending (some) people. I believe the actions of those like Mayor Hamilton are hypocritical and duplicitous, as well as a demonstration of a certain type of lunacy. Just kept your eyes peeled and your ears to the ground. I suspect we will find that Bloomington’s “Spring Holiday”" will always be on Friday before Easter rather than the third Friday of April!

I sent the following note to the Mayor Hamilton, though it is likely he will never read it.

Dear Mayor Hamilton,

Yesterday I read the news that the city of Bloomington, in the name of specific inclusivity, has axed “Good Friday” for a more innocuous holiday called “Spring Holiday.”

I am a Christian, but I do not observe Good Friday. I am not a citizen of Bloomington, but rather an outside observer. I will be quite interested to follow this to find whether “Spring Holiday” will always be the third Friday in April, or whether the city will hypocritically move it around to be the Friday before Easter each year!

Thanks for reading my thoughts. Have a good day.

Sincerely,

Bible-Powered Flight, 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.

• Bible-Powered Flight -- "On a cold day in December, I walked into the Northeast Texas Rural Heritage Center in Pittsburg [Texas], not knowing what to expect...what I didn’t expect was a full-sized aircraft hanging from the ceiling. It is a replica of the Ezekiel Airship, which local legend claims was the first aircraft in the world to carry a human into flight."
• Candace Owens blasts hearing on white nationalism in House testimony -- "‘The hearing today is not about white nationalism or hate crimes, it’s about fear-mongering, power and control,’ Owens said, casting doubt on whether hate crimes in the U.S. have risen in recent years."
• Ezekiel Airship -- "A sawmiller and inventor, Cannon got his idea for the airship from the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, which described a flying machine."
• Is Anyone Born Gay? -- "Sexual orientation seemed self-evidently true. But what truth did it reveal?"
• Love From Midland -- "Born in Texas, silent film actress Bessie Love became a star in Hollywood."
• Presidential Powerboat -- "After extensive restoration, LBJ’s prized 1965 craft is back on the water."
• Protest over conservative speaker prompts call for Baylor to recognize LGBTQ student group -- "Protests over a speech at Baylor University by a conservative blogger on record as opposing the “LGBT agenda” prompted more than 2,200 current and former students and other supporters to call on the historically Baptist school to formally recognize a gay-straight student alliance denied a charter since its founding in 2011."
• Romans: A House Church Manifesto? -- "...the author intends to demonstrate that the theology applied by the Apostle was consistent with some modern house church theologians --even that Paul was challenging the local churches of Rome to actually implement house church ecclesiology."
• Ted Cruz to investigate Yale Law School -- "This discriminatory policy indicates that Yale Law School would prefer to sabotage the prospects of their own students than see them advocate for mainstream Christian or conservative causes."
• Wide-Open Spaces -- "The roads out West call to the joys of driving."

“Good Wednesday” Crucifixion

THE GOSPEL -- I CORINTHIANS 15:3-4
Genesis 1:5b (And the evening and the morning were the first day.)
Wednesday 14 Nisan	6 P.M.	Jesus eats with disciples and institutes the Supper
(Approx March 30)		Matthew 26:20; Mark 14:17; Luke 22:17
Passover	9 P.M.	Farewell Discourse John chapters 14-16
Exodus 12:6		Prayers John 17; Mark 14:32-42
Leviticus 23:5	12 Mid.	Betrayal and Arrest Luke 22
Numbers 28:16		Carried to Annas--then Caiphas
Deuteronomy 16:1-6		John 18:12-14, 24; Matthew 26:57
1st month of Sacred Year	3 A.M.	Peter's denial John 18:16-27; Mark 14:66-72
Exodus 12:2		Cock crow 3 a.m.; 2nd cock crow 4:30 a.m. (Unger)
	6 A.M.	Sanhedrin condemns Jesus and sends Him to Pilate
		Matthew 27:1,2; Luke 22:54-62
		Sent to Herod Luke 23:6-12; Back to Pilate v. 11
		Opportunity to release a prisoner John 18:39
	9 A.M.	Nailed to the cross Mark 15:25; I Corinthians 5:7
	12 Noon	Darkness begins -- lasts till 3 p.m. Mark 15:33
	3 P.M.	Jesus dies Mark 15:34; Matt. 27:46-50; Deut. 16:6
		Buried before 6 p.m. Matt. 27:57-60; Mark 15:42-46; John 19:38-42
Thursday 15 Nisan	6 P.M.
(Approx March 31)	9 P.M.	Watch set at tomb Matthew 27:62-66
High day -- no work	12 Mid.
Holy Convocation	3 A.M.
John 19:31	6 A.M.
Exodus 12:15,16	9 A.M.
Numbers 28:17,18	12 Noon
Leviticus 23:6,7	3 P.M.
Friday 16 Nisan	6 P.M.
(Approx April 1)	9 P.M.
	12 Mid.
	3 A.M.
	6 A.M.
	9 A.M.
	12 Noon
	3 P.M.	Spices bought, ointment prepared Mark 16:1; Luke 23:55,56
Saturday 17 Nisan	6 P.M.	Day of Rest Luke 23:56
(Approx April 2)	9 P.M.
Weekly Sabbath	12 Mid.
Exodus 20:8	3 A.M.
Leviticus 23:3	6 A.M.
	9 A.M.
	12 Noon
	3 P.M.	In grave three days and three nights Matthew 12:40; Jonah 1:17
Sunday 18 Nisan	6 P.M.	First visit to the tomb (not bringing spices) Matt. 28:1
(Approx April 3)	9 P.M.
First day of the week	12 Mid.
Firstfruits = the day after	3 A.M.	Earthquake, stone rolled away Matthew 28:2-4
the weekly Sabbath	6 A.M.	Second visit to the tomb Mark 16:2-8; Luke 24:1-8: John 20:1
Leviticus 23:11,15,16	9 A.M.
I Corinthians 15:20	12 Noon
	3 P.M.