Psalm 2

1 Why do the heathen rage,

and the people imagine a vain thing?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,

3 "Let us break their bands asunder,

and cast away their cords from us."

4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh;

the LORD shall have them in derision.

5 Then he shall speak unto them in his wrath,

and vex them in his sore displeasure, [saying,]

6 "Yet I have set my king

upon my holy hill of Zion."

7 I will declare the decree:

the LORD hath said unto me, "Thou art my Son;

This day I have begotten thee.

8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen

for thine inheritance,

and the uttermost parts of the earth

for thy possession.

9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;

thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings;

be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

11 Serve the LORD with fear,

and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son,

lest he be angry, and you perish from the way,

when his wrath is kindled but a little.

Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

JW: There is nothing in this psalm which is not applicable to Christ, but some things which are not all applicable to David. Threatenings denounced against the adversaries of Christ's kingdom, ver. 1-6; Promises made to Christ, ver. 7-9; Counsel given to all, to submit to him, ver. 10-12.

[On verse 7:] 'My Son'- which tho' it may in some sort be said to, or of David, yet much more properly belongs to Christ, who is commonly known by this title both in the Old and New Testament, and to whom this title is expressly appropriated by the Holy Ghost, who is the best interpreter of his own words, Acts 13.33, Heb. 1.5. 'This day' - This may be understood either, Of his eternal generation. This day, from all eternity, which is well described by 'this day,' because in eternity there is no succession, no [yesterday], no [tomorrow], but it is all as one continued day or moment without change or flux; or, Of the manifestation of Christ's eternal son-ship in time; which was done both in his birth and life, when his being the son of God was demonstrated by the testimony of the angel, Luke 1.32, and of God the Father, Matt. 3.17; 17.5, and by his own words and works; and in his resurrection, which seems to be here mainly intended, of which day this very place is expounded, Acts 13.33.

[On verses 10-11:] 'Now' - while you have time for repentance and submission. 'Fear' - With an awful sense of his great and glorious majesty. 'Rejoice' - do not esteem his yoke your dishonour and grievance; but rejoice in this inestimable grace and benefit. 'Trembling' - This is added to warn them of taking heed that they do not turn this grace of God into wantonness.

Though this Psalm is referenced in Acts 13.33, as Wesley notes, the context of which is about Christ's resurrection, I still find it providential that this Psalm is in view on Epiphany, which I posted on earlier today. Epiphany, as was said then, has to do with the revelation of Jesus as the Christ and God's Son. This is made very public in Jesus' baptism when the voice came from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Notice this: Christ heard these words at his baptism. Immediately following his baptism, Jesus, as we know, went into the wilderness and was tempted by the devil. Does one of the temptations sound familiar to the next line in this psalm? "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage." Remember how the devil tempted Jesus with bestowing authority over the whole world? (See Matt. 3.8-9; Luke 4.5-7.) And it is precisely Christ's Son-ship that Satan is trying to attack as it tempts Him. Jesus knew who had the ultimate authority and who was speaking to him. He knew his Father's voice. We would do well to be acquainted with the Shepherd's voice.

I appreciate Wesley's Christological take on this Psalm. His approach stays true to his introduction to the Psalter, and stays true to the tradition of the Church to read Scripture through the lens of Christ.

One final note on this Psalm: I'm intrigued by the language of verse 3 - "Let us break their bands asunder..." Maybe I'm reading too much into this or maybe I've just got some of Charles Wesley's lyrics from the Nativity on my mind, but I am curious if Charles was using the language of the rulers who conspire against the Anointed and turns the words on their head to show that it is the Anointed who will be the One to "break bands" asunder. Hymn VI of the Nativity collection, which I blogged on last month, has this lyric: "Those Infant-hands shall burst our bands and work out our salvation."

A Litany for Epiphany

Happy Epiphany everyone! I just returned to my study quarters from a chapel with a beautiful litany for Epiphany. Before sharing, there are a couple of things to point out about Epiphany. In many traditions, the storyline most associated with Epiphany is the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus as recounted in Matthew 2.1-12. In other traditions, Epiphany is associated with the revelation of Christ as the Son of God at his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptizer. The speaker this morning admitted that Epiphany unfortunately is found pretty low on the totem pole, if present at all, in the evangelical church. The first time he came across the word 'epiphany' was not in church but in a literature class where a story is told of a man who comes to a realization of his own identity and significance. The speaker then pointed out that this is not near what the Church understands by Epiphany. It is not about us, but about Christ's revelation as the Son of God! If anything pertaining to himself, John the Baptizer at Epiphany gets a realization of his own insignificance in comparison with Christ: "I should be baptized by you..." and "[Christ] must increase, I must decrease."

With that, here is the litany from this morning. Note, in particular, how the prayer moves from soteriology (theology of salvation) to missiology to dwelling at length in praying for the cause of justice and mercy and then to eternal joy in praising God:

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God, Alleluia!

Shout to the Lord, all the earth, Alleluia!

With joy let us pray to our Saviour,

the Son of God who became one of us, saying:

The grace of God be with us all.

O Christ,

let your gospel shine in every place

where the Word of life is not yet received.

Draw the whole creation to yourself

that your salvation may be known through all the earth.

The grace of God be with us all.

O Christ, Saviour and Lord,

extend your church to every place.

Make it a place of welcome for people of every race and tongue.

The grace of God be with us all.

O Christ, Ruler of rulers,

direct the work and thoughts of the leaders of nations

that they may seek justice,

and further peace and freedom for all.

The grace of God be with us all.

O Christ, Master of all,

support of the weak and comfort of the afflicted,

strengthen the tempted and raise the fallen.

Watch over the lonely and those in danger.

Give hope to the despairing

and sustain the faith of the persecuted.

The grace of God be with us all. Amen.

O Christ, light that made manifest as the true light of God,

gladden our hearts on the joyful morning of your glory;

call us by our name on the great Day of your coming;

and give us grace to offer,

with all the hosts of heaven,

unending praise to God

in whom all things find their ending,

now and forever. Amen.

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful,
2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so:
But are like the chaff
which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous;
but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

JW: This psalm was put first as a preface to all the rest, as a powerful persuasive to the serious study of the whole book, and of the rest of the holy scripture, taken from that blessedness which attends upon the study and practice of it. It shews us: the holiness and happiness of a good man, ver. 1-3; the sinfulness and misery of a wicked man, ver. 4, 5; the ground and reason of both, ver. 6...

[On verse 1:] Observe a gradation in this verse; the following clause still exceeding the former, for standing is more than walking, and sitting more than standing; and sinners, in scripture use, are worse than the ungodly, and the scornful are the worst of sinners...

[On verse 3:] His happiness is not short and transitory, but like those trees which are continually green and flourishing.

I noticed the "gradation" of verse 1 and recall portions of the lecture by Dr. Owen Dickens in my undergraduate course in Psalms. Dr. Dickens gave us a visual picture of the progression from walking to standing to sitting. One might think that the deeper people get into a thing, the more active they become, but this is not the analogy given for abiding in wickedness. There is a progression toward what Wesley called "a more settled abode." The deeper we get into sinfulness, the more inactive we become. It's because it's the path that leads to destruction (v. 6) and death, which is the ultimate picture of inactivity. This progression should be opposite in the way of holy living! For more we abide in Christ, the more active we are. Think about the passages of discipleship: take up your cross and follow, walk in step with the Spirit, cast aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares and run with perseverance the race that is set before you.

"Delight" and meditate in the great commandment(s), which Jesus sees as the center of the law: "Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength...and your neighbor as yourself." The phrase "day and night" is not just a suggestion to do devotions when you wake up and when you go to bed (though those are certainly good practices), but is an example of the poetical use of merism, whereby two contrasting parts (in this case "day" and "night") are highlighted to express the totality that lies in them and between them. In other words, we should meditate on the "law of the LORD" all the time. It's the following of the great commandments all the time.

"Prosper" sounds good. We need to be careful what sort of prosperity we're looking for. Where is your treasure? That's a good place to start when thinking of a biblical understanding of prosperity.

On verse 5 and the "nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous": I can easily imagine that this has been oft misconstrued into communicating that the "congregation" is only for saints. That's not the point. First, we need to remember who the Judge is. Second, we should remember that "all have sinned" and that includes me and you. Finally, it may do us some good to consider "the judgment" here to infer the final judgment, which Wesley did. The final judgment is yet to come. Accordingly, this isn't as much a passage of congregational living in the now, but a picture of what the eternal congregation in the new heaven and new earth will look like. In the meantime, let's take this Psalm as an encouragement to walk in the paths of righteousness, which includes encouraging others to do the same.

Prologue to the Psalms by John Wesley

In preparation for my upcoming series on blogging through the Psalter, I read through John Wesley's preface to the Book of Psalms in his Explanatory Notes on the Old Testament. I can't think of a better way of introducing this journey I am beginning with you than to share with you his introduction to this magnificent collection of psalms. With each Psalm, I'll post some of the insights gleaned from Wesley's Notes in addition to interacting with the Psalms themselves. With that, here is Wesley's introduction to the Psalter (note: I have emboldened several portions for emphasis)...

"We have now before us one of the choicest parts of the Old Testament, wherein there is so much of Christ and his gospel, as well as of God and his law, that it has been called the summary of both Testaments. The history of Israel, which we were long upon, instructed us in the knowledge of God. The book of Job gave us profitable disputations, concerning God and his providence. But this book brings us into the sanctuary, draws us off from converse with men, with the philosophers or disputers of this world, and directs us into communion with God. It is called, the Psalms, in Hebrew Tehillim, which properly signifies Psalms of praise, because many of them are such; but Psalms is a more general word, meaning all poetical compositions, fitted to be sung. St. Peter styles it, The book of Psalms. It is a collection of Psalms, of all the Psalms that were divinely inspired, composed at several times, on several occasions, and here put together, without any dependence on each other. Thus they were preserved from being scattered and lost, and kept in readiness for the service of the church. One of these is expressly said to be the prayer of Moses. That some of them were penned by Asaph is intimated in 2 Chronicles 29.30, where they are said to praise the Lord, in the words of David and Asaph, who is there called a seer or prophet. And some of the Psalms seem to have been penned long after, at the time of the captivity in Babylon. But the far greater part were wrote by David, who was raised up for establishing the ordinance of singing Psalms in the church of God, as Moses and Aaron were for setting the ordinance of sacrifice. Theirs indeed is superseded, but this [book of Psalms] will remain, 'till it be swallowed up in the songs of eternity. There is little in the book of Psalms of the ceremonial law. But the moral law is all along magnified, and made honourable. And Christ the foundation, corner, and top - stone of all religion, is here clearly spoken of; both his sufferings, with the glory that should follow, and the kingdom he would set up in the world."

If his assessments above are accurate, then are we not missing out on a rich resource when it comes to the songs we sing? If Christ is so central, the moral law of love is deemed honorable, and they were kept "for the service of the church," "fitted to be sung," etc., then we ought to plumb the depths of this great Book and not just read, but sing these psalms!

Praying with & for a 3-year-old

Given that I work at night when the kids go to bed, I'm granted with few occasions to tuck them in at night and pray with them. When I do, however, I gravitate towards praying the Lord's prayer as well as turning Luke 2.52 into a prayer for them. I'll start by explaining the latter and then share with you my experience in teaching Sam (3 years old) to pray the 'Our Father'.

Luke 2.52 says, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." I felt sharing this was appropriate since we are still in the season of celebrating and commemorating the time between Jesus' birth and his baptism, which is where this passage is found: right after being found in the temple when he was 12. Right before that story, verse 40 says something similar: "And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him." I pray these things for Sam & Julianne: "Father, grow this child in wisdom, stature and strength, and grow this child in favor with You and the people in his/her life." I also realize that I have a role in assisting with this. May I be a father who makes it as conducive as possible to foster this growth! But back to what I pray...it's more than just a prayer for their physical, mental, spiritual, and social growth, which is how I've heard it broken down before. It's a prayer to connect Sam & Julianne to the life of Christ! He didn't just come to show off his physical, mental, spiritual, and social prowess. He came to reveal the love of God and to recapitulate (re-head) the human race. That means we get to participate in it! That's why I feel confident in praying this prayer!

Secondly, I pray the Lord's prayer with them. And within the last year, I've tried to use language that seems more fitting for a 3-year-old for him to be able to grasp it. I first say it that way and then follow it up with the more well known so the other words are ingrained in our minds as well. But as for the 3-year-old version, here's what I have come up with. I'm always searching for improvement, so feel free to chime in where you think I've missed something or where you think something else might be better...

"Daddy of everybody,

You are awesome and holy,

Come and be our king,

Help us do what you want us to do,

Here where we are just as where you are in heaven,

Give us grace and whatever we need today to live for you,

We're sorry when we've hurt you, forgive us for when we've hurt you,

And help us to forgive other people when they hurt us,

Help us stay away from trouble,

But when trouble comes our way, rescue us from it."

St. Ephrem on Infancy Narratives

I recently finished a series on the collection of hymns for the Nativity composed by Charles Wesley. One of the early Church Fathers who had a profound impact upon Charles and John Wesley was St. Ephrem the Syrian. Not surprisingly, St. Ephrem has given perhaps the largest corpus of hymns to the Church. One of his collections was also on the Nativity...and this collection is much larger than that from Charles. Ephrem's collection can be found in a volume of 'The Classics of Western Spirituality' which you can see here.

My Scripture reading this morning brought me by Matthew's account of the flight to Egypt & the slaughter of the innocents (2.13-18). This passage is profound in its connection with the Exodus narrative, yet the circumstances almost seem to work backwards. In Exodus, the slaughtering of the infants was given as a decree from the king of Egypt. Moses' has to be secretly saved. The immediate danger lies in Egypt. The move in the Exodus story is to get the people out of Egypt. In Jesus' case, the decree was given within the boundaries of what the Israelites considered to be the promised land and the safe place was in Egypt, so Jesus, Joseph and Mary had to go back to the original land of slavery because it meant survival. We can see, then, how Jesus in all stages of his life has reconstituted the story and people of Israel. "Out of Egypt I have called My Son." (Matthew 2. 15; cf. Hosea 11.1).

Appropriately this passage is part of the infancy narratives, which are in view during the time between Christmas and Epiphany (January 6). I have brought up St. Ephrem because one of the hymns he composed on the infancy narratives makes reference to the passage mentioned above. It's Hymn #7 in his 'Hymns on the Nativity.' The reference to the Matthew passage comes in stanza 12, though there are several references throughout the hymn that reveal the 'typology' of seeing Christ through the eyes of the story of Israel.

1. At the birth of the Son a great clamor

took place in Bethlehem, for Watchers descended

to give praise there; a great thunder

were their voices. With this voice of praise

the silent ones came to give praise to the Son

Refrain: Blessed is the Babe by whom Adam and Eve grew young again.

2. Shepherds, too, came carrying

the good things of the flock: sweet milk,

fresh meat, fitting praise.

They divided [the gifts] and gave to Joseph the meat,

to Mary the milk, to the Son the praise.

3. They carried and offered to Him: suckling lamb

to the Paschal Lamb, the first-born to the First-born,

a sacrifice to the Sacrifice, a temporal lamb

to the True Lamb. A fitting sight

that a lamb to the Lamb should be offered.

4. The lamb bleated while being offered

to the First-born. He thanked the Lamb

that came to free sheep and oxen

from sacrifices, even the traditional

paschal lamb that served as a symbol of the Son.

5. The shepherds approached to worship Him.

With their staffs they greeted Him,

prophesying, "Peace, O Greatest

of shepherds! The staff of Moses

acknowledges Your staff, Shepherd of the universe."

6. For You [are the One] Moses acknowledged - he whose

lambs became wolves and whose sheep became

like dragons and his ewes [like]

savage beasts. In the fearful wasteland

his flock became rabid and attacked him.

7. You, then, the shepherds will acknowledge,

for You reconciled wolves and lambs

in the flock. You are the newborn

Who is older than Noah and younger than Noah,

Who pacified all in the ark.

8. For the sake of a lamb, David, Your father

killed a lion. O Son of David,

You have killed the hidden wolf

that killed Adam, the innocent lamb

who grazed and bleated in paradise.

9. By that song of praise brides awoke suddenly

and chose chastity, and virgins

preserved their chastity, and even young girls

were purified. They rose early and came

in throngs to worship the Son.

10. The old women to the town of David came

to the daughter of David, speaking blessings:

"Blessed is our native land whose streets are made light

by the ray of Jesse! Today the throne of David

is established by You, the Son of David."

11. Old men cried out, "Blessed is the Babe

Who restored Adam's youth; he was displeased to see

that he grew old and wasted away, yet the serpent who killed him

shed [his skin] and recovered his youth. Blessed is the Babe

by whom Eve and Adam were restored to youth."

12. The chaste women said, "Blessed Fruit,

bless our fruits, given to You

as first fruits." Aglow, they prophesied

about their children, who, when they were killed,

would be plucked by Him as first fruits.

13. The barren women hovered over and held Him.

They caressed [Him] and said, "O Blessed Fruit [conceived]

without intercourse, bless our wombs

during intercourse. Have pity on our barrenness,

Miraculous Child of virginity."

The footnote on the 12th stanza says this: "The mothers of the slain innocents address Jesus. Their children are types of the resurrected faithful. They are the first fruits of the resurrection, to be plucked by Jesus immediately after his resurrection." That's an interesting way of putting it. Upon the arrival of the Life on earth, the first innocents who are murdered/killed are given a prominent place in the resurrection. From the arrival of the Life on earth, the first reference to death is met with the promise of resurrected life.

Some Ambrose on Christmas

Continuing going through the Ancient Christian Devotional brings some great passages. Like this one from St. Ambrose on Christ who became a Humble Child, taken from his 'Exposition of the Gospel of Luke 2.41-42.' Notice the beautiful use of paradox and the cleansing imagery of the tears that cleanses us.

He was a baby and a child, so that you may be a perfect human. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, so that you may be freed from the snares of death. He was in a manger, so that you may be in the altar. He was on earth that you may be in the stars. He had no other place in the inn, so that you may have mansions in the heavens. He, being rich, became poor for your sakes, that through his poverty you might be rich. Therefore his poverty is our inheritance, and the Lord's weakness is our virtue. He chose to lack for himself, that he may abound for all. The sobs of that appalling infancy cleanse me, those tears wash away my sins. Therefore, Lord Jesus, I owe more to your sufferings because I was redeemed than I do to works for which I was created...You see that he is in swaddling clothes. You do not see that he is in heaven. You hear the cries of an infant, but you do not hear the lowing of an ox recognizing its Master, for the ox knows his Owner and the donkey his Master's crib.