Evening Prayer (1662 Book of Common Prayer)

[ISAIAH-ALERT] Oh no! Isaiah's preaching at Westminster Abbey tonight! He's naming names, including Justin! Good Queen Bess 2 is laughing! Oh no! She likes Isaiah but the episcopal is in the sweat-zone with sighs and moans! Reportedly, he's headed over to Lambeth Palace afterwards. Wish we had a CSPAN camera on the conversation between Isaiah and Justin! LECTIONS. John Calvin on the Psalms. Keil & Delitzsch: Joshua. Matthew Henry: Isaiah. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown: Gospels. Matthew Henry: Revelation. Dr. Robert Reymond: Systematic Theology. Prof. Berkhof, Systematic Theology: Soteriology. Dr. Philip Schaff, Apostolic Christianity, Medieval Christianity and Swiss Reformation. Dr. Philip Schaff: Creeds. Westminster Shorter Catechism, 1-10. For Psalm 9, Prof. Calvin essentially calls for church history—remember the mercies of God in the past, not just individually, but God’s mercies to His people and His judgments outside the kingdom. No anti-intellectualism in that, but the call to Bible studies and church history. For Joshua 7, Prof. Keil describes the success of the ambuscade and the ambush that prevails over Bethel and Ai. For Isaiah 1, Prof. Henry tells Jerusalem exactly how bad is bad. Notably, have been the beneficiaries of redemptive mercies by contrast with the nations with their dozens of deities in their multiple pantheons—deities-on-pay-per-view. Yet, reprobates with the signs, seals, externalities, sermons, canon sacrificial system, circumcision, festivals, history, and more—Dead-beats. Sardis-people. Ingrates. Amnesiacs. Half-hearts. Idol-makers in self-indulgence. Cake-eaters. Belly-cheer, eye-cheer and ear-cheer. Isaiah is setting the place on fire with the consuming fire of God’s Words. For the Introduction to the Gospels, Prof. Jamiesson long-talks the genuineness of the four Gospels. For Revelation 3, Prof. Henry begins to talk about Laodicea’s “luke-warmness.” Jesus is having none of it and that’s that. For Bibliology, Prof. Reymond discusses inerrancy and infallibility with, as usual, his skill. For Soteriology, Prof. Berkhof exposes the innards of Arminianism and Amyraldianism. Wesley, especially, is exposed for the crypto-Romanist that he is, despite his BCP. For Apostolic Christianity, Mr. Schaff comments on two branches of church history: missions and the history of martyrs. For Medieval Christianity, Mr. Schaff covers some pious fictions claiming that St. Paul introduced Christianity to Britain. Some lovely quotes from scholars including Bishop Lightfoot. For the Swiss Reformation, Mr. Schaff elaborates on Cardinal Eck’s pompous, thunderous and vain issues defending cannibalism in the Lord’s Supper, the pile-on of propitiatory merits in the Mass given that Jesus is soteric flunkie, invocations to Mary and other saints since, again, Jesus is a Priestly flunkie needing all the help-he-can-get despite having all power in heaven and earth (Mt.28.18-20), the invention of purgatory as a back-stop measure for the other insufficiencies of their own sacrament-machine and the halving of original sin to accommodate their merit-mongery game. He allegedly was dressed to the hilt in a well-cut damask and silk gown with a golden ring. Eck had done similarly in the Leipzig debate with the Lutherans and here, again, at the Swiss Diet. Zurich forbad Zwingli from attendance since it was bruited that a hit-job lay in wait for him. However, Oecolampadius of Basle and Haller of Berne were on hand to carpet-bomb Eck with the Bible and co-equally skilled patristic competencies. ROME WAS A MESS. ROME IS A MESS. ROME WILL ALWAYS BE A MESS SINCE AN INFALLIBLE CHURCH CANNOT REPENT. For the Creeds, Mr. Schaff runs a parallel account of the Apostles’ Creed in Rufinus’s Latin version of 390 AD and the Greek version of Marcellus of Ancrya, c. 340 AD. Details to follow. For the WCF, these essentials of 1-10 are delightfully reviewed with the never-failing refreshment of the Westminster scholars.