Morning Prayer (1662 Book of Common Prayer)

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, Swiss Reformation and Creeds of Christendom. Westminster Larger Catechism, 72-75. For Psalm 11.3, Prof. Calvin ambles around offering views of different commentators and seems, on a fast review, to have lost the main point of 11.3. David’s under duress. Noted. For Joshua 10.40-43, Prof. Keil wraps up the roll-up of the south by Joshua. Next, he will turn to the north. Keil suggests perhaps one year operation? For Isaiah 2.1-5, Prof. Henry discusses again the Gospel moving out to the world. Although this is dated 758 AD, one is reminded that for God, history is a nano-second and He can, does and did drop hints, promises, shadows, statements, and word-pictures of the Seed who would bruise and crush the serpentine head and his crew. For Mathew 1.1-18, Prof. Jamiesson offers portrayal of Joseph as he receives the angel visit. He takes Mary as his wife and spares her public embarrassment. Mary is off to Elizabeth’s for three months. Did the angel visit Joseph after the 3-month visit? What were the conversations between Joseph and Mary? Regarding the visitation and visions? For Revelation 6.3-8, Prof. Henry describe the release of the third seal, the rider on the black horse. Economic ruin and famine as a result of seal two, the red horse and horseman, unleashing war in the earth. Famine attends war. Henry points also to a “famine for the Word of God.” For Bibliology, Prof. Reymond, still on the Van Til-Clark tete-a-tete seems to come down near Francis Schaeffer’s claim that “we can know God but not exhaustively.” Nothing new there either. For Soteriology, Prof. Berkhof offers nothing new beyond what he’s already said on external calling. For Apostolic Christianity, Prof. Schaff discusses Matthias Flacius (d. 1575), the Lutheran historian and his Centuriae Magdeburgeneses (published in Basle, 1560-1574). He was anti-Melanchthonian, anti-Papist and anti-Reformed. For Medieval Christianity, Prof. Schaff lists several 12-man missionary teams from Ireland: Columba to Scotland in 563, Mohanna to the Picts in the same year, Columbanus to France and Germany in 612, Kilian to Franconian and Wurzburg in 680, Eloquis to Belgium in 680, Rudbert to Bavaria in 706, Willibrord to Friesland in 692, Foranan to Belgium in 970. These Irish missionaries were free of Romanist controls. Prof. Schaff does not discuss vernacular Bibles. For the Swiss Reformation, Prof. Schaff, finally, finishes his brief on Grissons, Switzerland. For the Creeds of Christendom, Prof. Schaff discusses Patriarch Jeremiah’s response in 1576 to the outreach from German Lutherans. Jeremiah’s response gets approved by a Synod of Jerusalem. An aside to Jeremiah, he’s every bit the relics mongerer with fake relics jazzing up the Russians on a visit to Moscow. UPSHOT: Lutherans and Calvinists are heretics. Crucius, a Lutheran Pastor working in a Greek port, states the Greeks are proud and are worse than the Papists. 99.9% of the lesser students and followers are both sides will not understand this, but this will still be the official responses, theologically. We agree: Greeks and Papists are proud poobahs--they're proto-Arminians like Lutherans. Westminster Larger Catechism, 72-75: Q. 72. What is justifying faith? A. Justifying faith is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and Word of God, whereby he, being convinced of his sin and misery, and of the disability in himself and all other creatures to recover him out of his lost condition, not only assenteth to the truth of the promise of the gospel, but receiveth and resteth upon Christ and his righteousness, therein held forth, for pardon of sin, and for the accepting and accounting of his person righteous in the sight of God for salvation.