Charnock on Providence and Prayer

The great English Puritan writer, Stephen Charnock (1628-1680), wrote “A Discourse of Divine Providence,” which is included in volume 1 of Banner of Truth’s 5 volume set of his collected works. A simple definition of the doctrine of providence is found in Westminster Shorter Catechism Q/A 11, which says:

Q. 11. What are God’s works of providence?
A. God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.

And so providence essentially includes two (2) things: That God sustains or preserves all things, and that He also likewise governs or rules over all things, including the actions of his creatures! The Lord Jesus spoke of this very truth in Matthew 10:29, where He said,

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” (ESV)

This is what is sometimes called an argument from the lesser to the greater. If God is sovereign over the minute details and goings-on in His creation, such as a sparrow falling to the ground, then certainly He is also sovereignly in control of the bigger things as well.

In his discourse on God’s providence, Charnock includes a section dealing with a number of the ways that men often tend to “practically deny providence, or abuse it, or contemn [i.e. show contempt for] it.” (p.42). Just as a person may claim to believe in God, but live in a way that is contrary to that profession so that he or she is guilty of a kind of “practical atheism,” even so we sometimes deny the providence of God in our actions, even if not necessarily in our words.

One of the many ways that Charnock speaks of in which we deny the providence of God in our daily lives is in “omissions of prayer,” a failure to pray. He writes,

“If we did really believe there was a watchful providence, and an infinite powerful goodness to help us, he would hear from us oftener than he doth. Certainly those who never call upon him disown his government of the world, and do not care whether he regards the earth or no. They think they can do what they please, without any care of God over them. The restraining prayer is a casting off the fear of God: Job xv. 4, ‘Thou casteth off fear,’ why? ‘and restrainest prayer before God.’ The neglect of prayer ariseth from a conceit of the unprofitableness of it.”

The Works of Stephen Charnock, Vol.1, p.43

In other words, if we really believed that God were sovereignly governing all the affairs of this world, and that He is a God who then hears and answers prayer, we would pray much more often than we do. In many ways, when push comes to shove, the reason we often fail to pray is simply because deep down we doubt or disbelieve that it will really do any good or make any difference to pray.

Do you struggle with prayer at times? (Who doesn’t?) Perhaps it is because in some ways you doubt that God is actually willing to hear and answer from heaven? How often we need to be reminded of the promises of God regarding prayer, such as the words of our Lord in Matthew 7:7–11, where He says,

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (ESV)

“Ask, and it will be given to you” (v.7). As James 4:2 puts it, “You do not have, because you do not ask.” (ESV) If even we who are evil (!) “give good gifts” to our children, “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11, ESV) Or do we think that we are somehow more generous and loving than God?

If you at times struggle with prayer, perhaps you might find it helpful to consider the doctrine of the providence of God, especially in how it relates to prayer. Charnock is surely correct when he says that if we really believed in the providence and goodness of God, “he would hear from us oftener than he doth.“

Book Review: God Is, by Mark Jones

Mark Jones’ newest book, God Is, is a book about what is often called “theology proper.” That is, it is about the study of God as He has revealed Himself in Scripture. That in itself makes this volume a welcome addition. As Jones notes in his introduction, “books on the doctrine of God are few and far between” (p.16).

Don’t let the subtitle (“A Devotional Guide to the Attributes of God”) fool you. This “devotional” is by no means lacking in substance the way that books of that genre often tend to do. I don’t know of many so-called devotional books that quote liberally from the likes of Thomas Watson, John Owen, Thomas Goodwin, Stephen Charnock, and Herman Bavinck (just to name a handful).

While there is a great deal of substance in this book, its relative brevity (only 215 pages, plus end notes) makes it very readable. As with his previous volume, Knowing Christ, here Jones once again takes what can be some rather complex theological concepts (like the simplicity of God!) and makes them much more accessible to the layperson. (For my review of Knowing Christ, see here.)

Each chapter, as the title suggests, deals with a different attribute or perfection of God. He opens with a chapter on the Trinity (“God Is Triune”), and follows that up with a chapter on the simplicity of God (“God Is Simple”), which is probably a concept that many readers will be unfamiliar with prior to reading this book.

Chapters 3 through 6 seem to echo the order of the attributes of God found in question and answer #4 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which says,

“Q.4. What is God? A. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”

• Chapter 3 – “God Is Spirit.”
• Chapter 4 – “God Is Infinite.”
• Chapter 5 – “God Is Eternal.”
• Chapter 6 – “God Is Unchangeable.”

See? You’re learning the Shorter Catechism and didn’t even know it!

There are 26 chapters in all, and all of the chapters are relatively short. (None of them exceeds 9 pages in length.) This actually makes the book very useful for devotional reading. I read just one chapter per day, and found that very helpful.

Each chapter follows a distinct and easy to follow pattern: First Jones states the doctrine of God’s respective attributes. He then follows that with a brief section demonstrating how each particular attribute of God is known and understood rightly by us in Christ alone. And finally he offers a section dealing with how these things rightly apply to the Christian life (what some of the old Puritan writers often referred to as the “uses” of the doctrine). This is doctrine with hands and feet, doctrine for life.

If I were to offer any minor criticism, it would be only this – the final two chapters (on the anger of God and the anthropomorphic way that God reveals Himself in Scripture), while being very clear, helpful, and even necessary for the book to be in some sense complete, would probably be more fitting as appendixes of some kind, rather than formal chapters in the book.

What I mean is this – the book is entitled God Is, and so each chapter deals with an attribute of God. That being the case, each chapter title begins with “God Is ___.” Those last two chapters don’t really fit that same way. Strictly speaking God is not angry or anthropomorphic in and of Himself. In other words, those things are not His essential attributes. Jones, of course, makes this very clear in those chapters. He says, for example, that “God’s anger remains an expression of his outward will, not his essential being” (p.194).

So my criticism is not so much of the content itself, but rather one small part the arrangement of it. It is admittedly a minor nitpick on my part, and it in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the book.

All in all, I enjoyed this book very much and found it to be eminently clear and helpful. If you are looking for a good book on the attributes of God, I enthusiastically recommend it to you. And if you are not looking for such a book? You probably should be – pick up a copy and read it anyway! You’ll be glad that you did.

John Owen on the Incomprehensibility of God

John Owen (1616-1683) is often referred to as “the Prince of the Puritans.” The more I read of his considerable works, the more I wish he had put together a volume(s) of systematic theology. In reading through his various writings, though, one could nearly cobble one together. (Perhaps a new book idea for one of the accomplished Puritan scholars of our day?)

For instance, in one of his most well-known works, The Mortification of Sin, he touches on the subject of the incomprehensibility of God. I dare say that if one wanted to know Owen’s view on that great and humbling subject, The Mortification of Sin would probably not be the first volume of his writings that would spring to mind.

There he writes,

“First, we know so little of God because it is God we are seeking to know. God Himself has revealed Himself as one who cannot be known. He calls Himself invisible, incomprehensible, and the like. We cannot fully know Him as He is. Our progress often consists more in knowing what He is not, than what He is. He is immortal and infinite and we are only mortal, finite, and limited.” (p.92)

Now when he says that God “cannot be known,” he is not saying that we cannot know God truly, or that God is completely unknowable. After all, note that he says that “God Himself has revealed Himself” as such. So we can most certainly know God as He has revealed Himself, but we can never fully or comprehensively know God, primarily because He is infinite, and we (as mere creatures) are finite.

It is surely no accident that this quote is found in a chapter on “Humility.” And, considering the subject matter of the book as a whole (i.e. mortifying sin, per Romans 8:13), we can see how eminently practical even the biblical view of the incomprehensibility of God can be! Who says that theology isn’t practical!

Note: While there may not be a volume available (yet?) on the systematic theology of John Owen in particular, there is a truly outstanding book available that pieces together something of a systematic theology of the Puritans in general. That book is A Puritan Theology, by Joel Beeke and Mark Jones.

Becoming “Sermon-Proof” (John Owen on The Dangers of Sin)

In his book, The Mortification of Sin, John Owen notes (among other things) the importance and necessity of having “a clear and abiding sense” in our minds and consciences of “the guilt, danger, and evil of sin” (p.65). Without a clear, biblical understanding of sin for what it really is, we will be ill-equipped to “put to death the deeds of the body” by the Spirit (Romans 8:13).

There he points out a number of the many dangers that sin poses to us, the first of which is the danger of being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13). He writes:

“This hardening is so serious that your heart becomes insensitive to moral influence. Sin leads to this. Every sin and lust will make a little progress in this direction. You who at one time were very tender and would melt under the influence of the Word and under trials will grow ‘sermon-proof’ and ‘trial proof.'” (p.68)

Sermon-proof. What a sobering phrase! It is bad enough that so many in our day simply avoid hearing the preaching of the Word in public worship altogether; but how much worse is the condition of those who, though they regularly attend the preaching of the Word, nevertheless have grown immune to its benefits.

Sermon-proof. That is a fitting description of the people of Isaiah’s day:

“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:9-10, ESV)

To be sermon-proof is to continually hear, but not understand, to see, but not perceive. And what is the end result? A refusal to “turn” (or repent) and “be healed.” No wonder the writer of the book of Hebrews warns us of the “deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13)!

Are you sermon-proof? Do not content yourself with the mere hearing of sermons. Hearing sermons is certainly a good start, but it is not nearly enough. Hearing sermons, even on a regular, weekly basis is no firm evidence that one is not sermon proof. One can hear sermons until the proverbial cows come home, and yet do so with no benefit whatsoever.

Let us learn to attend the preaching of God’s Word in public worship “with diligence, preparation, and prayer; receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, and practice it in our lives” (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q.90).

And, as the writer of the book of Hebrews puts it, let us “exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13, ESV).

John Owen on Giving Thanks

Just a brief post for Thanksgiving. John Owen (1616-1683) with a helpful reminder about the best way to give thanks to God:

“Obedience is the best way of showing our gratitude to God for His grace.” (Communion with God, p.140)

So while we should certainly give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and express that thankfulness with praise (Psalm 136:1), let us remember to give Him thanks with our lives as well, not only on Thanksgiving day, but every day.

Gratitude for God’s grace to us in Jesus Christ is the primary motive for our obedience.

John Owen on the Regulative Principle of Worship

John Owen has some rather strong words to say regarding what has come to be known as the “regulative principle of worship.” In his book, Communion With God, he writes,

“God never allowed the will of the creature to decide how best to worship God. Worshipping [sic] God in ways not appointed by him is severely forbidden. God asks, ‘Who has required these things at your hand?’ And again, ‘In vain do you worship me, teaching for doctrines the traditions of men.’

“The principle that the church has the power to institute and appoint any thing or ceremony belonging to the worship of God other than what Christ himself has instituted is the cause of all the horrible superstitions and idolatry, of all the confusion, blood, persecution and wars that have arisen in the Christian world. The purpose of a great part of the book of Revelation is to show this truth.”

The context of this quote is nearly as instructive as the quote itself. It is significant that he writes this in a book that is about (as the title suggests) believers’ communion with God, and in a chapter of that book that deals particularly with the consequences or results of our fellowship with Christ. One of those consequences/results is that the saints (believers) will be faithful to Christ. It is in this context that Owen deals with the regulative principle of worship.

According to Owen one of the primary ways in which believers will demonstrate their faithfulness to Christ will be in how we worship. Are we being faithful (i.e. obedient) in our worship? That is a question that we often fail to even ask, isn’t it? We often seem to be much more interested in asking if what we do in worship is pleasing to us (preference?) or maybe even to outsiders (pragmatism?). But what we really should be asking, first and foremost, is whether or not it is pleasing to God.

How do we know if our worship is pleasing to God? We can only discern the answer to that question by asking what God has commanded and appointed in His Word. And that is what the “regulative principle of worship” is really all about, isn’t it. The Westminster Confession of Faith puts it this way:

“. . .the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture.” (21.1)

This is what Owen is talking about in the above quote. This is what he means when he says, “God never allowed the will of the creature to decide how best to worship God.” And Owen is quick to point out in that same extended quote that God has not left it up to the church to decide either. The choice, when push comes to shove, is between faithfulness to Christ in our worship, and idolatry. Another way of putting that would be to say that we do not enjoy fellowship with Christ in worship on our own terms, but rather on His terms, as revealed in the Scriptures.

Do we think of worship in these terms? Do we consider worship in light of our fellowship with Christ? Do we consider it in terms of faithfulness to what the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has commanded and appointed? Perhaps if we did so, we would be far less prone to the allure of innovation & idolatry.

John Owen on the Folly of Arminianism

John Owen on the folly of Arminianism:

“Alas! is it not a vain endeavor, to open a grave for a dead man to come out? Who lights a candle for a blind man to see by? To open a door for him to come out of prison who is blind, and lame, and bound, yea dead, is rather to deride his misery than to procure him liberty.” (The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, p.305)

In other words, if Christ Jesus died only to make the salvation of sinners possible (rather than dying to actually save His elect people), no one would ever actually be saved.

What good would it be to preach the gospel to someone who is dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1-3), if God did not grant them new life, and even faith itself, so that they might believe in Christ and be saved (Ephesians 2:4-10)? It would be much like (to use Owen’s analogies above) opening up a grave, so that the corpse might come out; it would be like lighting a candle for a blind man to see; it would be like opening a prison door and bidding a bound man (or even a corpse!) to walk free.

As Owen rightly points out, if anyone is to be saved, God must do more than ‘open a door of salvation to all’ (the position of the Arminians). He must also give new life to the dead and saving faith in Christ to enter into salvation. And so all of the glory goes to God alone for the salvation of His people.

William Gurnall on Imprecatory Prayer

William Gurnall’s classic work on spiritual warfare, The Christian In Complete Armor,  is basically an extended exposition of Ephesians 6:10-20 (totaling some 1,200 pages!). In it he includes a lengthy section (over 300 pages long) on prayer, which is, of course, his treatment of v.18-20 (where Paul speaks of prayer in relation to the whole armor of God).

In that section on prayer, Gurnall takes the time to speak of a subject that is rarely heard of today – imprecatory prayers.

What is imprecatory prayer? An imprecatory prayer is that prayer of God’s people which is directed at or against the enemies of God and His people. They often consist in prayers, not just for deliverance for God’s people from their enemies and His, but also for God’s just judgment against the wicked. Gurnall himself defines it as that prayer “wherein the Christian imprecates the vengeance of God upon the enemies of God and his people” (Vol. 2, p.444).

The Psalms are practically filled with such prayers. Here are just a few examples: Psalm 3:7 says, “Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.” Psalm 7:6 says, “Arise, O LORD, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.” Psalm 10:15 says, “Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.” If the idea of imprecatory prayer makes you uncomfortable, then you will find the book of Psalms to be a rather uncomfortable book indeed.

Not only does the book of Psalms include such prayers, but they are also found on the lips of the saints in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 6:9-10 we are shown “the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne” crying out out with a loud voice, saying, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” So even the martyrs in heaven are depicted as crying out for justice! They are crying out for the Lord to avenge their blood! And what does the Lord tell them? Does he tell them that they have the wrong idea? Does He tell them that such prayers are no longer appropriate? No! He tells them to “rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been” (v.11). Justice will come, and their blood will be avenged, but they might have to wait a bit longer.

Gurnall actually warns the wicked not to get the saints engaged in praying against them! He writes to them, “Take heed that by your implacable hatred to the truth and church of God, you do not engage her prayers against you” (p.448). He goes so far as to say:

“The prayers of the saints are more to be feared . . .than an army of twenty thousand men in the field” (ibid).

He points to the example of Esther (cf. Esther 4:16), whose prayers hastened Haman’s destruction on his own gallows; and also of Hezekiah’s prayers against Sennacherib (cf. Isaiah 37:14-20), which “brought his huge host to the slaughter, and fetched an angel from heaven to do the execution in one night upon them” (ibid.). He draws upon the examples given in Scripture to prove his point. The prayers of the saints really are to be feared indeed!

Now, Gurnall does offer some rules or guidelines as a caution against the possible abuses or misuses of imprecatory prayer. (See Vol.2, p.444-446.) They are as follows:

1. “Take heed thou dost not make thy private particular enemies the object of thy imprecation.” So the right and proper subject of imprecatory prayer must be God’s enemies, the enemies of Christ and His people. And we must be careful not to presume that our own particular enemies are necessarily the enemies of God Himself, His Christ, or His church.
2. “When thou prayest against the enemies of God and his church, direct thy prayers rather against their plots than person.” Our primary aim in such prayers should be that the Lord Jesus would defend His church. Imprecatory prayer (rightly conceived) should not preclude praying for the salvation of our enemies.
3. “When praying against the persons of those that are open enemies to God and his church, it is safest to pray indefinitely and in general: ‘Let them all be confounded . . .that hate Zion,’ Ps.cxxix.5; because we know not who of them are implacable, and who not, and therefore cannot pray absolutely and peremptorily against particular persons.” In other words, you just never know whom God might have chosen to save. The Lord defended His church both by judging Herod (Acts 12:20-24), and converting Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1-19).
4. “In praying against the implacable enemies of God and his church, the glory of God should be principally aimed at, and vengeance on them in order to that.” Just as the glory of God comes first in both sequence and priority in the Lord’s Prayer (i.e. “hallowed be your name” – Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2), even so God’s glory must also then come first even in the right practice of imprecatory prayer.

So Gurnall cautions us against the improper use of imprecatory prayer, but nevertheless he also cautions the enemies of God’s people that if they should, through persecution or other such evil, incite the saints to the practice of imprecatory prayer against them for that evil, God will not count it as wasted breath. The prayers of the saints (as Gurnall states above) really are “more to be feared . . .than an army of twenty thousand men in the field.”

Book Review: Knowing Christ, by Mark Jones

Knowing Christ (as the title seems to suggest) is something of a companion volume or follow-up to J.I. Packer’s classic work, Knowing God (which is probably my all-time favorite Christian book). Packer’s Foreword in the beginning of the book makes it clear that he himself enthusiastically commends it.

It is no secret that J.I. Packer is a long-time aficionado of and expert on the Puritans, so it is especially fitting that someone like Jones (whom Packer calls “an established expert on many aspects of puritan thought”) would be the one to take up the proverbial mantel in writing this volume.

The influence of the Puritans is clearly evident throughout the book, as Jones freely cites such luminaries as Thomas Brooks, Stephen Charnock, John Flavel, Thomas Goodwin, John Owen, Richard Sibbes, and Thomas Watson. There are also numerous quotations from other giants in the Reformed tradition, such as John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, B.B. Warfield, Herman Bavinck, Abraham Kuyper, and Geerhardus Vos. Most importantly, Jones grounds everything in Scripture, and backs up much of what he says with references to the Reformed Confessions and Catechisms.

Having said all of that in the above paragraph, what if I told you that this is truly one of the finest devotional books that you will ever read? That is one of the most remarkable things about this book – Jones takes what can be a very complex subject (Christology), brings the writings of some of the greatest theological minds in the history of the church to bear on the subject, and somehow makes it all eminently readable and accessible. And he does all of that in only 232 pages! Perhaps my only complaint (if anything) is that I wish the book were about twice as long. (I also wish it were available in hardback, but I digress.)

There are few things more needful for Christians in our day (or any day!) than to know Christ better. And yet there are (as Jones himself points out in the Introduction) shockingly few books available on that subject. This book will go a long way toward helping to fill that void. It is far and away my favorite new book of 2015.

Get this book. Read this book. Re-read this book.

May the Lord Jesus Christ be pleased to grant this book a wide readership for many years and decades to come. And may many people come to know Christ and/or know Him better through what is found within its pages

William Perkins on Preaching

The great Puritan preacher and writer William Perkins (1558-1602) lived only 44 years (!), but has had a tremendous impact on preachers of the gospel of Christ for well over 400 hundred years. He is often referred to as “the father of puritanism.”

His influence lives on through his written works, one of the most helpful of which is his book, The Art of Prophesying, which deals with the work of the pastor in preaching and in prayer. In his Foreword to the Banner of Truth Trust “Puritan Paperbacks” edition of that very book, Sinclair Ferguson notes that “Perkins’ pulpit ministry was characterized by biblical exposition marked by great ‘plainness of speech’ (2 Cor. 3:12).” That same plainness of speech is also evident throughout the book.

Perkins there gives a very brief summary of what is involved in preaching. He notes that true biblical preaching basically involves four (4) things:

1. Reading the text clearly from the canonical Scriptures.
2. Explaining the meaning of it, once it has been read, in the light of the Scriptures themselves.
3. Gathering a few profitable points of doctrine from the natural sense of the passage.
4. If the preacher is suitably gifted, applying the doctrines this explained to the life and practice of the congregation in straightforward, plain speech. (p.79)

That list may seem rather simple, but how often are these things neglected or ignored? How common is it really to hear preaching that conforms to these basic standards? Consider Perkins’ fourfold description of preaching re-stated in the form of a set of diagnostic questions:

1. Is a particular text of holy Scripture read? (Do the people hear the clear reading of the Word of God?)
2. Is that same text then clearly explained? (Are the people made to understand meaning of that text of Scripture?)
3. Are a few profitable points of doctrine being expounded from the text? (Are the people really being taught the great doctrines of the gospel?)
4. Lastly, are those doctrines being applied to the life and practice of the congregation? (Are the people being made to see the difference that the gospel should make in their daily lives?)

If you are a preacher, how do you answer those simple questions with regards to your own preaching? I hope that you can say with a clear conscience that you preach the Word of Christ like this from week to week. It may not impress many of your hearers, but that is the way that sinners are led to the Savior; and that is the way that saints are built up in their most holy faith as well. Such preaching no doubt pleases God, and that should be our first concern, shouldn’t it?

If you are a church member who attends public worship regularly and so listens attentively (right?) to the preaching of the Word of God, are these the kinds of things that you look (or listen) for? Are these the things by which you judge preaching to be good or bad? If this is the kind of preaching that you hear from week to week, no matter how unimpressive and unspectacular it may seem – thank God for it! Count yourself truly blessed indeed! Many who sit under far more impressive-sounding preaching are not being fed and built up the way that you are.

What the church needs today (and has always needed) is not so much talented preachers who are able to captivate an audience (not that there is anything wrong with talent), but rather men of God who are willing to do the hard work of prayerfully studying the Scriptures, and plainly making known what is taught there.

May the Lord Jesus Christ be pleased to grant more such men in our pulpits – that His church may be built up, to the glory of His great Name.