More takes on the life of Judson

I found and listened to a few more biographical messages and resources on the life of Adnoniram Judson this week.

John Piper gives his take on Judson with his typical exuberance and passion.

Richard Belcher, author of the "Journey" books, gives an interesting account of the life of Judson in word and song.

Historian Tom Nettles also presents a sketch of Judson as a pioneer missionary.

In addition, you can listen to a reading of Judson's "Advice to Missionary Candidates" in which he reminds a prospective missionary that most who came to the East would die within five years of arrival.

JTR

Judson dedicates his translation

In the afternoon service at CRBC yesterday I gave a biographical message on the life of missionary pioneer Adoniram Judson.

One of the quotes I offered came from January 31, 1834 when Judson--at the age of 46-- finally completed his translation of the entire Bible in Burmese:

Thanks be to God, I can now say I have attained. I have knelt before him, with the last leaf in my hand, and imploring his forgiveness for all the sins which have polluted my efforts in this department, and his aid in future efforts to remove errors and imperfections which necessarily cleave to the work, I have commended it to his mercy and grace; I have dedicated it to his glory. May he make his own inspired word, now complete in the Burman tongue, the grand instrument of filling all Burma with songs of praise to our great God and Savior Jesus Christ Amen (To the Golden Shore, p. 411).

JTR

Reverence in Worship

The teaching of the Reformed confessions suggests a simple test for distinguishing between genuine and counterfeit joy in worship: Is it accompanied by reverence or not? Are we boasting in our Savior or are we boasting in ourselves? Are we looking to Christ for access to God, or are we feeling good about our own merits? We overcome our fear only through the death and resurrection of Christ. We are spared death and judgment only because Christ willingly submitted to both. How dare we observe Christ’s work in any superficial or indifferent or irreverent manner! If we do, we are surely prone to relocate the source of our confidence. If we overcome our fear through any other means than the blood of Christ, we are dangerously close to committing blasphemy.

From D. G. Hart and John R. Muether, With Reverence and Awe: Returning to the Basics of Reformed Worship (P & R, 2002): p. 127.

Video of the Week: Psalter Informercial

Looks like some RPC young folk had a little too much time on their hands... But they did make a pretty funny "infomercial":

Sermon of the Week: J. B. Jeter on "The Obligations of Baptists to their Distinctive Principles"

Jeremiah Bell Jeter (1802-1880) was a Virginia Baptist pastor, theologian, editor, and denominational statesman.  He was a "gentleman controversialist."  His sermon "The Obligations of Baptist to their Distinctive Principles" was delivered at the 54th annual meeting of the Baptist General Association in 1877.  At the twilight of his ministry career, Jeter exhorts his Baptist brethren to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3).

JTR

Matthew Henry: A Resurrection of Names

I preached a message yesterday titled "Confessing Christ" from Matthew 10:24-33.  I love Matthew Henry's comments on v. 26 ("Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known"):

Note: It is a matter of comfort to the people of God, under all the calumnies and censures of men, that there will be a resurrection of names as well as bodies, at the last day, when the righteous shall shine forth as the sun. Let Christ’s ministers faithfully reveal his truths, and then leave it to him, in due time, to reveal their integrity.

JTR

"Worship Local" article on Reformation Baptist Fellowship Blog

My recent article "Worship Local" has been posted on the Reformation Baptist Fellowship blog.  You can read my post here.

JTR

Thomas Watson: Eight ways that temptation works for good

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Are you suffering from particular trials and temptations? Does it seem that God has given you, as he did to Paul, a “thorn in the flesh” (see 2 Corinthians 12:7)?

Here is a summary from Thomas Watson’s book, All Things for Good, in which the Puritan pastor outlines eight ways that God overrules temptations for good in our lives:

1. Temptation sends us to God in prayer. “The more furiously Satan tempts, the more fervently the saint prays.”

2. God may actually use the temptation to sin to keep the believer from the commission of sin. “The more a child of God is tempted, the more he fights against the temptation…. That temptation which the devil uses as a spur to sin, God makes a bridle to keep back a Christian from it.”

3. Temptation abates the swelling of pride. “Better is that temptation which humbles me, than the duty which makes me proud.”

4. Temptation tries what is really in our hearts. “Temptation is a trial of our sincerity.”

5. God uses our experience of temptation to make us better fit to comfort others when they face similar distress. “A Christian must himself be under the buffetings of Satan, before he can speak a word in due season to him that is weary.”

6. Temptation stirs up God the Father’s compassion for us. “The child who is sick and bruised is most looked after.”

7. Temptation makes the saint long more for heaven. “There they shall be out of gunshot. Heaven is a place of rest, no bullets of temptation fly there.”

8. Temptation engages the strength of Christ on our behalf. “Christ is our Friend, and when we are tempted, He sets all His power working for us.”

Watson concludes: “Thus the evil of temptation is overruled for good.”

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Geneva Notes on Matthew 10:16-17

Sunday before last I preached on Matthew 10:16-23. The Geneva Bible has some great comments on vv. 16-17:

On 10:16 (“Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves…”), the notes begin: “Christ showeth how the ministers must behave themselves under the cross.”

Also on the call in 10:16 that the disciples are to be “wise as serpents, and innocent as doves,” the notes read: “You shall not so much as revenge an injury: and by mixing these beasts’ natures together, he will not have our wisdom to be malicious, nor our simplicity mad, but a certain form of good nature as exquisitely framed of both of them, as may be.”

Then, on the caution, “But beware of men…” (v. 17), the note reads: “For in the cause of religion men are wolves one to another.”

JTR

"After suffering as a Christian in China..."

My friend Pastor Beine He of the Chinese Christian Church of Charlottesville had a feature article titled "After suffering as a Christian in China ... I became a U. S. citizen," in the Sunday edition (1/31/10) of Charlottesville's Daily Progress.

Beine became a U.S. citizen on January 22nd.  Though I had heard his testimony before, reading this article was a reminder of the privileges of religious freedoms we enjoy in the US.  It also gave me new admiration for this humble, faithful pastor.  I am glad to have Beine and his family among my friends and colleagues in ministry.

JTR

The most thrilling story

When famed missionary Adoniram Judson (1788-1850) came home to New England in 1845-46 after many years spent in pioneer labors Burma, he found to his surprise that he was a celebrity in American Christian circles with numerous invitations to speak and preach. His audiences, however, were often disappointed in Judson. They wanted to hear exotic tales from the strange land of the East, but Judson generally preached the same gospel messages he proclaimed in Burma.

On the way home after one such engagement, Judson’s third wife, Emily, gently tried to explain to her husband what his American audiences wanted:

“But they wanted something different—a story.”

“Well, I am sure I gave them a story—the most thrilling one that can be conceived of.”

“But they had heard it before. They wanted something new of a man who had just come from the antipodes.”

“Then I am glad they have it to say, that a man coming from the antipodes had nothing better to tell than the wondrous story of Jesus’ dying love.”

JTR

Sermon of the Week: "Old School" Church Planting Conference

Just before Christmas, I had the opportunity to visit and worship at Providence PCA Church in Fayettville, NC.  They hosted a church planting conference last Fall.  The focus was on planting "Old School" Presbyterian churches, but much could be applied to what it takes to plant an "Old School" Baptist church.

Here are the conference messages:

William Harrell, A Workman Not Ashamed:  A Survey of a Church Planting Ministry

Andrew Webb, Pitfalls in Church Planting and How to Avoid Them

Andrew Webb, What is an Old School Church?

JTR

Spurgeon on the Call to Ministry

If a man be truly called of God to the ministry, I will defy him to withhold himself from it. A man who has really within him the inspiration of the Holy Ghost calling him to preach, cannot help it—he must preach. As fire within the bones, so will that influence be until it blazes forth. Friends may check him, foes criticize him, despisers sneer at him, the man is indomitable; he must preach if he has the call of Heaven. All earth might forsake him, but he would preach to the barren mountain-tops. If he has the call of Heaven, if he had no congregation, he would preach to the rippling waterfalls, and let the brooks hear his voice. He could not be silent. He would become a voice crying in the wilderness, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” I no more believe it is possible to stop ministers than to stop the stars of heaven. I think it no more possible to make a man cease from preaching, if he is really called, than to stay some mighty cataract, by seeking, in an infant’s cup, to catch the rushing torrent. The man has been moved of Heaven, who shall stop him? He has been touched of God, who shall impede him? With an eagle’s wing, he must fly; who shall chain him to the earth? With a seraph’s voice, he must speak; who shall seal his lips? And when a man does speak as the Spirit gives him utterance, he will feel a holy joy akin to that of Heaven; and when it is over, he wishes to be at his work again, he longs to be once more preaching. Is not the Lord’s Word like a fire within me? Must I not speak as if God has placed it there?

From Charles Spurgeon, Autobiography, Vol. I (Banner of Truth, 1962 [1897-1900]): p. 185.

Prayer for Haiti

News is breaking today about the devastating earthquake Tuesday in the impoverished nation of Haiti. Just yesterday I was talking with a friend who has adopted two children from Haiti about a news story I saw on PBS reporting on recent efforts to establish garment industry jobs in Haiti. The average wage there is one dollar per day!  Today comes news of more devastating suffering for this country.

Haiti stands out in my mind, because it was the destination of my first trip outside the United States. During the winter break of my sophomore year in college I went with a group of young men on a mission trip to Haiti. We had all worked together the previous summer in a Christian boys’ camp in Asheboro, North Carolina. Our Director, then a student at Southeastern Baptist Seminary, organized the trip. We flew into Port Au Prince from Miami, boarded a bus, and drove up into the mountains where we stayed for a week working with an independent Baptist missionary family. During the hot, tropical days we helped a fledgling congregation build a small chapel that also served as a school. Each cool evening we joined the church for revival services that included team members sharing their testimonies of faith in Christ.

Haiti was my first exposure to real poverty. I remember being struck by the sight of running sewers on the streets, children with distended bellies, and crumbling buildings. On our return trip back through Port Au Prince we visited a relief ministry in a central city slum. I also remember waiting for our plane in the airport along with a group of tanned and boisterous young adults who were returning from a vacation at Club Med. I remember feeling more than a little youthful self-righteousness that our group had chosen the better part.

That week had a major impact in my life. It helped me understand the disastrous corporate impact of sinful depravity, gave me a hunger for doing missions and ministry, and expanded my cultural horizons. I have never returned to Haiti but have listened with interest over the years to the various sad stories emerging from that have island nation. Political unrest, corruption, refugees. And now, the news today about the earthquake.

God has some purpose to play out, even when we cannot trace his hand. “Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?” (Amos 3:6). My prayers today are for the people of Haiti, for the believers who are busy ministering in that place, and for those who are going to help.

JTR

Judson's Proposal

Adoniram Judson wrote the following letter to John Hasseltine in 1810 asking for his twenty year old daughter Ann “Nancy” Hasseltine’s hand in marriage:

I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next Spring to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subscription to the hardships and sufferings of missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?

The couple were married on February 5, 1812 and within a week set sail for India.

JTR

Morrison: I expect God will

Robert Morrison, pioneer missionary to China and the first to translate the Bible into Chinese, was once asked by a skeptic, "And so, Mr. Morrison, you really expect to make an impression on the idolatry of the great Chinese empire."  Morrison replied, "No sir; I expect God will."

JTR

Top Ten Books of 2009

Here are the top ten books I read in 2009 (in no particular order; you can compare my 2008 list here):

1. Michael Bushell, The Songs of Zion (Crown and Covenant, 1980).

Bushell makes a cogent and thoughtful argument for exclusive psalmody (the singing of only canonical psalms in Scripturally regulated worship). Though he did not convince me that only canonical psalms should be sung in worship, he did convict me that the singing of canonical psalms should be included in worship (inclusive psalmody).

2. D. G. Hart, Deconstructing Evangelicalism: Conservative Protestants in the Age of Billy Graham (Baker, 2004).

Hart’s radical thesis: “Instead of trying to fix evangelicalism, born-again Protestants would be better off if they abandoned the category altogether… Evangelicalism needs to be relinquished as a religious identity because it does not exist. In fact, it is the wax nose of twentieth century American Protestantism” (p. 16).

3. D. A. Black, Ed., Perspectives on the Ending of Mark (B & H, 2008).

This collection of essays came from a conference held at SEBTS on the disputed ending of Mark (16:9-20). Chapters come from Dan Wallace (“reasoned eclecticism”), Maurice Robinson (Byzantine text), Keith Elliot (“thoroughgoing eclecticism”), and D. A. Black (multiple authorship theory), with a concluding essay from Darrell Bock. Wallace, Elliot, and Bock reject Mark 16:9-20 as authentic while Robinson and Black defend it. Reading this book reinforced my sense that modern textual criticism has been toxic for Biblical authority and further convinced me that Mark 16:9-20 is canonical.

4. Jacob Van Bruggen, The Ancient Text of the New Testament (Premier, 1976).

This respected Dutch scholar offers a convincing defense of the traditional text of the New Testament. I also read Van Bruggen’s The Future of the Bible (Nelson, 1978) which critiques the proliferation of contemporary Bible translations in the evangelical marketplace.

5. John Price, Old Light on New Worship (Simpson, 2005, 2007).

Price, a Reformed Baptist Pastor, makes a strong argument against the use of instrumental accompaniment in the singing of praise in corporate worship based on the Regulative Principle of worship.

6. Gregory A. Wills, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 1859-2009 (Oxford, 2009).

Wills offers an insightful, well-written history of Southern Baptists’ flagship seminary (and my alma mater) on its 150th anniversary. His thesis is that SBTS under Mohler has returned to the Calvinistic roots of its founders.

7. Francis Wayland, Notes on the Principles and Practices of Baptist Churches (Sheldon, Blakeman, & Co., 1857).

Wayland offers interesting insights on the practices of Baptists in 19th century including areas of declension in preaching, worship, and ministry.

8. Charles Bridges, The Christian Ministry: with An Inquiry into the Causes of its Inefficiency (Banner of Truth, 1967 [original 1830]).

I finally finished reading through this classic work on the nature and practice of ministry. Its chapters must be slowly digested. Very dense with much to feed upon in every chapter.

9. R. Scott Clark, Recovering the Reformed Confessions: Our Theology, Piety, and Practice (P & R, 2008).

Clark makes a strong plea for robustly confessional churches that avoid the pitfalls of QUIRC (the quest for illegitimate religious certainty) and QUIRE (the quest for illegitimate religious experience). He has the audacity, among other things, to critique the influence of Jonathan Edwards among evangelicals, including how Edwardsian revival spirituality feeds the hunger for growth through experiences rather than through the ordinary means of grace.

10. Iain H. Murray, The Life of John Murray (Banner of Truth, 2007 [1982]).

Murray offers a warm, devotional biography of the famed Scottish theologian who labored at Westminster Seminary.

Other selected noteworthy reads in 2009:

Biographies: John Marshall, Life and Writings (Banner of Truth, 2005); Everett Gill, A. T. Robertson: A Biography (MacMillan, 1943); Bernard J. Honeycutt, The Sound of His Name (Banner of Truth, 1995); C. H. Spurgeon Autobiography, Volume I: The Early Years (Banner of Truth, 1962 [original 1897-1900]); Philip G. Ryken, The Life of Dr. James Montgomery Boice, 1938-2000 (Gerald Stevens, 2001); Gertrude Hoeksema, Therefore Have I Spoken: A Biography of Herman Hoeksema (Reformed Free Publishing Association, 1969).

Textual and translation studies: Paul D. Wegner, A Student’s Guide to Textual Criticism of the Bible (IVP, 2006); Theodore P. Letis, The Majority Text: Essays and Reviews in the Continuing Debate (Institute for Biblical Studies, 1987); A. T. Robertson, Studies in the Text of the New Testament (Doran, 1926); A. T. Robertson, The Minister and His Greek New Testament (Doran, 1923); Alexander McClure, The Translators Revised (Maranatha reprint, 1858); Rolf Shafer, et al, Textual Research on the Bible: An Introduction to the Scholarly Editions of the German Bible Society (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2008); Alister McGrath, In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How it Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture (Anchor, 2001).

Bible Commentaries: Leon Morris, The Revelation of St. John (IVP, 1983); William Hendricksen, Mark (Baker, 1975); D. Edmund Hiebert, The Gospel According to Mark: An Expositional Commentary (BJU Press, 1994); James Montgomery Boice, Romans, Volume I: Justification by Faith [Romans 1-4] (Baker, 1991).

Theology and Ministry: Charles C. Ryrie, Dispensationalism, Revised and Expanded (Moody [1996, 1995] 2007); Li Cheng, trans. Pak Shem, Song of a Wanderer: Beckoned by Eternity (Ambassadors for Christ, 2002); Joel R. Beeke, Heirs with Christ: The Puritans on Adoption (Reformation Heritage, 2008); A. W. Pink, Profiting from the Word (Banner of Truth, 1970); Iain Murray, A Scottish Christian Heritage (Banner of Truth, 2006).

Calvin on Church Government: Part Sixteen

Note:  This is the sixteenth and final entry in our series from Calvin's Institutes of church government and offices.

It remains to consider the form of ordination, to which we have assigned the last place in the call (see chap. 4, sec. 14, 15). It is certain, that when the apostles appointed any one to the ministry, they used no other ceremony than the laying on of hands. This form was derived, I think, from the custom of the Jews, who, by the laying on of hands, in a manner presented to God whatever they wished to be blessed and consecrated. Thus Jacob, when about to bless Ephraim and Manasseh, placed his hands upon their heads (Gen. 48:14). The same thing was done by our Lord, when he prayed over the little children (Mt. 19:15). With the same intent (as I imagine), the Jews, according to the injunction of the law, laid hands upon their sacrifices. Wherefore, the apostles, by the laying on of hands, intimated that they made an offering to God of him whom they admitted to the ministry; though they also did the same thing over those on whom they conferred the visible gifts of the Spirit (Acts 8:17; 19:6). However this be, it was the regular form, whenever they called any one to the sacred ministry. In this way they consecrated pastors and teachers; in this way they consecrated deacons. But though there is no fixed precept concerning the laying on of hands, yet as we see that it was uniformly observed by the apostles, this careful observance ought to be regarded by us in the light of a precept (see chap. 14, sec. 20; chap. 19, sec. 31). And it is certainly useful, that by such a symbol the dignity of the ministry should be commended to the people, and he who is ordained, reminded that he is no longer his own, but is bound in service to God and the Church. Besides, it will not prove an empty sign, if it be restored to its genuine origin. For if the Spirit of God has not instituted anything in the Church in vain, this ceremony of his appointment we shall feel not to be useless, provided it be not superstitiously abused. Lastly, it is to observed, that it was not the whole people, but only pastors, who laid hands on ministers, though it is uncertain whether or not several always laid their hands: it is certain, that in the case of the deacons, it was done by Paul and Barnabas, and some few others (Acts 6:6; 13:3). But in another place, Paul mentions that he himself, without any others, laid hands on Timothy. “Wherefore, I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee, by the putting on of my hands” (2 Tim. 1:6). For what is said in the First Epistle, of the laying on of the hands of the presbytery, I do not understand as if Paul were speaking of the college of Elders. By the expression, I understand the ordination itself; as if he had said, Act so, that the gift which you received by the laying on of hands, when I made you a presbyter, may not be in vain.

Analysis:  Calvin commends the practice of laying on of hands to ordain elders and deacons.  This should not be done by all the people but by the ministers only.  The ordination by laying on of hands is useful to represent "the dignity of the ministry" as long as it is "not superstitiously abused."

Sermon of the Week: Henry Scougal "On the Nativity of our Savior"

Should believers celebrate Christmas? This question has long divided Reformed Christians. The continental reformers were more willing to observe “Christian year” elements (including Christmas) as long as they did not contradict the gospel, while the English reformers were generally less tolerant of keeping unbiblical “holy days.”

Henry Scougal (1650-78) was a Scottish Puritan who defended the proper celebration of Christ’s birth. In his Christmas Day sermon “On the Nativity of our Savior” (text: Psalm 2:11), Scougal begins by noting that “the observation of festivals” has been “one of the balls of contention which have been tossed so hotly in the religious debates of this unhappy age.”

Though acknowledging “the abuses of this solemnity,” he makes it his work in this sermon “to persuade you to such a deportment on this festival, as may best suit with the holy life of that Person, whose nativity we commemorate.”

Scougal’s exposition of his text falls under two heads:

First, there is an exhortation to cheerfulness and joy. Scripture does not teach “that men ought always to be sad, under the notion of being serious; for cheerfulness enlightens the mind, and encourages the heart, and raiseth the soul (as it were) to breathe in a purer air….”

Christian joy, however, is not just “a levity of spirit.” Scougal notes, “we would not have a man’s whole life become a sport.” Real joy “springs from the sense of divine goodness” and “our sincerity in his service.”

Second, Scougal defines the right boundaries for cheerfulness and joy: “Rejoice we may, but it must be with trembling.”

“Hell is certainly in our creed, as well as heaven; and as the fear of it is ordinarily the first step of converion, so it may be of use to quicken us and push us forward all along, through our journey towards heaven.”

He then moves on to application under three heads:

1.  The excellency of the person who was born:

First, then, He was no common person whose birth occasions our joy. If we but fix our eyes on his human nature, and consider those excellencies that were obvious to the eyes of the world, we shall yet acknowledge, that never such a person appeared on the face of the earth….

He was God as well as man; and by communication of properties it may be said, that he whom we now behold in a cradle, has his throne in the heaven, and filleth all things by his immensity; that he who is wrapped in swaddling clothes, is now clothed in infinite glory; and he whom we find in a stable among beasts, is the same with him encircled with millions of angels; in a word, that great Person, whose nativity we celebrate, is divinely embodied, God made flesh. This union of the divine and human nature is a mystery great enough to confound our understanding, but not to trouble or shake our faith, who know many things to be, which we cannot know how they are, and are not able to give any account of the union betwixt the soul and the body, or of the parts of nature among themselves, which yet we never call in question….

2.  The design of his birth:

In a Word, CHRIST came into the world to advance the glory of GOD, and the happiness of the earth, by restoring us to the favor of our Maker, and a conformity to him. And certainly if we-have any sense of the evil of sin, or the misery of hell,-of the beauty of holiness, or the glory of heaven; it must needs be a matter of great joy to celebrate the birth of Him who loth deliver us from the one, and give us assurance of the other.

3.  The circumstances of it:

It remaineth that we yet speak of the nativity which we celebrate; and many things present themselves full of comfort and instruction. We shall only observe our SAVIOUR's coming into the world after that manner which did best suit with his design. Indeed, when a man should hear of the SON of GOD's coming down from heaven into the lower world, he would be apt to think that his ap­pearance would be with the greatest splendor and mag­nificence, and that the glory of heaven should continually attend his -person; at least, that all the Princes in the world should be summoned to attend his reception, and that the heaven should bow at his presence, and the earth tremble at the approach of his Majesty, and that all the clouds should clap together in an universal thunder, to welcome his appearance; but instead of all this pomp and grandeur, he slips into the world, is born in a village, discovered by some poor shepherds, and found by them in a stable, and such a homely cradle as that afforded, only attended by his poor mother, who, though of royal blood, had nothing but goodness to make her eminent; and his education was answerable to his obscure birth, and his whole life, a course of humility and self-denial. Now certainly this far best agrees with the design of his appearance, who came not on so mean an errand as to dazzle the eyes of mankind with the appearance of his glory, nor to amaze them with the terribleness of his majesty, much less to make a show of the riches and gal­lantry of the world among them, but to "bring life and immortality," and lead men to eternal happiness. In order to which it was necessary, that by his example as well as doctrine, he should disparage the vanities of the world, and bring them out of that credit and esteem they had gotten among foolish men.

Finally, Scougal ends with exhortation to proper observance of Christmas. Some take “the solemn anniversary, as if it were indeed a drunken Bacchus, and not a holy Jesus, whom they worshipped. What! because GOD became man, must we become beasts? Or think we to honor that Child with dissoluteness, who came to the world on designs of holiness."

Watson's Expanded View of the Fifth Commandment

My wife and I like to tell our children when we review the ten commandments in family devotions that our favorite commandment is the fifth: “Honor thy father and thy mother….” (Exod 20:12).

The old divines, however, saw the fifth commandment as having to do with much more than the parent/child relationship but with proper respect for and submission to authority, station, and office. The catechism asks, “What is required in the fifth commandment?” and answers, “The fifth commandment requires the preserving the honour and performing the duties belonging to every one in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, and equals.”

In Thomas Watson’s study on the Ten Commandments, he applies the fifth commandment’s charge “Honor thy father” to five different kinds of fathers: the political (the civil magistrate), the ancient (the elderly), the spiritual (pastors and ministers), the domestic (the master or employer), and the natural (the biological parent).

With regard to spiritual fathers (pastors and ministers), Watson says that they should be honored “in respect of their office.” This honor should be given to ministers in three ways:

1. By giving them respect.

Watson states, “Many can be content to know their ministers in their infirmities, and are glad when they have anything against them, but do not know them in the apostles’ sense, so as to give them ‘double honor.’ Surely were it not for the ministry, you would not be a vineyard, but a desert.” Ministers are to be respected because God has chosen them to bring to God’s people the Word and Sacraments (Ordinances).

2. By becoming advocates for them.

Understanding well the inherent nature of pastoral ministry, Watson charges that this will include, “wiping off those slanders and calumnies which are unjustly cast upon them (1 Tim 5: 19). Constantine was a great honourer of the ministry; he vindicated them; he would not read the envious accusations brought against them, but burnt them. Do the ministers open their mouths to God for you in prayer, and will not you open your mouths in their behalf? Surely, if they labour to preserve you from hell, you should preserve them from slander; if they labour to save your souls, you ought to save their credit.”

3. By conforming to their doctrine.

Watson concludes, “The greatest honour you can put upon your spiritual fathers, is to believe and obey their doctrine. He is an honourer of the ministry who is not only a hearer, but a follower of the word. As disobedience reproaches the ministry, so obedience honours it… You cannot honour your spiritual fathers more, than by thriving under their ministry, and living upon the sermons which they preach.”

JTR