Musings Of A Pastor - VI Edition, 2023
Yes, Behold He Is The Lord God!
The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”
9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
13 The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” 14 Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17 But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. 18 And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”
Jeremiah 1:1–19
1689 London Baptist Confession
Chapter 1 , Paragraph 7
Of the Holy Scriptures
—
All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; 12 yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of ordinary means, may attain to a sufficient understanding of them. 13
12 2 Pet. 3:16
13 Ps. 19:7; Psalm 119:130
I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I set your rules before me.
Psalm 119:30
The CHRISTIAN LIFE FOR REAL
Even when I'm at my worst
I am still of righteous birth
Covered by a saving grace
Past, present, future debt erased
My heart is changing day by day
(Day by day by day by day by day by day)
When I run like wild fire
I am still a ransomed child
Bought with blood spilt on a tree
Sin, death, they have no hold on me
My will is changing day by day
(Day by day by day by day by day by day)
I am not who I was, now I am who I am
A sinner saved, a stumbling saint
Still I'm never alone, He's alive in my bones
The ghost of God sanctifies
Day by day by day, day by day by day
Day by day by day
What I once desired for
Is not what I desire more
Heart of stone turned into flesh
Love, joy, peace taking over the mess
It's all I'm wanting day by day
(Day by day by day by day by day by day)
No, I'm not who I was, now I am who I am
A sinner saved, a stumbling saint
Still I'm never alone, He's alive in my bones
The ghost of God sanctifies
Day by day by day, day by day by day
Day by day by day
Day by day by day, day by day by day
Day by day by day
I don't always believe that I'm even a saint
Justified with new life
But I'm never the same when I remember the gift
Of His grace builds my faith
No, I'm not who I was, now I am who I am
A sinner saved, a stumbling saint
I'm not ever alone, He's alive in my soul
The ghost of God sanctifies
Day by day by day, day by day by day
Day by day by day (day by day by day)
Day by day by day, day by day by day
Day by day by day (day by day by day)
Written by Spencer Abbott / Zachary Scott Bolen / Brian Kevin Eichelberger / Adam Skatula / Nathan Furtado
THe IMPORTANCE OF CONFESSIONS
If you have been keeping up with these editions of Musings, then you have seen the 1689 Confession of Faith. I am slowly studying this historical theological confession. I thought this excerpt from A New Exposition of the London Baptist Confession of Faith to be a really short and helpful explanation on confessions of faith.
“I love Confessions of Faith — good ones, anyway. I love them because they are so useful, and I love them because they are so delightful. They are delightful because they express and summarize the teaching of the Bible, and the Bible is the very Word of God. A good Confession is not the very Word of God, but if it is faithful to the Word of God, it is saying what God's Word says, similar to the way that a faithful preacher says what God's Word says (Isa. 52:7). Someone who truly loves God's Word should truly love a good Confession. He shouldn't love it as much as he loves Scripture itself, but he should love it for the way it speaks, expounds, and illuminates the Word of God.
Good Confessions should also be loved because they are useful to the Christian and to the Christian church. Excellent works have been written on this subject. Robert Paul Martin, for example, presents a few of the important uses of Confessions in "The Legitimacy and Use of Confessions," which is his introduction to Sam Waldron's volume, A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. He mentions four specific uses of a good Confession:
It aids in the public affirmation and defense of truth.
It provides standards of church fellowship and discipline.
It outlines concise standards by which to evaluate ministers of the Word.
It contributes to our sense of historical continuity.?
These are all good things; and they are all things that Satan opposes.
As Spurgeon said, "Weapons which are offensive to our enemies should never be allowed to rust." Our Baptist Confession of Faith is one of these weapons.