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Witsius on the conversion of the Jews

January 20, 2025 by westportexperiment

XX. Sixthly. We may reckon among the benefits of the New Testament the restoration of the Israelites, who were formerly rejected, and the bringing them back to the communion of God in Christ. Paul has unfolded this mystery to the Gentiles, Rom. 11:25–27: “For, I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery (lest ye should be wise in your own conceits), that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved; at it is written, There shall come out of Sion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”

XXI. On this place observe, 1st. That the apostle here explains some mystery; that is, a secret thing, not known but by revelation, and taken notice of by few, and happening beyond the expectation and judgment of reason; in fine, the whole method and manner of executing which, lies in a great measure concealed; see 1 Cor. 2:7, 15:51, and Eph. 3:3. 2dly. That it is the interest of the Gentiles to be acquainted with this mystery, to prevent their entertaining higher thoughts concerning themselves, and lower concerning the Israelites: we are therefore to take care to enquire diligently, and with attention, into what the prophets have foretold concerning this matter. 3dly. The apostle here speaks of the people of Israel, not figuratively but properly so called; who were at this time blind, obdurate, stupid, and hardened, of which ver. 7. Isaiah foretold this judgment of God against Israel at large, chap. 6:9, 10, compared with Acts 28:26, Isa. 29:10, 11. To this also seems applicable, that whirlwind of the Lord, that fury, and continuing whirlwind, which shall abide on the head of the wicked, of which Jer. 30:23. In short, this is that forlorn condition of the blinded nation of Jews, which taking its rise in the apostles’ time, continues to this our day. 4thly. That this blindness is in part happened to Israel. The whole nation, from its first origin even to the end of the world, is considered as one whole; a certain part of which are those, who either have, or now do, or hereafter shall live in the days of the wrath and indignation of God: blindness has seized that part only. 5thly. That blindness is to continue upon them no longer, than till the fulness of the Gentiles be come in; that is, till the Gospel is preached among all nations of the world whatever. Which, indeed, began to be done by the apostles and their fellow-labourers; but could not be done perfectly, both on account of the extent of the world, and the shortness of human life, and likewise because many nations (as all the American) were at that time unknown. This therefore still remains to be done successively; God, in his admirable providence, paving the way for his word. The offer of grace was first made to the Israelites. When they refused it, it was sent to the Gentiles; but when the fulness of them shall be brought in, it will be again given to the Israelites, “that the last may be first, and the first last,” Luke 13:30; see Luke 21:24. 6thly. That when the fulness of the Gentiles is brought in, all Israel shall be saved; that is, as our Dutch commentators well observe, not a few, but a very great number, and in a manner the whole Jewish nation, in a full body. Peter Martyr has judiciously explained the fulness of the Gentiles, and the whole body of Israel, in the following words: “But we are to understand a limited fulness, and a fixed or determined collection; which is therefore called fulness, because there will be an exact and a very great number of believers, so that the church shall be publicly owned, and had in great esteem among the Gentiles, just as all Israel is to be taken for a great number of Jews, among whom Christ should be publicly acknowledged; not that some, as well of the Gentiles as Jews, shall not be lost.”

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Posted in Eschatology, Israel; Calling of & Mission to the Jews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Vos on Christ as “Prince” (ἀρχηγός)

January 20, 2025 by westportexperiment

Posted in Biblical Interpretation, Biblical Theology, Christ & the Church, Christ Jesus | Leave a Comment »

John Maclaurin (1693-1754)

January 14, 2025 by westportexperiment

Before reading of him in Principal John Macleod’s Scottish Theology in Relation to Church History, I had never heard of John Maclaurin. A contemporary of Jonathan Edwards and Thomas Boston, he stood within the old Evangelical wing of the Church of Scotland during the long, wintry reign of Moderatism. Impressed with the high praise for his sermon “Glorifying in the Cross of Christ,” I recorded it here. Here is a rich sample from Maclaurin as he waxes eloquent on the “fabric of nature” visibly responding to the horror of the death of the Prince of life:

“The frame of nature solemnized the death of its Author; heaven and earth were mourners; the sun was clad in black; and if the inhabitants of the earth were unmoved, the earth itself trembled under the awful load. There were few to pay the Jewish compliment of rending their garments; but the rocks were not so insensible, they rent their bowels. He had not a grave of his own; but other men’s graves opened to him. Death and the grave might be proud of such a tenant in their territories; but he came not there as a subject, but as an invader, a conqueror. It was then the king of terrors lost his sting; and on the third day the Prince of life triumphed over him, spoiling death and the grave. But this last particular belongs to Christ’s exaltation: the other instances show a part of the glory of his humiliation, but it is a small part of it.”

You can read more about Maclaurin in the PDF below, taken from Macleod’s work and the DSCH&T. And be sure to check out other audio titles from the Old Church of Scotland and the entire West Port Audio library.

MaclaurinDownload

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Posted in Audio Resources, Church of Scotland, Gospel Proclamation, The Gospel | Leave a Comment »

Home missions: a thorough pervading

January 8, 2025 by westportexperiment

“For the accomplishment of this, there must not only be a going forth on the vast and untrodden spaces that are without; there must be a filling up of the numerous and peopled vacancies that are within—a busy, internal locomotion, that might circulate, and disperse, and branch off to the right and to the left, among the many thousand families which are at hand: and thoroughly to pervade these families; to make good a lodgment in the midst of them, for the nearer or the more frequent ministrations of Christianity than before; to have gained welcome for the Gospel testimony into their houses, and, in return, to have drawn any of them forth to attendance on the place of Sabbath and of solemn services—this, also, is to act upon our text, this is to do the part, and to render one of the best achievements of a missionary.”

-Thomas Chalmers, Works, 6:270.

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Posted in Church of Scotland, Free Church of Scotland, Missiology, Parish Theory & Practice, Thomas Chalmers | Leave a Comment »

Vox patrum: Dickson, Baxter, Manton

January 8, 2025 by westportexperiment

Posted in Christian Life & Experience, Experimental Religion & the Cure of Souls, Free Offer of the Gospel, Redemption Applied, The Free Offer of the Gospel, Vox Patrum | Leave a Comment »

Reversing the baby bust

January 8, 2025 by westportexperiment

Birth rates are plummeting in the United States and globally, forecasting a political and financial crisis. The most recent estimate predicts the average American woman will have 1.6 children in her lifetime, far below the rate of 2.1 required to maintain a steady population and even further below the 2.5 rate observed in the United States as recently as 1970.

Many cultural and technological factors have contributed to this dramatic decline, and public policies play a role in shaping people’s decisions about whether to have children and how many. Finding the right policy levers for influencing fertility rates, however, has proven very difficult.

Read the rest of this article at The Federalist here.

Posted in Culture, Family & Family Issues, Motherhood & Childbearing, Secularization | Leave a Comment »

If only! Winslow’s plea for pursuing unity

January 4, 2025 by westportexperiment

“Did believers in the Lord Jesus more frequently meet in council, in service, in communion, how soon and entirely would the coldness, the party spirit; the jealousies, the erroneous impressions vanish which now, alas! divide the body of Christ, all whose members are ‘members one of another.’ Knowing each other better, they would love each other more; and loving each other more, there would be more ready concession made to the freedom of judgment and the claims of conscience. The clergy of the various sections of the Christian Church stand too wide apart from each other simply because they do not know each other. And if the shepherds are thus sundered, it is no marvel that the sheep are divided! The Church of Christ is essentially one, why should she not be visibly one? Inseparable from Christ, why should we be separated from each other? With an essential unity of faith, why should we not all unite in excluding uncharitableness? Oh! If the Lord’s people—losing sight of every badge but Christian, and of every name but Christ—were to mingle more frequently, confidingly, and prayerfully together, how much more would they find of assimilation, of sympathy, and affection—how much less to sunder, separate, and censure, and how much more to admire, love, and imitate in each other than they had any conception of.”

–Octavius Winslow

Posted in Catholicity, Communion of the Saints, The Visible Church | Leave a Comment »

A single soul!

January 4, 2025 by westportexperiment

Posted in Light of Eternity, Parish Theory & Practice, Thomas Chalmers | Leave a Comment »

Earthy eschatology: Rutherford

January 4, 2025 by westportexperiment

12. Adam brake the whole frame of heaven and earth: and to the Second ADAM the whole broken and marred lump of the Creation is promised, that he may be the repairer of the waste places. Isa. 49:8. I will preserve thee, and give thee for a Covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages. Ps. 72:16. Under the reign of the Messiah, There shall be an handfull of corn upon the top of the mountains, the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon. Jer. 31:12. Therefore shall they come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together for the goodness of the Lord (Christ) for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock, and of the herd.

1. The Lord made all things at the beginning very good, Gen. 1:31. Heaven, Earth, Sun, Moon, Beasts, Birds, &c. being all made servants to man, were in a manner fellow-Covenanters in their kind with man in the Covenant of Works: As a King covenants with a great Family, his servants and dependers have the benefit of the Kings Covenant peace, all obeyed Adam without jarring: but when Adam sinned, war between the Lord, and between the Master and the servants is denounced, the earth is cursed for his sake, Genes. 3:17, 18. and Lions and wild Beasts rise against him like loose boarders. But in the Covenant of Grace, Hos. 2:18, 19, 20. the beasts of the field, the fowls of the heaven, the Sun which shall not smite by day, nor the Moon by night, Ps. 121:6. are by the Surety of the Covenant brought in a new league: yea the stones of the field, Job 5:23. are compartners of the peace, and Christ the King takes off the forefaultry [forfeit, failure] upon all, and looses the arrestment of vanity that by sin was laid upon the Creation, which was made sick like a woman travelling in birth, Rom. 8:20, 21, 22. Hence are they blessed in Christ to the Saints, Deut. 28:4, 5; Levit. 26:4, 5, 6. and the Angels come in under their Head Christ, Col. 2:10. and serve the new restored heirs, Heb. 1:13. for their Heads sake.

2. God hath appointed Christ the Heir of all things, and, Heb. 1:2. hath given a Charter to Christ and put in bread, garments, houses and all to the Believer in Christ the first Heir: his great evidence is, 1 Cor. 3:21. All things are yours. 3. He makes all things new, Rev. 21:5. This Christ mends the broken gold ring which was broken by the first unattentive and rash Heir Adam; So that now Heavens, Earth, Mountains, Isai. 49:13. Sea, trees, fields, Psal. 96:11, 12, 13. are commanded to sing a Gospel Psalm of joy, because Christ the new King and Restorer of all is come to the Throne: yea let the stoods [stands of trees] clap their hands, Psal. 98:9. and he purposes to purge with fire the great Pest-house infected with sin and under bondage of corruption, Rom. 8:21; 2 Pet. 3:10, 11. that he may set up the new world in Gospel-beauty, the new heavens and the new earth, 2 Pet. 3:13; Isai. 65:17; Isai. 66:22; Rev. 21:1. Oh what a life to have a cottage and a little yard of herbs in that new World, and how base to be but Citizens of this World!

Posted in Earthy Eschatology, Samuel Rutherford | Leave a Comment »

Calvin on public flogging

January 2, 2025 by westportexperiment

“And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number.  Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee” (Deut. 25.2-3).

“Now it follows: That the wicked man shall be condemned according to his desert. There is here no mention of such offences as were to be punished by death. For if there were murder committed, or adultery, or such like thing; they were punished by death. We have seen how God commanded that all such kinds of wickedness should be utterly rooted out: but here he speaks but of such injuries as deserve some other chastisement. And that is the cause why it is said, That the malefactor shall be punished according to his desert, yet so has he shall not have above forty stripes. For they used a whip made of an oxe hide, to chastise them which dealt wrongfully and outrageously with their neighbor, always provided that the offence deserved not death. It is said: That they shall not pass the number of forty strips. And why? To the intent that the man should not be mangled or disfigured in his body, but remain whole and found. You see then in effect what is here declared, to wit, first that the sentence must not be given in vain: and secondly that some moderation must be used, so as the rigor be not excessive. . . .

“Moreover secondly in this place here is mention made of moderating the chastisements which are used. For the judges ought always to consider that they fit in justice in the behalf of God, and therefore into that seat which is holy and dedicated to the doing of right, they may not bring their own passions, to feed their own choler, and to deal crossly and overwartly as they themselves lift. God therefore in saying, that there shall be a certain number of stripes, declares expressly that there must be a reasonable measure used in punishing. Verily when a man is not to be clean rooted out, but to live still in the world, God will not have him maimed that he should become unprofitable as touching h is body. For what a thing were it if a man should be so rigorously handled as to be made a cripple so as he can no more help himself? It were better he had been put to death at the first, than to be left to pine away in this world, and to be as a block. Now therefore when a man is to be left alive still, GOD will have the judges to ave a regard that he be not beaten of scourged in such wise as he disfigured or made unable to help himself. That is the very thing which God will have men to look unto.”

Calvin, Sermons on Deuteronomy, in loc.


Posted in Crime & Punishment, Social Issues, The Civil Magistrate | Leave a Comment »

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