PART SEVEN: Sir Richard Baker’s Meditations & Disquisitions Upon Certain Psalms This review was written some years ago, but it fits well into the present project, so I decided to include it here. I hope I will be forgiven for posting a preexisting book review in the series, but the book is one of the most famous Puritan works and really had to be included. The review is of the recent edition of the work, John Owen, Communion with the Triune …
Category: Articles
PART THIRTEEN Romans 9:4 and Israel-Only Covenants? Many dispensationalists cite Romans 9:4 as proof that the covenants are only given to Israel, with the Church having no part in them. The verse reads: who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises… I think there is a case for using this verse to fend off those, like the present writer, who believe that the Church is party to the …
Very preoccupied right now. Here’s one from the vaults: The identity of the “Sons of God” in the sixth chapter of Genesis is and always has been, as one OT writer has put it, “the subject of a longstanding debate among biblical scholars.”[1] Whichever view is taken of them, it cannot be doubted that even amid the extraordinary stories in Genesis 1-11, the first four verses of Genesis 6 are extremely enigmatic. Why does the human author (Moses) use this term …
Part 11 We are now in a position to tackle the main objections to the view that the Church is a full party (with future Israel) in the New covenant. As we will see, for this to be so it must be established that the New covenant is in effect now. I intend to try to prove that by looking again at the salient passages, noting how the “Israel-only” arguments are unsatisfactory. But before I do that I want to …
PART FIVE – A Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit by John Owen When I began assembling a library of Puritan books in the early 90’s (yes, I’m that old), Soli Deo Gloria was publishing many great authors. Additionally, living in England I had access to many great bookshops and found many treasures on the shelves. One of the Puritans I never came across back then was George Swinnock. Soli Deo Gloria didn’t publish Swinnock. I think this was because Don …
PART TEN Christ’s Intercession At the Right Hand of God I have surveyed a lot of texts which refer to the New covenant in both Testaments. I could continue into the General Epistles and Revelation, but I believe I have made a good case for my thesis that the New covenant in Christ’s blood (Lk. 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25) is the salvation covenant, and that it forms the basis of hope for Israel and the Church. There are many in …
A review of Ben Witherington III, Biblical Theology: The Convergence of the Canon, Cambridge University Press, 2019, 495 pages, paperback. Ben Witherington is a well known and respected NT scholar who has written commentaries on about every book of the NT, as well as a few in the OT. Additionally, he has written works of historical fiction, NT Introduction and NT Theology. Witherington is an engaging writer who is not afraid to stand apart from the scholarly crowd on occasion. …
Part Four – The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit by Jeremiah Burroughs When I think about a truly spiritual writer; a writer whose is content constantly tethered to the interactions between God and man, my mind turns to John Owen (d. 1683). Owen is generally regarded as the Prince of the Puritans, although opinions as why he retains the accolade are not too easy to come by. For my part, I think he deserves the title because of the variety, …
PART NINE Hebrews – Epistle of the New Covenant Hebrews starts off by elevating Jesus Christ, proving from the OT that He is divine, but that He also “purged our sins” (Heb. 1:3) because He took upon Himself humanity (cf. Heb. 1:6; 2:9, 17). Jesus holds the office of High Priest (Heb. 3:1; 4:14-16). And the question arises, whose High Priest is He? As the book of Hebrews proceeds three major aspects of God’s Creation Project begin to appear. The …
PART THREE – The Doubting Believer by Obadiah Sedgwick Jeremiah Burroughs was one of the great preachers of the middle part of the Puritan period. He died in 1646 in his late forties, having written many helpful books, among which are some classics. I’m thinking, for example, of The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. I would also throw in his book Gospel Worship, which is an extended reflection on Leviticus 10. Burroughs also became well known for a commentary on …
