We live in a day when many Christians are baffled and confused about the relationship between Christianity and public policy. Some have continued the church's retreat into a cloistered pietism -- "there is no need to get tangled up with politics. Let's just preach the gospel." The assumption of this pietism is that the Lordship of Christ has nothing at all to do with the nations. Other Christians on the "religious right" have thrown themselves into the political process. But in so doing they have surrendered to one of the fundamental modern lies about politics, which is that the state is, or can be, our savior. "If we could only elect enough Christians to political office, then everything would be better." The assumption of such political operatives is that Christ needs the help of the nations, and so good Christians had better rally around and get involved.
In the midst of such confusion, the reprinting of Messiah the Prince is a wonderful blessing. It is to be hoped that this book sells well, and is widely read and digested. In it, William Symington gives us a careful and thorough study of the Bible's teaching of the reign of Christ over the nations.
He demonstrates, in passage after passage, that all the nations have been given to Jesus Christ, and as a result of Christian proclamation, His reign over the nations will be manifested in history. Kings and presidents will bow before the Lord Jesus Christ, and will acknowledge Him as their rightful Sovereign. As a result of the preaching of the gospel, every nation will one day be Christian. As a result of Christ's reign, all civil governments will one day submit to Him. Christ is, in truth, King of kings, and Lord of lords.
Modern Christians have a tendency to either spiritualize these scriptural expressions of the kingdom of Christ, or to personalize them. When they are spiritualized, the truth is treated as though it were somehow ethereal. "Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords? Why, yes, to be sure, in a spiritual way He is." But not in any way that makes a practical difference one way or the other.
When it is personalized, it is treated as though it were a matter of individual concern only. "Yes, Christ is King and Lord of my heart -- behind my eyes, and between my ears." To the extent that the authority of Christ is seen in the world, it is limited to matters of personal ethical behavior.
Christians who reject these mistaken limitations will find Messiah the Prince refreshing. It was written in the last century, and consequently the author is not buffeted by all the current winds of democratic doctrine. The book will reinforce the conviction that Christians are really monarchists at heart, and that their monarch is Christ. It is encouraging to be able to read a book which glories in the crown rights of Messiah the Prince.
There are probably few among us who have not agonized through the prayer of some dear brother or sister, wondering why on earth we were all before the Throne of Grace talking this way. "And, Lord, we just, Lord, want to ask you Lord, to just, Lord . . ."
Our problem goes back, I think, to Rousseau, who taught us that spontaneity and primitivism were good and natural, and that civilizing constraints were stifling, and had the smell of death about them. Nowhere is this humanistic and pagan influence more apparent in the Christian community than in our approach to prayer.
Pastors know that it takes labor, study, and diligence to prepare an edifying message for God's people. But if one were to suggest that he should prepare for public prayer in the same way, the response would likely be horror at the suggestion. Prayer should be heart-felt and spontaneous, and not bound up in the straitjacket of preparation and thought.
Of course matters are complicated by the fact that there are pastors who pray as though bound in a liturgical straitjacket -- mumbling their way diligently through glorious words. And so we see Christians reacting from one extreme to the other. Which will it be -- spontaneous imbecility or pious mummification? Ya pays your money and ya takes your choice.
Enter Thoughts on Public Prayer. The author Samuel Miller was a Presbyterian theologian and preacher who lived from 1769 to 1850. This data may cause some modern believers, wise in the conceits of spontaneity, to dismiss Miller as just another 19th century curmudgeon. But consider these comments from Miller -- his insights on the nature of public prayer are greatly needed today.
"I once knew an eloquent and eminently popular preacher, who seemed to aim at concentrating in his prayers all the bold, high-sounding, sublime thoughts and figures which he could collect from the natural and moral worlds; so that he seemed to be ever upon a kind of descriptive stilts . . ."
"One of the most essential excellencies in public prayer, and that which I feel constrained first of all, and above all to recommend, is, that it abound in the language of the word of God."
"The whole book of Psalms furnishes us an example of what we here mean. We may consider this portion of the word of God the great storehouse of devotional composition . . ."
According to Miller, when Christians spend time preparing for prayer, it enables them to think about what they are doing. There are multitudes of bad habits which creep in unannounced whenever we do anything without thought. It is no different with prayer. It is a perverse tribute to the on-going influence of Rousseau that many Christians think otherwise. Spontaneity is a greatly over-rated virtue.
For those who are aware of the great need for reformation in the public prayer of the church, this book is a great place to start.
Baxter's Practical Works (4 Volumes)
It has been over three centuries since Richard Baxter's death. The work he left us with comprises four volumes, more than one thousand double-column pages each, typeset in eight-point font. I ask the reader to forgive my not having read all of what I review.
When the first volume of Baxter's works was reprinted two years ago, I eagerly acquired a copy. When I received A Christian Directory, I found that it lived up to its reputation. More than double the length of Calvin's Institutes, its every word is a gem of Puritan wisdom. Baxter begins by unsettling comfortable sinners, then he introduces them to grace. He follows with counsel to new believers, wavering or discouraged believers, heads of households, businessmen, clergy, laity, and magistrates. It is aptly subtitled, "A Sum of Practical Theology," for it addresses everybody in almost every conceivable situation.
Consider just a few of the subjects that Baxter addresses: the sin of idle thoughts, governing the senses (eyes, ears, sleep, etc.), secrets among friends, wandering thoughts in prayer, sexuality, finances, and resolving disputes. His discussion on redeeming time left a profound impression on my approach to work and leisure. In my opinion, this first volume is worth the price of all four.
Volume two is entitled An Alarm to the Unconverted. In it we see Baxter's heart for the unregenerate. In his great apologetic work, Reasons of the Christian Religion, Baxter reminds his readers throughout that unbelief is not merely a matter of ignorance; it is a moral problem. It is prefaced by three dedicatory epistles: one to Christian readers, one to doubting and unbelieving readers, and one "to the hypocrite readers."
He rigorously interacts with the best of classical literature and pagan religious thought, and shows that the self-revelation of God in the Bible is all-true. Central to Baxter's apologetic, and frequently absent in modern apologetics, is the conviction that man has offended God and stands in desperate need of grace.
With classic Puritan frankness, he writes, "No man of brains denieth, that a man hath a will that is naturally free; it is free from violence, and it is a self-determining principle; but it is not free from evil dispositions. It is habitually averse to God and holiness, and inclined to earthly, fleshly things; it is enslaved by a sinful bias. This, no man, methinks, that is a christian, should deny; of the aged, I see not how an infidel can deny it'' (ii. 507).
Baxter does not hesitate to present the solution to the sinner's problem, and it comes with urgency and eloquence that are so unique to him.
Volume 3 includes one of Baxter's best known works, The Saint's Everlasting Rest -- an extended meditation on the glorious riches of Christ. It will bring the lowest Christian to great heights of joy. A Treatise of Self-Denial shows that the asceticism which secular historians have slanderously deemed to be "Puritan" is not actually Puritan. Baxter's observations are biblical and practical and very applicable today. Turning from God, the "absolute owner of us," to self is heinous idolatry.
"Observe," he writes, "but how commonly with men called christians, the interest of Christ is trodden in the dirt, when it seemeth to cross any interest of their own" (iii.370). Volume 3 also includes two very fine pastoral directives for the Christian life: The Life of Faith and The Divine Life, and others.
The two main highlights of the fourth volume are The Reformed Pastor and The Poor Man's Family Book. The latter presents itself as counsel to heads of households. It offers thorough counsel on the discipline and education of children, and, most importantly, family worship. But, as with most of Baxter's writings, the greatest space is spent instructing Christians in matters of the heart.
Also included in the fourth volume are two catechisms which Baxter himself undoubtedly used in his own ministry. One is especially for mothers for use with young children, and the other is for families.
The Reformed Pastor is a classic, and no minister should keep himself from it. Baxter's view of pastoral oversight is hard and dynamic. Pastors have a responsibility for others' souls — a responsibility which must be taken seriously. For Baxter, failure to faithfully discharge pastoral duties is an affront to God. He is severe in his indictment of pastors who are content to "just get by." Others' souls hang in the balance, and obedience requires being always attentive to them. "Be awakened, therefore, I beseech you, brethren, by the loud and manifold voice of God, to set more seriously to the work, of God, . . . and to take heed to yourselves, and to all the flock" (iv.420).
Here, Baxter is a pastor of pastors. His vision is a practical one wherein pastors walk in personal holiness before God, and are thus (and only thus) equipped to oversee the flock. Of The Reformed Pastor, J.I. Packer writes, "its words have hands and feet. They climb all over you; they work their way into your conscience, and will not be dislodged."
What Charles Hodge accomplished in systematic theology is met and surpassed by Richard Baxter in practical theology. For Baxter, doctrine and practice cannot be divorced. This perception pervades his every thought. In these modern times, books on psychology, finances, and the like are pervasive. Too often in Christian circles these subjects relate to the Scriptures only tangentially. Baxter would have no tolerance for this. He had a worldview grounded in the Scriptures, and knew his Lord to be the One "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3). Paul exhorts the Corinthians to be holy in even the most mundane endeavors: "whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31); Baxter has heeded this exhortation.
If you read book reviews for advice on your next purchase, my advice is this: get Baxter. Read him and digest what he has to say. Your prayers will grow in sincerity and earnestness, your worship will deepen, and your love for God, and awe of God, will expand beyond measure.
