John Owen on Psalm 130

Verse 5
"And herein, upon the account of the forgiveness that is with Thee, O Lord, do I wait with all patience, quietness, and perseverance. In this work is my whole soul engaged even in an earnest expectation of Thy approach unto me in a way of grace and mercy. And for my encouragement therein hast Thou given out unto me a blessed word of grace, a faithful word of promise, whereon my hope is fixed."

The Works of John Owen, Vol. 6 (p.328)

John Owen on Psalm 130

Verse 4
"But, O Lord, this is not absolutely and universally the state of things between thy Majesty and poor sinners; Thou art in Thy nature infinitely good and gracious, ready and free in the purposes of Thy will to receive them. And there is such a blessed way made for the exercise of the holy inclinations and purposes of Thy heart towards them, in the mediation and blood of Thy dear Son, that they have assured foundations of concluding and believing that there is pardon and forgiveness with Thee for them, and which, in the way of thing appointments, they may be partakers of. This way, therefore, will I, with all that fear Thee, through my fears, discouragements, and despondencies; but will abide constantly in the observation of the worship which Thou has prescribed, and the performance of the obedience which Thou dost require, having great encouragements to do so."


The Works of John Owen; Vol. 6, (p. 328)

John Owen on Psalm 130

Verse 3
"It is true, O Lord, Thou God great and terrible, that if Thou shouldst deal with me in this condition, with any man living, with the best of Thy saints, according to the strict and exact tenor of the law, which first represents itself to my guilty conscience and troubled soul; if Thou shouldst take notice of, observe, and keep in remembrance, mine, or their, or the iniquity of any one, to the end that Thou mightst deal with them, and recompense unto them according to the sentence thereof, there would be, neither for me nor them, any the least expectation of deliverance. All flesh must fail before Thee, and the spirits which Thou hast made, and that to eternity; for who could stnad before Thee when Thou shouldst so execute Thy displeasure?"

The Works of John Owen; Vol. 6 (pp. 327,238)

John Owen on Psalm 130

Verses 1,2 "O Lord, through my manifold sins and provocations, I have brought myself into great distresses. Mine iniquities are always before me, and I am ready to be overwhelmed with them, as with a flood of waters; for they have brought me into depths, wherein I am ready to be swallowed up. But yet, although my distress be great and perplexing, I do not, I dare not, utterly despond and cast away all hopes of relief or recovery. Nor do I seek unto any other remedy, way, or means of relief; but I apply myself to Thee, Jehovah, to Thee alone. And in this my application unto Thee, the greatness and urgency of my troubles makes my soul urgent, earnest, and pressing in my supplications. Whilst I have no rest, I can give Thee no rest. Oh, therefore, attend and hearken unto the voice of crying and supplications!"

The Works of John Owen, Vol.6 (p.327)

Leggings and Wisdom

Tonight I found the application of philosophy (simply the love of wisdom) even to a game night at our house. We actually spent almost 20 minutes discussing wether you can have pairs or sets of leggings. Now, did we really care to define our terms? Not really, in essence we were really just worried about receiving points for a game. But one thing remained true for everyone involved: in order to convince others of your position and its merit, you had to be able to define your terms in a manner that was understandable. This seems to be the goal of philosophy. Even though it seems tenuous at times, it really is desiring to define things and give people a better understanding of what’s going on and a better grasp of what wisdom is. In finding the truth and in finding wisdom there is great delight. (Proverbs 24:14)
If we can spend this much time talking about leggings, how much more must we be consumed by the beauties of Christ. (Revelation 1:12-18)

I decided I don't like Halloween. It's the only time that neighbors go to each others house and ring their doorbells. Only they're wearing a mask. And they're asking for candy. And then they leave. The only thing I like about halloween is the monkey's.