Hymn - As Pants the Hart for Cooling Springs

"Tate's name is connected with New Version of the Psalms of David (1696), for which he collaborated with Nicholas Brady. Some items such as "As pants the hart" (Psalm 42) rise above the general level, and are said to be Tate's work.^[4] A supplement was licensed in 1703 which included the Christmas carol "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks", one of a number of hymns by Tate."

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night

"As Pants the Hart for Cooling Streams"
by Nahum Tate,1652-1715
by Nicholas Brady, 1659-1726

The tune - Spohr - is linked here

1. As pants the hart for cooling streams
When heated in the chase,
So longs my soul, O God, for Thee
And Thy refreshing grace.

2. For Thee, my God, the living God,
My thirsty soul doth pine;
Oh, when shall I behold Thy face,
Thou Majesty Divine?

3. Why restless, why cast down, my soul?
Hope still; and thou shalt sing
The praise of Him who is thy God,
Thy health's eternal Spring.

4. To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
The God whom we adore,
Be glory as it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.

Hymn #525 from The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Psalm 42
Author: Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady, 1696, cento
Composer: Louis Spohr, 1835, arr.
Tune: "Spohr"

Customer Review - Understanding Luther's Galatians

Understanding Luther's Galatians

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Customer Review of Understanding Luther's Galatians

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent re-issue of Graebner's shorter translation of Luther's Commentary on Galatians

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2021

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This book is a re-issue of Dr. Theodore Graebner’s shorter translation of Martin Luther's “Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians.”

In his forward, Dr. Graebner expressed his reason for his translation of Martin Luther's work:

“The importance of this commentary on Galatians for the history of Protestantism is very great. It presents, like no other of Luther's writings, the central thought of Christianity, the justification of the sinner for the sake of Christ's merits alone.”

Dr. Gregory L. Jackson added an introduction along with comments, which he embedded within the text. He enclosed his comments within boxes, in order to separate them from Luther's words.

In his introduction, Dr. Jackson wrote that:

“By stealth, Lutherans have steadily eroded the Biblical doctrine of the Reformation (justification by faith alone), which established them as Evangelicals and Protestants, by now allowing others to use those names and surrendering to the worst inclinations of Calvinists, Pietists, and Roman Catholics. The uniting cause, to soothe every worldly conscience, is to declare that God in his grace has already declared the entire world absolved of all sins. … God declared the world righteous through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus…”.

Dr. Jackson quoted from the work of the 18th century theologian Georg Christian Knapp to show the false doctrine that flowed from universal absolution without regard to faith.

“This is conveniently expressed by the terms Objective and Subjective Justification. Objective Justification is the act of God by which he proffers pardon to all through Christ. Subjective Justification is the act of man by which he accepts the pardon freely offered in the Gospel.”

In a comment on page 56, Dr. Jackson succinctly elucidated the error of those who adhere to the doctrines of Objective and Subjective Justification:

“The false teachers reverse what Paul and Luther taught. The Objective Justification fanatics lay hold of universal forgiveness and make faith in Jesus irrelevant. Faith in Christ has nothing to do with their divine declaration of forgiveness. Secondly, their subjective justification is not faith in Christ, but rather trust in the truth of universal forgiveness.”

As a Lutheran layman, I know that the idea that God forgave the sins of every member of the human race upon the death or resurrection of Christ and this made them righteous is not what Paul taught. Rather, he taught that God declares a person righteous after God imputes the person's sins to Christ, and he imputes the merits of Christ’s sinless life and perfect obedience to the person. Faith is the means by which a person receives righteousness. Is righteousness simply the forgiving of sins, as the Objective justification proponents claim? No. Righteousness requires God to impute the sins of the sinner to Christ, and the merits of Christ's sinless life and perfect obedience to the sinner. Only after this double imputation is a sinner righteous in God's sight.

The idea that “we need to accept the pardon offered by God” is not found in Paul's teaching. It brings to mind the famous Arminian preacher Billy Graham and his call to “Make a decision for Christ.”

I would recommend this book to someone who wishes to read a condensed version of Luther's Commentary on Galatians. It is an excellent introduction for someone who is unfamiliar with the Apostle Paul's doctrine on justification by faith alone. Dr. Jackson's comments highlight key doctrinal points in the text. His comments also illustrate the degree to which the doctrines of present-day confessional Lutheran churches have diverged from the plain teachings of the Apostle Paul and Martin Luther.

Dr Jackson discusses the problems of present day Christian denominations on his internet blog. Google ichabodthegloryhasdeparted for the URL. He conducts a weekly traditional Lutheran worship service via the internet, the blog has a link to the broadcast site which also has archived broadcasts.

Luther on the Heart and Affliction

This messy Photoshop merges tornado damage and roses.
We waited a year to see the Joplin tornado's wreckage.

This is one of Luther's greatest statements, but it took me a while to understand and appreciate it. People are used to talking about major problems - financial, health, loss from death, shunning - and resolutions. Things happen that leave wounds and scars, physical and emotional. 

What if there is no solution in sight? That is when people fall into despair and lose hope.

Luther correctly points out that God's answer may be entirely different. He may let the affliction remain but move our hearts away from it. The trouble remains but it no longer dominates our thoughts and emotions.

After a long period of time, the negative is converted into a positive, which only God can do. The worst part of life can become the best in our memories, and it can train us to use those evil days to glorify God in helping others. 

Afflictions also open our eyes to the meaning of the Scriptures. We can read many passages without benefit until we are facing or remembering calamities. 

Synod Presidents, District Presidents, Circuit Pastors - they all use the correct Scriptures when ordaining or installing pastors. But if those pastors actually follow what the Word says, what the Book of Concord teaches, those same leaders will move heaven and earth to to remove them by craft and force.