Sermon for October 13th, 2019 - Revision history

Iraneal at 04:11, 12 October 2019

2019-10-12T04:11:11Z

Iraneal at 04:04, 12 October 2019

2019-10-12T04:04:18Z

Iraneal at 04:02, 12 October 2019

2019-10-12T04:02:34Z

Iraneal at 03:32, 12 October 2019

2019-10-12T03:32:00Z

Iraneal at 01:52, 12 October 2019

2019-10-12T01:52:02Z

Iraneal at 00:16, 12 October 2019

2019-10-12T00:16:16Z

Iraneal at 00:16, 12 October 2019

2019-10-12T00:16:01Z

Iraneal: Created page with "==Psalm 51:6-14 (OT, p. 520)== You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wa..."

2019-10-12T00:15:41Z

Created page with "==Psalm 51:6-14 (OT, p. 520)== You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wa..."

New page

==Psalm 51:6-14 (OT, p. 520)==
You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right[b] spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing[c] spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

==Anne Locke: Translator and Poet==

Show mercy, Lord, not unto me alone:
But stretch thy favor and thy pleased will,
To spread thy bounty and thy grace upon
Zion, for Zion is thy holy hill:
That thy Jerusalem with mighty wall
May be enclosed under thy defense,
And builded so that it may never fall
By mining fraud or mighty violence.
Defend thy church, Lord, and advance it so,
So in despite of tyranny to stand,
That trembling at thy power the world may know
It is upholden by thy mighty hand:
That Zion and Jerusalem may be
A safe abode for them that honor thee.

Have mercy, God, for your great mercy's sake.
O God, our God, unto our shame we say,
Being fled from you, so as we dread to take
Your name in wretched mouths, and fear to pray
Or ask the mercy which we have abused.
But, God of mercy, let us come to you
Not for justice, since justly we're accused
And that word, "Justice" so rings true,
That scarce we dare your mercy ask again.
But mercy, Lord, yet suffer us to crave.
Mercy is yours: Let us not cry in vain,
Your great mercy for our great faults to save.
Have mercy, God, pity our penitence
With greater mercy than our great offence.

@@ Line 59: / Line 59: @@
 There's a distinct possibility that if John Knox had not knocked on the right door in 1553, had not begun that lifetime of correspondence, and if Anne Locke had not braved the flight to Geneva, had not worked so diligently to introduce the sermons of John Calvin to an English speaking world...then you and I might not be sitting here today, under the banner of First Presbyterian Church of El Paso.  That, and the words of Romeo and Juliet might sound just a little bit less sweet to the ear.
-I want to end the sermon today not with my words, but with hers--with one of the Sonnets from that famous sequence she wrote.  In this sonnet, Anne Locke describes a wall (something we know a thing or two about in 21st century El Paso).  But this is an entirely different kind of wall, not made by human hands, and not made to separate or divide.  It is God's wall of protection around his heavenly city of Zion, the new Jerusalem, which for Anne Locke, for John Knox, and John Calvin, representedc the "new church" they believed God was bringing about in their time.
+I want to end the sermon today not with my words, but with hers--with one of the Sonnets from that famous sequence she wrote.  In this sonnet, Anne Locke describes a wall (something we know a thing or two about in 21st century El Paso).  But this is an entirely different kind of wall, not made by human hands, and not made to separate or divide.  It is God's wall of protection around his heavenly city of Zion, the new Jerusalem, which for Anne Locke, for John Knox, and John Calvin, represented the "new church" they believed God was bringing about in their time.
 This idea, this church, was a precarious thing, always under threat of attack.  But they believed passionately that God would protect his church, and his children, for generations to come.

@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 This idea, this church, was a precarious thing, always under threat of attack.  But they believed passionately that God would protect his church, and his children, for generations to come.
-And we're still here, aren't we?
+And 500 years later...we're still here, by the grace of God.
   Show mercy, Lord, not unto me alone:

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 The story is told of a distinguished lady who was refined and elegant, especially in her language. After years of persuasion, her less-than-elegant husband finally convinced her to accompany him on a camping trip, so she composed an email to the campground where they would be staying, asking for a reservation. She wanted to make sure the campground was equipped with what you and I would call a "Porta-Potty." However, she just couldn't bring herself to write the word "potty" in her email. After much deliberation, she finally came up with the more refined sounding "Portable Commode," but when she typed it, she thought even that was too much. So she rewrote the entire email and this time referred to the portable commode merely as the "PC". "Does the campground have a nearby PC?" is what she actually wrote.
-Well, the campground owner wasn't old-fashioned at all and when he got the email, he just couldn't figure out what the woman was talking about. That "PC" business really stumped him. After worrying about it for awhile he showed the email to several campers, but they couldn't figure out what the lady meant either. So the campground owner finally came to the conclusion that this obviously refined lady must be asking about the local Presbyterian Church. He sat down and replied to her email as follows...
+The campground owner, when he received the email, couldn't figure out for the life of him what the woman was talking about. That "PC" business really stumped him. After worrying about it for awhile he showed the email to several campers, but they had no idea what a PC was either. So the campground owner finally came to the conclusion that this obviously refined lady must be asking about the local Presbyterian Church. He sat down and replied to her email as follows...
 "Dear Madam, I regret very much the delay in answering your letter, but I now take great pleasure in informing you that a PC is located nine miles north of the campground and is capable of seating 250 people at one time. I admit it is quite a distance away, if you are in the habit of going regularly, but no doubt you will be pleased to know that a great number of people take their lunches along and make a day of it.
@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 They usually arrive early and stay late. It is such a beautiful facility and the acoustics are marvelous; even the faintest sounds can be heard throughout the facility. The last time my wife and I went was six years ago, and it was so crowded we had to stand up the whole time we were there. I would like to say it pains me very much not being able to go more regularly, but it is surely no lack of desire on my part. As we grow older it seems to be more of an effort, particularly in cold weather. If you decide to come down to our campground, perhaps I could go with you the first time you go, sit with you, and introduce you to all the other folks (remember, this is a very friendly community)."
-Today's sermon is about an entirely different distinguished lady, no less refined and elegant, but associated with the Presbyterian Church in a different manner.
+Today's sermon is about an entirely different distinguished lady, no less refined and elegant, but associated with the Presbyterian Church in quite a different manner.
 Show mercy, Lord, not unto me alone:

@@ Line 53: / Line 53: @@
 We don't know exactly when Anne Locke died.  She was still writing and translating in 1590, and the last work we have from her is a translation of a book written by a Reformed Belgian theologian, Jean Taffin, called "On the Marks of God's Children and Their Consolation in Affliction" -- which, of course, is also the subject at the heart of her favorite Psalm and her most famous work.
-In many ways,
+In many ways, the history of the Reformation that gave birth to our church, our denomination, reads (and looks) like a bearded men's club.  That's not too surprising for the 16th century (or many centuries after).
+But in an era that did see strong and powerful women like Mary and Elizabeth reigning as queens of England, exercising authority over the life and death of their subjects, I'm grateful that the Reformation also has the example of someone like Anne Locke, who used her keen intellect, her artistic skill, and the resources God gave her to connect, support, inspire and challenge the men around her as an equal (or likely better) in the service of God.
-Show mercy, Lord, not unto me alone:
+There's a distinct possibility that if John Knox had not knocked on the right door in 1553, had not begun that lifetime of correspondence, and if Anne Locke had not braved the flight to Geneva, had not worked so diligently to introduce the sermons of John Calvin to an English speaking world...then you and I might not be sitting here today, under the banner of First Presbyterian Church of El Paso.  That, and the words of Romeo and Juliet might sound just a little bit less sweet to the ear.
-But stretch thy favor and thy pleased will,
-To spread thy bounty and thy grace upon
-Zion, for Zion is thy holy hill:
-That thy Jerusalem with mighty wall
-May be enclosed under thy defense,
-And builded so that it may never fall
-By mining fraud or mighty violence.
-Defend thy church, Lord, and advance it so,
-So in despite of tyranny to stand,
-That trembling at thy power the world may know
-It is upholden by thy mighty hand:
-That Zion and Jerusalem may be
-A safe abode for them that honor thee.
-Have mercy, God, for your great mercy's sake.
+This idea, this church, was a precarious thing, always under threat of attack.  But they believed passionately that God would protect his church, and his children, for generations to come.
-O God, our God, unto our shame we say,
-Being fled from you, so as we dread to take
+And we're still here, aren't we?
-Your name in wretched mouths, and fear to pray
-Or ask the mercy which we have abused.
+ Show mercy, Lord, not unto me alone:
-But, God of mercy, let us come to you
+ But stretch thy favor and thy pleased will,
-Not for justice, since justly we're accused
+ To spread thy bounty and thy grace upon
-And that word, "Justice" so rings true,
+ Zion, for Zion is thy holy hill:
-That scarce we dare your mercy ask again.
+ That thy Jerusalem with mighty wall
-But mercy, Lord, yet suffer us to crave.
+ May be enclosed under thy defense,
-Mercy is yours: Let us not cry in vain,
+ And builded so that it may never fall
-Your great mercy for our great faults to save.
+ By mining fraud or mighty violence.
-Have mercy, God, pity our penitence
+ Defend thy church, Lord, and advance it so,
-With greater mercy than our great offence.
+ So in despite of tyranny to stand,

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==Psalm 51:6-14 (OT, p. 520)==
+==Psalm 51:6-14 (OT p.520)==
 You desire truth in the inward being;
       therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 ==Anne Locke: Translator and Poet==

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
-      and put a new and right[b] spirit within me.
+      and put a new and right spirit within me.
 Do not cast me away from your presence,
       and do not take your holy spirit from me.
 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
-      and sustain in me a willing[c] spirit.
+      and sustain in me a willing spirit.
 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,