(Tim) First, if you haven't read the sermon David preached yesterday posted just below (A Sermon for the President--and for the People of God), I commend it to you. We need sermons like this to be preached across our country until those called by God as civil magistrates lead us to return to the fear of God and mercy to the poor, helpless, sojourners in our midst, and unborn. Note particularly David's comment about our self-made bonds.
Second, we're still getting the occasional Christmas/Easter letter and I thought we'd all benefit from this statement from my dear Roman Catholic friends from Denver, John and Molly Archibold:
Just right...
The eyes of faith. The necessary confession of all those who truly belong to Christ.
At the end of the letter, John (who, when I was a young man, added his strong influence to my father's, demonstrating Job's godliness in publicly opposing errors and evil men) added this note of his own to what Molly had written...
"If you want to know what's going on in my mind, take a look at Psalm 37:1,2, Proverbs 25:26, and the entirety of Proverbs 26." So here they are, from John to you:
<<A Psalm of David.>> Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers. 2 For they will wither quickly like the grass And fade like the green herb. (Psalms 37:1, 2)
Like a trampled spring and a polluted well Is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a fool. 2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, So a curse without cause does not alight. 3 A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the back of fools. 4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him. 5 Answer a fool as his folly deserves, That he not be wise in his own eyes. 6 He cuts off his own feet and drinks violence Who sends a message by the hand of a fool. 7 Like the legs which are useless to the lame, So is a proverb in the mouth of fools. 8 Like one who binds a stone in a sling, So is he who gives honor to a fool. 9 Like a thorn which falls into the hand of a drunkard, So is a proverb in the mouth of fools. 10 Like an archer who wounds everyone, So is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by. 11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit Is a fool who repeats his folly. 12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. 13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A lion is in the open square!” 14 As the door turns on its hinges, So does the sluggard on his bed. 15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; He is weary of bringing it to his mouth again. 16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes Than seven men who can give a discreet answer. 17 Like one who takes a dog by the ears Is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him. 18 Like a madman who throws Firebrands, arrows and death, 19 So is the man who deceives his neighbor, And says, “Was I not joking?” 20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, And where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down. 21 Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife. 22 The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts of the body. 23 Like an earthen vessel overlaid with silver dross Are burning lips and a wicked heart. 24 He who hates disguises it with his lips, But he lays up deceit in his heart. 25 When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, For there are seven abominations in his heart. 26 Though his hatred covers itself with guile, His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly. 27 He who digs a pit will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him. 28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes, And a flattering mouth works ruin. (Proverbs 26:1-28)
