The preacher must be a serious man; he must never give the impression that preaching is something light or superficial or trivial….What is happing [in the act of preaching] is that he is speaking to them from God, he is speaking to them about God, he is speaking about their condition, the state of their souls. He is telling them that they are, by nature, under the wrath of God–”the children of wrath even as others”–that the character of the life they’re living is offensive to God and under the judgment of God, and warning them of the dread eternal possibility that lies ahead of them. In any case the preacher, of all men, should realize the fleeting nature of life in this world. The men of the world are so immersed in its business and affairs, its pleasures and all is vain show, that the one thing they never stop to consider is the fleeting nature of life. All this means that the preacher should create and convey the impression of the seriousness of what is happening the moment he even appears in the pulpit. You remember the famous lines of Richard Baxter: “I preached as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men.”…You remember what was said of the saintly Robert Murray McCheyne of Scotland in the last century. It is said that when he appeared in the pulpit, even before he had uttered a single word, people would begin to weep silently. Why? Because of this very element of seriousness. The very sight of the man gave the impression that he had come from the presence of God and that he was to deliver a message from God to them. That is what had such an effect upon the people even before he had opened his mouth. We forget this at our peril, and at great cost to our listeners.

1. As the maker of all things and the ruler of all people, God has absolute rights of ownership over all people and places

2. God is not only the ultimate maker, ruler, and owner, but he is just and righteous in all that he does.

3. All of us deserve God’s justice; none of us deserve God’s mercy.

1. On the face of it, the basic literary genre of Genesis 1-4 is that of historical narrative (as opposed to, e.g., poetry, legal code, or apocalypse).

2. The first five verses of Genesis 5 not only describe events in Adam’s life, they attaches specific numerical dates to those events.

3. The author of Genesis presents the book as a seamless historical account.

It’s a sad truth, but you can work at a church and never be among the people.

A person who does not honor time parameters erodes trust. Occasional offenses are forgivable. A pattern of time abuse shows disrespect for others.

8. A. 1. We may upon occasion of those imprecations meditate with fear and trembling, on the terrible judgments of God against the sins of impenitent persons. 9. 2. We may thereupon profit in patience and consolation, against the temptations which are wont to [habitually] arise from the prosperity of the wicked, and affliction of the godly. 10. 3. We may also pray to God that he would hasten his revenge (not against our private enemies but) against the wicked and incurable enemies of his Church.

For your information, the Westminster Assembly condemned those who understood the Song of Songs as “a hot carnal pamphlet formed by some loose Apollo or Cupid”.  Moreover, John Wesley found the literal reading repulsive.  And, after reading Longman’s commentary on the Song of Songs, I felt like it was a complete waste of time.  Indeed, some of his own interpretations seemed to me to be far more “allegorical” than the stuff I’ve read from Beza and the Puritans!