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Many think that the posture we take in prayer is unimportant. There is a kernel of truth in this. First of all, the “inward affection” of prayer is undoubtedly most important. There is no positive command to take a certain prayer posture above another. Moreover, several different prayer postures are suggested by the saints in Scripture. This makes it both dangerous and suspect to demand any one posture be the “set prayer posture” of Christians (this includes raising one’s hands).

Still, the Scriptures at least suggest that we should, if we are able, pray on our knees on occasion. One could cite Psalm 95:6 on this point, but I think the example of holy people in Scripture is most compelling. On several occasions in the New Testament the saints pray on their knees. Jesus knelt to pray to his Heavenly Father in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:41). In Acts 9:40, Peter knelt to pray for Tabitha. Stephen prays on his knees for those executing him in Acts 7:60. Paul says that at least on occasion he interceded in prayer for the Ephesian church on his knees (Eph 3:14). This Ephesian reference is most interesting, since it is in Acts 20:36 that we are told that while saying goodbye to the Ephesian elders Paul “knelt down and prayed with them all.” I wonder if, while reading Paul’s letter to them, the Ephesian pastors remembered Paul’s kneeling in prayer with them to conclude that precious farewell.

Most importantly, we should not say that posture is unimportant during prayer. As a father, I am not particularly fond of my children slouching during prayer. Like so many parts of our habits and customs, posture communicates. The great Bible commentator John Calvin agrees. He observes from Paul’s kneeling in prayer in Acts 20:36,

The inward affection is indeed the chiefest thing in prayer; yet the external signs, as kneeling, uncovering of the head, lifting up of the hands, have a double use; the first is, that we exercise all our members to the glory and worship of God; secondly, that by this exercise our sluggishness may be awakened, as it were.

There is also a third use in solemn and public prayer, because the children of God do by this means make profession of their godliness, and one of them doth provoke another unto the reverence of God.

And, as the lifting up of the hands is a token of boldness and of an earnest desire, so, to testify our humility, we fall down upon our knees.

The lullaby is by George Wither (1588-1667). Ralph Vaughan Williams composed the splendidly fitting music (do hear the ‘rocking’?). The original poem has at least 11 verses, and the three verses sung in the video are below. More are available here. (Harry Christopher and the Sixteen sing several more verses on their album A Traditional Christmas Carol Collection, Vol. II.) The baby’s parent first comforts him generally, and then turns to comfort him with the truth of the incarnation of Christ.

1. Sweet baby, sleep; what ails my dear?
What ails my darling thus to cry?
Be still, my child, and lend thine ear
To hear me sing thy lullaby.
My pretty lamb, forbear to weep;
Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.

5. When God with us was dwelling here,
In little babes he took delight:
Such innocents as then, my dear,
Are ever precious in his sight.
Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;
Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.

6. A little infant once was he,
And Strength-in-Weakness then was laid
Upon his virgin-mother’s knee,
That power to thee might be conveyed.
Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;
Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.

This is a brief series recommending good, conservative sacred music recordings. I began the series with several introductory remarks and a list of good albums of choral hymns and anthems. Last week I suggested several albums of Psalms sung in English. This final installment will list some different instrumental recordings of hymns. My list, again, is not exhaustive, and includes several recordings that could be considered “classical.”

1. A Bach Celebration. Christopher Parkening and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. (EMI, 1990.) Although this is a selection of Bach gems, hymns are included, including “Sleepers Awake,” “What God Ordains is Always Good,” and “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”

2. Simple Gifts. Christopher Parkening. (EMI, 1990.) This album contains more hymns, played masterfully on the guitar by Parkening.

3. Bach’s Organ Works: Influences of Cantata, Concerto & Chamber Music. Bine Katrine Bryndorf. (Hanssler Classics, 1999.) A great place to go for superb instrumental hymns (some familiar, some not) are Bach’s chorales. Other selections along these lines could be offered. This particular album has Bach’s own organ arrangements of some of the great chorales used in his cantatas that we still sing today, like “Blessed Jesus, at Thy Word,” “Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying,” “If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee,” and others.

4. Bach Festival for Brass. Empire Brass. (EMI, 1990.) This album is a selection of Bach favorites transcribed for brass. Beyond that, it is an excellent resource for great hymns. Hymns on this album (that we’re most familiar with) include “Good Christian Men, Rejoice,” “Now Thank We All our God,” “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” “A Mighty Fortress is our God,” and “O Sacred Head Now Wounded.” Again, Bach is a great source for instrumental hymns.

5. Classical Hymns. John Mock. (Green Hill, 1995.) This album contains a nice variety of string ensembles and guitar solos playing great traditional hymns. For some reason, my children really like this album, and it’s not what most people would consider “kid’s stuff” (it’s probably because they’ve been listening to it for nearly a decade).

6 – 7. Yo-Yo Ma and Ton Koopman. Simply Baroque. (Sony, 2003.) Simply Baroque II. (Sony, 2000.) Although both albums contain Boccherini concerti, these two albums are splendid recordings of Bach “standards” transcribed for cello and orchestra. And these standards, again, include hymns. The first album contains “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” and other chorale greats. The second volume contains, “What God Ordains is Always Good,” “Sleepers Awake,” and “If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee.”

8. God of Grace and Glory. Terry Yount and Chris Dolske. (Ligonier Ministries, 2008.) Ligonier has been producing some decent stuff as well. Here’s a pleasant album of organ and the occasional trumpet playing various hymns and sacred pieces.

9. Beloved Swedish Psalm Melodies. Osmo Vanska. (BIS, 2003.) Osmo Vanska, Grammy nominated music director of the Minnesota Orchestra, has produced some orchestral recordings of hymns. This particular album contains “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” “Day by Day,” Hyfrydol, “Children of the Heavenly Father,” a recording of “How Great Thou Art” with surprising nuance, “Fairest Lord Jesus,” “Nearer My God to Thee,” “Abide with Me,” “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,” “God of the Glorious Sunshine,” and “O Sacred Head Now Wounded.”

10. Simple Gifts. Saint Andrews Strings. (Ligonier Ministries, 2007.) Another good album from Ligonier with a selection of classical standards and traditional hymns. And Ashokan Farewell, randomly enough.

11. The Lord is My Shepherd. David Kim and Paul S. Jones. (Paul Jones Music, 2006.) I’m not terribly familiar with this recording, but I include it here for sake of its fresh arrangements simply played with cello and accompanied piano. Though the album includes too many gospel songs, even those arrangements are imaginative enough to transcend some of the musical cliches found in such fare.

12. Stokowski: Bach Transcriptions. Jose Serebrier and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. (Naxos, 2006.) Yes, here is another recording of Bach transcriptions. Not everything on this album is a hymn or even sacred, but several pieces are. Played under the capable direction of Jose Serebrier are Leopold Stokowski’s classical orchestral transcriptions of Bach’s arrangements of “Come, Sweet Death,” “Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands,” “We Believe in One God,” and “Savior of the Nations, Come.” Also included is the ancient tune ‘Veni Emmanuel,’ or “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”

13. Vaughan Williams: Fantasies, The Lark Ascending; Five Variants. Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. (Decca, 1990.) One must at least mention Vaughan Williams when it comes to instrumental versions of hymns. This particular album features three out of four great examples. His Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis is an arrangement (of sorts) of the famous “Third Mode Melody” (aka, the psalm setting “Why Fum’th in Fight?”). This hymn tune is sometimes used today for “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say.” His Fantasia on Greensleeves uses the tune to which we sing “What Child is This?” His Five Variants of ‘Dives and Lazarus’ uses the tune Kingsfold, to which we sing “My God, I Love Thee” (and, again, Bonar’s “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say”). Other music by Vaughan Williams could be included here, like his Fifth Symphony (again using Tallis’ ‘Third Mode Melody’), his Two Hymn-Tune Preludes, his Three Preludes Founded on Welsh Hymn Tunes, and his Household Music (Abeystwyth).

I’m writing a brief series recommending different recordings of excellent sacred music in English. Last time I introduced several thoughts and recommended more than a dozen recordings of hymns and anthems. Today I want to recommend a handful of choral recordings of the Psalms in English. Again, my list will not be exhaustive, and I hope that the readers will contribute a few of their own preferred recordings (unlike last time).

One of the styles of psalm settings I have grown to love over the years is that of Anglican Psalm chant. You can see that my selections are heavily weighted toward this style of singing psalms. Anglican Psalm chant was developed during the English Reformation, and flows out of the Latin plainchant tradition. Each verse or so are sung to a harmonized melody of either 7, 14, 21, or 28 bars. The choir loosely sings several words on the 1st, 4th, 8th, and 11th notes of each melody line. The other words are distributed on the remaining notes. Every psalm ends with the Gloria Patri. This gives the church a way of singing the Psalm as written in any version of the English Bible (i.e., not in metered paraphrases, as it is other Reformation traditions). Of course, I am not implying that this is the only acceptable method of singing psalms, but this seems to me to be the one that has the most easily available recordings in English (given the Anglican tradition of excellent choirs, as well as their influence and resources, this makes sense).*

Recordings of the Psalms

1. Psalms of David. Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, David Willcocks and Phillip Ledger. (EMI, 2006.) This is a two-disc compilation of several earlier individual albums of the Psalms of David (vols. 1, 2, & 3). All the psalms are sung in the Anglican Psalm chant style.

2. The Psalms of David: The Complete St. Paul’s Cathedral Psalter. St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir and John Scott. (Hyperion, 2002.) The complete Psalms of David, sung again in Anglican Psalm chant style. At the time of posting, it looks like you can even pick this twelve disc set up for less than $70.

3. “Hear My Prayer, O Lord”: The Psalms of David, vol. 1. The Hereford Cathedral Choir and Roy Massey. (Priory, 1989.) Anglican psalm chant. Other volumes are available in this series.

4. Gloria Dei Cantores and Elizabeth C. Patterson. Thou Art My Refuge: Psalms of Salvation and Mercy. (Paraclete Press, 2005.) He Has Heard My Voice: Psalms of Faithfulness and Hope. (Paraclete Press, 2007.) His Love Endures Forever: Psalms of Thankfulness and Praise. (Paraclete Press, 2010.) Three different recordings of different Psalms by Gloria Dei Cantores, this time grouped by kinds of psalms. Anglican psalm chant.

5. Psalms from the Psalter. The Choir of Westminster Abbey. (Virgin Classics, 2005.) More Anglican Psalm chant. Two disc set.

6. Psalms for the Soul. Elora St. John’s Choir, Noel Edison, and Michael Bloss. (Naxos, 2000.) This album has some Anglican Psalm chant, but some other stylings as well. I really enjoy the Elora St. John’s Choir, and this album does not disappoint.

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*Unfortunately, at this state, the best recordings of psalms in English come only from this “Anglican psalm chant” tradition. A few small Reformed outfits are putting together recordings in that tradition, but those are harder to get one’s hands on and I am not as familiar with those particular albums. Of course, if one expanded the scope of our selections outside of settings in English, there would be many more selections to recommend.

I am frequently asked, “What do you listen to?” when folks find out how conservative I am.*  I do believe that we ought to be very discriminate in what we listen to, for this drives our appetites for what is sung and played in corporate worship. Indeed, I consider it nothing less than scandalous that many “solid” evangelical and fundamentalist institutions, while professing to believe the great doctrines of the Christian faith, do not produce excellent recordings of the great masterpieces of western sacred music.** And what music we allow ourselves to indulge in can easily render our taste base. When some people ask us about such-and-such a song, or the artist so-and-so, we find ourselves somewhat nonplussed; we have no real desire to sing that song or their music, because, when you’re listening to the Sixteen or John Eliot Gardiner or the Kings College Choir on a regular basis, these fads and hipsters aren’t even on your radar.

More positively, I want to take a few posts to recommend some recordings of sacred music in the English language outside the particularly “classical” world.*** This list is not exhaustive, and I’d be happy to have readers make their own recommendations in comments. The recordings I will recommend feature traditional hymns and psalms of the best quality, both in tune and (in the case of hymns) texts. This is not to say that the recordings will be flawless in their selections (they may include hymns of dubious theology or quality), but for all, the balance of selections is excellent. At this point, I am bracketing off Christmas recordings (the Christian holiday where the whole world sings good hymns). In addition, I have neither the ear or finances to be a true audiophile, so the quality of recording itself is not something I am including in my considerations. Today, I will recommend recordings of great hymns and anthems sung by choirs. In future posts I will suggest some recordings of psalms and instrumental hymns.

Recordings of Choral Hymns and Anthems

1. Best Loved Hymns. Choir of King’s College Cambridge and Stephen Cleobury. (EMI, 2001.) It’s hard to believe this recording is ten years old now. I highly recommend it. This CD opened up to me the world in great hymns like “Come Down, O Love Divine,” “Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken” (to Abbot’s Leigh), “O What their Joy and their Glory Must Be,” “All My Hope on God is Founded,” and “My Song is Love Unknown.” It showed me that there were people in this world who still sing great hymns.

2. Sing Ye Heavens: Hymns for All Time. Cambridge Singers and John Rutter. (Collegium, 2000.) Excellent.

3. Alleluia: An American Hymnal. Kansas City Chorale and Charles Bruffy. (Nimbus, 1998.) The “Sunday Morning” section is quite good.

4. A Vaughan Williams Hymnal. Choir of Trinity Chollege and Richard Marlow. (Comuter Classics, 1997.) A nice selection showing the great contribution of superb hymn tunes discovered or composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

5. Be Still My Soul: The Ultimate Hymns Collection. Various. (Decca, 1996.) A compilation of older recordings of classic hymns by various choirs.

6. Evening Prayer: Purcell Anthems and Sacred Songs. Chanticleer and Capriccio Stravagante. (Teldec Classics, 2003.) This is borderline classical, but Purcell’s English anthems are something you ought to know, and Chanticleer has a nice recording of them.

7. Oxford Church Anthems. Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford and Stephen Darlington. (Nimbus Records, 1995.) English anthems would probably be an acquired taste for many of our readers, but the dividends are rewarding.

8. O God, My Heart is Ready: Psalms and Hymns from St. Thomas Choir New York. St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys and Gerre Hancock. (Koch International Classics, 1993.) Psalms and hymns by an American boys choir that sounds awfully English.

9. Hymns of Heaven & Earth. Saint Clement’s Choir and Peter Richard Conte. (Dorian Recordings, 1998). The Saint Clement Choir sounds great singing a pretty good selection of hymns.

10. The Joy of God: Great Hymns Across the Ages. The Choir of Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, Ronald S. Jordan, and Catherine M. Palmer. (Marquis Music, 2007.) This recording is not on the top of my list, but still worthy of consideration.

11. Faire is the Heaven: Hymns and Anthems. Choir of St John’s, Elora, Noel Edison, and Paul Halley. (Naxos, 2003.) The hymns on this album (Abide with Me; Jesu, the Very Thought of Thee; O Thou who Camest from Above; My Song is Love Unknown) sound great and make it worth the recommendation here. Be advised that this album has some anthems (and some of a more modern sound) that for some might take some getting used to.

12. The Complete New English Hymnal, Vol. 3. The Choir of Ely Cathedral and Paul Trepte. (Priory, 2001.) This is volume three of an impressive project by Priory records to record all the hymns and anthems of the New English Hymnal of the Anglican church. I would imagine that others in this series could be found quite rewarding, but I gravitated toward this one because it contains great hymns like “Creator of the Stars at Night,” “Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending,” “Tell out, my soul, the Greatness of the Lord,” “King of Glory, King of Peace,” “Jerusalem the Golden,” and “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds.” Solid.

13. A New Heaven. The Sixteen and Harry Christophers. (Decca, 2009.) Here are more English anthems, this time sung by Harry Christophers’ great ensemble, the Sixteen.

14. Music for Holy Week. Choir of King’s College, Cambridge and Philip Ledger. (EMI, 1995.) I have this toward the bottom of the list because it has a high amount of non-English sacred music. Still, it has a good amount of English hymns and anthems, and is surely worth a recommendation.

15. O Magnum Mysterium. Robert Shaw Chamber Singers and Robert Shaw Festival Singers and Robert Shaw. (Telarc, 2000.) See “Music for Holy Week,” above.

16. Samuel Sebastian Wesley: Anthems. Choir of Clare College, Cambridge and Christopher Robinson. (Naxos, 2007.) Because you need to have a recording of “Ascribe unto the Lord.”

*There are many questions embedded in this matter that would make for good discussion. I don’t think it’s particularly helpful merely to assume that listening to sacred music all the time is a good thing. For example, do we take the name of God in vain when sacred music fills the background? I do not think so, but we ought to pause to consider the ways we listen to sacred music that reveres the name of God and the ways that blaspheme him. Just because listening to sacred music is part of our accepted culture does not mean that we ought to accept it uncritically. And while I am thankful for the rich resources we have to listen to recorded music, we should nevertheless seriously consider the limits and meaning of the medium. Are we, by listening to well-produced and digitally edited recordings, becoming immune to the importance of producing great music ourselves? Are we becoming so refined in our taste by listening to well produced music that we have no ability to appreciate the volatility and imperfections of a live performance?

**To be honest, I fear that sales and revenue, as well as marketing the newly printed octavos, dictate what is recorded more than other more important factors.

***In other words, it goes without saying that you ought to own classic Renaissance works, the B-minor mass, St. Matthew and St. John passions, Christmas oratorio,Bach’s classic cantatas, the Messiah, the German Requiem, Mozart and Faure‘sRequiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, etc. If you want an excellently priced and great sounding set that gets into Bach’s best great works be sure to check Gardiner’s setout.

Hast thou never used the name of God, unless on solemn and weighty occasions? Hast thou then used it with the deepest awe? Hast thou daily honored his word, his ordinances, his ministers? Hast thou considered all things as they stand in relation to him and seen God in all? Hast thou looked upon heaven as God’s throne? Upon earth as God’s footstool? On every thing therein as belonging to the great king?. . .

*Cited in Gregory S. Clapper, John Wesley on Religious Affections (Metuchen, N.J.: The Scarecrow Press, 1989), 35.

Edited by Andy Naselli and Collin Hansen, Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism presents four different takes on biblically and historically faithful evangelicalism. Roger Olson, the contributor who represents “postconservative evangelicalism,” has already blogged with his take on the book. Kevin Bauder of Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Minneapolis has a chapter arguing for fundamentalism. Al Mohler defends something called “Confessional Evangelicalism.” John Stackhouse gets the unenviable job of defending “generic evangelicalism.”

Congratulations to both Andy Naselli and Kevin Bauder.

Preorder it at Amazon now (with a price under $12 at the time this post is published).

Westminster Bookstore will also be carrying it soon.

UPDATE (9/6/2011 afternoon): Al Mohler also commented on this book’s release today on his blog.

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Athanasius of Alexandria, writing Marcellinus,* a deacon in his church, explains how suitable the psalms are for the different states of the soul:

If the point needs to be put more forcefully, let us say that the entire Holy Scripture is a teacher of virtues and of the truths of faith, while the Book of Psalms possesses somehow the perfect image for the souls’ course of life. For as one who comes into the presence of a king assumes a certain attitude, both of posture and expression, lest speaking differently he be thrown out as boorish, so also to the one who is running the race of virtue and wishes to know the life of the Savior in the body the sacred book first calls to mind the [passions] of the soul through the reading, and in this way represents the other things in succession, and teaches the readers by those words. . . . (14)

He continues along these lines,

Therefore, since the arrangement of the Psalms is of such a kind, it is then possible for the readers (as I said before) to discover in each one the stirrings and the equanimity of the soul appropriate to them, just as they can discover in relation to each the type and teaching. And it can be learned, likewise, what one says to be able to gratify the Lord, and by what sort of expressions it is possible to make amends for himself and to return thanks to the Lord. All this is to prevent falling into impiety on the part of the one who speaks strictly according to such phrases. For not only because of deeds, but also because of idle speech, we are obliged to render an account to the Judge. (15)

In what follows, Athanasius offers several examples of Psalms that help the believer speak to God appropriately in different situations. But what about the tunes? “It is important,” Athanasius replies, “not to pass over the question of why words of this kind are chanted with melodies and strains.” Some “simple” people believe that the psalms melodies exist to please the ear. “But this is not so”:

For Scripture did not seek out that which is pleasant and winning, but this also has been fashioned for the benefit of the soul, and for all number of reasons, but especially on account of two.

First, because it is fitting for the Divine Scripture to praise God not in compressed speech alone, but also in the voice that is richly broadened. . . . For thus it will be preserved that men love God with their whole strength and power.

The second reason is that, just as harmony that unites flutes effects single sound, so also, seeing that different movements appear in the soul–and in it is the power of reasoning, and eager appetite, and high-spirited passion, from the motion of which comes also the activity of the parts of the body–the reason intends man neither to be discordant in himself, nor to be at variance with himself. So the most excellent things derive from reasoning, while the most worthless derive from acting on the basis of desire. . . .(27)

In other words, music gives men more strength to praise God, and fitting melodies united with text represent beautifully the unity of the tripartite soul. Therefore intelligence should drive singing the Psalms:

In order that some such confusion not occur in us, the reason intends the soul that possesses the mind of Christ, as the Apostle said, to use this as a leader, and by it both to be a master of its passions and to govern the body’s members, so as to comply with reason. Thus, as in music there is a plectrum, so the man becoming himself a stringed instrument and devoting himself completely to the Spirit may obey in all his members and [passions], and serve the will of God. The harmonious reading of the Psalms is a figure and type of such undisturbed and calm equanimity of our thoughts. For just as we discover the ideas of the soul and communicate them through the words we put forth, so also the Lord, wishing the melody of the words to be a symbol of the spiritual harmony in a soul, has ordered that the odes be chanted tunefully, and the Psalms recited with song.  . . . (28)

Athanasius continues,

Those who do not recite the divine songs in this manner do not sing them wisely. They bring delight to themselves, but they incur blame . . .. But when they chant in the way mentioned earlier, so that the melody of the phrases is brought forth from the soul’s good order and from the concord with the Spirit, such people sing with the tongue, but singing also with the mind, they greatly benefit not only themselves but even those willing to hear them. . . .

Therefore the Psalms are not recited with melodies because of a desire for pleasant sounds. Rather, this is a sure sign of the harmony of the soul’s reflections. Indeed, the melodic reading is a symbol of the mind’s well-ordered and undisturbed condition. . . . For thus beautifully singing praises, he brings rhythm to his soul and leads it, so to speak, from disproportion to proportion. . . . And gaining its composure by the singing of the phrases, it becomes forgetful of the passions and, while rejoicing, sees in accordance the mind of Christ, conceiving the most excellent thoughts. (29)

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*Athanasius, “A Letter of Athanasius, Our Holy Father, Archbishop of Alexandria, to Marcellinus on the Interpretation of the Psalms,” in Athanasius: The Life of Antony and The Letter to Marcellinus, trans. Robert C. Gregg, Classics of Western Spirituality (Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1980), 101-29.

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Is it necessary to be called into ministry? Let us assume, for the moment, that it is. While we do not want to equate the office of a pastor with that of an Old Testament priest* or patriarch or prophet or even apostle, there is a point of contact.** It seems presumptuous to assume that one could employ himself in the most important spiritual work in the world today (i.e., preaching and teaching the Word of God) without, as it were, the blessing of God. It follows that God desires pastoral ministry to be accomplished by particular people and not others. Heaven and hell, as it were, hang upon Christ’s churches having faithful pastors. We are not playing games. This is not to say that pastoral ministry is above other ministries. Nor is it to say that the functions of pastoral ministry should not be performed by the laity (especially when the church is missing a pastor, but also when the church has an “ordained” pastor); we are all priests, the New Testament teaches. Still, if Christ gives to the church its pastors, and if only certain men may fill the office of pastor (i.e., especially those who qualify), again, we should say a call of God is necessary for those particular men.

So what is this call? We are all familiar with the popular notion that God somehow verbally or internally speaks to you the call. The idea is that this often happens in a startling way. People talk as if they received direction (“immediate”) communication from God into their heart that they were supposed to be a pastor (or evangelist or whatever). “I knew God was calling me into pastoral ministry,” we hear. Or, “God told me to be a pastor.” Is this the nature of the call of God?

I don’t think that this is it at all. This is enthusiasm (see my article in the DBSJ–I don’t think enthusiasm is a good thing) and quasi-charismaticism. I do not believe that God speaks in this way to people today. God has spoken in his Word (and we have a hard enough time obeying all that he’s said therein).

The old Baptist theologian and pastor John Gill has a way looking at the internal call that I think is especially helpful. He distinguishes between an internal and external call. For Gill, the internal call “lies in gifts bestowed, and in the furniture of a man’s mind, and in the disposition of it to make use of them in the service of God.” So here the internal call is directly connected to one’s giftedness and his desire (“disposition”) to use those gifts for Jesus’ sake. And it follows, Gill continues, that if God calls a man to the office of pastor, he will give him the gifts that office requires. The true man of God, so gifted by God, would never want to bury his gifts, but would desire to use them to benefit Christ’s church: “not by a mere impulse, through vanity of mind, and with ambitious views, and sordid ends; but from a principle of love to the souls of men, and to the glory of God.” The existence of gifts and the pure spiritual desire to use them for the benefit of Christ’s people are the evidence of his internal call.

The external call, then, comes through Jesus Christ and God the Father, but is mediated through the church. The church is made aware of this call as it believes a certain man has useful gifts for public ministry, and so it calls him “to exercise it before them, and submit it to their examination and trial.” Once the church has tested this man’s gifts, and are pleased with them, “the church calls and sends him forth in the name of Christ, to preach the gospel, where he may be directed in providence to do it.” The result is plain: “being thus called and sent forth, he is eligible to the office of a pastor of a church who shall think it fit to choose him.”

So what is the call of God like? Have evangelical Baptists always believed that young ministers had to witness some kind of ephemeral mystical vision? Clearly, no. Neither have they entirely dispensed with the idea of a call, as some are prone to do today. But they were quick to clarify that the call of God was best recognized in a man’s giftedness (internally) and (externally) in the church’s public affirmation of that call.***

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*Though, there does seem to be a sense in which there is a priestly aspect to New Testament gospel ministry. For proof, study the Greek of Romans 15:14-16.

**I do not think it is helpful to compare the call of God on these extraordinary men with the call of God on elders in the churches.

All quotes are from Gill’s Body of Practical Divinity. I am using a copy of his combined Body of Divinity and Body of Practical Divinity (Atlanta, Ga.: Turner Lassetter, 1965), 866.

One of these objections, against the idea that God’s chief end in creation is his own glory, is that it is customary to consider “a desire of popular applause” beneath men truly great men. The objection goes,

The notice and admiration of a gazing multitude would be esteemed but a low end, to be aimed at by a prince or philosopher, in any great and noble enterprise. How much more is it unworthy the great God to perform his magnificent works, e.g. the creation of the vast universe, out of regard to the nice and admiration of worms of dust: that the displays of his magnificence may be gazed at and applauded by those who are infinitely more beneath him, than the meanest rabble are beneath the greatest prince or philosopher.

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Now Edwards proposes several answers to this objection. For example, he notes if God has an end in view, that end is valuable in and of itself. In other words, the fact that God himself considers his own glory a worthy end itself makes his own glory a good and noble thing. Moreover, if lowly people find something valuable, that does not make the valuable thing invaluable. If God loves himself, he must find others loving him good as well; if he loves his creatures, he must approve of their finding delight in loving God for themselves.

But (if you’re still with me), his third answer is best of all, and it is a very relevant word to our trendiness-crazed society:

As to what is alleged of its being unworthy of great men to be governed in their conduct and achievements by a regard to the applause of the populace: I would observe, what makes their applause to be worthy of so little regard, is their ignorance, giddiness and injustice. The applause of the multitude very frequently is not founded on any just view and understanding of things, but on humor, mistake, folly and unreasonable affections. Such applause is truly worthy to be disregarded. But ’tis not beneath a man of the greatest dignity and wisdom to value the wise and just esteem of others, however inferior to him.

If Edwards is right, and I’m inclined to think that he is, all the religious organizations who, in the name of evangelism, so vigorously clamor after pleasing unregenerate men with cheap and poorly executed imitations of whatever is the latest “relevant” trendy craze in popular culture are guilty of anti-Christian vices.

And we need to be very careful over cultivating religious movements and using marketing that panders to this kind of impulse in men. . . . and I say this, even as I write this on a blog. Keep us, O Lord, from “ignorance, giddiness, injustice,” and “unreasonable affections.”

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*I quote from the Yale edition (Volume 8: Ethical Writings; ed. Paul Ramsey), pp. 453-8. You can also find the entire first dissertation in John Piper’s God’s Passion for His Glory.