Sunday Hymn: There Is a Fountain

There is a fount­ain filled with blood
Drawn from Em­ma­nu­el’s veins;
And sin­ners plunged be­neath that flood
Lose all their guil­ty stains.
Lose all their guil­ty stains,
Lose all their guil­ty stains;
And sin­ners plunged be­neath that flood
Lose all their guil­ty stains.

The dy­ing thief re­joiced to see
That fount­ain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he,
Washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away,
Washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he,
Washed all my sins away.

Dear dy­ing Lamb, Thy pre­cious blood
Shall nev­er lose its pow­er
Till all the ran­somed church of God
Be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more,
Be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ran­somed church of God
Be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flow­ing wounds sup­ply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die,
And shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweet­er song,
I’ll sing Thy pow­er to save,
When this poor lisp­ing, stam­mer­ing tongue
Lies si­lent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave,
Lies silent in the grave;
When this poor lisp­ing, stam­mer­ing tongue
Lies si­lent in the grave.

Lord, I be­lieve Thou hast pre­pared,
Unworthy though I be,
For me a blood bought free re­ward,
A gold­en harp for me!
A gold­en harp for me,
A gold­en harp for me;
For me a blood bought free re­ward,
A gold­en harp for me!

’Tis strung and tuned for end­less years,
And formed by power di­vine,
To sound in God the Fa­ther’s ears
No oth­er name but Thine;
No oth­er name but Thine,
No other name but Thine;
To sound in God the Fa­ther’s ears
No oth­er name but Thine.

—William Cowper

Sunday Hymn: God Moves in a Mysterious Way

God moves in a mys­te­ri­ous way
His won­ders to per­form;
He plants His foot­steps in the sea
And rides up­on the storm.

Deep in un­fa­thom­able mines
Of nev­er fail­ing skill
He trea­sures up His bright de­signs
And works His sov­er­eign will.

Ye fear­ful saints, fresh cour­age take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mer­cy and shall break
In bless­ings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by fee­ble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frown­ing pro­vi­dence
He hides a smil­ing face.

His pur­pos­es will rip­en fast,
Unfolding ev­ery hour;
The bud may have a bit­ter taste,
But sweet will be the flow­er.

Blind unbe­lief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own in­ter­pret­er,
And He will make it plain.

—William Cowper

Theological Term of the Week: Pneumatology

eschatology
The branch of theology that investigates what scripture teaches about the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

• From scripture:

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. (1 Corinthians 2:9-13 ESV)

• From the Heidelberg Catechism:

53. Q. What do you believe concerning the Holy Spirit?

A. First, he is, together with the Father and the Son, true and eternal God. Second, he is also given to me, to make me by true faith share in Christ and all his benefits, to comfort me, and to remain with me forever. 

• From Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof, page 98:

The work of the Holy Spirit in the divine economy. There are certain works which are more particularly ascribed to the Holy Spirit, not only in the general economy of God, but also in the special economy of redemption. In general it may be said that it is the special task of the Holy Spirit to bring things to completion by acting immediately upon and in the creature. Just as He Himself is the person who completes the Trinity, so His work is the completion of God’s contact with His creatures and the consummation of the work of God in every sphere. It follows the work of the Son, just as the work of the Son follows that of the Father. It is important to bear this in mind, for if the work of the Holy Spirit is divorced from the objective work of the Son, false mysticism is bound to result. The work of the Holy Spirit includes the following in the natural sphere: (1) The generation of life. As being is out of the Father, and thought through the Son, so life is mediated by the Spirit, Gen. 1:3; Job. 26:13; Ps. 33:6 (?); Ps. 104:30. In that respect He puts the finishing touch to the work of creation. (2) The general inspiration and qualification of men. The Holy Spirit inspires and qualifies men for their official tasks, for work in science and art, etc., Ex. 28:3; 31:2,3,6; 35:35; I Sam. 11:6; 16:13,14.

Of even greater importance is the work of the Holy Spirit in the sphere of redemption. Here the following points may be mentioned: (1) The preparation and qualification of Christ for His mediatorial work. He prepared Christ a body and thus enabled Him to become a sacrifice for sin, Luke 1:35; Heb. 10:5-7. In the words “a body thou didst prepare for me,” the writer of Hebrews follows the Septuagint. The meaning is: Thou hast enabled me by the preparation of a holy body to become a real sacrifice. At His baptism Christ was anointed with the Holy Spirit, Luke 3:22, and received the qualifying gifts of the Holy Spirit without measure, John 3:24. (2) The inspiration of Scripture. The Holy Spirit inspired Scripture, and thus brought to men the special revelation of God, I Cor. 2:13; II Pet. 1:21, the knowledge of the work of redemption which is in Christ Jesus. (3) The formation and augmentation of the Church. The Holy Spirit forms and increases the Church, the mystical body of Jesus Christ, by regeneration and sanctification, and dwells in it as the principle of the new life, Eph. 1:22,23; 2:22; I Cor. 3:16; 12:4 ff. (4) Teaching and guiding the Church. The Holy Spirit testifies to Christ and leads the Church in all the truth. By doing this He manifests the glory of God and of Christ, increases the knowledge of the Saviour, keeps the Church from error, and prepares her for her eternal destiny, John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13,14; Acts 5:32; Heb. 10:15; I John 2:27.

Learn more:

1. Got Questions: Who is the Holy Spirit?, Is the Holy Spirit a person?, and Is the Holy Spirit God?
2. Robert Letham: God the Holy Spirit
3. BiblicalTraining.org: Holy Spirit
4. Sinclair Ferguson: The Holy Spirit’s Ministry
5. Michael Horton: 3 Ways the Holy Spirit Works in the World

Related terms:

• effectual call
• Holy Spirit
• illumination
• inspiration of scripture
• Pentecost
• procession of the Holy Spirit
• regeneration
• sanctification

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