Sunday's Hymn: Holy God, We Praise Thy Name

Holy God, we praise Thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee!
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in Heaven above adore Thee;
Infinite Thy vast domain,
Everlasting is Thy reign.

Hark! the loud celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising,
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising;
Fill the heavens with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord.

Lo! the apostolic train
Join the sacred name to hallow;
Prophets swell the loud refrain,
And the white robed martyrs follow;
And from morn to set of sun,
Through the Church the song goes on.

Holy Father, Holy Son,
Holy Spirit, Three we name Thee;
While in essence only One,
Undivided God we claim Thee;
And adoring bend the knee,
While we own the mystery.

—Te Deum, c. 4th century.

Other hymns, worship songs, sermons etc. posted today:

• Blessed Be the Name at Jam and Books
• With Broken Heart and Contrite Sigh at Whatever Things
• Indescribable at The Happy Wonderer
• How Beautiful the Sight at Fieldstone Cottage
• A Refuge for Sinners, the Gospel Makes Known at Tried With Fire 
• Lord’s Day 42, 2011 at The Thirsty Theologian
• Voices From the Past - October 16, 2011 at The Upward Call
• Your Weekly Dose of Spurgeon at Pyromaniacs: On Fraternizing with Rank Heretics
• Praying the Psalms - Psalm 1 at Daily on My Way to Heaven
• The Deeps from the Valley of Vision at Lisa Writes
• Presbyterian Profundity at Reformation 21 Blog

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.

Round the Sphere Again: Christian History

And Christology
James White recently did a seminary level lecture (2 1/2 hours long) on Christology. 

Christology should be a fundamental area of study of any serious believer, yet it is often an area of profound ignorance amongst many who name the name of Christ. We would like to help our listeners to have a much better grasp of this vital area. 

To that end, James White covers “such things as the Athanasian Creed, the Symbol of Chalcedon, Apollinarianism, Eutychianism, Nestorianism, etc.” To get the most from the lecture, do your homework first.

And Biography
Erik Raymond (Ordinary Pastor) lists a few recommended entry level Christian biographies.

The Cross of Christ: The Conquest of Evil

I’m trying to get my blogging back to normal, but it’s been a struggle. This week, instead of doing a summary of the week’s chapter from John Stott’s The Cross of Christ as part of Reading Classics Together at Challies.com, I’m simply going to quote a bit from it.  This is  from Chapter 9, The Conquest of Evil, on the relationship of Christ’s death to his resurrection in the efficacy of his work.

Of course the resurrection was essential to confirm the efficacy of his death, as his incarnation had been to prepare for its possibility. But we must insist that Christ’s work of sin-bearing was finished on the cross, that the victory over the devil, sin and death was won there, and that what the resurrection did was to vindicate the Jesus whom men had rejected, to declare with power that he is the Son of God,  and publicly to confirm that his sin-bearing death had been effective for the forgiveness of sins. If he had not been raised, our faith and our preaching would be futile, since his person and work would not have received the divine endorsement.  .  .  .

To sum up, the gospel includes both the death and the resurrection of Jesus, since nothing would have been accomplished by his death if he had not been raised from it. Yet the gospel emphasizes the cross, since it was there that the victory was accomplished. The resurrection did not achieve our deliverance from sin and death, but has brought us an assurance of both. It is because of the resurrection that our “faith and hope are in God” (1 Pet 1:3, 21).

Next up is chapter 10, The Community of Celebration.