Samuel Rutherford,or When the Past Comes Back to Haunt You But It Turns Out to Be a Friendly Ghost

I groaned a little inside when I was handed the next Profiles in Spiritualty project to edit a couple of months ago. Each title in the Profiles in Spirituality series briefly introduces a significant theologian, like John Calvin or Jonathan Edwards, and then provides some brief excerpts from their writings in somewhat updated language to make them accessible to lay readers. This one was to be on Samuel Rutherford, a Scottish theologian who lived during the seventeenth century.

Rutherford is no stranger to me. In fact, back in the eighties when my first husband was writing his master's thesis on Samuel Rutherford, our small apartment was filled with books and notecards devoted to him. Most conversations with Jon somehow involved this Scottish Covenanter, who was invading my space, as only someone else's master's thesis subject can. I hoped that I might not hear his name again during my lifetime, but here was Mr. Rutherford again, this time for some one on one with me.

And I have to say that he and I have become friends. He lived during a time of great political and theological turmoil, when the Scottish Reformed (Covenanters) were being thrown into prison and even executed for being faithful to God's Word. Rutherford, a pastor, was banished from his congregation in Anwoth to Aberdeen for writing and speaking against Arminianism. But this brought about his most famous writings, as he left behind over three hundred letters, most of them during this time of banishment, written to provide pastoral counsel to his beloved congregation.

Rutherford wrote many sermons and treatises, and he was in attendance when the Westminster Assembly wrote its famous Confession. But he is best known for his letters. And in a day and age when most communication is electronic--often in 140 characters or fewer--Rutherford's letters show the value of well-executed, carefully written communication that remains instructive for us today. I wonder how many tweets we'll still be reading five hundred years from now.

This is one of my favorite excerpts from Rutherford's letters, written to comfort a woman who had suffered the deaths of several children:

If your Ladyship is not changed (as I hope you are not), I believe you esteem yourself to be of those whom God has tried these many years and refined as silver. But, Madam, I will show your Ladyship a privilege that others want and you have, in this case. Such as are in prosperity and are fatted with earthly joys and increased with children and friends, though the Word of God is indeed written to such for their instruction, yet to you who are in trouble (spare me, Madam, to say this), from whom the Lord hath taken many children and whom He hath exercised otherwise, there are some chapters, some particular promises in the Word of God, made in a most special manner, which should never have been yours, as they now are, if you had your portion in this life as others. And, therefore, all the comforts, promises, and mercies God offers to the afflicted are as so many love letters written to you. Take them to you, Madam, and claim your right, and do not be robbed. It is no small comfort that God has written some scriptures to you that He has not written to others. You seem in this to be envied rather than pitied; and you are indeed in this, like people of another world and those that are above the ordinary rank of mankind, whom our King and Lord, our Bridegroom Jesus, in His love letter to His well-beloved spouse, has named beside all the rest. He has written comforts and His hearty commendations in Isaiah 54:4–5 and Psalm 147:2–3 to you. Read these and the like, and think your God is like a friend that sends a letter to a whole house and family but speaks in His letter to some by name that are dearest to Him in the house. You are, then, Madam, of the dearest friends of the Bridegroom. If it were lawful, I would envy you, that God honored you so above many of His dear children. Therefore, Madam, your part is, in this case (seeing God takes nothing from you but that which He is to supply with His own presence), to desire your Lord to know His own room and take it even upon Him to come in, in the room of dead children. “Jehovah, know Thy own place and take it to Thee,” is all you have to say.


Madam, I persuade myself that this world is to you a strange inn, and you are like a traveler who has his bundle upon his back and his staff in his hand and his feet upon the door-threshold. Go forward, honorable and elect lady, in the strength of your Lord (let the world bide at home and keep the house), with your face toward Him who longs more for a sight of you than you can do for Him. Before long, He will see us. I hope to see you laugh as cheerfully after noon as you have mourned before noon. The hand of the Lord, the hand of the Lord be with you in your journey. What have you to do here? This is not your mountain of rest. Arise, then, and set your foot up the mountain; go up out of the wilderness, leaning upon the shoulder of your Beloved (Song 8:5). If you knew the welcome that waits for you when you come home, you would hasten your pace; for you shall see your Lord put up His own holy hand to your face and wipe all tears from your eyes; and I believe, then you shall have some joy of heart.

  

It's Pretty Simple

The midterm elections we've been anticipating will finally be here next Tuesday. For those who still aren't sure how they're going to cast their vote, columnist Peggy Noonan brings clarity to the issues in her October 22, 2010 column:

"This election is about one man, Barack Obama, who fairly or not represents the following: the status quo, Washington, leftism, Nancy Pelosi, Fannie and Freddie, and deficits in trillions, not billions.
Everyone who votes is going to be pretty much voting yay or nay on all of that. And nothing can change that story line now."


So there. It's as simple as that.

10 Great Things about Fall

Katie Selden Photography Making Grandma's pumpkin muffin recipe and filling the house with the fragrance of cinnamon. Gray skies accented with gold, red, and black. Geese announcing that they are flying over our house every evening about 6:30. Feeling just a little bit chilly when I go out to my car in the morning and evening. Pumpkins and mums on my front porch. Needing the covers when I crawl into bed. Leaf dances in the woods behind the building where I work. Candy corn. The faint smell of smoke in the night air. Re-acquainting myself with my sweaters. Isn't this photo great? My daughter with hair the color of autumn leaves took it. You can see more of her photography here.

They’re Here!

I'm always very excited when books that I've edited actually become real, live books. And there are two that have just arrived that I really loved working on because they were great books to begin with, and the authors, in both cases, were a true joy to work with.

The first, Meeting Jesus at the Feast, is a publication of Reformed Fellowship, an organization very dear to me because its president is my own Henry. I fell in love with the book the first time I looked at the manuscript. The author, John Sittema, truly is a craftsman with words, and his insights about how the Old Testament feasts are fulfilled in Jesus Christ are often profound. He masterfully shows readers how the "New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed" by taking a close look at the Old Testament feasts and showing how the Passover, the Sabbath, and the firstfruits (and the other feasts as well) are fulfilled in Christ and His ministry. If you're looking for a well-written Old Testament study that will enlighten your understanding of Scripture from start to finish, consider Meeting Jesus at the Feast, which you can purchase here.

The second title that I'm privileged to have worked on is Portrait of Paul, by Jeremy Walker and Rob Ventura. Jeremy has now become my favorite UK author to work with, with his clear communication of biblical truth, his great sense of humor, his way with words, and his attention to the details. Here's the publisher's description for the book, which is cleverly written to both pastors and laypeople:

What does a true pastor look like, and what constitutes a faithful ministry? How can we identify the life and labors of one called by God to serve in the church of Jesus Christ? To address these questions, Rob Ventura and Jeremy Walker examine how the apostle Paul describes his pastoral relation to the people of God in Colossians 1:24–2:5. By discussing these essential attitudes, qualities, and characteristics of a faithful minister of Christ, A Portrait of Paul provides gospel ministers an example of what they should be, and demonstrates for churches the kind of pastors they will seek if they desire men after God's own heart.

October is pastor appreciation month, and you still have time to let your pastor know how much you appreciate him. Portrait of Paul would make an excellent gift, and you can purchase it here. And for the next forty-eight hours, you can get this book, regularly priced at $18, for $5.

Mean, Naughty Pharaoh and the Plague of Owies

It's been a while since I spent some quality time with four-year-olds, so when I was asked to substitute teach for the preschool Sunday school class for a few weeks, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I wasn't even quite sure any more what four-year-olds could do and understand. But I found the four-year-olds to be lots of fun, and Moses has never been more interesting to me than when I was telling his story to them.

The first week was a little disconcerting for the students. It was only the second week of Sunday school for the season, and already they had a different teacher from the one they had had the previous week. So I explained that their teacher had just had a new baby, and she needed to rest up for a few weeks before she came back to be their teacher. We went on with our lesson about Moses and the burning bush, and everything went pretty well. I was trying to explain to them that it was a miraculous thing that the bush never burned up. I picked up a paper and asked them, "What would happen if I lit this paper on fire? What would it look like after it burned for awhile?" Daniel wanted me to demonstrate what it would look like right then and there. I suggested we should just use our imaginations. I also learned in week 1 how quickly class time is over when we got the five-minute warning and we hadn't even started our crafts yet.

Week 2 had the kids asking me when "Mrs. Ybema" would be back. It didn't feel like a great start to the lesson, especially because Mrs. Ybema had been their teacher last year when they were three. I told them that Mrs. Tripp would be back as soon as she had rested up some more from having her baby. While the kids were coloring a picture of some children, Kristina suddenly spoke up and said, "Boys are brownish." She was, in fact, coloring the boy in her picture brown. I said, "Look at Jacob (the lone boy in the class). He isn't brownish." But Kristina insisted, "Boys are brownish." Good to know, Kristina.

Finally, last week, the kids seemed to be comfortable with me. During song time, they turned their little faces to watch me as we sang songs and did the motions, wanting to get it right. Nobody asked when the teacher would be back. In fact, Morgan, who is finally learning that I'm the one who is supposed to talk and she is the one who is supposed to listen, called me teacher. We learned about the first nine plagues that God sent to judge mean, naughty pharaoh (Kristina's apt description—he was mean and naughty). We also decided to change the name of the plague of boils to the plague of owies. And if you're four, a plague of owies is much more terrible than a plague of boils.

So now my time of service is over. Mrs. Tripp has rested up from having her baby and will be taking the class back. And even though I've been with them for only three weeks, I will miss the four-year-olds: Jacob's beautiful brown eyes and blond curls; Morgan's chatter; Emily's answer to every question (God—which, in fact, is the answer, and I hope she never forgets it); Kristina's four-year-old sense of humor; and Grace and Daniel and their cuteness. We've learned a lot of important things about Moses, God's power, and God's love for His people. And that boys are brownish.