Psalm 45 Publications

Before I met Myrtle Lou, the halls were already abuzz with news of her arrival. This was to be expected, of course, in a facility populated by the quaintest and most loquacious of old gentlewomen, whose dwindling connections with the outside world had left the coming of a new nurse a matter of greatest import. Still, there was something different about this latest bit of gossip, something mysterious and a little disconcerting. It was as if it really were a matter of astonishing importance, even when weighed against the affairs of the world-at-large and not just in the currency of a secluded nursing home. Continue Reading

At 10:32 P.M., on Labor Day, September 1st, 2008, God interwove his covenant faithfulness and mercy with the miserable effects of the ancient curse on the woman (see Genesis 3:15-16), and miraculously changed the tortured cries of birthpangs into the joy and triumph of new life. This was both a shadow-reminder of what he had done through Christ Jesus our Lord, some two thousand years ago, when he worked the greatest mercy through the deepest anguish, bringing eternal salvation out of the tortured cries of our Savior, who was made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21), who became the curse that our rebellion deserved (Galatians 3:13), and who, through that unspeakable suffering, flooded the wicked world of darkness and despair with the joyful beams of light and life (cf. John 16:20-22); and it was also a sign and promise of what he will complete someday, turning the birthpangs of this cursed world into the eternal joy of redemption, in a new heavens and new earth, where righteousness dwells (Romans 8:18-25; 2 Peter 3:13-14). It is only fitting, as we pause to consider the mighty thing that God has done for us this day, that we take advantage of this opportunity to commemorate the mighty and merciful triumph of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ the Righteous. Continue Reading

Part One: Principles by Which to Order My Life

1.Life is short, and comprises the only time I have to labor for eternal results. Psalm 90:10; Ecclesiastes 9:10

2.After the brief duration of my life, I must stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and give an account of how I used my time. Hebrews 9:27; 2 Corinthians 5:10

3.If I have failed to put my time to eternally profitable ends, but live instead for the present, I will receive punishment and shame. Matthew 25:24-30; Luke 16:25

4.The only way in which I can certainly devise which ends are eternally profitable is by taking heed according to God’s Word. Psalm 119:9-11; 2 Timothy 3:14-17

5.The ultimate end of my existence, and the end to which I should direct all my labors, is the glory of God. Isaiah 43:7; Revelation 4:11;1 Corinthians 10:31

6.The glory of God is best displayed by its being seen and delighted in. John 17:1-7; Ezekiel 28:22; Psalm 32:11; 34:8

7.The glory of God is best seen through the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. John 1:14, 18; Hebrews 1:1-3; 1 Corinthians 1:23-24

8.The person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ is the central theme of the Word of God. John 5:39-40; Luke 24:25-27, 44-47

9.Therefore, my time will best be spent in laboring to see Christ from the scriptures, and thus glorifying God and securing my own eternal joy. John 17:24 Continue Reading

1. Thinking is much like traveling: for just as when a man travels he moves from scene to scene, and is ever confronted with new sights, so a thinking man moves from thought to thought, and is ever confronted with new vistas and different perspectives and vantage points.
2. And just as a traveler may only find himself in new locations by moving there one step at a time, so a thinker may only find new territory by proceeding from his starting point, one connection at a time, until he finds himself someplace that he has not seen before. Continue Reading

On the joyous occasion of the arrival of our firstborn son, Mishael Calvin Pitchford, we would like to express publicly our thanks and praise to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. All of the bountiful gifts that God has lavished upon us reflect in some way who he is. Mishael is a greater blessing than we could possibly have imagined; and at this wondrous manifestation of God’s great liberality, we are reminded in several ways of the greatness of God himself. Continue Reading

I have spent most of my day in that world which is at once familiar and strange and weird and inexplicable, that world which, for one to inhabit it he must be both indolent and restless, hopeful and melancholy, rational and befuddled – in short, an absurd mass of contradictions; that world which, if you have never been there, no amount of elaborating will suffice to describe it for you. I have been in a world, that is to say, of random musings, and being particularly susceptible, therein, to sudden impressions, I have decided to record a few of my wandering thoughts. This is an unwonted reaction, and I am faced immediately with the overwhelming concern that these ramblings will be no more interesting to the reader than they are satisfying to me, and that both of us, therefore, will walk away from the experience singularly unfulfilled. But on further thought, that plight is not at all unusual, and I suppose my contribution can only be indicative, not causative; which consideration greatly alleviates my sensations of guilt. Continue Reading