Cowper on Paul on Preaching (15)
But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 1 Timothy 1.5 (NASB)
He ’stablishes the strong, restores the weak,
Reclaims the wanderer, binds the broken heart,
And arm’d himself in panoply complete
Of heavenly temper, furnishes with arms
Bright as his own, and trains, by every rule
Of holy discipline, to glorious war
The sacramental host of God’s elect:
Are all such teachers?—would to Heaven all were!
– William Cowper, The Task (1785)
Paul’s ministry of the Word focused on three general outcomes, three things he hoped to achieve in the lives of those who heard and read him. He sought to nurture spiritual vision, that ability to see beyond the veil of time and materiality into the unseen realm where Christ rules as King and holds out His promises to His people (cf. Eph. 1.15-23; 1 Cor. 15; Col. 3.1-3).
To gain and enlarge this perspective, Paul encouraged the faithful use of various spiritual disciplines as crucial to the walk of faith, including reading and study of Scripture (his own epistles included), prayer, worship, singing, faithful attendance on the Lord’s Supper, rejoicing in all things, enduring hardship, and being filled with the Spirit of God. Only as God’s people take up and practice such disciplines can they expect their vision of Christ and His Kingdom to grow and become more vital in their own lives.
Spiritual vision and spiritual disciplines are in order to promote spiritual practice, so that believers glorify God and bear witness to Him in every area of their lives (1 Cor. 10.31). Indeed, these practices are the real and final objective of preaching, the outcome which spiritual vision and spiritual disciplines enable us to achieve.
Preaching must aim to affect the lives of those who hear. If our goal in preaching is merely to expound the text, we have not prepared sufficiently well. Jesus preached so that people would turn away from their settled way of being-in-the-world, begin to see and seek the Kingdom of God, and follow Him in becoming fishers of men. Paul sought similar outcomes in his own ministry of the Word, and so must we.
Resources for being and making disciples
Pastor to Pastor Podcast: In this week’s conversation with Pastor Jesse Slusher, we explore the roles of vision in hope, both in a congregation and in the life and work of a shepherd as well.
Other columns of interest: This week: In our ReVision column we will wrap-up part 1 of the series, “Everyday Christianity”. Our Read Moore podcast is from Patrick: A Devotional History. Our Crosfigell teaching letter is studying the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. And in our daily Scriptorium column we are working through Matthew 25. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
The Ailbe Bookstore: The people of God can, by their prayers, contribute powerfully to the growth and ministry of the local church. Our book, Pray for Your Church, offers 35 brief prayers in 7 topics to help readers seek the Lord for their church. Order your free PDF download by going to The Ailbe Bookstore (click here). If you’d like more of William Cowper’s views on preaching, order An Essay on Preaching from our Bookstore.
Resources for Shepherds: Have you ever considered how much the work of writing could add to your ministry? Writing can help you reach further and deeper into the lives of those you are called to serve. Our course, The Writing Pastor, can help you get started using writing more consistently. It will be my pleasure to proctor you through this course. To learn more, watch this brief video. You might also consider joining our Writers’ Group when it begins again in the fall.
From the Celtic Revival
Spiritual Poetry of the Celtic Revival
Fair Lord, I pray to You
concerning my excesses and deficiencies:
grant me forgiveness here
for my misdeeds, my ignorance…
Even if I had a hundred strong tongues
with which to speak faultlessly,
I could never relate
one hundredth of the wonders of my High King –
The eternal lofty Over-King of the varied world,
Who has numbered every skillful multitude,
our Pillar, our Patron, our Abbot,
the lofty King Who has created.
– From Anonymous, The Psalter of the Quatrains, Canto III (9th or 10th century)
Here, at the end of Canto III of Saltar na Rann (Psalter of the Quatrains), the poet captures the longing Charles Wesley expressed in his great hymn, “O, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing”:
O, for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise!
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!
We don’t have a hundred tongues, much less a thousand; and it’s futile to think we could ever have them. But we do have one tongue, and we should learn to use that tongue for praising the Lord “yet more and more,” both in our quiet times with Him, and as often as He prompts and piques us, whatever else we may be doing, throughout the course of every day.
You can read this installment in our series on Celtic spiritual poetry by clicking here.
Subscribe to Crosfigell and join us for this entire series on spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. Scroll to the bottom of the home page, www.ailbe.org.
Resources from the Celtic Revival: Columbanus
Want to learn more about Columbanus, that great missionary/monk? Download the free 30-day devotional featuring his writings and those of his biographer by clicking here.
T. M. Moore
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
