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i waited patiently for the Lord,
He inclined and heard my cry.
He lifts me up out of the pit;
Out of the miry clay.

Thanks to the Psalmist for the great truth and promise of God's salvation.
Thanks to U2 for the great music to which they set this poetic work of God.

Enjoy the long holiday weekend and the promise of God's presence throughout it. May He bring rest to your soul.

If there are any visitors to this site who live and/or play in New York City, let me make a plug here for a good show in the Village this weekend. On Sat. Aug. 31, 11:30 pm, the band Jacob's Hip will be playing at the Elbow Room on Bleecker Street. The band is very dynamic and solid musically; they are also trying to build a following.

If you are a fan of harder rock bands such as POD, you will like Jacob's Hip.

Thanks again to Valerie at kyriosity for yet more information on Bar Tunes, pursuant to our ongoing discussion of whether or not tavern tunes were used as the melodies for various hymns. Ever since i had the audacity to post something about Martin Luther and A Mighty Fortress, this has dogged me. Now i am certain that anytime Valerie sees anything remotely related to the subject, she will tell me.

Although this may come across as a bit sour, i really am not. rather, i am taking it as a good reminder to always check things out first _ something an editor such as myself should be doing second nature anyway.

Jessica took issue with the post on the BBC story yesterday with this comment: To read your words, one would think that you have a monopoly on morality, integrity and concern for humanity.

i think what she fails to see is that the quote which i posted: "I think the majority of people will see that it would actually be wrong not to use this ability that nature has given us of providing cells for transplants and potentially treating or relieving human suffering,"
expresses the opinion of someone who is doing the very thing Jessica thought i was doing.

The quote leaves no room for disagreement with its position because to do so would be wrong.

One of the great promises of Christ is found in Mt. 11:28, where He tells us He will give us rest.

Rest nourishes the soul and offers the kind of relief which allows us to go back into the fire of whatever we are facing with renewed strength.

In fact, Noah, means rest, and in looking closely at that story we see a good example of how God provides for His people.

There is also much to be said about the things from which we need rest. Who can put a value on the rest which comes from a clear conscience, when the hiding is over and everything is out in the open before Him with Whom we have to do.

The BBC had this story about embryonic stem cell research developments in England.

Of particular interest was this quote:"I think the majority of people will see that it would actually be wrong not to use this ability that nature has given us of providing cells for transplants and potentially treating or relieving human suffering."

And there you have it. Our worldview on right and wrong easily redefined.

Thanks to Valerie at kyriosity for catching the miss on overdo and overdue in the previous entry. As an editor, i appreciate good editing, even when i am the culprit who needs correcting. i am debating leaving the mistake on there, just for sport.

i doubt we could overdo when paying attention to the likes of Chester and Augustine, however. More likely, such time and learning is in fact overdue. But lest i overdo it in addressing this entire subject, i will quit _ something which is, certainly, overdue.

Two new links at the right, much overdo.

The first of the new is for Augustine of Hippo, of whom Dr. William Edgar at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia is quite fond. And, for that matter, the school at large regards Augustine highly. Many folks i met there were of the opinion that John Calvin's theology was the natural continuation of what Augustine began. No doubt some reading this page will agree and others will not. But i have always appreciated Augustine, although, admittedly, my knowledge of him is rudimentary.

The second link is for G.K. Chesteron, again a writer of whom i have much more to learn, yet one by whom i have been graced thus far.

If I Only Had A Brain

Reuters had this interesting note regarding the prison system in Brazil. Maybe the scarecrow thing was also to blame for the abyssmal performance of the World Cup Champion Brazilian soccer team which lost to Paraguay last week.

Whew!

There is nothing like a nasty virus to take you out of commission; that was my plight last week. As my head hurt so bad i though it would split open, i kept downing Motrin; the virus laughed at me. i had the fever-induced notion that somebody in the blogosphere would actually miss me, then i checked the comments to previous posts and found that Valerie at kyriosity was revelling in her evil plan regarding the whole Martin Luther Hymn composition thing.

No hard feelings, wild geese are ocassionally fun to chase.

My major discomfort did get me thinking, however, about the theology of suffering and its place in the Christian Life. A lot of peripheral things burn away in the intensity of pain, and i found myself calling out to God in fragments of prayers and Psalms; i found myself clinging to God.

i suppose this is some of what The Apostle Paul was getting at when he talked about being united with Christ in His sufferings. There is one, simple reality: Dependence on God.