The Rankin File

Tuesday Hymns: Psalm 89:1-16

cliftonr — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:12:00 +0000

At Reformed Presbyterian Church in Beaumont, we traditionally sing at least one Psalm every Sunday night (of course, we sing Psalms during the morning services, also) from The Trinity Psalter. Over the last two weeks we have been singing Psalm 89. It is a Psalm about the Coming King and His reign over all the earth, but especially His reign over His people. It is sung to the tune of “Ode to Joy” by Ludwig von Beethovan, and I am not sure that I have ever heard a tune more appropriate for a text.

The first four stanzas (which comprise verses 1-16) speak of God’s Sovereign power over nature:

Of God’s love I’ll sing forever,
To each age Your faithfulness.
I’ll declare Your love’s forever,
Founded in the word from heav’n:
“With My Chosen I’ve made cov’nant,
To my servant David sworn:
‘I’ll your line confirm forever,
To each age build up your throne.’”

Lord, the heavens praise Your wonders,
Angels sing Your faithfulness.
For none matches God in heaven,
Who’s like God in heaven’s throng?
God is feared among the angels,
He’s more awesome than they all.
LORD, O God of hosts, who’s like You?
Mighty God, You’re girt with truth.

You rule over sea’s proud surging;
When its waves rise, bid them still.
You broke Egypt, left her dying;
Your strong arm dispersed Your foes.
Yours the heavens, earth’s bounds also;
You have founded all the world.
North and south You have created;
Tabor, Hermon, praise Your name.

You’ve an arm that’s great in pow-er;
Your strong hand is all supreme.
Your rule’s based on right and justice;
Cov’nant love and truth are Yours.
They are happy who acclaim You;
In Your favor, LORD, they walk.
In Your name rejoicing ever;
In Your righteousness raised high.

Christmas Letter, 2011

cliftonr — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:42:05 +0000

I noticed that I haven’t written a blog post since November 1 of this year. It is good to know that the world did not come to an end because of my negligence. To quote Don McClean, “I feel like a spinning top for a dreidel, the spinning don’t stop when you leave the cradle….”

Every year with our Christmas cards, we send out a summary of our family’s year, for those interested in the “goings on” of the Rankins. Last year, I started posting it on my blog, and this year I will continue what has now become a new tradition:

December 12, 2011

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends:

It is that time of year to send out Christmas cards and along with all Christmas cards goes the obligatory “Christmas Card Letter.” First of all, it never ceases to amaze me that the people who shout the loudest about keeping “Christ in Christmas” are often the ones who seldom take the time to worship the Lord on His day every week. (Now that I am through “preachin,’” I will bore you with the many mundane events that have graced the Rankin family during the last year.)

The Reformed Presbyterian Church (PCA—we’re the stodgy, conservative Presbyterians) of Beaumont, Texas has allowed Clifton to remain as their Associate Pastor for another year. In March of 2012, he will mark six years with that wonderful group of people, and would be the first to say, “I have never been happier.” Along with his normal responsibilities, he has been blessed with the privilege to preach once a month at the Federal Prison in Beaumont. It is always a joy to point people to the grace of Jesus Christ as their “only hope in life and death.”

Dixie started 2011 recovering from a cervical laminectomy (Vanna, I would like to buy a vowel) surgery at the Methodist Hospital in Houston. Other than saying, “I will never let them do that to me again,” she has done rather nicely once she got past the initial recovery period. Since she is no longer home schooling the boys, she is enjoying the opportunity to go to the women’s midweek Bible study (although the Bible study teacher really gets on her nerves), to eat lunch with her friends from time to time, and do various and sundry activities that she has missed out on doing the last nine years.

Reed will be seventeen in February, has grown to a height of six foot, and weighs ____ (he probably would not want me to tell you how much he weighs). He is once again attending a private school in Port Neches which, along with the regular curriculum, teaches job skills, social skills, etc., for those which special needs. He loves going there, and has shown a great deal of progress in his ability to care for himself. He is looking forward to his first “real job” working at a theater near the school which should begin in a week or two.

Caleb will be fourteen in April and is our resident “Geek.” We were shopping for a computer for Reed and Caleb was explaining the ins and outs of video cards, RAM, gigabytes, and other pertinent needs. Since no one else in the family had the “gift of interpretation” we are not sure what he said, but he sure seemed to know what he was talking about. He, too, has been attending the same school as Reed, and has adjusted well to the new schedule, and the responsibilities that go along with it. He is still the family comedian, although he sometimes struggles with knowing how far he can go teasing his mother. (I am sure that he will have to learn the hard way…)

Josh and Kera are still living in Ft. Worth where he is the defensive coordinator (football coach) and one of the math teachers at Haltom High, and she works as a personal trainer at a health club. Their three kids are growing like weeds: Kesh is ten, Koen is eight, and Kya is six.

Our lives are a testimony of the grace of God that has been shed abroad through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth, but until then, as we live between the already and the not yet, our hope is that Christ will finish the work that He has started in each one of us, for our eternal good, and His eternal glory.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Clifton, Dixie, Reed, & Caleb

Tuesday Hymns: “Why Do Gentile Nations Rage?” (Psalm 2)

cliftonr — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:49:36 +0000

Presbyterians have a long history of singing the Psalms, and Crown and Covenant Publishers has blessed the church with a great resource entitled, The Book of Psalms for Worship. Since Hebrew poetry is characterized by parallelism more than meter and rhyme, the genius of the Protestant Reformation was “to translate the Psalms into modern poetry and sing them to the same types of tunes that people were accustomed to singing elsewhere—that is, in stanzas and lines of predictable length and with a regular rhythmic organization, or meter. (Hence, the term metrical.)” (“The Experience of Singing the Psalms” in The Book of Psalms for Worship, pg. xii.) The aforementioned book is filled with metrical Psalms which are easily sung by the people of God in corporate worship.

One example is our Tuesday Hymn of the Week, “Why Do Gentile Nations Rage?” which is a metrical version of the Second Psalm. The Psalm speaks of man’s futile rebellion against God, God’s declaring of His Son as the “Heir to earth and nations all,” and the good news (Gospel) that “blessed are all who in Him hide.” This version is sung to the tune, ABERYSTWYTH.

Why do Gentile nations rage,
And their useless plots design?
Kings of earth in schemes engage,
Rulers are in league combined.
They speak out against the LORD;
His Messiah they defy:
“Let us break their chains and cords,
Let us cast them off,” they cry.

He who sits in heaven laughs,
For the Lord views them with scorn.
He will speak to them in wrath,
And in anger He will warn:
“Yet according to My will,
I have set My King to reign;
And on Zion’s holy hill,
My Anointed will remain.”

“I the LORD’s decree make known;
This is what He had to say:
He declared, ‘You are My Son;
I have brought You forth this day.
Ask of Me and You I’ll make
Heir to earth and nations all.
Them with iron rod You’ll break,
Smashing them in pieces small.’”

Therefore kings now heed this word:
Earthly judges, come and hear.
Rev’rent worship give the LORD;
With your joy mix trembling fear.
Honor Him, His wrath to turn,
Lest you perish in your stride,
For His anger soon may burn.
Blessed are all who in Him hide.

Tuesday Hymns: “Cast Your Burden on the Lord”

cliftonr — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:11:53 +0000

In 1783, Rowland Hill (the pastor, not the Sir Rowland Hill who campaigned for the reform of the postal system in England) published his Collection of Psalms and Hymns, Chiefly Intended for Public Worship which contains our Tuesday Hymn of the Week: Cast Your Burden on the Lord. No author is noted in the Hymn book, but some think it may have been written by Hill himself. It is based on Psalm 55 and is a reminder to God’s people to trust in God and His Word while living out their lives in this fallen world. He is the One who is Sovereign; He is the One who sustains; He is the One who is gracious; and He is the One who will always stand guard over His flock.

The hymn is sung to the tune, MERCY (I love that tune name), in The Trinity Hymnal and has been used by God to encourage many of His children as they walk through the Valley of Baca (Weeping), awaiting the final day when the Lord will “wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Rev.21:4-5)

Cast your burden on the Lord,
Only lean upon His Word;
You will soon have cause to bless
His eternal faithfulness.

He sustains you by His hand,
He enables you to stand;
Those whom Jesus once had loved
From His grace are never moved.

Human counsels come to naught;
That shall stand which God has wrought;
His compassion, love, and pow’r,
Are the same forevermore.

Heav’n and earth may pass away,
God’s free grace shall not decay;
He has promised to fulfill
All the pleasure of His will.

Jesus, Guardian of your flock,
Be yourself our constant Rock;
Make us, by your pow’rful hand,
Strong as Zion’s mountain stand.

“What God has joined together, let no man separate”

cliftonr — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:01:21 +0000

As if we needed another reason to ignore people who claim to have received visions and special revelations from God, this article adds yet another: Pat Robertson Says Alzheimer’s Makes Divorce OK. When a viewer asked Pat Robertson what advice he should give a friend who had started seeing another woman because his wife has Alzheimer’s, he responded: “I know it sounds cruel, but if he’s going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her.”

When I married Dixie, I made vows to her and to God that I would take her as my lawfully wedded wife, “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance.” Did that mean that our time together would always be trouble free? Of course not. The very vows taken are a reminder that along with the better is the worse, along with the richer is the poorer, along with the health is the sickness, etc. Christian marriage is an “until death do us part” commitment that a man and a woman make depending upon the grace of God to leave family, cleave to one another, and become one flesh.

As a son who watched his father care for his mother as her mind began to slip away, I realize that such care is draining and difficult, but I also realize that such care is one of the reasons why two people marry in the first place: to be there when they are needed most. I often read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 at a wedding. It is not specifically about marriage, but the principle is very true for a husband and a wife: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him – a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

One should always turn to God’s Word when asking such questions about divorce. God is very specific when it comes to divorce, and the Westminster Confession of Faith lays out clearly the Biblical position in Chapter XXIV: “Although the corruption of man be such as is apt to study arguments unduly to put asunder those whom God hath joined together in marriage: yet, nothing but adultery, or such willful desertion as can no way be remedied by the church, or civil magistrate, is cause sufficient of dissolving the bond of marriage.” As Jesus commanded: “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate,” (Matthew 19:6) no matter what Pat Robertson says.

Tuesday Hymns: “Holy God, We Praise Your Name”

cliftonr — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:00:55 +0000

Today’s Tuesday Hymn, Holy God, We Praise Your Name, is based on the ancient hymn, Te Deum, which has been traditionally ascribed to Ambrose and Augustine at Augustine’s baptism in the 4th century. To quote that great reformer, Martin Luther (at the top of “Pilate’s Stairs” in Rome), “Who can know if it is so?“

This version was written by Ignace Franz circa 1774, and is a hymn that is full of praise to the Triune God from the beginning to the end. It speaks generally of “all on earth” and “all in heaven” praising God for His sovereignty, and then particularly lists specific groups who join the chorus of praise: “Angel choirs,” “Apostles,” “Prophets,” “Martyrs,” along with the rest of Christ’s church through the ages. It concludes at the glorious pinnacle of the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity: “There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.” (I love the Shorter Catechism!) In The Trinity Hymnal, the lyrics are attached to the tune, GROSSER BOTT, WIR LOBEN DICH.

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

Tuesday Hymns: “Psalms 121”

cliftonr — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:58:31 +0000

I love singing the Psalms when God’s people gather to worship Him. The thought that I am singing the same words (granted they are in English, not Hebrew, and changed to fit our patterns of meter and rhyme) that were sung over 2500 years ago by worshippers of YHWH reminds us that we, “although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree.” (Romans 11:17) We are a part of “the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the Head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the fullness of him that fills all in all.” (Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 25, Of the Church)

Psalm 121 is one of the “Songs of Ascents” that was sung by pilgrims “heading up” to Jerusalem (both geographically and spiritually) to take part in the feasts commanded by the Lord under the Old Covenant. It is a reminder to us that our help is to be found in the Lord. People may (and often will) let you down, but the Lord is always at work fulfilling His eternal purpose in our lives, giving our lives meaning and direction as we face the difficulties of this fallen world.

This Psalm is often sung to the familiar tune, DUNDEE.

I to the hills will lift my eyes.
From whence shall come my aid?
My safety cometh from the LORD
Who heav’n and earth has made.

Thy foot He’ll not let slide, nor will
He slumber that thee keeps.
Lo, He that keepeth Is-ra-el,
He slumbers not nor sleeps.

The LORD thee keeps; the LORD thy shade
On thy right hand doth stay;
The moon by night thee shall not smite,
Nor yet the sun by day.

The LORD shall keep thee from all ill;
He shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD as thou shalt go and come
Forever keeps thee whole.

(Scottish Psalter, 1615)

“25 or 6 to 4″

cliftonr — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:41:17 +0000

This morning I was awakened at 3:35 A. M. No, is wasn’t because our worthless dog was barking at the wind (she is not very bright), or because one of the kids was throwing up in the hallway (that has happened more than once in my lifetime), or because I had an emergency phone call in the middle of the night (a job hazard that goes along with being a shepherd to God’s sheep); I just woke up, and couldn’t go back to sleep.

After I rolled over in bed to see what time it was, the wheels began turning in my mind (and they can be rather loud and obnoxious). Dixie and I had to make an important decision this week concerning an issue with the boys, and my brain was ticking off all of the options that we had considered. I know that God is sovereign, I know that He causes “all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose,” and I know that He has promised to “never leave me nor forsake me,” yet sleep still eluded me. I suppose that I was thinking of a C. S. Lewis quote that has been a part of our “refrigerator door theology” for most of our married life: “We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.”

Although the context of Paul’s letter to Timothy may be a little different (Paul was talking about the need for Timothy to live out the Christian life in his ministry), I believe his direction does fit my situation: I need to “fight the good fight of the faith” and “take hold of the eternal life to which [I have been] called” (1 Timothy 6:12). It may take some time for all the emotions to settle down, and it may take years to see the fruit of our decision-making, but it is necessary to trust Christ to work out His purpose in my life and in the life of my family.

Fortunately, the grace which proceeds from the finished work of Christ is sufficient for this need, and with the guidance of God’s inerrant Word, and His providential hand, life will go on, God will be glorified, and we will learn anew what it means to “glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.”

Tuesday Hymns: “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”

cliftonr — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:22:09 +0000

(I first posted this on July 21, 2009. For some reason [No, God didn't tell me to], I thought that I would repost it today.)

It’s Tuesday again, which means it is time for another version of “Tuesday Hymns.” Today’s hymn is a marvelous verse entitled God Moves in a Mysterious Way by William Cowper (1731-1800). Cowper’s life was a difficult life of lost love, missed career opportunities, and battles with deep depression which led to several attempts at suicide, yet his hymns continue to bring comfort to the life of many Christians around the world two hundred years after his death. He also authored such classics as There is a Fountain Filled with Blood, and Jesus, Where’er Thy People Meet.

God Moves in a Mysterious Way was written in 1774, and some say it is the last hymn that he ever wrote (although that is up for debate). It is normally sung to the tune, Dundee, from the 1615 Scottish Psalter. It has been a great comfort to my personal life for many years, especially the line, “Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.” Enjoy now Cowper’s poetic description of our Sovereign God’s providence in this beautiful hymn.

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
and rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
and works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
the clouds ye so much dread
are big with mercy and shall break
in blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
but trust Him for His grace;
behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour;
the bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
and scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
and He will make it plain.

For those who would like to read a more detailed biography, John Piper has an excellent one on his website entitled, Insanity and Spiritual Songs in the Soul of a Saint.

There are Worse Things Than Being Single!

cliftonr — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:48:23 +0000

On July 27 of this year, John Stott became one of those “just men made perfect” when the Lord took his soul to be with Him, leaving only his physical body resting in the grave until that day in which he will be “raised up in glory,” “openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment,” and “made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.” Shortly after his death, Christianity Today posted an article by Al Hsu discussing Stott’s choice to live his entire life on earth as a bachelor. I thought the article was significant because it reminded us that both marriage and singleness are good. The following two paragraphs summarize the article well:

We must never exalt singleness (as some early church fathers did, notably Tertullian) as if it were a higher and holier vocation than marriage. We must reject the ascetic tradition which disparages sex as legalized lust, and marriage as legalized fornication. No, no. Sex is the good gift of a good Creator, and marriage is his own institution.

If marriage is good, singleness is also good. It’s an example of the balance of Scripture that, although Genesis 2:18 indicates that it is good to marry, 1 Corinthians 7:1 (in answer to a question posed by the Corinthians) says that “it is good for a man not to marry.” So both the married and the single states are “good”; neither is in itself better or worse than the other.

There was a time in history when singleness was exalted as a “higher plane” of living the Christian life. If one was truly to be holy, it was thought that it could only be accomplished in a monastery, nunnery, or in a life of singleness as a parish priest. The Reformation, however, reminded us that the Bible teaches that marriage is good, sex is a marvelous gift to be shared between a husband and wife, and that the Christian home was an ideal place to pass on the truth of the Gospel to the next generation.

However, today there are some who have fallen into the opposite error. Although it may not be directly stated, there are those who strongly imply that to fulfill God’s plan on the earth one must be married, and have a house full of children (although there is absolutely nothing wrong with a house full of children since they are a blessing from the Lord, and I freely admit that I appreciate the four children that have been entrusted to my care). I still remember visiting a particular church (which will remain nameless) and after introducing my wife and my two youngest children to one of the elders at the door, he asked somewhat condescendingly, “Is that all?” (I must admit that at that moment I was very aware of the remaining sin in my life as I related to this man who seemed to have the inside knowledge on how many children should reside in my home.)

After being a shepherd of God’s people for 30 years, and spending many hours counseling hurting people, I sometimes want to shout from the housetops, “There are worse things than being single!” I have seen far too many people who are so desirous of being married that they “settle,” instead of “choosing” their marriage partner.

God gives great freedom to His people when it comes to choosing a marriage partner. The Bible makes no mention of race concerns, age concerns, social status concerns, or citizenship concerns. He speaks of only a few things that are mandatory when a Christian considers marriage:

(1) Christian marriage is to be between a man and a woman. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24) I am not here to argue…I can only state what God said.

(2) Christian marriage is to be between people who are Biblically single. “And he [Jesus] said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’” (Mark 10:11-1) “And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” (Matthew 19:9)

(3) Christian marriage is to be between two Christians. “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 7:39)

If you are a Christian single, and God has not providentially brought someone into your life that fits into these three categories, I would encourage you to continue to wait on the Lord. God is truly Sovereign and is working for His glory and your good, and can be trusted to supply your need according to the parameters that He has set down in His Word. (One of my theological heroes, John Murray of Westminster Seminary, did not marry until he was 69 years old, so it is never too late. By the way, the Lord also blessed that marriage with two children.) And, remember, there are worse things than being single.

HT: The Aquila Report