16 Apr 2014 
Posted by E.J. Hutchinson
Several months ago I posted on the Old Princeton theologian A.A. Hodge's views on "civil government as an instrument in the promotion of redemption" in his Commentary on the Confession of Faith, where he asserts, in his comments on the (revised) WCF 23, that "in the development of the plan of redemption...
Read more → 08 Apr 2014 Posted by E.J. Hutchinson
(Part 1; Part 2; Part 3) Today's installment is much briefer than the last. We continue on with the Doctrina section of Stephanus Fabricius' twelfth Discourse on Psalm 148. In the previous post, we observed Fabricius' delineation of the magistrate's "common," or shared, duty in relation to the laudes...
Read more → 03 Apr 2014 Posted by E.J. Hutchinson
At long last, the next installment of Stephanus Fabricius' comments on Psalm 148:11-12, from his twelfth discourse on that Psalm (part 1; part 2). If it is granted that magistrates have a duty to render praises to God along with all other men, one might ask in what, particularly, that consists for a magistrate....
Read more → 19 Mar 2014 Posted by E.J. Hutchinson
In today's post we move on to the doctrina portion of Fabricius' twelfth discourse on Psalm 148. Here, after reprising the universal duty of singing laudes Dei, the praises of God, he begins to expound upon the duty of the magistrate in particular in this respect. Fabricius states that it is necessary...
Read more → 17 Mar 2014 Posted by E.J. Hutchinson
At the end of City of God 4.28, Augustine makes an eminently sensible remark on the relation, or at least potential relation, between the worship of the true God and civic happiness. In this section of the work, he argues that the expansion and prosperity of the Roman Empire in previous centuries...
Read more → 14 Mar 2014 Posted by E.J. Hutchinson
Our next installment, this time on 148:12 in addition to 148:11, comes from Stephanus Fabricius (1569-1648), a pastor in Bern. Actually, our next several installments will come from him, because his comments are extensive. His remarks on each Psalm in his Sacrae conciones in centum quinquaginta Psalmos...
Read more → 10 Mar 2014 Posted by E.J. Hutchinson
We continue on with our series of Reformed exposition of Psalm 148:11, "Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth,” with Martin Bucer's comments from his Sacrorum Psalmorum libri quinque Again, this may well be a "you heard it here first" kind of text. Bucer gives...
Read more → 07 Mar 2014 Posted by E.J. Hutchinson
Today's commentary on Psalm 148:11 comes from Victorinus Strigel (1524-69). PRDL lists him as Lutheran-Reformed, presumably at least in part because he was my favorite kind of Lutheran, which is to say, a Philippist (with apologies to any LCMS readers). The following excerpt is from his Hypomnemata...
Read more → 06 Mar 2014 Posted by E.J. Hutchinson
We continue with our catena of Reformed commentary on Psalm 148:11-12 (so far, Calvin and Musculus), and we are perhaps starting to see something of a consensus emerge. Those we have looked at so far interpret the fact that certain types of people are singled out for special exhortation as bearing special...
Read more → 03 Mar 2014 Posted by E.J. Hutchinson
A week or so ago I put up a brief post about Calvin's comments on Psalm 148:11, "Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth," and why he singles out kings, princes, and judges for special instruction. Today I'd like to do the same for the sixteenth century Reformed theologian...
Read more →