Cited in sermons
James Russell Lowell
2 sermons · All people cited
The Psalmist's Prophetic Anticipation of the Apostolic Proclamation of Christ
Psalm 19 is read not merely as a declaration of general and special revelation but as a prophetic anticipation, interpreted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 10, of the apostolic proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Working through seven points across the psalm's three movements, the sermon traces the symbol, referent, and message of each image: heavens and firmament pointing to the apostles, the sun pointing to Christ the Bridegroom and Son of Righteousness, and the law, testimony, statutes, and judgments pointing to the gospel itself. The Word of God is shown to be perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, and righteous — qualities that belong to the gospel, not the Mosaic law — and its effects of conversion, wisdom, rejoicing, and enlightenment call both believer and unbeliever to rest in Christ, the Son of Righteousness, whose glory has gone out to the ends of the earth.
Of Peter, Popes, and Promises
Matthew 16:18 — 'I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it' — is one of the most contested verses in church history, carrying enormous weight in the Roman Catholic claim to Petrine primacy and the papal succession. This sermon works through three elements of the verse: the proper identification of 'the rock' (Peter as confessor, not as papal foundation), the nature and certainty of Christ's twofold promise to build and to prevail, and the historical evidence of that promise's fulfillment from Pentecost through the Reformation to the present. The church is called to a long-sighted, history-conscious confidence grounded not in circumstances but in the unbreakable promise of the risen Christ who saves, sends, applies, and continually builds.