Psalm 49----To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.----Hear this, all peoples--- Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,--both low and high,-- rich and poor together---My mouth shall speak wisdom--- the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.--I will incline my ear to a proverb--- I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.--Why should I fear in times of trouble,-- when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,--those who trust in their wealth-- and boast of the abundance of their riches---Truly no man can ransom another,-- or give to God the price of his life,--for the ransom of their life is costly-- and can never suffice,--that he should live on forever-- and never see the pit.--For he sees that even the wise die--- the fool and the stupid alike must perish-- and leave their wealth to others.--Their graves are their homes forever,-- their dwelling places to all generations,-- though they called lands by their own names.--Man in his pomp will not remain--- he is like the beasts that perish.--This is the path of those who have foolish confidence--- yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah--Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol--- death shall be their shepherd,--and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.-- Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.--But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,-- for he will receive me. Selah--Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,-- when the glory of his house increases.--For when he dies he will carry nothing away--- his glory will not go down after him.--...

The Canons of Dort- The Third and Fourth Points of Doctrine-----Article 16- Regeneration-s Effect----However, just as by the fall man did not cease to be man, endowed with intellect and will, and just as sin, which has spread through the whole human race, did not abolish the nature of the human race but distorted and spiritually killed it, so also this divine grace of regeneration does not act in people as if they were blocks and stones- nor does it abolish the will and its properties or coerce a reluctant will by force, but spiritually revives, heals, reforms, and - in a manner at once pleasing and powerful - bends it back. As a result, a ready and sincere obedience of the Spirit now begins to prevail where before the rebellion and resistance of the flesh were completely dominant. It is in this that the true and spiritual restoration and freedom of our will consists. Thus, if the marvelous Maker of every good thing were not dealing with us, man would have no hope of getting up from his fall by his free choice, by which he plunged himself into ruin when still standing upright.

Drawing on the Canons of Dort, Brian Lee teaches on the monergistic, Reformed view of how the Holy Spirit works in conversion.

Brian Lee continues his Psalm series with Psalm 48

Psalm 48----A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.----Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised-- in the city of our God---His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation,-- is the joy of all the earth,--Mount Zion, in the far north,-- the city of the great King.--Within her citadels God-- has made himself known as a fortress.--For behold, the kings assembled--- they came on together.--As soon as they saw it, they were astounded--- they were in panic- they took to flight.--Trembling took hold of them there,-- anguish as of a woman in labor.--By the east wind you shattered-- the ships of Tarshish.--As we have heard, so have we seen-- in the city of the Lord of hosts,--in the city of our God,-- which God will establish forever. Selah--We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,-- in the midst of your temple.--As your name, O God,-- so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.--Your right hand is filled with righteousness.-- Let Mount Zion be glad---Let the daughters of Judah rejoice-- because of your judgments---Walk about Zion, go around her,-- number her towers,--consider well her ramparts,-- go through her citadels,--that you may tell the next generation-- that this is God,--our God forever and ever.-- He will guide us forever.

The Canons of Dort- The Third and Fourth Points of Doctrine-----Article 10- Conversion as the Work of God----The fact that others who are called through the ministry of the gospel do come and are brought to conversion must not be credited to man, as though one distinguishes himself by free choice from others who are furnished with equal or sufficient grace for faith and conversion -as the proud heresy of Pelagius maintains-. No, it must be credited to God- just as from eternity he chose his own in Christ, so within time he effectively calls them, grants them faith and repentance, and, having rescued them from the dominion of darkness, brings them into the kingdom of his Son, in order that they may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called them out of darkness into this marvelous light, and may boast not in themselves, but in the Lord, as apostolic words frequently testify in Scripture.----Article 11- The Holy Spirit-s Work in Conversion----Moreover, when God carries out this good pleasure in his chosen ones, or works true conversion in them, he not only sees to it that the gospel is proclaimed to them outwardly, and enlightens their minds powerfully by the Holy Spirit so that they may rightly understand and discern the things of the Spirit of God, but, by the effective operation of the same regenerating Spirit, he also penetrates into the inmost being of man, opens the closed heart, softens the hard heart, and circumcises the heart that is uncircumcised. He infuses new qualities into the will, making the dead will alive, the evil one good, the unwilling one willing, and the stubborn one compliant- he activates and strengthens the will...

Brian Lee explores what the Canons of Dort can teach us about law and gospel in this installment of the Dort at 400 series.

Brian Lee continues his summer series in the Psalms with Psalm 47, a Praise of God's global kingship.

Psalm 47----To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.----Clap your hands, all peoples--- Shout to God with loud songs of joy---For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,-- a great king over all the earth.--He subdued peoples under us,-- and nations under our feet.--He chose our heritage for us,-- the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah--God has gone up with a shout,-- the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.--Sing praises to God, sing praises--- Sing praises to our King, sing praises---For God is the King of all the earth--- sing praises with a psalm---God reigns over the nations--- God sits on his holy throne.--The princes of the peoples gather-- as the people of the God of Abraham.--For the shields of the earth belong to God--- he is highly exalted-

The Third and Fourth Points of Doctrine-----Article 5- The Inadequacy of the Law----In this respect, what is true of the light of nature is true also of the Ten Commandments given by God through Moses specifically to the Jews. For man cannot obtain saving grace through the Decalogue, because, although it does expose the magnitude of his sin and increasingly convict him of his guilt, yet it does not offer a remedy or enable him to escape from his misery, and, indeed, weakened as it is by the flesh, leaves the offender under the curse.----Article 6- The Saving Power of the Gospel----What, therefore, neither the light of nature nor the law can do, God accomplishes by the power of the Holy Spirit, through the Word or the ministry of reconciliation. This is the gospel about the Messiah, through which it has pleased God to save believers, in both the Old and the New Testament.----Article 7- God-s Freedom in Revealing the Gospel----In the Old Testament, God revealed this secret of his will to a small number- in the New Testament -now without any distinction between peoples- he discloses it to a large number. The reason for this difference must not be ascribed to the greater worth of one nation over another, or to a better use of the light of nature, but to the free good pleasure and undeserved love of God. Therefore, those who receive so much grace, beyond and in spite of all they deserve, ought to acknowl- edge it with humble and thankful hearts- on the other hand, with the apostle they ought to adore -but certainly not inquisitively search into- the severity and justice of God-s judgments on the others, who do not receive this grace.