Before addressing the issue of what a Christian should do in a time of crisis, we should think of where the answer to that might be found. Obviously, it will be found in our source-book – the Bible. But that’s one big book. So where do we start? For keen readers, the understandable place to begin is at the beginning – the first book, Genesis – itself the book of beginnings. There’s a lot to get through from there though and many lose focus as they wade in, even though it’s not really a burden once you know Who it is from and Who it speaks of. Or you might want to start closer to the end, a few books out from the end even, like maybe First John. You’ll find there I John 4:16, “God is love; and he who lives in love lives in God, and God in him,” a good place to begin. A little ahead from there is the final book, Revelation, the grappling with of which could well send you scrambling back to the beginning for clues as to how to unravel it! Another first option is to look at the psalms and proverbs in the middle of the Bible – the so-called “wisdom” books. And there you will find wisdom indeed, and more. There’s poetry and beautiful prose. Wherever you start though, before long you won’t be able to avoid the fact that much of the Bible is history. Some say perhaps 90% of it is history and about two thirds is the history of a people – “a nation and a company of nations”.
Interesting?
Well, my latest book, A Harmony of Two Psalms may help in this journey. It takes two very relevant psalms and examines them in detail. The psalms are 2 and 91, both well known but perhaps not well-enough known. Many are averse to any kind of study today, even simply reading. But if you take things in a leisurely way, small sections at a time – as you do on your phone – this can change.
Discover what the word “begotten” really means (as in “God’s only begotten Son”). Or “Zion”. Or the heathen raging, God laughing, or what it means to “kiss the Son” or to take refuge in God’s “secret place” or to see “the reward of the wicked” or to truly know what deliverance and salvation are.
Psalm 91 is personal. If ever “a personal relationship with the Lord” was described in a nutshell, this is it! And how beautifully it is written and translated!
Psalm 2, also amazing literature, is a message to all, especially relevant though to leaders – political and legal, those “kings of the earth”, “judges of the earth”, and “rulers”. It is also powerfully messianic.
This is way more than a dry dusty exercise in religious academia!
This is life! It is everything. It is how we live.
You will find your interest piqued and your curiosity aroused as you discover the beauty and power of these psalms. You may even find that, whether a young or an old Christian, you might become keener to explore that old science that used to be called – and essentially still is – “the Queen of the Sciences”, namely, Theology.
“Theology” refers to the knowledge of God – knowledge of His existence, of who He is, of His nature, plus also, obviously, the history of Christianity. We could call this capital “T” Theology, or theology proper (“theos” + “logos”, i.e., God + the expression of thought through knowledge, reason, argument, discourse).
Small “t” theologies may be divided into two types: those with little or no bearing on the big “T” one and secondly, areas of study underneath the ‘big “T”’. Let me explain:
1. One type of small “t” theology is at best fringe, at worst sacrilegious, and overly concerned with side issues and, often, politics. People get ensconced in a tangle with their favourite “theology”, such as “green” theology, “liberation” theology, “feminist” theology, Marxist theology, etc. You could just about put any word in front of “theology” and off you go. Oh, but I hear someone say, it’s not a side issue! Well, compared with the main themes of Theology (see below) it is.
2. The other – and legitimate – small “t” theology will be found in a subset of themes under the overall big “T” Theology. These include the existence of God, the knowledge of God, the Creation, the Fall, Sin, Salvation, Redemption, the Church, the inspiration and inerrancy of the Scriptures, the Trinity, the deity and humanity of Jesus Christ, the virgin birth, the atonement of sin, the return of Jesus, the Resurrection, which are (or should be) the same whether you are orthodox, reformed, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, or whatever. We could also speak of biblical, historical, systematic, practical, and pastoral theologies, Pneumatology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, Christology, Angelology, and more. These small “t” theologies are essentially about the way things are, and come under the heading of Theology.
So then why did I write the book A Harmony of Two Psalms?
Well the last few years of mass upheaval, confusion, and relentless distractions and deceptions have left many, including some who call themselves believers, dysphoric, confused, and sidetracked. That’s why I wrote the book!
Oh, and not insignificantly, part of my job was teaching pre-university students Design and Art History with a focus on Renaissance art, and one result of this was that I became fascinated with how the Authorised version of the Bible emerged from the high point of the Renaissance, specifically the English Renaissance, and I touch on this in the book. I also look in detail at the literary aspects of these psalms.
You can discover for yourself psalms 2 and 91, plus others, along with a little of that essential Theology. It’s about how to live as a believer at all times including, and especially, in times of crisis – whether national or personal. God sees the chaos and offers rest in the storm as we trust in Him.
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