April 14, 2021 Show with Roger Salter on “Some Thoughts from the Valley of Vision”

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April 15, 2021

April 14, 2021 ROGER SALTER, rector of St. Matthews Anglican Church, Birmingham, AL, who will address: “Some Thoughts From The VALLEY of VISION: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions”

00:04: Live from the historic parsonage of the 19th century gospel minister George Norcross in downtown
00:10: Carlisle, Pennsylvania, it's Iron Sharpens Iron. This is a radio platform in which pastors,
00:23: Christian scholars, and theologians address the burning issues facing the church and the world today.
00:31: Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17 tells us iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another.
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00:50: It is our hope that this goal will be accomplished over the next two hours and we hope to hear from you the listener with your own questions and now here's your host
00:59: Chris Arnzen. Good afternoon
01:10: Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and the rest of humanity living on the planet earth who are listening via live streaming at ironsharpensironradio .com.
01:20: This is Chris Arnzen, your host at ironsharpensironradio wishing you all happy Wednesday on this 14th day of April 2021 and I'm thrilled to have back on the program one of my favorite regularly returning guests.
01:39: That's Roger Salter who is rector of St. Matthew's Anglican Church in Birmingham, Alabama and today our theme is going to be some thoughts from the
01:48: Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions and it's my honor and privilege to welcome you back to ironsharpensironradio,
01:56: Roger Salter. As always Chris, it's a grand to be in your company.
02:03: And if you could tell our listeners something about St. Matthew's Anglican Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
02:11: St. Matthew's Anglican is very much a reformed and traditional
02:16: Anglican Church. At the moment we are independent. We have had connections with various affiliations in the past.
02:27: Our worship is based on the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, but it's in contemporary
02:34: English. Our doctrinal standards, of course, are in conformity with scripture as expressed through the 39
02:42: Articles of Religion. We're a small but very happy and friendly band and very grateful for the heritage that we enjoy from the
02:53: English Reformation. Well, if anybody wants to find out more information about this fine congregation in Birmingham, Alabama, you can go to stmanglican .weebly
03:14: .com and that's w -e -e -b -l -y dot com.
03:21: stmanglican .weebly .com and you can also go to rogersalter .com,
03:28: that's s -a -l -t -e -r rogersalter .com. Well, this book that we are going to be addressing today, that you are going to be gleaning from, obviously has been a blessing to you, which is why you wanted to discuss the contents of this book.
03:49: It was edited by Arthur Bennett. The Valley of Vision really caught on, if you will, and started to sell like wildfire.
03:59: It has enjoyed very wide purchases all over the world.
04:07: It's become a favorite of many Christians, especially of the Reformed persuasion. But there's really not much known about the editor, is there?
04:18: Not a great deal, Chris. The book was first published in 1975 and has had quite a number of reprints.
04:26: I mean, mine is old by now, I think it's 2005. He died in 1994 at the age of 79.
04:36: I'm glad he was rewarded with the knowledge that his book was so well received.
04:42: It's the kind of book you can open at random and benefit from enormously.
04:48: I tried to pick out some of the more memorable readings for me personally.
04:54: I haven't had a book with so many pieces of paper stuck between the pages in my life. But as I say, you could pick any prayer here at random, and they are superbly, richly spiritual, doctrinal, and they're disciplinary too.
05:13: I mean, they're not sentimental or fanciful. These are bracing prayers that confront us with the truth about ourselves and the truth about God.
05:22: But in such a wonderful and beneficial way. Well, when did you first discover
05:32: Valley of Vision? And when did it begin to truly bless your heart, your mind, and your ministry?
05:42: Well, Chris, I don't want to be too descriptive about the situation, but I was actually sitting in the
05:48: Banner of Truth office when they were in London when Arthur Bennett walked in with his draft for the
05:57: Book of Prayers. So I remember seeing him, and I didn't see him thereafter, and I had no idea of the richness of these devotions that he had presented to the publisher, perhaps until some years later.
06:17: I don't think I was mature enough at the time to really appreciate the spiritual nature of these prayers.
06:26: And now, if I can say anything, it is to me indispensable in this life.
06:35: Not to have a copy of this book would be a terrible deprivation, because it's
06:42: Arthur's weaving together of the thoughts and prayers of so many eminent
06:48: Puritan people from the past. And he was simply being the editor.
06:54: I'm sure he's used a lot of creative skill in binding and weaving these various prayers and thoughts together.
07:02: But we're really receiving here something of a heritage from the past, a legacy from some of the, if I can use the term, great men of God from previous centuries.
07:19: So it's a wealth of spiritual benefit that is contained between these covers.
07:27: I want to read an endorsement for this book that was written by someone that no doubt will be highly respected by many in our audience, somebody who has been a guest on Iron Trump and Zion Radio back in the old days when we were broadcasting out of Long Island, New York on WNYG and WGBB radio,
07:49: Dr. D .A. Carson. And Dr. Carson writes, The prayers in the
07:55: Valley of Vision are steeped in scripture, yet never succumb to mere formula.
08:02: They are theologically fresh and vibrant, yet they are rooted in confessionalism.
08:08: They range over a huge sweep of Christian experience and devotion, but they are never merely esocentric or cute.
08:17: They brim with deep emotion and transparent passion, but they carefully avoid mere sentimentalism.
08:26: This is a book that teaches readers to pray by example. That's an excellent commendation and also reminds us of something very important.
08:36: As much as we might love any book of prayers like this one, we must be careful not to become mechanical ourselves and do as the pagans do and do as the
08:47: Roman Catholic Church does and be guilty of vain repetition and just read prayers and mechanically regurgitate them over and over again without any heartfelt emotion or without any thought of what we are actually saying.
09:09: This is a book that is to enrich the lives, the prayer lives of the readers by example.
09:16: Am I right? Absolutely. I mean, in his introduction, Arthur Bennett says this book is not intended to be read as a prayer manual.
09:26: And it's not. It's a supplier of thoughts and devotional and doctrinal notions and truths that build us up in prayer.
09:37: But it's not to be a substitute for heartfelt prayer, even though it moves the heart and mind tremendously.
09:46: But it has become invaluable to me, Chris, and not to focus too much on one's own approach to it.
09:54: I sometimes read the same, I'll call it a prayer, several times a week, several mornings in succession, because they are so rich and so address our needs, our heart, our condition before God.
10:14: So I cherish this book immensely. Amen.
10:19: And obviously that description that Dr. D .A. Carson provided, and even the way that you are describing it, should put people at ease in regard to apprehensions they may have over a false caricature of who the
10:39: Puritans were. They may wrongly understand the
10:44: Puritans as being nothing more than hard, harsh, legalists, passionless people, overly stoic people, even dull, unfeeling people, which was really a concoction of the enemies of what the
11:10: Puritans have taught, is it not? Oh, absolutely. I mean, the
11:16: Puritans are just about identified by a series of lies that have been crafted by the father of lies.
11:24: They are among the most worthy people by the grace of God that ever lived, and they were joyful.
11:31: You only have to read Dr. McRae's description of Philip Henry, Matthew's father, his wedding.
11:39: I mean, there was so much joy and celebration on that event, but to think of the
11:45: Puritans as being dull and morbid is a travesty.
11:51: They were alive and vital and sensitive, but they were serious. Somebody once said, and I'm trying to think which
11:59: Puritan it was, he was called a precisionist,
12:06: John Preston. He was an Anglican Puritan, and somebody said, why are you such a precisionist?
12:12: And he said, because I serve a precise God, and there's nothing wrong with that. This adherence to God and his nature and character is what the
12:24: Christian life is all about, and it is a life of joy and hope and optimism in the right sense, but it's also a life of discipline and being shaped in the likeness of Christ through adversity, temptation, and suffering.
12:42: But they took everything on board in human life, and I think they were the best adjusted group of Christians, generally speaking, that have probably ever lived, certainly in British terms.
12:53: And you brought up an interesting phrase. You used the phrase
13:00: Anglican Puritan, and I have probably spoken with more
13:07: Anglicans recently in my life than I ever have before in my life, because of the fact that we have a growing audience, a rapidly growing audience, of conservative, reformed
13:22: Anglicans who listen to this program and support it and promote it.
13:28: And from time to time, I'll hear from someone, I don't know how widespread this is, but there is, it seems, at least to some degree, an element within Anglicanism that is unfavorable towards the
13:45: Puritans, perhaps because of the non -conformist stand they took centuries ago and having their own opposition to the way that the
13:55: Church of England was functioning and wanting to return to what they perceived as the biblical roots of their faith.
14:05: And is that something that is typical or widespread? I'm speaking of within confessional, conservative, reformed
14:14: Anglicanism, not the apostate version of this. Is there still a considerable anti -Puritan sentiment, even in the circles that you would be familiar with?
14:28: Yes, I think it's quite a strong one. It's mistaken, Chris, as you and I know, from a true appraisal of the
14:35: Puritans and their spirituality and approach to life. But, you know, men like Preston and James Usher, and I was thinking of the man who wrote
14:47: Christian Incomplete Armour, William Gurnall, there were a number of them who were
14:52: Puritans who didn't leave the Church of England, and they didn't compromise themselves either.
15:00: Joseph Hall, who was a wonderful bishop, poet, and delicate at the
15:05: Synod of Dort, when the non -Puritans took over at the end of the reign of James I, he was banished from his bishopric, his diocese, and lived in poverty until the end of his life.
15:21: So there was persecution, and certainly mistrust of them, and a certain contempt for them.
15:29: But these were godly men who, in good conscience, could stay within the
15:34: National Church because of the Cranmerion Liturgy and the
15:41: Thirty -Nine Articles. And, of course, your phrase that you used, Cranmerion, is in reference to the great
15:48: English performer Thomas Cranmer, who somebody, I know
15:53: I've said this before on this program, somebody should make a major motion picture about him. I think it would even fascinate secular audiences.
16:02: But because of the fact that most people could probably relate to him in the fact that he was a man, unlike many other heroes of the faith, who was like Peter in his denial of the faith for a period due to fear, something that has and does profoundly affect most of us, and in some ways larger ways than others, or in some people larger ways than others.
16:36: But he, out of fear of the torture and execution that he would face by the
16:43: Church of Rome when the Church of England swung back after the death of King Henry VIII, when it swung back into Romish control, he denied the
16:56: Protestant faith. And yet, then, later on, when his conscience got the better of him, a
17:02: Holy Spirit -filled conscience, he became ashamed of his recantation, and then recanted his recantation, and when he was being, before he was burned alive, he made sure that the hand that signed his recantation of Protestantism was burned first in the flame.
17:25: Yes, and when he made his recantation and left the
17:31: Church for the burning, he walked faster than his persecutors towards the stake.
17:37: They had to try to keep up with him, because his fear had been entirely dissolved. The orphan who was
17:44: Chris, he was imprisoned in the Boccato in Oxford. He had to look out of the window and see the burning of his two colleagues,
17:52: Latimer and Bridley, and he was badly treated by two Spanish priests who continually harassed him, interrogated him.
18:00: He was deprived of sleep, I think, and good nourishment. So after that long period in prison, his spirits were greatly weakened, and you can understand his fear, because he didn't have his normal, natural strength.
18:14: He was a gentle man, and perhaps not particularly brave by nature, but what happened is only to be expected from human frailty.
18:25: There is, incidentally, and I can't appraise it, it's a long time since I read it, but there's a novel by an
18:32: English novelist who is since deceased called A Human Frailty, and it's based on the life of Cranmer.
18:42: I don't think it's particularly enlightening theologically, but it's fairly accurate historically, and it would probably make a good basic script for the film that you would suggest.
19:04: Yes, but you see, when the non -Puritan, non -Reformed
19:10: Anglicans lost their influence in the Church of England under the Archbishopric of William Laud and the reign of Charles I, because all of the great men of God from the previous century were virtually ousted and disapproved of John Davenant and people like that, since that point and the rise of Anglo -Catholicism, a lot of Anglicans thought that Cranmer was a person of no account and a disaster.
19:45: It was Richard Hooker that everybody latched onto as the spokesman for Anglicanism, and Philip Hughes in his book has shown how
19:54: Cranmer and Hooker were one in their theological convictions.
20:00: But you see, one party in the Church has claimed several people, and evangelicals haven't woken up to the fact that these men that they count as on their side actually supported evangelicalism and Reformed theology, but they've had a difference over the nature of worship and a little bit of extra ceremony.
20:21: But you know, there's a lot of mistreatment of Cranmer until about the last 30 years he's come to the fore again with good advocacy on his behalf.
20:33: Well, I would like to refer our listeners to get a fuller, lengthier, and more detailed account of the life and legacy of Archbishop Cranmer, Thomas Cranmer.
20:48: I'd like to refer you to the archives of Iron Troupe and Zion Radio, irontroupeandzionradio .com,
20:54: and in the search engine type in N as in Nancy U -L -L, that is the last name of a biographer of Archbishop Cranmer, Ashley Null.
21:08: If you type in Null, that's the only person that I've ever interviewed with that name, all of Dr.
21:16: Null's interviews will come up, including his interviews on Thomas Cranmer. He is considered one of the foremost living experts on the life, teaching, and legacy of Thomas Cranmer.
21:27: Would you agree with that assessment? Absolutely. And to play on words,
21:32: Null and Void, all of this nonsense about Cranmer that has prevailed for several hundred years, he has been so misrepresented,
21:46: Chris. And very quickly, because we know that that's not the subject today, but what are some of the ways he's been misrepresented?
21:55: Well, I've got to be careful because I come from a church with many parties and spiritualities, and when
22:04: I say these things, it's a general description, and not everybody involved in these various groupings, but particularly the 19th century
22:14: Anglo -Catholics, have a great deal of contempt for Cranmer, and so they stole
22:22: Hooker from a reformed camp and made him the great motivator of the
22:30: Anglican movement. Yeah, they make Hooker out to be somewhere via media, don't they?
22:37: Yes, yes, and the same with John Donne. These men agreed with the
22:44: Puritans, if I can put it that way, even though they may have had different emphases because they were passing through different eras.
22:54: But there's been a lot of, I don't know how to put it, I'm using a word that probably isn't well selected, but there's been a lot of mischief in the history of the church in England, Chris.
23:07: And I'm assuming that since you laid a lot of the blame for this at the feet of Anglo -Catholicism, it's probably due to the fact that the 39 articles of religion that Cranmer drafted, they're clearly very opposed to Romish idolatry and things connected uniquely with Rome, aren't they?
23:34: Yes, they tried to claim that the articles were consistent with their
23:39: Romish beliefs. Really? Yes, you know, with Newman's spin that he put on the articles, he would write tracts that were trying to interpret the articles in a
23:55: Catholic direction. Now, you know, I have known some good men and worked with good men in that particular churchmanship,
24:03: Chris. I don't brand them all in the same way, but this to me is one of the unfortunate features in the
24:12: Church of England. When we abandoned, or the Church itself abandoned, its Reformed character and its evangelical and biblical approach, it became inclusive of so many different brands, each calling themselves
24:27: Anglican. And, you know, the name is virtually void of any real meaning, because you don't know what every
24:34: Anglican you meet is going to say. I've known atheists sitting in clergy meetings, but they're there for social causes.
24:42: So, you know, it's something to be very wary of. But I mustn't be too sweeping in some of the things
24:49: I'm saying, but that is a fact. Cranmer has been very badly treated over the last 200 years.
24:58: Ignored, despised, treated as a disaster, as I said, as was the
25:04: Reformation. And for me, that is tragic. Amen.
25:10: Well, we have to go to our first break right now. If any of you listening would like to join us on the air with a question about the
25:19: Valley of Vision, the book we are discussing today, which is a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions that have deeply, that has,
25:31: I should say, deeply and profoundly affected the life and faith of my guest,
25:37: Roger Salter, send in your email to ChrisArnzen at gmail .com, C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N at gmail .com.
25:46: As always, give us your first name at least, your city and state of residence, and your country of residence if you live outside the USA.
25:52: Perhaps you even want to just share a testimony of what the Valley of Vision has meant to you and your own walk with Christ, whatever the case may be.
26:01: Perhaps it's just a question that you have on Anglicanism in general and Reformed Theology.
26:08: ChrisArnzen at gmail .com. ChrisArnzen at gmail .com. First name, city and state, and country of residence.
26:14: Only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter. Don't go away.
26:19: We'll be right back with our guest, Roger Salter, right after these messages from our sponsors.
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37:35: I cherish and look forward to many years, if the Lord allows, to fellowship with them again and to have our friendship grow and strengthen.
37:47: Roger is the Rector of St. Matthew's Anglican Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and we are discussing some thoughts from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions.
37:59: If you could, Roger, give us some more insight into this book and some reasons why you cherish it so.
38:11: Of course, I'll endeavor to do that, but I wondered if I could read the names of those folk who
38:18: Arthur drew from to compile this prayer, because they are an excellent list of true saints of God, and so these folk from whom he, and he so skillfully wove their thoughts and petitions and statements together under various headings and titles, as you do from Thomas Shepard, Thomas Watson, Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, Isaac Watts, William Williams, the great
38:52: Welsh hymn writer, Philip Doddridge, William Romaine, David Braynard, Augustus Toplady, Christmas Evans, that wonderful Baptist preacher from Wales, William Jay, Henry Law, and Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
39:09: Nothing but a bunch of lightweights. It's spread over several generations, but those are the sources from which he compiled these beautiful prayers.
39:26: They're so enriching, and as I say, you could turn this book over at random, and you wouldn't be making a bad choice, but could
39:36: I read the one that introduces the book, which was specifically arranged by Arthur for this volume?
39:46: Oh yeah, definitely. It's titled The Valley of Vision. He says,
39:52: Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths, but see thee in the heights, pending by mountains of sin,
40:08: I behold thy glory. Let me learn by paradox, that the way down is the way up, that the low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision.
40:39: Lord, in the daytime, stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells, the brighter thy stars shine.
40:49: Let me find thy light in my darkness, thy life in my death, thy joy in my sorrow, thy grace in my sin, thy riches in my poverty, thy glory in my valley.
41:05: Praise God. And what better way to hear that than in your voice, brother.
41:11: In fact, some of our listeners may have recognized, in fact, perhaps they all did, that you are the voice of the
41:18: Historical Bible Society ad now on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. I want to thank you and your son,
41:24: Alex, so much for the labors that you've poured into recording that for me. And I must tell you that the founder of the
41:32: Historical Bible Society, Dan Buttafuoco, attorney at law, he loves your rendition or your version of that ad.
41:41: I just wanted to let you know that. It's kind of you to say so,
41:46: Chris. It's a great joy to do it. I appreciate that. Well, tell us some more of your insights or reasons for loving this book so much.
41:58: Well, this is a superb volume because it does encourage, it does uplift, but it also chastises and humbles.
42:08: And sometimes it's a bit prickly and you think, I'm not sure that I'm ready for that.
42:14: And there are some of these prayers that make you realize how far down the scale of spiritual, if I can use these terms, spiritual progress you are.
42:28: But we're always, you know, non -starters. I always feel
42:33: I haven't even got to the starting line yet, Chris. But what I love is that they're full of worship and reverence towards God.
42:43: They understand and minister to the depths and every aspect of our inner being.
42:51: They afford encouragement in God, unfailingly. They teach us that there is no point in self -reliance or self -esteem in any spiritual sense, that we're always paupers, but we're always before the one who is infinitely rich to help and resources.
43:10: And the first one, on page one, I think is absolutely superb.
43:16: I don't know whether I ought to just read an excerpt or the whole prayer. You can feel free to read the whole prayer.
43:23: Okay. Well, this is titled The Trinity, and I think that is the best place to start,
43:29: Chris. A vision of our glorious God, who is indescribable and incomprehensible, and yet humble enough to make himself known to us in various ways.
43:44: So I'll read this prayer entitled The Trinity, because it is so full of worship and reverence and appreciation of our three -personed
43:56: God. Three in one, one in three, God of my salvation.
44:04: Heavenly Father, blessed Son, eternal Spirit, I adore thee as one being, one essence, one
44:12: God in three distinct persons, for bringing sinners to thy knowledge and to thy kingdom.
44:20: O Father, thou hast loved me and sent Jesus to redeem me. O Jesus, thou hast loved me and assumed my nature, shed thine own blood to wash away my sins, wrought righteousness to cover my unworthiness.
44:37: Holy Spirit, thou hast loved me and entered my heart, implanted there eternal life, revealed to me the glories of Jesus.
44:48: Three persons in one God, I bless and praise thee, for love so unmerited, so unspeakable, so wondrous, so mighty to save the lost and raise them to glory.
45:01: O Father, I thank thee that in fullness of grace thou hast given me to Jesus to be his sheep, jewel, portion.
45:11: O Jesus, I thank thee in fullness of grace thou hast accepted, espoused, bound me.
45:18: O Holy Spirit, I thank thee that in fullness of grace thou hast exhibited
45:23: Jesus as my salvation, implanted faith within me, subdued my stubborn heart, made me one with him forever.
45:33: O Father, thou art enthroned to hear my prayers. O Jesus, thy hand is outstretched to take my petitions.
45:42: O Holy Spirit, thou art willing to help my infirmities, to show me my need, to supply words, to pray with me, to strengthen me that I faint not in supplication.
45:55: O triune God, who commandeth the universe, thou hast commanded me to ask these things that concern thy kingdom and my soul.
46:06: Let me live and pray as one baptized into the threefold name.
46:14: Praise God. By the way, we have a very simple message. It's not a question, but a very simple word of encouragement from Mary in Cork, Ireland, who simply says,
46:27: What an uplifting interview! I just wanted to let you know that you are blessing someone there in Cork, Ireland, over our discussion today.
46:39: It's lovely to hear from Mary. And she's Irish as my wife is.
46:46: Oh, that's right. That's right. Yes. Yes. So that's a lovely greeting that Maureen will appreciate.
46:54: Well, praise God. Now, you just, in your own description, before you read that prayer, which is another thing that this book should serve as an example to us to remember the triune
47:11: Godhead in our prayer life, we very often, I think, as Christians, I even could say that personally, are not praying to the triune
47:19: Godhead. We're praying typically to Christ, to the Father through Christ.
47:25: But that's a reminder, that prayer, that beautiful, breathtaking prayer that you just read. But also, in your own description that you were citing earlier of the value of this book, one of the things that this book will provide for the average
47:45: Christian is to think very seriously about what should be included in a healthy prayer life.
47:56: Not, as we were saying before, words that are robotically regurgitated and repeated like the pagans are guilty of.
48:07: But the concepts and themes and elements, not that they need to all be in every prayer, but in our prayer life in general, must be, or should be, at the very least, included.
48:23: Am I right? Because we can unfortunately fall into the trap of presenting to God a laundry list of things that we want, and troubles that we want to be rescued from, but we can fail, at times, to worship
48:40: Him in our prayer. Am I right? Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.
48:45: And psychologically, Chris, I'm saying this as an amateur observer, I think people of different make -ups tend to relate to one of the members of the
48:57: Trinity more so than others. But some are very Father -oriented. They're not ignoring the
49:03: Son and the Holy Spirit, but they habitually address the Father. And others, of course, are very much focused on the
49:12: Son, because this is the era of redemption and very important. And then others are very much likely to think of the
49:20: Holy Spirit. And sometimes these divisions in our prayer life can distort our
49:28: Christian life and get them out of balance. And, you know, people can talk about God the
49:34: Father without any regard for the Son. And if there's no regard for the Son, where is salvation?
49:41: And likewise with the Spirit, where is the genuine indwelling of Christ within us and that liveliness and vitality that the
49:51: Spirit brings? On the other hand, there's the great danger of excessive emotion and overexcitedness in the worship of God, because I'll go back to a story that someone, a very proficient preacher and scholar of the
50:08: Bible, was preaching somewhere in a church. I won't mention where. And he preached, as always, a thoroughly biblical and beautiful sermon.
50:20: And the minister of that church got up and said, well, thank you for that. And now we're really going to get with the
50:25: Spirit. The Spirit's really going to bless us. And out came the guitars and drums. You know what
50:32: I mean? It was a denigration of the
50:37: Word of God and the ministry of the pastor. And all they wanted now was lively music.
50:46: And, you know, bailed off with enough of that in the Old Testament times. There's got to be the sanctification of the
50:53: Spirit, as well as the so -called excitement that people claim they have. By the way, when you met the author,
51:03: Arthur Bennett, when he was actually... I just think that it's utterly amazing, the providence of you being in the former offices of Banner of Truth in England when
51:17: Arthur Bennett submitted the manuscript for this book. I don't know if you had a chance to speak with him about it.
51:26: But I was just wondering if you knew how he went about selecting these wonderful prayers.
51:35: No, we had no conversation, Chris. We mollied each other, smiled at each other.
51:40: But he got straight down to business in the office. And I was in the outer office just sitting in a chair.
51:48: And, you know, I had no idea what he was doing until the book was published, to be honest.
51:56: Wow. Well, we have to go to our first, or not our first, but our midway station break.
52:03: This is the longer than normal break in the middle of the show. So please be patient with us. Grace Life Radio, 90 .1
52:11: FM in Lake City, Florida, requires of us a longer break in the middle of the show, because the FCC requires of them to localize this program and all of their programming geographically to Lake City, Florida, by airing their own public service announcements and other local things in the midst of or in between their programs.
52:33: So while they do that, we simultaneously air our globally heard commercials. Please use this time wisely.
52:39: Please write down as much of the information as you possibly can from as many of our advertisers as you possibly can.
52:49: And that way you will be further ensured to more frequently and successfully respond to our advertisers, whether it be through, hopefully, at least on occasion, patronizing them, purchasing their products, using their services, visiting their churches, supporting their parachurch organizations.
53:09: But when you can't do those things, at the very least, please reply or respond to our advertisers by thanking them for supporting
53:18: Iron Sherpa and Zion Radio with their advertising dollars. We absolutely positively depend on the funding that comes through our advertisers to exist.
53:27: So please do not take our advertisers for granted if you love this show. So please respond to our advertisers, and also please take this time to write down questions for Roger Salter on the
53:40: Valley of Vision, on the theme of prayer in general, on Anglicanism, Reform Theology.
53:47: Our email address is chrisarnson at gmail .com. chrisarnson at gmail .com.
53:53: Please give us your first name at least, your city and state of residence, and your country of residence if you live outside the
53:59: USA. Only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter.
54:05: Don't go away. We're going to be right back after these messages with more of Roger Salter and our subject today, which is the
54:13: Valley of Vision. If you love
54:26: Iron Sherpa and Zion Radio, one of the best ways you can help keep the show on the air is by supporting our advertisers.
54:33: One such faithful advertiser who really believes in what Chris Arnton is doing is
54:39: Daniel P. Patafuco, serious injury lawyer and Christian apologist.
54:45: Dan is the president and founder of the Historical Bible Society. Their mission?
54:51: To foster belief in the credibility of scripture as the written word of God. They go to various churches, schools, and institutions to publicly display a rare collection of biblical texts, along with a fascinating presentation by Mr.
55:06: Patafuco, demonstrating the reliability of scripture. To advance the cause of the gospel, they created a beautiful, perfect facsimile of the genealogy of Jesus Christ from the original engravings contained in a first edition 1611
55:23: King James Bible. This 17th century hand -engraved chart shows the family tree of Jesus Christ going back to Adam and Eve.
55:34: This book is complete with gorgeous full -size illustrations of Noah's Ark and the
55:39: Tower of Babel, and an explanation of why the genealogy of Jesus is so important for his claims to the throne of the universe.
55:49: Originals of this work are in museums and nobody's ever made it accessible to the public in a large book form before.
55:57: You can have your own copy of this 44 -page genealogy book for a donation of $35 or more.
56:05: Visit historicalbiblesociety .org. That's historicalbiblesociety .org.
56:12: Thanks for helping to keep Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio on the air. I'm James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries.
56:30: My friend Chris Arnson, host of Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio, and I are headed down to Atlanta, Georgia once again for the
56:37: G3 conference. This year's G3 will be held Thursday, September 30th through Saturday, October 2nd on the theme
56:44: Christ is Supreme Over All. I'll be joined by over 20 other speakers and musicians to lead in the worship of God through preaching, teaching, and singing, including
56:54: John MacArthur, Phil Johnson, Conrad M. Bayway, Daryl Bernard Harrison, and Virgil Walker.
57:00: For details, visit g3conference .com. That's g3conference .com. Chris Arnson and I hope to see you
57:06: September 30th through October 2nd at G321. This is James White reminding you that Christ is supreme over all.
57:17: Getting a driver's license, running a cash register, flipping burgers, passing sixth grade.
57:23: Do you know what they all have in common? They all require training, assessments, and certifications. But do you know what requires no training at all?
57:32: Becoming a parent. My name is A .M. Brewster. I'm the president of Truth Love Parent and host of its award -winning podcast.
57:40: I've been a biblical family counselor since the early 2000s, and what I've discovered is that the majority of Christian parents have never been biblically equipped to do the work of the ministry in their homes.
57:50: That's why Truth Love Parent exists. We serve God by equipping dads and moms to be the ambassador parents
57:56: God called and created them to be. We produce free parenting resources, train church leaders, and offer biblical counseling so that the next generation of dads and moms can use the scriptures to parent their children for life and godliness.
58:08: Please visit us at TruthLoveParent .com. Hi, this is
58:14: John Sampson, pastor of King's Church in Peoria, Arizona. Taking a moment of your day to talk about Chris Arnson and the
58:22: Iron Sharpens Iron podcast. I consider Chris a true friend and a man of high integrity. He's a skilled interviewer who's not afraid to ask the big penetrating questions while always defending the key doctrines of the
58:33: Christian faith. I've always been happy to point people to this podcast knowing it's one of the very few safe places on the internet where folk won't be led astray.
58:42: I believe this podcast needs to be heard far and wide. This is a day of great spiritual compromise, and yet God has raised
58:49: Chris up for just such a time, and knowing this, it's up to us as members of the body of Christ to stand with such a ministry in prayer and in finances.
58:59: I'm pleased to do so and would like to ask you to prayerfully consider joining me in supporting
59:04: Iron Sharpens Iron financially. Would you consider sending either a one -time gift or even becoming a regular monthly partner with this ministry?
59:13: I know it would be a huge encouragement to Chris if you would. All the details can be found at IronSharpensIronRadio .com
59:20: where you can click support. That's IronSharpensIronRadio .com. I'm Dr.
59:32: Tony Costa, Professor of Apologetics and Islam at Toronto Baptist Seminary. I'm thrilled to introduce to you a church where I've been invited to speak and have grown to love,
59:42: Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Coram, Long Island, New York, pastored by Rich Jensen and Christopher McDowell.
59:50: It's such a joy to witness and experience fellowship with people of God like the dear saints at Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Coram who have an intensely passionate desire to continue digging deeper and deeper into the unfathomable riches of Christ in his holy word, and to enthusiastically proclaim
01:00:07: Christ Jesus the King and his doctrines of sovereign grace in Suffolk County, Long Island, and beyond.
01:00:14: I hope you also have the privilege of discovering this precious congregation and receive the blessing of being showered by their love, as I have.
01:00:23: For more information on Hope Reformed Baptist Church, go to hopereformedli .net.
01:00:30: That's hopereformedli .net or call 631 -696 -5711.
01:00:39: That's 631 -696 -5711. Tell the folks at Hope Reformed Baptist Church of Coram, Long Island, New York, that you heard about them from Tony Costa on Iron Sharpens Iron.
01:00:56: Was your business shut down during the
01:01:09: COVID -19 pandemic, depriving you of earning any money, causing you to default on your rent as you try to survive without income?
01:01:19: Maybe you've had to close your doors for good. The good news, you thought, was that you purchased business interruption insurance as a part of your business liability policy with a major insurance company who told you they are a good neighbor or that you would be in good hands.
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01:02:55: Call 1 -800 -669 -4878. Lynnbrook Baptist Church on 225
01:03:18: Earl Avenue in Lynnbrook, Long Island is teaching God's timeless truths in the 21st century. Our church is far more than a
01:03:24: Sunday worship service. It's a place of learning where the scriptures are studied and the preaching of the gospel is clear and relevant.
01:03:30: It's like a gym where one can exercise their faith through community involvement. It's like a hospital for wounded souls where one can find compassionate people and healing.
01:03:38: We're a diverse family of all ages, enthusiastically serving our Lord Jesus Christ in fellowship, play, and together.
01:03:44: Hi, I'm Pastor Bob Walderman, and I invite you to come and join us here at Lynnbrook Baptist Church and see all that a church can be.
01:03:51: Call Lynnbrook Baptist at 516 -599 -9402. That's 516 -599 -9402.
01:03:58: Or visit Lynnbrookbaptist .org. That's Lynnbrookbaptist .org. Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said,
01:04:09: Give yourself unto reading. The man who never reads will never be read. He who never quotes will never be quoted.
01:04:17: He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves he has no brains of his own.
01:04:22: You need to read. Solid Ground Christian Books is a publisher and book distributor who takes these words of the
01:04:29: Prince of Preachers to heart. The mission of Solid Ground Christian Books is to bring back treasures of the past to minister to Christians in the present and future, and to publish new titles that address burning issues in the church and the world.
01:04:41: Since its beginning in 2001, Solid Ground has been committed to publish God -centered,
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01:04:54: That's Solid -Ground -Books .com and see what priceless literary gems from the past to present you can unearth from Solid Ground.
01:05:03: Solid Ground Christian Books is honored to be a weekly sponsor of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. And I happen to know for a fact that our guest today,
01:05:11: Roger Salter, has a great admiration for Solid Ground Christian Books. Do you not, brother? I certainly do,
01:05:20: Chris. I need to write to Warren Buffett for more funds. But actually,
01:05:26: I do treasure the books I have, and I would like to purchase more. But they're excellent publications, and Mike Gaydosh chooses very wisely.
01:05:39: Amen. And for our Anglican listeners, and whenever we have an Anglican guest, I'm sure that the
01:05:46: Anglican audience rises in number. But just to let you know that Solid -Ground -Books .com
01:05:53: does offer quite a number of books by and about Anglicans, not only from the past but from the present.
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01:06:19: T -Y -N -G, you'll find that list of books by Stephen H. Ting, who was, in the 19th century, a rector of St.
01:06:29: George's Episcopal Church in New York City, a church that I have actually received a tour through by the current rector, my friend,
01:06:39: Reverend Jacob Smith, who is a low -church Calvinistic Episcopalian, a very rare breed in this day and age, especially in the
01:06:48: Episcopal Church denomination. So Stephen H. Ting is one author, and if you want a contemporary author who has written about men from the past,
01:07:01: Thomas Garrett Isham. Do you know Thomas, Roger? Yes, yes, we've spoken on the phone and exchanged correspondence.
01:07:11: Yes, well, he is quite a gifted writer and has written a couple of things, one of them on Augustus Toplady for Solid -Ground -Books .com.
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01:07:39: to exist. The finances that come through their advertising are absolutely indispensable. So please make a regular purchasing stop at Solid -Ground -Books .com,
01:07:52: and always remember to mention Chris Arnson of Iron Triple and Zion Radio when making a purchase.
01:07:57: Before we return to our interview today with Roger Salter on the
01:08:03: Valley of Vision, we just have a couple more announcements to make, very important ones. Many of you have been joining me in prayer for Vodie Baucom.
01:08:14: Vodie is certainly a precious gift to the body of Christ, and you've been hearing his name come up in the commercials for the
01:08:25: G3 conference in Atlanta, Georgia, where I will be manning an exhibitor's booth,
01:08:31: God willing, September 30th through October 2nd in Atlanta, Georgia.
01:08:38: This will be my fourth year at the G3 conference, and Vodie Baucom has been scheduled on the roster along with over 20 other speakers, and at this point, we are not 100 % sure that Vodie will be on that roster in the fall.
01:08:57: He may remain on that roster, but a lot of it has to do with his health, and I just want to remind our listeners to pray for Vodie.
01:09:09: Vodie had quadruple bypass surgery and has been released from the
01:09:15: Mayo Clinic, and he is apparently so far doing well, is enjoying his reunion with his family after surgery.
01:09:27: The last I have heard is that he has a long road of recovery ahead of him, but everything seems to, at least at this point from my latest update on him, everything seems to be going well so far after his surgery, and I will keep you updated as to other further progress and hopefully good news and praise reports that we hear about Vodie and his recovery.
01:09:56: Certainly an invaluable gift to the body of Christ. We don't want Vodie to leave this planet any time soon because of the wonderful blessing he is to the church at large.
01:10:09: But let me just read briefly Tom Askell of Founders Ministries, a close friend of Vodie.
01:10:17: Let me read his latest update. Also, folks, if you love
01:10:47: Iron Troupe and Zion Radio, you don't want it to disappear from the airwaves, please go to www .irontroupeandzionradio
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01:10:59: We were on the brink of being in a terrifying situation financially with a checking account nearly completely empty, and thankfully our dear friends at Heritage Presbyterian Church in Cumming, Georgia, where Dr.
01:11:20: Joe Moorcraft is the pastor, they charged in like knights riding on white horses to rescue us and have purchased some advertising from us.
01:11:33: They will be actually one -fourth of our next full -page ad in World Magazine that is likely to come out in either
01:11:43: August or September. So keep your eye out for Heritage Presbyterian Church's ad.
01:11:51: It will actually be promoting Dr. Moorcraft's commentaries on the
01:11:57: Westminster Larger Catechism. So that's what you'll be looking for in the ad, and we thank them so much.
01:12:03: We also thank, as I already mentioned, Dr. Banu Gadi, who is a
01:12:09: Christian pharmacist in New York City with multiple locations on Long Island and New York City, and we thank him so much for renewing his advertising contract, and also the aforementioned
01:12:23: Dan Buttafuoco, attorney at law, who has renewed his advertising contract not only for his law firm, but for the
01:12:30: Historical Bible Society. The ad that you've been hearing, the new version of that ad, with the voice, the beautiful voice of our guest today,
01:12:38: Roger Salter. But that funding that we received, that rescued us, is no doubt going to quickly disappear due to the bills that we have.
01:12:50: So please help us to remain on the air with your own gifts at www .iontruppernsionradio
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01:13:58: Those two things are commands of God in scripture, providing for church and family. Providing for my radio show is obviously not a command of scripture.
01:14:05: But, if you love this show and you are financially blessed above and beyond your ability to obey those two commands, and you have extra money collecting interest in the bank, extra money that you use for recreational purposes and trivial purposes, well, please use some of that money to help us remain on the air, if indeed you love the show, and if indeed you benefit from it, if indeed you listen to it regularly.
01:14:28: Please help us. We thank all of you who already do that, but for those of you who love the show and never have given, please help us.
01:14:36: We are in urgent need, especially since we have lost quite a bit of income through the lessening of giving due to the coronavirus pandemic hysteria that has caused many people to lose income, lose their jobs, lose their businesses.
01:14:56: So, it's affected us. Please help us replenish what we have lost. Go to irontripandzionradio .com,
01:15:02: click support, then click, click to donate now. Also, if you are not a member of a local Bible -believing church, like the fine church in Birmingham, Alabama, St.
01:15:13: Matthew's Anglican Church, well, I have lists of biblically faithful churches all over the globe.
01:15:21: So, no matter where you live on the planet earth, if you are without a church home that's biblically faithful, send me an email to chrisarnson at gmail .com
01:15:29: and put I need a church in the subject line. I may be able to help you find a church, as I have already done with people all over the world in our audience.
01:15:37: That's chrisarnson at gmail .com and put I need a church in the subject line. That's also the email address that sent in a question to Roger Salter on the
01:15:46: Valley of Vision, our topic today, which is a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions that has made a huge impact on the life and devotion and ministry of my guest,
01:16:01: Roger Salter, and, of course, thousands of others spanning the globe who have discovered this treasure of literature.
01:16:10: Offered by Banner of Truth and also one of our sponsors,
01:16:16: Sulla -Brown -Books .com, where you can purchase this book as well. Send that email to us at chrisarnson at gmail .com
01:16:24: if you have a question. Greetings, brothers.
01:16:40: The Valley of Vision has become a regular part of my devotions since being introduced to it several years ago.
01:16:47: Like you, Brother Salter, I too tend to dwell on the prayers for several days.
01:16:52: I've also found out another book, Piercing Heaven, which is also
01:16:58: Puritan prayers and gives the name of the
01:17:06: Puritan that said the prayers. It too has become part of my worship to our
01:17:12: King. Are you aware of it? That's Piercing Heaven. I know I've seen an ad for it myself.
01:17:17: Have you heard of it? I certainly haven't at this stage, Chris. It sounds very interesting.
01:17:58: While I was rambling on here, I did find the book on Amazon. It's a
01:18:05: Lexham Press publication. You can purchase that at Amazon or you can go to cvbbs .com,
01:18:15: preferably one of our sponsors. Thank you,
01:18:38: Grady, and guess what? You have won a free copy of the
01:18:45: Bonded Leather editions. Since you already have it, you can either give it away as a gift or if you don't have a
01:19:00: Bonded Leather version of it, you can keep it yourself. You can do whatever you'd like with it. We want to thank
01:19:06: BannerOfTruth .org for providing us with this limited number of free giveaway copies of the
01:19:14: Valley of Vision. Thank you for being such a faithful listener, Grady. If you could, Roger, pick up where you left off and give us some more insight into this wonderful volume.
01:19:25: Yes, certainly, Chris. Could I just quickly insert a commendation of a book from Solid Ground that I've learned to appreciate,
01:19:36: Chris? Oh, definitely. I'll never stop you from doing that since they help pay the bills and keep the lights on around here.
01:19:44: Okay, well, it's an excellent book entitled Leaving Dark Land. How God's Instruction Manual Gives Effective Prescriptions for Life's Most Difficult Problems.
01:19:55: Praise God, I've actually done an interview with the author of that book quite a while ago. Yes, Ed died a couple of months ago.
01:20:03: Oh, wow. I didn't know that. This is an excellent book, and what a wonderful pastor and minister
01:20:11: Ed must have been. He, of course, was a member of the congregation with whom we share the facility.
01:20:19: It is a most wonderful book. I can't commend it highly enough, but Leaving Dark Land, I would recommend it to everyone without hesitation.
01:20:33: That's Solid -Ground -Books .com, folks, at the risk of sounding like an infomercial.
01:20:40: Solid -Ground -Books .com. I cannot help but continue to sing the praises for that fine publishing company,
01:20:47: Solid Ground Kitchen Books. And if anybody wants to hear that interview with the author, who is now enjoying glory with Christ for eternity, just type in Dark Land in the search engine at iantropanzionradio .com
01:21:03: for the archived recording of that interview. And back to The Valley of Vision, what more can you bless us with in regard to this wonderful book?
01:21:15: Well, I've turned to the prayer entitled The Gift of Gifts, Chris, and again, could
01:21:25: I read it in its entirety? Oh, yes. Okay. The Gift of Gifts.
01:21:58: He came below to raise me above, was born like me that I might become like him.
01:22:05: Herein is love. When I cannot rise to him, he draws near on wings of grace to raise me to himself.
01:22:14: Herein is power. When deity and humanity were infinitely apart, he united them in intersoluble unity, the uncreated, the created.
01:22:25: Herein is wisdom. When I was undone, with no will to return to him and no intellect to devise recovery, he came,
01:22:35: God incarnate, to save me to the uttermost, as man, to die my death, to shed satisfying blood on my behalf, to work out a perfect righteousness for me.
01:22:48: Oh, God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds and enlarge my mind.
01:22:55: Let me hear good tidings of great joy, and hearing believe, rejoice, praise, adore.
01:23:02: My conscience bathed in an ocean of repose, my eyes uplifted to a reconciled father.
01:23:10: Place me with ox, ass, camel, goat, to look with them upon my redeemer's face, and in him account myself delivered from sin.
01:23:21: Let me with Simeon clasp the newborn child to my heart, embrace him with undying faith, exalting that he is mine and I am his.
01:23:34: In him thou hast given me so much that heaven can give no more. How do you respond to the critics of Reformed theology who say that if God has really ordained all that will come to pass in heaven and on earth, that prayer is unnecessary in their understanding, in their caricatured understanding of what we believe?
01:24:14: How do you respond to that? One funny thing that comes immediately to mind,
01:24:20: Chris, is that whatever kind of man he was, Napoleon was a believer in foreordination.
01:24:30: And somebody said to him, if things are predestined, why do you pray?
01:24:36: And he said, because that is predestined also. But the thing is, it brings us into harmony with the will of God.
01:24:46: That when we pray, even in petition and yearning for certain blessings, prayer is meant to move us, as it were, into harmony to the will of God, to submission to his will.
01:25:03: In fact, could I read, I've just taken the bookmark out, but there is here a prayer on the divine will.
01:25:15: Yes, of course, read it. I'll look it up, because... Let me repeat our email address while you're looking it up, if anybody would like to join us with a question of your own.
01:25:25: It's chrisarnsen at gmail .com, chrisarnsen at gmail .com,
01:25:30: C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N at gmail .com. Give us your first name at least, your city and state of residence, and your country of residence, if you live outside the
01:25:38: USA. Well, of course, the observation is made that God always works through means and instrumentalities.
01:25:51: And the fact that his will is sovereign and fixed and ordains the future doesn't mean that we shouldn't comply with his revealed will to align ourselves with him and to bring our petitions to him.
01:26:08: That's his means of making us aware of the fact that the blessing has come from him and not by happenstance.
01:26:16: It brings us into a relationship with God that is conversational and aspirational.
01:26:24: And that when we do ask and offer prayer, it's always with the condition in our own minds that this is what is in accordance with God's designs.
01:26:37: And as we pray, we see how his designs work out. Not fully, we don't have a full and infallible knowledge, but I think that we realize that we have to be responsible as people.
01:26:51: God has allotted us each a period of life on this earth. So we don't sit back and say, well,
01:26:57: I'm not going to take care of my health or nourish my body or live life with due caution.
01:27:03: We do all that we can to ensure that we will continue in a life that is preserved.
01:27:08: So in that sense, we are brought into a partnership with God. We're not so much the cause of things, but we are part of the happening of things.
01:27:20: And we are instruments in the hands of God. And I think also the more we pray, the more compliant we become with his will.
01:27:33: Our prayer becomes less selfish and less self -serving as we recognize the sovereignty of God.
01:27:41: But we do, we are commanded to pray, and so we fulfill that revealed demand of God.
01:27:48: So I don't know that I've said anything worthwhile, Chris, but I just think
01:27:55: God wants us to converse with him, negotiate with him. He even gives us arguments to present to him for certain things.
01:28:05: So it's part of our relationship with him and a relationship with our
01:28:12: Father and friend and Savior. And there's nothing better than conversing with someone who loves and cares for us, and we respond with gratitude and affection towards him.
01:28:24: It forges us more closely to the Lord. Amen. We have a question from Christian in western
01:28:34: Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. Christian says, I hope
01:28:40: I don't sound like a word of faith heretic, but sometimes it troubles me to listen to my fellow
01:28:49: Calvinists pray, because there seems to be such little expectation in the prayers that God will actually answer those prayers the way we hope he will.
01:29:02: Do you find this to be true? Is it just my experience? I am not saying that we should not always pray according to the will of God, but there seems to be such pessimism infused into the prayer life of many
01:29:15: Reformed people, and I hope that matters change in that regard, crossing churches and denominations.
01:29:25: I think sometimes you do perceive a sense of resignation and almost a very unchristian fatalism, and I've noticed too sometimes, without being excessive or over -emotional, that sometimes animated prayers among people of a
01:29:43: Calvinistic caste of mind look as though they're a bit embarrassing, or people are embarrassed if somebody is animated in prayer.
01:29:52: I like the fact that so many of the past men of God who had this vital relationship with God used to walk up and down and pray and gesticulate, and the intonation in prayer varied.
01:30:06: And I think prayer is a vigorous matter, and when we had our prayer meeting and enough people to attend it, we used to call it wrestlers, because I think of Jacob wrestling with the angel at the brook
01:30:19: Jabbok. Prayer should be energized and expectant and very believing, because although we can't insist on things with God and command him and twist his arm,
01:30:33: I think we can pray with confidence, knowing that if he doesn't answer us specifically, he will answer us more wisely, so there will be an answer to the prayer, it will be the right one, we've got something on our mind, we've trust that he has suggested to us, but if we are misguided, there's a better answer on the way, so we can be equally confident as if he were going to answer our request as we imposed it.
01:31:03: I feel that we must be energized, alive and active and vital in our prayers.
01:31:12: Amen. Thank you, Christian, and give us your full mailing address in western Suffolk County, Long Island, because you have also won a free copy, a leather -bound, a bonded leather edition of The Valley of Vision, compliments of our friends at The Banner of Truth, and also compliments of our friends at Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service, who will actually be physically shipping that out to you.
01:31:40: Look for the return address label of CVBBS .com on the package in the mail, and it hopefully will be arriving in the not -so -distant future.
01:31:52: We have Lew in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, another very generous supporter of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, and Lew says,
01:32:03: Hello, brothers, I just tuned in, so I'm sorry if somebody already mentioned the book I'm asking you about.
01:32:09: Are you familiar with a devotional book called Morning Exercises by William Jay?
01:32:15: It's probably the best devotional I've ever read. John Foster called him the Prince of Preachers, and yes,
01:32:22: I'm familiar. That title has been assigned to Charles Spurgeon as well.
01:32:27: Thanks. Morning Exercises by William Jay, are you familiar with it, brother?
01:32:34: I am, but I haven't started it yet, Chris. I've got so many books piled up by my chair, and part of the morning exercise is lifting it, because the volume is quite solid.
01:32:46: I love William Jay, and I eventually trust if God extends my time here,
01:32:55: I will get around to reading it. I'm looking for life. I'm sorry?
01:33:02: The Banner published his life, and I've read that, and I've read a smaller book of his.
01:33:07: I think it's Morning Exercises that is over 800 pages or something, which shouldn't be off -putting, because it's all good material.
01:33:43: we can give away today. In fact, that is the final free copy that we have been given to give away, so providentially you will receive that book,
01:33:56: God willing, in the not -so -distant future. Before we go to our final break,
01:34:04: Roger, could you please provide for us or read to us another one of your favorite prayers from this volume?
01:34:11: I'm going to skip through some of the ones that I've marked,
01:34:18: Chris, and read the one. The one on the will of God is beautiful.
01:34:24: It's not talking about His sovereignty, but our compliance with His will, and our modesty before God when we call upon Him and endeavor to commune with Him.
01:34:40: But I want to read the one on pride, page 88.
01:34:48: This is where the book becomes quite corrective and sometimes chastening, and it makes you realize how much we still need a closer conformity to the mind of God and the character of Christ.
01:35:06: Pride. The idea, incidentally, that God is a humble
01:35:17: God I think is astonishing. He serves us as creator, as redeemer, as sustainer.
01:35:24: He loves being a servant God, even though He is sovereign and all -powerful. I love to call
01:35:30: Him almighty, and I love to think of His meekness as this prayer begins.
01:35:59: I love to think of His meekness as this prayer begins.
01:36:29: Humble my heart before Thee, and replenish it with Thy choicest gifts. As water rests not on barren hill summits, but flows down to fertilize lowest vales, so make me the lowest of the lowly, that my spiritual riches may exceedingly abound.
01:36:47: When I leave duties undone, may condemning thought strip me of pride, deepen in me devotion to Thy service, and quicken me to more watchful care.
01:36:58: When I am tempted to think highly of myself, grant me to see the wily power of my spiritual enemy.
01:37:06: Help me to stand with wary eye on the watchtower of faith, and to cling with determined grasp to my humble
01:37:13: Lord. If I fall, let me hide myself in my Redeemer's righteousness, and when
01:37:20: I escape, may I ascribe all deliverance to Thy grace. Keep me humble, meek, lowly.
01:37:28: Praise God. Well, we're going to our final break right now, and if you'd like to join us with a question of your own, send in your question fairly quickly because we are rapidly running out of time.
01:37:39: ChrisArnzen at gmail .com ChrisArnzen at gmail .com Give us your first name at least, your city and state of residence, and your country of residence if you live outside the
01:37:47: USA. Only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter.
01:37:53: Don't go away. We'll be right back with Roger Salter. ChrisArnzen at gmail .com
01:38:05: Hi, I'm Phil Johnson, host and executive director of Grace to You, the media ministry of John MacArthur.
01:38:12: I hope you plan to join me and Chris Arnzen, host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, for the
01:38:18: G3 Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, Thursday, September 30th through Saturday, October 2nd.
01:38:24: The theme this year is Christ is supreme over all. My friend Chris Arnzen and I will be joined by several of our other friends, including
01:38:33: Votie Baucom, Justin Peters, Daryl Bernard Harrison, Virgil Walker, and James White.
01:38:40: More than 20 other speakers will be joining us, and the lineup this year includes my pastor, John MacArthur.
01:38:46: For details, visit g3conference .com. That's g3conference .com.
01:38:52: Chris Arnzen and I hope to see you September 30th through October 2nd at G3 2021.
01:38:59: This is Phil Johnson reminding you that Christ is supreme over all. When Iron Sharpens Iron Radio first launched in 2005, the publishers of the
01:39:21: New American Standard Bible were among my very first sponsors. It gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the
01:39:29: Iron Sharpens Iron Radio audience have been sticking with or switching to the
01:39:34: NASB. I'm author Gary DeMar, president of American Vision, and the
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01:40:01: NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Dr. William Webster, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Battleground, Washington, founder of the ministry
01:40:10: Christian Resources, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
01:40:15: I'm Pastor Ryan Galan of Central Islip Community Church in Central Islip, New York, and the
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01:40:30: NASB is my Bible of choice. Here's a great way for your church to help keep
01:40:35: Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air. Pastors, are your pew bibles tattered and falling apart?
01:40:41: Consider restocking your pews with the NASB, and tell the publishers you heard about them from Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.
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01:41:07: This is Pastor Bill Sousa of Grace Church at Franklin, here in the beautiful state of Tennessee.
01:41:13: Our congregation is one of a growing number of churches who love and support
01:41:19: Iron Sharpens Iron Radio financially. Grace Church at Franklin is an independent, autonomous body of believers which strives to clearly declare the whole counsel of God as revealed in Scripture through the person and work of our
01:41:35: Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, the end for which we strive is the glory of God.
01:41:42: If you live near Franklin, Tennessee, and Franklin is just south of Nashville, maybe 10 minutes, or you are visiting this area, or you have friends and loved ones nearby, we hope you will join us some
01:41:55: Lord's Day in worshiping our God and Savior. Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions about Grace Church at Franklin.
01:42:05: Our website is gracechurchatfranklin .org. That's gracechurchatfranklin .org.
01:42:13: This is Pastor Bill Sousa wishing you all the richest blessings of our
01:42:18: Sovereign Lord, God, Savior, and King, Jesus Christ, today and always.
01:42:30: Here's what Gary DeMar, President of American Vision, had to say about Iron Sharpens Iron Radio recently.
01:42:37: Good to be back, Chris. I always enjoy our time here. I have to tell you, you're one of the better interviewers out there, and I've been doing this for more than 30 years.
01:42:47: Wow, that's some compliment. How much do I owe you for that? You don't have to owe me anything.
01:42:54: We're in good shape. I'm glad you said it on the air so I don't have to brag about myself.
01:43:01: Tell your friends and loved ones about Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, airing live Monday through Friday, 4 to 6 p .m.
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01:43:43: Long Island Youth for Christ has been a stalwart bedrock ministry since 1959. We have a world -class staff and a proven track record of bringing consistent love and encouragement to youths in need all over the country and around the world.
01:43:57: Help honor our history by becoming a part of our future. Volunteer, donate, pray, or all of the above.
01:44:04: For details, call Long Island Youth for Christ at 631 -385 -8333.
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01:45:36: If you love Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, one of the best ways you can help keep the show on the air is by supporting our advertisers.
01:45:46: One such faithful advertiser who really believes in what Chris Hansen is doing is
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01:45:57: Dan is the president and founder of the Historical Bible Society. Their mission?
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01:47:09: You can have your own copy of this 44 -page genealogy book for a donation of $35 or more.
01:47:17: Visit historicalbiblesociety .org. That's historicalbiblesociety .org.
01:47:25: Thanks for helping to keep Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air. Chris Orensen, host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, announcing a new website with an exciting offer from World Magazine, my trusted source for news from a
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01:48:52: Lindbrook Baptist Church on 225 Earl Avenue in Lindbrook, Long Island, is teaching God's timeless truths in the 21st century.
01:48:59: Our church is far more than a Sunday worship service. It's a place of learning where the scriptures are studied and the preaching of the gospel is clear and relevant.
01:49:07: It's like a gym where one can exercise their faith through community involvement. It's like a hospital for wounded souls where one can find compassionate people and healing.
01:49:15: We're a diverse family of all ages. Enthusiastically serving our Lord Jesus Christ. In fellowship, play, and together.
01:49:21: Hi, I'm Pastor Bob Walderman, and I invite you to come and join us here at Lindbrook Baptist Church and see all that a church can be.
01:49:27: Call Lindbrook Baptist at 516 -599 -9402. That's 516 -599 -9402.
01:49:34: Or visit LindbrookBaptist .org. That's LindbrookBaptist .org. Welcome back. And, Roger Salter, if you could provide for us one more reading from the book before we run out of time.
01:49:48: I would love to, Chris. This one is Entitled Joy. O Christ, all thy ways of mercy tend to and end in my delight.
01:49:59: Thou didst weep, sorrow, suffer, that I might rejoice. For my joy thou hast sent the
01:50:05: Comforter, multiplied thy promises, shown me my future happiness, given me a living fountain.
01:50:13: Thou art preparing joy for me and me for joy. I pray for joy, wait for joy, long for joy.
01:50:20: Give me more than I can hold, desire, or think of. Measure out to me my times and degrees of joy, at my work, business, duties.
01:50:31: If I weep at night, give me joy in the morning. Let me rest in the thought of thy love.
01:50:37: Pardon for sin, my title to heaven, my future unspotted state. I am an unworthy recipient of thy grace.
01:50:46: I often disesteem thy blood and slight thy love. But can repentance draw water from the wells of thy joyous forgiveness?
01:50:55: Let my heart leap towards the eternal Sabbath, where the work of redemption, sanctification, preservation, glorification, is finished and perfected forever.
01:51:07: Where thou wilt rejoice over me with joy. There is no joy like the joy of heaven.
01:51:12: For in that state are no sad divisions, unchristian quarrels, contentions, evil designs, weariness, hunger, cold, sadness, sin, suffering, persecutions, toils of duty.
01:51:28: O healthful place, where none are sick. O happy land, where all are kings. O holy assembly, where all are priests.
01:51:36: How free a state, where none are servants except to thee. Bring me speedily to the land of joy.
01:52:11: People who have remained obedient to Christ in the face of persecution and all sorts of conflict, where we are merely learning as students to make our prayer life more rich and more deep and more worshipful.
01:52:29: Isn't this one of the reasons why such a book should be a valuable addition to our libraries?
01:52:37: Oh, I certainly think so, Chris. I don't know if I'm using the right terms on the spur of the moment, but it is really an education in prayer.
01:52:48: It makes our prayers, if I can put it, more godly, more worthy of presentation to the
01:52:55: Lord through the Holy Spirit's editing of them, and also less selfish, less self -concerned.
01:53:03: I think they draw us, even though they're intensely from the heart, they draw us out of ourselves into the presence and into the hand of God.
01:53:16: I think that they're wonderful, wonderful ways of perceiving the whole nature and offering of prayer.
01:53:25: Amen. We have a listener, Bobby in Hartsdale, New York, who wants to know,
01:53:33: Have you ever heard of Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles Kalman, which is another devotional?
01:53:41: I was wondering if I should continue reading it in your opinion. I'm familiar with that book because I was given it in my teens.
01:53:52: And I did enjoy it then, but it's a long time ago, and I couldn't assess it in terms of its theological or spiritual worth anymore.
01:54:03: She was the wife of a Baptist missionary, wasn't she? I don't remember anything that required due caution in using it, but I've not seen it for several decades, so I couldn't say very much about its quality.
01:54:20: But I certainly enjoyed it at the time I was using it. Yes, I was actually given that same devotional as a gift when
01:54:29: I first became a Christian. And I just remember one particular poem that has been etched in my memory that I really enjoyed was a poem called,
01:54:47: I believe, I'm going by my memory now, Sweet Briar Rose.
01:54:53: I don't know if that title, it was either called
01:55:00: Sweet Briar Rose or Crushed Briar Rose, so I can't really remember which one.
01:55:07: But I remember the theme of the poem was that this rose, called the
01:55:13: Briar Rose, could only be smelled, and it had an absolutely glorious aroma, and it could only be smelled if the flower was crushed.
01:55:25: And it was basically an analogy of Christ's being crushed on the cross and the beauty that came from that.
01:55:34: And even, if I'm not mistaken, the lives of Christians become even sweeter when they suffer affliction and trials and so on.
01:55:45: Yes, I think I recall it. I think I recall it. Yes, and I believe I even read that poem at my own mother's wake in 1995.
01:55:55: But if you could give us a summary of what you most want etched in the hearts and minds of our listeners today about the
01:56:03: Valley of Vision. Gosh, Chris, for me, it elevates the mind.
01:56:18: It makes one more sober before God. It brings a gravitas into times with Him, not a gloominess or a dreariness.
01:56:30: And every time I open it, it makes me realize how unqualified
01:56:36: I am to approach the Lord, and it means that the Lord Jesus Christ is more indispensable and important than I've ever recognized.
01:56:49: We come to God purely through His free grace and because of His mercy alone.
01:57:00: And then, as I say, it's disciplinary. It wakes you up to the gaps and flaws in your own
01:57:06: Christian walk. But it also tells you that the strength will come, and it will come from heaven and from the
01:57:14: Lord Himself. Well, if you would like to get a copy of The Valley of Vision, of course, you could go to the publisher who has provided us with the free copies that we gave away.
01:57:27: Obviously, your copy won't be free. The show's over, folks. But if you want to go to BannerofTruth .org,
01:57:34: BannerofTruth .org, and actually, I'd prefer you go to one of our sponsors that actually helps keep this program on the air,
01:57:42: Solid -Ground -Books .com has quite a number of different versions of The Valley of Vision, and you're not going to be punishing
01:57:51: Banner of Truth by purchasing from Solid -Ground -Books .com because they have to order them from Banner of Truth.
01:57:59: And also, CVBBS .com is another place where you can purchase the book. Don't forget about Roger's websites.
01:58:08: They are, first of all, stmanglican .weebly
01:58:18: .com, stmanglican .weebly .com,
01:58:25: and also rogersalter .com, rogersalter .com.
01:58:31: I want to thank you so much, Roger. Can I just say, I don't want people to confuse Weebly with Welby.
01:58:40: Okay. All right, don't confuse that. And I want to thank you so much for always being such a superb guest,
01:58:46: Roger. You've become quite a favorite amongst many of my listeners. I want to thank everybody who listened today, especially those who took the time to write in a question.
01:58:54: I want you all to always remember for the rest of your lives that Jesus Christ is a far greater Savior than you are a sinner.