Passive Conversion

"I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord." (Psa. 40: 1-3 KJV)

This passage has been a favorite with Christians, including our Hardshell brothers. Many times this passage has been quoted by preachers in the midst of emotional discourse and emphasized how this was the experience of sinners when they are saved, when they are regenerated or converted.

Clearly the text describes a conscious conversion experience. It is not describing a secret sub conscious Hardshell "regeneration." Notice how the language of what God does for the penitent when he cries to the Lord, making God his trust, is in the passive voice. He did such and such. I was passive in this work. He brought me up out of the quicksand wherein I was sinking in sin. He set my feet upon a rock, even the rock of scripture, upon the Lord Jesus Christ. He established my goings in converting my heart. He put a new song in my mouth when he converted me and assured me of my salvation.

Recall the last posting where brother Jason Brown and I agreed that conversion is as much the work of God as is regeneration.