Pastor Marc making his way down the back nine.
Email Interview with Rev. Marc Jagt
Marc Jagt is presently serving as Minister of the Word in Fergus, ON, his third Canadian Reformed congregation. Rev. Jagt started his ministry in the nation’s capital in 1999 and after nine years there went on to serve for six years in Taber, AB. Along the way, Pastor Marc showed his passion for evangelism by active involvement in local outreach, by teaching Bible courses in public colleges, and even editing an evangelistic tract called Soul. A voracious reader on a wide variety of subjects, Rev. Jagt graciously gave of his time and ability to contribute to Christ’s Psalms, Our Psalms. My thanks to him also for sharing his thoughts on the project. Enjoy! Peter Holtvlüwer
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PH: Let me start by thanking you for your contribution to Christ’s Psalms, Our Psalms. Besides being invited, what drew you to participate in this project?
MJ: There are immense riches in the Word of God – and I’m more convinced than ever that Jesus Christ is the key to unlocking them (John 5:46)! Mining the psalms – which we all love – with that in mind was a beautiful prospect.
PH: Which particular psalms did you work on? Tell us about one of the most interesting or surprising things that you learned in working on your psalms.
MJ: I worked on the closing of the Psalter, Psalms 146-150. It was inspiring to see how these psalms are such a fitting conclusion especially in how they connect back to the first two psalms. Walking with God (Psalm 1) and the Anointed King (Psalm 2), though both attacked in many ways, do triumph and lead to a new people and new world, filled with one hallelujah after another! I found the connections between Psalm 2 and Psalm 149 particularly fascinating. When you read those Psalms next to each other then you see that the kings who rebel against the Anointed One are dealt with – and not just by God’s King but also by his humble ones who in some small way also share in the sufferings of their King.
PH: One of the key things you were asked to find were legitimate connections to Jesus Christ in each psalm. How did you find this task (difficult or…)? Did your psalms present any distinctive difficulties in this respect? Did you learn of any connections to Christ that were new to you?
MJ: There are many connections to Christ when you think of him both as the primary singer of the psalms and as their fulfiller. We love the psalms because of the heart they express – and everything that the heart yearns for is found and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. I found looking at the last psalm (150) with Christ in mind particularly rewarding. He is the one in whom we find a worship that is powerful and passionate – and he, in a way, plays our lives as his great instrument, to the praise of God. 
PH: You are a full-time minister with plenty of demands on your schedule. How did you manage to work on CPOP alongside of your regular work? Did you encounter any special challenges? What sorts of things did you do to help you complete the assignment?
MJ: I don’t hesitate to say the project required a lot of work 😉! I first preached through the psalms in my own congregation and asked for their feedback on those sermons. Then I let all of that percolate for a few weeks before taking up the CPOP project. I read voraciously any relevant material that I could get my hands on – the psalms section in my library is about 5 feet long!
PH: How many hours (on average) did you put into each psalm? How did your wife feel about your involvement in Christ’s Psalms, Our Psalms?
MJ: If you consider the sermons I first preached, and their preparation, each psalm was over a full week’s work. My wife is glad I’m finished!
PH: How did the study of the Psalms impact you personally?
MJ: My love for the Psalms has certainly grown. They are poetic, in a Hebrew way, and so artistically put together. It’s beautiful to see how the psalms address life in all its struggles and joys and also the life of the believer. I found these closing psalms, which do not only end the psalter but hold out such promise and hope, so comforting in my own life.
PH: CPOP Study Resource was developed in part with Christian teachers and preachers in mind. In your mind, what stands out as the most useful features for educators? For ministers?
MJ: I think that the main purpose of the project, to see Christ in every psalm and to see the psalm through Christ, will be richly welcomed. This is tackled in a deep and serious way. Each chapter also wrestles with “Unusual Words and Expressions” that may be omitted in other studies of the psalms. There are additional study questions as well to help teachers get their students to continue to wrestle with the message of each psalm in our day and age.
PH: How do you think people in your church might use either CPOP’s Study Resource or Devotional? What benefits do you see in this material for ordinary Christians?
MJ: If “prayer is the breath of the soul,” a study on the Psalms, the church’s prayer book, should richly help every Christian in his or her daily walk. The Study Resource is solid and deep – but also relatively succinct. The Devotional is a little fuller than some others available. Lots of work went into making the material meaty but also digestible. I think every household will appreciate and benefit from the daily meditations.
PH: Thank-you for taking the time to answer these questions. Did you wish to make any other comments about this project that might interest our readers?
MJ: I love some of the lines that can be drawn from the psalms to the work of Christ and to the hope that every believer can have. It’s my hope that in some small way this work might make believers look up and look forward to the time when the promises that fill the psalms will be fulfilled!
**fini**