This past week in addition to the Thomas Brooks collected works that I mentioned in the previous post, I also received William Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation", which I commend highly to you for your reading... I have found it to be a wonderful read, particularly at this time of year as we approach Thanksgiving. It has reminded me of what this day of celebration was proclaimed to be, and how we ought to regard such days (may there be many in our lives, when we pause specially to give thanks to our Sovereign God).
Together with Bradford's work, I also purchased Dan Ford's "In the Name of God, Amen", which is a book of reflections on covenant-making, subtitled "Rediscovering Biblical and Historic Covenants". I've only read the first few chapters, but I believe it too is an excellent addition to my library. In one of the early chapters, in which the Scripture as covenant is presented, there is a reflection upon the idea of "meekness", in which Ford makes a distinction between the Lord's and the world's definition of "the meek".
Ford writes:
...the Bible in its own words, in God's Words, is a book of covenants that incorporates the terms, the ties, and the bonds between God and His property. In the context of the whole Scripture, there is, after all, a much more comprehensive meaning to that often casually thrown-about phrase, 'the meek shall inherit the earth':
The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, unto such as keep his covenant, and his testimonies. For thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity: for it is great. What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease: and his seed shall inherit the earth. (Psalm 25:9-13)
The sort of meekness mentioned in such a passage is not at all the kind offered by humanity apart from a direct involvement with the Lord of heaven and earth. The kind of meekness that will inherit the earth, according to both the Old and New Testaments, is not vague or sentimental. The Bible's sense of meekness involves active league with the sovereign and saving God. (emphasis mine: TKP) The summation of one's personal fate and the fate of one's whole cultural legacy rests upon nothing less than the terms of such an intimate relation with God.
Can I hear an Amen? In our gathering last night with students at Luther with whom we gather for fellowship and study, one of the main points we discussed was our embracing of Scripture as the very Word of God, His very breath... and the shock that concept is to many, if not most, people that we encounter. When one takes the Lord at His Word, many definitions commonly accepted fall by the wayside, and give way to glorious truths - truths that one will never accept if the Word of God isn't taken as "theopnustos". Let the whole world HEAR HIM.
Posted by toddpedlar at November 18, 2004 03:14 AM | TrackBack