"Holy words, long preserved,
For our walk in this world,
They resound with God's own heart.
Oh, let the ancient words impart.
Words of life, words of hope,
Give us strength, help us cope,
In this world, where e'er we roam,
Ancient words will guide us home.
Chorus:
Ancient words ever true.
Changing me, and changing you.
We have come with open hearts.
Oh, let the ancient words impart.
(-Michael W. Smith)
Ancient words. Oh, how precious are the ancient words of Scripture. How blessed we are that God has revealed Himself, His works and His ways, to us through the written word, preserved down through the centuries for us. Whether we are reading the Scriptures in their original languages, or no matter which English translation we are using, these are words to be treasured. As Paul told us in his letter to Timothy, they are "profitable" for us......"for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" that we may be "equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV)
It is because these words are so precious and because they are profitable for us that I get so disturbed when I hear them misused or misapplied or inaccurately quoted. We are told in the Book of Joshua to "Be very careful to observe the commandment and the law" (Joshua 22:5 ESV). It is my belief that those words did not apply only to the Hebrew people getting ready to enter the Promised Land, but that we must take them to heart as well. We must be very careful. We must study the Word of God carefully and we must apply it carefully. And we must be very careful that we don't mix into the Word things we have heard from other sources and put those words on equal standing with the Word of God.
I cringe, at least inwardly, when I hear people say things like "God helps those who help themselves", and who really believe that is a Biblical saying. In fact that saying does not come from the Bible, but comes from "Poor Richard's Almanac", written by Benjamin Franklin and not said by Jesus! The origin of that phrase actually goes back to Algernon Sydney in a 1698 article titled "Discourses Concerning Government"!
The Bible actually teaches that God helps the helpless. For example, look at Isaiah 25:4 ("For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress.....") or at Romans 5:6 ("For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.")
And I really, really cringe when I hear, as I did recently, things like "well, you know what Jesus said.....hate the sin and love the sinner." The problem is, Jesus didn't say that. Mahatma Ghandhi did. And centuries before him, a similar phrase was used by St. Augustine of Hippo.
I'm not saying all this to be critical, but rather to demonstrate what a Biblically illiterate people we have become. And that breaks my heart. God has given us His word.....this "Ancient Word"......and we just take it so for granted, especially in the United States. With our virtually unlimited access to the Word, in multiple formats and in multiple translations and with multiple copies of the Word in our homes, we act as though that is enough. As though physical access to the Word is all we need. And if we pick it up and dust it off occasionally, or if we read a verse or two here and there, or if we show up on Sunday morning, that's enough.
But it isn't nearly enough. How do we know that there won't come a day in this country when we won't have that unlimited access to the Word of God?
What gives us the right to be such lazy Christians anyway? It is my firm belief that God has given us His Word, this written revelation of Himself, in order for us to know Him better, in order for us to read it and study it and understand it. So that we would then know how we should live in a way that honors and glorifies and magnifies Him.
Life is not all about me. Or all about you. It's all and only about Him. And knowing how to live life in a way that honors Him, that is in obedience to Him, is learned by studying His Word, those "Ancient Words" that have been left to us.
Oh, that we would value those words more. That we would spend time in those Words. That we would study them. That we would hide them in our hearts. That we would handle them accurately.
"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15 NASB)
"Blessed is the one who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near." (Revelation 1:3 NASB)
I cringe, at least inwardly, when I hear people say things like "God helps those who help themselves", and who really believe that is a Biblical saying. In fact that saying does not come from the Bible, but comes from "Poor Richard's Almanac", written by Benjamin Franklin and not said by Jesus! The origin of that phrase actually goes back to Algernon Sydney in a 1698 article titled "Discourses Concerning Government"!
The Bible actually teaches that God helps the helpless. For example, look at Isaiah 25:4 ("For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress.....") or at Romans 5:6 ("For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.")
And I really, really cringe when I hear, as I did recently, things like "well, you know what Jesus said.....hate the sin and love the sinner." The problem is, Jesus didn't say that. Mahatma Ghandhi did. And centuries before him, a similar phrase was used by St. Augustine of Hippo.
I'm not saying all this to be critical, but rather to demonstrate what a Biblically illiterate people we have become. And that breaks my heart. God has given us His word.....this "Ancient Word"......and we just take it so for granted, especially in the United States. With our virtually unlimited access to the Word, in multiple formats and in multiple translations and with multiple copies of the Word in our homes, we act as though that is enough. As though physical access to the Word is all we need. And if we pick it up and dust it off occasionally, or if we read a verse or two here and there, or if we show up on Sunday morning, that's enough.
But it isn't nearly enough. How do we know that there won't come a day in this country when we won't have that unlimited access to the Word of God?
What gives us the right to be such lazy Christians anyway? It is my firm belief that God has given us His Word, this written revelation of Himself, in order for us to know Him better, in order for us to read it and study it and understand it. So that we would then know how we should live in a way that honors and glorifies and magnifies Him.
Life is not all about me. Or all about you. It's all and only about Him. And knowing how to live life in a way that honors Him, that is in obedience to Him, is learned by studying His Word, those "Ancient Words" that have been left to us.
Oh, that we would value those words more. That we would spend time in those Words. That we would study them. That we would hide them in our hearts. That we would handle them accurately.
"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15 NASB)
"Blessed is the one who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near." (Revelation 1:3 NASB)
We sang that on Sunday too! Amen to all of this.
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