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Augustus Franck, Nicodemus, or a Treatise on the Fear of Man, Chapter IV

22 Friday Nov 2019

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The prior post in this series is found here. 

CHAPTER IV

Of the manifold mischiefs caused by the fear of man

Fear of man is one cause which causes one to reject coming to faith, “Many thousands of souls are thereby kept back from a true and thorough repentance and conversion; because they do not suffer the knowledge of the truth, the brightness whereof hath in some degree enlightened them, to shine forth in its full strength, but hold it, as it were, imprisoned by manifold hypocritical shifts and pretences.”

 

Fear of man also limits one’s growth in godliness, because one is afraid of what others may say or do. “Many know not what the reason is why they make such slow advances in their spiritual growth, when all this while the enemy, that is, the fear of man, secretly lurks within, and eats out, as it were, the very vigour and activity of the life of grace; though they take him for their best friend, supposing this fearfulness to be nothing else but wisdom and prudence.”

 

Fear of man and continual opposition may cause a minister to lose heart and thus perform their office. Fearfulness in one encourages fearfulness in others. And so two fearful ministers in one place, may cause a great deal of mischief. Those who are brought upon under such ministry will resemble their minister, as a child does a parent. Such ministers also rob others by distracting them away from ministers who could more profit their soul.

 

And those who are wicked take courage when they see the righteous fearful.

 

Fear of man causes many to refuse to be an open gospel witness to those who have power and position.

 

“The fear of man is always for maintaining old customs; and whilst every one is afraid of innovation, all abuses are thereby more and more authorized, so that all things proceed continually from bad to worse, because nothing is reformed or amended.”

 

A fearful man cannot act in faith on God, because, “a fearful man trusts God no further than his reason reaches and carries him.” He certainly will not trust God to protect him. By rejecting faith in God, we reject God’s blessing which is bestowed upon the faithful who receive them in faith. A fearful heart can receive no true communion or spiritual blessing from God; rather, such a fearful man is also plagued by a bad conscience.

 

“St. James saith, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” ch. 4:7.: and the reverse of it is full as true; for the more we give way to the devil and his instruments out of fear, the more they pursue and press upon us. Men might rid themselves of many troubles, could they but resignedly rely upon the authority of their function, and boldly perform what God hath commanded them. If we neglect this, it is no wonder if the devil insult us.”

Augustus Franck, Nicodemus; Or, a Treatise on the Fear of Man, Chapter III

13 Wednesday Nov 2019

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In chapter 3, Franck gives 75 observations on the effect of fear of man. Below, I have tried to organize and summarize his argument.

CHAPTER III

Of the signs and effects which discover the fear of man

1 “A fearful man knows to do good, but doth it not, for fear of incurring the hatred and enmity of others.” His who desire is to not be separated from the common opinion or the crowd. He will always be a “coward.”

a He will be reluctant to be “convinced of the truth,” for fear of consequences.

b If convinced,

i He will keep quiet among those who don’t approve.

ii He will only speak among those who do approve. He makes sure not to be seen which such people, when others who may disapprove are bout.

iii He will always be primarily concerned with those around him.

c In conflict, the fearful man will always seek to use arguments which will be acceptable to those who already disavow the Word of God. He will not trust the Word of God to be sufficient to defend him (and itself).

2 This fearfulness will make him reluctant to learn, because he doesn’t want to even consider things which might cause him trouble.

3 This fear also makes him restrain his judgments and match the culture: even when the culture is wrong. This leads him to be in places and positions which are not fitting.

a If he does address a wrong, he will only do so among those who cannot respond to him.

b It will also lead him to gossip and speaking behind another’s back.

c He trusts more in political power than in the power of God.

d He won’t address problems with other ministers who hold to popular if untruthful positions.

4 He will also seek to limit others to that which is safe.

5 If you put this man in a pulpit, he will be “like a fox” and always be looking for some sort of “escape” so that he cannot be caught in an unpleasant place.

a “Being got into the pulpit, he reproves and exclaims boldly; but he denies that in so doing he meant any particular person.”

b “He saith always with the slothful, “There is a lion in the way;” for he fears, should he alter anything of long received customs, he might bring himself into trouble.”

c So he is always hedging his position with this and that opinion. He must also avoid to clear an application, for fear it might give offense to someone.

d Being fearful, he can never set anything aright, because he has already compromised in so many places.

6 His fearfulness of words leads to fear in actions. He will not do things which might cause a stir – unless he has enough social backing to make it safe. He will complain or excuse that this is “not the right time.”

7 He uses a false concern for “peace” or “prudence” as an excuse to avoid the truth and its effects. This also makes him a false or inconstant friend.

8 “He is afraid of burning his fingers, and therefore rather employeth another to do it for him: he makes the arrows, but others must shoot them.”

9 “He is very apt to believe any false reports against the faithful children of God; and because his heart is tossed with fear, he is very forward in warning them to take heed to themselves, and by his imprudence damps and stifles the cheerfulness of their holy faith.”

Augustus Franck, Nicodemus; Or a Treatise on the Fear of Man, Chapters 1 & 2

09 Saturday Nov 2019

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(Summary of the first two chapters)

CHAPTER ONE: What the fear of man is, and the several kinds of it

  1. Definition:
  2. Negatively: What it is not (for purposes of this treatise)
  3. “That natural bashfulness, whereby a man is apt to be dashed out of countenance in the doing or speaking any thing before those with whom he is not acquainted.”
  4. “That natural wariness, whereby a man, seeing one stronger than himself, or whom he believes to be an overmatch for him, is not forward to strive with him.”
  5. He is not referring to our common concerns with what another may do to or with us: “nor indeed any thing else, which in human affairs is called fear of man.”
  6. Positively
  7. This fear shows itself “in things relating to God.”
  8. Respecting unbelievers: “a notorious vice and abominable fruit of unbelief in the unregenerate”.
  9. It shows itself in: being kept from God in conversion and the subsequent work of God.
  10. They thus “conform[] to this world” – with all that entails in denying Christ.
  11. In the regenerate “who strive against it, and by faith, which is the victory that overcometh the world, at last entirely triumph over it.”
  12. QUALITY OF THIS FEAR
  13. In both regenerate and unregenerate, it “admits of certain degrees”.
  14. “God often makes his own servants and dearest children (as in other cases, so especially in this) sensible that they are but men.”
  15. Examples, Gen. 3:7-11; 1 Cor. 2:3
  16. God will also provide comfort to those who are his. Acts 18:9-10.
  17. Fear of man in the regenerate will be in conflict with the operation of faith. Accordingly, the regenerate must be sanctified even in this area.

 

  1. “The outward distinction of men makes no difference in the thing itself; for even kings, princes, and great men of the world, are no less subject to the enslaving fear of man, than those of a far lower and meaner condition.”

 

  1. The greater have more to lose.

 

  1. It is worse for a teacher to be afflicted with fear of man, because the teacher may then fail in his duty.

 

III.  CONCLUSION

 

In a word, this fear of man, wheresoever it is found, is in itself a most heinous vice, and a kind of idolatry, arising from the spawn of an unbelieving heart, whereby we lay aside the fear of God from before our eyes, and think, speak, or do any evil, or leave thinking, speaking, or doing that which is good, for any consideration or regard of men; it being our duty simply to follow the word of God, and to eye the same as our rule and directory in all that we do or leave undone.

CHAPTER II

Chapter II: Of the sources and causes of the fear of man

The causes thereof are either internal or external.

  1. The internal are chiefly these:

 

  1. Unbelief, which is the spring and root of all vices.
  2. The love of the world, and of the things of the world, namely, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
  3. The want of true self-denial, which is always joined with the love of the world; or, when we fear lest men should prejudice us in our reputation, estates, ease, or in our bodies and life itself, if we should simply follow the guidance of the word of God.
  4. Fleshly wisdom derived from corrupt reason, which uses to measure divine things by its own standard.
  5. The false imagination we have of ourselves, and the prejudice settled in the mind, and making men believe they may be acceptable to God, though they should yield in several cases merely out of regard to man, without any leave from God’s word to do so.
  6. False humility, which is swayed more by human authority than by the word of God; and prompts us to refer all things to the judgments of others, who, as we pretend, understand them better than ourselves.
  7. The great deceitfulness of our own hearts, which can put so fair a colour upon all manner of sins, that we persuade ourselves we act very prudently, whilst we are influenced all this while by nothing but unbelief and fear of man.
  8. The desire or hope to be advanced to some place of honour in the world.
  9. The want of experience in the ways of God, which makes us hesitate in difficult cases, and indisposes the soul to rely wholly upon God, fearing lest he should let us fail or miscarry in them. This proceeds from our not having sufficiently learned how dear they are to God, who entirely trust in him; and what powerful assistance he affords them, to accomplish his own work in them.
  10. Fear of presumption, lest we should seem to tempt God in casting ourselves wholly upon him.
  11. Secret pride, which prompts us eagerly to desire a happy end, and visible success in all our undertakings; whereas indeed we should rest satisfied with an inward success and victory; that is, in having kept a good conscience towards God.
  12. Natural shyness, for it cannot be denied that some are more inclined to fearfulness than others. And from this natural weakness springs bashfulness, whereby many are hindered from performing that with cheerfulness, which a well-grounded faith requires of them.
  13. Neglect of prayer, which not only prevents us from obtaining a full conquest over the fear of man, but drives us down further into the stream of hypocrisy.

 

  1. The external causes are these following:

 

  1. The tyranny of many in power, who take upon them to bind and fetter the consciences both of teachers and hearers, being only concerned to preserve thereby public peace and tranquillity.
  2. The forwardness of our universities in their dubbing of heretics: for they no sooner perceive any breakings forth of the spirit of true Christianity, but they are sure to cast a slur upon it, by giving it an ill name, and all this under a cloak of their great zeal for their highly valued orthodoxy.
  3. The conduct of those that enter into holy orders whilst they are unholy themselves, and, after a loose education in the universities, engage now in the sacred function, for no other end than only mere temporal support
  4. The high regard and esteem we have for men. This blinds many to such a degree, that they cannot imagine that such great men, so eminent for wisdom and learning, should be so grossly mistaken and drawn aside.
  5. The specious and plausible reasonings of such as follow their corrupt reason more than the word of God.
  6. The frequent examples of such as are bound down by the fear of man as well as themselves.
  7. Worldly riches, that cast frequent and manifold hinderances in our way, and prevent us from pressing forwards incessantly in the simplicity of faith.
  8. Wife and children, who by their importunate way of arguing, and their unbelieving tattle and clamour, do weary out and overcome many.
  9. The honour and esteem we have already gained in the world. This makes us very loath to make others think, that hitherto we have deceived the world, and been in an error ourselves. To which may be added, that when a man is placed in some high post, he finds it a hard lesson to give it up, and suffer reproach with the people of God.
  10. The threats of others, especially of those in power.
  11. The fair promises of the world, which offers great things, if we will but declare that odd is even.
  12. Great and honourable acquaintance and friends, who, under the pretence of hearty love and kindness, are always cautioning us not to venture too far.
  13. Too great and too intimate a familiarity with the children of this world. Hereby many deliver up their spiritual weapons, and so disable themselves from reproving what is amiss in others with courage and presence of mind.
  14. The neglect of frequent conversation with true believers, who walk in the power of faith, and rather choosing those for our companions who are themselves enslaved by the fear of man.

Augustus Franck, Nicodemus; or, A Treatise Against the Fear of Man (Dedication)

06 Wednesday Nov 2019

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This treatise was written by Franck in 1701. I am working with an English translation dated 1831. I will seek to provide a condensed version of the whole, to permit one to follow the general course of the argument. Franck was a German pietist, 1663-1727.

An interesting aspect of Franck’s life, which is germane to the argument he makes in the dedication:

The following year he took the master’s degree, which carried the right to give philological and exegetical lectures on the Bible. He and Paul Anton were encouraged by Carpzov, another theology professor, to start a Collegium Philobiblicum for young masters and to fill one of the gaps in a university theological curriculum that was confined to dogmatic and polemical theology. This proved popular, but caused a personal crisis for Francke which came to a head in 1687. Teaching theology seemed to create a conflict between seeking professional distinction and seeking to serve others. To promote the former his uncle restored his Schabbel stipendium on the condition that Francke took instruction in biblical exegesis from Superintendent Sandhagen in Lüneburg. Here he underwent a vivid conversion experience. It began with anxiety as to whether the Christian claims for the authority of the Bible were any more reasonable than those of Jews for the Talmud and of Turks for the Koran. In a way that became normative for evangelicals, these doubts were resolved with the aid of Luther’s Preface to the Romans, with its doctrine that faith was a transforming work of God in humans; certainty was derived from an immediacy of experience which required no further evidence. Yet Francke’s problem of intellectual uncertainty was not Luther’s problem of forgiveness of sin, and while conversion resolved his dilemma of whether to serve others or scholarly reputation, it cut him off from the characteristic concerns of the Enlightenment. Francke’s experience also led him to an elaborately structured view of conversion in which the penitential struggle (Busskampf) was central.

 W. R. Ward, “Francke, August Hermann,” ed. Timothy Larsen et al., Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 238.

A note on pietism:

A movement in the Lutheran church in the 17th century, reacting against dead orthodoxy and aiming at a revival of piety and vital godliness. P. J. Spener, its chief mover, emphasized informal prayer meetings and Bible study. Pietism did not itself become an organized movement, but it had a profound influence on the early Moravians, and through them, on the awakening of missionary vision. It also greatly affected John Wesley, and through him, the English-speaking countries of the world. Indeed, it still influences much of modern-day evangelicalism. Its emphasis is a healthy one, so long as it is within the framework of the great objective truths of the gospel. If that proviso is neglected, it leads to a very basic denial of the faith—witness the fact that Halle University, founded on the principles of pietism, became a centre of such emphasis on individual experience that it produced the pure subjectiveness of Schleiermacher’s consciousness theology.*

Alan Cairns, Dictionary of Theological Terms (Belfast; Greenville, SC: Ambassador Emerald International, 2002), 331.

THE AUTHOR’S DEDICATION

To all Ministers and Teachers in Churches and Schools throughout Germany—Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, in the fellowship and communion of the Holy Ghost.

Dearly beloved Brethren,

More especially hath my heart been touched to the quick, when from innumerable instances I have been convinced, that the fear of man is become the epidemical disease of our teachers. For when I reflected on one hand, with what spirit, with what joy, with what undaunted courage and boldness, the servants of God, in the Old and New Testament, set aside all regard and fear of man, delivering, as the Lord’s ambassadors, their message plainly, and without mincing the matter, though it exposed them to the apparent hazard of their lives; and, on the other, how gently and how softly we go about it now-a-days; and how little we manifest the truth to the conscience of every one: when I moreover considered how much they suffered with Christ their Lord, for the sake of their testimony; and how the most of us take care to preach so smoothly, as not to incur the least shadow of their sufferings; all this made the difference between us and them appear so exceedingly great to me, that I could not but be amazed and astonished at it.

He puts the cause for the fear of man among teachers of the Gospel to an over-concern for temporal comfort and status. He does not argue that the Gospel requires us to be ascetics and deny all temporal comfort. However, temporal comfort should not be our primary concern. If such does become our primary concern, we error:

But if, on the contrary, we seek ourselves, being influenced, in what we do, by temporal concerns; then, as far as I understand, we depart from that glorious pattern Christ our Lord and Master hath set before us: neither is there any thing, to my apprehension, that doth more effectually deprive us of God’s blessing in our calling, than this doth. For sure it is, that the greater concern we have for our own profit, ease, and honour, the less we shall have for promoting the real good of our neighbour. And as long as our minds are not wholly conformable to the mind of our great Shepherd, whose servants we are, it is impossible he should be well pleased with us.

It is this concern with the temporal which leads to the fear of man:

This I take to be the true cause why we are so strongly possessed with the fear of man; for did we desire nothing in the world, we should not fear it.

As a matter of persuasion, Franck then draws out this decision in light of eternity. How will it appear to you on Judgment Day to have shaved the Gospel to fit the expectations of  others so that you could live a slightly more comfortable existence?

How can we then entertain the least thought of appearing before Him in that day with joy, when our hearts will upbraid us, that whilst we were here, we took more pains to improve our land, than the souls committed to our care? to increase our flock, and sum up our yearly revenues, than to lay up in store a good foundation against the time to come? that we were either careless in our preaching, without the least tincture of godly zeal and earnestness, as if it were no more than some other common trade; or else intending by it, rather to set forth our own arts and learning, than to recommend the simple truth of Jesus Christ, without any gloss or trimming, to the consciences of men? Alas! it is but too apparent, that the generality of men, both in cities and villages, are sunk into the blackest vices, and all manner of the most abominable corruptions.

August. Herm. Franck.

At Glaucha, near Halle.

October 26, 1701.

God is God in all places

21 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by in Fear, Fear of the Lord, Richard Sibbes, Uncategorized

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It is a curious thing, but true that even we professors (those who profess, not teachers) Christ can more easily be frightened of the knowledge of other people rather than the knowledge of God:

Examine what affections we have to God: for it is affection that makes a Christian. Single out some few that we are most offending in. As, first, for fear, it may shame us all. Indeed, a Christian upon his best resolution is better. But the ordinary carriage of men is, they fear men more than God; they fear everything more than him that they should fear above all. For instance, is the retired carriage of men to God such as their carriage is to the eye of the world? Will not they do that in secret ofttimes that they will not do openly? In secret they will commit this or that sin, and think, Who seeth? There are secret abominations in the closet of their hearts. They will not fear to do that in the eye of God, that they fear to do in the eye of a child of six years old, that is of any discretion. Is this to make God our God, when we fear the eye of a silly mortal creature more than the eye of God, that is ten thousand times brighter than the sun, that is our judge? Is God our God the whiles? Undoubtedly, when God is made our God, there is an awe of the eye of heaven upon a man in all places. Therefore this is the condition of the covenant, ‘Walk before me,’ or ‘Walk as in my sight,’ 1 Sam. 2:30. How do we walk before God as in his sight, when there is such a great deal of difference in our carriage secretly, and before the eyes of men? when we labour more to approve our carriage to men, than we make conscience of our spirits to God? This may shame us. Even the best of us who are in covenant with God, and have made God our God, we have cause to be abased for this: and surely one of the best ways to make God’s children abased and humbled, is to compare the different proportion of their carriage; how they carry themselves to men whom they respect, and to outward things in the world, and how they carry themselves to God. If God be our God, there will be an universal fear and care to please God in all times and in all places, because he is everywhere; darkness and light are all one to him.

Richard Sibbes, The Complete Works of Richard Sibbes, ed. Alexander Balloch Grosart, vol. 6 (Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; W. Robertson, 1863), 10.

Should we not break loose from the transitory ….

19 Monday May 2014

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August Franck begins his Treatise on the Fear of Man with a strong exhortation to ministers. Here are three excerpts:

My soul hath been grieved many a time, in the sense of the apparent corruption, not only of all men in general, but also of our order in particular. More especially hath my heart been touched to the quick, when from innumerable instances I have been convinced, that the fear of man is become the epidemical disease of our teachers. For when I reflected on one hand, with what spirit, with what joy, with what undaunted courage and boldness, the servants of God, in the Old and New Testament, set aside all regard and fear of man, delivering, as the Lord’s ambassadors, their message plainly, and without mincing the matter, though it exposed them to the apparent hazard of their lives; and, on the other, how gently and how softly we go about it now-a-days; and how little we manifest the truth to the conscience of every one: when I moreover considered how much they suffered with Christ their Lord, for the sake of their testimony; and how the most of us take care to preach so smoothly, as not to incur the least shadow of their sufferings; all this made the difference between us and them appear so exceedingly great to me, that I could not but be amazed and astonished at it. Pardon me, beloved brethren, if you think me to speak with too much plainness and simplicity; for I am not at all ashamed to become a “fool for Christ’s sake,” that I may be wise indeed

…..

sure it is, that the greater concern we have for our own profit, ease, and honour, the less we shall have for promoting the real good of our neighbour. And as long as our minds are not wholly conformable to the mind of our great Shepherd, whose servants we are, it is impossible he should be well pleased with us. For he searcheth our very hearts, and regards all our doings and intentions, whether we feed the flock, or ourselves; whether we seek every one his own, or that which is His: and if he be not well pleased with us, whence can we expect a blessing upon so sacred a function as ours, since we cannot have it but from his grace? This I take to be the true cause why we are so strongly possessed with the fear of man; for did we desire nothing in the world, we should not fear it.

……

It appears also, that we are very little concerned about what the Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament, represent to us, namely, that our order hath been always most in fault, whenever a general corruption hath overspread the people. Do we consider what a thundering lecture is read to pastors and teachers in Jer. 23; Ezek. 34 and Matt. 23? If we did, should we not apply ourselves to our duty with another kind of fervour than hitherto we have? Should we not be more solicitous about the state of our own souls in the first place; and in the next, about the souls that belong to our charge? Should we not break loose from the transitory amusements of this world? Should not we enter into greater familiarity with Christ our Lord and Master, by prayer? Should not we, in many things, give a more edifying and shining example to our flocks? Should not we more effectually clear ourselves from all suspicion of covetousness, and other vices reigning among the clergy? Should not our preaching be composed with more plainness and simplicity, and delivered with greater power and demonstration of the Spirit? Should we not be more careful to examine those that we admit to the communion, whether they be worthy receivers, and whether they grow better by receiving it? Should we not be more fervent and earnest to admonish every one in particular? Should not we strive and wrestle more, in prayers, for the welfare and salvation of their immortal souls? Should we not, as soon as any desire and love to God’s word appears in our hearers, more readily lend them our helping hand, that the sparks of grace kindled in their hearts might not be extinguished, but increased and blown up into a flame? Should not we, by frequent catechizing, endeavour to put a stop to the overflowing of ignorance and vice? Should not our outward conversation with men be more holy, and consequently more successful and edifying? Verily, my brethren, I fear we have good reason to be ashamed, when we read what Taulerus* saith, in his exposition of the Gospel for the fourth Sunday in Advent: “A spiritual person ought to be so enkindled and all-flaming with divine love, and both inwardly and outwardly so conformable to God, that whenever any one came to him, he might hear nothing from him but God; and his heart and mind ought to be fixed on him by burning love, and so ready in all things faithfully to obey his will, that such as visited him, though with cold and lukewarm hearts, might be heated and set on fire by him; as we see that cold and dead coals are kindled, when they are put to glowing ones, which soon impart their light and heat to them.”

Edward Polhill: The Fear of God Which Prepares One for Affliction

13 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by in affliction, Biblical Counseling, Edward Polhill, Fear, Isaiah, Luke, Puritan

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Much of Polhill’s instruction on how to prepare for suffering makes sense upon first consideration: For instance, a lively hope of eternal life necessarily orients one to look to beyond the suffering, and thus limit the pain which suffering can inflict (for suffering afflicts one most painfully by extending endlessly into the future — but the certain hope that it will end, that suffering can only be a “little while” (1 Peter 5:10) does much to defang the monster).

Yet, when he comes to the seventh direction, one may begin to question his wisdom:

The seventh direction is this, if we would be in a fit posture for suffering, we must get an holy fear in our hearts.

Edward Polhill, A Preparation for Suffering in an Evil Day, 347. Polhill knows the apparent difficulty with the concept, therefore he begins by defining the scope of this holy fear by means of three characteristics: It is fear of the Lord — human beings; it is a fear which springs from faith; and it is a fear mixed with love.

Fear must have its end in God: Human beings are contingent creatures — we have no life or being in ourselves; we cannot cause our life to continue; we cannot cause our body to persist. All our existence hangs from something else, and that something else rightly becomes the object of fear.

When fear does not find its object in the Creator, the human being becomes even more wretched — for the fear does not disappear by banishing God. Rather, the fear flits about for an appropriate object making the man ridiculous:

What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water.
OnlyThere is shadow under this red rock
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.

T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land, “The Burial of the Dead”. But what of one who claims to have no fear of any-thing? Look at his life? Why the absurd concern for basketball teams or politics? How could the movement of a ball across a court or field be of such moment? If no Creator or Judge concerns himself with us, then why the least concern for life or death? To concern oneself with life or death, with politics or police in the absence of any God is like anxiety for soapbubbles – in fact, bubbles existing in a meaningful universe matter more, for they can convey beauty: but what beauty can exist in absurdity?

To live without a rightly angled fear must by necessity be a persistent affliction. Thus, we seek to remedy this by landing our fear upon the image not the original. We concern ourselves with humanity which Scripture calls “fear of adam [human beings, “man”]” which is a trap:

The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.

Proverbs 29:25

To fear man is to fear too little — fear must be set upon its rightful object:

4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows

Luke 12:4-7

Here is a curious fear: It is an existential fear — it is a fear of that which reaches to one’s existence beyond the grave. Yet, this fear becomes the basis of comfort. Having fixed our fear on its rightful and sole object — God who created us and can exercise absolute dominion over us — the fear transforms to solace, “Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” When we finally fix our fear on Creator, than nothing of the creation can instill fear:

12 “I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass, 13 and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and you fear continually all the day because of the wrath of the oppressor, when he sets himself to destroy? And where is the wrath of the oppressor? 14 He who is bowed down shall speedily be released; he shall not die and go down to the pit, neither shall his bread be lacking. 15 I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar- the LORD of hosts is his name. 16 And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.'”

Isaiah 51:11-16.

When our heart fills with fear of The Lord, then we will not fear man — for man is merely something made by God. Indeed, the entire creation lies within God’s control, God “who stirs up the sea ….”

The second aspect of godly fear is faith. It makes sense to set one’s faith upon the ultimate matter of concern — God who has consumed all one’s fear:

Holy fear is and must be in conjunction with faith. Fear flies from the evils of sin and hell; faith closes in with the promises of grace and glory; both concur to make a man fit for suffering; and such a sufferer shall have God for his help and shield.

Polhill, 348. As we rightly fear God, the fear closes with faith and drives us to God. Godly fear does this by causing us to fear offending God — which drives us from sin. And, having been driven from sin, we have no choice but to run toward God.

Thus, fear of God reduces the creature to its true measure and drives us on to God.

Finally, a fear which prepare for suffering is mixed with love. Here is a peculiar fear that draws one to the one feared, for the one whom we fear is the one who draws us in love:

I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.

Hosea 11:4. The Creator looks upon the creature and has compassion upon out fraility:

13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. 14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 17 But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, 18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.

Psalm 103:13-19. As we rightly fear the King and Creator of all, our fear mixes with love and instills love. Our confessed weakness stirs our Lord’s love and protection; as when David calls out to God for protection, and God answers with rest and sleep for David:

1 O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; 2 many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah 3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. 4 I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah 5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around

Psalm 3:1-6. We will be bound to sin to the extent that we do not fear God. One who cannot and does not fear God will be bound to the world of sin — how then can he suffer for this God or suffer to lose this world (seeing it is his all):

the love of sin lives in him still, as an ancient hath it. Such an one is not in a fit case to suffer for the truth; he hath not a love to God to move him to it, nor a capacity to have heaven after it; and how can he suffer? It is very hard for a man to suffer for a God that he loves not; or part with the good things of this world, when he hath no hope of those in a better. That fear, which prepares for suffering, is not servile, but filial; it stands not in conjunction with the love of sin, but with the love of God; the nature of it is such, that he that hath it will displease man rather than offend God; part with a world, rather then let go the truth and a pure worship; nay, and lay down his life rather then forfeit the divine presence and favour which are better than life.

Edward Polhill, 348.

Ecclesiastes 8:2-4, Translation and Comments

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

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CCLESISATES 8:2

2אֲנִי֙ פִּי־מֶ֣לֶךְ שְׁמ֔וֹר וְעַ֕ל דִּבְרַ֖ת שְׁבוּעַ֥ת אֱלֹהִֽים׃

 

Murphy draws the following connection to the preceding verse:

We may regard the following verses (2–4) as traditional court wisdom, but also as having relevance for Qoheleth’s own day. However, he is not simply transmitting a body of sayings. He is relativizing the role and prestige of the sage (v 1) by following up with (wise!) admonitions that in fact are humiliating for the sage at court, even if they also save him from trouble. The wise advisor, for all his gifts, is confronted by royal power and is totally dependent upon the royal pleasure. It is all very well to praise the wisdom of the wise (v 1), but one must attend to the risks they run at court (vv 2–4). Hence Qoheleth’s admonitions serve to qualify v 1, even though they are themselves derived from traditional wisdom. He pits traditional wisdom against itself.

Roland Murphy, vol. 23A, Ecclesiates, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 82-83.

 

אֲנִי֙

“I”:  it is not followed by any matching verb. Seow notes that this I “makes no sense as it stands” (Seow, 279). Fredericks thinks it a textual error (189). Like Seow, Fredricks does not translate the pronoun. Longman note the problem, but having no textual basis for dropping the pronoun he assumes it to be a shorthand for “I say” (or something similar).  Gordis rejects dropping the word and takes as a shorthand “I declare” (288).

פִּי־מֶ֣לֶךְ שְׁמ֔וֹר

Keep the king’s command

Vers. 2, 6. LUTHER:—It is enough for you to do so in the state, that you should obey the king’s commands, and listen to him who is ordained of God. Here you see how civil obedience is comprehended in obedience to God. So Paul would have servants obey their masters, not as submitting to men, but as to God.—MELANCHTHON:—Thus is obedience ordained. Obey the Divine voice first; then the king commanding things not repugnant to the Divine law.—This will be in conformity with the rule given Acts 4:19.—STARKE (ver. 3):—The powerful ones of this world have among men no higher one over them, to whom they must give an account, but in heaven there is One higher than the highest. Wisdom of Solomon 6:2–4.—(Ver. 5): He who keeps the commandments of God will, for the sake of God and his conscience, also obey the salutary commands of authority, Col. 3:23.—

John Peter Lange, Philip Schaff, Otto Zöckler et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Ecclesiastes (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 121.

 

פִּי־מֶ֣לֶךְ

Literally, “the king’s mouth”  “mouth of the king”, that is, the words which come from the mouth of the king.  Therefore, the king’s command:  “metonomy for command, which is probably the correct reading” (Barton, 152).

For the idiom, see, e.g.,

41וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֔ה לָ֥מָּה זֶּ֛ה אַתֶּ֥ם עֹבְרִ֖ים אֶת־פִּ֣י יְהוָ֑ה וְהִ֖וא לֹ֥א תִצְלָֽח׃

Numbers 14:41 (BHS/WHM 4.2)

But Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the LORD, when that will not succeed? Numbers 14:41 (ESV)

 

וְעַ֕ל דִּבְרַ֖ת

Because of the words (of)

The waw before the preposition ‘al

Before עַל the וְ is inserted by way of explanation, and may be rendered even, or, as Eng. Vers., “and that,” conf. Latin idque, et quidem (Gesen. Lex. (c) p. 234). עַלדִּבְרַת, on account of, conf. 3:18. Note that the prep. עַל (which is in fact a noun in construction) has here a disjunctive accent, and so also דִּבְרַת. This is sometimes the case when several nouns succeed one another, each in construction with the following one: see a parallel instance in the last clause of Numb. 3:32, and Lee’s Heb. Gram. Art. 247, 14.

J. Lloyd, An Analysis of the Book of Ecclesiastes: With Reference to the Hebrew Grammar of Gesenius, and With Notes Critical and Explanatory (London: Samuel Bagster and Sons, 1874), 106.

On the accents

      4 a. (֕) זָקֵףגָּדוֹל Zâqēph ḡdôl, and

      4 b. (֔) זָקֵףקָטוֹן Zâqēph qāṭôn. The names refer to their musical character. As a disjunctive, Little Zâqēph is by nature stronger than Great Zâqēph; but if they stand together, the one which comes first is always the stronger.

5. (֖) טִפְחָא Ṭiphḥā or טַרְחָא Ṭarḥā, a subordinate disjunctive before Sillûq and ʾAthnâḥ, but very often the principal disjunctive of the whole verse instead of ʾAthnâḥ; always so when the verse consists of only two or three words (e.g. Is 2:13), but also in longer verses (Gn 3:21).

 

Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius, Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, ed. E. Kautzsch and Sir Arthur Ernest Cowley, 2d English ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1910), 60.

 

שְׁבוּעַ֥ת אֱלֹהִֽים׃

Oath of (construct state) Elohim.

The nature of the oath has caused much debate. Is it an oath by one standing before the king, or an oath of the king – or some other oath? Seow defines it only as an oath sworn in the name of the Lord – even though the word “God” is substituted for “YHWH” (see, e.g., Exodus 22:10 (English 22:11),  שְׁבֻעַ֣ת יְהוָ֗ה  “an oath by the Lord” ESV). Fredericks proposes and oath to YHWH and the king, e.g., 1 Kings 2:43.  So, also, Barrick, “Solomon exhorts people to be faithful in their sworn allegiance to their king” (142).

Having submitted that this prudent view of life will make us adapt ourselves and cheerfully yield to the pressure of circumstances, Coheleth deduces therefrom the lesson of submission and obedience to the authority reigning over us for the time being, and especially as submission and obedience have been solemnly promised with an oath invoking the name of God. The oath referred to alludes to the covenant at the coronation of the king, when the sovereign solemnly promises to govern the people according to the law of God, and the people in return swear fealty and allegiance to their monarch (comp. 2 Kings 11:17; 1 Chron. 11:3, 29:24). Hence we are told by Josephus, that when Ptolmey Lagi settled the captive Jews in Egypt, he made them take an oath of allegiance (Antiq. xii. 1.)

Christian D. Ginsburg, Coheleth, Commonly Called the Book of Ecclesiastes: Translated from the Original Hebrew, With a Commentary, Historical and Critical (London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, 1861), 391-92.

ECCLESIASTES 8:3

 

3אַל־תִּבָּהֵ֤ל מִפָּנָיו֙ תֵּלֵ֔ךְ אַֽל־תַּעֲמֹ֖ד בְּדָבָ֣ר רָ֑ע כִּ֛י כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַחְפֹּ֖ץ יַעֲשֶֽׂה׃

Ecclesiastes 8:3

אַל־תִּבָּהֵ֤ל מִפָּנָיו֙ תֵּלֵ֔ךְ

Do not quickly from his face(s) go.  Or, do not be dismayed in his presence – go ….

תִּבָּהֵ֤ל

Here is an example where some thinking is needed for the translation: HALOT gives the primary gloss of the niphal verb “to be horrified” to “be out of one’s senses”. There is a secondary meaning, “to hurry”. Most translation take this to mean “to hurry”.[1] However, the NRSV translates it:

3 Do not be terrified; go from his presence, do not delay when the matter is unpleasant, for he does whatever he pleases. Ecclesiastes 8:3 (NRSV)

Seow translates it “do not be stupefied” with references to Genesis 45:3:

Genesis 45:3 (BHS/WHM 4.2)

3וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יוֹסֵ֤ף אֶל־אֶחָיו֙ אֲנִ֣י יוֹסֵ֔ף הַע֥וֹד אָבִ֖י חָ֑י וְלֹֽא־יָכְל֤וּ אֶחָיו֙ לַעֲנ֣וֹת אֹת֔וֹ כִּ֥י נִבְהֲל֖וּ מִפָּנָֽיו׃

 

3 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. Genesis 45:3 (ESV)

And Job 23:15. Genesis 45:3 & Job 23:15 are the two uses of the verb when coupled with the word “presence”.

Fredricks compares Proverbs 28:22, “A stingy man hastens after wealth ….” Which does not seem parallel in concept.

In 5:2 the phrase “do not be dismayed” actually means “Do not be rash.” It describes a hasty or ill-considered action, which would be typical of a fool. So rather than advising a person to leave the king’s presence, this verse warns against leaving unless you consider carefully what you are doing. It advises against abandoning the king or refusing to support him. “Do not be dismayed” is a figurative expression meaning “Do not be in a hurry.” This is not advice about literally walking slowly (rather than running) from the throne room. Rather, it has in mind a wise person who carefully weighs actions before carrying them out. From his presence is literally “from his face” or “from before him.”

Graham S. Ogden and Lynell Zogbo, A Handbook on Ecclesiastes, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1998), 281-82.

Weiss translates it as “dread”:

      Dread not his countenance as thou walkest:

      Nor persist thou in an evil matter;

      For He doeth whatsoever pleaseth Him.

Benjamin Weiss, New Translation and Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes: With Critical Notes on the Hebrew Text (Edinburgh; London: William Oliphant and Co.; Hamilton, Adams & Co., 1858), 259.

I think it best to take the translation as given in the NRSV and/or Seow and Weiss: do not be dismayed: 1) It is the most common and “natural” translation of the passage; 2) the translation makes good sense of the clause;  3) it makes good sense of the section. The section ends with the idea that no one has absolute power over life – implicitly, except for God.  A king does have power which must be considered and respected, but not absolute power.  4) An overarching theme of the book is that God has absolute power over all, therefore, we are to fear God.  Having feared God, we have no need to give such fear to human beings. 5) Thus, the theme ties into the a biblical theme:

22 Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he? Isaiah 2:22 (ESV)[2]

25 The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe. Proverbs 29:25 (ESV)

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Proverbs 9:10 (ESV)

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 (ESV)

 

אַֽל־תַּעֲמֹ֖ד בְּדָבָ֣ר רָ֑ע

Do not stand in an evil thing/matter/word

Stand not in an evil thing, (Ger., “evil word”); i.e., when the king speaks an angry word (דָּבָררַע) do not excite his anger still more by foolishly standing still, as if thou couldst by obstinately remaining in thy place compel his favor. EWALD and ELSTER correctly give the general sense of the admonition as follows: In presence of a king, it is proper to appear modest and yet firm, to show ourselves neither over timid nor obstinate towards him. The Vulgate, LUTHER, STARKE, etc., are less consistent: “Stand not in an evil thing,”  i.e., remain not in evil designs against the king, if you have become involved in such;—HENGSTENBERG gives the same. VAIHINGER: “Do not appear in an evil thing.”

John Peter Lange, Philip Schaff, Otto Zöckler et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Ecclesiastes (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 117.

A “bad cause” (בְּדָבָררָע, v. 3) is not a morally evil cause but a cause that is politically impossible, i.e., one that the king will never accept. Alternative interpretations (e.g., Scott, Ecclesiastes, 240; Delitzsch, Ecclesiastes, 340) are unlikely. אַלתַּעֲמֹדבְּדָבָררָע could be paraphrased, “Do not champion an idea the king opposes.” See Garrett, “Qoheleth,” 169.

Duane A. Garrett, vol. 14, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993).

כִּ֛י כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַחְפֹּ֖ץ יַעֲשֶֽׂה

For all that he pleases he will do.  ESV: he does whatever he pleases.

(ii) Provides the reason for a preceding expression or expressions by marking with כִּי the motivation given by speakers to explain something they have said. The causal relation is thus not due to natural laws but is due to the speaker’s own reasoning. כִּי can usually also be translated for.

…

  In cases where it is clear that speakers consider the grounds on which they base their motivation are difficult to contest, thus suggesting the force of their conviction, one can translate כִּי ‘in fact, the fact of the matter’.

…

  If speakers believe that their motivation contains information that is generally known, כִּי may be translated after all,

Christo Van der Merwe, Jackie Naudé, Jan Kroeze et al., A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar, electronic ed. (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), 302-03.

It may be appropriate, therefore, to translate the phrase, “after all, he does whatever he pleases”.

יַחְפֹּ֖ץ

The nominative form was used earlier, Ecclesiastes 3:1 where the ESV translates it “matter”, “for every matter under heaven”.  It makes for an interesting echo: the thing which the king pleases he will do: the thing which God pleases, he will do.

This should be understood as the non-perfective of possibility, “denotes the possibility that the subject may perform the action” (Waltke & O’Connor, 31.4e, p. 508).

ECCLESIASTES 8:4

4בַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר דְּבַר־מֶ֖לֶךְ שִׁלְט֑וֹן וּמִ֥י יֹֽאמַר־ל֖וֹ מַֽה־תַּעֲשֶֽׂה׃

בַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר

Baron, “for, because”. (152).

דְּבַר־מֶ֖לֶךְ שִׁלְט֑וֹן

The word of the king [is] power/mighty.

שִׁלְט֑וֹן

Barton considers this an Aramaic loan word (152).

וּמִ֥י יֹֽאמַר־ל֖וֹ

And who may/can say to him.

(2) To express the definite expectation that something will not happen. The imperfect with לֹא represents a more emphatic form of prohibition than the jussive1 with אַל־ (cf. § 109 c), and corresponds to our thou shalt not do it! with the strongest expectation of obedience, while אַל־ with the jussive is rather a simple warning, do not that! Thus לֹא with the imperfect is especially used in enforcing the divine commands, e.g. לֹאתִגְּנׄב thou shalt not steal Ex 20:15; cf. verses 3, 4, 5, 7, 10 ff. So לֹא with the 3rd pers. perhaps in Pr 16:10.

Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius, Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, ed. E. Kautzsch and Sir Arthur Ernest Cowley, 2d English ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1910), 317.

מַֽה־תַּעֲשֶֽׂה

What are you doing? What will you do?

Interesting cross-references:

“מַֽה־תַּעֲשֶֽׂה“

 

Isa 45:9

            ה֗וֹירָ֚באֶת־יֹ֣צְר֔וֹחֶ֖רֶשׂאֶת־חַרְשֵׂ֣יאֲדָמָ֑ההֲיֹאמַ֙רחֹ֤מֶרלְיֹֽצְרוֹ֙מַֽה־תַּעֲשֶׂ֔הוּפָעָלְךָ֖אֵין־יָדַ֥יִםלֽוֹ׃ס

            “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?

 

Job 9:12

            הֵ֣ןיַ֭חְתֹּףמִ֣ייְשִׁיבֶ֑נּוּמִֽי־יֹאמַ֥ראֵ֝לָ֗יומַֽה־תַּעֲשֶֽׂה׃

            Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back? Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

 

Job 35:6

            אִם־חָ֭טָאתָמַה־תִּפְעָל־בּ֑וֹוְרַבּ֥וּפְ֝שָׁעֶ֗יךָמַה־תַּעֲשֶׂה־לּֽוֹ׃

            If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?

 

Prov 25:8

            אַל־תֵּצֵ֥אלָרִ֗במַ֫הֵ֥רפֶּ֣ןמַה־תַּ֭עֲשֶׂהבְּאַחֲרִיתָ֑הּבְּהַכְלִ֖יםאֹתְךָ֣רֵעֶֽךָ׃

            do not hastily bring into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame?

 

Eccles 8:4

            בַּאֲשֶׁ֥רדְּבַר־מֶ֖לֶךְשִׁלְט֑וֹןוּמִ֥ייֹֽאמַר־ל֖וֹמַֽה־תַּעֲשֶֽׂה׃

            For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, “What are you doing?”

 

In three instances, one faces the inability to stop or question God.  The use in Proverbs underscores the inability to respond to a judgment. The usage in Ecclesiastes points to one’s inability to stop a king.

[1] For an argument in favor of “hasty” see:

 

3. Do not go away hastily, &c. This obedience must not be restricted to ordinary occasions, when everything demanded on the part of the sovereign is in accordance with the feelings of the subject; but we are to be submissive even when the king treats us harshly. If he chooses to rebuke us, we are not, in consequence of this insult, hastily to quit his service and throw off our allegiance to him; nor are we to manifest our disapprobation of it, since he can do with the resenter whatever he likes. הָלַךְמִפְּנֵי, i.q., יָצָאמִלִּכְנֵי, to go away from one’s presence (Gen. 4:16), i.e., to withdraw from him, to quit his service, to throw off allegiance to him comp. הָלְכוּמִפְּנֵיהֶם, they withdrew from their pretence (Hos. 11:2; and see infra, 10:4). אַל־תִּבָּהֵלמִפָּנָיותַּלֵךְ, do not be hasty, withdraw from his presence, stands for אַל־תִּבָּהֵללָלֶכֶתמִפָּנָיו, do not hastily withdraw from his presence; תִּבָּהַל, the first verb, as frequently, is used adverbially, to qualify תַּלֵךְ, the second verb (comp. נֵדְעָהנִרְדְּפָה, we shall know, we shall pursue, i.e., we shall know to pursue. Hos. 6:3; אַל־תַּרְבּוּתְדַבְּרדּ, do not multiply speak, i.e., do not multiply to speak, 1 Sam. 2:3; see also supra, 1:16; and infra, 10:1, 12:9)

 

Christian D. Ginsburg, Coheleth, Commonly Called the Book of Ecclesiastes: Translated from the Original Hebrew, With a Commentary, Historical and Critical (London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, 1861), 392-93. See, also, Gordis, 288-289.

[2] The alternative translation of “hasty” leads to a very different conclusion:

 

Inasmuch as the word, &c. This verse assigns a reason for the assertion made in the second half of the foregoing verse, “the king can do whatever he pleases,” because, or inasmuch as (בַּאֲשֶׁר), his royal mandate (דְּבַרמֶלֶךְ) is power itself, and no one can call into question his doings, or bring him to account for them. How useless and hazardous, therefore, for a subject to disrespect or bid defiance to the person or power of a sovereign.

 

Christian D. Ginsburg, Coheleth, Commonly Called the Book of Ecclesiastes: Translated from the Original Hebrew, With a Commentary, Historical and Critical (London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, 1861), 393-94. Adams, writes, “But he [the counselee] is not to rebell again legitimate command weven when the thinks that they are unwise. So long as he is not required to sin, he must obey. Counselees will protest; but that is exactly what Solomon is warning against. They have no right before God to do so. Explain this and call them to submit to rightful authority” (83).

Thirteen Diagnostic Tests for Soul Idolatry.4

06 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by in Biblical Counseling, David Clarkson, Puritan

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10. Delight: Delight is the heart of one in rapturous worship – it is a transcendent joy. And thus, the object which brings on delight is that which is our God. For some it may be comfort, or pleasure, or control, or entertainment, or sex, or drugs, or music, or power, or adulation of others, or success, or food.

 

When you sit and think, What would give me the greatest delight? That which comes to your mind is your God.

 

This is not a speculative venture: look carefully, run through member and think of moments of delight: does God ever come into your heart as the object of delight? What delight tempts you first and most? You do delight in your God.

 

On this point, the counsel of Thomas Brooks is most astute. If you delight in anything other than God, consider:

 

Look on sin with that eye [with] which within a few hours we shall see it. Ah, souls! when you shall lie upon a dying bed, and stand before a judgment-seat, sin shall be unmasked, and its dress and robes shall then be taken off, and then it shall appear more vile, filthy, and terrible than hell itself; then, that which formerly appeared most sweet will appear most bitter, and that which appeared most beautiful will appear most ugly, and that which appeared most delightful will then appear most dreadful to the soul.1 Ah, the shame, the pain, the gall, the bitterness, the horror, the hell that the sight of sin, when its dress is taken off, will raise in poor souls! Sin will surely prove evil and bitter to the soul when its robes are taken off. A man may have the stone who feels no fit of it. Conscience will work at last, though for the present one may feel no fit of accusation. Laban shewed himself at parting. Sin will be bitterness in the latter end, when it shall appear to the soul in its own filthy nature. The devil deals with men as the panther doth with beasts; he hides his deformed head till his sweet scent hath drawn them into his danger. Till we have sinned, Satan is a parasite; when we have sinned, he is a tyrant. O souls! the day is at hand when the devil will pull off the paint and garnish that he hath put upon sin, and present that monster, sin, in such a monstrous shape to your souls, that will cause your thoughts to be troubled, your countenance to be changed, the joints of your loins to be loosed, and your knees to be dashed one against another, and your hearts to be so terrified, that you will be ready, with Ahithophel and Judas, to strangle and hang your bodies on earth, and your souls in hell, if the Lord hath not more mercy on you than he had on them. Oh! therefore, look upon sin now as you must look upon it to all eternity, and as God, conscience, and Satan will present it to you another day!

 

Thomas Brooks, The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks, Volume 1, ed. Alexander Balloch Grosart (Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; G. Herbert, 1866), 17.

 

That in which you delight is your God. Pray that you God be no idol and thus be the tyrant to accuse you at the Judgment.

 

11. Zeal: Where do you place your effort? Are you lukewarm toward God? Are you  weak in meditation and prayer but zealous at “self-improvement”? Are you careless in love, forgiveness, patience, and yet zealous for your own reputation? Zeal is a mark of worship. The one who knows & loves God, that one is zealous for God. You will be zealous in the cause of something.

 

Do not ask this question abstractly, but consider it factually. Look at your life – take the last year. Where and when have you expended zeal? That object which pulled forth your zeal is your God.

 

12. Gratitude, thankfulness: For what, to what, to whom are you most painfully thankful? Where does your gratitude aim – for thankfulness will always find out one’s true God.

 

Consider this passage in Hosea: the children of Israel were thankful to Baal for their plenty – and not to the Lord. Thus, the Lord charges them with idolatry on the basis of their gratitude:

5 For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’ 6 Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths. 7 She shall pursue her lovers but not overtake them, and she shall seek them but shall not find them. Then she shall say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now.’ 8 And she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished on her silver and gold, which they used for Baal. 9 Therefore I will take back my grain in its time, and my wine in its season, and I will take away my wool and my flax, which were to cover her nakedness. Hosea 2:5–9 (ESV)

 

God strips Nebuchadnezzar of his sanity when he thanked himself:

 

29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.

Daniel 4:29–33 (ESV)

 

In Romans 1 Paul says that those who were not thankful to God are turned over idolatry:

 

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Romans 1:21–23 (ESV)

 

Who or what do you truly believe has given you good? To whom are you thankful? There is your God.

 

13. Where do you spend your efforts? Take a measure of your time. Take out a calendar and mark off your days and hours. What receives your industry? For whom do you work?

 

Let us think more deeply and peer into the heart: When you do the work, whom do you seek to please? You may quickly say God, but is that so?

 

When you work diligently and no one thanks you – or even worse, you must suffer some pain for your efforts, have you been cheated? Are you angry? Your reward from God is safe and cannot be lost merely because a man or woman treats you poorly. Indeed, it is often the opposite for the believer (Matt. 5:10-12).

 

If you are dark and angry, then you have not worked for God but for human approval? You have seen your god.

 

(Adapted from David Clarkson’s sermon, “Soul Idolatry Excludes Men Out of Heaven”).

Part One can be found here:

https://memoirandremains.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/thirteen-diagnostic-tests-for-soul-idolatry-1/

Part Two can be found here:

https://memoirandremains.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/thirteen-diagnostic-tests-for-soul-idolatry-2/

Part Three can be found here:

https://memoirandremains.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/thirteen-diagnostic-tests-for-soul-idolatry-3/

Fear, Shame, Glory, God & the Gospel

02 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in 2 Timothy, John, Matthew

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John 5:44:

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

Proverbs 29:25-26:

25 The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.
26 Many seek the face of a ruler, but it is from the LORD that a man gets justice.

Matthew 5:11-12;

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

John 15:18-19:

18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

2 Timothy 1:7-12:

7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,
9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher,
12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.