In the Washington Times, there is an article about a Bay Psalm hymnal from 1640 going up for auction and expected to bring about whopping $30 million dollars! It is up for auction by Boston’s Old South Church, a church where Samuel Adams was a member and Benjamin Franklin was baptized. They want to generate money for grants.
Mark Dimunation, Chief of Rare Books and Special Collections at the Library of Congress, calls it an iconic book, showing the beginning of an America that will be a literate country. He equates American art, spirituality, and the written word, all made manifest in this one book.
Nostalgia comes over me when I read about these early books and the people who might have held them in their hands. As a descendent of William Brewster, I wonder if he too has held this book and read its treasures aloud. Also, I wonder, what our patriarchs might have thought about this 5 by 6 inch, yellow-paged hymnal fetching such an extraordinary price. That they are counting the cost of a printed page so high causes me to wonder if they realize the true value is not the date of the printed page, but the words themselves.
When a Christian with pen in hand shares clues to the mysteries of God and His love of mortal man, the devil screams in agony. These words are fingernails curled as claws, dragging across a chalkboard.
I wonder if the bidders realize that these are not meager words written by man with ink of soot and varnish, but a Spirit inspired record of heaven intersecting with earth?
Modern man seems so strange to me, that they admire the discipline and chaste behavior of our founding fathers, paying large sums of money for trophies of years gone by, yet give no room to such discipline in their own lives. The works of these writings are acknowledged, perhaps, as beautiful words of inspired poetry, yet the power within is denied.
I admit that I, too, have times of struggling with the discipline. Not giving God the first of my day, in prayer, in the reading of his Word – this needs to change in me.
The Word of God is written to be read aloud for others to hear, – it is not to be placed with ink to paper and placed on a bookcase. The Word is written to be mounted on the breath, breathed into us on the day of our birth, and breathed out for all to hear. It was never meant to be locked away in bindings of leather, to be an iconic treasure set in an environment denied of oxygen and surrounded by glass.
In Genesis, God spoke into being every thing with the spoken word. He didn’t write it in book, though he did dictate to Moses later so that it could be read aloud to God’s people.
Nehemiah read the Word of God out loud before the people from day break until noon. Even today, the word is written down, so it can be spoken out loud. It is when the Word rides on the crest of breath, that it becomes active and powerful.
It is not the ink and paper bound in leather that makes the Word of God valuable. It is when it is released like a bird out of a cage, that it brings an understanding to the world around.
Having treasure and mementos of a time gone by is wonderful. But remembering that as old as the Word of God is, it is still relevant and powerful and should be spoken out loud, and not left on a shelf to as a trophy. The Word was always meant to be shared, because it is in the giving it away that it multiplies and becomes all that God intended His Word to be.
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11)
(Photographs from the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.)
Latest posts by Diane W. Bailey (see all)
- What God Can Do with A Shattered Heart - September 5, 2022
- When It Is Time to Bring Your Ship Ashore - January 2, 2018
- Art Of Hospitality – How to Love Others As Ourselves - November 27, 2017
Beautiful, thoughtful post. I especially love these words: “That they are counting the cost of a printed page so high causes me to wonder if they realize the true value is not the date of the printed page, but the words themselves.
When a Christian with pen in hand shares clues to the mysteries of God and His love of mortal man, the devil screams in agony. These words are fingernails curled as claws, dragging across a chalkboard.”
Thanks for posting and for linking up with Playdates with God.
Nice to have you here, Nancy! I am so glad this has an uplifting word to you! I was to me as well. Funny how the Lord ministers to the writer and well as the reader.
Beyond beautiful is the Word of God as it loves
and breathes in His people. So beyond basic ink and parchment paper. Thanks for the reminder in this beautiful post.
Thank you Barb! You are a dear friend!
When a Christian with pen in hand shares clues to the mysteries of God and His love of mortal man, the devil screams in agony. These words are fingernails curled as claws, dragging across a chalkboard.
Wow. Diane? This is word. This is powerful, life-giving stuff. Thanks so much for linking, friend.
Oh Emily, you honor me with your kind words. Love you, Girl!
yes. the release of this Word is not only the POWER, as you said so well, it is also the CHALLENGE, i think.
because the Word is alive and it/He always pushes us out of our comfortable and into the wild, free world called “trust”. only the brave will hear and live and let it/Him have His way with those ever-dynamic flames of fire. amen to this, Diane.
Kelli, Yes, His Word does press us out of our comfort and into His perfect for us! And it does look wild and wooly at times!
Wow, Di — LOVE LOVE LOVE those pics of the National Cathedral. I forget how breathtaking it is.
I love that you cited Nehemiah. He’s one of my Dad’s favorites, and therefore one of mine 🙂 I’m amazed at the focus and strength of those OT prophets, to stand and read the scrolls for hours at a time! We need to go back to this.
Susan, I love Nehemiah too. We need to write a study on it together! Crazy idea I know! I wonder if they had any Nike Air type shoes?
Yes, but that is not all; it is not the Word of God in you alone, it is “the Word of God abideth in you.” It is always there, it cannot be removed from you. If a man gets the Bible right into him, he is all right then, because he is full, and there is no room for evil. When you have filled a measure full of wheat, you have effectually shut the chaff out. Men go after novel and false doctrines because they do not really know the truth; for if the truth had gotten into them and filled them, they would not have room for these day-dreams. A man who truly knows the doctrines of grace is never removed from them: I have heard our opponents rave at what they call obstinacy. Once get the truth really into you, it will enter into the texture of your being, and nothing will get it out of you. It will also be your strength, by setting you watching against every evil thing. You will be on your guard if the Word abide in you, for it is written, “When thou goest it will keep thee.” The Word of God will be to you a bulwark and a high tower (Ed: cp Pr 30:5, 6, 18:10, Ps 20:1), a castle of defence against the foe. Oh, see to it that the Word of God is in you, in your very soul, permeating your thoughts, and so operating upon your outward life, that all may know you to be a true Bible-Christian, for they perceive it in your words and deeds.
This just struck something deep in me, Diane, “…a Spirit inspired record of heaven intersecting with earth?”
Wow and yes. Chills.
And those photos are just gorgeous. So grateful for your gifts, Diane, and the way you share them.
Thank you, Laura. Loved being with you at JTR You are more beautiful in person. Photoshop has no brush to mimic you!
Beautiful, Diane. I loved the lightness and poetry in your words.
Hi Nacole, so glad you stopped by to visit! Thank you for your kind words. I love the stain glass windows on your blog page – beautiful!
I like so much of this Diane but this imagery of freedom especially: “It is not the ink and paper bound in leather that makes the Word of God valuable. It is when it is released like a bird out of a cage, that it brings an understanding to the world around.”
Thanks for linking up with BibleDude.net this week, your words and thoughts are inspiring.