"Three Topics To Think (upon)" of which this is the third.

The third topic for this evening also comes from Edwards initially, but from other books as well. It has to do with marriage.

First, I was reading a little bit of Edwards' life and it mentioned that he had died of an experimental smallpox shot. He was away from his family and as he lay dying, he gave this message for his wife:

"Give my kindest love to my dear wife, and tell her that the uncommon union which has so long subsisted between us has been of such a nature as I trust is spiritual and therefore will continue forever."

This was considerably edifying to me. I had often wondered about the marriage bond. Truly the Sons of God in heaven are not given in marriage, but I've had a desire for a longer relationship than simply one that is on this earth. Please don't mistake me, the idea of heaven is not to be with our friends and family, the idea is to be with Christ! I imagine that all other affections will certainly pale in comparison to that which we will have for Christ, quite possibly one won't even be looking at anyone else. At the same time, wouldn't it be joyful to see someone you have spent your life with, sharing the shadows of Christ and helping them to grow, nurturing them in the faith, to finally be made perfect and complete and wonderfully like Christ themselves? It almost seems that the only thing better than experiencing that yourself, is sharing that experience with a spouse.

Of course I am unmarried, but is still something I'd thought about. The encouraging thing was that Edwards had that hope, and I think I may as well. There does seem to be a spiritual bond in marriage that is a good gift of God.

Edwards would often ride out into the fields with his wife, Sarah, to spend time alone with her. For someone who was so busy constantly, this must have taken tremendous discipline, especially with all their children! I imagine that this got easier as their eldest grew old enough to look after the rest ;)

It reminded me of what I was hearing when I was listening to J I Packer's lectures on the Puritans earlier this week. They are available for free on iTunes if anyone wants to look for them, just search for "Puritans." Not many results come up so it should be easy to find! Anyway, the last couple of lectures brushed on the family life of the Puritans, and marriage especially. In an age where women were often put down, coming out of the Dark Ages, the Puritans stood as a shining light. They saw their wives as a companion, and Matthew Henry used the description which seems to have originated with Augustine, that the woman "was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved." Indeed, the woman needed the man, but the man needed the woman perhaps even more. It is in his nature to desire to look after his wife and see her grow in grace and beauty. On the other hand, she wonderfully complements him by adding a bit of tenderness where he is more rough. Such a wonderful thing this is that God has done, that those who labour by themselves are sometimes inadequate for the task and that often the case is that when two Christians are yoked together and pull together in the same direction, the result is much more than the sum of their individual labours.

They were very good lectures, and were very beneficial and encouraging to me. I think today that it has turned into something more like two people living together rather than two Christian's working and honouring God together. The glory of the man is his wife, whom he delights in, and the glory of the woman is the man whom she trusts in. There is confidence, mutual help and growth, love, and protection that is not to be compared with in this world. Packer said that some of the earlier church men thought that women were subservient and that a man's true confident and best friend had to be someone of his own sex, and they appealed to the case of Jonathan and David. On the other hand, the Puritans believed that the wife (or husband) was to be the bosom friend, a good gift of God and a confident and companion like no other.

I am thankful to see the godly marriages in my church, the mutual respect and love. Oh, no life is perfect and there are some times that are harder than others, but on the whole, God has definitely blessed the families that I see around me, and I'm thankful for that. Mom and Dad, I'm thankful for your marriage as well and I do hope that it grows deeper and more rich with every passing year.

But now I've exhausted my time. I should go now. I have at least one other topic that I'd like to talk on soon, but it's much less profitable than these were (profitable to me at any rate) so I'll save that for later.

"Three Topics To Think (upon)" of which this is the second.

The second topic that I wanted to discuss is the combination of two of Edwards' discourses. The first of these two discourses was on the subject of procrastination. Not the type of procrastination we typically think of, but more of the type of procrastination that puts off spiritual things until later, thinking we have plenty of time.
The second discourse was on the subject of the preciousness of time. This fit in very well with the first topic so I'll attempt to dive right into both of them.

First, Edwards draws a very good distinction between two ways of living. One is living for tomorrow and the other is depending upon tomorrow. These may, at least to my eye, appear to be very similar, but there is a very striking difference. The person who lives for tomorrow is doing what is required of him. He plans ahead, he sows so that he may reap, he lays up store for his family, he works to make a difference in the world and community and has a long-term plan. We don't know but that God may let us live a while longer upon this earth so we plan accordingly and attempt to put whatever time He gives us to the best use possible.
The second person, who depends upon tomorrow, puts off things of today because he is very certain that he will have time to do it tomorrow. Edwards, again, applies this to spiritual subjects: the man who thinks that his soul's good can wait another day. Surely he'll have time to repent tomorrow, or surely he'll have time to pray and study tomorrow and so pursues his pleasures now.

Do you catch the difference? This ties in closely with the preciousness of time. God has given us time, it is a gift to us! Edwards said that if we saw people spending money as freely as they spend their time, we would think they were mad! And yet the time that we have here is one of the most precious gifts that has been given to us. Use this gift wisely and for the glory of God, not for one's own pleasures.

Now I'll state right off that God does intend for us to enjoy His creation and relationships and everything good that He has created, but all of this tends to His glory insofar as it directs our hearts and minds to thankfulness and praise.

There are some people out there for whom time appears to be a burden. When they have time, they spend it all in front of the television or wasting it doing nothing. Their only goal seems to get this time off of their hands because it is too heavy to bear. They waste the precious gift that God gives.

One day we will have to give an account of all of the time that we were given and how we spent it. It's very similar to the parable of the talents: the master had given his three servants varying amounts of money and they were required to use it wisely. The first and second servant had been faithful with their differing amounts and were able to say to their master that they had used his gift in a very wise manner and for His benefit. The last servant had merely buried it. He hadn't done anything to profit even himself by gaining interest from it. He was a worthless servant.

It was convicting for me, to try to spend my time more wisely, to spend time alone in prayer and study, and time with others for their edification and my own. It has encouraged me to try to talk about spiritual things and things that really matter, rather than just trying to pass the time having "fun". My question to myself has been to ask how my speech and conversation edifies my friends. Spending time laughing and having a "good time" is all fine, but I should try more to profit from it, and help benefit them as well. I think that's what God intends to give true, lasting enjoyment from, not something that fades after one or two evenings.

So yes, time is precious! Seek to glorify God with the time He has allotted you.

"Three Topics To Think (upon)" of which this is the first.

Yah, I couldn't think of another word that started with "T."

Hullo! It's been a very long time since I've updated. Life this past semester was busy as I'm getting into some more difficult classes. There were struggles, there were some very good things, but that's not what I'm going to talk about now.

By the way, I've thought about retiring this blog..... but I'm not ready yet! It gives me a platform to speak upon that is unlike any other.

First topic: The Sabbath
I've been reading a few pieces upon the subject. The first was when I opened up some of the works of Jonathan Edwards and began reading one of his discourses upon the Sabbath. He gave some very interesting remarks on it. First he sought to build the case that it was established by God and was meant as a perpetual ordinance. This is seen in two different things:
First, as most people will admit, it was instituted by God at the creation, along with marriage and work, which are two very good things that God has given us. It is said later in the Bible, in Exodus, that we are to labour for six days and rest on the seventh, because this is what God did. He didn't need rest, He is the almighty, rather He did it for our example and edification.

Second, God also gave the command as part of the ten commandments, which Edwards says were written on stone to signify their perpetuity, their unchangeable nature. It is interesting when looking at it, that the commandment does not specify a day, just the seventh day after six days of labour. It is the principle that is in mind here, not a specific day. We could very well begin our counting from Wednesday but the idea remains the same.

After building this case, Edwards continues to make the case that God still gives us a day of Sabbath rest. He asks the very pointed question as to whether or not God would have left the decision of when and how frequently to worship, up to the imaginations of men. There were a lot of people in his day (and in ours) who believe that Sunday is just a convenient day that we have chosen, by tradition or otherwise, to meet. Edwards says no, God has not left us without instruction on this matter.

He brings up some very interesting points, first, that as the Jews were very reluctant to change in many things, so God changed many of their traditions by degrees, or very gently. So there was no immediate command to change from Saturday to Sunday, but He did show more favour upon that than any other day. Take for example, the Spirit catching up John on "The Lord's day" which is a reference to Sunday. Or to Christ appearing to the apostles on that day, in the shut room, or when He sent the Spirit to them on the day of Pentecost. Each of these instances was a Sunday. The apostles began to set an example by gathering together weekly to break bread (communion) on the first day of the week. One important verse is found in 1 Cor. 16:1,2 where Paul makes specific command for people to lay up, or tithe on the first day of the week. This isn't arbitrary, or something that Paul just thought would be good to do and you might as well set a week to do it on, no, this is inspired Scripture and there is a definite purpose behind it. If it isn't to instruct us to meet this day, then it wouldn't appear to have any meaning at all.

The conclusion to all of this is not to become legalistic and claim that we should try to obey strict rules and make a list of "don't do's" etc. As Dan Y. described on last Lord's Day, those people who begin to do this are really forgetting the picture. They have a wonderful steak which God has prepared for them, yet they argue over whether it is all right to eat the peanut butter and jelly off to the side.

The Sabbath is a blessing! It was instituted by God for a purpose, for our rest and edification. The Puritans referred to it as the "market day of the soul" when one would feed his soul well. I have found that the gift of leaving all of my worldly cares behind on that day has been a great relief to my mind. I can concentrate on Scripture, meditation, prayer, worship, singing, things that I don't normally have much time for during the week. It truly is a blessing and a gift and yet it is so often shunned. Why? Why would anyone wish to argue for the cessation of the Sabbath? Why would anyone wish to argue that it's a day like every other and that every day is equally sanctified? We know from experience that it's not true. The testimony of Scripture seems to place more honour on one day than the rest.

Lastly, Edwards exhorts the Christian to expect, as God did in the past, an outpouring of the Spirit on this day. It's a day for the soul, take advantage of it and spend the day in study and communion with God. Don't squander His good gift, but accept it gratefully and use it to your advantage.