A Lamp for Liberty
Greetings from Me and My House,
"Whatever resistance we see today offered by almost all the world to the progress of the truth, we must not doubt that our Lord will come at last to break through all the undertakings of men and make a passage for His Word. Let us hope boldly, then, more than we can understand; He will still surpass our opinion and our hope."
Does this quote ring true to you? Our world is certainly doing its best to resist God's truth. However this quote is from around 400 years ago, when God's Word was largely unavailable to the people, and Reformers were working to get it available to common people in their own languages. This quote is from John Calvin.
I just received my new Geneva Bible, originally published in 1599. The Geneva Bible was the first complete English Bible translated from the original languages and intended to make God's Word available to all the people. It was the first Bible to number chapters and verses to make finding Scriptures easier. And it was the first "study Bible", with notes, annotations, cross references, etc.
This is the Bible of Liberty. It was the Bible brought to America by the Pilgrims. "The marginal notes of the Geneva Bible present a systematic Biblical worldview centered on the Sovereignty of God over all of His creation including churches and kings." "Thus did the Geneva Bible begin the unstoppable march to liberty in England, Scotland, and America." "Today, these theological "marginalia" might seem rudimentary or innocuous, but when they were systematically taught from Scripture and applied to life, as was done in the ocmmentary in the Geneva Bile, entire nations and societies were transformed." "Because of its revolutionary format and features, the Geneva Bible became the foundation for what we call group Bible study, and was a catalyst for the acceptance of the liberating doctrine of the 'priesthood of all believers.'"
The Geneva Bible was even the catalyst for the most popular English translation of all time, the King James Version. King James, for obvious reasons, did not like the Geneva Bible with its bringing out that kings are under God's rule, so he commissioned another Bible translation, without notes.
Today God's Word is readily available in miriads of English translations, yet we still see the resistance of the world to the progress of the truth. Yet, along with Calvin, we can be assured that God will "break through all the undertakings of men and make a passage for His Word". "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the Word of our God shall stand forever." (Isa. 40:8) It will not return to Him void. It will accomplish what He pleases. (Isa. 55:11) Perhaps it will please Him to once more utilize this Bible of Liberty, with the Reformers systematic presentation of a Biblical worldview, to bring Liberty to many through His Truth that makes men free.
SDG,
Lisa
(Quotes taken from Marshall Foster's article, "The History and Impact of the Geneva Bible", in The1599 Geneva Bible, published by Tolle Lege Press, 2006.)
"Whatever resistance we see today offered by almost all the world to the progress of the truth, we must not doubt that our Lord will come at last to break through all the undertakings of men and make a passage for His Word. Let us hope boldly, then, more than we can understand; He will still surpass our opinion and our hope."
Does this quote ring true to you? Our world is certainly doing its best to resist God's truth. However this quote is from around 400 years ago, when God's Word was largely unavailable to the people, and Reformers were working to get it available to common people in their own languages. This quote is from John Calvin.
I just received my new Geneva Bible, originally published in 1599. The Geneva Bible was the first complete English Bible translated from the original languages and intended to make God's Word available to all the people. It was the first Bible to number chapters and verses to make finding Scriptures easier. And it was the first "study Bible", with notes, annotations, cross references, etc.
This is the Bible of Liberty. It was the Bible brought to America by the Pilgrims. "The marginal notes of the Geneva Bible present a systematic Biblical worldview centered on the Sovereignty of God over all of His creation including churches and kings." "Thus did the Geneva Bible begin the unstoppable march to liberty in England, Scotland, and America." "Today, these theological "marginalia" might seem rudimentary or innocuous, but when they were systematically taught from Scripture and applied to life, as was done in the ocmmentary in the Geneva Bile, entire nations and societies were transformed." "Because of its revolutionary format and features, the Geneva Bible became the foundation for what we call group Bible study, and was a catalyst for the acceptance of the liberating doctrine of the 'priesthood of all believers.'"
The Geneva Bible was even the catalyst for the most popular English translation of all time, the King James Version. King James, for obvious reasons, did not like the Geneva Bible with its bringing out that kings are under God's rule, so he commissioned another Bible translation, without notes.
Today God's Word is readily available in miriads of English translations, yet we still see the resistance of the world to the progress of the truth. Yet, along with Calvin, we can be assured that God will "break through all the undertakings of men and make a passage for His Word". "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the Word of our God shall stand forever." (Isa. 40:8) It will not return to Him void. It will accomplish what He pleases. (Isa. 55:11) Perhaps it will please Him to once more utilize this Bible of Liberty, with the Reformers systematic presentation of a Biblical worldview, to bring Liberty to many through His Truth that makes men free.
SDG,
Lisa
(Quotes taken from Marshall Foster's article, "The History and Impact of the Geneva Bible", in The1599 Geneva Bible, published by Tolle Lege Press, 2006.)
posted by Lisa @Me and My House @ 11/29/2006 03:30:00 PM
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