A very disconcerting effect

Writing of the “notion” of replacing the Authorized Version of the Bible (KJB) with another translation:

“It ought to be considered, too, that the language of the current version is thoroughly blended with the whole religious literature of the English tongue. It also pervades the religious experience, and expresses the devotional feelings, of all the Christians who speak that tongue. Truly, the introduction of a very different translation,—and if not very different, there could be no reason sufficient to justify such a sweeping change,—must have a very disconcerting effect upon the public mind, and give rise to an infinity of vexations. The present translation has been, and is, the text-book for millions of Sabbath-School pupils, and religious inquirers; and is hallowed by associations so tender and sacred, that the attempt to discard it will seem to multitudes of devout men and women but little better than sacrilege. It was sufficient, they will say, for the salvation of our godly parents and others of our sainted friends,—and, with the blessing of their God and our God, it shall suffice for ours.”

Alexander Wilson McClure, The Translators Revived: a Biographical Memoir of the Authors of the English Version of the Holy Bible, New York, NY: Charles Scribner, 1853, p. 242

Precious book divine

The following hymn by English Baptist minister John Fawcett was published in 1782 in Hymns Adapted to the Circumstances of Public Worship and Private Devotion (Leeds: G. Wright and Son, pages 71-72). Fawcett is well known as the writer of “Blest be the tie that binds.” In various books it appears with tunes such as Belmont, Warwick, Avon, Azmon, Laurel Hill, Oswald, and others. I think I would like it with Avon, and perhaps also with Ortonville.

HYMN XLI. C. M.

Ps. cxix. 105. Thy word is a Lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths.

1. How precious is the book divine,
By inspiration given!
Bright as a lamp its doctrines shine
To guide our souls to heav’n.

2. Its light, descending from above
Our gloomy world to chear,
Displays a Saviour’s boundless love
And brings his glories near.

3. It shows to man his wand’ring ways
And where his feet have trod;
And brings to view the matchless grace
Of a forgiving God.

4. When once it penetrates the mind,
It conquers ev’ry sin;
Th’ enlighten’d soul begins to find
The path of peace divine.

5. It sweetly chears our drooping hearts,
In this dark vale of tears,
Life, light, and joy it still imparts
And quells our rising fears.

6. This lamp thro’ all the tedious night
Of life, shall guide our way,
Till we behold the clearer light
Of an eternal day.

The following stanza appears in some song books, but it is not in Fawcett’s 1782 hymn book.

O’er all the straight and narrow way
Its radiant beams are cast;
A light whose never weary ray
Grows brightest at the last.

Some Baptist related books and sites available online

• A Discovery of the Abominable Delusions of those, who call themselves the Family of Love. Written by those falsely called Anabaptist, n. p., 1622
• A New-Year’s-gift. Being a sermon delivered at Philadelphia, on January 1, 1770. Morgan Edwards, Philadelphia, 1770
• A True Discovery of the Ministery of the Gospell, Edward Barber, London, 1645
• Anti Paedo-Rantism; or. Mr. Samuel Finley’s Charitable Plea for the Speechless Examined and Refuted: the Baptism of Believers Maintained; and the Mode of it, by Immersion, Vindicated, Abel Morgan, Philadelphia, PA: B. Franklin, 1747
• Baptist Church Perpetuity, W. A. Jarrel, Dallas, TX: W. A. Jarrel, 1894
• Baptist History Vindicated, John T. Christian, Louisville, KY: Baptist Book Concern, 1899
• Baptist Publishing House Legacy Library, Scanned books from original copies, BMAA writers
• Brief Notes on the New Testament, G. W. Clark, J. M. Pendleton. Philadelphia, PA: American Baptist Publication Society, 1884
• Canadian Baptist History and Polity Murray J. S. Ford, editor, Hamilton, ONT: McMaster University Divinity College, 1982
• Historical Notes on the Name “Baptist” by Robert B. Hannen, in the of the Foundations Journal of the American Baptist Historical Society (January 1965, pp. 62-71)
• History of the Donatists, With Notes, David Benedict, Pawtucket, RI: Nickerson, Sibley, & Co., 1875
• Light in Darkness, Or, the Church in the World, J. S. Crellin, Oshawa, Can: Oliphant & White, 1848
• Memoirs of Eld. J. N. Hall, the Peerless Defender of the Baptist Faith, W. M. Barker, Fulton, KY: Baptist Flag Print, 1907
• The Cyclopedia of the Colored Baptists of Alabama: Their Leaders and Their Work, Charles Octavius Boothe, Birmingham, AL: Alabama Publishing Company, 1895
• The Free Church Through the Ages, Gunnar Westin (translated by Virgil A. Olson) Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1958
• William Morris Ford, Pastor of First Baptist Church, Longview, Texas, and the Southern Baptist View of Race Relations, 1945-1971, Blanche H. Brick, East Texas Historical Journal, Volume 41, Issue 1

A Table of All the Pronouns

 

The British Grammar: Or, An Essay in Four Parts…, James Buchanan. 
London: A. Millar, 1762, p. 102

I have shewed you

Acts 20:33-35: Paul sets forward his own practice among them as a recommendation and an example for them. He came to them not for what he could get from them, their “silver, or gold, or apparel.” In proof of that we see that he worked with his hands to provide necessities, not only for himself, but “to them that were with” him. This was not an isolated incident in Ephesus. This was Paul’s established practice. He made his own way without charge, in part to set an example for these elders to labor.

In Corinth, Paul labored and made the gospel “without charge,” I Corinthians 9:1-14. See also See II Corinthians 12:13-18.

In Thessalonica, Paul was not “burdensome,” but “wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you” (I Thessalonians 2:6; II Thessalonians 3:7-10).

Others followed this practice. I Corinthians 4:9-12 indicates apostles (others in addition to Paul) labored with their hands. “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:”

Barnabas is included in Paul’s statement about the normal practice of supporting oneself, “I only and Barnabas” (I Corinthians 9:6). It appears this reference to Barnabas occurs after he and Paul had separated (cf. Acts 15:36-41 & 18:1-17). If so, this is not a reference to Barnabas abiding by Paul’s practice when traveling with him, but also of the established practice of Barnabas.

Titus, it is indicated, followed the same practice as Paul. See II Corinthians 12:13-18. “Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you? I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?”

By his own example, Paul showed the elders of the church at Ephesus (1) “how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak,” and (2) “to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” In “so labouring,” “so” means “in such a manner” as Paul did it; that is, follow his example. The words of the Lord Jesus quoted here, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” are not recorded in any of the four Gospels. This is a stimulating sample of John’s declaration that everything Jesus said and did is not recorded (John 20:30-31; 21:25). The apostles could bring forth out of their treasure of experience (3 years in Israel or 3 years in Arabia; II Peter 1:16-17, I John 1:2, Galatians 1:11-12, 17-18) and inspiration (II Timothy 3:16) things new and old.[1]

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[1] The Bible does not directly specify the length of time the apostles walked with the Lord. However, it can be deduced from Scripture that Jesus’s earthly ministry was between 3 and 4 years in length of time. First, and best, the references to the four Passovers in the book of John (the last being the Passover when Jesus was crucified). The fig tree is used to represent Israel, and the parable of the fig tree in Luke 13:6-9 mentions coming to the barren fig tree three years. The fig tree was cursed (Matthew 21:19). If the middle of the week of Daniel 9:24-27 is connected to Jesus dying “to make reconciliation for iniquity,” then this is also suggestive of 3-1/2 years. Paul’s time in Arabia (v. 12) seems to be connected with his also receiving the gospel from Jesus Christ (v. 17). The correlation of three years direct teaching of the apostles is plausible, though not beyond question.

Six Types of King James Only

I find attempts to categorize King James Bible Only positions interesting. I have posted on this subject in the past. Recently my attention was directed to “Six Types of King James Only - Are They All Extremists?” at A Nickels Worth Bible Reviews, by Tim Nickels.[i] Nickels labels 6 different King James Only positions. I don’t think he did a great job. However, (1) I find it to be more honest than the 5-part categorization of James R. White; and (2) I find it interesting that someone of his ilk chose not to regurgitate White’s categories (many or most of them do). He has apparently put some of his own thought into it.[ii]

I took the liberty of summarizing (below) the six categories created by Nickels.

Six Types of King James Only, by Tim Nickels.

• 1. King James preferential. They prefer the King James because of its history, beauty, and language. They believe it is a superior English translation and like it above all others.
• 2. King James superior. They believe that the King James translation philosophy and textual source (Masoretic and TR) are superior; they do not claim it is the only inspired English translation.
• 3. King James exclusive. They believe that the King James is the only translation that should be used for an English-speaking audience; they believe that the modern translations are corrupt and that they are based off corrupted sources.
• 4. King James inspiration. They believe that the King James is not just a faithful translation but the translation process itself was inspired (so we have double inspiration – the inspiration of the original languages and the inspiration of the English translation).
• 5. King James inerrancy. They believe that the King James is the only inerrant and perfect word of God. The King James is even better than the original languages because the KJV translators were inspired (one can therefore use the King James to correct the Greek and Hebrew).
• 6. King James extremist. They believe that the King James is the only legitimate Bible for all languages; that is, every language in the world needs to translate their Bibles from the King James Bible. Everything else is corrupt. Any deviation away from the King James is Satanic and corrupt. Some even claim someone cannot be saved apart from the King James Bible.

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[i] Tim Nickels is an ordained Assemblies of God minister, and the pastor of Lakeside Worship Center in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. 

[ii] I nevertheless see this as a fail. I know folks who hold positions like numbers one and two. The question is whether these should ever be called King James Only. For example, Confessional Bibliologists who hold the Bomberg/Ben Chayyim Hebrew and Textus Receptus Greek as authoritative, specifically deny that their position is King James Only, even though most of them tend to use only the King James Bible. To them it is not primarily about the translation, but especially about the original language texts.

The Fall of Man

What is the cause (or causes) of sin and the fall of man?

Could any other act of Adam and Eve in their perfect environment in the Garden – other than disobedience to the one divine prohibition – have been a sin and the cause of plunging mankind into sin and death? For example, when Eve either imprecisely restated what Adam told her or added to God’s word or lied or used an idiomatic expression or something else (you decide) by saying “neither shall ye touch it” – was that a sin?

God gave the command to Adam, before he created Eve. “thou” (singular) shalt not eat of it. “thou” shalt surely die. Eve only knew the command of God mediated through Adam. The command to not eat the fruit of the tree was in effect a command to stay away from it. Eve responds to the serpent with “we” and “ye” (plural). Surely this is not disobedience, but recognition that the command to man thereafter applied to man and woman, for they are one.

The serpent did not challenge “neither shall ye touch it” as being a false statement, but challenged the strength of the statement “lest ye die.”

Was Eve deceived into saying “neither shall ye touch it,” or was she deceived into believing the fruit was good and “Ye shall not surely die”? Verse 6 successfully answers that, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof.”

Probably most of the preachers within my range of fellowship might say something like or in the vicinity of “Eve added to God’s word,” but I think they also would draw back from saying that was the cause of the fall. We should carefully think about how we address and explain the fall. The biblical emphasis is plainly focused on Adam’s disobedience.

God gave a divine prohibition to Adam, concerning the tree of knowledge of good and evil. “thou shalt not eat of it.” “thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) The fall and the condemnation of sin is because of the disobedience to this prohibition that God placed on man, the command to not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When God spoke to Adam after his disobedience, he emphasized the eating of the tree. “Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” (Genesis 3:11) When he gives the cause, it is again related to the eating of the tree. “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it…” (Genesis 3:17-19) Eve was beguiled; Adam was not (Genesis 3:12-13; 1 Timothy 2:13-14). Without being deceived, Adam disobeyed God and freely took the fruit his wife gave him.

Read Genesis 3.

Zealously oppose errors

“In these days of boasted liberality, it may appear captious to oppose with zeal the errors of men who have acquired a name in the Christian world. The mantle of charity, it will be said, ought to be thrown over mistakes that have resulted from a free and impartial investigation of truth, and if not wholly overlooked, they should be noticed with a slight expression of disapprobation. Such, however, was not the conduct of the Apostle Paul. He spared neither churches nor individuals, when the doctrines they maintained tended to the subversion of the gospel; and the zeal with which he resisted their errors was not inferior to that with which he encountered the open enemies of Christianity.” 

Robert Haldane, Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans (Volume I, New Edition Much Enlarged, Edinburgh: William Whyte & Co., 1842), p. 14

Save a wretch condemned to die

HYMN CXXV. L. M.

What shall I do to be saved?

1. With melting heart and weeping eyes,

My guilty soul for mercy cries;

What shall I do, or whither flee,

T’escape the vengeance due to me?

2. Till now, I saw no danger nigh;

I liv’d at ease, nor fear’d to die;

Wrapt up in self-deceit, and pride,

“I shall have peace at last,” I cry’d.

3. But when, great God, thy light divine

Had shone on this dark soul of mine,

Then I beheld, with trembling awe,

The terrors of thy holy law.

4. How dreadful now my guilt appears,

In childhood, youth, and growing years!

Before thy pure discerning eye,

Lord, what a filthy wretch am I!

5. Should vengeance still my soul pursue,

Death, and destruction are my due;

Yet mercy can my guilt forgive,

And bid a dying sinner live.

6. Does not thy sacred word proclaim

Salvation free in Jesus name?

To him I look, and humbly cry,

“O save a wretch condemn’d to die!” 

The above hymn was written by John Fawcett. I originally found it as hymn #238 in William Gadsby’s hymn book (called “Repentance”). However, it first appeared in Fawcett’s Hymns: Adapted to the Circumstances of Public Worship and Private Devotion, published in Leeds in 1782. It is hymn # 125 on pages 219-220 – with a title whose theme relates to Acts 9:6 and Acts 16:30. Fawcett seemed to enjoy the image of the heart melting. The words “melting heart” or “melting hearts” appear in at least seven of the hymns found in Hymns: Adapted to the Circumstances of Public Worship and Private Devotion.

John Fawcett was an English Baptist theologian, author, pastor, and hymn writer. He was born January 6, 1740 (or 1739) in West Yorkshire, England. He became an orphan at age 12, and was apprenticed to a tailor. His conversion came under the preaching of George Whitefield when he was 16 years old. Shortly thereafter Fawcett began to preach. He initially united with the Methodists, but – as with many other of Whitefield’s converts – this “Methodist chicken became a Baptist duck.” In 1765 He was called to the Baptist chapel at Wainsgate in Yorkshire, and ordained as a Baptist minister. Though offered other positions, Fawcett served in Wainsgate and Hebden Bridge (where a new chapel was built in 1777) for the duration of his ministry. He also taught school from his residence. In addition to writing poetry, he wrote on religious subjects as well.

John Fawcett died July 25, 1817 and is buried at the Wainsgate Baptist Church Graveyard at Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, England. His wife Susannah Skirrow Fawcett preceded him in death and is buried there as well.

This hymn is not so well-known as others by Fawcett, such as “Religion is the chief concern,” “How precious is the Book divine,” and “Blest be the tie that binds.” “With melting heart and weeping eyes,” sometimes titled “The Christian Awakened,” appears with the tune Social Band (aka Clamanda) in Durand and Lester’s Hymn and Tune Book for Use in Old School or Primitive Baptist Churches. I believe this is a good fit of text and tune. The words extol free salvation for the awakened sinner, who cries out to God for mercy. There is no hope apart from Jesus Christ.

Wherever God puts, and other quotes

The posting of quotes by human authors does not constitute agreement with either the quotes or their sources. (I try to confirm the sources that I give, but may miss on occasion; please verify if possible.)

“Wherever God puts a preacher is important. It’s never small. It’s never secondary.” -- Evangelist Junior Hill

“The thing that makes a sermon a sermon, and not just a talk or a lecture, is the vivifying force of holy passion.” -- Sean DeMars

“Knowledge of the details of how God made possible men’s salvation is not an absolute requirement for receiving it.” -- Jeff C. Barger

“Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved.” -- Elizabeth Rundle Charles

“Unfortunately, a lot of people meet other Christians before they meet Christ.” -- Tony Kennedy

“You never get a second opportunity to make a first impression.” -- General proverb of unknown source

“May Jesus be the last of thy dying thoughts, and the first of thy everlasting enjoyment.” -- Robert Hawker

“For Christians, making or evaluating culture must always be measured against God’s special revelation.” -- Scott Aniol

“Think yourself empty. Read yourself full. Write yourself clear. Pray yourself hot. Let yourself go into the pulpit.” -- W. H. Griffith Thomas

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” -- Mark Twain

“There is much religion in a handshake; there is no religion in a whine.” -- Unknown

“We are not Burger King – it is God’s way or no way.” -- Reginald Weatherton

“…if the king tells you to go conquer the hinterlands one day, and tells you to shoe his horse the next day, you should do them both without slacking. He is the king.” -- Andrée Seu Peterson, WORLD Magazine

Forty Days

• How long the flood was upon the earth (Genesis 7:12, 17)
• How long the Egyptians were in embalming Jacob (Genesis 50:1-3)
• How long Moses was in the mount with the Lord (Exodus 24:18)
• How long the twelve spies searched the promised land (Numbers 13:25)
• How long Goliath challenged the children of Israel (1 Samuel 17:16)
• How long Elijah went in the strength of the food the angel provided (1 Kings 19:8)
• How long Ezekiel symbolically bore the iniquity of the house of Judah (Ezekiel 4:6)
• How long Jonah preached to the Ninevites (Jonah 3:4)
• How long Jesus fasted before the temptation in the wilderness (Matt. 4:2; Mark 1:13; Luke 4:2)
• How long Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection (Acts 1:3)

Exhorting the elders

Acts 20:28-31 Exhortation and warning

Verse 28: Paul charges and exhorts the elders from Ephesus to “take heed.” They must beware, be aware, and direct their heed (pay attention and be careful) both toward themselves and toward the flock. This recognizes that they are placed in oversight of the flock by the Holy Ghost. The duty of overseers of a flock is to feed the flock. The food of the flock is the word of God. “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). They must take the responsibility seriously (II Timothy 2:6) and sew the word faithfully (Luke 8:5, 11; I Corinthians 4:2). Cf. also II Corinthians 9:10.

Natural food is vital to sustaining physical life. Spiritual food is vital to sustaining spiritual life and spiritual growth. The word of God is the milk for babes and the solid food for adults (I Peter 2:2; I Corinthians 3:2). It is the essential bread and water (Deuteronomy 8:3: Isaiah 55:1-2). It provides the necessary range of flavors, from bitter to sweet (Psalm 119:103; Revelation 10:9-10). “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart” Jeremiah 15:16). Taste and see that the Lord is good.

There are three names for one office. Paul, on his way to Jerusalem, calls the plural elders of the church at Ephesus to meet him in Miletus. In charging the elders, he calls them “overseers” (bishops; ἐπισκόπους) who are to “pastor” (feed; ποιμαίνειν) the church/flock of God. In this case, the noun form of episkopos is used directly. The pastoring is embedded in the verb form of feeding (poimainein) the flock. Acts 20:17, 28.

Verses 29-30: Paul forewarns them of “grievous wolves” who will attempt to decimate the flock. These will be of two kinds: (1) “enter in among you” those from the outside who will come to or into the flock; and (2) “Also of your own selves” those from the inside who will who seek to divide the flock.

Verse 31: In light of this the elders are to “watch,” be on guard against wolves entering to destroy the flock; and “remember” the time-honored teaching of Paul, wherein “night and day” and “with tears,” he grounded them in truth and warned them against error. To fight the good fight, they will need to call to remembrance the things they have been taught. Compare I Timothy 4:6 and Jude, verse 17.

NKJV moves in the right direction

Credit where credit is due.

I have a number of times cited the New King James Version for being less than it claims to be – when it prefers to follow the bandwagon of modern versions rather than be a “new” King James Version. On Philippians 2:6 I must give them credit for revising a modern reading which matched modern versions back to a reading that more closely matches the King James Version.

In Philippians 2:6, the Authorized (King James) Version states:

• who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

When the New King James New Testament came out in 1979, this verse read:

• who, being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.

Unsurprisingly, this more closely matched translations like the RV, ASV, RSV, and NASB. Apparently in 1982 when the whole Bible translation was released (at least I have found it in NKJVs that are dated 1982) the verse was corrected to read:

• who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

Two Johns and others have considered readings and interpretations such as not grasping at equality with God an innovation of Arianism and/or Greek philosophy:

“No, say they, but he means that being a little God, he seized not upon being equal to the great God, who was greater than he. Is there a great and a little God? And do ye bring in the doctrines of the Greeks upon those of the Church? With them there is a great and a little God. If it be so with you, I know not. For you will find it nowhere in the Scriptures: there you will find a great God throughout, a little one nowhere.” John Chrysostom, Homily 6, Philippians 2:5-8

“...as for the sense which some put upon the words, that he did not ‘affect’, or ‘greedily catch’ at deity; as the phrase will not admit of it, so it is not true in fact; he did affect deity, and asserted it strongly, and took every proper opportunity of declaring it, and in express terms affirmed he was the Son of God; and in terms easy to be understood declared his proper deity, and his unity and equality with the Father; required the same faith in himself as in the Father, and signified that he that saw the one, saw the other...” John Gill, Exposition of the Whole Bible

Note: 1. This was a translation matter and not a difference in underlying text. 2. Though I commend the NKJV for this change, I do not recommend the NKJV.

Quintuple Commands to the Childish Corinthians

As Paul concludes his first letter to the church at Corinth, he quickly fires off five consecutive commands, as found in verses 13-14 in chapter 16. The Corinthians were being childish (13:11; 14:18-20), carnal (3:1-4), and quarrelsome (1:10-13). He counters their chaotic inclinations with these five faithful exhortations.

1 Corinthians 16:13–14 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity.

1. Watch ye.

• Luke 12:39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched...
• 1 Thessalonians 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 
• 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
• Revelation 3:3 ...If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Churches have no need for blind leaders of the blind. They need members who are not asleep but spiritually awake, who walk circumspectly & pay attention, who are ever on guard. Duty never ceases, and evil never sleeps.

2. Stand fast.

• 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
• Colossians 1:23 …be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard
• Luke 18:1 …men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
• Ephesians 6:13 ...and having done all, to stand.

Church members must be firm and fixed, stedfast and unmoveable, if they will abound in the work of the Lord. Paul does not exhort to be stubborn for the sake of stubbornness. The Corinthians are encouraged to stand firm and stedfast “in the faith” and not be moved away from it (Galatians 1:6). The faith is the truth of God’s word as revealed in the Scriptures (Jude 3).

Stand fast ←We are in a battle→ Quit you like men

3. Quit you like men.

• 1 Samuel 4:9 Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
• 1 Corinthians 14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
• 1 Timothy 1:18 ...that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
• 2 Timothy 2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

Quit you like men (act like men) is strong military talk, Buck up to the task; be brave. We are in a battle for the cause of God and truth. We are in a battle for the souls of men. The churches need courageous men and not cowards (John 10:12-13); mature men and not adolescents (13:11); strong men and not effeminate (6:9). The churches need men who will watch, who will stand fast, who will be strong – and act like men.

4. Be strong.

• Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
• 2 Timothy 2:1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
• Joshua 1:6, 9 Be strong and of a good courage...
• Isaiah 35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not…
• 1 Corinthians 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
• Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

The churches need grown men, not childish adults; strong men, but men who find their strength in the Lord and not themselves. We work through the power that worketh in us (Philippians 2:13). Without Jesus, we can do nothing, but in him we can do all things. Let us lay aside the faux human pretense of power, and find our strength in him (2 Corinthians 12:10 ...for when I am weak, then am I strong).

↑The Corinthians were being childish (1 Corinthians 1:11-12; 3:1), and they were not acting in love.↓

5. Let all your things be done with charity.

The fifth imperative subsumes the previous four: it encompasses them all, characterizes them all, and completes them all (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

• Charity never faileth: watch ye.
• Charity suffereth long: stand fast.
• Charity ... endureth all things: quit you like men.
• Charity ... beareth all things: be strong.

Charity … rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth … Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

The poor man’s Bible

“The poor man’s Bible is the word of God, in which he has no suspicion that there is anything but perfection. The Bible of the profoundly erudite scholar is often a book that is not so necessary to instruct him, as one that needs his hand for alteration, or amendment, or confirmation. Learning may be usefully employed; but if learning ever forgets that it must sit at the feet of Jesus, it will be a curse instead of a blessing. It will raise clouds and darkness, instead of communicating light to the world.”

Robert Haldane, Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans (Volume I, New Edition Much Enlarged, Edinburgh: William Whyte & Co., 1842), pp. 11-12

An Address to All

1. I sing a song which doth belong to all the human race,
Concerning death, which steals the breath, and blasts the comely face.
Come listen all unto my call, which I do make today;
For you must die as well as I, and pass from hence away.

2. No human power can stop the hour, wherein a mortal dies;
A Caesar may be great today, yet death will close his eyes:
Though some do strive and do arrive to riches and renown,
Enjoying health and swim in wealth, yet death will bring them down.

3. Though beauty grace your comely face, with roses white and red,
A dying fall will spoil it all, for Absalom is dead:
Though you acquire the best attire, appearing fine and fair,
Yet death will come into the room, and strip you naked there.

4. The princes high and beggars die, and mingle with dust,
The rich, the brave, the lowest slave, the wicked and the just:[i]
Therefore prepare to meet thy God, before it be too late.
Or else you’ll weep, lament and cry, lost in a ruined state.[ii]

The above hymn, less the last two lines, appeared as a 7-stanza 4-line common meter hymn “Address to All” in Hymns, Original and Selected, for the Use of Christians, by Elias Smith and Abner Jones (Manning & Loring, Boston, 1805). The first of the above two stanzas appear with The Christian Harmony song Solemn Call (page 155) and all four are in An Address to All (page 101). Both those tunes were written by the Baptist songster and tunebook compiler William Walker. While the earliest source of the hymn is known, the author of the words is unknown. The “Address” is a very pointed and effective warning “to all the human race” – and especially to those who rely on their power, position, riches, or refinement without considering the end of life. Caesars and Absaloms die just as surely as beggars and slaves.

“the beggar died…the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments…” Luke 16:22-23

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[i] The original words are “negro slave.” In its context, it should have been an eyeopener to wealthy 1805 masters, that their end was just the same as their slaves.
[ii] The last lines are added, perhaps by William Walker or some other songwriter to round out the uneven number of stanzas. These added lines do not contain the internal rhyme present in the first and third lines of the rest of the hymn. This might be changed to: “Prepare therefore to meet thy Lord, before it be too late. Lest soon you die, lament and cry, lost in a ruined state.”

Let the Bible be the Bible

“Let the Bible be the Bible!”

Augustine of Hippo stated, “If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.” Truly we could further reflect “If you believe what you like in the Bible, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Bible you believe, but yourself.”

Keveh and Linen Yarn

Notes or comments in commentaries and study Bibles can be really bad. Readers think they are being given competent instruction, but you just never know! Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. At times commentators apparently just write whatever is on their minds without doing the necessary research. Here is an example from the Believer’s Bible Commentary by William MacDonald (Arthur L. Farstad, editor, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995, p. 387), regarding the translation of 1 Kings 10:28.

“⁸ (10:26-29) Keveh (also transliterated Kue) was translated ‘linen yarn’ in KJV because they did not know in the seventeenth century that is was a place name.”

The barest of research would have refuted this statement. The King James translators were well aware that this had been considered the name of a place. They just did not agree that it was. Notice, for example, how verse 28 had been translated in the 1537 Matthew Bible:

And Salomons horses came out of Egipte from Keva: The marchauntes fett them from Keva at a pryce.

The 14th rule given to the translators even said they should check these prior Bibles. “These translations to be used when they agree better with the Text than the Bishop’s Bible: Tindoll’s, Matthew’s, Coverdale’s, Whitchurch’s, Geneva.” Keva is found in the Coverdale, Matthew, and Taverner Bibles. The LXX gives it as a place name (Θεκουέ), as does the Vulgate (Coa). The translators were aware of these resources; the fact was not something “they did not know.”

No, the King James translators were not unaware of translating מִקְוֵה (miqvê) as a place. They did not agree that in this verse it was a place. They translated it accordingly. If you don’t agree with the King James translators in 1 Kings 10:28, just say so. Don’t act like they were ignorant.

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Notes:

The translational issue is the same in 2 Chronicles 1:16.

I acknowledge that research in old Bible editions is easier in 2025 than it was in 1995. However, if we do not know what we are talking about, we should not talk; if we do not know what we are writing, we should not write.

“Fett” in the Matthew Bible appears to be or mean the same as “fetched,” which is what is in the Coverdale Bible before it. The word is a bit hard to make out in the copy I looked at.

1 Kings 10:28.

• AKJV: And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.
• NKJV: Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price.

Preview of future ministry

Acts 20:22-25: Paul’s preview of his future service in Jerusalem and beyond include:

• I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me
• the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me
• none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself
• that I might finish my course with joy
• [that I might finish] the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus
• [the ministry] to testify the gospel of the grace of God
• I know that ye all…shall see my face no more

Paul feels impelled to go to Jerusalem, despite whatever future awaits him there. While the specific events may be unknown, the witness of the Spirit through other believers indicates he will experience imprisonment (“bonds”) and persecution (“afflictions”).[1] His desire to preach the gospel, to finish his course, to fulfill his God-given ministry, is dearer than life itself. The prospects, even up to and including death, do not dissuade him from his course of action. For “finish my course,” see also II Timothy 4:7. This course of action means Paul and the Ephesians elders will not meet again in this life.

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[1] That the witness occurs “in every city” suggests the witness of the Spirit through other Christian believers as Paul travels. This does not preclude a direct witness of the Spirit to Paul. Nevertheless, “in every city” connects the witness with travel and people. A detailed example is given when Paul comes to Cæsarea. See Acts 21:8-11. The Holy Ghost does not give the message to prevent Paul from going to Jerusalem, but to prepare him and his friends for what will happen.

The Gideons ESV, an example

I do not own a Gideons ESV so that I may freely and easily check verses in it. However, I believe the “Daily Bible Reading” ESV on the Gideons web site is their own modified ESV. I do not know how you can easily search it, but you can look at the daily Bible reading. Thus, you can see, for example, some of its problems in the daily Bible reading for April 4, 2025 (Luke 9:37-62). Just notice three verses from their web site as an example:

Luke 9:54-56 in the NKJV, which the Gideons used before changing to the “Gideon ESV”

54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

Luke 9:54-56 in the ESV

54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 And they went on to another village.

Luke 9:54-56 in the ESV on the Gideons website

54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them saying, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man came not to destroy people’s lives but to save them.” 56 And they went on to another village.

In verse 54, the Gideon ESV leaves out “just as Elijah did.” In verse 55 it keeps “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of” and moves “for the Son of Man came not to destroy people’s lives but to save them” into verse 55 as well – keeping verse 56 as it reads in the ESV. This is just one example; I am sure they can be multiplied over and over by one who has time to do so.

To me the Gideons ESV is just a weird hodge-podge creation. It haphazardly matches the ESV to the TR in places, and does not do so in other places.