Henry Scougal and the Duty of Divine Delight

Henry Scougal was a 17th century pastor - obscure by today's standards - who is fast becoming one my favorite writers. His small volume entitled 'The Life of God in the Soul of Man' is surely one the best dissertations on bona fide Christianity ever written. The cover of the copy I possess contains a quote by George Whitefield that makes this rather bold statement:

"I never knew what true religion was till God sent me this excellent treatise."

That speaks volumes to me. Enough to say, I'm reading it again for the third time.

Perhaps the thing I enjoy most about Scougal's writing is in the kind of crass vocabulary he uses to describe the truth - and he clearly loves the truth. His imagery is graphic and even a little audacious. I hope no one minds long quotations, but I want to share with you the entire excerpt. It actually sounds rather provocative if it's read out loud.

"But he who is utterly destitute of this inward principle, and doth not aspire to it, but contents himself with those performances whereunto he is prompted by education or custom, by the fear of hell or carnal notions of heaven, can no more be accounted a religious person, than a puppet can be called a man. This forced and artificial religion is commonly heavy and languid, like the motion of a weight forced upward. It is cold and spiritless, like the uneasy compliance of a wife married against her will, who carries it dutifully toward the husband whom she does not love, out of some sense of virtue or honour. Hence also this religion is scant and niggardly, especially in those duties which do greatest violence to men's carnal inclinations; and those slavish spirits will be sure to do no more than is absolutely required. It is a law that compels them, and they will be loath to go beyond what it stints them to; nay, they will ever be putting such glosses on it, as may leave themselves the greatest liberty. Whereas, the spirit of true religion is frank and liberal - far from such peevish and narrow reckoning; and he who hath given himself entirely unto God, will never think he doth too much for him."

This is a pertinent message in light of typical American religion. Ritual and sacrament will grow cold and lifeless and meaningless and eternally destructive if they are practiced apart from the Spirit of Christ within us. When Christ is in us, the flowing sweep of two thousand years of history and tradition can be redeemed. Ritual takes on meaning.

Likewise, non-traditional, cutting-edge, relevant and contemporary practice in the church can be unto destruction or unto life - dependant on whether or not there is what Scougal calls 'the Divine inward principle'. Scougal warns the church of the 1670's and he warns the church of the current millennium that all Christian action must spring out of Christ indwelling us. There is no other sufficient motivation. There is no other spiritual reality. Anything less is false; artificial; destructive; leading unto death. When our actions come from the life of God within us, we are "not acted only by external motives, driven merely by threatenings, nor bribed by promises, nor constrained by laws; but are powerfully inclined to that which is good, and DELIGHT in the performance of it."

Delight. That is the aim. Thus I will delight in this marvelous light and truth.

Sometimes Silence is Loud

I had the privilege of being in the middle of this gathering this past January. It was an amazing moment. The silence in downtown Nashville was absolutely thunderous. Louie Giglio's article describes it well.

Sometimes Silence is Loud

Pastoral Confession of Verbicide

I have erred. Enormity is NOT the correct word to be used in understanding Ephesians 1:18. In this past Sunday's message, I said that this verse has two words which help to understand the point: Enormity and possession. The problem is the fact that 'enormity' is the wrong word. The right word would actually be the word 'enormousness' (Ouch that's awkward!).

Here is the ever-so-kind email I received:

While it would seem only common sense that enormity would mean "the quality of being unusually large or great in size, amount, or degree," that is not true; the word to use, and it seems a clumsy, lengthy clunker by comparison, is enormousness, since enormity has the sense of meaning given below (thanks are due to Encarta for the pasted text from the URL cited below).


e·nor·mi·ty (plural e·nor·mi·ties)


noun

1. evil: extreme evil or moral offensiveness
the enormity of his crimes against humanity


2. very evil act: a very evil or morally offensive deed


[15th century. Via French énormité from Latin enormitas , from enormis “irregular” (see enormous).]

Word Usage

enormity or enormousness?

Enormity is the older word, and after several changes in usage over several centuries it settled down in the 19th century in the meaning associated with evil. It is used in this way both as a concept or attribute and as a concrete word with a plural form: We were shocked by the enormity of the crime. The regime committed many enormities to suppress opposition. Enormousness is the only word in this pair that refers, in correct usage, to significant size: We were daunted by the enormousness of the task.

http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861608560/enormity.html

Years ago, I tutored two teen boys who were both startled and appalled to learn that even at what they considered my advanced age, I still frequently consulted a dictionary, either to learn the meaning of a new word or to confirm the correct spelling and use of those words that I considered old friends. I think they had been hoping that the end was in sight: adulthood would free them from having to continue the hard work of learning.

Oh no, don't tell us it goes on forever! Two decades later I have to go to the dictionary even more often because senior moments cause me to fuzz out on things that I know I knew, but now I don't always remember. I still have a photographic memory, but it no longer offers same day service. One of the consolations of this is that I have the pleasure of constantly relearning things.

I always appreciate your input - particularly when it comes to the proper use of words. I will not claim to be any sort of true 'verbologist' - but it is something that is important to me! My sincere apologies to anyone who may have stumbled over the wrong use of a word!

Now we can pray that God will show us 'the enormousness' of our inheritance!

John Quincy Adams said, "Slovenly language corrodes the mind". I will be sure to correct any personal slack or laziness when it comes to using the right word. The enormity of that crime would be unforgivable.

Grace.

Loveless Peril

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.
(Matthew 5:21-22 ESV)

Christ's words here are more than serious. I recently heard an individual question the validity of the Matthew 18 procedure for solving conflict in the church with the inane argument of "but no one actually does that." While most church-going believers would not go to the extreme of verbalizing this sentiment, I am amazed at how often this clear instruction of Scripture is not practiced. Jesus makes it clear in more than one place: your relationship with other believers is critical to your spiritual health. I would even go so far as to state it like this: If you choose to despise your brother, you imperil your soul. We must be convinced of this. God ordains that Christians walk together in love and that our relationships with one another be the very thing that sets us apart from the rest of the world. They will know we are his followers by how we love one another. Therefore, if we are full of critical, unloving attitudes toward fellow believers, we are endangering ourselves to judgment.

The next verse gives the serious implication of a serious issue.

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
(Matthew 5:23-24 ESV)

Jesus gives us a prerequisite to worship. We must not think for one moment that we can acceptably worship God while holding a grudge or knowingly not be at peace with a brother. What makes this verse particularly interesting to me is the fact that it says if you "remember that your brother has something against you" that we are to leave our gift and go to be reconciled with our brother. This brings up a very important question in my mind. Does this mean that I am responsible for someone's grudge against me? Obviously there is a point at which this can not be. If George W. Bush were to try and make amends with all of his known enemies, and those who have grudges against him on a global level, he would face an impossible task. On a smaller scale, it is obviously true that this is not always possible for any of us who are of a meaner profile than the president.

This still leaves the question of what is meant in this verse.

I can't help but wonder if there is not some clear connection between Matthew 5:23-24 and Matthew 5:9: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Disciples of Jesus Christ make peace. Along with every attempt to worship God, there is a real effort to reconcile with any known deviance with a brother. I don't think it matters who is to blame. It doesn't matter who is actually holding the grudge or who the real instigator might be: God's principle is reconciliation.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
(Romans 12:18 ESV)

This is God's requirement. It is not optional. It is not something I can choose to ignore. I wonder at times if part of the reason the world has such a low concept of Christ is because they have a low concept of the church. Thus, I wonder if this such low concept of the church stems from the reality that we have a such low concept of each other. If we can't get along it's because we don't begin to know Calvary love.

God help us love.

All Churches Should Be Multiracial

This is an interesting article. I commend it to you.

All Churches Should Be Multiracial - from Christianity Today Magazine