God’s Word

The feast day for the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ took place this week, on Thursday the 6th, but we will commemorate it this Sunday at the Eucharist. I was drawn to the Apostle Peter’s second Epistle in my preparations for preaching this week, in which St. Peter grounds the life of the Christian in the Word of God revealed in Christ Jesus. I am reminded of the poems by the great George Herbert about Scripture, appropriately titled The Holy Scriptures. You will find them below for your benefit. Notice how Herbert emphasizes the ability of God’s Word to act on us and transform us, even when we often imagine it to be the other way around.

Fr. Matt

              THE HOLY SCRIPTURES 

                                 1.

OH Book !  infinite sweetnesse !  let my heart
     Suck ev’ry letter, and a hony gain,
     Precious for any grief in any part ;
To cleare the breast, to mollifie all pain.

Thou art all health, health thriving, till it make
     A full eternitie :  thou art a masse
     Of strange delights, where we may wish and take.
Ladies, look here ;  this is the thankfull glasse,

That mends the lookers eyes :  this is the well
     That washes what it shows.   Who can indeare
     Thy praise too much ?  thou art heav’ns Lidger here,
Working against the states of death and hell.

     Thou art joyes handsell :  heav’n lies flat in thee,
     Subject to ev’ry mounters bended knee.

                                 2.

OH that I knew how all thy lights combine,
     And the configurations of their glorie !
     Seeing not only how each verse doth shine,
But all the constellations of the storie.

This verse marks that, and both do make a motion
     Unto a third, that ten leaves off doth lie :
     Then as dispersed herbs do watch a potion,
These three make up some Christians destinie.

Such are thy secrets, which my life makes good,
     And comments on thee :  for in ev’ry thing
     Thy words do finde me out, and parallels bring,
And in another make me understood.

     Starres are poore books, and oftentimes do missed
     This book of starres lights to eternall blisse.

                                                              ~George Herbert