Surely, God could have written us a manual
With precise explanations of everything,
So clear as to defy misunderstanding
And disagreement.
But what we have got is hardly that
Even though millions will stupidly insist
That it is exactly that.
What we have got is the myth
That happens to be true,
Filled not only with the easy facts
That we think we want,
But also with figure and image,
Which require us to crank up the brain
If we want to understand.
And even with all that,
And perhaps to our surprise,
The scriptures don’t even remotely
Spell it all out for us
As we might wish or expect,
But leave much to be either
Wondered about by those
Who care that much—
Because who, delighting in God,
Would not wonder about these things?—
Or glossed over by those who don’t—
Who are foolishly content to
Assume it to mean whatever they want.
And the end of the book—
Where most pay all the attention
They’re going to pay—
This is where he divides
The wheat from the chaff,
For those who have not
Followed the story and its images
From the beginning, will surely
Misunderstand the end,
Even to their own destruction,
Says the good apostle.
And if you can accept it,
This seems to be—
Best I can figure from all these years
Puzzling over it—
The very design of the writings.
That is, that they should not
Cast their pearls before swine.
Yet we pigheaded grunt along,
As if rooting out real treasures
From the scriptures, even as
We will not yield our hearts fully,
Either to their length or
To their style or
To their Spirit—
And as we refuse that
Most efficacious exercise of wondering
That the Master Trainer has
Planned for those who care.
And I will stop to acknowledge that
Surely it will offend some
That I use words like
Stupidly and foolishly and swine,
Yet these are things I have
Learned from the teachings
Of the Master himself,
And dared to take to heart at length,
That I might quit being pigheaded myself.
And had I not been willing
To admit to such an identity,
I’d have never yielded to
The exercise of wondering,
Which, so far, has unlocked
More of the scriptures than
I could have ever rooted out before
I was willing to take a good rebuke
On the snout and get my head in the game.
And this, I am convinced,
Is why the scriptures are so frustrating
To so very many, for they are not
Willing to face the fact that
Not only are they pigs,
But that they need to cut that out
Before they can get anywhere
In understanding the scriptures.
1Praise the Lord!
Psalm 111. ESV
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
8 they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!
Here’s my takeaway from this Psalm:
The things of God are wondrous, and are to be wondered at. And if you truly delight in him, you’ll make a study of such things. And if you truly fear him, you’ll have wisdom and a good understanding of it.
I have become fully convinced that the main reason our understanding of the scriptures is as poor as it is is that we do not fear God enough to repent of what he says is sin. The incorrigible and incurious mind is not fit for understanding the things of God.
