The Iron Pen #65

God & Country

If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that, thou must be ruled by him. Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.

William Penn (1644-1718), founder of Pennsylvania

Where Can I Find That Verse?

I have found that the most valuable helps in studying the Bible is a good Concordance. The first concordance that I owned was a Cruden's Concordance. Later on I purchased and Young's Analytical Concordance and finally, a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. Strong's has proven to be the most beneficial to me because of the numerical coding that allows easy use of the Hebrew and Greek dictionaries which are included in the back of the volume.

The first concordance of which we have any record was an anonymous work said to be made by Anthony of Padua (1195-1231), some time in the 12th century. It was formed for the Latin Vulgate, and entitled Concordantice Morales. However, if we follow the authority of Cruden and Townley, it was Cardinal Hugh, in the year 1244, that was responsible for the first authentic work. Historians agree that the cardinal employed five hundred monks to assist him in his arduous labors.

The first concordance of an English version of the New Testament was published in London in 1535 by Thomas Gybson. The first English concordance of the whole Bible was compiled by John Marbeck in 1550. The next, in order of time, seems to have been made by Clement Cotton, around 1644. As a Concordance, the work of Cotton is very full and complete but it has nothing of the Dictionary in it, which occupies so large a space in the work of Cruden. The work of Alexander Cruden is accurate and full. The first edition of this work was published in 1737. Butterworth's Concordance, in point of magnitude and utility, is next in importance to that of Cruden. Many others were to follow…Thomas Taylor, John Brown of Haddington, George Coles. But one that should be yet noted is Young's Analytical Concordance published in Edinburgh in 1879. It was an advancement because it showed the original Hebrew or Greek of any word in the English Bible. The next major step came in 1894 when James Strong released his concordance with the English words numerically coded to the Hebrew and Greek words. If you do not have a concordance, I suggest you get one. You will find it a wonderful tool to aid you in studying the Word of God. DLB

The Old North Church, Indians & John Wesley

Recently, my wife, our two daughters and I sat in the high-sided pew boxes at historic Old North Church (also called Christ Church), in Boston. This church was immortalized in Longfellow's poem The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. On April 18, 1775 church sexton Robert Newman climbed the church steeple and hung two lanterns, signaling the British intent to Paul Revere in Charlestown, starting him on his famous ride to Lexington. As we listened to our church guide's speech, I looked to my left and there on the wall was a large plaque indicating that John Wesley had preached in the church September and October of 1736.

That jogged my memory about John Wesley's trips to the American Colonies. In the 1735 John and Charles Wesley, Mr. Ingham and Mr. Delamotte came to the colonies with the intention of converting the Indians to Christ. The problem is, John was not converted! He wrote in his journal, "I went American to convert the Indians; but Oh! Who shall convert me?"

But how could that be? John was a very religious man. He had preached at the Old North Church. When he was at Oxford University he started The Holy Club with his brother Charles and several others that was marked by the practice of stringent rules, extreme scheduling of time, and a focus on Christian and missionary service.

The problem was, that John Wesley knew about Christ, but did not personally know Christ! He was not born-again. On Wednesday, May 24, 1738, a discouraged missionary went "very unwillingly" to a Christian Society meeting at "Aldersgate Street" in London. It was there, at that meeting, listening to the "reading (of) Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans" that John Wesley was converted to Christ. Let me share with you his exact words, recorded in his journal (Vol.1, p 476) --

"I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."

John Wesley was converted! He went from knowing about Christ to knowing Christ! Do you know Christ? Is he your personal Savior?

7 Blessings A Believer Has According To Philipians 4

1. The Privilege of Prayer to Help Us(6)
2. The Peace of God to Keep Us(7)
3. The Presence of God To Accompany Us(9)
4. The Provision of Others to Encourage Us(10)
5. The Policy of Contentment to Calm Us (11)
6. The Power of Christ to Strengthen Us (13)
7. The Promise of God to Provide for Us(19)