Stephen Charnock (1628-1680)

I found my devotional for the rest of this year and maybe next. I recently recovered a loaned-out copy of The Existence and Attributes of God by Stephen Charnock. You've heard of Charnock, right? Of course you haven't. That's because he is from a forgotten age. Thankfully, Baker Books didn't forget him, though, and in 1996 they issued a reprint of this classic, two volumes in one. My copy is from the third printing in 2000. I obtained this fine hard-cover tome for the low price of $10 a couple of years back. I see that even a used copy of this is going to run you north of $30 nowadays.

You can learn more about Charnock, if you wish, by going to the Stephen Charnock Project.
There is also the Wikipedia page for all you cyber scholars who just want a quick reference without the burden of complete accuracy -- Stephen Charnock

This is not light reading, and not just because it was written in 17th century prose. Charnock does not skim the surface and give us the highlights. He plumbs the depths and brings forth jewels. This is sustenance for the soul. If you are unfamiliar with Puritan writings they are deeply devotional, not just deep. They are echoes from a time before television, mass entertainment, modern noise.

From the back cover:

"Charnock reflects on Scripture to draw out its full implications for understanding the God of the Old and New Testaments. The practical aim of these meditations is godly living, so that increased knowledge leads naturally to greater obedience and more heartfelt worship."

Volume 1 is 606 pages while volume 2 contains only 524. Since this is not light, I figure it is better to really think and meditate on it than to try to devour large chunks at a time. Ten or twelve pages a week would complete both volumes in about two years. That's not bad. It also leaves me plenty of time for lighter reading. I cannot imagine tackling these two volumes as something that I must complete before moving on to anything else. That would be daunting indeed. Here is an excerpt from last night:

"It must be confessed by all, that there is a law of nature writ upon the hearts of men, which will direct them to commendable actions, if they will attend to the writing in their own consciences. This law cannot be considered without the notice of a Lawgiver. For it is but a natural and obvious conclusion, that some superior hand engrafted those principles in man, since he finds something in him twitching him upon the pursuit of uncomely actions, though his heart be mightily inclined to them; man knows he never planted this principle of reluctancy in his own soul; he can never be the cause of that which he cannot be friends with. If he were the cause of it, why doth he not rid himself of it? No man would endure a thing that doth frequently molest and disquiet him, if he could cashier it. It is therefore sown in man by some hand more powerful than man, which riseth so high, and is rooted so strong, that all the force that man can use cannot pull it up. If therefore this principle be natural in man, and the law of nature be natural, the notion of a Lawgiver must be as natural, as the notion of a printer, or that there is a printer, is obvious upon the sight of a stamp impressed."

Hallowed Be Thy Name . . . Part 1

It is a rich, old Anglo-Saxon word, replete with color and feeling, much better, I think, than "sanctified." Not that it is any more accurate. "Sanctified" is exactly the word we would use in modern English to translate this Greek word. By the time, however, that this passage of Scripture was being translated into English by King James's chosen scholars the prayer was so firmly set in the minds and hearts of the common people that the decision was made to keep the word "hallowed" intact.

We still use the word nowadays, by the way. You may have once or twice found yourself standing on "hallowed ground" or roaming the "hallowed halls" of some institution or other. And we are all familiar with the pagan festival turned children's excuse to dress up in costume and gorge themselves with candy known as "Halloween" or "All Hallows Eve" or "All Saints Eve" (since it falls on the day before the Roman Catholic "All Saints Day"--November 1).

Hallowed be thy name . . .

What does it mean to hallow something? It means to sanctify it, of course. It means to set it aside or apart as something holy, something special, something above or beyond the mundane. It means to make it holy.

The name of a deity was very important in the ancient world. Recall that when Jacob wrestled all night with the angel of the Lord he asked the angel of the Lord to give him his name, but the angel refused to give it. Recall also that when Moses stood before the burning bush and received his commission from God that he wanted to know a name so that when he returned to Egypt he would have an answer for them when they asked him for the name of the God who had sent him. The name of  a deity was important because it told us something about him.

Note also that in the ten commandments, specifically in the first table of the law which encompasses the first four commandments (those which deal specifically with our actions and attitude toward God), that it is very important that we treat God's name with respect, reverence, and awe:

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain."

Without getting into a discussion of the full meaning of this commandment, let us simply note that God's name is very important to him. He wants it esteemed, respected, hallowed--the opposite of used or treated in an empty fashion.

So let's look at these first few words of the Lord's prayer . . . hallowed be thy name. It is a petition. In fact, it is the first petition of this, our model prayer. How should we pray? What should we request? What should be the first thing on our minds when we approach the throne of God?


Hallowed be thy name.

References to God doing things for his name's sake are all over the Old Testament. In fact, it is saturated with them. Here are a handful if you want to look them up. It is only a small sampling--Psalm 23:3, Psalm 25:11, Psalm 31:3,  Psalm 106:8, Isaiah 48:9, Psalm 79:9, 1 Samuel 12:22.

God's name is important to him. I think it is safe to say that God does everything that he does for the sake of his name. But what does that mean?

God's name is his fame. God's name is his reputation. God's name is how he is known to creation.

What is the ultimate charge to be leveled against sinful mankind? What is the ultimate sign of his guilt before a holy God? Is it not that we have sullied his name? As his offspring, what do our actions say about him? Would anyone look at us, at our lives, at our daily failings, and conclude that the God in whose image we were made is holy? The only honest answer is 'no.' And if our daily actions serve to sully his holy name, what right have we to approach Him whom we have habitually offended? None.

Yet he invites us approach him. That, in itself, is grace immeasurable. (How it is possible for God to do this and yet remain holy and just would be the subject of many posts. But to summarize it, it is only because of Calvary.) But make no mistake. When we approach God we are immediately confronted with this, the sum of our crime against him.

Hallowed be thy name.

In approaching him I immediately turn my thoughts away from me and my needs and my wants and turn them toward Him and what he wants. My thoughts and wants and needs are usually trivial in comparison to this . . . hallowed be thy name.

And in this petition we have also a principal that serves to explain why God does what he does in general and why it is he is doing what he is doing specifically in our lives at any given moment . . . that his name might be hallowed.

When we remember that, we change our petition. We may even drop our complaint, you know, the one that brought us before him in the first place.

This is only the first part. In my next in this series we will look at how to apply this petition specifically to our everyday lives. How shall we pray this prayer . . .