How well do I know the Bible? Not well enough, methinks.
Chapter three of Habakkuk is a prayer in which Habakkuk asks God to "revive [His] work in the midst of the years" (3:2). How good is the idea of revival, renewal, refreshment. The prayer continues by acknowledging God's glory in heaven and earth, a bright light in the midst of "pestilence" (3:5).
Then, with verse 6, there is a pause: "He stood and measured the earth." Here is an opportunity for reassessment. A stillness. A humble listening, not a charging forward with one's own agenda. (I am reminded of Mark McCurties' recent lecture about humility (see TalksThatChangeLives.org)). I am also reminded of the old saying: Measure twice; cut once!
We can stand with God, divine Principle. We can listen to God's direction as we go about our everyday duties.
The following two excerpts from The Christian Science Journal may be of interest.
EVERY-DAY RELIGION
From the November 1887 issue of The Christian Science Journal
From the New York Evangelist
He stood and measured the earth.—HABAKKUK iii. 6.
Every-day religion is the foundation of thoroughness; which is another name for truthfulness or honesty. Workmen who slight their work, whether they make shirts for a living, or sermons, build houses or ships, flocks or families, will be some day or other found out. We want clothes that will not rip, vessels that will not leak, and bridges that will not break down. So we want characters that will stand temptation, and not snap asunder under the sudden pressures of life.
[No title]
From the November 1885 issue of The Christian Science Journal
Dr. Benjamin Franklin, during his residence in Paris, was invited to a company of distinguished men who were skeptics. According to their custom, in conversation, Christianity and the Bible were treated with unsparing severity. One of the company attracted universal attention by asserting, with great confidence, that the Bible was not only a piece of gross deception, but totally devoid of literary merit. Benjamin Franklin asked if he might read them a passage from a book he had just bought. They consented. He read Habakkuk 3: 4-6. The few sentences made a deep impression. The admiring listeners pronounced them superior to anything they had heard or read; and that nothing could surpass them in grandeur and sublimity. They all wished to know what was the name of this new work, the name of this new author, and whether this was a specimen of its merits? "Certainly, gentlemen," said Dr. Franklin, smiling at his triumph; "my book is full of such passages; it is no other than your good-for-nothing Bible. I have read to you a short paragraph from the prayer of the prophet Habakkuk."
Here's the CEV translation of what Ben Franklin read:
Habakkuk 3:4-6 (Contemporary English Version)4 Your glory shone like the sun,
and light flashed from your hands,
hiding your mighty power.
5 Dreadful diseases and plagues
marched in front
and followed behind.
6 When you stopped,
the earth shook;
when you stared,
nations trembled;
when you walked
along your ancient paths,
eternal mountains and hills
crumbled and collapsed.
I think we shall all be reading our Bibles with renewed interest.
Julie Swannell
