More on the moral beauty of God's Law .
C.S. Lewis makes an interesting observation.
"On three occasions, the poet (my note: in Psalms 119) asserts that the Law is true or the truth. ... A modern logician would say that the Law is a command and that to call a command "true" makes no sense; the 'door is shut' may be true or false, but 'shut the door' can't. But I think we all see pretty well what the Psalmists mean. They mean that in the Law, you find the real or correct or stable, well-grounded, directions for living."
This is an important point. The law is beautiful because it reveals how we ought to live. It provides guidelines. It is a lamp unto our feet. Follow it and you are wise. Ignore it at your own peril. This is why the writer of Psalms 110 proclaims, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. " Ignoring God's law is dangerous, in the same way that ignoring the law of gravity can have disastrous consequences. Ignore gravity and step out of a fifth story window -- watch what ensues.
Lewis then delves into a philosophical subject often discussed on the Dawn Treader, known as Euthrypro's dilemma. Expressed as a question, "Is an act right because God says it's so, or does God say it's so because it's right?". The challenge is that God is either ethically arbitrary or not omnipotent.
Lewis writes,
"The Jews of course never discuss this in abstract and philosophical terms. But at once, and completely, they assume the right view, knowing better than they know. They know that the Lord (not merely obedience to the Lord) is righteous and commands righteousness because He loves it. He enjoins good because it is good, because He is good. Hence his laws have emeth truth, intrinsic validity, rock-bottom reality, being rooted in His own nature, and are therefore as solid as that Nature which He has created.
Their delight in the Law is delight in having touched firmness; like the pedestrian's delight in feeling the hard road beneath his feet after a false short cut has long entangled him in muddy fields."
What a beautiful description of the firm footing that God's law provides. It eschews the muddy, cultural milieu of moral relativism. We don't have to wallow about willy-nilly in the land of "what's true for you is true for you, but not for me". That alone makes me want to sing!
God's law gives us a moral compass with which to find true North.
Psalms 19,
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
The law of the LORD revives the soul because truth revives the soul. And in God's word, we have been given truth.
One final thought (this my own versus Lewis). I think one reason the Psalmists got so excited about the Law is, to use Francis Schaeffer's expression, God Is There And He Is Not Silent.
Think about that. He is not silent. God spoke.
We do not live a universe with some deistic being who retreated after kicking everything off. We do not worship a far-off, silent observer. We are not left alone in a vast universe, stranded on a tiny clod of dirt in a forgotten corner of the galaxy.
GOD SPOKE!
He revealed Himself to the Moses and the Prophets -- and then gave the ultimate revelation by entering into time, space and history in the form of the Logos -- sending Christ Himself.
I praise God that He chose to communicate with us, and enjoins us to commune with Him through Christ. That is mind-boggling. God spoke. Thanks be to God!
Comments