Obsolete words. Unlike "archaic" words which are old, maybe even tired, but have simply fallen out of common use, "obsolete" words as simply no longer used at all. As one literary site puts it:
Believe it or not ... words do “disappear” ... For an English word to be considered obsolete, there can’t be any evidence of its use since 1755 – the year of publication of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary.
To that point, pastor and writer Joseph Parker (1830-1902) provided commentary on the closing words of Isaiah 35:10, which state, "Sorrow and sighing will flee away." He expressed,
"When searching for the meaning of certain words in a dictionary, you will occasionally come across a word marked as 'obsolete.' The time has come for sorrow and sighing to become obsolete in our lives. The things that mar life here and now will become part of the past."
All of human history has undoubtedly been marked by tragedies, sorrows, disappointments, and evils. Therefore, it is truly comforting to know that there will come a time when sorrow and destruction will pass away, and God Himself will wipe away all our tears. At that moment, we will experience the truth written in the holy scriptures that "the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
Are you burdened today by problems that seem insurmountable? Do you feel lonely, heartbroken, and disappointed? If you are a child of God, reflect on these affirming words:
"The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18).
A brighter day will come. On that beautiful day, words like lament, destruction, and tears will become not merely archaic, but utterly obsolete.
“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it” (Revelation 2:17).
Celebrated Christian author and minister George MacDonald relates this commentary on the above verse:
The true name of a person is one which expresses the character, the nature, the being, the meaning of the person who bears it. It is the man’s own symbol,—his soul’s picture, in a word,—the sign which belongs to him and to no one else. Who can give a man this, his own name? God alone. For no one but God sees what the man is … It is only when the man has become his name that God gives him the stone with the name upon it, for then first can he understand what his name signifies. … Such a name cannot be given until the man is the name … that being whom God had in His thought when He began to make the child, and whom He kept in his thought through the long process of creation that went to realize the idea. To tell the name is to seal the success—to say, “In thee also I am well pleased.”
George MacDonald (1824 – 1905) was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister. He was also a pioneering figure in the field of fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll.
Any who have attended a wedding reception, or any great banquet for that matter, know that before taking one’s seat, one must consult a list to see what table and seat they have been assigned. Then, at the table, they will see a place card with their name upon it. Only then can they enjoy their rightful place at the table.
Only glorified sons and daughters of the Living God will be seated at His table for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. There, at that great feast, they will be called and known by the name which God alone has chosen for them—a new name which fully expresses all that they have become in Christ. Who knows but that the stone with our name engraved upon it might serve as the place card reserving our rightful place at the King’s table.
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“Joni Eareckson Tada is that beautiful woman who became a quadriplegic through a diving accident at age seventeen. She hasn’t walked or known feeling in her legs for decades. While attending a convention, the speaker closed his message with an appeal for everyone to kneel in prayer. Mrs. Tada was the only one unable to perform the task. Although God knew her heart was kneeling, she began to cry because she wanted to physically kneel before her Lord. Through tears of passion she prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, I can’t wait for the day when I will rise up on resurrected legs. The first thing I will then do is to drop on grateful, glorified knees and worship you.’”
Dr. Raymond McHenry has served as pastor of Westgate Memorial Baptist Church. He earned his Master of Divinity and his Doctor of Ministry degrees from Southwestern Baptist Bible Seminary. Through his books and quarterly newsletter, IN OTHER WORDS, he has become a highly respected compiler of biblical illustrative materials.
“Kneeling is but one expression of worship and can, like any other act of worship, be nothing more than a perfunctory and meaningless act. Yet, when we kneel out of true reverence for God we can experience a unique aspect of worship. Mrs. Tada desires to kneel, but can’t; may those of us who can, earnestly desire to.”
To summarize Mr. McHenry, your knees were made for worship … use them!
"Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker" (Psalm 95:6).
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