Exhortation, January 16

The writers of Scripture conclude prayers, letters, and praise with �Amen.�EBut �Amen�Eis not just an ancient way of saying �The End�Eor �We�re finished with that now.�EThe word is from the Hebrew word for �believe�Eor �prove faithful,�Eand when used at the end of a prayer or praise, it is an oath form. When we say �Amen,�Ewe are not merely saying �We agree�Eor �It�s true.�EWe are saying that the words we speak or hear bind us, and our �Amen�Eexpresses our oath-bound commitment to it. Our �Amen�Eto God�s commands is a pledge to obey; �Amen�Eto God�s promise means we trust His word, and entrust ourselves to Him.

�Amen�Eis also, and fundamentally, a title for Jesus. In the letter to the church at Laodicea, John describes Jesus as �The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation.�EHe is called �Amen�Ebecause He expresses God�s faithfulness, God�s commitment to keep all His promises. Jesus is called �Amen�Ealso because He makes the human response to the Father, as the obedience and faithful Last Adam. Because Jesus is the human Amen to God, it is by Him and Him alone, as Paul writes, that �our Amen [is] to the glory of God through us.�E

�Amen�Eis part of the worship of the church. This is especially clear in the heavenly worship of Revelation. Four living creatures respond to the praise of God with a continual �Amen.�EThe angels who stand around the throne worship God by saying �Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.�EWhen the harlot is cast down, the four creatures and the twenty-four elders rejoice, saying �Amen, Hallelujah.�EWorship as a whole is an �Amen,�Ea response of faith, a promise that we will be faithful witnesses of what we hear and see, a pledge of obedience to the �Amen�Eof God in Christ.

In recent weeks, our �Amens�Ein worship have been anemic at best, particularly at the end of hymns. We need to improve on this, with a crisp, loud, vigorous Amen at the end of every hymn. Saying �Amen�Eexpresses God�s name, His character, His revelation, His faithfulness, as well as our response of faith, and we should do it heartily, as to the Lord. �Amen�Eis the glorious name of Jesus, the name of the Lord. Let�s not take the name of the Lord vainly; let us not bear the glorious name of God lightly.

posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, January 16, 2005 at 08:48 AM

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