120+ year old Bible held together with dental floss
Photo by Wonderlane
“Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Ps 73:24
The Psalmist felt his need of divine guidance. He had just been discovering the foolishness of his own heart, and lest he should be constantly led astray by it, he resolved that God’s counsel should henceforth guide him. A sense of our own folly is a great step towards being wise, when it leads us to rely on the wisdom of the Lord. The blind man leans on his friends arm and reaches home in safety, and so would we give ourselves up implicitly to divine guidance, nothing doubting; assured that though we cannot see, it is always safe to trust the all seeing God. “Thou shalt”, is a blessed expression of confidence. He was sure that the Lord would not decline the condescending task. There is a word for thee, O believer; rest thou in it. Be assured that thy God will be thy counsellor and friend; he shall guide thee; he will direct all thy ways. In his written Word thou hast this assurance in part fulfilled, for holy Scripture is his counsel to thee. Happy are we to have God’s Word always to guide us! What were the mariner without his compass? And what were the Christian without the Bible? This is the unerring chart, the map in which every shoal is described, and all the channels from the quicksands of destruction to the haven of salvation mapped and marked by one who knows all the way. Blessed be thou, O God, that we may trust thee to guide us now, and guide us even to the end! After this guidance through life, the Psalmist anticipates a divine reception at last “and afterward receive me to glory.” What a thought for thee, believer! God himself will receive thee to glory. Thee! Wandering, erring, straying, yet he will bring thee safe at last to glory! This is thy portion; live on it this day, and if perplexities should surround thee, go in the strength of this text straight to the throne.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92)
Click here to see the story behind the Bible shown above.
Wings of the Wind 
It is a sweet history behind the bible above. It reminds me of my Douay-Rheims. In 1568 English exiles, many from Oxford, established the English College of Douay under William (later Cardinal) Allen. At some point they translated an english version from the Latin Vulgate and called it the Douay Rheims. The previous owner of mine dated it in the 1950’s, but I have no idea how old it really is. I also love my New American Bible (standard in the liturgy today) because Catholic and Protestant bible scholars put it together.
Wow, you followed the link. I was hoping someone would.
I have not heard of the Douay Rheims. I am curious as to why they used Rheims, as it is a name close to mine. There are similar names throughout Europe. Also, I was not aware of the New American Bible and that it was worked on by Catholics and Protestants alike.
It is always a blessing when you comment, Kassie.
wow, thank you, and your posts are interesting as well. Anyway, Reims was a city in France. It has a rich Christian heritage, apparently many believers were martyred there. I got this from http://www.newadvent.org under “Douay”: “In the year 1578, owing to political troubles, the college was temporarily transferred from Douai (which was then in the dominions of the King of Spain) to Reims, and during its sojourn there, in 1582, the New Testament was published, and became consequently known as the “Rheims Testament”. Fascinating, huh?
Thanks for your research, Kassie. It is fascinating.
I knew about the city in France named Reims. Yet, my father grew up among Danish Americans. My last name is supposed to have originated in Austria/Germany. Anyway, what matters is God’s Word and how it came to us. It is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword. I feel like I have only scratched the surface of it’s depth in my studies.
I will definitely check out that website. Thanks.
God’s blessings…