Welcome to a year of reading Richard Sibbes together! The reading plan for the entire year can be accessed here. I encourage you to stick with us, allow yourself time to read, and soak in the riches of this gifted and prolific Puritan preacher. You will be edified and encouraged.
If you have trouble with how Sibbes used words, check out the Lexicons of Early Modern English for definitions from the period.
Summary/Engagement
We’re going to change it up a bit for the next four weeks. Richard Sibbes, many of the Puritans, and many today, don’t do the Song of Solomon justice in their exegesis. The predominant method of interpretation from the 3rd century on seems to be Allegory. Allegory is the interpretation of a story to reveal a hidden meaning. Sometimes that meaning is not so hidden, as in the case of John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress.” Allegory was popular at times in the early church, but that does not legitimize it as a valid method of biblical interpretation. Which brings us to the next four weeks as we read Bowels Opened.
- Today we’ll discuss Biblical Hermeneutics, which is the science of biblical interpretation.
- Next week, we’ll discuss various interpretations of the Song of Solomon.
- Brief outline of what I believe to be a correct interpretation.
- Canonization – Why is this book in the Canon?
Now, while I disagree with much of Sibbes’ interpretation of the text, I do not think his conclusions are heretical. He may get the wrong interpretation, but his interpretations do not conflict with Biblical revelation. Let’s consider hermeneutics.
Hermeneutics
Why do we need a science of biblical interpretation? Can’t I just read the Bible and come to my own conclusions however I want?
Well, no.
Words have meaning, which follows whenever someone writes something they have a meaning. We are not at liberty to interpret what we read in any way we want. If the stop sign says “STOP” I am not at liberty to interpret it as meaning “GO.” When we write anything, we have a specific meaning for a specific audience in mind. We are writing in a specific language and within a specific culture as well. For instance, we can use a colloquialism like “Man, you killed him in that race!” Many of us would understand that to mean someone prevailed over someone else in a race. What does it mean if translated without context in to another language? The phrase loses its intended meaning.
There are barriers to spontaneous interpretation. Those barriers are historical, cultural, linguistic, and philosophical. Historical – knowledge of past events and subject matter. Cultural – cultural practices that don’t make any sense to the reader. For instance, go investigate what it meant in the Old Testament for Abraham’s servant to swear by putting his hand under Abraham’s thigh.(Mind blown?) Linguistic – language is a barrier if we don’t know what the words mean. Philosophical – your worldview and that of a Jewish King thousands of years ago are decidedly different. These will affect your understanding of what the writer said. Given there are barriers to a spontaneous interpretation, we need hermeneutics to help us think through what we would otherwise do with our native language and culture.
Definition of Terms
What hermeneutical method do we follow? Grammatico-Historical. This method seeks to understand what the author wanted to convey to their audience at a specific point in history using specific words. With the barriers mentioned above, we’re trying to understand what the author wanted to say by understanding them and thus removing the barriers. What do we want to figure out using this method? I’m going to borrow from Stein’s book which I will link to below. When we read anything, but especially the Bible, we want to learn:
- Meaning – That pattern of meaning the author willed to convey by the words he used. (remember, the author, not us or the text, controls the meaning. There is only one valid meaning for a given text, the Author’s meaning!)
- Implication – Those meanings in a text of which the author was unaware but nevertheless legitimately fall within the pattern of meaning that he willed. (So, in Ephesians 5:18 where it tells us not to get drunk with much wine but be filled by the Holy Spirit, did Paul only mean don’t get drunk with wine? Or is an implication of the meaning that we shouldn’t be controlled by a mind altering substance such that it affects our being controlled by the Holy Spirit?)
- Understanding – Refers to the correct mental grasp of the author’s meaning.
- Interpretation – The verbal or written expression of a reader’s understanding of the author’s meaning. (Interpretation is the expression of understanding using the written or spoken word.)
Ok, So what?
What I am getting at, and we’ll continue looking at, is we are not at liberty to conclude whatever we want from a given text. We cannot allegorize a meaning because we do not like the plain reading of the text. We cannot explain away the hard texts because we don’t like the implications for our life. If each person determined the meaning as they liked, you end up with no meaning at all. Truth is objective, not subjective. We seek the objective truth of what the Author willed, not the subjective opinion of whatever we want to believe. We must seek what the Bible says, not what we want it to say. There is one meaning, but numerous implications. There is one meaning, but numerous applications.
Next week we’re going to look at a few different interpretations of the Song of Solomon given this very brief overview of the science of biblical interpretation; hermeneutics.
Helpful Links
A COMPLETELY FREE online Hermeneutics class taught by Dr. Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Check it out!
Two helpful books:
- Robert Stein: A Basic Guide To Interpreting The Bible.
- Robert Plummer: 40 Questions About Interpreting The Bible.
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Last week, we was catchup week.
Next week, we read the second part of Bowels Opened, and consider various interpretations of the Song of Solomon.
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