#thomas constable

Decorative Sunday - The Age of Oak

This week we are sharing plates from the first volume of A History of English Furniture by Percy MacQuoid. The four volume series was published between 1904 and 1908 by Lawrence & Bullen (London) and G. P. Putnam’s Sons (New York), with the first volume, The Age of Oak, dated 1904-5. Lawrence & Bullen’s excellent printer’s mark can be seen on the title page above. MacQuoid (1852-1925) was a renowned theatre designer and a collector of English furniture. His four volume history was the first major survey of English furniture, with each volume covering a distinct period, dubbed by MacQuoid the ages of oak, walnut, mahogany, and satinwood. The first three terms in particular have endured as the standard designations of periods in English furniture design. The first volume covers “The Age of Oak,” roughly the 16th through mid-17th centuries, and contains many black and white illustrations as well as fifteen color reproductions of artwork by Shirley Slocombe.

Printing was done in Edinburgh by T. & A. Constable LTD. The T. refers to Thomas Constable (1812-1881), a Scottish printer and publisher following in the footsteps of his father, noted publisher and bookseller Archibald Constable (1774-1827). The elder Constable’s publishing company, Constable & Co., founded in 1795, survives to this day as Constable & Robinson, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. Thomas Constable left the publishing business in 1860 but continued to grow the printing part of his firm, employing as many as 50 compositors at any given time. Thomas’s son, Archibald, joined the printing firm in 1865 and the T. & A. Constable Ltd. name was established.

View more Decorative Sunday posts here.

Paul offered the example of his preaching among the Corinthians as a further illustration of what the wisdom of God can do in contrast to what the words that humans regard as wisdom can do.

"The matters of literary context and the continuity of the argument are all important in understanding 1 Corinthians 2. Otherwise, much of the chapter reads like pure gnosticism, and Paul is made the advocate of a private religion reserved for the spiritual elite (1 Corinthians 2:6-16)." [Note: Charles B. Cousar, "Expository Articles: 1 Corinthians 2:1-13," Interpretation 44:2 (April 1990):169.]

But on the following night, the Lord stood near him and said, “Be courageous! For as you have testified to the truth about Me in Jerusalem, so you must testify in Rome also.” . . .For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong, whom I also serve, came to me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has graciously granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ (Acts 23:11; Acts 27:23-24)

The prophet praised Yahweh as a God who is unique in that He pardons the rebellious sins of the surviving remnant of His people. "Who is a God like You?" is another rhetorical question (cf. Exodus 15:11; Psalms 35:10; Psalms 71:19; Psalms 77:13; Psalms 89:6; Psalms 113:5), and it may be a play on Micah’s name, which means, "Who is like Yahweh?" No one is just like Him! Pardoning such grave sins is contrary to human behavior, but Yahweh would not retain His anger against the Israelites forever (cf. Psalms 103:9). He will pardon them (cf. Micah 1:5; Micah 3:8; Micah 6:7; Exodus 34:6-7) because He delights to be faithful to His love (Heb. hesed) for them (cf. Micah 7:20)… While Micah spoke as an individual, he spoke for the faithful remnant of Israelites in his day. His sentiments would have been theirs. Thus the lament is communal, but it gives way to glorious praise. Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and many of the psalmists likewise prayed as spokesmen for the faithful as well as for themselves (cf. Daniel 9; Ezra 9; Nehemiah 9; Lamentations 1:10-16; Lamentations 1:18-22). [Thomas Constable]

Though it is grammatically possible to translate this as ’Firstborn in Creation,’ the context makes this impossible for five reasons: 

The whole point of the passage (and the book) is to show Christ’s superiority over all things.

Other statements about Christ in this passage (such as Creator of all [Colossians 1:16], upholder of Creation [Colossians 1:17], etc.) clearly indicate His priority and superiority over Creation. 

The ’Firstborn’ cannot be part of Creation if He created ’all things.’ One cannot create himself. (Jehovah’s Witnesses wrongly add the word ’other’ six times in this passage in their New World Translation. Thus they suggest that Christ created all other things after He was created! But the word ’other’ is not in the Gr.) 

The ’Firstborn’ received worship of all angels (Hebrews 1:6), but creatures should not be worshiped (Exodus 20:4-5). 

The Greek word for ’Firstborn’ is prototokos. If Christ were the ’first-created,’ the Greek word would have been protoktisis.

The yoke of discipleship may involve persecution, but it is easy (good and comfortable). His burden is light compared to the loads Israel’s religious leaders imposed on their disciples.

". . . this voluntary making of the yoke as heavy as possible, the taking on themselves as many obligations as possible, was the ideal of Rabbinic piety." [Note: Edersheim, The Life . . ., 2:144.]

". . . what makes the difference is what sort of master one is serving." [Note: France, The Gospel . . ., p. 450.]