The Four Pillars: Are they in Sacred Scripture? A review and Critique of Chapter 3

The Four Pillars: Are they in Sacred Scripture?

A review and Critique of Chapter 3

Stu Weber in his book “Four Pillars of a Man’s Heart” makes the bold claim that these four pillars, King, Warrior, Mentor, and Friend, “..appear both in Sacred Scripture and in the secular history of man..” There is no question that such four archetypes of masculinity are taught by secularism. This is evidenced by the works of Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette that Weber references in his book. The question that we must ask ourselves is whether or not these archetypes, or pillars as Weber refers to them, “appear in Sacred Scripture.” Let us be clear as to what Weber means. Weber brings these four pillars into view with reference to the image of God. “To the degree the pillars are balanced, God’s image is clear, and the man and those around him flourish. To the degree they are abased and abused, the image is distorted, the man withers, and those around him experience imbalance, insecurity, and pain.” Ch. 3, p.49

These four pillars are called four fundamentals and likened to the four points on a compass saying that “God has equipped every man with an internal gyroscope which gives his life purpose, direction, balance, and impact. Providing that it is calibrated to the “Truth North” of God’s Word, a man may consult his internal compass for direction at any point in any situation on any given day.” Ch. 3, p50

We are then exhorted to orientate every situation by this metaphorical compass, “Does this particular situation confronting me right now require the King, the Warrior, the Mentor, or the Friend?

The exhortation continues that tell the reader that if their four pillars are balanced, the dreams of every man, woman, son, daughter, marriage, and family will be upheld. If the four pillars lean or are out of balance, we are told to ‘look out!’ that there will be havoc and pain. We are also told that these pillars stood strong long ago (once upon a time) in the heart of our mutual father, Adam, the original, “the first four-pillared man.”

Weber continues to tell that the four pillars did not evolve, but were created by God. Weber believes and teaches that these four pillars of masculinity were created by God and are echoed in secular psychology. For his grounds in this belief he turns to Genesis 2:7-8; 15-18, 22; and 3:9. In these citations he quotes in the book and italicizes for his emphasis the words “the man.” For this next part of the summary, I will recount Weber’s principles he draws from the text. Afterwards, I will examine his principles in light of the Scriptures themselves.

Principle #1. God created the man first. Citing 1 Tim 2:8-15 he notes the order of creation that the man was formed first, then the woman to establish a unique leadership role “in God’s economy for the masculine gender.” We are then told that there were many communications that took place between God and the man but we do not know how many or what the content of them were. We are told we cannot escape the fact that this communication took place and that specific responsibilities were at the center of those conversations.

Principle #2. God created the garden of Eden and directed man to cultivate it and keep prior to making the woman. Weber goes on to say that before the woman was made when Adam was still alone, that he was given charge over the garden to cultivate and keep it. Weber believes here is where God made man a king. “In this charge, I believe, God was saying to the man, “There is something of a king inside your chest. I have placed it there I have made you a leader and a provider.” Here Weber says is the King Pillar.

Principle #3. God gave man instructions regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, again, prior to making the woman. Weber sees this as God given man a stewardship concerning information about the very nature of life itself. God intended man to be a steward not just of the Garden, but of this information as well. Weber also believes by implication that man’s stewardship was to pass along the information to others and to teach them. Here Weber says is the Mentor Pillar.

Principle #4. Weber teaches that when God said that the man “shall surely die” that God was warning the man of danger and that the man should be alert, on guard, and watch. Here Weber says is the Warrior Pillar.

Principle #5. Here Weber states that from the beginning God clearly states that “It is not good for the man to be alone.” Weber believes that in the Genesis context this meant Adam’s wife, but is applicable as a life sweeping statement. “There is a Friend in every man’s chest.” Weber here says is the Friend Pillar.

Principle #6. Under this principle Weber teaches that after sin had “destroyed the peace of the realm” that “God came looking for the man.” He notes that while it was the woman who first sinned, God came looking for the man. Weber states that “Adam had failed his Lord, his wife, and himself. He had failed to steward his masculinity.” And, “God was demanding to know just what Adam had done with his masculine stewardship.” Following the four pillars, Weber goes on to pose the questions that God was basically saying to Adam, “Where was the King in you? Where was the Warrior in you? Where was the Mentor in you? Where was the Friend in you?”

Weber also teaches here that Adam was held accountable in a way the woman was not. Weber starts that “The entire human race suffers because the head of the race fell short.” He cites Romans 5:12,15,18; 1 Corinthians 15:22 as biblical support. Form this point, Weber makes the following point: “There are serious and humbling implications here for every man. "Don’t miss this principle, my friend: The entire family suffers when the head of the family falls short.”

The rest of the exhortations here put the ills of society, the family, et. on the shoulders of fallen masculinity and the recovery on heels of manliness. “And the whole family rises to a level of health, fulfillment, and happiness when the King-Warrior-Mentor-Friend is doing his job and living out God’s intentions for his masculine soul. When ‘the man’ is at home, doing his job, living out the four pillars of his masculinity, and wrapping his arms around God’s intentions for him, everyone wins.”

This summarizes chapter 3 and I believe represents what Stu Weber is trying to teach. The question now to answer is if these teachings and principles that Weber has presented are biblical and true to Holy Scripture. First, it must be demonstrated that the four pillars actually appear in Scripture. Second, it must be demonstrated that the four pillars are what is meant by the image of God.

Critique

First, do the four pillars actually appear in Scripture? Weber contended that the four pillars were created by God when He made man and reckons them to be a part of the image of God upon the man. The Scriptures cited and quoted in his book are Genesis 2:7-8; 15-18, 22; and 3:9.

 Weber begins in Genesis 2 which is a more detailed description of the creation accounted in Genesis 1. The foundation for the biblical teaching that man is created in image of God is Genesis 1:26-28, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, ever the birds of the air, and over the every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Note. 1. God’s image applies to both the man and the woman. They are both in the image of God. There is nothing in this text to suggest the four pillars are what God’s image is. Ecclesiastes 7:29 sheds light upon this subject, “Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” This most certainly does not mean that man simply was created to be able to walk physically upright, but rather in character in righteousness and holiness. The light of Ephesians 4:24 can be brought regarding the new creation of man in Christ Jesus, our second Adam, “And that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

For the man to be in the image of God is the same as the woman being in the image of God. To then limit this to man alone and bring in the masculine archetypes/pillars and put that forth as the image of God is to eisigetically read the psychology into the Word of God. If Weber wants the first man, Adam, to be a four-pillared man, then to point our compasses by the truth north of Scripture a woman must also be a four-pillared man for both are created in God’s image. Upon this point Weber falls short of the teaching of Holy Scripture in order to maintain his masculine psychology.

Note 2. The creation account in Genesis 2 must not be put forth or used to teach contrary to Genesis 1. Genesis 2 is a more detailed account of what is written in Genesis 1. In Genesis 1 both the man and the woman are created in God’s image, given dominion over all creation, and spoken to. Therefore Weber’s principle #2 does not stand up to the light of Holy Scripture that the man alone was given dominion first. Therefore if Weber’s King Pillar is to be maintained, it cannot be maintained for the man only, but also for the woman.

Note 3. Weber references 1 Tim 2:8-15 to make the point that a man’s unique authority is based on the order of creation. While this is mentioned in 1 Timothy it is not the actual teaching of this passage. The passage is instructing Timothy how the saints of God ought to conduct themselves in the public assembly. To keep a woman from teaching or having authority over a man was because she was deceived by the serpent, the devil. This teaching and order within the Church assembly recognizes the schemes of the devil in how he tempted both to sin against God. While there is an authority order within the church post-fall, the authority and dominion over the whole creation in the state of mankind’s innocence was to both the man and the woman. Some light can be taken from 1 Peter 3:7 which says, “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.”

Note 4. Weber believes that the man was to be a steward of information. In Genesis 3:3 we read of the woman saying, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” This clearly shows that Eve also knew the information and was accountable for it before God.

Note 5. There is nothing in text of Scripture to suggest that God’s warning to the man and woman concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was to make them warriors or just the man a warrior. This is purely reading into the text the prior idea of the psychology of Moore and Gillette.

Note 6. In no place in the text of Scripture or otherwise does it say that God created for man a woman because he wished to establish a “Friend” pillar in the man. Rather, God established the institution of marriage and blessed the man with a woman that they might be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

Note 7. Weber makes a point to say that God came looking for the man. In verse 8 of Genesis 3 it is written, “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” Weber supposes by this question that God is asking about these pillars. Yet this seems only plausible if one begins with the four pillars in mind. If we simply stick with Scripture, we read on.. “So he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” v.10-11

Here God is not asking the man if he has dropped the pillars of his masculinity. Here is God confronting him with his sin. It is sin to disobey God and now the shame of his nakedness is exposed. Disobedience is the error. He is no longer covered in the righteousness that had him in the image of God. “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.” Rev. 3:18

In verse 7 of Genesis 3 Adam and Eve tried to cover their own nakedness with fig leaves they sewed together. God both exposed their sin and did not accept their own deeds as a covering for their sin. In verse 20-21 we read, “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” Here the Lord covered the shame of their nakedness by His hand signifying the covering by the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, which would be by faith.

Note 8. Weber uses Romans 5:12,15,18; 1 Corinthians 15:22 to teach the following idea: “Don’t miss this principle, my friend: The entire family suffers when the head of the family falls short.”

In one of my previous critiques of this book on chapter 1 I noted that Weber seems to skirt around the doctrine of federal headship but seems to never quite land there. Here he restates the error in supposing that federal headship applies to each family and that each and every man represents federally his own household. The doctrine taught in Romans 5 is one I consider to be a “high doctrine” and one of the more difficult teachings of the Apostle Paul. Yet, it is clearly shown that through one man’s disobedience judgment came upon the entire human race. In verse 12 referenced by Weber it reads, “Therefore, just as though one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—“ The doctrine here is that all sinned in Adam. In verse 14 Adam is called a type of Him who was to come. So, as death reigned through the first Adam, so life reigns through the Second. Just as surely as we all have died in Adam, so just as certainly all who are in Christ Jesus will live. By one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. That is, the Man Jesus Christ. There is no principle here taught as Weber supposes. For Weber’s statement to be true to Scripture, he would have to be speaking about Jesus when he says “The entire family suffers when the head of the family falls short.” The family I am in is the one who has God as our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ as our Head. He is the Head of my family and He never has and shall never fall short.

In close I will quote again Mr. Weber and make a few final comments:

“And the whole family rises to a level of health, fulfillment, and happiness when the King-Warrior-Mentor-Friend is doing his job and living out God’s intentions for his masculine soul. When ‘the man’ is at home, doing his job, living out the four pillars of his masculinity, and wrapping his arms around God’s intentions for him, everyone wins.” –Stu Weber

I testify to everyone reading my words that the Head of my family is Jesus Christ. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3: 14-21

Chapter 2 Review - Play the Man

This review will be brief. The chapter is a basic outcry against feminism and the current and past cultural war against masculinity in America. One can hardly find reason to disagree with this. The fact that there are differences between men and woman seem self-evident to most, but there has been a concerted effort by some fringe groups in the United States and in higher-education to make war on this fact.

Generally I think Weber touches on an important point as it relates to masculinity and makes a salient argument that is balanced and fair. The only critique I could see is his lauding of Chuck Colson and referring to him as a modern prophet. First, there is no such thing as a modern prophet. Secondly, Chuck Colson does not warrant such high praise who was a leading catalyst of bringing modern evangelicalism more in line with the Apostacy.

In an article posted on CBN they wrote, "Prison Fellowship Founder and President Chuck Colson praised Pope John Paul II as "one of the truly heroic figures of the 20th century. Colson, whom TIME magazine credited as the Washington power broker who helped cobble together an alliance of Evangelicals and Catholic Conservatives, said Pope John Paul II, "will be remembered not only as a great leader, but as one of the handful of people singularly responsible for the collapse of the Soviet empire."

http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/BibleStudyAndTheology/Perspectives/ans_popejohnpaul.aspx

Such a man may earn the praise of the world and popes, but I hardly think has praise before an All Holy God.

Review of Four Pillars of a Man's Heart by Stu Weber - Chapter 1

Chapter 1
I found the chapter inspiring and interesting generally speaking. The example or Mr. Weber's choice to pursue the ministry rather than a military career highlights an important truth to place God's Word and obedience to him above all things. Mr. Weber calls this chapter "crossroads" and speaks a lot about choices. After his own stories and quotes of Robert Frost and others, he leads the read to the first man Adam.

I really want Mr. Weber to take this powerful storytelling ability straight to the true doctrines of Scripture, but he doesn't. He nearly reaches the great doctrine of federal headship and the total ruin of mankind in Adam and then could from there lead us to our Second Adam and the redemption and salvation in Him, but he doesn't. Mr. Weber leaves us in the cesspool of freewill, then mixes the bane of sociology into the teaching and places the root causes of America's ills upon fallen fatherhood.

For Mr. Weber its about choices and being a leader and a man's man. While certain aspects of masculinity are important, what Mr. Weber offers his reader will not actually do any good. His chapter certainly stirs the emotions and his message will most certainly appeal to the masses, but its at the bar of Holy Scripture that these things need to be judged.

Here are a few points the reader of this book should be aware of concerning the theology taught in chapter one. These points here are true to the teaching of Holy Scripture and are worthy of acceptance:

1. Man's Will. The best wording I have come across to describe the state of man's will post-fall comes from the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter IX. Mr. Weber is correct in describing man's will in his state of innocency but makes the mistake of not recognizing what was lost when Adam chose to sin. By making this mistake he applies the same condition of free-will to mankind today that Adam possessed before he fell. Consider the words of the Westminster:

II. Man, in his state of innocency, had freedom and power to will and to do that which was good, and well pleasing to God; but yet, mutably, so that he might fall from it. (Ecc. 7:29; Gen: 1:26; Gen 2:16; Gen 3:6)

Notice how the statement here notes that while Adam and Eve has freedom and power to that which was good, God allowed the ability to change (mutability) so that he might fall. This recognizes the absolute sovereignty of God in the course and action of all things. This seems to be something Mr. Weber fails to recognize. And while he does recognize that the "head of the household" has an influence on those around him, he fails to understand the fundamental change in the freedom of will that took place after the fall. Consider the following:

III. Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation: so as, a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto. (Rom 5:6; Rom. 8:7; John 15:5; Rom 3:10-12; Eph. 2:1,5; ; Col 2:13; John 6:44; Eph. 2:2, 4, 5; 1 Cor 2:14; Titus 3:3-5).

This statement by the old Westminster divines is the doctrine of total depravity which is not found (but should be) in Chapter 1 of Mr. Weber's book.

2. Man's Salvation. While Mr. Weber would like to present to us poems and sociologists to encourage us to a higher way, Holy Scripture gives us Jesus, the Second Adam.

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinner:

(For until the law sin was in the world: but son is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification. For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Romans 5:12-19

Why wouldn't Mr. Weber take us to the apostle's doctrine here? He leads us to Adam as the spring and cause of trouble (sin) in the world, but then takes us to Richard Foster's poem, Crossroads, to "make all the difference", to a "well-known" sociologist David Blankenhorn to define the problem, and then leads us to our own depraved and fallen wills to make a choice.

I am compelled to sound a warning by the words of Holy Scripture to my brethren who are in the Lord Jesus, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Col 2:8

Mr. Weber has perhaps gone "off page" by wanting to adhere to his topic rather than the plain teaching of Holy Scripture. My brethren, the problem in the world is sin. We all fell in Adam when he sinned in the garden and heeded the voice of his wife and inherited and nature from him that is completely corrupted through and through. There is nothing you or I can do to save ourselves from this helpless condition and unless we are rescued we shall utterly perish in our sins. If you hear His voice today, do not harden your heart against it or be dismayed. The Lord has not left us without hope but has sent a Savior, Jesus Christ the righteous, who took on flesh and bone as we have that He might be the Second Adam and lead a new race of mankind in Him out of our bondage in sin and death to have forgiveness of sins by His blood and everlasting life by His resurrection. If you hear His voice today, He commands every person to repent of their sins and believe on The Lord Jesus and they shall be saved.

Making a choice to be a better man will not save you from your helpless bondage to sin. Only The Lord Jesus can save you. Repent and believe on Him today before the time to do so is past.

With love,

Review of Four Pillars of a Man's Heart by Stu Weber

In beginning this review I want to acknowledge a weakness. I come to it already with an eye of skepticism and dismay. Long ago I read an article about how to read a book. It taught a few principles I remember such as scanning the table to contents to get an overview of the book. I also make it a practice to look through an index if there is one or any notes. In this book, there is a notes section containing a bibliography of referenced works used in the chapters. To my dismay I found Mohandus Ghandi referenced and Brennan Manning. Why Ghandi should make his inroads in the Church of the Living God is beyond me. For Brennan Manning to make his way into this book and thereby into evangelical churches is frightening.

This said, I have acknowledged this both here and before the Lord in prayer that I might also have a ready mind to set aside any pre-bias and love the truth above all things. Sadly, even beginning with the prologue it seems my concerns are not unwarranted.

There is no doubt Stu Weber is a great communicator. If his writing style is anything like is speaking presence, quite naturally he would have success at nearly anything he would seek to persuade man to. It is full of a human pathos coupled with a genuine heart. Stu Weber seems from the beginning of this book to be a master story teller. I hope to learn much from him in this regard.

This said, a prologue when used is for the purpose of setting the stage for what is to follow in the book. It's designed, or should be, to wet the intellectual appetite of the reader and make the excited to continue. I think Stu Weber does this masterfully but to a very disappointing end. The Scripture giving for our considering is Psalm 103:15-16  which read:

As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. (Psalms 103:15-16 KJV)

This Scripture is given after a well-narrated story of Mr. Weber's home town and state in Oregon where he has seen many boarded up farms and homes. He draws a parallel between these two verses and the apparent fulfillment of them in the countryside of Oregon. He ponders this and wonders if his own life will turn out the same and leads to reader to that which will last and invites the reader to "walk the path together, and see what we might find"

The path Mr. Weber would like us to walk with him on and find is found in a paragraph here which I expect will be unfolded throughout the book. I quote:

"And I am reminded again that the only thing that lasts---that will, in fact, populate eternity--is people. Wooden walls may crumble and stone pillars may fall, but people are forever. And if life is to mean anything, building people must be what it is all about."

The remaining exhortations are about building people, civilization, et. and then introduces the four pillars of a man: a king, warrior, mentor, and friend.

I am really grateful for this prologue. It has clearly shown me that Stu Weber's focus is entirely man-centered rather than Christ-centered. I genuinely appreciate when men are clear about this. Like many modern books within evangelicalism there is Scripture sprinkled upon their thoughts and imaginations to lay weight to what is being said. Is this what Psalm 103 truly teaches? Let's look at the passage within its context and see:

Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul. (Psalms 103:1-22 KJV)

It is always important to see the Holy Scriptures in their context. Now that we have the fuller picture of the context of verse 14 and 15, we can see in the immediate context, verses 16 and 17, it teaches the opposite of what Mr. Weber would like to impress upon our minds. What does the Scripture say is everlasting?

But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; (Psalms 103:17 KJV)

Mr. Weber would like to exalt man and place a great deal of importance upon him. However, this passage highlights the the smallness of man and his temporary nature. This Scripture exalts the Lord and diminishes man. This passage exalts the mercy of God and His compassion to forgive sins. What's really sad, is that this boo by Mr. Weber is geared towards men and fathers, and the shining example of God here in Psalm 103 gives us a pattern to truly follow, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him."

This pity on the grounds that He knows our frame..He remembers that we are but dust. From dust we are made and to dust we shall return. Man's days are but a handbreath and here today and gone tomorrow like a flower of the field after the wind has passed over it. Yet, the mercy the of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and His righteousness unto children's children; to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them." v14-18

One cannot help but remember the words and application of this found in 1Peter:

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. (1 Peter 1:24-25 KJV)

What wonder and beauty could be preached and exhorted from Psalm 103 to the believer. What words of comfort and hope can be given to focus our thoughts and hearts upon the everlasting mercy of God and His Word. What exhortations could be given to fathers to pity their children as God pities His and to be faithful teachers and preachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our own children. To ourselves be faithful the keep the covenant and remember His commandments to do them, to fear the Lord, and take comfort that our Father in heaven will be gracious to us, our children, and our children's children.

I hope this does not set the tone for the rest of the book. I hope that Mr. Weber strays from his worldly path to return the highway of holiness. To Mr. Weber's initial plea to walk this path he lays out I must decline. As for me and my house, we will walk in the paths of Holy Scripture.