Context

According to Wilhelmus a Brakel (The Christian's Reasonable Service, vol.1), 'an awareness of context is not always essential ... to the correct understanding of a text or a passage. There are thousands of expressions in God’s Word which, when heard or read individually, have a precise meaning, give full expression to their doctrinal content, and are sufficiently penetrating to stimulate faith, render comfort, and be exhortive in nature.' On the whole we agree, especially as regards the more aphoristic books like Proverbs. However, context is very important, indeed indispensable and much wider in meaning than simply the part of a book in which a text occurs. In fact, beside the analogy of faith, the Westminster Confession details the proper and necessary use of inference ('good and necessary consequence') and this is possible only on the basis of a reasonable grasp of context. a Brakel agrees!