Gadfly's Muse

John 20 & 21: Eternal Beauty

Image:  "Full Flower", 2010, "Indian Paintbrush", Vicinity of Bertram, Tx.

John 20:8–9  Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

John 20:17  Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”

John 20:21–23  So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

John 20:29  Jesus said to him, “Thomas because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

John 21:19  This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”

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John's Gospel retains its "different vista" approach right down to the closing sentences.  The urgent call to "believe" carries through.  First, we see "the other disciple", John himself, not believing until he also had gone into the tomb and saw only the carefully folded death linens. 

Then there's Mary who remains sorrowful even after seeing the angels until she turns and beholds her Lord and hears Him speak to her with such heartfelt tenderness.  

Then there is dear old Thomas who stubbornly says that he "will not believe" until he saw and touched the Lord's crucifixion wounds.   We can only imagine the depth of passion that gripped his heart when Jesus said: "Ok, here they are, touch them!"  He can only cry out: "My Lord and my God!"  But notice what Jesus said to him:  "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Is it any wonder that John closes chapter 20 with these words: John 20:30–31  And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

And indeed, this is the challenge - to believe.  Not just to give some kind of mental assent, in modern parlance, "to be open to", the idea of Jesus' resurrection... but to embrace it, to have it sink into our hearts as it did to Thomas such that we cannot hold back the exclamation of covenant acknowledgment: "MY Lord and MY God!"  This is the character of true belief in Jesus as the resurrected, eternal, Son of God and Son of Man.  

It is not a mind game.  John gives us the best grounds for believing what he has written that one can require: John 21:24–25  This is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.  25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. He was that "other disciple" who paused at the door of the open tomb.  He was the one in the boat who saw the risen Christ calling to them from the shore.  He heard the words Jesus spoke to Peter as He restored Peter to his calling to "feed" the Lord's sheep.  He it was who stood at the foot of the Lord's cross and heard Him commend His mother to John's care.  

John saw these things!  He ate breakfast with the risen Lord.  It was he who testified and stated that "we know that his testimony is true", in other words, that what he wrote was approved by the other disciples.  We have all that we should need for grounds to believe and therefore we must.

Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, arose from the dead and was seen by many men and women over a period of forty days.  He rose from the dead never to undergo death again.  Lazarus was raised from the dead by Jesus.  Jesus raised Himself (or God raised Him, it was a work of the Trinity).  Lazarus was raised to additional years of earthly life and presumably died... again.  Jesus rose from the dead to live eternally at the right hand of God the Father from which He oversees, governs, calls, and sanctifies His Church.  

His risen beauty is such that Mary could not recognize Him.  He stands as the Flower of Humanity, the perfect expression of mankind's ultimate destiny.  He was born a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, a man who had no significant physical beauty such that we should take note of Him.  He is not that anymore!  His risen brilliance was presaged by the Transfiguration when the disciples could not look on Him because of His brightness.

When we say: "My Lord and My God" - this is He Whom we proclaim as such.

Jesus left Peter and us with the command: "Follow Me." (21:19)  As the Pillar of Smoke led the Israelites by day and the Pillar of Fire led them at night, so the brilliant, burning beauty of our Lord should be before us at all times.  Let us look to Him with believing eyes and love Him with believing hearts.  He is worthy to be worshiped and adored.

John 17: One With God, One With Christ

Image: "Reaching For Heaven", 2020, Severna Park, Md.

John 17:3  And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

John 17:11  Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.

John 17:20–21  “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

John 17:23  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

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There are deep mysteries in Christianity that call for our deepest meditation, wonder, and worship.  At the pinnacle of these is that of the Trinity, followed by the Dual Natures of Christ.  We can formulate definitions and doctrinal statements about these... we can say somethings about what they are and, perhaps most importantly, say something about what they are not!  But our finite minds cannot comprehend infinity and so, like a rapt admirer contemplating a magnificent work of art, we can only spiritually gaze on these truths for they lay outside of us.

But then, not too far behind these topics, we come upon the Biblical Doctrine of unity with Christ.  We see Jesus praying for His disciples (vs. 6-19) and then for us, the ones who come to faith through the teachings of the apostles. (vs. 20-26)  Now, we must believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that whatever the Son asked of the Father, God the Father would be delighted to give Him, and here, on the eve of His terrible trial on the cross, our Christ asked His Father that the disciples, and we, be united to Him and He to us.

What an amazing idea.  Jesus prayed that we would be united to Him and the Father in the same manner as, or at least in a manner analogous to, His union with the Father Himself.  Let that wash over your heart for a moment.  In effect, Jesus is praying that we be admitted into the intimate fellowship of the Holy Trinity.  That does not mean, God forbid, that we become part of the Trinity in essence, power, wisdom or anything like those things.  He is asking that we be intimately connected to His Person, so intimately that we are "In Christ" as Paul often says.

We need to get a grip on this.  Yes, it is mysterious, but it is also at the heart of the Gospel.  As Calvin and others have noted:  "... the blessings of salvation, justification, sanctification, adoption and glorification are all received through our being united to Christ." (Robert Letham, The Work of Christ, p. 80)  Think about that!  Those listed blessings ARE the Gospel.  We can reduce it to this:  The Eternal Christ, the 2nd Person of the Trinity, was born into this world as Jesus of Nazareth, and His purpose for doing so was to do that which the Father commanded Him to do, unto the end that all whom the Father gave Him (all believers) would be united to Him!  This statement is entirely supported by the verses in this chapter.

So, this union with Christ business is important indeed.

It is generally admitted by most Christians that there is a "positional" aspect to this union.  In other words, it is to be understood in a somewhat figurative sense.  Jesus was our representative... He did the works we could not do... He paid the penalty we could not pay... and He rose from the dead establishing the truth that we will rise also.

These things are true but if taken only superficially, they can be pretty dry.  What we must understand is that our union with Christ is not only positionally though that is not denied.  We really are united to Him in a mysterious manner that has something in common with His union with His Father.  In other words, there is an existential reality to our union with Christ.  We really are bound up in Him.  We can, with appropriate caveats, say that in Him we fulfilled the law perfectly, did good deeds meritorious of reward, died on the cross in Christ, and rose again with Him from the dead.  

Not only that but through the uniting ministry of the Holy Spirit we can grow in our intimacy with our Lord, we can grow to have the "mind of Christ." (1 Cor. 2:16)  We can become more aware of the indwelling Spirit and take very real comfort from His Presence.  This is not an automatic thing, it is inherent in our progress in faith and sanctification, but it is not only possible but commanded.  Jesus wants us to know the "love with which You (His Father) loved Me" by having that love be present "in them, and I in them." (vs. 26)  

How can we ever really know the Love of God in us apart from knowing the Presence of Christ in us?  This is Jesus' purpose... this is how He is most glorified (v. 22).  It is when we behold His glory intimately, through recognizing His indwelling Spirit uniting us to Himself.

It is a mystery indeed... but what a glorious thing to ponder.

 

 

 

Isaiah 34 & 35: A Road Runs To It

Image: "Road to Sterling Gorge", 2009, Near Stowe, Vermont

Listen to  this as you read: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFOdKTM0INc

Isaiah 35:8–10 8 A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, 10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

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When someone is confronted with one of their favorite passages in Scripture it's hard not to stop and just bathe in it for a moment.

Certainly the verses above fall into that category.  What an exciting, encouraging, uplifting picture it paints.  Hundreds of years before our Lord Jesus came in the flesh here we have an evocative metaphor for the "way" that He would open up for us.  He is the way, the truth and the life, no one travels to the Father except along His way... His highway... His road.    Truly that "way" is the Highway of Holiness.  It is the very path by which a person can attain holiness before our God and there are no others.  Travelers, pilgrims, who walk it do indeed grow in wonder and amazement that it is indeed beautiful.

It is a "mystical" way (hence the softening of the image above).  It is a spiritual way but it is full of real, discernable insights of glorious color.  It is not a road that those who have not been born again can travel.  They are still "unclean", lost in their own brand of darkness, dead to even the existence of the path.  Yet even a "fool," a simpleton, folks of little understanding when it comes to the deep mysteries of the faith, can walk it.  Folks like you and me, can journey to its end and they are guaranteed never to go astray.  Is that not comforting at the deepest core of our being?  Yes... beyond all dispute, it provides the deepest solace for souls who often reel under the assaults of Satan and the lies of his disciples.

There are no "wolves" in sheep's clothing here.  Our fellow travelers, to the degree that we know them as such, are just like us and we become bonded to them by this very unity.  We are "fellow travelers on the Way."  No lions or ravenous beasts will tear us limb from limb.  Not even physical death itself can kick us off its surface.  Though the sun shines harshly and stifles our physical breath, yet here there is cool shade and refreshing breeze.  This is our road.

We, the ransomed of the LORD, return to our Heavenly Zion down this road.  We come with singing, we taste and experience everlasting joy, we are crowned with gladness and, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, "sorrow and sighing" flee away as we walk with our Savior.  And, at last, at journey's end the heavenly gates of Zion stand wide open before us.  What we tasted in part along the journey now becomes the fullness of our reality.  There is no "tiredness" as we go through those gates.  We find youthful vigor and zeal again pulsing through our souls.  We are, at last, home!

Now.... even folks who are "clapping-challenged" (like me) can joyfully join the chorus.

 

 

 

Psalm 135-137: His Mercy Endures Forever

Image: "Clouds & Clouds," 2020, Severna Park, Md

Psalm 135:3–4  Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant. 4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His special treasure.

Psalm 135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases He does,  In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places.

Psalm 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion.

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I have mentioned Dogwoods in other posts throughout the years.  Though in danger of repeating myself yet I have to remark again how much I love them.  I cannot see them, as I do now out my window, with their clouds of happily white flowers straining toward the morning sun, without a bitter-sweet pang of remembrance.  More than any other tree the Dogwood takes me back to my youth when I would gaze across a pasture at the woods beyond.  With my uncle's borrowed 22 pump and my old dog we would step across that field where the low lying dogwoods filled in all the gaps between the larger oaks and pine saplings.  They looked like a white foundation above which the thick branches of a Mississippi forest signaled its mysterious invitation.  Those were some of my happiest moments.

Our Psalms today have a bit of nostalgia to them also.  The first two are happy remembrances, the last... well, not so much.

In Psalms 135 & 136, the Psalmists scan the various witnesses to God's mighty power and covenant faithfulness and rejoice in their special privilege.  They celebrate His "general" works of providence displayed in the nourishing rain and the testimony of His awesome power in the frightening displays of thunder and lightning.  This is how it should be.  God is a God above and beyond all human imagining.  We cannot know anything of Him unless He first undertakes to reveal Himself.  His works in common nature are revelatory of His Person even as are His special redemptive works for His people, His "special treasure." (135:4)

Jesus (Jn 10:25-26, 37-39) told people that the purpose of His undeniable mighty works done in plain sight among them, was that they should "believe."  His miracles, accomplished by His own authority and power, were more than sufficient as grounds to believe that He was one with the Father, in other words, that He was God in the flesh.  Jesus' works "revealed" who He was... a person with eyes to see could see Jesus as the Son of God in His works.  It was not only a matter of logic.  It was not a simple deduction: "these works could only be done by God, therefore Jesus is God."  That is a true statement but revelation actually is more than that.  

In His works Jesus revealed Himself... His compassionate nature... His covenantal loyalty to His people... His sovereign authority over the wind and the rain and the raging seas... Himself as the source of food and provision in the feeding of the thousands... as the One who not only heals but forgives sins... etc. etc.

Thus His works were not miracles for the sake of being miracles... they were revelational disclosures... they were communications from the eternal to the temporal and thus their ultimate significance was not in what they did but in what they revealed.  

So it is with these Psalms as the singers rejoice in God's self-disclosure.  He is the God who does "Whatever... pleases Him, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deep places."  The whole world consists in "clouds and clouds" of witnesses to Him and His Glory.  He does what He please and what pleases Him is to lovingly care for His people, His "special treasure", throughout their entire journey.  It is because of His special love for them that He fights their enemies for them (135:10-12) and gives them a heritage in His Kingdom (136:21).  He has set the sun and the other "great lights" in the heavens to serve His people and bring them joy and nourishment. (136:7-8)  He gives food to all flesh (136:25) and shows special providential care for those whose hope is in Him alone and who despise all forms of idolatry (135:15-18).

Even when it is for their own good that they be chastised, yet God's love is so strong that He upholds them in their grief and keeps the memory and conviction of His particular love for them alive. (Psalm 137:1)  Even when "sorrow attendeth our way", when we "hang up our harps" (137:2) because we just can't find it in our hearts to sing, yet God is doing mighty things to reveal His Presence among us.

All it takes is to shift our gaze away from our sorrow, look at the mighty works recorded for us in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus AND the corresponding mighty works ongoing all around us in creation, and the stirrings of praise again begin to rise.

Whatever 'mighty work' we consider... this we can affirm with a sincere heart... His mercy endures forever (Psalm 136).

 

 

 

 

Psalm 114-118: Death Surrounded Him - A Good Friday Meditation

Image: "Unlikely Mixture", 2020, Severna Park, Md

Psalm 114:7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob,

Psalm 115:1 1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth.

Psalm 116:3 The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow.

Psalm 116:8–9 8 For You have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, And my feet from falling. 9 I will walk before the LORD In the land of the living.

Psalm 118:22–23 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This was the LORD’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.

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It seems providential that today's reading includes Psalm 116 & 118 which, along with a couple of others, are so clearly Messianic.  Verse  118:22 ("cornerstone") is quoted often in the NT and is always applied to Jesus.  Psalm 116 is a song of rejoicing for deliverance from death that leads to worship before the LORD in the "presence of all His people (vs. 114, 118) which immediately brings to mind the triumphal singing of our Christ spoken of in Heb. 2:12-13.  How can we not think about Good Friday when the Holy Spirit moves us so powerfully through these words.

When we modern Americans think of Jesus' crucifixion I think we over emphasize the idea of "victimhood."  We tend toward an abundance of pity... as if His Presence there was unjust, .... that He was helpless and abused.  I am not even hinting that we should approach the cross with a clinical detachment.  The cross should bring us to our knees... it should rip our proud hearts asunder... there should be tears in our eyes and impulsive groans escaping our lips.  Everything about the cross should arouse deep emotions.  But we must guard against "trivial" emotions... emotions that bubble and churn on the surface but do not work gut-wrenching change in our souls.  It is this latter type of emotions that God desires.

Psalm 114, speaking of another of God's great works, called out: "Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the god of Jacob."  The context for that verse was judgment.  When God reveals His mighty hand in judgment it is right and proper for all creation to tremble and shake.  So it was on that dark afternoon at Golgotha as darkness covered the land and an earthquake shook the foundations of the temple.  This is what should shake us also.  The cross was God's judgment... powerfully displayed... violently administered... deeply felt and entirely righteous.  On that cross God showered down the full impact of Hell on His Son for the particular sins of His particular people.  If you read these words and in your mind's eye you look up at Jesus on that cross, then know for certain, if Jesus is your Lord then every agony of His soul was administered for YOUR sin.   Here is the right emotion.  When we look with horror on His suffering and cannot escape the thought:  "He is suffering for MY sin."  Now that is an emotion that will crunch your heart when it really hits home.

Another emotion surfaces when the inevitable question springs to our mind:  "Lord, why?... why did it have to be this way?" and Psalm 115:1 helps there.  "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but to Your name give glory..."  In our mind's eye let's think of Jesus looking down on us... there is pity in His eyes but not for Himself, but for us.  He answers our question with the same thoughts that He prayed in the Garden (John 17:1-4):  "It had to be this way for Me to glorify My Father and for Him to glorify Me!"  God is glorified in the just and righteous salvation of sinners.  For them to be saved their sins must be punished.  God cannot do otherwise.  Therefore, O Sinner, know that there was no other way.  Your sins demanded eternal death and Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, paid off that demand in His very own Person.  Here we have another gut-wrenching emotion: the combined effects of horror at what we deserve, the extent of anguish it brought on our Substitute and broken hearted gratitude that He did it.... for us!

And then it was over.  The debt was paid.  He lifted His head and cried out "It is finished" and it was.  There no longer remained any punishment to be born nor any debt to be paid in the accounts of His children.  They were completely marked through and stamped "paid."  With that He was taken from that cross and laid in a cold dark tomb.  "The pains of death surrounded me, the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me..." (116:3)  Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God was dead!  Yes... really dead.  Dead in the tomb dead.  Stone cold dead.  It was not some self-induced coma... nor some near death experience.  Jesus died and let no man dare blaspheme otherwise.

But it was not the death of hopelessness.  Psalm 116 prophesied that His soul would be delivered from death... His eyes from tears ... and that He would walk again "before the LORD in the land of the living."  This was a precious time for Jesus.  He went through the portal of human death, something no pagan had ever conceived as possible for an eternal god.  Jesus experienced death for us... even death on a cross... and He drank that cup right down to the dregs.  But His was a death of hope... and for that reason gives us hope in death also.  For (118:15) "precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints."

So, as we, in our mind's eye, stand before the cross let us certainly have the closing image be that it is empty.  He is "not there" anymore.  He is no longer the Suffering Servant... but the fullness of that joy is reserved for Easter Morning.

Have a blessed Good Friday!

Psalm 89-95:

Image: Checking Things Out, 2020, Titmouse, Severna Park, Md

Psalm 89:15 Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance.

Psalm 90:1–2 LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 92:13 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God.

Psalm 95:6–7 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. 7 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand....

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In these days of forced quarantine I don't suppose we are so much "walking" in the light of God's countenance as contemplating it on the other side of the window.  We are somewhat like the little titmouse perched on the fence, gazing at what's on the other side, trying to figure out what to do next.  

But actually walking or not, the condition of "blessedness" still applies.  We have heard "the joyful sound" of the beautiful spring day cheerfully anticipating this coming Easter's morn.  We sing with the Psalmist that "the heavens are Yours, the earth also... the world in all its fullness... You have founded them!"(89:11)  This is the "joyful sound" that lifts our eyes up and away from the relatively depressing to the eternally exciting.  We live, day by day, in the "light of His countenance."  He is fully aware of every momentary concern or anxious anticipation.  This is our rock... we know that He has covenanted with us through His Son and He will never forsake us.

It is this overall conviction that makes us sing "You have been our dwelling place in all generations.." (Psa. 90:1) The history of the Church of Jesus Christ is a long litany of generation after generation discovering just what it means to trust God.  Every age has its perils, some of which far surpassed this COVID-19 pandemic in scope and deadliness.  Every individual life is tested by the spiritual warfare that surrounds it.  The "Evil" in this world shows itself in many ways... sometimes through man's viciousness to other... sometimes through tragedy... sometimes through persistent horror like the Great Depression or the World Wars.  Cancer claims more lives each day than this plague.  Many are there who suffer.  This is the "Evil" that shows up in one form or another in every age.

Hence, each generation of Christians discovers that God has to become their "dwelling place."  Our only hope in a dangerous world is that there is "good" above and beyond the "ugly."  This conviction has to so characterize our lives that even if we have to suffer... or die... yet we can say, "Blessed be the Name of the Lord." (Psalm 113:2)  That is why the Psalmist pleads with God to "teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psa 90:12)  He knows that man's time in this age is short, maybe seventy or eighty years (Psa. 90:10), so it is important to survey the world around us and seek to understand how we should walk in it.  We need a heart of wisdom in every eon but most certainly do we need it when difficulties are everywhere.

What we are called to do in the face of adversity is first of all, to persevere in faith and thanksgiving.  We have many reasons for thankfulness.  Our second duty is to be useful.  We call upon God to let His "beauty" be upon us and to "establish the work of our hands."(90:19)  Perhaps no greater distinctive commends the Christian faith than its joyful call to service in the face of danger.  Christians, like "first responders", run to the danger... they go where they are needed... and they go because the "glory of the Lord is on them" and they want to minister in His name.  We want the "work of our hands" to be established.. to go down in God's book of life as works done in His name and unto His Kingdom.  Such works will never fail to receive their reward. (1 Cor. 3:14, Col. 3:23-24)   

Scary as it is, this "pestilence that walks in darkness" (91:6) shall not prevent the Lord Christ from building His Kingdom.  In fact, it will be prove His works even more gloriously.  And that work He is doing is done through His people, those who have answered His call and follow in His footsteps.  He will cause His people, the ones "who are planted in the ouse of the LORD" to flourish and bear fruit, "even in old age." (92:13-14)  They know, deep in their hearts that "judgment will return to righteousness and all the upright in heart will follow it!" (94:15)  Therefore they rise up from the gloom that seeks to bring them down... they fill their lungs with the refreshing Spring air... and they look forward with hope to what God next brings before them to do.

This is the land we survey on "the other side of the fence."  It is a good land... flowing with milk and honey... it has many delights and offers of shade... it abounds with fruitful fields where good work can be done.  This is our blessedness, O People of God, 

Come, let us worship and bow down.... let us kneel before the LORD our Maker

For He is our God... and we are the people of His pasture

and the sheep of His hand. (Psalm 95:6-7)

Psalm 83-88:Beautifully Simple, Wondrously Deep.

Image:  "Familiar But Appreciated," 2020, Severna Park, Md

Psalm 85:10 Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.

Psalm 84:7 They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion.

Psalm 85:6 Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You?

Psalm 88:10 Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You?

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There are so many choice nuggets in today's readings!  All of them, except for Psalm 88 which one well known OT scholar has called the "black sheep of the psalms", point our eyes heavenward in praise.  However I simply cannot touch on them all, and, at some level I don't want to.  Psalm 85:10 sings to my soul each time I read it.  "Mercy and truth have met together.  Righteousness and peace have kissed!"  Is that not a sublime thought?  It is phrased in beautifully simple words yet the meaning is wondrously deep.. I have to think about it a bit.

First consider the metaphor itself: "Mercy" and "Truth" meeting together, "Righteousness" and "Peace" kissing.  What a wonderfully intimate picture they paint. 

"Mercy" as a separate idea, has its own beauty, with depths of astonishing implications.  People react to "mercy" differently.  There are those who treat it almost contemptuously.  They somehow equate "mercy" with weakness or else, if they are recipients of it, they selfishly consider it as nothing more than they deserve.  But for those who are horrified at the repercussions and prospects of what they deserve... when the murderer sees the lights flickering on death row and knows that he is next... then "mercy" is anything but contemptible.  "Mercy" is the only thing that will save them.  And when mercy is shown and when the knowledge of mercy floods over their soul, something incredible happens.  They are changed... their subsequent lives will never be the same.  Henceforth they will live as "vessels of mercy" (Rom. 9:23), reflecting that character in all that they do.  To have any idea of the depths of "mercy", a person has to have experienced it... only they can really speak about it.

"Truth" as a separate idea is also beautiful and deep, but different.  "Truth" is the light of knowledge.  It is the expression of what is real.  It is not to be understood as just simple statements about stuff around us - like "the sky is cloudy today."  No, "truth" refers to the flashing insights which orient our thoughts, understanding and our lives to how all things fit together in relation to God.  "Truth" is the foundation of faith which speaks to our actual relation to God... "truth" is that which opens our eyes and hearts to embrace our relation to God.  "Truth" is that which penetrates into our soul and results in our being born again.  It is "knowledge" that is understandable by our minds but it is "knowledge" that is experienced in our hearts... and our souls. 

How infinitely precious is it to know that in Jesus of Nazareth, mercy and truth have met.  They have been brought together and, having met, have become joined.  The Human Nature of Jesus, called forth from all eternity to be a merciful sacrifice for our sins, "met" His Divine Nature as the Christ, the One Whom the Scriptures call Wisdom... Who was there at creation and in Whom all truth is contained.  The Human and the Divine have met... and though always separate and unmixed in the One Jesus Christ, yet they are bound together in mystery too deep for our mortal comprehension.

Mercy and truth have met.

And, similarly, Righteousness and Peace have kissed.  

"Righteousness" the elemental aspiration of every human heart.  The longing for which grows out of our shame.  We know that we are not pure... and for those of us who have been transformed by truth... we desperately desire to be different.  We want the last shackle of sinful desire to be gone.  We want to awaken each day to the bright sunlit morning and know that we will "do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God."  The quality of righteousness is missing from our lives and it is like that treasure hidden in a field... we will sell all that we possess to own it.  So our longing for "righteousness" makes us restless... it moves us to seek for it... and we cannot still the restless sea of our soul until we gain it.

In other words, we want peace.  And then this verse reminds us that in Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, "righteousness" and "peace" have kissed and our hearts lift to the heavens.  Jesus is our righteousness... by His stripes we are healed... by His sacrifice we are washed white as snow... we stand before God as ones who have been justified, sanctified and glorified... positionally already.  In this glorious Gospel peace is the immediate fruit.  When "righteousness" is kissed by "peace" then we have both already and that in the most delicious manner possible.  We cannot have righteousness without peace... we cannot have peace without righteousness ... so therefore we MUST have Jesus.  In Him and in Him alone can this be said.

Jesus is OUR righteousness because God has declared that by being united to Him, our righteousness is not grounded in law (or sinlessness with respect to law - Rom. 3:21ff) but is given us through "faith in Jesus Christ."  Immediately the shame of our sin along with its constant turmoil in our souls is cast out.  We are righteous.  We are righteous by faith.  We have peace because God has made a way for us to be at peace with Him through Jesus.  This is peace... this is true righteousness...

On this Palm Sunday... as we are drawn to think of that glorious procession into Jerusalem... let's look at Jesus, sitting on that donkey and realize that in Him, mercy and truth have met... righteousness and peace have kissed... and let's all shout "Hallelujah, blessed is He Who comes in the name of the LORD!"

Psalms 73-77: When Troubles Surround Me...

Image: "Heart of Gold", 2020, Severna Park, Md

Psalm 73:25–26 Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. 26 My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 74:3 Lift up Your feet to the perpetual desolations. The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary.

Psalm 75:10 “All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off, But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.”

Psalm 77:7 Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more?

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Ferlin Husky was one of the "old time" country western singers... back before "cross-over" styles transformed the genre.  "Cross-Over" CW music emphasizes broad appeal. The old nasal twangy "3 chords and a story" melodies just didn't appeal to young people attuned to rock and roll and whatever it is that passes for rock these days.  But Husky went down swinging.  His hit gospel song "On the Wings of a Dove" touched the souls of many folks hard bitten by tough times.  The second verse goes like this:

When troubles surround us, when evils come
The body grows weak the spirit grows numb
When these things beset us, God doesn't forget us
He sends down His love
On the wings of a dove  (LISTEN HERE)

No matter what our attitude toward CW music... whether we enjoy the simple, predictable melody or not... we still can identify with these words.  We are kindred spirits across the decades (Husky died in 2011) because we have also experienced times when we were simply incapacitated by troubles... we identify with the body growing weak and the spirit numb as troubles surrounded us.  We know how it becomes a serious question whether we even desire to go on or not.  We know this because in the progress of ordinary life, we all go through periods of testing and it is in those, more than all others, that we learn what it means to truly trust God.

Most of the Psalms in today's reading reflect this kind of circumstance.  Psalm 73 is especially beloved by generations of God's people because it proclaims the same message as Ferlin's song.  The Psalmist is surrounded by troubles and evil men.  He looked around and saw that these men doing pretty well.  They were prosperous, arrogant, comfortable in their surroundings even in death (73:4) and were supremely confident that it was sheer foolishness to worry about what God thinks (73:11). 

The Psalmist is shaken to core.  He, like so many of us, began to wonder if this religion business was just a mind game.  The contrast between his own circumstances and the brilliant lifestyles of the wicked made him wonder if he had "cleansed his heart in vain."  The psychological impact left him, like the song "numb" in spirit.  He was plagued all the day long by the "injustice of it all."  Bad times created a compulsive / obsessive thought process... he could either stop worrying about it or having frustration dominate him.  The Psalmist awoke each morning to the "chastening" lash of demonic torture.

It was at this deepest point in his downward spiral that things changed.  His grief and vexed mind made him so foolish and ignorant that he was like a "beast' walking upright.  Most of us know exactly what this means.  Here, in the depths, came the healing touch of the Holy Spirit.  God "sent down His love" and shifted the Psalmist's focus heavenward where it should have been all along.  Suddenly he was transformed.  He knew that it wasn't a mind game at all.  He knew, through the Holy Spirit, that God was with him and by that very fact, his circumstances were far superior to the prosperous evil men around him.  He saw that God's love embraced him, held him by his hand (vs. 23) and that, in this way, God would lead him through this present trial, guide him through his remaining life and, joy upon joy, "afterward receive me to glory." (vs. 24)

This awakening to his own true blessedness over and against his prior sense of helpless victimhood, brought on a gushing expression of praise and thanksgiving.  "Whom have I in heaven but YOU!  There is none on earth that I desire besides You... my flesh and my heart fail... but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."  This is what God's love, sent down to us on the snow white Dove of His Holy Spirit, does to us.  It touches us in the deepest core of our being.  It makes us realize that God Himself is our most precious possession.  He makes us know the "goodness" that we experience when we "draw near to God." (vs. 28)

I heard some very sad news last evening about a beloved friend who is seriously ill.  This is just the latest "bad news" coming in recent times.  Family members have died, some of whom at an early age.  The impact of the virus-caused economic recession generates a sense of omnipresent oppression.  "Trouble surrounds us" and "evil" is coming at us left and right.  But this psalm and the others shift my eyes away from that blackness to the Light which shines above it.  There is a God in heaven and He "belongs" to me... as He belongs to all His children.  That God should and must be the object of my desire, even above my concerns about "what might happen next."  It is God who is our strength... and He is our inheritance.  He will be with us in this and everything that comes next.  Ultimately we have nothing to fear but fear itself... and perfect love casts out fear. (1 Jn 4:18)

God is still sending "down His love" and this is the great work that we are to "declare" to all who will hear us. (73:28)

 

Psalm 42-47: A Very Present Help

Image: Psalm 46:1-4, 2020, Severna Park, Md

Psalm 47:1 Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Psalm 46:1-4 in the graphic image above.

Psalm 42:1–2 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

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There is such a "freeing" quality to sincere worship, most especially corporate worship.  When the people of God come together, when they fill their souls with the sense of victory and express their joy by clapping their hands and "shout(ing) to God with the voice of triumph," then they truly sense the shackles binding their souls being loosed.   They know "freedom."  This is not a "mind game" of artificially worked up emotion.  It is that special quality of true worship wherein the celebrant senses the very Presence of his God.  He or she knows that God is there... and that He is the Object of their devotion... and also, they know that He is pleased to receive it.

Such worship not only imparts a sense of "release" from bondage, it adds the renewal and reinvigoration of hope.  Whatever dark clouds may hover about us, yet "we will not fear... even though the earth be removed... and all its waters roar and be troubled." (46:2,3)  This "hope" is not just something we intellectually apprehend... no... far from it.  Biblical "hope" is something that fills us and in which we "abound." (Romans 15:13)  "Hope" imparts its own unique flavor or quality to our lives.  It "lifts our head" and transforms our "down cast" visage.  If two people are encountered, the one who has hope will be readily distinguished from the one without it. "Hope" is fundamental to a flourishing life.  It's what leads us to say "life is good and it's going to get better."  A person with hope will say this even on their death bed.  "Hope" is something we rejoice in. (Romans 12:10-13)

So, from just that brief survey, we can see how true worship is so important to a transformed life, a life which becomes so precious to us.  When we are apart from congregational worship, as many of us are at the moment, then there is a special poignancy to David's words:  As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42:1,2)  We know what he means.  Life is more empty, there is a missing vibrancy, when solid corporate worship with fellow believers is not possible.

No we are not prevented from worship entirely.  We know that worship is open to us in our individual prayer times, with our families, even perhaps through artificial "togetherness" over the internet or phones.  We also know the truth that seeking to "be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) becomes a lifeline and His promise that He will be exalted in the earth does work some hope in us.  We, in the midst of tears, can hear His voice telling us the He is indeed our "refuge and strength, a VERY present hope in trouble" and we find the strength and the will to go on... to face what has to be faced with confidence.

However all those things which are so open to us in private or family worship are so much more abundantly present in corporate worship.  The synergy of the Holy Spirit's presence uniting our corporate hearts into one rhythmic cadence cannot be duplicated apart from fellowship.  The psalmist longs for that "river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most HIgh." (46:4)  It is this longing which lies deep in all our redeemed hearts.  It is a longing for that which we know is present in our corporate worship here in this life, but more than that, it is the longing for that which our corporate worship on earth is only a fore taste.

Worship in heaven will be the joyous fulfillment of all that we can and should hope for.  It is that for which our heart pants.  It is the ultimate bonding that will come when "faith become sight" and hope for that which is promised becomes rejoicing in what is here.

Then we shall indeed "clap our hands" in triumph (47:1) and shout "Hallelujah" for His victory.   On that day we will sing, "Our God Reigns" with absolute clarity for it will be then the visible truth even though now it is hidden.

Come, let us exalt His name together. (Psalm 34:3)

 

Psalm 30-34: Created To Sing...

Image: "Songster", 2009, Hermit Thrush, Severna Park, Md

Psalm 30:5 5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.

Psalm 30:12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Psalm 34:3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.

Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.

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I was looking at some pictures on FaceBook this morning of friends holding their new grand-baby.  You can imagine their expressions.... pure delight.  Grandkids will do that to you.  Whatever difficulties have attended your path simply vanish from your thinking.  You are occupied with joy and often that joy erupts into expression, ... sometimes into song.

The cares and worries of this world can sometimes cause us to forget that we were created to sing.  It is not only the cheerful birds perched outside our windows who have a purpose in their song.  There is something intrinsic to human nature that makes "singing" a necessity... even if, in this life, we can't carry a tune in a tin bucket.  There are very few of us who do not ever sing.  People who will not open their mouths in the congregation will bellow like bulls when alone in the car listening to a favorite melody.  As Psalm 30:12 explicitly teaches, the purpose of redeemed humanity, the "end" toward which it was created, was that it will be our "glory" to sing praise to God.  Singing is an aspect of our present human existence.  Singing will be a characteristic of our eternal lives.

And of what will we sing?  Our songs, as is the case with Biblical examples, will be our response to things that God has done.  They, like David's songs, will flow from our personal experience of God's love in the manifold ways He has poured it out on us.  

For example, going back to the grandparents in their first joy of holding that new baby.  How many tears did they shed during their time raising that child's parent?  Was there a long night's vigil beside a sick bed, as fever raged and worry consumed their hearts?  Perhaps there was a time of rebellion and there was serious concern about the youngster's choices and developing character.  Truly every loving parent can bear witness to the "weeping" endures for the night, but also, in due time, most will testify that "joy comes in the morning."  

And that is only one example of the ways that God's love gives us something about which to sing.  34:19 reminds us that "many are the afflictions of the righteous but the LORD delivers him out of them all."  There are no "exceptions".  Sometimes we are delivered from our afflictions by death itself... but unto what end is our death?  If we are among those whose righteousness is grounded in the saving work of Jesus, the Christ of God, then verse 22 says that "none who trust in Him shall be condemned."  Thus even in death we will see the certainty that the LORD delivers all His children from their afflictions.

But most of God's many showers of grace do not require our death.  We find sustenance when we were desperate for food.  A friend unexpectedly provides a word of comfort at just the right time and the dark clouds lift.  We discover the power of God working through us to do good unto others.  Many are the evidences of God's love in our lives.  They are there even when the clouds of trouble render them only in dim outline.  God is good to us... He is "near to those who have a broken heart and saves such as have a contrite spirit." (34:18)

The whole point is simply this:  we have something to sing about!  God ensures that this is the case because He created us to sing and especially to sing His praises in thanksgiving.  Therefore He, in order to achieve His own ends in creating us, gives us reasons to sing.

God especially wants us to sing in company with our brothers and sisters.  It is the "joyful assembly" which presages our eternal joy.  The Revelation of John consistently pictures the Redeemed of the Lord singing and our heartfelt songs in this life are a downpayment on that ultimate fulfillment.  Psalm 33:21 speaks of our corporate singing when it says "for our heart(s) shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name."  This is why we are to be united to our brothers and sisters.  It is to be our corporate joy to sing of our corporate salvation.

So therefore, let us "magnify the LORD... and exalt His name together!" (34:3)  "Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!  For praise from the upright is beautiful... sing to Him a new song..." (32:1ff)  There is no excuse for not singing, no matter how difficult life may be at the moment.  What we will discover is that the sheer ministry of singing to our God will reveal to us that perhaps it is not so difficult after all.

We were created to sing... let's be about the purpose God has ordained for us.