Now but not yet

I've been enjoying Alec Motyer's brilliant little book Journey which is a devotional guide to the psalms of ascent (Psalms 120-134). These were the songs that pilgrims sang as they wound their way to Jerusalem for the three feasts each year.

One of the things that Motyer notes is that, throughout the psalms, the psalmists note that - even at the height of the Davidic covenant, at the height of Jerusalem's security and fame, and when the Temple is fully inaugurated - there must be more to come. Psalm 122, for instance, celebrates the throngs gathered for worship in Zion (verses 1-5), yet the need to pray for the future peace and prosperity of Jerusalem remains (verses 6-9). There is more to come. New Testament readers know that this is the new Jerusalem of Hebrews 12 and Revelation 21-22.

Reading Psalm 27 today with my boss Tim, we noticed something that is perhaps similar. David longs to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his life - yet, this is something that as a member of the tribe of Judah (and therefore not a Levite or a priest) was not accessible to him. Yet David longs to seek the face of the LORD. Is this perhaps another occasion where the psalmists point beyond themselves, prophetically knowing that there is more to come?

A psalm for 2009

2008 saw a dramatic amount of change. My own personal circumstances have altered in ways I could have scarcely imagined a year ago. The world has been seen to be an unpredictable place over the past twelve months. Psalm 62 speaks to those who are aware of changing and bewildering circumstances. It is a great psalm to reflect upon at the beginning of a new year.

It is reckoned that David might have written this psalm when he had been deposed by his son, Absalom, before he regained his throne. In some ways, it doesn't really matter: the theme of the psalm is universal.

Sometimes we all find ourselves in a vulnerable condition described by David: as if perched on a leaning wall or a tottering fence. We feel like we are real pushovers. So, the question is, where do we turn from for support in these times?

We may turn to others. And so we should. God’s design is that believers in him should be part of a church. And being part of a Christian community not only gives us the opportunity to help those in need, but also to ask for help when we ourselves are in need. But though others may help we cannot rely on them. Even they will sometimes let us down. As this psalm puts it, "Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing: together they are only a breath." All of us – from the highest to the lowest – are but ephemeral breaths of wind. And even as trustworthy as others might be, they have no control over their futures. Eventually even they will die.

You might put your trust in riches to support us as we totter. Writing at the end of 2008, that seems less sensible than at other times. Apparently, the average British person lost 13% in 2008. In 2009 it seems that many will be affected their firms going bust, and many will be made bankrupt as loans are called in. Some will lose houses. In order to bail out the banks the government has borrowed billions. In future years we will have to pay this all back as taxes are increased. One person I heard recently said it's like putting your money in a pocket full of holes. How foolish it is to set your heart on riches!

Who then can be relied upon? Where then can my soul find rest? In God alone. Truly he is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Over and over again this psalm insists that we are secure in God and nowhere else. ‘One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: power belongs to you, God.’

A lot of people see God like a liberal football referee, who gives a lot of warnings but never books a player or shows a red card. They imagine a God who talks big but never delivers. They mistake his patience for his tolerance. They think he winks at sin. So many people seem to 'get away with it' that there seems no point in obeying the rules. "They take delight in lies; with their mouths they bless but in their hearts they curse."

The age of Premier League football with cameras everywhere has changed discipline in football. Apparently, there are at least thirty video cameras recording all of the action at Premier League games. And that means that the referee may miss a shirt tug or a sly push, but the cameras collect it. Indeed, things missed by the referee may still result in a retrospective red card. Omniscience may be fairly new to British football, but God has had it for years. He never misses a trick.

What a referee to have on your side! Nothing the opposition can throw at you goes unnoticed. He is a strong supporter.

So why doesn't he act? Well, it’s because he is concerned about the final result of the game. A few years ago, I missed the first half of the European Cup final. It was AC Milan 3 Liverpool 0 at the time. I almost didn’t watch the second half. I’m glad I did. Although it would have been easy to have given up in the face of such adversity, Liverpool refused to surrender and eventually won on penalties, masterfully led by topical figure Steven Gerrard. God is not primarily concerned about our comfort or even our bank balances. He cares about the final result. It is our salvation that matters, ours and every one else's. God is gathering together a people that will be his forever. That is how he is glorified. That is how his strength is shown.

And that’s second thing David heard. That God is not only strong, but that he is also loving. That's why he is so patient. It is not his purpose that any should perish, rather he wants everyone to repent. I’m very glad he gave me time to repent. I’m sure you are too.

In 2009, let us turn to the LORD. As the wall we are standing on starts to lean, as our fences totter, let us rely on him in everything.

How does a rich and famous celebrity stay content?

What's required to know true contentment and humility - the sort that makes us satisfied in our circumstances, that causes us to be neither envious nor disdainful of others?

Psalm 131 is David's reflection on exactly this. I suppose that as king of Israel - and all that such an office represented (with all its riches, fame and celebrity) - the temptation to be proud (and derisory of others) might have been very real. Those of us involved in full-time Christian ministry can also face the temptation to be proud and to look down upon others. It occurs to me from this psalm that a right view of the LORD (and of the believer's relationship with him) is essential to fighting this temptation.

Firstly, David is happy not to play God. This is what he's getting at in the last section of verse 1: 'I do not concern myself with great matters or things that are too wonderful for me.' There are certain questions that we will not have answers to in this life; for instance, why particular forms of suffering happen to certain people. Likewise, there are certain situations in which we are impotent and have to rest in the sovereignty of God. It's hard not to want to take these things upon ourselves. But David is happy to trust these things to the living God of the Universe.

Secondly, David's relationship with God has caused his ambitions to change. Once we see ourselves as creatures in relationship with the Creator, it's not surprising that the way that we see ourselves changes. We can no longer be obsessed with self. This change occurred in David.

Whilst I consider myself to be at the centre of the Universe, my ambition will know no ceiling. But once I know that God is rightly at the centre of the Universe (and my Universe), everything changes. For many, being king of Israel was an office to desire because of the kudos and personal benefits it brought (desires seen in the case of Absalom and others). For David, it was merely the role that the God of the Universe had asked him to fulfil.

Likewise, once a person has been brought into the relationship with the God of the Universe for which they were created and experienced his grace, their desires for other things change. The relationship with him is satisfying in itself. That's what the powerful image at the end of verse 2 describes. Just like Paul (in Philippians 4:10-13), David has learned the secret of being content. He is quiet and easy. Spurgeon surely hits the nail on the head:

'To the weaned child his mother is his comfort though she has denied him comfort. It is a blessed mark of growth out of spiritual infancy when we can forego the joys which once appeared to be essential, and can find our solace in him who denies them to us: then we behave manfully, and every childish complaint is hushed. If the Lord removes our dearest delight we bow to his will without a murmuring thought; in fact, we find a delight in giving up our delight. This is no spontaneous fruit of nature, but a well tended product of divine grace: it grows out of humility and lowliness, and it is the stem upon which peace blooms as a fair flower.'

Verse 3 is a very fitting end to the psalm: here we see a man weaned off from obsession with himself demonstrating a concern for others. David models Jesus' exhortation to the disciples who, having deeply experienced God's grace, were called not to lord it over others but serve others (knowing that they're no better). A deep experience of God and his grace is what is required to serve radically.

Oh for more of the heart of humility and others-centredness that God granted David!

Alec Motyer on suffering

I have been devotionally using Alec Motyer's guide to the autobiographical Psalms of David in his book, The Treasures of the King - well worth a read.

I was struck by this quote from Motyer on Psalm 56:

'When people say - as they unfortunately often do - that some deep sadness has made it impossible for them to believe in God, they confuse faith with cleverness, an ability to unravel life's mysteries. It is not so. Faith is a relationship with a Person known to be wholly trustworthy - even when he is, at the same time, baffling.'

I have just noticed that my dad recommends this book on the back cover; suffice to say I was enjoying it even before noting his endorsement!

"Strike all my enemies on the jaw"

I guess that I'm not the only Christian who sometimes finds it difficult to read the Psalms.

Yesterday I was reading Psalm 3 (written by King David when in flight from his son, Absalom), which includes the line, "Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked." It's a difficult line to read because, whilst we admit that David is very much under pressure, it just doesn't seem to be a very 'Christian' thing to say. 'What's happened to the idea of loving your enemies?' we ask.

I've given some thought to this since when I read the passage. What is David actually saying when he calls for God to 'strike his enemies on the jaw'? Surely it's this: he is trusting God to work out his justice in his circumstances, and declaring that he will not want to seek vengeance in his own time. This is something that David himself did on several occasions, when he had the opportunity to kill his enemy Saul, but didn't. He preferred instead to leave God to do the working out of justice. Which is very similar to the principle of Romans 12:19.

I guess the other thing is that we now have more of an understanding than David in how God will work his justice out. As readers of the New Testament, we can grasp a deeper understanding of the eschatology that David and the other psalmists only saw shadows of. We are able to love our enemies knowing that God will work out his justice eternally, something that was demonstrated at the cross. We are able to cry out to the Lord for justice and yet to wish the very best for our enemies - even if it means coming to know the Lord for themselves. God will still ensure that justice is done - even if it means taken their punishment upon himself.

What is the place of the OT Law for Christians today? (4)

I've now finished the first section of my thoughts on the Law, looking at how the Pentateuch itself seems to render the Law. Thanks to Dave and all others that have read the posts and made comments thus far. This post will bring me up to where I think we've got so far and hopefully clarify some of my earlier points. As usual, I welcome comments and, given I'm at the end of a section, will try to make a special effort to give longer responses.

I think that one of the errors that some modern Bible-readers make is in understanding what it meant for Israel to keep their side of the covenant. Often, it is assumed that keeping the covenant was based on legalistic obedience to the Law. It's often assumed that this is how a person is made righteous. I don't think I'm wrong in saying that this is a false and rather short-sighted view. Both Old and New Testaments argue that a person is credited with righteousness by faith. Abram is the archetypal example in Genesis 15:4-6, in an episode that occurred hundreds of years before the issuing of the Law:

Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them."
Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Rather, it appears to me that keeping the covenant meant trusting God and responding in loving obedience to what he had already done for his people, and relying on his ongoing grace. And I think that John Piper helpfully shows that God’s later judgement against Israel was not due to a failure in legalistic Law-keeping, but rather due to their hard-heartedness and unbelief, which led to abandonment of the covenant:

‘Again and again in the Old Testament the rebellion of Israel against the covenant is traced back to unbelief (Numbers 14:11; Deuteronomy 1:32; 9:23; 2 Kings 17:14; 2 Chronicles 20:20; Psalm 78:22, 32; 106:24). For example, Psalm 78:22 looks back and says that God's anger flamed against Israel in the wilderness "because they had no faith in God, and did not trust his saving power." And Hebrews 3:19 says that the reason the wilderness generation did not enter the Promised Land was unbelief. Or as Hebrews 4:2 says, "The message which they heard did not benefit them because it did not meet with faith in the hearers."

So there are at least three reasons to conclude that the basic condition required from Israel is faith.

1. First, because the covenant is renewed on the basis of grace and offers merciful forgiveness for sins (Exodus 34:6–7). Forgiveness can only be received by faith.
2. Second, God promises mercy to all who love him (Exodus 20:6). But loving God is just the opposite of trying to earn wages from a heavenly employer. Loving God must include delighting in his trustworthiness as one who "bore you on eagles' wings (out of Egypt) and brought you to himself" (Exodus 19:4).
3. Third, numerous Old Testament and New Testament passages say that the root of Israel's disobedience was her failure to trust God. Therefore, the obedience required in the Mosaic covenant is the obedience which comes from faith.

It's the same obedience required in the Abrahamic covenant when the Lord said to Abraham, "By your descendants shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because you have obeyed my voice" (Genesis 22:18). And it's the same obedience required in the new covenant under which we live. […] The Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, and the covenant that Jesus sealed with his own blood are all various expressions of one great covenant of grace.’

In coming posts, I'll move onto the Law in the life of Israel - and her disobedience. For the time being, let's read the words again of David, the law-lover, in the opening lines to Psalm 119:

Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD.
Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways.
You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.
Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!
Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.
I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.
I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

The psalm of the sheep

I have spent the last few days preparing a sermon which I'm giving tomorrow at my church in Lancaster, Moorlands Evangelical Church. I have been given the privilege of speaking on one of the most famous passages in the Old Testament, Psalm 23.

It's been quite a challenge putting the sermon together. This has partly been because the psalm is so famous - and because so often it is used merely as a form of escapism or nostalgia. Yet that is most definitely not what David is talking about - he speaks both of 'the valley of the shadow of death' and of 'enemies'. So what does the psalm mean when David says, 'The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want'?

The first thing to notice is that David describes the LORD as 'my Shepherd'. Both of these words are crucial. Firstly, the LORD is my Shepherd. Although often God deals more with nations and corporate Israel in the OT, David can trust God as his personal Shepherd. Secondly, the LORD
is my Shepherd. This one of the most intimate names given to the LORD in all of the psalms. It indicates complete trust and reliance on the LORD, the same as an individual sheep in the Middle East relies on the provision from its shepherd.

The rest of the psalm shows David's complete confidence in the LORD as his shepherd. The LORD is my Shepherd, therefore I shall not want. All of the rest of the psalm flows from the convictions that David has with the LORD as his personal Shepherd.

Verse 2 speak not of material gain but of the spiritual nourishment that David receives from the LORD. The LORD's provision for individual is, says David, similar to the provision of Canaan for the people of Israel (the language of verse 2 mirrors language used to describe the Promised Land elsewhere in the OT) and provides spiritual contentment and fulfilment. Not only that, but the LORD's guidance (verse 3) is an amazing relief. The believer does not have to wonder what the best way of living is, but trusts the LORD and the guidance and restoration he provides through his Word (see Psalm 19:7-9).

Nor will the LORD abandon his people. Even in the 'darkest valleys', the believer can be confident of the LORD's ongoing care for individual people. Even when we struggle to believe that God is shepherding us, he is still there, and ready with his staff and rod.

The LORD's shepherding in the past gives David the confidence that he will continue to shepherd him well into the future. As verse 6 puts it, 'Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever'. The consummation of the LORD's shepherding will be a relationship that starts now and goes on with him forever.

If you are like me, you are a cynic. And we need to be shown that the LORD really is as trustworthy as the psalm makes out. Well, for people like us, there are two gems.

The first is in verse 3. There’s a line there that’s very easy to skip over: ‘He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.’ Here is the LORD's primary motive in shepherding us: his motive is ‘for his name’s sake.’ His motive is to display the honour of his name, to show how wonderful he is. And, as Piper puts it, 'there is nothing that better displays God’s honour, his character, his glory, his all-sufficiency, than to overflow in goodness and mercy toward needy, sheep-like people – just like you and me'. The LORD's own glory, the honour of his name, hangs on how he shepherds us. And so when we find ourselves in situations wondering whether God is trustworthy, we can remind ourselves with this truth: God has staked his own glory on how he shepherds us. I do not think that when we get to heaven we'll look back and think that the LORD has done an average job in shepherding us! Surely then we will be able to reflect on the amazing way in which God has guided and shepherded us. And that is a great reassurance and spur to trusting him in the situations we find ourselves in now.

Secondly, Jesus takes up the image in John 10. I'm sure that Jesus had Psalm 23 in mind in at least part of his 'Good Shepherd' discourse. And the amazing thing that has struck me this week is that Jesus' actions for his sheep ('The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep' - verse 11) both allow the possibility of a relationship with the LORD at all, and also proves the ultimate trustworthiness of the Shepherd. He has met our deepest needs, and so we can trust him in any situation we find ourselves in now.

NB: I found very few sermons that I consider handled the text well on Psalm 23, which were faithful to Biblical theology and also looked for how the psalm points forward to Jesus. One outstanding talk, however, is Don Carson on Psalm 23.