Tag: Relationship

Lost in Wonder and in Praise

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Why is relational evangelism so effective and cold evangelism very difficult? Why do some wives exuberantly express gratitude for their husbands while others are clearly disrespectful and soured over their relationships with their husbands? Why is it easier to love some of our children while others pose quite a challenge for us? Why do some people seem so zealous and effusive when it comes to their relationships with God while others are listless and apathetic?

Psalm 57.7 records the praise of David which reached the heart of God: “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise …I will awaken the dawn …For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens” (Psalm 57.7-10). Why is David effusively praising God when he is being hunted by Saul and must find refuge in a cave? The positive nature of this psalm is reinforced by the refrain found in both vv. 5 and 11: “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be above all the earth” (Psalm 57.5, 11).

The Mercy and Truth of God

We learn to pray for God to be merciful to us on the basis of our dependence upon Him (Psalm 57.1). David does not depend upon his worthy hiding place in a cave. His refuge is in the shadow of God’s wings until calamities pass him by. David counts on the mercy of God wed with the truth of God (Psalm 57.3). Mercy without truth is leniency. Leniency is wed to deceit. Genuine praise is the only appropriate response to mercy which reaches into the heavens along with truth unto the clouds (Psalm 57.10).

David found a literal refuge at a temporal moment of crisis in his life. He praised God for it when he could have complained about the fact that he had to hide in the first place. David looked beyond his temporal need to see the glory of God in the mercy of God. The truth was that David deserved judgment as all sinful men do. Instead, God demonstrated mercy toward David and all mankind by sending His Son to die for us. Mercy is only possible when one understands the truth of God’s commitment to His justice. “Grace (positive blessing that we do not deserve or earn) and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1.17).

David trusted in the fact that God is both truthful and merciful. That led to the effusive praise we see here. It’s something that doesn’t just belong in our private prayer time. It’s a statement about our God that everyone needs to hear and see in our lives – both in word and deed! It binds us together as believers. It awakens our desire for God so that we may delight in God.

The Exaltation and Glory of God

There is only so much that one life can do to exalt and glorify God. David recognized this. So, he turned to God to exalt Himself above the heavens …to glorify Himself above all the earth. This is the spirit of Psalm 45 when the Psalmist calls upon God to ride prosperously. “Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, with Your glory and Your majesty. And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness; and Your right hand shall teach You awesome things” (Psalm 45.3-4).

Psalm 148 carries the same theme. The Psalmist calls all creation to praise the LORD. Angels, sun, moon, stars, the heaven of heavens, and waters above the heavens must praise Him. Sea creatures, fire, hail, snow, clouds, stormy winds, mountains, hills, fruitful trees, cedars, beasts, cattle, insects, birds, kings, people, princes, judges, young men and women, and older men and children – “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven” (Psalm 148.13).

Our prayer time must be a praise time as well. We must not only see the glory of God in life; it ought to be our driving desire to pray for recognition and realization when it comes to the glory of God in our specific lives.

If we are to glorify God, we must reflect His character to the world at large. Many times people speak of God’s goodness in a general sense; let us be specific. How was God good in your life today? Think of what you have in Christ even though you have sinned against Him numerous times. Think of how merciful He is. Think of the fact that He has drained the cup of God’s indignation toward sin and the sinner.

He has blessed you with His presence when you deserve alienation from Him. He answers your prayers daily. He provides mercy, grace, peace, access, hope, and love. He does so even when you choose to turn your back on Him. “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.”

We must understand the mercy of God firsthand. It’s not enough to see it in the lives of others. When we see God’s mercy and truth and how they are met together in Christ, we become truly lost in wonder and in praise. We are grateful; we adore Him! We express that gratitude and adoration differently, but it is expressed. We cannot help but express it! If we love someone, we want the whole world to know it. How much more so when it comes to our relationship with God! This is what Paul means when he writes, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5.10). “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” (Psalm 103.1-2)!

The exaltation of God is not our duty but our privilege! But it is something so overwhelming that we look to God to be effective in expressing it. “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be above all the earth” (Psalm 57.11).

Relational evangelism is much more effective because people see God’s truth along with God’s mercy as we compassionately unfold the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Wives respond favorably to husbands because they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that their husbands love them. A child becomes the apple of a parent’s eye because of the reflection of Christlikeness found in the child. Christians serve God with zeal that boils over because they are overwhelmed by the mercy of God.

You might argue, “Well, we should evangelize even when we don’t feel like it. We should endure our relationship with our wives even when they are disrespectful. We should love our children even when they are unlovely. We ought to serve God even in the midst of confusion about His providence.” But I would say that that’s the wrong approach. It doesn’t need to be that way. There does not have to be a day that goes by where we are not filled with the Spirit and lost in wonder and in praise!

Why Go to Church?

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Most of us understand that the question is not, “How do I want people to remember me?” Instead, we wonder if anyone will remember us at all! I admire my wife because she has a keen interest in her ancestry. If someone offers me something about my family’s heritage, I like to hear it. But my wife will seek the information out. So, what do we want our great grandchildren to know about us? What is the one thing that they should remember about us?

David wrote, “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple …When you said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, LORD, I will seek.” (Psalm 27.4, 8)

Foundational Character

Three NT verses remind us that Abraham’s foundational character trait was belief. “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Romans 4.3; Galatians 3.6; James 2.23). Therefore, Abraham found strength in his dependence upon God.

James 5.11 reveals, “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and see the end intended by the Lord – that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” Job waited patiently for the Lord to vindicate him. Job found strength in his perseverance in the Lord.

Numbers 12.3 says that Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth. Moses found his strength in complete dependence upon the Lord to fight for him.

James 5.17 states that Elijah prayed earnestly that it would not rain; it didn’t for 3 ½ years. He prayed again and the heaven gave rain. Elijah was bold and courageous because of his witness I the dark day in which he lived. So, Elijah found strength in the courage God gave him.

But what of David? Since David wrote many of the Psalms, we know that he had a heart for God. Acts 13.22 says that God found “David, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” 1 Kings 14.8 says that David followed the Lord with all His heart. The hearts of future kings were often compared to David’s own heart. Many of them had hearts that were “not loyal to the LORD [their] God, as was the heart of [their] father David” (see 1 Kings 15.3). It was in the heart of David to build God a temple (2 Chronicles 6.7). David’s foundational character trait was his devotion to God. So, when we read the Psalms, we read them primarily to cultivate a heart of devotion to God. It’s not enough to find comfort in them; we must find a devotion for God in them. “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek ….to behold the beauty of the LORD …Your face, LORD, I will seek” (Psalm 27.4, 8).

One Desire

David’s one desire was to behold the beauty of the LORD, to draw close to the heart of God. “I have loved …where your glory dwells” (Psalm 26.8). David found the glory of God in the temple. Our bodies as believers are temples of the Living God. We are never exiled from God’s presence. We are never carried away from God in captivity. We have the privilege of beholding the LORD’s beauty and seeking the LORD’s face wherever we are. It is sweet to do so with other believers in church, but we have the privilege of doing so at all times and in all places.

Psalm 42 speaks of a psalmist in exile. He is not David but of the sons of Korah. His soul panted for God as a deer pants for water. He thirsted for God, the living God. He asked, “When shall I come and appear before God?” David driven into the wilderness caves longed for the presence of God in the temple once again. David desired to worship the beauty of God’s holiness. God honored this desire with great delight.

What is your one desire in life?

Jesus Christ has taught us the Great Commands: Love God supremely, tap into His love poured out in your hearts, and then love others even as you love yourself! We don’t offer blood sacrifices today. We see Jesus! He is the substance of the Old Testament shadows. His sacrifice is the keystone doctrine of all others in the church.

Believers today see the justice of God against the backdrop of Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. This is something that Old Testament believers would have had difficulty grasping. Evidence for this is abundant. One need look no further than Jesus predicting His cross-work and resurrection on three different occasions in the Gospel of Mark. Yet it took His disciples by surprise.

We know the suffering of Jesus Christ as it is revealed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He drained the cup of God’s indignation for us each of us. The wrath of God poured upon Jesus so that the love of God should be poured out in each of our hearts. Amazing love! All of this not because we deserve it, but because He chooses to love us.

Our one desire is found in God’s love for us through the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Think of the mercy involved in the thought that the Father gave His only Son that we might not perish alone forever! “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:9–10)

So my desire is to attend church, be baptized, and partake of the Lord’s Supper. My desire is to open the Scriptures whenever believers gather. I might behold the beauty of God on a walk in the countryside. I am able to see His beauty when I listen to a sermon online. I see His beauty in my morning devotional time. But I miss no small measure of His beauty and holiness when I forsake the assembly of believers on Sunday or Wednesday.

One Delight

David’s desire became rewarding delight. It was in the tabernacle where David inquired of the Lord. Animals were sacrificed continually in order to remind him of the destructive nature of sin. David understood that God was the God of justice and that death was the price of sin.

Yet David witnessed God’s acceptance of the sacrifices. This acceptance gave David understanding when it came to the mercy and grace of God. He surely didn’t understand mercy and grace the way we do. We see God’s mercy and grace supremely through the Person and cross-work of Jesus Christ. However, David did see God as holy and loving. He responded to the revelation God gave him. It is in this sense that David is a believer, a saint.

A proper understanding of the evil of sin and the mercy of God offers hope and courage as David worships the LORD in the beauty of holiness. David is a realist. He is not living in a fantasy world. He doesn’t have an overly optimistic view of himself.

David had a private desire for God; he also privately delighted in God. But David desired to publically identify with God and other believers in the tabernacle. That public worship was sweet to David and offered him delight that could not be found privately. David understood that the worship of God was necessarily taking place in the assembly of the saints. This was approaching God on His own terms, not on David’s terms.

This also became the great equalizer for king, wealthy landowner, and poor carpenter. That is, the king must go to the priest just like the baker. All must look to the beauty of God’s holiness and find delight while they wait upon Him.

What is your one delight in life?

All of us would agree that nothing is worth missing even a glimpse of the beauty of the Lord when we gather at church on any given Sunday. I am troubled when I am even providentially hindered from missing fellowship with believers on Sunday. When I spent weeks in the hospital and in recovery from my cancer, I was all out of sorts. That time taught me the value of church attendance. It is something we take for granted. I never ask, “How many times should we go to church in a given week?” It seems absurd for me to think of it that way. We must have more opportunities to open our mouths wide so that the Lord may fill them (Psalm 81.10).

Church prepares us for Heaven. Church lifts us up from our down-below world. Church gives us eternal perspective in an earthly, temporal context. Church isn’t about the order of service, the pastor’s view on politics or controversial theology. Church is a foretaste of Heaven. It enable the glory and pursuit of holiness in our lives. It is the place where we sing and express our gratitude coupled with joy. Church assures us of the hope of Heaven, unites us with saints of the past, and teaches us to pursue the things of the Spirit. Church will once again invite us to look up to God and pray, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You” (Psalm 73.25).  So, if my great grandchildren are to remember me, I’d like them to remember me as someone who was all about the church of the Lord Jesus Christ during his earthly life.

“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.”

Psalm 27.4

A Godly Father’s Relationship with His Sons

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There are three main characters in the well-known Parable of the Prodigal Son.  First, the prodigal (wasteful) or younger son parallels all broken believers who have retreated from the Father only to return and be well-received by Him.  Second, the Pharisaical son parallels those who claim to be a part of God’s family only to demonstrate self-righteous anger when the Father extends His grace to the undeserving.  Third, the protagonist in this story is the father in my understanding.  He parallels our heavenly Father who demonstrates how all who turn to Him receive undeserved forgiveness and love.  The younger brother is undeserving, but so is the older brother.  This is the parable in a nutshell.

Of course, we may learn from all three perspectives in the parable.  First, we direct ourselves to the lesson of the prodigal son.

The Perspective of the Prodigal Son

Retreat

The perspective of the younger son’s retreat is the most common focus when approaching this parable.  Most are able to relate to it.  Certainly the tax-collectors and sinners related to the younger son.  His retreat begins at a point in his life where he has everything; it ends when no one gives him anything – no food, no relief, not gratitude, no compassion …nothing!

If our children depart from the presence of God to do life their own way, they do so because of a perception that they are not free but long to be so.  They wish to cast off the restraint of parental and pastoral authority and do their own thing.  They increasingly take for granted the grace, mercy, and compassion that God affords them.  They will direct their energies, time, money, and abilities to sinful, wasteful living.  They may not sin to the extent of the prodigal son, but they operate under his perspective of life.

Time reveals to the true child of God the same acute disappointment that the prodigal son experienced.  God loves us too much to allow us to retreat from Him.  He will do what is necessary to break our resolve to do our own thing in life.  No one can return to God until they realize just how empty life is without Him.  As parents, that leaves us dependent upon our heavenly Father to deliver our retreating children.

Return

The prodigal son was not a reasonable man when he was running away from such a compassionate dad.  Sin is never reasonable.  But the Bible does say that at last this man came to himself.  He begins to think of his father’s house.  There are steps he takes which lead to his return.  First, he reflects upon how foolishly he has behaved and upon the much more satisfying life he could have with his father – even as servant!  Second, he resolves to return to his father for forgiveness; however, in so doing he finds freedom under the father’s restraint and authority.  Go figure!  His resolve to return came at a time when all hope was lost for him.

When we see how foolishly and wickedly we behave as backslidden believers …how wretched and deplorable the circumstance of our sin is, it makes us long for a time when life was once satisfying.  We come broken and contrite.  We are humbled by our illusory attempt at freedom.  We are now ready to return to the throne of God’s grace for freedom.  There we ask for mercy.  The props are kicked out from underneath us.  We’ve come to the end of ourselves.  We see that there is only satisfaction in an all-sufficient Savior who has given us His all-sufficient Word.  So, we return.

Reception

When the prodigal son returns, his father is waiting and watching.  He runs to his son with open arms and recognizes him from afar.  A father’s compassion knows no bounds.  I speak as one who knows.  It will be demonstrated by his actions.  He doesn’t even allow his son to say what he has rehearsed.  Signs of lavish affection are abundant in the story.  When we are really meditating upon this story, we cannot help but be moved to tears.  The best robe, shoes, a ring, the fatted calf – indeed, all is well!

We find the same reception when we return to God.  We don’t deserve it because of our initial retreat.  And yet, our Father receives us with joy.  There is no “I told you so” attitude here.  There is only love, mercy, and compassion.  There is only forgiveness for the broken and contrite son.

If we are to expect such a reception, then we must return broken and contrite before the Lord.  We must cry out for His mercy as miserable prodigals.  The more accurate our perception of our broken relationship, the greater the joy when we understand the acceptability we have before the Father because of the Son of God.

You may be afraid to return to God because you’ve retreated a great distance.  But no child of God is beyond the reach of the reception we see in Luke 15.  As a matter of fact, how much better it is to realize that we have retreated and then return to the Father.  Then, we too, may experience a lavish reception.  But why does a long period of time need to pass?  I have retreated and returned in a space of five minutes.  Are you actually trying to pay for your sinfulness by remaining in the wilderness?  Didn’t Jesus pay it all?  He has said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7.37) … “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11.28).

The Beauty of the Lord our God

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“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands.” (Psalm 90:17)

“Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us!”  Truly a wonderful and blessed thought for the present moment – a psalm of eternity containing blessings for the temporal life which I live, move in, and have my very existence.  I yearn to be satisfied early with God’s mercy so that I may rejoice and be glad all my days (90.14).  Visible demonstrations of God’s mercy and lovingkindness toward me convey His gracious presence even though He seems so far away at times.  When the beauty of the Lord our God is upon me, I look toward that eternal Day when I shall truly see Him unfettered by my sin which demands His mercy each and every day within the temporal realm.

Whole volumes are given over to the study of God’s character in the pages of Scripture.  It is a pursuit that accomplishes what seem to be two opposing goals:  drawing me closer to the Lord while at the same time letting me know that I’ve only scratched the surface of my understanding of Him.  The fool denies eternity placed in his heart.  He will worship none other than himself.  Therefore, God gives him over to his obstinate folly, and he remains without excuse.

Design within the creation, variety, pleasure, and beauty all point to the glory of God (Psalm 19).  The creation demonstrates that God is all-wise and all-powerful.  Those looking for answers to ultimate questions will not find them by ruminating over dead poets and philosophers.  These answers come from the illuminating work of God through His Spirit.  Those of us viewed as fools by the world have a wondrous revelation of God in His Word.  Those deemed as wise by the world have these things hidden from them.  It’s quite sad.  They grope aimlessly for some new twist or turn in the meanderings of men.

But God is not manifested within the creative order alone.  I see Him in the pages of mankind’s history.  He is sovereign.  Everything is rushing toward the Day when He shall be all in all (1 Corinthians 15.28).  I see Him beautifully weaving and stitching together not only history in general but also my very life.  My times are in His hands.  This is the beauty of the Lord our God!  He has redeemed me for His glory and so I worship Him in the beauty of His holiness and for His glory.  The greatest goal of all creation is to bring glory to the Creator.  And the Lord Jesus Christ has made this possible.  Jesus is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light (that of the Father), whom no man has seen or can see (again, a reference to the Father), to whom be honor and everlasting power” (1 Timothy 6.14-15).

We see the Father in the Son who is “the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person” (Hebrews 1.3).  The beauty of the Lord our God is found in the Person but also the work of Jesus Christ.  His painstaking work of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, His redemptive work upon the Cross of Calvary, and even His work of judgment from His glorious throne in the yet future Millennial Kingdom represent the beauty of the Lord our God in perfection.  Men journey with me and hear whispers of God, but I see what they cannot see.  You as a child of God see what they cannot see.  That is why it seems that the myriads of people who hear the same words from the Scripture we do remain deaf and dumb toward them while we are humbled and our faith deepened by the very same words.

The Lord’s beauty is conveyed through light shining out of darkness into our very hearts in order to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).  Jesus mediates the beauty of the Lord God.  He has shown us light that the world cannot see.  Not only this, but He has given to us the opportunity to reflect that light and thereby glorify God.

The primary reason for gathering for worship on Sunday is so that we may behold the beauty of the Lord.  “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4)  Our yearning, broken, contrite, and dependent hearts expect satisfaction in the beauty of the Lord.  So, the venue of our idea of a sanctuary has changed.  But we still desire to see God’s power and glory (Psalm 63.2).

Second, mankind is created in the image of God (Genesis 1.26-27).  But that image is much maligned.  We must experience a new birth so that we might “put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4.24).  It is the beauty of the Lord that we behold with unveiled face.  It is the beauty and glory of the Lord that shines forth and reflects or radiates from our lives as a mirror reflects the image of a man.  What happens inside of us is the transformation from glory to even greater glory and so forth.  It is the sanctifying work of the Spirit of God (2 Corinthians 3.18).  This verse communicates a continual process until we are made perfect as our Father is perfect in Heaven above.

We look toward the Day as we press toward the mark until “we come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4.13).  May the Lord grant that His beauty be upon us today and to a greater degree tomorrow.  Let us grow in grace and flourish in holiness!  Pray that we “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.” (Ephesians 3:18–19)

The goal is that nothing in our temporal life affects our pursuit of this fullness.  Even tribulation works patience, experience, and eventually a deep and abiding hope – a confident expectation that God will make good on His promises.  Trials reveal deeper problems within us.  They refine us.  So, we bear up underneath them in the school of affliction knowing that God will use them to show us His glory in greater detail and to conform us to the image of His Son.

Our pursuit of holiness is our pursuit of God.  Our pursuit of mercy is our pursuit of God.  Our pursuit of any perfection of God is our pursuit of Him.  Therefore, time spent in Scripture and in prayer within the sanctuary (wherever that may be) keeps me balanced and growing.  May the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us!

The Discipline of Self-Loathing

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Broken and Contrite Christianity

“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

David begins Psalm 34 by testifying to LORD’s work in his life:  The LORD saved David from fear and foe alike (4-6).  He surrounded David with His presence (7).  Then David takes what he has learned and teaches other believers that the LORD can do the same for them.  The LORD can meet your needs (8-10) and grant you a long and prosperous life (11-15).  He can keep you safe and secure from your enemies (17, 20-22).  But the unrighteous must realize that God is against them; His anger and condemnation hover over them (16, 21).

I think verse 18 is the key to this Psalm.  Broken and contrite Christianity always wins the favor of God.  Arrogance and an aggressive overbearing spirit meets only with the fury of God.

Basic to this Psalm (and many others) are two groups of people mentioned in it:  the righteous and the wicked.  The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous.  Our afflictions are numerous, but those who cause them and hate us will be held guilty by God (21).

We struggle because we are so aware of how weak we truly are.  Most of us are well aware of the fact that we have problems.  So much so that we really cannot grasp the benefits and promises God has provided for us here.  And yet we shouldn’t think that God does not allows us to be broken and contrite in order to receive these daily benefits.  So, we need to first understand what it means to have a broken and contrite heart or spirit.  

Contrition

Generally speaking, we should be cheerful and joy-filled when it comes to life.  “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken” (Pv 15.13).  I surely don’t want a broken and dejected spirit like the one described in this Proverb!

Perhaps the word contrite clarifies things for us.  This broken and contrite spirit is aware of his or her sin.  He or she is coming face-to-face with the fact that they deserve the fury of God and wonder how they could ever have the favor of God.

David will say in Psalm 34.8:  “For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.”  Again, in Psalm 40.12 David says, “My iniquites have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up.”  The sense here is the self-loathing we feel because we remember our iniquities, even our abominations before God (Ezek 36.31).  We will never forget what God has forgiven us even though His fury has been absorbed by the Lord Jesus Christ.  That seems to be contrition to me …it certainly isn’t presumption.

You don’t have to commit great abomination before God in order to know deep brokenness and contrition.  But those forgiven by God for great iniquity will certainly have an increased hatred for it.  And yet none of us can really stand before God with our heads unbowed and souls unbloodied.  We look at our lives and see how far from God we were …how utterly selfish we were, and we can’t help but recoil in the face of God’s great deliverance.

I’m reading through Job right now.  I don’t think I know anyone who approaches Job’s integrity.  Not many people would ever think to refer to us as perfect and upright.  Yet that’s how he is described.  But how did Job describe himself:  “Behold, I am vile …I abhor myself!”  (cf. Job 40.4; 42.6)  You don’t hear that in our self-esteem saturated society.

If we would know God’s near presence and daily deliverance, we must abhor ourselves for our sins.  It is quite humbling to remember just how often we are disobedient and rebellious toward God.  We acknowledge that God is absolutely right when His justice demanded such a sacrifice as the death of His Son for my sin …your sin.

Arrogant sinners don’t believe in a God of Justice.  Their god is never displeased and always gives them what they want.  He won’t send them to an eternal Hell.  Such a thing could never exist if God is truly loving and merciful.  David acknowledges after a year of torment over his murder and adultery cover-up:  “Against You, You only have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight – that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge” (Psalm 51.4).

Arrogance kills the Gospel message; contrition prepares the heart for its entrance.  Contrite people say, “What must I do to be saved?”  Arrogant people say, “What need have I to be saved?”  If you wonder at the people who without batting an eye reject your witness, then just remember arrogance is the main reason why they are steely hard.

The Benefit of Brokenness

“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart” (34.18a).  God resists the proud and arrogant, but He gives grace to the broken and contrite …He is near them.  This is objective fact whether one feels it is true or not.  Sometimes we should pray, “Lord I believe this; help my unbelief.”

“And saves such as have a contrite spirit” (34.18b).  The LORD delivers those who say, “I have sinned, and perverted what was right, and it did not profit me” (Job 33.27).  His life shall see the light (Job 33.28).  God’s deliverance is everlasting …there will be no more shame or disgrace.

Our contrition is a sign that God’s love is upon us.  The LORD is near us.  God has taken away the arrogance and pride and given us humility in its truest form.  I think because people are taught in many evangelical churches that God basically winks at sin, when they do have a heavy dose of contrition, they question their salvation; they cannot rest.  But without contrition, we would never ask God the right questions in prayer.

“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

Resolve to Adore Christ This Year

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Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave; its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame.  Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it.  If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.  -Song of Solomon 8.6-7

Many believe that the LORD is not mentioned by name in the Song of Solomon.  But if you read the verses above in a NKJV, you will find a marginal notation.  Mine explains that the phrase, “A most vehement flame” in v. 6 is literally A flame of Yah, or a poetic form of YHWH, the LORD.  

The primary application of the Song of Solomon is physical intimacy in marriage.  However, many of the older commentators applied the book to the church’s relationship with Christ.  Charles Spurgeon’s commentary on the Song of Solomon is replete with these parallels.

It is true that we are reading the church back into the Song of Solomon because it was written some 900 years before the church was established.  But I believe there is warrant for us to do so when we consider Ephesians 5.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

-Ephesians 5.26-27

So I am applying these verses in a secondary way as we consider the new year.  Not as a wife to a husband but as a church to Christ.  I would ask that you look to your Savior at the beginning of 2013 and make one resolution and one affirmation.

Resolve to be the object of Christ’s affections and continual care (8.6).  Affirm that you cannot bear the thought of having less than a supreme unalterable love for Christ (8.6-7).

Our New Year’s Resolution

“Set me as a seal upon Your heart, as a seal upon Your arm.”  This is a two-fold seal.  A medallion over the heart is akin to a locket with the picture of someone you love.  It is worn on a necklace close to your heart.  The seal on the arm is visible.  It is something that tells the world that I belong to Him.  The wedding band is useful for this purpose in our culture.

We cry out to our Lord that we are resolved to be close to His heart and we desire that He keep us visibly before Him and the Heavenly Host.  What better way than to make manifest the scars from His death on the cross.  They will be visible for all to see when He returns in the revelation of His glory.  All the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him (Rev 1.7).

Is Christ close to your heart?  Is He the object of your adoration?  His love is as strong as death for you.  Seems odd to say this, but when we pause to think about how death is irreversible, it makes sense.  We can do nothing to call a love one back from the grave.  And the pain and sorrow that causes is terrible.  But the love Christ has for His bride, the Church, is irreversible as well.  Nothing can take us from Him.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  I and My Father are one.

-John 10.27-30

Our prayer should include adoration such as calling to God to set us as a seal upon heart and arm.  We should express our delight in His unchanging and unwavering love for us.  While a wife yearns for the love and devotion of her husband, it is infinitely more important that we yearn for the love and devotion of our Savior – even though we have it.

“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands…” (Isaiah 49:16)  Open your mouth wide this year, and God will fill it.  Ask what you will, and it shall be done for you.  Resolve to be the object of Christ’s affections and continual care!

Our New Year’s Affirmation

The text goes on to tell us that jealousy is as cruel as the grave for us as the bride of Christ.  There is no escape.  It is like a devouring fire.  Our God is a consuming fire!  We remain unsatisfied with where we are and who we are.  We yearn for the day when we are with Him.  It is a flame which cannot be quenched or satisfied until we see Him!

Many waters cannot quench our love for Him.  The floods cannot put out the flame He has ignited in our hearts.  If an exchange were made for wealth, such love would be despised.  But our God’s love is unchanging!

Let me challenge you to set your hearts and your adoration upon Christ this year.  Count all things loss for the knowledge of Him.  Don’t allow the floods of persecution, trial, sickness, or sorrow drown it.  Love the LORD Jesus Christ!

All your security and happiness depend upon the unchanging love that God has for you.  God is love!