Weeping may tarry for the night

This morning we start worship with:

Psalm 30:4

Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.

This was first sung, as the title of the psalm tells us, at the dedication of the temple.  But unlike a “victor’s history”, where only the victories and accomplishments are recorded, this Psalm is about David’s personal fall

Psalm 30:6

As for me, I said in my prosperity,

    “I shall never be moved.”

In his arrogance, the Psalmist fell into the pit of self.  Solely dependent on self, God responded by withdrawing from David as unnecessary.

Psalm 30:7

you hid your face;

    I was dismayed. 

But, David repented and cried out for help.

Psalm 30:10-12

Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!

    O Lord, be my helper!”

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

    you have loosed my sackcloth

    and clothed me with gladness,

that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.

    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! 

It is for that combination of both wise discipline and brief anger, for which the Psalmist is calling out praise.  Let us join him this morning, in that same praise:

Psalm 30:5

For his anger is but for a moment,

    and his favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night,

    but joy comes with the morning. 

A mask?

 As we begin worship, our meditation is over:

2 Corinthians 3:18

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord,[a] are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

This is a long sentence where the subject and the verb are far apart. So let's bring them together:

"we . . . are being transformed"

This is about us.

Next, who was it that veiled their face?  Us or God?  Neither.  It was Moses.

2 Corinthians 3:12-13

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end.

Moses wore a veil to hide the fact that his glory was fading.

OK, so what transformation are we undergoing?  And who is doing it?  And why?

2 Corinthians 3:5-6

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

God's accomplished work has made each of us sufficient to be one of his ministers (diakonos).  We are not talking the now unnecessary role of priest.  We are talking deacons.  Ministers of God's love and grace.

Figuratively unmasked (keep your COVID mask on), we are to boldly associate ourselves with Christ and minister in his Name.  We are sufficient.  The fear is gone.

No shadow

 This morning we are pointed to the words of Ambrose of Milan, who was the Bishop of Milan in the fourth century:

Dawn's glory gilds the earth and skies, let him, our perfect Morn, arise, The Word in God the Father one, the Father imaged in the Son.

It distills, these and probably more:

Genesis 1:26

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

 John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Revelation 22:16

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

To this I will add one more.

 James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

As you worship this morning, understand that God being the source will never have a shadow. No darkness anywhere will overcome His light. That said, we live in a very dark world that desperately needs to see the dawn. 

Recount!

 We begin our worship today with:

Isaiah 63:7

I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord,

    the praises of the Lord,

according to all that the Lord has granted us,

    and the great goodness to the house of Israel

that he has granted them according to his compassion,

    according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

This passage contains the beautiful word “steadfast love” (checed).  This love is a committed choice. It is not fickle.  It cannot be shaken even by our rebellion. 

It also has the word “compassion” (racham).  This is the deep emotional source of that steadfast love.  It is as intimate as the care a baby receives in its mother’s womb.

But far too often we take this love for granted. We presume upon God’s favor and forgiveness. We don’t stop and remember.  Worse than that in the haste of the day we don’t even realize His loving hand is on us.

Instead, let’s do as the prophet Isaiah and take a moment to not only remember the depth of His forgiveness but also the breadth of His provision and the length of His patience.