If God, then man.

 Today as we start worship we are asked to meditate on:

Psalm 65:4

Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,

    to dwell in your courts!

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,

    the holiness of your temple!

As a reformed congregation we sometimes get accused of concentrating on the doctrine of predestination. Raised a Baptist myself, the reformed faith rocked my world.  Going from "accepting" God to being "chosen" by Him was a hard thing to grasp.

But as you read scripture the thread, or rather the foundation, of God's sovereignty is present everywhere.

Listen to Elihu (the fourth friend of Job) as he stumbles through the doctrine:

Job 33:22-28

His soul draws near the pit,

    and his life to those who bring death.

If there be for him an angel,

    a mediator, one of the thousand,

    to declare to man what is right for him,

and he is merciful to him, and says,

    ‘Deliver him from going down into the pit;

    I have found a ransom;

let his flesh become fresh with youth;

    let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;

then man prays to God, and he accepts him;

    he sees his face with a shout of joy,

and he restores to man his righteousness.

    He sings before men and says:

‘I sinned and perverted what was right,

    and it was not repaid to me.

He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit,

    and my life shall look upon the light.’

It is faith building to see across scripture the order repeated 'If God, then man', for truly if the Bible was of man's authorship, the central theme would be 'If man, then God'.

Sometimes we need to be reminded.

 This morning we start worship encouraged by:

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Sometimes we need to be reminded.

Possibly the most dreaded scolding from a parent is "Didn't I tell you . . .?"

The command here is to be strong (ḥāzaq).  Funny thing about strength is that it can, generally speaking, be improved.  It is not like other physical characteristics that cannot be changed.

We are also commanded to be courageous ('āmēṣ).   This is a different kind of strength and yes, it too can be improved.  But unlike physical strength, which may take weeks of training to improve, courage can be improved instantaneously.  Courage is a decision.

We are not to be frightened (ʿāraṣ).  Literally trembling.

We are not to be dismayed (ḥāṯaṯ).  Literally laying down mentally.

Now we are given one reason . . . God.  When we are reminded that God is present, everywhere, at all times, in every situation, in the past and in the future, then it is easier to make the decision to be courageous and to daily take up our training.

Yielding to the Groomer

 Today begin worship with:

Isaiah 26:7-8

The path of the righteous is level;

    you make level the way of the righteous.

In the path of your judgments,

    O Lord, we wait for you;

your name and remembrance

    are the desire of our soul. 

Few of us take paths these days.  But when this was written paths were important.  They were the means of travel.  To get from one place to another you took a path.  Isaiah is praising the Lord because He has made level the path before the righteous.

We had a real-life example of that this weekend.  We are up north enjoying the snowmobile trails.  With use, however, they become rutted and bumpy.  The trails across the state are maintained by a patchwork of clubs.  Each club owns what's called a groomer which must regularly be dragged down the trail to "make level the way".

Yesterday, we reached a trail that had not been recently groomed.  The going was tough.  We nearly turned around.  It was a relief when we once again returned to a smooth trail.

How does God make level (pālas) our path?  

Isaiah 26:9 

My soul yearns for you in the night;

    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.

For when your judgments are in the earth,

    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

God's law lays out a path of righteousness.  When he removes his favor, His judgements teach us that simple lesson, that you must always yield to the groomer.