Behold

This week we begin worship with:

Psalm 46:10-11

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

We are told to "be still" (rāp̄â).  This is not inactivity or slothfulness.  This is not rest or contemplation.  It can be best understood, from the repeated phrase "I will be exalted".  We need to let it happen.

We should let God be God and watch how He accomplishes His purposes. 

In Psalm 46:1-3, we are told that "though" many disastrous things occur, God is in control and what flows from Him is a river of blessing should make us glad.

Psalm 46:4

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

    the holy habitation of the Most High.

But if we strain to do God's job, we will be tired and worn out.  If we let God be God, often our only task is to watch.

Psalm 46:8a 
Come, behold the works of the Lord . . .

It is quite a sight!

Horde

 We start worship this morning with:

2 Chronicles 20:6
O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.

When Jehoshaphat prayed this, his back was against the proverbial wall.  An army was coming against the nation of Israel that could only be described as a "horde" (hāmôn).

2 Chronicles 20:12 

O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

As their leader Jehoshaphat called a fast and Israel assembled and the word of the Lord came through the priest Jahaziel:

2 Chronicles 20:15

And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.

The battle is not ours.  Stop and reread that until it sinks in.

Yes, the army had to assemble.  Yes, it had to face its deepest fears and go out.  But God went before them and did what they could not do.  He gave them victory.

We serve the LORD, who none can withstand.  

See the horde coming.  See it surround you.  Take up your position.  Pray and watch what He does in you, around you, and often times in spite of you.

Build

This week we start worship with:

Psalm 69:30, 32–35a

I will praise the name of God with a song;

    I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

When the humble see it they will be glad;

    you who seek God, let your hearts revive.

For the Lord hears the needy

    and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.

Let heaven and earth praise him,

    the seas and everything that moves in them.

For God will save Zion

    and build up the cities of Judah, . . .

A victors history is one which the king in power records only victory after victory in their chronology.  The Bible is not so.  The focus of this verse are the "humble", the "needy", and the "prisoners".  

But in spite of this the Psalmist praises God and encourages all of creation to praise Him, for what will happen.  God will "built up" (bānâ) the cities of Judah.  The word implies permanence and protection.

The Psalm is not a prayer but rather a prophecy.

Judge

 This week we begin worship with:

John 7:16–17, 24

So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority." 

"...Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

When Job stepped back from all the noise of his friend's advice, he was able, in his right mind, to discern the will of God.  No, not the sovereign will of God that governs history, but he understood the intention, direction, and conclusion of that history.  Namely, that because God made us, He loves us.  Because He loves us, even though we are fallen, He made a way for us to reconcile.

Think it through.  Then smile.

Price

This week we begin worship with:

Isaiah 55:1

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

I may have told this story before, but it deserves re-telling and this verse deserves rereading . . .

While camping, my mother was befriended by an older couple who invited my mother and I to lunch.  As we arrived at lunch I felt increasingly out of place, a young boy out to lunch with three adults at a very fancy restaurant.  

There was a brief quiet word between the man and the waiter, and the waiter soon returned with the menus.  Special menus.  We were given menus without prices.  After often being told by my mother to choose something cheaper, this was incredible.  

I stammered the question, "I can order anything?".  Our hosts reassured us, "Yes, anything".

Praise God, that He has befriended us and we sit at His table.  My advice, order the lobster.

Gather

This week we begin worship with:

Psalm 147:2

The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.

After the stoning of Steven, as Paul persecuted the church, the church was scattered.  James, in fact, wrote to those “scattered among the nations“ (diaspora).  But God will to do the reverse.  He will gather( kānas).

Many carry the ideal of being away, being separate, being alone.  Many want the “Hundred Acre Wood” of Winnie the Pooh all to themselves.  But this is not God’s ideal.  God’s ideal is the city.  The scattered coals of a fire die out, but only when gathered together they burn bright.

Psalm 147:12-14
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
    Praise your God, O Zion!
For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
    he blesses your children within you.
He makes peace in your borders;
    he fills you with the finest of the wheat.

It is to this ideal we are being called in the last chapters of Revelation, to a city designed by God.

Joy

 This week we begin worship with:

Isaiah 65:17-18

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 

But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.

When one sees the beauty of this earth, one wishes to preserve it.  Hiking one leaves the campsite better than one finds it.  At home you wish to build and preserve a legacy.  This desire to preserve brings with it the fear of loss from the truth of its temporal nature.  

But we are soon to be relieved of this burden, when all these former things will be replaced and instead of fear there will be joy, for God is our sustainer:

Hebrews 1:3
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Hold

This week we begin worship with:

Psalm 139:7-10

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 

If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 

even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

This is so comforting.

Regardless, if one has participated in the first resurrection or as Job understood and prayed, if there was a time one must first wait for God's wrath to pass, God's Holy Spirit is present.

Job 14:13

Oh that you would hide me in Sheol,

    that you would conceal me until your wrath be past,

    that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

For that wrath could not be satisfied until God became both the just and the justifier in the perfect sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Romans 3:25b-26

This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Regardless, if I obtain the power of flight, and can fly as fast as the dawn, and can visit the remotest locations of the earth, the LORD is not simply a carved image and one of many household gods, He is all-powerful and omni-present.

But that is not the comforting bit!  

The comforting bit is what He does when He is with us.  The Holy Spirit leads us and He holds ('āḥaz) us.  He does not cloister or confine us, but instead during this adventure we call "life", He walks ahead of us and with a firm hand he holds onto us so we are not lost.

John 6:39-40

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Sting

  This week we begin worship with:

1 Corinthians 15:54-55

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

With gleeful shouts, kids taunt "You can't catch me!" to start an imprompto game of tag.  That is not our relationship with death.  For, if the Lord tarries, death will surely tag us. 

Here our taunt with death is instead "Where is your sting?".  To understand, we must read on . . .

1 Corinthians 15:56-57 

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Though death will tag us, the sting of the law will not be present.  The author of Hebrews puts it beautifully:

Hebrews 9:27-28

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

The eagerness with which we wait should be more akin to a different schoolyard cry "Pick me, pick me!".

Stand

Today we begin worship with:

Ephesians 6:12

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

This is not simply the daily grind.  This is not the missed bus or the rude person in line at the store.  This is not the toast landing buttered side down.

This is a battle into which we must walk prepared.  This is leaving the safety of the rear guard, being rotated forward to the contact line, and engaging the enemy.  This is war.

That said, we are not on the offensive.  The surrounding verses, our instructions on how we are to prepare, say we are holding ground already taken.  

Ephesians 6:11,13
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
. . . 

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

What ground?  Our own soul.  

That said, it is not a fair fight.  It is ground, that He will not lose.

John 6:39
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

Incompetence

This morning we start worship with:

1 Samuel 2:10

The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.

Frequently when faced with an absurd situation, in jest, I will say "If I were king" and then pronounce some new law or change of process that would remedy the situation.  The author Lawrence J. Peter wrote that people are promoted until they achieve a level of incompetence that prevents them from further advancement.  In business this is called the "Peter Principle" and it is the reason I will never be king!

Our verse this week is not subtle.  The words are straightforward and declare the supremacy of God.  The LORD will have dominion over the whole earth and through His anointed, He will judge it.  By "it", that means "me".  He will find me wanting, not up to the mark.  He see perfectly my incompetence, my reproach:

Psalm 119:38-40

Confirm to your servant your promise,

    that you may be feared.

Turn away the reproach that I dread,

    for your rules are good.

Behold, I long for your precepts;

    in your righteousness give me life!

Praise God, He has graciously given us life, having paid our debt on the cross.