Doug Wilson

Psalm 142: Prayer Ascends from Low Places

Christ Church on November 19, 2023

INTRODUCTION

This is a maskil, meaning a psalm of instruction. There is much for us to learn here. The occasion for it was when David was “in the cave,” with that being doubtless the time when Saul was in hot pursuit of him with 3,000 men. David was in a very low place, and this was compounded by the fact that he was in a very low condition, a very low way. But Scripture teaches us that “with the lowly is wisdom” (Prov. 11:2) Remember that the Lord has “respect unto the lowly” (Ps. 138:6)

THE TEXT

“Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave. I cried unto the Lord with my voice; With my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication. I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: Refuge failed me; No man cared for my soul. I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. Attend unto my cry; For I am brought very low: Deliver me from my persecutors; For they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: The righteous shall compass me about; For thou shalt deal bountifully with me” (Psalm 142).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

This is a maskil about affliction, and who does not need to learn the lessons here? This is a prayer from a deep cave. David was in enough distress that he cried out to the Lord aloud (v. 1). He says this twice—he presented his supplication out loud. He did not pray about his troubles in a vague or general way—he poured them all out before the Lord (v. 2). He showed Jehovah all his troubles, and not because God needed the information. Rather it is because we need to see Him seeing it. David reminds himself that when his spirit was overwhelmed . . . God knew the steps of his path (v. 3). And the path that God knows is the same path where his enemies have laid their snares (v. 3). David looked at his right hand, where his defender should have been, and there was no one there (v. 4). All had abandoned him. Nobody cared (v. 4). Bereft of friends, he cried out to the Lord (v. 5), the God who was his refuge and his portion in this life (v. 5). He pleads with God to hear his cry. His first argument is his despondency (v. 6). His second argument is that he is very weak (v. 6). Bring me out of this prison/cave in order that I might praise Your name (v. 7). And then he turns, as on a dime. He ends on a confident and jubilant note . . . from the same cave. This deserted one will at some point be surrounded with righteous men (v. 7). And why? Because God is going to deal bountifully with him (v. 7).

NOBODY LOVES ME BUT MY MOTHER

There is a pitiful blues lament from B.B. King that we might remember here. “Nobody loves me but my mother, and she could be jiving too.” This is the dilemma of the psalmist in vv. 4-5. He looks around for support from friends, and he sees that he doesn’t have any.

This is a common theme in Scripture. We should not be surprised that Job experienced it (Job 6:15). The apostle Paul knew what this terrible experience was like also. Demas deserted him (2 Tim. 4:10). At his first defense, everyone was absent (2 Tim. 4:16). All of Paul’s friends in Asia had ditched him (2 Tim. 1:15).

And of course, the ultimate experience of this is seen in the passion of the Lord. The shepherd was struck, and all the sheep were scattered (Zech. 13:7). This is made more poignant in that Jesus saw that particular desertion coming (Matt. 26:31). Judas, who had been one of the twelve, betrayed Him with a kiss, a fact that Jesus noted (Luke 22:48). Peter, spokesman for the Twelve, and very loud in his professions of loyalty to the Lord, denied Him three times, and with curses (Mark 14:71). And at the final, fatal moment, Jesus turned and looked at him (Luke 22:61).

“I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: They that did see me without fled from me” (Psalm 31:11).

PRAYER ASCENDS

It is the nature of true prayer to rise, to ascend. And if all you have left is prayer, it is no argument to say that you are in a very low place. We sometimes joke that from “down here” there is no place to go but up. While that may or may not be true about you personally, it is always true about a sincere and heartfelt prayer. There is no place for such prayer to go, but up.

True prayers don’t puddle on the floor. They don’t sink down like a heavy gas. They don’t clatter when you drop them.

ENVISIONING THE END

There are two sorts of imagining. One is the more common of the two, and can best be described as daydreaming. The second kind of imagining is that which sees Christ with the eye of faith. And when you see Christ, you see everything that comes with Him. When Christ delivers, He delivers in real time, in history. And so, when David lifted up his eyes at the end of the psalm, his eyes following his prayer, what did he see? He saw, with the eye of faith, how this trouble was going to turn out. He had been deserted by his sunshine friends, but one of the things he foresaw is that he was going to be surrounded by a crowd of righteous men. In the moment of desertion, it is a temptation to say there are no righteous men. There are no true friends. This is a lie. It is accurate to say that there are no true friends here, but there are true friends. Remember, David. Remember Jonathan, one of the truest friends in all of Scripture.

And we all have a friend who is even truer than that. When we walk in the faith of Abraham we find that we have become friends with the Friend of Abraham (Jas. 2:23).

Psalm 141: Christ as the Incense of Prayer

Christ Church on November 12, 2023

INTRODUCTION

We now come to the final decade of psalms. We first began this series almost twenty years ago—when some of you young marrieds were still pre-school. This might make us feel odd in all sorts of ways, but one thing it should remind us of is the fact that Scripture is a vast storehouse of treasures, and one lifetime doesn’t even begin to touch it.

THE TEXT

“Lord, I cry unto thee: Make haste unto me; Give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; And the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; Keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: And let me not eat of their dainties. Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: And let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: For yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities. When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet. Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth. But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord: In thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute. Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape” (Psalm 141:1-10).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The psalmist is in real trouble, and he cries out to the Lord, urging the Lord to hurry up (v. 1). He asks the Lord to treat the prayer as incense, and the lifting of his hands as the evening sacrifice (v. 2). He prays that God would set a guard over his mouth. This could be taken generally, but remember that he is the middle of praying (v. 3). He asks the Lord not to incline his heart to wickedness, or to become a companion of iniquitous men. He doesn’t want to share in their dainties (v. 4). He would rather a righteous man strike him than for a wicked man to feed him caviar (v. 5). A righteous blow would be a kindness. The psalmist prays against the wicked (v. 5). When their judges are thrown off a cliff, they will hear David’s words (v. 6). As when someone plows up the earth, our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol (v. 7). This is likely the trouble that occasioned the psalm in the first place. But he still looks to the Lord, expecting deliverance (v. 8). His adversaries are cunning, and so he prays that he not fall into their traps and engines (v. 9). Not only does he seek deliverance, he asks that their wicked stratagems backfire on them (v. 10).

PALACE INTRIGUES

We cannot say definitively, but this psalm is likely from before David was king, when he was out in the wilderness, and Saul was still on the throne. David was out there because of Saul’s paranoia, and because of various lies told about him at court (1 Sam. 26:19). The fact that he wants his outstretched hands to serve as the evening sacrifice indicates that he is being kept away from the place of worship. The scattered bones around the mouth of Sheol some take as scattered bones because of the words of Saul, referring to the slaughter of the priests by Doeg the Edomite. Surrounding all of this, we can see that the plots David is concerned about here is appear to be schemes in the plans of the wicked party in Israel. The cause of God looks to be hanging by a thread.

THE BLOWS OF A HAMMER

The ungodly could overthrow David in two ways. First, their plots and traps could work. Courageous men do not fear open battle, but they despise secret plots. One of the ways they could work is by provoking David into an exasperated and unguarded response. This is why he asks Jehovah to set a guard on his mouth. He does not want to be goaded into saying something stupid, which could be then twisted around and used against him.

But he also knows that the reason for their antipathy is because he is on the Lord’s side. They could overcome him through an enticing and flattering bribery. Come, sit with us. Come, eat with us. Here is a platter filled with dainties. The temptation here is to turn coat, and David asks for protection from all of it—whether hostility or seduction.

He knows the antithesis. When he says, “let the righteous strike me,” the word for strike is a forceful one, like a hammer blow (Is. 41:7). He would rather have that than to have a butler in the mansions of the wicked offer him a delectable delicacy. Rebuke a wise man and he will love you (Prov. 9:8). He knows the antithesis. When the tables finally turn, and the evil judges he is dealing with are thrown off a cliff, he knows that his words will be validated then. The word for overthrow is the same word that was used for pitching Jezebel down from the balcony (2 Kings 9:33).

INCENSE RISING

The comparison of prayer to rising incense is made in various places in Scripture. “And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints” (Revelation 5:8). “And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand” (Revelation 8:4).

Following the suggestion of John Owen, if we compare our prayers to the offering of incense, we can take four spiritual lessons from it.

First, the incense needed to be ground, crushed, or pounded before it was used. Don’t offer up wholesale prayers. Prayer must proceed from a contrite heart. Second, the incense is of no use whatever unless there is fire under it, and it needs to be fire from the altar. Third, the incense was designed to ascend into the heavens. Set your minds on things above. And last, it resulted in a sweet aroma before the Lord.

Christ is our ultimate prayer, and He was crushed for us (Luke 22:44). Christ came to earth to cast fire (Luke 12:49). Christ ascended into the heavenly places, there to intercede for us (Acts 1:9). And He was offered up to God as a sweet-smelling aroma (Eph. 5:2). We pray in the name of Christ because Christ is our ultimate prayer.

How to Be a Christian Kid #3

Christ Church on November 5, 2023

INTRODUCTION

One of the best ways for a Christian child to honor his father and mother is to surpass them. If a child outgrows his parents in love for Christ, in knowledge of the Bible, and in a true grasp of what the gospel is all about, no one who truly loves God can begrudge it. And there is a paradox involved in it. One of the best ways to surpass your parents is to make sure you look up to them. The first will be last, and the last first.

THE TEXT

“Give ear, O my people, to my law: Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; Who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; A generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God” (Psalm 78:1–8).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

This psalm contains much that we could consider, but I would like to draw out one basic lesson from the first eight verses. This passage outlines for us how a younger generation might surpass their parents in spiritual maturity. Asaph begins by exhorting the people to listen to the words of his mouth (v. 1). The next verse is cited by Matthew (Matt. 13:35) as an explanation for why Jesus taught in parables. Here is it “dark sayings of old,” and in Matthew it is things “kept secret from the foundation of the world.” Whatever else this is, it is big. The people have heard and known about them (on the surface at least) because their fathers told them (v. 3), and the sayings will be passed on to the generation to come (v. 4). What will be passed on? The answer is the praises of the Lord, His strength, and His wonderful works (v. 5). A testimony was established in Jacob, and a law in Israel, which was a command to “our fathers” (v. 5), that they might teach their children (v. 5). This was so that the next generation would know, and in turn instruct their children (v. 6). To what end? That they might hope in God, not forget the works of God, and keep His commandments (v. 7). This would have the good effect of enabling them to not be like their fathers—stubborn, rebellious, wobbly, and with a spirit that was not steadfast (v. 8).

In sum, the fathers hand down the memory of God’s mighty works so that their children might learn to not be like them. Honor your parents. Respect them. Look up to them. Listen to them. And do not imitate their frailties and sins.

NO HUMAN AUTHORITY IS ABSOLUTE

The Bible teaches us that human authorities are true authorities. They have been given this position by God. This is true of civic authorities (Rom. 13:1-7), it is true of church leaders (Heb. 13:7, 17), and it is true of parents (Dt. 5:16). God has established these three institutions directly, and He commands us to honor them all.

At the same time, Scripture also teaches us that this is a fallen world, and so it has to be recognized that no human authority is absolute. There are times when all these authorities must be disobeyed and disregarded. Their authority is not absolute. This is true of civic authorities (Acts 5:29), it is true of church authorities (3 John 9), and it is true of family authority (1 Sam. 25:25). And this means, children, that your parents do not have the authority to require you to sin, and they do not have the authority to require you to be silent about their sin against you or your siblings (e.g. if there is real abuse). Of course, check your motives before resisting. But how do you do that? One of the best ways is to be as obedient as possible in all the areas where there is no conflict between your family culture and Scripture.

HOLDING YOU TO YOUR BAPTISM

The fact that you are still young does not set aside the requirements of Christian discipleship. When the apostle Paul wrote the book of Ephesians, he wrote to all the different kinds of members. He wrote to husbands and wives. He wrote to slave owners. He wrote to slaves. And he wrote to kids. You are part of this. It is not the case that you are not called to be diligent Christians only after you get to a certain height or weight. The name of Christ is on you now.

You are not old enough to have long-established habits of reading the Scriptures and praying to God. That might seem like a disadvantage, but if you flip it around it means you have the great advantage of establishing these habits while the concrete is still wet. You are in the same position that Timothy was in. “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). The word for child here is brephos, which would be better translated as infant. Timothy heard the Scriptures from infancy.

But as you do, make sure you grasp the inner logic. Make sure you learn the secret that was hidden from the foundation of the world. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; And he will shew them his covenant” (Psalm 25:14).

BRING IT ALL BACK AROUND

In the sixth chapter of John, the Lord Jesus has an encounter with the people that illustrates how the dark sayings of old both hid and transmitted a knowledge of God. Jesus saw that the people were going to make Him a king by force (John 6:15), and so He evaded them. They tracked Him down at Capernaum, and Jesus said they were as interested as they were because “they did eat of the loaves, and were filled” (v. 26). Don’t labor for that kind of food, but rather for the food that lasts forever, Jesus said (v. 27). They asked Him what they should do in order to work the works of God (v. 28). Jesus told them that they should believe on the one who was sent (v. 29). The people replied by asking for a sign, quoting our psalm as they did so (Ps. 78:24). And Jesus said that Moses did give them bread from Heaven, but what they really needed was the true bread from Heaven (vv. 32-35). And He was that true bread.

The Word of No Condemnation (King’s Cross)

Christ Church on October 29, 2023

INTRODUCTION

As we mark and celebrate the great work of the Spirit that we call the Protestant Reformation, we need to be mindful of remembering two things. The first is that we must recall the gospel of liberating grace, the gospel that is perennial good news, always good news. Sinners always need to able to hear the message of “no condemnation.” Secondly, we need to take care that we do not turn that glorious doctrine into a museum piece. The gospel is a message of forgiveness for any sin, and it is consequently therefore a message of truth that answers every lie—especially the lie that is current in our day.

THE TEXT

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1–4).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Given the sweep of Paul’s argument in Romans thus far, we see that those who have looked to Christ Jesus in faith are therefore in Christ Jesus by faith. And if they are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation for them (v. 1). Walking by the Spirit, they find themselves liberated from the law of sin and death (v. 2). The law could not bring no condemnation, because of the weakness of our flesh, the law could only bring condemnation (v. 3). But what the law could not do, God did by sending His incarnate Son who was then condemned in the flesh (v. 3). There is now no condemnation for us in Christ because in Christ the condemnation is already past and accomplished (v. 3). The condemnation is completed, over, done. This means that we can walk in righteousness without fear, in the Spirit (v. 4).

WHAT THIS MEANT FIVE CENTURIES AGO

The gospel really is good news. It means release for the captives (Luke 4:18). It means life from the dead (Eph. 2:1). It means sight for the blind (Luke 4:18). It means the sleeper awakes (Eph. 5:14). It means a binding up of the brokenhearted (Is. 61:1). It means the downtrodden are set free (Luke 4:18). It means the dungeon doors swing open (Rom. 6:14).

C.S. Lewis described this wonderfully:

“All the initiative has been on God’s side; all has been free, unbounded grace. And all will continue to be free, unbounded grace. His own puny and ridiculous efforts would be as helpless to retain the joy as they would have been to achieve it in the first place. Fortunately they need not. Bliss is not for sale, cannot be earned. ‘Works’ have no ‘merit’, though of course faith, inevitably, even unconsciously, flows out into works of love at once. He is not saved because he does works of love: he does works of love because he is saved. It is faith alone that has saved him: faith bestowed by sheer gift. From this buoyant humility, this farewell to the self with all its good resolutions, anxiety, scruples, and motive-scratchings, all the Protestant doctrines originally sprang” (English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, p. 33).

THIS MEANS THE SAME THING TODAY

The errors against which our Reformation fathers protested were ancient errors. The merit-mongering of Rome was the great-granddaughter of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and so for those steeped in the Scriptures, it was a familiar foe. All of it was a deadly mixture of truth, hypocrisy, and poisonous lies, but we were on familiar territory.

Sin is still sin, guilt is still guilt, the cross is still the cross, and gospel preaching still brings liberation to sinners, one at a time. That is all still the case, but we are also into some new territory. The rebellion against God among our ruling elites is far advanced, and so we must learn to apply the doctrine of free grace in the ways that the sons of Issachar would (1 Chron. 12:32). This gospel of free grace means no less than it did five centuries ago, but our opportunities to apply and extend the goodness of God are much greater than before. What do I mean?

Why did so many refuse to condemn the recent atrocities committed by Hamas? They were trying to apply their counterfeit doctrine of justification. They were trying to say no condemnation, regardless of what the terrorists may have done. This is a ten-cent knock off of the Christian gospel, but at least they were attempting it. This is the source of what we see as the double standards of the left. They say that they can do certain things and we cannot because they are justified, and we are not justified. It is their version of no condemnation.

SO COMPARE & CONTRAST

The potency of the Christian gospel of no condemnation is anchored in three basic truths. One, it is a word from outside human history. Our salvation has a transcendental foundation. The Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). Our salvation is grounded in a transcendental election. Second, this word of no condemnation was purchased for us through the precious blood of Christ, the blood of the everlasting covenant (1 Pet. 1:18-19). This salvation was purchased for us, and we own it free and clear. Our salvation was not loaned to us. And third, this salvation of sinners was accomplished by a Savior who remained absolutely just. He is the one who justifies, but He is also just (Rom. 3:26). This salvation of the unholy is actually a holy salvation.

Compare this to the spurious justification offered by the world. They promise us a no condemnation, but terms and conditions may apply. First, everything they offer arises from inside the world. They have nothing else to offer. But without an infinite reference point, everything within the world is simply absurd. This includes all justifications and condemnations. Secondly, they have no efficacious sacrifice. The only blood they can provide is the blood of others, which they do abundantly. The Lord taught believers to say “my life for yours.” But theirs is the way of “your life for mine.” And last, those who devise humanistic ways of salvation are not holy themselves, and so all they can do is rearrange the furniture of their unholiness. Water cannot rise above its own level, and this applies to their fetid swamps as much as any other water.

I have often reminded you that it is Christ or chaos. But we should expand it a bit. It is Christ and no condemnation, on the one hand, or the chaos of bitter and rancid guilt on the other. So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.

How to Be a Christian Kid #2

Christ Church on October 22, 2023

INTRODUCTION

As we examine the Scriptures on this topic, we find that the central duty that Christian offspring have is the duty of honor. This honor has different manifestations depending on the time of life, but there is always honor at the center. And this means, in its turn, that learning how to be a Christian kid means learning how to honor.

THE TEXT

“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” (Exodus 20:12).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Our text is the fifth commandment, first given to the Israelites at Mount Sinai in Arabia (Ex. 20:12). The commandment is repeated again in the second giving of the law, near the end of the forty years in the wilderness. In this second giving of the fifth commandment, the language is a little more expansive. “Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” (Deuteronomy 5:16). This version refers back to Sinai, and it promises a good quality of life, not just a long life.

When Paul quotes this commandment in Ephesians 6, he is referring to the form of it in Deuteronomy because he includes “that it may go well with thee.” He calls it the first commandment with a promise. As came out in discussion with one of you, the word for first is protos. This can mean first in a sequence, but it cannot be the meaning here—the second and third commandments also contain promises. The word protos can also mean chief, or preeminent, or best, or principal. In Luke 15:12, the robe that is brought out for the returning prodigal is the best robe, and the word used is protos. And so this fifth commandment is the chief commandment with a promise. It is the key to many of God’s intended covenant blessings for us.

TWO STAGES OF HONOR

Scripture requires that children honor their parents, and this is a commandment that does not diminish in force as you grow older. The honor is rendered differently according to your time of life, but it does not

When you are a dependent child, your honor is demonstrated fundamentally through obedience (Eph. 6:1). The word for obey means to heed, or to listen. So Paul says, “children, obey,” and the reason they are to obey follows in the very next verse, which is Paul’s reference to the fifth commandment. More on this in a moment.

When you are grown up, what then? How do grown children show honor to their parents? They are to do it through practical financial support.

“For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye” (Mark 7:10–13).

So when children are little, living at home, and mom and dad are paying the bills, the appropriate response is simply obedience. And after children are grown and independent, they are not independent of the obligation to honor, which they render by means of practical support. This is a design feature. It is how things are supposed to be.

WHAT THIS OBEDIENCE LOOKS LIKE

So if you are dependent on your parents, you are to honor them through obedience. And remember that the commandment includes your mother. Sons, you are to obey your mothers. “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother” (Proverbs 1:8; 6:20). This is the one part of your life where the patriarchy does not apply.

There are three elements to this that I would point out.

The first is that you are to do what you are told. “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you” (Matthew 21:28–31).

The second is that you are to accept the discipline they apply to you. “Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?” (Hebrews 12:9).

The third is that you are to learn how to work hard. A lazy son is one who brings shame to his parents, and it your task to bring honor to them, not shame. “He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: But he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame” (Proverbs 10:5). “He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, Is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach” (Proverbs 19:26).

If you do these three things as a child, you will be in a good position to do what you are called to do as an adult child.

DOUBLE PORTION

Scripture teaches that the oldest son, even if he is the son of a less-favored wife, is to receive a double portion of the inheritance. This was because he had the primary responsibility for caring for his parents as they aged. “But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his” (Deuteronomy 21:17).

But this is a cycle. Parents lay up for children, so that the children have the wherewithal to care for them . . . and then some. “Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children” (2 Corinthians 12:14). A righteous man should receive from his parents and be willing to care for them, and also to leave an inheritance for his grandchildren. “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: And the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just” (Proverbs 13:22).

But life is messy, and there are times when the oldest son is unable or unwilling to do what he is called to do. What then? The rest of the family is still involved. “If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed” (1 Timothy 5:16).

“But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God” (1 Timothy 5:4, NKJV).

“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8, NKJV).

THE GOD WHO BLESSES THROUGH CHRIST

When confronted with our responsibility to treat this commandment as the chief commandment with a promise, if we try to shy away from it all as somehow “unrealistic,” we need to confront our own unbelief. This is the chief commandment with a promise, and so our reluctance is unbelief in Christ. “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” (2 Corinthians 1:20). If all the promises are amen in Him, then how not the chief of the promises?