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Psalm 51: When Crushed Bones Rejoice

Joe Harby on

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Introduction

If forgiveness of sin is one of the glories of the new covenant, and it is (Heb. 8: 8-12; cf. Heb. 10: 17), then this psalm is one of the glories of the entire Bible. In this psalm, we learn the greatness of forgiveness, and in the course of learning this, we learn the true nature of that forgiveness.

The Text

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me . . .” (Ps. 51:1-19).

Summary of the Text

David begins with a cry for mercy, in accordance with the multitude of God’s tender mercies (v. 1), and not according to David’s just deserts. He asks for a thorough washing, a complete cleansing (v. 2). He is not trying to hide or cover up his sin (v. 3)—this psalm is for the chief musician, meaning that his confession is public. God’s law was the law that was broken, and so the sin, while it affected others, was sin against God alone (v. 4). David says that the sin extends down to his very nature (v. 5). Where the sin originated (in the inward parts), that is the place where God desires truth and wisdom (v. 6). He prays again for cleansing (v. 7)—hyssop was a plant used for sprinkling in ritual purifications (Lev. 14:4, 7; Num. 19:18-22). David prays that his crushed bones would be able to rejoice again (v. 8). He prays that God would turn His face away from his sins, and blot out his iniquities (v. 9). He then prays for a new creation, a complete renewal (v. 10). David then asks God not to hurl him away, and not to remove His Spirit from him (v. 11). He does not pray for his salvation back, but he does pray for the joy of it to come back (v. 12). When the cleansing is complete, then David can be used in the restoration of others (v. 13). The king cries out for deliverance from bloodguilt (v. 14), and then he will be able to sing. If God opens David’s mouth, then David will be able to praise Him (v. 15). There was no appointed sacrifice for the things which David had done (v. 16). But God delights in repentance in the inner man, and not just with regard to heinous sins like this one (vv. 16-17). God does not despise a broken spirit (v. 17). David’s sin had not just affected him alone; he was a king. And so David prays for mercy for his people (v. 18). True worship will then be offered to God (v. 19).

An Appalling Sin

We begin by noting that David really was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:4), and so this should make every last one of us mindful of our step (1 Cor. 10:12). David was around the age of fifty when this happened, and had no business staying home from the war. Uriah’s rejection of David’s temptation highlights David’s initial failure (2 Sam. 11:1, 11). The breech of one duty had begun with the neglect of another. Bathsheba’s father, Eliam, was one of David’s cohort of thirty mighty men (2 Sam. 11:3; 23:34). If her father was one of David’s peers, then she was a lot younger than David, less than half his age. Without removing her possible culpability in this (no protest like Tamar’s is recorded), consider the circumstances. Nathan’s metaphor for this indicates something closer to rape than anything else. He says that the ewe lamb was killed (2 Sam. 12:4). Her grandfather, Ahithophel, was a counselor of David’s who later joined Absalom in his rebellion (2 Sam. 15:12)—and it is not hard to figure out why. The sin was appalling, and had its cascading effects. Amnon’s rape of Tamar happened shortly after this— why may a prince not do what a king may do? But it is when we get to Uriah that the horror really begins. He was a Hittite, meaning that he was a convert, and David had been a spiritual father to him. He also was one of David’s thirty great men (2 Sam. 23:39), and was a faithful convert. What Saul tried unsuccessfully to do to David, David “successfully” did to Uriah. The inscription of the psalm puns on David’s coming in to Bathsheba, and Nathan coming in to confront David about it.

The text is silent on the point, so we don’t know if Bathsheba was being a seductress, or as is more common in covenant circles, just a dope. It was not likely to have been simple voyeurism on David’s part. So in either case, we see from the subsequent history that her restoration was also genuine. We don’t need to dwell on the point—the point here is David’s sin—but as Christian women remember their responsibilities in modesty, they need to consider the basic alternatives. If a woman can’t leave the house without assuming that she is taking “the girls” for an outing, then she is either being really bad, or being really dumb. If others think they are going to the worship of God, but she is going to the heavenly Zion in order to headlight the saints, then the same alternatives are there. You can tell the difference if the subject is ever broached with her. If she is nonchalant, and knew all about it already, then she is the kind of woman that the book of Proverbs, your mom, and numerous blues songs warn you to stay away from. If she is offended and distraught, and can’t believe you would ever bring up such a thing, then she is just a dope. Either way, the sin should be dealt with before the kingdom is ruined, not after.

Take Not Thy Holy Spirit from Me

Once he received the rebuke from Nathan, David knew that he had become another Saul. And just as Saul’s house, Saul’s dynasty, had collapsed because of his lesser sin, David knew that his house, his throne, was forfeit because of his greater sin. Saul’s ability to govern had collapsed when the Spirit removed from Saul (1 Sam. 16:14), and David knew that he deserved exactly the same thing. So he is not praying for his personal salvation here (v. 12), but rather praying for the preservation of the messianic line (vv. 18-19). Ultimately, this prayer of David’s includes us.

Three Things

This does not mean that David does not pray for himself also. In the context of his plea for cleansing, David asks for three things for himself. The first is the creation of a new heart, a renewed spirit. The second is fellowship with God, and the third is a restored joy. But he is not just checklisting his way through this. He has asked for a thorough washing. The word for wash in v. 7 does not mean anything like rinsing a plate, but rather a washing of a deep stain that had gotten down into the texture of the cloth. He is asking that his crushed bones might be able to rejoice. The multitude of God’s mercies is greater than the multitude of our sins—but the potency of His grace is such that it crushes us in repentance first. It is crushed bones that learn to rejoice.

Then I Will Teach

Drunkards in taverns don’t understand the grace of God, and so it will be easy for them to continue to mock David in their songs. Uriah’s life could not be given back to him, nor Bathsheba’s purity. So now David says he’s sorry, and has the unmitigated gall to set up shop to teach people on the basis of his experience? God has to do it. If God opens a forgiven sinner’s lips (v. 15), then the testimony can be compelling. Otherwise it is just another sob story on Oprah.

Fellow Transgressors

This puts everything in perspective. The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin, but it does not do so in light and trivial ways. And when we see others who need to be converted (v. 13), and they really do need to be converted, we can speak to them with real compassion, and not with any air of superiority or self-righteousness. This psalm teaches us in profound ways, and the message is thoroughly evangelical. This is good news for a sinful race.

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Cheerful Hearts And Good Words

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Introduction

We need to begin with the obvious, which is that Scripture teaches that our words affect how we are doing, not to mention t hose around us. But this “obvious” truth can, if unattended, deteriorate into the vagaries of generic uplift. When we speak the good word, it must be a word that is truly wise and good.

The Text

“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken” (Prov. 15:13).

“Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad” (Prov. 12:25).

Summary of the Text

We begin by juxtaposing two proverbs, asking each of them to illumine the other. The first tells us that there is a link between the condition of the heart and the condition of the countenance. A merry heart results in a cheerful countenance, just as a man speaks out of the abundance of his heart (Matt. 12:34). The heart is a thermostat, setting the temperature of the rest of your activities. If the heart is sorrowful, the spirit is broken, and if the heart is merry, then the countenance shows it. So, then, how do we adjust the thermostat? When a man’s heart is heavy, then his heart stoops. He becomes discouraged. He cannot carry the weight that providence is asking him to carry. When someone want to help, what they need to do is come in order to speak a good word. A good word makes his heart glad.

Timing is Everything

But this is a good word, not just any word, and not any old word that somebody thinks is good. “He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him” (Prov. 27:14). Suppose your roommate, or your spouse, or somebody in your house, comes staggering out to breakfast, and pours himself a bowl of Grumpy Nuggets, with no sugar and very little milk. Is that the time to wave your spoon in the air in time with the old gospel song you start to sing in a raucous manner? “Cheer up, ye saints of God, there’s nothing to worry about/Nothing to make you feel afraid, nothing to make you doubt. Remember Jesus loves you so why not stand up and shout?/You’ll be sorry you worried at all tomorrow morning.” And the word of Scripture is fulfilled; you are reckoned as one who curses.

The words you speak should be true, of course, but they need to be more than true. They must also be relevant, and in addition to being relevant, they must also be timely. The only difference between salad and garbage is timing. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear” (Prov. 25:11-12). So don’t be like Mary Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, saying true things all day long, in wildly inappropriate ways. And they should also be kind. The lock on the door of your mouth should have three keys—is it true? is it kind? is it necessary?

Creaturely Imitation

There is more involved in this than just heeding an exhortation to “be nice,” or to “say nice things.” If we need to do this kind of thing in wisdom, and we do, we need to do it in imitation. What we do, we are to do as children, as imitators or followers of God (Eph. 5:1). We worship God through the Word, and so it is not surprising that we are logocentric, that we are people of words. We serve and worship the God who is love, and so we are to walk in love (Eph. 4:15). And, in the same way, we worship the God who spoke the perfect word, the fitting word, into our hearts, and so we are to do the same to others, by imitation and by analogy. Our words are to be gospel, and our words are to be gospel-like.

Counterintuitive Words

We want to take it apart in order to find out how it works. But we need to begin with the reality that it works. The Bible calls the preaching of the cross “folly” to the worldly-wise. Why should we be surprised when they come up to us and say that what we are doing doesn’t seem relevant to them. Of course it doesn’t. That is a design feature. God defines what a word fitly spoken looks like. God defines what a perfect setting of silver should be.

Need and Grace

We learn how to speak to others, speaking the good word, by observing how God speaks to us. And when the gospel comes to us, what is it? We have human need on the one hand and divine grace on the other. The good word spoken is the intersection between need and grace. The good word that preaching brings is this—it is the declaration of the grace of God, addressed to human need, and the declaration is backed up with the authority of God’s throne. So when you come to encourage someone, what is it that you are imitating? It is not a hollow appeal that says, “don’t worry, be happy.”

The Declaration of the Christ

Christ, then, is to be preached. By that we mean Christ incarnate, Christ crucified, Christ buried, Christ risen, and Christ ascended. When He is declared in this way, the pattern of death, resurrection, and ascension is not put out there to complete an argument in your intellect, although it may do that. Neither is Christ over all to be preached in such a way as to soothe or excite your emotions, although it may do that as well. We are to love God with all our minds, and we cannot do that without the preaching of Christ crucified. We are to love God with all our hearts, and we cannot do that without the preaching of Christ risen and ascended. But something more is necessary. No, the faithful declaration of this gospel is always aimed at the citadel of the human will. You are not here as spectators, or observers, but rather as worshipers, and this means that you are on the mountain of decision. And when you go down again, into your day-to-day activities, you will be in the valley of decision. Here you are, and here is the Word declared. What are you going to do?

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Dealing With Discouragement

Joe Harby on

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Introduction

Although the occasions can be many, there are two basic reasons for discouragement—internal and external. The internal occurs when for some reason we have given way to sin, and the external occurs when we are buffeted by circumstances, as Job was, but without sin. And, of course, it is possible to get discouraged in both ways. How are we to understand this? How are we to respond to it?

The Text

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God” (Ps. 42:11).

Summary of the Text

We have dealt with this psalm in detail before, and so here we will just consider the implications of this one verse. First, the psalmist presupposes that the condition of peace is normal. He is cast down and disquieted, and he wants to know the reason why. This disturbance of his soul is the thing that requires explanation. “Why are you cast down?” he asks himself (v. 11). Second, the psalmist remonstrates with himself. He talks to himself, which is a good alternative to listening to himself. He preaches to himself, and it is a convicting sermon. Third, he comes to a pointed exhortation, commanding himself to hope in God. Not only this, but he anticipates that he will in fact obey the command, for he will in the future praise God.

False Comfort

When we speak peace to our hearts, we can do it in accordance with the Scriptures, or we can do it in accordance with our own pipe dreams. For example, someone who has become and idolater by turning away from the Lord can speak peace to his own heart, in his own name and on his own authority. “And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst” (Dt. 29:19). What I am declaring here are the words of the gospel, and the gospel does not sew cushions for sin.

Triune Peace

Remember that your salvation has occurred because God has included you in His triune life. The gospel is triune, just like the God who established the gospel. And this is why peace for your distress is triune peace. What do I mean? God the Father has declared that the comfort of peace is to be announced to us (Is. 40:1-2). Christ has become our peace by His own blood (Eph. 2:13-14). And why would the Father not give to us what Christ has purchased for us? And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Christ so that He might comfort those who mourn, that He might bind up the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18). Because Christ died, the executor of His testament is the Holy Spirit. Remember then, when you are struggling with discouragement, that Father, Son, and Spirit, are all engaged on your behalf.

Discouragement in Sin

One reason why Christians are discouraged in their attempts to live the Christian life is that they are attempting to run the race with cords around their feet, and a 150 pound backpack on (Heb. 12:1). And so the way out of discouragement in sin is repentance. Discouragement in such cases is disciplinary, and God’s hand is heavy upon you for a reason. Make sure to repent the sin all the way down to its foundations, and secondly, make sure to repent of the right sin. Don’t go snipe hunting in your conscience.

Discouragement in Afflication

But don’t make the mistake of thinking that hard circumstances mean that you must have sinned. This was the error of Job’s failed comforters (Job 2:11), and it was the error of the disciples concerning the man born blind (John 9:2-3). But at the least, every trial contains a temptation to murmur, an invitation to think that the God of universe has bungled matters when it comes to your case. But God does all things perfectly well (Rom. 8:28).

Two Advocates

When Christians sin, or when they struggle with affliction, there is an accuser of the brethren in heaven who accuses them there. But, thanks to God, we have an Advocate there on our behalf. Christ is our attorney, defending us before the Father (1 Jn. 1:1-2). But the devil does not just accuse you in the heavenly courts—he also accuses you to you. What kind of Christian do you think you are? We have an Advocate on earth, as well as in heaven (John 14:16). The same word describes the office of the Son and the Spirit. Whether you stand accused in heaven or on earth, you have a court-assigned defender. And neither the Son nor the Spirit have ever lost a case. “How could they get me off ?’ you might wonder. “I’m guilty.” They successfully defend sinners like you and me because they never, ever argue from your virtues or mine. Their case presupposes our guilt. They always plead the blood of Christ, shed on earth, and then they plead the blood of Christ, sprinkled on the altar of heaven.

Pictures of Your Peace

The Puritan William Bridge pictured it this way. First, distinguish the money in your bank account, and the money in your wallet. There is your basic, foundational wealth, and there is the money you have on you. If you are mugged, then the thieves can only take what you have on your person. They cannot get at your bank account, which is not on you. In the same way, a hard day can only disturb that day’s peace. You have a fundamental peace that a rainy day cannot touch (Rom. 5:1). Second, distinguish peace in the seed and peace in the flower. Often peace in the seed looks like trouble. When you were converted, you were now troubled over things that never bothered you before. Don’t be troubled over that kind of trouble. And third, distinguish peace from a distance, where you can only see the dancing, and everybody looks crazy, and peace up close, when you can hear the music.

The peace of God is a guardian, a fence, but it does not encircle your vices and sins. Rather, your hearts and minds are protected by the peace of God, which passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7).

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Romans 65: The Commandment Of The Everlasting God (16:21-27)

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Introduction

We now come to the final blessing, the final benediction. In this letter, Paul has given us a mere synopsis of his gospel, and that synopsis is overwhelming. If the entire gospel were to be laid out for us all at once, we would be crushed by the glory of it. Never forget that God is in the universe business; we are not servants of some local baal or tribal deity. As Thomas Chalmers once put it, “Regardless of how large, your vision is too small.” Far too small.

The Text

“Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you. I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen” (Rom. 16:21-27).

Summary of the Text

Paul has sent his greetings to his friends in Rome, and he now sends greetings from those who are with him. He begins with Timothy, Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater (v. 21). Paul’s secretary, the man who did the actual writing of Romans, a man named Tertius, sent his greetings (v. 22). Gaius, the host of this apostolic entourage, and of the whole church as well, sent his greetings (v. 23). Erastus, a city official, presumably of Corinth, sent his greetings, as did a brother named Quartus (v. 23). Paul appends a benediction to this set of greetings (v. 24). He then turns to deliver a powerful benediction, one encompassing all of them, in accordance with all that he has said thus far (v. 24). He commends everything to Him who has the power to establish the Romans according to Paul’s gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, and this in accordance with the revealing of the mystery, a mystery kept secret from the beginning of the world (v. 25). But that which had been hidden is now made manifest (v. 26). That which was secret is now made known to all nations (so that they might obey) by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God (v. 26). We render glory to the only wise God, and we do so through Jesus Christ, and we will do so forever (v. 27). And amen (v. 27).

Apostolic Entourage

You can learn a lot about the center by looking at the group standing around it. You can learn a lot about Paul by looking at the kind of men he collects to work with him. Just as Jesus gathered disparate characters—like Levi the tax collector and Simon the John Bircher—so also with Paul. Timothy had been his co-laborer for many years. We don’t know much about Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater. All we know about Tertius is that he worked as a secretary taking dictation, and that the apostle Paul dictated this letter. Paul was hosted by Gaius, but he was a most hospitable man. He hosted the whole church. There was Quartus, another man we know nothing about, and Erastus, a city official. His position is described as, literally, city economist, probably the treasurer. We can see from this that the Pauline strategy for the Roman Empire as a whole was “infiltration without compromise,” and not, as some would have it, “separation for the sake of perfection.” This kind of thing happens naturally if we pray for, and evangelize, everybody (1 Tim. 2:1-2; Acts 26:29). Politics is dirty, sure enough, but so are monasteries. So is dirt, but we still walk around on it.

Kept Secret in the Types

For the apostle Paul, a mystery is not something we do not yet know. It was something that was not widely or fully known from the creation to the resurrection of Jesus. Some, like angels and prophets, knew it partially (1 Pet. 1: 10-12), but for the most part God kept His plans for the world hidden away in secret. How did He do this? How is it now manifest?

When Christ rose from the dead, and His followers went out to preach that resurrection, they were not simply reporting on a remarkable fact, but were also preaching Christ as the great Antitype of all the types and shadows. When Paul refers to the “mysteries,” he is talking in part about Adam, and David, and Sarah and Hagar, and Abraham and all the other types (1 Cor. 4:1; 1 Cor. 13:2; Eph. 3:9; Eph. 5:32; Col. 1:26-27). A typological reading of the Old Testament is certainly dangerous—and absolutely necessary to the health of gospel preaching. In order to guard ourselves against fantastical interpretations, what do we do? How do we stick close to the interpretive shore? Christ is the shore, and the Scriptures of the prophets are the map. And if it is not aimed at the obedience of faith for all the nations, then it is an erroneous reading of the text.

Eternity in their Hearts

Christians are to be established by the gospel, and not by middle age. Christians are to feed on the preaching of Jesus Christ, Lord of Heaven and earth, and they are to glory in the sweep of God’s redemptive design for the whole world.

God has established eternity in the heart of man. He has put the world in our heart, and He does not want us settling for the petty (Ecc. 3:11). We are certainly to glory in the mundane, knowing that nothing is really ever mundane. So why are so many submerged in their pettiness, and blowing bubbles in it? God created you for more. Lift up your heads.

You will live forever. Shouldn’t your goal be loftier than getting teen-aged boys to look at your body at the pool? How hard could that be? God intends that you be more than a curvy little dope. Shouldn’t your goal be more noble than getting the papers from this side of the desk to that side of the desk? God intended that you do more with your life than just shuffle stuff around. Shouldn’t you be less concerned about the muddy footprints your kid left on the entry mat, and more concerned about the muddy footprints you are leaving on his heart? God intended for you to be great in the law of kindness. We are all of us small, but we were not designed to be petty.

And nothing better than the book of Romans to lift you up out of yourself. Amen and amen.

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Romans 64: The God Of Peace Who Crushes (16:17-20)

Joe Harby on

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Introduction

In this small portion of the last chapter of Romans, the apostle arranges a number of profound and important truths. If we have eyes to see the sweep of redemptive history, we will get it. If we do not, then we are missing some crucial aspects of the gospel.

The Text

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen” (Rom. 16:17-20).

Summary of the Text

Paul then pleads with the Romans, and what he asks them to do is identify those who are schismatic, and to have nothing to do with them (v. 17). These are men who, despite their presence within the church, do not serve Jesus Christ, but rather worship their own belly (v. 18). They are deceptive and dangerous (v. 18). Paul knows that the obedience of the Roman church is known to all men (v. 19), and he is glad for this. But at the same time, he has a caution for them—they should be good-wise and evil-simple (v. 19). If they are, then the God of peace will fulfill His glorious promise (Gen. 3:15) through them, and bruise Satan under their feet shortly (v. 20). Paul then pronounces a benediction over them (v. 20).

Division and Dividers

There is a kind of simplistic liberalism that wants to evaluate everything as though right and wrong were not real categories. So if you strike a child, they say, you are simply teaching them violence. Actually, if you spank with a sense of love and justice, then when you spank, you are actually teaching your son not to clock his little sister over the head with his plastic fire truck. This is faux-profundity, like those who think that pro-lifers who support capital punishment are being inconsistent. Let’s see, we support executing the guilty after a fair trial, and oppose executing the innocent who never get a trial. Right, wrong? Guilt, innocence? These are strange words. You tell me who’s being inconsistent.

So they say that if you follow what the apostle says here, and you divide from those who cause divisions, then have you not joined them? Hmmm? But in the world God made, the antithesis is inescapable. This means that you must divide the way God says, or you will divide in another, destructive way. We do not have the option of “not dividing.” We will either divide from the schismatics, or we will divide from those who love Christian unity. There are no other options. There is no way to love the wolves without hating the sheep, and vice versa.

Note the character of these schismatics. First, they cause divisions and offenses. Right and wrong—some are guilty and some are innocent. We are responsible to know which are which. Second, God has given us a way to do this. The measuring rod is the “doctrine” that we “have learned.” What does the Bible say? Third, though these people are in the church they are not of the church. They do not worship Jesus Christ. They do not serve Christ, but rather they serve their own bellies. The rumbling of those bellies gives unction to their eloquence, and so with smooth flatteries, they deceive the hearts of the simple. Anyone who believes that these belly gods have disappeared from the church since Paul’s day is not paying attention . . . or is one of them.

The Right Kind of Simple

Paul says that these smooth talkers deceive the hearts of the simple. And yet in the next breath, he wants our hearts to be a certain kind of simple—simple with regard to evil. We are to be wise in what is good, and simple in the convolutions of evil. Keep it simple. Love God, hate sin. Read the Bible, love your neighbor. Trust in Jesus. Love the good people, fight the bad people. Enroll in the graduate schools of goodness, and repeatedly flunk the kindergartens of sin. In the devil’s kindergarten, you should not even be able to figure out how to hold the crayons.

The God of Peace is a Warrior

The glorious promise of verse 20 is packed with implications that we must draw out. First, we conquer evil, crushing it, bruising it, because the God of peace enables us to do so. Remember the earlier point about dividing from division. There is no contradiction when the God of peace crushes the serpent head of all discord. Peace is brought into this sorry world by means of conquest, and not with a therapeutic group hug. Secondly, notice how Paul shows that the Messianic promise that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head is a promise that is not limited to Jesus Himself. It is partially fulfilled by means of the body of Christ—it is “your feet.” Third, Paul says that this will happen “shortly.” The Roman Christians he was writing to did not have to wait for the Day of Judgment for this to happen. Fourth, we see here how Satan is connected by the New Testament writers with the events in the Garden of Eden. Genesis doesn’t mention Satan by name, but Paul places him there. Other writers do the same (1 Jn. 3:10, 12; Rev. 20:2). And fifth, the fulfillment of this promise is connected to the instructions he has just given. If we mark and identify the sowers of discord, pursuing goodness with deep and profound wisdom, and avoiding evil with a very simple revulsion, then what? Then the God of peace is at work in our midst, and He will use our feet to crush the serpent’s head.

Good Words and Fair Speeches . . . from Satan

Emissaries of Hell don’t show up at your door like they were straight out of a zombie movie. They don’t say, “Hello, I am here from the devil, and I have come to lead you astray. Come with me to the hellish inferno.” Satanism is not characterized by severed goats’ heads, pentagrams on the floor, troubled teenagers, and guttering candles. Jesus was tempted to become a Satan worshipper (Matt. 4:8) , and He was tempted by something glorious. The apostle Paul tells us that Satan is an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14), and it is no wonder if his ministers come off looking like ministers of righteousness (2 Cor. 11:15). So what does not crush disturbances in the church? It is the conviction that certain people have that their wants and desires are right, righteous, true, and holy. They don’t want that deeper right than being right. The only serpent they want to be crushed is out there.

But the godly plea is this—bruise in us the serpent’s head.

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