Christ Church

A Fortified City (CC Downtown)
Christ Church on January 24, 2025
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State of the Church 2025 (CC Downtown)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

Many passages of Scripture require us to have a sort of double vision. The problems of heresies and schisms arise when one group sees the text one way, while another group sees it another way. Meanwhile, when viewed with the right sort of double vision both aspects fit together perfectly with no contradiction or violence to the distinctions between them. Our task is to receive such texts humbly with both hands.

THE TEXT

That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets: That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets. Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD. (Psa 144:12-15 KJV)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

This Psalm is a prayer for deliverance from enemies (vv1-11). There are echoes of the prayers found in several prior Psalms. The second part, which we are considering, is the reason David gives to God for why the Lord should grant a gracious deliverance. Why should God condescend and consider man (v3)? The reason David gives to the Lord for why God should answer this prayer is so that the sons of Israel might become stately cedars, and the daughters of Israel may become ornate pillars of a stable civilization (v12). Additionally, David reasons with God that this deliverance from “strange children” will allow Israel to enjoy barns full of grain and grapes, innumerable herds (v13), strong oxen for next year’s sowing and harvesting (v14a), and streets that are quiet and undisturbed by warfare (v14b).

David concludes his argument with God by prevailing upon the Most High to consider the happiness of those whose God is Yahweh. David echos Moses’ blessings upon Israel at the end of Deuteronomy: Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places (Deu 33:29 KJV). God delivered His people in order to bestow upon them everlasting happiness by covenant fellowship. David points at the surrounding enemies and then invites God to consider His covenant promises, calling upon God to establish the joy of His people.

SONS, DAUGHTERS, AND WEALTH

We should see this picture with double vision and both are good. Some might take this to be David being too consumed with temporal and earthly blessings of children, crops, and herds. Someone might snark that David seems to have made his family, material comfort, and happiness an idol. Others try to scrub these verses with lysol wipes of etherealism: David means metaphorical flocks and is envisioning the flock of the NT church. Still others see the promise of full barns, and get dollar signs in their eyes and conclude that earthly wealth is the top floor of the joy elevator. But both the prosperity Gospel swindler, and the thinly sliced pietist miss what is going on here.

The promise of sons that are strong as oak trees, daughters ornate as palace pillars, and flocks as numerous as the sand no the seashore is not an automatic blessing. This blessing is downstream from blessing God. David blesses God, David sings a new song to the Lord (vv1, 9-10). The legacy of healthy offspring and earthly prosperity is not automatic. But it is promised by God, and our response should be one of true faith. But here is where the double vision is needed. The reasons David gave God for delivering Israel was so that Israel could have robust sons and daughters and earthly wealth; but if you look at it rightly you can see that everything in David’s list is, in part, what is necessary to maintain the sacrificial worship of the tabernacle.

The prophet Joel portrays the inversion of these covenantal blessings, and explicitly highlights that the devastation of the locust army had consequences when it came to continuing the sacrifices which God had commanded (Joe 1:8-10 KJV). David then sees children and earthly wealth as the means whereby worship of the living God might be carried on to all generations. He is not the short-sighted hedonist, nor is he the severe exegete. David summons us to consider that sons and daughters and material blessings are the means whereby God’s kingdom is continually built up and prospered and advanced.

OUR GROWING BODY

We have been worshipping together as a distinct service for two and half years. Our aim should be that as this congregation grows, as a microcosm of the broader Moscow growth, we must get the order right. Bless God first and foremost in order for your vineyard to be well-laden with fruit. But don’t stop there. The fruit of children and the fruit of your labors are not ends in themselves, they are the continuation of God’s promise to fill the world, from one side to the other, with worshippers.

We have many young families. Our vision for what God is doing here at CCD must be that these sons will soon be running the institutions the previous generation established, these daughters will soon be raising their own brood, all your wealth will soon be handed down to your heirs. The question is, will they be steadfast in the worship of the living God? Will they love the standard? Will they be more courageous and bold than you? Will they treasure God’s Word as great spoil?

Our prayer for deliverance from enemies of woke policies, globalist tyranny, deluded sexual ethics, and vain fiscal measures must always be aimed at the intention that we and our children might worship God in all peace and quietness. But deliverance from evil is never a permission slip to longer naps, lazier work ethic, gentle parenting, or hazy Bible reading practices.

TEMPORAL AND ETERNAL HAPPINESS

All this demands three things. Do not let off the gas when it comes to teaching your family to walk in the ways of the Lord, and filling your home with joyful songs of praise, the truthful words of sincere confession, and the rejection of mindless worldly entertainment. Secondly, work hard. David’s request to God to spare Israel from the destruction of invading armies is so that next year Israel can get to work again on another season of plowing, sowing, watering and harvesting. Do not avoid hard work, find another gear, and do so for the reasons described in this Psalm: supplying the needs for the mission of God’s covenant promises to a thousand generations.

Lastly, blessing God and being made happy by God are the brackets of this Psalm. This is true living. Bless God. Receive His blessings with true faith and gladness in order to bless Him once more. But don’t fall into the trap of viewing the temporal and eternal as enemies. You are raising children who will either live forever in the bliss of heaven, or forever damned due to unbelief. You are working to bring glorious treasures into the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21:24). This is because if the Lord is your God, happiness is both your present and everlasting reality.

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What is Man? (Advent #2) (CC Downtown)

Christ Church on

PSALM 8

1 O Lord, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name in all the earth,

Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

You have ordained strength,

Because of Your enemies,

That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

4 What is man that You are mindful of him,

And the son of man that You visit him?

5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,

And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet,

7 All sheep and oxen—

Even the beasts of the field,

8 The birds of the air,

And the fish of the sea

That pass through the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

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The Lord Gives Victory

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

You don’t really have to remind American Christians that we are sliding down a slippery slope. We all sense that the wheels are coming off. It is an easy time to be a defeatist and an escapist. But Scripture won’t let us curl up in the corner. It will not let us freeze up and wait for Jesus to return and beam us up out of our present day Sodom. “But,” someone says, “there are giants in the land.” Yes, indeed there are. And remember how it went for Israel in the wilderness when they refused to go conquer those sons of Canaan.

Our retreatism is not fruit of our humility, “Well, I just have to know my limitations. I’m simply to weak for that fight.” That’s not meekness talking. That is unbelief. God has shown us this message many times: When Christ takes the throne, he rules. When he takes the throne, he advances his kingdom. And we must offer ourselves freely in the day of his power (Psalm 110:3). 

Today is the day of his power. Christ does now what David did in our passage. David ascended to the throne only a few chapters before in the book of Samuel. Now he conquers from that throne. Likewise, Christ has ascended to His heavenly throne. And now he rules victoriously from that throne.

THE TEXT

And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines. 2 And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.

3 David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots. 5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much brass.

9 When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer, 10 then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And Joram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass: 11 which also king David did dedicate unto the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued; 12 of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 13 And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men.

14 And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David’s servants. And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went.

15 And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people. 16 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe; 18 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief rulers (2 Samuel 8 KJV).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Let’s consider a survey of the text. Verse 1 tells us that David’s victories occurred “after this.” That is, after the covenant that God made with David. God covenanted David a sure house and kingdom. The “after this” reminds us that God fulfills His promises. We’re not presuming Christ’s conquest. We have blood bought covenant promises undergirding our confidence.

The structure of David’s victories is important. There are four groups and four directions to his victory. David defeated the Philistines who dwelt to the West of Jerusalem (v. 1). He defeated Moab who dwelt to the East of Jerusalem (v. 2). He conquered Hadadezer and his army who dwelt to the North (v. 3-10). Then, smote Edom who dwelt to the South (v. 13-14). David is victorious North, East, South, and West.

In this conquest, he fulfills what God promised to Abraham all the way back in Genesis 15:18—”Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.” David recovered the border at that river Euphrates (v. 3). The Promised Land was being filled as God said it would be.

The language throughout David’s victories is also important. We’re told repeatedly that David smote his enemies (v. 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 13). He was on the offense, not back on his heels.

As David struck down his enemies, kings were subdued, some through conquest and others like Toi through wise gifts (v. 9). David dedicated the spoils of his victory to the Lord (v. 11). And he secured his territory with garrisons (v. 6, 14). The result of David’s conquest was peace. He administered judgment and justice to all the people (v. 15). The list of his officials illustrate a well-ordered kingdom (v. 16-18). The victory was undeniable. And from where did it come? Twice we hear the vital answer to that question: “The LORD preserved David” (v. 6, 14).

David is a type of Christ who fulfills the promise of a kingdom. Christ is the antitype. As he fulfills the promise of his kingdom, he smites the enemy, spreads godly dominion, and receives riches and honor.

SMITES THE ENEMY

When Christ brings his kingdom on earth, his enemies are struck down. He said himself that he did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34). He has been doing this kind of thing from the beginning. God put enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. He sent plagues on Pharaoh in Abraham’s day. He did the same in the days of Moses. He struck down great kings like Chedorlaomer and Og the king of Bashan’s land. We should learn the pattern so that we don’t cower when we face the enemy. All of the Goliaths will fall.

The point is not first to us as an individuals, but to Christ and his covenant people. That includes us as individuals. But it does not center on us as individuals . . .

SPREADS GODLY DOMINION

Christ has ascended to the throne to usher in his kingdom. And this does not simply mean the destruction of sin, death, and the devil. It also means the spread of godliness and peace. God breaks the bow, shatters, the spear, and makes wars to cease (Psalm 46:9). King David, at the end of his life, said, that when one rules in the fear of God he dawns on others like the rising sun on a cloudless morning. The people under such leadership grow like the green grass springing up after rain (2 Samuel 23:3-4).

When Hadadezer and the Edomites were struck down, godly rule took their places. “David executed judgment and justice” (v. 15).  The divine-law of Jerusalem was extended North, East, South, and West. So it is with Christ’s present rule from his heavenly throne. The spread of this godly dominion is multi-faceted . . .

RECEIVES RICHES AND HONOR

One of the chief lies of the woke nonsense is “to the victor goes the shame.” But this, of course, is an attempted reversal of the very nature of reality. The victor receives honor. We honor the face of the old man (Leviticus 19:32). The woke lie would have you shame the old man. It would have you call up, down; and down, up. But both the Bible and the world tell a different story. David conquered and he received riches and honor. The Syrians brought David gifts (v. 6). David took shields of gold from Hadadezer’s servants (v. 7) and brass from his the cities (v. 8). King Toi sent David silver, brass, and gold (v. 10). Verse 13 says David made a name for himself after striking down 18,000 Syrians. This was a fulfillment of God’s promise in the previous chapter that he would make David a great name (2 Samuel 7:9).

We live in a time where no one wants anyone to have any crowns. If one has a crown, then all must have a crown. This sentiment includes checking any crown you have at the door before you come in. This is the spirit of the age and it is the spirit of the enemy. You are not supposed to check your crown at the door, you are supposed to bring it in and cast it down before the throne of the Lamb.

Whatever your particular honor or riches (and there are many forms), honor Christ with your honor and be rich to Him with your riches. We are here at this assembly of worship to do just that. We offer up to God our praise, our very lives as a living and holy sacrifice. We will go from this place to work for Him this week, and return again next Sunday to sacrifice and dedicate what we are and have to him once more.

Why do we do this? Because he is worthy. He is the Son of David. He is the Lamb sitting on the throne, the Lamb who was slain and redeemed us to God by his blood.

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The David Chronicles 56: Inscrutable Justice and Mercy

Joe Harby on

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Introduction

This passage concludes the narrative of the book of Samuel, and it does so with a story that sounds odd to modern ears —for various reasons. Some of those reasons have to do with the coming of the gospel, and some of them have to do with us drifting away from a biblical understanding of God’s ways with man.

The Text

“And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah . . .” (2 Sam. 24:1-25).

Summary of the Text

God’s anger was kindled against Israel, and so He made David make a bad decision (v. 1). David told Joab to go and number the people of Israel (v. 2). Joab, wisely, was opposed (v. 3). But David prevailed against Joab and the military leaders (v. 4). They traveled through all Israel, taking 9 months on the census (vv. 5-8). The number was 800,000 in Israel and 500,000 in Judah (v. 9). Upon receiving this information, David’s conscience struck him (v. 10). A prophetic word came to the prophet Gad (v. 11), and it was a word that offered David three options (v. 12). So Gad came to him and gave him the choice between 7 years of famine, 3 months of fleeing from enemies, or 3 days of pestilence (v. 13). So David chose to fall into the hands of God, not man (v. 14), and God sent pestilence that killed 70,000 men (v. 15). The angel of pestilence was coming upon Jerusalem, but the Lord “repented him” of the evil, and told the angel to stand by (v. 16). When David saw the angel, he offered himself and his own house instead of the people (v. 17). Gad told David to build an altar where the angel was, which was the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (v. 18). David obeyed (v. 19), and Araunah saw David coming and bowed before him (v. 20). David told him that he had come to buy the threshing floor, in order to build an altar that would stop the plague (v. 21). Araunah offered to give him everything he needed (vv. 22-23). David refused to offer that which cost him nothing, so he paid fifty shekels of silver for it (v. 24). And so David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and the plague was stopped (v. 25).

The Census Sin

First, what was the sin involved in the census? It was not because of the mere fact of the census—because that was allowed and assumed by the law (Ex. 30:12). And Jesus teaches us that counting our troops is a wise and prudent thing to do (Luke 14:31). So what was the problem here? Note that Joab, the consummate politician, was against it. Note also that David repented as soon as he heard the numbers. And note that the breakout of the numbers divided the troops according to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. The cultural fault lines that defined two future kingdoms were already there, and I believe that David realized that he had just badly exacerbated them. It was his job to be king of all Israel, and not to toy with war games that speculated on what would happen if they turned on each other.

Sin as Judgment

We know that sin brings judgment, and this is a truth that needs to be emphasized in a generation that desperately wants to forget it. But at the same time, we also must recognize that God is sovereign over all things, sin included, and that He sometimes arranges things so that judgment brings sin, which brings more judgment. He is the Lord, and we are not to talk back.

Note here that God’s anger was kindled against Israel (for unspecified sin), and as a result of that He stirred up David to number the people (v. 1). And then, because David numbered the people, he and the people were judged. I said a moment ago that God is sovereign, and we must not talk back. But if we wanted to talk back, is the material here? God judged David for a sin that God “incited” David to commit? Yes. Not only this, but the parallel account in Chronicles says that Satan provoked David to do this (1 Chron. 21:1), the first mention of Satan by title in the Bible.

Some who want to pretend that God does not hold all of history in the palm of His hand point to expressions like what we find here—God repenting, or changing His mind—and they insist on taking the words at what they say is face value. When we say that it is an obvious expression—how we experience God’s dealings with us—and that it is just like us saying “sunrise” when we know intellectually that it was actually “earthturn,” they say that we are trifling with the plain meaning of the text. Okay, if you want the plain meaning of the text, then why don’t you repeat the whole story? What did God repent of? He repented of killing 70,000 people because He was angry at something that He made David do in the first place, and He was angry for unspecified reasons. And He sent Satan as His agent. There is no resolution to any of this except in high octane Calvinism.

The Angel at the Threshing Floor

The Bible teaches that angels and celestial powers were assigned a governing role over mankind until the coming of Christ. Prior to the Incarnation, it was God/angels/man. After the coming of Christ, there has been a cosmological revolution, and it is now God/man in Christ/angels (Heb. 2:5). The world to come—the world we inhabit—has been subjected to man, and not to angels. This was not the case three thousand years ago. Then mankind was in his minority (Gal. 3:19, 24).

Sin as Stroke of God

The sovereignty of God over evil is not something that has disappeared in the new covenant. But make sure you understand the doctrine correctly. Is God the Author of sin? In one sense, no, of course not, and in another sense, yes, absolutely.

James tells us that God cannot be tempted by evil, and that He himself tempts no one. Let no one say that God is “tempting” him to commit sin (Jas. 1:13). God is present with you in the person of the Holy Spirit. God never tempts or lures to sin.

But God most emphatically wields sin, for His righteous and holy purposes. We have this text, and countless others. Assyria, full of military arrogance and sin, was an ax in the hand of God (Is. 12:12, 15). Herod, Pilate, Pontius Pilate, and all the Jews did with wicked hands (Acts 2:23) what God had determined beforehand to be done (Acts 4:27-28), and to which Jesus submitted as the will of His Father (Luke 22:42). God often picks up dirty tools with holy hands.

Close to home, we have the rod of our sexual license, which God is using to beat us senseless (Prov. 22:14). The wrath of God is visited upon us when God “gives us up” to homosexual lusts (Rom. 1:24, 26). Whenever you see and form of “gay pride,” and all the rest of that foolishness, do not think that this is something for which God will judge us (although He will do that). Think of it as a judgment for something else. It is the judgment itself.

We might want to say that we “don’t know” what it could have been. But two things . . . a spirit of true repentance would actually want to know. And a spirit of true faith would turn to God through Jesus Christ—the only available provision for this kind of thing. We have an offering far greater than what David was able to offer on Araunah’s threshing floor.

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