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These Our Tumultuous Mercies

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INTRODUCTION

A little over a week from now, we will be selecting our next president. In preparation for this, because Christ is Lord of everything we do, we need to consider the adverbs that will need to accompany our application of the infinitive of that verb to vote.

This year such caution is more far necessary than it usually is. I am not old yet, but I think I can see old from here. And over all these decades of active political interest, I do not recall any political season that even remotely resembles this one. These are indeed tumultuous times, but God never abandons His people during such times. He shakes what can be shaken (and which needed to be shaken) so that what cannot be shaken might remain. And we are in fact receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:27-29). And that is why we should consider these times to be the times of our tumultuous mercies.

THE TEXT

“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes” (Psalm 118:8–9)

“Put not your trust in princes, Nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; In that very day his thoughts perish” (Psalm 146:3–4).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

There are two places in the psalms where we are instructed not to put our confidence in princes. Psalm 118 is the one where God promised us that Christ, the rejected stone, would be made the head of the corner (v. 22). Because of the Lord’s mercies, I will not die but rather will live (v. 17). The right hand of the Lord does valiantly (vv. 15-16). This is the context of the exhortation not to put your trust in princes. They are not like the Lord. Trusting the Lord is better than trusting man. Trusting the Lord is better than trusting the leaders of men.

In Psalm 146, we are told that God is the one who made the heavens, the earth, the seas, and everything in them (v. 6). Not only is His sovereignty in evidence at the bottom of the deepest sea, it is also plain in the back alleys of the deepest slum (v. 7). He undertakes for the widow and orphan (v. 9), and He takes the way of the wicked, turns it upside down and shakes it. That includes the wicked who happen to be princes. Do not put your trust in princes (v. 3). Do not look to the sons of men, in whom there is no help (v. 3). Why is there no real help? His last breath goes out through his nose, and at that moment he is a spent force.

POLITICAL, NOTT PARTISAN

The Christian church is inescapably political, but this is not the same thing as being partisan. Our elders have had a long-standing practice of not allowing partisan politics a place in our worship services. In other words, it would be completely out of line for us to preach the Word, serve communion, and campaign for Murphy. When worship services are allowed to drift into that kind of thing, the church is being played. This mistake is how evangelicals have slowly become a demographic voting bloc, represented in Washington by lobbyists. In other words, we are represented the same way that Big Tobacco and the gun lobby are represented. But that is not where our true authority lies.

But believing in the separation of church and state (as we do) does not mean that we believe in the separation of righteousness and state. Who could possibly be for an unrighteous state? We do not believe in the separation of morality and state, or the separation of God and state. To believe in the separation of God and state is tantamount to desiring a godless state. And to desire that is to declare war on all humanity.

This means that the Christian church is essentially political. We represent a new polis with a citizenship in Heaven (Phil. 3:20), a new way of being human, and a mission to disciple the nations (Matt. 28:18-20). How could our assigned mission be to teach all the nations to obey everything Jesus taught, and yet not get into political issues? Abortion is evil (Ex. 20:13). Same sex mirage is an abomination (Lev. 18:22). Inflation is theft (Is. 1:22). You get the picture. And Ahab could not cover up his wickedness regarding Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21:13) by calling it land reform, or making the rich pay their fair share, or a rezoning challenge.

PREPARE TO PIVOT

In a conservative congregation like this one, I don’t need to wave you off from the perils of voting for the Democratic candidate. That is not your peculiar temptation, or at least it had better not be. Most of you will be voting for the president, and it is not my place to tell you anything about that one way or the other from this pulpit. Remember what I said earlier—no partisanship. But what I can tell you is that you must not put your trust in princes.

Rejecting the left is the duty of every Christian citizen who has an open Bible. We despise all of it—anarchy in the streets, tax policies riddled with envy, arbitrary and capricious government, blood-soaked abortion policies, and all the rest of it. But rejecting this is not synonymous with bringing in the kingdom of God. If the left goes down hard in this election, which should be our prayer, it will not be the case that sin and temptation have gone into retirement. And, as the saying goes, no matter which way the election goes, the government always seems to get in. Christlessness will beckon from the right.

If the left goes down hard, there will be a temptation for those Christians who voted for the president to treat it as an emotional investment, rather than a tactical decision. But on LGBTQ behavior, the president is awful. And on fiscal restraint, he has the same general approach held by a shrewdness of apes that got into a warehouse full of trade gin. You can be grateful for all the conservative federal judges without putting your trust in princes. In short, the leftist threat to us and our liberties could be dealt with entirely, and yet our children and grandchildren will still have to deal with threats to the faith once delivered to all of us. We must be prepared to pivot accordingly.

CHRIST THE LORD

We worship and serve Messiah the Prince. Our first and foundational allegiance is to God the Father. We are Christians, and this means that we are called to a life of layered loyalties. Some of those loyalties of necessity involve people who do not love Jesus Christ the same way we do. We are, most of us, Americans, and so we should love our nation the same way the apostle Paul loved his nation. This is lawful and, I would argue, even required.

“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Rom. 9:1–3).

When it comes to spiritual matters, and the authority of the Lord Jesus over us all, America is an insensate oaf, a bewildered palooka. We need to be in a position to declare the truth of this to everyone, regardless of who is president.

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The Power of Sabbath-Driven Work

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INTRODUCTION

In the beginning God created everything as sheer gift, and He made the man and the woman at the tail end of that project and gave them work to do. But the first full day that Adam and Eve enjoyed together was the seventh day, the day God rested from all of His labors (Gen. 2:1-3). While Adam and Eve had no sins to be justified for on that first Sabbath day, it still functions as a type of what God is like, what His grace is like, and where Christian work always comes from.

THE TEXT

If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it (Isaiah 58:13–14).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The prophet rebukes the people for fasting and afflicting themselves in superstitious ways, trying to manipulate God (Is. 58:3-5). The fast that God actually loves is the one in which heavy burdens are lifted, prisoners are set free, the hungry are fed, and the naked are clothed (Is. 58:6-7). This is how light breaks forth in a land, and these are the people God loves to listen to (Is. 58:8-10). God will be with those who seek to meet real needs, and He will make their bones fat and they will be like watered gardens, like springs of water to their communities (Is. 58:11). This is where Reformation comes from, and they will be known for it (Is. 58:12). They call the Sabbath a delight and delight themselves in the Lord (Is. 58:13-14).

FROM THE RIVER TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH

In Ezekiel 47, Ezekiel sees water running out over the threshold of the temple eastward (Ez. 47:1). That water runs out past the city gates, and after about a thousand cubits, it was ankle deep (Ez. 47:3). After another thousand cubits, it came up to a man’s waist (Ez. 47:4). And after another thousand, a man would have to swim through it (Ez. 47:5). Ezekiel is then told that those waters flow out to the desert and into the sea for the healing and life of the whole world (Ez. 47:6-12). Where does the water come from? And what is that water? The first question is easier to answer because the text tells us: the water is coming from the altar (Ez. 47:1). But the answer to the second question is available from the context: What does the water do? It heals everything it touches and gives life and fruitfulness (Ez. 47:8-9). And Jesus seems to give us a conclusive answer: “He that believeth in me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive…” (Jn. 7:38-39). Jesus (and His death and resurrection) is the altar of the New Covenant, and the living water is the Holy Spirit filling and spilling out of believers, like watered gardens.

WORK THAT IS JUSTIFIED BY FAITH

How does the Holy Spirit spill out of believers and refresh the land? Through joyful obedience and good works. But there is a massive difference between ascetic-driven good works and Sabbath-driven good works. One is a putrid pond; the other a life-giving stream. All people, but especially religious people, have a bad habit of trying to impress God and other people with “fasting” that is actually an elaborate charade of self-service (Is. 58:3, Mt. 6:16-18). There is a do-gooding spirit that wearies the doer and everyone around them and makes a spectacle that God completely ignores (Is. 58:4-5). This doesn’t mean God doesn’t want His people loosing bands of wickedness, lifting heavy burdens, setting captives free, feeding the hungry, or clothing the naked. But God wants that good work driven by delighting in Him and His rest (Is. 58:13-14). In fact, there is no other kind of good work. God only notices the work that is driven by delight in Him. And do not turn that delight into some grim duty.

Paul makes the same point in Titus, insisting that believers be ready for every good work, careful to maintain good works, learning to maintain good works that are needed to be fruitful in every way (Tit. 3:1, 8, 14). But right in the middle of those exhortations is the kindness and love of God our Savior Who, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, saved us, being justified by his grace, and made heirs of eternal life (Tit. 3:4-7). Justification by faith alone means that Christ’s obedience and death is received by God in our place as a free gift: our sins are imputed to Him and His righteous obedience is imputed to us, received by faith alone plus nothing (Gal. 3). Our job is to simply rest in it. But not only are we resting from our do-gooding to try to earn God’s favor or make up for our sins, we are actually resting in the fact that God has already accepted all of our works, our entire lives, for the sake of Christ alone (Eccl. 9:7, Tit. 3:5).

This means that all Christian work is done in joyful (restful) confidence since it is already accepted, already justified by His grace. This is why Christian work aims to loose burdens, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked. And while this certainly can and does include various forms of emergency aid and sacrifice, it ordinarily includes infrastructures of labor, business, savings accounts, budgets, and free markets. When God made the world and welcomed the first people into it, they had nothing, but what God prepared for them was a world full of good and profitable work. Just because it’s organized and planned and thoughtful toward the long term, doesn’t make it any less sacrificial or generous. Frequently it is more sacrificial and generous.

TOO GLAD

One of the slanders of the Puritans is that they were grumpy Sabbatarians and fussy prudes. But the reality is almost entirely the opposite. C.S. Lewis writes: “Whatever they [puritans] were they were not sour, gloomy, or severe; nor did their enemies bring any such charge against them… For More, a Protestant was one ‘drunk on the new must of lewd lightness of mind and vain gladness of heart’. Luther, he said, had made converts precisely because ‘he spiced all the poison’ with ‘liberty’. Protestantism was not too grim, but too glad to be true… Even when we pass on… to Calvin himself we shall find an explicit rejection of that ‘uncivil and froward philosophy’ which ‘alloweth us in no use of creatures save that which is needful, and going about (as it were in envy) to take from us the lawful enjoyment of God’s blessings… When God created food, ‘He intended not only the supplying of our necessities but delight and merriment’ (hilaritas)” (English Literature in the 16th Century, 34-35). If Christians are to be accused of anything in their work it should be that we are excellent at everything we do but far too happy.

CONCLUSION

The center of Sabbath keeping is the glad worship of the Triune God on the Lord’s Day: remembering the New Creation and the Greater Exodus accomplished by Jesus. But that joy really should overflow into our homes and lives in joyful celebration of all His good gifts. Understood rightly and under God’s providential blessing, there is an ever-increasing cycle of gladness set off by regeneration. In Christ, we are ushered into a new creation, and whereas the Old Creation ended in a day of rest, the New Creation begins with rest. So we work out of our rest in Christ. Under God’s blessing, you can truly do more in six days than in seven. While grim fear, threats, and envy may make people scramble, only glad grace drives good work.

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Wisdom Builds a House

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INTRODUCTION

It has become increasingly common to hear Christians refer to “wisdom” as though it were some esoteric, mystical quality, as though it were subjective, relative, or simply some kind of Zen power. But while the wisdom of God does confound the wisdom of men, it is not irrational or incoherent. Wisdom is the art of obedient building. In the beginning God built the world out of nothing with wisdom (Prov. 8:22ff). Wisdom builds her house (Prov. 9:1), and by wisdom a house is built (Prov. 24:3). The queen of Sheba was amazed by Solomon’s wisdom and the house he had built (1 Kgs. 10:4, 2 Chron. 9:3). The wise man hears the words of Jesus and obeys and so builds his house on the rock (Mt. 7:24, Lk. 6:48).

THE TEXT

“But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living…” (Job 28:12-29:2)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

As Job’s great argument with his three accusers draws to a close, Job recites this meditation on the difficulty and value of wisdom. It is not found in the land of the living or even in the depths of the sea (28:12-14). It cannot be purchased or even compared to gold or sapphires or any precious stone (28:15-19). Destruction and death say they have heard of wisdom, but only God knows where wisdom dwells (28:20-23). God saw and declared and prepared wisdom when He measured every detail of the universe He made, including the winds, the waters, the rain, and the lightning – wisdom built the world (28:24-27). This is why the fear of the Lord is wisdom and departing from evil is understanding (28:28). Bookending this explanation of wisdom are two speeches by Job, which the narrator says are “parables,” wise meditations on his situation (27:1, 29:1), culminating in the end of Job’s argument (31:40).

WISDOM WEARS A HARD HAT

One of the first mentions of wisdom in the Old Testament is the skill given to those constructing the tabernacle. They are given wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and “all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving timber, to work in all manner of workmanship” (Ex. 31:3-5ff) as well as the making of fabrics, weaving, embroidering, dyeing, and engraving (Ex. 28:3-4, 35:26, 31, 35, 36:1-2). Clearly wisdom is an artistic skill. It is both creative and bound by the laws of nature and God’s word. Those who were filled with wisdom were given the artistic skills to “make all that I have commanded” (Ex. 31:6). Wisdom is the art of obeying God well in order to make and build whatever God has determined to make and build: families, cities, businesses, schools, churches, and a people and a Kingdom that will last forever. While some imagine wisdom as something to be found in a cave in the mountains, surrounded by silence and guttering candles, the Bible says that wisdom wears a hard hat. Wisdom operates a crane and backhoe. Wisdom wields a trowel. Wisdom wears an apron. Wisdom is found at work. Wisdom is found in obedience to God’s assignments for building His projects.

THE WISDOM OF JOB

The assignment given to Job was dealing with the severe providence of being a great king who lost most of his wealth, his children, his health, and then facing the shame of three so-called “friends” accusing him of having sinned and therefore being disqualified to rule. The book is largely taken up with three “cycles” of speeches with Job answering each accuser: Eliphaz-Job-Bildad-Job-Zophar-Job (repeat), with the final cycle falling apart in the middle of Bildad’s speech (Job 25). Some modern textual critics want to argue that we lost some material, but the far more straightforward explanation is that Job won the argument. The text suggests this in several ways: first, Job simply outlasts his accusers – they stopped accusing Job because he refused to admit his guilt (Job 32:1); second, at the end of the book, God says that the three accusers have sinned grievously by not speaking what was correct like Job did (Job 42:7-8); but third, even here, the narrator describes Job’s two final speeches as “parables” (Job 27:1, 29:1).

The word for “parable” is literally a “wise saying,” and it is derived from a verb that means to rule or reign as king. What did it look like Job was doing? Arguing for his life? Maybe struggling with a bad attitude? What was Job actually doing? He was rebuilding his household and kingdom. What were his materials? The metal and wood and stones of his shattered kingdom and shameless accusers. In other words: Almost nothing. His words were like hammer and tongs, hammer and nails, and God restored it all (Job 42). Wisdom is that patient skill that takes dominion of the raw materials in front of you. Wisdom is so valuable because it is the art of building something out of almost nothing. Wisdom builds and God restores all things.

THE PATIENCE OF JOB

James raises the example of the prophets, as standing firm in the midst of suffering affliction with patience, and he specifically mentions the “patience of Job,” as an example of God’s blessing and tender mercy on those who endure (Js. 5:10-11). This is striking because you might not think that “patience” is characterized by 28 chapters worth of a blog war. But patience is not stoic apathy; patience is prophetic. Patience is militant obedience, hungry for the blessing of God. And this is wisdom: patient, cheerful obedience at the task assigned: ruling wisely over the raw materials entrusted to you, using them to build and make something for the glory of God. What are the raw materials entrusted to you? A particular history, family background, sins, weaknesses, gifts, abilities, marital status, children, job, finances, health, and this historical, cultural moment. What are you building? Do you have almost nothing? Perfect.

CONCLUSION

The Spirit of wisdom that was given to Bezalel and Aholiab has been given without measure to every believer in Jesus. That Spirit of Wisdom is given for “all manner of workmanship.” And that Spirit is the One who hovered over the cross and grave and has begun to make all things new. God’s wisdom is most fully revealed in the cross of Jesus (1 Cor. 1-2). Christians look at everything through the cross-wisdom of God, where Jesus destroyed the old temple and rebuilt it in three days. What did it look like? It looked like a man dying, a failed movement. What was he actually doing? Building a house that will last forever.

Jesus is the Greater Job, the Great King, who freely lost everything and was falsely accused and cursed, but He endured the pain and shame of the cross in order to remake this God-forsaken world, in order to build a new world inside the old world. This is the wisdom of God: the grave has heard of it. But God was building a Kingdom that cannot be shaken inside that grave. And now that grave is empty, and the Kingdom is coming like a Great Spring that cannot be stopped.

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To Think Soberly

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INTRODUCTION

The sons of Adam and daughters of Eve have always had to deal with the presence of sin, at least since the third chapter of Genesis. We have to “budget” for it, meaning that we allow for the possibility of sin encroaching into any situation, however blessed, and for the possibility of that sin creeping in through our own hearts, the hearts of our loved ones, or through the hearts of those who are not that close to us.

But in our day, we are no longer guarding against sin creeping in. There has been a great sexual apostasy, and the guardians of the new disorder are the ones who are trying to keep any kind of “normal” from creeping in. The new public square now positively celebrates sodomy, lesbianism, transsexualism, porn, polyamory, and worse, and castigates biblical masculinity as toxic and biblical femininity as craven. And this means that heterosexual monogamy, with lots of fat babies, is the new transgressive, and is a great privilege. Not many generations of Christians have had the opportunity to be righteous and naughty at the same time.

THE TEXT

“And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do . . .” (1 Chron. 12:32).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Without application, the Scriptures are worse than useless. Without application, the Scriptures are simply the instrument we use in order to deceive ourselves (Jas. 1:22-24). But in order to make application, it is necessary to translate the principles of the Word into the customs of our times. Where those customs are false, we must repent and leave them behind. Where they are good, we must allow the Word to come in to strengthen us. As the Word strengthens us, we are strengthened in the truth, and the truth is the only thing that can answer the lies that surround us on every hand.

In the area of marriage, in the realm we are discussing, we want to create the kind of setting where the young men can come into a deeper understanding of what Scripture teaches about: 1. The world the way God created it; 2. The sexual center of all human culture; 3. The pressing need for real masculinity in young men, and; 4. The equally pressing need for true femininity in young women.

All of this is a function of who you are becoming. I have said several times that you should work on this: become the kind of person that the kind of person you would like to marry would like to marry. But in the light of what is coming up in just a few minutes, we may want to expand this just a touch. Become the kind of person that Scripture describes so that someone of the opposite sex, also described by Scripture, might recognize in you a good thing. So the standard is always Scripture, and not random ideals you might have picked up from trashy movies, trashy sitcoms, trashy novels, and trashy women’s magazines.

TO THINK SOBERLY

So you want to be among the sons of Issachar. What are the basic things you must come to understand better? You must understand that you are living in a world crammed with flattering lies, slathered in butter, and the only reason they are not immediately and glaringly obvious to you is that they are so flattering to you. You deserve a porn queen. You can be any gender you want to be. You are as good as anybody else. You have a right to sexual happiness. You are entitled to every lust. You must learn to take pride in your lusts, and march in parades under their banner. You are the epicenter of all your sexual conceits.

What a putrid mess. Note the contrast with how Scripture speaks to us.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Rom. 12:1–3).

First you present your body to God as a living sacrifice. This means your body is not yours. You were bought with a price. As a Christian, you surrender your body to God, which means that He then directs what you are to do with it. But take note: His assignments will mostly likely include having babies with it.

Second, after you have presented your body on that altar—and the altar is everywhere—what follows? This leads to not being conformed to this world—the very thing I am preaching against in this series—and in addition results in being transformed by the renewing of your mind. This confirms the will of God.

And then, third, this leads to your ability to think of yourself soberly. You have learned the secret of seeing yourself by faith. When you see yourself by faith, you do not build your ambitions on the world’s flatteries (which are always false and very slippery), but rather on God’s promises. Because God’s promises are all of grace, it is now possible to have high ambitions without being conceited. When you see yourself by faith, you do not see yourself more highly than you ought, but you do see Christ, high and lifted up. And He can do anything. And one of the extraordinary things He specializes in doing is saving the world through the instrumentality of lots of ordinary people doing lots of normal things. Like asking a girl out.

CHRIST THE LORD

The Church is a fruitful household, and she has a perfect husband. This marriage relationship is to be our primal model. So as we pursue mundane realities like marriage and children, we are doing so in a world where these relations have been sacralized forever. We are commanded to set the everlasting gospel before our eyes as we think about these things. Future husbands, follow Jesus Christ. Love your wife as Christ loved the Church. Go and fetch her. Future wives, follow Jesus Christ by imitating the Church. Glory in the glory that is coming. Glory in the glory that you are.

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The Law of Female Captives (Christendom 2.0)

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THE TEXT

“When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive, 11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and desire her and would take her for your wife, 12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails. 13 She shall put off the clothes of her captivity, remain in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a full month; after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally, because you have humbled her” (Deuteronomy 21:10–14).

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