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When God Sings

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INTRODUCTION

The early portion of Zephaniah’s prophecy is dark, heavy, and full of the thunderings of the law. But only those who are stubborn and stiff-necked need to be fearful of these thunderings. The proud only hear the fire and thunder of God’s just anger over their sin. But the meek are given news ears. They don’t hear the tumult of God’s wrath; they hear the sweetest song. A song that all the most gifted composers, if they worked together for a thousand years, would be unable to compare with.

THE TEXT

“Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God. Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow. Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame…” (Zephaniah 3:1–20).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Zephaniah has taken us to the four corners of the compass, to declare to all nations that God is coming in judgement upon the whole world (2:2-15). But now Jerusalem is addressed as if it were one of the heathen nations. She’s become indistinguishable from the nations. She’s a filthy, polluted, oppressing city (v1), rather than being clean as commanded by God (Cf. Lev. 10:10, 11:47). Her chief sins are listed: she wouldn’t obey the voice (Cf. Deu. 6:4), receive correction, trust the Lord, or draw near to God (v2). Her princes are lions, her judges are wolves, her prophets are treacherous, her priests have polluted the sanctuary and raped the law (vv3-4).

Despite all this corruption, God the just is still in their midst, and His justice is an inescapable reality (v5). The Lord has ruined nations before, toppling their towers of vain glory (Cf. Gen. 11); this should have been a cause for fear for the Jews, but instead they eagerly pursued their corruptions (vv6-7).

The Lord returns to addressing “all the meek of the earth” who were summoned to gather together to seek the Lord (2:2-3). They’re to wait upon the Lord; trusting that He will hasten the promised day, when He’ll gather all nations and kingdoms to pour upon them the fire of His jealousy (v8). Running parallel to this is the Lord’s promise to cause people from all nations to call upon Him with pure lips, while gathering the scattered, yet faithful, Israelites (v9-10). This multi-national host won’t be ashamed for their sins, for God shall have purged His church of the haughty, self-assured boasters (v11). The proud shall be purged out like dross, and in their place the afflicted and the poor who trust in the Lord’s name shall dwell in Jerusalem (v12). The remnant of Israel shall indeed be holy, and shall enjoy her promised rest (v13).

This motley band of faithful Jews and gathered Gentiles––though having been poor and afflicted––are called to sing, like true children of Jerusalem (v14). The Lord has forgiven their sins, destroyed their enemies, and now assumes His place as their rightful King (v15). The gathered remnant shall not dwell in fear, but will be fortified to render faithful service unto God (v16). God their King dwells in their midst as a mighty conquerer, a sure defender, and a husband in the throes of delighted love for His beloved (v17). Those faithful Israelites who endured various afflictions––the derision of their unbelieving countrymen and their foreign captors––will be brought back in glory, fame, and praise, for God will have turned back their captivity before their very eyes (vv18-20).

THE ONE LEFT SINGING

The heathen cities have been presented as rejoicing in their corruption (2:15); but now they are cut down and God and His people are the ones who end the day in joyful song. This is the way it will always go. Recall Bunyan’s “Interpreter’s House”.  Passion gets all his now, but Patience waits on and receives a greater reward. Passion is left barren, empty-pocketed, and forlorn. Patience receives all he longed for and more.

Zephaniah is like a cliff notes version of the minor prophets. He summarizes the message which the faithful prophets had proclaimed. First, God will judge the wicked. Second, God is the God of the whole world and so there is nowhere to hide from Him. Third, the only escape is to seek the Lord in meekness. In other words, the proverb rings true: “Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly (Pro 3:34).” The proud shall be brought low, but God will raise the humble up to glory and gladness. God will get the last word, and the last word will be set to heavenly music.

JUDGEMENT & REDEMPTION

God’s judgement and our redemption go hand in hand. The faithful await God’s judgement on wickedness, as a means of attaining their deliverance and redemption.

This is flipped on its head when Christ comes and takes the brunt of God’s judgement, that was due to us for we were God’s enemies. You can only be saved if first your sin is defeated. So, Christ died for you. He took your judgement, so that you might enjoy the redemption freedom He purchased for you.

A ROYAL LINEAGE

Remember that Zephaniah begins this book by trotting out his ancestry.com findings. His connection to the royal lineage is highlighted in the opening verse. Those kings and princes listed there either failed miserably to reform the people, or else played a large role in willfully corrupting the people.

But as Zephaniah concludes his prophecy, he tells of how God will be the King in the midst of His people. He begins with a reminder of the failures of both the good and evil kings of Judah. He concludes by declaring that “great David’s greater Son” will use the Gentile nations to gather scattered Israel back to Him. While David’s glorious songs, and Solomon’s lavish wealth were Israel’s ancient glory, the coming Messiah would turn men from every nation to worship the Lord, enjoying His songs over them, delighting in His blessing, grace, and favor.

YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN

As with the whole Bible, the message of Zephaniah is that you are proud sinner, deserving God’s wrath. But for those whom God chooses to humble, who then seek Him with the rest of those He has chosen to gather unto Himself, they are given a bright promise which outshines the sun. God will take away all your shame, all your proud boastings, all your abuses of His law, all your crimes against your neighbor. God will not only forgive you, but He shall delight over you.

This might seem a bit much. A bit over the top to describe God as singing over us a like a love-struck bridegroom would serenade His bride. But the Gospel is over the top. It is good news. It is the news that your sins are forgiven, and God looks upon you, not with a cloud of brooding suspicion, but with joy.  He has taken away your shame. God loves you. God loves His bride. Because His Son endured all the wrath you deserved, and has now gathered you to himself.

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The god-killer

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INTRODUCTION

Postmodernism is like a swamp, in which all sorts of toxic algae can flourish. Christians who swim in those waters will invariably come down with the side-effects of those poisoned waters. One of the primary consequences of imbibing postmodern thought is that of thinking of the God revealed in the Bible as an isolated deity. But God is the God of the whole world, and every turn in earth’s history proves this to be true.

THE TEXT

“Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Before the decree bring forth, [before] the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger…” (Zephaniah 2:1-15).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

After a scathing opening salvo, the prophet gives the first hint of hope. Judah––referred to here as the undesired nation––is implored to gather together before the day of the Lord comes upon them (vv1-2). These gathered are told to seek the Lord in humility, and perhaps they shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s wrath (v3).

The Lord’s wrath is centered on Jerusalem, but the ripple effects will impact all the nations. The Philistines (Israel’s ancient enemy) are told of their doom: they’ll be left desolate, driven out, and uprooted. All their towns and ports will be destroyed and uninhabited, fit only for the use of wandering shepherds (vv4-6). This is done so that the remnant of God’s people will dwell and feed in peace along the coastland.

Then Moab and Ammon (Israel’s distant relatives and frequent rival) will have their proud boasts silenced (v8). They’ll be left like Sodom and Gomorrah (Cf. Gen. 19); and once again, God’s remnant shall spoil their enemies’ land, possessing it for their own (v9). All this will come upon these ancient nations because of their boasting against the Lord’s people (v10), and God is coming unto them in holy terror (v11a).

These denouncements form a compass. Philistine to the West, Moab and Ammon to the East. But before moving to the south, Zephaniah declares that God is coming to vanquish all the gods of the earth, and that men from from every place and distant isles shall worship Him (v11b). Then we proceed on our tour by heading to the Ethiopian lands, the most southernly kingdom of the known world; distant though the land of Cush may be, it, too, cannot escape the sword of the Lord’s judgement (v12).

Zephaniah takes us north, to the fierce land of Assyria (which took Israel into captivity). The Lord’s hand is stretched out against its capital city, Nineveh, and He’ll make it as dry as the Mohave desert. That once bustling metropolis will become the haunt of roaming herds; the din of the city will be replaced by the sound of birds and wild beasts; all the beauty of their artisans will be left bare for the dust of the desert to erase from memory (vv13-14). This city––once full of pompous boasts of its glory, at ease in its position as the world’s superpower, which thought “I am, and there is none beside me,”––will soon be a ghost town inhabited only by beasts, and when passersby see it, they’ll wag their heads in dismayed wonder (v15).

GOD’LL CUT YOU DOWN

As that great theologian, Johnny Cash, once sang, “Sooner or later, God’ll cut you down.” In this chapter we have God’s sure promise that Israel’s ancient enemies––Philistia, Moab and Ammon, Cush, and Assyria––will soon be cut down. So, although judgement begins with the house of God, it won’t be confined there.

Israel’s history is marked be repeated episodes of these enemies ensnaring them, enticing them, or infringing on their borders. The Lord is preparing to do what Judah’s kings were unable to do: reform the people and avenge them of their enemies. Zephaniah is building up to a reveal of God being the true King of His people. The apathetic amidst God’s people, and the scoffers amidst the nation will all soon be cut down, regardless of the personal religious views.

POSTMODERN GOO

Postmodernism wants to think that we can each have a little closet in our life that is full of jars that contain our private “truths.” The Gospel comes along and asks, “Why is your closet full of rotten ideas, selfish mush, moldy jealousies?” The postmodern mind insists that you keep your truth in your closet, and leave their closet alone.

But the truth of God’s word is universal. God’s reign over the world is complete. God’s claim on the nations is total. While Judah is rebuked first, and rightly so, God will not just politely stay on His carpet square, as if He were a tame God. Zephaniah declares to these enemy nations, near and far, east and west, that God is coming, like a vengeful King, to do battle with their gods. And God will devastate their puny gods. God will break their sacred jars full of postmodern goo.

THE CONQUEST OF THE GATHERED MEEK

In the midst of the pronouncements of judgement is the promise that the remnant shall possess the lands of their enemies. God’s promise to this gathered remnant is that He will surely cut down their enemies, that they may then enjoy the spoils of His conquest.

Current events make it seem like the church is cowering in the corner like a kicked puppy. When it looks like the whole world is falling apart, God assures us that He is in the business of conquering His and our enemies. God calls to those who hope for mercy to gather themselves together (Heb. 10:25); not to scurry like cockroaches into the caves.

In Hebrew when you want to really emphasize something, you generally will find a sort of doubling of the same word. In this invitation to humble repentance by seeking the Lord in meekness, we find one such doubling: “In gathering yourselves be gathered.” Yes. God is coming to bring judgement on all wickedness, and not one corner of the world will be left untouched by his roving eye. But that does not mean there is no escape.

There may be a remnant in the midst of Jerusalem. They are implored to gather together in meekness and seek the Lord. Think of the harvester binding the sheaves together, before the wind and fire comes to burn up and blow away the chaff.

But we ought not to think of this remnant as a mousy little band, hiding in a corner. No, they follow behind their Lord as He marches forth to conquer their enemies, and they then enjoy the plunder of the war.

But just like God’s promised vengeance on wickedness cannot be confined to Jerusalem, neither can His promise of mercy be confined to only the Jews. In fact, as God goes out with His sword of judgement––vanquishing false gods as He goes––men from every nation, even the distant isle’s, come to join the remnant in worshipping Jehovah (Cf. Ps. 2).

Severe judgement awaits evildoers, whether in Jerusalem or in the uttermost parts of the earth. So seek the Lord. Humble yourself. Gather with the meek. Then follow the true King of Israel in His conquest of the nations, where their idols are toppled, and those once His enemies become His worshippers.

In the prophetic books there’s a kind of two-fold meaning to their prophecies. The first is the immediate fulfillment. Here it would be that God is drawing out His sword––i.e. Babylon––to effect what has been proclaimed. But there’s a deeper messianic fulfillment that isn’t fulfilled immediately. In this passage, the faithful remnant might wonder after the Babylonian conquest begins: “So if this is means of God’s judgement, when will the promise of possessing our enemies’ land and all men worshipping the Lord be fulfilled?” This messianic promise points to when the sword of the Gospel would be unsheathed, and Christ––the god-killer––would go forth to topple all nations and all their gods, and bring men from distant isles to worship Jehovah.

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The Lord is on His Throne

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THE TEXT

“In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?4 The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord‘s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.5 The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.7 For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright” (Psalm 11).

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Training Up Children

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INTRODUCTION

One of the great mistakes of parenting is to get the stages of parenting backwards. When children are young, they need significant guidance and discipline and a very narrow, black and white path. But as children grow older, they need to internalize and love the standards and exercising them for themselves. Another name for this process is discipleship in Christ.

THE TEXT

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6).

WHAT IS THE WAY?

The “way” a child should go is the way of obedience to Christ. When he is old, when he goes to college or gets married that is the path we want our children to remain on. How must we obey Christ? We must obey Him right away, all the way, and cheerfully all our days because He loved us first (1 Jn. 4:19, 5:2-3). “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Eph. 6:1). “In the Lord” means to obey your parents because of what the Lord has done and in the same way you would obey Jesus. This is similar to the command given to servants, “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ” (Eph. 6:5). Slow obedience is not obedience. Fussing and complaining obedience is not obedience. Arguing and eye rolling are not compatible with obedience. Partial obedience is not obedience. Having to be told more than once is not obedience. Obedience coerced from counting to various numbers is not obedience. Obedience resulting from threats of discipline is not obedience. This is because obedience is love. Cheerful, prompt, and thorough obedience is not only possible but makes for a very pleasant home.

TRAINING UP

Training is primarily a matter of practice. When a pile of third graders show up for their first football practice in the history of ever, the coaches do not expect the boys to know how to play football. Likewise, parents need to remember that these little people just arrived on this planet, and that is why they act the way they do. They really do need to be taught and reminded a lot, especially when they’re very young. The fact that they need to be taught about everything is a design feature, not a bug. And parents must be obedient to that command – prompt, cheerful, and thorough – in teaching their children: “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Dt. 6:7). Parenting is a full-time job, and it happens all day long, everywhere you go (and sometimes throughout the night, “when thou liest down”). This element of training includes lots of talking and lots of practice. To return to the sports analogy, you do not merely talk about the game and then go to your first game. You talk about it, and then you practice, then correct and talk more, then practice more. So too parents must talk a lot and prepare their kids for the game of life. What will they face today, tomorrow, or next week? What temptations will they face in the grocery store, when friends or cousins come over, at dinner time or bed time or at the birthday party or school? Teach and practice for them all. This is love. Love prepares. Role play lots. If you suddenly require your 3 year old to say hello or thank you to the strange dinner guest, have you prepared them to run that play? Same thing goes for church. Practice obedience regularly, and do everything you can to make practice a joy. Lavish high praise, high fives, and candy.

WHEN THEY ARE YOUNG

When children are young, they do not know the way. There is a sense in which they do not know the difference between good and evil, how to go out or how to come in (e.g. Is. 7:16, 1 Kgs. 3:7). And therefore, they must be taught. While you wouldn’t know it from most Disney movies, the hearts of children are not repositories of wisdom and knowledge. “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him” (Prov. 22:15). Therefore, the opinions, wishes, and feelings of young children need to be formed and informed, and not really given the time of day. How they feel about bed time, nap time, what’s for dinner, what to wear, who their friends are — are all opinions which need to be given to them. For the first ten or so years of a child’s life, he or she needs to live in a benevolent totalitarian dictatorship. It should be full of love and joy and laughter and hugs and a very a small, well-defined world, full of black and white. Do not ask a five year old how they think that makes you feel. The justly administered spanking is teaching him exactly how he should feel, and besides, your feelings are not the standard.

LEARNING TO RIDE A BIKE

Many parents will probably have the opportunity to help one or more of their kids learn how to ride their first bike. Lessons begin with lots of hovering and holding the bike upright, and you can feel the bike wavering back and forth. But as your child begins to learn how to peddle and balance, you begin loosening your grip, and you need to do that so that they can begin to feel the sensation of the bike’s motion and begin controlling the balance for themselves. Finally, at some point, you begin letting go. Maybe for only a few seconds at a time, but eventually you let go completely. That’s what Christian parenting should be like: lots of hovering in the beginning, then slowly loosening your grip with slight corrections, and by sometime in high school, you really should let go. Another way to describe this same process is internalizing the standard. What you were providing (balance/momentum) in the beginning is what they have to internalize for themselves in order to remain on the path of obedience. The Bible describes this process of internalizing God’s standards as coming to love them. “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart” (Dt. 6:5-6). Far too often parents get this backwards: they give far too much freedom in the early years and then when things start looking wobbly in middle school, they begin trying to clamp down, often resulting in collisions.

CONCLUSION

The Bible teaches that the law of God is sweet (Ps. 19:10). Obedience is like chocolate cake, like milk and cookies, like frosted donuts, like candy. When God gave the Ten Commandments, He prefaced them with, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt…” (Ex. 20:1). God’s standards are the standards of freedom. We get to worship God alone, keep Sabbath, honor authorities, defend marriage, etc. We love because He loved us first. Loving little ones means lots of training when they are young, so that when they are old they do not depart from that love.

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The Fire and Fury of the Living God (Zephaniah 1)

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INTRODUCTION

The prophetic ministry is not an extra-curricular activity of some believers. Rather, preaching is a part of our corporate worship. We affirm that in the reading and explanation of God’s Word, we are hearing God speak to us. But man would rather reach for the volume knob of his distractions. But God will be heard, and if these are the echoes of His ways, what will you do when He thunders?

THE TEXT

“The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. 2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD. 3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD. 4 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests…” (Zephaniah 1:1-18).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Zephaniah begins with a personal lineage, which appears to intimate that he’s related to the royal family; there’s also an important mention of polar opposite kings of Judah: godly Josiah and his wicked father Amon. This locates when this prophecy was given––~626BC (v1). Then commences the announcement of God’s coming wrath, which is described in all-encompassing terms; reminiscent of God’s global judgement in Noah’s day (cf. Gen. 6:7) (vv2-3). Judah and Jerusalem are brought into the crosshairs, and we begin to see why God is readying to unleash His holy wrath on the whole world: worship of Baal and the heavenly host persists, mixed in with a fair helping of swearing by both the Lord and Malcham, and plenty of apathetic apostasy (vv 4-6).

The Jews should lay their hand on their mouth if they think to object to this sweeping judgement, because the oft foretold “day of the Lord” was now imminent (v7). God Himself has prepared a sacrificial meal and invited His guests. The twist here is that Judah will be the sacrifice, and it would seem that the summoned guests are the nations (Cf. Jer. 10:25) which God has brought to “devour” Judah (v7b).

Certain groups are held up as epitomizing the offenses which God is coming to punish: the royal family who have arrayed themselves in “strange apparel” (v8), and those who “leap/rush over the threshold” in order to obtain plunder for their masters’ house (v9). Think Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Lest the commoners think they are somehow so insignificant as to escape the Lord’s notice, Zephaniah describes the cries and howls which will issue across Jerusalem when this ruination comes (vv10-11).

God will be thorough in His search for evildoers, and there won’t be a crevice in which to hide; those who had been dismissive of former prophetic warnings won’t be able to be dismissive anymore (v12). Judah will be wholly plundered, and all the deuteronomic blessings whisked away (v13).

Zephaniah echoes and summarizes earlier prophets’ warnings of “the day of the Lord.” It is near. It is terrible. It is an inescapable reality (vv14-16). This judgement will be devastating, and neither their silver nor gold will deliver them. The fierce fire of the Lord’s jealousy is upon them and He is thundering down upon them to expel them from the land, and wish them, “good riddance (vv17-18).”

THE EXCEEDING SINFULNESS OF SIN

One of the most damning effects of sin is that we call evil good, and good evil. Sin is so wicked because not only do we trespass in the commission of the sinful act, but we sin by telling ourselves that the sin is necessary, even right. Not only do we sin, we redefine our sin. We buttress ourselves against what our guilty consciences witness against us.

Zephaniah presents us a vivid picture in response to man’s temptation to paper over his sin. God is coming, candle in hand, searching every nook and cranny of Jerusalem to find those who had grown indifferent to the Lord’s claim over that Holy City. God is shown here as hunting down and searching out those who have said in their hearts, “God isn’t going to do good or evil.”

THE GOSPEL ARC

Zephaniah’s opening salvo leaves no wiggle room for the  warm fuzzies of our modern evangelical nannies, which all too often rush in and comfort us with “There, there…God is love.” Some scholars bemoan how derivative this book is, because it borrows imagery from more gifted prophets like Amos and Isaiah. But we should see in Zephaniah a lovely succinctness––a prophetic bluntness––made to startle the complacent. His main objective is to disturb the complacent with a simple but vibrant warning.

In some Christian circles it has become increasingly en vogue to avoid the bad news of the Gospel. They think presenting Jesus as merely an example of tolerance, love, and kindness is all the Church is called to. But, the Gospel, faithfully preached, must first make the unrepentant sinner miserable. That is the Gospel arc we see here in this short prophetic book: a shocking rebuke, a call to repentance, and then, and only then, the assurance of mercy to those who turn to the Lord.

In our age of self-esteem, this is avoided at all cost, even in many pulpits. Nevertheless, the prophetic denouncement of sins big and small, sins of the royalty and sins of the commoners, corporate sins and individual sins, and the just wrath that awaits such sins is meant to incite sinners to ask “What must I do to be saved?”

WHAT MUST I DO?

Trying to carve out God’s love as if it can stand apart from His justice is denying His immutability. It assumes that God’s love cannot be so fierce as to burn with the heat of a thousand suns when wickedness is allowed to flourish. God will not be pitted against Himself.

Instead of blushing at the severity of the prophet’s voice, or bubble-wrapping the bad news of the Good News we need to wince. The prophetic Word insists, “Don’t ignore the warnings. Don’t minimize them. Don’t scoff at them.” When God warns, the thing you must do is ask, “Is there anything else? Show it all to me!” Don’t look for refuge in comparison shopping your sin compared to other more grievous sins.

Some may want to balk at Zephaniah’s hyperbole. Isn’t he overdoing it? But often a pastor needs to wave his hands and say in simple terms, “Stop it.” Spurgeon once commented on the severe nature of Zephaniah’s prophetic book, “I bless the Bible for being severe with my unbelief.” Do you want God to “go easy” on evil? Do you really want a God who yawns at wickedness? Do you really want God to let the vilest men never be brought to justice?

THE LORD’S CITY

Remember that this city which is at the epicenter of God’s global judgement, was His city. Judah had broken God’s law, neglected it, mixed it with idolatry, spurned it, and were indifferent to the covenant of their King. Now the King warns, by his messenger, that He’s coming to bring justice down.

So the question is, have you hidden sin way down deep, thinking God won’t care, God won’t notice, nobody was hurt? God has a claim on you. He will search it out. He will bring it out. He will expose it, and that is a grace. But remember, the only place to flee from the wrath of the Living God is in the Living God.

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