Christ Church

Psalm 61: A Rock that is Higher than I

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Introduction

This is a psalm of David in a time of affliction. Because he is likely king at this time (see v. 6), and because he longs to be restored to the tabernacle (v. 4), it would be safest to locate this psalm as being written during the time of Absalom’s rebellion. So this is not just a matter of danger for David (which he had faced many times before), but of mortal danger from a dearly loved son.

The Text

“Hear my cry, O God; Attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: Lead me to the rock that is higher than I . . .” (Psalm 61:1-8).

Summary of the Text

First, this is not a dispassionate prayer. David cries out, “Hear my cry, O God” (v. 1). He is in a desperate way. He will cry out to God from the ends of the earth, which indicates some form of exile (v. 2). When he is overwhelmed, when his heart is overwhelmed, he asks that he be led to a rock that is higher than he is (v. 2). God has been a shelter for him in times past, a strong tower against the enemy (v. 3). This indicates that on the top of the rock that is higher than David there is a fortress. Having presented the request, David declares his confidence that he will return to the tabernacle to be there forever, and that he will trust in the covert of God’s wings (v. 4). He then says Selah, which most likely means something like “pause and reflect.”

David has made vows, and God has heard them (v. 5). He is confident that he has been given the heritage of those who fear God (v. 5). The king’s life will be prolonged, and his years will be extended like they were generations (v. 6). He will abide with God forever (v. 7), and mercy and truth will do it. God will be praised forever, and He will be praised forever daily (v. 8).

Attend to My Prayer

Here is a striking difference between the formalist and the true believer. The formalist is content with having prayed. The true believer has a holy discontent until he has an answer. The formalist checks the box that says he has “said his prayers,” but he, along with everybody else knows that prayers are not meant to be answered. God, for some mysterious reason, wants us to say them, but He isn’t listening. Away with all that. The psalmist says “Hear my cry, O God.” He says, “attend to my prayer.”

The Ends of the Earth

It might be the end of the earth, but it is not the end of prayer. It may be far away from the tabernacle, but God is no local baal tied to just one mountain, or to one shrine. David’s distance might be geographical, as a man might pray when lost on a glacier in Greenland. Or David’s distance might be ecclesiastical—where the tabernacle was taken as the very center of all things. Either way, or both, God is immediately there. Wherever God is, there is the true center.

So the end of the earth is not the end of prayer, but the end of prayer is the end of man.

A Rock That is Higher

Not only does David not have a Rock that is higher than he is, he doesn’t know where it is. He knows

there is one, but he can’t find it, and he can’t get up on it. His cry is to the one who can accomplish a full deliverance. The first thing is that he must be led to the Rock; he needs to be shown where it is. And because the Rock is higher than he is, two things follow—if he gets up on it, he will be saved, but because it is higher than he is, he can’t get up on it. He needs to be led there, and he needs to be placed there.

And just being led there is not enough. Picture this great danger along a rocky coast, and you are a mariner whose ship has foundered. The shoreline is a series of rocky cliffs—your salvation from the waves is there, right there. You can see it now. But seeing it and being on it are two entirely different things.

No Expiration Date

God’s past kindnesses do not have an expiration date. Notice how David prays from the past to the future, from “thou hast been a shelter . . . (v. 3)” to “I will abide . . . I will trust” (v. 4), from “God, hast heard . . .” (v. 5) and “hast given” (v. 5) to “Thou wilt prolong . . .” (v. 6).

God’s faithfulness in the past is a sure indication of His faithfulness in the future. God’s hard providences are sometimes hard, sometimes tangled and messy, sometimes inscrutable, but always faithful. The plots twists are often over our heads, but the happy endings never are. The Christian cosmos is a comedy, not a tragedy, and not a farce.

Contentment is a Gift

If contentment is a gift from God, and it is, then it is appropriate for us to plead for it. And when we are pleading for it, it only stands to reason that we know that we do not yet have it. You don’t know where it is, or how it can be, but you know who has it to give.

David wanted to be back at the tabernacle. The shelter of God’s wings might be seen in the Holy of Holies, with the wings (“the covert of thy wings”) of the cherubim extending over the mercy seat.

Jesus is that mercy seat. Jesus is the Rock that is higher, much higher, than we are. Jesus is the tower fortress on top of that Rock. Jesus is the tabernacle. Jesus welcomes you under the covering of His wings. Jesus is your heritage. Jesus is mercy and truth. Jesus is the fulfillment of all our vows.

What do you do, then, when your heart is overwhelmed? You fly, you fly to Jesus. Nothing else makes any sense.

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Submission and Sacrifice (Eph. 5)

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Introduction

In these politically correct days, whenever we come across passages like this one, expositors rush to instruct the faithful on what it does not mean. But we can spend a lot of time learning what things don’t mean. What does it mean? How should we live? Let us at least begin there. If we address that correctly, it should head off the most common misconceptions at least.

The Text

“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour . . .” (Eph. 5:1-33)

Summary of the Text

Imitate God, as beloved children would (v. 1)—for that is what you are. Walk in love, the same way Christ loved us and gave Himself for us sacrificially (v. 2). Sexual uncleanness and greed have no place with us (v. 3). The same is true of low jesting and scurrilous talk, but rather thanksgiving (v. 4). For be sure of it, the sexually corrupt and the greedy have no inheritance with Christ (v. 5). Don’t be deceived on this point (v. 6), and we might add that many have been. Do not partake with or stand next to children of disobedience—God’s wrath is coming (v. 7). You used to be darkness, but now you are light. Walk like it (v. 8). The fruit of the Spirit (which is light) is goodness, righteousness and truth (v. 9). Live out and prove what God likes (v. 10). Do not fellowship with unfruitful darkness, but rather reprove it (v. 11). You can reprove without itemizing their deeds, which are shameful even to recount (v. 12). Light is as light does; light makes manifest (v. 13). This is why God tells the sleeper to awake (v. 14; cf. Is. 60:1). Walk intelligently, as though it were daylight (v. 15). Use your time well because the days are evil (v. 16). Understand God’s will (v. 17). Don’t get drunk on wine, but rather be filled with the Spirit (v. 18). The description of that Spirit filling follows—speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and odes, from the heart (v. 19). Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of Jesus (v. 20). Submit to one another in the fear of God (v. 21).

Wives are to take particular care to be submissive to their own husbands (v. 22). This is because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church (v. 23). This means that as the church is subject to Christ, so wives should be subject to their own husbands in everything (v. 24). Paul then tells husbands to sacrifice themselves for their wives in love (v. 25). He tells them Christ sacrificed Himself with a cleansing and sanctifying end in view (v. 26). He did this so that His church would be ultimately purified (v. 27). In this same way, men ought to love their wives (v. 28). Nobody hates his own body, but rather takes care of it (v. 29). We are joined together with Christ, members of His body (v. 30). Paul then cites Genesis—a man will leave his father and mother, be joined to his wife as one flesh with her (v. 31). This is a great mystery, Paul says, but it refers upward to Christ and the church (v. 32). In the meantime, you men make a point of loving your wives, and you wives make a point of reverencing your husbands (v. 33).

A Stark Contrast

Paul continues to contrast for us the characteristics of the regenerate and the unregenerate. It is a stark contrast, and so he urges us not to be deceived with vain words—the wrath of God is falling upon the children of disobedience, and so we should walk as children of light. The children of light should not be partakers together with the children of disobedience (v. 7). The one group is darkness and the other light (v. 8). The one group is fruitless (v. 11) and the other is fruitful (v. 9). The one is foolish and the other wise (v. 15). The difference between the converted and the unconverted is not to be hunted for in a gray twilight. Wake up!

A Belly Full of Wine

The lifestyle of unbelief is lazy, muddy, blurred, indistinct, and full of off-key singing. The lifestyle of the faithful is focused, good, clear, disciplined, and full of light. Paul sees certain things as going together, and he is an apostle, a wise man. Tell me, when you have had too many beers, or too many glasses of wine, do the jokes gradually get cleaner and cleaner? The contrast that the apostle expects us to maintain is a contrast that is impossible to maintain apart from the filling of the Spirit. And we will be filled with something.

When we are filled with the Spirit, we see things clearly. When we are filled with the Spirit, everything comes into focus. When we are filled with the Spirit, we are filled with holy music (v. 19), we are filled with thanksgiving for absolutely everything (v. 20), and we are filled with an attitude of mutual submission (v. 21). These three things will also carry over into our marriages.

Submission and Sacrifice

Submission and sacrifice are the characteristics of Spirit-filled marriage. Apart from the work of the Spirit, this standard for marriage is absolutely impossible. When the Spirit is active, it is impossible not to live this way.

Wives, in the Spirit (full of music, thanksgiving and deference), obey your husband. Honor and respect him. It is striking that when the apostle sets to work in giving direction for all forms of social relations, he starts with the wives. This is not because wives are the worst; I would argue that it is because the wives are the most important. In all social relations, if this stone doesn’t get set properly, nothing else will be straight.

Husband, in the Spirit (full of music, thanksgiving, and deference), sacrifice yourself for you wife. Give yourself away. Take your models from above you (Christ) and from below you (your own body). This is not to be understood as being willing to sacrifice yourselves some hypothetical day in the far distant future, but rather as laying down your life now.

This is a great mystery, Paul says, but it all resolves in Christ and the church. As Eve was taken from the side of Adam, so the church was born when the spear was rammed into the side of Christ. Adam refused to fight the dragon, and Christ did not refuse. Men, as dearly loved children, be imitators of God.

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Anger

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The Texts

“Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul.” (Proverbs 22:24-25)

“He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly.” (Proverbs 14:29)

Hot Noses

A literal rendering of these two texts would start something like – Prov. 22:24 “Do not be a friend with a lord of the nose . . .” And Prov. 14:29 “A long nose will understand much . . .” These make a little more sense when you understand the Hebrew idiom for anger and patience – a hot nose.

Something doesn’t go your way, seems to be unfair, seems not the way you want it to be, not the way that it should be, and you get hot in the face.

Notice what this heat in the face is inspired by – some perception of injustice.

Anger is an intense and burning urge to see that which we think is wrong, uneven, and unbalanced, to be made right, even, and balanced. It is an urgent sensation that you have been somehow wronged and that justice needs to be done.

Two Kinds of Anger

This means that it is possible for anger to be right and godly. And it is possible for us to be consumed by an ungodly anger.

Most obviously, God is capable of great, righteous anger. Rom. 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of men. . .” Throughout the prophets we hear of the coming wrath of God and the day of his wrath. John the Baptist preached about the coming wrath of God (Lk. 3). And the book of Revelation is filled with vivid descriptions of God’s wrath, poured out like bowls of wine on earth or described as a winepress that all the unrighteous will be tread in. Psalm 2 tells the kings of earth to “kiss the son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little . . .” God has intended to display his wrath. “What if God, wanting to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction . . .” Rom. 9:22). But his wrath is entirely just, directed at the unrighteousness of men.

But then there is man’s anger. The first recorded instance of anger in Scripture is Cain. Cain is convinced that God has wronged him by not giving him the favour that he thought was owed to him.

Other great moments in the anger of men –

Jonah 3:10-4:5. “And it got hot.” Jonah sees that God is having mercy on Nineveh and asks to die because things are so bad. He is convinced that the just thing would be for Nineveh to be nuked. And it gets him hot to see Nineveh get mercy.

Luke 15:28. “But he was angry and would not go in . . .” This is really the same story all over again. In both of these stories a man is angry seemingly on behalf of justice, while the one who truly had the right to be angry has given mercy.

Wrath of Man vs. Wrath of God

So we see God getting angry with a perfect and righteous and holy anger. And then we see men getting sinfully angry, trying to justify their anger as right and good. James contrasts these two kinds of anger – James. 1:19-20.

James corrects here our sinful confusion. When we are heated, we become blinded by the delusion that what we are after is justice. And there are two parts to this delusion. First, we tell ourselves that a terrible injustice has been committed and that is what has provoked our anger. And second, that our anger, the heat of our outrage, is itself the solution to the problem.

Dealing with Anger

So how do we deal with the anger that rages in our hearts? First, we have to understand the difference between the anger of God and the anger of men. Rom. 12:17-19. Vengeance is God’s. In other words, anger does not belong to us. When anger creeps up on you, it does so by making a case that you have a right to feel this way, that your outrage is just. Dealing with anger begins with refuting this. You don’t have a right to wrath. You too are a sinner, in need of forgiveness. Get this perspective and let go of the anger. “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes. 5:9). Through salvation we are saved not only from the wrath of God, but we are also delivered from our own sinful wrath.

Application

If you have a problem with wrath, what do you do?

1. Identify it, and stop justifying it. If you can’t let go of the “demands of justice and righteousness” then you need to step back and honestly assess what the demands of justice and righteousness actually are in your own case. Do you deserve the wrath of God? Are you going to be the unrighteous servant who’s choking the debt out of his fellow servant?

2. Once you’ve identified it, confess it. Let go of it. Name it to God, and then name it to everyone else that saw it. The confession should be as public as the sin.

3. Now that you’re ready to be done sulking under the gourd tree, go into the party. And if you recoil at the thought of this, then go back to step one again and keep doing this until you are ready to go into the party. God didn’t appoint you to wrath, he appointed you to salvation.

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Grace and Culture Building II

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Introduction

Last week we considered the important distinction between the qualifications for fellowship (sheer grace) and the qualifications for the various forms that leadership takes (grace manifested in and through performance). Not surprisingly, it is a topic that takes a good bit of careful thought, and hence another message on it.

The Text

“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others” (Phil. 2:3-4).

Summary of the Text

Paul says that nothing should be done (in our midst) through strife and vainglory (v. 3). These are sins which require the presence of other people, and the presence of others is sure to bring this temptation. The alternative to strife and vainglory is esteeming others “better than” ourselves (v. 4). Don’t hover over your “own things,” like a hen with one chick. Give a thought to how others are doing. Give a thought to the things of others. In the next verse, Paul ties the whole thing in with the express imitation of Christ. Let this mind be in you which is also in Christ (v. 5).

Now a lot rides on what it means to esteem others “better than” ourselves. Does this mean that LeBron James has to sincerely believe that an eight-year-old boy with pride problems is better at dunking than he is? Does it mean that B.B. King has to honestly think that some blues hack with sausages for fingers is better at a sweet blues lick than he is? Not at all – I believe the sense here is captured better by phrases like “more significant” (ESV), or “more important” (NASB). Remember that we are imitating Jesus here, and Jesus was not delusional.

Looking Out Your Own Eyes

Every man always thinks he is right, but the wise man knows that he is not always right. Thinking you are right is what it means to think at all. But a wise man is capable of stepping out of the immediate moment, and considering the trajectory of his life. “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise” (Prov. 12:15).

In Orthodoxy, Chesterton put it this way. “Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth: this has been exactly reversed.”

Mimetic Envy, Mimetic Learning

The word vainglory here is a very good transfer of the word Paul uses – kendoxia, or literally, “empty glory.” Vainglory is driven by the sly, sidelong glance – the comparison that eats away at your insides. Like a snake eating its own tail, envy tries simultaneously to imitate and deface. It is fundamentally an imitative gesture, but one that is dislocated at the center. Destructive envy tries to caress and punch at the same time.

We avoid this, not by avoiding imitation. We cannot avoid imitation – God has built an imitative race. We are all reflective mirrors, and the only choice we have is that of reflecting glory or reflecting vainglory. We are told to imitate. As dearly loved children, be imitators of God (Eph. 5:1). Imitation is consistently urged and praised (1 Cor. 4:16, 11:1, 1 Thess. 2:14, Heb. 6:12).

“Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good” (3 John 11). It is not whether you imitate, but which thing you imitate.

Fellowship and Leadership

So then, returning to the issue of the strong and weak, how do we decide who is who? Rock, paper, scissors? Who’s the weaker brother here? One, two, three, not it! No, the Lord shows us a more excellent way . . . “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).

The Way of Strength

The weaker brother is one who thinks too highly of himself, or too little of himself, and, not infrequently, both at the same time. Weakness is a mass of contradictions, and strength (the real kind) is the way of liberty. It is the path of freedom out of all that.

The way to biblical strength is to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, to take your minds away from the world’s mind-press and offer them to Christ, and to think accurately in accordance with the measure of faith that God has given. This is the track – physical holiness, worldview discipleship, and then . . . a right to your own opinions, including your opinions of yourself and your abilities.

No Short Cuts

Now suppose you are no good at all at any of this. Suppose you’re an amateur porn junkie, and the only thing you know about postmodernism is that it lets you put way too much hipster gel in your hair, and so you kind of like it. Suppose you get your worldview analysis from supermarket tabloids. Suppose your soul is all tangled up in that worldliness-gunk, and you have a hard time getting through a week without getting even more on you. Are you welcome here? You are as welcome as it gets. Repent all the sins you see, and ask Jesus to deal with any other ones (1 John 1:9). Welcome. But do you want to start writing movie reviews for the church newsletter? Don’t hold your breath.

Growing Up Into Faith

Secular democracy says that you have a right to your opinion simply by having one. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes. The lazy man (including someone who is intellectually slack) is wiser in his own conceits than seven men who can offer a reason (Prov. 26:16).

But in Christ, in the church, we are called to grow up into imitative wisdom. We grow up into having a right to our views by imitating those, without envy, who clearly have a right to theirs. Consider the outcome of their way of life (Heb. 13:7), and imitate their faith. Stop attributing it to “luck.” Their garden is not free of weeds because they are “fortunate.”

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Parish Life

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Introduction

Over the years, we have seen many believers move here to the Palouse, and we have been greatly blessed by this. The reasons have obviously varied, but in countless conversations I have been a part of, the word that comes up over and over and over again is the word community. There is a reason for that, and it is a biblical reason.

The Text

“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from?? house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:42-47).

Summary of the Text

As with many texts of Scripture, there is much more here than we can possibly address. But there is a key theme that we can take away from this passage, and if we do, our love for one another will only flourish and grow. In the aftermath of the great events of Pentecost, the church in Jerusalem was blessed in multiple ways. They continued steadfastly in four things—the apostolic teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayers (v. 42). Fellowship is italicized here because that is what we want to focus on this morning. The revival provoked a response of godly fear, and the apostles performed many wonders (v. 43). The believers were knit together by the Spirit, and shared their goods freely, as any had need (vv. 44-45). They continued with one another on a daily basis in the Temple, and from house to house. They were in God’s house, but we also see that God was in their houses. They would
eat together with gladness and singleness of heart (v. 46). They praised the Lord, and the outsiders praised them (v. 47). As a consequence, there were converts on a daily basis (v. 47). When the church catches fire, the world will come to watch it burn—and often the fire will spread to them.

Setting Aside a Distraction

This passage has been grossly abused over the years, with utopians and idealists urging us to adopt some form of communism. But this was an outbreak of sharing, not an outbreak of confiscation. The Spirit enables a man to give. The devil enables a man to see that somebody else isn’t giving enough. When, a few chapters later, Ananias and Sapphira were struck down dead (Acts 5:4), it was for their lie, and not because they hadn’t met the commune’s draconian quotas. There are always liars in the church who, like Ananias and Sapphira, want to look more generous than they actually are. Today this lie in the church is perpetuated by those who confound generosity and the violence of confiscation.

And remember the circumstance. Jesus had taught His disciples that within one generation, real estate prices in Jerusalem were going to approach zero. A number of faithful Christians had thoughtfully begun to liquidate their assets (wouldn’t you?), and they were in a position to use those assets to benefit their brothers and sisters in the great revival.

The Koinonia Blessing

The word here rendered as fellowship is koinonia. It is a remarkable word, encompassing a great deal. It refers, for example, to our partaking of the Lord’s Supper together (1 Cor. 10:16). It refers to coffee and donuts time (Acts 2:46). And it refers to our time together in the rough and tumble of daily covenant life (Philemon 17). Paul argues in a restitution/runaway slave case on the basis of koinonia. As the water flows from Ezekiel’s temple, out into the world, so koinonia fellowship flows out from our worship here, until it inundates your Fourth of July barbeque get togethers.

The worship of God proper occurs on the Lord’s Day here. This is the church. What we do on Monday and Thursday afternoons represents the kingdom. The worship of God at His appointed time, in His appointed manner, is the cathedral. The rest of the week is the surrounding parish.

Strengths and Weaknesses

A number of years ago, we divided our community up into different parishes, naming them after great men in the history of the Reformation. We did this, not because we think that lines on a map create koinonia, but because we wanted to facilitate the flow of that fellowship—we wanted to build channels for it to flow in. Overall, we have been pleased with what has happened as a result of this, but we still have a lot to learn.

Some strengths: We have seen many gifted meals, van-unloading parties, shower gifts, and kirkerbay helps. Some parishes have had a thriving social/governmental experience. Good levels of elder awareness of how folks in their parish are doing. We have seen a lot of pent-up energy for works of service (more than our current structures can accommodate).

Some weaknesses: Attendance at our parish HOH meetings is frequently thin. Some of the first zeal that attended our discovery of psalm-singing is diminished. As new folks come into the church, we have the problem of pre- requisites and “shared assumptions.” We sometimes have seen parish envy (“why can’t our parish…”). Church officers are sometimes stretched thin. We need to do something that will coordinate women’s ministry. More Bible studies would be a blessing.

Three Companions

As we grow, we need to make adjustments. But we do not want to make adjustments just for the sake of making them. Rearranging the furniture is not the same thing as ongoing reformation and revival. The life of the Spirit always brings koinonia, but that life always has three companions—apostolic doctrine, breaking of bread, and prayers. Community, however it is created, is the sort of place where you can go and get propped up by others, making it look like you are more of a player than you are. All of these things are from the hands of the Lord. We rely on Him for them. We cannot generate them ourselves. We must look to Him, and to His means of grace. But this kind of proclamation is one of those means, and so our response should be to simply believe what He says about what He is doing among His people.

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