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Psalm 45: An Epithalamium

Christ Church on September 7, 2008

https://www.christkirk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1476.mp3

Fifth Decade of Psalms

Introduction

Psalm 45 is an Epithalamium, which is to say, a wedding song. The way it is quoted in the New Testament makes it very clear that the ultimate fulfillment of this psalm is found in the marriage of Christ to the Church. This psalm is unlike any other, and is likely the wedding hymn for the marriage of Solomon to the daughter of Pharaoh. At the same time, the psalmist speaks of the king is a way that cannot be understood of any earthly ruler.

The Text
“My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer . . .” (Psalm 45:1-17).

Summary of the Text

The psalmist has a good and pleasant subject before him, and so he is ready to overflow with praise for the king (v. 1). He stands out among all the children of men, grace is on his lips, and God has blessed him forever (v. 2). The king is urged to gird his sword upon his thigh—not for war, but because when a warrior takes a bride, his sword should be part of the pageantry, along with glory and majesty (v. 3). The gravitas of “terrible things” is one of the guests at the wedding (v. 4). He is an effective warrior; his arrows are sharp in the hearts of his enemies (v. 5).

The next two verses are quoted in the first chapter of Hebrews, and are applied to Christ (vv. 6-7). Christ is addressed as God. He loves righteousness and hates wickedness. Therefore God has anointed Him with the oil of gladness. His garments are precious spices and ointments (v. 8). Kings’ daughters were part of the court, and the queen mother (Bathsheba perhaps) was at the groom’s right hand (v. 9).

Then the bride is addressed by the writer, and is urged to forget her people (v. 10), indicating that she is a foreigner. She is told that the king desires her beauty, and that she should serve him (v. 11). Other royal visitors are there with gifts (v. 12). The bride is a king’s daughter, all glorious within, and beautifully adorned (v. 13). As she comes, beautifully attired, her bridesmaids follow her (v. 14). They all enter the king’s palace with gladness and rejoicing (v. 15). Her children will be princes (v. 16). She will be praised forever and ever (v. 17).

Thy Throne, O God . . . 

The author of Hebrews is engaged in comparing Jesus Christ to the angels. The angels are created servants, and they are commanded to worship the Son (Heb. 1:6). They are created “ministers.” But to the Son, God speaks, and God says, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.” Jesus Christ is being addressed by God and is spoken to as one who is fully God. Some who want to evade the clarity of this try to say that the Greek (ho thronos ho Theos) should be rendered “Thy throne is God.” But this would place Jesus Christ above God, which doesn’t exactly help their case. This psalm is clearly speaking beyond what would be appropriate to say of Solomon, or any other earthly king, and finds its fulfillment in the marriage of Christ to the Church. This is an image that St. Paul elevates so wonderfully in Ephesians 5. God became a man so that He could take a human bride.

The Bride of Christ

Although the image is glorious, we must be careful with it. Because Christians have not been careful with it, particularly in the West, we have created an environment in the Church that is hostile to masculinity. And the hinge of the matter is the difference between corporate piety and individual piety. The entire Church is feminine in relationship to Christ. But beginning with Bernard of Clairvaux, corporate expressions of devotion were radically individualized. This has resulted in a good bit of gender weirdness. It is one of the reasons why Christian men have become so effeminate, and why men who refuse to become effeminate are chased out of the Church.

There are two problems here: one is with the men who won’t conform to this and leave, and the other is with the men are willing to have a try. It is one thing for the corporate Church to adorn herself as a bride for her husband (Rev. 21:2). It is quite another for a burly lumberjack to sit down for his quiet time and try it. The former is glorious, and the latter is sick and gross.

The Warrior Groom

The Lord Jesus is the model for all husbands, as Paul teaches. One of the things we learn about Him here is that He is an accomplished warrior. He is well-spoken—grace has been poured out upon His lips. In other words, a biblical warrior is not a thug. It is appropriate for Him to wear His sword at the wedding. His arrows have slain His enemies, and the peoples have fallen before His conquest. At the heart of His effectiveness as a warrior is the fact that He loves righteousness and hates wickedness. In this world (which is fallen), anyone who loves righteousness and hates wickedness will have to be, by definition, a fighter, a warrior. Because He has been an effective warrior, He is anointed with many blessings—the pageantry, the spices, the majesty, and most of all, the bride. Faint heart never won fair lady.

The Bride Adorned

The king desires her beauty, as He has every right to do. She adorns her beauty with more beautiful things, which she has every right to do. But, anticipating the teaching of the apostle Peter, her beauty is not merely outward and external. The king’s daughter, it says in verse 13, is “all glorious within.” Her beauty is obviously not limited to that which is internal, but it most certainly begins there.

She is the daughter of a king. She is married to a king. She will be the mother of kings. And through Christ, God has made us kings and priests on the earth. He is in the process of establishing true nobility on earth—and about time.

The Oil of Gladness

Over the years, we have emphasized sabbath living and rejoicing before the Lord. This is all well and good, and this psalm gives us even more examples of it. “Oil of gladness” (v. 7) and “with gladness and rejoicing” (v. 15) are wonderful examples of this. But this is not the celebration of the lazy. We see here war, victory, gladness. We see accomplishment followed by gladness and rejoicing. Gladness is our birthright, but so is work and war and sacrifice and giving. If we make gladness our hallmark in some detached way, then we will become a haven of complacency. And that is not what God calls us to.

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Psalm 44: Like Sheep for the Slaughter

Christ Church on August 31, 2008

https://www.christkirk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1475.mp3

Fifth Decade of Psalms

Introduction

The next psalm is a desperate plea for help from God. He is the God of their salvation, and yet He appears not to care. The citation of this psalm in the New Testament shows it to be the plea of righteous martyrs.

The Text
“We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us . . .” (Psalm 44:1-26).

Outline and Summary of the Text

This psalm comes to us in a parallel structure—in an a/a/b/b/c form. The unmatched conclusion, in this case “c,” represents the psalmist’s main point.

a. Our fathers trusted You for victory, O God, and You granted it (44:1-3);

a’. We trusted You for victory, O God, and You granted it (vv. 4-8 );
b. But now You have rejected us (vv. 9-16);
b’. Even though we have not rejected You (vv. 17-22);
c God, rise up and help us (vv. 24-27).

Our fathers have told us marvelous stories of God’s deliverances (vv. 1-2). They accomplished great things, but did not do it in their own autonomous power (v. 3). The psalmist declares his allegiance to God, and asks Him to “command deliverance” (v. 4). Through God’s might, they will prevail (v. 5). He will not trust in his own might, any more than his fathers did (v. 6). God has delivered His people within living memory (v. 7). God is the basis of the only kind of boasting that is not obnoxious (v. 8). But God has apparently abandoned His armies (v. 9). God has turned His warriors into cowards (v. 10). His people are slaughtered like sheep kept in pens for food (v. 11). God has sold His own people at garage sale prices (v. 12). All outsiders now mock God’s people (vv. 13-14). The psalmist is overwhelmed by confusion, not knowing how to answer the one who reproaches him (vv. 15-16).Then there is a surprising turn. Where we would expect a confession of sin, we find a protestation of innocence (vv. 17-18). God has broken them in the desolate places (v. 19). But if Israel had really sinned, would not the omniscient God know about it (vv. 20-21)? And yet they are killed all day long, and reckoned as sheep for slaughter (v. 22). God, why are You sleeping (v. 23). Why do You forget Your people (v. 24)? We are brought down to the dust (v. 25). Rise up, O God, and redeem us out of Your great mercy (v. 26).

All Scripture Together

One of the things we have to learn how to do is balance all Scripture together in our hearts and minds. When we focus on one passage, we must not do it at the expense of other passages. On top of this, we have to be mindful of which came first, what their relationship to the coming of Christ is, and whether or not the applications are physical or spiritual or both.

Paul quotes this psalm in Romans 8:36, and he establishes that the protestation of innocence by the psalmist here is genuine. This was not a case of the psalmist kidding himself about his righteousness. Romans sheds light on Psalm 44. In an analogous way, Psalm 44 sheds light on the conclusion of Romans 8.
The tone around this statement—true at face value in both places—is very different. That difference has to do with the times and with the coming of Christ.

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:31-39).

The faith that is implicit in the psalm becomes explicit in the mouth of Paul. We are more than conquerors through Christ, even though our experience is often identical to that of the psalmist. This is not the cry of a sinner under well-deserved chastisement, but rather the triumphant shout of the martyr.

Heard With Our Ears

We must be careful to tell our sons and daughters the great stories of God’s deliverance in the past. We must be sure that we tell them of His merciful deliverances that have occurred more recently. It is common in this desperate times for various error-mongers in our midst to say that we have to abandon dogmatic theology for a more “narratival” theology. The problem with these people is two-fold. First, they don’t understand how dogmas and convictions drive plots and, secondly, their idea of a really exciting story is a Sunday afternoon interfaith roundtable discussion on PBS—like watching paint dry. They talk about stories all the time, but they don’t ever tell any. To tell a real story, you need conflict, dogma, dragons, armies, a sky black with arrows, a protagonist, great battles, and victory at the end.

Secondary Means

“God is our deliverance” is not inconsistent with “lock and load.” In two places in this psalm we are told that military might did not win the victory, when in both places military might was used. God is ultimate and sovereign, and He is the one who blesses the means employed. In physical warfare, if He does not bless the armies, then they will be defeated. In spiritual warfare, if He does not honor and bless the means we employ, then those means will in fact be fruitless.

Boasting in the Lord

In both testaments, we are told that the one who boasts should boast in the Lord (v. 8; Ps. 34:2). The only manna that did not rot was the manna that was laid up before the Lord. The only boasting that does not rot is boasting in God’s great and almighty power. The one who glories must do so in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:31).

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Psalm 43: Judge Me, O God

Christ Church on August 24, 2008

https://www.christkirk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1474.mp3

Fifth Decade of Psalms

Introduction

The 43rd Psalm is very similar to the one before it, and in a handful of manuscripts it is even included together with it. But rather than consider it as a detached portion of the 42nd Psalm, it is a simpler explanation to consider this as a supplement, composed with the previous psalm in mind, expanding on the same themes.

The Text
“Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation . . .” (Psalm 43:1-5).

Summary of the Text

The psalmist cries out to God for judgment (v. 1). He is being attacked by an “ungodly nation,” and he seeks God’s vindication. Deliverance, when it comes, would be from the deceitful and unjust man (v. 1). God is the God of David’s strength, and David finds it inexplicable that God has cast him off (v. 2). Why does David have to go mourning because of the enemy’s oppression? He then prays that God would send out His light and His truth in order to lead David home, back to the worship of the true God (v. 3). When light and truth have done this, then David will approach the altar of God, unto God Himself as his joy, and David will not be able to contain the music (v. 4). The psalm concludes with David chiding himself, just as he had done in the previous psalm (v. 5). He then ends with the triumph of faith, knowing that he will in fact praise God, who is the health of his countenance and his God (v. 5).

Judge Me

We have commented before on the striking differences that arise when we compare the mentality of the psalmist with the mentality of many modern Christians. One of those differences is the eagerness with which the psalmist frequently seeks out and is hungry for God to judge him. The Christian who understands that all his righteousness is filthy rags is reluctant to say this, and quite understandably. But this kind of isolated judgment is not the only kind of judgment there is. And if it were, the psalmist knew as well as we do that we would all be in serious trouble. “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?” (Ps. 130:3).

But there is another sense of judgment in Scripture—vindication, deliverance, justification. This cannot be understood apart from a distinction made between absolute righteousness (Godward), which no one has, and covenant righteousness (toward God and man), which all believers are called to display. When we cry out to God, asking Him to judge our cause, vindicating us “because of our righteousness,” this is what we are doing. Think of it as the difference between “being righteous” and “being in the right.”

As C.S. Lewis notes, “The difference is that the Christian pictures the case to be tried as a criminal case with himself in the dock; the Jew pictures it as a civil case with himself as the plaintiff” (p. 15). The Psalms are full of pleadings from plaintiffs, and this is something we must recover. This does not erase our awareness of our justification in that great criminal case, in which we were the guilty accused, but rather should heighten it.

Remember your great forgiveness in that criminal trial every time you enter a civil complaint—do not be like the wicked servant who was forgiven 10 million and then choked his fellow servant over a quarter—but do not remember your acquittal in such a way as renders you incapable of taking up your own cause ever. One definition of a liberal is one who is incapable of taking up his own side in a dispute. Don’t be like that. But neither should you be the kind of person that cannot conceive of ever having been at fault in any way. There are at least two senses of justification, and we must remember them both.

Twin Vipers

David needs to be delivered from the deceitful and unjust man (v. 1). Those two characteristics are twin vipers. Because he is unjust, he has no standard of justice to operate by other than his own self-interest, whatever that might happen to be. And because that is the case, and because lies are frequently a good way to get your way on the cheap, he is also deceitful. This makes every conflict lopsided. One disputant is constrained by a sense of justice and fair play, and the other is not. An amateur Olympic boxer has to fight in this way, and he is up against someone fighting by ultimate cage fighting standards. And because of this, the psalmist cries out to God, who is the one who will ultimately put all things to rights.

God of My Strength

God will certainly do this, even though it appears that He is uninterested in doing it now. God, You are my strength. Where did You go? This the same theme as the previous psalm, and it has the same resolution. David chides himself, talking to himself. “Why are you disquieted?” But again, the same as before, he turns to God in confidence—”for I shall yet praise him.” In the midst of great troubles, remember that you are the servant of a far greater God. And the greatness of God surpasses the greatness of your troubles in a way that overcomes the apparent distance of this great God.

Bring Me to the Altar

Just as in the previous psalm David longed to be in the great multitude, worshipping God in a very public way, so here he desires to come to God’s holy hill, His tabernacles. He wants to approach the altar of God, which is simply a way of saying he wants to approach God Himself, the God who is his exceeding joy (v. 4).

Great Deliverance is the Mother of Great Music

After David is brought to the altar of God, after he is successfully brought to God his exceeding joy, the result is music. “Upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God” (v. 4). The one who is forgiven little loves little (Luke 7:47). The one who is complacent has little to sing about. The one who is lethargic has little reason to break into song. God often brings us through great trials because it is the only way to produce magnificent music. He doesn’t want to bring us to heaven in such a way that we can only stand around and hum. For the wine to be made, the grapes must be crushed. For the songs of deliverance to come forth, the people must be afflicted first.

It is therefore no coincidence that periods of reformation and revival are periods marked by musical explosiveness. Paul tells the Colossians that the word of Christ should dwell in the them richly, and that they should then overflow in psalm, hymns and spiritual songs (Col. 3:16). The richness of the dwelling should line up with the richness of the fruit, and if the fruit is poor, then the spiritual experience producing it is poor. And that often happens because we are lukewarm, and have no intention of every getting into the kind of trouble that David used to get into.

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Psalm 41: God Helps Those Who Help the Helpless

Christ Church on August 10, 2008

https://www.christkirk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1472.mp3

Fifth Decade of Psalms

The Text

“Blessed is he that considereth the poor : the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble . . . ” (Ps. 41:1-13).

Outline and Summary of the Text

As with much Hebrew poetry, this psalm is structured as a chiasm.

a. didactic introduction and associated prayer of confidence (vv. 1-4);

b. petition of the psalmist (v. 5);
c. words and behavior of the adversary (vv. 6-8);
c’. words and behavior of the adversary (vv. 9-10);
b’. prayer of the psalmist (v. 11);
a’. didactic conclusion and associated Temple worship (v. 12).
The thirteenth verse here functions as the conclusion to the first book of the five books of psalms, probably divided up by Ezra. See also Psalms 72:18-19; 89:53; 106:48 and 150.
The man who considers and remembers the poor will be himself helped by the Lord (v. 1). The Lord will protect such a man, and not allow him to be taken by his enemies (v. 2). Although confined to bed, the Lord Himself will be the nurse (v. 3). The reason that David was confined to bed was because of sin, and so he sought mercy (v. 4). From that position, David was able to imagine what his enemies were saying—when will he die (v. 5)? And those with evil under their tongues like this are impudent enough to come and visit him on his sick bed, smooth words on the surface, but eagerly looking for trouble (v. 6). Those who hate David whisper against him (v. 7). They exult over the fact that he looks done for (v. 8). This is even done by one who had previously been close—perhaps Absalom or Ahithophel—and who had shared David’s bread (v. 9). This is clearly applied in the antitype to Judas betraying Jesus (John 13:18). But David prays to be raised, that He might dispense justice (v. 10). He knows that God is on his side because his enemy does not triumph (v. 11). God will establish David in His own presence forever (v. 12). And a blessing is declared with regard to the God of Israel, forever and ever, amen and amen (v. 13).

The Occasion

The serious illnesses of kings are always watched with interest. When a basketball player is about to shoot, there will be all kinds of posting up and positioning under the basket. When a king looks as though he is going to die, the same kind of ambitious scuffling is going on among the courtiers, plotters and heirs apparent. King David is the type, and the Lord Jesus is the antitype. There are some things that apply only to David (for example, his confession of sin in v. 4). But the apostle John clearly declares that v. 9 found its complete fulfillment in the treachery of Judas. The same kind of thing repeats over and over. We see this kind of treachery throughout the Old Testament (e.g. Jer. 12:6), we see it with Jesus, and with followers of Christ down to the present.

God Helps Those Who Help the Helpless

Our proverb says that God helps those who help themselves. And while there is an important but limited truth there, we want to pursue a deeper truth. God helps those who help the helpless. As we seek to understand this, we must take care not to treat it as though God in heaven were a celestial vending machine—as though I could put my good deeds in here, and get my product there. At the same time, sowing and reaping are woven into the way the world is structured. We simply must refuse to understand the sowing and the reaping in a superficial way. The seed is not sown on the surface of the ground, and the plant does not grow from a spot on the surface.

Those who when they are prosperous help the helpless are becoming the kind of people who can cry out to God for help when they are in dire straits. This is why it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35); this is why the man is blessed who considers the poor (v. 1). David asks for mercy, and his appeal has two arguments. First he pleads for mercy because he has sinned (v. 4). No spin control. But second he asks for mercy because he had previously made a point of extending it. Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy (Matt. 5:7). David is in trouble—he is sick, and he is dealing with the treachery of friends. When he writes a psalm in his trouble, he begins with this: “Blessed is he that considereth the poor.” In his current crisis, he remembers the times when the crises was someone else’s—and he was the benefactor.

Intelligent Mercy

Note that the blessing is for those who consider the poor. This is not limited to mental activity—obviously, the result is action that actually helps the poor. But it at least includes thoughtful consideration. The blessing is not for those who close their eyes and strew money about the place. Those who are hurting need different things and we won’t know what those things are unless we consider it. Do they need medicine? a job? training? education for their children? capitalization for a business? debt forgiveness? What do they need? Consider it, and to consider it biblically is to act on it.

Right and Left Hand

Jesus teaches us that when we give, our left hand should not know what the right hand is doing (Matt. 6:3). Remember that David is making a plea to the Lord to consider him in his poverty, just as he had considered others in theirs. He is doing this in the context of slander—close associates and former friends were slandering him and speaking evil concerning him. They knew better, and yet they snatch at anything that will weaken David or misrepresent his character or his prospects. This was the position that Judas was in with respect to Jesus. He shared His bread, and lifted up his heel—the way an animal in a stall kicks the one who feeds him.

But David was king, and a public person. There is no question about settling personal scores, but when God raised him again, he intended to require them (v. 10). Jesus did not strike down His persecutors when they taunted Him as He was on the cross. And He could have; He could have summoned legions of angels. But He did not refrain because this was the wrong thing to do; He refrained because it was the wrong time. When the Lord came to Jerusalem in judgment in 70 A.D. the time was fulfilled and the fullness of wrath fell on that generation. Who will be trusted to wield judgment? The merciful. Who will be trusted to receive mercy? The merciful.

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Amos 5:1: Two Kinds of Light

Christ Church on July 20, 2008

https://www.christkirk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1469.mp3

Introduction
We have finished working through the book of Amos passage by passage, and we need to take a week to look at the structure and message of the book as a whole. Next week, Lord willing, we will come to some detailed applications.

The Text
“Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel . . .” (Amos 5:1).

Structure and Overview of the Text
Our text is the first verse in the passage that serves as the center of the seven-fold chiasm which is the entire book. Since many of passages that make up the segments of this chiasm are chiasms themselves, we have something of a “Russian doll” situation.

a coming judgment on Israel and her neighbors (1:1-2:16)
b the prophet is compelled to announce the destruction of Israel and the shrine at Bethel (3:1-15)

c condemnation of rich Israelite women (4:1-13)
d a call for repentance and a lament for Israel (5:1-17)
c’ condemnation of rich Israelite men (5:18-6:14)
b’ the prophet is compelled to announce visions of judgment, and the coming destruction of the shrine at Bethel (7:1-8:3)
a’ coming judgment, but also coming restoration for Israel and her neighbors (8:4-9:15)

 

There are two things to do here. The first is to realize that there are many more parallels within these sections beyond the broader themes laid out above. For example, take the third and the third from last sections. Cows of Bashan are in the mountain of Samaria (4:1); there are those who feed secure in the mountain of Samaria (6:1). These wealthy women drink idly (4:1); these wealthy men drink wine (6:6). The women will go into exile toward Harmon (4:2); these men will be first into exile beyond Damascus (5:27). Empty religious activities are depicted (4:4-5); empty religious activities are depicted (5:21-25). Israel loves it this way (4:5); Yahweh hates it this way (5:21). The coming judgment will turn morning into darkness (4:13); the day of Yahweh will be darkness and not light (5:18, 20). What this means (among many other things) is that this jeremiad is not a blind rant; it is a well- crafted poetic tour de force.

The second thing to remember would be the structured themes found in the whole thing:

a seven-fold chiasm: call to repentance and lament (1:1-2:16)
b seven-fold chiasm: Israel does not know how to do right (3:1-15)

c seven stanzas: what Israel wouldn’t listen to (4:1-13)
d despite lack of repentance: a seven-fold hymn to Yahweh’ power (5:1-17)
c’ seven-fold chiasm: a seven-fold woe at the center (5:18-6:14)
b’ prose section: four visions and Amaziah’s rejection of Amos (7:1-8:3)
a’ seven-fold chiasm: a hymn of praise at the center (8:4-9:15).

Remember the Two Great Themes
False living begins in false worship. If a man worships at Dan, or Bethel, or Gilgal, or Beersheba, instead of worshipping faithfully at Jerusalem, then the necessary result will be false living. That false living will work its way out, necessarily, into cruelty and hardness of heart. Self-serving wealth can do nothing but try to squeeze more out of others. So the two great sins condemned in the book of Amos are syncretistic worship, golden calf worship, and the necessary consequence, which is opulent violence against the needy.

A Prophet, Not a Partisan
Amos could have been taken an ambassador for Judah, which had her own sins. Amos could have been seen as carrying water for Assyria, which was to be the instrument of the judgment that he declared. Amos could have allowed himself to be dragged down into the factionalism that exists in every prosperous era. But he did not. Not only did he insist that the northern kingdom not dilute its worship by going to various shrines, he refused to dilute his message by coming from “various perspectives.” He came with the law of God, and the revealed word of God that had come to him, and he spoke to the sins of Israel that were plain, lying right there on the surface, and therefore undeniable. And that is why he was told to go—as prophets always are.

Courage
C.S. Lewis remarks somewhere that courage is not a separate virtue, but is rather the testing point of all the virtues. If a man is honest only so long as it does not cost him, then he is not honest. The only thing that will protect his honesty is courage. Amos was a courageous prophet, and was unwilling to bend simply because there was a consensus that he ought to. But at the same time, we have to be careful not to affirm the consequent. Courageous prophets will not bend, and neither will mule-headed stubborn men.

The Lure of Wealth
We will have to consider this in more detail as we make application to our circumstances, but it is crucial that we see the problem with the wealthy in the book of Amos. They were condemned because they worshipped the golden calves, not because they had the gold out of which those calves can be made. Compare the riches of those lolling around on ivory beds with the riches of a farmer whose plowman is catching up with his harvesters. What is the issue? What is the difference?

Two Kinds of Light
In the book of Amos, we find two different kinds of light. Picture it this way. If the day is dark gray and overcast, and terrible storms are coming, we still know that if we go high enough above the clouds, the sun is still shining bright. That is what Amos is doing in his periodic hymns of praise to Yahweh. However dark it is here and now, the prophet knows (and sings) that God remains on the throne. The sun is not ever buffeted by the winds.
Because this is true, it is possible for Amos to predict, in the last few verses of the book, that the storm will blow over and that the sun will appear here. A glorious future will come to Israel after the storm. Think of it as Calvinism in current afflictions, and Calvinism looking forward to future glory. Because God is the God of storms now, He will be the God of endless sun, where sorrow and mourning have fled away, and every tear has been wiped from our eyes.

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  • Our Mission
  • Our Distinctives

Ministries

  • Center For Biblical Counseling
  • Collegiate Reformed Fellowship
  • International Student Fellowship
  • Ladies Outreach
  • Mercy Ministry
  • Bakwé Mission
  • Huguenot Heritage
  • Grace Agenda
  • Greyfriars Hall
  • New Saint Andrews College

Resources

  • Sermons
  • Bible Reading Challenge
  • Blog
  • Music Library
  • Weekly Bulletins
  • Hymn of the Month
  • Letter from Elders Regarding Relocating

Get Involved

  • Membership
  • Parish Discipleship Groups
  • Christ Church Downtown
  • Church Community Builder

Contact Us:

403 S Jackson St
Moscow, ID 83843
208-882-2034
office@christkirk.com
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