Joy Archives - Page 3 of 3

Introduction

We sometimes try to cultivate the right heart attitude by denying the obvious challenges and perils in the world around us, and we sometimes try to pretend that we see the “real world” by adopting a cynical and artistic posture toward it all. We think that in order to have an enjoyable thanksgiving, it would have to be in an idyllic Norman Rockwell setting—a cartoon thanksgiving. And if we have attained to the sophomoric wisdom of knowing that there is evil in the world, we think that we are justified in falling back into the profound evil of ingratitude.

The Text

“Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee” (Dt. 28:45-49).

Summary of the Text

The 28th chapter of Deuteronomy contains a list of blessings for faithful obedience, and curses for unfaithful disobedience. The words of the law that are set before the people of Israel then are actually the words of the gospel, as Paul explains it (Rom. 10). They are words of gospel, that is, if we receive them in faith. In the course of explaining these blessings and curses, Moses makes this comment on what unfaithful disobedience actually looks like. The curses will chase down and overtake God’s people, destroying them, because they could not be bothered to do what God had told them to do (v. 45). And what was that? It was not because they had not gone around with pinched and pious faces. The problem was the opposite problem. The curses would rest on them as a sign and a wonder, and upon their children after them (v. 46). And why? Because they had not served the Lord their God with joyfulness, with gladness of heart, for the abundance of their stuff (v. 47). And because they did not serve the Lord with joy, then they might as well serve their enemies with no joy, since that is clearly more fitting (v. 48).

Carnal Wisdom

True faith sees the world as it is, and also sees the world as God has declared it will be. So if we live by faith, we will not be content with superficial gratitude, and we will not be content with superficial ingratitude.Carnal wisdom either opts for the upbeat attitude, and acts as though the world is not full of sin, or it sees the grit and rejects the attitude of triumphant gospel declaration. Churches that fall for the former problem devolve into a condition where the sermons are full of treacle, and the whole church falls into a sentimentalist vat of goo. Churches that drift into the latter error adopt a posture of “too cool to care.” They get their view of depravity, not from the apostle Paul, but from gritty film-makers. The former elevate a cozy community, while the latter embrace an autonomous (and very artsy) individualism. A plague on both their houses—we want to see the world for what it is in order to be able to overcome it. This is not possible unless we, like Abraham, look forward to the city that God is in the process of establishing. God has intervened in human history, He is intervening, and He will continue to intervene. The New Jerusalem descends from the heavens.

Unsheathed Gratitude

So Thanksgiving is not what we fight for. Thanksgiving is what we fight with. Take your celebration of Thanksgiving out of the scabbard. Consider these truths. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Phil. 4:6). The joy of the Lord is your strength “Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). And of course we know that thanksgiving looks back on past blessings, but true thanksgiving also anticipates coming victories as well. “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place” (2 Cor. 2:14).

Thanksgiving Is Not Murmuring Cleaned Up

Some might want to say that they are not complaining, but rather just commenting. Right. Others want to say that the reason they grouse about stuff like Wal-Mart, or pharmaceutical prices, or global corporations, or the Internet, or preservatives, or Nancy Pelosi’s Congress, is that they are bringing a Christian worldview critique to bear. Fine, but where is the joy? A sentimentalist resents having to fight, which is why his fighting, when it occurs, is so anemic. A biblical Christian hates evil, which is not the same thing as whining about it. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil (Prov. 8:13), but it is a clean hatred— glittering, pointed and joyful.

Application This Thursday

And so, we know that the days are evil. “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16). But this is what Paul tells us right before he urges us to walk in the Spirit, overflowing with thanksgiving. In what kind of time are we to be filled with the Spirit, singing and psalming in our hearts? In evil days. And he says this right before he says to give thanks for all things (Eph. 5:20). Did we catch that? We give thanks for all things in evil days. We serve a sovereign God. And so, this Thursday, strike a blow for righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, and do it with turkey, stuffing, cranberries, potatoes, and pie.

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.

Deep Peril, Deep Thanksgiving