Christ Church (Moscow, ID)

INTRODUCTIONThis psalm is untitled, and it is truly a curious composition—it is a scriptural mosaic. Most of this psalm is laid together like tiles from other portions of Scripture. One scholar has said that “every verse in this Psalm either echoes, quotes or is quoted in some other part of Scripture.” Consider verse 5 (Ex. 18:11), verse 7 (Jer. 10:13), vv. 15-18 (almost verbatim with Ps. 115:4-8), verse 13 (Ex. 3:15), verse 14 (Dt. 32:26), and more. This psalm is a collage from other places which then stands alone in its own right.THE TEXT“Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord; Praise him, O ye servants of the Lord. Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, In the courts of the house of our God, Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good: Sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, And Israel for his peculiar treasure . . .” (Psalm 135:1–21)SUMMARY OF THE TEXTThe first portion of this psalm is a series of exhortations to praise God, with various reasons for this praise being given (vv. 1-14). The following section is a condemnation of idols and idolatry (vv. 15-18). The last section returns to the praise of Yahweh (vv. 19-21).Those who serve God in the house of the Lord are charged to praise Him, as He is good, and it is pleasant to praise Him (vv. 1-3). God should be praised because He chose Jacob for Himself, and placed Israel in His own jewelry box (v. 4). God is to be praised because no other god compares to Him (v. 5). He is no effeminate god—He does whatever he pleases anywhere (v. 6). He is the God of evaporation, lightning, and wind (v. 7). But He is also a political God—He is the one who struck the firstborn of Egypt, man and beast alike (v. 8). He not only threw down Egypt, but also sent tokens and wonders to Pharaoh (v. 9). He destroyed great Canaanite nations, and gave that land to Israel (vv. 10-12). God’s name is forever, and He will turn back from destroying His own people (vv. 13-14).Idolatry is nothing but wind and vanity, the service and worship of tatterdemalion gods. Heathen idols are fashioned out of metal by men (v. 15). Despite their carved mouths, eyes, ears, and mouths, they are dumb, blind, deaf, and lifeless (vv. 16-17). Those who make them are just like them—deaf, dumb, blind, and lifeless (v. 18). Those who trust them are the same. These gods are just a bundle of infirmities—these gods get to park in the handicapped spots.And then absolutely everyone who is associated with the Zion of God is summoned to gather around, in order to bless the Lord (vv. 19-21).WHATEVER HE PLEASESWhat does God do? In this psalm we are told that God does whatever He pleases, wherever He pleases. That applies absolutely everywhere. In verse 6, we are told that the Lord does whatever He pleases in Heaven, in earth, in the seas, and down in all the deep places. This is the teaching of Scripture throughout.Nebuchadnezzar knew this was true (Dan. 4:35). Solomon knew that it was true (Prov. 16:33). Isaiah vaunted over the false gods over just this point (Is. 41:23). The apostle Paul exulted in the truth of it (Eph. 1:11). He works out all things according to the counsel of His own will.So pick out a typhoon in the middle of the Pacific, and pick out one particular rain drop in the middle of that typhoon as it hurtles toward the ocean. God named that rain drop before the foundation of the world, and the precise moment it would join the ocean. He decreed the number of water molecules that it would contain throughout the course of its existence, along with the shape and contours of its surface at every instant. So be of good cheer—you are worth more than many rain drops. What on earth are you worried about?THE LORD OF EVAPORATIONThe world is not governed by natural law. The world is governed by the words of the Lord Jesus. He is the one who makes vapors ascend all over the earth (v. 7). He mixes lightning with the rain (v. 7). He has treasuries where He stores the winds, and He brings them out when it suits Him.But whether we are talking about natural processes, or the rise and fall of kingdoms and empires, we are always talking about the activity of the one true Jehovah God.This is the God who selected Jacob (v. 4), who upended Pharaoh (v. 9), who speaks to the water vapors as they rise (v. 7), who saw to it that Og king of Bashan was thrown down (v. 11), and who chastises His people (v. 14). This is all the same God, the one true God.BECOMING LIKE WHAT YOU WORSHIPIdolaters shape idols in their own image, and then those idols shape the worshipers into something even more misshapen. We become like what we worship. We see this principle here with regard to idolatry, but it is also the true driver of our sanctification.“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).Not only is it true that we become like what we are worshiping, it is also that case that whatever it is we are becoming is a true indicator of where our heart worship is. If you have a man who comes to the public worship of the triune God, and every week he sings praises to the Lord Jesus Christ, and he reads Scripture, and he says amen, and he partakes of the bread and wine, but with every passing month he gets angrier at home, and more sullen, and more given to fits of rage, then you may depend upon it—he has a small carved idol hidden in a closet somewhere. Probably some kind of angry monkey god.

This world is riddled with grief. You either have great griefs which haunt you from behind, or unforeseen griefs yet to face, and likely both. Of course, there’s the grief that comes from your sin and its consequences, but I want to talk particularly about the grief that you face just by doing business in this fallen world.

Can you know for certain that you are saved? Can you know for certain that you have eternal life and that when you die, you will be with Christ forever? The Bible says that you can know. In fact, 1 John is one of places in the Bible full of the promises of assurance of salvation.

Sing like you are in the heavenly choirs: because you are. Sing loud. Sing exuberantly. Belt it out. Is there injustice in the land? Are there people plotting against God’s people? Then sing out.

Our covenantal relationship with God is a relationship that is tied completely around with blessing. The servants of the Lord are called and summoned to bless the Lord, and in return the Lord blesses us out of Zion. One of the characteristic notes of this psalm is that it is filled with blessing.

It's certainly possible to overload and crash, but where are all those warnings in Scripture?Listen to the full message, 'Go to the Ants' in the CRF series on this app.

Download AudioIntroduction Christian unity is a dangerous subject because, believe it or not, it is one of the ironic things we are divided over. What is the nature of true unity? Why should we care? Are denominations really a form of disobedience? Have we really torn apart the seamless robe of Christ?The Text“A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: That went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: For there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore” (Psalm 133:1-3).Summary of the Text Again, this is another psalm of ascents—one of the psalms that would be sung as pilgrims approached the Temple. Something can be good without being pleasant, but when both good and pleasant come together, it is a true blessing (v. 1). That blessing comes when brethren can dwell together in unity (v. 1). In the economy of Israel, all priests were anointed, but only the high priest was anointed on the head. This unity is like that precious oil that is placed on Aaron’s head, runs down to his beard, and from there to the hem of his garments (v. 2). Clearly a large amount of oil was used—even if you follow the ESV reading, which has the oil running down to the collar. In a change of metaphor, we read that Mount Hermon is famous for dew, descending on the mountains of Zion (v. 3). As Zion proper is about 250 miles south of Hermon, we should note the plural mountains, and take Zion as a generic name for Israel. How will this blessing of unity come? It will be the result of a command from Jehovah Himself (v. 3)—that command summoning life forevermore. This dew waters the ground, and makes it truly fruitful. That is the command of God, the blessing of God. This is His purpose and intention.“He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, And fill the face of the world with fruit” (Isaiah 27:6).Two Kinds of UnityAs this psalm has praised this particular grace from God in the strongest possible terms, we need to be careful not to distort our understanding of that grace. According to Scripture, there are two kinds of unity that God gives to us. We need to be careful not to muddle them up because if we do, the unfortunate result will be . . . disunity.The first kind is given to all Christians everywhere in the Person of the Holy Spirit. “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).Notice that we already have this unity, which is why we are told to preserve it. We need to be eager in this preservation, laboring at it. The word for unity is the same as that used a few verses down (henotes). The word for bond can mean fetter, or sinew, or that which binds. And the Holy Spirit is the one who ties of the knot of peace. Every Christian has this unity already, and the one charge we have is to pursue a way of life that does not disrupt it.The second kind of unity is institutional unity. Paul is thinking eschatologically, and is looking forward to the time when the bride of Christ, the Church, is without any spot or wrinkle or any such blemish (Eph. 5:27). God will accomplish this through the governmental gifts that He has provided to the Church—apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor/teachers. “Till we all come in the unity [henotes] of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).This is the unity of maturity, and we are not supposed to have it yet.And no end of trouble is caused by people who think that we are supposed to have it, and on the basis of this opinion disrupt their fellowship with saints who differ. It is like the old joke about two ministers who were talking, and one said to the other, “Well, we both serve God, I suppose—you in your way, and I in His.” Because we try to seize an institutional unity we are not supposed to enjoy yet, we wind up disrupting the bond of peace that we really do have.Sin as BarrierSin means we are falling short of a standard that we ought not to be falling short of. Sin means we are not doing what we were instructed to do, and obedience is always something that should be in our hands in the present.Remember that the basic building block of this broader church unity is the family, and the husband and the father is responsible to set the tone for his family. Fathers, you do not have the luxury of being distant, or angry, or sullen, or quiet, or disengaged, or surly. You do not get to flop, or otherwise disrupt a unity that has already been given to you.The household is a wonderful place for learning the basic steps of this particular dance. In fact, there is no better place. And when you learn that wisdom in the home, you will be equipped to navigate the challenges that will arise with regard to extended family, or neighbors, or companions in business, or fellow church members.Immaturity as BarrierImmaturity means that we are right where we are supposed to be. A three-year-old is not in sin being three-years-old. Now if a ten-year-old started acting like a three-year-old this would actually not be immaturity—it would be sin. Remember that God is very easy to please, but very hard to satisfy. When it comes to the unity of the Church today, God is very easy to please, and hard to satisfy.And the reason this is true—the only reason, remember—is because the Father was pleased with Christ. Not only so, but the Father is satisfied in Christ. And Christ is our unity. One Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph. 4:5).

IntroductionThe Israelite purity codes point out potent, momentous elements of life and tell Israel to pay careful attention. Go slow here. Warning. There is something glorious here. What you eat, what you touch, your bodies, death and dying, sexuality, and childbearing are potent, powerful forces in the world that God made. Under God’s blessing, they are forces for good, but in our fallen state, they naturally become forces for evil, harm, and destruction. Uncleanness points to our natural fallen state, and points to our need for a new Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ, and urges care, wisdom, repentance, worship, and obedience in all things.The Text: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying if a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days” (Lev. 12:1-8).Summary of the Text: When a woman gave birth to a son, she was ceremonially unclean for seven days, the son was to be circumcised on the 8th day, and then she continued in a state of purifying for another 33 days, for a total of 40 days (12:1-4). When a woman bore a daughter, she was unclean for fourteen days, and then continued in a state of purifying for another 66 days, for a total of 80 days (12:5). At the end of the time of purifying, the new mother was to bring an ascension offering and a sin offering to the tabernacle, one for atonement and one for cleansing from her blood, with a provision for the poor (12:6-8).The Promise of the SeedWhile these ceremonies can seem strange or even offensive to modern ears, there really is a logic to it all and something profoundly glorious is going on here. Remember, that God blessed Adam and Eve with the command to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and ruling over all the creatures (Gen. 1:28). This means that conception and childbearing was originally blessed by God and is part of what God pronounced “very good” (Gen. 1:31). But Adam sinned, and God pronounced curses on the ground that man worked and greater pain in a woman’s childbearing, and promised that now death would come upon all (Gen. 3:16-19). This general curse of sin and death in the world is what theologians call “original sin,” and all people (except for Jesus) are conceived and born with this covenantal guilt and natural proclivity to sin and corruption (Ps. 51: 5, Is. 48:8, Rom. 3:23, 5:12-19, 6:23). This is part of what God was teaching Israel in their purity codes: sin and death infects everything to some extent, and Israel cannot approach God unless He makes a way of cleansing. However, God also promised Adam and Eve a “seed” (a descendent) who would crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). God promised that through the seed of the woman, the curse would be reversed.Fulfilled in JesusThis text is fulfilled in the gospel initially in the circumcision of Jesus and Mary’s purification (Lk. 2:21-24). Circumcision was the Old Covenant sign that pictured the need for the shedding of blood for our sins and the cutting off of our sinful flesh. This is why the time for purification is cut in half for a baby boy because the baby boy at least symbolically shared the other half of the purification process. Jesus did not need to receive the sign of removal of sin for any personal sins anymore than He needed to be baptized for the remission of any sins, but in both cases it was to stand with us as our representative (covenant) head, to fulfill all righteousness (cf. Mt. 3:15). All of this was completely fulfilled in the cross, which Paul figuratively calls “the circumcision of Christ” (Col. 2:11), where our sins and the “uncircumcision” of our flesh was forgiven and all the condemnation of the law was nailed to His cross (Col. 2:13-14).ConclusionsIt’s particularly glorious that Jesus rose from the dead on the “8th Day,” the day of circumcision, which is of course also the first day of the week, the day of new creation, the day of the removal of the curse.Part of what this text underlines and which is highly offensive to modern sensibilities is the inequality of the sexes. We have been catechized and discipled by modern secularism to jump at every hint of inequality and to presume that this necessarily implies inequality of value. But men and women are gloriously unequal (1 Cor. 11:3, 7-11), and both bear the image of God equally in creation and are co-heirs of the grace of life in Christ (Gen. 1:27, 1 Pet. 3:7).God loves the glorious differences and inequalities of male and female, and He loves how they image Him. And so should we, and therefore we hate the sexual promiscuity that makes light of this glory, the utter fruitlessness and impossibility of homosexuality, and the utter confusion and blasphemy of transgenderism.This text points us to the glory of childbearing, the profound beauty of motherhood, the way that the curse of sin and death has attempted to infect it, and it all points to the glory of Christ who is now in the process of redeeming it all. By His blood, He has removed the ceremonial curse, and while we still battle with the presence of the curse in this world and in our bodies, Christ has commandeered death itself, such that even the remaining signs of the curse are turned into marks of the cross for those who are in Christ Jesus (cf. Gal. 6:17).The reason our culture rages against motherhood is because it is so beautiful and powerful (Ps. 139). There is nothing more potent in this world than people made in the image of God. This is why marriage and the gift of children are so central to the working out of the gospel. This is why the Bible even says that a woman may be “saved through childbirth” (1 Tim. 2:15). This does not mean that a single or barren woman cannot be saved, but it does mean that all women are called to embrace by faith the vocation of motherhood. Whether or not you bear your own children, you are to be fruitful in your home, cultivate beauty, feed the hungry, and in all of it, be the glory of man.

There is a clever game we play when it comes to identifying sin. Instead of calling the sin by its biblical name, we slap a nickname on it that allows everyone to nod along with understanding camaraderie. We don’t call it an outburst of wrath, as Paul does, we say that we were simply expressing frustration. This is a sneaky way of avoiding taking responsibility for our sin, and thus confessing it, repenting of it, and then mortifying it.

So take stock. Don’t confess the doctrine of God’s sovereignty, while attempting to argue yourself into thinking of Him as small enough to not disrupt your plans. Are the nations converted yet? Are all the orphans placed in families? Are the fortresses of evil overthrown? Since there is much work to be done, say your prayers, trust your God, and charge to where the fighting is fiercest.