It feels somewhat inauthentic writing this, because I am in the middle of a long and deep trial of body, mind, and spirit like I've never known before (even if I felt it was appropriate to share details here, I wouldn't know exactly what to write), and am in no position to lecture or lord over anyone else with any supposedly superior spiritual insight or wisdom of my own. All I know is that despite the numbness and battle with sleep and other problems I am facing right now (with the help of others), I have to carry on ministry of some sort, and I find myself able to write a little today. Neither my next breath nor my next day, month, year, nor decade is guaranteed, and I have to continue bearing fruit for the kingdom of Christ. God has smashed one of His vessels for a time, now let the waters of Zion stream out of it and at least give some life to others if possible.
I also still believe that there is power in the Word of God, and that things I have seen in it and learned from it could prove helpful to my brothers and sisters in Christ facing their own trials (or who certainly will some day), especially those in my home church of Christ the King Presbyterian in Norman, Oklahoma, whom I miss grievously during this time away. This Psalm asks questions that are shocking to a person until he faces truly difficult things, and then the questions seem all too obvious and familiar. As Rev. Mike Biggs preaches through the book of Exodus, Christ the King members especially will appreciate the direction this Psalm turns eventually. May the Spirit use my weak efforts unfolding some of it here to bless anyone who might happen to read it. Perhaps it will become part of a larger project one day (although I have said that of many things before...)
Psalm 77
For the choir director; according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.
"My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud;
My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness;
My soul refused to be comforted.
When I remember God, then I am disturbed;
When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah.
You have held my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I have considered the days of old,
The years of long ago.
I will remember my song in the night;
I will meditate with my heart,
And my spirit ponders:
Will the Lord reject forever?
And will He never be favorable again?
Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?
Has His promise come to an end forever?
Has God forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.
Then I said, 'It is my grief,
That the right hand of the Most High has changed.'
I shall remember the deeds of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
I will meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy;
What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known Your strength among the peoples.
You have by Your power redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
The skies gave forth a sound;
Your arrows flashed here and there.
The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
Your way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
And Your footprints may not be known.
You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron."
Asaph hides none of his thoughts or feelings. Like in Psalm 73 he fully exposes his darkest thoughts and feelings about God that crop up when he looks around at his circumstances. He begins this Psalm with loud lament and persistent prayer: "My voice rises to God, I will cry aloud!" "In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness." But his prayer and lament simply bounce, it seems, off his Ancient Near Eastern mud-and-tile ceiling: "My soul refused to be comforted."
"Well," thinks Asaph, "God is not granting me the earthly physical and/or emotional comforts I need to feel as whole as I could be, but I remember what I wrote in Psalm 73, and how I learned from going into the sanctuary of God's house that He will make all things right one day, and that actually for now, He is enough--yes, that great line I wrote!: 'God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!'" God. God is the gospel, ultimately. Through Christ's cross-work, we have peace and fellowship with the Almighty; what more could we ask?? To be discontent with God as our sufficient portion is idolatry, isn't it?
"When I remember God, then I am disturbed."
"I am disturbed." "I moan." "I was troubled." Pick your translation. That which has been most precious to Asaph now seems turned against him, or distant from him--with God the two are equivalent. The Aaronic blessing is that God would "lift up His countenance" on His people. His wrath is expressed at times as "hiding His face." Asaph sighs and his spirit grows faint. He can't sleep ("You have held my eyelids open.") He's lost for words ("I am so troubled I cannot speak.") His mind cannot make sense of his experience, so his words fail--such meager containers cannot contain his complex thoughts, concerns, questions.
Asaph the musician runs again to his music. Perhaps that will enliven his prayer and give it new hope: "I will remember my song in the night..." but all that comes out are the questions in his heart. Maybe he couldn't speak before because he was afraid to say these words, but he has nothing else to say at this point:
"Will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again? Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious, or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah." Asaph asks his questions of God here, stopping just short of actually accusing God of breaking His covenant promises. He is disturbed when he remembers God, because the dominant thoughts about God in his heart are, in effect: "Has God reneged on His promise to David, gone back on His word of blessing given to Israel through Levitical priests, walked Himself backward through the animal pieces constituting the cutting of His covenant of promise with Abraham?"
Verse 10 is apparently difficult to translate, but to me the idea seems to be something like this: "It is grievous to me what God has been doing lately."
Asaph's circumstances weigh his heart down. His prayers bounce off the ceiling. Music doesn't help. Even trying to simply trust in and rest in God Himself doesn't help because Asaph knows God is actually behind--in some ultimate sense--all His troubles (although God's personal relationships to good and to disaster are shaped differently, as every good gift comes from above, from the Father of lights in whom there is no darkness at all). There is no comfort in the present, let alone a sense of hope yet for the future. God hides His face. So Asaph goes the only other possible direction...
"I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will meditate on all Your work, and muse on Your deeds." There is no comfort in the present, and the idea of "God" Himself is too abstract and distant for Asaph at this time. So he goes to the past--the past works of the Lord, the past self-revelation of the Lord to His people in Word and especially in deed. That's concrete. It's recorded in Scripture. At Asaph's time, it was likely also passed down to him through strong oral traditions in the family and in temple worship.
Where is this God? What is He like? What are His works like, which reveal who He is? "Your way, O God, is holy; what god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders..." Ok, but it's still a little abstract, what wonders? What "redemption" of the sons of Jacob and Joseph is in view?
"The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You, they were in anguish..."
Oh, we see where this is going now...
The waters, which are associated with the godless Gentile nations, and with darkness and chaos and trouble, tremble at the gaze of the Holy One of Israel, and ultimately part so that God could lead forth His people like a flock, out of bondage (out of Egypt, obviously) "by the hand of Moses and Aaron."
Yahweh's path is in the mighty waters, because that is where He demonstrates His power best. His footprints may not be known; false gods cannot copy His movements. The waters are the means of His deliverance of His people and His judgment of His and their enemies. The Exodus is the quintessential paradigm of redemption given in the Scriptures. Asaph remembers it poetically, and stops there. He does not respond, in this Psalm, with relief and worship (as in most Psalms where the writer is renewed in faith and hope by the end). Perhaps this remembrance was enough for him to not fall all the way into despair, and that was all the help he received at the time, until later. Perhaps he fell asleep in meditation on the Exodus and decided to never add more to this particular Psalm. Whatever the case was, in the Holy Spirit's inspiration and leadership, the Psalm ends there.
The lesson is that when God seems abstract and distant, meditate on His past works--grand historical works like the Exodus, or various works in our individual lives (think, gratitude journal titles like "What God has done for me.") But on this side of the cross, we can't forget that the Second and Greater Exodus (Lk. 9:31) has already taken place, as well. Sin, Death, Hell, and Satan have been trampled by the blood of Christ, and the bodily resurrection of Jesus has brought His flock out of bondage to sin and into the freedom of an estate of Grace and Righteousness, with the attendant hope of glory. And who hopes for what he already sees? (Rm. 8:24) So if all that such meditation does is protect from utter despair for now, thank God for that. Amen.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Baptist Faith & Message Ch. 15 "The Christian and the Social Order"
"All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth."
One will find much worse/weaker statements of the relationship of the Christian to the social order by many Presbyterians, swayed as some are by extreme forms of two-kingdom theology. That reactionary ilk, though, is mostly concerned with clarifying the institutional Church's mission, along "spiritual" lines of discipleship. As will be shown here, I agree in some respects. However, I appreciate the strong view presented here in the BF&M concerning the Chrisitan's obligation to seek to promote the will of Christ in every area of life, including public/social arenas.
The second sentence here rightly points out that Christian ethics are not promoted publicly, in the first place, by top-down political coups, ecclesiocracy, or a focus on legislation; rather, in the first place, men's hearts must be changed by the Holy Spirit so that they see Christ for who He is--Lord of heaven and earth, not just Lord of individual hearts--and embrace His commandments. This happens through the gospel, both as it is preached in formal worship, and as it is shared by individual believers in informal settings.
This section is also right to focus on the Christian and the social order, rather than the Church and the social order. The two of course can never be separated, but a clear view of the mission of the institutional Church as being focused on discipleship is important, biblically speaking. Noticeably absent from the pastoral epistles is any emphasis on important things like charity work, social justice concerns, and the like. The repeated emphasis is on the teaching and preaching of the Word, and the maintenance of good discipline in the Church. It is individual Christians who are called, in various individual vocations, to "build the kingdom" in ways beyond discipleship proper as they seek to apply the implications of both Law and Gospel to every area of life--arts, politics, industry, criminal justice, human life, etc.--and to redress the Fall in its myriad effects of sin and misery (including working for all kinds of "social justice"...so long as that term is defined biblically rather than by neo-Marxist intersectionalists).
As rightly sensitive as the more conservative wing of the Reformed world in the U.S. is to the "capital-S, capital-J" Social Justice movement that threatens to derail the institutional Church from its central mission of making disciples (and to distort its theological anthropology by overly reifying the concept of "race" beyond "human" in the first place), I do fear that at times, in places, the reaction has tended toward a level of blindness to real remaining social problems that those on the political and theological Left are more sensitive to (but also tend to exaggerate at times, on the other side). For example, is racism far less of a problem in the modern West than in almost every other time and place in global history? Yes...try saying something racist on social media today and notice the reaction--is that not an indication of the actual cultural zeitgeist on the matter? However, does that mean there is absolutely no "systemic" racism left anywhere here, in the sense of its subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle!) permeation of certain social groups, professional bureaucracies, and the like? I'm not convinced that such a thing has been eradicated the way some on the Right have suggested, and that's not because I'm any kind of expert social commentator--far from it. It's just that 1) I've heard dozens of stories from trustworthy non-white Christian brothers that indicate to me that there is still deep and wide racial hostility in some places; and more importantly, 2) biblically, the kingdom of Satan doesn't work by isolated "guerilla warfare" attacks...sin spreads like leaven through dough, and it is never eradicated overnight. We should be clear-headed about that fact in relationship to every area of private and public life, and as Christians we need to work to expose darkness werever we find it and push it back with the light of the gospel of the kingdom (not with reparations and affirmative action--things which pretend compassion and mercy but actually strip human dignity and, especially in the Church, functionally deny the gospel of grace and pretend divine precision of judgment over history). I could be wrong about this, and my goal is not to speak out of both sides of the mouth because I have an a priori goal of "balance" defined by the middle of the cultural moment; I lean Right on most theological and many political issues, but I do worry sometimes that the Reformed reaction to the SJW movement has been more "Republican-balanced" than "biblically-balanced." I just think our own reactions to any movement should be thought through as self-critically and carefully as possible. For what it's worth...
In a previous section I already wrote a bit about cooperating with other men "without compromising...loyalty to Christ," as it is put here, so I would simply echo my previous thoughts on that in relation to this section as well. There is a sense in which the wider kingdom of Christ includes a "common grace" realm of sorts, but, unlike some hardcore amillennial two-kingdom thinkers, I do not think that exempts those areas of life from the specific, concrete authority of the rule of Christ (which brings even Old Covenant law principles/"general equity" to bear on the New Covenant situation). And this will affect the degree to which Christians can lawfully cooperate with men of "good will" (and there is some need to define that phrase further on its own!...) without compromising loyalty to Christ. For example, to what degree can a Christian cooperate with or participate in a government system that explicitly sanctions religious pluralism (at least as its constitution is commonly interpreted today), which is an offense to the true and living God? Our brothers in more establishmentarian-leaning denominations raise a good question here. I'm not completely sure yet on my position about voting vs. strong dissent, but I am convinced, at the very least, that most Christians need to think longer and harder (and more biblically) than they often do before "laying on hands hastily", as it were, in selecting their leaders at the ballot box, lest they "partake in other men's sins" (cf. 1 Tim. 5:22, about ordination, but relevant to democratic processes as well).
As one theologian quipped once, Jesus Christ is Lord in reality, not just between our ears. Therefore all areas of life, including public and social areas of education, government, industry, etc., belong to Him already in principle (Ps. 110). And Christ is constructing an eschatological footstool for His feet by destroying every enemy of His who stands in the way of His advancing kingdom. The institutional Church, the called-out covenant community that gathers regularly for worship, must focus on "baptizing" (incorporating) and "teaching" (training/deepening faith and loyalty to Christ among the incorporated members)--that is to say, making disciples. But that training should result in individual believers who are equipped to go out from the New Jerusalem into the beginnings of the new heavens and earth and build the kingdom of Christ in every area, taking every thought captive to His obedience, tending to the "garden," bearing fruit, crushing the serpent under their feet (Rom. 16:20; [since he has already been crushed under Messiah's foot]), so that Death and Sin, which have no more rightful authority in this world (Rom. 5-8), will eventually be banished forever (ultimately, at Christ's return, and because of it, of course).
Overall, I am encouraged by the robustness of this section of the BF&M, and only wish more Baptists in America took such theology to heart. With the decline of dispensationalism, I think that is beginning to happen even in some unlikely circles. Thank God for that. It just needs to stay centered on the gospel--the actual gospel, not the gospel of Liberation Theology, nor the gospel of apocalyptic, monastic retreat (neither of which are any sort of gospel at all).
One will find much worse/weaker statements of the relationship of the Christian to the social order by many Presbyterians, swayed as some are by extreme forms of two-kingdom theology. That reactionary ilk, though, is mostly concerned with clarifying the institutional Church's mission, along "spiritual" lines of discipleship. As will be shown here, I agree in some respects. However, I appreciate the strong view presented here in the BF&M concerning the Chrisitan's obligation to seek to promote the will of Christ in every area of life, including public/social arenas.
The second sentence here rightly points out that Christian ethics are not promoted publicly, in the first place, by top-down political coups, ecclesiocracy, or a focus on legislation; rather, in the first place, men's hearts must be changed by the Holy Spirit so that they see Christ for who He is--Lord of heaven and earth, not just Lord of individual hearts--and embrace His commandments. This happens through the gospel, both as it is preached in formal worship, and as it is shared by individual believers in informal settings.
This section is also right to focus on the Christian and the social order, rather than the Church and the social order. The two of course can never be separated, but a clear view of the mission of the institutional Church as being focused on discipleship is important, biblically speaking. Noticeably absent from the pastoral epistles is any emphasis on important things like charity work, social justice concerns, and the like. The repeated emphasis is on the teaching and preaching of the Word, and the maintenance of good discipline in the Church. It is individual Christians who are called, in various individual vocations, to "build the kingdom" in ways beyond discipleship proper as they seek to apply the implications of both Law and Gospel to every area of life--arts, politics, industry, criminal justice, human life, etc.--and to redress the Fall in its myriad effects of sin and misery (including working for all kinds of "social justice"...so long as that term is defined biblically rather than by neo-Marxist intersectionalists).
As rightly sensitive as the more conservative wing of the Reformed world in the U.S. is to the "capital-S, capital-J" Social Justice movement that threatens to derail the institutional Church from its central mission of making disciples (and to distort its theological anthropology by overly reifying the concept of "race" beyond "human" in the first place), I do fear that at times, in places, the reaction has tended toward a level of blindness to real remaining social problems that those on the political and theological Left are more sensitive to (but also tend to exaggerate at times, on the other side). For example, is racism far less of a problem in the modern West than in almost every other time and place in global history? Yes...try saying something racist on social media today and notice the reaction--is that not an indication of the actual cultural zeitgeist on the matter? However, does that mean there is absolutely no "systemic" racism left anywhere here, in the sense of its subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle!) permeation of certain social groups, professional bureaucracies, and the like? I'm not convinced that such a thing has been eradicated the way some on the Right have suggested, and that's not because I'm any kind of expert social commentator--far from it. It's just that 1) I've heard dozens of stories from trustworthy non-white Christian brothers that indicate to me that there is still deep and wide racial hostility in some places; and more importantly, 2) biblically, the kingdom of Satan doesn't work by isolated "guerilla warfare" attacks...sin spreads like leaven through dough, and it is never eradicated overnight. We should be clear-headed about that fact in relationship to every area of private and public life, and as Christians we need to work to expose darkness werever we find it and push it back with the light of the gospel of the kingdom (not with reparations and affirmative action--things which pretend compassion and mercy but actually strip human dignity and, especially in the Church, functionally deny the gospel of grace and pretend divine precision of judgment over history). I could be wrong about this, and my goal is not to speak out of both sides of the mouth because I have an a priori goal of "balance" defined by the middle of the cultural moment; I lean Right on most theological and many political issues, but I do worry sometimes that the Reformed reaction to the SJW movement has been more "Republican-balanced" than "biblically-balanced." I just think our own reactions to any movement should be thought through as self-critically and carefully as possible. For what it's worth...
In a previous section I already wrote a bit about cooperating with other men "without compromising...loyalty to Christ," as it is put here, so I would simply echo my previous thoughts on that in relation to this section as well. There is a sense in which the wider kingdom of Christ includes a "common grace" realm of sorts, but, unlike some hardcore amillennial two-kingdom thinkers, I do not think that exempts those areas of life from the specific, concrete authority of the rule of Christ (which brings even Old Covenant law principles/"general equity" to bear on the New Covenant situation). And this will affect the degree to which Christians can lawfully cooperate with men of "good will" (and there is some need to define that phrase further on its own!...) without compromising loyalty to Christ. For example, to what degree can a Christian cooperate with or participate in a government system that explicitly sanctions religious pluralism (at least as its constitution is commonly interpreted today), which is an offense to the true and living God? Our brothers in more establishmentarian-leaning denominations raise a good question here. I'm not completely sure yet on my position about voting vs. strong dissent, but I am convinced, at the very least, that most Christians need to think longer and harder (and more biblically) than they often do before "laying on hands hastily", as it were, in selecting their leaders at the ballot box, lest they "partake in other men's sins" (cf. 1 Tim. 5:22, about ordination, but relevant to democratic processes as well).
As one theologian quipped once, Jesus Christ is Lord in reality, not just between our ears. Therefore all areas of life, including public and social areas of education, government, industry, etc., belong to Him already in principle (Ps. 110). And Christ is constructing an eschatological footstool for His feet by destroying every enemy of His who stands in the way of His advancing kingdom. The institutional Church, the called-out covenant community that gathers regularly for worship, must focus on "baptizing" (incorporating) and "teaching" (training/deepening faith and loyalty to Christ among the incorporated members)--that is to say, making disciples. But that training should result in individual believers who are equipped to go out from the New Jerusalem into the beginnings of the new heavens and earth and build the kingdom of Christ in every area, taking every thought captive to His obedience, tending to the "garden," bearing fruit, crushing the serpent under their feet (Rom. 16:20; [since he has already been crushed under Messiah's foot]), so that Death and Sin, which have no more rightful authority in this world (Rom. 5-8), will eventually be banished forever (ultimately, at Christ's return, and because of it, of course).
Overall, I am encouraged by the robustness of this section of the BF&M, and only wish more Baptists in America took such theology to heart. With the decline of dispensationalism, I think that is beginning to happen even in some unlikely circles. Thank God for that. It just needs to stay centered on the gospel--the actual gospel, not the gospel of Liberation Theology, nor the gospel of apocalyptic, monastic retreat (neither of which are any sort of gospel at all).
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