Face to Face

To what extent is a virtual service a substitute for an in-person service?

Over the last several months, we’ve experienced several positive aspects of virtual services:

  • They have the potential to reach many more people than our in-person services. Our Resurrection Sunday service, for example, was viewed by several times as many as would have been present live.
  • Some have commented that it is helpful to be able to pause the video and discuss a point with others, or to rewind if they didn’t quite understand something.
  • Neighbors who have not been interested in attending have joined some of our folks in watching the service.
  • Some say they can see or hear the preacher more clearly in a streamed service.

On the other hand, we also have experienced problems with virtual services:

  • It is much easier to drift away when services are virtual.
  • It is much harder to know if you are not “there,” and impossible to know if you are not paying attention.
  • There is almost no interaction among the congregation in the service or afterwards. The interaction is solely between the speaker or singer and those listening.
  • Personally, I greatly missed the communication from congregation to preacher when recording in an almost-empty room. Yes, I missed the conversations that normally happen after the service. But a gathered congregation also communicates much to the preacher during the sermon: engagement, interest, excitement, joy – or drifting, boredom, distraction, and apathy.

Because of the benefits, we plan to continue streaming our services as we transition to having more and more of us meet in person on Sundays. Because of the problems, we will encourage folks to attend as soon as they consider it wise to do so.

But can we say more? Does Scripture give us any guidance on this issue?

Of course, the apostles and prophets had no conception of Zoom meetings – or even of telephones, for that matter. When they wanted to communicate, they either had to meet face to face or to write (and praise God for what they wrote!).

We can learn something about our own situation, however, by noting their preference for face to face meetings over communicating in writing.

The phrase “face to face” appears seventeen times in the English Standard Version (translating several different Hebrew and Greek phrases). We can draw four points from these verses:

First: Meeting face to face is a great privilege. “Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11). Clearly speaking with God face to face is a privilege – but note that speaking face to face is mentioned as an important part of human friendship also.

The second point is a corollary of the first: We should desire to meet face to face. Now, we rightly long to meet one another face to face, as the Apostle Paul longed to meet the believers in Thessalonica:

But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you (1 Thessalonians 2:17-18).

For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? (1 Thessalonians 3:9-10)

But if we long to meet with our fellow believers, how much more do we long to see God face to face! As Paul looks forward to the eternal state, he writes with barely concealed excitement: “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12 – see also 1 John 3:2 and Revelation 22:4).

Third: Communication is better face to face. Paul says as much in the passage quoted from 1 Thessalonians 3: There are ways he can bless them, ways that he can “supply what is lacking in [their] faith,” that are unavailable to him via letters. Similarly, the Apostle John writes, “Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete” (2 John 12). As mentioned above, this point is true even of preaching.

Fourth: We have a responsibility to encourage one another face to face. Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us:

We must consider one another, how to stir one another up to love and good works, not neglecting meeting together, as is the custom of some, but encouraging, exhorting, and comforting one another – and all the more as you see the Day draw near” (own translation).

Now, the author is not only talking about meeting together in weekly worship services, for in Hebrews 3:13 he says we should encourage one another daily. And praise God that today we have the additional means of phone calls and Zoom meetings to encourage one another when we can’t be together physically.

Furthermore, it is perfectly possible to come together physically and not fulfill this passage. Too often the gathered church is an audience, interacting with those up front, but not interacting with one another either before, during, or after the service.

To this end, note the contrast the author draws: On the one hand, there are those who have developed a habit of not meeting together. On the other hand, there are those who do what? Not just meet together, but encourage, exhort, and comfort one another! They think about one another, how they can help one another to become what God intends.

The bottom line: Know the privilege of meeting together. Strongly desire to meet face to face, and therefore to communicate more effectively. Know your responsibility to consider one another, to encourage one another – and live out that responsibility in the best way you can daily. Meet with us Sundays face to face as soon as you can wisely do so.

And know that every in-person worship service, every gathering of believers face to face, is a foreshadowing of the new heavens and the new earth, when we will see Him face to face, when all the redeemed from every tribe and tongue and people and nation will fully love one another and greatly praise the Lamb and the One who sits on the throne.

Representing Christ at the End of the Lockdown

How do you react to our meeting on Sunday morning once again?

Some are ecstatic. Some have concerns. Some will decide not to attend.

All those reactions are understandable. All can be the result of assessing the situation biblically.

All our lives, we make decisions based on our assessment of risks and the benefits associated with taking those risks. Let’s say Frank plans to drive to Atlanta to visit a friend. The latest forecast includes a severe thunderstorm warning and a tornado watch along the route. Frank may decide to postpone the trip. He’ll be more likely to do so if his tires need to be replaced, or if he really doesn’t see well in poor weather conditions. On the other hand, if Frank is not just visiting a friend but traveling to a grandchild’s wedding, the trip can’t be postponed until next week – he’ll be more likely to travel, since the cost of not traveling is missing this one-time family event.

The decision to attend a worship service this weekend is similar. If we are biblical we value meeting together highly. We all long to praise God with one voice. We all have greatly missed interacting in person with other believers.

And yet there is another option: continuing to worship “together” via the stream. While we all acknowledge that participating virtually is inferior to participating in person, we assess differently the added value of being together physically.

There are even greater differences among us on the assessment of risk. We know this virus is much more dangerous for those over 60 and for those with certain other medical conditions. Also, some who aren’t in a high-risk category themselves interact regularly with those who are, and must be especially careful about exposure to the virus.

So we will make different decisions about attendance this weekend – and that is fine.

Remember the exhortation of the Apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus:

Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1b-3).

So may we show who Jesus is by the way we are humble, gentle, patient, and forbearing with one another, as we display our essential unity in Christ.

Furthermore, in these trying political times, when there are sharp differences of opinion about the danger of the virus and the usefulness of the shutdown, may we also live out Paul’s exhortation to the church in Philippi:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves (Philippians 2:3).

There are appropriate times and places to discuss disagreements about the virus and the public policy response. May we limit such discussions to those times and place – and, in those discussions, may we be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, in humility honoring those who disagree with us as either fellow sinners saved by grace, or lost folks who need to hear of and see Jesus.

We are called to be salt and light to the world around us. As Jesus is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). Let us live that out this Sunday and throughout the time of the virus, among brothers and sisters in Christ and before the world, so that we do all to the glory of God.

Fight the Good Fight of Faith: The Key Battle During the Pandemic

“Fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12).

Paul tells Timothy: Fight the good fight to believe that what God says is true. Fight to believe that God is Who He says He is, that Jesus became man, that Jesus died for your sin, that He reigns now, that He will return and bring in the new heavens and the new earth.

This is a fight, isn’t it? And not only for Timothy. For you and me also.

The Greek word translated “fight” is an athletic term, particularly used of wrestlers. Wrestling a powerful opponent is difficult; he uses every ounce of energy to defeat you. You have to exert a supreme effort to win the contest.

In these days of the coronavirus, we must fight this fight of faith. We look around and see fear, even panic; we see starkly different forecasts for what lies ahead; we see political leaders guessing about the best way forward; we see many around us lose their job, lose all their income; we see or hear of others who are horribly sick, isolated, connected to a ventilator, with friends and family forbidden to visit.

How do we believe in God, how do we trust Jesus, when around the world we see pain, chaos, and hardship?

David shows us how to fight that fight of faith in Psalm 27.

In the first half of this psalm, David’s life is going well:

  • His known sins are under control;
  • His enemies are present, but not exerting any influence;
  • He’s very confident in God.

When our life is going well, we can be tempted to relax in our pursuit of God. It’s easy to begin to coast.

But David doesn’t do that. On the contrary, he continues to seek to know God better, to worship Him more fully – and in these ways he prepares for the inevitable future battle.

That battle comes in the second half of the psalm. Enemies attack – but David is prepared. He fights the good fight of faith.

You and I need these lessons in the midst of this pandemic – but we also need these lessons in the good times that will come again. We will need to use those coming times of peace, when we’re on the mountain tops of our life with God, so that when the battle comes again, we’re equipped. We’re ready. We’re strong in the Lord.

Gathering Strength for the Fight of Faith

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. (Psalm 27:1-3)

Note David’s strong focus on Who God is. He uses three metaphors in verse 1 to remind Himself of God’s character:

First: God is Light.

Imagine you are walking in a strange place on a moonless night. There are no electric lights anywhere. You have no flashlight, and your cell phone battery is dead. You can see nothing around you. You don’t know what danger might lie ahead.

But in that darkness, God shines! He is light! He shines into the darkness of our ignorance; He shines into the darkness of evil.

Second: God is our Salvation.

He not only lets us see the danger we were blind to; He delivers us from evil. And that deliverance includes not only the attacks by evil forces from outside us, but also the evil inside us.

Third: God is our Stronghold.

He is our strong tower. In Him, we are protected from every evil attack. His walls are unassailable.

So we need not fear.

David elaborates on these points in verse 2 and 3. Even when enemies try to “eat up [his] flesh,” to completely destroy him, they are the ones who fall. Even if overwhelming numbers attack him, David is confident. In what? Not in himself! Rather, he is confident in His light, His salvation, His stronghold – God Himself.

So in these first three verses, David highlights the benefits God gives him.

But beginning in verse 4, he tells us he worships God not primarily for benefits; rather, he worships God for Who He is:

One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)

David asks for one thing. Now, David does ask for other things, even in this psalm. But this, says David, is the center. This is the key. This is the foundation. This is the greatest good – better than protection, better than healing, better than long life, better than fame and riches and success.

If we are to successfully fight the good fight of faith, we must seek this one thing also: To desire God. To treasure Jesus above all the world has to offer.

If instead we worship God first and foremost for what he does for us, what will we do when those benefits seem to disappear? What will we do when He seems to hide His face? What will we do in pandemics and tsunamis and wars and disasters? We won’t be like Jesus who “for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Hebrews 12:2).

So David seeks God. He seeks to be able to worship God always. He seeks to see His beauty – how? Via His revelation of Himself in the worship He has ordained in His house.

For us, what is the equivalent? Seeking to see God’s beauty in the worship as He has ordained in our era: through the preaching of Word, the Lord’s Supper, baptism, prayer, reading, and singing.

Do you think of worship in those terms? Not as a duty to be performed. Not as an opportunity to be entertained. But as an offered privilege of gazing upon the beauty of the Lord, seeing Him better, deepening your love for Him, your delight in Who He is.

Then David adds: “To inquire in his temple.” The Hebrew verb can be translated in different ways; the NIV renders this word, “seek,” in which case this phrase reinforces the idea of seeking His face. But “inquire” could mean asking: “Am I really right before you, Lord? Am I walking in your truth? That is how I want to live, so please open up to me what is displeasing to You.”

So David’s primary desire is to see God for Who He is by worshiping in the ordained way, and for God to open up to him anything displeasing in himself, so that he can walk in His light.

May that be your primary desire also.

Then, having seen God for Who He is, what is David confident He will do?

For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.
And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the LORD. (Psalm 27:5-6)

David reiterates that God is his stronghold and salvation, protecting him. But he goes beyond those earlier themes. Now, his head is lifted high above his enemies in their presence – so that they might see that God truly loves him. This leads to David’s great expression of joy.

Thus, in this time of experiencing closeness to God, on this mountain top, David prepares himself for the inevitable valley. He roots out sin, he learns more of God’s character, he cultivates delight in worshiping with God’s people.

Do you live this way in times of victory? When all seems at peace, do you prepare yourself for the fight? Or do you relax – thinking the time of fighting is over?

The Fight of Faith in the Valley

We see a stark change of mood in verse 7. Suddenly David is no longer on a mountain top. He struggles:

Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”
Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! (Psalm 27:7-9)

Now the battle is engaged. David cries out for an answer from God.

He returns to the idea of seeking God’s face, what he said was his one, primary desire. But now he has to fight to keep that one desire central. Seemingly more pressing matters try to divert his attention. But David commits himself: “I seek Your face. I remember Who You are. I delight in You!”

But the struggle doesn’t end when he makes that commitment. He must plead in verse 9: “Don’t hide your face from me! I want to gaze on your beauty all the days of my life – and I was doing that! But now it appears as if you are hiding, as if you are angry, turning me away. You have been my help in the past – don’t throw me away like trash! You are my light, my salvation – don’t abandon me!”

Does this battle sound familiar? To all appearances, God is not his salvation, does not love him. And so David cries out to God in his pain – as he does in so many psalms.

So I say again what bears repeating: Don’t be reluctant to cry out to God when you are in pain. Even if you don’t have words to say – be confident that the Holy Spirit intercedes with “groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26).

Note how David cries out: He calls on God to do what He has promised; He asks God to act in accord with His revealed character. We see this in verses ten to thirteen, as David lives out four steps in the good fight of faith:

First step: Remember the depth of God’s covenant commitment to His people.

For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in. (Psalm 27:10)

The idea is even if my own parents could forsake me, God will welcome me. Now, realize: David feels as if God might cast him off. But he fights against that perception by remembering God’s revelation of Himself: He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love forever and ever. He promises never to leave or forsake His people. We today can also hold to promises unavailable to David: “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion” (Philippians 1:6); nothing “will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

Second step: Ask God to teach and lead

Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. (Psalm 27:11)

While on the mountain top, David was learning more of Who God is. Now, in the valley, he needs to apply that knowledge and to continue to learn, to continue to be led in His paths. In tough times, Satan tries to convince us that God’s path is the path not to life but to missing out on life – and so David asks God, “Guide me, direct me on Your road.”

Third step: Pray for protection

Here for the first time we hear of what prompted David’s fear:

Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. (Psalm 27:12)

We often start with that prayer for protection, skipping over the first two steps David takes. By all means we should pray that God would protect us from the virus, from His enemies, and all the other dangers we face. But we, like David, must realize that we need to see God more than we need God’s protection. We need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus – He is the pioneer and finisher of our faith. When we are focused on Him, then we, like Him, can endure the trial, scorning its shame, for the joy set before us (Hebrews 12:2).

Fourth step:  Believe His promises

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! (Psalm 27:13)

On the mountain peak, when God seemed close, David desired to gaze upon His beauty. Now, in the valley, he believes, he has faith, that he will be able once again to look upon His beauty, even though it seems as if God has abandoned him.

This is the ultimate good fight of faith – to believe in the hardest times that you will indeed see God once again, as He has promised. And He always keeps His promises.

Finally, David concludes by drawing lessons from his personal experience for all of God’s people of all time:

Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! (Psalm 27:14)

“Wait” does not mean sit around and check Facebook while hoping that God might act. Rather, the word translated “wait” connotes an eager expectation, a confidence that God will indeed act. So David says, “Wait with eager expectation for the God who is your light, your salvation, and your stronghold to act. Strongly depend on Him, thoroughly rely on Him; be courageous enough to have persistent confidence in Him. Expect Him to act, especially in every dark valley.”

Conclusion

As we face the valley of the coronavirus, as we encounter other trials at this same time, ask yourself if you are feeling frantic: Did you fail to equip yourself for this battle when times were good? Unlike David, did you coast through those good times?

If so, don’t say, “I blew it! Now I can’t seek God’s face! I can’t fight the good fight of faith!”

Instead, repent. Turn. “A broken and contrite heart He will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). Jesus is the propitiation for our sins – including the sin of failing to prepare for the valley. In Him, you are forgiven. So fight the fight to believe now – and commit yourself in those future times on the mountain top to prepare for the inevitable valleys ahead.

The weeks ahead will be difficult. Day after day the number of confirmed cases will rise. The death toll will expand. Friend and loved ones may well get the virus.

But God’s promises are exactly what we need in such times.

And the most important promise is that through Jesus we can see Him. We can know Him. We can be His beloved child.

So don’t lose focus! Go hard after God: In reading, in worship, in song, in learning who He is, in seeking His face. Cry out to Him on the basis of Jesus’ work, not your own. Wait for Him with eager expectation. Trust His promises.

Remember: He never promises that He will make life easy. When life does seem easy – that’s a mountain peak He has graciously given to help you prepare for the next valley.

His promise is: “I’m worthy of your trust. I’ve proved that again and again, in the history of Israel, in the history of the church, in your own life.”

So in the year of the coronavirus, fight the good fight of faith. Fight to believe.

And thus bring glory and honor to the One who brought you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

[This devotion is an edited and shortened version of a sermon on Psalms 26 and 27 preached April 9, 2017. You can listen to the audio of that original sermon here.]

 

 

A Mighty Fortress is Our God

“A mighty fortress is our God – a bulwark never failing.” Martin Luther wrote those words (in German) as well as the tune we use around 1528. This was a time of great danger. It seemed as if the leaders of the Reformation could be killed at any moment – and what would happen to the cause then?

Luther’s partner, Philip Melanchthon, was particularly worried. Luther responded in a letter dated June 27, 1530:

With all my heart I hate those cares by which you state that you are consumed. They rule your heart . . . by reason of the greatness of your unbelief…. If our cause is false, let us recant. But if it is true, why should we make Him a liar who has given us such great promises and who commands us to be confident and undismayed?…

What good do you expect to accomplish by these vain worries of yours? What can the devil do more than slay us? Yes, what? …

I pray for you very earnestly, and I am deeply pained that you keep sucking up cares like a leech and thus rendering my prayers vain. Christ knows whether it comes from stupidity or the Spirit but I for my part am not very much troubled about our cause…. God who is able to raise the dead is also able to uphold his cause when it is falling or to raise it up again when it has fallen…. If we are not worthy instruments to accomplish his purpose, he will find others. If we are not strengthened by his promises, where in all the world are the people to whom these promises apply? But more of this at another time. After all, my writing this is like pouring water in to the sea.

We in the US do not face death for the Gospel. But life often does seem out of control – particularly today, with so much uncertainty about the spread of COVID-19, and the economic effects of the steps taken to limit its spread. It can seem as if random chance is harming those around us and taking aim at us – or even worse, as if Satan himself is advancing his cause and will overwhelm God’s people.

Psalm 46 is written for times like 1530 – and for times like 2020.

We don’t know when this psalm was first written and recited. Some have speculated that it was written after the Assyrian king Sennacharib besieged Jerusalem – and God slaughtered 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in their sleep. Whatever Whether the historical occasion, the Kingdom seemed to be in grave danger from a powerful military force – so powerful that there seemed to be no hope – and God delivered His people.

We’ll consider verses 1-7 together under two headings, and then verses 8-11 under a third.

Is Everything Falling Apart?

In 1530, Melanchthon worried that everything was falling apart. Today, the coronavirus leads to similar feelings.

The psalmist pictures those feelings. In verse 2 he speaks of “the earth giving way,” and “the mountains being moved into the sea.” Indeed, the waters of the sea roar and foam, and the mountains themselves are fearful, for they “tremble at its swelling.”

To understand these expressions, it’s helpful to remind ourselves of the creation account in Genesis 1. Before God works, darkness is over the face of the deep waters. There is nothing but water. On the third day, God gathers the waters into one place, the sea, and commands dry land to appear.

So note: in Psalm 46 God’s work is being reversed! The mountains – the dry land that looks most powerful, most secure – are moved back into the sea. God ordered creation; now disorder seems to reign.

That’s what’s happening with the natural order. What about the political order?

Verse 6 tells us, “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter.” In Hebrew, the word translated “totter” is the same word translated “moved” in verse 2. The physical order is being moved and shaken, and thus is falling apart; just so with the political order.

When things seem to fall apart, when all that we’ve thought firms, secure, rock-solid begins to shake and totter, when it seems as if no one is in control, that danger is all around, we are tempted to fear. Thus the psalmist exhorts us in verse 2, “We will not fear.”

He then grounds that exhortation in the character and promises of God.

God Secures His People

In the creation account, God imposed order on the chaotic world. In Psalm 46, God shows His people that while all may appear to be returning to chaos, He still rules. He still governs. And He secures His people

Verses 1-7 tell us of three ways that God secured His people at that time – ways that He continues to secure His people today:

First: God is with us!

This is the primary message of the entire psalm.

  • He is our refuge – that is, He shields us from danger.
  • He is our strength, empowering us in weakness.
  • He is not only a help, but a present help, right beside us, in our presence; He never leaves us nor forsakes us.

To underline this point, verse 11 repeats verse 7:

The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress.

With Him we are secure. No enemy can scale His walls. No danger can assault this fortress.

Verses 4 and following expand on this image:

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. (Psalm 46:4-5)

Picture a flourishing, vibrant city, surrounded by unassailable walls, with a river flowing through its midst so that there is a continual supply of water. God’s people are the city. God is both the walls surrounding the city and the Protector dwelling in its midst. He helps the city immediately – at the earliest time, at the crack of dawn.

So the first way that God secures His people: He is with us. He is always with us.

The second way that God secures His people: He stabilizes us.

Remember, verse 2 speaks of the mountains being moved into the sea, and verse 6 (literally) of the kingdoms being moved. But verse 5 tells us that since God is in the midst of the city, “she shall not be moved.”

Even if both the created order and the political order are falling apart – even if a new virus threatens our entire world – God stabilizes and secures His people. They do not slip, do not fall, do not stumble.

The third way that God secures His people: He controls the dangerous forces

Verse 6 is my favorite:

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter, he utters his voice, the earth melts (Psalm 46:6)

In the midst of chaos and political upheaval, in the midst of war and intrigue and betrayal and scheming, in the midst of disease and disorder and disarray, God speaks! And all falls before Him.

  • He doesn’t organize His people into an army to fight the enemy, though He could;
  • He doesn’t send lightning and wind and hail to destroy them, though He could.

Rather – just like during creation week – He speaks – and His will is done. His words all by themselves are mighty and powerful.

So you see: Though all around you may seem out of control, may seem to be falling apart, God is in control. He is never out of control. He only has to speak – and that chaos, that opposition, is over and done with. Thus, when we see chaos continuing, when God’s enemies thrive – this is happening only by His permission, in order to accomplish His good and wise purposes.

He is almighty, He is in control of all. As Luther wrote:

The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him.
His rage we can endure,
For, lo, his doom is sure:
One little word shall fell him. (emphasis added)

With those three ways that God secures His people fresh in our minds, let’s return to the picture of God’s people as a city. The New Testament authors pick up on this idea. In Hebrews 11, the author tells us Abraham followed God’s call, not knowing where he was would lead, for “he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:10) Like Abraham, all followers of Jesus while in this world are strangers, exiles, refugees, seeking a homeland – and God has indeed prepared for us a city.

Revelation 21 then pictures this city that God has prepared:

I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:2-4)

So Psalm 46 tells us that today God’s people are His city, surrounded by His fortress. He is in their midst. Though powerful forces are arrayed against this city, attacking it, trying to undermine it, God is an impenetrable fortress, and we are secure.

Hebrews and Revelation then picture the future, the new heavens and new earth. God’s people are still a city – but now, God has spoken His word, He has felled the prince of darkness grim, and His enemies are no more. He is with us in the present, and He will be with us for eternity. But in eternity, in the new city, we no longer need His protection. The old order has passed away. He has wiped every tear from our eyes.

So when it seems as if everything is falling apart – from viruses, from wars, from natural disasters – know: God secures His people today, and in eternity He will rid creation of all that is opposed to Him and to His people.

“So Relax! I Am Exalting My Name!”

Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:8-11)

We’ll highlight three commands in this final stanza:

First: Look!

The people must come and behold God’s works. He utters His voice – and even the earth melts. So any enemy has no chance whatsoever. Look at His might. Look at His power. Look at how He has acted in the past.

That was encouraging in the psalmist’s day.

But today, when we look, we see God at work doing something much greater than a defeating a huge enemy army.

In Luke 10, Jesus sends the 72 out to proclaim the Gospel. Going in the power of Jesus, the see Him at work – even demons obey them! They return, excited about the authority they exercised.

Jesus responds:

Behold (Look!) I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:19-20).

Furthermore, Jesus says:

Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it (Luke 10:23-24).

We in our day are privileged to see what the people of God have longed to see for millennia: God using people like you and me to reach all the nations with the Gospel. We see peoples who have walked in darkness for thousands of years seeing the great light; we see a plentiful harvest – and so pray for more workers.

So look! Behold! Look at the great victories that God is forging by His Word! Pay attention! His Kingdom must come – and it is coming. The evidence is all around us. And all the seeming chaos in this world is working to bring that end about.

So that’s the first command: Look!

The second command: Recognize!

“Know that I am God” in verse 10 is translated in the NET, “Recognize that I am God.”

That is: “Draw the conclusion from what you see! Recognize who I am and what I am doing. Recognize my sovereign power. I am indeed almighty. I am indeed working for your good. Look – and then recognize Me in all that happens.”

The final command: Relax!

We read in verse 10, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Question: Is God speaking to the warring parties, saying: “Stop your fighting!” That’s what some translators think. But others – particularly the British translator and commentator Alec Motyer – think God is speaking these words to His people: “Be still – don’t be worried – relax – know that I am God.”

I think that’s more consistent with the rest of the psalm. God says, “I am with you. I love you. I am your fortress. I control all these forces arrayed against you. All may appear to be falling apart, but one word of mine will order the chaos and defeat the enemy. For I am doing a great work. My name must be hallowed. I must be exalted among the nations. I must be exalted in all the earth. I must bring those from every tribe, tongue, and nation to myself. And everything that happens is working to that end according to My plan. That is where all is heading, even though you can’t see it. So relax! Trust Me! I am for you! And I am glorifying My Name.”

Conclusion

What concerns you today? The virus? The economy? Your own health? The death of a loved one? The seeming chaos around us, and thus all aspects of the future?

However dark all may appear in your life, it cannot appear darker than the night our Lord was betrayed by a close friend, brought before a show trial, abused, whipped, mocked, and then nailed to a cross where He died.

For the disciples, that was the moment when all their hopes were dashed, when they were the most confused.

Yet: God utters His voice: And Christ conquers death.

  • He rises from the dead!
  • He sits at the right hand of the Father!
  • He reigns in power!
  • He will return with great glory!

Look! God was in control even at the crucifixion. And so: Recognize: He is in control in your darkest hour.

So be among His protected, secure people!

Trust that at that crucifixion Jesus paid the penalty for your sins!

Turn to Him and be saved!

Then: relax. Trust Him. God secures His people. He will be exalted in the earth. It is certain. That day will come – despite viruses, despite Satan, despite our own weakness.

Relax – and know that He is God.