TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO DO NOT DESTROY. A MIKTAM OF DAVID.
Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.
The wicked are estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!
Let them vanish like water that runs away;
when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,
like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on earth.” [1]
David was under severe pressure when he wrote this Psalm. It seems apparent to any serious student of Scripture that the king, though anointed by the LORD, recognised that the pressure he was then facing was motivated by far more than the hostility of mortal opponents. Reading this Psalm, it seems as though David pulls aside the curtain to see that those opposing him and his work on behalf of the Lord GOD were motivated by a force far greater than that which could be generated by men.
As I develop the message, I’m struck by a theme underlying what David has written. Though he was the king, there were multiple people who openly acknowledged his position, even as they secretly sought to overthrow his government. David knew their evil intent, but they were furtive in their conduct, shifty in their speech, secretive in their attempts to undermine his reign. In this Psalm, David openly confronts their sly opposition, exposing them to God as the king commits them to divine scrutiny.
David outlines for us a model for responding to those who would attempt to weaken us and who would destabilise the work we are seeking to perform. Though it is quite likely that the king knew who opposed his reign, just as he knew the evil they wished to perpetuate, David doesn’t attack them directly. He is willing to trust in God. His patience is not a mark of weakness or cowardice, The king doesn’t attempt to mount a coup in order to drive these people from office; rather, David’s reliance on the LORD reveals a strength that is too rare in the lives of contemporary Christians. I am confident that our study of this Psalm will encourage any one of us when we are facing such surreptitious attempts to injure us or to slyly drag our name through the mud.
Perhaps you can relate to this. There have been times when pressures against you were far greater than mere opposition from people. While you might be reluctant to say that Satan opposed you, the pressure you were experiencing was so great that it was hard to think that any person could be so vicious. You knew that you would be destroyed if something wasn’t done quickly. Where would you turn? What could you do? Crying out to the Lord, you found relief! That is what we witness in this Psalm.
THE EXISTENCE OF EVIL —
Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.
The wicked are estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
[PSALM 58:1-5]
A contemporary English translation of this Psalm provides the following understanding of what is written.
Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions?
Do you judge people fairly?
No! You plan how to do what is unjust;
you deal out violence in the earth.
[PSALM 58:1-2 NET BIBLE]
David does not name names, but he makes it evident that he knows who is seeking to harm him and even something of what they are doing. He is openly naming the evil, though he does not necessarily name the individuals who are in his sights. We can only imagine that the people David is exposing would argue they were doing good. They would plead that David just didn’t understand what they were doing. They are not unlike many of the civic leaders in this day who seek to stifle the work of the churches.
Evil does exist, though it often attempts to mask itself as benevolence, as concern for the disadvantaged, or as compassion for the most needy members of society. Much of the evil that is foisted on society comes from people who aver they are acting out of compassion for people who cannot otherwise care for their needs.
As an example of such misplaced compassion, consider that many civic leaders want to relieve the concern of the impoverished who must raise children with inadequate resources, so they propose killing the children in the womb. They are so concerned for the poor that they attempt to shut down pregnancy centres because they won’t provide resources to kill the unborn. The concerned leaders are deeply offended that the churches won’t agree with them that killing the children is a better solution than assisting the women to cope with the pregnancy they have created through their own actions.
Again, politicians want to ensure that the homeless and disadvantaged of this world are fed nourishing meals, so they stop churches from providing meals because the food is not prepared in government approved kitchens staffed with certified cooks. Homeless shelters provided by the churches have been shut down because those running the homes didn’t permit those seeking shelter to bring in drugs or alcohol. Governments, after all, are eager to provide drugs and places where addicts can shoot up!
No doubt God’s faithful people actively seek to relieve distress and injury perpetuated against the weak, but it is equally true that much of what is presented as compassion is actually self-serving evil. Do governmental decisions to protect the populace through disarming citizens arise from concern for the people? Or is it not rather a ploy by politicians to secure their own position through appearing to do something? Does the effort to promote tolerance for perverted lifestyles adopted by minority groups arise from concern for the safety of those individuals said to be protected? Or is it not an attempt to recast society in a model that has been long rejected?
The translation I am using is a somewhat more literal translation of the Hebrew. Nevertheless, the context makes it clear that David is addressing unjust rulers in this Psalm. Perhaps in light of more recent history, we who are living in Canada can more readily relate to what is said in this Psalm. After destroying businesses, stripping freedom from the citizenry through governmental decrees, and effectively driving small businesses out of the market, federal leaders and provincial leaders driven by fear have been exposed as promoting an agenda leading to fulfilment of their own desires rather than seeking what is best for the citizens. Under the guise of protecting the populace, freedoms were stripped and people conditioned to cower before an unseen invader.
During the two years of lockdown and beyond, we witnessed a government that seemed eager to destroy individuals in order to maintain control—they were assuredly determined. Freedoms we had taken for granted as our heritage was stripped away as government agents rode horses over elderly women, stripped savings from single mothers, seized livelihood from truckers that laboured thankless hours and days throughout the long, extended period of lockdown, until it became obvious that government would refuse to heed the pleas of those petitioning for restoration of basic human rights. Ultimately, the assault against freedom proved so vile that even members of the European Parliament spoke out against the leaders of our own nation. [2]
The excesses of government oppression for Canadians may not be over yet. It seems as if each new day brings another action by government leaders that is designed to restrict freedoms we once took for granted. Leaders of the Freedom Convoy who have languished in jail or spent a small fortune defending themselves demonstrate governmental abuse of an egregious and pernicious nature. The actions of elected leaders and unelected bureaucrats brings to mind the words of Benjamin Franklin: “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” It is greatly to be hoped that Canadians will take seriously the threat to freedoms we have assumed to be sacrosanct, freedoms which are now under threat.
It is human nature to move inexorably toward evil, embracing that which is wicked as though it was good. Tragically, national and provincial leaders, and ultimately even local civic leadership, tends toward evil. Sadly, it is even necessary to confess that church leadership moves inexorably toward wickedness if that leadership is not constantly checked by a resort to the mind of the Living God.
National leaders want to show themselves generous toward nations that suffer natural disasters, but they show their generosity by taking more from the citizens so that the leaders can be seen as generous. The largess shown by leaders is based upon theft. The same leaders want to be seen as compassionate, but allowing the mentally ill to roam freely on the streets of our cities is not compassionate for the citizens that are forced to deal with the problems. The supposed compassion is more reasonably identified as cowardice. Again, the same leaders want to demonstrate the breadth of heart by tolerating every form of deviation, but forcing our children to accept deviation as normal or even commendable is imposing a distorted view on the population. What we witness is too often a revelation of the darkness that masks the heart of these rulers.
Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions?
Do you judge people fairly?
No! You plan how to do what is unjust;
you deal out violence in the earth.
[PSALM 58:1-2 NET BIBLE]
Confronting evil does not necessarily mean fomenting armed rebellion. All confrontation must begin with recognising evil for the evil it is and exposing that evil so that others see how injurious the evil can be. We live in a world in which politicians masquerading as concerned leaders are genuinely and tragically incapable of recognising evil. Our leaders excuse evil acts as the result of people being disadvantaged, or they want to blame all wickedness on mental illness, or they try to find a “root cause” for the problem that everyone recognises to be a problem. What is worse, the root cause they find is usually ascribed to the majority race. Since evil no longer exists, the politicians can extract more money from the populace to address the “root cause” in another fruitless effort to fix the problem.
No sentient person can doubt that evil exists; yet, we have almost defined evil out of existence. Evil people are sick, or they are confused, or they are disadvantaged, or … we have a thousand different reasons why people act as they do. Let me say quite clearly that an eighteen-year-old man who shoots children and their teachers is not mentally ill—that man is evil and his actions are wicked. A twenty-one year old man who disguises himself as a woman in order to avoid drawing attention to himself so that he can shoot and kill multiple people at a holiday parade is not sick—he is evil. Teenage girls who steal a taxi and kill the driver when he is flung into a light standard are not disadvantaged—they are evil and their actions are wicked. A man who enters a women’s shower room just so he can watch little girls undress is not confused, he is evil, wicked. Rational people know that politicians who justify such perversion are themselves wicked. No follower of Christ should fall into the trap of excusing evil or attempting to minimise wickedness by redefining the evil for what it is. To excuse evil is powerful evidence that an individual is not walking in the Faith. The one excusing evil may be religious, but they cannot be said to be holy or godly or righteous.
Confronting evil begins with recognising the source of the harm and exposing that source as evil in itself. It has become popular among the ignorant, those who are enrolled in colleges and secondary schools, to bleat that failure to agree with the current faddish view is violence. To refuse to agree with the wickedness that is promoted as modern education is said to be wicked. Despite the fact that too many graduates can neither read nor write, despite the fact that they are incapable of thinking critically, despite their inability to use mathematics to solve simple problems, they know their pronouns and are able to explore which of three hundred sixty-seven genders they might wish to be. And we are expected to applaud their perspicuity!
Our schools are laboratories for indoctrination rather than institutions to teach the basics required for productive life. Even medical schools are more concerned today that they indoctrinate future physicians and surgeons than teach them to think and to question. When even mathematics is condemned as racist and sexist, our culture has sown the wind and we will reap the whirlwind. Can our nation long continue as free when we condemn anyone daring to think and persecuting those who fail to salute the current fad du jour parading as knowledge? This is the situation we now face, and it bodes ill for our future.
Now we can recognise the veracity of the sagacious words David has written!
Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions?
Do you judge people fairly?
No! You plan how to do what is unjust;
you deal out violence in the earth.
[PSALM 58:1-2 NET BIBLE]
We elect people who imagine they are rulers rather than servants appointed to serve, and these individuals rush to pronounce their decisions. We should ask, Are these decisions just? Is it just to send a woman to jail because she doesn’t cower before politicians when those same leaders have raged at citizens peacefully demonstrating for freedom? Do the rulers act justly when they seize a man and drag him to jail because he urged the people to plead with leaders to turn from unjust mandates and to restore freedom? Those who are leaders plan how to act unjustly and they deal out violence.
A PLEA FOR GOD’S INTERVENTION —
O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!
Let them vanish like water that runs away;
when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,
like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
[PSALM 58:6-9]
The Psalm before us today is another of what biblical scholars identify as an imprecatory psalm. Imprecatory psalms are those psalms in which the Psalmist calls down calamity, destruction, divine anger, or divine judgement on his enemies. An imprecation is a curse that pleads for misfortune to be visited upon someone; hence, the term “imprecatory psalm.” There are a surprising number of imprecatory psalms in the Bible, and this one is included among those Psalms that are classified as such.
There is nothing sweet and gentle about David’s plea for those who seek to destroy him. He is quite specific in what he asks the LORD to do to those who are destroying the nation. Sermons would be dramatically improved were we preachers to emulate the Psalmist in our own speech behind the sacred desk. I recall the observation made by a sailor who was on a ship targeted by a torpedo during the Second World War. He commended that the trail of bubbles indicating that the ship on which he stood had been targeted taught him how to pray specifically. It was one thing for a sailor to pray, “Dear God, keep us safe. Amen.” It was quite another for a sailor to pray, “God, jamb the steering vanes! Stop the motor! Detonate the warhead NOW!” Similarly, it is one thing to pray that God will thwart the evil intents of those who seek to harm us. It is quite another thing to pray that God will turn their wickedness onto their own head.
It will prove valuable for us to think about this imprecatory psalms a little more. We have already established that these Psalms are prayers pleading with God to rain down wrath on wicked people. While some will argue that a Christian must not utter such prayers because we are under grace, it is important to note that such prayers for God’s judgement are found in the New Testament as well as in the Old Testament.
As an example of such prayer, note how the Apostles responded after Judas had hanged himself. They cited an imprecatory psalm: “It is written in the Book of Psalms,
‘May his camp become desolate,
and let there be no one to dwell in it; ‘
and
‘Let another take his office.’
[ACTS 1:20]
Later, they make an observation that is just as damning, saying of Judas as they prayed for God’s guidance, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place” [ACTS 1:24-25].
Listen to Peter’s pronouncement, which is actually a prayer, when he was rebuking Simon who had tried to purchase the grace of God. Peter invoked a harsh prayer, saying, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity” [ACTS 8:20-23].
Paul, likewise, was capable of calling down imprecation on those who opposed the work of God. Confronting the false prophet named Bar-Jesus, the Apostle prayed, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time” [ACTS 13:10-11].
Speaking of the downfall of the Jewish people, Paul cites the sixty-ninth Psalm, which is an imprecatory Psalm. He says of Israel, “David says,
‘Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.’”
[ROMANS 11:9-10]
Closing his final missive to Timothy, Paul speaks of a man who sought to injure him, and thus harm the work of God. The Apostle writes, “Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds” [2 TIMOTHY 4:14].
These instances, coupled with the Imprecatory Psalms [3] give us insight into what is taking place when such imprecations are pronounced. Imprecations are appropriate, but there are stipulations that must be observed. The vengeance sought is actually more a vindication than it is mere reaction to injury. [4] In pleading for God to act, the one praying is neither provoking the wicked nor seeking to exercise judgement himself. What we see is a righteous indignation for the sin because it is impossible to separate the sin from the sinner. The issue is given over to God, knowing that He will hold the sinners to account.
There is another aspect of these Imprecatory Psalms that must be acknowledged. These prayers are not hasty prayers uttered in the midst of anger and pain; these are carefully worded prayers that were written out under the guidance of the Spirit of God. No one should think that we honour the Lord by giving voice to our rage; it is enough for us to emulate Michael the archangel. Jude informs us, “When the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you’” [JUDE 9].
I must emphasise for our benefit: When the Psalmist prays for God to exercise wrath on the wicked, it is essential to note that David nowhere indicates that he will be the instrument of God’s vengeance. There is not a hint of permission for the people of God to execute judgement on those who strike out at us.
Here is a truth that we Christians do well to remember: we must leave our vindication in the hands of the Master. God will vindicate His people in His time and according to what is best for us and according to what brings glory to His Name. Perhaps you will recall what was taught as Moses sang a song that is recorded in the final book of the Pentateuch. Moses wrote,
“[Israel is] a nation void of counsel,
and there is no understanding in them.
If they were wise, they would understand this;
they would discern their latter end!
How could one have chased a thousand,
and two have put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
and the LORD had given them up?
For their rock is not as our Rock;
our enemies are by themselves.
For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom
and from the fields of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of poison;
their clusters are bitter;
their wine is the poison of serpents
and the cruel venom of asps.
“‘Is not this laid up in store with me,
sealed up in my treasuries?
Vengeance is mine, and recompense,
for the time when their foot shall slip;
for the day of their calamity is at hand,
and their doom comes swiftly.’
For the LORD will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants,
when he sees that their power is gone
and there is none remaining, bond or free.”
[DEUTERONOMY 32:28-36]
Did you catch those two pertinent points as the LORD rebukes His people even as He is encouraging them to look to Him for their deliverance? Vengeance belongs to the Lord GOD, and because this is true, vindication of His people comes from Him. God’s people are not to endeavour to vindicate themselves, God will exonerate them before the very people who accused them. The Lord will refute those who slander His people, and in the process of justifying His own He will bring glory to His Name. Let us pray, then, that God will justify His Name and glorify the Saviour. May it be through us. Amen.
WHEN THE LORD DELIVERS —
The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on earth.”
[PSALM 58:10-11]
The Lord will deliver His people from every distress they are compelled to face. Perhaps His deliverance will not be realised until He calls His child home, though we are confident that He is able to deliver His people immediately when they are under duress.
Do you recall the response of the three Hebrew captives when the Babylonian king threatened them if they failed to worship the god he had created? Nebuchadnezzar blustered, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands” [DANIEL 3:14-15]?
Things looked bleak for these three men at that moment. Nevertheless, faith enabled them to respond to the king’s threat, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” [DANIEL 3:16-18].
Child of God, know that the Lord will do what is best for us, and especially what glorifies His Holy Name. Above all else, God will not permit His glory to be sullied. Do you recall the LORD speaking through Isaiah, saying,
“I am the LORD; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.”
[ISAIAH 42:8]
Again, Isaiah speaks on behalf of the LORD to remind Israel of His mercy, saying,
“For my name’s sake I defer my anger;
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another.”
[ISAIAH 48:9-11]
The Lord does not surrender His glory; all that He does exalts His Name. Therefore, whether He delivers His child or whether He permits that child to pass through the chilly waters of death, we are confident that God will exalt His Name. And His child will know that whether in death or in life, God is at work in that one’s life to glorify the Name of the True and Living God.
That this is the case becomes clearer for us as we hear the Apostle to the Gentiles speaking. Recall how he wrote the Christians living in Philippi, “I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ [my present imprisonment] will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell” [PHILIPPIANS 1:19-22].
What is certain is that God’s victory is sure, and His victory will be a complete rout of the wicked. We profess this to be true, but we Christians seldom live as though this is destined to be the fate of the wicked. We appear to hold to the thought that victory for us is dependent upon our own effort. We appear to believe that our strength is what will be required to deliver us from trials confronting us. However, it is the Lord Who delivers His people, and it is essential that we understand why this should be the case.
In our text, David makes two significant points that are vital to a vibrant understanding of what God is doing. First, the Psalmist acknowledges that the righteous shall have joy. David says that the righteous will rejoice when he witnesses God’s vengeance. It is not that the righteous rejoice in the death of the wicked; rather, it is that the righteous are joyful at the thought of God’s vindication. We want to know that the faith we have in the Lord God is justified. And when God holds the wicked to account, we know that all that we have believed is true.
I know that Scripture teaches that as followers of the Risen Son of God, “We walk by faith, not by sight” [2 CORINTHIANS 5:7]. I have faith in God. I have no particular trust in my own strength. My strength is fading rapidly and the strong young man that once hiked the mountains and waded the swift streams has ceased climbing the steep inclines that characterise the mountains looming to the west of us. That once strong young man is hesitant to wade into the swift streams because he no longer trusts his legs to hold firm against the incessant current. My strength is small. And even when I was a younger man, I was fully aware that my strength was finite.
We who serve the Lord God in this day late in the Age of Grace have a rich heritage arising from those who have gone before us. Among the hymnals I am privileged to review as I prepare messages is one that reflects the faith of Christians of an earlier era in the Americas. Among those hymns is one which contains some powerful expressions of faith. These particular hymns would have been sung among churches of an earlier day, likely in the seventeenth century. And though I cannot know the melody of this hymn, I am humbled at the courage expressed.
Imagine a congregation, perhaps a small group gathered in a log house surrounded by wilderness. The people gathered have known violence and constant threats. Their lives are not long as we know in this day, but are often short and ended violently by savage attacks or by disease. Yet, they sing,
HAIL! hail! the happy wish'd for time,
When Jesus shall appear:
When the last trumpet loud shall sound,
And all the dead shall hear.
They'll burst the bands of death with joy,
And loud Hosannas raise:
In him who lov'd them they'll rejoice,
And glorious make his praise.
“Thou! Thou art worthy” still shall be
The burden of their song;
“For thou redeem'd us, and to thee
“The glory doth belong.”
We hope to join the greatful note,
And with loud triumph sing,
“Where? where's thy vict'ry now, O grave!
“O death! where is thy sting?” [5]
Another of the hymns that these spiritual forebearers sage includes these final verses:
Hence has the weak and tim'rous soul
Been seen to triumph at the goal:
And neither doubt nor terror show,
But joy'd to feel the pulse beat slow.
How have they joy'd in Jesus' name
His worth divine their darling theme!
Thro' that alone expect the crown,
Then smile at death, and mock his frown!
Thus when they pass thro' death's dark vale.
In vain do doubts and fears assail!
The Lord is with his people there,
His rod and staff their comfort are.
O when to us these shades appear,
May God our comforter be near,
Make strong our faith as life decays,
And tune our dying lips to praise! [6]
And even in a day much nearer to our own, the saints were known to sing,
I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
and praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
and say when the death-dew lies cold on my brow,
“If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.” [7]
Indeed, we still sing the song, testifying to our Faith in the Risen Son of God. Amen.
You cannot conquer people who hold such faith. You cannot shake them when they courageously look for the King to stand with them, whether in life or in death. What will an enemy do to the child of the King of Heaven? You can’t deprive him of family, for he is assured on the authority of Christ’s own promise, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life” [MATTHEW 19:29].
Tell the follower of Christ that you will slander them, depriving them of those who have been friends, and that one will reply, “I have a friend who sticks closer than a brother” [see PROVERBS 18:24].
Threaten that child of God, saying that you will take his wealth, and he will aver, “I have treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” [see MATTHEW 6:19-21].
If someone should be so foolish as to attempt to steal the house of the one who serves the Living Saviour, he will joyfully respond with confidence that in the Father’s house are many rooms. And he is assured that the Risen Saviour has gone ahead to prepare a place for him [see JOHN 14:2]. More than that, the one who lives in anticipation of the Master’s return has heard the Lord’s own promise, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going” [JOHN 14:3-4].
Tell the Christian in whom dwells the Spirit of Christ that you will take her life, and she will testify, “We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” [2 CORINTHIANS 5:6-10].
There is no doubt that these are dark times in which we live. The rulers of our world are intent on doing that which dishonours God. What does the judgement of God on rulers look like? What do we see when God judges nations? The first chapter of Romans tells us of God’s judgement on a nation. In ROMANS 1:18-32, we see a nation that refuses to honour God, and the people become brutish, incapable of thinking clearly. They become fools, imagining that they are wiser than God. Therefore, God surrenders them to do whatever their lusts desire. Soon, they are surrendered to dishonourable passions, giving up the natural relations, to commit ever more debased acts. God surrenders them over to the tyranny of a debased mind, and they are consumed with doing what ought not to be done. Any nation exhibiting these characteristics is testifying that they are now under divine judgement.
Do not deceive yourself, when you witness a nation creating laws that penalise righteousness and laws that exalt wickedness, it is a powerful testimony that the nation making such a law has already been given over to a debased state. Candidly, when such conditions prevail, it has become too late for that nation. God’s judgement is already working in the midst of that nation.
But how should the follower of Christ respond when such judgement becomes evident? As we have witnessed in this message, we who follow Christ must recognise the evil for what it is. Don’t try to redefine the evil, but identify it as the evil it is. Plead for God’s intervention to deliver His people. God always has a remnant, and we must rejoice in the knowledge that He will use that remnant to the praise of His glory. That remnant is appointed to be salt and light in the midst of the darkened and decaying world. We who know the Lord must declare His grace to any who will receive it, for God is at work even in the midst of our fallen world calling some to life. He called me out of darkness; He called you out of the depth of decay; and He will call yet others, even as His judgement continues in our day. Then, live in anticipation of God’s effective work through your witness. Our God is working more powerfully through you than you could ever imagine. He is working to turn others to life through your witness. You keep on serving Him as Master over your life, for He is worthy.
Perhaps someone listens to the message this day, and the Spirit of Christ has spoken to you. In your heart, in that quiet place where no one may go save for you and the Spirit of the Lord, you have heard the message and you know that you must respond by receiving this Risen Saviour as your Master. Know that Jesus is the Son of God. Know that He died because of your broken condition; He took all your sin upon Himself and you are no longer required to receive in yourself the punishment that your sin deserves. Know also that this sacrifice did not die and than lie helpless in the grave. Jesus, the Son of God, conquered death, hell, and the grave. He rose to life.
Now, the Word of God calls all who will be saved to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. What should you believe? Believe that Jesus died because of your sin and that He has been raised from the tomb. The Word of God promises that if you openly confess that Jesus is your Master, believing with all your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be set free of condemnation and received into God’s own Family.
We see the promise given in Scripture, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” [ROMANS 10:9-10].
That promise is made clearer still citing an ancient prophet named Joel. This is the promise the Lord makes to you even at this time, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [ROMANS 10:13]. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] “Watch: Two EU Parliament members criticize Trudeau,” YouTube, 25 Mar 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL1kMKgq1b0, accessed 25 March 2022; Spencer Brown, “Trudeau Went to European Parliament and Got Roasted as a Dictator,” Townhall, Mar 25, 2022, https://townhall.com/tipsheet/spencerbrown/2022/03/25/trudeau-went-to-european-parliament-and-got-roasted-as-a-dictator-n2605035, accessed 25 March 2022; Mike Miller, “WATCH: European MEPs Blast Canada’s Trudeau to His Face as a ‘Disgrace for Any Democracy,’” RedState, Mar 24, 2022, https://redstate.com/mike_miller/2022/03/24/watch-european-meps-blast-canadas-trudeau-to-his-face-as-a-disgrace-for-any-democracy-n540336, accessed 24 March 2022
[3] PSALM 7; 35; 58; 69; 83; and 137
[4] Cf. Spiros Zodhiates and Warren Baker, The Complete Word Study Bible: King James Version, electronic ed., (AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 2000)
[5] John Glas and Alexander Glas, Christian Songs: Written by Mr. John Glas, and Others, Early American Imprints, 1639-1800; No. 20391 (Providence: Perth (Scotland) printed: Providence (Rhode-Island): re-printed by Bennett Wheeler, at his office in Westminster-Street, 1787) 93-94
[6] Op. cit., 94–95
[7] William Ralph Featherstone, “My Jesus I Love Thee,” 1864
