Christ, who said to the disciples, ‘Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,’ can truly say to every group of Christian friends, ‘You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.’
Lewis, C. S.. The Four Loves (p. 114). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
99% of my personal library consists of reference books. As a pastor, I’m required to bury my nose in commentaries, theologies, and cultural studies; and that’s just fine. I happen to enjoy that kind of reading. But we become like what we read and pastors who only read non-fiction reference material begin sounding like textbooks. For that reason, I always have a mixture of other types of literature in my reading diet. I listen to novels on audiobooks, and I typically have a book of poetry on my desk or bedside table. In this series of posts, I am sharing some of my favorite sacred poems. I hope they inspire you to search for more.
This is “The Journey of the Magi” by T.S. Eliot
‘A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.’
And the camels galled, sore-footed,
refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the
terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and
grumbling
And running away, and wanting their
liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the
lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns
unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high
prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all
night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears,
saying
That this was all folly.
Then at dawn we came down to a
temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of
vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill
beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped in
away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with
vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for
pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.
But there was no information, and so
we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment
too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say)
satisfactory.
All this was a long time ago, I
remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth,
certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had
seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different;
this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like
Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these
Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old
dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their
gods.
I should be glad of another death.
If people will spend neither sweat nor blood for ‘their country’ they must be made to feel that they are spending them for justice, or civilisation, or humanity. This is a step down, not up.
Lewis, C. S.. The Four Loves (p. 37). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
We may give our human loves the unconditional allegiance which we owe only to God. Then they become gods: then they become demons. Then they will destroy us, and also destroy themselves.
Lewis, C. S.. The Four Loves (p. 10). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
THE TEXT:
Our text for today is Psalm 18. These are God’s Words.
18 TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID, THE SERVANT OF THE LORD, WHO ADDRESSED THE WORDS OF THIS SONG TO THE LORD ON THE DAY WHEN THE LORD DELIVERED HIM FROM THE HAND OF ALL HIS ENEMIES, AND FROM THE HAND OF SAUL. HE SAID:
1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16 He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the LORD was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
20 The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his rules were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24 So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26 with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27 For you save a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
28 For it is you who light my lamp;
the LORD my God lightens my darkness.
29 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God, but the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?—
32 the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your gentleness made me great.
36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 They cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them fine as dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
43 You delivered me from strife with the people;
you made me the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
foreigners came cringing to me.
45 Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling out of their fortresses.
46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—
47 the God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me,
48 who rescued me from my enemies;
yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from the man of violence.
49 For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations,
and sing to your name.
50 Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever.
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
Psalm 18 is the first long Psalm in the Psalter and is quoted in 2 Samuel 22 with a few minor differences. The fascinating part is that 2 Samuel 22 presents Psalm 18 as David’s last words. Looking backward over a lifetime of warfare, David praises God’s deliverance from his enemies, especially from King Saul. It is therefore, a Psalm of thanksgiving as well as a royal psalm.
It’s a long Psalm and covers a lot of territory. David begins with a summary of his praise and trust in the Lord in verses 1-3. David had hid from the assaults of his enemies behind all sorts of structures: shields and rocks and even mighty fortresses and towers, but ultimately his protection came from the Lord.
Then comes a highly poetic description of God’s deliverance in the form of a thunderstorm that shakes earth, the heavens, and the seas. (v. 4-19)
7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
The imagery of hailstones and earth shaking reminds us of Sinai & Sodom. And notice, that God does all this for one man. He swoops down from the heavens. But unlike the Homeric gods of Olympus, the David’s God is unopposed and cannot be undermined.
David then transitions to teach us what kind of person God delights to deliver in verses 20-30. David was rescued because he was following the commands of God with faith. (v. 20-24) so he turns to instruct us. God does not save the strong, he brings him low. He does not save the wise, he confounds him. Who does he save? Those who are weak, humble, submissive. He gives light to those in darkness. And, with the Lord, those who are weak can fight armies. (v. 25-30)
David shows us what this looks like in action. He lists off all of his accomplishments, all his victories, and then says, “Yeah, all of that? God did it.” He declares that his personal victories did not originate with his own strategies and strength; they came from the Lord. (v. 31-45)
Finally, the Psalm ends where is began: the Lord is David’s rock, and David is God’s chosen king. David has been exalted and vindicated so now he will teach the nations of God’s salvation. (v. 46-50)
BEGINNING AT THE END
The only way to properly understand this Psalm is to begin at the end. David is exalted as God’s king, the nation’s come to him and they learn obedience from him as he praises the Lord in their presence.
Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever. (v. 50)
One of the thematic threads running lengthwise through the Scriptures is that of kingship and slavery. God is king. All authority belongs to him. That’s where the Bible begins. Jesus Christ reasserted this truth in his resurrection and ascension (Matthew 28:18), and it’s where all of history is heading. (Revelation 21:24)
Throughout the Bible, beginning in Genesis 3, human beings have tried finding freedom from the kinship of God, but freedom from the great king only brings slavery to lesser thrones. This is because worship of created things always means serving created things. (Romans 1:25)
As Dylan said, “Everybody’s Gonna Serve Sombody.”
Or David Foster Wallace: There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And.. pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly, and when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you.
Most of the Old Testament is given to the search for a king, but none of the human kings are powerful or loving or humble enough to keep the people from falling into idolatry. One of the great questions of the OT is: “How can any king be powerful enough to liberate us from slavery this great?”
Christ, of course is the fulfillment of which David was only a shadow. He liberates us from the slavery of our sin in his death, and he liberates us from death through dying. Jesus Christ is the king who finds himself the true “head of the nations.”
And he is. He is the head of the nations today. We are calling people to bow to the already King.
VERTICAL & HORIZONTAL RIGHTEOUSNESS
The Scriptures speak of righteousness on two planes: the first is the vertical plane. On the vertical plane, the Scriptures are clear on our absolute unrighteousness.
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12)
Psalm 130:
3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
Isaiah 53:6
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
But here, when David claims that the Lord delivered him because he was righteous, he’s referring to horizontal righteousness, not vertical. He knows he’s a singer, but he also knows there are good guys and bad guys—and he’s been a good guy.
God’s grace doesn’t save us from pursuing holiness, it saves us unto the pursuit of holiness. God’s grace transforms us so that we love his law, and it empowers us so that we can obey it. Humble, merciful, and blameless don’t just describe David, or Christ, they ought to describe us.
THE WORD OF THE KING
As stated earlier, David’s exaltation as king results in the obedience of the nations. David teaches those he conquers to worship and obey the one true God. The same thing happens in the ministry of the church. Christ is the true King over every nation, and he is conquering the nations. God the Father is subduing peoples under his Christ.
Our call to war to love the captive soul
But to rage against the captor
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole
We will fight with faith and valour
When faced with trials on every side
We know the outcome is secure
And Christ will have the prize for which He died
An inheritance of nations
What is evangelism? It’s proclaiming the gospel of the king.
We desire the obedience of every nation to Christ. That’s the great commission. And that obedience isn’t gained through the coercive power of the state, it is won through the transforming power of gospel proclamation.
So, we want America to be a Christian nation, but not because a bunch of legislators in DC have codified our beliefs into laws, but because the church has been allowed to freely preach Christ to every person. Once Christ has won hearts, obedience to his law follows.
Disclaimer: This audio series summarizes the central arguments of Carl Trueman’s book, Strange New World and was created for the purpose of teaching a 4-week discipleship course for Lake Wylie Baptist Church. Much of the material consists of copied text from Trueman’s book, often edited for the sake of condensed presentation to a live audience. Please do not distribute without permission.
99% of my personal library consists of reference books. As a pastor, I’m required to bury my nose in commentaries, theologies, and cultural studies; and that’s just fine. I happen to enjoy that kind of reading. But we become like what we read and pastors who only read non-fiction reference material begin sounding like textbooks. For that reason, I always have a mixture of other types of literature in my reading diet. I listen to novels on audiobooks, and I typically have a book of poetry on my desk or bedside table. In this series of posts, I am sharing some of my favorite sacred poems. I hope they inspire you to search for more.
This is “The Conversion of St. Paul” by John Lettice
Behold! The illustrious Convert now invades
The Reign of Gentile Darkness. See! appalled
Black Superstition, with her baleful Throng
Of self-bred Fears, and unembodied Forms
That haunt Despair, the foul unholy Train
Of molten Idols and frantic Gods
Shrink at his Presence, like the fleeting Shades
Of sullen Night, when first Hyperion’s Orb
Scatters it’s purple Radiance o’er the Skies.
Nor long the Majesty of Jove supreme
Withstood the Thunder of the Preacher’s Tongue.
Totter’d his Throne, his golden Sceptre fell;
Nor more Olympus trembled at his Nod.
No longer smoak’d his odoriferous Shrines
With Frankincense and Myrrh, the fragrant Breath
of Araby; nor bleeding Hecatomb
Distain’d his blushing Altars. Solemn Praise
And Pray’rs devoutly breath’d, the Tears, the Sighs
Of penitential Grief, the broken Heart
Now form’d the Gentile’s purer Sacrifice
To the true God.— The philosophic Lore
Of learned Athens sunk e’er long, eclips’d
By Truth’s resistless Blaze. The vain Parade
Of empty Jargon and unmeaning Forms
No longer won the prostituted Praise
Of wondering Greece. The Stoic’s fond Pretence
Was urg’d no more; the boasted Apathist
Confss’d the Strength of Nature, own’d the Power,
The Use of Passion, deign’d to feel himself,
And sympathize the Miseries of Man.
Now long the Dictates of thy sensual Mind
Allur’d th’ unwary Step of Youth to Sin,
Lascivious Sophist! Thy Disciple erst
That quaff’d the luscious Sweets of Circe’s Cup.
Hung on the Siren’s fascinating Tongue,
And thrill’d with Transport at the Harlot’s Smile,
Now sighs for Pleasures which no Eye hath seen,
No Ear hath heard, nor mortal Heart conceiv’d.
No more he babbles of the foolish Dreams
Of self-concurring Atoms, and blind Chance
Omnipotent: where’er he turns his Eyes,
Amaz’d he traces, thro’ each wondrous Scene,
The Hand of Providence. Each Attribute
That points th’ Almighty Parent of the World
To Man’s Conceptions, legibly portray’d
On Nature’s Page, th’ enlightened Convert sees;
And as he views, his elevated Breast,
With inextinguishable Ardor, burns
For Truth, for Life and Immortality.
Where’er the Preacher roll’d the powerful Tide
Of Inspiration, from each fabled Haunt
Foul Error fled, whether the Roman School,
Or Attic Portico her presence held;
Or the dark Inmate of the Pagan Shrine,
She heap’d vain Incense to some Idol-God.
O! may those living Oracles of Light,
That boast the Sanction of thine hallow’d Pen,
Illustrious Convert! o’er each gloomy Land,
Where still pale Fear and Superstition reign,
Spread the rich Treasures of immortal Truth.
May the lewd Prophet’s Brothel-Paradise,
Base Hope of wretched Ignorance and Lust,
Allure no more the Pilgrim’s weary Step
To Mecca’s Walls: no longer Fohi’s Name
Usurp the prostrate Adoration, due
To God alone: nor more th’ unconscious Sun
Provoke the trembling Indian’s fruitless Vow.
But may one Mind, one Faith, on Hope, one God
Unite the scatter’d Progeny of Man.
Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.
Chesterton, G. K.. Orthodoxy (AmazonClassics Edition) (p. 59). Kindle Edition.
Our God and Father,
We gather this morning to bless your name and to tell of your greatness to all the earth. Father, we want every tribe, tongue, and nation to hear of your glory.
You are the God who knows all things. You see everything visible and invisible. You see our actions and hear every word we speak. But you also know all our thoughts and every motivation in our hearts.
The clouds in the sky might obscure our vision of the Sun, but they do not obscure your vision of the earth. The nighttime might cause us to stumble in the dark, but even the darkness is as light to you.
Any knowledge we might have we borrow from you. And while we forget many things, you never lose any knowledge. Things that happened a thousand years ago are as present and fresh to you as if they had happened only one minute ago.
And if that were not enough, you see a thousand years into the future because you work all things according to the counsel of your will.
Truly, Father, there is nothing outside of or beyond your knowledge. There is nothing hidden to you. There is no secret that can be kept from you. You have written down every word, every deed, every thought. Every treasure buried under the earth or resting at the bottom of the deepest ocean is clear and present in your mind.
Every day of our lives has been lived under your all-seeing eyes, and we take great comfort knowing that you see us. Father, we praise your vast and perfect knowledge, and we worship you now, through the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, in the power of your Spirit granted to us who believe.
Amen!
Disclaimer: This audio series summarizes the central arguments of Carl Trueman’s book, Strange New World and was created for the purpose of teaching a 4-week discipleship course for Lake Wylie Baptist Church. Much of the material consists of copied text from Trueman’s book, often edited for the sake of condensed presentation to a live audience. Please do not distribute without permission.
