Remember Liturgical Confession

How the Psalm begins:

“Praise the LORD!
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the LORD,
Or can show forth all His praise?
How blessed are those who keep justice,
Who practice righteousness at all times!

Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor toward Your people;
Visit me with Your salvation,
That I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,
That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
That I may glory with Your inheritance” (Psalm 106:1-5).

How the Psalm ends:

“Save us, O LORD our God,
And gather us from among the nations,
To give thanks to Your holy name
And glory in Your praise.
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
From everlasting even to everlasting.
And let all the people say, ‘Amen.’
Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 106:47-48).

Everything in between is a liturgical confession of the sin of covenant people through the long ages of God’s dealing with them (106:6-46). Remembering that we, though His people, are sinful, is an important part of worship. They don’t just talk about their hardships, their sorrows, the difficulties they’re going through, or their brokenness. Sometimes modern worship gives the impression that God only exists to save us from our personal difficulties. There is even a subtle hint that our worldly suffering actually earns us some sort of special attention from God. Psalm 106 reminds us that the focus isn’t always to be on the God Who helps in hard times, but praise needs to be made to the God Who saves unworthy sinners in His mercy and grace (Luke 18:13-14). The worshipful appeal to God, in other words, is not based upon the people’s merit or worth. It is based on His goodness and lovingkindness. Its goal is thanksgiving and glory to God. This element of worship exalts the Gospel rather than the self.

Let all the people say, “Amen.”

“Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?

Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine,
And bathed in its own blood,
While all exposed to wrath divine,
The glorious Sufferer stood!

Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died,
For man the creature’s sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give myself away
’Tis all that I can do” (Isaac Watts, 1709).

In 1885, Ralph Hudson added this refrain to Watts’ verses:

“At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!”

There are probably many more recent examples, but one that comes to mind is Robin Mark’s “Lord, Have Mercy” (2000):
“Jesus, I've forgotten the words that You have spoken;
Promises that burned within my heart have now grown dim.
With a doubting heart I follow the paths of earthly wisdom.
Forgive me for my unbelief,
Renew the fire again.

Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy on me.

I have built an altar where I worship things of men;
I have taken journeys that have drawn me far from You.
Now I am returning to Your mercies ever flowing.
Pardon my transgressions,
Help me love You again.

I have longed to know You and Your tender mercies;
Like a river of forgiveness ever flowing without end.
I bow my heart before You in the goodness of Your presence,
Your grace forever shining,
Like a beacon in the night.”

Be Careful with Those Quotes

I was providing a reference for a ministry student this week to a Bible college. Out of curiosity, I checked the institution’s statement of faith. All seemed well until I got to the section on final things. It appears like this:

We believe in and accept the sacred Scriptures upon these subjects at their face and full value. Of the Resurrection, we believe that Christ rose bodily “The third day according to the Scriptures”; that He ascended “to the right hand of the throne of God”; that He alone is our “merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God”; “that this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven,” bodily, personally, and visibly; that the “dead in Christ shall rise first”; that the living saints “shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump”; “that the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David”; and that “Christ shall reign a thousand years in righteousness until He hath put all enemies under His feet.”

Psalm 72:8;

Isaiah 11:4-5;

Matthew 24:27,42;

Matthew 28:6-7;

Mark 16:6,19;

Luke 1:32; 24:2,4-6,39,51;

John 14:3;

John 20:27;

Acts 1:9,11;

1 Corinthians 15:4;

Philippians 4:20;

1 Thessalonians 4:16;

1 Timothy 2:5;

Hebrews 2:17; 5:9; 8:1; 9:28; 12:2

Do you see it? Every statement in quotes can be connected to a verse in Scripture. Except one. The last phrase, in quotes like the seven Scripture verses before, is not a single passage of Scripture. It is a paraphrased conglomeration of Revelation 20:4,6 (well, close anyway), Psalm 9:8; 96:13; Acts 17:31; Revelation 19:11 (if we replace “judge” with “reign”), and 1 Corinthians 15:25 (this one’s the most accurate). I don’t mind summary statements of biblical doctrine, but don’t put it in quotes like your summary is Scripture, especially when it’s the eighth phrase in quotes and all the others are clearly Scripture! Further, none of the proof-texts for the statement match the final phrase. I can almost ascribe to the phrase: I believe it is happening now (that Jesus is reigning during this Gospel Age, putting His enemies under His feet). Right or not, though, don’t put it in quotes like you are referencing a single verse (as in the case of the previous seven quoted phrases).

I know oversights happen. I also know many people don’t seem to know how to use quotation marks properly. This could be a harmless thing, and I have no trouble granting that.

Here’s the point I want to make about it, though: I believe doctrinal statements/confessions are good things, but don’t equate them with Scripture. Don’t give the impression that your interpretation has even close to equal standing with the Bible itself – especially in areas like eschatology.

Mildly-concerned rant over. Thanks.

Wise Words

“A soft answer putteth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools babbleth out foolishness. The eyes of the Lord in every place behold the evil and the good. A wholesome tongue is as a tree of life: but the frowardness thereof is the breaking of the mind” (Proverbs 15:1-4, Geneva Bible). Verses 1,2, & 4 speak of how we use our words with others, but verse 3 seems to break the pattern, reminding us that God sees everything. Is verse 3 misplaced? Is Proverbs as random as it sometimes seems? Or does verse 3 get thrown into the mix to show us that a wise life here is not the final act, but that “it is appointed unto men that they shall once die, and after that cometh the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27)? As the Lord Jesus said, “a good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of an evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, that of every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof at the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:35-37).

Wise speech today and forever is the confession and proclamation of the risen Jesus as Lord and a life under the watchfulness of heaven that bears testimony to those words. “For if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart, that God raised Him up from the dead, thou shalt be saved: For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth man confesseth to salvation...for whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord, shall be saved. But how shall they call on Him, in Whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him, of Whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:9,10,13,14).

Holy Spirit, consecrate our words today, for “no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the holy Ghost” (1 Corinthians 12:3). May our words be the link between the new hearts You have given us in Christ, inscribed with Your Law (Jeremiah 31:33), and those around us whom You are drawing for the Father's great glory.

7 Abominations on a Monday Morning

“He that hateth, will counterfeit with his lips, but in his heart he layeth up deceit. Though he speak favorably, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. Hatred may be covered by deceit: but the malice thereof shall be discovered in the congregation” (Proverbs 26:24-26, Geneva Bible).

One of the results of being gathered into a group is that our inner nature is eventually brought out. In the Church we are shown to be servants or power-hungry, no matter what flattery or smiles we use. Our actions and motivations will be shown. This is one of the reasons God commands us to congregate with people who are different from us in race, socio-economic status, education, entertainment preference, etc., finding our unity in a common confession of the faith alone. God uses our differences in unity to expose us for what we really are as we interact with one another in the gathering of the Church. Those who cannot tolerate this nakedness will either be increasingly shamed in this nakedness (I’m still – after twenty years – reminded of Anne Rice’s description of vampires: they don’t change, they just become more of what they are) or will depart from the congregation of people different than themselves (the more we build a congregation on elements outside the confession – or refuse to be unified by confession – the less accountability there is as we build a group of people very much like ourselves by non-confessional standards).

God commands His children congregate in Him so that the non-Him elements in the members of the congregation are revealed for what they are...so that we may grow past them together.

I am struggling in this area of discipleship this morning. I’m on my third night of sleep deprivation, taking care of little ones in their illness. My bride leads a ladies’ class on Monday mornings, so I prepared a healthy breakfast for the children. While they were eating, I mixed some green chile in with an egg and threw it on the griddle for myself. Just before I put the mixture on a tortilla, the youngest gagged and vomited forth his banana, apples, milk, and honey-bun mixture (okay, the breakfast was mostly healthy). I remained calm in this, but I confess it was a fake calmness. In my heart, I was yelling, “what?! I don’t get to sleep or eat?!” Mess cleaned quickly for the benefit of the other children. Little one bathed and re-dressed. I took out my inner anger on the now-unappealing meal, throwing it away with more aggression than necessary (out of sight of little ones). Grrrrrr...deep breath. Lord, I am an impatient man. I can fake it so many times, but I am impatient deep down...sometimes to the point of feeling pretty unloving toward folks who trigger that impatience. I am a sinner in need of a Savior at every moment, and being around people who aren’t as enlightened and perfect (read heavy sarcasm here) as I am shows this very clearly.

It may not be vomit, but being in the gathered Church means that people will do things around me and say things to me that trigger my inner un-Christlikeness very quickly. It’d be easy to leave them and identify with a group of people as awesome as myself, but I wouldn’t grow there...except in the area of my own self-worship and self-righteousness. I need you to show me to be what I am, that I may be thrown more and more upon God’s mercy and grace in Christ and molded by the Spirit into the image of the One Who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I cannot do that alone, and I cannot do that with those who are more or less clones of myself. What I am will be discovered in the congregation, that I may be conformed to the image of the Son.

On Monday mornings and many other times, there are seven abominations in me that I will never be rid of apart from the Spirit’s means of exposing them and excising them from my being: the gathered Church.

Gospel Love & the Covering of Sin

“He who conceals [מכסהֿפשע] a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends” (Proverbs 17:9). What does it mean to cover a transgression of another with love as a goal?

We do not cover our own trangressions; that is the work and right of God upon our humble confession of sin: “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered [כסוי]! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit! When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide [כסיתי]; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’; and You forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32:1-5). It is not our place to hide, or cover, our own sin. We must humbly confess it to God, Who conceals the sin of His covenant people under atoning blood: “You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered [כסית] all their sin” (Psalm 85:2). This was true in the Old Testament, and is true today in the New Testament: “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:5-10). The goal of God’s sin-covering in Christ is also love, love that is an inseparable part of His character and being, as described in our Proverb for today. In fact, biblical love as attributed to God must be understood in connection with our sin and the Father’s covering of that sin in Christ: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:7-11).

It is a sin before God for us to cover our own transgression. We saw the consequences of this in the confession of the Psalmist above (32:3,4). Job, in appealing to God, protests that he has not concealed his sins before God: “Have I covered [כסיתי] my transgressions like Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom, because I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, and kept silent and did not go out of doors? Oh that I had one to hear me! Behold, here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me! And the indictment which my adversary has written, surely I would carry it on my shoulder, I would bind it to myself like a crown. I would declare to Him the number of my steps; like a prince I would approach Him” (Job 31:33-37). The wisdom of God also testifies to this: “He who conceals [מכסה] his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion” (Proverbs 28:13).

We humbly confess our sins with repentant attitudes before God and He is faithful to cover those sins in Christ, the Person of the Trinity Who manifests the Father’s love to us. As we saw above (1 John 4:7-11), this sin-covering love then becomes the pattern of our loving relationships with each other in the covenant people of God. We imitate God’s love when we cover the transgressions of others: “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers [תכסה] all transgressions” (Proverbs 10:12). Paul makes this connection, as well: “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you” (Colossians 3:12,13).

“He who conceals [מכסהֿפשע] a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends” (Proverbs 17:9). Let God and the love of those in the covenant community of God with us be the coverers of our humbly confessed sin. In this is Christ-exalting, God-centered love. True love.