Steadfast love in the Psalms

I'm loving my chronological Bible reading plan this year, it might be the best way to read the Pentateuch to swallow big chunks at once. I also love the Psalms, because that's where i see myself the clearest, that's where i learn to love, to praise, to pray. Last night, in Psalms i saw the joy of trusting in His steadfast love.

Psalm 32:10 tells us that steadfast love surrounds the one that trusts in the Lord. I love that word, 'trust.' Not the one who is moral not the one who never misses church or keeps up with his Bible reading plan. The one who trusts. The one who casts all of their hope, trust, and faith on Jesus. The one who throws up his hands in Godly despair at ever, ever being good enough, and flees to the mediator. The one who trusts in the Lord, he us surrounded by steadfast love. What a reward, what a promise.

We see the same in Psalm 33:22. David needs to know the closeness of the love of His Lord even as he hopes in Him. This seems like sort of that same thing. I hope in the Lord, but before that, i need to ask for His steadfast, satisfying love to be on me. I need to know that he loves me as a son, not as a servant. This love precedes our hope, our faith in Him. This precedes our hope in Him. God loving isn't a reward for our hope in Him, it's what precedes our hope in Him. It's what makes us able to hope in Him. We love Him because He loved us first.

I love grace, although i forget it every day, it's fresh air in my lungs. I love finding it all over the Old Testament, i love reading this stuff before i go to bed!

The grace of the Law

How are we supposed to delight in the law? How do we delight in something that brings us condemnation, something that increases sin? How does the singer of Psalm 119 delight in the law, love the law, desire the law? Is there something wrong with him? Or is this simply a portion of scripture that we can simply throw away because the author simply doesn't understand what he's saying? He doesn't understand that we can't rejoice in the law because he doesn't know what we know from the New Testament?

Or, is it, in fact because he actually understands the law in a way we don't? That the singer of Psalm 119 has made the vital link between the law and the promise, and therefore the law and Christ. He can delight in the law because he understands it...really understands it. It has invaded every area of his heart. 

This is Christopher Ash's thesis in his book 'Bible Delight' a section by section exposition and application of psalm 119. He explains that the reason the singer can delight in the law is because he knows the law is a gracious, covenant document. So the law looks like this to his heart:

1) Although he lives in a world of false gods, he is learning to love the LORD his God who redeemed him, and love no others.

2) Although he lives in a world of idols, he is learning to hate idolatry, the shaping and fashioning of gods to be the way man wants them to be.

3) In a world that holds the name of God cheap, he is learning to love God's name and to care for it's honour, not to cheapen the name by the way he speaks or behaves.

4) In a frenetic and anxious world, he is learning to love the sabbath principle. He has tasted the goodness and sufficiency of God and will therefore gladly rest, and allow others to rest with him.

5) In a disordered world, he will honour his parents. he understands that this commandment is the tip of the iceberg for him to honour all those in positions of authority over him.

6) In a world of hate and anger he is learning to shun any behavior that harms or desires to harm another human. He now wants to love his neighbour as himself.

7) In an unfaithful world, he is learning to value sexual faithfulness within the covenant of marriage and to flee from all other sexual intimacy.

8) In an unjust world, he is learning to hate stealing and unjust business dealing. He is learning to love justice and work hard so he will have something to share, because he knows the God who richly gives us all things to enjoy.

9) In a deceitful world, he hates false witness, lying for our gain and anothers harm. He is learning to love truth because he knows the God who's promises are always 'yes' in Christ.

10) In a self obsessed world he is learning to hate selfishness and greed because he is learning to trust the God who said 'i will never leave you nor forsake you'

Bible Delight, PP40-41, Christopher Ash

A twofold display of grace

Romans is great isn't it? I've had a heart warming, challenging few weeks as i've read through it to close out 2008. I love that it takes Paul eight chapters to get anywhere near what people might call 'application' and even then four chapters more, and the beginning of chapter 12 before he starts to answer the 'yeh but what does this mean for me?' question. Brilliant. 

I love Romans 10:20-21:

Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,

    "I have been found by those who did not seek me;

    I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me."

 But of Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people."

Here is a twofold display of grace that Paul spends chapter 11 unpacking. Jesus has been found by those who did not seek Him. Jesus has revealed Himself to a people that were not looking. Salvation has come to the gentiles! Aren't you glad about that? Listen up ethnic factions in the Roman church, the Gospel has come to the Gentiles. And not just to the ones that were looking, Paul quotes Isaiah saying that He's come to a people who did not seek or ask for Him. This is of course true on a micro level as well. None of us were seeking or asking for Him when he saved us...He saved us because He saved us, but here Paul draws it out to it's glorious multi ethnic Gospel level... Salvation has come to the Gentiles!

How has this happened? The gentiles have been grafted in. The wild olive branches have been attached to the natural tree, the original branches cut off. Should this make gentiles proud? By no means it should have us in awe, if God cut off the original branches, will He not also cut off any non abiding unnatural branches? Of course! How is this grace twofold though? How does God 'all day long hold out His hands to a disobedient and contrary people?'

Well in Isaiah's context He sent to prophets, the His Son, and now He has grafted the gentiles in to make the Jews jealous (11:11). Just as there was a remnant in Elijah's day, so there is today. All Israel will be saved. The faithful remnant will be bought in, the Jews with all their natural, historical, covenant advantages will be saved. A partial hardening on Israel, then the fullness of the Gentiles, then all Israel (11:26)

So then. Stand in awe (11:20) Be amazed that branches were cut off that you might, that we might, be grafted in. Don't be arrogant about it, but humbled. Be amazed at God's twofold, complete, grace, He doesn't forget His people, but neither does He forget all who He has made.

Paul is probably addressing a factioning in the Roman church, which is why he goes onto write about fulfilling the law though love.(13:8-14) But there is much for us to be humbled about here as gentiles, and much for us to be excited about as 'all Israel will be saved' will only mean good things for us (11:12). 

Grace in isolation

I made a joke about this the other day, but it bares repeating, the American coverage of the Olympics really does take some getting used to. So far today all we've seen is repeats of the American swim relay team win, the American volleyball team, and the USA mens basketball team. No mention so far of Rebecca Adlington's gold in the pool. She beat an American you see. And this is NBC, not even the USA Channel which advertises itself on the basis that it's only showing American people. NBC of course stands for No Boring foreigners Covered, or NoBody else Counts.

There is a point to this, it all came to ahead during the womens team gymnastics last night (Rachel made me watch it). We followed the American team from the floor to the bars to the horse to the balance beam. They were the only ones we saw, the Chinese team were mentioned, but we were never actually given any evidence that they were there. This really affected the way you watched the American team. There was no context to set them in, there was no way of knowing whether they were doing well or not. They were just doing.

It got me thinking about how we live the Christian life sometimes. It's easy to be a Christian in church on a sunday morning or when the day starts with a Bible and coffee, but what about when we walk out of the door? All our study and knowledge is meaningless unless we live it out with those around us. Unless we really do all things for the glory of God...meaning all things, then we're contextless American gymnasts plodding round without really doing anything meaningful.

We need to not only read and study and pray, but also do, and do surrounded by other people in the shop, in the factory, in the academy, then i'm not sure it really means anything, or, at least, no one will know what it means. Christians need to be out there in the grime and grit of life, or our sunday mornings don't mean anything. This is what we're supposed to do, live and speak. But really live, out there, beyond the church door.