Daily Meditation

Tabernacling with God

Ligonier Ministries

It was the exodus of the Old Testament that earned the ancient Israelites the description of “pilgrims and sojourners.” They were a semi-nomadic people who lived the life of what Harvey Cox once likened to a floating craps game. They moved from place to place. Even their church was a tent that had to be pitched and taken down repeatedly as they followed the lead of God in the wilderness.

This image figures prominently in the New Testament portrayal of the Incarnation. In John’s Gospel, it is written that the Logos, the divine Word, was “with God” and “was God” from the beginning, and “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The word that is translated here as dwelt literally means “tabernacled” or “pitched His tent” among us.

In this sense, it is Christ who is the ultimate Pilgrim. The Incarnation is the supreme sojourn. Christ left His heavenly home to enter into our pilgrimage in our behalf. His was in solidarity with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

I love my homeland. Every time I travel abroad, I am happy to return to America. But the United States is an inn, a resting place in the midst of a higher journey, a road-stop on the way to my true home.

Coram Deo

Reflect on this glorious truth: God pitched His tent among us.

Passages for Further Study

John 1:4–5
John 1:14

The Saviour of the World Versus the Dragon

Rejoice and Weep

It is appropriate this year to link two realities.  Firstly, today we remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem.  Secondly, we acknowledge that more Christians around the world are being persecuted than ever before.  

The "tidings of great joy" that rang out over Bethlehem over two thousand years ago continue.  All over the world individuals, families, and congregations are today responding to the pronouncement of the angels: 

Luke 2:8-14 English Standard Version (ESV)

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  This is the essence of what is represented and accomplished as a result of the coming of the Son of Man to the world. 

At this time, it is particularly appropriate that we remember the suffering of so many Christians at the hands of wicked. 

At least 327 million Christians face persecution according to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), which released its biannual report on Religious Freedom in the World in November, 2018. That is 7 percent of the world’s 2.3 billion Christians estimated by Pew Research Center in 2015. 245 million Christians in the top 50 countries on Open Doors USA’s 2019 World Watch List experience high levels of persecution (i.e.: torture, rape, sex-slavery, forced conversion, murder and genocide), an increase of 14 percent from 2018. Sixty percent of those enduring persecution are children; women and girls are most violated. Release International, a UK-based human rights watchdog in operation for the past 50 years who partners with U.S.-based Voice of the Martyrs said they expect global anti-Christian persecution is set to rise ‘sharply’ in 2019.

'Tis the Season

The Heart of the Matter

The season of Christmas has many facets.  As always, it is essential that we move beyond maudlin sentimentality to the heart of the matter.  As always, the Scripture itself cuts to the chase.

The coming into the world of Jesus Christ as Adam's replacement meant that all who turn to Christ and follow Him "receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ."

Here is one of the great divine declarations upon the significance and meaning of Christmas.

Romans 5:12-21 English Standard Version (ESV)

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Daily Meditation

Tabernacling with God

Ligonier Ministries

It was the exodus of the Old Testament that earned the ancient Israelites the description of “pilgrims and sojourners.” They were a semi-nomadic people who lived the life of what Harvey Cox once likened to a floating craps game. They moved from place to place. Even their church was a tent that had to be pitched and taken down repeatedly as they followed the lead of God in the wilderness.

This image figures prominently in the New Testament portrayal of the Incarnation. In John’s Gospel, it is written that the Logos, the divine Word, was “with God” and “was God” from the beginning, and “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The word that is translated here as dwelt literally means “tabernacled” or “pitched His tent” among us.

In this sense, it is Christ who is the ultimate Pilgrim. The Incarnation is the supreme sojourn. Christ left His heavenly home to enter into our pilgrimage in our behalf. His was in solidarity with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

I love my homeland. Every time I travel abroad, I am happy to return to America. But the United States is an inn, a resting place in the midst of a higher journey, a road-stop on the way to my true home.

Coram Deo

Reflect on this glorious truth: God pitched His tent among us.

Passages for Further Study

John 1:4–5
John 1:14

A World Prepared For Christ's Coming

Shadows of the Trinity

Andrew Moody
The Gospel Coalition--Australia


How did an essentially Jewish sect following a crucified Messiah start worshipping him as God? Here, in time for Trinity Sunday, are five ways in which God prepared the way for the arrival of his Son through revelation and providence.


1. Agents and Representatives of God.
Right from the start, we see that the God of the Bible is committed to working in the world through agents and representatives. For example:

He makes humans in his image to rule the world as his stewards (Gen 1:26-28), thus associating them with himself and making an attack on them an attack on him:

Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. (see Gen 9:6; see too James 3:9-10)

He sends prophets who speak for him and – even model his relationship to the world:
Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. (Ex 7:1)

He makes the heirs of King David to be his “sons” to rule on his behalf (with very similar connotations to the idea of “image”). Sometimes the language applied to these kings can become over the top![1]

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions (Ps 45:6-7)

He rules the cosmos through other “sons of God”—angelic deputies who serve as his ministers (Job 1:6; 2:1). It may be to these (or possibly human rulers) that Jesus refers to when he defends his own much greater claims:

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? (John 10:34-36 c.f. Ps 82)

While none of these figures is depicted as divine, or equal with God, their function means that they must be, at least to some degree, obeyed or heeded as God when they speak and rule on his behalf. This prepares the way for Jesus, the true man, image, prophet, king etc who represents God in every way.

Daily Meditation

Credibility Through Illumination and Integration

C. S. Lewis

Let us suppose we possess parts of a novel or a symphony. Someone now brings us a newly discovered piece of manuscript and says, ‘This is the missing part of the work. This is the chapter on which the whole plot of the novel really turned. This is the main theme of the symphony’. Our business would be to see whether the new passage, if admitted to the central place which the discoverer claimed for it, did actually illuminate all the parts we had already seen and ‘pull them together’. Nor should we be likely to go very far wrong.

The new passage, if spurious, however attractive it looked at the first glance, would become harder and harder to reconcile with the rest of the work the longer we considered the matter. But if it were genuine then at every fresh hearing of the music or every fresh reading of the book, we should find it settling down, making itself more at home and eliciting significance from all sorts of details in the whole work which we had hitherto neglected. Even though the new central chapter or main theme contained great difficulties in itself, we should still think it genuine provided that it continually removed difficulties elsewhere.

Something like this we must do with the doctrine of the Incarnation. Here, instead of a symphony or a novel, we have the whole mass of our knowledge. The credibility will depend on the extent to which the doctrine, if accepted, can illuminate and integrate that whole mass. It is much less important that the doctrine itself should be fully comprehensible. We believe that the sun is in the sky at midday in summer not because we can clearly see the sun (in fact, we cannot) but because we can see everything else.

From Miracles
Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis Miracles: A Preliminary Study. Copyright 1947 C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Copyright renewed © 1947 C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Revised 1960, restored 1996 C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers. A Year With C.S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works. Copyright © 2003 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

The Good Wine

'Tis the Season


As we enter the season when we contemplate the Incarnation of the Son of God, this piece by Paul Baloche is a moving celebration of what it all means for every Christian.

Daily Devotional

Illuminating the Whole

C. S. Lewis

Let us suppose we possess parts of a novel or a symphony. Someone now brings us a newly discovered piece of manuscript and says, ‘This is the missing part of the work. This is the chapter on which the whole plot of the novel really turned. This is the main theme of the symphony’. Our business would be to see whether the new passage, if admitted to the central place which the discoverer claimed for it, did actually illuminate all the parts we had already seen and ‘pull them together’. Nor should we be likely to go very far wrong.

The new passage, if spurious, however attractive it looked at the first glance, would become harder and harder to reconcile with the rest of the work the longer we considered the matter. But if it were genuine then at every fresh hearing of the music or every fresh reading of the book, we should find it settling down, making itself more at home and eliciting significance from all sorts of details in the whole work which we had hitherto neglected. Even though the new central chapter or main theme contained great difficulties in itself, we should still think it genuine provided that it continually removed difficulties elsewhere.

Something like this we must do with the doctrine of the Incarnation. Here, instead of a symphony or a novel, we have the whole mass of our knowledge. The credibility will depend on the extent to which the doctrine, if accepted, can illuminate and integrate that whole mass. It is much less important that the doctrine itself should be fully comprehensible. We believe that the sun is in the sky at midday in summer not because we can clearly see the sun (in fact, we cannot) but because we can see everything else.

From Miracles
Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis

Miracles: A Preliminary Study. Copyright 1947 C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Copyright renewed © 1947 C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Revised 1960, restored 1996 C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers. A Year With C.S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works. Copyright © 2003 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers.  Sourced from BibleGateway.

The Sobering Joy of Advent

No End To the Increase of His Government

As we commence the celebration of Advent we acknowledge our rejoicing will take place amidst sound and fury, amidst tumult and the clashing of armies on darkling plains, and amidst injustice, oppression, death, and sickness unto death in the earth.

In this season, we always read the following prophetic declaration of the coming of our Lord:

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and for evermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
[Isaiah 9:6-7]

We Christians believe that the coming of Christ, born in Bethlehem, born of the virgin Mary, was the beginning of the end of sin and evil, along with all its consequences.

The Reason Why Christians are Merry Warriors

Irrepressible Joy

One of our favourite passages in the Lord of the Rings is found when the siege of Gondor is about to begin.  It has always seemed to us that it aptly captures the depth of merriment and joy which flows like an inexhaustible subterranean stream in the Christian's heart and life.

Tolkien's text reads:

Gandalf did not look at Pippin or speak a word to him as they went . . . "Are you angry with me, Gandalf?" [Pippin] said, as their guide went out and closed the door.  "I did the best I could."

"You did indeed!" said Gandalf, laughing suddenly; and he came and stood beside Pippin, putting his arm about the hobbit's shoulders, and gazing out the window.  Pippin glanced in some wonder at the face now close beside his own, for the sound of that laugh had been gay and merry.  Yet in the wizard's face he saw at first only lines of care and sorrow: though as he looked more intently he perceived that under all there was a great joy; a fountain of mirth enough to set a kingdom laughing, were it to gush forth. (Book V, part i.)

Matthew Dickerson comments on this passage:

Calvin's Daily Devotional

Daily Devotional

December 27

Thine Is My Heart: Devotional Readings from the Writings of John Calvin

by John Calvin (compiled by John H. Kromminga)
Reproduced from the OPC Website

Bible Text:
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. —Luke 2:8

Devotional:
"And there were shepherds." It would have been to no purpose that Christ was born in Bethlehem, if it had not been made known to the world. But the method of doing so, which is described by Luke, appears to the view of men very unsuitable.

First, Christ is revealed to but a few witnesses, and that too amidst the darkness of night. Again, though God had, at his command, many honorable and distinguished witnesses, he passed by them, and chose shepherds, persons of humble rank, and of no account among men. Here the reason and wisdom of the flesh must prove to be foolishness; and we must acknowledge that "the foolishness of God" excels all the wisdom that exists, or appears to exist, in the world. But this too was a part of the "emptying of himself"; not that any part of Christ's glory should be taken away by it, but that it should lie in concealment for a time.

Douglas Wilson's Letter From America

Go Overboard

Go Overboard Celebrating Christmas

A godliness that won't delight in fudge and eggnog is no godliness at all.

Douglas Wilson 

 

[ posted 12/20/2012]

God Rest Ye Merry: Why Christmas is the Foundation for Everything
Douglas WilsonCanon Press
November 20, 2012
154 pp., $16.00

 

Socrates once famously said that the unexamined life is not worth living. In a similar vein, the unexamined holiday is not worth celebrating. Whenever we do anything on autopilot, it is not surprising that at some point we forget where we are going, or what we were supposed to be doing. And when we are just cruising in a mindless tradition, it is a short time before sin takes over.

And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. (Is. 25:6–8)

As the prophet Isaiah prophesies the coming of the new covenant, he does so with the image of a glorious feast. The feast is prepared by the Lord of hosts Himself (v. 6). What kind of feast is it? He prepares a feast of fat things, he prepares a feast of aged wines, of meat full of marrow fat, and then some more aged wines.

The Real Deal

This Day Is Born to You . . . 

Today is Christmas Eve when all around the world Christians will recall, re-celebrate, and rejoice in the birth of the Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, our Lord.  We celebrate this event not just as a mere memorial.  We celebrate it because it begins what continues to this day, and ever shall be.  We celebrate the arrival into this world of the One who is now its Lord and King. 

When Christians celebrate in this way  they are making a political statement of course, or more precisely, they are celebrating an event which has profound and everlasting implications for all powers and authorities upon this earth in 2012 and beyond.  For to the Christ has been given all power and authority in the heavens and upon the earth.  All who do not worship Him and serve Him and and obey Him are rebels and will be so judged at the end of days. 

It turns out, unsurprisingly, that during His days upon earth there were plenty of such rebels and abusers of the power they had been given.

Wonder and Great Joy

The World Would Never Be The Same

Duoglas Wilson's Letter From America

A Brief History of Christmas

Church Year
Written by Douglas Wilson
Saturday, December 10, 2011

INTRODUCTION:
We celebrate the birth of Christ, and we are able to do this because we have seen what His rule has accomplished in the world. Jesus told Thomas once that there was a blessing for those who would believe without having seen the risen Christ, as Thomas had (John 20:29). On this principle, our place in history gives us access to a greater blessing because we have not seen Christ with our eyes. But it goes the other way also. Those at the time of Christ had not yet seen what His rule would do in history (as we have). And so they are more greatly blessed looking toward the future—the same way that we will be blessed by looking forward to what Christ has yet to do (1 Cor. 2:9).

THE TEXT:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Is. 9:6-7).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT:
There are many lessons that can be drawn from a rich text like this, but our task this morning will be to consider just two of them. The first is the Christmas element—the fact that a child is born unto us, and that a son is given unto us (v. 6). The second has to do with this child’s relationship to what is here called “government.” We are told that this child was born in order to rule, for the government will be upon his shoulder. And the second thing we are told about His government is that it will continually increase (v. 7). He will bear the government upon His shoulder, and it will be a continually increasing government. This increase—unlike the growth of secular governments—will be a blessing, and not a pestilence.

Douglas Wilson's Letter From America

Your Doctrine is Too Small

Theology - Life in the Regeneration
Written by Douglas Wilson
Thursday, July 08, 2010

J.B. Phillips famously wrote the book Your God is Too Small, and I would like to do a little riff off of that. Your doctrine is too small.

What is that supposed to mean? Often particular Christian doctrines are set forth in a way that contains enough of the truth to annoy unreasonable people and not enough of the truth to answer the concerns and objections of reasonable people. Let's take three examples -- the sovereignty of God, the necessity of the new birth, and the potency of the Incarnation. In each case, when the doctrine is stated in its small version, the reaction is to fix the problem by reeling it in, by making it smaller.

When Jonathan Edwards was struggling with the doctrine of God's sovereignty, he found the solution where it ought to be. Learn to see God's sovereignty as "bigger than that." If the sovereign God is simply an omnipotent Zeus, contained together with us inside the universe that is, and he goes around making people do whatever he wants, then the freewillers are right -- he is just a bully. Not only are the freewillers right, they are often courageously right.

But the problem here is that he is seen as a bully because he is seen as too small, and it is no solution to make him smaller. A Calvinist (who has made this mistake) agrees that God is like this, but argues a theology of prudence. "Look, go along with the bully, wouldja?" The Arminian resists this, but does it by preferring to see the bully as a kinder, gentler Zeus. The end result of this business is a wimp subbed in for the bully. But the triune God of Scripture is the Creator of all that is, and there is a Creator/creature divide. To attribute exhaustive sovereignty to any entity on this side of that divide (apart from the humility of the Incarnation) is to ask for, and find, monstrosities in your theology. But the solution is not to be found by dragging the whole thing down to a religion just above tree top level. God dwells in the highest heavens. He does what He pleases, and what He pleases is righteous, holy, and good. 

While evangelicals have rightly seen the need to be born again, this too can be seen in a way that is far too small. If the old nature/new nature question is seen as a toggle switch somewhere down in your heart, and at some time in your life you have to pray a prayer that makes God flip that switch, and if you don't do that you are going to go to Hell, this truncated vision is going to lead to extreme sectarianism. Evangelicals will become star-bellied sneetches, and this one isolated experience is the point of their distinction. Lack of regeneration is seen as the switch in this position, and you have to have it in the "on" position. Now when people see the spiritual pride that often arises from this kind of thing, the temptation is to back away from the evangelical position -- well, maybe being born again is not all that it is cracked up to be. Regeneration is seen as too small, and the reaction is to make it smaller. The movement is from a message preached by a narrow hot-gospeler to a broad latitudinarianism that walks away from the little bit of truth that was there.

But when a man is born again, all of him is. Regeneration commences at the point of conversion, and this principle of new life then grows and spreads everywhere. Regeneration is not a little toggle switch, but is rather the main power breaker. And after it is flipped, there are still five thousand other switches to find and adjust before this new life spacecraft is ready to fly again. And that is what is happening -- we are readying a spacecraft to fly to the heavens. We are not changing a light bulb in the barn. Don't see regeneration as a little thing -- there is no way to do that and maintain the necessity of it without that position degenerating into a doctrine that insists that God has no sense of proportion whatever.

And, then, the Incarnation.  When the eternal Word of God became a man, He thereby honored the material world, and did so in a very permanent way. This has always been embarrassing to the Hellenistic mind -- this has been seen as a doctrine that maintains that God abandoned His spiritual dignity. No, this actually is the divine glory. But once the doctrine is stated, if it is limited to the body of Jesus, it remains too small. Incarnational heresies take something that is true as far as it goes, but is still too small, and then try to whittle away at it, making it smaller.

The orthodox should not try to hold the line by holding the line, but rather should move on to the other outlandish ramifications of this truth. If Christ is the groom, and the Church is His bride, His body, what does this mean? We have not understood the Incarnation unless we have come to understand that at some point in the proceedings, the incarnational power that God has placed in the world runs amok. And when it runs amok, this has ramifications for beer, sex, mowing the lawn, planting hedges, gravy, beekeeping, driving on the freeway, and diet soda. And no, those ramifications do not mean pantheism.

Just as grace does not mean antinomianism, but will always provoke charges of antinomianism, so also an understanding of the incarnation as God's reckless grace to the whole universe will provoke charges of some heresy or other. And perhaps some will veer off into those heresies, but it cannot be unorthodox to say that our orthodoxy has been too small, and that we need a whole lot more of it.

"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Cor. 2:9).

Doug Wilson's Letter From America

To Gain His Everlasting Hall

Bethlehem was the opening gambit in the last campaign of a long war. Many centuries after our father Adam had first plunged our race into the insanity of sin, God finally made His opening move. Jesus Christ, born of a woman, born under law, was born to fulfill every one of the numerous promises that God had made during our long night.

At the beginning of our world, scarcely had our race fallen into sin and darkness but our Father God promised that the seed of the woman would have vengeance upon the serpent, promising us a glorious deliverance. And so, for long ages, the faithful looked ahead to that undefined day figuring, studying, mentally groping, but fundamentally trusting. What form would the dragon slayer take? What form would the serpent worm have in the day when his head was finally to be crushed?

The servants of God, earthly and celestial both, were well aware of the great obstacles, but knew at the same time that the wisdom of God was far greater than any obstacle. But although they knew this, the campaign plans were still beyond classified. The apostle Peter describes it this way:

Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into (1 Pet. 1:10-12).

It has always been like this. Our good God, our overflowing God, our God of yes and amen, has always been able to promise far more than we are able to believe. I am not here speaking of unbelief, or of hard hearts, which is another problem. I am speaking here of a true and sincere faith, a God-given faith, but one which is still finite, and which God loves to bury under an avalanche of promises. We serve and worship the God who overwhelms, who delights to overwhelm. At His right hand are pleasures forevermore, cascading waterfall of infinite pleasures, with no top, no bottom, no back, no front, and no sides. Nothing but infinite pleasure in motion, and every one of those pleasures attached to His promises.

What does the apostle Paul tell us about the salvation that this God would introduce into our history, into our story?

"Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God" (1 Cor. 2:6-11).

Because these promises stagger us, we have developed a workaround, something to keep us from feeling the crushing weight of God's promised goodness to our world. That workaround consists of pushing the fulfilment of His promises out past the day of resurrection, safely storing them all in a time when we are allowed not to think about it. But this passage from Paul is not talking about the eternal state. It has nothing to do with the eternal state. He lived in the third chapter, we lived in the tenth chapter, and he was talking about the fifteenth chapter. He was not talking about the next book, the one we shall all read in the resurrection. These are promises concerning our future history.

And so it is always thusóour poets and seers see more than we do. They write poems and hymns, they write carols that are uninspired, but are still prophetic utterances nonetheless. Just as Isaiah spoke far beyond what he could grasp, so also did Wesley. Just as the Jews memorized and chanted the words of Isaiah, words that were beyond their grasp, so also we have memorized carols that speak of the depth of glory that is coming, and we are always singing out of our depth. We are not singing about what will happen after the resurrection. We sing about the years to come, here, in our midst. We are singing about promises and blessings that will overtake our childrenís children.

I do not say this by way of chiding or blame. As we have noted, the apostle Paul said that it was designed this wayóeye has not seen, and ear has not heard, what God has prepared for those who love Him. Do you love Him? Then brace yourself, and sing to a world that needs to brace itself.

We were in desperate straits. Christ came to "ransom captive Israel" and to "disperse the gloomy clouds of night." In our insolence, we were "doomed by law to endless woe" and were necessarily and justly to "the dreadful gulf below." But this darkness we had created was invaded by the heavenly host, "Rank on rank the host of heaven spreads its vanguard on the way," and the night above the shepherds lit up as though a lightning bolt had refused to go out, had refused to stop shining. The road was weary, but now we may urge others to "rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing." We needed this salvation just as He gave it. "O Savior, King of glory, who dost our weakness know." The God who knows our frame timed it perfectly.

And so the ache was healed. "In Bethlehem, in Israel, this blessed babe was born." This was "Israel's strength and consolation," He was the "dear desire of every nation." "Now He shines, the long expected," and "glories stream from heaven afar."

All creation is summoned to rejoice. He is the "high born King of ages", "Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing." Nothing whatever is excluded; we invite "all that grows beneath the shining of the moon and burning sun" to join in our praise. This gospel is proclaimed, and the antiphon is sung by the "mountains in reply." All of it bursts forth, both "heaven and nature sing." This is right and fitting because "he comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found." All cursed things may sing this blessing.

The nations are gathered before Him. On behalf of those nations, He is "risen with healing in His wings," and so we summon all the nations to join us. "Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies." Africa, come! We urge the Far East not to tarry. South America, behold your Lord. And we beseech our own nations to repent our apostasies and turn back to Him again. This is not optional; the poets have commanded it. "He makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness." The saints of God are therefore insistent. "Powers, dominions, bow before Him," as we declare "honor, glory, and dominion, and eternal victory." We lean into the future expectantly, looking forward to the time, "when with the ever circling years, comes round the age of gold."

"With the dawn of redeeming grace," what is the only possible response? We gather to "hymn and chant with high thanksgiving," and however high the thanksgiving is, the object of our praise is higher still. "Come, peasant, king, to own Him." We praise Him, and He calls us, calls you one and calls you all, to gain His everlasting hall." And in the skies above that everlasting hall, the ascending hymns fill up "the endless day."

Indeed . . .

"Nor eye hath seen, nor ear

Hath yet attained to hear

What there is ours."

"O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord."

Amen, and amen. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen again.

Posted by Douglas Wilson - 24th December, 2009

Meditation on the Text of the Week

The Day of Visitation

But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that he might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4: 4—5

We come now to Advent, which is the most significant event in all human history. It occurred at precisely the right time—the time appointed by God, when all was ready, when all had been prepared. The Scriptures provide some insight into what it was at that time which constituted the “fullness of time”. One is that the fullness of iniquity of the Old Covenant people had been reached. He Who was set to divide Israel, Who had been appointed for the rise and the fall of many amongst God's people, came forth when Israel's sin was at its zenith: they would arise and crucify Messiah as the ultimate expression of hatred and rebellion against the God of their fathers. God's wrath would consequently fall upon them, and not one stone would be left upon another.

As Simeon prophesied over Jesus to Mary, “Behold this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2: 34—35) When John the Baptist began his public ministry preparing the way of the Lord, he warned about the wrath that was to come; the axe had already been laid at the root of the trees; every tree that did not produce good fruit would be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Luke 3: 7—9) And so it came to pass.

Another aspect of readiness, of the fullness of the times, was the desperate degeneracy of the Gentile world. The futility, the emptiness, the hopelessness of life apart from God was increasingly self-evident amongst the Gentiles. The glory that was Rome had progressively degenerated into a bitter mockery. The gods had failed. The philosophers had proved futile and irrelevant. The empire was a growing tyranny, requiring more and more slaves to feed and sustain its life of conspicuous consumption and insatiable appetites.

Many Gentiles, having realised the emptiness and futility of their lives, had come to yearn for the Living God. The synagogues throughout the Empire were filled with “God-fearers”—men and women who were longing for God—the One True and Living God—and who, therefore, began to associate with the hated and despised Jews, who were His people. These people did not wish to become Jews—but they longed for the God of the Jews. They were longing for the Gospel of God's grace to come to them. They yearned for the face of God's mercy to be shown to them. Would there ever be a time when the God of glory would lift up the eyes of His countenance upon them, and grant them peace?

In Christ, the Lord it would come to pass. In Him they would hear of, and see, God's mercy. He would open His arms wide and bring them into His fold, naming them amongst the descendants of Abraham, His friend. His blood would be shed for them, washing away all their sins, cleansing them utterly. On the Cross, He would bear the sins and their curse for all His people amongst both Gentiles and Jews. He would break down the dividing wall, and His blood sacrifice would make the two into one. He would adopt them all as sons and daughters. A new humanity would be created from the inside out.

Now, two millennia later, the Gospel of our Lord has spread to every land and His enemies are ineluctably being subdued and placed under His feet. What we have seen is just the beginning. The earth will be filled with the knowledge and glory of God, as the waters cover the sea. For His people, there is joy and hope even amidst the wretchedness of Athenian boasting and tumult. As the hymn puts it:

Heav’n above is softer blue,
Earth around is sweeter green!
Something lives in every hue
Christless eyes have never seen;

This world does not belong to Athens, but to Christ. He has bought it with a price unimaginable. His price has been accepted by God the Father. Not one drop of that precious blood will have been shed in vain. Athens will attenuate and die; evil and suffering will cease. The gift of faith will be granted to all the nations. The Gospel will come to be heard by all and believed by most in every place.

As the great Athanasius once put it: Christ's taking human flesh and blood, heart and mind is akin to an exalted monarch visiting a tiny, insignificant village. Such a visit from great royalty results in an honour falling upon that village which lasts forever, as long as it kept in living memory. So, humanity and this world has been honoured, glorified, dignified and exalted before all the heavens, for He has not only visited us, He has become one of us, one with us. Messiah is now blood of our blood; flesh of our flesh: in His flesh He stands at the right hand of God, seated upon the throne of His father, David. There is no king like Him, nor will there be after Him. All heaven bows to Him and worships before Him. All earth is following in its train.

Nothing on earth was ever the same after that fateful day when Messiah came forth, born of a woman, born under the Law. Praise and thanks be to God and to His Christ; on earth, may His peace come to all men.