the journey (step twelve)

 The greater part of my working life has been spent in pastoral ministry. A chief part of that vocation included the regular task of preaching. I grew to love the discipline of preparation and delivery of sermons. I recall sitting at my desk on many occasions with God’s Word open before me and delighting in the truths that came into view. I felt in those moments that if I had wings I could have flown! 

I was always at my most content when the song we sang before the preaching of God’s Word was “Speak, O Lord” by Keith and Kristyn Getty. This is what they called their “pastor’s hymn.” Some of the lyrics are noted below.

Several years ago I read Psalm 131 in midst of local church ministry and found myself drawn to a song that is a beautiful and vivid expression of a life yielded to God. I imagined this “song of ascent” as “a preacher’s psalm” and the following thoughts filled my horizons. 

The psalmist, David, is clearly a man who found confidence in the grace and goodness of God.

He was a man with:

➡️ A Clear View of Self (1a)

“My heart is not proud, O Lord,

   my eyes are not haughty.”

There is a profound sense of humility in David’s words. 

His life is free from pride and arrogance.

It’s no wonder that C.H. Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, said of the psalm, “This one of shortest psalms to read but one of the longest to learn.” Take time to read over this psalm as a whole and you will see why this statement is so accurate.

“Teach us, Lord, full obedience,

Holy reverence, true humility."

➡️ A Clear View of Scripture (1b)

“I do not concern myself with great matters

   or things too wonderful for me.”

Here is a heart that recognises its capacity.

It would be true to say that this sentence likely goes much further than the Holy Scriptures. However, it is equally true that a heart close to God recognises there are heights of truth in Scripture that we will never be able to reach. “The secret things belong to the Lord…” (Deuteronomy 29:29). And so we recognise our heart’s capacity for God and his truth while at the same time pressing on to know him (Hosea 6:3).

“Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds,

Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us.

Truths unchanged from the dawn of time,

That will echo down through eternity.”

➡️ A Clear View of the Spiritual Life (2)

“But I have stilled and quieted my soul;

   like a weaned child with its mother,

like a weaned child is my soul within me.”

Here is a soul that is at peace and is fully content.

“Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;

Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,”

➡️ A Clear View of Service (3)

“O Israel, put your hope in the Lord

   both now and for evermore.”

Here is a desire that others will be drawn into a relationship with God that will lead to the same realities that David discovered.

"Speak, O Lord, 'til Your church is built

And the earth is filled with Your glory."

The qualities noted above are a crucial prerequisite to a godly life and godly preaching. However, whatever our calling and gifting is before God the truths in this psalm will further direct the course of ‘the journey.”

"And by grace we'll stand on your promises;

and by faith we'll walk as you walk with us."

My final encouragement this week is to pray for those who carry the burden of a preaching ministry. Preaching has the potential to shape the collective life of a congregation in a godly manner and build up believers in their most holy faith. Pray that the truths that David expressed in Psalm 130 would characterise those who preach and so bring glory to God. 

(Picture - Rouken Glen, Glasgow)

Song choice - Speak, O Lord (Keith & Kirstyn Getty)

‘the journey’ playlist - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1r5rMcrNlmUMQqHyIBfCmg?si=YtwsF-OuT9-160jOeH26gQ&p

the journey (step eleven)

 

“There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.” These words were written by Corrie Ten Boom, a dutch woman who survived the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps during World War Two. Most of us will never be able to appreciate how deep a pit she found herself in during those awful years. However, all of us at one time or another have found ourselves in the depths. 

What might they be for you today?

…disappointment

…despair

…discouragement

…distress

…depravity 

Psalm 130 reminds us that God’s love for us surpasses even the deepest struggles, failures, or circumstances we might find ourselves in.

As I read this wonderful psalm, I found myself asking two questions?

First, what do I learn about the psalmist in this, our eleventh “song of ascent”?

He is…

➤ Sinful yet holding out for forgiveness (verses 3-4)

The cross of Jesus is our greatest reminder that the Lord is a forgiving God. The psalmist knew much of the God’s forgiveness for his sin and carried a profound sense of reverence in his heart for this merciful and gracious God.

➤ Despairing yet holding onto hope (verses 5-6)

The psalmist puts his hope in God’s Word. 

In order to truly know God, it will be as he speaks to me and makes himself known. For us that means wholehearted attention to the living voice of Scripture. That’s why the psalmist likens himself, and us, to watchmen waiting for the morning. For us in the Bible, as for him in the earlier revelations of God that are summed up in it, there is the assurance that sooner or later light will dawn…the morning will come.

Secondly, what do I learn about the Lord?

➡️ His reach is infinite (verses 1-2)

"Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord..." 

Paul prays for the Ephesians that they would be able to “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ…” (Ephesians 3:18). The dimensions of Christ’s love are beyond our understanding and imagination. However, no matter how deep we sink, the Lord’s is able reach down and rescue us (see Psalm 40:1-2).

➡️ His grace is sufficient (verses 3-4)

"With you there is forgiveness..."

John Newton (author of the hymn, “Amazing Grace”) once wrote, “Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Saviour.”

➡️ His love is unfailing (verse 7)

"...with the Lord there is unfailing love..."

The adjectives in Scripture concerning the love of God are worthy of our reflection - everlasting…great...rich…unfailing…abounding (see verses below). He absolutely loves us.

➡️ His salvation is compete (verse 8)

“...Full redemption...” FULL redemption! He has saved us, is saving us and will save us.

“There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.”

Well might Paul exclaim...

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

…For from him and through him and for him are all things.
    To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

(Romans 11:33-35)

_______________________

(Jeremiah 31:3; Ephesians 2:4; Psalm 33:5; Psalm 145:9; Psalm 86:15

(Picture - Greenbank Gardens, Clarkston, Glasgow)

Song choice - I will wait for you (Keith & Kirstyn Getty)

'the journey' playlist - 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1r5rMcrNlmUMQqHyIBfCmg?si=YtwsF-OuT9-160jOeH26gQ&pi=iHT32HMRSleMD

P.S. I reflected on this Psalm in a blog back in July (6th). I have come to it afresh this week with only the slightest of crossovers. 

the journey (step ten)

There is a story that hails from the highlands of Scotland concerning a group of villagers who met one evening in the local community hall. During conversations around the tables someone suggested that each of us has acted bravely or heroically at one point in our lives. A man who was new to the locality saw an elderly lady who had not taken part in the conversation. In a quite disparaging tone he asked what act of heroism she had performed, completely unaware of the traumas and tragedies she had lived through. Her response was simply, “I have practiced the heroism of going on.”

When it comes to “the journey” that ability to keep going is one of the characteristics of true Christian pilgrimage. You find it expressed clearly in Psalm 129, especially the second half of verse two which says “…they have not prevailed against me.”

The psalm speaks of a prolonged period of oppression that the people of God have endured. The extent of this is outlined in the phrase, “…they have greatly oppressed me from my youth” (verse 2a). However, the wonderful truth about the faithfulness and goodness of God shines through - “they have not prevailed against me” 

What does it take to practice the ‘heroism’ of going on in the Christian life?

Reflecting on that question, I have reached back into the church’s archive for help.

I was first of all reminded about John Bunyan (1628-1688), author of “Pilgrim’s Progress.” He wrote the famous hymn, ‘To be a Pilgrim,’ which contains the words,

He who would valiant be 

’gainst all disaster,

let him in constancy 

follow the Master.

There’s no discouragement 

shall make him once relent

his first avowed intent 

to be a pilgrim.

Reaching further back to Martin Luther (1483-1546) I found great encouragement in the words of his hymn, “A mighty fortress is our God”:

That Word above all earthly powers,

No thanks to them, abideth;

The Spirit and the gifts are ours

Through Him who with us sideth:

Let goods and kindred go,

This mortal life also;

The body they may kill:

God’s truth abideth still,

His Kingdom is forever.

And coming ultimately, and most importantly, to the source of all our hope in life, the Holy Scriptures, the prophet Jeremiah records, “They will fight against you but never prevail over you, since I am with you” (Jeremiah 1:19).

The apostle Paul was also able to testify, “after we had previously suffered and were treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, we were emboldened by our God to speak the gospel of God to you in spite of great opposition” (1 Thessalonians 2:2).

Bunyan, Luther, Paul, Jeremiah and the Psalmist’s ability to prevail rested on a number of enduring realities…

➡️ The Presence of God - He is with us, for us and ahead of us.

➡️ The Promises of God - He can be trusted and is faithful.

➡️ The People of God - The companionship of fellow pilgrims spurs us on our way.

I saw a beautiful picture of this a couple of weeks ago on the Isle of Harris. I was on the island with a group of men from The Preshal Trust. As a means of building friendships my boss arranged for 7 guys from an addiction support group called “Road to Recovery” to join us on the Friday evening. It was an incredible few hours, filled with a great deal of chat and banter! As I watched the interactions between the men and listened to their stories I was struck by the thought that what enabled them to stay strong as believers and remain on the path of sobriety was a friendship which is centred on Christ. 

Drawing on God’s presence and promises these men encourage one another to keep going and are thus, like the experience of the psalmist, able to PREVAIL. 

(picture - The Isle of Harris)

Song choice - Lord, I come before your throne of grace

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1r5rMcrNlmUMQqHyIBfCmg?si=YtwsF-OuT9-160jOeH26gQ&pi=iHT32HMRSleMD