the journey (step four)

The incredible mural in the picture above can be found on the gable end of 1198 Govan Road (a stone’s throw from the Preshal Trust centre where I work). It celebrates the life of the early 20th century political activist, Mary Barbour, who hailed from the neighbourhood. The mural, however, is intended to imagine a modern day Mary Barbour, looking to a brighter future. For me it is the look in the young woman’s eyes that is so captivating. I love how the artist leaves much to our imagination…

What is she looking and longing for? 

What does she see?

The next step on our pilgrimage through the “songs of ascents” leaves us in no doubt where the psalmist’s gaze is fixed. It begins, “I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven” (Psalm 123:1).

The psalm we reflected on last week pictures God’s people gathering in one centre (Jerusalem) for worship. But in Psalm 123 we note that our living God is not restricted to a geographical location. The psalm echoes what the prophet Isaiah says of God, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” (66:1).

What insights does the psalmist offer this week about our walk through this world?

He exhibits, first of all, wholehearted faith…

 “I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven” (Psalm 123:1).

It strikes me that we can look at something in one of two ways - glimpse or gaze. To glimpse something is a fleeting experience. To gaze on an object is much more prolonged. 

The psalmist gaze is fixed on God.

I chanced upon a wee life hack some years ago that illustrates what this means. I found that if I was carrying a full cup of coffee upstairs I would invariably spill some of it. However, I discovered that if I focused on a door handle at the top of the stairs I would then be able to walk straight up without spilling a drop. My eyes remained fixed on that object. Wholehearted faith looks to God in a similar way. It rests on his character, feeds on his promises and grows through walking with him.

Secondly, he demonstrates humble expectation…

“As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid looks to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us mercy” (123:2).

Psalm 121 teaches us that God is our protector. This psalm underlines that God is our provider. Paul’s words in Philippians 4 echoes the sentiments of this psalm. “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (verse 19).

And lastly, the psalmist reveals a sense of patient waiting…

“…till he shows us mercy” (123:2).

Waiting is difficult whether it be in life generally or faith particularly. But the justly famous words from Isaiah are a strong reminder that a season of waiting actually fortifies our faith: 

“Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.”

(Isaiah 40:30-31)

What the young woman sees in the Govan mural is left our imagination. However, the Bible leaves us in no doubt that the object of the Christian's faith rests absolutely and exclusively on the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

the journey (step three)

It was a privilege to attend Loch Broom and Coigach Free Church in Ullapool last Sunday morning. At the end of the service we enjoyed a short conversation with one of the local Christians. My wife, Liz, asked how things were going in the church and the gentleman responded positively. He then said that when believers thrive in their faith, the church thrives and the community in turn will be blessed. I’ve mulled that thought over in my mind all week. 

➤ Am I thriving in my walk with God?

➤ Indeed, what does a growing and flourishing faith in the Lord Jesus look like?

➤ And how will the corporate life of the church be enriched if we are, to quote the apostle Paul, rooted and built up in Christ, strengthened in the faith, and overflowing with thankfulness (Colossians 2:6,7)? 

The next step on our pilgrimage (Psalm 122) offers some answers to those questions.

However, before we get there, I found it helpful to note the huge contrast in the spiritual life of the psalmist in Psalm 120 and David in Psalm 122 (It will only take a couple of minutes to read both psalms). 

Psalm 120 finds the psalmist living in “the tents of Kebar” among those who were opposed to God.

Psalm 122 introduces us to King David as he joins the crowds of God’s people as they worship together “in the house of the Lord” (120:5).

From this I must learn that a believer who is thriving in their faith recognises that who they choose to keep company with will go a long way in determining the health of their relationship with God.

At an even more fundamental level Psalm 122 revolves around David’s appreciation of the Lord. The house of the Lord and the praise of the Lord occupy his attention. 

David is thriving on:

➡️ Fellowship that is centred on God

He is walking in step with those who share his aspiration to meet in Jerusalem for one of the great annual festivals. The Lord had set out his instructions for this purpose, “according to the statute given to Israel” (verse 4), and now they are united in a fellowship that has the Lord and his commands at the centre.

A later “song of ascents” will say, “how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity” (133:1). Jesus prayed for this reality and therefore Christians today must work with eagerness to make it happen (see John 17:20-26).

He is secondly, thriving on…

➡️ Worship that is focused on God

The unity of purpose which exudes from this psalm finds it ultimate focus in the Lord himself. All of God’s people meet in Jerusalem to “praise the name of the Lord” (verse 4). When the Lord is the focus of our worship then a sense of harmony exists between his people.

And finally, David is thriving on…

➡️ Prayer that is directed to God

The final four verses come with added poignancy given the unfolding tragedy in the region in which this psalm is set. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (verse 6). Our prayers for peace must include a request for justice for those who have perpetrated so much suffering. After all, David reminds us that “the thrones of judgment stand” in Jerusalem (verse 5). 

God’s honour is the highest motivation in all our prayers (verse 9).

I am sure that God’s purpose for his people is that their fellowship, worship and prayer prayer life would find its ultimate fulfilment in him. In other words, that we grow, develop and flourish into the people God created us to be.

(Picture - Handa Island)

the journey (step two)

Our journey towards God began a couple of weeks ago with a single step. That step, we discovered, involves a radical “about turn.” The first “song of ascents” (Psalm 120) paints the picture of a person who has made bad life choices. He finds himself in the orbit and influence of the ungodly. But having recognised the foolishness of his actions, he calls on the Lord and finds deliverance. The Lord graciously answers and rescues him (Psalm 120:1).  

And so the adventure of pilgrimage begins…

However, Psalm 121 (our next “song of ascents”) immediately points to some of the challenges we face along the way. “I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? (verse 1). “Lifting our eyes to the hills” might suggest looking for signs of an attacking force, or, perhaps, the pilgrim was thinking about the dangerous regions he had to pass through in order to reach Jerusalem, especially the mountain hideouts of menacing robbers.

The same is true for Christians in every generation. To the ordinary cares of life in this fallen world there springs the special challenges a believer faces in a society that does not accept or recognise the authority of Christ. 

The psalmist, however, finds an immediate response to his question. And what encouragement is to be found in it. My help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth” (verse 1). 

What is God’s help? 

Tim Keller says, “It is spiritual refreshment (shade, verse 5) through his presence. It is God’s enabling to avoid foot slipping or sin (verse 3; cf Psalm 73:2).” 

And so from this beloved Psalm (and one embedded in Scottish church culture) two thoughts strike me on my own pilgrimage.

➡️ I look up from my limited perspective. 

There is so much I can’t see and many things that remain uncertain in my walk with God.

But this I also know…

➡️ The Lord looks down from his all encompassing vantage point.

The psalmist tells us five times over in this Psalm that the Lord watches over our lives. "The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore" (verse 8). As Jesus taught in John 14, he has not secured our eternal home only to lose us in earthly troubles! The eternal work of redemption is part of our present security. 

The Lord is…

…transcendent yet imminent…

   …high above us yet close beside us…

As the renowned Scottish churchman, Thomas Chalmers said,

"When I walk by the wayside, he (God) is along with me. When I enter into company amid all my forgetfulness of him, he never forgets me. In the silent watches of the night, when my eyelids are closed and my spirit has sunk into unconsciousness, the observant eye of him who never slumbers is upon me. I cannot flee His presence, go where I will. He leads me and watches me and cares for me. And the same Being who is now at work in the remotest dominions of nature and of providence is also at my hand, to give to me every moment of my being, and to uphold the exercise of all my feelings and of all my faculties."

(Picture - path from Strathblane to Dumgoyne)

the journey (step one)

You are most likely to be familiar with the saying, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” As a literal undertaking or as a metaphorical notion, the idea of a journey is embedded in what it means to be human. 

Life is a journey. 

Another famous saying connected to this thought emphasises that, “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey”. However, that way of thinking does not square with a Christian understanding of our walk through this world. To explore this idea I’d like to dip into a small collection of Psalms that are entitled the “Songs of Ascents” (Psalms 120-134). The ‘ascents’ alluded to here are most likely to be the ones made by Israelites who journeyed to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the great annual festivals (see Leviticus 23). Presumably, these songs were sung along the way and marked the progress of the journey and expressed the concerns of the pilgrims as they remembered those at home and anticipated their arrival and experience in Jerusalem.

Eugene Peterson says that this group of Psalms enable us to reflect on two biblical definitions for the people of God that are extremely useful: disciple and pilgrim (from his book, “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction").

Disciple says we are people who spend our lives apprenticed to our master, Jesus Christ. We are in a growing, learning relationship with him, always.

Pilgrim tells us we are people who spend our lives going someplace. We are going to God, and the path for getting there is the Way, Jesus Christ.

So let’s take the first step on this journey. And to help us make it we turn to the first song in the collection, Psalm 120. It is not a beautiful song. It is harsh. It is discordant. But it gets us started.

Psalm 120 doesn’t actually speak of going on a pilgrimage. It does, however, express the feelings of a homesick person who has settled in a strange land. “Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek, that I live among the tents of Kebar! Too long have I lived among those who hate peace. I am for peace; but when I speak they are for war” (verses 5-7). The psalmist is in despair about the surroundings he finds himself in and longs to be in a better place. He recognises that the first step is to turn his back on the lifestyle he has chosen up until this point. 

The word the Bible uses for the moment we turn from our foolish ways to God and the life of his kingdom is repentance. 

Before I can follow the way of God and the right paths he has set for me (Psalm 23:3), I must turn from the self-centred course that I have travelled to date. There is therefore genius in making Psalm 120 the opening “song of ascents”. 

The first step on the journey to God begins with a radical “about turn.”

This is set out beautifully in a passage from the Yom Kippur liturgy entitled, “The Gates of Repentance.”

''Now is the time for turning. The leaves are beginning to turn from green to red to orange. The birds are beginning to turn and are heading once more toward the south. The animals are beginning to turn to storing their food for the winter. For leaves, birds and animals, turning comes instinctively. But for us, turning does not come so easily. It takes an act of will for us to make a turn. It means breaking old habits. It means admitting that we have been wrong, and this is never easy. It means losing face. It means starting all over again. And this is always painful. It means saying I am sorry. It means recognising that we have the ability to change. These things are terribly hard to do. But unless we turn, we will be trapped forever in yesterday's ways. 

Lord help us to turn, 

  from callousness to sensitivity, 

    from hostility to love, 

      from pettiness to purpose,

        from envy to contentment, 

          from carelessness to discipline, 

            from fear to faith. 

Turn us around, O Lord, and bring us back toward you. Revive our lives as at the beginning, and turn us toward each other, Lord, for in isolation there is no life.''

(Picture - Rannoch Moor)

a light on my path

 An old worthy in the Brethren Assembly that I attended as a young person would often say of Paul’s letter to the Romans, “He who knows his Romans can go anywhere!” I have pondered that statement occasionally over the years and returned to it the other day in my most recent read through of the letter. There is no question that the truth contained in its pages has had a significant impact on the church across the centuries. Augustine, Luther and John Wesley were all brought to saving faith when confronted with the gospel truths that flow from Paul’s heart through his pen. The riches of its doctrine (chapters 1-8) and its subsequent teaching on how to live a truly Christian life (in private, church and community, chapters 12-15) make the rather quaint statement above come to life with particular relevance. 

Of all that we read in this, the longest of Paul’s letters, chapters 1-3 have most impacted me over the last week or so.

Here is how I have come to understand it…

On a recent holiday to the Isle of Skye we spent a few hours at the foot of the magnificent Cuillin mountains. Anyone who has every ventured up onto those jagged peaks will tell you that a compass will always give faulty readings because of the high iron content in the rock. Therefore, because of that environment it is not possible to plot an accurate route across the Cuillin range with a compass.

In the early pages of his letter Paul delivers a devastating critique on the human race. We have an inner compass that points north to the living God and his truth. However, because of personal sin and the resulting culture we find ourselves in, that inner directive no longer offers an accurate reading (1:18-31). 

Romans 1:18-3:20 is a solemn account of the shipwreck of the human race. In an act of wilful rebellion we have done significant damage to our relationship with God (1:21-25). Floundering on the rocks of foolishness and futility, destruction was inevitable. However, in the fulness of time God sets out a rescue plan outlined in chapter 3:21-31. The rescue was secured through Christ and his atoning sacrifice (3:25). I believe that is why the early sentences of the letter are brimming over with this Good News (1:1-7). It has inherent power and authority (1:16-17), with the ability to turn sinners into saints (1:7). The only action required of us is to place our hand in the hand of Christ for him to pull us from the angry waves (3:22). Once rescued we are reclothed (in Christ and his righteousness) and brought into a safe and spacious place (3:26).

The chapters also give a glimpse into Paul’s heart. He recognises himself as a servant of God (1:1). At the core of Paul’s service is a deep-seated commitment to preaching the Good News.

Regarding this gospel, Paul is…

set apart 

   wholehearted

      prayerful

         obligated

            eager

               unashamed

(1:1, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16)

In other words, Paul is “all in.”

Called by God and equipped with this message, Paul and his companions “turn the world upside-down” (Acts 17:6)

“He who knows his Romans can go anywhere.”

How is that possible?

Perhaps its best summed in the lyric of a modern worship song - “Your truth is a compass that points me back north” 

(‘Captain’ - Hillsong).