Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Psalm 13 begins in utter darkness: "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?" (13:1-2). There is no darkness more dark than when God's shining face is hidden from you. No brilliance of earthly goods can illuminate the darkness that comes when God seems to have turned away from a beloved child.
And so this Psalm begins with some strikingly bad PR for God. God is late. God has forgotten. God is looking the other way. All this leaves the saint in tremendous pain. The pain is there every day, in fact.
From one perspective it is surprising that this Psalm made it into the Psalter. I can think of several corporations and presidents who would rig a cover-up before they would allow such bad press to tarnish such a great name. That's one perspective, the perspective that only strength deserves publicity. It is the perspective that is ashamed of weakness in God's people and a perspective that is ashamed of a God who is for the weak. But, of course, that perspective is not the gospel perspective.
From a gospel perspective this Psalm is an exceedingly reasonable contribution to the ancient Church's hymn book. For here we find the whole Church (remember, this is the Psalter) taking upon its lips the experience of one of its weakest members--the King of Israel no less! This dark, personal experience of David's overflows the banks of an individual story and floods the collective personality of God's people. One man's lament becomes the lament of all. One man's sufferings become the sufferings of all. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ accounts for this, for only because of the gospel are we all allowed to be as weak as the weakest of us. "Mourn with those who mourn" (Romans 12:15). And are they not also Christ's sufferings we share?
There is something else about this Psalm that sticks out only because of the gospel: the lamentation is Godward. The Psalmist does not complain about God to man. He complains about God to God. Nor does the Psalmist wait until he is better to go to God. He exposes his raw wounded heart while it remains raw and wounded. How does he know that God is not ashamed of his weakness? Only because of the gospel, that gospel which God had promised long before the incarnation, "promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures" (Romans 1:2). It is the gospel that explains why Psalm 13 is in the Psalter, for here we again see God coming to us in our weakness, when our circumstances would have us charge God as unfaithful and have us measure him as more distant than our troubles, even in this disorienting state that our trials and weakness and faithlessness have concocted, God comes to us. That is the gospel! He revives and renews our faith. He does it not by lifting us up and out of our circumstances, no, not usually, but rather he comes and sits with us in them, showing us again his wounds. The wounds that make all our sufferings in faith a share in his own sufferings, the wounds that remind us that God has been good to us and will very soon renew the whole creation.
Psalm 13 ends not with a new earth (though it draws nearer every day) but with a new man: "I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me" (13:6). How did it happen? The weak drew near to the God who had graciously revealed himself to be a God who is not ashamed of their weakness. God then graciously drew near to the weak and revived their faith in him, his goodness, his gospel, his Christ.
Grace & peace, John
Friday, May 28, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
E-note 5/20: Search Committee
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ [don't forget the Potluck],
"It takes the entire church to provide a vague imitation of the glory of God...We need to be a corporate body, smitten with the glory of God, committed to the unity of the church, deluged by His love, and faithful as we walk together in obedience to Him, even in our suffering. We need to need other people less and love other people more." - Ed Welch
At the annual meeting this Sunday the seventy-plus members of TBC will work together to form a Pastoral Search Committee. According to the order set out in our church constitution, a search committee must be formed within three weeks of an announced resignation. The elders automatically have a place on the search committee, though some elders will be more active than others as travel prevents full participation. There is also a need then for two women and two men from the membership to be added to the committee. How those four will be selected is outlined below. By the time you leave the Annual Meeting on Sunday you should know the identity of the whole search committee. The process for Sunday then is as follows:
(1) Every member will be allowed to nominate one other member to the search committee. The nominations will happen from the floor of the meeting. You must be present Sunday to nominate another member who must also be present.
(2) Those individuals nominated may or may not accept the nomination. Every nominee has the right of refusal.
(3) Two columns of nominees will be written on a white board, a column of men and a column of women.
(4) All members present will then be given a ballot to vote for two of the women nominated and two of the men nominated.
(5) The two women with the most votes and the two men with the most votes will join the elders on the search committee. Vote counts will not be announced.
If you are a member of TBC, we certainly hope you will invest in the future of TBC by attending the meeting and nominating someone...or even be nominated yourself! If you are not a member of TBC, we would love to have you at the meeting so you might be encouraged by our unity and good order in pursuing God's will. To make the Annual Meeting a little easier for families, Janet Stowell has graciously stepped forward to provide some childcare and pizza for the children. If it is a sunny day, the playground and pizza should make things much easier. Yours in Christ, the Elders
"It takes the entire church to provide a vague imitation of the glory of God...We need to be a corporate body, smitten with the glory of God, committed to the unity of the church, deluged by His love, and faithful as we walk together in obedience to Him, even in our suffering. We need to need other people less and love other people more." - Ed Welch
At the annual meeting this Sunday the seventy-plus members of TBC will work together to form a Pastoral Search Committee. According to the order set out in our church constitution, a search committee must be formed within three weeks of an announced resignation. The elders automatically have a place on the search committee, though some elders will be more active than others as travel prevents full participation. There is also a need then for two women and two men from the membership to be added to the committee. How those four will be selected is outlined below. By the time you leave the Annual Meeting on Sunday you should know the identity of the whole search committee. The process for Sunday then is as follows:
(1) Every member will be allowed to nominate one other member to the search committee. The nominations will happen from the floor of the meeting. You must be present Sunday to nominate another member who must also be present.
(2) Those individuals nominated may or may not accept the nomination. Every nominee has the right of refusal.
(3) Two columns of nominees will be written on a white board, a column of men and a column of women.
(4) All members present will then be given a ballot to vote for two of the women nominated and two of the men nominated.
(5) The two women with the most votes and the two men with the most votes will join the elders on the search committee. Vote counts will not be announced.
If you are a member of TBC, we certainly hope you will invest in the future of TBC by attending the meeting and nominating someone...or even be nominated yourself! If you are not a member of TBC, we would love to have you at the meeting so you might be encouraged by our unity and good order in pursuing God's will. To make the Annual Meeting a little easier for families, Janet Stowell has graciously stepped forward to provide some childcare and pizza for the children. If it is a sunny day, the playground and pizza should make things much easier. Yours in Christ, the Elders
Friday, May 14, 2010
E-note 5/14: Not to us
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
Our call to worship this Sunday begins with these words: "Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." What is the ancient church of God saying here? Surely they were not presuming God was about to mistakenly attribute glory to them and they had to convince him otherwise. No. On the contrary, their emphatic "not to us" (emphatic by repetition) was a chastening of all remnants of entitlement that dwelled in their own hearts as they approached God. Thus they begin their praise by humbling themselves ("not to us") and exalting God ("but to your name"). To roll their poetic language into prose for a moment, they are saying, "Lord, there is nothing in us that entitles us to your blessing. All the mercy that covers our guilt, all the good we have done, all the well-being we enjoy, all the hope that lightens our suffering, all this is by your grace and your grace alone. It is given to us freely by your grace, not deservedly by our merits. So Lord, we resist here and now in public praise the temptation to take any glory to ourselves for all we have is from you and that only because of your covenant love and faithfulness to us, so to you be all the glory!"
Now that stretches the poetry of the Psalm a bit thin but I hope it clarifies how God's people rightly enter God's presence. We come to worship each Lord's Day not in order to put God in our debt, we come rather because God has come to us: "to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." Why is God alone worthy of glory? Because of his "love and faithfulness." This phrase is a reference to God's covenantal love. It speaks to how God initiates and maintains and fulfills a covenant of grace for his people. It speaks to how God bound himself (covenanted) to bring unworthy servants to himself in holiness and righteousness forevermore. This covenantal love and faithfulness of God's is not indiscriminately given to all. God's love is not an untended garden hose on a summer day, showering blessings on whoever is smart enough or lucky enough to get in the way. God's covenant love and faithfulness is toward those whom the Father has given to the Son before the creation of the world: "I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours" (John 17:9).
The focus of the Christian in worship then is not his own coming to God on the day of his conversion or his coming on any given Lord's Day. The focus of the Christian in worship is God's gracious coming to him. Without God's love and faithfulness toward us, we would never escape the corruption of the world nor the wrath of God. We would never know God or have God. So remember, as God calls you to worship this Sunday, Jesus has shed the blood of the covenant on your behalf so his eternal Father could now be your Father, his God your God (John 20:17). He alone is worthy of all glory, praise and honor. Yours in Christ, John
Our call to worship this Sunday begins with these words: "Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." What is the ancient church of God saying here? Surely they were not presuming God was about to mistakenly attribute glory to them and they had to convince him otherwise. No. On the contrary, their emphatic "not to us" (emphatic by repetition) was a chastening of all remnants of entitlement that dwelled in their own hearts as they approached God. Thus they begin their praise by humbling themselves ("not to us") and exalting God ("but to your name"). To roll their poetic language into prose for a moment, they are saying, "Lord, there is nothing in us that entitles us to your blessing. All the mercy that covers our guilt, all the good we have done, all the well-being we enjoy, all the hope that lightens our suffering, all this is by your grace and your grace alone. It is given to us freely by your grace, not deservedly by our merits. So Lord, we resist here and now in public praise the temptation to take any glory to ourselves for all we have is from you and that only because of your covenant love and faithfulness to us, so to you be all the glory!"
Now that stretches the poetry of the Psalm a bit thin but I hope it clarifies how God's people rightly enter God's presence. We come to worship each Lord's Day not in order to put God in our debt, we come rather because God has come to us: "to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." Why is God alone worthy of glory? Because of his "love and faithfulness." This phrase is a reference to God's covenantal love. It speaks to how God initiates and maintains and fulfills a covenant of grace for his people. It speaks to how God bound himself (covenanted) to bring unworthy servants to himself in holiness and righteousness forevermore. This covenantal love and faithfulness of God's is not indiscriminately given to all. God's love is not an untended garden hose on a summer day, showering blessings on whoever is smart enough or lucky enough to get in the way. God's covenant love and faithfulness is toward those whom the Father has given to the Son before the creation of the world: "I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours" (John 17:9).
The focus of the Christian in worship then is not his own coming to God on the day of his conversion or his coming on any given Lord's Day. The focus of the Christian in worship is God's gracious coming to him. Without God's love and faithfulness toward us, we would never escape the corruption of the world nor the wrath of God. We would never know God or have God. So remember, as God calls you to worship this Sunday, Jesus has shed the blood of the covenant on your behalf so his eternal Father could now be your Father, his God your God (John 20:17). He alone is worthy of all glory, praise and honor. Yours in Christ, John
Thursday, May 6, 2010
E-note 5/6: Potpourri
Dear friends in Christ,
A potpourri of items for this week's e-note.
First, I am excited to let you know that later this month Kevin Curtis will again lead a medical mission team to Kenya with MTW. They will be serving the people in the slums of Nairobi alongside the Kibera Reformed Presbyterian Church. This year the team will consist of two doctors, two nurses, a pharmacist, a medical student, two nursing students and the wife of the other doctor. The team is looking for donated over the counter medications and/or reading glasses. Any donated supplies can be left at the church (look for the marked box) and Kevin will pick them up on May 14th. A list of specific supplies needed can be e-mailed upon request.
Second, being out of town I almost forgot to tell you about Secretary's Week ("Administrative Professional's Week" if you are up-to-date). So three cheers for Judy Hunter, our indomitable secretary who executes a host of duties with genuine cheerfulness and much class. Cheers beside, let her know how much you appreciate her when you see her next.
Third, did you know that TBC just had an anniversary? Yes, 28 years! Soli Deo Gloria. How kind the Lord Jesus has been to open ears, soften hearts and redeem sinners here along the northern stretch of the Connecticut River Valley. Sunday we will insert in your bulletin our annual anniversary pics from the early days. It will be a veritable Who's Who, and even a little Guess Who, trip down memory lane.
Lastly, a woman in our fellowship needs several household items that you might have in new or gently-used condition. If you think you would be willing to discreetly help out, please e-mail me and I will send you the list and directions on how to help. See you Sunday. Yours in Christ, John
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
What do you think?
An Unmessianic Sense of Nondestiny
posted by Carl Trueman at Reformation 21
For many men of a certain age, the mid-life crisis is just that: a mid-life crisis, a time for despairing that youth, good looks and perhaps hair have gone, never to return. For me, however, the experience has been pretty positive so far: not only have I been able to hand on my old banger of car to my oldest son (thus making myself the greatest dad in the world), but I've also broken with my lifelong habit of driving pieces of junk until they disintegrate and purchased an inexpensive but decent sports car. Not quite sure how my wife let me get away with it; but the fact that my previous car leaked when it rained and the present Mrs T had told me that enough was enough and she was no longer prepared to `be dripped on' as we drove along in a storm one day, seemed to open up a great opportunity for sneaking a good car onto the driveway. As she rolled her eyes, she did say to me that a husband with a decent looking car is, from her perspective, better than one with a secret girlfriend and/or a not-so-secret toupee. I had to agree: there are indeed much worse forms of the mid-life crisis out there.
One other aspect of my MLC, and one that I have found extraordinarily helpful, is the death of ambition which, in my experience, it seems to have brought in its wake. The realization that one cannot be the best at everything, or even those things at which one used to be the best, is presumably a factor in quite a few MLCs; and for me this was a welcome liberation. I woke up one day a few years ago at the age of forty, and [read all here]
posted by Carl Trueman at Reformation 21
For many men of a certain age, the mid-life crisis is just that: a mid-life crisis, a time for despairing that youth, good looks and perhaps hair have gone, never to return. For me, however, the experience has been pretty positive so far: not only have I been able to hand on my old banger of car to my oldest son (thus making myself the greatest dad in the world), but I've also broken with my lifelong habit of driving pieces of junk until they disintegrate and purchased an inexpensive but decent sports car. Not quite sure how my wife let me get away with it; but the fact that my previous car leaked when it rained and the present Mrs T had told me that enough was enough and she was no longer prepared to `be dripped on' as we drove along in a storm one day, seemed to open up a great opportunity for sneaking a good car onto the driveway. As she rolled her eyes, she did say to me that a husband with a decent looking car is, from her perspective, better than one with a secret girlfriend and/or a not-so-secret toupee. I had to agree: there are indeed much worse forms of the mid-life crisis out there.
One other aspect of my MLC, and one that I have found extraordinarily helpful, is the death of ambition which, in my experience, it seems to have brought in its wake. The realization that one cannot be the best at everything, or even those things at which one used to be the best, is presumably a factor in quite a few MLCs; and for me this was a welcome liberation. I woke up one day a few years ago at the age of forty, and [read all here]
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