Lord, where are your promises? (PSALM 89)

For those joining us for the first time this summer, it is helpful to remember that we are in a series of preaching of psalms from the third book of psalms (ps 73-89). Today we continue this series with Psalm 89.

Although it begins with an expressive praise, which also contrasts with the atmosphere of volume III, this psalm remains a poignant lament testifying to a deep crisis of faith.

If we were to classify the psalms of the third collection into two categories: the psalms of praise and the psalms of lamentation; only four psalms among the seventeen would count as praise. And these praises are especially linked to happy memories and hopes :

In Psalm 84, the memory of the happiness experienced in the house of God reveals a hope of return to the temple in the context of exile. In Psalm 85, the forgiveness of the people's sins and the joy of returning to their country is celebrated in anticipation. In Psalm 86, the king of Israel prays and rejoices to obtain God's grace and help. In Psalm 87, the holy city loved by God, mother of all people is celebrated.

James H. Hutchinson describes « 4 optimistic psalms […] which radiate light in relation to Israeli institutions particularly lacking in times of exile: a temple, a country, a king, a city. ». The regret of a temple, a country, a king, a city are transcribed with a glimmer of hope in these psalms.

Except for these psalms and a few mentions of joy for example on feast days (81:2-6) or after the favorable intervention of God (Ps.79:13), the rest of the volume expresses rather lamentations, complaints, and supplications for help.

Basically two questions come up persistently in the volume from the beginning of the collection:

-   Why, O God, do you definitively reject us? Why are you angry with the flock of which you are the shepherd? (74:1)

-   How long, O God, will the adversary utter his insults, and the enemy continually despise your name? (74:10)

Why God do you hand us over to our/your enemies? And until when God will you let it happen?

By way of closing, Psalm 89 does not resolve the personal and collective questions that the psalmists echoed in the book, even if a few answers were provided to the many WHY?

For example, in Ps.78 and 81, readers/listeners of the collection are remembered that Israel regularly disobeyed the Lord by preferring to follow his evil plans rather than walking in the ways of God.

We also find these elements of response to the question WHY? in Psalm 89, particularly under the conditions stipulated in God's covenant with David:

« 31 If his sons forsake my law and do not walk in my rules, 32 if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments, 33 I will punish their transgressions with the rod and their faults with blows,

These conditions of God's covenant with his king were clearly stipulated to David and to Saul before him (1 Sam 8; 1 Sam 12; 2 Samuel 7 :11-16 ). Furthermore, the Old Testament makes numerous references to such conditions stipulated to the leaders and to the people of

Israel.

The successive kings of Israel having failed to honor their commitments, the terms of this alliance apply against their infidelity.

God abandoned the king and delivered the kingdom to the plunder of his enemies.

It is in this dramatic context that the psalmist writes the lament of Ps.89.

Let's see together in the text:

How does the psalmist still hope for the promises of the covenant when the throne is overthrown? How does the psalmist manage to praise God when the kingdom is delivered to its enemies? How does he manage to praise God when there is no longer an heir of the covenant in Israel?

Nowadays these questions are asked differently:

How can we keep faith when the goodness of the past has disappeared? How can we believe God's promises when everything is turned upside down? How can we believe in God’s covenant promises when everything is contrary?

PSALM 89

The psalmist's lament paradoxically begins with a fairly long eulogy of the eternal goodness of God and his alliance. The psalmist begins thus:

2  I will sing always the kindnesses of the Lord, my mouth will make known your loyalty of generation to generation.

3  Yes, I say it: “Kindness is built for always; you melt your loyalty in the sky."

4  I did alliance with the one I chose, I did this oath to my servant David:

5  “I will strengthen your descendants always and I will establish your throne for eternity.» – Pause.

The psalmist wishes to make known, through a praise that he desires to be constant in his mouth, the faithfulness and goodness of God. The durability of two of these characters of God is particularly emphasized in these few verses (rehearsals of “always”, “from generation to generation”, “for eternity”).

For the psalmist, as long as the sky covers the earth, the inhabitants of the earth (and particularly those of its people) will be able to count on the mercy and benevolence of God - V.3.

                     In other words:           God is faithful, so his goodness will last forever

The psalmist bases his praise on two reasons for infaillble trust despite the crisis of the kingdom:

1-     The sustainability of the Kingdom of God: the Kingdom of God is eternal

2-     The enduring nature of God’s covenant: God’s covenant is eternal

                                    I.             The sustainability of the Kingdom of God

(v.6 à19)

The psalmist's confidence in God's enduring mercy rests on his indisputable reign. From verses 6 to 18 the psalmist exalts the majesty, the power and the fear inspired by the Lord God. He thus recalls that the faithfulness of God is visible in the constancy of the world which he created and over which he reigns entirely in Sole Sovereign (as sole Lord).

                              a.    God is undisputed Lord throughout the universe (v.6-13)

The Kingdom of God extends from heaven to earth - (or from earth to heaven).

« 6 Heaven celebrates your marvelous works, Lord, and your faithfulness in the assembly of the saints. 7 For who in heaven can compare himself to the Lord? Who among the sons of God is like you? 8 God is formidable in the great assembly of saints, he is terrible for all those around him. »

“The assembly of saints” in heaven celebrates the wonders and faithfulness of God. No member of this heavenly assembly (no angel or cherubim or celestial being) can compare to the Lord God. The LORD God is terrible, the LORD God is terrible in the midst of those around him in the great assembly of the saints. If the angels who stand in the presence of God fear the Lord, how much more must we who dwell on the earth fear and worship the Lord God who reigns in heaven.

“ 9 O Lord, God of hosts, who is mighty like you? Lord, your faithfulness surrounds you. 10 It is you who master the pride of the sea; when its waves rise, it is you who calm them. »

« 12 The sky is yours, the earth is yours too; it is you who founded the world and what is in it. 13 You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon acclaim your name. »

There is no comparable person in the universe. The God who created the world has laid all the foundations that support it and maintains good order: “it is you who masters the pride of the sea”. No one other than God is capable of exercising such authority. This is what the disciples realized (more than 6 centuries later) when they asked Jesus this question: “Who then is this, to whom even the wind and the sea obey?” Mark 4:41

The world that God created is entirely subject to him.

Furthermore, the entire universe celebrates the creative power of God. The sky, the earth and all the diversity they contain from North to South, from the arid mountains of Tabor to the snow-capped mountains of Hermon, all the splendors of the universe give glory to their creator.

Just this summer, we hiked with friends in the mountains, and I remember our admiration of the panorama at every viewpoint that could provide a break. Then we continued our hike to a mountain lake where our swim was a delight after a hot day of hiking. And finally we camped there under a clear sky in the mountains. As we contemplated the entire expanse of the Milky Way we drowned ourselves in deeper and deeper discussions. In this context, we were particularly aware of our smallness in the face of the immensity of God's creation, in the face of the immensity of its variety and the immensity of its beauty.

Everything God has created is admirable and celebrates his glory.

The Lord God reigns in the heavens, the Lord God also reigns on the earth.

                              b.   God is Lord undisputed by earthly kingdoms (v.11-15)

The psalmist knows the history of Israel. He remembers how God freed his people from their slavery in Egypt, the dominant regional power of its time. By great acts of judgment (Ex.6 :6-7 ; Ex :14 :13-18), God manifested his power in Egypt and made his glory shine so that his name would be proclaimed throughout the whole earth (Ex.9:16) - watch the preaching series on Exodus interrupted by the summer break or simply reread Exodus-.

« 11 You have crushed Egypt, you have pierced it, you have scattered your enemies with the power of your arm. » [...]

« 14 Your arm is powerful, your hand strong, your right hand high.

15  Justice and right form the basis of your throne, goodness and truth are before you. »

Unlike the domination of the kings of the earth, the Kingdom of God asserts justice, right, truth and goodness. We find these values in the law God gave to Israel (cf. law of Moses Ex.21;22;23; particularly Ex.23:1-9). Through his law God teaches Israel the practice of justice. In particular, he defends the rights of the weakest (widows, orphans and foreigners) and condemns favoritism, abuse of power and the infidelity of his people.

                              c.     God is the Lord celebrated on earth and in heaven (v.6-8; v.16-19)

« 6 Heaven celebrates your marvelous works, Lord, and your faithfulness in the assembly of the saints. 7 For who in heaven can compare himself to the Lord? Who among the sons of God is like you? 8 God is formidable in the great assembly of saints, he is terrible for all those around him. »

Notice the parallel between the celebration of God in heaven at the beginning of this section and the celebration of God by His people to close this section.

16  Blessed are the people who know how to acclaim you: they walk in your light, Lord, 17 he always rejoices in your name and glory in your righteousness, 18 for it is you who make its beauty and its power; it is your favor that raises our strength. 19 Our protector belongs to the Lord, our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel.

The people belonging to the Lord thus join the heavenly assembly in the celebration and acclamation of the glory of God. His people take pride in belonging to the only God who reigns in majesty in the heavens, the One who founded the universe as we can observe it (and beyond what we know), the God who established its foundations, and who rules as Lord over it. The Almighty Power of the Lord God crushes all the powers of the earth before his people.

Consequently, if the Lord has made promises, nothing can prevent them from being kept. The reign of God is incontestable, these decrees are irrevocable. The psalmist therefore remembers God's covenant with David and expects to see God keep his promises. Nothing and no one can stop him.

                                    II.           The enduring nature of God’s covenant

v. (19-38)

The praise of the psalmist evokes a second reason for confidence just as infallible as that first: God will be faithful to his covenant. God's covenant is eternal.

4 I did alliance with the one I chose, I did this oath to my servant David: 5 “I will strengthen your descendants always and I will establish your throne for eternity.» – Pause.

The Lord God, Faithful and Good, having taken an oath to establish " forever " a descendant of the line of David on the throne, the psalmist is certain that this promise will be kept!! He cannot doubt the faithful character of God nor the sure character of what he has promised. A king from the line of David will reign over Israel forever, and his throne will be established by the Lord himself.

               In other words:            God promised it, so there will always be a king in Israel

The psalmist relies on God's covenant with David which can be reread in 2 Samuel chapter 7 (precisely v.8-16). When David wanted to build a house for the ark of the Lord, God made this covenant with him:

«Your house and your kingdom will be established forever after you, your throne will be established forever.» (v.16 of 2 Samuel 7) (S.21)

The psalmist takes up the terms of this covenant and remembers the promises that accompany it. Three major points can be noted:

                  a.    God has consecrated his king (V.19-21)

19 Our protector belongs to the Lord, our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel. 20

You spoke to your faithful in a vision, you said: “I have helped a hero, I have chosen a young man from among the people. 21 I found my servant David, and anointed him with my holy

oil.

The psalmist recalls the story of the election of David (reread in 1 Samuel 16). While David, the youngest of his siblings, looked after his father's sheep, God directed the prophet Samuel to appoint David as king of Israel. Samuel secretly consecrated David with anointing oil, reserved for the consecration of objects of worship, high priests and kings. Anointing oil is poured on the head as a representation of the holiness that is necessary for God's service as head of his people. Consecration makes the high priest and the king representatives of God for the people.

                  b.   God promised to support his king (V.22-28)

In verses 22-28, the psalmist recalls God's commitment to support David and in particular to support his victory against his enemies. The Kingdom of Israel must extend to the ends defined by God (Ex.23.31) from the Red Sea to the Euphrates. And King David will be able to count on God to elevate the kingdom of Israel above other kingdoms.

22 My hand will support him and my arm will strengthen him. 23 The enemy will not be able to deceive him, nor the wicked will oppress him. 24 I will crush his

adversaries before him and I will strike down those who hate him. 25 My faithfulness and my goodness will accompany him, and his strength will increase through my

name. 26 I will extend his dominion over the sea, and his power over the rivers. 27 He himself will call on me: 'You are my father, my God and the rock of my salvation!' 28 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of kings on earth.

                  c.    God promised to preserve the king's dynasty (v.29-38)

29 I will always preserve my kindness to him, and my alliance will be assured to him. 30 I will give him eternal descendants, and his throne will last as long as heaven.

[..]

34 but I will not withdraw my kindness from him and I will not betray my faithfulness, 35 I will not break my covenant and I will not change what has come out of my lips.

36 I once took an oath by my holiness, I will not lie to David. 37 His descendants will always exist; his throne will be like the sun before me, 38 like the moon it will be established forever. The witness in heaven is faithful.” - Break.

The durability of this alliance is as certain as the faithfulness of God. God's commitments here are infallible. God took an oath on his holiness. Suffice to say that there is nothing more covered than this alliance from now on. There is nothing more precious, nothing more glorious than the holiness of God. God cannot lie. He is holy.

Once again heaven bears witness to the faithfulness of God. The throne of David's descendants will be before God like the sun and the moon, that is to say, it will be forever, even when they are no longer visible to us, they are there.

                                    III.                           And yet, we no longer see your goodness Lord!!

(V.39-53)

The psalmist's crisis of faith is all the more tragic because the contrast between the preceding serenity and the lament that follows is striking. What the psalmist observes in reality is not pleasing either for the king or for the people he leads. The king's crown is on the ground, the city walls have fallen, the fortresses have not held up against the enemies. The kingdom is defeated, it is destroyed and it is stripped of even its members by deportation. The promises of a throne and a king established eternally are far away. God rejected the king, put him to shame, and handed the kingdom over to Israel's enemies.

39 And yet, you rejected, you pushed away the one you had designated by anointing, you were angry with him! 40 You broke up the covenant with your servant, you have

dishonored his crown by throwing it to the ground. 41 You have destroyed all its walls, you

have laid its fortresses in ruins. 42 All passers-by rob him, he is an object of contempt for his neighbors. 43 You have strengthened his adversaries, you have made all his enemies

happy; 44 you turned back the edge of his sword and did not support him in battle. 45 You

have put an end to his splendor and you have thrown his throne to the ground; 46 you have shortened his youth, you have covered him with shame. - Break.

The contrast is poignant!!!

Where have your promises gone Lord? Where is the established dynasty of David? Why did you abandon him to your enemies?

Translation « you broke up the covenant with your servant” seems to indicate in the mouth of the psalmist that God has not kept his promise, even though he explicitly stated that he would never break his covenant in verse 35. « I will not break my covenant, nor change what has gone out of my lips.”

Everything is turned upside down! The psalmist is tormented!! His faith is shaken!!

God cannot contradict himself like this. He is not a man to lie!! He cannot abandon his promises!! It cannot be defeated by our adversaries!!

These decrees are incontestable. He rules over everything.

The situation is dramatic for the psalmist. It is not only about the crisis of the kingdom but it is also about the deep crisis of confidence that it causes, doubt heartbreaking that it arouses, uncertainty disturbing that it creates in such a situation. A situation experienced one day or another by all believers.

How can we reconcile the fall of the Kingdom and the promises of God in his alliance?

In other words, if God does not keep His promises, how can I still trust Him?

Notice that under the conditions of his benevolence to verse 33, God announces that he will punish the transgressions of the kings succeeding David by the stick (and by blows), and not by the sharp sword. The stick is used to correct, the sword is used to cut. God promised to correct David's descendants if they abandoned his law, but he also promised that his covenant would survive them, that it would never be broken.

Other translations of verse 40 offer: « you disdained / you pushed back the covenant with your servant” translations that are more respectful of the sustainability of this alliance.

Moreover, the psalmist maintains his trust in God despite the circumstances. The psalmist still hopes for divine intervention in accordance with his covenant despite all situations to the contrary. Who else could come to the kingdom's aid?

47 How long, O LORD, will you remain hidden? How long will your fury burn like fire? 48 Remember how long my life is and for what nothingness you created all men. 49 What man can live without seeing death? Who can save his soul from hell? - Break.

The question HOW LONG? still has not received a response. The psalmist does not know how much longer he will have to hope.

Yet he chooses to rely on God's faithfulness to see the restoration of the kingdom. And even though death robs him of seeing that day, he expects God to restore the kingdom according to his promise. He expects God to restore order.

The psalmist cannot bring himself to the idea that God has abandoned his promise, he cannot bring himself to the idea that God has abandoned his people, or even to the idea that God has been defeated. He is convinced that God will keep his Word. He still remembers the past actions of God.

50 Where, Lord, are your former kindnesses, those which, in your faithfulness, you promised by oath to David? 51 Remember, Lord, the shame of your servants! Remember that I am

responsible for all these numerous peoples! 52 Remember the insults of your enemies, O LORD, their insults against the steps of the one you have anointed!

The psalmist says to God in other words:

although I no longer see your promised goodness Lord, those which we have already tasted in the past, although I no longer see the fulfillment of your promises, I will continue to trust, to hope in You. I will implore you until the end, whatever that end may be! Remember your promises. Remember us. God has not forgotten his covenant.

IV.        How can we believe God's promises when everything is turned upside down?

With more than 2000 years of hindsight, we know that it was only 600 years after the destruction of the temple and the exile in Babylon that God fulfilled his promises to David's heir. His people have obtained the full fulfillment of the covenant promises in the person of Jesus Christ “the Root of David.” Through Him, in His great mercy, God has extended His new covenant to all peoples and nations.

2. Corinthians 1.20 :

« Indeed, for all the promises of God, it is in him that the “yes” is found and it is [therefore] also through him that we say “amen” to God, for his glory.. ».

2.Pierre 1 :11 :

“For thus will entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be largely granted to you »

In Jesus Christ all the promises of God are fulfilled. In Jesus all the terms of the alliance are respected and come true. He is the Messiah (divine anointing), Son of God (Beloved), firstborn among all men. Christ is exalted to the right hand of the Father (Acts 2.33), where he sits to reign over the world eternally (1 Peter 3:22; Revelation 11:15). It is through Christ that we also share in the eternal kingdom promised by God to David.

We realize with this psalm that God's perspective on the course of events is a perspective of eternity. Infinite eternity in the past and infinite eternity in the future, in comparison to our perspective limited by the duration of our days and by our contexts.

This psalm then becomes an absolutely valuable resource in times of crisis for us today. When we find ourselves in a situation where doubt sets in and questions are heard louder than God's faithfulness, we can take inspiration from this psalm to pray to God. In such circumstances, the perseverance of the psalmist despite the apparent failure of divine promises is an example to follow.

Faced with the heartbreaking doubt that passes through him, I identify several good reflexes of the psalmist:

1)  Remembering God's Character

At the moment when his faith is most shaken, the psalmist decides to take up his pen and remember the deeds of the Lord. He began by remembering the majesty and power of God, the very ones he celebrated in the temple before its destruction. He remembered his faithfulness in the past and his goodness from generation to generation.

Anchoring his thoughts in God in times of crisis allowed him to find reasons for praise despite his torments. In times of doubt, we also have God's Word to remember His constant acts of faithfulness and mercy toward His people.

2)  Speak openly to God

The psalmist also very honestly expresses his perplexity at the success of God's adversaries. He does not cover his feelings or his doubts with a veil of propriety before God. On the contrary, in his moving lament, he fully confessed to God his incomprehension at the apparent failure of his promises. His bitterness is real and he does not hide it from God.

As children of God we do not have to be afraid to express to Him all our struggles, our fears, our pain and our resentments. I believe in fact that God prefers to hear the expression of our deepest feelings (even anger) rather than listening to decorous formulas that we express from lip service.

David A Seamands, writes: “God is not the author of all events, but he is indeed the master of all events. This implies that nothing has ever happened to you that God cannot and will not use for your good, as long as you do not leave it in His hands. ", Healing emotional wounds.

God invites us to surrender everything to Him. Even doubt or anger...Everything.

3) Firmly hope for the goodness of God

Despite the lack of immediate resolution of the tragic dilemma between the hope of the fulfillment of God's promises and the apparent failure of them, the psalmist chooses to maintain his trust in the Lord until the end. .

The Lord is not overwhelmed by the course of events. They are part of a much larger story. His vision is broader than ours. God is sovereign over all the events of your life. In his faithfulness, He will fulfill his promises in due time and in every situation he will keep you close to Him. Like the psalmist who found the resources for his praise in God, God will support you and he will support your faith.

Pray that God strengthens your faith in every circumstance.

In his book, If You Want to Go Far, Ralph Shallis writes that: “Faith is forged in pain. Far from making it disappear, it stimulates it. » Another man I like to quote, Georges Muller, prays like this: “May the Lord preserve in our souls the living memory of these deliverances; and may each new mark of his faithfulness serve to increase our confidence in him. ", the Audacity of Faith.

4) Praise God

Notice that in his struggle of faith, the psalmist begins his lament with praise and an exercise of great discipline and piety, he also ends his lament with brief praise.

With more than 2 thousand years later we say with the psalmist and the great assembly of saints

(read with me v.53)

53 Blessed be the Lord forever! Amen! Amen!

The Gospel: Our Food and Satisfaction (Psalm 81)

I’ve been in Colorado these last two weeks visiting churches that support our ministry here, and looking for support for the building project, as I said before. I talked with a lot of pastors I know and love, and a lot of individuals I’d never met before. My last day there, Wednesday, I had lunch with the pastor of Park Church in Denver, a guy named Gary McQuinn. Gary and I have known each other for a long time, but always in the context of ministry—we hadn’t had a lot of time to really get to know each other.

During this lunch, we were chatting about our lives, about our families, and we somehow got on the subject of climbing. Jack and I go climbing fairly regularly, and Gary said that’s pretty much all his family does together for fun. So he just looked at me at one point and said, “What are you doing after this?” I had to go get a couple of things at the store, but otherwise my last day was pretty free. Gary said, “Want to go climbing?” We didn’t have time to go to the mountains, but his house and one of the biggest climbing gyms in Denver were just up the road.

So Gary took me climbing. We had a great time—we were doing big walls, taking turns belaying each other. After every climb there was a break as we moved to a new route, got the ropes set up. And Gary started talking about how climbing has helped him to understand the gospel, and how it’s given him an opportunity to teach his kids about the gospel. It was so encouraging, this ordinary physical activity that we both love, being a springboard for conversations between two pastors about the gospel.

That happened over and over on this trip.

I said all that to explain what I’d like to do today; I’ve decided to change plans a little bit. If you were in home group this week, you know that I was supposed to preach on Psalm 87. The last time I preached on that text was in 2018. But it turns out—something I hadn’t realized—that other, visiting pastors have preached on Psalm 87 at least twice in the last two years. 

So I’ve decided not to preach on that text—we’re going to do this one with no prep. We’re going to go to Psalm 81.

And the reason I want to go to Psalm 81 is, at least in part, because of these conversations I’ve had this week which have been so encouraging for me. We can never understand the gospel well enough. We are always learning to understand the gospel. And we always need to learn to understand the gospel better, because our natural inclinations will always fight against this good news, even if we believe it.

There’s something in every Christian, no matter how good our theology is, that makes us want to try and work as hard as we can to do what we need to do, in order to get into God’s good graces. We work hard to try to be morally righteous enough for God to want to save us. We do our best to be “good Christians,” to get Jesus’s attention, so that he might just love us and keep on loving us.

This is our natural mode of thought: when we discover what the gospel actually is, we naturally think, What do I have to do for God to choose to show ME grace?  It’s the same question the jailer asked Paul and Silas in Acts 16.30: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Their answer is beautiful—v. 31:  

“BELIEVE in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved...”

In Psalm 81, we see a beautiful description of what this means. In this psalm, the psalmist Asaph not only tells us what to believe—long before Christ—but how to go about it. And as so often happens in the Bible, the answer is wildly different from what we would expect.

This psalm is actually very similar to many of the oracles of the Old Testament prophets. The OT prophets’ main function was not to predict the future, but rather to call God’s people to covenant faithfulness (which is very clearly the point of this psalm). And the first way in which the psalm calls God’s people to faithfulness is by describing God’s faithfulness to them.

The Faithfulness of God (v. 1-7)

81 To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph. 

1  Sing aloud to God our strength; 

shout for joy to the God of Jacob! 

2  Raise a song; sound the tambourine, 

the sweet lyre with the harp. 

3  Blow the trumpet at the new moon, 

at the full moon, on our feast day. 

Asaph begins his psalm by reminding Israel of the feasts they keep—Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day. He calls on Israel to worship God with joy during the feasts.

There were lots of feasts for the people of Israel in the Old Testament, and every one of these feasts reminded the people of God’s past and present grace to them, and actually foreshadowed what Jesus would do when he came.

For example, between the Feast of Trumpets and the Feast of Tabernacles, the Israelites observed the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23.23-44). The “stars” of the Day of Atonement were two goats. One goat was killed for the sins of the people. The idea is that the people’s sin—their disobedience to God’s commands, their moral imperfection—deserves punishment, but that in his grace, God is willing to accept punishment by proxy: he accepts to have a goat killed in the place of the people. That goat’s life is the price of the people’s forgiveness.

The second goat featured during the Day of Atonement is actually set free—released into the desert to find its way back to life. This goat’s life represents the success of the people’s forgiveness: that when God forgives his people, on the basis of this sacrifice they had offered, they are set free from their sin and forgiven.

So Asaph begins his psalm by reminding the people of the feasts they kept, which would very naturally remind them of God’s goodness and grace to them.

Next, he reminds them of the various ways God had been good to them in the past, v. 4.

4  For it is a statute for Israel, 

a rule of the God of Jacob. 

5  He made it a decree in Joseph 

when he went out over the land of Egypt. 

I hear a language I had not known: 

6  “I relieved your shoulder of the burden; 

your hands were freed from the basket. 

7  In distress you called, and I delivered you; 

I answered you in the secret place of thunder; 

I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah 

This word “Selah” marks a pause. It’s a moment in the psalm—possibly an instrumental break—in which the people are meant to stop and think about what had just been said. It’s a good point—a good practice to get into. Whenever we’re singing on Sunday, and there’s an instrumental break, we shouldn’t just sit there listening to the person playing the guitar or the piano; that’s a perfect time to think about what we just finished singing, because what we just sang is true. It’s the reason for our worship.

During this pause, here’s what the people are meant to reflect on: God has always been faithful to his people. He rescued them from slavery in Egypt when they had no other hope of being rescued. He delivered them when they were in danger. He provided for their needs in the desert. Every time, in every need, God was always there, protecting them and providing for them.

The conclusion the people are meant to reach is obvious: if God is this kind of God—a God who is always faithful to his people—then his people should trust him, and love him, and obey him.

The Grace of God (v. 8-10)

8  Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! 

O Israel, if you would but listen to me! 

9  There shall be no strange god among you; 

you shall not bow down to a foreign god. 

This is a simple repetition of the first of the Ten Commandments—the people of Israel were to worship one God, and one God only. 

The question is, Why? 

Have you ever wondered why the God of the Bible demands allegiance of his people? A lot of people have a hard time when they see this in the Bible. They see God saying things like, “Worship me only; praise me only; serve me only,” and they think, Wow! God sure is self-centered! 

It’s important to remember that what would be sin for us is not necessarily sin for God. If we demanded that kind of allegiance and loyalty, it would be narcissism, because no human being actually deserves that kind of attention.

Here’s the difference though: the Bible tells us what kind of God our God is. Firstly, because he is morally perfect, he actually deserves our loyalty and love. 

But that’s not all. Think of the most egocentric ruler you can imagine. Imagine this ruler demanded the same kind of allegiance from the people in his nation as God demands of his people. What would be this human ruler’s motivation for demanding that kind of loyalty? 

To serve himself. To serve his own need for praise and love.

That’s not how God works. He doesn’t need our praise—his motivations for demanding our worship are far better than anyone would expect.

God speaks prophetically through the psalmist here, and he tells us precisely what kind of God he is, and why he demands our worship. V. 9 again:

9  There shall be no strange god among you; 

you shall not bow down to a foreign god. 

10  I am the Lord your God, 

who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

You see, God does not call his people to worship him in order to be served by them, or to fill some need in himself. 

He calls his people to worship him so that HE might serve THEM.

Back in February we went to visit my family in Florida. My dad decided to smoke a brisket while we were there: he has a smoker on the back porch, and he bought a fifteen-pound brisket that he spent over 12 hours smoking. When he finally pulled it out, he asked for help cutting it up. And as we’re cutting, obviously, we’re taking little bites. It was the most delicious meat I’ve ever had. Even Loanne, who doesn’t like meat very much, couldn’t stop. 

So what did we do? We called the kids. They were playing, and didn’t really want to come at first, but we kept calling. We said, “Kids, get in here—you have got to try this, you’ve never tasted anything like this.”

That’s God’s attitude when he calls us to worship him.

He created us to be satisfied by his glory; so if he demanded anything else but that we worship him alone, he would not be loving us well. But because he loves us, he orders us to do the only thing which can satisfy us forever: to worship him alone.

Although he has need or obligation to do it, God actually takes this commandment to worship him alone, spins it around, and turns it into a gift for those who obey.

Isn’t this different from the way we usually think about worship? If you have ever had the opportunity to lead worship in a church in the past, you’ve probably had this experience. The worship team meets before the service to go over the songs, and to talk about what they’re doing. And either before or during the service, someone will pray, and will often say something like, “Father, we’re not here for ourselves. We’re here for you. We’re here to serve you. We’re not here to receive anything from you, but to give you what you deserve.”

This kind of prayer has become so common in church culture that we think nothing of it—and it’s totally unbiblical. 

That’s the way normal, human rulers function: they demand allegiance to serve themselves. But that’s not how God calls us to worship him. He says, “Come to me, and worship me, SO THAT I MIGHT FEED YOU. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”

As the author of the letter to the Hebrews says (Hebrews 11.6):  

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he REWARDS those who seek him. 

If we want to please God, we must first and foremost come to him to be fed by him. This is the kind of God we serve. And yet, his people have always resisted his grace.

The Gospel: “Be Satisfied in Me” (v. 11-16)

11  “But my people did not listen to my voice; 

Israel would not submit to me. 

12  So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, 

to follow their own counsels. 

13  Oh, that my people would listen to me, 

that Israel would walk in my ways! 

Our stubborn hearts refuse God at every turn—they assume God is not good, and he is not calling us to himself for our good. 

We’re like children who refuse to eat their vegetables, and who assume their parents are mean for making them do it. Kids don’t have the wisdom to see that the vitamins in vegetables, the things they need to be healthy and to survive, are worth getting through any means necessary, and they don’t have taste that’s developed enough to recognize that vegetables are actually delicious. (Most of them.) 

That’s what we’re like. God tells us what to do, and we hear his commandments, and imagine they are trying to stifle our joy, to stop us from “being ourselves” (as if that would actually be better!). 

We trust the desires of our own hearts above all things, and we don’t realize that our hearts are stubborn and twisted, and if we give them what they want, they will starve us. 

So you can hear the longing in God’s voice as he says, Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! Why does he want his people to listen to him? Why does he want Israel to walk in his ways?

Because he wants them to be happy.

V. 13 again:

13  Oh, that my people would listen to me, 

that Israel would walk in my ways!

14  I would soon subdue their enemies 

and turn my hand against their foes. 

15  Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him, 

and their fate would last forever. 

16  But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, 

and with honey from the rock I would SATISFY you.” 

One of the humbling things about becoming an adult is realizing how often your parents were right about a whole range of things. They were never perfect, but quite often, just through the fact that they’d lived longer than us, they knew things we didn’t. When we were younger, we didn’t believe them (because of course they were old, they didn’t understand how the world of today worked). Then we grow up, and are surprised to remember conversations and think, You know, Dad was right. Mom was right.

How many times did my parents say, “I wish you would just listen to me?” Not because they wanted me to be miserable, but because they knew more than me, and wanted me to be happy.

That’s what the psalmist is getting at here: that’s what the gospel is. It’s God saying, “I wish you’d listen, because I know better. If you would just listen, you’d find provision in me, you’d find protection in me, you’d find satisfaction in me. You won’t find those things in yourself. Come to me, and listen, and I will satisfy you.”

Do you see what this means? 

I mentioned Gary McQuinn earlier, the lead pastor at Park Church in Denver. I’ll never forget a conversation we had a few years ago (I didn’t know him very well at the time). I was sharing with him that this year has been a difficult one for me personally; there have been some pastoral cases that have weighed on me, plus just the usual fatigue that comes with having a new baby at home (Zadie was about two months old).

Gary modeled the gospel for me in that conversation we had. At one point as I was sharing this, he thanked me for being honest, and he said, “I just want you to know that you don’t ever have to try and give us the impression that you’ve got it all together. You don’t have to be doing well. We are here, and we’ll support you even if you’re totally falling apart. We’re not going anywhere.”

Brothers and sisters, in this psalm, God is telling us the same thing.

The gospel is rest. The gospel is coming to God to be fed.

The gospel is not for those who work; it is for those who are tired of working.

It’s not for the strong; it’s for those who have no more strength.

It’s not for those who provide; it’s for those who are hungry, and who can’t fill their hunger.

It’s not for the moral or the righteous; it’s for those who need righteousness but can’t drum it up on their own.

Few things could be more difficult for modern, educated, cultured, self-sufficient people to accept—they don’t know what to do when someone tells them that they have nothing to do, because Jesus did it all for them. And part of it is the very real fact that it shouldn’t work this way: if God really is holy, and we really are accountable to him, then we shouldn’t be able to just come rest.

So how can God possibly make such a statement? How can he say, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it”? How can Jesus say, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”?

The answer to that question is the reason why the gospel is “good news”—because the gospel tells us that whatever God requires for us to belong to him and be saved by him and be fed by him, Jesus has already done for us.

He lived the life we should have lived—the humble, gracious, holy life God commands us all to live, and which none of us have. 

He took on himself the sin of our arrogance and pride, our rejection of God, our so-called and imaginary self-sufficiency, and was killed for those sins. 

He gave us his perfect life in exchange for our sin, and on the basis of Christ’s perfect life which was given to us—like a coat we put on and wear from here on out—God has declared us as righteous as Christ.

So when we come to Christ in faith, he finally tells us the words we’ve been wanting to hear our whole lives, without even being aware of it: there truly is nothing left to do. There is nothing we can do to make God love us any more—he already loves with an infinite love. There’s nothing we can bring to the table to add to what he has already done. When Jesus said  “It is finished” on the cross, he meant it.

It is FINISHED.

Now the logical question at this point is, “If that’s true, what about obedience? Why do we still have to obey God’s commandments if Jesus has already obeyed them for us?”

Good question.

So many people see what I’ve just said—an absolute affirmation of God’s grace being totally sufficient for us—as the enemy of obedience, but it’s the exact opposite: God’s absolute, all-sufficient grace is the only thing that makes our obedience possible.

God knows that the only lasting motivation for obedience is grace. 

One of my best friends in the world is a guy named Jeff Otero; he and his wife Jill have been here to visit us several times. Jeff is one of the most gracious people I have ever met. I have never seen him act out of self-interest; he is always thinking of others, and how he can serve others. 

And I realized recently that something has happened to me over the time I’ve spent with him. When I spend time with Jeff, I find myself observing him. I listen to how he talks to his wife. I listen to how he talks about his church. I watch how he serves others.

And because I admire him and I’m thankful for him, I find myself wanting to be like him, wanting to model my own life after his.

This is as natural as breathing, and it happens every time we are in the presence of grace, and truly see it for what it is.

God has given us free and perfect access to himself in the finished work of Jesus Christ. And as we live with him, as we walk with him, as we grow with him, as we continue to understand more and more what he did for us in Christ, we WILL want to be like him.

As we grow to know Christ, we will want to be like him. We will begin to love what he loves and hate what he hates. We’ll find holiness pleasant, and sin repulsive.

And that is how when God calls us to obey, he describes that experience by saying, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”

I talked about this a few weeks ago in our series on work, but I’ll say it again: it’s not hard to do what you want to do. 

It’s one thing to work hard because you know you’ll be sanctioned or fired if you don’t. 

It’s quite another thing to work hard because you LOVE your job. 

The person who loves his job looks forward to going to work every day; he has no trouble going the extra mile to finish something that needs finishing. 

For the person who loves their job and is motivated by a passion for their profession, work is rest—work feeds their passion, feeds their joy, feeds their happiness.

This Christian knows from experience that obedience brings joy, because it allows us to know God more deeply and delight in him more fully, with a clean conscience. When we understand the grace of Christ, and we begin to love what he loves—because what he loves is actually worth loving—the work of obedience isn’t just light; it’s refreshing. 

Nothing is more satisfying than wanting the right thing, and then doing exactly what you want.

Conclusion

Make no mistake—we are all hungry. We all want something. And this psalm is asking each of us a question: 

What is it you want, and how is Jesus better? What are you hungry for, and how can God fill you better?

Maybe you want God’s affection. Maybe you believe that God will save you, but that ultimately, he’s not all that happy about it, because he sees you as you really are: he sees your sin and your guilt and your failures, and the only reason he’s saving you is because he said he would.

So you work as hard as you can to do what he calls you to do, to earn your way back into his love and his good graces.

And you’re always exhausted, and you’re always thirsty for more, because no matter how hard you work, it never seems to be good enough.

Jesus is better than that. God has always loved his people perfectly—the only reason we received his wrath instead of his love is because we sinned against him. And Jesus took that sin on himself on the cross. 

It’s not that God wasn’t angry against your sin; he was. And he poured out every drop of wrath against your sin when he poured out his wrath on Christ on the cross. So if you have faith in him today, there is no more wrath for you. There is nothing left for you to do. All you have is the perfect love of a perfect Father for you, his child—imperfect, yes, but declared perfect in Christ. There is nothing you could do to make his love for you any better, or any worse.

So he is inviting you to come and be filled—be filled by his grace, be filled by the blessing of obedience to his commands, be filled by a knowledge of him that grows deeper and deeper as you receive from his hand.

Maybe you want freedom. Maybe you see any rule given to you as a hindrance to your joy. Maybe you really want to believe that you are a beautiful and unique snowflake, and you are perfect just the way you are.

But you know deep down that you’re not. You’re missing something. You aren’t complete; you aren’t perfect. You want to be free from any and all rules, but the freedom you crave is starving you. 

The freedom Jesus offers is better than the freedom you think you want. 

Jesus is honest with you and tells you that you aren’t perfect; you do need something outside yourself to make you more than you are. And the one thing that actually could satisfy you—the thing you were created to do, seeing and loving the glory of God—is out of your reach, because you are a sinner, and you have fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3.23). 

So Jesus took care of that sin for you. He has done what needed to be done for you to finally see what you were created to see, and to be satisfied by what you were created to enjoy. To anyone who comes to Jesus in faith, he gives a new heart, with new desires. 

To put it simply, Christian freedom is not the freedom to do whatever you please; it’s the freedom to finally want desire you ought to desire.

So if you want freedom, come to him and be free—it’s the only freedom which actually is freedom.

Whatever it is you desire this morning, good or bad, Jesus is better. 

And his call to you this morning is to let go of everything you think you have to offer and to come to him empty-handed, knowing that there is nothing left for you to do, nothing you can bring him, but that everything is already done for you, and everything is already given to you.

10 I am the Lord your God, 

who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.  

Psalm 85

Lord, show us your goodness and grant us your salvation!

Hello everyone,

As we have read, today we are going to listen to the Word of God in Psalm 85.

I invite us to keep our Bibles wide open to follow together.

I like to giving titles to messages. The title I came up with for this message is: “Show us your goodness, and grant us your salvation.” This is verse 8 of the psalm.

Psalm 85 is a prayer, and verse 8 is right in the middle of the prayer that we will meditate on together.

The prayers of the Bible and the psalms in particular are inspired by the Holy Spirit. They are models of prayer in a way.

By reading these prayers, we learn things about who God is, and how to address Him. I think this is the way to approach the prayers of the Bible.

My prayer and wish is that by watching this prayer, each of us will learn something about God, who He Is, and how we should and/or can approach Him. My prayer is that it helps everyone's prayer life (or at least some, everyone is ambitious)

This prayer is therefore a solicitation of God's blessing on all the people of Israel, and the formulation of the psalmist is: “Show us your goodness, and grant us your salvation.”

We will look at the meaning of this request and at the prayer as a whole.

For this, I suggest we divide the text into four parts:

In the first part, in verses 2 to 4 , the psalmist recognizes the blessings that God has given them in the past.

In the second part, in verses 5 to 8, the psalmist prays for God's blessing and restoration to Israel.

In the third part, consisting only of verse 9, the psalmist makes a resolution or makes a vow.

And finally in the fourth part, the psalmist expresses his assurance of blessing from God.

But before that, what are the truths about God that shine through in this psalm?

This prayer, like all prayers, is anchored in the psalmist's knowledge of God.

It's like with human beings, we speak with a person based on the knowledge we have of the person, based on their humor, based on their mood, based on whether they are an adult or a child etc. And the more we know the person in depth, or over time, the more conversations and deep conversations we can have.

It's the same with God. When we speak to Him, we speak to Him based on who He is, at least what we know about Him.

If you talk to God without knowing that He is an Almighty God, you may miss having the fear you should have;

If you talk to God without having in mind that He is a Holy God, you risk not realizing the extent of your sin and therefore not knowing to what extent you are separated from God by your own nature;

If you talk to God without knowing that he is a good and merciful God you risk being filled with guilt. You will feel unworthy...and you are unworthy, we are all unworthy, but because of His goodness and His mercy, He found a way for us to get closer to Him.

This is why we study the Word of God. This is because we want to have as real and complete a view of who God is as possible. This vision allows us to pray to Him appropriately and truthfully.

God of kindness

One of the attributes of God on which this prayer seems to me to be based, that is to say something which characterizes God and which allows the psalmist to address this prayer to Him it is His goodness.

The goodness of God is His propensity to generously give His goods and to do good to His creatures.

It is because He knows that God is good and generous that the psalmist can come to ask Him for His blessing.

God who makes alliance

A second characteristic of God that makes this prayer possible is that God is a covenant God.

We see this from the first sentence of the prayer: “You were favorable to your country”. How is this His country? God has no nationality, God does not belong to a country. But the psalmist can say this, because he knows that God has united himself by covenant with Israel, so that in a special way He is their God, they are his people, and their land is His. country.

Throughout the Bible, God interacts with men in general through covenants. The main alliances are with Adam, Noah, Abraham, then the people of Israel through Abraham, David etc.

An alliance, as we saw not long ago in Exodus, is in a way a contract between 2 parties, which means that the 2 parties are linked.

Even apart from the alliance with God, in the times of the Old Testament men made alliances with each other. For example, we see David making an alliance with Jonathan. In most alliances we clearly see 3 elements stand out:

-          Promises that one party makes to the other

-          The obligations of the 2th part so that the promise of the first keeps

-          Threats in the event of non-compliance with commitments

For example in the case of the alliance between God and Adam the first man:

-          God's promise or gift to Adam was to enjoy all the fruits of the Garden of Eden and to exercise his government over the earth.

-          Adam's obligation is to obey God (by not eating the forbidden fruit)

-          The threat that weighs on Adam in the event of non-compliance with the covenant is death.

Why do I think it is important to remember this aspect of God? This is because God never breaks His covenant. It is impossible that He would not be faithful to His covenant. And we see that the psalmist appeals to the faithfulness of God in his prayer.

God who gets angry

A third characteristic of God found in this prayer is that God becomes angry.

We see this particularly in verse 4: “You have withdrawn all your fury, you have renounced your fierce anger. »

God is not an angry God who loses his temper, if that were the case no one here would be alive. On the contrary, God is slow to anger.

But God is righteous, God abhors evil, and because of this righteousness He is angry with sin and to judge sinners.

In Psalm 7 from verses 13 to 18 we read...

Psaume 7 v 13-18 : «13If the wicked do not come to his senses, he sharpens his sword, draws his bow, and takes aim; 14he directs murderous darts at him, he makes his arrows burn. […] 18I will praise the LORD for his righteousness; I will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. » 

In this and other passages the psalmist describes in graphic terms how God's judgments are exercised upon those who walk in evil ways and do not return to Him.

This brings us to our text. The prayer is written in a context where the psalmist and all the people have suffered or are suffering the righteous wrath of God.

We cannot clearly locate the precise moment of writing of the Psalm,

But there are 2 possibilities:

1.  ​The first is that they are experiencing the wrath of God, and the psalmist is pleading for God's restoration because of His covenant and past deliverances. He says “restore us, put an end to your indignation”

2.  ​The second possibility – and I am more convinced of this view – is that they are returning from a difficult time where they suffered the wrath of God because they had turned away from Him. It is for example a context of reconstruction as during the return from exile in Babylon.

In this case, all aspects of the prayer would be consistent. Both verse 2: “ God was favorable and restored them to their land”; and at the same time the prayers of verse 5 and following would make sense: “Restore us, God of our salvation…”

The psalmist recognizes that God has restored them in the sense that they are returning to their country from which they had been deported and which had been destroyed, but they need to be restored in the sense that their country is a field of ruin, and they need God to help them rebuild everything.

I suggest we look at prayer itself. Then we will see what applications we can draw for ourselves, for our own prayer and our relationship with God.

I - Recognition of deliverances wrought by God in the past (2-4)

As a preamble to his request in his prayer, the psalmist recognizes the graces that God has granted to Him and your people.

V1 : « 1You have been good to your land, O LORD, you have restored Jacob. »

He recognizes that He and His people have found favor in the eyes of God.

God said to Moses in the book of Exodus: “I am gracious to whom I am gracious.”

The favor of God is the most precious thing, but men cannot earn it. God grants it if He wants to whomever He wants.

God’s favor is like a beautiful summer day. Today there is a beautiful day, but maybe tomorrow there won't be one. We have no control.

The psalmist recognizes that he and his people have received undeserved favor, and he then details how this favor manifested itself:

V2-3: « 2You have forgiven the guilt of your people, you have covered all their sins. - Break. 3You have withdrawn all your fury, you have renounced your burning anger. »

How this favor manifested itself: God is no longer angry with them.

He expresses it in several ways:

-              Their fault is forgiven : therefore they are at peace with God

-              Sins are covered : According to this symbolism God no longer sees their sins, and therefore does not treat them as if they were sinners, but treats them as righteous people.

-              God has withdrawn all his fury : as Eduardo told us last week. There is a cup of the wrath of God which is fermenting and which will be poured out on the wicked. But they are not concerned, God has withdrawn all his fury.

We have no reason for God's appeasement in the text. But the psalmist specifies “you have forgiven ton people” (he could have said my people for example), but perhaps he wants to mark here the alliance between them and God.

This is the first part of the prayer: the psalmist recognizes all the good that God has done to them, and the evil that he has not done to them and that they would have deserved.

He acknowledges His mercy and grace.

But he also recognizes that he and the people are very weak, and without God's continued help and blessing, they will not be able to go further in their reconstruction and restoration.

So he prays for God's blessing and their complete restoration.

II- Prayer for God’s blessing and restoration (5-8)

V5: « 5Restore us, God of our salvation, put an end to your indignation against us! »

In verse 1, in our version, it is written at the end of the verse: “you have restored Jacob” (in other words Israel).

And here again in verse 5: “Restore us”

I looked in the Hebrew to see if there was a difference and to see in what other contexts the words are used.

The form of the word that is translated “you have restored Jacob” in verse 1 is still used in other contexts that refer to the release of prisoners.

It is for example this word which is used in the psalm 126 v 1: “When the Lord brought back the exiles of Zion, we were like those who make a rein”

More “Restore us” in verse 5 is close to the word that is used in Genesis when Reuben swears to his father Jacob to bring Joseph back to him.

Which makes me think that here the psalmist is not only praying to be delivered from captivity but to a restoration of relationship with God.

“Restore us God of our salvation » because he knows that the salvation of him and his people is with God.

V6-7 : « 6Are you angry with us forever? Will your anger last from generation to generation? 7Will you not restore us to life, so that your people may rejoice in you? »

Here the psalmist prays in accordance with God's covenant, knowing that God is faithful and that he made a covenant with their ancestors to bless them.

« 8Lord, show us your goodness and grant us your salvation! »

The psalmist prays in accordance with God's goodness, through which God can show generosity toward them.

He prays to “see” the goodness of God, that is, probably to feel the effects of God’s generous gifts to him and His people.

He prays for God's salvation, in this context probably His protection. We see in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah that when the people of Israel were rebuilding their country, they were attacked from all sides.

III - Resolution (9)

To plead his cause and seek fulfillment from God, the psalmist supports his prayer with a wish. This happened often in the Old Testament: Anne, the mother of Samuel, for example, who prayed for a son, and who made a vow to consecrate him to God if she was granted.

In the new testament also, we see Paul making a vow in acts 18 (but we do not know which one)

« 9I will listen to what God the Lord says, for he speaks peace to his people and to his faithful, provided that they do not return to folly. »

I don't know how to apply it today. I know that when I was taking my driving test, I had a lot of trouble passing it. I had the impression that only God could grant it. So I have a wish: always watch my blind spots, and respect the speed limits.

Generally, men who have been moved to make a vow have done so in such a way that God's blessing has led them to use that blessing for His glory... One can get lost in God's blessing (work, money which can become an idol, a license which can become an opportunity to explode in anger while driving and to say things that one would not say to one's face, etc.)

The wish that the psalmist makes: “I will listen to what God says”, may seem like a banal wish… it is normal to listen to God.

But we don’t necessarily listen to God properly. I can think of 2 situations where all of us, including me, will have difficulty listening to what God says:

-          When it is contrary to a desire that we have already formed.

-          When it is unpopular / to please men or not to annoy (Pierre who deprives himself of eating with non-Jews for fear of the Jews)

“…He speaks peace to his people and to his faithful, provided that they do not fall back into madness”

Here, the psalmist, in recalling his vows, just recalls the terms of the covenant. The peace and protection that God had promised to His people were conditioned on the obligation to obey Him.

I was asking myself the question in general: is the peace of God conditioned on obedience.

We see in the Bible that this is the case. Rebellion against God causes His curse: In Colossians 3 after listing the vices that are on the earth; the apostle Paul says: “It is because of these things that the wrath of God comes on the sons of rebellion.”

Disobedience to God brings His curse and wrath. But on the contrary obedience to God attracts his blessing and peace.

In Philippians 4, the apostle Paul exhorted Christians to be constantly infused with what honors God and what He loves, and the implication he gives in this passage: “And the God of peace will be with you.”

Obedience attracts God’s blessing and peace. Of course, obedience within the framework of the covenant with God through Jesus Christ.

After imploring God's blessing, the psalmist affirms in his prayer, his assurance that God will bless them

IV - Assurance of God's blessing (10 - 14)

V10 – 14 : « 10Yes, his salvation is near to those who fear him, and so glory will dwell in our land. »

Once again, based on God's covenant with His people, he knows that God will show them His salvation (His protection and His goodness).

Glory will inhabit our land, probably the Glory of God.

In Ezekiel 10, the prophet Ezekiel describes how during a time of apostasy among the people of Israel, the glory of God had left the temple, which became a place where the children of Israel engaged in idolatry.

Here the psalmist expresses confidence that the glory of God will return to Israel, and probably the glory of their land at the same time.

« 11Goodness and fidelity meet, justice and peace embrace; 12Faithfulness grows from the earth, and righteousness bends down from heaven.13The Lord himself will grant happiness, and our land will yield its produce.14Righteousness will go before him and mark the way before his steps. »

I think that beyond the physical restoration of the nation of Israel, the psalmist foresees – led by the Holy Spirit – a time when God Himself will be present with His people. They will be able to measure and feel all of His goodness and faithfulness; they will lack nothing; they will also be faithful to the alliance and God will fill them with happiness.

APPLICATIONS

I suggest 3 applications that we can draw from this text concerning: the favor of God; being established in God; the hope of eternal life.

-         God's favor

O   For those who received it

A first application that we can draw from this prayer is to contemplate the favor of God for us who have received it.

We have received an immeasurable, priceless favor.

Really imagine in your minds: what would be the best thing anyone could say to you right now? If there were a prophet among us who were to announce certain news to us: the end of a difficult situation we are experiencing, or the beginning of something we are waiting for and which will come true... What would it be? that it would be ?

Since we live in bodies, I think that the things we would like to hear are perhaps physical/material, even very good things. Some would perhaps be: “you will recover from your illness”, or “you will find a job”, or “you will have a child”, or “you will have your family”, “you will have your license” etc. All these things that God has created and which are good to make life pleasant for us... According to the greatness of His generosity...

But I suggest to you that the best thing God can say to someone is, “Your sins are forgiven.”

God has all the riches of the Universe, He can give you everything if He wants, but the best thing He can say to you is “your sins are forgiven”.

I think of the episode of the paralytic in the gospels. There are men who break the roof and come with a paralytic, and Jesus says “your sins are forgiven you”.

If it were necessary to quantify it in money, it is as if this man had trusted God to submit to him a need of 100€, and Jesus said to him: “I am not just going to give you according to your felt need of 100€, I will give you in accordance with my wealth, hold 1 million euros. " (it's an image). He gives him infinitely beyond what he came for and “incidentally” He heals him.

We must contemplate this great salvation and this great Savior.

Our prayer as a church and as individuals is not limited to requests, but even in the secret of our hearts, it is good to say with the psalmist: « You have been kind to me, O LORD, you have restored me; you have forgiven [all my] faults, you have covered all [my] sins. You have withdrawn all your fury, you have renounced your burning anger [towards me]”

O   For those who haven't received it yet.

But perhaps not all of those listening here have yet received this favor.

If the best thing God can say to a man is: “your sins are forgiven you”, the worst thing God can say to a man is: “you will die in your sins”.

In the gospels, Jesus sometimes said this to people.

There were religious leaders who opposed Jesus all the time. And one day He told them: “you will die in your sins”.

There is no capacity in our human nature to obey God.

No man could keep a covenant in which he would obtain God's favor on the condition of perfectly obeying Him.

So God in His goodness gave us a “new covenant” in Jesus Christ. A covenant by faith.

And the terms of this alliance are simple: he who trusts in Jesus for the forgiveness of his sins obtains the favor of God.

Jesus is the Son of God, of the same nature and essence as God the Father. He came from Heaven, He lived in a human condition. He obeyed perfectly. And he who puts his faith in Him, and who recognizes Him as his Lord and Master, he becomes united with Jesus by His Spirit, and the perfect obedience of Jesus is considered his obedience.

And Jesus obeyed perfectly during His life, then He died on the cross for all who would believe in Him, so that God can no longer condemn anyone who puts their faith in Jesus, because He has already punished Jesus at Its place.

If you are here, and you have not yet put your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. I implore you to seek God's favor. And this favor is found only in Jesus.

He who has the Son of God (Jesus Christ) has life, but he who does not have the Son does not have life, and the wrath of God rests on Him.

-         To be established in God

Another application I find to this prayer of the psalmist is his prayer for God to perfect His relationship with His people. V5: “Restore us, God of our salvation…”. And as we have seen, similar language is used in other passages of the Old Testament to speak of 2 previously separated people who find each other again.

It is not enough for the psalmist that all his sins are covered.

God has buried his sins and forgotten them, now he also wants God to act to perfect their relationship.

Even though in verse 9 he acknowledges his part in perfecting this relationship “I will listen to what God says,” He recognizes above all through His prayer, that God has the power to restore His relationship with them.

It sort of goes back to what Paul said to the Christians in Philippians 2 verses 12 and 13: “work out your salvation with fear and trembling […] for it is God who works in you to will and to do of his good pleasure”

Much like the psalmist we should pray individually and as a church: “[turn our hearts to you], God of our salvation. Lord, show us your goodness and grant us your salvation! »

Not only is it a prayer that with all our hearts we may be brought back to God, it is also a prayer that “ see » all the goodness of God.

It reminds me of Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1 verse 18: I pray that God will enlighten the eyes of your heart.

Now that our sins are forgiven, we need: 1. that our hearts are continually brought back to God and 2. that our spiritual eyes are continually illuminated.

I wasn't planning to say this at first, but eventually I'm going to say it.

Even if it is God who perfects our relationship with Him, it is also really us who do it, “work out your salvation, for it is God who works in you to will…”, is that God who works or is it us?

It’s both. It’s really Him and it’s really us.

One of the things that hinders the perfection of this relationship is our love for what the Bible calls the world (the societal and cultural environment that was built by men excluding God)

In 1 John 2 v 15 it is written: “Do not love the world or what is in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. »

John is speaking to Christians. That doesn't mean when Christians love the world God loves them any less, but I think that the perfecting of our love for Him is stunted and stifled as we become attached to loving a world that has rejected God.

I don't know if you watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic games. A grandiose spectacle (Céline Dion etc.), but there was a moment when the scene of the institution of the Lord's Supper was mocked.

It made me think of a sketch I saw recently: A man who wanted to poison someone else by pouring a substance into their glass of water, but he wasn't very skillful and he poured without intentionally using too much of the substance, to the point where it changed the color of the water. And so the person who was supposed to drink the glass of water looked and said “hmm that’s weird!” » and he didn't drink.

There I said to myself: "if you want to poison someone [I don't condone poisoning, it's hypothetical...], if you want to poison someone you have to add a small dose of poison so as not to alert" .

The devil is clever!! or cunning tells us the Bible, if he wanted to poison the spiritual life of Christians, he would go in small doses.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul was speaking against people who wanted to distort the gospel by adding a few small conditions for salvation in addition to the work of Jesus Christ. And he told them: “a little yeast makes the whole dough rise.” It only takes a little heresy to pollute our entire faith.

We live in a world where we are on the lookout for spectacle, for contemplation, even we Christians.

And it seems to me that the devil will make sure to infuse the different activities of this world with little subtleties so that as many people as possible make fun of the name of God and to attract as many people as possible to join Him in his rebellion against God (and therefore in his condemnation).

In Psalm 1 it says: “Happy is he who does not sit in the company of scoffers” .

The devil tries to associate us with those who mock God, and to hinder the perfection of our love for Him.

Sometimes we Christians – and I include myself – listen to songs, for example, that singers would not sing if they were Christians! How can we associate ourselves with their perdition?

We are called to watch over each of our steps.

We must pray for the perfecting of our love for God, and for spiritual insight to remember the covenant of our God and to see His goodness.

It’s a parenthesis, it’s not directly linked to the passage of the day.

This parody of the Lord's Supper also made me think of the sermon we listened to on Romans 1 (by Joe).

When we see sin exacerbated and assumed in a society, it can not only mean that the judgment of God is coming on this society, but it also means that the judgment of God is already acting in this society.

When men turn away from God, God abandons them to themselves. And not having the law of God, they establish their own laws.

I think this is a signal that we must intercede for our country France, and for its leaders and we must be salt and light as a Church.

-         The Hope of Eternal Life

As a final application, this prayer from Psalm 85 calls us to meditate on our hope. The hope we have of eternal life.

Often in the epistles, the apostles speak to Christians of having the hope of eternal life.

I read some time ago in Ephesians 1 in verse 18 after presenting the mystery of the gospel, the apostle Paul said to the Ephesians: “I pray that He will enlighten the eyes of your heart so that you will know the hope that attaches to His call”

I was like, why is this so important?

I experienced a circumstance some time ago that allowed me to understand a little. Because of administrative procedures, I had to go a few months without pay, so I was living on my reserve and it was a little more difficult than usual. Normally, I'm not an anxious person, but I admit that it stressed me out a little (I had to add up the prices of my items when I was shopping so as not to be surprised at the checkout, etc.) . Then one day, I received an email: “Mr. Weulassagou, you will be paid on [date]”. Even though I wasn't paid yet, I felt like my stress was gone. I had no control over this state of stress. It's just knowing that even if it was still difficult financially, in a few days it would be better.

I think it's the same with the hope of eternal life.

It would change our journey as Christians if we completely realized that what separates us from the fullness of the presence of God and His Son Jesus Christ is only a few years, a few months, a few days...

Eternal life as Jesus defined it in John 17 is knowing God and knowing Jesus Christ His Son.

We already live eternal life, we who have believed in Jesus and who have received his Holy Spirit.

Firstly because eternal life is the definition of a life connected to God. This is the type of full life the Holy Spirit gives us

Then because we are not going to experience death.

We will certainly leave our bodies, but we will not experience death as it is defined by the Bible. The Bible shows 2 possible destinations for those who leave their bodies. Some go down to hell and others go up to be with Christ (there is no tunnel with light at the end).

We see this in the Parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16. When Lazarus died, he was said to have been carried by the angels to be in Abraham's bosom.

We see it again with the apostle Paul in Philippians 1 who said that he desires to go away to be with Christ. He talked about it as if he were talking about moving to a neighboring town or another room in his house.

For us who have believed in Jesus, we have the hope of eternal life. What separates us from the full reality of eternal life is very small.

The psalmist was not only praying to be fully restored to God, but he was looking forward to the day when this weak love we have for God would be transformed into a perfect love.

This will be the end of our imperfect efforts to be righteous and upright, and we will have perfect righteousness and perfect integrity before God.

 This sometimes blurry vision that we have of God will be transformed into a perfect vision, we will see God as He is. We will see the face of Jesus.

In a few years, months, days, we will be in the presence of God, and as it is said in verse 13: “The Lord himself will grant happiness.”

Some of us will arrive before others...but in a few years, months, days we will all be reunited in the presence of the Lord.

The complete presence of God is synonymous with true complete happiness. There will be no more wars; more political leaders who are not trusted; there will be no more financial difficulties; There will be no more physical, emotional or relational pain... God will wipe away all our tears.

At the heart of the psalmist's prayer he said: “Lord, show us your goodness and grant us your salvation! » , and he knows that it will be accomplished, imperfectly on this earth, but one day completely in the presence of God Himself.

13 – 14 : « 13The Lord himself will grant happiness, and our land will yield its produce. 14Righteousness will go before him and mark the way before his steps. »

AMEN

Maturity in despair

Psalm 74

Today is the 14th of July, the French national holiday (as I’m sure you know). This is the day on which we think about our country, we celebrate our country, and we’re supposed to be inspired to be thankful for and proud of our country.

But what if, attached to all the pomp and circumstance of this holiday, there were also prophecies that promised that our country would be prosperous and influential over all other countries in the world? Imagine how that would change our perception of this holiday—when it wouldn’t just be a celebration of what we have, but a certainty of what we will have? And imagine that this certainty had been in our minds for centuries, since the beginning of the Republic.

And now, imagine if we were invaded by a foreign nation much more powerful than we were, like during World War II. Imagine how disorienting it would be—we’d always heard one thing about this great nation of ours, and we’d always believed it. And now, here is this invasion that seems to just blow away everything we’ve ever believed about who we are as a people.

That’s exactly the situation we see in Psalm 74.

We spent the first several months out of this year following the story of the people of Israel as God rescued them from slavery in Egypt, into the wilderness where he gave them his law, and promised to give them the land of Canaan as their home. 

Spoiler alert: God made good on his promise. He gave them the land of Canaan, and there, they established their kingdom—the kingdom of Israel. For a while, under the reigns of kings like David and Solomon, the kingdom of Israel was thriving.

But things went bad pretty quickly: while some kings were good, others were not. The kingdom was split in two, the people were under the influence of idolatry, and for a long period they completely forgot God’s law. The prophets warned them what would happen as a consequence, and around the sixth century B.C., what the prophets warned about came to pass: Babylon invaded Jerusalem, destroyed almost all of the city, put their false gods in the temple, and took the people away into exile.

Psalm 74 describes a situation that is difficult to ascribe to any other event. If the author (as is written) is the Asaph we know, he was writing prophetically—that is, God showed him what would happen later, and he wrote in reaction to what he saw. (Another option is that this was another Asaph who lived at the time of the exile.)

That is the context of this psalm: it seems like everything in the world is fighting against God’s plan, and we don’t see how what is happening around us could possibly be a part of it.

This is a wildly strange prayer, because it is so far from the way most of us would often pray. But it is the right way to pray in these kinds of situations.

Asaph’s Complaint (v. 1-11)

So let’s go to the beginning and take it little by little—in this first part, Asaph is basically venting, and it’s good for him to vent: this is just what’s happening. v. 1: 

1  O God, why do you cast us off forever?

Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?

Two things to see really quickly before we keep going. First: can you see the first question is slightly exaggerated? Why do you cast us off FOREVER? 

I had a discussion with a young couple recently who discovered one of the singular joys of marriage: the irritation that can grow because one person says, “You always do this,” or “You never do this.” We’re all guilty of this; we all say it at some time or another. And it’s always annoying.

Now, obviously when we say that, we know we’re not speaking literally. It’s a figure of speech—a way of saying you do this often enough that it seems like you always do it.

That’s what’s happening here. Asaph, like any good Israelite, knows perfectly well that God has not cast off his people forever—but it sure feels that way.

C.H. Spurgeon writes: “God is never weary of his people so as to abhor them, and even when his anger is turned against them, it is but for a small moment, and with a view to their eternal good. Grief in its distraction asks strange questions and surmises impossible terrors. It is a wonder of grace that the Lord has not long ago put us away as people lay aside cast-off garments, but he hates putting away, and will still be patient with his chosen.” (1)

Secondly, he asks, Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? The answer to that question is obvious as well—it’s the people’s sin and idolatry that led to their exile and the destruction of Jerusalem. At least it’s obvious to anyone who has all the facts. It’s quite possible that Asaph received a prophetic word from God about what would happen to Jerusalem, but he wasn’t told why it would happen. That’s one possibility.

Or maybe he feels that even the people’s sin shouldn’t be able to send God’s plan onto what seems like such a massive detour. Which is why he says (v. 2): 

2  Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old,

which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!

Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.

We’ll come back to this in a bit, but he sets the stage by calling on God to remember—to remember his people, how he rescued and redeemed them for himself, and to remember the home God has made for himself among them (that’s what he means when he refers to “Mount Zion”: the place where God dwells).

That’s where he’ll go in a little while. But first, he describes the situation as it stands. V. 3: 

3  Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;

the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

4  Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place;

they set up their own signs for signs.

5  They were like those who swing axes

in a forest of trees.

6  And all its carved wood

they broke down with hatchets and hammers.

7  They set your sanctuary on fire;

they profaned the dwelling place of your name,

bringing it down to the ground.

8  They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;

they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

9  We do not see our signs;

there is no longer any prophet,

and there is none among us who knows how long.

10  How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?

Is the enemy to revile your name forever?

11  Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?

Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!

So this is pretty bleak. 

The enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary (v. 3). Idolatrous emblems used in war have been set up in the temple (v. 4): as Spurgeon described it: ”an insulting token of victory, and of contempt for the vanquished and their God.” The sanctuary in the temple, and all the synagogues throughout the land, have been set on fire. The people no longer see any “signs” (v. 9): no more Urim and Thummim on the high priest’s chest, the means by which God often communicated his will; no more smoke of sacrifice or incense rising from the temple; no more feasts; no more circumcision (the covenant sign of the people of Israel, and forbidden by the king of Babylon); no more prophets.

Perhaps worst of all, at the end of v. 9, we see that there is none among us who knows how long. When there is no end of suffering in sight, that suffering is amplified exponentially.

All of this amounts to the same thing: God is seemingly absent from his people, and the people don’t understand his absence. 

Asaph’s Reminder (v. 12-17)

Many of us would do one of two things here: we would either complain like Asaph, and just stop, wallowing in our misery. Or would we would go directly to what we call the “intercession”—that is, we’d ask God to do something to change our situation. 

But Asaph doesn’t go straight there. He does something first that is crucially important: he speaks of who God is. V. 17: 

12  Yet God my King is from of old,

working salvation in the midst of the earth.

13  You divided the sea by your might;

you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.

14  You crushed the heads of Leviathan;

you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

15  You split open springs and brooks;

you dried up ever-flowing streams.

16  Yours is the day, yours also the night;

you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.

17  You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;

you have made summer and winter.

So he insists on three different aspects of who God is.

First of all, he speaks to the fact that God is a saving God. God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. God, the King of all things, takes pleasure in saving those who need saving.

Secondly, he says that God is powerful over human powers. V. 13 will be familiar to anyone who’s been in Exodus with us these last months: You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. The “sea monsters,” this “Leviathan” of v. 14, is a mythical, dragon-like monster, and stands in here for Egypt, the superpower who had been holding God’s people in slavery for centuries. God came in and with works of incredible power, rescued the people from their oppressors.

Third, he says that God isn’t just powerful over humanity, but over all creation—the entire universe. The day, the night, the stars and the sun, the earth and its seasons. He is sovereign over everything.

Now, I said earlier that instead of just moving directly on to intercession, Asaph takes time to remember who God is, and I said that’s a vitally important step. Why is it so important? 

For three main reasons:

First: What he says here is a reminder that God is totally in control of what’s happening. Babylon did not “beat” God or thwart his plan. If he’s sovereign over the greatest movements and the greatest powers of the earth, he is also sovereign over this situation.

Secondly, it seems like Asaph is reminding God of who he is, but obviously God hasn’t forgotten. As is almost always the case when we pray and speak of who God is, the goal isn’t just to tell God that we know who he is; the goal is to remind ourselves of who God is. And the reason why this is so important to do is because in this particular situation, at this particular moment, God seems to be hiding from his people. He seems to be standing off at a distance, just watching while his people are sent into exile, his city plundered, and his plan sabotaged. It’s not true, but that’s how it feels.

So it is crucially important to help ourselves remember that no matter how it feels, it’s not true. God is the God of salvation. He is the God who has proven himself faithful to his people in the past. And he is sovereign over absolutely each aspect of creation. None of this is a surprise to him, and none of it means he will turn his back on his people now. 

You see, when we remind ourselves of what is true, it levels us. Most of us know that feeling of being on a boat that’s being rocked on the sea; and most of us know what it’s like to finally step back on to dry land after so much movement. Reminding ourselves of the truth gets our feet back on solid ground.

The third reason why this is so important is because once we’re “re-stabilized,” this regained stability gives us the confidence we need to make our intercession, and to not just base it on emotion. It makes it possible for us to pray, not only based on how we feel, but based on truth. 

Asaph’s Intercession (v. 18-23)

And that is what we see Asaph do next. After laying out his complaint before God, and after recentering himself by proclaiming who God is, he makes his prayer—and it’s a very interesting prayer. V. 18: 

18  Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,

and a foolish people reviles your name.

19  Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;

do not forget the life of your poor forever.

20  Have regard for the covenant,

for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

21  Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;

let the poor and needy praise your name.

22  Arise, O God, defend your cause;

remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!

23  Do not forget the clamor of your foes,

the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

So just look at the contents of this prayer for a moment. Remember your people, he says in v. 18-19. Remember your covenant, v. 20. Fight for the praise of your name—defend your cause, v. 21-22. Be offended by the sin of our enemies, v. 22-23. 

There are two things that bugged me about this prayer for a long time. 

The first is that, especially after everything he said before about who God is, it all seems so incredibly obvious—he’s just asking God to do what God is supposed to do, what he has already promised to do.

The second is that—let’s be frank—it seems almost manipulative, doesn’t it? “Look at how the enemy scoffs! A foolish people is reviling your name! Let the poor and needy praise your name! Defend your cause! They’re laughing at you!”

This always seemed weird to me, because it’s not like God’s not going to see through that. It’s not like God’s not going to see what Asaph’s trying to do, that he’s trying to focus the attention on God, and how his name is being slandered, as a way to convince him to act. It always seemed a little too calculated to me.

Why would he argue like this? Isn’t he preaching to the choir?

The answer is, of course, yes. But he’s not doing it in a manipulative way; he’s doing it because he is firmly aware of the relationship God has established with his people.

Our kids do the same thing to us all the time: they’ll bring up things that we said before, as a way to convince us to give them what they want now. 

“But you said we could have ice cream!”

“I didn’t say you could have it right now, right before bed; that would be bad for you.”

“But you said—”

They have one fixed goal in mind—the ice cream—and don’t realize that we, as parents, have bigger goals. We’re still good to our word (hopefully), and the kids will get ice cream—we’ll keep our promise. But it may not be exactly when or how the kids want it.

We see a similar dynamic going on here, which is pretty shocking, because it’s so familial. The psalmist Asaph is addressing God in a way that presumes to understand what is important to God and what God is like; he’s praying in a way that implies an intimate relationship. For any other culture at this time or place, such behavior towards their gods would have been unthinkable.

The amazing thing here is that this is in the Bible: God wants us to know that it’s okay to pray like this. It’s okay to not understand his plan, and it’s okay to bring up things that God has said when we pray, like kids do. “You said you would do this—please do it!”

“Remember your people!” Asaph prays—to which God responds, I will. He already said he would.

Remember your covenant! I will. He already said he would.

Defend your cause. I will. He already said he would.

Be offended by their sin! I am. He already said he is.

Such familiarity with the God of the universe is incredible. The fact that God lets us try to convince him to do what he said he would do is a miracle of grace.

Risks and Encouragements

There are two big risks involved when you want to start praying like this. 

The first is assuming that whatever you want is God’s plan, when it may well not be. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had this conversation. Someone comes and tells me, “I believe that this is God’s plan for my life,” and then they tell me what that plan is. I’m supposed to be married to this person. I’m supposed to have X number of children. I’m supposed to live in this city. I’m supposed to work in this job. 

Now, maybe they’re right, and maybe they’re wrong—only time will tell. But these people cannot count on these things being God’s plan when they pray—at least not with the kind of confidence Asaph shows in Psalm 74. They can’t do that, because God did not promise in his Word that you would marry this or that person; God did not promise in his Word that you would definitely have kids; God did not promise that you would live in any particular city, or do any particular job. These are just not things God has promised us.

And so we cannot say, “God, defend your cause! Have regard for your covenant!” and then attach our prayer request onto that. You can ask him to do it, but you can’t use his character or his covenant as a defense for that prayer. 

Even if it’s something you desire incredibly deeply—a felt need that causes you a lot of pain—don’t assume that what you want is definitely God’s plan, because it might not be. That’s the first risk.

The second risk is sort of the flip-side of that: it’s assuming that whatever is happening in your life can’t possibly be a part of God’s plan. Remember what Peter’s reaction was when Jesus told him that he was about to go to Jerusalem to be killed? He said (Matthew 16.22): “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you!”

Jesus’s response was brutal: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16.23). 

Peter couldn’t even conceive of the possibility that such a horrible thing—the death of his Master, the Messiah, at the hands of the religious leaders—could ever be a part of God’s plan. But it absolutely was. It was through Christ’s horrible death and miraculous resurrection that we are now freed from our sin, united to Christ, and declared righteous before God. You never would have guessed it ahead of time, but this was definitely God’s plan.

Several of you have gone through situations in the recent past—are still going through situations—about which we could easily say, “This couldn’t possibly figure into God’s will for me, or for the church.” We can’t see how any good could come from some things that have happened.

But what does Asaph say? “Yet God our King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.” He is the eternal Savior, whose perfect plan of salvation was establish before he ever created the world. He knows what he is doing, and he is faithful.

Those are the risks. Now let me give you some encouragements.

First of all: don’t ever be afraid to tell God what you’re feeling. We all know what it’s like when someone says hi and asks how you’re doing, and you put on a brave face and say, “I’m good, thanks,” when in fact you’re just barely holding it together. Some of us do that with God. Sometimes when we pray, we pray what we feel like we should pray, and never express to God what we’re actually feeling or thinking. Like we’re worried he’s going to be offended if we don’t use the right formula, or if we pray a prayer that sounds immature.

Asaph doesn’t hesitate to pray exactly what he’s thinking. Why are you doing this, God? Why have you cast us off? Why aren’t you speaking to us? How long is this going to last? 

This is not an immature prayer, because he doesn’t stop there—he moves on to more solid truths as he progresses. But it is an honest prayer. It is a prayer that holds nothing back. 

Don’t ever be afraid to tell God how you’re actually feeling. You might as well, because he already knows it anyway, and he is not in the least put out by prayers that might seem stupid, but that are honest. Talk to him. Even if it’s just to say, “I don’t get it!” Keep those lines of communication open.

Secondly: don’t ever be afraid to tell God who he is. Of course this might seem pointless, because God already knows who he is far better than we do. But it’s really not. A few years ago we were visiting my family in the U.S., and I was driving somewhere with my dad. He was discouraged about something going on in his job, and I just started telling him what I saw. My dad was pretty young when I was born, so I was twenty years old when he was the age I am now; I remember what he was like as a younger man. So I’ve actually been able to observe his progress in his faith over the years—to see what he’s gotten wrong, yet, but also to see what he’s done well, as a father, as a husband and as a man of God.

So I just told him what I saw. There was no forethought to it, there was no plan, I just started talking. And as I was talking, two things happened. He was encouraged, of course, but I think I may have gotten more out of that conversation, because as I talked about what kind of a man my dad is, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for him—for the fact that I got to have him as my dad, that I got to be a part of his life. Telling my dad who he is made me appreciate him even more than I already did.

Don’t ever be afraid to tell God who he is. He doesn’t need encouragement, but it pleases him to hear us praise him like this, and it helps us to appreciate in deeper and deeper ways just how amazing God is, how powerful he is. It gives us deeper confidence in him, and allows us to pray confidently, secure in the knowledge of who he is.

Thirdly: don’t ever be afraid to pray God’s promises back to him. Lord, remember your covenant. Lord, deliver your people. Lord, defend your cause. These are things God has already promised to go, and Asaph just sends God back to his own promises.

Now of course, this suggests that we need to learn what God has actually promised us in his Word, and we need to be aware of whom those promises were given to. I grew up hearing Christians in America misappropriate promises God gave to the people of Israel in the Old Testament, and apply them to America, when God never gave those promises to America. So we need to always be learning in this area.

But when we learn what God has promised his people, we must never be afraid to lean on those promises in prayer. For example, the type of prayer we see in v. 18-23, we can pray in just the same way when we look at our own lives and see a gap between what God has promised and what seems to be happening.

“Lord make me like you! Help me to walk in your paths! Let me find my joy in you! Help me see that I am united to your people! Be here with me in my sin and my suffering!” We can pray these things with total and absolute confidence, because God has promised to do every one of them. 

Which brings us to the last encouragement: always remember that God’s plans never fail, and he is faithful even when you don’t see him. God has promised to do all kinds of things for his people—but sometimes it seems as if he has forgotten those promises. Sometimes it seems like we as individuals, or the church as a body, have strayed very far from the ideal God has set out for us. Sometimes we may despair of ever getting back to where we should be; or we may despair of other Christians ever being what God says he plans for his people to be.

But even in the most dire circumstances, God’s plans never fail, and he is always faithful. Sometimes his ways seem circuitous to us; but he knows what he’s doing. We can rest in him. We can trust him. We can always know that our pain, our mistakes—even the mistakes of God’s people—will never be wasted. God is working for our good and for his glory.

So speak to him. Tell him how you feel. But don’t stop there. Tell him who he is. Pray his promises back to him. And know that no matter what, you are in good hands.

(1) (Spurgeon, C. H. (1993). Psalms (p. 313). Crossway Books.)

The Hard Work of Resting

Matthew 11.25-30

Today we’re finishing up a three-week series on work. The first week, we looked at a biblical view of work—that work is a good gift from God; but that because of sin, work is hard. Last week, Joe talked about how the gospel should influence our approach to our work, which should be seen and lived out for Jesus Christ: that we can serve Christ in our jobs no matter what job we have, and that the gospel’s call should impact every aspect of our lives—including our professional lives, and sometimes in a radical way.

There’s obviously a lot more that we could say on this subject or the interaction between the gospel and work, but we decided that this final message in the series should address the topic of rest, which of course an integral part of the whole thing.

I want to explain my dilemma before I start, because otherwise it might be a bit confusing. 

There’s a problem inherent in this subject, and that is that for most of us, when we think “rest”, we think “vacation.” We think rest is time when I’m not working. And that kind of rest is important, for sure. It’s important for our bodies and it’s important for our minds. 

But we’ve all experienced how it often works in practice. You make big plans for vacation, you leave, and you come back even more exhausted than you were before. Vacation can be rest-ful, but it’s not really true rest. It’s not rest that will carry over into our lives once vacation’s over. 

Now, it could be—but only if we understand what true rest is. And by the same token, if we understand what true rest is, we won’t need vacation to get it. We’ll have access to that true rest it every day of every week. 

So I’m sorry, I’m not going to give you five tips to recharge your batteries at the end of a stressful period at work—we’re going to need to talk about true rest. But in order to get to that rest, we need to understand its context—in what conditions this rest is found. And that’s the dilemma: explaining the context before getting to the meat of the subject.

So we’re going to dig into this context which, at first glance, seems to have nothing at all to do with our jobs, in order to get an idea of what true rest looks like. And then we’ll try to bring it back to the ground and see what it means in the context of our day-to-day work.

For this, I’ll invite you to go to the gospel of Mathew, chapter 11. We’ll be reading v. 25-30.

Keep last week’s sermon in mind as we read, because it’s exactly what we see Jesus do here. All of our work, all of our lives, should be seen through the lens of the gospel; the goal of our work is to advance the proclamation of the gospel. (And there are a million ways to do it, that I won’t touch on today; go back and listen to last week’s sermon if you want to know more on that, because Joe nailed it—it was really excellent.)

In this passage, Jesus talks about the nature of the gospel, and how the gospel is revealed to those whom he saves.

A Selective Revelation (v. 25-26)

We see three things here that characterize this revelation of the gospel. So we’ll take them one by one. First, it is a selective revelation. 

Jesus is talking to the crowds, as usual. And we read starting in Matthew 11.25:

25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things [“these things” = his identity as the Messiah, his call to the people of Israel to repent] from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

I don’t think it’s a secret for you that not everyone who listens to the gospel will really hear the gospel.

The stereotypical Parisian, as you know, is well-educated, independent, and fairly cultured. It’s not an easy sell to convince someone who is intelligent and cultured and capable that they actually don’t have everything they need, or that they can’t get it on their own.

Jesus said it wouldn’t be easy: he rejoices that the Father has hidden these things from the wise and understanding—the religious elite of the time, those people who are educated and respectable—and revealed them to little children. Now he’s not saying that God has hidden the gospel from educated people, and revealed them to uneducated people. God is not anti-education or anti-wisdom.

The problem is that very often a diploma brings pride along with it. Those who think they are wise and understanding often believe they can basically take care of themselves.

Little children, on the other hand, know they need help. They’ll pretend they don’t until they fall down and hurt themselves—and then they’ll tell the truth: they’ll start crying and ask for Mom or Dad to come pick them up.

Those who know they don’t have it all together are naturally more inclined to listen to someone tell them they need help. 

So the revelation of the gospel is selective: it goes out to those “little children” who recognize they need help, who recognize they need a rescuer, and it is “hidden” from those “wise and understanding” who think they can do it all on their own.

An Exclusive Revelation (v. 27)

The thing is that we all need a rescuer—we all need a Savior—no matter how wise and understanding we might actually be. So what allows someone to realize they need help?

V. 27:

27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

This is a troubling text for some of us, because here Jesus says two things people don’t like to hear: firstly, he says that we can only know God if we know him through Jesus. Any other attempt to get to God will fail, because Jesus is our only way in.

The second thing he says is almost more troubling still: he says that we can only know God if Jesus chooses to reveal him to us. Without his help, we can hear the gospel, and it’s like we’re looking at one of those optical illusions where you have to squint your eyes in just the right way in order to see the real picture. If we want to see God, and believe in him, and know him, Jesus must give us eyes to see.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this, because debating the fine points of the subject is not the main message of this text. What we need to see is that Jesus is showing us our own inability to save ourselves. 

The gospel message is revealed to “little children”—to those who know they need help. We know we need help once we see the Father, because seeing the Father shows you how little you can do on your own: when you see everything he is, you realize all that you are not. 

In order to be saved, we need help. That’s the point.

And that’s the hard truth we need to know before we can appreciate what he says next. There’s something in all of us, no matter how good our theology is, that makes us want to try and work as hard as we can to do what we need to do, to get in Jesus’s good graces.

We work hard to try to be humble enough for God to consider us “little children.” We do our best to be “good Christians,” to get Jesus’s attention, so that he might just reveal the Father to us.

This is our natural mode of thought: when we discover that God has hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children, when we discover that we can’t know the Father unless Jesus chooses to reveal him to us, we think, What do I have to convince Jesus to reveal the Father to ME? What do I have to do to be one of these “little children,” so I can know the Father?

A Restful Revelation (v. 28-30)

Jesus’s answer is absolutely earth-shattering, if we take the time to hear it. He says, Stop working. You have nothing to prove, you have nothing to earn. Stop trying to earn it—just come to me, and REST. V. 28: 

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Before we talk about the rest Jesus is speaking of, let’s address the elephant in the room, which is everything that came just before. 

We saw that the revelation Christ gives is both selective and exclusive—he clearly that “these things” (the reality of judgment and the salvation he offers) are not revealed to everyone. 

But then in v. 28, he gives an invitation which seems like the exact opposite. It is a very open invitation. He says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden.” 

Do you see what he’s doing? He’s throwing out this invitation indiscriminately—there are people in the crowds who will accept him, and there are people in the crowds who won’t. But when he says “all who labor and are heavy laden,” he’s giving every person in that crowd something to grab on to, because there is not a person in the world who, at some point or another, doesn’t feel tired. Doesn’t feel beaten down by the circumstances of life. Unless we’re completely selfish and irresponsible, we all labor; we are all heavy laden.

Imagine for a minute that you’ve never read this passage, that you’re just listening to Jesus talk, you get through v. 27, and you don’t know what’s coming next.

First Jesus gives us this unsettling news: “You can do nothing on your own. You can’t know the Father, or come near the Father, or humble yourself before the Father, unless I choose to reveal him to you. This is out of your hands. You can work as hard as you’d like, you will never be able to work hard enough to get in good with God.”

And then he says something that—if we didn’t know it was coming—would be just about the most shocking thing he could say. “You can’t do any of this without me…and you don’t have to. I’m not calling you to come and do anything—I’m calling you to come and rest: to know that you can’t do anything, and to stop trying.”

Several years ago I was visiting one of our supporting churches in the U.S. I was sharing with them that that year had been a difficult year for me personally; there had been some pastoral cases that had weighed on me, plus the usual fatigue that comes with having a new baby at home. (Zadie was about two months old at the time.)

One of those elders modeled this restful gospel perfectly in that conversation we had.

At one point as I was sharing this, he thanked me for being honest, and he said, “I just want you to know that you don’t ever have to try and give us the impression that you’ve got it all together. You don’t have to be doing well. We are here, and we’ll support you even if you’re totally falling apart. We’re not going anywhere.”

Brothers and sisters, that is the gospel.

The gospel is rest.

The gospel is not for those who work; it is for those who are tired of working.

It is not for the strong; it is for those who have no more strength.

It is not for the moral or the righteous; it is those who need righteousness but can’t be righteous on their own.

Few things could be more difficult for modern, educated, cultured, self-sufficient Parisians to accept—they don’t know what to do when someone tells them that they have nothing to do, because Jesus did it all for them.

And part of it is the very real fact that it shouldn’t work this way: if God really is holy, and we really are accountable to him, then we shouldn’t be able to just come rest.

That’s why, when people finally hear the gospel for the first time, even if they have a hard time believing it, they actually do see why we’d call it good news.

The gospel tells us Jesus already did everything for us. He lived our life, and he died our death, and he gives us life through his resurrection. 

So when we come to Christ, there truly is nothing left we can do to get in good with him. He reveals the Father to us because we already are in good with him. There’s nothing we could add to what he has already done.

The question is, once we have done this—once we come to him—what happens then?

Jesus’s answer is surprising: he says, “Come rest, and keep resting. But be aware that your rest with me will be really different from the rest you’re used to.”

Our rest in Christ will not be the absence of work, but a different kind of work.  V. 29: 

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

A “yoke” is that big, heavy, wooden frame they put over oxen’s necks to attach them to a plow: it’s hardly an image that suggests rest. In fact, it suggests quite the opposite: not just work, but hard work.

And if we read the Bible, we see that that’s true: there are a lot of commandments in the Bible, commandments that don’t seem easy.

The apostle Paul said at one point, “I worked harder than any of you!” If you’re a Christian you know that we don’t stop working when we become Christians—we work even harder than before!

But here’s where a lot of people get stuck: we work hard as Christians…but it’s a really different kind of work, and that’s what Jesus is getting at.

The work Jesus calls us to is different because, firstly, he is gentle and lowly in heart. 

The fact that Jesus is gentle and lowly of heart means he won’t beat us when we fail. He sympathizes with our weaknesses, because he knows what we’re made of, and he knows it’s hard to live for him. He will correct us, but he will correct us with a soft hand.

When Jack was little he liked to climb on stuff, and he was pretty agile. (That’s actually still true.) One of his favorite things—for a while—was to put one hand on the radiator in our hallway, another hand on the doorjamb across from the radiator, and his feet on the wall behind him—kind of a Spider-Man thing.

And I’d tell him, “Don’t do that; you’re going to fall.”

But he was six—of course, he’d ignore me, and keep doing it.

Then one day, his hand slipped and he did a bellyflop right on the hard tile in our hallway. Knocked the wind out of him.

When that happened, I did not yell at him and tell him how stupid he was for ignoring me. The kid couldn’t breathe; he was freaked out. So I ran to him, and pulled him into my arms, and once he’d gotten his breath back I held his face in my hands and said, “I’m so sorry you fell, I know that hurt. What can we do different next time?”

Jesus is gentle and lowly in heart, so when we work for him, we don’t have to be afraid of failing. Gentle correction is not frightening; it’s love. We will fail…and he will correct us with a soft hand. 

Secondly, the work Jesus calls us to is different because his yoke is easy, and his burden is light.

His burden is light because, when Christ saves us, he calls us to learn from him (v. 29). Learn what, exactly?

He calls us to learn what God has always taught his people, and that is how to live. He says if we come and learn from him, this gentle and lowly Master, he tells us the result: and you will find rest for your souls.

When he says that, he’s quoting Jeremiah 6.16, in which God laments over the invitation he’s given to his people, which they have refused to accept: 

16  Thus says the Lord:

“Stand by the roads, and look,

and ask for the ancient paths,

where the good way is; and walk in it,

and find rest for your souls.

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

What are the “ancient paths”? What is “the good way” God invites his people to walk in? It’s his law; it’s his commandments; it’s his will for the people he has created and chosen for himself.

When Jesus invites us to learn from him, he’s inviting us to learn what he is like; what he loves; what he hates; what he desires. That’s what his commandments are. The Bible is filled with commandments, and they’re hard. The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 contains the most difficult commandments in all of Scripture. But at the same time, we love that sermon—even unbelievers tend to be drawn to that sermon—because we all recognize that this is the kind of person we want to be.

And that’s why his burden is light: quite simply, it’s not hard to do what you want to do.

You see, true rest is not the opposite of work. True rest is the right kind of work.

When we understand the grace of Christ, and we begin to love what he loves—because what he loves is actually worth loving—the work of obedience isn’t just light; it’s refreshing. Nothing is more restful than wanting the right thing, and then doing exactly what you want.

With Christ in the School of Rest 

Here’s the paradox of this passage: the invitation to rest is an invitation to work. Not the work of a laborer trying to earn his wages, but rather the work of a student learning from a master. Christ’s invitation to rest is an invitation into his school—to work hard learning from him.

What do we learn in Christ’s school?

In Christ’s school, we learn who he is. He is gentle and lowly in heart. He is a gentle Savior, a humble Master.

In Christ’s school, we learn what is important to him. We learn from his commandments what kind of Master he is, and we find ourselves wanting to become that kind of person ourselves. So we work at it, and we learn from our successes and from our failures. Under the care of our gentle and lowly Master, we learn to desire what we should desire.

In Christ’s school, we learn who we are in him. In regards to what is truly important, we are not grownups; we are not wise and understanding. We are little children, saved by a gracious Father, learning to become adults. 

And that’s sort of the key to this whole passage: the becoming. In our community group this week someone was questioning the relationship between the true rest Christ provides here, and the ordinary rest we need from our jobs and our other occupations. Finding true rest in Christ is good, but it doesn’t really change the fact that we still need ordinary rest, right?

That’s true—we do still need ordinary rest. We do need breaks, we need to not work the weekend (which is why God instituted the Sabbath), we need vacation. But that doesn’t mean that there is no relationship between these two types of rest.

Here’s an example of what I mean. 

One of the biggest surprises I found when I first moved to France was the relationship that the French have with vacation. If I wanted to caricature, I’d say that the French work 10 months (with the occasional small break), breaking their backs to get to summertime, so that they can finally rest.

I found it odd because I grew up in the U.S., and at least in my family, in my entire life before getting married, we took three real vacations as a family. Three. And each of them lasted less than a week.

The thing is, none of us—even my parents, I asked them about this—felt a particular lack of rest. Why is that?

I don’t have a definitive answer, but at least one reason is that multiple times during the week, in the evenings (since we ate very early), we left our house, and we did things together. We went to the movies or we played mini-golf or we went to the park and played baseball, or we ate out for dinner. We did this sort of thing at least three or four times a week.

My dad only had two weeks off work a year—he couldn’t take a long vacation. But we didn’t feel the need for one, because we had several “mini-vacations” every week.

Now we can debate this way of doing things later (I’ve been in France for twenty years now, and I admit I’ve gotten used to the French way of doing vacation). But the principle is a good one. Small moments of rest on a regular basis, throughout the week and throughout the year, provide better rest than big moments of rest a couple times a year. 

We do need to rest—we need to rest our bodies and our minds. But we can’t content ourselves with ordinary rest, because there’s a difference between resting when we need to, and being at rest.

Ordinary rest is necessary, and we need to rest. But more than that, God gives us what we need to be at rest. All the time.

Look at how Jesus says it: 

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

You see, he’s not commanding us to rest. He’s inviting us to receive a gift. He’s inviting us to find rest in him. True rest—the rest Christ gives—is not an action we perform; it’s a state we’re invited into.

There’s a big difference between resting, and being at rest. There’s a big difference between resting, and being restful people. You can rest without being at rest. If you do, then yes, you’ll rest your body and your mind, but that will be all. 

But if you are already at rest in Christ when you clock out of work on Friday and start your weekend, imagine what that would change about your ordinary rest. 

When we do ordinary rest, what do we do? We do things we enjoy; we have fun. If we know Christ, then we do things that feed our souls; we come to church and we encourage our brothers and sisters and we worship God together. All of that is good—that what ordinary rest looks like.

But if we’re already at rest when we start this time, then the ordinary, fun things we do won’t only be fun. Playing with our kids will become a moment of thankfulness to God for giving them to us. Eating a good meal will be a moment of joy and gratitude to our good God for providing us with good things. Looking at works of art will be a moment of wonder as we see our Creator God reflected in the work.

So how do we do it? How do we find rest rather than just deciding to rest?

Christ tells us: Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me. 

In other words, learn to obey my commandments. It’s the basics of Christian discipleship. It’s what he told the disciples to teach others later on, when he said (Matthew 28.19-20)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

True rest, the kind of rest that bleeds into every area of our lives, no matter what the circumstances of our work or our lives actually are, is found in simple obedience to Jesus Christ. We learn to rest—we take Christ’s yoke on ourselves—when we are tempted to disobey him, and we resist that temptation. We learn to rest when we discipline ourselves to read his Word and pray, to learn to know him more. We learn to rest when we get together with our brothers and sisters to encourage one another in the gospel. We learn to rest when we share the gospel with someone else.

If we have found our rest in him, every other rest we might find benefits us double—because we can have the ordinary rest these moments provide, but we don’t have to depend on them. Our vacations can go badly—and we’ll be okay. Our days off can be stressful—and we’ll be okay. Our good weekends are made even better, because we’re able to see the ordinary rest we find for what it is: a good gift from a gracious God.

So the call of this text is very, very simple. If you’re tired, come to him. Learn from him. Learn to obey him, learn to be like him.

And if you do, Jesus promises, you’ll find rest for your souls. True rest—rest that isn’t something we do, but something we are. 

That is what Christ is offering to us. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”