Praise the Lord

Having begun in repentance, turning from the twisted ways of the world which do nothing but drain us dry, and deepening in remembrance and recognition of the Lord who has ever been with us from the beginning, revealing himself to us in unexpected ways, we come finally to that for which we have always been longing: The Holy City of God, the New Jerusalem, where Christ the Lamb is the Light, and whose gates are never shut. We have come home, our true home. It is joyful reunion, and we are glad.

Friends, the true journey we are on finally moves beyond our time bound experiences into dimensions that are eternal and limitless. Let not our thoughts remain constrained by the days and months and years. Let our eyes behold journey’s end, where all are gathered together from every time and place, saints and angels, joining the eternal song of praise, the Alleluia being sung by all creation. Blessed be God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — and blessed be His kingdom, now and forever. Amen.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
lead us all into the eternal bliss
of Your divine fellowship.
Amen.

Praise the Lord
(Psalm 134)

Praise the Lord,
All you servants of the Lord
Who serve Him in the night
Lift your hands
In the house of the Lord
And praise with all your might

May the Lord
Maker of heaven
Maker of earth
Bless you from Zion
© 2001 by Jeff Doles

The Pilgrim Psalms project is now streaming at Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever you enjoy music. It is also available for download at Amazon and iTunes. 

Travel Together

Traveling together, we discover a unity that is deeper and more ancient than we can comprehend. It is eternal. The journey is bigger than us. It draws us together and encompasses us — not just those of us who are presently on the way, but all who have ever been on it and all who are yet to come. Everyone and everything. For God makes known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, to bring all in heaven and on earth to unity, all summed up in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:9-10). In this unity and this journey is found great blessing, the glory of God.

Travel Together
(Psalm 133)

Travel together
This journey makes us one
And the oil of blessing flows down
Fresh as the dew upon the ground

When we learn to recognize
We are pilgrims on the road
Through the mountains of Zion
To the city of our God
Where is His glory found?

Isn’t this heaven
Aren’t we the people of God
Hasn’t the Father made us one
Blessed with the Spirit and the Son?

May we learn to recognize
We are pilgrims on the road
Through the mountains of Zion
To the city of our God
Where is His glory found?

Travel together
This journey makes us one
And the oil of blessing flows down
Fresh as the dew upon the ground
© 2001 by Jeff Doles

The Pilgrim Psalms project is now streaming at Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever you enjoy music. It is also available for download at Amazon and iTunes.

We Remember David

There is an ancient memory of the glory of the Lord, and that memory runs deep within us. Humility revives it, brings it to the fore. It is bracing, stabilizing. Drawing upon it helps us persevere, ever pressing on toward the Promise. King David remembered, and by humility saw the return of the Ark of the Covenant to the Holy City. And he rejoiced, dancing with wild abandon. Yet that was not enough. He longed for the Ark of the Glory to be fully established in the hearts and minds of his people — that the Lord might have his resting place forever among us. But as grand as David’s dream was, the Lord had something infinitely greater in mind. David wanted to build a house for God, but God would build a house for David, one that would endure forever. God would always be with us, in us, and our home would ever be in Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the promise fulfilled and our life is now hid with him in God (Colossians 3:3). And so we remember, and dance with David.

We Remember David
(Psalm 132)

David we remember yet
All the hardship he endure
His servant heart would not forget
But made a promise to the Lord
“I will not rest, I will not rest,
Nor will I find my peace
Until I make a place for Thee”

We have heard in Ephratah
And in the fields of Jaar
Of the glory of the Lord
And the blessing that was there
Let us worship at His feet,
Let us seek His face
May we find His dwelling place

We remember David
Made a promise to the Lord
He danced so hard,
He danced so high
So may the saints of God
Go singing in their joy
We remember David

David was your servant, Lord
And on the day he entered in
You heard the promise that he swore
You made a promise back to him
“If your children keep my ways,
I will be with them
They will have a king forever”

“You are the ones that I’ve desired
And the people of My choice
All your needs I’ll satisfy
And you will listen to my voice
When your enemies assail,
I will be with you
I’ll be the light upon your way”

Lord, remember David
Gained a promise from You, Lord
He danced so hard,
He danced so high
So may the saints of God
Go singing in their joy
We remember David
© 2001 by Jeff Doles

The Pilgrim Psalms project is now streaming at Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever you enjoy music. It is also available for download at Amazon and iTunes.

My Heart is Not Proud

The journey has been long, and there is yet more to go. We have been to the bottom, cried out from the depths, learned humility, and there experienced the mercy of God. It does not answer all — or perhaps any — of our questions but it changes us. We have begun to realize that answers are not really what we are longing for. And now we are ready to move forward, not in pride of soul but in humility of heart. For in humility, there is hope.

My Heart Is Not Proud
(Psalm 131)

My heart is not proud
And neither my eyes
And I do not seek
To understand why
But I have stilled
And quieted my heart
And so have I placed
My hope in my God
© 2001 by Jeff Doles

The Pilgrim Psalms project is now streaming at Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever you enjoy music. It is also available for download at Amazon and iTunes.

Out of the Depths

Now we come to a turning point in the journey. We began from far away in a land with no peace, and awakened to the joyful prospect of coming again to our heart’s true home in God. We have remembered how the Lord has delivered us in the past, how He has protected and provided, how He surrounds us on our journey and gives us rest. We have rejoiced in the Lord, the Righteous One, for He has been faithful to us.

But as we draw ever closer, we become more and more aware of something that has been going on inside us from the beginning, a calling out from the depths of our being. It is a deepening awareness of our many faults and failures, in the light of God’s faithfulness. And we realize our helplessness in the face of it. We are like Isaiah who, in his vision of the unfathomable glory of the Lord, experienced the profound sense of his own “unclean lips,” his own lack of righteousness (see Isaiah 6). Yet the Lord was faithful to cleanse and heal him, and we cry out to God for that same cleansing and healing. It is Christ and the Cross that we need, and with that assurance we can move forward and meet our God in the Holy Place.

Out of the Depths
(Psalm 130)

Out of the depths I cry
To You, O Lord
Now let Your ears hear my voice

If you should count my faults
Lord, who could stand?
In awe, we find that You forgive

How my soul waits for You
I wait for You
More than the watchman waits for dawn

Now let us trust in His unfailing love
He will redeem us from our sins
Himself redeem us from our sins
© 2001 by Jeff Doles

The Pilgrim Psalms project is now streaming at Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever you enjoy music. It is also available for download at Amazon and iTunes.

The Righteous Lord

They had been greatly oppressed, harnessed to the plow and run over time and again. But the Lord cut the straps that held them, the cords that bound them, and set them free. The testimony of Israel is that the Lord brought them up out of the land of bondage and into the Land of Promise. That is our testimony, too, for it is the same Lord Jesus who sets us free, and the same Cross by which we are redeemed. The Lord had been faithful to keep the covenant he made with their ancestors, with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and would continue that faithfulness to them. That assurance enabled their perseverance so that they, too, would arrive safely at journey’s end.

The Righteous Lord
(Psalm 129)

From the days of my youth
All my enemies assailed
From the days of my youth
But they never did prevail
And the plowman plowed my back
And they made the furrows long
And the plowman plowed my back
And they made the furrows long

But the righteous Lord
Has cut me free
And the righteous Lord
Is keeping me moving on

They were grass on the roof
Where the grass will not grow
They were grass on the roof
Where the grass will not grow
And they turn from the Lord
He will turn them away
And they turn from the Lord
He will turn them away

But the righteous Lord
Has cut me free
And the righteous Lord
Is keeping me moving on
© 2001 by Jeff Doles

The Pilgrim Psalms project is now streaming at Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever you enjoy music. It is also available for download at Amazon and iTunes.

You Shall Be Happy

In the middle of the journey, the psalm writer speaks quite unabashedly about the blessing, the joy — the happiness — that attends those who honor the Lord and walk in His ways. Yes, there are dangers and difficulties encountered along the way, but there is also the protection and provision of God, the fellowship of friends and family, and the warmth of hearth and home. And in all things, the Lord reveals Himself to us in unexpected ways. Glory to God for all things.

You Shall Be Happy
(Psalm 128)

Blessed are you
Who worship the Lord
And all those who honor His name
Blessed are you
Who listen to His voice
And all those who walk in His ways
You shall be happy
It shall be well with you

Blessed be your household
It shall multiply
Many the ones at your table
Joy for your sorrow
Comfort for your tears
All that you need from your labors
You shall be happy
It shall be well with you

For so are the ones who are blessed by the Lord
So may the peace of the Lord be with you
© 2001 by Jeff Doles

The Pilgrim Psalms project is now streaming at Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever you enjoy music. It is also available for download at Amazon and iTunes.

The Lord’s Gonna Give You Rest

This pilgrim journey is one of giving up the vain notion that everything — or anything — depends upon us, and coming to the place of humility, realizing how great is our helplessness. It is a joyful realization, for it means that we can cast all our cares, all our distracting thoughts, over onto the Lord, who loves us deeply and will take care of us always. Lord Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry” (Matthew 11:28-30).

The Lord’s Gonna Give You Rest
(Psalm 127)

Build a house, build a wall, build a city
That’s a mighty fine work,
But ain’t it a pity
It’s all gonna fail the test
Take some time, take some thought, take a minute
Did you ever ask yourself
If the Lord was in it?
As humble men will confess
Only the Lord’s gonna give you rest

You get up early and you’re staying up late
And you work like a mule to put food on your plate
You know, you settle for less
You keep depending on what you can do
And you’re forgetting all the love He has for you
He wants to give your His best
Only the Lord’s gonna give you rest

You don’t have to be afraid to grow older
I know they told you but it’s just not true
You don’t have to take the world on your shoulders
Just be faithful to the way He works in you

The road we’re traveling is straight and its narrow
But He’ll direct you like the bow directs the arrow
And He will give you success
And if you doubt that the Lord is a giver
Just remember all the children in your quiver
Then you will know you’ve been blessed
Only the Lord’s gonna give you rest
Only the Lord’s gonna give you rest
Only the Lord’s gonna give you rest
© 2001 by Jeff Doles

The Pilgrim Psalms project is now streaming at Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever you enjoy music. It is also available for download at Amazon and iTunes.

The Lord Will Redeem All Our Years

Our journey well under way, singing the goodness of the Lord, we are glad, full of joy. But all the while, we are mindful that there are others who are yet far away, and we hold them in our heart. For they are part of us, and we are not complete without them. So, as we travel this pilgrim way, we pray, sowing our tears in hope of joyful reunion at journey’s end.

The Lord Will Redeem All Our Years
(Psalm 126)

When the Lord brought us back to our homeland
We were like people who dream
We had begun to believe that
It was something we never would see
And our hearts were all filled up with laughter
And our laughter was filled up with joy
And the joy inside us was singing
Of the things that were done by the Lord
Things that were done by the Lord

As the rain swells the streams of the desert
And the water brings life to the land
May the Lord look upon us from heaven
To bring life to His people again
For we’ve sown many seeds in our sorrow
And we’ve sown many seeds in our tears
But we wait for the joy of the harvest
When the Lord will redeem all our years
And the Lord will redeem all our years
© 2001 by Jeff Doles

The Pilgrim Psalms project is now streaming at Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever you enjoy music. It is also available for download at Amazon and iTunes.

Oriented Toward Light

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him. (Psalm 103:11)

How high are the heavens above the earth? It is more than we can comprehend. Yet that is how great God’s love is for those who fear him. But it is also how great God’s love is for those who do not fear him. For God is love. Love is not something God has, or a choice God makes; it is the nature of God to love, for love is what God is in his very being. For God to ever cease to love anyone to the fullest would be for God to cease to be God.

There is no difference, then, between the love God has for those who fear him and those who do not. It is the exact same love for both. But the difference is in how each perceives or experiences that love. Those who fear God, that is, who turn toward him, love him, trust him and walk in his way, they experience the love of God for what it truly is. But those who turn away from God, who love themselves above all others, and walk in their own way, the way of the world, they experience God’s love very differently. God’s love is the same for them as it is for the others, but their understanding is distorted, so the love of God seems to them a torment and a condemnation.

They walk in darkness, and the light of God’s love shines brightly. Like coming out into the sunlight after a long while in the dark, it can be somewhat painful, because our eyes are not used to the splendor of the sun. We want to shade our eyes and return to the darkness. But if we let the light in, our eyes gradually grow accustomed and we begin to see clearly.

The light of God is a judgment upon darkness — not upon us but upon the darkness within us. God comes to enlighten our darkness, to banish it from us so we can see with unhindered eye the absolute goodness of his divine glory. The love of God comes to heal us, to cast out the fear and hatefulness that causes us to turn away from God and from each other, and even causes us to despise our own selves.

Christ is the True Light who has come into the world to give light to everyone. He is the love of God fully revealed to the world, even when we were caught up in the hatefulness by which we crucified him and each other. Through Christ, God has “qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14). This is the good news of the gospel.

In 1 John 2:8, we read that “the darkness is passing, and the true light is already shining.” It is as we turn to Christ and let his divine light penetrate our darkness and his love penetrate our hearts that we begin to experience the light and love of God as they truly are. And also the truth of who we really are, for it was for light and love and life — fellowship with the Divine — that we were created in the beginning.

God’s Anger is Not Forever

The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
    nor will He harbor His anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

(Psalm 103:8-12)

There are several striking things in this brief passage, and they are perfectly revealed to us in Jesus Christ. First, we see that the Lord is full of compassion and grace. There is nothing God has ever done or ever will do that is lacking in either of these. God, in his holiness and justice, always deals with us according to mercy. God overflows with love toward all, even to those who have turned away and consider God as their enemy. The Father loves them nonetheless. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said,

You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:43-45)

What of God’s anger, then? The psalm writer tells us that the Lord is “slow to anger.” God is longsuffering toward us, exceedingly patient with us. Alongside God’s patience, there are a couple of other things the psalm writer would have us understand about God’s anger. The first is that, however we might think about the anger of the Lord, it is always for the sake of God’s love toward us all. See in these verses how it is couched in the middle of God’s compassion, grace and abounding love. God’s anger is always conditioned by his faithful love toward us. His anger is not at us but at sin and evil and darkness — how we break vital relationship not only with God but also with each other, with creation, and even within our own beings. By such dark ways, we do harm to others and to creation as well as to ourselves.

Second, however we might think about the anger of the Lord, the psalm writer tells us this: It will not last forever. It is never God’s last word about anyone. For the anger of the Lord does not come to condemn us but to deliver us. For God is forgiving towards us and does not treat us according to our sins. He does not hold them against us — he removes them from us! Such is God’s love and mercy toward us.

The people whom the psalm writer primarily has in mind as the object of God’s faithful and enduring love are the people of Israel. God made covenant with them and, through Moses, showed them wonderful deliverance. The Lord, “made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel” (v. 7). But in Jesus Christ, God reveals that this same love is not just for Old Testament Israel but for all the world. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17). “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

This calls for faith, for it is through faith, turning from our own darkness to the light of Christ, that we embrace this great reconciliation, come to know our forgiveness and find our true freedom in God. But if we embrace the darkness, the light of Christ will seem to us like the anger of God instead of the love that it is, for light is God’s judgment on the darkness. The anger of God will not last forever, not because God changes in his disposition toward us — God is ever and always disposed toward us in love, for God is love — but because our disposition toward God changes and we finally see Divine Love for who he is.

The Snare Has Been Broken

Praise be to the LORD,
    who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird from the fowler's snare;
    the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

(Psalm 124:6-8)

We have escaped, been set free. The snare that held us in bondage has been broken. We need no longer remain there.

It happened at the cross, this escape, almost two thousand years ago. Jesus went up against the principalities and powers, the rulers and authorities. He went up against the works of the devil, all the power sin could muster against him. He went up against death. These all nailed him to the tree and rejoiced against him there.

But they did not understand, or else they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. Their imagined victory was actually their demise. For at the cross, the power of God’s self-emptying love, revealed in Christ, broke the snare and shattered the chains that held the world so tightly bound.

The cross of Christ disarmed the principalities and powers, destroyed the works of the devil, and broke the power of him who held the power of death, that is, the devil. By his death, Christ demolished even the power of death itself, for it is impossible that death could ever hold the Lord of life.

At the cross of Christ, the forgiveness of God was fully revealed. As the apostle Paul says, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their sins against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

All those old chains no longer hold us, no longer have any power or authority over us. We have been set free. Let us therefore count ourselves dead to these things, and them to us. Let us, as Paul says, reckon ourselves dead to sin but alive to God. For we have died with Christ at the cross that we may walk in the power of his resurrection. “For as in Adam all died, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Friends, hear and believe the good news of the gospel. In Jesus Christ our sins are forgiven and we have been made alive to God. The snare has been broken and we have escaped. Come walk in this new life.

A New Song for All the Earth

Sing to the LORD a new song;
    sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Sing to the LORD, praise his name;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

(Psalm 96:1-3)

A new song has come into the world, a song that reveals God’s salvation come for all the nations, his glory made known throughout the earth. It is the sound of good news, of the coming of Christ. It is the song of the gospel, captured in three words: The Lord reigns. When this new song is sung, the world can no longer remain as it was, for the coming of the King changes everything.

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.”
    The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
    he will judge the peoples with equity.
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
    let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
    let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Let all creation rejoice before the LORD,
    for he comes, he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples in his faithfulness.

(Psalm 96:10-13)

In the coming of Christ, the world is set on a firm foundation, for he has disarmed the “principalities and powers,” the unjust authority and systemic evil that lies behind kings and cultures. Their power has been broken by the way of the cross and the life of the resurrection so that no one is obliged to honor them — we are free to live out this new life we have in Christ. For he has come to judge the earth, to heal, to cast out the demonic, to put things right, to make all things new. When he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is in his glory.

This is truly a cause for jubilation, not only for the nations but for the whole universe — cosmic celebration! Our English translations do not capture very well the wild exuberance of joy indicated in the Hebrew text: Let the heavens be lighthearted and merry. Let the earth spin for joy. Let the sea and everything in it roar with delight. Let the fields and everything in them jump for joy. Let all the trees of the forest let out with high-pitched shouts of joy. Creation itself is waiting for the full manifestation of our redemption in Christ.

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:19-21)

Even now, this new song is being sung, and has been since the first Christmas. In the season of Advent, we tune our hearts again to its sound that we may sing it afresh.

Joy to the World is a song for every season but has been especially celebrated at Christmas. Here is my arrangement, from my Christmas album, He Come from the Glory.

This One was Born in Zion

He has founded his city on the holy mountain.
The LORD loves the gates of Zion
    more than all the other dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are said of you, city of God.

(Psalm 87:1-3)

The Lord loves the gates of Zion — the holy city of Jerusalem. Reading this through the New Testament revelation of Jesus the Messiah, that is, through the lens of Christ and the gospel, we understand Zion to be the new Jerusalem, the Jerusalem that is free, the Jerusalem that is above, the heavenly Jerusalem that comes down, joining heaven to earth (Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 21:2). It is, in a word, the Church, the body and bride of Christ (understanding that the Church in the New Testament is not a separate entity from Israel in the Old Testament).

The psalm writer sings the praises of the holy city and of God’s love for her. The Lord has founded it on the mountain he has chosen for himself; Christ has built his Church upon the rock of who he is (Matthew 16:18). The Lord loves Zion; Christ loves the Church and gave himself for her (Ephesians 5:25). It is no surprise that glorious things are said about the city of God. What is surprising, though, is how the psalm writer describes that glory:

“I will record Rahab and Babylon
    among those who acknowledge me —
Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush —
    and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’” (v. 4)

Rahab? Babylon? Philistia? Tyre? Cush? These had all been troublesome, some even oppressive, for much of Israel’s history. Rahab is a reference to Egypt, who once held the children of Israel in bondage. Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and carried off the people into captivity. The Philistines had been foes of Israel in the days of Saul and David. Tyre, in the region of Philistia, and Cush represented other difficulties and temptations for Israel. Yet, God says of these that they are among those who know him and of whom he will say, “This one was born there.” Born where? In Zion, the city of which the psalm writer is counting the glories. So the NIV supplies “in Zion” where it is actually only implied — but then in the next verses it is made explicit:

Indeed, of Zion it will be said,
    “This one and that one were born in her,
    and the Most High himself will establish her.”
The LORD will write in the register of the peoples:
    “This one was born in Zion.” (vv. 5-6)

This is not a work wrought by any of those nations, not even by Israel. It is the work of God, a matter of divine love, mercy and grace. God has founded the holy city and established the peoples in her, for he never intended Israel to be a nation unto herself but a people for the sake of all nations, as “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6), and to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham that all the families and nations of the earth would be blessed through him and his descendants.

The Lord has founded Zion, and the psalm writer portrays him as recording the people in the registry of the city. Of each one, the Lord writes, “Born in Zion.” Though they have come from elsewhere, now they are record as belonging to Zion, fully accepted as rightful inhabitants, and heir to all the rights and privileges of the city. Here there is no dividing line between Jews and Gentiles, between Israel and the nations. Through faith, Gentiles are grafted into the promises along with faithful Israel. When all the Gentiles have come in, Paul says, then “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25). In his letter to the Church at Ephesus, he addresses the Gentile believers about how the boundaries have been obliterated in Christ and we have become “fellow citizens with God’s people.”

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands) — remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:11-22)

The psalm writer, then, closes with this note of deep celebration, a song for all who know the blessing of Zion — of Christ.

As they make music they will sing,
    “All my fountains are in you.” (v. 7)

The Forgiver of Our Sins

Blessed is the one
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one
    whose sin the LORD does not count against them
    and in whose spirit is no deceit.

(Psalm 32:1-2)

David, psalm writer and shepherd king, well understood the joy of sins being lifted. You can hear his great relief in Psalm 32. At first, he had kept silent about his sin, afraid to admit it to the Lord, or even to himself. His silence before God was a deceit in his spirit. But God, who knows all hearts, was not in the dark about it. David was only fooling himself, and it did him no good but only increased his distress.

When I kept silent,
    my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your
    hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
    as in the heat of summer.

(Psalm 32:3-4)

David was bearing the shame of his sin and it wore him out. But then he finally came to his senses and brought it out before the Lord — and he made a wonderful discovery.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you
    and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.”
    And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

(Psalm 32:5)

God did not hold his transgressions against him; God forgave him, as he was willing to do all along. It was David’s own silence that held him back from experiencing it. But when he confessed his sin to the Lord, he laid hold of God’s ready forgiveness.

It was not only the joy of God’s forgiveness that David was withholding from himself but also the confidence of God’s help. A heart that is hiding its guilt from God is not a heart that is ready to trust him. But in confessing his sin to the Lord, David was then able to trust God to also deliver him from the trouble that surrounded him. And he turned his experience into an exhortation to all the faithful, the subtext of which could be put this way: “Don’t be a fool like I was. Trust the Lord with all your heart, for he is faithful.”

Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
    while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
    will not reach them.
You are my hiding place;
    you will protect me from trouble
    and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Many are the woes of the wicked,
    but the LORD’s unfailing love
    surrounds the one who trusts in him.
Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;
    sing, all you who are upright in heart!

(Psalm 32:6-7,10-11)

It is cause for hoots and shouts and songs of how God has rescued us, for lightheartedness over the burden he has lifted from us, for whirling and twirling with joy that God has forgiven us. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we come to know this great joy. His cross is not only the divine demonstration of God’s love and forgiveness but also the means by which he delivers us from the power of sin, the devil and even death itself.

Christ is the Meaning of the Law

Earlier in Psalm 19, we saw Christ as the meaning of the stars and also wonderfully portrayed by the sun. As we continue in this psalm, we discover that Christ is the meaning of the Law of Moses, which is to say, we understand the Law through him. All the Law and Prophets, he said, are about him. In the Sermon on the Mount he made it very clear that he did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them. He is the perfect revelation of God’s purpose in them. If we want to know what they are about, or ever were, we have only to look to the Lord Jesus.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
    refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
    giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
    giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
    enduring forever.
The decrees of the LORD are firm,
    and all of them are righteous.

(Psalm 19:7-9)

Christ is God’s ultimate word to the world, the perfect expression of God’s being. He is the Good Shepherd who “refreshes” or “converts” (KJV) our souls, turning us back to the path of what is right and true and loving. His teaching is a sure and trustworthy foundation upon which the wise may build their house. His ways are straight and true and lead us to joy. He is the very radiance of God’s glory, giving us light by which we may see God. He is the personification of pure love and awe toward God, doing only what pleases the Father. His law is summed up in this commandment: Love one another.

They are more precious than gold,
    than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
    than honey from the honeycomb.
By them your servant is warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.

(Psalm 19:10-11)

There is nothing in this world that can satisfy our desires like Christ — indeed, none can satisfy us except Christ, who made us and gave himself for our sake. And there is nothing sweeter in life than to know him. He shows us the paths and the pitfalls so that we may come to know the blessing and peace of God in this life and in the ages to come.

But who can discern their own errors?
    Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins;
    may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
    innocent of great transgression.

(Psalm 19:12-13)

Through the cross of Christ, divine forgiveness has been revealed and the power of sin broken. God’s purpose is to conform us to the image and likeness of Christ, transforming us by the power of the Holy Spirit and the renewing of our minds by Christ. In this way he delivers us from the faults and inclinations of which are we are unware as well as the sins we know all too well.

As the writer brings this psalm to an end, so I close echoing the same prayer: May these words and this meditation be pleasing in your sight, Lord Jesus, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Christ is the Meaning of the Sun

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
    like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
    and makes its circuit to the other;
    nothing is deprived of its warmth.

(Psalm 19:4-6)

The theme of Psalm 19 is the revelation of Christ in the heavens and in the “law” (or “instruction”) of the Lord. For Christ is the creator of the cosmos, and all the Law and Prophets, which is to say all the Old Testament scriptures, are about him.

God has “pitched a tent for the sun.” Through Christ, he has created the heavens and the skies that surround the earth, and indeed, all that is. Christ is the Sun. The sun portrays him before our eyes. Just as the sun is always present in the sky, so Christ is always present in the world. For all things are created in him, through him and for him, and are sustained by him. The psalm writer describes the sun as a bridegroom coming out of his marriage chamber and as a mighty champion who gladly runs the course for his people.

Christ is the Bridegroom, lavishing his love upon his people and preparing them as his holy bride. The bride is the Church, “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). This is, Paul says, a profound mystery.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church — for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:25-32)

Christ is also the Champion for his people, pouring himself out willingly for our sake so that, through him, we are more than conquerors. And there is nothing that can separate us from this great love.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:31-37)

As the sun traces its path across the sky from east to west, giving its light and heat to all the earth, so also Christ rules over the world and gives light to all, penetrating every corner of darkness. This is the testimony of the New Testament: “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5). “The darkness is passing and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8).

Christ is the true light, and the meaning of the sun. The sun is but one means by which his light is made present in the world. It is an icon of his glory. Christ is the reality, the light that was from before the beginning, and the light that will remain when all things come to their fulfillment in him. As Isaiah the prophet said, so also John the Revelator:

The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end. (Isaiah 60:19-20)

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp ... There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 21:23; 22:5)

Christ is the Meaning of the Cosmos

The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.

(Psalm 19:1-4)

The whole cosmos bears witness. The depths of space describe the glory of God. The skies demonstrate his workmanship. Every day they speak to us, every night they bring revelation. But here is a paradox: They have no speech, no sound, no word — yet they have a voice that is heard everywhere and a language understood all over the world.

They speak to us about God. Paul says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” (Romans 1:20). More precisely, they speak to us about Christ. That is how Paul understands this psalm when he quotes from it in Romans 10:18. The revelation of Christ begins in the cosmos.

All the Law and the Prophets are about Jesus, and that is how the New Testament writers and the early Church understood the Old Testament. So creation speaks to us of Christ, for it is he who is the creator of all: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3). “In him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16).

The heavens and the earth always bear a fresh testimony to Christ, for he is not only the creator of all things, he is ever sustaining them. “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3).

The testimony of the heavens does not reduce down to data points or arguments for the apologist’s toolkit. The cosmos is always speaking to us about Christ. More than that, it is always revealing the glory of God through Christ, always presenting him before our eyes and our understanding, always manifesting his presence throughout all creation by his sustaining power. Christ is the meaning of the cosmos.

And the Lord Will Redeem All Our Years

This is a song I wrote years ago (back in the 80s) based on Psalm 126. It was part of a project I did on Psalms 120-134 (aka, Ascent Psalms). I call them the “Pilgrim Psalms.” This song came to mind again as I was praying through Psalms 126-130 the other day (my practice is to pray through the book of Psalms each month — which means five psalms every day).

As time has relentlessly added to my years, I am perhaps too aware that in many ways they have not been what I wanted them to be — yet in many other ways they have been more wonderful than I could have imagined (my wife, my children and my wonderful little granddaughter come to mind here). God has done great things for me, and I am glad. And I live in the joyful expectation that there are greater things yet to come, and that the Lord will redeem all of my years.

Redeem All Our Years

When the Lord brought us back to our homeland

We were like people who dream

We had begun to believe that

It was something we never would see

And our hearts were all filled up with laughter

And our laughter was filled up with joy

And the joy inside us was singing

Of the things that were done by the Lord

Things that were done by the Lord

As the rain swells the streams of the desert

And the water brings life to the land

May the Lord look upon us from heaven

To bring life to His people again

For we’ve sown many seeds in our sorrow

And we’ve sown many seeds in our tears

But we wait for the joy of the harvest

When the Lord will redeem all our years

And the Lord will redeem all our years

Psalm 1, Prosperity and the Path of Your Listening

Blessed is the man
    Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
    Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
    And in His law he meditates day and night.

(Psalm 1:1-2 NKJV)

Every month I pray through the Psalms. Today is the first of the month, so I begin again with Psalm 1. This psalm is a wisdom psalm. It is about what you listen to, because what you listen to is what will fill your heart, and what fills your heart is what you will do and what you will speak. What you choose to listen to will determine the path you take — and whether or not you will prosper. What you speak will reveal which path are choosing.

The man who listens to the counsel of the wicked will do what do they do and end up mocking what they mock. Though they might seem to flourish, it will only be for a season, and they eventually will be blown away like chaff. The godly, on the other hand, listen to the instruction of the Lord, letting it fill their hearts. They will end up doing and speaking what builds up, not what tears down, and their results will be very different — a prosperous and fruitful life, established and strong, that becomes a blessing to others as well as themselves. And they will endure from season to season.

He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water,
    That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
    And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so,
    But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
    Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
    But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

(Psalm 1:6 NKJV)

Unfortunately, even at our best we often fail to listen well, and so, to live and prosper well. There is only one who has ever fulfilled the word of the LORD perfectly, and that is the Lord Jesus, who is the Living Word of God. But the goodness of the gospel is that he comes to live his life in us. He shows us what faithfulness is and what a truly prosperous life looks like.

What is more, Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit, to produce in us character of Christ and the fruitfulness of God that blesses the world. The fruit of the Spirit consists chiefly of love, which fulfills all the law of God. As we listen to the instruction of the Lord, revealed through the Living Word, the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures, we will discover the prosperity that changes the world for the better.