In these last few weeks, virtually the only topic of conversation from anyone has been the threat of COVID-19. “Why, people are dying! That’s how serious this is!” Now, for most people in the world who fear death above all things, it is only natural to be terrified of this virus. “After all,” they think to themselves, “I could die!” There are a lot of statistics being thrown around, but the one bad-news statistic that has not changed since Adam ate of the forbidden fruit is that we all die. If you are reading these words, you will surely die. It is the one statistic that is exactly 100%. Every person ever born dies. One out of one. Ten out of ten. A billion out of a billion. The chance that you will die of COVID-19 is very minute, but the chance that you will die is 100%. It is dead certain.

No amount of social distancing and no face mask or gloves or ventilator or vaccine will change the statistics. No amount of money can be spent or accumulated that will change the statistics in the slightest degree, nor will the most strident denial of the facts. Your death is certainly coming and there is nothing that you can do to prevent it.

So, if people have this strange obsession to talk about threats that terrify them, wouldn’t it make sense to face the one that is certain to occur, rather than the “threat of the day” that poses such a minute threat?

What I am saying is this: The real and universal threat to everyone is DEATH. If you think about it, this is true even for the dreaded COVID-19, for while this disease is certainly unpleasant, the real threat of this is not that it is unpleasant, but that there is a possible outcome of death. So, again, the universal threat is DEATH.

Now that we have exposed death as the real threat, is there anything that we can do about it? In other words, are we any better off now than we were? What have we gained by identifying the real threat? We have, indeed, gained nothing by naming death as the threat IF we still can find no answer to death. But if, by exposing death as the universal human threat, we have been opened up to questions and possibilities that we previously refused or were unable to consider, then we have indirectly made a huge leap forward.

What am I saying? I am saying that you and I must find an answer to the threat of death before death takes us away. And since there is an urgency to our search (there is a DEADline, so to speak), then I am willing to ask questions like, “Is there any answer anywhere to this threat of death?” “Where can I turn for answers, even if it is to explore outrageous claims and long-shot possibilities?”

It is at this point that we must turn our attention to the Bible, and we must focus our eyes on Jesus Christ. The Bible declares that it is only in the Person of Jesus Christ that we can find an answer to death. We tremble at the thought of the grave, but when we read of Jesus, we read of one who had the power to lay His life down and then to pick it up again (John 10:17-18) as one might take off and put on a jacket. We fear death because it is the end of our life, but Jesus spoke of eternal life (John 3:16, etc.) and said He was preparing a place for His disciples in heaven (John 14:1-3) that they would receive after they died. Most amazingly of all was that, not only was Jesus completely unafraid of death, but He also talked of His resurrection, when He would rise from the dead (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34), as if death wasn’t final but was merely the end of physical life. Jesus claimed to have power over death, and history has carefully documented the fact that, while Jesus publicly died by crucifixion, and while many attested to His death, Jesus’ grave is empty. Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus is the only human being who has ever conquered DEATH.

But there is more. Not only has Jesus Christ Himself conquered the grave, but He promises His disciples that they, too, will live beyond the grave. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25-26). Jesus said, “Because I live, you will live also (John 14:19).” The good news is that Jesus Christ has defeated death on behalf of all who put their trust in Him. When we fear the threat of death, we must turn to Christ and He will protect us.

SDG                 rmb                 4/8/2020

In my Bible reading, I have been reading through 1 Corinthians and was in chapter 4 the other day. In 4:4 Paul says “For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted, but the one who examines me is the Lord.” What does Paul mean by this? Is the one who describes himself as the foremost of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15) somehow not conscious of his own sin? Well, of course Paul is very aware of his sin. He is very aware that his sin deserves God’s judgment and that Christ has died on the cross as an atonement for his sins. What Paul is saying is that, even if he ever judged himself to be fully sanctified, the Lord is the judge. It is the Lord’s judgment alone that matters.

But that thought led me down another trail. Why is it that so many people are unaware of their own personal sin, especially in our world today when sin and its consequences are evident in whatever direction we turn? I explore this question in an article that can be read at this link:

Why are you unaware of sin? 

Having an idea of why people are unaware of sin in general and are unaware of their sin in particular can be a help as we discuss with them eternal matters and ultimate questions. RMB

What must it have been like that day on Galilee when a man of flesh and blood commanded the fierce gale of wind, “Hush! Be still!” and the wind and the sea obeyed Him?

This story of Jesus calming the winds and the waves by the sound of His voice (Mark 4:35-41; also, in Matthew 8 and Luke 8) is surely one of the most impressive in the gospels. Thirteen ordinary looking men, a rabbi and His twelve disciples, get into a boat and launch off across the Sea of Galilee to go to the other side. Before they have gone far, they are caught in a fierce windstorm and are in danger of drowning in the lake. The disciples wake their leader from His sleep and tell Him to do something, if He cares about them at all. What happens next is the subject of our study. Before their boat ride is over, it will become clear that Jesus is no ordinary man.

Let me start by saying that, while there are other lessons that are taught by this event on the lake, it is critical that we grasp and embrace the essential point of the passage. Don’t miss this: Jesus is God in human flesh. That is the primary reason this incident is recorded almost verbatim in all three synoptic gospels. Jesus is Messiah, yes. But Jesus is also more than the promised Messiah. He is the Son of God who repeatedly reveals Himself to be God the Son. He is incarnate deity, God in human flesh. That is the main message of this passage.

Whatever the disciples expected when they woke Him and asked for His help, we can be certain that they did not expect Him to silence the storm by a command. For the disciples, the idea that Jesus would stand up and command the wind and the sea to stop their raging was not one of the options. But Jesus commanded the wind and the sea as the One who was inherently and unquestionably their Master. It would be madness for another man to speak to a storm at sea in this way, for the winds and the sea cannot be tamed by any man. But for Jesus, to command the wind and the waves to hush was His divine right. He was their Maker and therefore their Master, and they must obey His command. And so, they do.

And the response of the disciples confirms the message Jesus intended to communicate. Here are His hand-picked disciples, those He chose to be with Him and who had been walking with Him for a little while. They had already seen Him perform miracles that defied explanation. They had heard His teaching, which came with such absolute authority that it demanded obedience. They had observed how He carried Himself and had felt the power of His presence, a regal presence that left no doubt that He was of a superior class, but that simultaneously communicated a supreme humility. “Who then is this . . . ?”

APPLICATIONS FROM THIS PASSAGE:

That Jesus is God is of tremendous theological importance. This truth is a foundational belief of the Christian faith, but it is also of immense practical significance for the believer.

As we examine this event on the sea, we should see that every believer is ‘spiritually’ in the boat with the disciples and must answer these same questions. When the storms of life come in and “slam against our house” (not if, but ‘when;’ Matthew 7:25 NASB), how will we respond? When real threats bear down on us and the ground under us begins to give way, what will we do? And why is the divinity of Jesus important?

• ATONEMENT – The boat is filling with water, and there are fierce winds and high waves, and the disciples ask Jesus, “Do You not care that we are perishing?” But God does care that people are perishing, that men and women are dying and going to hell forever. God the Father has sent God the Son from heaven for the express purpose of atoning for sin by His death on the cross. Jesus must be God, for only the death of the sinless Son of God can atone for sin and can propitiate God’s wrath.
• REFUGE – Surely Mark 4:39 must be one of the most startling verse in the Bible. How does and atheist or an unbeliever read over this verse without experiencing great discomfort? ‘Jesus awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.’ (The Greek in this passage is beautiful, because “becomes a great squall of wind (4:37)” and “became a great calm (4:39)” and led to “fearing a great fear (4:41).”) Jesus displays His authority over forces completely beyond our ability to control, thus displaying that He also has authority over our lives and our circumstances. Therefore, I can run to Him as my refuge when life becomes frightening.
• CALM – Notice that the “great calm” produced “a great fear.” Now this is certainly puzzling. Why would this be? The disciples wanted Jesus to act on their behalf, so He did, and now they are “fearing with a great fear.” The answer to this question is contained in the obvious implication of the disciples’ own question. “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him (4:41b).” To their astonishment, the disciples suddenly realize that this Jesus is not just an exalted Teacher or merely a miracle worker, but He is the LORD Almighty. Jesus is God. He is YHWH. This flesh and blood man at the stern of the boat is the Holy One of Israel. For the disciples then, the revealing of Jesus’ identity was a frightening thing, but for us, Jesus divinity gives us a reason for calm and rest. Since Jesus is with us in our every storm, we can encounter the storm with a great calm, trusting in His power and promises. Jesus is Lord and will see us through.

SDG                 rmb                 3/27/2020

As I began my prayer time this morning, I was feeling a heaviness. Despite a personal and family history of depression, in the last few years the Lord has brought me out of the desolate pit, out of the miry clay (Psalm 40:2) and into a broad place of joy and peace. Now the constant assaults of the media and the myriad, radical changes of this corona virus crisis were testing my ability to maintain my joy and to persevere in my rejoicing. I wonder if anyone else might be feeling this way. Yes? Maybe? It seems to me that even the most stalwart among us must be feeling the strain that is applied by this deluge of discouraging reports. So, what is the disciple of Jesus to do in the midst of this mess? How do we stop all the noise in this fear-filled world from devastating our peace and joy?

The following is what occurred to me as I talked to the Lord and meditated on His word this morning.

The stresses are only immense when I take my eyes off Jesus Christ and look at the winds and the waves. Peter was walking on the water with his eyes fixed on Jesus until he saw the wind. Then he became afraid and began to sink (Matthew 14:28-31). It is the same for us. Eyes on Jesus, we can walk on water, figuratively speaking. But if we watch the wind, we fill with heavy fear and sink beneath the waves. So, fix your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).

I become stressed to the exact degree that I am “disobedient” and allow my heart and mind to consider things too difficult for me (Psalm 131). By “disobedient,” I mean not only doing the things that are forbidden by the Lord, but I also mean not doing the things that are commanded by the Lord. I am commanded “not to involve myself in great matters or in things too difficult for me (Psalm 131),” and when I allow my thoughts to go in that direction and to dwell on ‘too difficult’ things, I will feel overwhelmed and defeated. Leave those things to the Lord! He has promised to take care of those vast things.

There is a LOT of noise right now, a cacophony of sounds which seek to create fear and aim to distract me from Jesus. I, however, resolve to be a sheep who listens for only the Good Shepherd’s voice (John 10:3-5). I am an instrument who will only be played by the Chief Musician. I want to be like a well-trained dog who will only respond to the voice of his Master.

Fear and stress are almost always the products of our minds. That is, they are planted and grow because of our thoughts. So, circumstances are not primary. Our God has promised in His word that He will vanquish all our enemies. He who cannot lie has vowed to be our Shield and our Defender and our Refuge and our Champion, and we know that there is nothing and no one who can resist His perfect and sovereign will.

THEREFORE, no circumstance nor any combination of circumstances is ever primary for the believer. So why do I feel stress and fear? I feel fear (and fear’s consequences of anger and anxiety and stress) when my faith shrinks back (Hebrews 10:39) and I allow my undisciplined thoughts to dwell on the visible circumstances and to imagine that what is seen is greater than Him who is unseen. But for the disciple of Jesus, the Lord is always primary and everything else is secondary. Christ is primary and my faith (Ephesians 6:16) brings all circumstances before the Lord’s supremacy ad then responds through the filter of God’s word to produce peace.

When the world amps up the volume on all the visible threats around me, I more loudly respond with the greatness of my God and the promises of His word. In 1 Samuel 17, Israel had a big problem and a valid reason for fear. The big problem consisted of a giant named Goliath and of a cowardly king named Saul. O, yes, Israel had a “champion,” but he was hiding in his tent because he knew he was no match for the Philistines’ champion. Saul may have been taller than anyone else in Israel (1 Samuel 9:2), but he was a lot shorter than Goliath. Israel had every reason to fear, because they had placed their trust in an earthly champion who could not deliver them. But our hero David placed his trust in the living God, a true Champion who could never be defeated, and thus David had no reason to fear. In the same way, when the world bellows its threats at us through the media or through dangerous circumstances, we respond by proclaiming loudly the power of our Champion, the Lord God Almighty, and we remind ourselves that we will not fear, for we have a King who is mighty to save.

APPLICATIONS:

1. You must know the Word if you are to wield the sword of the Spirit. Just as a swordsman must master swordsmanship to be prepared to every situation in battle, so the disciple of Jesus must be steeped in the whole word of God to be prepared for every circumstance in life. There is very little practical benefit to a promise from God’s word that you have never read. Therefore, know the Word!
2. “The LORD is God, and there is no other.” Fix this truth in your mind and meditate on it often. When the world’s fearful and foolish noise begins to blare in your ears, force your thoughts to rest in the truth that the God who created the universe and everything in it ex nihilo is the same God who took on flesh and blood to die on a cross to atone for your sins. Respond to the world’s feeble threats with an unshakeable confidence in the unchanging love of God. By the Spirit’s power, discipline your thoughts to not dwell on circumstances and “what ifs,” but instead to fix your thoughts on the Lord and His power (Ephesians 6:10). Recognize and immediately arrest thoughts that magnify circumstances and obscure the Lord.

SDG                 rmb                 3/22/2020

As I was reading Psalm 49 and Psalm 50, I was struck by their evangelistic nature. Now, by that I do not mean that there is an overt appeal to faith in Jesus, but I do mean that there is a clear evangelistic tone to these two psalms. This article will be about Psalm 49, which preaches the gospel by warning about the futility of trusting in earthly wealth. Let’s examine this psalm.

The believer is given the charge to warn ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE WORLD (v. 1).

“Be warned, all people!” “Hear this, ALL PEOPLES!”

What could this message of warning be that warrants proclamation to all peoples? It is obvious that only a message THAT APPLIES TO ALL PEOPLE would be PROCLAIMED TO ALL PEOPLE. So, then – HARK! What is this message, this urgent, universal message?

The message is this: We are all destined for the grave and then we will be judged by God for our sin. This is the universal message that necessitates the gospel, and this is the message of Psalm 49.

You must know that wealth and riches, fame and power, castles and cars are fleeting and will do you no good on the day of your death. Your grave hurtles toward you at 60 seconds a minute and there is nothing that you can do to slow death’s advance.

Do you acquire wisdom? “. . . even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish (49:10).” (See also Romans 1:14)

Do you trust in your wealth and boast in the abundance of your riches? No matter your money, you will “leave your wealth to others and your grave will be your home forever (49:10-11).”

For “in your pomp, you will not remain,” for “you are like the beasts who perish (49:12).” Sheol is your destination, whoever you are. If you are reading these words, your appointment with death awaits.

The psalm is hauntingly reminiscent of Ecclesiastes, where “all is vanity,” but this is the message that must be proclaimed by the Lord’s witnesses (Acts 1:8) to warn those who are perishing: “Forsake your wealth and your grand houses, and receive the only ransom that God has provided that will redeem your life (Mark 10:45; Romans 3:24).”

Notice that “those who have foolish confidence (49:13)” are “like sheep, appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd and their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell (49:14).” These are enamored with wealth and fascinated with power and possessions (49:16), but they refuse to acknowledge that they are but chaff and dust and that, “when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him (49:17).” “His soul will never again see light (49:19).”

This message to be proclaimed to “all the inhabitants of the world” is a dark message of warning. All people must know the truth, that “no man can ransom another” and no one has enough wealth “to give God the price of his life (49:7).” (See also Matthew 18:24ff) No matter who you are, if you are now drawing breath, you are destined for judgment. This is the bad news, and it is news you must hear and heed.

But there is GOOD NEWS veiled in the words of this psalm. Read carefully 49:5, where the psalmist sees no reason to fear: “Why should I fear in times of trouble?” This is evidence that the Lord makes a distinction between His people and those who foolishly and defiantly trust in their wealth. For while those who refuse to heed the warning will surely perish and their graves will be their homes forever, those who tremble at the warning of judgment and repent will not fear in times of trouble (49:5), but God will ransom their souls from the power of Sheol and will receive them (49:15).

Will you heed the warning and repent, or will you refuse God’s redemption and perish? Your call.

SDG                 rmb                 3/19/2020

The context of Psalm 31 is that David is seeking refuge from his adversaries. As the reader skims over the verses of the psalm, David’s plight is clear, although the details are not. The LORD has seen his affliction and has known the distress of his soul (31:7). David is in distress and his eye is wasted from grief (9); his life is spent in sorrow (10). He has been “forgotten like one who is dead;” he has become “like a broken vessel (12).” Finally, his distress reaches its height:

“For I hear the whispering of many – Terror on every side! – as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.” 31:13

Is there any escape for David? How can he be delivered from his adversaries? His enemies are arrayed against him and there seems to be no means of rescue. Surely despair and self-pity are understandable at this point, for where is the reason for any hope? How will David, a man whose hope is in the LORD, respond to this crisis? Will he respond in faith and trust or in fear and despair?

David has a secret weapon that will level the playing field, a champion who will appear when His servant cries out to Him.

But I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” 31:14

Now the balance of power has suddenly swung completely to David’s side. The LORD is his God, and terrors and adversaries must take their proper place. David trusts in the LORD and is confident that the LORD will deliver him, because the LORD has no rivals. Moreover, the LORD will hear David’s cry for help and will come to deliver him. The whispering and the plotting of David’s enemies now holds no terror because of David’s Champion. The LORD cannot fail, and, so, David can rest secure.

APPLICATIONS of this psalm:

• David here is an example of how the believer is to behave in a situation where adversaries are many and the odds seem to be stacked against us. In the midst of distress and threat, the believer can respond with confidence that the LORD will be with him and will deliver him. Our threats will seldom be physical dangers from enemies who are plotting against us but threats we will have, and these threats can produce fear. Instead of fear, the believer can rest in the LORD’s strength and trust in His deliverance. “But I trust in You; I say, ‘You are my God.'” And that changes everything.
• It occurs to me that the LORD brings ‘terrors’ and threats into my life for the express purpose of evoking my cry for help and thus for demonstrating His power to save and to deliver. He brings enemies into my life so He can show His power over any adversary. How could I know of His power to deliver or that He is mighty to save or that He would answer my cries for help if He never sent enemies into my life? Therefore I will see threats not as an occasion to fear but as another opportunity for the Lord to demonstrate His power (Romans 9:17) over all my adversaries.

SDG                 rmb                 3/16/2020

Lately the Lord has been showing me my sin of anger to allow me to repent of it. The other evening, as I was contemplating my own unrighteous anger, the Lord brought to mind the attitude of the prophet Jonah after the LORD graciously saved the people of pagan Nineveh. As I turned the pages of my Bible to Jonah 4, I was certain that this passage rested squarely on the wicked anger of the prophet, and that the Lord had a lesson for me from this passage. So I eagerly read the words before me. What did this Scripture have to teach me about anger?

What do we find? We find the ugliness of Jonah’s anger. First, Jonah is “displeased exceedingly” by the LORD’s gracious treatment of the Ninevites. Immediately the wicked nature of the prophet’s anger is exposed. He is angry because the LORD had mercy. Jonah knew that the LORD is “gracious and merciful and relenting from disaster,” and so the creature has the audacity to impugn the Creator for His mercy! Then, in a fit of indignant self-pity, Jonah asks the LORD to take his life.

In response to this outburst, the LORD asks, “Do you do well to be angry?” Note that this is THE key to the passage, for the LORD asks this question twice (see v. 9). (Note that this is also similar to the question for Cain in Genesis 4:6-7.)

Jonah goes out of the city and sits down. To highlight Jonah’s selfishness, the LORD ‘appoints’ a plant to quickly grow and give the prophet shade. Jonah is “glad exceedingly” (see 4:1 for contrast) because of the plant. Then God ‘appoints’ a worm that kills the plant and ‘appoints’ a hot east wind so that Jonah becomes faint. Wallowing in his own unhappiness, Jonah again asks to die (see 4:3).

Again, the LORD asks, “Do you do well to be angry (for the plant)?” Still failing to see his obvious sin, Jonah defiantly says, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” Remarkably, this sinner justifies his sin before the Holy One of Israel and is too angry to tremble in the presence of the living God. Jonah is exceedingly glad when his selfish anger smolders and his circumstances are good, but he is exceedingly displeased and angry when God has mercy on those who are perishing.

APPLICATION:

• The Lord warns all people about the danger of uncontrolled, unrighteous anger. It is dangerous, because this anger is sin and can cause greater sin (see Ephesians 4:26-27). The question, “Do you do well to be angry?” is the sounding of an alarm. When we are angry, we must immediately recognize the anger and discern if it is righteous anger or unrighteous. “Is my anger me-focused or God-focused?” All unrighteous anger must be extinguished through repentance.

[We must be aware that unrighteous anger, like the anger expressed here by Jonah, is the rule for all mankind, not the exception. Therefore, when we realize that we are feeling and expressing anger, we must vigorously interrupt and defuse the situation and extinguish the anger until we can properly assess its nature.]

• Rejoice in God’s mercy, because in His compassion, He graciously saved even you. But also rejoice in His justice, which demands judgment for all who do not repent and believe. Indeed, the wages of sin is death.

CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER: Rarely do I do well to be angry. “Lord, give me the grace to quench my anger and to be gracious instead.”

SDG                 rmb                 3/12/2020

David is certainly the warrior king, the man who most clearly foreshadows the Lord Jesus Christ as He will be when He returns in blazing fire to judge the earth (2 Thess. 1:7ff). Yes, David is a warrior, and so it is possible that in this passage in Psalm 18:37-42, David is speaking of his literal, physical enemies and is telling of their physical destruction as he vanquishes them.

For the rest of us, however, who do not fight Goliaths or Moabites or Arameans on a daily basis, this section of Psalm 18 would have more application if we viewed our “enemies” figuratively. What do I mean? I mean that our enemies are usually not “flesh and blood,” but are more typically lingering sins of the flesh, sins of the “old man” which threaten to ruin our testimony and to make shipwreck of our lives. From this perspective, the psalm becomes a picture of our attitude toward sin. Now the psalm gives us a battle plan for gaining victory over our constant enemy, namely sin.

Our indwelling sins, then, are not permitted to bask in safety. Rather, we pursue them and overtake them and do not relent until they are consumed (18:37). The warrior does not let sin dwell comfortably but seeks it out so that it can be destroyed. We see the picture of us putting sin to death with the sword (“thrust them through” – Col. 3:5) so that it cannot rise again (18:38). We are relentless in the pursuit of sin and merciless in our destruction of sin.

In Christ, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, who equips us with strength for the battle against sin. The Holy Spirit has given us a hatred of sin and the power to resist sin so that our sins are robbed of their strength and so “sink under us” (18:39). Our goal is to destroy the sin that tempts us so that it no longer has victory over us (18:40). In our zeal and our hatred of sin, we “beat them (our sins) fine as dust before the wind; we cast them out as mire in the streets (18:42).” We will not stop until we are walking in holiness and we have shed ourselves of the sin which so easily entangles us (Hebrews 12:1).

In this way, all those who walk with the Lord are warriors pursuing our enemies until they are destroyed.

SDG                 rmb                 3/8/2020

Why do we not “flee like a bird” when we are afraid? Why will we face the adversary or the difficulty or the fear, even though everything within us longs to run away?

As I read this psalm, David begins with an answer to a taunting enemy or with a reply to a well-meaning advisor: “In the LORD I take refuge.” For David and for us, this settles the matter. “In the LORD I take refuge,” and so fear subsides. The threat may be both real and ferocious, but I have taken my stand: “In the LORD I take refuge.” Away with your temptations to flight!

When conflict arises, those of the world most often choose a different course. I know that when I was of the world, my preferred course was to flee the conflict. If things got difficult for me, it was time to leave. And so those who are of the world “flee like a bird to the mountain,” away from those who cause them pain. They do this for two main reasons: first, they do not know the LORD and have no place of refuge in Him, but second, they are selfish and do not care who else becomes a casualty, as long as they flee away unscathed.

Back to the psalm, notice that the threat to David is very real and potentially lethal (11:2). There are wicked men with sharp arrows fitted to bent bows ready to shoot in the dark with the intent to kill. The question implied at the start of the psalm is now posed explicitly: “If the very foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” For those who are orphans and who do not have the LORD as refuge and as heavenly Father, to stand firm in the battle is madness. But for the righteous, “The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven (11:4).” The LORD is the sovereign ruler of the universe and He has authority over every outcome. This is the One who is the refuge of the righteous. Therefore, I will strive to courageously stand firm against the adversity and trust the LORD. He reigns!

SDG                 rmb                 3/6/2020

The context for this psalm is that David is anticipating the LORD’s rebuke. He asks the LORD not to “rebuke him in His anger nor to discipline him in His wrath (6:1),” but we do not know why David would expect the LORD’s wrath. There must be some unspoken sin causing David’s unease and the LORD’s anger. David is “languishing” and “his bones are troubled (6:2).” Indeed, his “soul is also greatly troubled (6:3a).” From the depths of David’s anguish, his heart lifts a poignant cry: “How long?”

Can all of us not identify with this cry of the heart? In this fallen, broken world, is there anyone who has not at some point asked, “How long?”

How long must I endure this loneliness?

How long will this pain last?

How long will this period of unemployment last?

How long must I put up with an unfair supervisor?

More dramatically, “How long will this hurricane continue to blow?”

How long will this beating go on?

How long will this conflict go on?

How long . . . ?

The answer is as clear as it is unsatisfying: This will continue as long as the Lord has eternally decreed, so that all of His intended purposes may come to full fruition.

In His wise providence, the Lord brings us into seasons of testing and trial to accomplish His purposes for our lives and for the universe He sovereignly rules. We will never know all of His purposes in a given trial. In fact, we often feel that we know none of His purposes in a trial, but this we do know: the One who has ordained this trial is also the One who loves me (Romans 5:8), who acts on my behalf (Isaiah 64:4), who strongly supports me (2 Chronicles 16:9) and who is always for me (Romans 8:31). Since the Lord has declared all these promises to us in His word, then we can persevere and trust Him to the end.

SDG                 rmb                 3/5/2020