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CrossPointe Coast | Cape episodes

October 01, 2023 Exodus 20:1-21 | The Law Of Yahweh
Preacher: Joel Fair
Scripture: Exodus 20:1-21
J. I. Packer
Because Scripture calls God’s Ten Commandments “law” we assume they are like the law of the land, a formal code of dos and don’ts, restricting personal freedom for the sake of public order. But the comparison is wrong. Torah (Hebrew for “law”) means the sort of instruction a good parent gives his child. Proverbs 1:8 and 6:20 actually use torah for parental teaching.
Proverbs 1:8 (ESV)
8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
Psalm 1:1–2 (ESV)
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 19:7–11 (ESV)
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
Unfolding Grace
Israel's journey is difficult after crossing the sea, not because of enemies like the Egyptians but because of their own ungrateful and unbelieving hearts. They grumble against the Lord when they are hungry and thirsty, even desiring to return to Egypt! Although they are freed from physical slavery, they require a deeper liberation of their hearts.
At Mount Sinai they enter into a covenant relationship with the Lord. The storyline of Exodus to this point teaches a critical lesson about the relationship between God's grace and his commands. God does not say to the enslaved Israelites, "If you obey my commandments, I will rescue you." Just the opposite: he first rescues them by grace, then teaches them how to respond. First, gracious acceptance, then gracious guidance. It is God's heartfelt and gracious acceptance alone that can liberate the heart to love him.
God's commands are also a gift. They show Israel how to fulfill its role as a "kingdom of priests" in the world. They show Israel how to live as a new humanity with a culture of love. They are to be a new Adam, representing God and reflecting his character in the world.
Genesis 1:27 (ESV)
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Kevin DeYoung
The law was a response to redemption not a cause of it. In one sense, the law shows us our sin and leads us to the gospel. But in another sense, law ought to follow the gospel just as the giving of the Decalogue followed salvation from Egypt. We obey God’s words not because we cower under threat of judgment, but because we stand confidently with our Deliverer and gladly accept his good rule for our life.
Jeremiah 31:31–34 (ESV)
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.
33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
1 Peter 1:14–16 (ESV)
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Matthew 5:17 (ESV)
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Mark 12:28–31 (ESV)
28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Romans 8:1–4 (ESV)
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
50 min
September 17, 2023 Genesis 45:4-16, 50:15-21 | Joseph, Rescuer & Reconciler
Preacher: Joel Fair
Scripture: Genesis 45:4-16, 50:15-21
Genesis 37:18–20 (ESV)
18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.
19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.
20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”
Genesis 39:3 (ESV)
3 His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.
Genesis 39:7–10 (ESV)
7 And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.”
8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge.
9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”
10 And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.
Genesis 39:21–23 (ESV)
21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it.
23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.
Genesis 40:8 (ESV)
8 They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”
Genesis 41:25 (ESV)
25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.
Thomas R. Schreiner, The King in His Beauty
He (the Lord) had showered his grace on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by making a covenant with them and showing them grace again and again. The preservation of the offspring clearly was the Lord’s work, for Abraham’s family survived despite barrenness, sin, stupidity, squabbles, and famine. Genesis teaches that the kingdom will come, for ultimately it depends upon the Lord. It will be realized through his promise rather than human virtue.
46 min
September 10, 2023 Genesis 1:15, 26–28 | The God of Creation
Preacher: Joel Fair
Scripture: Genesis 1:15, 26–28
Isaiah 63:9 (ESV)
9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
Galatians 3:13 (ESV)
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
A. W. Tozer
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
John 1:1–3 (ESV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Colossians 1:15–17 (ESV)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
John M. Frame Salvation Belongs to the Lord
What does it mean to say that God made us in his image? First of all, we should not try to identify the image with something in us, maybe intellect, emotions, or will. The Bible doesn’t say that there is an image of God in man; rather, it says that man is the image of God. We ourselves—all that we are—are the image of God. Everything in us—intellect, emotions, will, even body—reflects God in some way. Think of standing in front of a mirror. The image reflects everything you present to the mirror, and everything in the image represents something in you. Of course, the mirror only reflects part of you, the front part and the outside, not the inside. But we image God far more profoundly: we reflect everything in God, and everything in us reflects God in some way.
2 Corinthians 5:20 (ESV)
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Romans 8:16–17 (ESV)
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Genesis 8:1 (ESV)
1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.
Sidney Greidanus From Chaos to Cosmos
How would God respond to this new rebellion? God had promised never again to send a flood that would destroy all flesh (Gen. 9:15). Yet, for the sake of his creation, God could not let humankind get away with their plan of relying on their ingenuity and unity for survival. The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and they're confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city” (11:6–8). Wenham states that this is “the decisive divine intervention that reverses the tide of human history.
51 min
September 03, 2023 Romans 1:28-32 | The Approval of Sin
Preacher: Joel Fair
Scripture: Romans 1:28-32
Romans 1:16–17 (ESV)
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Romans 1:18 (ESV)
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Romans 3:23 (ESV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 3:10–12 (ESV)
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
Matthew 5:19 (ESV)
19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Romans 2:1–5 (ESV)
1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.
2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.
3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?
4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Luke 18:10–14 (ESV)
10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Romans 5:8 (ESV)
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 8:1–4 (ESV)
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
46 min
August 27, 2023 Romans 1:24-32 | God Gave Them Up
Preacher: Joel Fair
Scripture: Romans 1:24-32
Romans 1:21–23 (ESV)
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Westminster Shorter Catechism
Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
Ephesians 4:17–19 (ESV)
17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.
18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
Galatians 5:19–21 (ESV)
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Thessalonians 4:3–8 (ESV)
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;
6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.
7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.
8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
2 Timothy 3:6–9 (ESV)
6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions,
7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.
9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
Hebrews 11:1–3 (ESV)
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
2 For by it the people of old received their commendation.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Colossians 3:5–6 (ESV)
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
Colossians 3:3 (ESV)
3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Romans 8:12–17 (ESV)
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
52 min
August 13, 2023Romans 1:18-25 | Dark Heart Idols
Preacher: Joel Fair
Scripture: Romans 1:18-25
Colossians 3:5–6 (ESV)
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
Psalm 19:1–2 (ESV)
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
"Idolatry is worshiping anything that ought to be used, or using anything that ought to be worshiped."
Augustine
Romans 7:24-25a (ESV)
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Romans 3:21–26 (ESV)
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Ezekiel 36:22–27 (ESV)
22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.
23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
42 min
August 06, 2023Romans 1:18-23 | The Righteous Wrath of God
Preacher: Joel Fair
Scripture: Romans 1:18-23
Romans 1:1 (ESV)
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
Romans 1:7 (ESV)
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:15–17 (ESV)
15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Romans 2:5 (ESV)
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Exodus 19:5–6 (ESV)
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
"Paul, in another epistle, speaks about certain people 'having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof' 2 Tim. 3: 5. They talk about God, they seem to be interested in God, they might have prayed to God, but their lives were denying it, and therefore it was not real. You must never separate righteousness from godliness, or godliness from righteousness. These two things must always go together. There is no such thing as godliness without righteousness. I would, therefore, lay great stress and emphasis upon that."
Martyn Lloyd Jones - Romans
Exodus 20:3–6 (ESV)
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
"Because of human willfulness, people’s knowledge of God became clouded and their thinking became darkened. Without contact with God, the human heart loses contact with reality, misses the purpose of one’s existence, ignores God, and becomes ungrateful. People are supposed to glorify God as God but instead find all sorts of created objects to worship. Part of the wrath of God is revealed in humanity’s loss of intelligent thinking."
CSB Study Bible: Notes
“That is why, my friends, it is almost a greater injustice to the cross to sentimentalize it than to deny it. If you do not see the wrath of God when you look at the cross of Calvary's Hill, it is very certain that you do not see the love of God either. It is there that you see the wrath of God revealed. What does it mean? It means that God's attitude towards sin is such that He cannot pretend He has not seen it. He cannot just say, 'Very well, I will not punish you'. God's attitude to sin demanded the death of His only begotten Son. God's hatred of it, His abhorrence of it, His determination to punish it, His righteous demand upon it was such that Christ had to come to this world, not to tell us that 'God is love' - God had said that repeatedly through the prophets and others: that was already known - but to bear the wrath of God against sin. God must punish sin. The cross proves that, the cross would never have happened but for that.”
Martin Lloyd Jones - Romans
58 min
July 23, 2023Psalm 113 | The Length Of God’s Love
Preacher: Joel Fair
Scripture: Psalm 113
PRAISE THE LORD - VS 1-3
THE HEIGHT OF GOD'S THRONE - VS 4-6
HANNAH'S SONG - VS 7-9
"This is both the last of a trio starting, “Praise the LORD!” (Hallelujah!), and also the first in the Egyptian Hallel. It is an exquisite and quite complex piece of Hebrew poetry, presenting “a theology of wonder which speaks of a God whose greatness goes hand in hand with his compassion for those most at risk in life.”
Geoffrey W. Grogan, Psalms, The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary
"A short run of psalms used at the yearly Passover begins here, and is therefore commonly known as the Egyptian Hallel (Hallel means Praise). Only the second of them (114) speaks directly of the exodus, but the theme of raising the downtrodden (113) and the note of corporate praise (115), personal thanksgiving (116), world vision (117) and festal procession (118) make it an appropriate series to mark the salvation which began in Egypt and will spread to the nations."
Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150 - Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries
"In these calls to praise there is more than mere repetition. There is point in specifying the Lord’s servants and his name, since worship to be acceptable must be more than flattery and more than guess-work. It is the loving homage of the committed to the Revealed."
Derek Kidner
“And his glory above the heavens:” higher than the loftiest part of creation; the clouds are the dust of his feet, and sun, moon, and stars twinkle far below his throne. Even the heaven of heavens cannot contain him. His glory cannot be set forth by the whole visible universe, nor even by the solemn pomp of angelic armies; it is above all conception and imagination, for he is God—infinite. Let us above all adore him who is above all.
C. H. Spurgeon - The Treasury of David
"The importance of large families in ancient Israel encouraged the belief that a barren wife was cursed by God; cf. Gen 16:4 f.; 1 Sam 1:5 f., 2:5; Luke 1:25."
Mitchell Dahood - Psalms III: 101-150 - Anchor Yale Bible
1 Samuel 1:11 (ESV)
11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”
1 Samuel 1:15–18a (ESV)
15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD.
16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.”
17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.”
18 And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.”
Ephesians 2:1–2 (ESV)
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
Ephesians 2:4–7 (ESV)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:17–19 (ESV)
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
51 min
July 09, 2023 Psalm 19 | The Lord God Revealed
Preacher: Joel Fair
_Scripture: Psalm 19
"I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world. Most readers will remember its structure; six verses about Nature, five about the Law, and four of personal prayer. The actual words supply no logical connection between the first and second movements. In this way its technique resembles that of the most modern poetry. A modern poet would pass with similar abruptness from one theme to another and leave you to find out the connecting link for yourself. But then he would possibly be doing this quite deliberately; he might have, though he chose to conceal, a perfectly clear and conscious link in his own mind which he could express to you in logical prose if he wanted to. I doubt if the ancient poet was like that. I think he felt, effortlessly and without reflecting on it, so close a connection, indeed (for his imagination) such an identity, between his first theme and his second that he passed from the one to the other without realising that he had made any transition. First he thinks of the sky; how, day after day, the pageantry we see there shows us the splendour of its Creator. 'Then he thinks of the sun, the bridal joyousness of its rising, the unimaginable speed of its daily voyage from east to west. Finally, of its heat; not of course the mild heats of our climate but the cloudless, blinding, tyrannous rays hammering the hills, searching every cranny. The key phrase on which the whole poem depends is there is nothing hid from the heat thereof'. It pierces everywhere with its strong, clean ardour. Then at once, in verse 7 he is talking of something else, which hardly seems to him something else because it is so like the all-piercing, all-detecting sunshine. The Law is 'undefiled', the Law gives light, it is clean and everlasting, it is 'sweet. No one can improve on this and nothing can more fully admit us to the old Jewish feeling about the Law; luminous, severe, disinfectant, exultant. One hardly needs to add that this poet is wholly free from self-righteousness and the last section is concerned with his 'secret faults'. As he has felt the sun, perhaps in the desert, searching him out in every nook of shade where he attempted to hide from it, so he feels the Law searching out all the hiding-places of his soul." - C. S. Lewis
"If the glory of those who make things depends on the splendor of what they have made, how much glory is due to the creator of the world, the giver of life? Can we even begin the process of celebrating what the Creator has achieved in a way that befits what he has done? David sets himself that task in Ps 19, in which his admiration of God as Creator (19:1–6) is informed and guided by God’s word (19:7–9), which woos him to all that is good, true, and beautiful, refines his character, and makes him pleasing to the Lord (19:10–14)."
James M. Hamilton Jr. - Psalms - Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary
Romans 1:19–20 (ESV)
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
"The creation has inspired awe and wonder in David, and he responds to God’s glory in creation by shaping language that celebrates what God has accomplished in making the world. God’s prowess inspires David’s unmatched poetry. David has carefully arranged a string of words meant to sparkle with the glory of the God he attempts to extol. That is to say, as beautiful as this psalm is, the point is not the beauty of the psalm but the wonder of the one it celebrates."
James M. Hamilton Jr. - Psalms - Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary
Psalm 1:1–2 (ESV)
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 119:9–16 (ESV)
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!
13 With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
"Perhaps the best one can do is to describe Psalm 19 as an instructional torah psalm. As McCann has accurately written, “Psalm 19 intends to teach.” What does it teach? It teaches that the Creator can be known about through creation, but the torah is the only way that one can know the personal God of Israel. And once one knows this God through torah, one can pray to God in a relational way."
Rolf A. Jacobson - NICOT
"He is his Rock and Redeemer, both echoing the exodus complex of events, for God redeemed the people from Egypt and was their Rock in the desert experiences that followed (cf. Deut 32:4, 15, 18, 30–31)."
Geoffrey W. Grogan - Psalms - The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary
Hebrews 7:1–8 (ESV)
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.
3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.
4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils!
5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham.
6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.
8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.
Hebrews 7:15–21 (ESV)
15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek,
16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.
17 For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”
18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness
19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.
20 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath,
21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.’ ”
Hebrews 7:22–28 (ESV)
22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.
23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office,
24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.
25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.
47 min
July 02, 2023 Psalm 27 | Jesus Our Life
Preacher: Joel Fair
Scripture: Psalm 27
2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)
if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Colossians 1:15,19-20 (ESV)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ... For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Romans 8:10–11 (ESV)
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
1 Corinthians 15:20–22 (ESV)
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
Romans 8:38–39 (ESV)
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
48 min

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