Wilderness Wanderings

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Luke 17:7-10 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN QUESTIONS

1. What stands out to you most from hearing these verses from Luke 17?

2. What is the ditch on the right side of the narrow road, and what are some of its pitfalls? Where do you see this in your life?

3. What is the ditch on the left side of the narrow road, and what are some of its pitfalls? Where do you see this in your life?

4. What are some examples of each of these ditches in culture?

5. How does the parable speak to each "ditch"? What is Jesus' word of grace for each?

6. What is Jesus' call of obedience to us, his servants?

David had just said, "It's been useless—all my watching over this fellow's property in the wilderness so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good. May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!" When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. She fell at his feet and said: "Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name means Fool, and folly goes with him. And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my lord sent. And now, my lord, as surely as the Lord your God lives and as you live, since the Lord has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal. (1 Samuel 25:21-26)

In between yesterday's text and this one comes one of David's chances to kill Saul. God gives Saul into David's hands, but David chooses not to lift his hand against Saul, who was the Lord's anointed king. David shows a wise, mature restraint in that moment. He chooses to trust the God who has promised him the kingship to make good on his plans rather than David securing the throne for himself through murder. David will wait on the Lord as Jonathan helped him to do.

But now a new challenge arises in the desert. A new temptation. While hiding in the desert, David has voluntarily done good to this man named Nabal—protecting his flocks and herdsman from raiders and wild animals. Having done so, David believes that this man now owes him something, even though the man never asked for David's help.

Nabal refuses to give David anything. David's response? He orders his men to strap on their swords. David will not resort to murder to get the kingship. But to salve his wounded pride and bring home some bacon for his men and their families? David will kill for that.

Nabal's name means fool—a godless sort of fool who has no fear of the Lord. But one wonders if David isn't actually acting out as the foolish, godless one here. Indeed: God does not listen to, nor honour David's curse of "may God deal with me if I don't kill these people." Instead, God intervenes to bring life through Abigail, a woman who personifies wisdom, intelligence, beauty, and understanding.

David was halfway down the path of Saul—the godless fool—as he resorted to his own sword and skill at dealing death to get what he thought ought be coming to him. But God gives yet another gift. Last time it was Jonathan that kept David from fear. Now it is Abigail that keeps David from godless folly. Both times, David listens and is saved.

It is not for David to secure God's promises for himself, nor to secure his daily provision for himself, nor vengeance, nor whatever else he thinks he may be owed. Indeed, David is owed nothing for doing what is right. This is simply what is expected of the Lord's servant.

David must learn the wisdom of trust in the Lord, that all things needful will come as God's gift in God's time. David need only concern himself with continuing to do what is right and good.

We can act in similarly foolish, two-faced ways. We might act with the highest Christian ideals and principles when we are aware of God's presence—as David acted with Saul—but then turn around in our financial, work, or family dealings and be arrogant, greedy, and deceitful.

The invitation of lady wisdom is to trust in the Lord in all of our lives, not just in the "important stuff" when we think God might be watching. Let us not be fools therefore, but rather grow up to maturity as those who do what is good and right even to our own disadvantage—as Jesus did—trusting that God will provide what's needful.

David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands. While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he [was afraid because] Saul had come out to take his life. And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. "Don't be afraid," he said. "My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this." The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh. (1 Samuel 23:14-18)

This is the story that introduces the cat and mouse game of David evading Saul in the wilderness. It happens at "Horesh," which is a word that can take two different meanings. It can refer to a sort of silence, or to the work of human hands. The same word shows up earlier in the chapter in Saul's "plotting" against David. Here in this wilderness place of Horesh where he is faced with God's silence and his own fear at the threat of Saul, will David trust his fear and so rely on the work of his own hands to solve it, as Saul has? Or will he trust in this God he cannot see nor hear?

It is here in this wilderness that David must begin to learn a more mature fear of the Lord. This is not the battle of David and Goliath where the battle lines are clear, the army and King stand behind him and the Lord before him. No, now David is a fugitive from the State, driven from his home, searching in deserts and foreign countries for refuge, clinging to the promise of God while facing down God's silence. Will David continue to fear the Lord—trust this God who he cannot see nor hear in this wilderness of fear?

It is not unlike so many wilderness moments in our own life. Something happens that unsettles us, leaves us feeling threatened. A medical scare, a financial jolt, a shifting landscape underfoot in the society or institutions we thought were secure—even the church. Faced with God's relative silence and a threat looming overhead do we choose to fear the Lord or the threat?

It is at this moment that Saul's son Jonathan suddenly appears. No one knew where David was. Yet somehow Jonathan appears. His name means "gift of God." Nathan being the Hebrew word for "gift," and "Jo" being a prefix that refers to God.

The text says that God did not "Nathan"/give David into Saul's hands. But God's hand does offer a Jo-"Nathan"/gift to David. What is this gift of God? A friend who appears in a silent, wilderness moment to help David re-find his strength in God. "Do not be afraid" Jonathan says. They then reaffirm their love and commitment to one another and Jonathan leaves. David remains in Horesh, this wilderness place of silence. But now, somehow, David is no longer quite so alone or afraid. God may be silent, but by his gifts of friendship and encouragement, David can once again recognize God's hand on the move.

As the story continues, Saul really does find out where David is and comes down in pursuit of him. However, we discover that David is no longer in "Horesh." Now he is in the Desert of "Maon," a word which means "help" or "refuge." Here David goes down to "the rock," and at that rock, though "Saul and his forces were closing in on David to capture them," God suddenly intervenes to force Saul to turn away. David and his men are saved, not by what their hands have done, but by the one in whom they have taken refuge.

One can hear Psalms begin to percolate as David grows a little more to maturity. The Lord who is my rock, my salvation, my refuge and strength in times of trouble. Through loving friends, David learns to entrust his life to the hand of God even when God seems silent.

How might you entrust yourself to God today against the silence and the threats that face you? Are there "gifts of God" that show God's hand to you in this moment? How might you be a gift-of-God friend to someone in such a place?

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 9:10a)

When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days. (1 Samuel 18:28-29)

Our theme is growing to maturity in Christ, and I have begun to believe that the book of 1 Samuel is one of the best illustrations of what this growth to maturity means. Today we're looking at the role of fear.

Saul was a man given to many fears, but the fear of the Lord was not one of them. Saul did not cultivate a living relationship with the living God. He was not willing to grow up to a mature trust and fear of the Lord. Instead, Saul lived in the fear of men and so eventually grew mis-trustful of everyone. Saul feared his own men (1 Samuel 13:26), the Philistines (chapters 13-15), and eventually David also, as the verse I read today mentions.

Three times in chapter 18, Saul is said to fear David. It is a fear that grows and eventually consumes Saul by the end of the chapter in our verse from today. So much so that Saul becomes an enemy of David for the rest of his days. From this point onward, Saul's fear drives his mistrust. He mistrusts his son Jonathan and hurls a spear at him (20:30-33). He mistrusts his officials and advisors and accuses them of conspiring against him (22:6-8). He mistrusts the priests of the Lord and has 85 of them ruthlessly killed, along with their families and village (22:9-19). Family, state, and religion: Saul mistrusted them all. All he trusted, was his fear.

In this same chapter of 1 Samuel 18, David offers a strong contrast to Saul. David, this man after God's own heart, is said to have been loved by Saul's son Jonathan, by the Israelite people, and then eventually by chapter's end also by Saul's daughter, Michal. While Saul is afraid three times, David is loved three times and his circle of trusting relationships grows.

Trusting our fears more than our God is a mark of immaturity.

Cultivating a mature, fear of the Lord on the other hand, means entrusting our life to the Lord beyond what our eyes can see or our mind can comprehend. It is to trust that whatever comes of this mystery of life or the uncertainty of our future, that we are loved and held by God—that we belong to him—and that we therefore may step forward in faith to live another day trustfully, open-handedly, lovingly. Whether in times full of joy or sorrow, sickness or health, life or death, in plenty or in want, anxious or peaceful, we trust the ability of our God to hold on to us and make our paths straight—whatever the paths may be.

I think this run of chapters about Saul and David is what the Apostle John is reflecting on when he writes about love and fear in 1 John 4:7-21. In that section he says: "We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. … There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:16, 18a).

As we'll see in tomorrow's devotion, this all takes some growing and living into. David didn't catch it all at once either. But the invitation is clear enough. Receive God's love. Remember who you are in Christ as God's own child who, in life and in death belongs to him. Do not live in the fear of other people, or of not having or being enough, or of not having control of the future, but rather, live in the fear-of-the-Lord, trusting all your ways to him and his love for you. In doing so, you may just find your own trust and capacity for loving relationships with others growing as well.

And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people. (1 Samuel 2:26)

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52)

To [his people] God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. (Colossians 1:27-29)

The last devotion I (Pastor Anthony) offered attempted to tie together a bunch of loose ends into one. Perhaps it was a bit long and confusing. But to re-orient us, the theme I'm chasing is this idea of "growing up to maturity in Christ." The rest of our devotions this week will focus in on this theme.

Most of the Christmas narrative that we have comes from Luke. Why? Well, Luke models the opening of his Gospel on the book of 1 Samuel which spends its first three chapters on the story of Samuel's birth and growth to maturity. So, Luke does the same thing.

You can see the parallel between the story of Samuel and the story of Jesus in the verses I chose. Both of them were very similarly said to "grow in stature and favor with God and man."

In Samuel's case, his growth to maturity is set against the backdrop of the wicked, immature sons of Eli the priest. Two paths are therefore set out at the beginning of the book: the path of immaturity and the path of maturity. This theme runs throughout the rest of the books of Samuel, and even shows up in the books of Kings.

Saul, for instance, remained immature: he never grew up into God and therefore also not his into his role as King among the people. But David did. He grew up in favor with God and man. In the book of Kings the pattern repeats. Even though everything in the Kingdom looked great, Solomon in all his wisdom and splendor never grew up into maturity with God, whereas even very young kings like Josiah did.

Jesus is one of the Kings of Israel that grew up to maturity. Perfectly in fact. But even Jesus still had to do the growing. We aren't born into maturity. We grow into it. It is the work of our lives.

The apostle Paul therefore centres his ministry around this theme which you can find in pretty well all his major letters to the churches. He "strenuously contends with all the energy that Christ so powerfully" has worked into him to "present everyone fully mature in Christ."

This runs against the grain of our culture. Much of our culture idolizes youthfulness. We idealize childhood—its innocence, freedom, and its unabashed transgressions. Adults chase after that which will keep them looking and feeling younger than their years—hair treatments, gym memberships, toys, etc. Churches do the same, believing in some ways that their young people will save them from decline and death. So in order to attract and retain those youth, the church must similarly strive to be "authentic," "relevant," and "youthful" through its programs, presentation, and worship.

Of course, only Jesus saves the church. To demand the salvation of the church from our youth will break and disillusion them. Similarly, to seek to remain youthfully relevant robs older churches and church members from the gift of growing up to maturity in Christ. And if no one grows up in Christ: who will show our younger members how to do it? Who will help them seek and find God even when he seems silent or life seems to fall apart?

Growing up to maturity in Christ is our goal, then. Surprisingly, it's one of the most counter-cultural things we can do as Christians and as a church.

"I said to the Lord, You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing" (Psalm 16:2).

Some thirty-one years ago, Helena and I choose Psalm 16 as our wedding text. Rev. De Bolster, then president of Redeemer College, preached on this psalm during our marriage ceremony. I admit that I don't remember what he said. I do remember that it was a very hot July afternoon.

Regardless, it was a good choice. We are invited to live life from the perspective of verse 2, "I said to the Lord, 'You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.'"

Consider this question: "What makes life good?" Before you read or listen on, answer the question for yourself. Don't give the right answer. Be honest and give the answer that is true for you. What makes your life good?

In Psalm 16, David invites us to give this answer, "As long as God is with me, life is good. And since God is always with me, life is good."

David was not avoiding the troubles of life. He knew enough of them: facing Goliath, running for his life from Saul, dealing with his internal temptations, his son rebelling against him. I also suspect that David would have agreed with the Heidelberg Catechism that we have three basic enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil (A 127).

These three continually attempt to draw us away from God. And so, David begins the Psalm with, "Keep me safe, O God." The good life begins with trusting in God to keep us close to Him. Yes, we can read the Bible daily and pray continually, we can worship with God's people and contribute to kingdom causes, including the local church. We can and should do these things along with other spiritual disciplines. They are tools that God uses to nurture our faith. However, we engage in all these knowing that it is God himself, through his Spirit that keeps us spiritually safe. God is good; we can trust him in this.

Further, David takes delight in those who belong to God and is abhorred by those who oppose Him. We can't delight in God while turning our noses at His people. Enjoying the presence of God means we will stick with His people and delight in them.

At the same time, there will be within us an abhorrence of all things evil. We will flee from them. Not that we will avoid people who don't believe in Jesus, but we will not participate in those activities that draw us away from God.

From here, David describes how his life is good and secure because all things come from God himself. At the end he gives us one of the few Old Testament glimpses of the future resurrection. Peter quotes this psalm in his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2).

David recognized that God would not abandon him when he dies. He would also, I think, agree with the opening words of the Heidelberg Catechism, "My only comfort is that I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ."

I'm not sure I grasped the full meaning of Psalm 16 when we choose it all those years ago. But what better way to go through life than with these words of security.

So again, we end with Jude's doxology:

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen (Jude 24,25).

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Galatians 3:23-5:12 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN QUESTIONS

1. What stands out to you most from hearing these verses from Luke 13?

2. Are the people telling this story (in verse 1) about the Galileans seeking to report to Jesus how sinful these Galileans were? What is Jesus' response and how does it relate (or not) to the story these people told?

3. How is Jesus' response different than the politics of his day (or ours) would've expected it to be? What could've been the result of Jesus choosing not to play along?

4. Why is it uncomfortable for the focus to be on us and our sin? What might we fear Jesus' response to be?

5. Through the parable, what do we learn about how Jesus deals with our sin?

6. How might you fertilize the relationships of your life and world with the manure of forgiveness this week?

But the following morning when they got up, they saw the statue of Dagon. There it was, lying on the ground again! It had fallen on its face in front of the ark of the Lord. Its head and hands had been broken off. Only the body of the statue was left. Its head and hands were lying in the doorway of the temple (1 Samuel 5:4).

These were some of the darkest days for this new fledging nation called Israel. Their original duo of leaders, Moses and then Joshua, were both dead and buried; memory of both fading fast. A succession of leaders had followed, propelling Israel from one calamity to another. Meanwhile, the Philistines and their god Dagon gained influence and power.

These Philistines made their weapons and armour from new and stronger metals. Controlling the mining and manufacturing of these metals, their army was nearly invincible. It was time to make a statement, the memory of Israel would be wiped from the map. With their metal instruments of war gleaming in the morning sun, they made quick work of the Israelites with their wooden farm tools. They took the ark of Israel's God, hauling it back to Philistine territory where they put it in Dagon's temple as a trophy of war. Israel and her God were finished. The Israelites knew it. The Philistines knew it. It was party time.

Except, the next morning, when the Philistines went to pay their respects to Dagon, there he was, fallen from his throne, laying prostrate before the ark of Israel's God. That was humiliating. Assuming their god needed a little help (maybe he had drunk too much the night before), the priests hoisted Dagon back onto his throne.

But the following morning, it was even worse. There was Dagon flat on the ground in front of Israel's God again, his head and hands knocked right off his body rolling all the way to door. The priests were mortified. Israel's God had left Dagon powerless in his own temple. It was unthinkable. And then the complaints started coming in: rats running wild in the town and people afflicted with tumors. The meaning of the original word is illusive, but one of the more persistent theories is that it refers to hemorrhoids resulting from dysentery.

Can you imagine all those iron clad soldiers not able to remove their armour fast enough? Yes. Use your imagination to consider what that would be like. Does that seem irreverent to you? Well, as I said, this is one of the darker periods in Israel's history. Israel thought she was finished; her covenant God had finally been defeated. They were done for.

But in that darkness and apparent defeat, God asserts himself as undefeated and powerful, not just powerful in Israel, but in the very temple of the Philistine god Dagon. And God has a little fun doing it. Dagon lies broken, powerless in his own temple. Rats invest his city. And his people are being wasted by these tumors.

These people decide Israel's God cannot stay. And so, he is passed around from Philistine city to Philistine city like a hot potato. And each gets burned. They finally decide to send the ark back. What do they put on the cart beside the Ark: golden rats and golden tumors! Without lifting a sword, God lays low these mighty Philistines, demonstrating to both them and to Israel that they very much underestimated him. And he has some fun doing it.

No one can manipulate or control this God simply by obtaining possession of his ark. He is sovereign and free. He is not chained to his throne.

Is it only darkness that you see? Read 1 Samuel 5, and chuckle along with God as he reveals himself. And know that this is the same power Jesus revealed when he faced the forces of chaos, centuries later. Trust him, the darkness cannot last, He has defeated it.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May your day end with rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you. May you rest in his provision as he brings night, and then new dawn.

Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, "Come back to me in three days." The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, he followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions." So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite. When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: "What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse's son? To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David!" So the Israelites went home. (1 Kings 12:12-16)

I am still hung up on the theme of growing up to maturity in Christ. Paul uses this image a few times in the New Testament, fretting over his congregations that were still too immature to eat the "solid food" of the faith, but could only receive "milk." How he longed for them to grow up into the fullness of Christ! You can see this thread in passages like 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Galatians 4:19-20, Ephesians 4:11-16, Hebrews 5:11-14.

Jesus once declared that "every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." Paul was such a teacher, and some of the old treasures he brings out of his storeroom through his letters are images that come from deep reflection on the Old Testament scriptures. This theme of maturity is one of them, I think. I've noticed it most recently in places like 1 Samuel 2 (click here for a devotion or sermon on that text) and right here in 1 Kings 12.

Three times in this longer passage, King Solomon's son, Rehoboam, is said to have listened to the advice of the "young men" he grew up with, rather than the advice of the elders. Interestingly, neither King Rehoboam nor those men he grew up with would've been understood in that day to have been "young." 1 Kings 14:21 says Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king. Given the life expectancy of the day: he was certainly no spring chicken. Besides, the word for "young men" employed here in the Hebrew is a word which is translated in most other places in the Old Testament as "child" or "boy."

The reference, therefore, seems to be to the immaturity of these men, rather than their age. Interestingly, the only use of this word for "child" or "young man" before this in the book of Kings is from the story of Solomon's wise judgement when he said to two prostitutes fighting over a living baby "cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other." After he said this, the true mother backed off of her claim to the child, saying: "Please, my lord, giver her the living baby! Don't kill him!" while the other women exclaimed: "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!"

Somehow the story of the living child being cut in two is evoked in the telling of Rehoboam's immaturity. I think the author means to suggest that the words of Solomon's own ruling have come back as a judgement against his own house.

The Rabbis said that Solomon was the worst of the King of Israel because he was the one who caused the division of the nation depicted here in this text today through his sins of promiscuous marriage and idolatry. Israel as a nation is depicted often as an unfaithful spouse that prostitutes itself after all sorts of other gods besides the Lord. Solomon was the first such idolatrous prostitute among the Kings. Immature, despite his wisdom, his heart was divided among many dead scraps of religion rather than wholeheartedly devoted to the living God.

The fruit then of Solomon's house and Solomon's idolatrous prostitution, as embodied in Rehoboam, is a violent immaturity that results in the cutting of God's people in two. This is the same violent immaturity displayed in the prostitute who was not the true mother of the child. It is the same violent immaturity displayed by Pharoah as he ruthlessly worked the Israelites as slaves in Egypt. The result of this violent immaturity? A fatal wound that would eventually culminate in the death of both Israelite Kingdoms through exile.

Immaturity leads to idolatry, violence, and division. It leads to the destruction of faith and life. The invitation, therefore, is to grow up into Christ, to become mature. The prophet Samuel, King David, and Jesus himself all offer examples of what this "growing up to maturity" looks like, as do the fruit of the Spirit. More on that to come.

"Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart" (Psalm 15:1).

This psalm begins with difficult questions. Does it make you squirm? If it doesn't, look at the rest of this psalm. If you are not squirming yet, you better read it again, a little slower. How can any of us live up to what is required in this Psalm? How can we live with God when the standards are so high?

Moses could not see the face of God and live (Exodus 33:20). Priests got burned if they did not respect God's instruction (Leviticus 10:1-2). A man died because David did not have the ark carried properly (2 Samuel 6:7). Even angels cover their faces not daring to look at God (Isaiah 6:2).

The questions leading this psalm are rhetorical. Their answer is meant to be obvious: no one can. God is dangerous. Not one of us can dwell in His sanctuary. Nobody may live on His holy hill.

This Psalm causes many Christians to do a spiritual audit. We may even get so far as to do some extra repenting and resolve to live better lives. So, I could encourage you to do this so that maybe you could spend a moment in God's presence without getting burned.

But that would be useless. As Paul reminds us, "There is no one righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10). Yet, later, he adds, "There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (3:22-24).

The practice of conducting a spiritual audit has a long history in the Christian church. But its goal is not that we try harder to be righteous. Its goal is that we turn our eyes on Jesus, God's suffering servant. He is the one who lived up to all the expectations of Psalm 15. He is the true Israelite, the truly righteous one, the ideal godly human.

He came from God's sanctuary and has returned there (John 16:28). And all who trust Him He will take with Him (John 14:1,14). Amazingly, Hebrews tells us that we may enter God's sanctuary boldly (10:19-22). If we are in Christ, God is no longer dangerous.

We should not pass over this too quickly. This is the amazing story of the gospel. This needs to permeate our souls, the amazing grace and beauty of our Saviour's suffering. What was impossible is now possible. Hallelujah!

Is that all we should say about this Psalm? I think there is more. Those who walk with Jesus develop a passion for holiness, a hunger for righteousness. They long to be people living up to Psalm 15. They walk in step with the Spirit who is 'transforming us into Jesus' likeness with ever increasing glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Finally, the promise at the end of the Psalm still stands. Those who live with the integrity described in this psalm will not be shaken. Life may be difficult; but we know the path, we know the way, we know how to live, and we know where we are going.

We know that God is with us. All is well.

And we join Jude who ends his letter with this doxology:

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen (Jude 24,25).