Wilderness Wanderings

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that "We all possess knowledge." But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. But whoever loves God is known by God. (1 Corinthians 8:1-3)

If we are to be the sorts of people that can engage our changing world with the wisdom and grace of God, we need to be the sorts of people formed into the likeness of God, namely that of Christ Jesus. This is the "growth to maturity" as Christians that Paul talks about elsewhere. It is the formation of Christian character.

In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul shows us how this works with the character trait of love. "Knowledge puffs up while love builds up," he says.

Now, among the clear stances of scripture is the well-deliberated and discerned opinion of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 that Gentile believers were to, "abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality."

Paul, upon receiving a question from the Corinthians about food sacrificed to idols then, could have simply reiterated this position of the council, stated "it's clear," and told the Corinthians to obey or else. But he doesn't. It is not the principles of knowledge and obedience that are to be the primary drivers of action in the Corinthian community, but love.

Paul offers a case study. He begins by stating, in effect, that the decision of the Jerusalem Council was wrong when it comes to the capital "T" "Truth" about God. "We know," he says, that an idol is nothing and that there is no God but one. So: "we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do."

But, he continues, "if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol's temple… this brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge." This, he says, is a sin against Christ. Now Paul is back in alignment with the Council, and the reason is that Love demands something different than Truth here. And the demand of love is what wins.

Knowledge on its own—even the knowledge of the deepest and truest articles of orthodox Christian belief—leads to pride and the tearing down and "destruction" of many things, including the faith of "weaker brothers and sisters" (vv. 9-11). Knowledge on its own is an "immature" knowledge. A knowledge that does not yet know as it ought.

Love, however, takes a different path and starts in a different place. Love begins with relationship—a love of God. One can know all sorts of things about God without really loving God or having a relationship with him, which is why knowledge is not sufficient.

When someone loves God, it is evidence to them that they are known by God. Their love for God only comes because they have received his prior love for them in Christ. There is a natural humility that arises from this awareness. I only love because God first loved me, a sinner. I am only saved because God has saved me. All Christians stand on this same foundation: not that we know God or have somehow learned enough about him, grabbed hold of him, or acted well enough in response to him, but rather that God has known, loved, and grabbed hold of us—sinners though we (still) are.

The primary driver of action in the maturing community of Christ then, is a love modeled on God's own. We are to lovingly honour the sister and brother for whom Christ died not just as a fellow image-bearer worthy of dignity, but as a family member intimately known and loved by the same God who loves us. To do this is to know God (1 John 4:7-21) in the intimate relationship sort of knowing the Hebrew scriptures speak of. This is a mature knowing—a knowing as we ought.

Truth can only be spoken in a love like this, and indeed as this case in Corinthians shows—sometimes Love determines that some greater Truths of God's Sovereignty are left unsaid and unshown for the sake of building another up in faith and not tearing them down. This quite clearly takes much maturity to apply well.

So, try it out. Practice Christ's love today. How might you lovingly build one another up in Christian faith, rather than tear down?

As God's co-workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, 'In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you'. I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:1-2).

Last Friday, Pastor Anthony reflected on Jesus' authority to forgive sin. At the end of 2 Corinthians 5, Paul implores us to be reconciled with God, in other words, to accept the forgiveness of sins which God so freely offers in Christ. Having received, we are then sent out to be ambassadors of this reconciliation.

In our text, Paul puts a bit of fire under the boots of his listeners. Get going, he says, don't receive God's grace in vain. What does he mean by that?

Well, to validate this urgency, he quotes from Isaiah 49:8, which is part of a larger theme in the Bible rooted in the story of Israel coming out of Egypt. As the narrative of the Exodus is referenced throughout the rest of the scriptures a refrain begins to repeat itself. The people didn't trust God. They didn't believe that he could fulfill his promise to give them the land flowing with milk and honey. In the end, they refused to go in.

As a result, God would not bring them in. They wandered in the wilderness for 40 years and died. They forfeited his salvation. This is the warning that becomes tied to the story of the Exodus. Don't be like the Israelites who didn't trust God.

Through the rest of the Bible, this becomes a parable for what happens when God's people refuse to trust him. Psalm 95 is probably the strongest passage in this narrative, saying rather bluntly: "Don't be like that."

The letter of Hebrews picks it up, "Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" (Hebrews 3:13). In the New Testament, the 'day of salvation' or 'Today', is now. Jesus' death and resurrection were God's great acts of salvation to reconcile us to himself. We must respond now, today.

The response is always two-fold. On the one hand, we must receive reconciliation from God. We receive his grace. On the other hand, we must reach out with grace and reconciliation to those who have wronged us. These two cannot be separated. That is why Jesus followed the Lord's prayer with, "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15).

We cannot receive grace without passing it on. If you are not sure where to begin as an ambassador of reconciliation, then begin at home. Begin with those that you need to forgive. Stop holding grudges. Stop making people pay for their wrongs. Break down the walls.

Is this easy? Not at all. But remember, the God who calls us to this has also reconciled us to himself and gives us the grace to reconcile with others. His Spirit leads us on. Paul's urges his listeners, in Corinth and in Hamilton, to get to it.

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

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13).

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today." (Luke 5:21-26).

Boy, which is easier to say? With the medical technology we have to replace knees and reattach ligaments these days, it seems increasingly easy to say "get up and walk." And, with the stubborn determination we increasingly have to exact vengeance rather than restoration these days, it seems decidedly harder than it once was (if it ever was easy) to say "I forgive you."

It really depends on how you take Jesus' rhetorical question, I suppose. To think too hard about it is to miss the point all together, though. The point is not about which is harder: the point is that Jesus can do both. Why? He's God.

A lot of questions swirled about Jesus' authority to teach what he taught. In those earlier occurrences of folks making reference to Jesus' authority in chapter 4—Jesus never steps into the fray to defend himself. He just keeps doing what he does. But with the religious leaders in the room, now Jesus begins to address the question of authority directly. Not his authority to teach, mind you, but something much more central: his authority to forgive sins.

This act of healing was a sign to the man, the leaders, the friends, the crowd, everyone that Jesus had the authority of God to set humanity free and make them well and whole again—addressing not only the physical ailments that constitute the effects of sin on the created world and its creatures, but sin itself.

Sin is that deeper, relational ailment at the heart of all our ailments: whether the physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. When the right relationships of the Created world to itself and its Creator was broken by an act of two human creatures that stepped beyond the boundaries set for them, it knocked the whole thing off kilter in a way that imbalanced the relational world of the cosmos for generations to come: like a loose bearing that permits a wobbled spin that eventually serves to misshape the whole apparatus and all its connected components.

Jesus' forgiveness of sin is equally far-reaching though. He does not only replace the initial loose bearings in the act of forgiveness, but he begins to restore the whole works. Everything knocked out of whack by the counter-formation of sin is brought under Jesus' authoritative power to heal and make well.

And so Jesus forgives: he deals with the initial problem, not just the symptoms. But having done so, Jesus addresses the symptoms too. He sets us free in every conceivable way that we might be bound—in heart, mind, soul, or strength. There is nothing in all our creational, creaturely experience that does not fall under Jesus' powerful word of healing. So: what thing—hard or easy—might Jesus be healing within you today?

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race. Everyone lies to his neighbour; their flattering lips speak with deception (Psalm 12:1,2).

Does it seem to you that Psalm 12 describes our society? People do not expect the truth to be spoken. Trust in leaders and strangers is at an all time low. Many do not even trust their family and friends to speak honestly anymore.

When our politicians make campaign promises we don't really believe them, yet we vote for those who make the biggest promises (which means, the biggest lies).

When CEOs tell us that they care about the factory worker which is being laid off while they deposit their bonuses for streamlining the company, we shrug our shoulders and purchase their merchandise (which we don't really need).

But before we feel superior to leaders in our society consider how Eugene Peterson once described the state of our culture:

"The puzzle is why so many people live so badly. Not so wickedly but so inanely. Not so cruel but so stupidly. There's little to admire and less to imitate in the people who are prominent in our culture. We have celebrities but not saints. Famous entertainers amuse a nation of bored insomniacs. Infamous criminals act out the aggression of timid conformists. Petulant and spoiled athletes play games vicariously for lazy and apathetic spectators. Aimless and bored, people amuse themselves with trivia and trash. Neither the adventure of goodness nor the pursuit of righteousness gets headlines" (Run with the Horses).

How should Christians live in such a treacherous society? First, we need to recognize the state of things, acknowledging that truth telling is not loved around us. This is not a matter in which Christians ought to feel superior, but one in which we ought to test our own hearts, examining how easily we get caught up in lies. We do well to read the story of Balaam in which Israel was easily enticed into sin. Later Moses warns them, "Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them" (Deuteronomy 11:16).

Secondly, we ought to join David in his prayer, "Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore…May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue" (1 & 3). We will not defeat evil. The enemy is too strong. Rather, we pray that our warrior King will defeat evildoers. We wait for His justice and peace. While we wait, we join in the prayer of the saints, "Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus" (cf. Revelation 22:20).

Thirdly, David says, "The words of the Lord are flawless, like silver..." (6). The antidote to the lying in our society is a delight in the truth which is found in God's Word. Another way of to say this is: we take the same joy in God's word as that expressed in Psalm 119. Not the most riveting scripture, but deeply needed. God reveals the way to true life. Do we love it?

Let's join with 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).

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,

"Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." (1 Peter 3:8-12)

In my last sermon before leaving for vacation, I said I'd be picking up a new, more intentional habit of personal devotions through the summer. So, I've begun praying again through the book, Seeking God's Face—a book set with daily scripture readings, prayer prompts, and written prayers drawn from the Reformed Confessions compiled by a pastor just down the road from us at Clearview CRC in Oakville.

This passage from 1 Peter was part of yesterday's scripture reading in that book, and I thought it worth bringing to us here. It echoed with what seems most important to me at this moment of church and Christian life, but also with a picture drawn for me at the wedding of Peter & Stacey Kranenburg this past Sunday.

At the wedding, our former pastor, Henry, spoke on Genesis 12 and the blessing given to Abraham. "What does blessing mean?" he asked. Then he told of us the word's literal meaning in the Hebrew, which is "to bend the knee." Illustrating what this means in practice, he invited one of his grandsons to the front to stand next to him and asked: "who of us is bigger?" The grandchild only stood about a meter high, so obviously, Pastor Henry was the bigger. And then Pastor Henry, in his full suit and tie, bent down to his knee before his grandson. "Now who's bigger?" he asked. The answer had changed.

What it means for God to bless us is that he bends the knee to us—serves us—makes us bigger. So far does God go that he empties himself and makes himself nothing, takes on humanity and the very nature of a servant, submitting himself to death, even death on a cross. This is Jesus bending the knee to wash his disciple's feet. He, the greater—their teacher—bends the knee to them. He blesses them.

But this is also Jesus on the cross. In the face of evil—our evil and that of the world—Jesus bends the knee. In the words of 1 Peter here, he does "not repay evil with evil or insult with insult," but rather repays "evil with blessing."

And this, Peter says, is the life of blessing to which we are called that we may inherit a blessing. The "Blessed-to-be-a-blessing" blessing of Abraham, but also the "now that you know these things you will be blessed if you do them" sort of blessing offered by Jesus to his freshly foot-washed disciples.

The cross the picture of the sort of blessing God means for us to offer the world: responding to sin and evil by bending our knee to serve, making ourselves less, and so lifting others up. So it is that peace is made and love is lived.

Let me close off with the closing prayer from Seeking God's Face: "Prince of Peace, it is so tempting to repay evil for evil, to lash out instead of do good. I can only give that up to follow your way of love and blessing when I know that you will not allow evil to go unpunished. Thank you for freeing me to seek peace, leaving your justice to settle the score on all the evil ones who tyrannize, oppress, and torment in this world. Amen. [drawn from Belgic Confession, Article 37]"

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old had gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).

It used to be, and might still be, that the first skill a soldier learns in the Army is how to walk! That's right! Before ever learning to fire a weapon, dig a fox hole, or survive in combat, a soldier must first learn to march. Strange, isn't it. After all, marching is nothing more than walking in a certain way. But that is the point. A soldier learns to walk to the rhythm being set by the leader. Thereby, learning to walk in the same direction in which the leader is heading and to walk according to the leader's cadence.

Our Christian life is much the same. When we become soldiers for the Lord, the first thing we do is learn to walk according to His cadence. Disciples listen intently to the voice of the master and walk in the dignity and uprightness of the Lord we serve. This was the first lesson we offered at this year's VBSC.: Heroes are called to follow Jesus.

But notice something important here. It is the first thing after; after we come to know our Lord and Saviour Jesus. We must never forget that process of coming to know Him. And as we learn to walk in his rhythms we must always return there. Our text says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God… God works first. He reconciles us to Himself and gives us a new identity. We are His sons and daughters.

As his daughters and sons, we are gifted with the Holy Spirit who is our comforter, encourager and teacher and the source of our spiritual energy. Only because we have been made new in Christ and only because we are empowered by the Spirit can we learn how to walk.

We often make two mistakes here. On the one hand, we think we must learn how-to walk-in step with Jesus before God will claim us as his own. God always claims us first, then we learn how to walk. This is of supreme importance and comfort to the one seeking to follow Jesus.

And the second mistake is that we do not start walking in a new direction nor to a new cadence. Whether it is because we did not count the cost of following Jesus or out of sheer laziness, some church goers put no effort into this. Because we are now in Christ, reconciled to God, we need to start walking differently. The Spirit leads us on.

Our new identity in Christ and our new rhythm for life go together. We cannot have one without the other.

Many of us come to the Christian life with a lot of negative baggage, and some of us pick-up bad habits along the way. When we hear this teaching of being a new creation, we think that Jesus should just get rid of it all, giving us a clean slate. But that rarely happens. As Ann LaMott once wrote, "Give up hope of having a better past." We cannot fix the past. But in Jesus we can have a better future which is free from the hurts of the past. In Jesus we have a new identity. The old is gone, the new has come. Let's walk!

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

May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it! The amazing grace of Jesus Christ be with you!

"When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3).

Have you ever felt as if life's foundations were disintegrating underneath you? It's when the things we had counted on to remain crumble. We discover how little control we have over our own lives. Sometimes we are haunted by the tragedies of people who live around us. We do not know how to help them and even fear we might be the next victims of fate.

There are so many possible examples: job loses, illness, death, family squabbles. These are close to home. Sometimes events farther away such as wars and natural disasters can have equally negative effects on our lives.

In Psalm 11, David is reflecting on his experience of such events. He is afraid. Someone is telling him to flee "like a bird to the mountains" (1).

He is being tempted to go into hiding; to flee the trouble that surrounds him. Many of us can sympathize with this temptation. It's much easier than facing the trouble. We close our vehicle windows to avoid panhandlers. We cancel news feeds. We keep ourselves so busy with career and family we have no time for volunteering to provide food for the hungry or assistance to the refugee.

David recognizes that such flight would show that he does not trust God. His refuge is not in the mountains, not in hiding, his refuge is in the Lord. He can face the troubles of his life and of those around him because the Lord provides.

Enemies are all around him and not necessarily out in the open. He writes of those in the shadows ready to shoot their arrows at him (2). Despite these threats, David chooses not to flee. Why? He says, "In the Lord I take refuge...the Lord is in his holy temple...he observes the sons of men" (1, 4). His life is not dictated by blind fate. God reigns.

David does not flee. Neither does he attack his enemies. He puts his trust in God.

He knows three things about God that give him the courage to stand. First, he knows that God is on His throne. God is in control. David knows that everything around him may be crumbling, but the foundations of life are solid because God reigns. As Christians we declare, "Jesus is Lord." And because he is risen from the dead, we know that our good works done in his name are not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Secondly, David knows that God is observing what is happening on earth. God knows that David is in trouble. He knows that the wicked act violently and the innocent and righteous get hurt. God is not blind to these things.

Thirdly, David knows that God is just. In the end, the wicked must give an accounting of their wickedness and the righteous will be vindicated. As Jesus said, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled (cf. Matthew 5:6).

Knowing who his God is, David can stand and wait. He trusts that God will do what is right. So, he does not flee; nor does he ignore the trouble. He waits on God. Waiting on God is not passive. Rather, as Paul says, it means blessing the troublemakers, overcoming evil with good (cf. Romans 12:21).

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.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Ezekiel 37:1-14 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

What guide should we use to interpret this vision?

1. What do the dry bones say about Israel's condition? What new thing is God promising his people through this vision?
2. How is the language of this vision picked up in the New Testaments? Do you recognize yourself in this story? How should you?
3. How does baptism point back to this vision?
4. How does Christ's resurrection give us hope?
5. How now shall we live?

"Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever (Psalm 52:1,5,8).

Once, when David was hiding from King Saul and his murderous paranoia, he was given refuge by the priest Ahimelech. Unfortunately, Saul's chief shepherd, Doeg, was also with the priest that day. After telling Saul what he had seen, Doeg volunteered to get vengeance for the king. Successfully murdering Ahimelech and 83 of his clan, Doeg felt quite macho: a warrior to be reckoned with. This prompts David's sarcastic line, "Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?" (Psalm 52:1).

Doeg epitomizes the "Big Lie" which the Bible traces from the Garden of Eden in Genesis to the Lake of Fire in Revelation.

The "Big Lie" can be understood in various ways. It is the lie that we create ourselves (at least, our own success); that we are gods; that we command our own destiny; that we are self sufficient and autonomous; that the meaning of life is pleasure, self fulfilment, or independence.

When we live out the "Big Lie" we deceive and manipulate people for our own ends. We make ourselves the centre of our universe. The underlying question of our lives is: "What's in it for me?" Few of us do this blatantly. Many of us live this way subconsciously. As much as we live by 'the big lie', we are cut off from God's goodness, we become evil in our intentions, feeding on our own selfishness.

God comes to shatter the "Big Lie" that started in the Garden. When Adam and Eve fell, they did not become like gods, as Satan promised. Instead, they found themselves naked and ashamed, jumping into the bushes to hide from each other and God. There, God confronted them, showed them their sin, rendered His judgment, banishing them from the Garden to wander across the earth. However, while doing this, he also offered them hope, a way home.

This hope weaves itself through the Old Testament, often hiding in plain site. It is fully revealed in Christ Jesus who came to dwell among us with truth and grace, 'the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being…providing purification for our sins' (cf. Hebrews 1:3).

We are still tempted, however, to live without God, but He doesn't leave us alone. He comes with warning, then judgment to show us our choices. We have only two: live with Him in the truth or live without Him in the "Big Lie." This Psalm addresses these choices.

The psalm exposes the stupidity of the "mighty person" who trusts in herself or in his money, choosing evil rather than God's goodness. Such a person loves lying and has a "deceitful tongue" to cover up their evil.

God will bring such people to ruin. The righteous will be in awe and laugh at such stupidity. The psalmist will be among them in God's house, worshipping and waiting on the Lord. Rather than finding life's meaning in himself, he finds it in the mercy of God and the goodness of His name.

Doesn't a little of Doeg live in all of us? Jesus has the cure for doegishness: "Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:4-5).

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.

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror (Psalm 10:1, 16-18)

At first glance the opening stanza of Psalm 10 strikes us as less than pious, "Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?" But at a second glance it strikes us as right on the mark.

It may not be the way we normally talk to God: with nice, polite words. But is it not the way we often experience life?

When life is tough, we often ask, where is God? When life is difficult, we often think something is amiss with our religion. We think it's not working. But this psalmist makes God's absence normal.

What is going on here? Well, let me make this suggestion. We have taken the doctrine of the incarnation to an illogical conclusion!

In his final words to his disciples Jesus made this promise, "I am with you to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). I believe Jesus keeps this promise.

We have interpreted this to mean that we will always be able to feel His presence. Further, we believe it means our lives will by and large be the way we want them to be. I believe both these things are wrong.

Jesus promised to be with us as we fulfill the mission he gave us. He did not promise to make our lives smooth.

It must also be said that God's purposes are rarely understood by us. The disciples certainly didn't get Jesus very well. Jesus said that His kingdom is hidden.

This is the matter that the psalmist is lamenting. He firmly believes that the Lord is King forever and forever (16). He also believes that God hears and defends the helpless and the oppressed (17, 18). His problem is that he does not see it.

He is frustrated that the arrogant are having their way in this world. They tend to get on top and call the shots. Their wrecking ball is destroying society. It's become a blood bath.

It's the same today, isn't it? Murdering dictators in other countries and ruthless business leaders and dishonest politicians in ours. How do we live in such a society?

First, we allow Psalm 10 to shape our prayers. Second, we do not join the arrogant in their lifestyles. Rather, we 'act justly; we love mercy; and we walk humbly with our God' waiting for Him to establish His Kingdom.

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.