Sunday, June 25, 2017

His Truth Thy Shield: A Meditation on Psalm 91


He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High 
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: 
my God; in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, 
and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: 
his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; 
nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; 
nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; 
but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold 
and see the reward of the wicked.

Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, 
even the most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee, 
neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, 
to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands, 
lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: 
the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: 
I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: 
I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation

Psalm 91 is among those which the people of God have clung to during times of great stress and persecution. It is included in some liturgical texts and prayer books where comfort and counsel is sought by those experiencing demonic oppression, or the tyranny of wicked men.  One might also recognize that it was quoted by the devil to Jesus during His temptation in the wilderness— in a chopped up, misapplied, and deceptive way, not unlike how so many false teachers and vapid pastors do in their sermons in own time.  But taken as a whole, and understood in its context as an inspired, prophetic, liturgical song of the people of God, there is much the Church can learn from it in every age.

The first principle to remember is that it is true.  Breathed out by the Holy Spirit of the Living God through His servant David, it is as St. Paul declares to his pastoral protege Timothy:  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.  Because it is true and breathed out by God, we accept it for what it says without rationalizing it away, and engage the text as a student sits beneath his teacher’s instruction.  This true and faithful text identifies numerous promises of God given to His people, and the principles upon which He gives them.

Unfortunately, the premise of God’s Law is that all the blessings of it come by perfect fulfillment of the Law.  Who among us has always and only sought their dwelling place in the shadow of the Almighty, rather than periodically lounging about in places of sin and ill repute?  Who has trusted exclusively and completely in the Lord as their hope, strength, defense, and salvation, rather than leaning on their own faulty powers of reason and strength?  Who has set their heart in perfect love always and unceasingly upon their Creator, rather than devolving into self love and self gratification, where pride dishonors and abuses both God and neighbor?  Sadly, none of us measure up to this standard of holy perfection, and thus none of us can demand of God that we be preserved from every evil, disease, enemy, or other means of calamitous death.  We are sinful people, whose dark hearts often wander into nefarious realms, and whose hands and mouths often manifest the darkness within.

Of course, Jesus had none of these problems.  As the eternally begotten Son of God, His heart was pure and His love unfeigned.  He was always and only in the refuge of His Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit, always with the truth of His Eternal Word as His shield and buckler.  When the devil thought to impugn Jesus by suggesting He take the promise of Psalm 91 to Himself and avoid the temptation— even the Cross— that was laid before Him, Jesus alone had the power and right to demand it.  Only Jesus exhibited the pure and perfect living faith which never sinned, never wandered, and never failed.  Yet Jesus did not take this reward to Himself, preferring to receive instead the guilt and condemnation of the whole human race, that He might live, die, and rise again for the salvation of the whole world.  Rather than demand His due from the righteousness of the Law, Jesus took upon Himself the devastation of our sin and death, that He might offer to us His merits by His grace.

And so, though the people of God could not approach the promises of Psalm 91 according to the Law which they knew they had not perfectly kept, they could receive these fruits and all others given in Holy Scripture according to the grace given freely by Jesus.  This free gift of unmerited favor and blessing, offered for the sake of Jesus Christ alone, is the Gospel of salvation for everyone who will repent and believe.  This Gospel is not a demand or payment, but a gift and a calling, offering what we could never earn and could never deserve.  This gift is the forgiveness of our sins, life, and salvation in the refugee of the Most High God, where no enemy can assail us, and where no calamity can separate us from the love of God in Jesus our Savior.  This is the truth which becomes our impenetrable shield, our guardian, our fortress, and our tower.  This is the truth which allows us to pass through a fallen and darkening world, even as the devil lays waste to countless souls through manifold means, knowing that such destruction will not devour us with them, but that we shall only behold with our eyes the destiny of those who reject God and surrender to the evil one.  This is the Gospel which gives us new life that can never be taken from us, even as life in this world, and this world itself, passes away.  This is the deliverance and honor we receive in Christ for His sake alone, which is our eternal life and salvation by His grace alone, received by faith in Him alone.


To read Psalm 91 through the lens of the Law can bring about terror and despair, but to read it through the lens of Christ and His Cross is to see it as the hope and joy of the Gospel.  Such faith, hope, joy, and love rejoices to return to the Lord of our salvation, to hear His Word and abide in it, not because we will thereby earn from God what Christ alone has earned for us in our stead, but in loving response to the immeasurable love which God first showed to us, rises up to be living sacrifices of thanksgiving unto our Creator and Savior.  Thus while the promises of Psalm 91 appear to us as conditional according to our keeping of the Law, they come to us as surely and irrevocably as the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ through His Gospel grace.  May your eyes be open to see the gift of God in Christ Jesus for you through His Cross, that you might also stand forth in this world with all courage and faith, trusting not in your own works to save you, nor in fear for the battle waged round you, but rather in the completed work of Jesus who calls you to repent, believe, and live.  Amen.

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Sent with Power: A Meditation on Matthew 10


And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, 
he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, 
and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; 
The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; 
James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican;
 James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, 
whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, 
and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, 
Go not into the way of the Gentiles, 
and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: 
freely ye have received, freely give.

Matthew chapter 10 can make a modern reader very uncomfortable.  To the outside, unbelieving world it might be expected that they find the power of Christ delegated and sent out into the world a thing to mock and deride— and in fact, they've been doing that for millennia.  The Jewish authorities persecuted them both before and after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection; the Roman authorities persecuted them and their successors for several hundred years; and down to our own time, they have been violently and politically assailed by religious and political leaders of various stripes.  Often at the point of martyrdom, the railings and mockery of the persecutors sound reminiscent of those who mocked Jesus, scornfully observing that they could save others but not themselves.  Surely, if they used their power to escape the cross, or the fire, or the wild beasts of the coliseum, or the gas chambers of the Nazis, or the death camps of the Communists, the persecutors would believe them.  Of course, the Apostles and their successors knew what their Lord taught them through His own example— that those who refused to believe the Word He sent them out with, would also refuse to believe, even if one were to rise from the dead.  

And what was that Word and that power?  Repentance and the forgiveness of sins; the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand; healing and cleansing the sick; raising the dead; casting out demons.  This was a power and Word which gave hope to the despairing, healing souls and bodies, and giving people eternal life in the Kingdom which has no end.  This Word and power sent the devil and his army fleeing in terror, as they saw their final judgment in the lake of fire brought forward and made present in the disciples of Jesus.  This Word and power would restore the broken, raise the dead, and shatter the chains of evil, wickedness, and treachery which bind so many souls on the path to perdition.  This was the Word and power first sent to the lost souls of the House of Israel according to the Old Testament promise given to the Fathers and the Prophets, and then later sent out to the whole world on the first Easter Sunday so long ago. 

And where has it gone?  It is still among the people of Jesus who believe and trust in His Word.  Through the rise and fall of empires, philosophies, world wars, and new world orders, this Word and power continue with the people Christ has gathered by grace through faith in Him.  Though it makes no play for politics or violence, the political and the powerful continue to fear and persecute it, because they recognize how it obliterates the fear and evil they use to control their slaves in the world.  But in spite of every persecution prompted by every power of hell, this Word and power continues to do exactly what the Lord sent it out to do:  to seek and to save the lost.

Modern and post-modern man has tried to wave it away, to discard it, to ignore it, to ridicule it, to stomp it out, to criminalize it, or to push it into well contained ghettos, but they cannot escape the truth written into their own bodies and souls.  The world is dying, lost in sin and destined for a death it cannot avoid by its own word or powers.  This Law of truth convicts the heart of every man, woman, and child upon the face of the earth whether they admit it or not, knowing that they cannot save themselves from sin, death, hell, and the power of the devil.  Into this bleak hopelessness still comes, often even against their will, the Word and power of Christ which seeks to give them forgiveness, life, freedom, and salvation by the blood of His cross.  Even to modern man, wrapped in his delusions of Evolution, atheistic materialism, hedonism, and endless varieties of addiction, comes the Word and power of Jesus to liberate them and give them hope.  

Where does this Word and power of Christ find you today?  Does it find you within the walls of a church which has left Christ and His Word for the empty promises of the world?  Does it find you enslaved and persecuted by the rich and powerful, who bend you to their will by fear and violence?  Does it find you broken and alone, near death and without any glimmer of human strength to cling to?  Be of good cheer, dear child of God, for Jesus continues to work in the world through the inheritors of His Word and Spirit, calling to you that you might be healed, restored, forgiven, and live forever in the joyous fellowship of your Creator.  This same Jesus who spoke the world into existence and will judge the world at the end of time, abides in the world with those who abide in His Word, giving them power over all the forces of darkness, death, and despair.


This same Jesus comes to you, through His Word and power working through His disciples in every age and every place, that everyone who will repent and believe will live forever by grace through faith in Him.  Hear His Word come to you this day, that by faith you may rise up in His life and power, and share freely with everyone around you that grace which you have so freely received.  Amen.

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Go Into All the World: A Meditation on Matthew 28


And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, 
All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 
baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teaching them to observe all things 
whatsoever I have commanded you: 
and, lo, I am with you alway, 
even unto the end of the world. Amen

Christ's greeting and commands after His resurrection at the end of St. Matthew's Gospel have inspired the Church's mission since the day Jesus gave them to His Apostles.  After His crucifixion, many of His disciples had no idea what to do.  Judas Iscariot, realizing he had betrayed innocent blood by treacherously delivering Jesus to the Pharisees, hung himself.  Thomas seems to have lost his faith, and didn't immediately gather with the remaining disciples, who themselves huddled in a dark room, wondering if they were to be the next victims of murderous religious and secular tyrants.  Into this darkness, death, despair, and unbelief, Jesus returned to shine the light of His resurrection and hope upon His people.  The Gospel writers record that He came to them on the third day after His death (Easter Sunday) and continued to bless, teach, and strengthen them in their faith for several weeks until He ascended into Heaven (just before Pentecost).  This concluding section of Mathew's Gospel helps summarize that teaching, and the mission Jesus gave to His disciples before going to sit at the right hand of the Father.

It begins by noting that all divine authority belongs to Jesus as the only begotten Son of the Father, who alone with the Father and Holy Spirit has accomplished the Vicarious Atonement for the salvation of the whole world.  Jesus is not a sectarian god of some small ethnic band, but rather the God and Savior of every person in every corner of the world.  His blood was shed and He suffered death not just for His own resurrection glory, nor just to save a subset of the Jews, but rather that all people from the dawn of time to the end of time might have the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation He won for them on Calvary.  His authority is universal because He is the One True God, and there is no other false god who can stand before Him.  Jesus' Gospel is universal because He is universal, and His work of salvation was universal as well.

From this universal authority, Jesus gave His global command to make disciples of the whole world, baptizing them in the Name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, and teaching the people of every tribe and race everything He had taught His disciples.  This charge the Church has kept for nearly 2000 years by preserving the writings of the Old Testament Prophets and the New Testament Apostles, living from Christ's Word and teaching Christ's Word through their witness.  The Apostles themselves went from Jerusalem to Asia (Thomas planted the church in India which still remains to this day), throughout the Mediterranean basin (the church Mark founded in Egypt remains to this day, as do churches founded by the other Apostles throughout Southern Europe) and even into Spain-- all without violence or coercion of any kind, but alone by the power of the Word and Spirit of Christ.  Their successors made disciples by baptizing and teaching ever further afield, until our own times, when there is scarcely any corner of the globe which has not had the Gospel brought to it in its own language and idiom.  Comforted and secure in Jesus' concluding promise that He would remain with them even unto the end of the world, the people of Christ took His Word into all the world, and the Holy Spirit worked through that Word to create saving faith and reconciliation with the Father.  Emerging from that divine work is the ever growing Church of Christ, her ranks swelling with the broken, the abused, the oppressed, the discarded, the abandoned, and the dying, who receive from Jesus mercy, compassion, love, forgiveness, healing, and eternal life in His Name.

This is not to say that Christians have always lived up to the high calling of Christ and His Word, and there are certainly times in history we can look back on in shame-- not that Christ or His Word was ever unfaithful, but that the sinners He saved by His grace sometimes fell back into their sinful ways, and did shameful things in His Name.  But the Word of Christ continues to call all people to repentance and faith both inside and outside the Church, because the saving Gospel of Jesus reaches out to every soul universally.  Just as there is no way to hide from the Word of Christ in the world, there is no way to hide from it in the Church-- His Law continues to convict all people of their sin and need for a Savior, while His Gospel continues to reveal that Savior as Jesus Christ.  This universal Word of salvation, sent to bring all people to faith and repentance that they might live forever by grace through faith in Christ alone, is the Eternal Word which shall endure beyond time itself.  This Word of Christ has with it Christ's own promise and His own presence, that whoever will confess their sins, believe and be baptized shall be saved, knit together into Him for all eternity, sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This family, this Church, woven together by the blood of Christ and alive by grace through faith in Jesus, who abide in His Word and carry it into all the world, is the ongoing fulfillment of Jesus' command and promise in Matthew 28.  This Church does not belong to any state or government, to any ethnicity or tribe or language, though it does reach out to embrace them all.  It does not belong to Rome, or Constantinople, or Cairo, or Augsburg, or Canterbury, or Geneva, though it permeates every fellowship where the faithful in Christ are found.  This universal, catholic Church cannot be made into a sect or schism, because Christ and His Word cannot be torn asunder-- though we have seen those who tear themselves away from Christ and His Word through their own pride, wickedness, and unbelief.  This universal salvation by our universal God makes brothers and sisters of us all, calling everyone to the same eternal life in the same Savior, by the same Eternal Word.  This is the fulfillment of the universal promise made to Eve in the Garden that of her seed would arise one to triumph over sin, death, hell, and the devil; the fulfillment of the universal promise to Abraham that through his descendants all the world would be blessed; the fulfillment of the universal promise to the Prophets that whoever would turn and believe in the Lord would be saved; the universal promise of Jesus spoken from His Cross that His work of salvation is finished.


This is the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church which Christ founded by His Word and Spirit, bought by His blood, and sent out into all the world to preach the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation in His Name to every people.  This is our universal fellowship, our universal bond, founded, sustained, and preserved forever in Jesus.  Hear His universal Word come to you, that you may be reconciled to God and your neighbor in the love, peace, and compassion He has given to you through His Son-- and then by His Spirit, carry that saving, universal Word everywhere the Lord sends you in this world, that everyone you encounter may hear, believe, and live.  Amen.

Sunday, June 4, 2017

The Promise is to You: A Meditation on Acts 2 for Pentecost Sunday


Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized 
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, 
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, 
and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.

And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, 
Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

The Church of Christ has suffered much down through the centuries, as the people of God who abided in His Word were murdered, tortured, enslaved, and oppressed by evil forces.  From Abel who was slain by his own brother in the dark mists of ancient antiquity, to the 400 years of Israel's enslavement to Egypt under the Pharos, to their oppression under the Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans to which Scripture attests, the ancient people of God have endured great calamity.  As was the case in the 2000 years between Abraham and Christ, so too has been the 2000 years since Christ to our time, with oppressions coming from tyrants and oppressors both secular and religious.  We have endured the violent scourge of jihadists since the 7th century AD, of ruthless politicians in religious garb since the Middle Ages, and the murderous regimes of totalitarian atheists since the 19th century.  In just one corner of the world, since Easter of this year, Islamic fanatics have blown up churches and machine gunned busses full of peaceful minority Coptic Christians-- the same fanatics who butcher and massacre everyone who will not bow to their self declared caliphate in dozens of countries around the world.  And while the blood of the martyrs flows like a river in foreign lands, the western church continues to atrophy in apathy and disinterest, slowly suffocating in vapid pursuits that make their faith weak, empty, and inconsequential.  Churches and schools are closing that had been vibrant for over a century, ravaged not by violence but by an empty theology of personal satisfaction which has left them discarded like so many empty plastic boxes.

Such is the cross which the people of God have born, and continue to bear in our own time.  With so many enemies encircling the Church from outside, and traitorous apostates and heretics within, it is tempting for anyone to drift into despair.  Against such temptation, the Word of God speaks to His people once again this Pentecost Sunday, through the pages of the Book of Acts.  Not long after Jesus' resurrection, teaching, and ascension, about 120 disciples (including the 11 remaining Apostles, and the newly elected Matthias who took the vacant apostolic bishopric of the traitor Judas Iscariot) were gathered together in one accord, when the Spirit of the Living God descended upon them, imbuing them with power from on high to accomplish the mission which Jesus had given to them them:  to preach the Gospel to the whole world, to make disciples of every nation through baptism and teaching, to forgive the sins of the faithful repentant and withhold the forgiveness of sins from the unbelieving and unrepentant, to go boldly into the devil's domain while fearing no evil, casting out demons and healing the sick of both body and soul (cf. Matthew 28, Mark 16, and John 20). On the first Pentecost long ago, with the Church numbering just 120 souls, the miraculous power of Almighty God filled their presence like a mighty, rushing wind, empowering them to speak in the tongues of everyone who would hear them, and to work every kind of wonder from healing to resurrection that would attest to the power of Christ among them.  On that Pentecost, through the preaching of the Gospel to sinners dead in their trespasses and sins, the miracle of conversion, faith, and repentance was accomplished for over 3000 people-- a miracle which was repeated time and time again, down to this very day.  By the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God, people continue to be born from above by Water and Spirit through faith in Jesus' saving grace for them, earned through His life, death, and resurrection.  To this very day, souls are snatched away from the demonic forces which would lead them to eternal perdition, and the love of God continues to swallow up the hatred, pride, selfishness, and violence of a wicked generation through the witness of Jesus' compassion, grace, mercy, and forgiveness for all people.

While on a superficial level the people of God may appear broken, persecuted, abused, and on the brink of extinction, encircled by so many evil entities that defeat seems all but imminent, the true and enduring reality is that the people of God live forever by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  This persecuted, rag-tag people, with their churches blown up and their busses riddled with bullets, with their organizations taken over by bureaucrats and Machiavellian politicians, with their ranks infected by apostasy and heresy, is still the power of the living God at work to save a lost and dying world.  This people, this Church Universal, made up of every tongue and tribe under heaven, with every variety of liturgy and vestment and tradition and culture, endures to this day in an unbroken chain which stretches all the way back to the dawn of time-- back through the martyrs, Church Fathers, and the successors of the Apostles; through Christ and His Apostles and Prophets; through King David, Moses and Abraham; through Noah, Enoch, Abel and Seth; back to our very first parents Adam and Eve, so many thousands of years before us.  Through every persecution, every trial, every suffering, the Word of God has gathered His people, calling them out of the darkness to live together with Him in the eternal light of His truth, beauty, virtue, and love.  In every time and place He has preserved a witness to Himself, to His grace, and to the salvation he would bring to the world through His only begotten Son.  In every time and place, He has sent His people forth in the power of His Holy Spirit to bear witness to His forgiveness, life, salvation, hope, and victory in Jesus.

And so, this Day of Pentecost comes to you.  Our time and place may not be with Moses crossing the Red Sea, or with Elijah on Mount Carmel; ours is not the time of Christ and His Apostles, or the travels of St. Paul recorded in the Book of Acts; ours is not the time of the heroic saints and martyrs who endured the persecutions of Nero, Diocletian, or Mohammad; but the same Word and Spirit which thundered at Mount Sinai and fell like fire upon Mount Carmel, which was incarnate and spoke upon Mount Olivet and was crucified upon Mount Calvary, continues to work among the people of God in this very age.  Here, in our midst, the Spirit of the Living God comes by the preaching of His Word to bear witness to Christ and His salvation for all people.  Here, in our midst, the Holy Spirit working through the Word of Christ drives out demons, cures the sick, raises the dead, and gives living faith to dead hearts of stone.  Here, in our midst, the Holy Spirit abides with us, making us more than conquerors through Christ our Savior, with an eternal life that cannot be taken or diminished by trial, tribulation, persecution, or death.  Here, among us, power of the Holy Spirit comes to give us faith and repentance unto eternal life in Jesus, that where the countless saints and martyrs, prophets and apostles, and all the holy angels live and sing forever in peace, joy, love, and victory, so we may be also.

By faith in the Word of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, may your eyes be opened to the enduring love, power, and grace of God which has been at work in the world since its foundation, and continues to be at work all around you.  See the legions of holy angels who surround you, whom God has given charge to keep and preserve you through every trial and temptation, and defend you from every foul and wicked spirit.  Behold the great company of saints and martyrs who stand by you as a cloud of countless witnesses to the power and salvation of Almighty God.  Feel the very life of God the Son coursing through your veins, your soul, your heart, your mind.  Know the power of the King of all Creation, given to you through the Word and Spirit of Christ, that you might stand boldly in this current age, fearing nothing.  Trust that you are made children of God through the Blood of Christ, and inheritors with Christ of the Kingdom which has no end.  Hear His Word come to you this day, that you may remember who you are, and to whom you belong.  Brace yourself for the mighty wind which will fall upon you, as you move into the world full of Christ and His Spirit, abiding in His Word by grace through faith in Him.


Be ready, o people of God-- His Word and Spirit have come to you, and the darkness trembles at His coming.  Hear Him, repent, believe, and live in His Word and Spirit, forever raised up to be a living witness to His love, mercy, compassion, and victory.  Arise, o people of God, for the gates of hell cannot withstand you-- arise, and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of the world-- arise, and seek the souls who languish in the hellish prisons of fear and despair-- arise, in the power of your Saving Lord, and go fearless as He has prepared and sent you-- Arise!  Amen.