When the Lord accomplishes His will for His people, He said they shall be named: “The Lord is Our Righteousness.” Jeremiah heard these words while sitting in prison, and awaiting the awful judgment that Israel had called down upon itself through sin and rebellion to the Word of God. The great captivity in Babylon loomed large on the horizon, and to the prophet’s eyes, it must have seemed an unrecoverable situation. The land would be lost. The temple would be lost. The City of David would be lost. The people would become the slaves of a pagan empire, formed in their culture, and steeped in their false gods. But to the prophet’s despairing sight, comes another vision—one of redemption and salvation. A remnant restored to the House of Israel, with joy and celebration and glory forever given to God.
But how can such a thing be? Only faith could receive such a message of hope, in the face of such awful circumstances. Jeremiah knew that he and his people would have no hope of restoring themselves, and any pretense they might have had to save themselves would be dashed by the swords and chariots of foreign armies. The Children of Abraham had sinned greatly, and more than deserved their judgment—but in their judgment, they could see plainly, that they could not save themselves. In the depths of their dejection and humiliation, they could finally see, that they could hope in only one Savior, rather than the works of their hands or the schemes of their imaginations. Under the curse of their torment, would come the knowledge of their condition: they had fallen short of the glory of God, and were condemned by their own hands.
It is a lesson we should learn, in our day and time, too. When we sit in luxury and wealth, we often delude ourselves into thinking we can save ourselves. We think we can find the right diet plan to make everything better; or the right drug; or the right therapy; or the right technology; or the right companion; or the right politics; or the right… well, fill in the blank. We think “science” will save us, by crafting cures for our diseases. We think politicians will save us, by crafting policies for our providence. We think technology will save us, by creating tools for our weakness. We think mates will save us, by slaking our lust. We think we can save ourselves, by marshalling all these petty gods and more, as we craft our own destiny according to our own will.
But eventually, it all comes crashing down. Cures fail. Policies fail. Nations fall. Lovers leave. iPhones die. And when we come to the end of our proverbial rope, we shall stand naked and exposed before the void of death, to pass that threshold like all the mortals who have come before us. None shall escape the coming enemy—that foreign power, which approaches to some faster, and others more slowly, will besiege the city of your body and soul, and work its power upon you. Eventually there will be no medicine, no technology, no person who can save you. You will meet death, and you will be ravaged by it, left with nothing your hands have built. For naked you came into this world, and naked you shall leave. It is a fate we have earned through our evil and pride, and it will inexorably come.
And for us, as we watch the approach of that ancient foe of the human race, it is only a heart of faith that can hear God speak words of comfort to us, that He will bring back the prisoner, the captive, and the oppressed—He will free those who could not free themselves, and in the streets of His Eternal City, there shall be rejoicing forevermore. Where the scourges of death left devastation and corruption in their wake, The Lord God Almighty shall bring forth life, forgiveness, and hope. Where we sit in darkness, the Lord shall break through with unimaginable Light. In the face of our enemy, who takes away all our presumptions and delusions about saving ourselves, our Saving Lord brings forth that which we cannot do—He works our salvation for us, and gives to us that which we need to live forever.
And this is exactly what Christ has accomplished for His people, and the reason why He came into the world. For we who sit in darkness, have seen His Great Light. We who see the approach of our enemy, see Him who triumphs over our enemy through His life, death, and resurrection. We, who have nothing to offer for our own salvation, receive Him who is our salvation: Jesus Christ.
And so, though we may sit in darkness, we ought never to fear it. Let the enemy of mankind come, as ferocious as he will—our Champion has conquered him, and promised to redeem even us. There is no darkness that can withstand His Light, and we have been made children of His Light by faith, though we dwell in a dark, dangerous, and unbelieving world. His Word has washed us, and made us clean, delivering to us the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation we lost so long ago. His Word enters our ears, and gives us faith to believe, to see beyond the grave into blessed realms immortal. He dwells with us by His Word, feeding us on His very Life, to sustain us in this earthly struggle against sin, death, and the devil. And He is our Conquering King, who lays low the enemy of our race, that His people may rise to eternal lives of joy and peace. We are the people He has made into His image, that we may sing forever:
THE LORD IS OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS!
All glory be to our Lord and Savior, who has done such great things for His people!
Amen.
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