Psalm 14 Salvation Out of Zion

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” Psalms 14:1

It’s Christmas time, which means once again time to wage national ‘Manger-scene Wars.’ This week, an atheist group set up an anti-religious display in the capital city of Washington state right next to a Holiday Tree and a manger scene. Members from an organization called Freedom from Religion Foundation funded the display. The sign reads (in part), “Religion is but myths and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” In response to this, some ‘Christians’ apparently stole the sign and threw it into a ditch. One wonders if they were of the persuasion that, “Thou shalt not steal,” no longer applies to the church today.

Also this month in our nation’s capital, Christmas has turned into a war of ideologies waged on the side of buses. First, an atheist ad campaign launched by The American Humanist Association at a cost of over $40,000, has plastered many area Metro buses with advertising which read, “Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness sake.” A reference, of course, to the secular Christmas song, “Santa Clause is Comin’ to Town.” Not wanting to be left behind, the Center for Family Development, a Catholic-based nonprofit in Maryland , is trying to raise $14,000 to run a bus ad campaign with this dreadfully unoriginal message: “Why Believe? Because I created you and I love you, for goodness’ sake.” I’m not exactly sure what this means, but being that is from a Catholic group, perhaps it means that God loves people on account of their goodness? Most recently, a group called Pennsylvania Friends of Christ plans to buy ads for 10 Metro buses saying: “Believe in God. Christ is Christmas … followed by, you guessed it … for goodness’ sake.” Now as to the meaning of this one, I cannot even venture a guess. One wonders what kind of minds came up with such banal responses – it’s like the kid, who having no better reply, says, “Oh yeah!”

In a game of ‘anything you can do I can do better,’ American Muslims in Florida have started a bus ad campaign of their own. Late last month, 120 public transit buses in Dade and Broward counties started carrying this message: Islam: The Message of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. What? No, ‘for goodness sake?’ tacked on to the end; come on, why would they not go all the way with their innovative idea?

These confrontational ad campaigns beg us to address the question: Can anyone be good, ‘for goodness sake?’ Psalm 14 answers this question with a resounding and unequivocal, “NO!” Instead the Psalmist’s indictment is that: They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one. (Ps 14:1-3). This provides an accurate report of the condition of man. He is radically corrupted and depraved. The very concept of goodness, can only is only defined by God, and as such, He is the basis of all human goodness. Therefore, the absence of God is the necessary absence of good. This is a great offense to atheists who consider himself good. The real issue here of course is what they mean by “good.”  Generally they use a rather subjective sliding scale to measure goodness – it is whatever they deem goodness to be. But ‘goodness’ is objective; it is based upon timeless standards of truth and nature of God. Psalms 25:8 says, Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He teaches sinners in the way. God’s goodness is not even ‘for goodness’ sake,’ but for His name’s sake. In Exodus 34:6, God reveals His name to Moses: “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth …” There is only good because there is God, and man may only at best, reflect the brightness of that goodness off of the black darkness of his own soul, in much the same way the vacant, dull, lifeless surface of the moon only reflects the brightness of the sun … for goodness sake!

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Psalm 13 How Long?

How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Psalms 13:1-2

From the middle of Psalm 9 through 12 we find lamentation to be the dominant mood; in Psalm 13 we recognize an increased intensity of David’s desperate cries. In Psalm 12 David perceives himself to be alone, as the godly and faithful men seem to have disappeared from the earth. But if that were not bad enough, as we come to Psalm 13, David falls to the depths of despair as he feels abandoned even by God Himself. To the true child of God, the hiding of the Father’s face is the most terrible of all fates – he will not cease to be comforted until he once more rests in blessed assurance with his Father’s smile upon him.

Several individuals in Scripture have experienced lengthy seasons of distress. Consider: Job’s tumultuous episode; Joseph’s years in prison for something he was innocent of; Moses’s 40 years in the wilderness of Midian, waiting for God to fulfill what He called him to; Noah’s year on the ark; even Jonah’s 3 days in the belly of the fish, must have seemed like a lifetime. The man by the pool of Bethesda (John 5) was paralyzed for 38 years before he was healed by Jesus. A woman bound with a spirit of infirmity for 18 years was loosed by Christ (Luke 13:11). The poor man, Lazarus, labored his whole lifetime under disease and poverty until he was released by death, into Abraham’s bosom (Lk 15:20-22). Under such conditions of great distress, one may find the words of this Psalm to be of great consolation. In seasons of trial and temptation, it is common for one’s thought to turn inward. In Psalm 13 David begins this way, however he does not remain melancholy. We know not how long David labored in his depression, but ultimately attending his soul to prayer, he finds relief, joy and a new song. In fact, the joy he finds is all the greater because of the magnitude of his previous sorrow. Sadly there are many Christians who imitate David in the former state of his experience, and not the latter.

Do you find yourself often asking the question, “How long?” If, as was the case for Joseph and Job, there is no apparent sin that is responsible for your lengthy season of sorrow, take heart and trust that God has not turned His face from you, but has only allowed dark providences in order to work things together for your good and His glory, in conforming you to the image of His Son. Believe that your faith will emerge from the fire as pure gold. Our response to dark providences should be that of the thankfulness expressed by John Anselm: Oh, excellent hiding, which is become my perfection! My God, thou hidest thy treasure, to kindle my desire! Thou hidest thy pearl, to inflame the seeker; thou delayest to give, that thou mayest teach me to importune; seemest not to hear, to make me persevere. In Isaiah 54:7-8, God tells Israel , “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you.” What glorious promises! More than a mere gathering after forsaking, God promises “great mercy” and “everlasting kindness” to make amends for a “mere moment.” God’s end will always surpass your expectation! Can you ever imagine yourself praying as John Bunyon, “Were it lawful, I could pray for greater trouble, for the greater comfort’s sake.”

There are other cases when you must also ask yourself if there is some reason that the Father is hiding his face from you. Has the joy of your salvation departed? If so, inquire of Him into the cause of His anger – He is never angry unless there is a reason. What is that accursed thing in your heart for which God hides His face and does not smile upon you, as He has in the past? For what particular disobedience, for what unbelief, for what abhorrent attitude, for what manner of behavior toward another, has He taken up the rod against you? Job inquired of God (10:2), “Do not condemn me; show me why You contend with me.” What is it that has caused Him to so long delay His help? Be assured that it is not the normal exercise of God’s providence, to trouble the souls of His children for so long a time; so therefore, with humility, seek Him as to His purpose in dealing with your soul in this way. If there be any evil, whether known or undiscovered, ask that it be revealed, that you might repentant over it and find pardon.

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Galatians 6:7-10 God is Not Mocked

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Our text contains the great principle of sowing and reaping. This is a principle of order and consistency, which is written into all life, material, and moral.

Take agriculture for example. God promised Noah after the flood that, so long as the earth remained, there would be ‘seedtime and harvest;’ that is, sowing and reaping would not cease (Gen. 8:22). To this very day, if a farmer wants a harvest, he must sow his seed in his field; otherwise, there will be no harvest. Moreover, the kind of harvest he will get is determined in advance by the kind of seed in he sows. This is true of nature in its quality and its quantity; if the farmer sows barley seed he will get a barley crop; if he sows a wheat seed he will get a wheat crop. Again, if he sows plentifully, he can expect a plentiful harvest, but if he sows sparingly, then he will reap sparingly as well (c.f. 2 Cor. 9:6). Putting these three together, we may say that if a farmer wants a bumper harvest of a particular corn, then he must not only sow the right seed, but good seed and that plentifully. Only if he does this can he expect a good crop.

Precisely the same principle operates in the moral and spiritual sphere. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. So it is not the reapers who decide what the harvest is going to be like, but the sowers. If a man is faithful and conscientious in his sowing, then he can confidently expect a good harvest. If he ‘sows wild oats,’ as we sometimes say, then he must not expect to reap strawberries! On the contrary, ‘those who plough iniquity and sow trouble reap the same’ ( Job 4:8). Or as Hosea warned his contemporaries (8:7), ‘they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind’ (a reference to divine judgment).

This principle is an immutable law of God. In order to emphasize it, the apostle prefaces it with both a command, ‘do not be deceived,’ and a statement, ‘God is not mocked’.

This week take inventory of the seeds you have, and ask God what seeds He would have you to discard, and which you must sow so that you would have a good, plentiful and God-glorifying harvest.

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