Thoughts on Death and Resurrection in the Old Testament

C.S. Lewis, in his book “Reflections on the Psalms,” suggests that by the time of Jesus, Jewish theology had evolved to include life after death as we understand it today, as well as the concept of resurrection. Lewis wrote that previous generations of Christian theologians seem to have thought that the authors of the Psalms understood theology from a Christian perspective as we do today; that they wanted eternal joy and feared damnation. Lewis, however, does not think they had even the same concept of death as Christians.

Though he cites many portions of the Psalms to make his case, Lewis’ idea can be challenged. The idea of an afterlife and resurrection is present long before the time of Jesus’ earthly life and even before the composition of the Psalms. In fact, the belief in life after death is a central component of the entire Bible.

In the book of Daniel, the prophet writes:

“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2).

This passage clearly indicates that the dead will be raised from the grave, and it suggests that there will be different fates for the righteous and the wicked.

Similarly, in the book of Job, it is written:

“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God” (Job 19:25-26).

Job expresses his confidence that he will see God even after his body has been destroyed. Additionally, some theologians, such as Franz Delitzsch, believe that Job is the oldest book in the Bible. If this is true, it makes Job’s confession all the more significant.

In his book, Isaiah writes:

“Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy” (Isaiah 26:19).

This passage refers to the resurrection of the dead, and it is clear that the author believes in a physical resurrection.

Lewis’s thesis is further undermined by the fact that the Sadducees, whom Lewis identifies as a remnant of the older way of thinking, were a small and marginalized group in Jewish society. The Pharisees, who were the dominant group, believed in both an afterlife and a bodily resurrection. As Kretzmann notes, “The Pharisees accepted the resurrection of the dead as a fundamental tenet of the faith, and they based it on the Scriptures.” Similarly, Keil & Delitzsch declare in their commentary, “The belief in a resurrection is so firmly established in the Old Testament, that even the Sadducees could not entirely escape its influence.” The idea of the resurrection was not something that developed late in the history of Israel. It is a concept that was present in Jewish theology from an early period; from the time of Job who expected to see his redeemer after death; to Abraham who expected God to return his son Isaac to him from the dead because of God's promise (Genesis 22:1-19); and the prophets who, like Elijah, even raised the dead by the power of God.

There was certainly development in the theological understanding of God’s people. As God came to them and revealed more of His word to them by His prophets, the blurry picture they had of the one who would crush the serpent’s head and restore all things came into sharper focus over time. Rather than a development of their theology, however, one could think of this as a gradual revelation. The development was not a natural evolution through stages of philosophical complexity as Lewis seems to suggest. It was a gradual expansion of their collective understanding, meticulously directed by the Almighty and Omnipotent God who created all things. He prepared them for the day when He would Himself enter His creation to redeem it from sin, death, and the devil. As the author of the letter to the Hebrews explains, those who came before us believed, but they did not get to see the fulfillment of God's promise to send a savior. 

We, however, now fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. He is the fulfillment of all these things. He is the resurrection and the life. Because He lives, we too shall live, having been baptized into His death and His resurrection. This is the faith we have in common with all those who came before us. And we will all rise together on the Last Day.  Even though our bodies have been destroyed, in our flesh we shall see Jesus. 

Works Cited

Delitzsch, Franz. A New Commentary on Genesis, Vol. I. Translated by Sophia Taylor, T&T Clark, 1888.

Keil, Carl Friedrich, and Franz Delitzsch. Commentary on the Old Testament. Hendrickson Publishers, 2006.

Kretzmann, Paul E. Popular Commentary of the Bible. Kretzmann Project, 1921.

Lewis, C.S. Reflections on the Psalms. Mariner Books, 1958.

For You Will Answer Me: Thoughts on Psalm 17

I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer (Psalm 17:6).

 

Psalm 17 is a lament and prayer of David. In it David anticipates the joy of being in Yahweh's presence. David prays for God's help; for the defeat of his enemies, who are wicked and unfaithful, confident that God will hear and answer him.  

 

David prays for deliverance from his enemies. These are the ungodly men who do not have faith in God, nor keep His covenant. David is confident that God will answer him for three reasons: David is faithful, keeping God’s covenant; God is loving; David's enemies are ungodly and evil (v. 1-5). 

 

David prays that he has kept himself from the ways of the violent. He is free from the kinds of wicked and unjust deeds that his enemies are committing. He is inviting God to see that because of his faith, David is a good tree that bears good fruit. He isn't claiming to be without sin. David's confidence is based on his own faith that God will keep His promises, not on how good David’s own works are.

 

In reality it isn’t David who does the works he calls God to examine anyway. David say that it is by God’s word that he is blameless. David writes, “As for the deeds of men - by the word of Your lips I have kept myself from the ways of the violent” (v. 4). 

 

Paul makes this same point when he writes, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose,” (Philippians 2:12-13).

 

David knows that God's love will not allow Him to be indifferent to the suffering of His people. God is compelled by His very nature to come to the aid of His people. Indeed, God has rescued His people from our true enemies of sin and death by Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection. 

 

Then come David’s petitions. He prays that he would be protected from his wicked enemies (v. 6-9). He prays that those callous and arrogant men who seek to destroy him would themselves be destroyed. He calls on God to rise up and confront his enemies, and to save him (v. 10-14). 

 

Wicked men seem to prosper. That was as frustrating to David as it is to us today. Their end, however, is eternal punishment. While God may not strike down every enemy of His people during this present age, they will suffer eternal punishment and separation from God. They receive their reward in this age. God's people get the fullness of their reward in the age to come. 

 

God provides for the needs of His people. He directs us to seek first the kingdom of God. He gives us daily bread. He tells us not to worry about material wealth. He will make sure we have all the things necessary to support this body and life, about which the pagans spend day and night worrying about. Not only will He meet our physical needs, but the greatest blessing possible already belongs to us in Christ: forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. 

 

As with all the Psalms, it is important to consider them from the perspective of Christ. David is a picture of the promised Savior, a promise that God fulfilled in Jesus.

 

Jesus knows that God the Father will hear and answer Him when He prays for the same reasons as David. Jesus is faithful, even to suffering death on a cross, doing the will of the Father. God is love, and Jesus is the personification of that divine love. Because of that love God took on human flesh and rescued His people from our true enemies of sin and death. 

 

Jesus, who is God incarnate, came into the flesh to bear our sin. He suffered at the hands of wicked and evil men. He, who had no sin became sin for us. By His sacrifice on the cross, sinless Jesus reconciled mankind to God. So, not only is this a prayer of David, it points to what God would do for mankind in Christ. He would rise up, confront our ultimate enemies of sin, death, and the devil, and rescue His people from the wicked by His sword (v. 13).

 

This prayer will come to ultimate fulfillement when Jesus returns on the Last Day. At His coming all men will rise again with their bodies and will give an account of their own works. And they that, like David, by their faith in Christ have done good will go into life everlasting. They that have, like David’s wicked enemies by their faithlessness done evil will go into everlasting fire.

 

In the meantime, God indeed stills the hunger of those He cherishes (v. 14). He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. While we live in this fallen world He sustains us by giving us His very body and blood to eat and to drink. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we will see His face in righteousness. And when we awake we will be satisfied with seeing His likeness (v. 15).

Thoughts on Psalm 69

You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you. Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst. (Psalm 69:19-21)

Psalm 69 is a messianic psalm. It prophesies of Israel's King who was to come and rescue them. It is both a prophecy and prayer of Jesus, the true savior-king of which David was a foreshadowing. This Psalm of David is rivaled only by Psalm 22 in terms of its messianic character.

In the Psalm, the Messiah cries out to God that He is stuck in the miry depths. He laments that the deep waters are engulfing Him. The imagery of mire, mud, and deep waters is used elsewhere in scripture to describe the bond of sin. (Brug, Psalms 1, 1992) It is like quicksand. It is a peril from which the man in it cannot extract himself. The more one struggles to release himself, the deeper he sinks into it until he is finally destroyed. He needs someone to pull him out.

This is just what the Messiah was supposed to do. He was supposed to come and rescue God's people. Only He didn't do it the way everybody thought He should. He did it by taking our place in the mud. But why was that necessary? When one man rescues another from drowning in quicksand he doesn't have to crawl into it and die in his place. Quite right. But when you remember that sin is like debt, a better picture of our circumstance emerges. It isn't something we can be plucked out of. It requires something of the one who would save us. When you spend too much on your credit cards so that you can't pay it back, the friend or family member who bails you out must pay the debt for you. And doesn't owing all that money that you know you can't pay back cause you to have a constant anxious feeling? A feeling like you are drowning? That is the feeling the psalmist is trying to evoke in these verses. That is the feeling of Jesus under the weight of our sin.

If you continue on through verse 5 this becomes even more true:

“You know my folly, O, God; my guilt is not hidden from you.”

This talk of the psalmist being caught up in sin, and God knowing His folly and His guilt does not seem to fit into the messianic character of this Psalm. Isn't Christ sinless? How can He be foolish? Even more, how can He say that He is drowning, being deluged by sin?

Though some theologians see these verses as evidence that this Psalm primarily refers to David, they can rightly be applied to Jesus, who is their fulfillment, as well. (Brug, Psalms 1, 1992) St. Paul wrote that the message of the cross is foolishness (folly) to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18). Jesus' folly is indeed known to God the Father. It was His will that Jesus engage in it; it is Jesus will to obey the Father. It is the folly He who Himself is sinless, being made to become sin for us on the cross so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). He was cursed, for as it is written, “cursed is every man who is hung on a tree” (Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:13-14). It is, therefore, quite appropriate that these words be applied to Jesus. You see, where we could not overcome sin and death, He could because He is God.

Theologians also point to verse 21 as further evidence that Psalm 69 is foremost a messianic prophecy. There is no direct parallel in David's life for, “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” These specific things do, however, happen to Jesus and are recorded in the accounts of His crucifixion – when He was hung on the tree.

Some people also have a problem with the imprecatory prayer found in verses 22-28. An imprecatory prayer is a prayer to God against one's enemies. It is asking God to punish them, to literally call evil on them. There are entire psalms which we call imprecatory psalms. Most of the time we just ignore them because they make us feel uncomfortable. I suspect it is why they were left out of our Lutheran hymnals. The reason for the difficulty is understandable. It is hard to think that Jesus would pray for His enemies to be blotted out of the book of life (v. 28).

Jesus is indeed the one who lamented over the faithlessness of Jerusalem. He wants to gather us all like a hen gathers her chicks. He wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Most, like the religious leaders of Jesus' day, would not (Matthew 23:37). Those who will reject Jesus will be damned. They will be cast into hell, which was prepared for the devil and his angels, since it is their wish to push away God and flee from His presence. This is on them, not Jesus.

The last section of the Psalm (vv. 29ff.) is a prayer of deliverance and thanksgiving. Here Christ talks about how God will save Zion, His people. He prays also that God's salvation would protect Him in His pain and distress. God the Father does this by delivering Him from the grave and raising Him from the dead on the third day. By this work, Jesus saved His people, personified in the Psalm as Zion.

Zion will be saved. Her cities will be rebuilt. The land will be inhabited by the faithful, those who love the name of Jesus. The ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy will come on the Day of Judgment when Christ returns. On that day, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 26:62-66; Philippians 2:10-11). ###

Works Cited

Brug, John C. People’s Bible Commentary: Psalms 1. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1992.

Thoughts on Psalm 44

Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever. Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression? We are brought down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love (Psalm 44:23-26).

Psalm 44 is a community lament. It is Israel recalling her past victories, and lamenting that she has been forsaken by God. Luther called it a “sighing of the spirit”.

The psalm's context is debated by theologians. It could have been written in response to some defeat of Judah during Hezekiah's time. It could be from an early period in David's life when Saul was still king. There isn't really any hard evidence for either hypothesis, though the psalmist does not specifically mention David or any of his accomplishments.

The defeats that the psalmist describes are not punishments for the faithful. They are punishments for the unfaithful; those who were idolaters; those who did not keep the covenant. For the faithful who had to endure those sufferings, they were sufferings for the sake of Yahweh. This is suffering which we are to learn patiently endure and "rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed," (1 Peter 4:13). It is the refiner's fire, so to speak. The faithful, suffering because of the name of Jesus, are the silver and gold being refined.

And no suffering or defeat can separate those faithful to Yahweh from Him. Paul writes this to the Romans, and he quotes this very Psalm:

"Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: 'For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:33-39)

The Psalm also applies to the true Israel, the Church. Idolatry is always present with us, as it was with ancient Israel. Victory over ancient Israel's enemies was not earned by wielding the sword, but rather it was given by the grace and power of Yahweh. Likewise, victory over the ultimate enemies of sin and death is not something we can earn. It is won for us, and given to us by Jesus, Yahweh in human flesh.

Psalm 44 gives us shadows of Jesus. He was rejected for us; made to become sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in Him (v. 9). Christ was sold for a pittance (v. 12), betrayed by Judas for 30 pieces of silver. Christ was made a reproach; He endured scorn while hanging on the cross (v. 13-16). All these things happened to Him because it was the Father's will to redeem mankind. It was Christ's will to obey the Father, in spite of the fact that Jesus had not been false or unfaithful (v. 17-19).

Psalm 44 is a prayer of the Church as long as she is in the fallen world. It is St. John's prayer in Revelation: Come, Lord Jesus. It is the voices of those suffering for the name of Jesus: do not reject us; do not forget us; rise up and help us; redeem us. God has answered this prayer already. He has redeemed us, and that redemption belongs to us right now. Christ has won that redemption from sin, death, and the devil by dying as our substitute on the cross. We will fully realize that redemption when Jesus raises us from the dead. ###

Works Cited

Brug, John F. People’s Bible Commentary: Psalms I. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1992.

Reading the Psalms with Luther. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2007.

The LORD Shall Judge the Peoples: Thoughts on Psalm 7

The LORD shall judge the peoples; judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity within me (Psalm 7:8).

This verse frightens me every time I pray it.

I suppose that sounds strange to many ears. Our instinct is to think that reading the Bible is supposed to comfort us, not make us afraid. God’s word should make us feel good.

Perhaps that is what mainstream American Christian-style religion would teach. We like to mine verses for our comfort. The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. We repeat them to ourselves as though they are true out of context.

The LORD is indeed my Shepherd. We cannot, however, ignore that something called the valley of the shadow of death is also involved. We aren’t afraid because Yahweh is with us, but we walk through the valley, nevertheless.

The Law is supposed to make us afraid. It should terrify our consciences. Jesus summarized the Law in two parts: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. That should make us afraid. Only someone who is tremendously naïve would think they could keep this law perfectly. Only someone who was delusional, or lying to himself would claim that he actually kept it.

So, when in the course of my prayers I pray verses like Psalm 7:8, it frightens me. It is the Law which terrifies the conscience and drives me to repentance. The last thing I want to do is to ask God to judge me according to my righteousness and my integrity. I know precisely how righteous I am because I am with me 24 hours a day. I am aware just how flimsy my integrity is.

In his immediate context, the psalmist is writing a prayer for deliverance from the physical danger which threatens him. He’s pleading with God to save him from their wickedness because David trusts in Yahweh, and his wicked persecutors do not. So, when he writes that he is righteous, it is like when Job is described as blameless. To say Job is blameless isn’t saying that he was without sin. It is saying that Job was an outwardly good man. He is a believer. He is a Christian.

That isn’t the only context, however. The Psalm is also gospel.

These words of David are also Jesus’ words. When you understand the Psalter as the prayer book of Christ, these verses that sound like harshest law are also sweetest gospel. If the law is what God requires of us, the gospel is what God has done for us. And since I am baptized into Christ, and His righteousness is now my own, I can be bold to pray, “Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies; rise up for me to the judgment You have commanded (v.6).”

My defense is of God, who saves the upright in heart. The upright in heart is me, because of Christ. He became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. Because we are in Him, because He has given us His righteousness and taken away our sin, we can pray His prayer and know we have what He promises. ###

Though You Have Made Me See Troubles: Thoughts on Suffering

Though You have made me see troubles, many and bitter, You will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth You will again bring me up (Psalm 71:20).

Why me!? It’s the age-old question we ask ourselves when something bad happens to us, or to one whom we love. It’s a more personalized version of, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Well, the TL;DR answer to that question is simple: There are no good people. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. No one is righteous, not even one. Whatever bad things happen to us, the one thing we can’t say is that we didn’t deserve them.

That’s pretty bleak, but it isn’t the whole story. A better question to ask would be, “Why is there suffering?”

Is God punishing me? Is the devil persecuting me? Is whatever happened simply the luck of the draw? Yes, but also no.

See, it depends on our perspective, and on God’s ultimate goal. God isn’t focused on giving us a comfortable and happy life here on earth. We are focused on that. God’s goal is to save us from sin, death, and the devil for eternity. He wants all men to be thus saved, and to come to a knowledge of the truth. This is why He sent His Son into the world, to die as a ransom for many.

If we try to see things from this angle, we might start to understand and to cope with the world as it is a little better.

We generally see things in a more pagan way. Now is the most important time. Here is all there is. We need to do whatever we can do to make our best life here and now. If I do this, god does that. If I do things to make god happy, god will do things to benefit me. Conversely, if I make god angry, he will punish me. It’s up to me to figure out what pleases god, so I can do those things. When I fail at this, things go badly for me. This all seems natural. That’s why it’s easily understood and accepted by human beings. It is, generally speaking, how we operate in our every day lives.

If this is our perspective, it’s only natural to try and guess what we did wrong whenever we face suffering, and try to correct or make up for it. It’s only natural to try and please god, or the gods, or the Universe, or fate, or whatever we believe has control over our lives. It is not natural, or easy for us to accept troubles from the One True God as well as good, to paraphrase Job.

So, we can either guess or we can accept. If we choose to guess about these hidden things, we can never be certain. God afflicts both to discipline His children and to punish the wicked. Which is it in my case? How would I know for sure if I am His child, or one of the wicked? The devil torments all humanity. Peter tells us that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. How do I know whether or not Satan is the cause of my suffering? Maybe I am just the random victim he happened to find to devour. How do I know?

This way of thinking leads to despair, hopelessness, and eventually to a loss of faith, which is spiritual death. It is one-dimensional thinking. It assumes that our current life and world is the most important thing. It assumes you are capable of pleasing God by what you do, and that He is waiting to punish you when you do bad. This is the way pagans look at their gods. It’s the way atheists think Christianity works.

God tells us, however, that this life is not all that there is. This corrupt world, tainted by sin and death, is passing away. Here we have no continuing city. If the pagan way of thinking was really the way things were, there would be no need for Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of the world. We would be left with the task of working things out on our own.

Good luck. Here’s hoping we make all the right decisions…

It’s far better to accept. It’s better to try and make sense of things from God’s perspective; to hold onto and believe His promises: God is the author of all good. Satan introduced sin and death into perfection. God cursed the creation and expelled man from the garden as part of a longer game. Rather than destroy it all and start again, God would instead redeem His creation.

But, because creation is cursed and man’s nature is corrupt, bad things happen. People lie, cheat, and steal. They misuse the things God has created in perverse and evil ways. They kill each other. They kill themselves. And, even when we don’t kill each other, we are all subject to physical death. So, rather than to go down the path of despair, hopelessness, and spiritual death, it is far better to believe God’s promise: At just the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. He adopts us into His family and sanctifies us by the washing of water by the word, making us clean from our sin. He promises us that, even though we have trouble in this world, He has overcome the world by His death, and the proof of that is His resurrection from the dead. It means that Jesus is God in human flesh. And, when He returns we will be raised from the dead like Him. We will be raised to eternal life in a perfect, sinless body, in a perfect, sinless creation.

And, He promises us that, in the meantime here in this world, in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Nothing can separate us from this love of God in Christ Jesus.

“All things” includes all the bad things as well. It includes all the suffering we experience from things like war, famine, disease, crime, poverty, mental illness, and any other thing you can think of. It includes all the things the atheists point to, to prove that the idea of God is irrational. Why does God allow suffering? It is so He can use it for our eternal good.

God is omniscient. He sees the whole picture of space and time. We don’t, and neither does the devil, God be praised. But, because we are blind in this way, we have a hard time understanding how us suffering or dying is good for us. God, however, does not. That’s why there are times when He allows us to suffer, and there are times when He allows us to die. You might even say that there could be times when God kills us for our own good.

From His perspective, it is better to suffer physical death and remain a part of the Body of Christ, than it is to continue living on earth if the life path you were going down ends with you rejecting the faith. We can’t know those things, though. Only God can.

The barest level of grasping this concept is this: God the Father sent Jesus to die on the cross to solve the problem of mankind’s eternal survival. He uses our temporal suffering here during this relatively brief slice of eternity to shape who are will be. He refines us like gold in a refiner’s fire. And, He uses our physical death to make our adoption as God’s sons irrevocable; to confirm us into the new creation we became when we were baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, and into which we will fully blossom when we are raised from the dead on the Last Day.

Though You have made me see troubles, many and bitter, You will restore my life; from the depths of the earth You will again bring me up. ###

Thoughts on Psalm 50

Christ the Lightgiver

Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before Him, and around him a tempest rages. He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that He may judge His people: "Gather to Me My consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice." And the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God Himself is judge (Psalm 50: 3-6).

Christ summons the earth from Zion (v. 2), that is, through His body the Church. Christ, the incarnate YAHWEH, calls the peoples of the world to take refuge in Him.

God took on human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary as the God-man Jesus. He came to earth to make a covenant, which He did by shedding His blood on the cross (v. 5). God Himself, Our Lord Jesus, is indeed judge.

Jesus proclaimed salvation to the people by God's grace through faith in Him rather than by sacrifice. He condemned the wicked, those who would despise God's word, who would praise God with their lips but whose hearts were far from Him.

In addition to describing Jesus' first coming and judgment, Psalm 50 also illustrates the judgment of the wicked on the Last Day.

God calls the wicked to repentance (v. 16-23). If the wicked continue to despise God's grace, they will be torn to pieces with no one to rescue them (v. 22). Those who honor God through faith in Christ will be shown the salvation of God (v. 23). Indeed, they have already been shown that salvation in the crucified and risen Lord Jesus.

But He is also calling His own people to repentance (v. 7-15).

If trust in riches is useless, so is trust in empty ritualistic worship. The Psalmist is talking about people who think they have forgiveness, life, and salvation because of the ceremonies they perform.

(Or because their name is on a church membership roll because they were baptized there 45 years ago.)

This is the kind of religion or worship done out of habit to earn God's love and favor. God doesn't need our works. They are filthy rags to Him (Isaiah 64:4-7). He owns the cattle on 1,000 hills (v. 10). He doesn't need for us to feed Him (v. 12).

Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). He is the one who, when He lifted up on the cross, would draw all men to Himself (John 12:32). No one comes to the Father except through Him, who is the exact representation of the invisible Yahweh in human flesh (Hebrews 1:3). The One who longed to gather Jerusalem as a hen gathers her chicks, but they would not (Matthew 23:37)

Worship that is true is to be joyful and willing service to God. After the Old Covenant, that looks like not despising preaching and God's word, but holding it sacred, and gladly hearing, and learning it. It looks like gathering together with God's people around His word to receive the gifts He gives to us through that word: forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (James 1:27). ###

Thoughts on Psalm 11

In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me: "Flee like a bird to your mountain. For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:1-3).

David is not afraid when the evil men of this world do evil. In Psalm 11, he appears to be answering those around him who lament their seemingly hopeless situation - righteous men in an unrighteous world. David reminds them that God is in charge when they say to flee to the mountains. God will destroy the wicked.

It doesn't look like that, though. David realizes that. He doesn't deny that evil is in the world, or that wicked men do wicked things and even prosper. David knows, however, that the wicked things they do, even if they harm him, will not go unnoticed by God.

In His discussion with the disciples about the signs of the end of the age, Jesus tells them that the temple will be destroyed. He tells them that they should leave Jerusalem when they see this thing about to happen. "...then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains..." But the foundation of those who believe in God. It is in Him they take refuge. This catastrophe that looks a lot like the end of the world will not destroy you, even if God allows it to kill you.

God is in His holy temple. The real one is in heaven. He is on His heavenly throne. God's kingdom is not of this corrupt and fallen world. And that God is the Lord Jesus.

God observes man from His throne in judgment. The Lord observes the righteous, but He hates the wicked. Who are the wicked? Who are the righteous? It is important because the wicked will be destroyed at the judgment on the Last Day. Upright men, however, will see God's face.

Jesus says that the pure in heart are blessed because they will see God. But we know that there are no pure in heart. There are none who are righteous, no, not even one. All have sinned. All have fallen short of the glory of God. So who will get to see God's face? Who will avoid the judgment of which David writes?

All of the people who saw Jesus when He declared, "Blessed are the pure in heart" saw the face of God because Jesus is God in human flesh. He is the image of the invisible God. He put on that flesh so He could rescue men from sin and death. He endured the punishment for our sin that we wicked men deserve so that we could see His face on the Last Day, and be saved from the fiery coals, burning sulfur, and scorching wind. ###

Thoughts on Psalm 46

The Last Judgment - Cranach the Elder

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging (Psalm 46:2-3).

God isn't going to stop the earth from giving way, or the mountains from falling. Not ultimately.

In fact, He is going to cause it to happen on the Last Day, when Our Lord Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead. He will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. The dead in Christ will rise first. Those who are alive at His coming will be caught up to meet Him in the air. "And so we will be with the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

That's when the earth will melt, and the mountains will fall, and seas will foam, and why we won't be afraid.

We don't have to be afraid because we are in Jesus. We are part of His body. We are safely concealed inside the fortress, the God of Jacob, by our baptism into Christ.

This is the help God gives His people at break of day. His city, Zion, wherein He dwells is set apart. It is holy (v 4). When Jesus lifts His voice and the earth melts, the city of God's people will not fall. This is also how He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth (v. 9). He doesn't do it by diplomatic means. He doesn't put a magic spell on everyone to suddenly make them nice. He judges the wicked. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the shields with fire.

Knowing the heavens will disappear with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare, we should look forward to this day of God. We should wait for it eagerly, living godly lives that are set apart from the unbelieving world (2 Peter 3:10-13).

But living life soberly isn't being afraid.

We don't need to be afraid. Not of the end of the world. Not of war. Not of economic collapse. Not of disease. Not of our death. Not of anything. We belong to Christ. He bought us with His holy, precious blood, and by His innocent suffering and death on the cross. We will live under Him in His kingdom. We will serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. No more sin, no more death, no more devil.

We will look on from inside His mighty fortress as He carries out His judgment, and throws the devil, death, and all the wicked into the lake of fire (Revelation 20: 7-15).

We will rejoice as He remakes creation anew. ###