You are saved by grace... but not just from your sins! PSALM 57 (NASB95) For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. 1 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge Until destruction passes by. 2 I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me. 3 He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. Selah. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth. 4 My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows And their tongue a sharp sword. 5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth. 6 They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down; They dug a pit before me; They themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah. 7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises! 8 Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. 9 I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. 10 For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens And Your truth to the clouds. 11 Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth. Westminster Shorter Catechism Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. Summary Reformed Christians like us absolutely love the word grace. Most of us have Ephesians 2:8 indelibly seared into our minds: For by grace you have been saved... Understanding grace to mean that God does not give us what our sins deserve is a great way to understand the word, but it's just one definition of it. Some of you more eagle eyed Unfading Truth readers may have noticed that in this past month many of our Bible passages have been taken from the New American Standard Version. There's lots of reasons I've been using various translations this year, but this week's Psalm is a great example as to why I've been sticking with the NASB lately. Every other major translation renders today's opening verse as Have mercy on me, O God! Now obviously when multiple reputable translations all pick the same word, there must be something to it, and to understand David to be crying out for God's mercy as he's hiding in a cave from the murderous King Saul in the midst of lions and predators that breath forth fire (metaphorically speaking) certainly fits. But I think the NASB nailed the Hebrew in the way they rendered David's prayer: Be gracious to me O God. The underlying word means "to have mercy, be gracious, take pity, be kind, i.e., show an act of kindness, compassion, or benefice to another." This is exactly what God does in His grace for us, both in saving us from the punishment our sin deserves, and as He sends from heaven and saves you from that which threatens to trample upon you, as He did for David so long ago. This is why, like David, you too must continually cry out for God to be gracious to you, for this God Most High accomplishes all things for you! Dig Deeper David teaches us a hugely important lesson from deep in the cave. His prayer for God's graciousness was certainly occasioned by Saul's physical threat, but even as David implores God to send forth His lovingkindness and His truth, David's primary concern isn't for his own safety. It's for God to be exalted above the heavens, a phrase he repeats in twice, following that with a prayer that God's glory be above all the earth. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that life's challenges stress us out to the extent that they do. If you put yourself and your own success - however you happen to define it - as your top priority, then it makes sense that every little setback will feel like a crushing defeat. It's hard to hit a moving target! You live in a world that constantly shifts and changes (we read in Psalm 46 last week that the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea). So if all of your attention is focused upon an ever changing target (your own ambitions), you'll continually struggle to hit it. But look at how David's attitude changes after He recenters his focus on God's unchanging glory: he's still stuck hiding out in the same cave - his dire circumstances haven't changed. His enemies still have their nets prepared and have dug a pit to throw him into. But now his heart is steadfast and he will give thanks and sing praises to God for His lovingkindness (His ḥěʹ·sěḏ covenant love) and truth. His whole mindset and attitude is restored and healed, simply because he reoriented his focus back to the unchanging goal that all of us were created for: To exalt God above the heavens and glorify Him above all the earth. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who sends from heaven to save us; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will keep your primary focus on exalting and glorifying our unchanging God; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Eternal life has already begun. Live into it! Faithlife.com SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF, "After chapters filled with uprooting and destruction, Jeremiah preaches God’s glorious plan to build and plant his people forevermore. Judgment needed to come first, and now we understand a redemptive motive: God judged not only out of justice, but also to bring to a close the old covenant, which was never able to overcome the power of sin. God will take the initiative to bring a new and better covenant, which will deal decisively with the reason for the old covenant’s ruin: the intractably wicked hearts of his people. In so doing, God will reverse every consequence of judgment (loss of king, of land, of joy—everything)." - Lexham Context Commentary Jeremiah 31:31–34 (NASB95) 31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 56 Q. What do you believe concerning “the forgiveness of sins”? A. I believe that God, because of Christ’s atonement, will never hold against me any of my sins nor my sinful nature which I need to struggle against all my life. Rather, in his grace God grants me the righteousness of Christ to free me forever from judgment. Summary Today's Summary is a modification of one posted November 21, 2023 The more things change, the more they stay the same. This old adage has proven itself true time and time again. The pattern of God's people has been familiar and consistent: peril overtakes them and they cry out to God for rescue; God hears their prayers and delivers them to freedom; after a short interlude of faithfulness, the subsequent generations fall back into sin and God allows peril to overtake them until they once again cry out in repentance. But this time it would be different. Not the part about Israel falling into sin and invoking judgment upon themselves... that part is just as consistent as ever. But this time God's not going to rescue and restore them to the same old thing. He's going to break the pattern. The old covenant, in which the people would fulfill their obligation to God by keeping the laws He handed down through Moses, had never really worked. Sinful people can't be made holy by following rules. God would be faithful to His people. That part won't change either; as we'll see next starting next week as we begin reading Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah, God's people would repent, return and rebuild. But things would be different this time. A new covenant would be coming, one that would fulfill the old Mosaic covenant and bring true freedom to God's people. The more things change, the more they stay the same. God gave the same promise to Jeremiah that He gave to Adam, Abraham, Moses, David and many others. It's the same promise He gives to you: He will be your God, and we will be His people. Dig Deeper Two things stand out regarding the promise the LORD makes to His people here. First is who does what. You and I are the ones who broke the covenant. That's it; that's our only contribution. The LORD, on the other hand, is the one who made the covenant, who took His people by the hand and led them out of slavery, who husbands His people, and who has put His law within us and write it on our heart. Theologians have a fancy word to describe this: God saves us monergistically. Maybe that seems like a mouthful, but you've likely used that word's cousin before: synergistic - that's when two or more people combine forces to make something happen. But since we don't work together with God in our salvation, we replace the syn prefix with the mon (monos / one). Our salvation is in God's hands from start to finish. What a comfort! Our Father is our God, and we are His people! He has forgiven our iniquity, and our sin He will remember no more. The second aspect that stands out is how intellectually based our salvation is: God promises that we will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. Our knowledge, which was devastated in the fall, will be made complete and whole when all things are made new. This is why Jesus said that eternal life is knowing God (John 17:3). This is also why the more you come to know God here and now, the more you can to begin to experience eternal life here and now. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who has made a new covenant with us in Christ; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will live into eternal life already by continually increasing your knowledge of God; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

True religion involves way more than just occasionally showing up at church. SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF, the LORD confirmed His call in Jeremiah's life, so Jeremiah began proclaiming the LORD’s covenant lawsuit against His people. Jeremiah 7:1–11, 27-29 (NASB95) 1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 “Stand in the gate of the LORD's house and proclaim there this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the LORD!’ ” 3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. 4 “Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’ 5 “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, 7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. 8 “Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. 9 “Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, 10 then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—that you may do all these abominations? 11 “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the LORD. -- 13 “And now, because you have done all these things,” declares the LORD... I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. 15 “I will cast you out of My sight..." -- 27 “You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 “You shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God or accept correction; truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth. 29 ‘Cut off your hair and cast it away, And take up a lamentation on the bare heights; For the LORD has rejected and forsaken The generation of His wrath.’ Canons of Dordt Point III/IV, Article 15: Responses to God’s Grace God does not owe this grace to anyone. For what could God owe to one who has nothing to give that can be paid back? Indeed, what could God owe to one who has nothing of his own to give but sin and falsehood? Therefore the person who receives this grace owes and gives eternal thanks to God alone; the person who does not receive it either does not care at all about these spiritual things and is satisfied with himself in his condition, or else in self-assurance foolishly boasts about having something which he lacks. Summary We might expect the LORD to send His newly minted prophet Jeremiah out to the front lines of wickedness, calling all who hear him to amend their ways. And that's exactly what the LORD does, giving His covenant prosecutor a list of indictments to pursue: oppression of the alien, orphan and widow, the shedding of innocent blood, walking after other gods, theft, adultery and false swearing. It's just that the front lines the LORD sends Jeremiah to look different than expected. Jeremiah's not sent to confront a wicked king or go shake his fists at pagan interlopers. Rather, the LORD dispatches Jeremiah to stand in the gate of the LORD's house! He's to proclaim there the LORD's condemnation to the very people entering the gates to worship Him! The people Jeremiah preached to weren't all that different from us. They'd lost confidence in their political system to provide security. Yet they still had hope and faith, but it had shifted. As Philip Ryken puts it, they "had taken their faith in the living God and reduced it to faith in a building." They'd become textbook hypocrites: they simply showed up and claimed "We are delivered!" and then went right back to doing all these abominations. The LORD mocks their shallow trust with His thrice repeated prohibition: Do not trust in deceptive words, saying "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD." It was as if simply being in the physical proximity of something ostensibly holy was enough to cover over their iniquities - that simply by chanting so prescribed formulas, they once again became good with God. Dig Deeper Too many people associate the LORD as the God of second chances, who certainly expects His people to do right, but who gently chuckles a bit each time they fail before picking them up to give them another attempt, especially for those who occasionally darken the door of the LORD's house of worship. While this is the God our culture has come to expect, it is not the God of the Bible, who conditions the right to dwell in His presence upon people's perfect obedience. To people who simply go through religious motions, but who have no true desire to be holy, the LORD rejects and forsakes. He will cast them out of His sight. This is, and ought to be, a terrifying passage of the Bible - especially for people like us for whom "going to the house of the LORD, the house of the LORD, the house of the LORD" every Sunday is as regular as breathing. Don't ever think that you're good with God simply because you show up, be it once in awhile or even twice a week. But passages like today's are not given to crush your eternal confidence. They're given to cause you to cling all the more to Christ, who fulfilled the perfect righteousness our holy Father requires. You can gauge your level of grip by how it is that you treat the alien, orphan and widow and truly practice justice between you and your neighbor. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who demands that we put our trust in Him rather than our own deceptive words; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Confess your hypocrisy and pray that the Spirit would enable you to wholly and sincerely trust in Christ as evidenced by how you treat your neighbor; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

You've been indicted for abandoning the Living Water, but Christ restores it to you. Faithlife.com SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF, After calling and commissioning Jeremiah, the LORD informed him that He would pour out disaster from the north upon against all the towns of Judah because of their wickedness in forsaking Him. Jeremiah 2:9–13 (NASB 2020) 9 “Therefore I will still contend with you,” declares the LORD, “And I will contend with your sons’ sons. 10 “For cross to the coastlands of Kittim and see, And send to Kedar and observe closely, And see if there has been anything like this! 11 “Has a nation changed gods, When they were not gods? But My people have exchanged their glory For that which is of no benefit. 12 “Be appalled at this, you heavens, And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the LORD. 13 “For My people have committed two evils: They have abandoned Me, The fountain of living waters, To carve out for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That do not hold water. Belgic Confession Article 14: The Creation and Fall of Man We believe that God created man from the dust of the earth and made and formed him in his image and likeness— good, just, and holy; able by his own will to conform in all things to the will of God. But when he was in honor he did not understand it and did not recognize his excellence. But he subjected himself willingly to sin and consequently to death and the curse, lending his ear to the word of the devil. For he transgressed the commandment of life, which he had received, and by his sin he separated himself from God, who was his true life, having corrupted his entire nature. Summary Yesterday we learned that the prophet Jeremiah was just a young man - likely even a teenager - when the LORD called him to be a prophet. As a reminder, a prophet is a man who represents God to the people. In other words, the prophet speaks on the LORD's behalf. Prophets have also been described as covenant prosecutors. A covenant is, after all, at its core a legal agreement between two parties that stipulates that the LORD will be our God, and we will be His people. Covenants are similar to contracts in many ways. When a breach of contract occurs, the one who did the breaching will quickly be introduced to lawyers representing the aggrieved party. So the LORD here is briefing His new, young prophet / prosecutor on the case. He's going to contend with His people who've broken the covenant they had with Him, or as the other translations put it, He's bringing charges against them. And these charges will have a lasting impact - they're not just against the current generation, but will also apply to their sons' sons. Imagine how overwhelming this must have been for young Jeremiah - to be 'volun-told' by the LORD to prosecute his own people! And not just for some little misdemeanor; the Israelites' breach of contract was so severe that the LORD commands the heavens to be appalled at it... to shudder and be very desolate [dried up / ruined]. All because the LORD's people exchanged their glory for that which is of no benefit. Dig Deeper The LORD's indictment that He's given Jeremiah to prosecute includes two counts. The first, and most foundational, is that they have abandoned Him. As other translations put it, they've forsaken or even rejected the LORD. The word Jeremiah used here literally means that they've just left the LORD behind... they had moved on. The LORD makes clear that it's not just an abstract theological concept that they've given up on. He refers to Himself as the fountain of living waters - the very same living water that Jesus offered to the Samaritan woman at the well that He told her would spring up to eternal life (John 4:14). The LORD's second count flows from the first: having abandoned the fountain of living water, His people chose to instead carve out for themselves cisterns - broken cisterns that cannot hold water. The Belgic Confession describes God as being the overflowing fountain of all good. The people that the LORD had legally bound Himself to gave up on that goodness and futilely fabricated their own fountain of goodness which could not hold water. You stand indicted under the charges that Jeremiah came to prosecute so many centuries ago, which is why you so desperately need a Savior. And we have exactly that in Christ, who is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant (Hebrews 9:15). It's not at all that the charges have been dismissed for those who trust in Christ, but that He's both paid the penalty we incurred for abandoning the Fountain of Living Water AND He's perfectly fulfilled all of our covenantal requirements on our behalf. Whoever drinks of the water that He gives shall never be thirsty again (John 4:14). AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the fountain of living water; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God that your covenant relationship to Him is restored in Christ, and pray that you'll resist the ongoing temptation to abandon Him by turning to other sources of 'goodness'; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Believe it or not, you have quite a bit in common with Jeremiah! Bible.com Jeremiah 1:1–10 (NASB95) 1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month. 4 Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 6 Then I said, “Alas, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, Because I am a youth.” 7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ Because everywhere I send you, you shall go, And all that I command you, you shall speak. 8 “Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD. 9 Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10 “See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, To pluck up and to break down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant.” Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 54 Q. What do you believe concerning “the holy catholic church”? A. I believe that the Son of God through his Spirit and Word, out of the entire human race, from the beginning of the world to its end, gathers, protects, and preserves for himself a community chosen for eternal life and united in true faith. And of this community I am and always will be a living member. Summary Jeremiah wasn’t planning to have the LORD reach out to him. He was a young priest from a small and largely unremarkable town right on the edge of the desert wilderness. The nation around him was outwardly religious, but inwardly unspiritual. Jeremiah began as an unknown and unassuming figure, and the more we get to know him, the more it will become clear that he would have been just fine keeping it that way. The LORD makes a stunning introduction to this young man. He comes with an announcement that only a omnipotent Creator could make, but He communicates it with an intimacy that only a Father could muster. The LORD tells Jeremiah that He knew him even before I formed you in the womb, and that He'd consecrated Jeremiah - that is, He set Jerimiah aside for a holy purpose - even before Jeremiah had been born. The LORD's holy purpose for Jeremiah was for him to be a prophet - one who represents God to the people - not just to Judah or even Israel, but to the nations! Believe it or not, you have lots in common with Jeremiah! Ephesians 1:4 is just one of the places that God reiterates these same claims to you. God didn't just know you before you were born, but He chose you in Him before the foundation of the world. He consecrated you as well - that is, He set you aside that you would be holy and blameless before Him. Dig Deeper Jeremiah doesn't exactly jump for joy at the LORD's pronouncement. Just like Moses, he tried to wriggle out of his commission, telling God that I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth. It's in moments like this that God's patience is so magnified. The One who spoke all of creation into existence has just condescended to an image bearer He had formed and equipped especially for the task of communicating the Word of the LORD to the nations, and that young man quite clearly spoke back about his inability to speak. We'd not be at all surprised to read that the LORD struck Jeremiah with dumbness as He would later do to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. But the LORD only lightly scolds his new prophet before covering him with words of immense comfort: Do not be afraid of them, the LORD says (interestingly, the text doesn't specify exactly who the them is). The LORD continues, for I am with you to deliver you. Then the LORD stretched out His hand and put His words in Jeremiah's mouth. He literally and physically removed Jeremiah's excuses. You've not likely been called to be a prophet to the nations, but the LORD has given you the same command He gave Jeremiah: All that the LORD commands you, you shall speak. And just like Jeremiah, you're likely an expert at giving excuses as to why you're not the person for the job. But you've also been equipped just like Jeremiah. God has put His words in your mouth! Jesus tells you to not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say (Luke 12:11-12). AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who knew us before He formed us; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will lay down your flimsy excuses and speak as the LORD leads and equips; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

The harder you strive on your own, the more you'll fear. Faithlife.com PSALM 46 (NASB) For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song. 1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3 Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. 7 The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. 8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has wrought desolations in the earth. 9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. 10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. Belgic Confession Article 27: The Holy Catholic Church We believe and confess one single catholic (universal) church— a holy congregation and gathering of true Christian believers, awaiting their entire salvation in Jesus Christ being washed by his blood, and sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit. -- And this holy church is preserved by God against the rage of the whole world, even though for a time it may appear very small in the eyes of men— as though it were snuffed out. Summary Today's Summary & Dig Deeper post is modified from August 28, 2024 Psalm 46 is familiar and well loved for a couple of reasons. One big reason that Psalm 46 resonates the way it does is because of how it accurately describes the chaos of our fallen world. There's trouble, as the whole world is collapsing into itself, earthquakes surge and shake, mountains slip into the heart of the sea, nations are in uproar and kingdoms totter. All of these poetic pictures this psalm paints stand in stark contrast to the order and beauty that God created the world to have. The Bible often explains the effects of sin upon God's good creation, but few passages pack the rhetorical power of Psalm 46 in describing what Adam's sin unleashed. But all of this verbal thunder is offset by the peaceful advice Psalm 46 provides. The three imperatives (commands) are nearly equally spaced throughout the poem: We will not fear... Notice this imperative is phrased as an indicative! In other words, it's not just a command for you to follow, it's a reality that God provides. Come and behold what the LORD has done... The NIV uses the phrase come and see, but even though the word behold seems archaic, it better captures the psalmist's meaning here: it's not enough to just see what the LORD has done, you need to eliminate all of the distractions and behold it! and Cease striving and know that I am God... Of course the more familiar translation of this command is to be still, but once again the NASB better captures the original meaning; the stillness required here comes only when you cease striving. The Hebrew word means to release / let go. You can have the peace this psalm commands because it promises the almighty presence of God Immanuel - that is, God with us - even in the midst of the sin fueled chaos. Our God is an very-present help in trouble; He is dwelling within the holy city, so she will not fall. God's presence is reiterated in the psalm's two identical refrains: The LORD of hosts is with us... (v7 & 11). Dig Deeper You're likely reading this post at the end of another work week, and this peaceful refuge that Psalm 46 promises probably seems so far away in the midst of the chaos all around you. But this city of God which will not be moved is far closer than you may think. This city the psalmist writes of isn't a walled fortress located somewhere in Palestine, it's present wherever God's people meet to worship Him. It's the Church where God gathers, protects and preserves His people; the place which is well fed by the river of grace whose streams make glad the city [Church] of God. God is the midst of His Church, so she will not be moved. No matter what the nations do in their uproar, no matter how many kingdoms totter around her, all our God must do is raise His voice and the fallen earth will melt leaving nothing but His purified Church. This is why, in the most pivotal moment of Jesus' earthly ministry, He told Peter that He would build my Church and the gates of Hell will not overcome it (Matt. 16:18). As you navigate this chaotic, fallen world, do not fear; cease your striving and know that He is God. You are secured forever as a member of the City of God: His Church. The Lord's Day is once again approaching. Come and behold what the LORD has done. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: This world is trying to pull you away from God with all its chaotic might. Pray that you can cease your striving and know the LORD is God; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Your Savior was made low like you to raise you up like Him! Faithlife.com Isaiah 52:13–53:12 (NIV) 52:13 See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him— his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness— 15 so he will sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand. 53 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 37 Q. What do you understand by the word “suffered” in the Apostles' Creed? A. That during his whole life on earth, but especially at the end, Christ sustained in body and soul the anger of God against the sin of the whole human race. This he did in order that, by his suffering as the only atoning sacrifice, he might set us free, body and soul, from eternal condemnation, and gain for us God’s grace, righteousness, and eternal life. Summary Today's passage comprises the fourth of four servant songs that come near the end of Isaiah's long book which describe the coming Messiah. This becomes apparent when we jump into this song at its actual beginning, a few clicks before chapter 53 officially gets underway. Isaiah prophesies, See, my servant will act wisely. Then Isaiah adds some poetic repetition to add emphasis: He will be raised AND lifted up AND highly exalted. Those words sound like fairly standard fodder for praise - chances are you sang a song this past Sunday that included one or all of those words, and maybe, like Isaiah, they were oft repeated. Chances are they'll be sung again in your church this coming Sunday and almost every Sunday following. But we don't often stop to think about the implications of those words. On one hand, in order for the Messiah to be raised up, He must first have been made low, and our Savior certainly was: His appearance was appalling, disfigured, marred. He suffered, was despised and rejected, suffered and was familiar with pain. The Messiah experienced these depths in our place! He took up our pain and bore our suffering; He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; His punishment brought us peace, by His wounds we are healed, for the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Dig Deeper Let's remember Isaiah's main point: the One who poured out His life unto death and who was assigned a grave with the wicked would be raised AND lifted up AND highly exalted. In His mighty presence, kings will shut their mouths because of Him (image that!). Even though the LORD makes His life an offering for sin, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in His hand. And after He has suffered, He will see the light of life and be satisfied. Having been raised AND lifted up AND highly exalted, He will continue to justify many and bear their iniquities. Just as yesterday's passage is often read during the Christmas season, today's often is part of Lent & Easter, and most of the time people assume that the passage begins where chapter 53 begins. But our ancient friends who came along to conveniently add chapter and verse designations didn't always get it right, as we've seen today. The first verse of chapter 53 is almost sort of an aside from the passage in general. Isaiah, amazed at what the Holy Spirit was revealing, cries out who would have believed what we just heard?!? (NET Bible). Do you believe it? Do you believe that the Son of God was punished by God, stricken by Him and afflicted so that you could be raised AND lifted up AND highly exalted right along with Him? AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose will was to crush our Savior and cause Him to suffer so that we may be justified and forgiven; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God would strengthen your faith that you might always know that your Savior was made low like you to raise you up like Him; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

The darker this world gets, the brighter God's Light shines! Faithlife.com Isaiah 8:19–9:7 (NIV) 8:19 When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction (tô·rāh) and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness. 9 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan— 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. 4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. 5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. Belgic Confession Article 7: The Sufficiency of Scripture We believe that the Holy Scripture contains the will of God completely and that everything one must believe to be saved is sufficiently taught in it... For since it is forbidden to add to or subtract from the Word of God, this plainly demonstrates that the teaching is perfect and complete in all respects... Therefore we reject with all our hearts everything that does not agree with this infallible rule, as we are taught to do by the apostles when they say, “Test the spirits to see if they are of God,” (1 John 4:1) and also, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house.” (2 John 10) Summary Isaiah's familiar poetry here in his ninth chapter has become a Christmas pageant staple. But it's not very often read in it's full context, which begins near the end of the preceding chapter describing the death spiral into darkness that too many people - even those who've been part of the Church - fall into. The stumbling comes as the result of an aspect of your nature that is actually quite good: your continual desire to want to know more; to see beyond the pale and understand not just what's going on all around you, but why things are the way they are. You have this innate curiosity because God has set eternity in your heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11). In other words, as an image bearer of God, you're designed to ask and wrestle with tough questions. Asking deep and difficult questions certainly isn't sinful in and of itself, but looking for the answers in all the wrong places is. Ever since the serpent tempted Adam and Eve at the Tree of Knowledge, people have stopped inquiring of their God and consulting His instruction and instead turned to sources that twist truth into what Sarx (our sinful nature) wants to hear. The ancient Israelites went to mediums and spiritists; Maybe you're not so much tempted by that, but remember that if anyone does not speak according to God's word, they have no light of dawn. And the farther you follow your inquiries outside of scripture, the more distressed and hungry you'll become. When you are famished, you'll become enraged, and that's when hate, anger and bitterness will have full control. You'll curse everything: the kings of this world and ultimately even your God. Finally, having been totally separated from truth, you'll look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, having been thrust into utter darkness. Dig Deeper Isaiah begins his gospel proclamation with a wonderful word: Nevertheless. It doesn't matter how dark our society or even your life has become, because there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress! We live in a world consumed by gloom and distress - maybe even your own life is being defined more and more by it. Think of how desperately your friends, neighbors and relatives need to be lifted out of the darkness and into God's wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9), and how important it is for you to be pulled back into the light each day, and especially on the Lord's Day! It's been awhile since we've paused to identify a good 'gospel in a minute or less' verse (one which quickly and simply explains what Christianity is all about), but certainly Isaiah's beautiful psalm here does (remember, not all psalms are in the Psalms!). These are words that so often get read at Christmas time, but then get tucked away for the rest of the year. The people, Isaiah begins, who have been walking and living in a land of deep darkness have seen a great light. Since this insidious darkness prevails year round for those trapped in it, so also must these words be proclaimed all year long! This freeing light shines forth from a Child born to us... a Son given to us with the government on His shoulders. Isaiah here means more than just the civil government; He means that the coming Christ will rule over all things, for the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end (both temporally and inclusively). We live in dark and difficult times for sure, but at the time Isaiah wrote this, things were far darker in Israel as David's dynasty was quickly fading away. But becuase Isaiah remained rooted in the light of God's instruction and testimony, He looked forward in optimism. Be the light in your dark community: reflect the timeless truth of God's tô·rāh and gospel to all those who've been pulled into a spiral of doom. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who's given us His instruction and testimony to light our way and given us His Son to bring an unending peace; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God would keep you close to His Word so that your curiosity doesn't pull you into the darkness; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

If you think church is boring, you're not truly encountering the holy God! This is a must read book for all Christians! SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF... The first five chapters of Isaiah expose the depth of Judah’s corruption: the faithful city has become a harlot, justice has been replaced with bribery, and God’s people have traded righteousness for empty religion. The LORD responds with both judgment and purpose—He will purge away the dross and refine a remnant. Yet the people persist in their rebellion, as seen in the song of the vineyard and the series of “woes,” revealing a nation ripe for judgment. What should have produced justice instead yields bloodshed, and what should have borne righteousness produces cries of distress. Isaiah 6:1–13 (NASB95) 1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the LORD sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 5 Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” Belgic Confession Article 26: The Intercession of Christ We believe that we have no access to God except through the one and only Mediator and Intercessor: Jesus Christ the Righteous... But this Mediator, whom the Father has appointed between himself and us, ought not terrify us by his greatness, so that we have to look for another one, according to our fancy... Therefore, in following the command of Christ we call on the heavenly Father through Christ, our only Mediator, as we are taught by the Lord’s Prayer, being assured that we shall obtain all we ask of the Father in his name. Summary This passage is so profound and familiar that it's easy to skip right over the opening detail that sets the very important context of this passage. This magnificent calling came in the year of King Uzziah's death. Here in North America, we're used to cycling through our national leaders every four years, or eight at the most. But King Uzziah had been on the throne for over fifty years - he'd been the only king most people had ever known. So at the end of this long, stable era, in a moment of intense national uncertainty, Isaiah saw the LORD sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Remember that no matter how shocking the headlines and current events seem, the LORD always omnipotently reigns over all things! But the LORD doesn't appear alone. Above Him stand seraphim - mysterious winged angelic creatures. The word often means 'burning ones' but also can mean 'serpent like.' But their purpose isn't mysterious at all: to provide continual and uninterrupted worship. Isaiah reports that one called out to another. In other words, they sang antiphonally - a continuous, back-and-forth proclamation. Isaiah doesn't mention the volume of the seraphim's song, but its words are deafening - indelibly etched into the mind of every God fearing person ever since: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” These words - often referred to as the trisagion (thrice holy) - continually sung over God's immediate heavenly presence, have a devastating effect as they descend upon the physical world: the very foundations of the thresholds trembled and the entire temple was filling with smoke - entirely consistent with how His nearness was experienced by the Israelites as they heard His commanding voice boom from atop Mount Sinai. Dig Deeper RC Sproul notes in his must read book The Holiness of God that one of the most popular reasons people stop attending church is because they think it's boring. As Isaiah hears the seraphim's song - sung here not just to praise the LORD, but also to warn sinners like him to stand clear of God's perfection - Isaiah was anything but bored! Sproul writes, "The doors of the temple were not the only things that were shaking. The thing that quaked the most in the building was the body of Isaiah. When he saw the living God, the reigning monarch of the universe displayed before his eyes and all of His holiness, Isaiah cried out ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined!’” Isaiah knew his unclean lips and sin stained eyes could not withstand the unmitigated perfection of the living God. Keep Isaiah's encounter in mind as you respond God's call to worship each Lord's Day. You've not come into an auditorium to watch a program or simply experience great music and hear a few good words with some pepermunts in between. You've been commanded to come into His sanctuary - a holy room - holy not because of its physical beauty (though it often is), but because it's in that place you'll come face to face with the manifested presence of the thrice-holy LORD to worship Him. But also remember that although you still have sin to confess each week, the LORD does not see you as one who is unclean. The seraphim needed to touch Isaiah's unclean lips with a burning coal to make atonement. But your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven by our one and only Mediator and Intercessor: Jesus Christ the Righteous, whose death and resurrection gives you peace with God. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts - The whole earth is full of His glory; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your posture in God's presence would reflect His holiness; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Prophets tell us what we don't want to hear to point us to what we desperately need to know. Faithlife.com SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF tracing Israel’s monarchy in Samuel and Kings, we turn to Isaiah, where history gives way to prophetic interpretation. The kings had failed, the people had wandered, and covenant judgment was no longer distant. Isaiah now interprets what those events meant: exposing sin and revealing God’s purpose. Judgment is coming—yet there is hope, for the LORD remains faithful and will bring salvation through judgment. Isaiah 1:1–20 (NASB95) 1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 2 Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the Lord speaks, “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me. 3 “An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand.” 4 Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the Lord, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him. 5 Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, welts and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil. 7 Your land is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire, Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers. 8 The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. 9 Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah. 10 Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah. 11 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. 12 “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? 13 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. 14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. 16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. 18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. 19 “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; 20 “But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 82 Q. Are those to be admitted to the Lord’s Supper who show by what they say and do that they are unbelieving and ungodly? A. No, that would dishonor God’s covenant and bring down God’s anger upon the entire congregation. Therefore, according to the instruction of Christ and his apostles, the Christian church is duty-bound to exclude such people, by the official use of the keys of the kingdom, until they reform their lives. Summary The book of Isaiah represents a big genre shift as we read through the Bible this year. So far we've spent this year working our way through Old Testament narratives, recounting the history of God's people from creation all the through the rise and fall of the kingdom of Israel. We're going to be spending the couple of weeks looking at two of the major Israelite prophets: Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Although we're having to page forward quite a bit to get to these books, we're picking up right where we left off from a historical perspective (we'll cover the books we've skipped past in a few weeks). These two men, separated in time by about a century, lived through the final chapters of the kingdom's history. Prophets are most famously associated with their ability to tell about the future, but remember that the primary role of a prophet is as one who represents God to the people (versus the priests, who represent the people to God). And as is evident in this opening chapter of Isaiah, the word that God commanded His prophets to proclaim wasn't at all complimentary. Therefore the prophets themselves were not at all popular. But although the primary audience for these prophets were an ancient people that seem so different from us, the sins that precipitated these harsh words from God stem from the same exact root that our sins come from. So then, these judgments, properly understood in their original context, also apply directly to us. Dig Deeper The LORD wastes no time in diagnosing our primary problem in the opening paragraph: Israel does not know, My people do not understand. Our sins manifest themselves physically and emotionally, but their root cause stems from the poor choice our parents made in the Garden of Eden when they ate from the Tree of Knowledge rather than depend on the LORD for knowledge. This lack of knowledge, called the noetic effect of sin, is passed down from fathers to sons who act corruptly. Notice the repetition: They have abandoned the LORD, They have despised the Holy One... They have turned away. Therefore, God points out the consequences through His prophet: Your land is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire, Your fields- strangers are devouring them. God then compares His 'holy' people to Sodom and Gomorrah. The LORD makes clear that repeated religious lip service does nothing to solve the problem. 'What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?' says the LORD... I have had enough... I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats... Bring your worthless offerings no longer... So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you. But as harsh as God's prophetic indictment of sin is, it always points forward to the Gospel, and these opening words of Isaiah are no exception. God calls you to reason with Him - or as the NIV puts it, to settle the matter. Then we read one of the most beautiful couplets in all of scripture: Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. Even as He lashes out at your sinful lack of knowledge, the LORD promises the salvation and forgiveness He won for you in Christ! AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the LORD of Hosts; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that having been forgiven in Christ, you will cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan and plead for the widow; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: