Sermon: Psalm 63 You are my Strength

When was the last time you were really thirsty? Perhaps you were caught up in your work, out in the fields on a hot day, and you suddenly realised you needed a drink. Maybe it was after playing sport, having run around a pitch or court. Maybe you were inside - a hot oven or stirring a big pot of something bubbling on the hob. Or perhaps you were in a nursing home or hospital, where the heat is always high, and you realised you were parched. When were you thirsty?

In our Psalm today, the reason for David’s thirst seems obvious. He is (title) in the wilderness of Judah. He’s in the desert, having fled from Absalom his rebellious son. In the desert there’s lots of rocks and sand, but not much else - no iced water dispensers, no bottles of Evian or Ballygowan, no rivers or streams. Just heat. And sand.

But did you notice, David isn’t thirsting for water. He’s thirsty, but it’s not for water. Verse 1: ‘O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.’ The lack of water isn’t bothering David. The lack of God is. David’s desire is for God. Did you catch the intensity of his words? Earnestly I seek you; thirsts, faints. His physical surroundings reflect his spiritual state. He is spiritually thirsty. David’s desire is for God.

All the more so, because he remembers what he has lost. You see, when David was king in Jersualem, the sanctuary was right beside him. David was beside the tabernacle (before the temple was built). He remembers in verse 2: ‘So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.’ He’s not there any more, he remembers his special times in worship. Yet even now, he holds on to what he knows about God: ‘Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up your hands.’ David desires God, the God of steadfast love, the God who deserves our praise.

David is open about his desperate desire for God - that desperate longing for God. This isn’t just duty, this isn’t just something he feels he has to do. This is intense longing, a passionate desire for God. Would that describe you today? When we gather, are we here because we’re thirsty for God, desperate to meet with him and hear from him?

Perhaps you feel like you’re in a desert right now. Things just aren’t going right at all. You feel far away from God. You miss that intimacy you once had. You desperately want him. Cry out to him. A wee baby doesn’t hold back when she’s hungry. She instinctively cries out to be fed. So cry out - say to God, you are my God. Look to him, and see his power and glory. Desperately desire him.

Because, as David shows us, when we earnestly seek for God, we are found by him. When we desire God, he does indeed give us the desires of our heart. We see that in this one long sentence of verses 5-7. Let’s take it in bits, as we see that David delights in God.

Now, anyone who was at the BBQ on Friday night can relate to verse 5. After the steak and all the rest, and the desserts, we were all well satisfied. We couldn’t have eaten any more. Full up, full to bursting, and maybe too full for the ceilidh dancing. That’s a picture of the satisfaction David feels in his soul - my soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food. Also, my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.

So when will this happen? When will David be satisfied and praising? He’s not in church. He’s not with friends. He’s actually on his own, in the middle of the night. One of my minister mentors called this the hospital psalm, because of verse 6. David will be satisfied and singing ‘when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night.’

A couple of weeks ago, we heard about David’s great night’s sleep, because God was his shield. Well here, David isn’t sleeping so well. He’s seeing every hour pass. He’s lying on his bed - but he doesn’t have a phone to tell him the time. There isn’t an alarm clock with a luminous display counting the passing minutes of sleeplessness. but there are soldiers changing the guard, as one watch takes over from the last. Every few hours, David hears the soldiers relieve their comrades, and he knows time is passing. But do you see what he is doing - remembering, meditating. He’s thinking about God, reflecting on who God is and what he has done.

And as he thinks about God, as he cries out to God, he is satisfied and sings, because of verse 7. ‘For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.’ David looks back, he remembers what God has done for him. He thinks about how God has been his help. The times God has delivered him. How God protected him against lions and bears and Goliaths. How God kept him safe when fighting enemies. How God had forgiven him when he had gone astray. You have been my help.

When you’re going through the desert, when you’re wandering in the wilderness, when you’re feeling far from God, looking back at God’s faithfulness in the past helps us to trust him for the present and the future. Being surrounded by his wings causes us to sing for joy. Have you know that satisfaction and joy, as you remember the Lord?

David’s delight is crowned in verse 8. Just like a child with their mummy or daddy, it’s one thing for the child to hold their parent’s hand. Far better for the parent to hold their hand. ‘My soul clings to you.’ - It’s a desperate holding, clinging, fearful of letting go. But as we hold on to God, we find that he is holding on to us: ‘your right hand upholds me.’ God holds us up.

And that brings the contrast of the last verses. God is not only David’s desire and delight, but also his defence. God will uphold David, ‘but those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth.’ It’s like getting into a lift and the attendant asks up or down? God’s people are upheld, but God’s enemies go down - given over to the power of the sword; a portion for jackals (so that the jackals are also satisfied).

This isn’t David expressing a personal hatred of his enemies. You see, those who are against David as God’s king, are setting themselves against God. An attack on God’s king is an attack on God. God will act justly, for truth, against every false claim, and every lie.

In defending the truth, God defends David, his king. The mouths of liars will be stopped. The king will rejoice, and all who swear by him will also exult and praise. Just as David was in the wilderness, so his greater son, King Jesus spent time in the wilderness as well. His battle was with the Satan, the accuser, the father of lies. His temptations? To be satisfied by turning stones into bread; to demand protection by jumping off the temple; to bow down and worship the devil and bypass the cross. Jesus answered each of those with scripture, from Deuteronomy but each has an answer in this Psalm also - desire: earnestly seeking God to worship only him; delight: finding satisfaction in God alone; defence: knowing that God upholds his people and gives over the liar. Jesus triumphed over the father of lies in the desert place. That triumph was completed in the cross and resurrection. The enemy of the king is overthrown, and we can share in that victory.

You might not be in that desert place today; things are going well for you. Praise God, but store up this word in your heart. You never know when you might need it. It’s better to be prepared in advance for the hard times when they come. But if you are in that desert place, then look to God, and find in him your desire, your delight, and your defence.

This sermon was preached in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 30th August 2015.

Sermon Audio: Psalm 7

When people turn against you, where do you turn? In our short summer series, we've been looking at some of the Psalms from the life of King David, and especially in the time when nothing seemed to be going right for him. Absalom his son has rebelled against him, and set himself up as king. David is fleeing from Jerusalem when a Benjaminite launches a vicious verbal assault on his king's majesty. The only refuge David has is in God himself, so listen in as David declares: 'You are my Shelter.'

Sermon: Psalm 7 You are my Shelter

This morning we’re thinking about shelter, but I wonder what comes into your mind when you hear that word shelter. Perhaps it’s huddling under an umbrella, when the rain comes tumbling down, finding some protection from the elements. You get the same idea with a bus shelter - when you’re waiting for a bus, you can stand in under it, to get out of the rain or the wind. The idea is also found in the charity called Shelter, working with the homeless, or in those animal rescue shelters - a safe place, a protected place.

With the children going back to school, though, I began to think back to the best time of the school day (and it wasn’t the home time bell, but it was just better than that) - breaktime and lunchtime. If it wasn’t raining, we were allowed out into the playground. You could play football, or chasies or swop football stickers or pogs or top trumps. If you were ever annoyed by someone, or someone wanted to fight with you, then you knew what to do - get close to Mrs Malcolmson / Osborne / Clarke / Barr. The dinner ladies took no nonsense. No one would dare come near you if you were beside them. The dinner ladies were a shelter, a safe place. A person was a safe place, a shelter. And that’s the idea that David shows us in verse 1. ‘O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me.’

In August we’ve been looking at some of the Psalms from David’s life. Last week we saw how David was able to sleep despite being driven out of Jerusalem by his rebellious son Absalom - because he knew that God was ‘my shield, my glory, and the lifter of my head.’ As David continues on his journey, he is annoyed by the words of this Benjaminite. So he takes refuge in God - he finds that the Lord is a shelter. He needs God to be a shelter, because otherwise he would be torn apart, as if a lion had got him. God is David’s shelter.

Even though we’ve seen that David wasn’t perfect, yet he claims to be innocent of this charge. He appeals to God, his judge. ‘O Lord my God, if I have done this... if, if, if.’ If it was true, then he would deserve for his enemy to triumph. He feels so strongly, he feels wrongly accused, so he cries out to God, who sees all and knows all.

Whenever you’re accused of wrongdoing, how do you handle it? Do you go on the attack? Or do you take it to the Lord, your shelter, your refuge? David it takes it to the Lord in prayer. He appeals to the judge, and rests his case. Selah - that pause, that turning around.

From verse 6, we see David owning God as his vindicator, the one who will show and prove that David is in the right. I wonder would you talk to God like this? ‘Arise, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgement.’ Do you see the action of those three sentences? Arise, lift yourself, awake. God, don’t just sit there allowing this to happen. God, get up and do something!

It’s almost like the words that will be heard when the schools start again - get up, you’ve to be in school! And what is it that God has to do? Not go to school, but to act as judge.

David seems to be impatient with God - that God is slow to do his job. That God is slow to act on David’s behalf. Have you ever found yourself in the same boat? The wicked seem to get away with their wickedness. Come on, God, don’t let them get away with it! Don’t let them accuse me falsely!

In verse 8, it almost looks as if David has gone too far. He may well be right to be cross with the accusations. He may well be right to call on God. But is he right to claim verse 8? ‘The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.’

It’s one thing to claim to be innocent in one particular charge. It’s another to claim to have righteousness and integrity. All the time? In everything? No slips, no faults, no secrets? It’s one thing to ask for God to judge others - but do we really want God to judge us? To come under his searchlight?

We find the answer in verse 10 and following. ‘My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. If a man does not repent...’ Here’s why David is upright; here’s how David has righteousness and integrity - he hasn’t worked it up himself - he has received it, through repentance.

By taking refuge in the Lord, the righteous judge, David is counted as righteous. For any who will not repent, God is presented as the righteous judge. ‘If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.’

Those who do not repent are in the firing line. The sword, the bow and arrow, all aiming at the sinner. To rebel against God is to sign up for the enemy, to stand in opposition to God, to fight against God. That’s the position we’re all in by nature, and unless we have done something about it, then we’re still in the firing line. God is angry at sin - not an unpredictable, vindictive anger the way some people might be; but a perfect, holy indignation against sin, all that dishonours him and rejects his way.

Alongside God’s anger, we’re also afflicted on the inside. It’s as if David brings us to the maternity ward to give us an examination. The wicked man conceives evil, is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. Our sin comes from inside, and destroys us from the inside.

It’s almost like one of those Tom and Jerry or Roadrunner and Wile E Coyote cartoons. ‘He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.’ Our acts of sin return on us, and destroy us. By continuing in sin, not only are we our own worst enemies, but also, we have God as our enemy.

David finds comfort in these verses, as he looks forward to the end of evil enemies. But this might be the wake-up call we need. Perhaps you will consider your ways, and realise the end of your own path. It doesn’t have to be that way.

You too can experience the assurance David knew. You can also be confident of standing in the judgement. You see, God is our refuge, our shelter. Out of his great love for us, he turned his weapons on his precious Son. Jesus bore the punishment we deserve. Jesus died the death we deserve. He takes away our sin, and instead he gives us his perfect righteousness - the righteousness that David knew as his own, a gift from God.

When we take refuge in God, the accuser can shout all he wants. But he is powerless to change God’s verdict on us - the judgement revealed before the day of judgement: there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. That’s why David turns to thanks and praise - for his righteousness. Can you sing his praise today?

This sermon was preached in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 23rd August 2015.

Sermon Audio: Psalm 3

On Sunday we continued with some of the Psalms from the life of King David. After Absalom begins a rebellion against his father, David flees from the palace and the city of Jerusalem. Many foes are against him, yet he declares that he lay down and slept, and woke again. How was this possible? The secret comes in knowing and saying to the Lord: You are my Shield.

Sermon: Psalm 3 You are my Shield

Did you sleep well last night? Was it a nice, long, refreshing sleep and you woke this morning ready to take on the world? Or was it one of those disturbed, seeing every hour, tossing and turning type of nights? According to some survey or other, 25% of people in the UK have some form of sleep disorder - they can’t sleep at night, and then could sleep all day, feeling tired.

Maybe you couldn’t sleep because someone else was snoring (as all the ladies look at their husbands...) - or perhaps you woke yourself up from your snoring! Some people even have ruined sleep by sleepwalking or sleeptalking.

Or maybe you weren’t able to sleep because of a worry you have - you can’t seem to switch off, you’re always thinking about it, always worrying about it.

In our Psalm today, David describes his night’s sleep. Look with me at verse 5. ‘I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.’ Well, that’s all right for him, you might think. David was the king, he was probably in his royal palace with a four poster bed and a comfortable mattress and a nice duvet. Of course he was sleeping well. If I was in Buckingham Palace I would have a great sleep as well!

But these Psalms we’re looking at this summer are Psalms from David’s life. They are all in response to events that David was living through. When we read the title of the Psalm, the little capital letters, we see that David wasn’t in his palace. David wasn’t even in the city. He was on the run. ‘A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.’

David was king in Jerusalem, but his son Absalom had risen in rebellion against him. Absalom comes towards the city, and David runs away. He flees. Everyone seems to have turned against him. Look at verses 1-2. Here’s how desperate the situation is:

‘O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.’

It’s as if David is looking behind him, and he sees the crowd following Absalom, many foes; many risen against me; many talking about me. If it goes on numbers, then David is finished. All these people are against him, they’re out to get him. And they reckon that God doesn’t want him either.

Now, picture yourself in David’s position. You’ve had to flee from your house and your hometown. You’re with a small band of followers, and evening comes. You’re not lying in your palace, you’re lying on the ground. Do you think you would sleep much? Would you not lie awake, listening for the noise of Absalom’s army? Would you be able to sleep for fear of what might happen?

So how do we get from this desperate situation in verses 1-2 to verse 5, where David lay down, slept, and woke again? We have to go through verses 3 and 4. And as we do that, we also have to deal with the extra wee word at the end of verse 2 and 4. Selah. No one quite knows what it means, but it’s found in loads of Psalms. Some think it’s a musical term, but it seems like it’s a pause for thought indicator. It comes at the end of verse 2, as if David is reflecting on this situation.

Everyone else has it in for me. ‘But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head.’ Here’s the reason David could sleep so well, even with all these people out to get him. He knows that the LORD, the promise making, promise keeping God is three things: a shield about me - God is like a shield, protecting us; my glory - the one who David delights in, the one whose opinion really counts; and the lifter of my head. With all these people against him, with all his worries and woes, David’s head must have been down. But God lifts his head, gives him strength and grace and purpose.

And how does David know this? How does this work out in his life? ‘I cried out to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill.’ David might have left the ark behind. David might not be in Jerusalem any more. But God still hears David, and answers David. (Selah - pause)

When you know that God is in control, when you know that God is in charge, when you know that God is for you, then you don’t need to fear anyone or anything. So even on the rough ground, David had a good night’s sleep. He did it, ‘for the LORD sustained me.’ And do you see how he keeps going in verse 6? ‘I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.’

David isn’t trusting in his own strength. He doesn’t think that he can take them all himself. David’s trust is in his shield, his glory, the lifter of his head. And so he calls God to action: ‘Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.’

It’s God who acts to save, not David. It’s God who deals with David’s enemies, striking them on the cheek, breaking their teeth. Then they won’t be able to bite. They won’t be able to speak out the accusing threats.

Verse 8 brings the Psalm to a close, and shows us the message of the Psalm in one little easy to remember sentence. Despite the big problem David had; despite all the people after him; David was able to lie down and sleep. He wasn’t depending on himself. His trust was in God, because he knows the truth of verse 8.

‘Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people.’

Salvation belongs to the LORD. David the king recognised this, but we also hear another king singing the same song. This king knew what it was to have massive opposition; for people to taunt him about his God; for people to question his faith. Yet as he trusted in God, so he passed through (not just sleep, but) death and woke again, because the Lord sustained him.

Jesus has endured the scorn and opposition to provide his salvation. Jesus is the one who shields us, is our glory, and lifts up our head. Because salvation belongs to the Lord, so he provides blessings to his people. There’s another Selah at the end - a great reminder to pause, reflect, and take in this great truth before we rush on with the rest of today.

When it comes bedtime tonight, how will you sleep? When the litany of worries begins, could you join with David in recognising who your God is - your shield, your glory, the lifter of your head? And as you do so, cry out to him. As someone once said, when you can’t sleep, rather than counting sheep, speak to the shepherd, who is your Lord.

This sermon was preached in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 16th August 2015.

Sermon Audio: Psalm 51

On Sunday morning, we began a new short summer sermon series of Summer Psalms: The King Sings. We're listening in as David the king sings some autobiographical Psalms. Having committed coveting, adultery with Bathsheba, and the murder of her husband Uriah, David is confronted by Nathan the prophet. Psalm 51 is David's response, as he declares to God: 'You are my salvation.' Listen in as David sees the greatness of his sin, and his even greater Saviour.

Sermon: Psalm 51 You are my Salvation

Here’s a sentence I didn’t ever think I would say: ‘I would have to agree with Elton John.’ While there’s lots of things I would disagree with him, I think he got it spot on when he sang ‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word.’ Just think of the last time you were in the wrong - and you try to argue your way out of it; your inner lawyer jumps to your defence to give reasons or excuses. Lots of other words come to mind. Sorry seems to be the hardest word.

If that’s true for us, then it seems to be even more so for those in the public eye. Politicians, sport stars, celebrities all seem to find it hard to say sorry when they’ve been caught out and the scandal breaks. There’s that special, ‘I’m sorry if anyone was offended’ which they don’t mean; and the statement which says I’m sorry I’ve been caught - rather than being sorry for what I’ve done. Sorry seems to be the hardest word.

Over these next few weeks, we’re looking at some of the Psalms from David’s life. Today, in Psalm 51, he’s saying sorry to God. The superscription - the little capital letters at the top of the Psalm - tell us when this Psalm was written: ‘when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.’ We heard the story in 2 Samuel 11-12. David had spied Bathsheba, committed adultery with her, and she was pregnant. Her husband was away fighting David’s battles, so David brings him back to try to cover up his involvement. Uriah is more honourable, so David resorts to murder. He thinks he has gotten away with it. No one knows. It hasn’t made it into the Sunday World or the Jerusalem Times. ‘But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.’

God sends Nathan to speak to David, exposes his sin in his parable of the little lamb, and David is convicted. Psalm 51 is David’s response - not a polished press release, or a hush-up, say little public apology. This is a no-holds-barred confession, saying sorry to God. In it, we see what the writer of the hymn ‘Beneath the Cross of Jesus’ says: ‘two wonders I confess: the wonders of redeeming love and my own worthlessness.’ We see our sin, and our Saviour.

As we dive in to the Psalm, we’ll take it in blocks of three verses each as we see the request, the root of the problem, restoration, the result, and the wider application. So first, verses 1-3, the request. David knows that he deserves nothing, so he doesn’t ask for justice. None of us could stand if God gave us what we deserve. David asks for mercy: ‘Have mercy on me, O God.’ God, I don’t deserve anything, I need your mercy. But he can ask for mercy because of who he is speaking to - ‘according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy.’ He knows that God is full of steadfast (covenant) love, and full of mercy. So he requests God’s mercy, to ‘blot out my transgressions.’ - to wipe them away, to get rid of them. He needs to be cleansed and washed from, do you see, his transgressions, iniquity and sin, because they are ever with him, ever before him. He can’t sort himself out. He can’t clean himself up - if you have dirty hands and you wipe your face, you just get dirtier... So he makes this request for mercy.

He need this request because he then addresses the root of the problem: his sin, which brings separation from God. Now, having heard from 2 Samuel, verse 4 sounds strange. ‘Against you, you only, have I sinned.’ And you want to shout out, but David, what about Bathsheba and Uriah? But David is right. All sin is ultimately against God - whatever our sin of choice might be, and whoever suffers, it is ultimately against God - not just a breaking of God’s law, but a breaking of God’s heart. You see God delights in truth in the inward being, God is justified in his words and blameless in his judgement. But we can’t stand because v5 we were brought forth in iniquity and conceived in sin. We don’t start off pure and holy and then learn how to do evil. We are born in and into sin, we’re corrupt already, following our parents and our first parents, Adam and Eve. Our sin runs up against this holy God, and this is the root of our problem. So what do we need? What did David need?

Restoration (v7-12). We need to be restored, as God deals with our sins - to cleanse, wash, blot them out (7-9), and then makes us new in verse 10-12. ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.’ This isn’t something we can work up in ourselves - we need God to do this work of creation and new creation in us. A clean, new heart, not ruled by sin, but listening to God. By giving us the Holy Spirit to fill us and change us. By restoring in us the joy of salvation. You see, it’s only when you realise the depths of your sin that you know the joy of salvation.

This restoration isn’t just taking away my sin, it’s also adding more than we ever had before. So, say that you owed the bank a massive sum of money. Forgiveness is the bank manager cancelling your debt. So you don’t owe any money, but you don’t have any money either. But this restoration that God provides is as if that friendly bank manager not only forgave your debts, but then put a million pounds in your bank account. We don’t deserve it, but God restores, gives us more than we could ever imagine.

And this restoration leads to the result of verses 13-15. When we have been restored, we want others to experience that joy as well. ‘Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.’ Our message can never be ‘you’re so bad, you need to repent’ - but rather it’s ‘I’m so bad, but God forgave me, and he’ll forgive you too.’ Look at what God has done for me! Another result will be that we praise the Lord - ‘my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.’

David doesn’t say, I’ll sing perfectly in tune. He says I will sing aloud of your righteousness. So sing up, or at least make a joyful noise! Don’t just stand there, waiting until the hymn is over so you can sit down again. Sing out your praise to God!

The final verses might seem a little bit contradictory. You see, verse 16 says that God doesn’t want sacrifice or burnt offerings, but verse 19 talks about God delighting in sacrifices and burnt offerings. So which is it? Does God want sacrifices or not? Verse 17 gives us the key: ‘The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.’

God had given the sacrificial system in the first place. The whole range of sacrifices laid out in Leviticus point to Jesus. But in David’s day it would be easy to bring a bull to be slaughtered because that was what you did. It was an external act, on the outside it might look like you’re turning from your sin and turning to God, but who could tell?

God desires truth in the inward being (6). God sees what’s on the inside. So what matters most is the broken spirit, in sorrow at our sin, really, truly sorry, and turning to God in repentance and faith. In a moment, we’ll say the words of the confession. You could probably say it without looking at the words, and without thinking. But have you really confessed? God is looking for the broken spirit, not whether you say all the right words in all the right places.

When Nathan comes to David, David is convicted of his sin. He sees himself as he really is. His transgressions, iniquity and sin. His innate sinfulness. His inability to help himself or save himself. And it breaks his heart, for having offended against a holy God.

Yet in this Psalm, he also sees his Saviour. The God who sees and knows and acknowledges the cry of a broken heart. The God who cleanses, heals, and restores more than we have lost. The God who is holy. The God who is steadfast love and abundant mercy. The God who would give his own Son, in the death on the cross, where his holiness and mercy meet, and our sins are forgiven, our debt is paid, and we are given his righteousness, credited to our account.

So come today, with your heart broken for your sin. Whatever you have done. Whatever burdens you bear. Whatever guilt you carry. Lay them down. Come in confession. And come to the table, to remember his love and receive his grace.

This sermon was preached in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 9th August 2015.

The Way of the Cross (14)

As we journey towards the cross, we continue in the period of the kings. After Saul's eventual death at the hands of the Philistines, David is anointed king, first of Judah and then of Israel, and the promises made to Abraham are coming together again. Israel is in the land; a time of peace is here; the nation is expanding; and God's blessing is being known. David expresses the wish to build a temple (or house) for God in his new capital city, Jerusalem, and it's in this context that the next great promise is made.

Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. (2 Samuel 7:11-16)

Great David's greater son will have his throne established forever. In this passage, we see the two horizons of Bible prophecy - sometimes there is an immediate fulfillment, as well as a longer term, ultimate fulfillment. In the immediate term, we see in the following chapters how Solomon, David's son, is chosen to be king after him.

The ultimate fulfillment, however, is seen in the eternal king, Jesus, whose kingdom will never come to an end. When we apply these verses to Jesus, some get a bit jittery with that mention of 'when he commits iniquity', quickly remembering that Jesus was sinless, but it's helpful to remember the two horizons - Solomon was profoundly wicked as his heart was led astray by his wives' idols. Yet even as God punished Solomon, the kingdom of Judah (separate again from Israel) remained in David's line out of kindness to David and in fulfillment of this promise.

How amazing, therefore, to see that, despite personally sinless, nevertheless, the coming king bore the stripes of men for the sake of his sinful subjects and by his stripes we are healed. Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Sermon: 1 Timothy 6:2-10 Do Not Covet

We’ve reached the final commandment, and you might think that it’s all a bit irrelevant these days. After all, who speaks of coveting now - it all sounds a bit old fashioned, especially if you’re talking about coveting your neighbour’s man servant or donkey. Consider these examples:

Meet Christian Louboutin. The designer who’s given us the shoe women covet, celebrities rock and divas sing about

Since I heard the news of actor Sanjay Dutt buying a new Rolls Royce Ghost for his wife, I can’t help but covet this car a tad more, what with Sanjay Dutt being my favorite actor and all. Excessive lust - the pent up energy it seems has to be penned.

Had Spain not filed an excellent case for staging the event he and England covet? (Beckham and that World Cup story...)

I really covet the Oliver Spencer one [coat], but my friend Gove already has it.

All of those came from the national newspapers over the past week (among others!). The notion of coveting is alive and well right across the land. There’s even a women’s fashion website called covet.com which suggests the latest fashions celebrities are wearing, and where to buy them from.

But you might be asking yourself, what does it mean to covet? Just as the examples at the start all expressed some sort of desire to have something that someone else has; so we find that in the original commandment as well. It is discontentment with what he have - being dissatisfied with our own possessions compared to someone else’s. You remember in previous weeks how some of the commandments were very brief - you shall not kill, just four words. When it comes to the tenth commandment, it’s a lot more specific, with lots of examples - house, wife, servants, ox, donkey, or anything that your neighbour has.

Why is do not covet one of the ten? Why did it make it in? Sometimes you see in the newspapers or on the internet the ‘ten commandments of journalism’ or blogging, or athletics or whatever it is. Or there’ll be a feature on the ten commandments for a new millennium - with things like recycling, and just being nice to people. If you were compiling the ten commandments, what would be in your list? Would coveting still be there?

It turns out that do not covet is the perfect end to the ten commandments, it perfectly rounds them off, and is the key to at least the second half, and perhaps even all of them. Last week we looked at Colossians 3, and right in the middle of our passage, there was that little phrase ‘and covetousness, which is idolatry’ (Colossians 3:5). So to covet is to worship stuff, and not God - so the commandments finish as they begin, challenging our worship. What or whom will we worship?

But more than that, we come to realise that, as Motyer puts it, the tenth commandment ‘is the interpreting clause of the whole Decalogue’ (Ten words), because to covet is the point at which every breach of the law begins.

Do you remember King David’s sorry series of episodes when he committed adultery with Bathsheba (2 Sam 11:4) and then when she’s pregnant, David murders Uriah by placing him in the worst part of the battle and withdrawing his soldiers to leave him defenceless (2 Sam 11:15)? How did that all begin? David saw Bathsheba bathing on the roof, and coveted his neighbour’s wife.

Or in 1 Kings 21, when King Ahab and his queen, Jezebel bear false witness against Naboth by accusing him falsely (10), then have Naboth killed (13), and steal Naboth’s vineyard (16). Where did that all begin? Ahab coveted Naboth’s vineyard (1-4).

Far from being the last and the least of the commandments, it’s actually the key to the rest. Just think for a moment of a time when you coveted something that a friend or neighbour had - something that you really wanted. It may not have been their male servant or female servant; nor their ox or donkey, but it must have been something they had. Maybe it was their house, their car, their mobile, their results, holidays, image, family, security, heat (in this cold weather!), health, garden, popularity, friends. What happened? You probably saw it, then wanted it, then the desire gripped you, and it drove your thoughts, your words, and maybe even your actions. [James says ‘each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire...’ (James 1:14)]

Your thoughts, words and actions will reveal what it is that you are worshipping - whether God, or something else. Most of the time, indeed, all of the time before we’ve been saved, we will be coveting something - precisely because we are all idolators at heart. Calvin described the heart as the idol factory. We’re all guilty.

As we’ve reminded ourselves every week - and we must never tire of reminding ourselves of the good news of the gospel - Jesus was innocent on this point of the law, he perfectly fulfilled the law, and therefore never coveted. The Son of Man has nowhere to lay down his head - yet he never coveted his neighbour’s house. Jesus had no wife - yet he never coveted his neighbour’s wife. Jesus had to borrow a donkey to ride into Jerusalem - yet he never coveted his neighbour’s donkey.

Because Jesus died for us, for all our sin, including our idolatrous covetousness, we can have forgiveness even in this area of our life. But as we’ve been seeing throughout our series, we’re not just fleeing legalism, but we’re pursuing holiness. Now as Christians, it’s not enough just to abstain from doing evil (as far as we can, through the help of the Holy Spirit), we also turn to positively seek to please the Lord by doing good works and obeying the law of Christ.

So it’s not just that we don’t try to covet any more - the gospel gives us a positive alternative to coveting, contentment. (And we’ve finally arrived at 1 Timothy 6!) Look at verse 6. ‘Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment.’ The apostle Paul presents a model of contentment which stands in total opposition to the values and standards of the world we live in. You see, the advertisers (particularly in the run up to Christmas) are fuelled by spreading the message of discontentment and dissatisfaction with what you have. They design the products and the ads to make you say ‘if only I had product x, my life would be complete’ (whether that is a closer shave, or the newest gadget, or Beyonce’s perfume, or a big win on the lottery).

The Christian, however, is called to be content with what you have - as Paul reminds us, it’s a zero sum game. When you’re born, you have zero. When you die, you will have zero, so anything you have now is a bonus! And let’s remember that Paul isn’t writing to Timothy from the lap of luxury - as if he’s saying that once you reach a certain standard of living, have (as Hyacinth Bouquet would say of her sister, “large house, and a 'Mercedes, sauna and room for a pony”), then you can be content. You see, no matter how much we have, we’ll still want just a little bit more! But think where Paul is as he writes to Timothy. He’s not in the Hilton, Rome, or lying by the beach - no, he’s in prison! It’s the same in Philippians 4, where Paul says that ‘I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.’ Location? Prison. What’s the secret? ‘I can do all things through him who strengthens me.’ (Phil 4:13) Whether I have a lot, or have little, because Jesus is strengthening me, I can face any situation, I can go through any hardship or circumstances.

As we begin to apply the message, I have to ask - have you learned this secret? Are you learning to be content in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, whether with little or a lot? Here’s a little scenario. Your friend in school turns up tomorrow with the newest, most fantastic mobile that you’ve had your eye on for ages. How do you respond? Is there envy and jealousy; will you allow the seeds of coveting to take root, so that every waking moment you’re plotting and planning how to get the same phone, even if it means not having lunch from now until you finish school, and not contributing anything of your pocket money or part time job earnings to the church or those in need? Or will you say no, that your current mobile is fine, that you don’t need a new one straight away?

Or if you’re watching television, and you see a particular advert. For each of us it will be different, but you know what it will be for you - car / watch / whatever. Will you be taken in by the false promises of the advert, as they claim your life would be better or even complete if you just had this product? Will you daydream about it, setting up an altar in your mind to worship the mini idol? Or will you say to yourself that you do not need it; that the one you have now will do, that God has richly provided you with so many good things that it would be wrong to throw them back in his face and pursue this one thing?

To seek your sanctification in this particular area, to begin to take seriously the command against covetousness and to practice contentment will, in fact, mean that those knock on sins may be reduced - it’s like the domino chain where you set one off and more fall in sequence - if you begin to deal with the first desire, the impulse to covet, then the sequence won’t start.

It’s no wonder that the very last words in John’s first letter are words we need to hear and heed as we seek to live out the tenth commandment, and indeed the whole ten commandments. John writes, very simply, ‘Little children, keep yourselves from idols.’ (1 John 5:21). What are your idols? Where are you prone to covet? How will you battle those desires by contentment?

We need God’s help, so let us pray.

This sermon was preached in St Elizabeth's Church, Dundonald on Sunday 5th December, rounding off the series in the Ten Commandments.

The Promise of His Coming (5)

Turbulent times seem to be the norm for Israel's history. After Moses died, Joshua led the people into the promised land. In between some bright spots, there were some dark periods, increasing in length and depth. The judges were local saviours, men (and women) God raised up to save his people from an immediate threat, but the cycle continued - apostasy, threat, rescue, peace, apostasy (and so on...). Each of the judges point to their failings and flag the need for a great rescuer who will put an end to the cycle of violence.

As the book Judges ends, the refrain is loud and clear: 'In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.' (Judges 21:25). Samuel the prophet anoints Saul as king, and things are looking up, until Saul throws it away through disobedience.

David is anointed king, first of Judah and then of Israel, and the promises made to Abraham are coming together again. Israel is in the land; a time of peace is here; the nation is expanding; and God's blessing is being known. David expresses the wish to build a temple (or house) for God in his new capital city, Jerusalem, and it's in this context that the next great promise is made.

Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. (2 Samuel 7:11-16)

Great David's greater son will have his throne established forever. In this passage, we see the two horizons of Bible prophecy - sometimes there is an immediate fulfillment, as well as a longer term, ultimate fulfillment. In the immediate term, we see in the following chapters how Solomon, David's son, is chosen to be king after him.

The ultimate fulfillment, however, is seen in the eternal king, Jesus, whose kingdom will never come to an end. When we apply these verses to Jesus, some get a bit jittery with that mention of 'when he commits iniquity', quickly remembering that Jesus was sinless, but it's helpful to remember the two horizons - Solomon was profoundly wicked as his heart was led astray by his wives' idols. Yet even as God punished Solomon, the kingdom of Judah (separate again from Israel) remained in David's line out of kindness to David and in fulfillment of this promise.

How amazing, therefore, to see that, despite personally sinless, nevertheless, the coming king bore the stripes of men for the sake of his subjects and by his stripes we are healed.

The coming king is the son of David, and his throne shall be established forever. Come, King Jesus.

Sermon: Luke 1: 26-38 Jesus: the Man

I wonder if you’ve ever seen a birth announcement, maybe in the Belfast Telegraph, or in the Ulster Tatler. Perhaps it’s something that celebrities would do more than normal people. You have the name of the parents, and then the news of the birth of their new child.

In the Bible reading we’ve just heard, we have a special birth announcement. You see, normally, a birth notice comes after the baby has been born and all is well. You would never see a notice that says ‘in 9 months Jim and Susan will be having a baby boy called Sam.’ Yet this is what happens here. When the angel Gabriel announces the birth, he tells the mother, before she’s a mother. Rather than here’s what has happened, it is a case of here’s what is going to happen. And just as it is no ordinary birth announcement, so we see it is no ordinary person. What will this child be?

Not only are we told the name of the child, Jesus, we’re also told three important things about him. To help you remember them, I’ve put it into a short, snappy sentence. Jesus the man is the great, holy King. Jesus the man is the great, holy King.

First of all, Jesus the man is described as ‘great’. Look at verse 32 with me. ‘He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.’ Sometimes we can use the word ‘great’ too much. I know I do. So a meal was great, or a new song can be great, or my niece, if she behaved, was great.

But what does it mean here when it says that Jesus will be great? Surely it’s not just that he’s good, or pleasant? Well, I had a look at the Greek, and do you know what? You’ll recognise the word that I found. He will be great is the word ‘mega’. Jesus will be (is) mega. A few years back, Sega brought out a new computer game console, and it was called the Sega Megadrive – far greater than anything we had seen before, faster, better, beyond our imagination. Or think of what used to be the Virgin Megastore shops – these weren’t just a shop, but a megastore – far bigger and better.

Look over at Luke 1:15. Gabriel had visited Zechariah, the men who was to be the father of John the Baptist. Again, Gabriel uses the word ‘mega’. ‘For he will be great before the Lord.’ John and Jesus are both great, but John is great before the Lord, whereas Jesus, in a different league of greatness, is great and will be called the Son of the Most High.

The angel announces that Jesus will be great. We see his greatness as he walks on the water, or feeds the 5000, or heals the sick, or teaches, or raises the dead. And we see his greatness as he dies on the cross, in our place – even though he was innocent and had done nothing wrong. As Gabriel went on to say – ‘He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High’ – we see this at the cross. Just as Jesus dies, the Roman Centurion, a hardened soldier who had probably presided over hundreds or thousands of crucifixions, declares ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’ (Mark 15:39).

Jesus is great – but have you seen his greatness? Have you been amazed by his greatness? Time and again in the Gospels we find that the disciples were amazed by him – What about you?

He will be great. If you look with me down to verse 35, we see the second aspect of Jesus the man. ‘Therefore the child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God.’ Mary had raised a major problem. How could she have a child when she was a virgin? Gabriel tells her that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her. It is because of this – therefore – that Jesus will be called holy.

Holy is a word that we hear in church, or maybe one that we use, but sometimes we don’t grasp what it’s all about. Here, it’s talking about how Jesus will be pure, sinless, holy – separate and distinct and different from every other baby born. You see, we are all affected and infected by sin. It doesn’t take long for a baby to become selfish – it doesn’t even have to be taught. In contrast to all of us, Jesus is free from the problem of sin. He never told a lie, or stole or cheated.

Jesus is holy. We are not. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Yet the good news of Jesus is that in his holiness, he came to the earth to deal with our sin. He who knew no sin was made to be sin for us on the cross, so that he paid the debt that we could not pay, and give us the life we did not deserve.

When we’re confronted with the sinlessness of Jesus, we sometimes want to turn away. We just can’t face up to it, knowing the things that we do wrong. His holiness is a challenge to our sinfulness. Think of the time when Peter had been out fishing all night and caught nothing. Jesus tells him to let down his nets in a certain place, and the catch is so great the nets are about to break. How does Peter respond? ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ (Luke 5:8).

Jesus’ holiness challenges our sinfulness. But at the same time, his holiness provides us with the remedy to our sin. Because the sinless saviour died, my sinful soul is counted free, for God the just is satisfied, to look on him and pardon me.

Find forgiveness and peace today under the wings of the sinless one, who shed his blood for you, so that your sins might be cleansed and forgiven.

Jesus is great. Jesus is holy. And finally, Jesus is the King. Look back to the middle of verse 32. ‘And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ In some ways, this might be the most surprising part of Gabriel’s announcement.

You see, Mary lived in a small village in the northern province of Galilee, far away from the capital city of Jerusalem, where King Herod lived. If you were looking for the family of a new king, you wouldn’t have looked for them in Nazareth. Yet this was the news that Gabriel brings – that Jesus will be, not just a king, but THE king. So far we have seen that Jesus is the Son of the Most High (32) and the Son of God (35) – two ways of saying the same thing. But here in the middle, we find that he is also the son of David – because God will give him the throne of his father David.

Son of David may not seem important to us, but to the people of Jesus’ time, this was shorthand for saying that Jesus was the long-promised Messiah – the King God would send to conquer their enemies and bring in the kingdom of God.

You see, back in 2 Samuel, God had made these promises to king David. ‘When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.’ (2 Samuel 7:12-14).

Now compare that with what Gabriel tells Mary: ‘throne of his father David… reign forever… kingdom there will be no end.’ On one level, the promise had been fulfilled in Solomon, who had built the temple in Jerusalem. But Solomon messed things up with his hundreds of wives and concubines and his religious compromise to keep his wives happy. Every son of David since had failed, some more spectacularly than others. But none had been the final king promised by God who would rule forever.

Jesus is God’s king – appointed by God to reign over the world. Yet while he walked on earth, he wore no royal robes, and the only crown he wore was the crown of thorns imposed by the soldiers at his mocking and crucifixion. Yet the Bible tells us that he reigns now, seated on the right hand of the Father. And one day he will return as king and judge to establish his kingdom forever.

Jesus is the great, holy king. We’ve seen this in his greatness; and in his sinlessness. So what will you do with God’s king? Will you accept his reign in your life, living in obedience to him, or will you go your own way, wanting to rule your own life?

This sermon was preached in St Elizabeth's Church, Dundonald on Sunday 4th January 2009.

Hallelujah

So the X-Factor's Alexandra Burke has made it to Number One with her over-the-top version of 'Hallelujah'. For the first time in ages, I've actually been mildly interested in what the UK's top song was. But mostly because I wanted the top spot to go to the Jeff Buckley version. I didn't think it was possible, as I've been watching I-Tunes during the week, and Alexandra was up there.

But you might be wondering what the song is all about. Leonard Cohen's own version of the 'Hallelujah Chorus' might seem straightforward enough, but what about the rest? Well, we actually have some biblical events sneaking into the chart-topper. David's secret chord refers to his lyre, which he played for King Saul (when Saul was still the king of Israel), when Saul was afflicted by an evil spirit. 'And whenever the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.' (1 Samuel 16:23).

David also features in part of the second verse, where he sees Bathsheba bathing on the roof. That is, when David should have been off leading his troops into battle (2 Samuel 11:2). One thing leads to another, in a slippery slope of sin, from seeing her bathing, to having her in his bed (adultery), to making her pregnant, to trying deception by recalling Bathsheba's husband Uriah the Hittite from the battle in the hope he would have sex with his wife. Uriah, however was more noble than David, and refused to enjoy conjugal rights when his brother-soldiers were still encamped in the fields around Rabbah. And so David turned to murder - albeit by the hands of the Ammonites. (And they allow this stuff to be in the Bible! It's like a Christmas special episode of Coronation Street or Eastenders...)

Cohen mixed his biblical allusions, though, because I don't think that Bathsheba was known as a hairdresser. She didn't cut any hair, but over in Judges we find a famous chop. Delilah was a Philistine, and she seduced Samson, who was one of the Judges of Israel - the God-empowered leaders who delivered God's people from their enemies. He had long hair, which was the secret of his strength - it being a visible sign of the vow he was under as a Nazirite, and eventually after a lot of nagging, Samson told Delilah his secret. So she cut his hair, and he lost a lot more than his flowing locks - his freedom, and his eyes.

So there we are - it's a cold and a broken Hallelujah - the cost of love, it appears. Something which is overwhelmed by Alexandra's powerful voice, and so the song isn't presented as it should. Buckley all the way, even if it's just Number 2 this Christmas time!

Redemption Unfolded: A sermon preached in Annalong on 29th July 2007. Ruth 4:1-22

Did you ever watch Rolf Harris on television? You would see him slapping the paint on the canvas, seemingly randomly. And every so often he would stop and ask ‘Can you guess what it is yet?’ Or for the younger generation, did you ever see Neil Buchanan on Art Attack, as he took tyres and bits of cloth and traffic cones and all sorts as he arranged them seemingly at random.

In both cases, the picture was gradually unfolding, the pieces were put in place, and as time went on, you could see how things unfolded.

So we come to the end of the book of Ruth, as we deal tonight with chapter 4. How will the story end, I’m sure you were wondering as you were coming here tonight, especially if you’ve been with us last week and this morning.

Let’s just recap, before we launch into the passage. Naomi, her husband and her two sons went off to Moab from Bethlehem because of a famine. Sadly, her two sons and her husband died there, and she was left with her two daughters-in-law. Orpah went back home, but Ruth, in her faithfulness stayed with Naomi as they returned to Bethlehem (empty.) Being poverty struck, Ruth went out to glean in the fields, and came into contact with Boaz, who was one of the kinsman-redeemers – the family relatives who could buy back the property of Naomi, restore her land and keep the inheritance going. This morning, we saw how Ruth appealed to Boaz to save her, but Boaz said there was a closer kinsman-redeemer. We left him as he went to sort the matter.

As we see the events of that day unfolding through the passage, we can see through them, the unfolding purposes of God as he redeems and saves his people. We’ll be thinking about those purposes in the past, the present, and the future.

As the passage opens, we meet Boaz going to the town gate. This was the place of doing business, the place where the elders of the town would do business and make judgements. An example of this is found in 2 Samuel 15 – Absalom, the son of King David would stand at the city gate intercepting people who arrived, to act as a judge for them.

Shortly after, the nearer relative that Boaz had mentioned (who isn’t even named), comes along, and Boaz stops him. Then he gets some of the elders of the town to come over, to witness what will go on.

Boaz gives the news that Naomi is selling the land of Elimelech, which needs to be redeemed. The man initially seems happy with the offer, and promises to buy it back, to act as the redeemer. Until Boaz mentions the extra clause of the deal. As well as the fields, you also get a new wife – ‘in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.’ As we’ve seen right through the book of Ruth, land and family are very important – which means that the role of the kinsman-redeemer is so very important too.

But it’s a step too far. Despite Ruth being of noble character, the man decides that it’s not for him. He just can’t do it. The reason he gives is self-interest. He might endanger his own estate if he takes on the property of another.

So the way is clear for Boaz to become the kinsman-redeemer, and to become Ruth’s husband. Do you see the potentially smelly way of doing business – the removal of a sandal to cement a deal. Imagine taking your shoe off in the estate agent’s office today when you were buying or selling a house! But it shows that he was serious, that the deal has been done, and witnessed.

So how was God working through all this? Let’s look first at how he was active in the past, in unfolding his plan of redemption. The elders bring it to mind in verses 11 and 12, in their blessing on the new couple. As they pray for the future, they remember how God has acted in Israel in the past. ‘We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.’

Rachel and Leah were the wives of Jacob, the mothers of the tribes of Israel, and the elders pray that the LORD will make Ruth like them. It was through the LORD that Rachel and Leah had built up the house of Israel, building up the nation of the people of God.

Further, the elders also recall the next generation of the family, praying that the couple’s offspring will be like Perez, the son of Judah (who was the great-great-great-great-grandfather of Boaz). Notice the dependence of the former generations on the LORD, and how the elders call on the LORD to bless the new family as well.

The building up of Israel was following in the promise of blessing to Abraham, that he would be built up into a great nation that no one could number, and God was faithful to his promises through the actions of Rachel and Leah.

Because God had been faithful in the past, it meant that his plan of redemption could be rolled out in the current generation as well. In verses 9 – 10 we see God’s plan of redemption in the present (for Ruth and Boaz). So, even after the terrible situation of the deaths of Elimelech, Mahlon and Chilion; Boaz was there to act as kinsman-redeemer – God’s agent of redemption in the present.

Right the way through we have seen God’s providence acting for the redemption of Naomi and Ruth – in bringing Naomi to the place where Ruth was, in bringing them together through their tragic circumstances; in Ruth working in the fields of Boaz; in the care and protection that Boaz offered. And also in tonight’s reading – in bringing about the meeting with the closer relative (he just happened to come along), and in what transpired that day.

Look also at verses 13-16. Here we see the ‘current’ redemption continuing, about a year later. Not only have Boaz and Ruth married, but God has brought about a son. Once again the praises ring as they see that God keeps his promise and his purposes! ‘Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer.’

As we’re coming near the end of the book, you might be wondering who the book is all about. Who is the hero of the story? Is the book all about Naomi?

Notice that the attention seems to have shifted to Naomi, and away from Ruth. Naomi is the focus of verses 13-17, as the women talk to her, and as Naomi takes the child and cares for it. The climax of the book is in verse 17 – ‘Naomi has a son.’ Gone is the emptiness of Naomi; gone is the bitterness of ‘Mara’; gone is the childlessness of Naomi. She has been filled, and redeemed, and saved.

But notice that the women remind Naomi about the vital role and importance of Ruth. Look at verse 15. ‘For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.’ Is this a claim that Ruth is the real hero of the story (after all, the book is named after her)? Naomi is reminded that it was through Ruth that her emptiness is brought to an end, and meaning is brought to her life, in two ways. First, Ruth loves her, and second, she is better than seven sons.

I’ve spoken a lot about this being a romantic tale, a love story of sorts between Ruth and Boaz. But do you know what? This verse is the only mention of ‘love’ in the whole book. The love of Ruth for Naomi, for her mother-in-law. The rest of the story centres on kindness – the kindness of Ruth in remaining with Naomi; the kindness of Boaz as he shows favour to Ruth; the kindness of Ruth in choosing Boaz. Love is here between Ruth and Naomi.

Another way in which Ruth is seen as the heroine is that she is counted as better than seven sons to Naomi. This was a remarkable thing to assert, given the importance of sons in the culture.

Or maybe Boaz, the redeemer is seen as the hero? The way he shows kindness, and the way he redeems the family, saving them from poverty and disgrace.

But as one writer has commented: ‘None of them can be said to be the person about whom the book is written. But the implication throughout is that God is watching over his people, and that he brings to pass what is good. The book is a book about God. He rules over all and brings blessing to those who trust in him.’

But in reality, the hero of the story is God. It was the LORD who had brought his purposes about in the former generations; it was the LORD who was acting in history in the circumstances of Naomi and Ruth and Boaz.

And, as we bring the study to an end, we see also that God is working out his grand plan of redemption, not only in the past and the present, but also in the future. The son that Ruth bears is named Obed, and as verse 17 tells us, he became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.

This wasn’t just a local crisis of a famine, and the subsequent relief effort, that people would soon forget about. Nor was it just a nice story from a family history. Rather, we see that the events in the lives of Naomi and Ruth and Boaz had effects not only on a local scale, or a national scale, but truly, on a global scale, right down through history.

God’s plan of salvation entailed the development of a king in Israel, one who would rule the people justly, and who would be the type, the shadow, the picture looking forward to the true King, the true Messiah who would come to rule God’s people.

The family tree of David is of such importance, not just because of David being king, but because his family line was that of Jesus. Verses 18-22 are also found in Matthew 1:3-6. When you get home, have a look at the first chapter of Matthew, and think on how God oversaw that family line, as he unveiled his purposes, and prepared the way for Jesus, the Messiah to come.

The faithfulness of Ruth, and the redemption that Boaz provided paved the way for the redemption that Jesus came to provide. We thought of that this morning. Tonight, let us praise our faithful God, who brings transformation to our bleakest situations; who rescues us from our troubles, and who blesses us with his grace.

At the start we mentioned the Rolf Harris or Art Attack progression in art, as the pieces unfolded. Ruth’s story was a step in the progress of God rolling out his plan of salvation in Jesus.

God’s purposes were not defeated by the famine, nor by the unwillingness of the first relative’s refusal to redeem Ruth and Naomi.. His purposes for you cannot be defeated either.

‘’For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is on Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Romans 8:38-39)

So as we finish, the key themes of the previous chapters are brought together. God’s faithfulness even when times are rough. God’s grace poured out on the least and the lost. God’s redemption for those who cry out in need. And God’s redemption plan worked out so that we can be saved. What an amazing God we serve!

Costly sacrifice

Back to 1 Kings again, and Elijah! Elijah had been told by God to go and call Elisha to be his servant. Elijah found Elisha ploughing fields with his oxen - 12 pairs with Elisha driving the twelfth pair. This means that Elisha was right and well off - having twelve pair ploughing.

So Elijah went up to him, and put his cloak on his shoulders - this was the symbolic way of issuing the call. Elisha immediately sacrificed the twelve pair of oxen, said goodbye to his folks, and went off with Elijah.

There was 'no turning back' in this act of sacrifice and thanksgiving. Elisha was turning his back on his occupation and his livelihood by offering the animals and the tools of ploughing to God. This was commitment, but it was also a costly sacrifice.

There's an incident at the end of 2 Samuel, where David is incited to take a census of the fighting men of Israel. Counting the men wasn't a sin itself (we still have a census today in our nations, for planning and statistics). But counting them to see how strong his army was, was a sin - he would then be tempted to put his trust in the strength of his army, rather than in God. So God sent a plague on the people to punish David - but David repented, and the plague stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. In thankfulness, and in repentance, David asked him to sell him the land so he could build an altar there to God. But Araunah wanted to give it to him for nothing.

David refused, however, and insisted on paying the full price for it: 'I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing' (2 Samuel 24:24). This threshing-floor became the site of the Temple that Solomon built.

In both incidents, costly sacrifice was involved. And for us, too, costly sacrifice is needed for our salvation. Yet salvation is free to us! How is this possible? Because Jesus has paid the price, in giving himself for our sins, and therefore we can benefit freely! Someone once said that this is the heart of God's grace:

God's
Riches
At
Christ's
Expense

Have you come to know Jesus as your Saviour? He offers the riches of heaven, and eternal life with him at no charge to you. Do you know the joy of having your sins forgiven, paid for by the blood of Christ?