Tuesday, 17 May 2011
CRUMBLING FOUNDATIONS
In Psalm 12:3 David asks a searching question; “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” There could not be a more appropriate question for the times in which we live.
I do not think for a moment that he had economic or political problems in his mind. He was not primarily looking for answers to an economic collapse or a dangerous political impasse, though both may well have been present in the nation. The foundations he was concerned about were much deeper than economics or political concepts. He was looking at the moral foundations of society. It was those that were being destroyed, destroyed by wilful self interest, lustful behaviour and gross acquisitiveness. He knew perfectly well that if these foundations were crumbling there could be no sound economic or political life anyway. Sound economics.demand human trust and where this was undermined by power, deceit and greed economic life went “pear shaped”. It was the same with politics. Human behaviour is the ultimate foundation of society.
No, the problem was a moral problem, a problem of ordinary human behaviour, the sort of behaviour that destrpys positive human relationships. It’s a problem that springs out of lying and deceiving, stealing, acting aggressively and violently, indulging in permissive and adulterous behaviour. David was watching the real foundations of society being destroyed by an increase of this kind of behaviour. So are we, in our generation, and especially by the behaviour of the rich, the clever, the famous and the media who instead of giving a good example, lead the degenerate parade.
“What can the righteous do?” in the face of such a godless flood. The answer to that is primarily to “flee to the LORD”. It is to seek personal righteousness and godliness in a very definite manner. It is to seek to be a strong stake that can hold things together in our own corner. It’s a call to real holiness. It’s a call to seek God for wisdom, courage and sheer grace.
There is actually another way of rendering Ps 12:3; “When the foundations are being destroyed, what is the Righteous One doing?” In other words, “What is God doing?” David is quite clear about one thing here; “He, God, observes the sons of men, his eyes examine them” Ps.12:4. He keeps a close watch on it all. People may well say “There is no God; we will throw off the shackles of restraint”, but every deed is noted on High. He loves the righteous person, the one who trusts in him and fears his ways; he hates evil and reluctantly but surely moves toward a day of reckoning.
Be strong in godliness!
Bob
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Tuesday, 10 May 2011
“THE ROD OF MY ANGER”
So Osama Bin Laden has been killed. What are we to think of him, his death and the terror he spawned? What of the future? A biblical parallel from the Prophets might help here.
Isaiah the prophet was speaking to Israel and Judah at a time when those two nations were facing attacks and threats from what could have been justly called the “evil empire” of the era, Assyria. Assyria was a byword for terror with its cruelty, ruthlessness, wanton killing, violence and plunder. It was godless (though full of idols), and cared nothing for Israelite religion. It lived by plunder and the sword, and inevitably it was doomed to die by plunder and the sword. It had to be resisted at all costs, and right would prevail.
Isaiah saw all this but he saw something else in the destructive emergence of the Assyrian terror, something which his Jewish contemporaries were not at all happy about and which brought about a bitter rejection of Isaiah. He saw Assyria, evil though it was, as the “rod of God’s anger”, an anger that was directed to the Jews (Isaiah 10:5-6). Assyria was not simply an evil empire which must be defeated, but a warning to Israel to amend its ways; it was the very unpleasant rod of God’s correction. It had been raised up to bring the Israelites to their senses morally. This was a very unwelcome viewpoint to his contemporaries; it was grossly unpatriotic, immoral and roused their anger. Theologically it was off the radar!
But this is exactly what the prophet of God was for – to provide the deeper explanation of events and to see them from God’s perspective. It was not all black and white. We do well to heed Isaiah when we think back over the last ten years or so since 9/11 where bin Laden left the indelible mark of terror. What would Isaiah have seen in the events of those years?
The fall of the twin towers punctured the overweening hubris of the U.S. The two most iconic landmarks in the capital city of the most powerful nation on earth had been razed to the ground by a handful of madmen who had penetrated the most sophisticated of intelligence screening. The U.S. was very vulnerable after all. American pride had taken a colossal blow. The point would certainly not have been lost on Isaiah; he was acutely aware of God’s detestation of such hubris.
The twin towers soared upwards like two great idols, idols dedicated to the amassing of wealth and money by whatever means. Significantly they rose above all else. Now they were totally destroyed. But though the visible idols were gone, the spirit of ungodly financial gain and dominance was still very much alive. That was to lead to an arguably greater catastrophe seven years later when not merely the towers but the very edifice of the financial structure itself collapsed into a tangled heap of appalling debt, the rebuilding of which will take a very great deal longer than the physical towers. That certainly would not have escaped Isaiah’s notice
Immediately after 9/11 President Bush declared war on terror, leaping on to the moral high ground; but the wars he plunged into in Afghanistan and Iraq had hubris written over all them. Waged with the only power the U.S. understood, overwhelming military might, they have proved disastrous both militarily and economically, doubling the mountain of debt and bankrupting the nation. Arguably it was a great triumph for bin Laden. The whole saga would have left Isaiah heart broken.
In many ways bin Laden as a character was weak and insignificant. He was not a natural leader, but worked with grand and murderous delusions. Perhaps one might think of him, however, as a small human rod through which passed a devastating flash of lightning for our warning. Our call is to look at what the lightning has revealed, and not see the removal of the mere rod as a “closure”!
Bob
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Isaiah the prophet was speaking to Israel and Judah at a time when those two nations were facing attacks and threats from what could have been justly called the “evil empire” of the era, Assyria. Assyria was a byword for terror with its cruelty, ruthlessness, wanton killing, violence and plunder. It was godless (though full of idols), and cared nothing for Israelite religion. It lived by plunder and the sword, and inevitably it was doomed to die by plunder and the sword. It had to be resisted at all costs, and right would prevail.
Isaiah saw all this but he saw something else in the destructive emergence of the Assyrian terror, something which his Jewish contemporaries were not at all happy about and which brought about a bitter rejection of Isaiah. He saw Assyria, evil though it was, as the “rod of God’s anger”, an anger that was directed to the Jews (Isaiah 10:5-6). Assyria was not simply an evil empire which must be defeated, but a warning to Israel to amend its ways; it was the very unpleasant rod of God’s correction. It had been raised up to bring the Israelites to their senses morally. This was a very unwelcome viewpoint to his contemporaries; it was grossly unpatriotic, immoral and roused their anger. Theologically it was off the radar!
But this is exactly what the prophet of God was for – to provide the deeper explanation of events and to see them from God’s perspective. It was not all black and white. We do well to heed Isaiah when we think back over the last ten years or so since 9/11 where bin Laden left the indelible mark of terror. What would Isaiah have seen in the events of those years?
The fall of the twin towers punctured the overweening hubris of the U.S. The two most iconic landmarks in the capital city of the most powerful nation on earth had been razed to the ground by a handful of madmen who had penetrated the most sophisticated of intelligence screening. The U.S. was very vulnerable after all. American pride had taken a colossal blow. The point would certainly not have been lost on Isaiah; he was acutely aware of God’s detestation of such hubris.
The twin towers soared upwards like two great idols, idols dedicated to the amassing of wealth and money by whatever means. Significantly they rose above all else. Now they were totally destroyed. But though the visible idols were gone, the spirit of ungodly financial gain and dominance was still very much alive. That was to lead to an arguably greater catastrophe seven years later when not merely the towers but the very edifice of the financial structure itself collapsed into a tangled heap of appalling debt, the rebuilding of which will take a very great deal longer than the physical towers. That certainly would not have escaped Isaiah’s notice
Immediately after 9/11 President Bush declared war on terror, leaping on to the moral high ground; but the wars he plunged into in Afghanistan and Iraq had hubris written over all them. Waged with the only power the U.S. understood, overwhelming military might, they have proved disastrous both militarily and economically, doubling the mountain of debt and bankrupting the nation. Arguably it was a great triumph for bin Laden. The whole saga would have left Isaiah heart broken.
In many ways bin Laden as a character was weak and insignificant. He was not a natural leader, but worked with grand and murderous delusions. Perhaps one might think of him, however, as a small human rod through which passed a devastating flash of lightning for our warning. Our call is to look at what the lightning has revealed, and not see the removal of the mere rod as a “closure”!
Bob
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Tuesday, 3 May 2011
"I WAS GLAD ..."
I have surprised myself by feeling that I really must comment on the royal wedding!
On the day of the wedding Kate Middleton entered the magnificent edifice of Westminster Abbey to the accompaniment of Hubert Parry’s great setting of Psalm 122, the first lines of which are: “I was glad; glad when they said unto me, we will go into the house of the LORD”. I myself instantly felt wonderfully glad that the central moments of this great day were to take place in “the House of the LORD” and, as the Archbishop reminded us at the very start, “in the presence of God”. This was not going to be solely a “secular” day or a celebrity occasion despite all the media angles of interest. It was going to be, at its very heart, something that involved solemn vows, prayer, scripture and the praise of God. We were in the House of the LORD. I was glad!
I was glad because this was going to be (and was, despite everything else!) a great witness to Christian marriage in an era which has almost forgotten it and desperately needs to be brought back to it. How wonderful! I was profoundly grateful for the simplicity and directness of the Anglican Prayer Book Service (except perhaps the bizarre retention of some archaic phrasing). I remain so thankful that the Anglican liturgy, a remarkable expression of scripture, still underpins these great national occasions. It would have been dreadful to think what might have emerged if an “up to date” service had been devised to accommodate the attitudes of the modern world! As it was we heard solemn vows, total commitment, strong enjoinders to faithfulness, marriage as the heart of family, prayer for grace, all with appropriate gravitas. And some 2 billion people were reckoned to be tuned in! Yes, I was glad!
Both the sermon and the reading have elicited cynical comment from the Press but there could have been few readings as sharp and direct as the verses from Romans that were read about Christian life style. The bride and groom, who chose it, had obviously thought about giving themselves to an upright and useful lifestyle. And the Bishop of London made astute comments on the marriage relationship. I was glad!
I can only hope and pray that some of this really struck home. There was, of course, an enormous amount of alternative interest; the fashion, the carriage rides, the drama etc. etc. Almost 100% of the press coverage I have read has fastened onto all this. I have yet to read anything about it being a great example for us – that, of course would be far too “twee” and “infra dig”. At that point I have to say, “I was sad”.
As I saw it, God was very much in the occasion. He seemed to me to be using what little is left of our Christian heritage to point the nation once more in the right direction. For those with eyes to see, it was a great statement. God was not eclipsed by the pomp and the ceremony of the event. Indeed that very pomp and ceremony, the glory of the bride and the happiness of the event, was a glorious reminder of the enormous joy of our eventual coming into the presence of God as the bride of Jesus. Many were deeply touched emotionally by the ceremony (even men!); not consciously realising perhaps that their hearts were in fact reaching out to the ultimate glory of our union with God. Humanity yearns for glory and majesty and happiness for that is our destiny in God, if we only knew it. That is why we are deeply moved when we see it.
Yes, I was glad!
Bob
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On the day of the wedding Kate Middleton entered the magnificent edifice of Westminster Abbey to the accompaniment of Hubert Parry’s great setting of Psalm 122, the first lines of which are: “I was glad; glad when they said unto me, we will go into the house of the LORD”. I myself instantly felt wonderfully glad that the central moments of this great day were to take place in “the House of the LORD” and, as the Archbishop reminded us at the very start, “in the presence of God”. This was not going to be solely a “secular” day or a celebrity occasion despite all the media angles of interest. It was going to be, at its very heart, something that involved solemn vows, prayer, scripture and the praise of God. We were in the House of the LORD. I was glad!
I was glad because this was going to be (and was, despite everything else!) a great witness to Christian marriage in an era which has almost forgotten it and desperately needs to be brought back to it. How wonderful! I was profoundly grateful for the simplicity and directness of the Anglican Prayer Book Service (except perhaps the bizarre retention of some archaic phrasing). I remain so thankful that the Anglican liturgy, a remarkable expression of scripture, still underpins these great national occasions. It would have been dreadful to think what might have emerged if an “up to date” service had been devised to accommodate the attitudes of the modern world! As it was we heard solemn vows, total commitment, strong enjoinders to faithfulness, marriage as the heart of family, prayer for grace, all with appropriate gravitas. And some 2 billion people were reckoned to be tuned in! Yes, I was glad!
Both the sermon and the reading have elicited cynical comment from the Press but there could have been few readings as sharp and direct as the verses from Romans that were read about Christian life style. The bride and groom, who chose it, had obviously thought about giving themselves to an upright and useful lifestyle. And the Bishop of London made astute comments on the marriage relationship. I was glad!
I can only hope and pray that some of this really struck home. There was, of course, an enormous amount of alternative interest; the fashion, the carriage rides, the drama etc. etc. Almost 100% of the press coverage I have read has fastened onto all this. I have yet to read anything about it being a great example for us – that, of course would be far too “twee” and “infra dig”. At that point I have to say, “I was sad”.
As I saw it, God was very much in the occasion. He seemed to me to be using what little is left of our Christian heritage to point the nation once more in the right direction. For those with eyes to see, it was a great statement. God was not eclipsed by the pomp and the ceremony of the event. Indeed that very pomp and ceremony, the glory of the bride and the happiness of the event, was a glorious reminder of the enormous joy of our eventual coming into the presence of God as the bride of Jesus. Many were deeply touched emotionally by the ceremony (even men!); not consciously realising perhaps that their hearts were in fact reaching out to the ultimate glory of our union with God. Humanity yearns for glory and majesty and happiness for that is our destiny in God, if we only knew it. That is why we are deeply moved when we see it.
Yes, I was glad!
Bob
To make a comment: click on word “comments” below, write your comment in the white box which appears and add your name and e mail address (if you wish), choose “select profile”, click “anonymous” and then continue.
To print this column: click on the date of this column in the archive list on the right of this page. This will give you this column on its own. Then print.
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