Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

Why does the Psalmist delight so much in God's law? Christopher Ashe gives three reasons: 1) The law in Psalm 119 combines law as command with law as promise; it encompasses the whole of God's gracious revelation... The 'law words' are at bottom 'grace words.' 2) Only Jesus Christ has gladly and freely kept every word of the law. The obedience of this one man is the necessary and sufficient basis for the many to be made righteous (Rom. 5:19). Psalm 119 is supremely an expression of the flawless piety of Jesus on earth. The reason that 'law words' can be 'grace words' is that Jesus has kept the law for us. 3) Only the Spirit of Christ can write the law on a human heart. Under the new covenant, we pray the psalm as those in whom the Spirit has placed the desires and delights of Jesus. (Ashe, 274) Because Jesus is the great singer of Psalm 119, therefore we who are joined to Christ – we who are united to him by his Spirit – may now sing Psalm 119 with the same love for and delight in God's law...

We have come to the very center of the book of Kings! We have seen over and over in this story that the wages of sin is death. (We see that again tonight!) But in the ascension of Elijah we see the most profound sign of hope in the Old Testament! Why do I say the most profound sign of hope? Moses died here – and was buried by God. But Elijah is take up to heaven! Admittedly – in its own day, it might be taken ambiguously: "Oh great, someone special, like Elijah, gets zapped out of here – but for us ordinary schmucks, we're just stuck in the mess!" But one who is paying attention will notice that this ascension is surrounded by two resurrections: Elijah raises the Sidonian widow's son – and Elisha will raise the Shunamite's son (ch 4). And Elijah and Elisha have a ministry that reminds us of Moses and Joshua. And the point of the whole book is that yes, Israel is going to die – Judah and Jerusalem are going to die – so what hope is there for those who are doomed to death and exile?! Your hope is that God raise

Psalm 119 is known for being the most orderly and structured Psalm, with each of its 22 stanzas consisting of eight lines, each line beginning with the same Hebrew letter. But Psalm 119 should also be known for the way it talks about how disordered life can be. In fact, the rigidly ordered structure of Psalm 119 reminds us that in the midst of the seeming chaos and disorder that we face, nonetheless, God's word endures. Today we are looking at the third and fourth stanzas of Psalm 119 (gimel and daleth). We could summarize these two stanzas in two questions: Who am I? What am I clinging to?

When you hear "Psalm 119", what are your first associations? There are probably two things that immediately pop into your mind: 1) it is very long 2) it talks incessantly about the word of God With a little more study a third fact emerges: Psalm 119 is arranged as an acrostic. Each stanza has eight verses. Each of the eight verses in each stanza begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. That is why most English translations divide the Psalm into 22 stanzas, with the name of each Hebrew letter at the beginning of each stanza: aleph, beth, gimel, daleth, etc. Hebrew has 22 letters, and so the 22 stanzas complete the whole Hebrew language. And quite frankly this third fact explains the other two. The reason why Psalm 119 is so long – and the reason why it talks incessantly about the word of God, is because we should see that all of human language from aleph to taw in Hebrew, and from A to Z in English, should be employed in extolling the glories of the Word of God...

How does Ahab die? One could say that he dies in battle against the Syrians. That's true. But one could also say that Ahab dies by the Word of the LORD. Ahab spent his whole life in rebellion against the Word of Yahweh. The real battle in Ahab's life was not his border skirmishes with the Syrians. The real battle was his unremitting warfare against the God of Israel and his prophets. The basic lesson that we should learn from the life of Ahab is that the Word of the LORD will accomplish his purposes. You can run, you can hide, you can fight and kick against the word of the LORD, but in the end, you will lose...

Do you understand what an insult it is for Ahab to ask Naboth if he can turn his vineyard into a vegetable garden? A vineyard takes years to develop. You carefully tend the vines over several years, and only when they are mature do they provide a bountiful crop. A good vineyard is hard work and difficult to replace, and can last for generations. A vegetable garden, on the other hand, comes and goes. It has no abiding value. Ahab is asking Naboth to give up the vineyard where his fathers had labored in order to turn it into a vegetable garden for Ahab's own personal convenience. Earlier we sang from Psalm 80 about how God had taken a vine from Egypt and planted it in the promised land. Israel is God's vine. He tends it and cares for it. But Ahab is not interested in caring for the vine. He is a boar from the forest, uprooting the vine and casting it out, so that he might have a vegetable garden. He is not thinking about the kingdom of God, he is interested merely in his own convenience...

[Sung Psalm (91) "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." This is a stunning statement – but Paul just says it and moves on. "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." Wait, Paul, don't you mean that God has crushed Satan under Jesus' feet? Or at the very least, God will crush Satan under Jesus' feet, when he returns? No. Paul says, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." To understand what Paul is saying here, we need to think about what Paul has been saying throughout Romans...

1 Kings ends with three stories about Ahab that tell of his sins: first in relation to the nations (chapter 20), then in relation to Israel (chapter 21) and finally in relation to the prophet of the LORD and the king of Judah (chapter 22). At the end of chapter 19 we heard that Elijah was commissioned to anoint the three agents of God's judgment against Israel. First, he was to anoint some guy named Hazael as king over Syria. That provided the hint that Syria is going to be an instrument of God's judgment against Israel. And sure enough we already see this at work in the days of Ahab. At the beginning of chapter 20, Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, is preparing an assault on Israel. Hadad is the name of a Syrian deity – so "ben-Hadad" means effectively "son of god" – and so you find many kings of Syria who go by the title "Ben-Hadad." The Syrian capital was Damascus – in present day Syria. The Assyrians (modern day Iraq) were pushing Syria from the east, and so Ben-Hadad is trying to consolidate his territory in

[Sung Psalm: 129] In verses 3-16, then Paul says to "greet" someone sixteen times. It would be easy to skim over this as just another list of names. When John Chrysostom came to the end of the book of Romans, he said: "I think that many even of those who have the appearance of being extremely good men, hasten over this part of the Epistle as superfluous, and having no great weight in it...For because it is a catalogue of names, they think they cannot get any great good from it. Yet the gold founders' people are careful even about the little fragments; while these pass over even such great cakes of gold...For it is possible even from bare names to find a great treasure." Chrysostom was right. There are truly great treasures in this passage!

[Sung Psalm: 72] In Isaiah 60, we hear a promise that the coastlands shall hope for the LORD – and ships of Tarshish will come, bringing your children home – laden with gold and silver. We don't know the exact location of Tarshish – but many have suggested that it may refer to a trading port in Spain. In Romans 15, Paul speaks of his desire to go to Spain the preach the gospel there. He also speaks of how the Gentiles now share in the Jews' spiritual blessings, and so should be of service to help with the Jewish Christians' material needs. Both things are found in Isaiah 60. Isaiah 60 speaks of how the glory of the LORD will rise upon you – and how the wealth of the nations will come to Jerusalem – on ships of Tarshish, no less! And all this because the LORD has made you beautiful! When King Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father, his people – his city – holy Zion – is beautified and built up by the glory of the nations...

This is a passage that has often been misread. Too many commentators and preachers have tried to psychologize Elijah. They think that Elijah is whining – and that God is rebuking Elijah for self-pity. Baloney. Elijah is not whining. He is complaining! If you would learn to complain well to God – then listen to Elijah! And further, where in this passage do you hear the slightest hint of rebuke? If you would learn to listen well to God – then you may also take comfort from the gentleness and kindness of Elijah's God!). Dale Ralph Davis says it well (268): "I would far rather fall into the hands of Elijah's God than into the clutches of his interpreters." After all, what do you do when God's purposes for history are going backward? God's purposes for history, after all, are centered around the establishment of his kingdom. Jesus himself said, "The gates of hell will not prevail against my church." So what do you do when the gates of hell prevail? That is the situation that Elijah is facing. I did what you told

In Luke 9 Moses and Elijah appear on the mountain with Jesus at his transfiguration. Moses is the obvious one. He was the one whom God used to bring Israel out of Egypt. But why Elijah? Why not Abraham or David or Isaiah? When you consider what Jesus came to do, it makes sense: Elijah is portrayed in Kings as a new Moses. He is the one who leads a new exodus out of idolatry. Just as Moses had triumphed over the gods of Egypt, so now Elijah triumphs over the gods of the Canaanites (in Israel). Moses had faced the magicians of Egypt single-handedly, as now Elijah faces the prophets of Baal (in Israel). In other words, when you think about who is the "prophet like Moses" that Deuteronomy had promised? The book of Kings makes a strong case that the answer is Elijah! And so when Moses and Elijah show up at the transfiguration, it is as if to say, yes, Elijah was – sort of – the prophet like Moses... but Jesus will take it to the next level as he faces down not merely the apostasy of the priests in the temple in Je

[Sung Psalm: 90] In Romans 15, Paul will refer to the "priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable." Where would Paul have gotten the idea of offering people to God? Obviously, human sacrifice is condemned and forbidden by God! Well, Isaiah 66:19-21 speaks about how God will send survivors to the nations – those who "have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the LORD...just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the LORD." Now, I realize that some commentators think that "all your brothers from all the nations" refer merely to Jewish exiles being returned home. I don't pretend to know what was in Isaiah's mind – but on the authority of the apostle Paul, I am willing to state that what was in God's mind when he inspired

Why is Elijah sent to a Sidonian widow? Well, remember what we saw last time? Ahab had married a Sidonian princess! Ahab "took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians." The name of Baal – the Canaanite god – is all over verses 31-32 of chapter 16: "he took for his wife JezeBaal, the daughter of EthBaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshipped him. He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria." Ahab has turned away from Yahweh and identified himself with Baal...

[Sung Psalm: 69] Last time we saw at the beginning of chapter 14 that the strong should welcome the one who is weak – but not to quarrel over opinions. The one who is weak (according to Paul) is the one who tends to be judgmental and legalistic – in Paul's day, this was the one who insists on following the details of the Mosaic system with respect to food laws and feasts/fasts. Paul repeatedly warns the weak, "Do not pass judgment on the one who eats." (v3) The weaker brother is one who is bound to the Mosaic food laws: and the strong should receive him – so long as the weaker brother is willing to avoid quarreling about the subject. (And this is why, in Galatians, where these "weaker brethren" are trying to force Gentiles to observe the Mosaic law, Paul will change his tone!) It is important to understand that when Paul says not to make your brother stumble, he is saying, do not make him do something contrary to his conscience (in things indifferent). If it is something truly indifferent, then it really does

Have you heard of the "year of the four emperors"? In AD 69, there were four different emperors who ruled in Rome. After Nero's suicide in AD 68, there were four men who reigned in the next few months: Galba (reigned for six months – assassinated in January), Otho (committed suicide after losing a key battle in April), Vitellius (killed by a mob in December), and Vespasian, who finally restored some semblance of order. This is pretty much the story of 1 Kings 16. After Baasha died, Elah reigned for "two years" (which could mean as little as two months, since it just means "parts of two years"). Elah was a drunken fool who preferred drinking parties to governing well, and so Zimri struck him down and reigned in his place. But Zimri only reigned for seven days – and then he committed suicide when he saw that Omri had the support of the people. But Omri only had support of half the people – and so Israel was divided for four years (between 27th and the 31st years of Asa, King of Judah)...

[Sung Psalm: 34] Paul has just said that we are not to live like the nations around us. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. We live in the hour between the resurrection of Jesus and the final resurrection of the dead. We cannot live in darkness – we cannot walk in the ways of darkness, in orgies, drunkenness, sexual immorality, sensuality, quarreling and jealousy. We are called to put on the armor of light – to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." (13:14) There is no place in the Christian life for indulging the flesh. Paul is about to introduce the question of "adiaphora" – things indifferent – things about which Christians may disagree. But before this he has made it perfectly clear: there is no place in the Christian life for gratifying the desires of the flesh. We have freedom in Christ, but do not use your freedom for selfish reasons...

Is God enough for you? One phrase that we have often heard in the book of Kings is that "his heart was wholly true to the LORD" (15:14) Or – in contrast – "his heart was not wholly true to the LORD" (15:4) The word "shalem" has the same root as "shalom" (peace) and it means "complete, full, perfect." "His heart was complete in the LORD" It was used of Solomon – both positively in 1 Kings 8:61, and negatively after he was drawn away by his foreign wives in 1 Kings 11:4. We will only hear it used one more time: of Hezekiah, who walked before the LORD with a heart that was wholly true to the LORD (2 Kings 20:3) Is your heart wholly true to the LORD? Does your heart rest complete and content in him? Our problem is that we are too much like our fathers...

[Sung Psalm: 80] Last time we saw that the politics of the kingdom of God demands that we submit to earthly rulers, even as we seek first the kingdom of God. And in verse 7, Paul concluded his exhortation regarding this submission by saying, "Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed." But now he follows that up with "owe no one anything"? What does this mean? Let's look at this in context: He has just said that if you owe taxes, pay your taxes. If you owe honor, then show honor. And to be clear – with honor (as with taxes) you do not get to decide what is owed! When your tax bill comes, that's what you owe (unless you can persuade them to reduce the bill, and such an appeal is part of the process that the government has established – so when you appeal your taxes, you are still honoring your rulers). So if Paul says to owe no one anything – why does he say to pay what is owed?! The answer is pre

Solomon's sin was that he was led astray by his foreign wives – nd aso he worshiped foreign gods. The result was that his son, Rehoboam, lost the kingdom to the upstart, Jeroboam. God promised Jeroboam that if Jeroboam was like David and was faithful to Yahweh, then God would establish Jeroboam's house. But instead, Jeroboam refuses to allow his people to worship in Jerusalem, and he builds golden calf shrines at Bethel and Dan. If Jeroboam had trusted God, he would have allowed his people to worship God the way that God said! In other words, Jeroboam is trying to worship God in ways "he devised from his own heart." God warns us against worshiping him in any way other than that which he himself has commanded...