Peter Misselbrook's Blog
Oct 20 2019 - Psalm 123 – As slaves look to their master

This is another of the songs that were sung by those travelling up from their homes to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the annual festivals. It is a very short psalm but one which is full of the knowledge that when we face troubles, difficulties and conflict, the best remedy is to turn to God in prayer.

Many of those who had set their hearts on travelling to Jerusalem to celebrate what God had done for them would have been living among neighbours who did not share their passion. Some were Jews with a nominal faith who just wanted to go about their daily business and not be troubled by the commitment of time, resources and disruption to family life involved in pilgrimage. Others might be devotees of other gods to whom they gave their devotion through idols kept in their home or by visits to local high places. These neighbours may have mocked those preparing for pilgrimage and made fun of their "fanaticism". Whatever the case, the pilgrims "have endured no end of ridicule from the arrogant, of contempt from the proud" (v. 4).

Their remedy is to look for help and mercy from the Lord, conscious that he sits enthroned in heaven (v. 1): he sees everything and has sovereign power to help those who look to him. As servants look to their master for instruction and for help, so the psalmist looks to God. The psalmist looks to God for mercy (the word occurs three times in two verses of this psalm). Mercy is God's undeserved favour and kindness – his grace shown to his children. The psalmist looks expectantly and with patience for God to help him. He (or she) wants help for the journey, particularly as the taunts of neighbours remain ringing in his ears. It is God's mercy, his undeserved kindness – his grace – that they will celebrate when they meet together for festival in Jerusalem.

We also are a pilgrim people and our pilgrimage may often seem a weary one as we travel "through the wilderness of this world", as John Bunyan put it in Pilgrim's Progress. We often face derision or scornful indifference for our devotion to God. We are often thought fanatics for our faith. We also need to lift our eyes to see our exalted Saviour before us and know that he is not only the goal of our journey but also the one whose grace, goodness and mercy will bring us safely home.

Through the night of doubt and sorrow
onward goes the pilgrim band,
singing songs of expectation,
marching to the promised land…

One the object of our journey,
one the faith that never tires,
one the urgent looking forward,
one the hope our God inspires:

Courage, therefore, Christian pilgrims;
with the cross before your eyes,
bear its shame, and fight its battle
die with Christ, with Christ arise!

Soon shall come the great awakening,
soon the bursting of the tomb;
then the scattering of all shadows
and the end of tears and gloom.

Almighty God, you have given us much cause to praise you. Lord Jesus, we thank you that our sins have been forgiven through your shed blood and that your resurrection and ascension has given us a sure and certain hope of glory. Holy Spirit, we thank you that you have brought us into the fellowship of God's people and set our hearts on pilgrimage. Help us always to look to him who is the author and finisher of our faith and so be armed with strength for the journey.

6go6ckt5b8|00005AC6389D|Blog|Body|7B2DF35B-5F45-421E-B7D3-C4C6DB8538A4

Oct 20 2020 - Hebrews 11:32-12:13 – Fix your eyes on Jesus

The Old Testament provides us with a rich store of examples of faith. There are those who, “through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies” (Hebrews11:33-34).

It’s easy to think that faith will triumph over every adversity; “Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies, but His smile quickly drives it away; not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear, can abide while we trust and obey.” But we are also reminded that “There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawn in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and ill-treated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground” (11:35-38). Faith enabled these to trust God even when they were not delivered from the mouths of lions, when the fury of the flames was not quenched and when they did not escape the edge of the sword. They were ready to face death rather than deny God and throw away their hope in the promises of God. They believed that future blessing was more to be valued than present comfort. These also are part of the great cloud of witnesses whose lives and testimony spur us on in the life of faith.

But the supreme example of faith is the Lord Jesus. He is the "pioneer of faith"; he has blazed a trail for us and has gone before us on a path none had previously trodden. He is the "perfecter of faith" for it is only through him that faith receives the things promised; he has secured faith's reward. And he has secured this reward not for himself alone but for all who trust in him.

Jesus is the supreme example of one who did not give up when the going got tough: "For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Hebrews 12:2b-3). He was willing to endure the horror of the cross, the derision of the mocking crowd, the weight of our sin and the curse of God, all for the joy that lay before him.

And what was that joy? In one sense it was the joy of glory; the joy of his return to the Father. But he already possessed that glory before he came into the world. He did not need to suffer the agony of the cross to gain it. The joy that was set before was not merely his own return to glory; it was the prospect of "bringing many sons (and daughters) to glory" (Hebrews 2:10). We were part of that "joy set before him"; he did it for us.

Think about it: it was the prospect of having you with him in glory that brought Jesus into the world and kept him from turning back from the agony of the cross. Fix your eyes, then, on him. If he did all this for you, can you not face a few trials along the way as you follow him to glory?

For the joy that is set before us, "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith" (12:1b-2a).

Lord Jesus, I am humbled and amazed when I consider that you faced the cross for me – for the joy of having me with you and sharing your glory. Help me to fix my eyes on you today and to rely upon your presence, help and strength to live the life of faith. Strengthen my feeble knees and help me to run well and to finish the race that I may share the crown of glory that will never fade away.

6go6ckt5b8|00005AC6389D|Blog|Body|BEFBE3F8-10F8-4C63-816A-15B9AFC7DE40

Peter Misselbrook