Peter Misselbrook's Blog

Dec 29 2019 - Psalms 149-150 – Praise the Lord

Having begun the last book of the Old Testament, today we look at the last (two) of the psalms. Psalms is a wonderful compendium of praise, worship, meditation, heartfelt prayer and even lament and complaint. It encompasses every aspect of the experience and emotion of the people of God and will always be a rich source for our devotional life. These last two are psalms of praise and form a fitting end to this precious book of Scripture.

Both psalms begin with a call to praise the Lord – in Hebrew Hallelu Yah, "praise Yahweh". The call to "Sing to the Lord a new song" (149:1), suggests praise prompted by a new situation or new realisation of God's goodness and mercy towards his people. This is evident in Psalm 40:1-3 where it is the response of someone whom the Lord has lifted "out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and … put a new song in my mouth." In the Book of Revelation it is used to describe the redeemed in heaven who praise the crucified, risen and glorified Messiah:

They sang a new song, saying:

‘You are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
    and with your blood you purchased for God
    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
    and they will reign on the earth.’ (Revelation 5:9-10)

In Psalm 149 the occasion for a new song may have been a particular victory over those who threatened the people of God even as Revelation celebrates the definitive and, in one sense, final victory that the people of God enjoy in Christ. Victory is to be celebrated with musical instruments, singing and dancing; in an overflow of exuberant joy that does not stop even when you rest on your bed at night (149:5)!

The psalm envisages enemies which have not yet been fully defeated; hence it calls for praise to be in the mouths of God's people but also a double-edged sword in their hands to inflict vengeance on the nations (149:6-7).

The risen Saviour also bears a double-edged sword, but it is in his mouth (see Revelation 1:16). He will conquer the nations not with raw military might and slaughter but with the power of his word and Spirit. This is the power that has brought us to bow the knee to our mighty Saviour and this is the power he gives us with which we are to go and conquer the world for him (see 2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

If Psalm 149 has called upon God's people to praise him for his great acts of salvation, Psalm 150 calls upon "everything that has breath" to praise him (Ps 150:6). Once again, the Lord is to be praised "for his acts of power" and for his "surpassing greatness" (150:2) – praised, we would suggest, for his wonderful acts of both creation and redemption. All that has breath shall praise the Lord in that final day when Jesus returns in glory and every knee bows to him and acknowledges that he is Lord. In that day, when all creation is made new, the lion and the lamb shall praise him together and even the trees of the fields shall clap their hands. Our task, as those who have tasted already of God's mercy and goodness in the Lord Jesus, is to begin that act of praise now. We are to practice now the praise that shall fully occupy creation in that great day.

Father God, tune our hearts to sing your praise that we might be prepared in heart and voice for the coming of the Saviour. May our praise be rich with the truths of your word and the wonders of the gospel of your grace. May it conquer the world as others are drawn to you and join our chorus until all creation is filled with your praises.  

Dec 29 2020 - Revelation 20:1-15 – Death thou shalt die

“Death be not proud…
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And Death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die.”

Revelation 20 is the only passage in the Bible that speaks about the "millennium". This admittedly difficult passage in a difficult book has become the ground of much controversy among Christians. It is not my intention to comment on these controversies here. Here, I want rather to pick up a picture from the end of the chapter.

In 19:19-20 we read of the beast and the false prophet being thrown into a fiery lake of burning sulphur. The picture, taken from the bowl of a volcano, is used here as a picture of complete and utter destruction. Now in 20:14 we read, "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire." Death and the place of the dead are utterly destroyed; they have no further place in God's creation.

Death was defeated through Jesus resurrection from the dead yet it continues to ravage our world and to affect believers and unbelievers alike. Some are slaughtered in war; some die from painful diseases; some die of hunger and of thirst; some die in tragedy and disaster. And if you manage to avoid all of these things and live on to a ripe old age, still you will die. It is one of the few certainties in life. But the day is coming when death will not only be defeated, it will be destroyed – it will be no more; it shall die.

The music of The Messiah has run through my mind as I have read many sections of the book of Revelation. Let me close by quoting another passage that is forever associated with Handel's great work:

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.  (1 Corinthians 15:51-58)

This also is the message of Revelation. Stand firm, strengthened in the truths of the gospel and faithful to a victorious Saviour. Always joyful and full of hope, keep on working for the coming of the kingdom. The kingdom will come. It is not death but the risen Christ who will have the last word.

Lord Jesus Christ, we give you thanks and praise that you have broken the power of death and shall destroy it utterly at your coming. Help us always to give ourselves fully and gladly to the work of your kingdom, knowing that our labour is not in vain, for you are risen and alive and you are Lord over all creation. Have mercy upon this world despoiled by death and help us to hold out before it the word and promise of life.

Peter Misselbrook