Peter Misselbrook's Blog
Jun 2 2019 - Psalm 66 – Shout with joy all the earth

Psalm 66 is a psalm of thanksgiving beginning with a call for all the earth to "shout for joy to God" (v. 1). The focus then narrows to celebrate what God has done for his people Israel (v. 6). Finally the focus narrows again to the thanksgiving and testimony of an individual believer (vv. 13-20).

The people of Israel had experienced God's saving power when he had dried up the waters of the Red Sea, enabling them to escape from the pursuing Egyptian army by crossing the sea on dry land (v. 6). They had witnessed a similar miracle when God had stopped the flow of the Jordan river so that the Israelites could walk into the Promised Land on the dry river bed. These redemptive acts of God were celebrated by his people, particularly at Passover time and during the Feast of Tabernacles.  They would remember and celebrate the way in which God had rescued them from slavery in Egypt, provided for them during the years of their wandering in the wilderness and had given them possession of the land he had promised them:

For you, God, tested us;
    you refined us like silver.
You brought us into prison
    and laid burdens on our backs.
You let people ride over our heads;
    we went through fire and water,
    but you brought us to a place of abundance. (vv. 10-12)

They would look back with thanksgiving. But God's acts of salvation were not confined to the past. The psalmist celebrates what God has done for him (or her) and is eager to tell others of how God has been good to him. His praise of God thus becomes testimony to others:

Come and hear, all you who fear God;
    let me tell you what he has done for me.
I cried out to him with my mouth;
    his praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished sin in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened;
but God has surely listened
    and has heard my prayer.
Praise be to God,
    who has not rejected my prayer
    or withheld his love from me!  (vv. 16-20)

We who have been saved from sin and condemnation through the Lord Jesus Christ have even more cause to come before him with extravagant praise and thanksgiving. We will want to rehearse what God has done for us in our times of praise together, making use of songs and hymns which remind us afresh of what God has done for us in Christ. What are your favourite hymns and songs and why? Nor do we want our testimony to God's goodness to be shared only with those who have already experienced God's saving power (as in v.16). We want all the world to hear of the saving power of our God. We want vv. 1-4 of this psalm to become a reality as all the earth sings of the glory of our God and makes his praise glorious. How will you share your testimony with those who have not yet come to know God's salvation for themselves?

Lord, help me daily to appreciate afresh, more fully and more deeply what you have done for me in the Lord Jesus Christ. Fill me with songs of praise and thanksgiving. Help me by your Spirit to bear testimony to your saving power through the words I speak and the character of my life so that others may come to know your salvation and join our songs of praise to you.

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Jun 2 2020 - Romans 2:1-24 – Living the truth

In the previous chapter, Paul has been describing the character of the Gentile world from the perspective of Judaism. One can imagine the discomfort of his Gentile readers and that some of his Jewish readers are now beginning to feel just a little bit smug. But that’s all about to change, for, like an Old Testament prophet, he now turns the focus away from others – ‘them’ – to focus upon his fellow Jews – ‘you’.

It’s fascinating to read what Paul has to say here. One can hear so many echoes of Jesus’ arguments with the Pharisees. And now these same arguments come from one who had lived as a Pharisee; he had known that world from the inside. But he can now see it for what it is in all its shallowness and self-righteous pretence.

The Jews that Paul is describing considered themselves much better than the Gentiles because God has given them his law and shown them clearly the life that is pleasing to him. But, says Paul, it is not knowing the truth that counts for anything but rather, living the truth. Pride in knowing God's word can easily create a people who continually point out the faults in others while being blind to those in themselves. Such people, far from bringing the light and blessing of God to those around them, cause God to be discredited and his word discounted (Romans 1:23-24).

Don’t you realise, says Paul, that God has no favourites. He chose the children of Abraham for the sake of the whole world. He did not reject the other nations but purposed to bless them through Israel. And if his fellow Jews feel they have some priority in God’s sight they had better watch out; it might equally turn out to be a priority in judgment (2:9).

God’s Spirit is at work far more widely and generously than you realise, adds Paul. There are many who have never heard God’s law and yet who live lives marked by grace; unselfish lives devoted to the service of others. They show that God has imprinted upon their conscience an awareness of the life that is pleasing to him.

As we read these words of Paul, it’s easy for us to see just how much Pharisaic Judaism got wrong. Yet in doing so, we easily fall into the same danger of turning the spotlight away from ourselves onto others and finding fault with them so that we might justify ourselves. We need to examine our own hearts to ensure that we are not those who simply take pride in our knowledge of God’s word. We need that word to humble us, to fill us with a sense of wonder at God’s grace and the greatness of his saving purposes. We need this word to shape our lives. Moreover, we need to open our eyes to recognise that God is at work all around us, even among those whom we would not readily recognise as ‘one of us’.

If we have become proud that we are not like other people we have failed to understand the grace of God and the message of Scripture.

Lord God, may your word so shape my heart, mind and life that I may become increasingly like the Lord Jesus. May the character of my life as well as the words of my mouth convey your grace and goodness to those around me. By the power of your Spirit, may my life be a blessing to others and cause your name to be praised and honoured. Keep me always from the subtle, self-deceiving and ugly sin of hypocrisy.

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Peter Misselbrook