Peter Misselbrook's Blog

Aug 18 2019 - Psalm 103 – He does not treat us as our sins deserve

Count your blessings, name them one by one…
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

So goes the chorus of an old hymn, perhaps inspired by this wonderful psalm.

The author of this psalm urges us not to forget all that the Lord has done for us. To assist us in not forgetting, he lists some of the blessings, or "benefits" which the Lord has lavished on us in his great love and compassion (v.4). Most precious of these is the assurance that he forgives us all our sins (v.3).

He does not treat us as our sins deserve
   or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
   so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
   so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (vv.10-13)

These blessings are given us freely, but we know that they have been purchased at great cost; they are ours only because of Jesus. He is the one who came from the heights of heaven to become part of this poor world because of the greatness of his love for us. In his sacrificial death upon the cross, God treated him as our sins deserved; he endured the wrath of God in our place. He is the one who has removed our transgressions from us – as far as the east is from the west – so that they can never again condemn us.

How should we respond to God's love and compassion? We should praise the Lord with all our being (v.1). If angels in glory never cease to sing God's praise, and all creation praises him in its own way (vv.20-22), praise should often be found on our lips and always be the keynote of our lives.

Fill Thou my life, O Lord my God,
In every part with praise,
That my whole being may proclaim
Thy being and Thy ways.
Not for the lip of praise alone,
Nor e’en the praising heart
I ask, but for a life made up
Of praise in every part! (Horatius Bonar)

Nor shall our praise last only for a lifetime. This psalm reminds us of our mortality (vv. 15-16), but assures us that the Lord's love stretches from everlasting to everlasting for those that fear him (v.17). So, to quote Isaac Watts:

I'll praise my Maker while I've breath;
and when my voice is lost in death,
praise shall employ my nobler powers.
My days of praise shall ne'er be past,
while life, and thought, and being last,
or immortality endures.

Father forgive me that I am sometimes so preoccupied with the details of my daily life that I lose sight of the fact that I am truly and greatly blessed. Open my eyes to the wonders of your grace towards me in the Lord Jesus Christ; open my heart to love you as you have loved me; open my mouth to sing your praise; open my whole being to the life of your kingdom.

Aug 18 2020 - 2 Peter 2:1-22 – Lot

2 Peter 2 is a rather dark chapter, a chapter chiefly about the judgment of God. Buried in the midst of the gloom is the promise that "the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials" (2:9). As evidence to support this assurance, we are reminded of how Lot was rescued from Sodom before the judgment of God destroyed that city: "he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)" (2:7-8).

Certainly Lot was rescued, but the description given of him in 2 Peter does not seem to fit well with the narrative of Genesis. In this letter, Lot is described as a righteous man who was continually distressed and tormented by the conduct of those around him, while in Genesis we read of Lot choosing to live in Sodom and being most reluctant to leave. How can both of these pictures be true?

Sadly, both pictures can be true. Godless conduct can often hold a fascination and perverse attraction for the godly; the very things they profess hateful and distressing they are also reluctant to leave behind. Sodom seems to have held such a perverse fascination for Lot. This righteous man, despite living in the city for some years, had no effect on its inhabitants; God was not able to find ten righteous persons in the city.

The world in which we live is filled with all manner of evil and godlessness. Jesus calls us to live in such a world – it is the world into which he came as Saviour. He calls us to love this world not with an envious love but with his own transformative love. He calls us not to wring our hands at its godlessness while being held captive by its values. He calls us to be salt and light, to bring the transforming power of the kingdom into a lost world. God longs to find many righteous persons in our cities. He wants us not only to be righteous but to be agents of righteousness – those through whom godliness becomes fashionable.

In his valuable little book, The Practice of Godliness, Jerry Bridges writes, “Godliness is no optional spiritual luxury for a few quaint Christians of a bygone era or for some group of super-saints of today. It is both the privilege and duty of every Christian to pursue godliness, to train himself [/herself] to be godly, to study diligently the practice of godliness… Godliness is more than Christian character: It is Christian character that springs from a devotion to God.” Jerry Bridges argues that such devotion to God “is composed of three essential elements: the fear of God; the love of God; the desire for God.”

We are called to live such lives not simply for our own sake – that we might escape “what is going to happen to the ungodly” (2:6). It is not the matter of perfecting personal piety but of bringing the presence of God into a world that has turned its back on him. We are to live godly and attractive lives for the sake of others – that they too might be saved.

Take a moment to think about those whose lives and words have encouraged you to live for God. What were the characteristics of their lives? How did they have an influence on you?

Think now about how your life might have an influence upon others.

Lord Jesus, make me more like you. By the power of your life within me, may my life have a transformative influence on others. May they also come to know you, follow you and rejoice in your salvation.

Peter Misselbrook