Praise of His Glory

"Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the LORD. ²⁰ This is the gate of the LORD, through which the righteous shall enter. ²¹ I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation."

Psalm 118:19-21

The psalmist asked God to open the gates of righteousness so he could go through them with praise.  All who attempted to become righteous by attempts to keep the Law of Moses ended in failure without any assurance of salvation.  Even before the Law was given the life of Abraham demonstrated plainly righteousness comes by faith in God alone.  The Gospel of Jesus provides righteousness to all who trust in Jesus Christ who is the Door by faith through whom Jew and Gentile alike must enter the kingdom of God.  If we want to receive salvation, we must enter in by faith in Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  To these souls by grace God imputes salvation, and all praise to Him.

There is a persistent fallacy that man must work to purify himself or become righteous by effort to be accepted by God.  Because all have sinned and have no power to cleanse or forgive ourselves from sin the only way we can be declared righteous is to have this status imputed to us by God.  It is on the basis of Christ's substitutionary, atoning sacrifice on Calvary which enables sinners who place their faith in Jesus to be deemed righteous.  Jesus is the divine answer to man's fervent prayers for salvation and righteousness we cannot obtain by any other way.

For mankind the gate of righteousness was more impassable than the entrance to the Holy of Holies in the temple for the unsanctified or the sealed Golden Gate today.  Praise the LORD Jesus who addressed the church in Philadelphia and said in Revelation 3:7, "These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens..."  Jesus is the Door and He also has the keys!  The gate of righteousness for people is wide open today through faith in Jesus for all who willingly enter.  A day will come when God will shut this Door for entry, even as God shut Noah, his family and the animals in the ark before the great flood recorded in Genesis.  God shut Noah in and He shut every other living thing out.  If we will have abundant life now and eternal life, now is the time to enter into righteousness through the Door God has opened wide to all who believe.

Having received forgiveness, righteousness and so great a salvation, it is fitting praise would be on the lips of God's redeemed.  The psalmist said he would praise the LORD because "...You have answered me, and have become my salvation."  Having believed the word of truth we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit as proof of our future redemption "...unto the praise of His glory" (Eph. 1:13-14).  Instead of complaints and criticisms our hearts ought to pour forth praise unto God for the glorious things He has done.  How privileged we are to be blessed and no longer cursed!  With our mouths may we make known God's faithfulness to all generations as the praise of His glory rises to His everlasting throne.

Praise as God Intended

In New South Wales we remain under the COVID restriction of congregants refraining from singing during church services.  While the worship team was wrapping up the service with a song of praise to the LORD, I considered the words being sung.  Then suddenly I had a thought that never occurred to me before.

I recalled that when we were legally free to sing without restrictions, not everyone was pleased with their "singing voice."  This may also be reflected in the way people critically view their own bodies.  As happy we are to have a living, functional body there can be aspects of our appearance some might change:  people can criticise their body's shape, size, height or lack thereof, type or colour of hair, noticeable features they find embarrassing, scars and defects.  People think about their perfected, eternal state and look forward to having the "perfect body" or "pitch-perfect" voice with immaculate rhythm.  As I worshiped silently with the worship team yesterday, I'm not so sure.

Hasn't God made us to have voices and bodies according to His design?  Wouldn't it bring more glory to God if we retained our voices that sing off-key (which is not a sin, by the way!) because He created us unique as He desired?  Who ever said all the voices of angels sound exactly the same?  And what makes us think our bodies will resemble those pressed into a mold of our ideal body shape and size when God created us according to His good pleasure?  Gone will be the days of selfishness, self-consciousness and pride:  the eternal state in the presence of God will be a new era in living to please Him without criticising ourselves or envying others.

Do these thoughts disappoint you believer, that you may never have those ripped abs, be taller, more slim or have the "perfect" voice?  When we are born again by faith in Jesus the voices we now possess can be used to praise and honour God with exceeding joy--not because we are skilled at singing or can carry a tune or clap in time but because God is worthy to be praised.  Isn't God good to receive our praise such as it is today?  Why do you suppose He would ever refuse to joyfully hear your voice as He created it to be?

Transgressions Removed

It is amazing the God who knows all things determines not to remember the sins committed by those who have received atonement and forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ.  Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for sins and His righteousness has been credited to those born again by the Gospel.  Hebrews 10:14-17 states, "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. ¹⁵ But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, ¹⁶ "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," ¹⁷ then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."  People agree no one is perfect, yet Christians certainly ought to affirm Jesus has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.  There will be no divine recall of our sins in the eternal state, for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ has purified us wholly from sin.

Because we remember wrongs done against us and are prone to hold grudges against others, perhaps we assume God will do the same concerning our transgressions.  We imagine God will trot out all our sins before us because we do not comprehend the extent of what Jesus accomplished on Calvary.  Those who are born again through faith in Jesus have entered into a new covenant in Christ's blood, and even the memories of our faults are washed away on the basis of Christ's atonement God remembers our sins no more.  In many cases we carry guilt for our past sins needlessly when we sin by holding a grudge against ourselves!  It is profitable to us to remember past mistakes so we will recognise and avoid them and do what is right, but in Jesus Christ we are free from all guilt before God.

Psalm 103:10-13 reads, "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. ¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; ¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."  The heavens above us stretch beyond we can see with the naked eye, and telescopes that peer beyond our solar system cannot see the end of an endless expanse of space.  God's mercy towards those who fear Him is infinitely greater than this.  It is insightful David did not say "As far as the north is from the south" because this is a fixed distance that can be measured on the earth.  There is a point on the globe when you reach the north pole you begin to travel south, but not so with east and west along the equator:  God has put our sins farther away from us than we can possibly measure--even if we shudder with shame upon their remembrance.

Better than remembering our sins with shame is rejoicing in our Saviour who has forgiven us and remembers our sins no more.  We connect past sins with guilty people so their character become synonymous with their sin:  we call someone a liar, thief or adulterer.  Jesus came to call sinners to repentance to save them.  We have all sinned and are sinners, but God remembers the sins of His redeemed no more because Jesus has provided atonement.  Being a sinner speaks of our need met by our Saviour Jesus Christ.  If God has removed our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west, what does it profit to cling to feelings of guilt in our hearts and minds?  How good it is for us to praise the LORD for forgiveness and give thanks by walking righteously.

Love is of God

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another."

John 13:34

Jesus commanded His disciples they love one another as He had loved them.  His faithfulness to love was seen daily and culminated with Jesus demonstrating His love for all people by dying on the cross for sinners.  The greatest loves we experience in this world are mere hints and shadows of God's love.  Because love is of God it is impossible those who do not know God could express or experience such love apart from Him.  It is more than feelings, affection, desire and acceptance because only in God is love fully manifested as 1 John 4:7-8 says:  "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸ He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."

The worldly concept of what love is as an ideal falls woefully short of the reality.  Dr. Gary Chapman wrote an insightful book that espouses five different "love languages," ways he claims people often give and receive love:  words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch.  While it is true love can be shown by considering the feelings of others, by what we say, do or choose not to do, God's love transcends humanity.  Love is more than giving gifts, writing poems and even selfless sacrifice.  God's love is so great, like the living God Himself it cannot be defined but only described in part.  And the way God's love is described immediately shatters all our assumptions we know what love is.

I never would have guessed the first words Paul used to describe the love of God in 1 Corinthians 13:4:  "Love suffers long" or "Love is patient" (depending on your Bible translation).  Is that how you would describe love?  From a worldly perspective love isn't attractive or desirable at all but more like a heavy burden to allow someone else to carry.  The One who delights to carry this burden is God because God is love.  Everything He does is patient, kind, without envy, boasting or pride.  Connecting patience with others as a primary way of demonstrating love to them helps me see if I love others or not.  As children of God, patience is to mark our lives as is exhorted in 1 Thessalonians 5:14:  "Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all."  We are called to love the unruly, fainthearted and weak by patience at all times.

Consider the exhortation given to naturally impatient people in James 5:7-11:  "Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. ⁸ You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. ⁹ Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰ My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. ¹¹ Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful."  If we grumble against one another or have unsettled hearts filled with worry, we are not being loving and patient as we ought.  Job is an example of a man who loved God and his patience whilst suffering revealed this truth.  Though it did not feel like it because of the fiery trial God allowed, Job's perseverance in patience caused him to receive the blessing of God's compassion and mercy.

Love suffers long and is patient.  How this fleshes out in one regard what Jesus commanded His disciples to do when He said, "Love one another."  Since love is of God as those born again and beloved by Him we are empowered to suffer long and continue in kindness and compassion towards all.