This morning a portion of my reading was in 2 Chronicles 34. This section recounts part of the reign of King Josiah. His reign was the last large scale attempt at reformation in Judah. The previous King, Manasseh, had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel (2 Chronicles 33:2).

But Josiah was different. In the eighth year of his reign, while still just a boy, he began to seek after God. We are told that he walked in the narrow way, he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left (2 Chronicles 34:2). He began making reforms early in his reign - removing the false worship from the land. And then while work was being done on the house of the LORD, the Book of the Law was found (2 Chronicles 34:14,15). This was likely Deuteronomy, but no matter what book it was, when the King heard it read he tore his clothes and he sent Hilkiah to inquire of Huldah the prophetess because of what he had heard. He stated: For great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book (2 Chronicles 34:21b).

Josiah is told that judgment will come, but because he humbled himself before the Lord, he himself would not see the disaster that was inevitable. Yet he did not rest in that news, but instead gathered the leaders of Judah and read to them…yes - he read, the King read - the Book of the Covenant and he made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book (2 Chronicles 34:31). And he made the leaders enter in as well. And the last words of this chapter are: All his days they did not turn away from following the LORD, the God of their fathers (2 Chronicles 34:33).

That is a beautiful testimony to the leadership of Josiah. He was a man with a heart tender towards the Lord. He exemplifies to me the posture the Lord calls for in Isaiah 66:1,2:

Thus says the LORD: 

“Heaven is my throne, 

and the earth is my footstool; 

what is the house that you would build for me, 

and what is the place of my rest? 

All these things my hand has made, 

and so all these things came to be, 

declares the LORD. 

But this is the one to whom I will look: 

he who is humble and contrite in spirit 

and trembles at my word. 

What we need more and more is greater trembling before God’s Word. We need humility and contrition. And that all presupposes that we know God’s Word. Humility before Scripture assumes that we are reading Scripture. Let me encourage you…please make reading, studying, meditating, and memorizing God’s Word a priority in your life. Ask God to strengthen your resolve and your desire to know him. None of us are leaders of nations, but many are leaders of our homes and we have influence elsewhere…may it be a lasting influence of following after the Lord all our days.

Here’s a song to encourage us all in our attitude before the Lord.

Wes King from Common Creed

This morning part of my reading was James 3. Most of us are familiar with this as the famous “tongue” chapter. Here James draws out the power of the tongue. He starts the chapter with a warning; that not many should aspire to become teachers because the teacher will be judged more strictly, and we all know the tongue is not able to be restrained. The picture is a bit foreboding. For to describe the tongue as a restless evil, full of deadly poison (verse 8) is not really all that encouraging. And the words that follow are very pointed.

9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

The contradiction that spouts forth from between our lips is not good. But there is another way that this incongruity is seen - in what we type/write. The times that we are living in seem to grow more and more vitriolic by the day. The way people “speak” on social media can be appalling. And whether I have typed it myself; I certainly have thought it and that brings culpability as well. It is disheartening to see Christians who have become so tribal and narrow in their views that anyone who does not think or say exactly what they want is fair game to be attacked. How can we curse those made in the likeness of God? This does not mean we cannot disagree, but there has to be a better way.  

Not surprisingly, James goes on to show us that better way.

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

We must turn to the wisdom that is from above. It is wisdom that is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere. Wow!!! Imagine conversation (spoken or typed) that displayed that wisdom! Where do we get that?

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; 

all those who practice it have a good understanding. 

His praise endures forever! (Psalm 111:10; cf. Proverbs 15:33) 

The fear of the Lord - the knowledge of God - that is our wisdom. But it is more than that. The wisdom of God was, and is, most fully displayed in the One who came to be our wisdom and our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). The one who sprang from the stump of Jesse whom Isaiah described like this;

2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, 

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, 

the Spirit of counsel and might, 

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 

3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. 

He shall not judge by what his eyes see, 

or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 

4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, 

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; 

and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, 

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 

5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, 

and faithfulness the belt of his loins. (Isaiah 11:2-5)

And here’s what should blow every person who is “in Christ” - it should blow your mind. You are commanded to have that mindset within you (that way of acting), and - here is the amazing part - it is yours because you are in Christ Jesus - you are united to him by grace through faith (cf. Philippians 2:1-11, especially verse 5). Ponder that. Pray for that to be more visible. And praise God for that!

Two songs this morning. The first is by Wes King (“Sticks and Stones”) and the second is by Keith and Kristyn Getty (“The Perfect Wisdom of Our God”). Enjoy.

Provided to YouTube by Sony Music Entertainment Sticks And Stones · Wes King Sticks And Stones ℗ 1991 Reunion Records Inc. Producer: Gary Chapman Producer: J...

The official video for Keith and Kristyn Getty's song "The Perfect Wisdom Of Our God" off their album "Hymns For The Christian Life." Hymns For The Christian...

In retelling some of the story from the book of Isaiah, Sally Lloyd-Jones writes some of the more memorable lines in the Jesus Storybook Bible. She calls the chapter “Operation ‘No More Tears!’” and it lays out the heart of God to rescue his people. She writes of the baby to be born. He is a Royal Son who will come to the rescue. He will be a King. He will be a Hero. He will make the blind see and the lame walk…but people will hate him and kill him. She writes;

“He will be like a Lamb - he will suffer and die…But he won’t stay dead - I will make him alive again. And, one day, when he comes back to rule forever, the mountains and trees will dance and sing for joy! The earth will shout out loud! His fame will fill the whole earth - as the waters cover the sea! Everything sad will come untrue. Even death is going to die! And he will wipe away every tear from every eye.”

If you’ve been around me at all you’ve heard me quote that line…”Everything sad will come untrue.” God has promised to make all things new (cf. Isaiah 25:8; 35:10; Revelation 21:1-7). To take away our reproach…our pain…our tears. We live in a fallen world, but he will renew it. The resurrection of Christ is that visible guarantee that the Lord will do what he has promised. Come to him all you weary. Come to the heart of our Savior (Matthew 11:28-30).

This morning here is a beautiful song by Andrew Peterson called “All Things New.”

Come broken and weary
Come battered and bruised
My Jesus makes all things new
All things new

Come lost and abandoned
Come blown by the wind
He’ll bring you back home again
Home again

Rise up, O you sleeper, awake
The light of the dawn is upon you
Rise up, O you sleeper, awake
He makes all things new
All things new

Come burning with shame
Come frozen with guilt
My Jesus, he loves you still
Loves you still

Rise up, O you sleeper, awake
The light of the dawn is upon you
Rise up, O you sleeper, awake
He makes all things new
He makes all things new

The world was good
The world is fallen
The world will be redeemed

So hold on to the promise
The stories are true
That Jesus makes all things new
(The dawn is upon you)

Apparently you can download for free here.

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group All Things New · Andrew Peterson Resurrection Letters Volume 2 ℗ 2008 Andrew Peterson Released on: 2010-01-01 Pr...

This morning my Bible reading had a bit of a theme running through them - sin and guilt…and thankfully, grace. Beginning with Numbers 15. At the end of that chapter the Lord spoke to Moses:

38 “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. 39 And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. 40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God.” 

The people were to have a reminder with them so that they would not follow after their own deceitful hearts (cf. Jeremiah 17:9). And then I came to Isaiah 5. In that chapter Isaiah has the task of pronouncing judgment to the people of Israel. They have been those who call evil good and good evil. They have oppressed the poor. They have clearly turned aside from the ways of the Lord and they are in danger, grave danger.

But I also read Psalm 51. It is David’s great psalm of confession. He is certainly guilty. He has committed adultery. He has committed murder. He has lied. And he has been confronted by Nathan and he is brought low (2 Samuel 12:1-15). He confesses his sin and guilt before the Lord. He pleads to be washed from his iniquity and to be cleansed. He longs for the joy of his salvation to return (because living in contradiction of the ways of God will never bring true joy). David knows that what is required is humility, contrition, brokenness (Psalm 51:17). The Lord will not despise that heart…in fact it is the heart he looks upon (Isaiah 66:1,2). What a glorious promise! The Lord looks to and saves the brokenhearted…the contrite…the humble. He saves those who know they are sinners and have only one plea…God’s mercy and grace.

This is the greatness of the God we worship. He saves sinners. He saves people like you and me. He saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord who gave himself to take the wrath, the punishment, that you and I deserve. What love! What grace! What a Savior!

For your musical selection today - two that might be a bit different than what you would think - and quite possibly different than your normal tastes. But I figured I’d expand your repertoire.

The first is by Charlie Peacock.

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Psalm 51 · Charlie Peacock West Coast Diaries ℗ 1991 Sparrow Records Released on: 1991-01-01 Composer: Charlie P...

The second is by Timothy Brindle. And yes, it’s hip hop/rap. Brindle has an M.Div. from Westminster in Philadelphia and even if you don’t like rap, his lyrics are powerful.

LYRICS LYRICS LYRICS ((below)) Dear LORD, hear my repentance supplication I've behaved like a condemned and lustful pagan I deceived your Word-I admit I did ...

Because you will need the lyrics for the second one - here they are:

Dear LORD, hear my repentance supplication
I've behaved like a condemned and lustful pagan
I deceived your Word-I admit I did it again
Please return-I'm sick of living in sin
My breath, it groans, as my flesh erodes
Transgressions are startin' to stretch my clothes
The infection grows, this sickness is visible

This Christian's despicable, my addiction is pitiful
Lust is a poison, it plagues the soul
Makes it cold, breaks and reshapes its mold
Then it fades and rusts, I didn't live the commandments
I obeyed my lusts and took forgiveness for granted
This sin is implanted: this kid was conceived in it
I'm Mr. Deviant and disobedient
My flesh literally loves filthiness
O God, deliver me from blood guiltiness

I cheat on You daily, but You take me back
To celebrate Your Love, we made this track
I defiled Your sanctuary, abused Your Grace
This vessel's useless, Lord renew this place

This sheep has gone astray on an evil rotten way
The grief has brought dismay, I need to stop and pray
My sweetness is sour, I'm weak in my power
I'm doubting Thomas combined with Peter the coward

If saints were tried, to see if we're sanctified
I'd of disgracefully walked the plank and died
And if Your standard was the Sears Tower
I fell short of Your Glory by the 40th story

Your Law convicts me
But You have awesome pity
I'm forgiven, even when my paws are sticky
Everyone's sauced and tipsy, it's awful risky
Living in this modern Sodom it's Gotham City
I don't deserve to be blessed, I squirm to wrestle
This earthly vessel, determined to murder my flesh
I've forsaken You, I lie and say it's true
But You're faithful to forgive so this praise is due

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
I'm adoring Thee for forgiving me
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
I'm adoring Thee for forgiving me!

I've been subtle and hush that I struggle with lust
It makes me smuggle disgust, when I huddle and fuss
I'm just a puddle of slush, my bubble will bust
I should be smothered and crushed to rubble and dust
But Your Love is a must, there's no other to trust

Jesus you cuddle with us when we're covered in puss
I disobeyed, but You patiently amazingly
Took my punishment and felt the pain for me
You suffered for my own misbehaving
I so wish to praise Him for propitation
I should be fried and burned for my lies and slurs
But Jesus took the wrath that I deserve
I praise You gleefully for your leniency
And for inconceivably redeeming me
My verse will tell of how I cursed and fell
You give me Grace, but all I deserve is Hell

But Lord I praise you, because it says in your word
First John one nine that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins
And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
Because Jesus Christ took the punishmnent for our sins
On the cross
Thank you Lord
We asked in Jesus name, amen

I want to continue a bit more on what I wrote about yesterday. This is a theme that has been continually coming up in what I have been reading and studying. It all tends to relate back to the presence of God in the life of the believer. I decided to reread an old sermon by Jonathan Edwards called: “God the Best Portion.” Edwards’ message is a deep reflection on Psalm 73:25, yet it also reminded me of Isaiah 26:3.

3 You keep him in perfect peace 

whose mind is stayed on you, 

because he trusts in you. 

This verse is a great promise of God, and we likely think about it in relation to the benefit we receive as believers - kept in perfect peace. However, I think the point is that the believer is looking to and trusting God alone. The believer is longing for God and his presence. Just a few verses later in that chapter we read:

8 In the path of your judgments, 

O LORD, we wait for you; 

your name and remembrance 

are the desire of our soul. 

9 My soul yearns for you in the night; 

my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. 

The soul of the believer yearns for God and his presence - because we know that the presence of the holy, infinite, eternal, unchangeable, gracious, good God is our good. Knowing who God is should draw us to him more and more. I think of our Larger Catechism question 7: “What is God?” The answer is this:

God is a Spirit, in and of himself infinite in being, glory, blessedness, and perfection; all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensible, everywhere present, almighty, knowing all things, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. (see also the Confession Chapter 2)

And to be honest, as good as that definition is, it cannot touch the depth and breadth of who God truly is. God is a God worth seeking, worth knowing, worth loving. He is the one for whom our souls should yearn. And as we get to know the God revealed in Scripture and most gloriously manifested to us in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, we cannot help but long for him. This God who gave himself for us to save us from our sins is our only true and lasting satisfaction and portion in all of life. The saint cannot be satisfied with anything less than God. That reminds me of a quote by Burroughs as well as one by Edwards from this message (and I may take another post to reflect a bit more on this message)

“Therefore you will observe, that whatever God may give to a gracious heart, a heart that is godly, unless he gives himself it will not do. A godly heart will not only have the mercy, but the God of that mercy as well; and then a little matter is enough in the world, so be it he has the God of the mercy which he enjoys.” ~ Burroughs

“Offer a saint what you will, [but] if you deny him God, he will esteem himself miserable. God is the center of his desires; and as long as you keep his soul from its proper center, it will not be at rest.“ ~ Edwards

Here is a song about longing for God’s presence by Shane and Shane.

The nearness of God is the greatness goodness we can experience while we reside on the planet earth. We want to not only know about God the Father, Son, and ...

It seems as though restless is becoming an apt word to describe people in our country (and perhaps throughout the world). We are seeing stories of protests all over the country clamoring for the ‘shelter in place’ orders to be lifted. And though it’s becoming more and more apt, I think it is simply becoming more and more visible. Naturally we are restless people. It was the great theologian Augustine who wrote in his Confessions: “Thou has formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.”

This is a truth that has been set forth throughout Scripture. Our hearts wander and pursue other places of refuge. In Isaiah 30 we see the prophet call out Israel for its stubbornness in continuing to look to Egypt for its salvation. They sought refuge in Pharaoh rather than in the Lord. This was the sign of a rebellious people. They even called out for the prophets to speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions (Isaiah 30:10).

And yet in all of this we see in verse 15 a spotlight shining brightly on the heart of God.

15 For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, 

“In returning and rest you shall be saved; 

in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” 

The call is to return; to repent. The people of Israel were called to repent of their trust in what cannot save. They were called to return and rest in the Lord alone. It is a call to faith in the Lord, and in the Lord alone. There is no one who can deliver the salvation that God’s people long for but God himself. And it is in God alone - in our quietness and trust in him that we shall find strength.

When we turn and rest, and trust in our Lord we will sing with the words of Exodus 15:1-18 and Isaiah 12 (see verse 2 below).

2 “Behold, God is my salvation; 

I will trust, and will not be afraid; 

for the Lord GOD is my strength and my song, 

and he has become my salvation.” 

But you were unwilling…These are the sad words that complete Isaiah 30:15. The people instead ran to other places of refuge (all that would fail). Let us learn from history and not be people unwilling. Let us be people who trust…who have faith…who repent of our false gods (idols, other sources of trust and refuge). Let us learn to rest. It is hard for us to be still and to trust, especially in the midst of some massive unknowns (but isn’t the unknown the place where our resting in God is actually tested?). This is a time where we feel the heaviness of the unfamiliar and the somewhat scary. But the call remains the same, and so does the heart of our God.

In Isaiah 30:18 we read: Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. Hear the heart of God in that for his children. And hear that same heart in the words of Jesus from Matthew 11:28,29.

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Lord, calm our anxious hearts. May we find our rest in You and in You alone.

A song written by Keith & Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend and featured in the Getty's album "Awaken The Dawn". The song is about being still and trusting in...

Unlike many people, I don’t really dislike Mondays. Typically it’s my day off…a day to rest and recover a bit from a busy and draining (in a good way) Sunday. That has felt different over the past 5 weeks or so. I don’t have the same tiredness, but there is still emotional drain - and today with the cloudy and rainy skies and the temperature dropping - it’s a bit gloomy (especially as I type from a dark basement).

And the gloominess is a bit of picture of the longness of these days were are living in right now. There is uncertainty and (at least a bit of) trepidation. What is going to happen? When is the country going to open up again? Will we be safe from this virus? And sometimes the peace that we long for is hard to hold on to or even come by, but we have to go to the only source of peace in the midst of the uncertainty.

I think of Isaiah 26:3,4:

3 You keep him in perfect peace 

whose mind is stayed on you, 

because he trusts in you. 

4 Trust in the LORD forever, 

for the LORD God is an everlasting rock. 

Our Lord is our everlasting rock. He is the Rock of Ages. He is the one who can (and will) keep us in perfect peace. We are to labor to find rest in him. Our eyes must be fixed on him in the midst of whatever we are going through. He has proved his status as our rock over and over and over again. We can trust him. The resurrection of Jesus was the ultimate picture for us that our God is to be trusted. Our God gives us peace. Our God secures our hope. He truly is the anchor of our soul.

There is a great song written by Sandra McCracken called “Rock of Ages (When the Day Seems Long). [Here is a second version of it by Indelible Grace] Listen and let the words of truth wash over your soul. Our God is our solid and secure rock!

Lyrics written by Sandra McCracken and the music written by Indelible Grace's Kevin Twit. It has a nice haunting melody mixed with strains of Celtic influences.

It is Tuesday of Holy Week and it sure seems as though things are ramping up in the interactions between Jesus and the religious leadership. What happened the day before was not something that sat well with the Jewish leadership. Jesus was illegitimate in their eyes and he was taking the attention away from them…he was usurping their authority and power in the eyes of the people.

Tuesday was filled with interaction - much of it involved the religious leaders seeking to trap Jesus in his words. But they couldn’t do it. You can’t trick perfection. You cannot trip up the Holy One of God. In fact, they were consistently shut down in their attempts through the gracious and pointed words of Jesus.

There is much to read and consider in this day, and I certainly cannot write on all it, so let me briefly highlight the parable of the tenants.

33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” 

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: 

“ ‘The stone that the builders rejected 

has become the cornerstone; 

this was the Lord’s doing, 

and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 

43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” 

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet. (Matthew 21:33-46)

Clearly the tenants are the Jewish leaders who are fighting against Jesus. But they have rejected the truth. They have rejected the stone upon which everything is built. There is fulfillment of prophecy here - Isaiah 8:14 and Daniel 2:44, but more importantly the call is to see Jesus as who he is. He is not some usurper of authority; he is the ultimate authority He is the one upon which all stands or falls. And he is asserting what is rightly his. He is the cornerstone, chosen and precious (1 Peter 2:6-8). He is the one we are called to believe and to realize that there is salvation in no one else (Acts 4:11,12).

It is amazing that the perfect Son of God gave himself to be wounded for us so that we could know life and salvation.

Here is a song to meditate on this day - “O Sacred Head Now Wounded.”

Holy Week, Day 3: Tuesday Tuesday, March 31, AD 33. To continue through the week, follow the link below for Wednesday: https://vimeo.com/89420035 The link for Palm Sunday: vimeo.com/89013208 The link for Monday: https://vimeo.com/89117797

I admit that I have felt a bit listless the past day. I have been fever free now for well over 72 hours, but I lost my senses of taste and smell….and that was a symptom I didn’t really want showing up. The nature of this virus is so unknown that it’s difficult to know what to do and when. I did come out of total quarantine yesterday, but I basically moved to the basement and I’m wearing a mask around the house. My daughter today asked: “When are you going to be able to stop wearing that mask?” And my only answer was: “I don’t know.”

“I don’t know” is hard for me. I like to know things. I don’t like not knowing what to do. Maybe it’s having grown up watching G.I. Joe cartoons and the slogan “Knowing is half the battle” was drilled into my brain, but it is simply hard for me not to know and then to be able to take action in the midst of not knowing. Perhaps the Lord is teaching me something through this.

Perhaps my knowing is focused on the wrong object. Proverbs 9:10: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Or Psalm 111:10: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

Rather than seeking to know what I can’t know, the Lord is calling me to know Him better. I think of this song by Michael Card (yes, I’ve already had a song by him, but his stuff is good). It’s called “The Way of Wisdom” (video below) and there is line that says: “The way of understanding lies in not how much you know, where the pathway is a person that you’ve come to love and so, you can stop pretending that it all depends on you, for it’s not how much you love as much as how much He loves you.”

I can stop feeling like I have to know it all…I can stop pretending. What freedom! My wisdom, your wisdom, right now is to know Christ. To pursue Him. Isaiah 11:1, 2: There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

The Way of Wisdom starts out with a step of holy fear
And it makes its way alone by every good word that you hear
It has to do with passion and it has to do with pain
It has to do with One, Who has both died and rose again
Died and rose again

And the Way of Wisdom is living
The Path of Peace is forgiving
Behold the Man of Meaning
Behold, He is the Lord

The way of understanding lies in not how much you know
Where the pathway is a person that you've come to love and so
You can stop pretending that it all depends on you
For it's not how much you love as much as how much He loves you
How much He loves you

And the Way of Wisdom is living
The Path of Peace is forgiving
Behold the Man of Meaning
Behold, He is the Lord

The Way of Wisdom beckons us to find the end of fear that perfect love pursues
Wisdom did not come to simply speak the words of truth
He's the Word that makes us true

The Way of Wisdom starts out with a step of holy fear
That's only the beginning and there's much more that is clear
The path leads on to love and love is fearless in its ways
For Love Himself was not afraid
To die that we'd be saved
To die that we'd be saved

And the Way of Wisdom is living
The Path of Peace is forgiving
Behold the Man of Meaning
Behold, He is the Lord…
Behold, He is the Lord

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group The Way Of Wisdom (Proverbs) · Michael Card The Way Of Wisdom ℗ 1990 Sparrow Records Released on: 1990-01-01 Pro...

In John 12:27, 28 we read these words:

27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

The soul of Jesus was troubled. He had just mentioned in 12:24 that a grain of wheat must fall and die in order to bear much fruit - a picture of his death that would bear much fruit. It is certainly understandable that Jesus’ soul would be troubled. What he was to do was take the wrath of God against the sins of His people upon Himself. It is impossible for us to fathom that weight. Yet Jesus was resolute. He knew his purpose. And he also knew that it all was for the glory of the Father. His commitment was the to will of God and the glory of God.

Where is our commitment? It is likely that many of us are troubled right now. We don't know what is going to happen today, next week, next month. It is a time of uncertainty. But what are we committed to? The Westminster Shorter Catechism’s first question and answer is this:

Question: What is man’s chief end?

Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Father - glorify Your name! May that be our chief concern in all that we face these days (and every day after this coronavirus has passed). The glory of God. And know this, pursuing the will of God will bring enjoyment. It will bring satisfaction no matter what it takes us through.

This reminds me of two passages. First, Isaiah 53:11, as it gives a picture of the work and sacrifice of the Suffering Servant - of Christ himself.

11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; 

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, 

make many to be accounted righteous, 

and he shall bear their iniquities. 

From the anguish of His own soul He was satisfied. He accomplished the salvation of His people by His death and resurrection. He bore our sin upon Himself. Let us look to Him in everything.

And next, Hebrews 12:1,2:

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 

I’ll leave that text to speak for itself. And I’ll leave you with another Michael Card song - “A Violent Grace.”