In the Hours

A hymn by Kevin Twit, 'In the Hours'


In the hours of pain and sorrow,
When the world brings no relief
When the eye is dim and heavy,
And the heart oppressed with grief
While blessings flee, Savior Lord we trust in Thee!
While blessings flee, Savior Lord we trust in Thee!

When the snares of death surround us,
Pride, ambition, love of ease
Mammon with her false allurements,
Words that flatter, smiles that please
Then ere we yield, Savior Lord be Thou our shield
Then ere we yield, Savior Lord be Thou our shield

When forsaken in distress,
Poor despised and tempest-tossed
With no anchor here to stay us,
Drifting, sail and rudder lost
Then save us Thou, who trod this earth with weary brow
Then save us Thou, who trod this earth with weary brow

 Thou the hated and forsaken,
Thou the bearer of the cross
Crowned of thorns and mocked and smitten,
Counting earthly gain but loss
When scorned are we, We joy to be the more like Thee
When scorned are we, We joy to be the more like Thee

Thou the Father's best beloved,
Thou the throned and sceptered King
Who but Thee should we adoring,
All our prayers and praises bring?
So blessed are we, Savior Lord in loving Thee
So blessed are we, Savior Lord in loving Thee

The Knowledge of God's Providence

From the Heidelberg Catechism:

Q: How does the knowledge of God's creation and providence help us?


A: We can be patient when things go against us, 
          thankful when things go well,
          and for the future we can have good confidence
          in our faithful God and Father
          that nothing will separate us from his love.
          All creatures are so completely in his hand
          that without his will, they can neither move nor be moved.




If I'm being honest, I often fail to trust in God's providence. At times, my heart is restless rather than patient, and is marked by fear and insecurity  instead of confidence. Yet, for the Christian, we have every  reason to put our full trust in the providence and provisions of our Heavenly Father. The reason is,

"If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all,

how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"

Romans 8:32

I need to be reminded of and take comfort in God's radical love. If God was willing to give his Son to rescue me, surely he will see me through until the end. Surely, I can trust him in my day to day activities. To trust in God's providence, we have to look no further than the cross. Our faithful Father will provide. He has in the past, he is now, and he will in the future. 

Our Faithful Father

From the Heidelberg Catechism, question 26.

Q. What do you believe when you say, "I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth"?

A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence, is my God and Father because of Christ his Son.

I trust him so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and he will turn to my good whatever adversity he send me in this sad world.

He is able to do this because he is almighty God;
He desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.

A Sure Oath He Will Not Revoke

 ¹⁰ "For the sake of your servant David,
   do not reject your anointed one.
 ¹¹ The LORD swore an oath to David,
   a sure oath he will not revoke:
“One of your own descendants
   I will place on your throne. ¹² If your sons keep my covenant
   and the statutes I teach them,
then their sons will sit
   on your throne for ever and ever.”
 ¹³ For the LORD has chosen Zion,
   he has desired it for his dwelling, saying, ¹⁴ “This is my resting place for ever and ever;
   here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it. ¹⁵ I will bless her with abundant provisions;
   her poor I will satisfy with food. ¹⁶ I will clothe her priests with salvation,
   and her faithful people will ever sing for joy.
 ¹⁷ “Here I will make a horn^[b] grow for David
   and set up a lamp for my anointed one. ¹⁸ I will clothe his enemies with shame,    but his head will be adorned with a radiant crown.”
Psalm 132:10-18

We see here God's commitment to His Covenant with David. This is a psalm that was probably sung during the Israelites exile in Babylonia, as they declared their faith that God would again fulfill his promises and raise up a new David. The psalmist appeals to God's own faithfulness, that God would not forget His promise to David, that his throne would be established forever. 

And this is the good news, God has been faithful to His covenant. He has raised up a new David. Jesus, while being the son of God, is also the son of David. He is the descendent of David of whom this promise speaks of. He is the true and better David. He is the true King who sits enthroned forever. 

But what is the result that the new David has come. What is the purpose of God fulfilling this promise to establish David's throne forever? What is the good news?

God will bless us with abundant provisions

God will satisfy the poor with food

God will clothe her priests with salvation

And we will sing for joy. 

God also says that He will 'set up a lamp for his anointed one'. In other words, the anointed one is going to bring light into darkness. The anointed one will be radiant, shining forth God's righteous rule. 

Alienated Enemies

"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in yours minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation"

Colossians 1:19-22

These verses reveal such a great deal about the Biblical story as a whole.

First, in verse 19, we get a glimpse of the cosmic scope of redemption. God is reconciling ALL things to himself, whether things on earth or in heaven. If we recall, God is the creator of all. He is sovereign over all. All of creation displays His glory and His greatness. In the beginning, God created the earth, the heavens, day and night, the land and sea, plants and animals. They were all good. Lastly, He created man. Although God loves His creation, and His creation was 'good', man had a special place in God's heart. To reflect His very presence on His created earth, God made man in His own image. How amazing is that? We were created in His likeness. We were created with a special capacity, to know and be intimate with our creator. We were created with a special capacity to reflect His glory, to love and be loved. We walked with God in harmony. We were created to be the caretakers of His creation, to mediate His presence. It was very good.

Secondly, these verses present the magnitude of the fall. While God's creation was good, and He so freely and lovingly made man in His own image, and graciously walked with man in utter harmony, Man rebelled. Man turned. But, the fall of man didn't just effect one man (Adam), it effected the entire creation. The Woman (Eve) would experience pain in child bearing. The ground was cursed, and Adam's work would bring him pain and toil. Harmony was broken between Man and God, between Man and Woman (relationships), between Man and earth (nature). That is why 'ALL' things are to be reconciled. Not just individual souls. The Gospel is about God bringing about a complete restoration or reconciliation to 'ALL' things. God redeeming a people for himself is the center of this complete restoration.

It is important to notice the words Paul uses to describe our previous fallen state. He says that we were 'alienated' and 'enemies'. When Paul says 'enemies' he isn't merely stating a passive disruptance between us and God. It is not 'God hated you', where we have passively received this conflict. Rather, we are actively enemies. The fall shows our rebellion. It is us turning our backs on God, not God turning His back on us. We are actively hostile towards God. It has been that way from the beginning. The Bible tells one story, where time after time, this theme of restoration is found. I'll probably make another quick post in a few days trying to show how, from since creation, to the fall, God through various covenants has been bringing about the restoration, or re-creation of His original good creation.

Thirdly, this passage shows the magnificent means by which peace is reestablished. Given that we have openly rebelled against God, and whether we think so or not, have declared in our hearts our autonomous hostility towards God, it is amazing to think that God would even try to win us back. But that is why the Gospel is so amazing. We play the part of the undeserving. The Bible tells time and time again, of God begging His people to turn back to him, to believe unto Him, to follow his guidelines. Yet, just like in the garden, when God told Adam not to eat the fruit, we repeatedly choose to disobey, we repeatedly choose to rebel. This is open hostility.

But, along the way, God promises us something unbelievable. He says,

³¹ "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³²not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. ³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

God promises to make a way to re establish peace. It will come through a new and better covenant. Whereas before, God's people, Israel, repeatedly broke the covenant, God says in the new covenant, He will put His law on our hearts, and that they will truly be His people again. He will forgive their iniquity and forget their sins. This is the Gospel. From the beginning, God had a marvelous plan to restore His people once and for all. Jesus was the answer. The Son came to earth, and lived the perfect life, and died the death in order to forgive our sins. He died the only death that could possible bring peace. More so, God gives His Spirit to His people, so that they are continually transformed. The law of God no longer condemns us, but is written on our hearts. This is reason to praise God. Though I was in constant rebellion, constant hatred towards God, though I never upheld my end of the bargain, though I was unfaithful to my call to bear God's image, Jesus died to reconcile me. I was at war with Him, yet He crossed enemy lines and took the sting of death, so that there would be peace. Praise be to God!

A Few Thoughts on Psalm 23 (part 1)

Perhaps one of the most well-known passages in Scripture, Psalm 23 contains some of the most assuring and brilliant truths in all the Bible. As C.H. Spurgeon says, Psalm 23 is the 'pearl of all the Psalms'. In this passage, King David proclaims the confidence and comfort he has in the LORD. Having tasted the reality of the Gospel, and experienced God's wondrous grace as manifested in His shepherd like provision and care, it seems that David cannot help but exclaim the confidence and trust he has in his Savior.

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want,

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside still waters,

He restores my soul,

He leads my in paths of righteousness

for His names sake,

Even though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for You are with me,

Your rod and your staff,

they comfort me

You prepare a table before me,

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil,

my cup overflows,

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever"

In the first half of verse 1, David lays out the premise for the entire Psalm. The LORD is his shepherd. In this verse, David identifies both himself and God. God is his shepherd, he is the sheep; God is his master, he is the servant; God is his Lord, he is the subject; God is his Savior, he is a sinner. This statement seems to be quiet strange. At this time, David was the King of Israel. Often times, kings were referred to as the shepherds of the nation. It is strange that the King of the nation would choose to call himself a sheep. Generally speaking, sheep do not have a lot of desirable traits. For example, sheep are extremely dumb. They are vulnerable. They are helpless against attackers. They are completely dependent and are incompetent on their own. They are susceptible and they are weak. So here is King David, choosing to identify himself with these characteristics. However, therein lies the beauty of the passage. David is proclaiming that his entire identity is in the LORD. He is staking his life on this one premise, that he is God's. He belongs to his fold. His security, peace, comfort and joy is found in this one truth. He may be a dumb sheep, but David is His sheep. David (like us) may be weak and incompetent, but God is his shepherd. God is his guide. In stating that "the LORD is my shepherd", David is making the personal statement that his significance, purpose and identity are found only in the LORD. His trust is in the LORD. His only hope is that the LORD will provide and care for him.

The second half of verse one, "I shall not want" is a result of the first statement. In other words, since the LORD is David's shepherd, I shall not want. What wonderful contentment is there for Christians! What comfort there is in knowing God is our shepherd! Like David, we should be content with the work and provision of our shepherd. David does not want because David has everything he needs. He lacks nothing. Everything that is necessary for him, he has in God. Likewise, everything we need, in Christ we already have. We don't need to go out into the world looking for approval and acceptance, because in Christ, we already have all the approval and acceptance we need. In Christ, we possess everything (2 Corinthians 6:10).

Now, this statement of 'not wanting' only comes through a deep belief in the Gospel. It only comes with a deep sense of trust in our Shepherd. The more we believe the fullness of the Gospel, the more we believe that Christ has fully atoned for our sins, that he has accomplished everything necessary for our salvation, that he is 100% for us, and that he will also provide for our daily needs, that he is pleased to lead and guide us everyday, only then, can we begin to 'not want'. The picture I think of with this passage is Philippians 4, when the Apostle Paul speaks about being content in both times of need and abundance, and then ends by saying 'I can do all things through Him who gives me strength'. What trust the Apostle Paul had in the Gospel! Jesus is enough. End of story. He is enough. He is our comfort in all times. We should be content because the Gospel is everything we need. I pray we would increasingly be satisfied in Christ, and that we would continue to find our purpose, significance and identity in the Gospel. More to come on Psalm 23....