Meditations from the Pastor's Study

By Benjamin J. Mott

Meditations from the Pastor’s Study is a series of meditations on a wide range of topics that were composed by Pastor Benjamin J. Mott over a number of years and posted on his blog. Written from a Biblical perspective, these meditations provide practical instruction for a number of issues that confront Christians in their daily life, and particularly life in our age of advanced technology. There are also meditations addressing the issue of the Biblical text itself, fulfilled prophecy, and one’s personal relationship with God. A cursory glance at the table of contents will direct you to the meditation most suited to your circumstances or interest.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9780359602247

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A Call to Worship

Psalms 103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

This verse raises a favourite topic of mine to consider, the topic of worship. The experience of worship intrigues me. Worship is such an essential part of our Christian profession. It should be the passion of our lives. Nothing is more important. I find myself often frustrated that I do not draw from the worship experience as much as I want. I must constantly battle annoying distractions. This frustration only leaves me yearning to try again. I suspect that we will never fully enter into the experience of worship until we reach glory.

In the above verse the Psalmist is having a dialogue with himself. As human beings our Creator has endowed us with the ability of self-reflection. We can actually reflect on ourselves, consider ourselves, pass judgment upon ourselves, and carry on a dialogue with ourselves. Do you ever chide yourself when you do something wrong? I can really chew out Ben Mott. Or do you ever remind yourself to do something? I write notes to myself so that I can remember. All of this is our ability of self-reflection at work. This verse is an example of this marvellous power of self-reflection. The Psalmist is literally talking to himself. He is telling his soul to bless the holy name of the Lord. The word bless is in the imperative mood, which suggests that the Psalmist is commanding himself. He is issuing to himself a call to worship. Have you ever called yourself to worship?

Consider the definition of bless as it is used in this verse.

Bless – To call holy; to extol, praise, or adore (God) as holy, worthy of reverence.

To adore God as holy is to worship Him by definition. Now our Psalmist calls upon his soul to bless the Lord with all that is within him. The commentator G. Campbell Morgan had some very arresting comments to make upon this verse. He wrote:

The one value of these opening words is that they show us that worship is not involuntary, automatic. It calls for the co-ordination of all our powers, if it is to be perfect. This truth should arrest us whenever we enter the place of worship. The sanctuary is not a lounge, a place of relaxation. We should enter it with all the powers of personality arrested, arranged, dedicated.

To which I say, Amen! Worship is something we should prepare for. We ought to focus all our powers of desire, feeling, thought, and purpose upon the exercise of worship. Worship is something we should look forward to. We should go to church intending to give the worship of God our best. No doubt we will get more out of church worship, if we put more of ourselves into it!

Think about something you really look forward to doing. Maybe it is taking a vacation. Perhaps it is watching or attending a sporting event. Or maybe it is pursuing a relationship. Consider how much you pour yourself into it. Now compare that with how you approach worship. Do you approach worship with as much of yourself invested in it as in other things. If not, then you need to have a talk with yourself. You need to take charge of yourself and command yourself to bless the Lord with all that is within you. I challenge you to issue to yourself a call to worship the Lord. I can call you to worship. But it will be much more effective if you call yourself to it!

According to Thine Anger

For my daily Bible reading I have been going through the book of Ezekiel. Today as I was reading chapter 35, I was struck by the following verse:

Ezekiel 35:11 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.

In this passage God is pronouncing judgment against the nation of Edom because of their hatred and mistreatment of the nation of Israel. Although Israel had sinned against God and was being judged by Him, Edom had no right to take advantage of this against Israel. Israel may have sinned, but they were still God’s people and their enemies would have done well to remember that instead of adding to Israel’s calamities. Edom was angry against Israel and envious of them. We are here told that this anger and envy proceeded out of their hatred against them. There was obviously something about Israel that made Edom feel threatened so that they were glad to have an advantage against them. Now this verse in Ezekiel is a tremendous commentary on the psychology of fallen man.

Anger and envy are the effects of hatred. Charity or love stands in sharp antithesis to hatred. We are told in 1 Corinthians 13 that charity envieth not…is not puffed up…is not easily provoked. When anger and envy are the controlling emotions, charity is definitely not being exercised. Rather, hatred is at work bringing forth its evil fruit of anger and envy.

Consider the definition of envy.

Envy - Malignant or hostile feeling; ill-will, malice, enmity; The feeling of mortification and ill-will occasioned by the contemplation of superior advantages possessed by another.

If you hate someone, you will feel ill-will at any advantage you perceive that person has over you, whether that advantage be strength, beauty, knowledge, wealth, position, goodness, or authority. Conversely, if you envy someone this will lead to hatred of them, which will in turn only cause more envy against them. And, of course, envy and hatred will breed anger.

Now the thing in our passage that arrested my attention is that God told Edom: "I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them. In other words, God would deal with Edom as they dealt with Israel. Whenever you hate someone and are angry against them, ask yourself these questions: How would I like it if God felt toward me like I am feeling toward that person? What if God treated me like I am treating that person?" Sound frightening? It should!

So if you are indulging anger, envy, and hatred against someone, you had better repent of these sins, fleeing to the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy and forgiveness, and seeking grace to overcome them. Whatever personal insecurities and fears you may have, they can be resolved in a submissive, obedient relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. They cannot be resolved by anger, envy, and hatred. In her book Ten Stupid Things Men Do to Mess Up Their Lives¸ Dr. Laura Schlessinger had the following interesting thing to say about anger:

When you draw on your anger strength instead of your vulnerability strength you create your own minefield to dance through. First of all, anger isn’t really strength; its defensiveness, fear, uncertainty, immaturity, and hurt posing as something seemingly strong – and additionally, it’s only temporary. Criticism, yelling, and violence are ultimately poor, ugly, immoral, and illegal substitutes for inner strength. Vulnerability strength is the willingness to face personal shortcomings and fears (real or otherwise), and in so doing to gain the ability to get and be better.

From a Christian perspective, we can overcome anger, envy, and hatred when we face our own personal sins and weaknesses through repentance; and we can find forgiveness, healing, and strength in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let these verses admonish you regarding the danger of the sins of anger, envy, and hatred:

James 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Job 5:2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.

Proverbs 14:30 A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

1 John 2:11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

1 John 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Observe in these verses that anger, envy, and hatred are sinful, physically and psychologically destructive, spiritually blinding, and eternally damning. They are not to be trifled with. God forbid that He should deal with us according to our anger and according to our envy which we use out of our hatred against others. Repent and turn to the Lord for pardon so that it may be rather said of you:

Psalms 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

As the Lord Commanded

Yesterday I completed reading through the book of Exodus. I try to read one chapter per day. In connection with that chapter I like to read the thoughts of one of my favourite commentators, G. Campbell Morgan. Mr. Morgan pointed out something in his comments on Exodus 39 that arrested my attention. I would like expand upon his observations with my own.

Exodus 38-39 record the act of constructing the tabernacle, its furnishings, and the clothing of the priests, who ministered in the tabernacle. Exodus 40 records the actual setting up of the tabernacle and its consecration. Mr. Campbell based his comments on Exodus 39:43.

Exodus 39:43 And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.

Pay careful attention to the words in italics. All the work of the tabernacle and its furnishings had been done as the Lord commanded. Mr. Campbell went on to note that the phrase as the LORD commanded Moses is repeated seven times in Exodus 39. It occurs in verses 1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, & 31. Verse 32 also states the point.

Exodus 39:32 Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.

Then in chapter 40, the phrase as the Lord commanded Moses occurs seven more times in verses 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, & 32.

Remember that this is Holy Scripture. These words are being given by the inspiration of God. It is God Who is continually reminding us that Israel was carrying out His service as He had commanded. Therefore, we come to the unavoidable conclusion that it is very important to God that we execute His service according to what He commands us.

When God originally commissioned Israel to make Him a tabernacle, He gave this instruction:

Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

Exodus 38-40 records the fact that Israel had done precisely what God originally commissioned them to do. There was nothing in that tabernacle of Israel’s own devising. Everything was done to satisfy God’s requirements. Nothing was done to please the people. And God was obviously pleased with what had been done because God filled the tabernacle with His glory (Exodus 40:34).

Although we do not live under Moses’ law, the principle that was here observed is carried over in the New Testament. Note this principle in our Lord’s Great Commission to His apostles:

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

God’s service is to be kept according to His commandments as delivered unto us by His holy apostles. We are not at liberty to add or subtract anything according to our own tastes and preferences. And this brings us back to what I preached about last Sunday when I taught on why we do not observe religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter. These were celebrations that predated the establishment of Christianity. The Roman Catholic Church simply adopted the traditions of those pagan celebrations, gave them Christian names and symbols, and incorporated them into the service of the church. This is not executing God’s service as the Lord commanded. God strictly forbids this and instead charges us in these words:

Deuteronomy 12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

To give someone a gift simply as an expression of respect or affection to that person is one thing. People do it all the time and there is no law of God against that. But to give someone a gift in order to celebrate the birth of the Son of God is something else entirely. This is an attempt to honour Christ according to one’s own taste and preference as opposed to honoring Christ as the Lord commanded. If one wishes to honour Christ, then why not be baptized in His name and added to His church? Why not go to His house and join with His saints in singing His praise, calling upon His name, and hearing His gospel? Why not sit with His saints at His table and remember Him according to His holy commandment by eating the bread and drinking the cup? Why not wash the saints’ feet? Why not give to poor saints in need when there is a need and not just on a holiday? After all, these are the things which He commanded us to do to honour Him.

Remember this most important fact as stated in the following verse:

Psalms 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

If God’s way is perfect, then how can we possibly improve it? Why not serve God His way? After all, His way is perfect. When it comes to serving God, our mandate is simple and clear. Do it as the Lord commanded.

Away, Apart, Alone

One of the most valued books in my library is entitled Searchlights from the Word, by G. Campbell Morgan. In this book Mr. Morgan makes comments on a verse taken from each chapter of the Bible. I have made a list of passages upon which Mr. Morgan has commented where I was especially impressed by the comment. In looking for something for today’s meditation, I looked over this list and reviewed Mr. Morgan’s comments on Leviticus 9:23. Once again, I was struck by his profound insights. First, let’s read the passage.

Leviticus 9:23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people.

Mr. Morgan commented on the fact that Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God, before they came out, and blessed the people. Here are his comments:

The principle is abiding. The servants of God, whether prophets or priests, have no power to bless men save as they receive it in direct communion with God. Before we can go out and bless the people, we must go into the Place of Meeting with God. This is so self-evident that it seems hardly necessary to state it. Yet we are perpetually in danger of allowing our very eagerness to serve men, to interfere with our communion with God. To do so, is to fail disastrously. It is only as we serve in the Holy Place, in worship, in silence, in reception from God, that we are able to serve in the camp in work, in speech, in giving to men. Forgetfulness of this is the secret of much futility in Christian work, of much fussiness, of much feverishness. It is the souls who are strengthened, enlightened, quieted in the Tent of Meeting, that pass out to the places and ways of men, carrying blessings with them.

To this I can but add a hearty Amen. We so very much need that quiet time with God apart from the hustle and bustle without, if we are to be truly fitted to bless others. As we say in our modern slang, we need to recharge our batteries. And our batteries are recharged in communion with God. We experience this communion with God by means of prayer, worship, and reading and studying the Scriptures. In prayer we speak to God. We bring before Him our challenges and problems, and request solutions and help in dealing with them. In worship we praise God for Who He is and the good things that He has done. This puts our problems into perspective and reminds us that we deal with One so much greater than our problems. The reading and studying of the Scriptures are so vital to communion with God because it is through the Scriptures that God speaks to us and reveals Himself to us. Here is where we find the direction we need for meeting our challenges and dealing with our problems. Being thus fortified through communion with God we can go out and be a blessing to others by way of serving, helping, instructing, and being an example.

The importance of this is underscored by the fact that the one perfect man, the Man Christ Jesus, also found it necessary to come apart from the multitudes and His many duties to spend time in communion with God. This point emerges from the following passage:

Matthew 14:22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

There are three words in the passage that describe what our Lord was doing. They are the three words that make up the title of this meditation: away, apart, alone. These three words express what we need to fit us for service to others. We need time away from the multitude. We need to come to a place apart to pray. And we need to be alone. It is in being alone with God, away from the crowd, and apart from everything else that we can experience the undistracted communion with God that fortifies and prepares us to go out and bless others. Without this communion, away, apart, and alone, we will wither, our service will lose its vigour and sweetness, and we will not be the blessing we could otherwise be. We may still be quite busy serving, but something vital will be missing.

As one called to minister to others, I know how important this being away, apart, and alone is. I would grow stagnant and ineffective without it. If the Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect Man and Servant, needed to be away, apart, and alone, then how much more does a poor sinner such as I need it. So if you would bless others by your service, then let me encourage you to block out some time and space to get away to be apart and alone with God. Spend some time in the tent of meeting with God before you go out to bless others. Might it be said of us as it was said of Peter and John of old:

Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

Blog About No Blog, Part 1

I usually try to submit a meditation by means of this blog on a weekly basis. But there are those weeks when I do not have anything that I particularly want to write about. As I have thought about those times when I have nothing I want to say, I have thought that quite often saying nothing is appropriate. In other words, sometimes no blog is the order of the day. I have none other than the wisdom of Solomon, the wisest man, to support this thought. Solomon wrote:

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

7 …a time to keep silence, and a time to speak….

There is a season when the appropriate thing to do is to keep silence, to say nothing.

One of the most profound events in the life of our Lord was that time when on trial for His very life, in the face of many accusations, He said nothing.

Mark 14:60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing.

Matthew 27:13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?

And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

Luke 23:8 And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.

Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.

Our Lord knew that the Jews had already decided His guilt and that they were determined to have Him crucified. He knew that Pontius Pilate would cave into the pressure that the Jews placed upon him. Jesus knew that nothing He would say would avail anything to the contrary. Therefore, He kept silence and committed the matter to His Father God. As I have often said, You cannot prove innocence to someone determined to believe guilt. Sometimes, a gush of words in a frantic effort to prove innocence only raises doubts. As Shakespeare said: Methinks he protests too much.

When Job’s three friends came to comfort him, the greatest comfort they gave was in the beginning when they just sat with him, wept, and said nothing. Here is the account:

Job 2:11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.

12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.

13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

It was when Job’s friends opened their mouths in an attempt to make sense of his plight that they only added more grief to his misery. Job even called them miserable comforters (Job 16:2). Sometimes the best way to comfort grieving souls is to just be there, sit by them, and say nothing. In such times, our silent presence is often enough. We all too often want to talk them out of their grief. But in so doing we only make it worse. Job had this tidbit of advice for his friends that we would all do well to consider:

Job 13:5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.

Solomon came along later and echoed the same advice.

Proverbs 17:28 Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

You see, sometimes the wisest thing to do is to say nothing at all. We would have all spared others and ourselves a lot of misery if we had just kept our mouths shut.

I have more to say about saying nothing. But for now, I will say no more lest I weary you with saying too much.

Blog About No Blog, Part 2

Solomon, the wisest man, had several things to say about saying nothing. It was he who wrote that there is a time to keep silence (Ecclesiastes 3:7). One such time is when you are trying to speak to a proud, know-it-all, contentious fool.

Proverbs 23:9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

Since the fool thinks he knows everything and is too proud to ever admit he is wrong, you are wasting your time trying to reason with him. He is not going to like any wise thing that you have to say, since if you say something wise, it is going to expose his folly. This is an important principle to remember when you are trying to witness to somebody about the truth of the gospel. Do not think you always have to have the last word in the argument. Your last, best word may be no word at all. In the presence of the fool, it is best to keep quiet and say nothing at all. Let him bask in his self-conceit and let God deal with him.

Another time to keep silence is when strife is beginning.

Proverbs 17:14 The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.

My Aunt Nell had a wise saying: The less said, the less needs mending. Unfortunately, Aunt Nell did not always apply this sage advice. She was quite the one to offend others by being too quick to give them a piece of her mind. Too often we think we have to let others know every time they say or do something we disagree with or that we find offensive. It is often better just to let it go and say nothing. A lot of strife would be avoided if we just kept quiet. Always ask yourself when someone crosses you, Is it worth making an issue over?

Another appropriate time to keep silence is when we are being sorely tried and are awaiting deliverance.

Lamentations 3:26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him.

29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

How many have had to regret mouthing off in bitterness when they were suffering! Job was one such. He thought that God was not dealing fairly with him to permit him to suffer so much. In fact, the author of the book of Job, Elihu, became angry at Job for this.

Job 32:2 Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.

When Almighty God answered Job out of the whirlwind by presenting to Job His great power and wisdom, Job realized that he had spoken out of turn. Who was Job to question the judgment of so great and wise a God? Then Job changed his attitude as can be seen in his humble reply to God.

Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,

4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.

5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

Job repented for what he had said and confessed that he had spoken without understanding what he was saying.

Job 42:3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

Just as Jeremiah recommended in Lamentations, Job decided to keep silence and put his mouth in the dust. You see, when things are happening that we do not understand, rather than calling God’s righteousness into question, we should rather keep silence. It is better to say nothing at all than to speak without understanding only then to have to later regret what we said. In such circumstances it is best to "quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD."

Blog About No Blog, Part 3

It seems I have quite a bit to say about saying nothing. We are considering the time to keep silence, the time when it is best to say nothing. Another such time is in the face of God coming forth in judgment against sin and sinners.

After prophesying of the judgments that would come upon Babylon for its sins, Habakkuk recorded these oft-sung words:

Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

In the beginning of his prophecy, Habakkuk had complained of the spoiling and violence, and of the strife and contention that were going on about him in his own nation. He raised two questions with respect to the evil surrounding him: How long? and Why? (Habakkuk 1:2-3). How many times have these questions been asked when men have witnessed injustice? God responded by showing Habakkuk that He would raise up the Chaldeans as an instrument of judgment against Israel for its sins. This only perplexed the prophet since God would be using an even more wicked nation to punish His own people. God responded to Habakkuk’s perplexity by revealing that He would also judge the Chaldeans for their wickedness. In the final issue all wickedness would meet with judgment from a holy God. It was in the face of God rising up to judgment that Habakkuk uttered the words we have cited above. Now instead of questioning God as he had done, Habakkuk called upon all the earth to keep silence before such a holy and sovereign God.

In the book of Revelation when the Lamb of God opened the seventh seal, there followed the sounding of the seven trumpets. These trumpets herald fearful judgments to come upon the earth leading up to the final judgment of all nations when the seventh trumpet sounds. As a prelude to the sounding of these seven trumpets we read the following:

Revelation 8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

Again, we find silence is in order in the face of divine judgment.

When Israel was departing out of Egypt, they reached a point at which the Red Sea was in front of them and Pharaoh’s host was nearing from behind. As Israel began to panic, Moses said this to them:

Exodus 14:13 …Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

The hour of Egypt’s overthrow was at hand. In the face of this approaching judgment Israel was called upon to keep silence.

When Israel marched around Jericho seven times before the walls fell down, Joshua gave them this instruction:

Joshua 6:10 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.

The overthrow of Jericho marked the beginning of God’s judgments upon the Canaanite nations for their abounding wickedness. As a prelude to this judgment, silence was called for.

Then notice this passage:

Zephaniah 1:7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.

8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.

There is something about the display of God’s wrath in judgment that calls for reverential silence. When you hear the pastor thundering forth God’s threatenings against sin and sinners does it leave you feeling speechless? Well it should! When we see the clouds of divine judgment gathering, it is a time to keep silence before our God and watch Him work. For when God moves forth in judgment against His enemies, He also moves forth in the salvation of His people. Then after the silence comes forth the shout of triumph just as Israel shouted after marching around the wall of Jericho seven times.

Joshua 6:16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.

The advice of the Psalmist fits well here:

Psalms 46:8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

As you see God arising in judgment, hold your peace. Know that He is God. Watch Him work as you worship is silent awe.

Consolation, Part 1

Today I was writing a report to our congregation regarding a couple of our members who are ill. As I did so, my thoughts were stirred regarding the subject of consolation. Let’s begin with noting the words of our beloved apostle Paul.

Philippians 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ….

Of course, there is no doubt that there is consolation in Christ. But the sad thing is that we are not always drawing on it. Therefore, Paul introduced his sentence with the hypothetical word if.

True to form, let’s define some terms. Consolation is the act of consoling. This definition requires that we define console.

Console - To comfort in mental distress or depression; to alleviate the sorrow of (any one); to free from the sense of misery.

To console is to comfort, to alleviate.

Comfort – To strengthen (morally or spiritually); to encourage, hearten, inspirit, incite. To lend support or countenance to; to support, assist, aid.

Alleviate – To make lighter, diminish the weight of. To lighten, or render more tolerable, or endurable; to relieve, mitigate.

By definition, it is the function of consolation to comfort, to impart strength. Consolation comforts by alleviating sorrow. It does not make the sorrow go away, but it lightens the sorrow and makes it more bearable. It provides relief. When sorrow is lightened, it reduces the drain on our energy and thus conserves our strength. One has more strength when less strength is being demanded.

We can see consolation at work in the following passage.

2 Corinthians 7:5 For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.

6 Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus;

7 And not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more.

Observe that Titus was comforted by consolation and that Paul was also comforted by the consolation wherewith Titus was comforted. Paul was troubled on every side. There were fightings without and fears within. His conflicts were to the point that his flesh had no rest. There was no letup. The pressure was constant. And then came Titus with good news about the Corinthians. In his first epistle to the Corinthians Paul had issued some stern rebukes to them. Paul was very concerned about how they had received his epistle. Now Titus came with the news that the Corinthians had received Paul’s rebuke very well. What a relief! This was one worry that was lifted off of Paul. This in turn made his remaining conflicts more bearable. You see, his sorrow was alleviated. He was strengthened by the lightening of the load. He had experienced consolation. Surely you have experienced the consolation that comes when you get a piece of good news amidst all the bad.

Now there is consolation in Christ to relieve us when we struggle beneath heavy burdens that drain our strength. This is evident in these familiar words of our Lord:

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Observe the contrast between being heavy laden and having a burden that is light. It requires a lot less energy to bear a light burden than a heavy one. To have our burden lightened is to experience consolation by definition. This is the consolation that is in Christ! In this passage our Lord teaches us how we can draw on this consolation. It is by coming to him, taking His yoke upon us, and learning of Him. Now let’s examine each of these steps toward experiencing consolation.

First, we experience consolation by coming to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you find your burdens are becoming harder and harder to bear, just bring them to Jesus. As the old spiritual puts it: Tell Him all about your troubles. You will tap into God’s strength just by casting your burden upon Him

Psalms 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee.

In case you don’t know this, sustain means to support. It really does help to pray. I can’t tell you the times that a little talk with Jesus has helped to put my troubles into perspective and to make them easier to bear. Our problem is that we try to sort it all out and solve it on our own without Him.

This is growing so I will stop here for today and continue this later, God willing. It is my sincere desire that you will find some consolation in reading this.

Consolation, Part 2

In our last meditation we began considering the steps recommended by our Lord to experience the consolation that is in Him. These steps are found in Matthew 11:28-30. The first step is simply to come to Him. We need to bring to Him whatever weights us down and drains our energy. That old song we love says it so well:

O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!

Secondly, we experience consolation by taking Christ’s yoke upon us. This involves submitting to His will and control. When you yoke a horse or an ox, it is for the purpose of steering the beast where you want him to go to do what you want. Yoking is not about doing the will of the beast. It is about doing your will. Now apply this to the Lord Jesus Christ and His yoke for us. Wearing His yoke is about His will, now ours. Anxiety makes any affliction much more difficult to bear and a great deal of our anxiety arises from our will. We want the Lord to do what we want when we want. We want Him to wear our yoke so we can direct Him where we want Him to go. Well, I have news for you. Nobody but nobody steers Almighty God. You might as well get that settled right now.

Isaiah 40:13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?

14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?

Our attempt to drive God only creates frustration and an unbearable burden. When we take His yoke upon us, submitting to Him and His way, even though we can’t understand it, we get relief. As He said, ye shall find rest unto your souls. We can rest in the assurance that nothing can separate us from His love and that, therefore, He has our best interests at heart and will do right by us in life and in death. Ceding the control of our lives to Christ we then draw on the consolation in Him.

A member of our congregation sent me this quote that fits nicely with what I am saying: When we reduce (adjust) our expectations, we will also reduce (adjust) our frustrations. Adjusting our expectations to what God has promised