As you know, because of local circumstances I have been rather exercised of late on the subject of reverence, so this letter will attempt to précis last night’s shared thoughts on Psalm 89. There seems to be an idea going about that since Christians are not, like Israel, under law but under grace we can disregard Old Testament teaching about the awesomeness of God. This is a grave error. Our God has not changed one iota in the infinite majesty of His being. Indeed, far from minimising our sense of holy wonderment the revelation of His astounding grace to sinners in Christ Jesus should increase it. Calvary proves His immeasurable love while simultaneously demonstrating His inflexible justice: I am saved because the full penalty of the broken law was borne by Another. No surprise, then, when the Hebrew writer exhorts us, "let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear [eulabeia]: For our God is a consuming fire" (Heb 12.28-29). As usual, Matthew Henry is to the point: "God is the same just and righteous God under the gospel that he appeared to be under the law. Though he be our God in Christ, and now deals with us in a more kind and gracious way, yet he is in himself a consuming fire". The book of Revelation makes that clear enough – divine wrath poured out during the Great Tribulation will demonstrate once and for all that God still hates sin.
For the Christian at least, familiarity should never breed contempt. The same letter that invites us to "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb 4.16) also warns that "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (10.31). There will, doubtless, always be ungodly men who enjoy "turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness" (Jude v.4), but no real believer will wish to "continue in sin that grace may abound" (Rom 6.1). No, we have been saved to live holy lives. And though we all fall short, we still press on. Further, the glorious freedom of approach to God which all saints possess is no licence for casualness or levity. Sometimes even the unsaved can teach us a lesson. The other day one of my students remained outside the room while another was giving a class presentation, only coming in afterwards because, as she said, she did not wish to "disturb the seminar". Such politeness is rare in a secular context – but would that believers were as respectful in spiritual gatherings! It is all too common in some places for latecomers to the prayer meeting to clump in thoughtlessly while a brother is publicly addressing the God of heaven. Even theatregoers would observe greater respect. Better, surely, to wait outside and listen quietly until there is an opportunity to enter without commotion. I do not think we can ever be too reverend.
Well, Ethan the psalmist had a clear grasp of Jehovah’s majesty. His maschil (the word means "giving instruction") is a didactic poem educating us in the greatness of the Lord. The key verse for my purpose is v.7: "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him".
I sometimes find it useful to explore Scripture with Kipling’s pointers: "I keep six honest serving men,/They taught me all I knew;/Their names are what and why and when,/And how and where and who". Three queries analyse this verse. Who is it about? – God. What does it insist upon? – Reverence. Where is this to be displayed? – In the assembly of the saints. Now we must always keep in mind the overall context. This is a psalm which rejoices in Jehovah’s mercy (vv.1-37) despite the reality of Israel’s present misery (vv.38-52). We are not to doubt in the darkness what we have learned in the light, for momentary sufferings do not abrogate divine promises. In any case, as someone has said, "Affliction is the touchstone of sincerity". Therefore, amidst uncertainty and trial Ethan reminds Israel of the immutability of God.
And that is the first requirement of proper reverence: an intelligent appreciation of who God is. Respect is not born of ignorance, but rather springs from God’s self-disclosure in Scripture. After all, our God is gloriously unique, distinct from both the imaginary deities of the heathen and the genuine hosts of angelic beings which fill the heavens: "For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?…O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee?" (Ps 89.6,8). Elijah’s withering mockery of the Baalite priests at Mount Carmel, which you tell me you found initially so surprising, unwraps the utter lunacy of idolatry. Certainly Elijah had no truck with religious pluralism! But then any substitute for the living and true God (whether it be a Canaanite fertility god, or the more modish deities of evolutionism, materialism, political correctness, or climate change) is the height of absurdity, deserving nothing but scorn. Jehovah, by contrast, is faithful (v.5), unimaginably powerful (vv.8-13), righteous, yet merciful (v.14). That the psalmist spends so much time in asserting divine omnipotence is telling: sinful man is insensitive to almost everything except naked power. It is this that will cause men to shake in their shoes during the Tribulation. But believers with access to the Word know their God, and this knowledge will induce a holy, healthy veneration.
The psalm’s poetic parallelism indicates that reverence and fear are virtually synonymous. According to Vine, the Hebrew word means "to stand in awe [indicating a] reverence whereby an individual recognises the power and position of the [one] revered and renders him proper respect". Yes, we should have an appropriate fear of God. In the New Testament "the image underlying the word [eulabeia] is that of the careful taking hold, the cautious handling, of some precious yet delicate vessel, which with ruder or less anxious handling might easily be broken" (Trench). Due caution becomes those who deal with God. Paul’s anatomy of sinful humanity concludes with the root cause: "there is no fear of God before their eyes" (Rom 3.18). As Thomas Watson puts it, "The wicked sin and fear not; the godly fear and sin not". Genuine reverence is therefore a spur to practical holiness in daily life.
The second requirement is deliberate concentration. "We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple" (Ps 48.9). Serious mental exertion is needed, for reverence, alas, is not the default position of sinful creatures. Although it is bad enough to live in an anti-theistic world, our worst enemy is actually within, for "the carnal mind is enmity against God" (Rom 8.7). It therefore takes real effort of soul to focus our thoughts upon the Lord. At the best of times prayer is tough. I think most of us can identify with J N Darby’s hymn: "No infant’s changing pleasure/Is like my wandering mind" (BHB No 206). The wandering mind needs a focus, and that is Christ. To prepare for the breaking of bread is never easy: it involves setting aside time, ensuring quietness and alertness of mind, fixing our minds upon the Lord Jesus, and meditating upon the Word (Ps 57.7; 108.1). And this concentration of soul has to continue into the gathering itself.
Hence, the third requirement is corporate stimulation. The spirit of reverence ought to be fostered when we are with our brethren, for then we are in the assembly of saints who love the Lord. The Old Testament physical place of worship was wholly given over to praise. As the metrical version puts it, "God’s voice doth make the hinds to calve,/It makes the forest bare:/And in His temple ev’ry one/His glory doth declare" (Ps 29.9). Yet we can so quickly be distracted. I remember someone years ago saying that a spiritual atmosphere was the most difficult thing to create and the easiest to destroy. To arrive late and noisily, to bring audible diversions into the gathering, will make it all the harder to concentrate upon Christ. Disturbances without (traffic, a passing emergency vehicle, a burglar alarm) we cannot control, but we should certainly not bring them inside. Children who cannot yet sit quietly are out of place in a gathering whose purpose is primarily spiritual not social. Lovely though it is to see little ones (and even a crabby old bachelor can appreciate them) they must not be allowed to rob the Lord of His honour. Christian parents, and those who in God’s good pleasure one day may become parents, will bear this in mind.
Affectionately as ever in Christ Jesus.
David
To be continued.
