Living in the plains of light, if we did always what pleased Him, it would never raise us up to be any closer to Him on the heights of righteousness, for we would only be doing what the creature should be doing in respect to the Creator – as the child to the parent, or the subject to the king. If the child obeys the parent in every way, does this change the role of the child? Can he now be equal to the parent? If the subject remains truly loyal to the king, does this move him up in nobility? Can he sit with the king in the throne? Of course not, for the child and the subject are simply fulfilling who they are. They cannot attain to the same position as those over them.

So we, subjects of the great eternal King, are only doing what we ought when we obey in every way (Luke 17:7-10). How, then, can we be seated with Christ in the heavenly places as we are told in Ephesians 2:6.

Just as it pleased God to create this fascinating, wondrous universe, displaying all His glorious attributes of creativity: power, knowledge, presence, and more – so it pleases Him to create anew in His people. In the dead soul, the seed of the Word is implanted. The Holy Spirit breathes upon the dead man and life is born!

We have here a picture of the three persons working together, in full agreement. The Father points to the dead soul and the Word of Christ is gifted to that soul. But understanding – life-giving understanding – is not achieved until the Spirit blows across that soul. The sleeper awakes and walks in the light of that implanted Word, legs of faith strengthened by the all-powerful, life-giving, life-sustaining God.

We who have been pulled up from the pit not only walk in the plains of light. We also have a place, a seat, on the heights of righteousness (Eph. 2:6). What! Not only does He remove us from the pit and washes the filth away and causes us to walk in the light of His law. He doesn’t just take away from us – He adds to us! We are granted righteousness and raised up and called His “Holy Ones” (Eph. 2:19).

Why would He do this? He could leave us in our dark, filthy pit forever and be just in doing so. He owes us nothing – consider He has already created us and supplied us with all we need to live, sustaining the entire universe to make life possible.

While we were hating Him, He loved us and brought about His plan in real time and real space to rescue us from this dungeon.

You say you don’t hate Him? By what definition? Or, should I say, whose? The Bible defines love and hate differently than our culture does. Our culture says that love is a feeling that cannot be helped; it controls us and makes us do things we might not ever have done before it took control. We use hate in response to how something happened to us that we could not stop and therefore, we hate it or him.

It is different in the Bible. Hate in the Bible is failing to do for others, to live as if you are more important, to be willingly ignorant or to be oblivious of the needs of others. And hatred toward God is to fail to obey Him in the role He created you for: that of creature to Creator, that of child to Father, that of subject to King. Hatred toward God is to live as if He isn’t there, didn’t create you, has no interest in you. In other words, hate is what defines a sinner, a citizen of the pit – and you cannot escape this citizenship. As a descendant of Adam, you were born in this pit; there is no escape outside of God.

But what is love by the Bible’s standards? Love is an action that involves giving for the benefit of the other, even at cost to self. The Father demonstrated His love for the Son by giving Him a people who would worship and adore Him forever. He had to give the Son as a sacrifice in order to do that. The Son demonstrates His love for the Father by revealing who the Father is to the human race by doing what none of us would have ever thought to do – He became one of us so that we could see the Father. He had to give His life over into the hands of wicked men to do with Him as they pleased. The Spirit demonstrates His love to the Father and the Son as He illumines the Word of God in the hearts of dead souls, blowing as the wind over whomever the Father chooses. All of this is done out of a great love for me! For the church, the people of God.

This great love with which He loves us – His people – is a revelation of His mercy and grace and goodness and faithfulness. It is a mercy to pick one out and lift him out of the pit of darkness, when the one does not deserve it. It is grace to shine on one with the light of mercy and love, to give favor where death should reign. It is goodness because God has worked it all out in justice and righteousness and holiness; He does not do this arbitrarily; He does not break His own law. Christ suffered the punishment due to the sins of His people – an eternity of wrath for each one of His people as He hung on that cross. Justice was done and righteousness was displayed and a holy God was vindicated. It is faithfulness because God kept His promise made within the Trinity to save a people and to exalt the Son for His glory. It showcases His power: not one thing went undone, not one plan went awry, not one molecule slipped past Him in working it all out. It shows His wisdom and infinite understanding and knowledge: the minutest details were worked out and every heart of every man was understood and fit into the plan according to the sovereign plan of God. It shows His presence: God is not an impersonal God. He is intimately involved in the history of man, both as a body and as individuals, past, present and future.

God demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Beth McMichen

February 2009

Psalm 71:1 – 6 he reminds himself (and us) of God’s work of grace throughout his life.

Psalm 71:7 is interesting – ‘portent’ implies that others are watching with a critical eye his distress. Ps 71:10 – 11 give us the clue – “For my enemies speak concerning me; those who watch for my life consult together and say, “God has forsaken him …” We don’t know what is happening but perhaps this is a godly man who encounters some disappointing event. Oh, he is familiar with disappointment, but he seems painfully aware that unbelievers are watching and saying, “He lived his long life devoted to his God, but now this distress proves that his God has ‘forsaken him’ and is worthless!” Some may even ask, “why do the godly suffer yet the wicked prosper?” Can you imagine a more depressing thought? To be aware that the community is mocking you and your God? What does this old man do – he shifts the focus off himself onto his God; “but you are my strong refuge. My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day.” (Ps 71:7-8) This is the biblical cure for the blues … turn from self and look to our Kinsman-Redeemer, our elder Brother who is able to sympathize with our weakness (Hebrews 4:14-15) and who rescues us from our enemies (Hebrews 4:13).

Ps 71:9-13 he rightfully request the Lord’s intervention then in Ps71:14-17 he, putting his previous depression firmly behind, remembers again the works of the Lord and directs his frail heart to love the Lord God with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his mind. (Matthew 22:37-39)

Ps 71:18-19 This old man, in spite of a long life of labor and this recent disappointment, isn’t thinking about a comfortable retirement at the beach – he looks forward (and asks for the opportunity) to “proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come…” He has so much to tell and eagerly desires the opportunity to pass on what great thing he knows!

Ps 71:20 he says, “You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.” Here he is is praising God’s soveriegn control over this present ‘frowning providence’ (you have made me see many troubled times), at the same time, he is expressing confidence that “he who began a good work … will bring it to completion.” (Phil 1:6) Indeed, “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

May we aspire to and old age filled with such hope, joy, and eager desire to make the most of our opportunities to tell what great things the Lord has done!