Daleth – Depression, Grace and Freedom

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Mark Heath

Depression

In Ps 119:25 the Psalmist says “I am laid low in the dust”, and then in verse 28 “My soul is weary with sorrow” (one commentator paraphrases “I have collapsed with intense sorrow”). These days we’d probably diagnose him with depression and pack him off to the doctors to get some happy pills. But for the writer of this Psalm, there is no question where he will turn first for comfort and strength – the Word of God.

²⁵ I am laid low in the dust;
preserve my life according to your word.

…
²⁸ My soul is weary with sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.

Of course, I in no way want to trivialise the very real issue of depression, or glibly claim that a few hours of Bible reading will automatically fix it, but it does raise the issue of where we do we turn in times of sorrow. Part of the battle with depression is the battle for the mind (see Matt Hosier’s excellent prayer for depression), and to fight that battle effectively we must fill our minds with truth.

Grace and Truth

The reason the Psalmist turns to the Word of God when he is feeling low is that he knows that it is a source of grace and truth:

²⁹ Keep me from deceitful ways;
be gracious to me through your law.
³⁰ I have chosen the way of truth;
I have set my heart on your laws.

This is an interesting combination of terms since in John 1:17 it says that “the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John is not denying that the law contains grace and truth, but is claiming that the fullest expression of God’s grace and truth is found in Jesus. This is why a christological approach to Scripture is so important. The Bible leads us into grace and truth as we let it point us to Christ.

Freedom

The final verse in Psalm 119:25-32 (“the Daleth strophe”) is perhaps favourite in the whole Psalm, although it would appear that the translators can’t quite agree on how the second phrase should be translated. I like the NIV 1984’s “you have set my heart free” and think it fits well with the metaphor of running:

I run in the path of your commands,
for you have set my heart free.

It is often assumed that a life of following commands must be one of drudgery, but for the Psalmist, the opposite is true. For him, it is when he is “running” in the path of God’s commands that he is free from anxiety and fear. Running in God’s way is both liberating and refreshing. I think the Psalmist would agree with the sentiment of Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire when he says, “when I run I feel His pleasure”.

Gimel – Learners and Lovers

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Mark Heath

In Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s introductory notes to his Bible reading plan, he recommends that you pray the words of Ps 119:18 before each day’s reading:

Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.

This is another recurrent theme throughout Psalm 119. The Psalmist approaches’ God’s word as a student, eager to learn. The phrase “teach me” appears 11 times in the Psalm, and he repeatedly reiterates his desire to learn and understand.

A humble, teachable attitude is vital if we are to hear what God is saying through Scripture. Those who come to the Scripture looking only for things that they like or that will confirm what they already think miss out on the chance to be surprised by an encounter with God. There are wonderful things in there.

The Psalmist doesn’t just approach God’s word as a learner, but also as a lover. Some of his statements make him sound obsessed with God’s law:

My soul is consumed with longing
for your laws at all times.

But this should not be misinterpreted as some kind of idolatry of the Bible at the expense of God. His passion for God’s word flows from his love for God himself. Willem VanGemeren makes this point in his commentary on the Psalms;

the beauty of this psalm lies not only in the recitation of devotion to the law but also in the psalmist’s absolute devotion to the Lord. … This is a psalm not only of law but also of love, not only of statute but also of spiritual strength, not only of devotion to precept but also of loyalty to the way of the Lord. The beauty in this psalm resounds from the relationship of the psalmist and his God.

So approach God’s word as a lover, delighting in it because you love him, and as a learner, eager to know more of it because you are eager to know more of him. There is a synergy between the two because the more you learn about God the more you will grow to love him, and the more you love him the greater your hunger to know him more. The two concepts are juxtaposed nicely in the final verse of this section (Ps 119:24):

Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counsellors.

Beth – Memorising and Meditating

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Mark Heath

In the second section of Psalm 119 (Ps 119:9-16, or “Beth”), I want to focus in on two concepts that recur throughout this Psalm, and that is of the value of memorising and meditating on the Word of God. I think there is an important link between the two. In our modern age of Google, we tend to assume that there is little to no point in memorising anything, since we can look it up quick enough. But I am convinced that we will get much more benefit from God’s Word if it stays with us in our minds throughout the day, allowing us to ponder its meaning as we walk down the street, or remember a relevant passage as we face a difficult situation. If you want to meditate on God’s word, you need to do at least a small amount of memorising God’s word.

I should point out that I am not talking primarily about the kind of memorising that enables you to recite verbatim entire chapters or books of the Bible, valuable as that may be. Instead, my goal is to have a thorough working knowledge of what is in God’s word – to know the general content of each book, to know the key and most important passages, even if I can’t quote chapter and verse for each one. When the Psalmist says “I have hidden your word in my heart”, he means that it has gone deep down within him. It’s not just in his head, it’s got right inside him, and is shaping his entire way of life.

Why Memorise?

This passage gives at least two reasons you should memorise Scripture. First, the word of God is for all of life. Life is portrayed here as a journey, and the decisions we face are forks in the road. How can we remain on the “path of purity” (Ps 119:9), and avoid “straying” from the right way (Ps 119:10)? Most of the important decisions we make in life are not taken while we are in a church meeting, or even necessarily while we have our Bibles open in front of us. We need the word of God to have taken deep root within us, if the choices we make in our day to day lives are to be governed by the wisdom of God’s word.

Second, the word of God is a weapon in the fight against sin. Verses 9 and 11 state this clearly – those who know the word of God will be able to wield the sword of the Spirit against the attacks of the enemy. The greatest example of this is of course Jesus. In his wilderness temptation, again and again he turned to the Scriptures to fend off the devil. And he didn’t have his iPhone with the ESV app on it to help him. He could turn to the word of God for help because it was already in his heart.

How to Memorise

Most of us are resigned to the idea that we are terrible at memorising Scripture. But its not as hard as you might imagine. This passage gives us two powerful ways in which God’s word penetrate deep into your heart.

The first, and most important is that you need to delight in God’s word in order to be able memorise it. As a teenager I could tell you the full squads of all the Premier League teams, as well as recite every Arsenal result of the season complete with who scored what goal in what minute. It wasn’t because I tried to memorise that information, it’s just that I was so passionate about football that I absorbed vast amounts of useless trivia. The writer of this Psalm is so obsessive about the word of God that he compares the thrill he gets from it to winning the lottery:

¹⁴ I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
¹⁵ I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
¹⁶ I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.

The more we delight in God’s word, the more of it we will retain and will be able to bring it to mind as the need arises.

A second and very effective way to memorise the word of God is simply to speak it out.

¹³ With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.

With two of my children I read out loud a Psalm each night before they go to bed. They repeat it back to me line by line. It takes a couple of minutes. By the end of the month, my eight year old can recite it word for word, while my five year old can get through with a few prompts. There is something about speaking things out loud that causes it to stick in our minds.

I am told that reading aloud was the normal mode of reading for centuries. Rev 1:3 says “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy”. Try doing your morning Bible readings aloud. It will slow you down and you’ll cover less ground, but you will retain more that way.

Another aspect of speaking God’s word out is making it a regular topic of conversation. The more you talk about it, the more deeply you will examine it, and passages of Scripture you discuss with others are more likely to take root in your heart. That’s one good reason why small groups should try to include discussion within their Bible study meetings. As Deut 6:6-7 says:

⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Aleph – The Blessing of the Blameless Life

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Mark Heath

Apologies for the lack of posts on this blog in recent months. Since the birth of our fifth child (Anna-Rose) in March, I have had less time than usual for reading and blogging. However, I don’t want to completely abandon the blog, so I’m going to attempt to post a series of thoughts on Psalm 119, which I have been studying recently.

Psalm 119 is of course famous for being the longest chapter in the Bible, with 176 verses – 8 for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The other interesting thing about this Psalm is that the dominant theme is God’s law. The word and commands of God are the Psalmist’s delight and obsession, the focal point around which his whole life revolves.

This poses something of a dilema as we try to interpret this Psalm though. Isn’t the New Covenant about grace triumphing over law? At first glance this Psalm can seem like a celebration of legalism. For example, consider the first four verses:

¹ Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the LORD.
² Blessed are those who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart—
³ they do no wrong
but follow his ways.
⁴ You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.

We’re told here that there is a blessing for those who are (a) blameless, (b) wholehearted in seeking God, (c) do nothing wrong, and (d) obey every one of God’s laws fully. I don’t know about you, but that rules me out of receiving this blessing. But that’s not quite the end of the story. Verse 5 and 6 is an honest prayer from the Psalmist who knows that he is not always uncompromisingly obedient:

⁵ Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!⁶ Then I would not be put to shame
when I consider all your commands.

He responds to this by making a personal resolution. He promises to (a) worship, (b) learn God’s rules and (c) obey them:

⁷ I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.
⁸ I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me.

Now we might be tempted to summarise Psalm 119:1-8 like this: “There is blessing for those who obey God, but ‘shame’ for those who don’t; therefore I will try really hard to obey and hope God doesn’t abandon me.” But that would do an injustice to the Psalmist, for reasons I will hopefully get onto if this series doesn’t come to a premature end. Suffice for now to say that for the Psalmist, obedience is primarily an expression of love not a fulfilment of a duty or an insurance policy for judgment day.

But I wonder too if there might be something prophetic about the opening section of this Psalm. In verse 8, the Psalmist prays that God won’t “forsake” him. It draws my mind to Mark 15:34, where Jesus cries out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”. The irony is that Jesus was the only one that Ps 119:1-4 truly describes. He is the only one who was completely blameless, was devoted to seeking God, did nothing whatsoever wrong, and fully obeyed every one of God’s laws. But instead of receiving blessing for it, he was put to shame and forsaken at the cross. He lived the blameless life we could not. He was forsaken in order that we might be accepted.

Psalm 119:1-4 then, is not about an unobtainable blessing, but about a blessing that has already been made available to us through God’s grace. And it does not describe a life that we are obligated but unable to live, but rather one that we are free and empowered to live by the Spirit. It is not about earning God’s favour through your blameless life, but enjoying God’s favour earned by Jesus’ blameless life.

Answers to Your Google Questions 2010

Posted on December 20, 2010 by Mark Heath

I had a browse through some of the search terms that people typed into Google to arrive at my site. Its mostly the same old stuff that has been generating most of my visits for the last 6 years (for some reason Google considers me to be an authority on the parable of the wise and foolish builders). But I always love it when people get here by typing in a question. It somehow makes me feel obligated to provide a reply. So here’s my brief answers to a few of your questions:

Are Newfrontiers a Cult?

There are a surprisingly large number of visitors who arrive at my blog asking this question (or a variation on the theme). Let me answer it for you. No, newfrontiers are not a cult.

In terms of belief, they hold to orthodox Trinitarian Christianity. They hold to no obscure or unique doctrines that are not also shared by many other Christians. In addition, they are not exclusivist, and often work in partnership with other groups of churches (particularly within the evangelical tradition). The leader, Terry Virgo, is not worshipped, nor does he exercise an authoritarian control over the churches – it may come as a surprise to some to note that not all newfrontiers church leaders share his doctrinal distinctives (for example plenty of the newfrontiers pastors in my area are not “reformed”).

Another concern people have over cults is that they are very difficult to leave, or that they attempt to exercise strict control over every aspect of people’s private lives. Neither of these are the case in newfrontiers churches. I am sure that regrettably there are from time to time instances of heavy-handed leadership, but no more so than in other groups of churches (or indeed any business or human organization).

Does the Spirit of God always agree with the Word of God?

Yes. Don’t believe a prophetic message that contradicts the Bible.

Is marriage a sexist view?

No.

Matt Hosier women preachers?

I’m not entirely sure what this question means, but I think the answer is no. To clarify, Matt Hosier is not a woman but he is a preacher. I’ll leave it to him to state his position on women preachers. He does like Twilight though. No wonder he made it onto the false teacher list.

What does shala ba ba mean in tongues?

I’m afraid I don’t have the interpretation. Possibly it means something like “I just really wanna…”

Where to buy sweetheart by driscoll?

Nice to see that someone fell for my April Fool! If you’re wondering what my top post of 2010 was, that was it, by a very large margin.

Hermeneutics–Weight of Historic Interpretation

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Mark Heath

This post is just to raise a question about hermeneutics. How much weight should be put on the historic interpretation of a passage by the church, when you are trying to ascertain it’s meaning? In other words, does it matter if no one in the early church interpreted the passage the way you do? What if your interpretation first appeared at the 1600s, or in the early 1900s, or maybe even in this millennium?

For example, some argue that the “coming of the Son of Man” language in the eschatological discourses of the Synoptic gospels (e.g. Matt 16:27-28; Matt 24:27,30,37; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27) refers not to the “second coming” of Jesus, but rather to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. Obviously before coming to a conclusion we would want to perform all the usual and proper hermeneutical steps, checking that we have correctly translated the passage, considered its context, examined Old Testament allusions and parallel passages etc. But suppose you came to the conclusion that the preterist interpretation was the most plausible exegetically. Would it matter whether or not there was any record of the early church expounding these texts to say that these prophecies had been fulfilled in AD70?

The actual exegetical issue I am currently considering is a different one, but it illustrates the problem. How much of a red flag is it that your interpretation is a novel one? Let me know what you think in the comments.

James 1:27 Pure Religion

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Mark Heath

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Jas 1:27

It has become fashionable in recent years for evangelicals to say bad things about “religion”, about how Jesus came to save us from “religion” and that “religion sucks”. Whilst I understand the sentiment, I have always felt slightly uneasy with this way of speaking precisely because of this verse. James is not against religion per se, but he does recognise that there is good religion and bad religion.

There is a particularly neat balance to James’s brief description of pure religion. It is described positively (what we must do) and negatively (what we must avoid).

First, pure religion is expressed in social action on behalf of the needy. It is interesting that instead of suggesting financial donations to orphans and widows (which I am sure James would heartily have approved of), he suggests we get personally involved and visit them (other versions have “look after”, or “care for”, with the implication being that more than simply talking to them is in mind – see Jas 2:15-16). In other words, we are to take the initiative in personally helping the most needy and vulnerable in our society.

Second, pure religion is expressed in personal holiness. Whilst the first requirement he sets out rules out the option of retreating from the world, nevertheless James is aware that it is possible for a believer to become “stained”, through picking up the ungodly habits and attitudes of the world.

When I was researching the “emerging church” several years back, I noticed that one difference between emerging and more traditional evangelicals was how they conceived of holiness. Emergents saw it primarily in terms of social action. A holy person is one who cares for the poor, and they tend to be less concerned about that person’s swearing, smoking or sexual activity. By contrast conservative evangelicals tend to view holiness much more in terms of sin avoidance. Thus you can be considered “holy” by avoiding a long list of sins, but without ever lifting a finger to serve the needy.

James’ balanced definition of pure religion is therefore one worth pondering right across the spectrum of evangelicalism. If “religion” has a bad name, it is at least in part, our fault. The problem is not that the church has too much religion, but that it does not have true religion.

James 1:26 Self-Deception

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Mark Heath

(Apologies that my attempt to do a series of posts on James kind of ran out of steam, but I had plenty planned so I’ll try to persevere, albeit more slowly than I had hoped)

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. (James 1:26)

In this verse, James describes someone who considers themself to be “religious” (this is not a negative term in James’s vocabulary, despite the way it is used today), and yet doesn’t keep control of their tongue. Such people are “self-deceived”, believing themselves to be “good” or “righteous” people, when in fact they are nothing of the sort.

But James doesn’t limit the category of self-deception to those who cannot control their tongues. It applies to anyone who hears the word but doesn’t put it into practice:

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22)

Does this mean that every Christian is self-deceived? After all, none of us succeeds in putting everything we read in God’s word in to practice. I think James has something more subtle in mind. Self-deception occurs when we think that the right response to God’s word is simply to agree with it, but excuse ourselves from actually acting on it. I know I can be guilty of this when I hear a particularly “challenging” sermon and say afterwards how wonderful I thought it was, but fail to make any real change.

By definition, the self-deceived person is not aware that they are self-deceived. So how can I know whether this warning applies to me? Is my religion “worthless”?

Actually, I don’t think there is a great danger of being “self-deceived”, so long as we aren’t afraid of a bit of healthy introspection. “Introspection” has got bad press in recent years, with some even going so far as saying that it runs contrary to the gospel, since we should look to Christ, not at ourselves.

Although Christ is indeed the ground of our justification, nevertheless Paul is quite happy to encourage us to “examine” and “test” ourselves (2 Cor 13:5). We need times where we attempt to look at our lives in a brutally honest and objective light, and ask what evidence we see of the Spirit of God at work in us. James is adamant (along with all the NT writers) that there will always be fruit that accompanies genuine conversion (James 2:14).

If we are not willing to take a proper look in the mirror (to use James’ analogy) and see what we are really like, then the chances are, we will fail to recognise just how much we need more of the Spirit of God in order that we may be transformed more into the image of Christ, and bear genuine fruit.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Ps 139:23-24 NIV

James 1:25 The “Law of Liberty”

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Mark Heath

But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. James 1:25

Laws forbid us from doing certain things, or command us to do things. By their very nature, therefore, they restrict our freedom to do whatever we like. So when James uses the phrase, “the law of liberty”, we might be tempted to think it is an oxymoron, a bit like saying “the chains of freedom”.

To understand this phrase, we first need to ask what “law” James is referring to. We might assume that he refers to the law of Moses, to the 10 commandments and the other rules and regulations of the Old Covenant. But commentators are broadly agreed that this is not in fact the case. Douglas Moo puts it like this:

James’s “law” does not refer to the law of Moses as such, but to the law of Moses as interpreted and supplemented by Christ.

In other words, James is referring to what we might call the “New Covenant law”, or the “law of Christ”. Elsewhere James calls it the “royal law” (James 2:8) and here in James 1:25 he calls it the “perfect law”. It is the law “written on our hearts” that Jeremiah prophesied (Jer 31:33). So the “law” essentially refers to God’s will for the way we are to live. It is as the Spirit fills us that we are given the three things we need to live according to this law:

The knowledge of what God’s will for our lives is
The desire to live in a way that is pleasing to God
The power to overcome sin and temptation and to do God’s will

But that still doesn’t full answer the original question. How is living this way “freedom”? The answer surely is that true freedom comes when we do what we were made to do. “Freedom” to sin isn’t freedom at all – in fact, Jesus makes plain that sin leads to the very opposite of freedom – slavery (John 8:34). The question for us is are we willing to believe this? The most liberating way of life that is possible is one that gladly submits to the gracious constraints of God’s law. What seems like a straightjacket to the carnal-minded person, is glorious freedom for the God-obsessed.

James 1:17 – The Father of Lights

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Mark Heath

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. James 1:17-18

In James 1:17, James refers to God as “the Father of lights”. I never really understood why he used this unusual name for God here. But thanks to some insights from a few commentaries, it makes a bit more sense to me now.

“Father of lights” refers us back to creation, when God said “let there be light” (Gen 1:3) on the first day. Then on the fourth day God said “let there be lights” (Gen 1:14) such as the sun, moon and stars.

Instead of calling God “Creator”, which makes us think of the awesome power required to create a vast universe, James uses the name “Father of Lights” to point us to the perfection of God’s creation. This name underscores that everything God makes, everything he does, and everything he gives us is “good and perfect”.

Which I think helps make sense of another difficult phrase in verse 18, which speaks of us as the “firstfruits of his creatures”. James is picturing believers as the first parts of the new creation. And just as the first creation was good and perfect, so his new creation also is good and perfect. This is of course one of the great paradoxes of the Christian life – as a human being I am flawed and fallen, but as a new creation, I am “good and perfect”.

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pursuing faithfulness to the Word of God and fullness of the Spirit of God

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