Blog Archives

No Dictionary Needed

4/30/2015

I came across a passage a few weeks ago that suddenly spoke to me. I must have read it hundreds of times, but for the first time I really saw it.
   Lydia, in Acts 16, heard the gospel and was baptized. Paul and Silas were traveling and obviously had no place to stay so she said, If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us, vs 15.
   Lydia was a new Christian. She lived away from her hometown Thyatira. On her own she had discovered a place of prayer by the riverside where she met with other women to worship God. Now Paul and Silas have come along and taught her about the new way, which she accepted with an open heart.
   There is a lot there to be admired and spoken about, but consider something with me this morning. She had many things in her way, including this: What Paul and Silas were teaching was obviously not popular among the majority of the people who formed her customer base—they wound up in the Philippian prison as a matter of fact.
   But despite her needs as a new Christian, one in less than optimum circumstances, she begged them to let her be the one to serve. It was not, “Come show me how wonderful this new way really is by doing as much for me as possible.” Instead it was, “What can I do now that I am a Christian? If you don’t allow me to serve your needs, you must not think I am really faithful,” and with that reasoning she practically forced Paul and Silas to accept her service.
   Imagine if we all had that attitude. Imagine if, instead of complaining because “the preacher didn’t come see me in the hospital,” our attitudes were, “I am so glad to be well again so I can help those folks who need me.” Imagine if, instead of whining that “the sermon is too long and the singing is boring, and the prayers make me fall asleep,” we said, “I wonder if there is any way I can help those men who serve so well and so faithfully.” Imagine if, instead of griping about the dead church we had the bad luck to be a part of, we spent our time actively searching for those who need help, and wore ourselves out serving them. Imagine if the church were full of Lydias, instead of people like me (and you?).
   Even a new Christian with very little knowledge can do what she did. Faithfulness is not a matter of how much you know; it is a matter of trusting God in whatever circumstances you find yourself and joyfully and willingly serving others. If you have judged me faithful, allow me to serve you. When will we ever get it through our heads that James did not know any denominational theologians when he wrote,

If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled; and yet you give them not the things needful to the body; what does it profit? Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead in itself. Yes, a man will say, You have faith, and I have works: show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. James 2:15-18.

No, James was writing to Christians!
   It doesn’t take a great scholar to figure out the true definition of faithfulness, just a Christian who has truly been converted to the greatest Servant ever known.

Dene Ward

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Raise Them

4/29/2015

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Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Our elders offer a thought and lead a prayer at the end of services. Recently, one commended one of the young men (16?) who had led a prayer at the Lord’s Table earlier. He had not mumbled or rushed it, nor did he just repeat phrases he’d heard from others.

I was not surprised at his ability. I had watched his mother with him during services from when he was a toddler. He never had cars and cartoon books that I noticed. She pulled him in her lap and ran her finger under the words of the songs from before he could read; she insisted that he treat worship as worship and not playtime and he grew up listening and singing.

Parents, fear if your child will not sing.

We had Bible story books that the boys got to look at only at services, or, they could draw, but only Bible stories and after services we would say, “Tell me about this one,” Later, they took notes. When they got to freshman Bible at Florida College, they were amazed at the things that were being taught “at college” as they’d known them for years. Maybe those students who were struggling to get “B’s” had Disney books and toys in church.

Is it a wonder that they know a lot of Bible—one is a Bible professor at FC and the other is a Bible class teacher who does not have to take a backseat in discussions with his brother.

So far as I am aware, the mother above never heard us tell how to do it. It should be obvious to anyone that God and church are special and you cannot teach that to your children with toys and comic books. I have known some children who turned out just fine, but please think about what you do and what it is teaching them. Don’t just try to keep them quiet.

Prov 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Keith Ward

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Fluff

4/28/2015

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I suppose it has not escaped your notice that I do not write what I call, “Feel Good Fluff.” I do my best writing when I am scolding myself, and unfortunately, that means you get scolded too.

   I am more concerned with becoming a better person than with feeling good. Maybe that is because I seldom feel good physically any more, so I am not wedded to the idea that I must always be pumped up spiritually in order to become a more spiritual person.

   I have written a few things that I hope have encouraged you. I have written a few things that have made some of you cry, good tears, not bad ones. However, a friend told me once, “I want something that challenges me,” and I found myself agreeing with her, and that is what I have tried to do more than anything else. If I keep saying that you are just fine the way you are, will you even bother to try to improve yourself?

   As a result, I have lost readers. It makes me think of Ahab who described the prophet Micaiah this way, “I hate him because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil,” 1 Kgs 22:8, and who once greeted Elijah, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” 18:17. Too many folks ignore the fact that they are causing their own problems. Like Israel of old they want preachers who say, “Peace, peace, when there is no peace,” Jer 6:14. Like the Galatians’ behavior toward Paul, they make those who simply want to help them wonder, “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” Gal 4:16.

   Pats on the back are good. They serve a purpose. A sermon that makes you shed a tear for the sacrifice that saved you is a helpful thing. It might just sustain you through a temptation that comes your way soon after. I think that is one reason we remember that sacrifice every week.

   But emotion fades. That pumped-up feeling can deflate quickly when the realities of life puncture your balloon. You must often sustain yourself with the knowledge that comes from the hard, and often tedious, work of Bible study. You must have the word of God saturating your mind so much that it bubbles up and out of you just when you need it most. You must have prayed often enough that a quick one automatically comes to your lips in difficult circumstances. You must believe because you know logically and with sound evidence that these things are true, not because someone sent you a piece of feel good fluff that won’t stand up to an argument by a knowledgeable minister of Satan.

   Most of all, you must be willing to listen to those who love you and care about your eternal destiny, whether you want to hear what they say or not—and, in fact, whether they have your good will at heart or not. God has often used the wicked to send his message.

   Don’t be afraid to be challenged. Don’t be afraid to examine yourself for your faults. It will work wonders for your soul.

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Gal 6:1,2.

Dene Ward

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Fire Extinguishers

4/27/2015

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We have two fire extinguishers in the house, one behind the woodstove at the edge of the kitchen and one in a back bedroom. They have been there so long that I don’t even notice them any more. In fact, when I think to look at them at all, it’s to dust them because “suddenly” they look like they have grown white fur.
   Fire extinguishers are great to have around, but let’s face it, they aren’t part of a beautiful decor. They aren’t a handy item we use everyday like a coffee pot or a can opener. They aren’t even a once a year need like my pressure canner—at least we hope not. The only reason we have them is “just in case,” and we want that “just in case” to never happen. We treat fire extinguishers more like necessary evils than anything else.
   I noticed something when we studied Psalm 99 in Bible class the other day. [Speaking of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel] In the pillar of the cloud [God] spoke to them; they kept his testimonies and the statute that he gave them. O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings, vv 7-8.
   Those two verses contain everything we need to know about who can pray to God and expect an answer. First God spoke to them. They listened by keeping His testimonies and statutes. Then God answered them.
   Those three righteous men did not treat God like a fire extinguisher. He wasn’t there just for emergencies. He was part of their lives on a daily basis as they followed His laws and prayed for help and forgiveness.
   The psalmist is careful to point out that these men were among those “who call upon His name” (v 6).   They were not the only ones chosen to receive this blessing. Many others “called upon His name.” That goes for us as well. We possess His testimonies and statutes in the written form. All we have to do is keep them, making God a daily part of our lives, and He will hear us just like He heard them.
   The problem comes when we try to make a relationship out of one phone call, so to speak. If we never talk to God otherwise, or more to the point, listen, He won’t listen either. If we ignore His law with impunity, going our own headstrong way, He won’t answer—not according to Psalm 99, and several other passages (Prov 15:29; 28:9; Isa 59:2 John 9:31, etc). We’ve seen too many heart-tugging made-for-TV movies where the old reprobate turns around at a crisis and promises God he will be good if God will just hear him this once. God does not bargain, unless you think you are a man of the stature of Abraham, who talked with God regularly instead of treating Him like a fire extinguisher. More often than not, old reprobates stay that way.
   Now is the time to begin that relationship, or deepen it if you already have. If we keep God behind the woodstove until He grows some dusty fur, we needn’t think He will pay a bit of attention when we holler.

As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear, says the LORD of hosts, Zech 7:13.

Dene Ward

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Just a Bunch of Stems

4/24/2015

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My little boys used to bring me bouquets all the time. Sometimes it was Queen Anne’s lace. Sometimes it was a bright blue spiderwort. Sometimes it was a rain lily or a stem of pink clover. Sometimes it was just a dandelion bloom. All of these are wildflowers, what any suburban lawn grower would call “weeds.” Yet I put them all in vases of various sizes because they were all precious to me. My little fellows had no idea the difference between domesticated flowers and wildflowers. All they knew was “flowers.”

But even they would never have gathered a bunch of them, ripped off the blooms and handed me a fistful of stems. The problem with religion today, including some of my own brothers and sisters, is they value the stems and not the flowers.

    A few months ago someone told me how listening to a certain teacher had made his day so much better. I anxiously awaited the lesson he had heard, but he never once said a word about the content. All I heard was the teacher’s name, at least three times, and how that person had made his day better. What he had done was throw away the flower and put the empty stem in a vase of water to admire.

    I understand having favorite speakers and teachers. Nothing makes me happier than to hear someone compliment my husband and my sons. But none of them teach for the glory. They teach to help people. If all people remember is their names, then they haven’t been much help, have they?

    If I can’t tell you what a person taught me, did I learn anything, or was I just entertained for a few brief moments? One of my favorite teachers isn’t much of an entertainer, but I always go away with a new way of looking at things, even things I have been looking at for decades now. He makes me think, and he makes me see the possibilities. He makes me want to go look at it again myself, and I often do. He makes me examine my life in ways I never have and want to change for the better. Can your favorite speaker do those things, or does he just make you laugh and feel good?

    There is absolutely nothing wrong with going to someone for help with your Bible study. God did ordain the role of teachers in spiritual things (Eph 4:11). He meant for us to have brothers and sisters we could go to with questions and problems. Paul told Timothy to pass on what he knew to “faithful men.” He told the older to train the younger. But God also holds us individually accountable for what we do with what we hear. “Work out your own salvation,” Paul told the Philippians, well after Jesus had already said, “If the blind lead the blind, they shall both fall into the ditch.” It is up to each of us to be careful to whom we listen and to examine what they say against the Word (Acts 17:11).

    A good teacher doesn’t care if s/he receives praise or not—that is not his/her purpose. All s/he does is hold up the Word of God and present it to you. “What is the straw to the wheat?” God asks in Jer 23:28. That word “straw” has several meanings according to Strong’s, and one of them is the wheat stalk, or stem. Which is more important, God is saying, the stem or the wheat it holds up?

    I knew a man once who nearly tore a church up because he insisted on “his turn” to teach when not only was he a lousy teacher, he didn’t even know the Word of God accurately enough to teach it. Clearly, it was all about the glory of teaching to him, and clearly he needed the admonition in Rom 12:3: For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

    I know the temptation. So did Paul. I refrain from [boasting], so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited, 2 Cor 12:6,7. It shouldn’t matter to me what people say about my speaking or writing. What should matter is how many I reach, how many are helped and encouraged and how many souls are saved. And that is what should matter to those who listen and read too.

    And do you know why this is so important? If you value the who above the what, the straw above the wheat, the stem above the flowers, someday sooner or later you will be deceived into believing a lie. Even good teachers make mistakes, and you might be deceived by an honest error too. That is why James tells us in 3:1 that teachers will receive the “greater condemnation.” Teaching is a responsibility, and anyone who craves the glory is manifestly unable to handle that burden.

    Most of the preachers and teachers I know will tell you the same things I am now. If you want to make me happy, then use what I give you, remember it and grow. Share it with others who might need it. Even if you forget where you got it, just pass the good news along. That is what really matters. Give them a bouquet of flowers, not a handful of stems.

For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself, Gal 6:3.

Dene Ward

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Mind over Matter

4/23/2015

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I have often read Heb 10:34 with amazement: you took joyfully the plundering of your own property since you knew that you have a better possession, and an abiding one. Those people had truly progressed to the point that they had “the mind of the spirit,” as Paul calls it in Romans 8, rather than “the mind of the flesh.” The mind of the flesh cares about losing earthly possessions. The mind of the spirit knows that something better awaits, even if it cannot be seen yet.

   What is your mind set on this morning? Are you concerned about a bill that needs paying, a doctor’s appointment that might reveal a serious problem, a job interview that could raise your standard of living, or simply how to fit that to-do list all in one 24 hour period?

   Being responsible does mean taking things seriously, meeting one’s obligations regardless the cost, and fulfilling promises made to others. The question is, have those things consumed us to the point that they control our mindset? Are we anxious, irritable, and miserable, and do we allow that to effect our relationships with others?

   Paul contrasts true spirituality with carnality in 1 Corinthians 3. He says that one is maturity and the other is “walking after the manner of men”—allowing the physical things of this life to direct our steps rather than the spirituality that should be our goal. Certainly if those first century brethren did not despair when their belongings were confiscated, shouldn’t we be able to live a life of joy in the relative ease we have today, even when by the world’s standards the things we must deal with at the moment are not that easy?

   What is your mind on this morning?

For those who set their minds on the flesh mind the things of the flesh, but those who set their minds on the spirit, mind the things of the spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace, Rom 8:5,6.

Dene Ward

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The Fallen Limb

4/22/2015

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We live on wooded property—spreading live oaks, pencil straight slash pines, red and silver maples, fast-growing sycamores, sweet gums with their spiky balls, wild cherry and water oaks, both of which will split and fall at the least breeze. When I walk Chloe around the perimeter I dodge fallen limbs, both deadfall and green, every ten feet or so. Sometimes I find larger limbs that have fallen overnight, and once one fell right in my path just seconds after I had passed.

   Often in the night, especially a windy one in the spring or fall as fronts pass through, I hear limbs hit the roof. They are surprisingly loud and I awake expecting to find something large and heavy only to waste Keith’s time as he climbs the ladder to discover a two foot long twig no bigger around than his thumb. It certainly sounded bigger than that!

   A couple of months ago, after a particularly windy winter storm, Chloe and I came upon a fallen pine limb, three feet long maybe and about two inches in diameter. This one, though, was not lying on the ground. The wind had cast this one with enough force that it had stuck straight into the ground through the sod. I pulled it out and a full six inches of it was below the surface. Imagine if that one had come hurtling through the sky at me as I walked by.

   Words are a bit like fallen limbs. You never know who they will hit and how. We are often just as careless as the wind in hurtling them about. We may think the only one who hears is the one we are addressing. We may think that everyone knows us and understands how it is meant. We may think that what was said was perfectly innocent and completely impossible to mistake for something bad. We may be very wrong.

   Yes, people need to listen with as much charity as we need to speak. The Bible, particularly the wisdom literature, is full of cautions not only about how we speak but how we listen. Even Jesus said, “Take heed how you hear.” Hearing involves maybe as much responsibility as speaking. Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others, Eccl 7:21,22.

   But just maybe we could stand to be a bit more careful in our speaking. Words can hurt, and unlike physical wounds, may never heal. What sounds like a twig to us may sound like a massive branch falling on the roof to the hearer. And a multitude of the same kinds of words has an effect that is hard to erase. What kinds of words do I use the most? Praise or criticism? Thanksgiving or complaining? Encouragement or rebuke? Tough love is necessary and is necessarily painful, but do I ever practice any other kind? Are all my words, or even just the majority, “tough?” And am I proud of having that sort of reputation? Do people cringe when they see me coming?

   Those things I can control, but what about the things I say that are not meant to harm, but still manage to do so? What about things I toss off without thought, directed at no one in particular, but that, like a fallen limb, accidentally come close to someone else’s heart? Yes, for those who are mature, we can go back to the responsibility laid on hearers in that Ecclesiastes passage and in Jesus’ and the apostles’ words about being quick to judge, but what about the perfectly innocent babes? What about young impressionable Christians?

   If I shoot a gun into the air, the bullet will land somewhere, and my having shot it will make me accountable to the law of the land. Will God’s law hold us any less accountable for the spiritually injured?

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned, Matt 12:36,37.

Dene Ward

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Recycling

4/21/2015

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Seems like it happens every twenty years or so—someone thinks they have discovered an amazing new concept that would fix all the problems of the world if everyone would just listen to them. In my college days it was wrapped up in this catchphrase: teach the Man, not the plan--as if separating Christ from his mission were as easy as slipping skins off scalded tomatoes.

   It always boils down to the same old thing: let’s talk like Jesus, act like Jesus, and love like Jesus—but never confront like Jesus, rebuke like Jesus, and condemn like Jesus. Let’s never be angry with anyone or expect anyone to change his lifestyle because “Jesus loved everyone no matter how bad they were.”

   Talk like Jesus? How about this? Get behind me Satan! You are a stumblingblock to me (Matt 16:23, addressed to one of his apostles). You are following me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill, (John 6:26 to the crowds who followed him). You are of your father the Devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires, (John 8:44, to the believers in Jerusalem). You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape the sentence of hell? (Matt 23:33, to the religious leaders of the day.) Sounds like plain talk to me.

   Act like Jesus? And he looked round about on them with anger, Mark 3:5. And he made a scourge of cords, and cast all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the changers' money, and overthrew their tables, John 2:15; and Jesus entered into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of he money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves; Matt 21:12, the last two, separate instances, years apart. In our culture he would have been arrested.

   Love like Jesus? Neither do I condemn you; go your way and from here on sin no more, John 8:11. And Jesus, looking upon him, loved him, and said, One thing you lack, Mark 10:21. Jesus never accepted unchanged lives.

   Then there are the ones who try to separate Jesus from his body, Christ…the head of the church, the savior of the body, Eph 5:23; and those who try to separate him from his teaching, whoever goes onward and abides not in the teaching of Christ, has not God, 2 John 9. And let’s not forget that he is the one who will come in flaming fire, rendering vengeance on those who know not God and obey not the gospel, 2 Thes 1:7,8.

   It is the same old thing every time—some folks will only accept Christ on their terms. It is not a matter of “making him the Lord of their lives.” Instead, it is a matter of making themselves Lord, and telling Him which parts of him they will and won’t accept. The people in John 6 had that problem. When Jesus finally laid it on the line, he did not mollycoddle them or dilute his gospel. Instead, he said, Does this offend you? John 6:61. And after this many of disciples turned back and no longer walked with him, 6:66.    Did he chase them down? No, he simply turned to the twelve and said, Will you go also? 6:67.   He was not about to accept anyone who did not accept all of Him.

   Sooner or later all this nonsense will die down again, but I expect it to reappear in another fifteen or twenty years, with someone else thinking he has discovered something new. Our focus then and now should be the focus those twelve had as they stood watching the crowds diminish and realizing, perhaps for the first time, that this calling was not a popular one. That even those they thought were on their side would leave at the first obstacle.
    Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, John 6:68.

Dene Ward

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Amaryllises

4/20/2015

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Mine are blooming now, everything from deep pure red, pale pink and bright apricot, to stripes of white on all three; pink throats on a pristine white, or white throats on deep orange or red. They are gorgeous, but sometimes they don’t bloom, and that leaves me disappointed, usually with half the bulbs every year. So I decided to find out what keeps amaryllises from blooming to see if I could remedy the problem. Here is what I discovered and what I extrapolated.

Amaryllises will not bloom in full shade. They may not need full sun, especially in this sub-tropical environment, but they need enough light to draw that big thick stem up out of the bulb and through the soil and mulch.

   The New Testament tells us we need the Light too. John says that as long as we walk in the light, we won’t stumble (1 John 2:9-11). It variously calls us sons of light and children of light; it says we are “of the day not the night.” And because we have that Light and live in it, we then become “the light of the world.” Certainly a Christian who does not live in the light will never bloom.

   Amaryllises need sufficient nutrients. Just as a larger animal needs more food, this large flower needs good soil, and ample food and water. Many of my amaryllis bulbs were as big as softballs when they came out of the package, and many of the blooms are broader across than some of Keith’s garden cantaloupes. Especially in this poor sandy soil, we must be sure to supply the proper nutrition if we want anything to come out of it.

   We need nutrition too. Peter tells us to “long for the pure spiritual milk that by it we may grow up into salvation” 1 Pet 2:2. How can we do that if we neglect all the feeding opportunities our shepherds have offered us? How can we do it when we shun the healthy spiritual food and feast on the junk in this life? I have seen many brothers and sisters go hog wild with the organic, all-natural, non-preservative craze when taking care of their physical bodies, yet starve their spirits with skimpy servings and junk food. No wonder their blooms are so scarce and puny.

   This might be surprising, but not allowing them to rest will also keep amaryllises from blooming. You can force blooms at certain times of the year, but then you must prune both the stem and leaves and water them prodigiously until they go dormant. Then leave them alone!

   God did not rest on the seventh day because He was tired. He rested because He was finished, but in that rest he also ordained a day of rest for His people. Do you understand what that means? In that ancient time, the common people lived hand to mouth and they worked sunup till sundown seven days a week just to survive. But not God’s people. As long as they observed their commanded Sabbath, He made sure they had plenty. God knows what you need and sometimes you need to rest. It may no longer be a religious observance, but it is certainly a matter of health. And rest doesn’t mean going on a vacation that leaves you more worn out than rested. It means a day with no schedule, no stressful situations, nothing hanging over your head that “just has to be done.” Spend some time with your family—just one full day a week, any day—rest your body and your mind, and talk of the blessings God has given you all, especially the time you have to be together because He has taken such good care of you.

   And this last one really surprised me. If you take your amaryllis bulbs out of the ground and store them in the refrigerator, you should not store them with apples. Apples will make an amaryllis bulb sterile, or so I have been told. Apples? Apples are good things, right? But even things that look good can make a plant sterile and unproductive it turns out.

   Haven’t you seen the same thing happen to Christians? They become so involved in things of this world, good things, that there is no time left for producing the fruit God wants from us. Or they hang around with people who are not their spiritual brothers and sisters to the point that what matters most to those people becomes what matters most to them. Other people, people who do not understand that we are to encourage one another and build one another up spiritually, who care nothing for the spiritual warfare we are involved in, who would, in fact, think you are nuts to even talk about such a thing, can hinder your productivity for the Lord.

   So take a look at your amaryllises today if you have them. Think about the things that affect those gorgeous blooms. See if any of them are affecting you too.

And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful, Titus 3:14.

Dene Ward

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A Bucket of Cold Water

4/17/2015

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Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! Psalm 95:1,2.

    Psalm 95 is generally thought to have been one sung during the Feast of Tabernacles. Meribah and Massah are used in its body, a time in the wilderness when God taught His people a hard lesson. But this psalm starts just as you would expect a festival psalm to. Come let us sing, let us make a joyful noise.
    Just as an interesting point, the Hebrew word translated “sing” in this passage is not a musical word. Ranan means to emit a stridulous sound (not exactly how I would want my singing described) or to shout, and is indeed translated shout, cry out, rejoice, joy, or triumph half the time in the KJV. And that makes that opening couplet much more parallel to the second one, “make a joyful noise to him.”
    About that “joyful noise:” that particular Hebrew word means to mar, especially by breaking, to shout, or to split the ears. In our words we might say, “He burst my eardrums he was so loud.” Think about standing at a football stadium in the middle of the game, or beneath a jet engine as it revs for take-off. That’s the noise we are talking about. In fact, this word is translated “blow an alarm [with a trumpet]” a couple of times. As the second verse continues, we are to do this in psalms of praise so singing is involved, but the point of these two words is not the melody but the volume, caused by unabashed joy and celebration.
    You find this often in the psalms. Noise and clamor seemed to be a part of the Jewish worship. Perhaps the psalmist, and God as his inspiration, had noticed. Right in the middle of the psalm, he throws what amounts to a cold bucket of water on all the festivities.
    Their celebration of the feast had made them forget what the wandering was all about—and it wasn’t fun and games. An entire generation died because of their faithlessness. Toward the end of verse 7 he interrupts their self-congratulation that God loves them and cares for them with, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof.
    Yes, God made a covenant that He would be with them and protect them, but only if they performed their half of the contract. Their ancestors did not. God goes on to say that He loathed that generation. That English word, I am told, is far too mild for the Hebrew idea. It means they disgusted Him, they nauseated Him, as in “I will spew you out of my mouth” nausea. Because of that, they did not receive the promised rest, a rest like God’s, a Sabbath rest not because you are tired, but because have finished the task (Heb 4:1-11).
    Those people seemed to think, as the prophets testified, that all it took was loud worship to please God. The tendency is to judge our own worship as lacking because of this, too. We ask, “Why don’t we ever do that?” as if anything solemn and quiet is not sincere worship and certainly not acceptable to God. It is easy to think, as they did, that volume is all that matters.
    “If you hear his voice” the psalmist says and then makes it clear that hearing involves reverence and obedience. In order to underscore this emphasis, the psalmist does not go back and say, “Okay, get on with the celebration now. I just wanted to interject a warning.” No, this is where he ends it. He wants this to be the last thing on their minds as they finish singing this psalm: “Therefore I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest.”
    What started out as a jubilant service ends up with the wrath of God. I am sure their songs were not quite so ecstatic, their noise not quite so loud, for who can be carefree when he contemplates the wrath of the Almighty, the one the psalmist has already reminded us created everything and holds it in His hand?

Take away from me the noise of your songs; for I will not hear the melody of your viols. But let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream, Amos 5:23,24.

Dene Ward.

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