Showing posts with label Pastor JJ Lim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pastor JJ Lim. Show all posts

The Glory of the Church of Christ (Psalm 48)

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(a brief study of Psalm 48, adapted from my church's Prayer Meeting Exhortation on 11 March 2008, reproduced here with permission)

Like Psalm 47, Psalm 48 is very joyous Psalm. It is also a Psalm of celebration. On the surface, it is a Psalm of praise in celebration of Mt Zion, or Jerusalem. So this Psalm speaks of the palaces, towers and bulwarks of Jerusalem as well as the victories over her enemies that ventured to conquer her.

But let us not forget that Jerusalem and Mount Zion is but a type of the Church. So this Psalm is not really about Jerusalem per se. So when we sing this Psalm, we do not think of Jerusalem in Palestine, and certainly not of the Dome of the Rock Mosque that stands on the temple site today.

No, no, when we sing or meditate on this Psalm, our eyes must be lifted up to our great God and King, the Lord Jesus Christ to praise Him for Jerusalem that is from above, the Church.

In the Church of England liturgy, this Psalm is appointed for use on Whit Sunday, which is to commemorate Pentecost or the day of the outpouring of the Spirit of Christ upon the Church after the ascension of Christ. Why? Well, to paraphrase the Rev. George Horne, this Psalm contains a snapshot of the glory, beauty and strength of the Church, immediately after she was rescued from her enemies.

We may divide this Psalm into 4 parts:

1. Mt Zion is Glorious because of the LORD (v. 1-3).

2. Mt Zion is Victorious because of the LORD (v. 4-8)

3. Mt Zion Rejoices because of the LORD (v. 9-11).

4. Mt Zion is to be spoken about because of the LORD (v. 12-14)

1. Mt Zion is Glorious
because of the LORD

1 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. 2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. 3 God is known in her palaces for a refuge.

Mount Zion is the Church of Christ, the city set upon a hill to show forth the praises of God. She is beautiful and glorious not in herself; by herself, she is wretched, full of spots and wrinkles and blemishes of all sorts (Eph 5:27). But when she stands in the arms of her husband and head, Christ the great King, she is altogether lovely.

This is why even as this Psalm of celebration of the Church begins, it is not the Church but the Head of the Church that receives the first accolade: “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God…”

The Church, the city and bride of our great God and King is glorious and beautiful because of our LORD. The words ‘beautiful for situation’ speak of her loftiness. Just as Jerusalem of old was on an elevated plane geographically, the church must be on an elevated plane morally and spiritually.

Indeed, she is beautiful and a joy of the world by shining forth for Christ as a city on a hill. How does she shine forth for Christ?

She shines forth for Christ, in the first place, through the preaching of the Gospel, for it is by the preached Word that our King conquers and blesses.

But in the second place, the Church shines forth for Christ through the example of mutual love within the communion, for “by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,” says our King (Jn 13:35a). For this reason, though trials are painful, we thank God for them, both so that we may be moved to go to Him to be our refuge and strength as well as to pour forth the love of Christ to one another.

And yes, there will be trials, only that our Lord has designed trials not for our destruction, but for our sanctification.

This is what the second part of this Psalm is about.

2. Mt Zion is Victorious
because of the LORD

The biggest trial that the people of God in earthly Zion experience would be war. We remember how Sennacherib laid siege on Jerusalem and kept Hezekiah, in his own words, like a bird in a cage.

But God’s people need never fear, for when the Lord is with them, their enemies will return in fear and shame:

4 For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. 5 They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. 6 Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail. 7 Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. 8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever.

Today, this truth remains. Many things, in the hand of Satan, threaten to shake us loose and separate us from the love of God. But our Lord will not allow it to happen. He has established the Church in His love forever.

Nothing shall separate us from His love—neither wars, nor sword, nor famine, nor persecution, nor tribulation,—shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. We are more than conquerors through Him who loves us (cf. Rom 8:35-39).

So Satan and his cohorts and agents are frustrated. They return from their attempts defeated and troubled. The gates of hell cannot prevail against the Church (cf. Mt 16:18), for the King of kings has established it forever.

So the Church rejoices. This is what the 3rd part of this Psalm is about…

3. Mt Zion Rejoices
because of the LORD

9 We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. 10 According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness. 11 Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.

The world sees the work of the Lord, but does not apprehend the purpose behind it. In fact, even believers sometimes get discouraged when we see the wicked prospering, while the righteous doing not so well. This thought is found in Psalm 73, which begins on a gloomy note that the wicked often prosper more than the righteous. But the Psalm begins to brighten towards the end when the Psalmist says:

“Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end” (Ps 73:17)

Going into the sanctuary of the LORD is a symbolic way of speaking about spiritual meditation and reasoning. Only when the Psalmist thinks carefully about what God is doing from the spiritual and eternal perspective then he begins to see things clearer.

This is the case in our text, verse 9. Some of the things that happen in this world are hard to understand. Some have asked: “If there is God, why is there evil?” Others ask: “How can a righteous God allow the righteous to suffer while letting the wicked go free?”

But the children of God, in whom dwells the Spirit of Christ, know that God is righteous in all that He does. Indeed, the children of God desire that God be praised throughout the world—by an understanding that His right hand is full of righteousness. All that He does arises out of His heart of compassion and love and is always righteous.

The children of God must be the first to acknowledge this truth. But not only are we to acknowledge, we must rather rejoice in His righteousness as we see His great hand in all the things that are happening in the world and especially in His Church.

Indeed, let us not only rejoice to see what the Lord is doing in the Church, but let us study it and talk about it. This is what the final section of this Psalm is about.

4. Mt Zion is to be Spoken About
because of the LORD

12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. 13 Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. 14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

Taken literally, these words instruct us to go to Jerusalem, to walk about the city, to observe the towers, the bulwarks or fortifications and her palaces. We are to note down what we see so that we may talk about them to our children and grandchildren.

But certainly, this cannot be the meaning, for otherwise, we will never be able to do as we are commanded to do today. For most of the towers, bulwarks and palaces of Jerusalem are long gone.

What then does the Holy Spirit want us to do? I have no doubt He wants to see what He has done in building up the Church in history and in our own times.

He wants us to tell the story of the Church to our children. We must read the Bible for the inspired history of the Church. But we should also read church history books. We should talk about the great work of God in the history of the Church. Talk about His great work of redemption and deliverance. Talk about the servants of the Lord and their exploits—of Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Jonathan Edwards, David Brainnerd, Hudson Taylor, about the 2 Margarets, about the dairyman’s daughter, about the little kitchen girl.

And we should also talk about what the Lord is doing in our own time. Talk about how the Lord saved and delivered. Talk about how He saw us through various trials. Speak of the Dorcas and the Lazaruses. Tell of lives transformed.

Tell it to our children. Tell them of things that will evoke praise. Don’t tell them of our grievances and disagreements unless there has been reconciliation and mutual forgiveness. Do not make them despise the Church because of her spots and wrinkles. But lead them to love the Church because Christ loves her. Tell them, therefore, of the great work of God. Tell them that they may know that:

…God is our God forever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death [and beyond].

It is because of our LORD God, that we are what we are. It is because of the LORD that it is meaningful to talk about the Church.

And our LORD is well pleased when we talk about what He is doing in the lives of His people. Malachi puts it this way:

“Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name” (Mal 3:16).

Conclusion

What a blessing it is to be in this glorious and victorious Church of Christ, to rejoice and to talk about what Christ is doing in our midst.

May the Lord help us, that we may truly find it a blessing to be in the Church of Christ, and truly be able to see with spiritual eyes that she is beautiful and glorious in Christ who is altogether lovely. Amen.
—JJ Lim, Pilgrim Covenant Church, Singapore

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The Glorious Sun behind the Storm Clouds (Psalm 47)

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(a brief study of Psalm 47, adapted from my church's Prayer Meeting Exhortation on 7 March 2008)

Psalm 47 and Psalm 46 are distinct psalms. But the Holy Spirit has so put these 2 psalms together that it is, I believe, very profitable to look at Psalm 47 in the context of Psalm 46.

Psalm 46, is set in an ambience of great anxiety. The people of God are experiencing great turmoil of heart and mind and things are expected to get worse. Our Lord gives us this Psalm that we may sing at such times. He exhorts us to be still and know that He is God. He would have us fear not because God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble even if the worst calamity were to happen.

But now we come to Psalm 47, and it is a very joyful Psalm. “O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph” we are enjoined.

So it appears that the troubles are over and we should sing Psalm 47 as a celebratory song only when the troubles are all over.

But does this Psalm teach us to do that? Well, I would put it to you that this is not the case; for if you look at verses 3 and 4, you will see that this song is to be sung in anticipation,—and not merely in celebration,—of victory and rest. Notice the future tense. The enemies are not yet subdued. The war is still raging. Our inheritance is not yet enjoyed.

Psalm 47, in other words, is not an inappropriate song to sing even when the church is going through severe trials. Indeed, it is a Psalm, I believe, that God’s children throughout the ages can sing to praise the Lord and encourage ourselves through all the pains and struggles that we face in this present life.

Let us look at this Psalm.

This Psalm has a very unique structure. It has two parts that are separated by a key verse, namely verse 5. In each of these parts, there is a call to praise the Lord followed by the reasons to do so.

Let’s look at the key verse first, for this is central to this Psalm.

1. The Key
5 God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
What is this verse referring to? Some think that this is referring to the ark of God being brought into a battlefield like in the days of Eli. But most commentators agree that it is a reference to the ark being brought up into Jerusalem by David.

But why is this event important to us? Well, this event is important to us because the New Testament teaches us it was a very symbolic event. It pointed to the ascension of Christ into heaven after His crucifixion and resurrection.

This is what the apostle Paul alludes to in Ephesians 4:8, where he quotes Psalm 68:18.
What about the reference to a shout and the sound of a trumpet? Well, these seem to apply more to the coming of Christ, for Paul says:
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God…” (1Th 4:16).
What then has the shout and the trumpet to do with the ascension of Christ? Well, it has everything to do with the ascension because as the angel told the disciples:
“This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
I am not sure if there were trumpets and the shout of the archangel at the ascension of Christ, but one thing is certain. The ascension of Christ and His return are intricately tied events. Christ will return because He ascended. Christ’s ascension signalled the beginning of the God-Man’s triumphal rule as God and King.

To put it in another way: The ascension of Christ is one of the most important bases of the Christian hope. The cross is important. But except that Christ rose and ascended to heaven, we have no basis to hope that there will ever be perfect peace and perfect joy in this sin-scarred world.

With this in mind, I believe we can begin to get an idea of what the Spirit is seeking to do in our heart and mind through this Psalm.

The Spirit wants us to look unto Jesus in His ascension and to think of all the things that He has done for us, so that everything in the world begins to pale into insignificance and become strangely dim. The Spirit wants us to bask in the glory of our ascended Lord that our hearts may be filled with praise and thanksgiving in the knowledge of peace and victory through Him our Lord and King.

With this in mind, consider the first half of this Psalm, which is …

2. The First Call to Praise
1 O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
This is not a call for us to clap our hands in worship. No one in his right mind throughout the history of the people of God from Moses, to David, to Pentecost, to the Reformation would clap their hands in formal worship. Certainly no one would clap their hands while singing this Psalm! And never would the temple be filled with the voice of shouting except during war.
No, no; this is a call to lift up our hearts and rejoice in the Lord. Christians must not be defeatist whatever troubles and difficulties may attend us.

Why? For us who look back, it is because Christ our King has conquered and ascended up on high. He is seated at the right hand of the Father upholding all things by the word of His power.
For the Old Testament saints, who were looking forward, it would be because Messiah their great King would conquer and would ascend up on high.
2 For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. 3 He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. 4 He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved.
This seems to look back to the conquest of Canaan, but notice the future tense. The conquest of Canaan is but a type of the great spiritual war that our Lord fought and is fighting for us.
There is a war of ages in progress. Everything in this world including all its pains and suffering, great or small are battles in this war. The enemies are sin and Satan and everything that seeks to rob us of peace and joy in the Lord.

So all family quarrels and church quarrels, all relationship break-ups, all deaths and illnesses, all job-losses and indeed all things that bring a sigh and a tear to our eyes, are all part of the war of ages.

But we thank God that Christ has conquered. He is risen. He is ascended. He will return. The Old Testament saints saw it with eyes of faith and hope. We see it partly in history and partly with eyes of hope.

Our Lord will see to it that however powerful the enemies of our souls are, they will be trampled under our feet. “The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom 16:20) says the apostle Paul. Christ has conquered. He conquered on the cross and His victory is sealed with His resurrection and ascension. The victory is secure. The serpent’s head is crushed and will be crushed. He is in his dying throes seeking to sweep as many into damnation with him as possible, which is the reason why there is still no perfect peace as yet, and why Christians must put on the spiritual armour and fight. We must fight till the serpent is stilled, and we have, as it were, “fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ” (Col 1:24). For our crushing of Satan’s head, is one with the Lord’s crushing of his head, for we are one with Him.

So fear not, beloved brethren and children, whatever trials may come your way. They are part of the war of ages which Christ has conquered.

They are there that we may learn little by little, more and more to trust in Him who is our King.

But consider now…

3. The Second Call to Praise
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
The word translated ‘sing praise’ may also be translated ‘sing psalms’ as in Psalm 105:2.
“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms” says James (Jas 5:13).

Singing psalms is one of the best ways of expressing joy. Singing psalms is also one of the best ways of boosting our confidence in the Lord.

Four times we are exhorted to sing psalms in praise unto our God and king.

When are we to sing psalms? We are to do so when we are filled with joy. But not only so, for the reason that is given for us to sing is an unchanging reason:
7 For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. 8 God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. 9 The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.
Why should we sing? How can we sing with understanding unless we know why we should sing?
We should sing, v. 8, because “God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.” We should sing because our God is the sovereign King of all the earth. He is in absolute control over everything in the universe including the heathen.

But to what purpose does He rule the earth? He rules the earth for the sake of His people,—even the people of the God of Abraham. He rules that they might be gathered together as the trophies of His redeeming grace.

He rules that one day it may be declared:
“The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rv 11:15).
Conclusion
Beloved brethren and children, every Christian ought to be joyful through all the trials and turmoil of this life.

The reason we are not is because we have a tendency to look at the wind and the waves surrounding us. If only we would think more and meditate more on the great things in this Psalm, we shall be shall be able to stay our minds upon Jehovah and remain joyful in whatever situation that the Lord brings us through.

Let us, therefore, sing this Psalm to remind ourselves. Let us sing it with understanding. Let us sing it to exhort one another. Amen.

— Pastor JJ Lim, Pilgrim Covenant Church, Singapore

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A Mighty Fortress in the Storm

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(A brief study of Psalm 46, adapted from my church's Prayer Meeting Exhortation on 29 Feb 2008)

Psalm 46 is a very well-known and comforting Psalm. It is well-known that Martin Luther would sing it when he felt discouraged or sore-tried in his fight against Rome. We read that there were moments when Luther would feel something akin to despair, and he would ask with the Psalmist: “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” In such hours, he would say to Melanchthon, “Come, Philip, let us sing the 46th Psalm” and the two friends would sing it together using Luther’s famous paraphrase of it.

But this Psalm is not only a comfort in times of ecclesiastical or political conflict. It is of great comfort whenever we are facing an uncertain tomorrow or anticipate a severe trial.

Every Christian may sing this Psalm, for this Psalm is given by our Lord, that we may sing with Him. He speaks of Himself apart from us, but once in verse 10 where He says, “I am God.” But everywhere else, He puts Himself as one amongst us that we may sing with Him as ‘we’ and ‘us’.

How does this Psalm comfort us in times of severe trial? It comforts us by encouraging us first of all to…

1. Fear Not

We need fear not because God is our strength and very present help in trouble.

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

We all go through different kinds of trials. It could be wars or quarrels. It could be church splits or severe disagreements. It could be natural disasters or political turmoil. It could even be personal struggles—conflict in the soul or the prospect of an impending trial.

Whatever it is, it can be very fearful to think about what will happen next. Indeed, very often we will think of the worst scenario, and we can get unduly worried.

Well, the Psalmist does not comfort us by saying that it will not be as bad as we think. The fact is that we don’t know what will happen tomorrow, and what happens may indeed be as bad if not worse than what we anticipate it to be. It is foolish, therefore, to comfort ourselves by saying, “Peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jer 6:14).

What then shall we do? Well, in a certain sense, the Psalmist teaches us not to imagine the best scenario, but to imagine the worst. What else would we mean when we sing:

…though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.

How else could we imagine a worse scenario—than the earth being knocked out of orbit, the mountains blown off and cast into the sea, and where there are gigantic tsunamis and earthquakes everywhere? We are speaking metaphorically, of course. But is it not true that sometimes when terrible things happen to us, we feel our whole life crashing around us and everything in turmoil?

But what shall we do if the worst should indeed happen? Well, the Lord by His spirit would remind us that we need not fear. We need not fear because we have God as our refuge and our strength. When everything crumbles around us, when the whole world crumbles beneath our feet, we would still have somewhere to hide, and someone who will give us strength.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

God who loves us will always be there for us to hide us, to strengthen us and to help us no matter how bad things may turn out for us.

Therefore, we need not fear. Rather let us learn to run to Him, to hide in Him and to find strength in Him. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

But not only should we not fear, we also need …

2. Move Not

4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. 6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. 7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

What is it to be moved? It is to be shaken. It is to despair and to give up. It is to allow Satan to have victory. When a kingdom is moved as in verse 6, the kingdom is destroyed or displaced, and the people are scattered and brought to despair of ever returning to their home land.

If the church is moved, she is shaken from her moorings of truth. She begins to doubt the purpose of her existence. Her members begin to scatter. Her leaders are too discouraged to do anything.

If a Christian is moved, he is in despair. He loses confidence not only in himself, but in God. He doubts God, and he is tempted to forget about living a righteous and holy life. Indeed, he is tempted to leave the faith altogether.

But we need not be moved. We need not be moved because the Lord is in us (v 5) and with us (v. 7). He will help us. He will help us early when we are in need of help (v. 6).

How is the Lord in us and with us?

Verse 4 gives us a clue.
4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

What is this river? It has been suggested that it could represent God the Father (Jer 2:13); and God the Son (Zec 13:1). But it appears to me that this river is very likely a reference to the Holy Spirit and the blessing that He brings to His people. The Lord Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit when He says:
“He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (Jn 7:38).

One of the verses that the Lord is referring to, I believe, is Zechariah 14:8, which reads—
“And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem…” (Zec 14:8a).

God is with us and in us by His Spirit. For this reason, we shall not be moved. For He will never leave us nor forsake us; and as the apostle John puts it, we have and will overcome because greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world (1 Jn 4:4).

The believer in whom the Spirit dwells will not be moved, therefore the church which comprises of believers in whom the Spirit dwells will not be moved.

Let us therefore pray for the Spirit as the Lord teaches us to:
“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Lk 11:13).

If we want to remain steadfast in the midst of adversity, let us learn to pray for the Spirit and rely upon the Spirit.

But finally, in the midst of adversity, let us learn to…

3. Fret Not

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. 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” What is the meaning of being still? It is not to sit there and be inactive. It is essentially to fret not, not to allow emotional turmoil to overwhelm us.

But why are we to be still and to fret not? The reason is very simple, namely that the Lord, He is God. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Who is this ‘I’? This I is He who identifies Himself with us when we sing ‘us’ and ‘we’, but He is also God. Who is this ‘I’, but Christ Himself.

The writer of Hebrews tells us:
“2 [God] Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb 1:1-3).

Christ has been appointed the heir of all things and by the Word of His sovereign power is bringing all things to pass.

The natural disasters in the earth, the wars and the peace in the world do not come by chance. They are ordained by the Lord, and brought to pass by His sovereign power. They are all the works of the Lord, verses 8 and 9.

Why does He bring all things to pass? He brings all things to pass for His own glory (v. 10), and for our sakes, which is the reason we can confess, “The LORD of hosts is with us” (v. 11).

Therefore, in the midst of turmoil in our soul and in our lives, let us learn to be still and know that He is God. Let us cease to fret, let us cease from frantic activity. Let us be still and let God be God, to taste and see that He is good; and He will see to it that His name will be exalted and good may come out of the turmoil.

Conclusion

Beloved brethren and children, do you have occasion to be tempted to despair? Are you going through a particular trial at the moment?

Fear not, for God is our strength and very present help in trouble. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He does not stand by to watch. He is ever present to help us moment by moment, so that help is but a prayer away.

Move not, for God is in us and with us by His Spirit. We are not powerless for He who dwells in us not only comforts us with a sense of our Father’s love, but gives us the strength that we need, to cling on to the promises of our Lord.

Fret not, but be still and know that He who is God and our Sovereign LORD is also our compassionate Great High Priest, who was tempted at all points like as we are and yet without sin. He has been through a trial far more intense than any of us will ever experience. He understands and He cares. He is interceding for you. He will see to it that your trial will work out for your good and redound to our Father’s glory.

Amen.

—JJ Lim
Pastor of Pilgrim Covenant Church (PCC)

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Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him for ever

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Westminster Shorter Catechism

Question 1: What is the chief end of man?
Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God,a and to enjoy Him for ever.b


a 1 Cor 10:31; Rom 11:36; b Ps 73:25-28; Rev 7:15
  • EQ 1(a) What is meant by the chief end of man?


A. The chief end of man refers firstly to the divine purpose for man’s existence and secondly to what man ought to aim at in his life and therefore that which he should seek after as his chief good and happiness.
  • EQ 1(b) What does it mean to glorify God?


A. To glorify Him does not mean to give God any additional glory since he is eternally and infinitely perfect and glorious.a What it means is to manifest God’s glory in our lives.b When we worship and acknowledge God in sincere praise and thanksgiving, we glorify him.c Similarly, when we sincerely endeavour, in our actions, at all times and in all situations, to exalt God’s name and to promote the interest of His kingdom in the world, we glorify Him.d
P. a"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt 5:48). b"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Pet 2:9). c"Whoso offereth praise, glorifieth me" (Ps. 50:23a; cf. Heb 13:5). d"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31).
  • EQ 1(c) Does man glorify God only in this life?


A. No, the redeemed of the Lord will glorify Him in praises of His mercy and love for ever and ever.a Those who refuse to glorify Him in this life will glorify Him passively in His display of His infinite justice and holiness in the damnation of sinners forever and ever.b
P. a"I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore" (Ps 86:12). "Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever" (Ps 145:2). "That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ" (Eph 1:12; cf. v. 6, 14). b "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain"(Ps 76:10). "What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory" (Rom 9:22-23).
  • EQ 1(d) Why ought the natural man glorify God in his life?


A. Because firstly, God made him;a and secondly, because he is provided for and preserved in life by God.b
P. a"Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. " (Ps 100:3); "The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil" (Prov 16:4). b"O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved" (Ps 66:8-9); "For in him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28a)
  • EQ 1(e) Why ought the Christian make it the principal aim in his life to glorify God?


A. Not only because God is his creator and provider; but because God has redeemed him with the precious blood of His only begotten son,a and because He has given him His Word to direct and His Spirit to assist him in his pilgrim journey to his eternal home.b
P. a"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s" (1 Cor 6:20); "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, … But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Pet 1:18-19). b"Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way" (Ps 119:104); "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities" (Rom 8:26a).
  • EQ 1(f) Does the pursuit of the chief end of man mean that he may not have any secondary goals in life?


A. No, while aiming principally to glorify God in his life, it is right and proper for man to nourish and refresh his body and to be diligent in his particular calling that he may provide for himself and his family. These activities ought, however, never to detract him from his chief end of glorifying and enjoying God.
P. "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31). "And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing" (1 Thes 4:11-12).
  • EQ 1(g) What does it mean to enjoy God?


A. To enjoy God, is to rest in God and to delight in Him.
P. "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever" (Ps 73:25-26).
EQ 1(h) How do we enjoy God in this life?
A. In this life, we enjoy God when we taste of His goodness and experience His special love for us which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This happens especially as we commune with Him in prayer, in the reading of His Word, in beholding His creation, and in contemplating His providence.
P. "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him." (Ps 34:8). "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Rom 5:5).
  • EQ 1(i) How do we enjoy God hereafter?


A. Our present enjoyment of God will be perfected seeing that we will be glorified, hindered by sin no more, and admitted into heaven where we shall see Christ face to face, to rest in Him and experience a full sense of His love. Our enjoyment and delight in God will be perfect and inconceivable then.
P. "In thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Ps 16:11b); "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God" (Heb 4:9).
  • EQ 1(j) Why is the glorifying of God and the enjoyment of God joined together as one chief end of man?
A. Because God has so designed man that the very means of enjoying God is to glorify Him.
P. "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God" (Ps 50:23). "For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen" (Rom 11:36).
(Taken from my Pastor JJ Lim's short commentaries on the Westminter Shorter Catechism)

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Psalm 42 - The Righteous One in His Weariness, Looking Up

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(A brief study of Psalm 42, adapted from my church's Prayer Meeting Exhortation on 13 Apr 2007)
Psalm 42 was no doubt written by David under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit at a time when he was facing severe discouragement and perhaps depression.

Commentators believe that David was at this time fleeing from his son Absalom and wandering in the wilderness beyond Jordan (cf. v. 5, 2 Sam 15-18).
It is as such a psalm that is particularly comforting and instructive for those who are suffering spiritual depression or discouragement.
One of the things which I learn from this psalm, for example, is to talk to my soul when I am depressed.
David does that in verse 5—
5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
Notice that I said: “Talk to my soul,” not “talk with my soul.” When you are depressed, you must not talk with your soul. If you do that you will spiral further into depression. You must rather talk to your soul. David, under inspiration, shows us how. Ask your soul why you are cast down. No, no; don’t wait for an answer. That would be to talk with your soul. When you ask your soul why he is cast down, you must ask in a way that suggests that he has no good reason to be cast down! Then exhort your soul to hope in God, to believe Him that help is nigh and He will soon lift up His countenance upon you.
Depression and discouragement is something that is very real in the lives of Christians. In fact, it is part of fallen human nature to experience depression and discouragement. Yes, when we are perfected in glory we shall no more experience depression and discouragement, but while we live in this fallen world, we will experience it.
Is it sin to feel depressed or discouraged, someone asked? Well, I do not think so. A failure to trust in God is sin. But it is possible to feel depressed and discouraged while still trusting in God. To trust in God is an act of the will on the basis of knowledge. Depression and discouragement have to do with emotions or feelings.
This is the reason why the psalmist could talk to his soul to hope in God. He does hope in God, but the circumstance that he is in plays on his emotions so that he feels discouraged and depressed.
It is all very confusing, but I am sure you know what I mean if you have experienced it yourself.
It is important for us to understand that it is no sin to be depressed or discouraged. One of the worst thing to do to a depressed or discouraged believer is to admonish him for his sin,—whether of feeling depressed or of something that you perceive may be leading to the depression. It will exacerbate his feelings of guilt. He may not be guilty, but if you admonish him, he will certainly feel a terrible sense of guilt. There is, of course, a place for loving admonishment, but it must be done with gentleness and at the right time.
And so beloved brothers and sisters, if you are feeling discouraged or depressed, I will encourage you with the knowledge that you are not alone and the LORD has not forsaken you.
You are amongst the many, many godly believers who have at one point experienced discouragement and depression. I think of Moses, David, Elijah and Jeremiah. I think of Luther, Edwards, Brainerd, Timothy Rogers, Spurgeon, Lloyd-Jones, etc. Yea, I think of the Lord Himself.
Indeed, I believe that this Psalm is not only about David. David wrote in the Spirit of Christ so that what is recorded in this Psalm provides us with a glimpse of the Lord’s thoughts and emotions during His incarnation. I believe Andrew Bonar is right in calling this psalm: “The Righteous One in his weariness looking up to the Father for refreshment.”
This psalm has two stanzas or strophes, each ending with the refrain, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul &c” (v. 5 and 11). It is believed that Psalm 43 is actually the 3rd stanza of this psalm because it ends with the same refrain.
If this is so, then this is a three-part psalm, the first part, vv. 1-5 contains an outpouring of the heart in regard to its longing and discouragements; the second part vv. 6-11 contains an outpouring of the heart in regard to the sorrow and confusion that it is experiencing. Psalm 43, on the other hand, contains an outpouring of the heart’s desire unto the Lord to send forth His light to dispel the darkness of the soul.
This evening, the Lord helping us, we shall only be able to consider briefly, Psalm 42.
1. An Outpouring of Longing
& Exasperation
1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
A hart is a deer. Think of a deer being hunted and running for his life. He is thirsty. He needs a drink badly, but there is no water to be found. He longs for water to quench his thirst.
David was being pursued by his son Absalom. But what was his longing? Not simply safety! His longing was God, of a sense of God’s favourable presence.
Our Lord, especially, experienced the same longing as He was arrested and driven to the cross.
It was the Passover season when our Lord was arrested. It should have been a time of joyous religious observance and celebrations. But our Lord was bound, and deprived of freedom to appear before the Father with the people.
And moreover, He was bearing the sin of His people so that the shadow of God’s wrath casting darkness over His soul was lengthening by the minute.
Our Lord was feeling depressed and discouraged.
3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
Over and over again, the Lord was ridiculed: “If thou be the Son of God” save thyself, come down from the cross (Mt 27:40). “He saved others; himself he cannot save” (Mk 15:31). “He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. ” (Ps 22:8).
“Where is thy God?” they taunted. Tears could not wash away the exasperation of hearing God’s name blasphemed and not being able to defend it.
Our Lord longed for the vindication of God’s name, and He longed to be able to worship the Father with the people who fear and love Him.
This feeling of longing and exasperation was intensified each time He recalled the joy of joyful praise and worship with the multitude—such as during His triumphal entry when a multitude welcomed Him into Jerusalem singing “Hosanna to the Son of David.”
4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.
That is to say: My heart overflows with emotion each time I recall the joy of worship with God’s faithful people.
Beloved brethren and children, have you ever felt this way? Perhaps you were prevented from joining God’s people in worship due to illness or circumstance. Perhaps you are feeling very low and have lost the joy of worship. Tell your soul that the Lord felt the same longing and exasperation.
And talk to your soul as our Lord would have done, verse 5—
5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
The child of God does not need to be down cast. Our hearts can be at peace. Emotions will arise rather inexplicably to cause us to feel discouraged and depressed. Often we cannot help when sad feelings overwhelm us. But we can help our soul by talking to our soul and exhorting ourselves to continue to hope in God and to looking forward to the day when we shall yet worship the Lord joyfully with the multitude who keep holy day.
2. An Outpouring of Sorrow
& Confusion
6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar. 7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
David was deep in the woods hiding at the base of a waterfall in the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites from the hill Mizar. As he heard the roaring noise of the water cascading down the face of the rock, and see wave after wave of water and the billows or breakers rushing down the brook, he found expression for the pain that he was feeling.
His heart was full of confusion. There was a roaring in his soul. And wave after wave of sorrow was sweeping over his soul.
Our Lord felt the same way as He headed to the cross and as He hung on the cross. He was a man of sorrow. He was exasperated.
But He never lost sight of His Father. Not once! He knew that behind the dark cloud is a loving Father.
8 Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. 9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Our Lord knew the answer to His question, of course. He came to do His Father’s will. He came to be our sin-bearer. This is why He must go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy. It must be so. In the volume of the book it is written of Him that it must be so. The shepherd must be smitten that the Father’s hand of blessing may be turned upon the lambs.
But sad feelings are inexplicable. And it is aggravated by what others say, however untrue it may be—
10 As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?
Anyone who has felt depressed or discouraged would have experienced this. Here we are dealing with sorrow and discouragement, and there they are stabbing us with sharp words, thrusting their sword of cutting words into our ribs and twisting it.
I remember the experience many times. Many times for me it has to do with preaching. I struggle to be clear and faithful, and get discouraged because I see very little result. Then comes someone who has an axe to grind. What does he tell me: “I have never benefited from a single of your sermons,” he or she says. “I was just tolerating all these time!”
Oh how that felt like a stab and a twist in the heart.
Our Lord felt the same. But for Him it was always the taunting question: “Where is thy God?” that did it.
The reason is obvious. He is the eternal Son of God, only begotten and beloved of the Father. But because He was bearing our sin, His sense of the Father’s favour was fading by the hour as He approached the hours of darkness.
It had to be so because our Lord must experience the full brunt of the Father’s wrath for our sin. He must come to the point where He would have to endure the full wrath of God against our sin. He must taste hell on our behalf. Hell is not the absence of God. Hell is hell because God is there in His perfect wrath.
Our Lord would have to endure the darkness of the Father’s countenance during those three hours of darkness when even the sun refused to shine.
During the three hours, the words of His tormentors, “Where is thy God?” no doubt played itself over and over again in His soul, threatening to drive Him to despair—so that despite His faith in His Father, the feelings of being forsaken grew more and more intense.
It is no wonder that at the end of the three hours, our Lord cried out: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Now, we must make no mistake. Our Lord was not just feeling that the Father had forsaken Him. The wrath of God that He experienced was real, just as the pains of hell will be real for all who remain unrepentant.
But our Lord knew and believed that the Father would receive Him back again once the sacrifice is complete. Never did our Lord doubt His Father. Doubt is sin. Our Lord had no sin. He never doubted.
But equally real was our Lord’s feeling of sorrow and confusion. It was to give expressions to these feelings that our Lord must have meditated and would have us sing these words.
And it is to address these feelings of sorrow that our Lord asks again:
11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
There is no reason to be cast down. I must hope in God, for it is a fact that I will yet praise the Lord. It is a fact that I will again experience the nourishing grace of the Father’s love.
The Father will never leave me nor forsake me. He is a faithful God who will keep His promises.
Conclusion
What is this psalm to you, dearly beloved brothers and sisters and children in the Lord Jesus Christ?
This psalm has been a tremendous encouragement to me. It is so, firstly, because this psalm assures me that our Lord felt and therefore understands the depressing and discouraging feelings that I am sometimes overwhelmed with.
It is so, secondly, because I find the way that the Lord dealt with the feelings of discouragement most helpful. Brethren, the next time you feel discouraged or depressed remember to talk to your soul as our Lord did.
But finally, this psalm is tremendously encouraging to me because when I sing it, I am again brought to a wholehearted realisation of how much my Lord went through for me and therefore how much He loves me. Amen. —JJ Lim

(published in my church's bulletin on 30th March 2008, reproduced here with permission)



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