May 8, 2020 -- Psalm 119:163 -- Responding to our dangerous times
/I hate and abhor falsehood,
but I love your law.
Psalm 119:163 English Standard Version
The range of meaning for falsehood includes deceit, deception, and lying. The writer of this Psalm wants his heart to be completely devoted to the One Who is Holy and Perfect. He has recognized princes have persecuted him without cause. He knows the Word of God to be his great source of rejoicing. Now the writer is calling out for his brothers and sisters in faith to hate and abhor falsehood. Note the intensity of these words, Hebrew does not have exclamation marks, so putting two words of similar meaning next to one another (hate and abhor) there is a tremendous intensification of emotion and weight to what is being written.
This morning I had to rise up from my bed much earlier than usual and pour out my heart to the LORD. I am so conflicted because I struggle with the question: are we as Christians, are living in falsehood?
The Word of God requires us to gather as His people. We are to worship the LORD, one day in seven is set apart for Him. His people must praise Him, gathering no matter what the civil magistrates of the land require. This is how I read it. Brothers whom I respect hold the view in this case we are required to obey our civil magistrate. At issue is this: where there is a conflict, which law do we obey? Many churches and denominations have obeyed the commands of our government rather than giving greater weight to the first three laws of the Ten Commandments.
Right now so many Christians and leaders appointed by God, who are faithful in so many areas, put forward a few arguments for obedience to the civil magistrate. Such leaders are saying, among other things, we must obey our civil magistrate and this command to stay home trumps the command to meet and worship God. Their point is that the civil magistrate is given authority by God in some clear areas.
Here is a place where I have a question. Many of these same church leaders endorse Christian Schools in defiance of state funded schools. Many of these same church leaders seem to show an inconsistency on this point by home schooling children rather than allow the heinous, government required sex education curriculum to be taught to their children. They defy the civil magistrate in this because it so so obvious we must do so.
For me it is obvious the public school system has failed in its curriculum. It is obvious Christians should protest what is being taught and should send their children to Christian Schools or home school their children. For me it is obvious that churches should be open and as Christians defy the government’s order to go to public schools, so it seems Christians should go to church in obedience to the commandments to do so. It feels to me that this is just at the moment when the world needs Christians more than ever to stand up, go to church, and show full parking lots and open doors.
Second premise put forth today is this, the only way to honour God and our civil magistrate was to shut down our churches immediately. Here I tremble before the thought for the holy majesty of our Great and Glorious God. At this point I grieve as the churches which shut down immediately did not even leave the witness to the world and the defiant public symbol of public gatherings of five or ten as local civil magistrate regulations would allow.
Why have we as churches not complied by having five or ten people in church at a time and showing our parking lots as active places where small groups of people longing for their turn to get in and worship? We could have had people going to church all-day each Sunday and through-out the week. Why have we not complied with the letter of the law while protesting the implications made by our civil magistrate that Christians and churches are not essential?
Why, when churches have been allowed, since April 23, to gather in parking lots without penalty or fine, have church leaders not immediately filled our parking lots each Sunday and joyfully summoned the people of God to gather? God commands us—why are we so deafeningly silent?
At this one point I fear we love our comfort more than we love the Torah, and its Author our Faithful, Sovereign.
We have braved sickness and possible exposure to Covid-19 by going to stores. I wonder, why won’t we insist churches be open? Perhaps 5 people at a time, all through the week?
I hope that history will not say of us that we have shamed ourselves and brought gross dishonour to the Name of Him Who is glorious by obsequiously obeying the requirements of an inconsistent magistrate rather than like a slave kept our eyes on God and obeyed Him first, last and always.
One area that rubs my conscience is this: we have allowed low-paid grocery workers to cash out our purchases, and celebrated them as front-line, brave workers while we have as Christians not held the line, opening our churches as widely as our civil magistrate would allow. It seems to be as if we’re huddling in fear in our homes without showing even the least trace of such courage as is displayed by grocery clerks! Will historians judge us and say we have acquiesced with the civil magistrate’s declaration to the world we are not essential.
In view of our great love for God, Christians write your Prime Minister, your Member of Parliament, your Premier and health officials and respectfully say: 1. thanks for your work, we are praying for you; 2. as a Christian I believe churches are essential; 3. open our churches immediately. 4. We will comply with the regulations for safely gathering, but we must gather. Thank you. And sign your name: ____________________
Sure, we can wear masks or face shields, but gather we must!
Sure, we can socially distance as is required, but I believe we must honour God above sinful man.
Sure, those who are most vulnerable and have pre-existing conditions that make going out in public dangerous such persons should stay home as they did before this pandemic.
Christians, flood the in-boxes of your church leaders and call them to be faithful. Tell them you are praying for them, but you are so disappointed that our churches are not open. Prick their consciences and call them to action for the glory of Jesus Christ.
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.” Amen.
This version of the LORD’s Prayer is from Matthew 6:10-13.
