Unrestrained Mercy From an Infinitely Merciful God

“For evils have encompassed me beyond number…”  (Psalm 40:12a)

This is life in a broken world.  Bitterness. Wrath. Anger. Slander. Malice. Lies. Murder. Deceit. Grief. Pain. Tears. Sorrow. Regret. Hate. Cold. Brokenness.

Yes, evil is all around.

I have no problem in a broken world crying out—“Lord, have mercy.  Lord, deliver.  Lord, rescue.  Lord, heal.  Lord, bring redemption”.  I know He is greater than the brokenness.  I know that He is able to heal.  I know that He will bring justice.  Sometimes, it is hard to wait on the Lord in the midst of brokenness—but I keep a steady hope knowing that He will make it well.

But what do I do when this is my prayer:

“…my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me.”   (Psalm 40:12b)

Now, it’s not merely evil “out there”.  I can deal with that.  But when evil is found lurking in my very own breast, what do I do? 

Do I plead for mercy, knowing that I’ve prayed this same prayer countless times?  Surely, the LORD is sick of hearing my confession.  I have certainly breached the seventy times seven. 

Do I come boldly into His throne room?  Soiled. Dirty. Vile. Proud. Confused. Disbelieving.

Clean Hands? Pure Heart? Not me.  How then can I expect to “ascend His holy hill”?  What right do I have—one who has trampled upon grace—to enter into His courts?

I don’t. 

BUT…

“As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!  (Psalm 40:11, emphasis mine)

There is no way that I read that correctly. 

I cannot fathom this.  What does unrestrained mercy from an infinitely merciful God look like? 

Soiled. Dirty. Vile. Proud. Confused. Doubting. Struggling. Depressed. Joyless.

Unrestrained Mercy. 

He refuses to restrain that which I do not deserve: namely, infinite mercy.  Yet, His holy hand withholds the infinite wrath that I do deserve. 

Why? What is the ground and the surety of this promise? 

Is it my ability to keep clean?  Is it my ability to live the Christian life?  Is it because of my steadfastness?  My faithfulness to the Lord?  Is this what causes me to be met with unrestrained mercy? 

No.

It is His covenant faithfulness.  His steadfast love. 

If I, by grace through faith, belong to Jesus then this promise of unrestrained mercy is mine.  And it is preserved until God breaks His covenant or until God’s love that refuses not to love changes and He decides He’d rather not love.  That’s not happening.  The ground and surety of this promise is His faithfulness and not mine. 

In this I have hope and it causes me to pray with David:

“As for me I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me.  You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!”

Spurgeon on Grieving the Spirit

If you are experiencing what Spurgeon is describing it quite possibly could be because you have grieved the Spirit.  It’s also possible that it’s just emotions.  Regardless, may we consider our hearts, apply the gospel, and repent and believe. 

When the Spirit is grieved first, he bears with us. He is grieved again and again, and again and again, and still he bears with it all. But at last, his grief becomes so excessive, that he says, "I will suspend my operations; I will begone; I will leave life behind me, but my own actual presence I will take away. And when the Spirit of God goes away from the soul and suspends all his operations what a miserable state we are in. He suspends his instructions; we read the word, we cannot understand it; we go to our commentaries, they cannot tell us the meaning; we fall on our knees and ask to be taught, but we get no answer, we learn nothing. He suspends his comfort; we used to dance, like David before the ark, and now we sit like Job in the ash-pit, and scrape our ulcers with a potsherd. There was a time when his candle shone round about us, but now he is gone; he has left us in the blackness of darkness. Now, he takes from us all spiritual power. Once we could do all things; now we can do nothing. We could slay the Philistines, and lay them heaps upon heaps, but now Delilah can deceive us, and our eyes are put out and we are made to grind in the mill. We go preaching, and there is no pleasure in preaching, and no good follows it. We go to our tract distributing, and our Sunday-school, we might almost as well be at home. There is the machinery there, but there is no love. There is the intention to do good, or perhaps not even that, but alas! there is no power to accomplish the intention. The Lord has withdrawn himself, his light, his joy, his comfort, his spiritual power, all are gone.

Keep in mind that if you are experiencing this it is not because the Lord has abandoned you but because He desires that you feast on the “Richest of Fare” and not spoil you appetite on food which perishes.

Here Lies…A Very Disappointed Man

Found this in one of John Wesley’s journal entries:

I cannot find much more information about the labors of Solomon Ashburn but I bet he was a pretty sad dude.  There is a reason why Jeremiah is called “the weeping prophet”.  Occasionally, the Lord will hide from our eyes the fruit that comes from our ministries.  Mr. Ashburn never saw the harvest that God allowed Wesley to reap upon the soil which he planted.  And it will sometimes be the same with us. 

In light of this difficult that often attends the ministry I find these two quotes helpful.  First, from John Newton to what appears to be a discouraged John Ryland, Jr.:

A faithful, humble minister cannot be unsuccessful; he shall prosper in the thing for which he is sent.  (Gordon, Wise Counsel, 215)

Secondly, is a quote from Charles Bridges’ that I first read on a helpful article from John Piper:

Our recompense is measured not according to 'our success' but 'our labor' and, as with our blessed Master, vouchsafed even in the failure of our ministration.” God rewards our labor, even if we “fail.” Like Jesus.

Our task as ambassador’s of Christ is to be faithful to the King’s message.  Success is marked by fidelity to the task.  May we be found faithful.

Bad News Good

“I have some bad news”. 

I have come to loathe those words.  It’s not so much the actual bad news that I disdain as much as the infinitesimal pause before the bomb drops.  In that second, which seems to last a millennium, my mind races to predict what darkness—once hidden in the unknown—will now be birthed into light. 

This time the “bad news” was about our hopes of being able to feel a little more settled.  My wife and I had been given great hope that we would be able to look for a house and live in something we could call “ours” for less money than we are currently throwing away in our tiny apartment. 

As it now appears that hope is to be dashed.  Now we are living on the somber side of Proverbs 13:12.  “Hope deferred makes the heart sick”.  Yes, it does.  It’s not merely the un-desirableness of continuing to feel unsettled that has our hearts sick.  It’s also that we are afraid of what more lives in the darkness of an unknown future.  What else will emerge from the shadows? 

In moments of great turmoil I am afraid that what will emerge are more hellish messengers, casting upon me words of shame.  “What kind of man are you?  You’re thirty years old, and you aren’t providing for your family the way you should!” 

These fiends turn my eyes towards only the happiness of those dancing with our dream.  I only see their smiles as they build another mansion on the outskirts of Eden.  And for a moment my eyes are blinded to the emptiness of living for life outside the Garden.  And in my foolishness I long to set up a tent in their midst. 

Then grace breaks through. 

I remember Psalm 84:11, “No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly”.  I am reminded that the only way that this promise is mine is through the faithfulness and uprightness of Jesus.  But I know that I am assuredly “hidden in Christ”.  So, I know that through Jesus this is true of me.  My loving Father, will withhold no good thing. 

What does that mean for our “bad news”?  Simply, that this dream will be reality when it is actually a good thing.  Even though I believe now that a house would be a good thing, I also know that the sovereign Lord of the universe sees all and knows all.  If this is being “withheld” from us then it must not at this present moment be a good thing.  When it is good it will be ours to enjoy. 

It must be noted that by “good” I know (from Romans 8) that ultimately what is “good” is conformity to Christ.  Therefore, at this present moment having a house would not bring us into greater conformity to Christ.  I do not know what that reason is, but I do know that God is good and will not allow us to settle for lesser joys. 

----

Lord, forgive me for moments of infidelity when I rail against your sovereign goodness.  You are the King, I am not.  I know that you are good and that you withhold no good thing from your children.  I know that you are a loving and merciful Father that will not give his children a stone when we ask for bread.  I also know that you are radically committed to my joy.  And I know that you are the fountain of life and in your light do we see light.  You rescue me from drinking putrid waters outside Eden and will not be satisfied until I “drink from the river of your delights”.  Thank you for being more dedicated to our joy than I am.  I would settle for a temporary pleasure—whereas you, stir up my heart to long for the eternal.  You are good. 

7 Questions with Rob Plummer: Author of 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible

Yesterday I reviewed Dr. Plummer’s book.  In the review I noted that “Hermeneutics (biblical interpretation) should be accessible to everyone.”  I also noted that Plummer’s book is both “satisfying and accessible” to student and layperson alike.  If you aren’t convinced yet that you ought to purchase this book, Dr. Plummer’s first answer should convince you. 

1. How is this book different from other books that deal with biblical interpretation?

Each book has a $100 bill hidden inside it.  Readers should be sure to order one right away.  But seriously, the book deals concisely with all the major questions related to interpreting the Bible - canon, text transmission, inerrancy, the goal of interpretation, Christo-centric interpretation, interpreting various genres of Scripture, current trends in hermeneutics, etc.  I discuss each issue in a brief "bite size" chunk of five to ten pages.  Also, reflection questions conclude each chapter.  And, many additional free resources (powerpoint files, quiz questions, etc.) are available at www.robplummer.com

2. What was the most difficult aspect of writing this book?

Making the text both scholarly and accessible.  I wanted it to be used as a seminary textbook but also understandable to any curious layperson.

3. What is the most frequent mistake that people make in biblical interpretation?

Failing to respect the inspired author's intent.  In his day, Calvin spoke of misinterpreters of Scripture as persons who put a "wax nose" on Scripture and turned it whatever way they wished.  In our day, people continue to do the same.

4. In your opinion what is the most dangerous trend in biblical interpretation?

Within the Theological Interpretation of Scripture (TIS) movement, some interpreters openly embrace meaning which is not flowing from the inspired author's intent. Of course, TIS is quite diverse, so others aligned with this movement are doing good work.

5. Imagine that I am a high school student on a bus with you. I find out that you teach a class on Biblical Interpretation. With only about 3 minutes before I have to get off the bus, I ask “how do I understand the Bible?” How do you respond?

With only three minutes, I think I would want to challenge that high school student to read the Scriptures because it is there that God speaks to us.  I would likely tell the story of how my mom taught me to read through the Bible once a year when I was 13 years old and the huge difference it has made in every area of my life.  I might turn to Psalm 119 and read some portions.  Then, for more practical questions of interpretation, I likely would refer them to my book.

6. I know that bad exegesis is never funny, but pretend for a second that it is. What is the funniest…or should I say…worst experience that you have had with bad exegesis?

Ah . . . there are so many stories.  I once asked a prominent minister what he was going to preach on the next day.  He told me that he had all the jokes and stories worked out, but that he just had to add the other content. I laughed because I thought he was kidding.  But, the next day when I heard him "preach" on the passage, it was mainly a string of random jokes and anecdotes.  A.T. Robertson once said, "I've heard sermons that if the text had had a cold, the sermon would certainly not have caught it."  I can relate.

7. Since I am in your New Testament 1 class I have to ask…who is your favorite student in New Testament 1? Okay, you don’t have to answer that. Serious question—If your opponents weren’t “with the Lord” who would win in a wheel-barrow race on the seminary lawn--A.T. Robertson and E.Y. Mullins or Rob Plummer and Albert Mohler?

I'm definitely betting on the Mohler-Plummer team.  (that is, if Southern Baptist are allowed to bet)

Thanks to Dr. Plummer for agreeing to do this interview. 

In response to question seven: I know that Dr. Plummer is a runner, but Dr. Mohler is not known for his athletic prowess.  Furthermore, E.Y. Mullins had a pretty solid beard and we all know that beards give superpowers.  So, I’m thinking this race may be a close one.  If Southern Baptist’s bet I might take Dr. Plummer up on this one. 

Again be sure to check out Dr. Plummer’s website: robplummer.com 

Also if you do not have it yet you can purchase the book here: 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible.