"Always remember, when somebody comes up with something new,
it's usually wrong. We are to be plagiarists of the same information that
God gave the first Christians." -- Dr. Matthew McMahon, aPuritansMind.com

 

13 September, 2007   comments: (0) Today's Worship   Remembering The Terror of The Lord - Part 2    Quoting Walter Chantry . . . Western society pretends to be above such ideas as blood payment for great sins. To cater to the delicate tastes of modern man, teaching on the need for blood atonement and appeasement of the wrath of God is set aside. Much is said of mercy, love, and pardon, while a curtain is drawn to hide the transactions by means of which God forgives. The process by which the guilty may be pardoned is unmentioned. Nevertheless, the Bible is not so fastidious. Is it possible to know the grace of God without having first experienced the terror of God? . . . Continued from Part 1 in this series. Paul said, "Knowing therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men" (2 Cor. 5:11). Isaiah, whose call to ministry came out of a scene of terror (Isa. 6), declared that God would dwell with the one who "is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word" (Isa. 66:2). Moses too was called to preach God's voice in the burning bush. When God began to speak, "Moses trembled and did not dare to look" (Acts 7:32). A minister's task is not to scrub his message clean of all elements that may disturb his hearers, but to speak with a mind that recalls the fear of God. After all, our gospel message calls men to "serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling" (Phil 2:12). Perhaps the absence of "fear and trembling" in our worship impedes sanctification and perseverance. At Jesus' birth "fear fell upon" Zacharius (Luke 1:12), and also the shepherds "were filled with fear" (Luke 2:9). At his resurrection, "for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men" (Matt 28:4), and even the disciples "departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy" (Matt 28:8). Crowds were filled with awe or fear when Jesus healed the paralyzed man (Luke 7:16); they were seized with great fear (Luke 8:37) when the Gadarene had the demons cast out of him. These experiences were more than "loving respect". They are described for us as as visceral responses to a prodigious presence. The nearness of the Most High creates in us a uneasiness and apprehension when seeing closely the raw power of thunderstorms (instrumental in both the conversion of Luther and Augustine). Others have felt this way in the presence of Almighty power in the life of Christ. Still others have known such tremblings through the preaching of God's Word or in worship (Acts 4:31; 24:25). Old Testament poets have captured the fear of God. David does so in Psalm 29, his thunderstorm Psalm. So does the writer of Psalm 97: The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around. His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory. -- Psalm 97:1-6 From:  David: Man of Prayer, Man of War   Posted by: Jim B.   Link: http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.772   Be the first to post a comment about this article        Home  |   About  |  Videos   |  Calvinism