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Psalm 41: God Helps Those Who Help the Helpless

Christ Church on August 10, 2008

Fifth Decade of Psalms

The Text

“Blessed is he that considereth the poor : the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble . . . ” (Ps. 41:1-13).

Outline and Summary of the Text

As with much Hebrew poetry, this psalm is structured as a chiasm.

a. didactic introduction and associated prayer of confidence (vv. 1-4);

b. petition of the psalmist (v. 5);
c. words and behavior of the adversary (vv. 6-8);

c’. words and behavior of the adversary (vv. 9-10);

b’. prayer of the psalmist (v. 11);
a’. didactic conclusion and associated Temple worship (v. 12).

The thirteenth verse here functions as the conclusion to the first book of the five books of psalms, probably divided up by Ezra. See also Psalms 72:18-19; 89:53; 106:48 and 150.

The man who considers and remembers the poor will be himself helped by the Lord (v. 1). The Lord will protect such a man, and not allow him to be taken by his enemies (v. 2). Although confined to bed, the Lord Himself will be the nurse (v. 3). The reason that David was confined to bed was because of sin, and so he sought mercy (v. 4). From that position, David was able to imagine what his enemies were saying—when will he die (v. 5)? And those with evil under their tongues like this are impudent enough to come and visit him on his sick bed, smooth words on the surface, but eagerly looking for trouble (v. 6). Those who hate David whisper against him (v. 7). They exult over the fact that he looks done for (v. 8). This is even done by one who had previously been close—perhaps Absalom or Ahithophel—and who had shared David’s bread (v. 9). This is clearly applied in the antitype to Judas betraying Jesus (John 13:18). But David prays to be raised, that He might dispense justice (v. 10). He knows that God is on his side because his enemy does not triumph (v. 11). God will establish David in His own presence forever (v. 12). And a blessing is declared with regard to the God of Israel, forever and ever, amen and amen (v. 13).

The Occasion

The serious illnesses of kings are always watched with interest. When a basketball player is about to shoot, there will be all kinds of posting up and positioning under the basket. When a king looks as though he is going to die, the same kind of ambitious scuffling is going on among the courtiers, plotters and heirs apparent. King David is the type, and the Lord Jesus is the antitype. There are some things that apply only to David (for example, his confession of sin in v. 4). But the apostle John clearly declares that v. 9 found its complete fulfillment in the treachery of Judas. The same kind of thing repeats over and over. We see this kind of treachery throughout the Old Testament (e.g. Jer. 12:6), we see it with Jesus, and with followers of Christ down to the present.

God Helps Those Who Help the Helpless

Our proverb says that God helps those who help themselves. And while there is an important but limited truth there, we want to pursue a deeper truth. God helps those who help the helpless. As we seek to understand this, we must take care not to treat it as though God in heaven were a celestial vending machine—as though I could put my good deeds in here, and get my product there. At the same time, sowing and reaping are woven into the way the world is structured. We simply must refuse to understand the sowing and the reaping in a superficial way. The seed is not sown on the surface of the ground, and the plant does not grow from a spot on the surface.

Those who when they are prosperous help the helpless are becoming the kind of people who can cry out to God for help when they are in dire straits. This is why it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35); this is why the man is blessed who considers the poor (v. 1). David asks for mercy, and his appeal has two arguments. First he pleads for mercy because he has sinned (v. 4). No spin control. But second he asks for mercy because he had previously made a point of extending it. Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy (Matt. 5:7). David is in trouble—he is sick, and he is dealing with the treachery of friends. When he writes a psalm in his trouble, he begins with this: “Blessed is he that considereth the poor.” In his current crisis, he remembers the times when the crises was someone else’s—and he was the benefactor.

Intelligent Mercy

Note that the blessing is for those who consider the poor. This is not limited to mental activity—obviously, the result is action that actually helps the poor. But it at least includes thoughtful consideration. The blessing is not for those who close their eyes and strew money about the place. Those who are hurting need different things and we won’t know what those things are unless we consider it. Do they need medicine? a job? training? education for their children? capitalization for a business? debt forgiveness? What do they need? Consider it, and to consider it biblically is to act on it.

Right and Left Hand

Jesus teaches us that when we give, our left hand should not know what the right hand is doing (Matt. 6:3). Remember that David is making a plea to the Lord to consider him in his poverty, just as he had considered others in theirs. He is doing this in the context of slander—close associates and former friends were slandering him and speaking evil concerning him. They knew better, and yet they snatch at anything that will weaken David or misrepresent his character or his prospects. This was the position that Judas was in with respect to Jesus. He shared His bread, and lifted up his heel—the way an animal in a stall kicks the one who feeds him.

But David was king, and a public person. There is no question about settling personal scores, but when God raised him again, he intended to require them (v. 10). Jesus did not strike down His persecutors when they taunted Him as He was on the cross. And He could have; He could have summoned legions of angels. But He did not refrain because this was the wrong thing to do; He refrained because it was the wrong time. When the Lord came to Jerusalem in judgment in 70 A.D. the time was fulfilled and the fullness of wrath fell on that generation. Who will be trusted to wield judgment? The merciful. Who will be trusted to receive mercy? The merciful.

Amos for Americans 2 (Amos 3:10)

Christ Church on August 3, 2008

Introduction
We have made the distinction between direct and indirect obedience. In the realms of indirect obedience, we noted the importance of starting close to home, and starting with the obvious. As God gives more grace, we may move out from the center. We will be able to see to do this because the beam is now out of our eyes, and because, as George MacDonald put it, obedience is the great opener of eyes.

The Text
“For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces” (Amos 3:10).

Remembering Who and Where We Are
In the unfolding of God’s redemptive plan for this sorry world, we are privileged to be living two thousand years into the expansion of the fallen tabernacle of David. In other words, we are closer to the plowman catching up with the harvester than we are to the smoking ruin of Samaria. We are part of the wonderful work that God has done in the world through Christ. This does not mean that there are no applications for us from Amos; it means rather that there are indirect applications for us. Please note that “indirect” does not mean “less authoritative,” or “optional.” Pressing the authority of God’s Word into every nook and cranny of the heart is one of the ways that God is bringing great blessing about.

Keep It SImple
In order to follow what I am urging here, we will run the risk of being written off as fundamentalists. But that’s all right—worse things could happen. We are living in a time of rapid globalization, and this process has its giddy, cute cheerleaders (all of them perky and blonde) and its hysterical, weeping critics (all of them with brown eyes and weak chins). How are we supposed to sort all this out? The former tell us about how Halliburton has rebuilt Iraq to the great rejoicing of pretty much everybody there on the ground. The latter tell us lurid stories of rapine, laughter, and heartlessness. Are we in the Church supposed to jump in there and sort it all out? If we are to be engaged with the culture, then yes. But how?

For most of us, keep it simple. Does Halliburton believe in Jesus? Remember, every knee will bow. Remember, here is no neutrality anywhere. There is no place where men can go that will obtain them a “release” from getting from the authority of the gospel. If this applies to all kings and presidents, and it does, we need to keep in mind that a number of our multinational corporations are bigger and richer than many nations. Why would it not apply to CEOs as well? This “cut to the chase” approach is for most of us. Some—who are providentially placed on the scene or who have the time and ability to get three PhDs in the subject—have the responsibility to speak the Word of God into the details of that circumstance.

Six Applications
In our treatment of chapter three in Amos, we saw six areas where the Church in America is failing to do what Israel also failed to do. The fact that this is an analogous failure does not remove the need for repentance.

First, our churches are very wealthy, the wealthiest in the history of the world. Do we use this wealth to establish robust, orthodox worship? Or do we decorate various kinds of “altars at Bethel”? And do works of charity flow out of our orthodox worship like a mighty river?

Second, like Israel we are ungrateful for our biblical heritage. Israel refused to acknowledge who it was who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, establishing them in the land. Today, even Christian writers and theologians take the lead in affirming that America never was Christian, and furthermore, ought not to be Christian in the future. The former claim is historically false, and the latter assertion is simply disobedience. For the latter, if Jesus told us to disciple all nations, “no” is not an appropriate response. Insistence that obedience never existed in the past is nothing but an excuse to keep it from happening in the future.

Third, we have forgotten that Jesus is the Lord of history. This means that He is Lord of kingdoms as they rise and empires as they fall. Benjamin Franklin, far more deistic than most of the other Founders, said this, “If a sparrow cannot fall without His notice, how can an empire rise without His aid?” The irony is that Franklin the deist had a more explicitly Christian view of history at this point than many contemporary “worldview” Christians. In the course of history, good and bad things both happen. This means blessings and chastisements, both of which we must learn how to read. Israel in Amos refused to read history rightly.

Fourth, like Israel we like to grade on a curve. We think that because we are “better,” then it means that we have somehow attained to the standard God has set for us. For example, Americans are far more generous than any other nation. We give close to 300 billion annually. But we cannot pretend that we are automatically vindicated because others are worse. We must not compare how generous we are compared to how generous others aren’t. If all the kids in the class flunked the test, this does not mean the top score of 48 came from the honors student. We must compare how generous we are to others compared with how generous God has been with us. That is the standard.

Fifth, Amos notes the presence of “tumults,” the “oppressed,” “violence,” and “robbery,” and all within Israel’s own midst. We have stark problems in our midst as well. Remember, start with the near and clear. Don’t fix all the problems you don’t understand. The problems that we do understand are sufficient for now.

Sixth, if Mammon has become a god, as it has, men who worship at that shrine will always glory in their god’s “majesty.” The indirect problems with greed as idolatry will become direct soon enough. As long as idolatry is a metaphor, people can shrug off the warnings because “they don’t see it.” But when it comes out into the open, and every can see it, then can now shrug off your objections because “everyone is doing it.”

Kirk Shire
The book of Amos belongs to the faithful Church. If the shire is to be a kindly place, it must be a kirk shire.It is part of our covenant heritage. We must not allow it to be co-opted by those who would disregard the heart of the prophet’s message. What should we take away from this book? We want to live in parish, in the shire, establishing a corner of Christendom. At the center of the shire must stand the faithful worship of God in the kirk. If the shire is to be a kindly place, it must be a kirk shire.

Amos for Americans 1 (Amos 3:10)

Christ Church on July 27, 2008

Introduction
We have spent a good bit of time considering the applications of the prophet’s words to his original audience, to the Israelites in the northern kingdom of Israel. Lord willing, we will spend two weeks considering how those words may legitimately be applied to us as Americans. This is not a topical sermon so much as it as a topical application.

The Text
“For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces” (Amos 3:10).

Themes of the Book
Not to beat the point to death, but remember that false worship produces false living, and false living always results in cruelty and inhumanity, always. Israel was indicted for two great problems—false worship at Bethel and Dan, and hardheartedness to the downtrodden.

Applications, Direct and Indirect
In order to know how to apply this book to our circumstances in this nation, we have to make a distinction between the sin as we see it and the sin as God sees it. God always sees the heart of the matter, but we are not justified in taking the fact of that “heart” and applying it socially. Take the illustation of a husband who looks lustfully at a magazine cover for thirty seconds at the grocery store. Has he been unfaithful in the eyes of God? Yes (Matt. 5:28). Does his wife have grounds for divorce? No, of course not. Apply this distinction to idolatry. Refusing to bow down in religious worship before pictures or statues is direct application of the first two of the Ten Commandments. In many places in the world, these commandments must still be obeyed in this direct fashion. But the apostle Paul also tells us that greed is idolatry (Col. 3:5; Eph. 5:5), in the same way that lust is adultery. Heart idolatry is much harder for us to identify.

In a similar way, the prohibition of cruelty to the poor has a direct application, and it has indirect applications. As before, the indirect applications are harder to get at, although they are still there. For example, for entertainment the Roman emperor Tiberius would have prisoners brought in to be tortured in his presence while having his dinner. The message of Amos would apply to him directly. Frederick William of Prussia was traveling through Potsdam one day and saw one of his subjects darting off. The king ordered him to stop and commandaed him to say why he ran. Because he was afraid, the man replied. “Afraid?! Afraid?! You’re supposed to love me!”The king started beating him with a cane, while yelling, “Love me, scum!” Today when our rulers come out among the peasantry it is usually during a campaign, and so they come around to IHOP to have a waffle with us and ask us our opinions on geopolitics. They can still do vile things—but not openly as in other times. This means applications here will be indirect as well.

Applications for Americans
The evangelical Left is crowded with folks who want us to worship at Bethel—Ron Sider, Jim Wallis, Tony Campolo, Brian McLaren, and all that crowd. The evangelical Right is compromised by her allegiance to Dan— when President Bush summoned everyone to the post-911 worship service at the National Cathedral, many leaders of religious Right were there—including Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and for evangelicals generally, Billy Graham. And when we say this, we have to acknowledge that this sin at Dan was much closer to a direct violation of the law of God. Culture is always driven by cultus (worship), and you can’t get worship wrong and get anything else right long term. The religious Right wants good fruit from a rotten tree. The religious Left wants rotten fruit from a rotten tree.

Near and Clear
Jesus sets down several basic principles for us in His famous statement about the beam in your eye (Matt. 7:3). There are two issues here—the first is the location of the two eyes. The first is yours, and the second is your brother’s. Start at home. Secondly, Jesus says that we are to start with the big and obvious problem (the beam), and that later on we can get to the smaller problem (the mote). Put these two together, and we see that a Christian social conscience begins with the near and clear.

Having a social conscience over things that are far away and murky is a good way to avoid having a social conscience at all. When a motel chain asks you to refrain from having your towels washed so that together you can “save the rain forests,” we ought to see through this right away. This principle is foundational for all Christians who do not want their necessary naivete in certain areas to get in the way of being responsible Christians. As Linus put the reverse one time, “I love mankind; it’s people I can’t stand.” And P.J. O’Rourke said that “everyone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help mom with the dishes.” This same principle is seen (in another application) when John the apostle says, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 Jn. 4:20). We test distant love by proximate love. And this means that you cannot love your brother whom you have not seen if you are not loving your brother whom you have seen. Your fundamental duties are near and clear.

Some Test Cases
Take an average Christian believer, worshipping God faithfully and regularly, and one who reads his Bible and watches the evening news. How should his social conscience function? Where does it start? The less the application is diluted by distance and complexity, the more we may and must speak with assurance, boldness, and authority. The more it is diluted, the more careful we must be (Prov. 18:17). This is why, for Christians in the culture wars, the negative issues of abortion and homosexuality are touchstone issues. They are near and clear.

This is also why tithes and offerings and other aspects of personal generosity are also a touchstone issue. If we are in arrears with God’s taxes, then we have no right to complain about anyone else’s taxation levels. Put another way, those who are not tithing have no right to be political conservatives. Why? Their sin is near and clear.

Two Step Process
As we seek to make applications from Amos—as we will do more next week—we need to take two steps, asking two basic questions. Is this application direct or indirect? For most of us, it will be indirect. And because obedience will be indirect, we should want to begin our obedience at the near end, with clear duties.

Amos 5:1: Two Kinds of Light

Christ Church on July 20, 2008

Introduction
We have finished working through the book of Amos passage by passage, and we need to take a week to look at the structure and message of the book as a whole. Next week, Lord willing, we will come to some detailed applications.

The Text
“Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel . . .” (Amos 5:1).

Structure and Overview of the Text
Our text is the first verse in the passage that serves as the center of the seven-fold chiasm which is the entire book. Since many of passages that make up the segments of this chiasm are chiasms themselves, we have something of a “Russian doll” situation.

a coming judgment on Israel and her neighbors (1:1-2:16)
b the prophet is compelled to announce the destruction of Israel and the shrine at Bethel (3:1-15)

c condemnation of rich Israelite women (4:1-13)
d a call for repentance and a lament for Israel (5:1-17)

c’ condemnation of rich Israelite men (5:18-6:14)
b’ the prophet is compelled to announce visions of judgment, and the coming destruction of the shrine at Bethel (7:1-8:3)

a’ coming judgment, but also coming restoration for Israel and her neighbors (8:4-9:15)

There are two things to do here. The first is to realize that there are many more parallels within these sections beyond the broader themes laid out above. For example, take the third and the third from last sections. Cows of Bashan are in the mountain of Samaria (4:1); there are those who feed secure in the mountain of Samaria (6:1). These wealthy women drink idly (4:1); these wealthy men drink wine (6:6). The women will go into exile toward Harmon (4:2); these men will be first into exile beyond Damascus (5:27). Empty religious activities are depicted (4:4-5); empty religious activities are depicted (5:21-25). Israel loves it this way (4:5); Yahweh hates it this way (5:21). The coming judgment will turn morning into darkness (4:13); the day of Yahweh will be darkness and not light (5:18, 20). What this means (among many other things) is that this jeremiad is not a blind rant; it is a well- crafted poetic tour de force.

The second thing to remember would be the structured themes found in the whole thing:

a seven-fold chiasm: call to repentance and lament (1:1-2:16)
b seven-fold chiasm: Israel does not know how to do right (3:1-15)

c seven stanzas: what Israel wouldn’t listen to (4:1-13)
d despite lack of repentance: a seven-fold hymn to Yahweh’ power (5:1-17)

c’ seven-fold chiasm: a seven-fold woe at the center (5:18-6:14)

b’ prose section: four visions and Amaziah’s rejection of Amos (7:1-8:3)

a’ seven-fold chiasm: a hymn of praise at the center (8:4-9:15).

Remember the Two Great Themes
False living begins in false worship. If a man worships at Dan, or Bethel, or Gilgal, or Beersheba, instead of worshipping faithfully at Jerusalem, then the necessary result will be false living. That false living will work its way out, necessarily, into cruelty and hardness of heart. Self-serving wealth can do nothing but try to squeeze more out of others. So the two great sins condemned in the book of Amos are syncretistic worship, golden calf worship, and the necessary consequence, which is opulent violence against the needy.

A Prophet, Not a Partisan
Amos could have been taken an ambassador for Judah, which had her own sins. Amos could have been seen as carrying water for Assyria, which was to be the instrument of the judgment that he declared. Amos could have allowed himself to be dragged down into the factionalism that exists in every prosperous era. But he did not. Not only did he insist that the northern kingdom not dilute its worship by going to various shrines, he refused to dilute his message by coming from “various perspectives.” He came with the law of God, and the revealed word of God that had come to him, and he spoke to the sins of Israel that were plain, lying right there on the surface, and therefore undeniable. And that is why he was told to go—as prophets always are.

Courage
C.S. Lewis remarks somewhere that courage is not a separate virtue, but is rather the testing point of all the virtues. If a man is honest only so long as it does not cost him, then he is not honest. The only thing that will protect his honesty is courage. Amos was a courageous prophet, and was unwilling to bend simply because there was a consensus that he ought to. But at the same time, we have to be careful not to affirm the consequent. Courageous prophets will not bend, and neither will mule-headed stubborn men.

The Lure of Wealth
We will have to consider this in more detail as we make application to our circumstances, but it is crucial that we see the problem with the wealthy in the book of Amos. They were condemned because they worshipped the golden calves, not because they had the gold out of which those calves can be made. Compare the riches of those lolling around on ivory beds with the riches of a farmer whose plowman is catching up with his harvesters. What is the issue? What is the difference?

Two Kinds of Light
In the book of Amos, we find two different kinds of light. Picture it this way. If the day is dark gray and overcast, and terrible storms are coming, we still know that if we go high enough above the clouds, the sun is still shining bright. That is what Amos is doing in his periodic hymns of praise to Yahweh. However dark it is here and now, the prophet knows (and sings) that God remains on the throne. The sun is not ever buffeted by the winds.
Because this is true, it is possible for Amos to predict, in the last few verses of the book, that the storm will blow over and that the sun will appear here. A glorious future will come to Israel after the storm. Think of it as Calvinism in current afflictions, and Calvinism looking forward to future glory. Because God is the God of storms now, He will be the God of endless sun, where sorrow and mourning have fled away, and every tear has been wiped from our eyes.

Amos 8:4-9:15: The Fallen Booth of David

Christ Church on July 13, 2008

Introduction
We come now to the conclusion of Amos, at least in the form of going through it passage by passage. Next week we will look at the book as a whole, and then some applications—Amos for Americans.

The Text
“Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail . . .” (Amos 8:4-9:15).

Structure and Overview of the Text
Amos again follows his consistent pattern. This portion of Amos is another seven-fold chiasm, and is a wonderful declaration of the permanent things.

a the coming destruction of the land (8:4-8)

b Yahweh punishes Israel (8:9-14)

c Yahweh’s judgment—no escape possible (9:1-4)

d a hymn of praise (9:5-7)

c’ Yahweh’s judgment—remnant spared (9:8-10)

b’ Yahweh will restore punished Israel (9:11-12)

a’ approaching disaster (9:13-15)

The evil rulers of Israel swallow the need (v. 4). They chafe under the fact that the Sabbath means they cannot cheat people seven days a week (v. 5). They hunger to steal from the hungry (v. 6). So God swears by their “excellency” or pride, and says that He will not forget their deeds (v. 7). The land will rise up like the Nile to flood them (v. 8). God will make their sun go down at noon (v. 9). He will turn all their festival days into bitter days (v. 10). He will send a famine of His own word (vv. 11-12). The young and vigorous will fail (v. 13), and those who swear by the sin of Samaria and other idols will fall forever (v. 14). God will bring judgment on the temple and those in it (9:1). Though they tunnel down to Hades, or any other place in creation, they will be found out (vv. 2- 3). When they think the judgment is complete because they are in exile, they will be struck there (v. 4). Again, they will be flooded with judgment (v. 5). God’s wisdom in creation is declared, and His authority over nations (vv. 6- 7). God sees the wicked and will destroy them (v. 8). A remnant will be spared (v. 9), although the sinners will die (v. 10). And then, at verse 11, an astonished turn occurs. God will raise up the fallen tabernacle of David, and rebuild it (v. 11). Israel will possess all the heathen (v. 12). Astounding prosperity will come (v. 13). The return from exile will be completed (v. 14), and Israel will be restored forever (v. 15).

Those Who Swallow the Needy
Amos begins by attacking those rich, dishonest merchants who rip off the poor. The ephah was the measurement of volume (a little more than half a bushel), and by lining the basket you could make the ephah small. The shekel was the measurement of weight, and by making it “great” you had your thumb on the scales. Why do we have little ridges around the edges of our coins? Why are our current quarters little copper sandwiches? Because we are governed by liars, thieves and scoundrels—and we love to have it so. It is the rich and influential who control the mechanisms of commerce, and it is they who are in a position to rig the system. Cui bono? Well, guess. As we consider this sin, remember how God evaluates it (Prov. 11:1; 16:11; 20:10, 23). Take just one of these. “A false balance [is] abomination to the LORD: but a just weight [is] his delight” (Prov. 11:1). Does cheating with weights and measures somehow become okay if we do it on a grand scale? We can’t be thieves because we steal a lot?

The Sin of Samaria
As we have noted, a recurring theme for Amos is the fact that all this oppression flows out of false worship. False worship cannot produce anything else but oppression. So who will fall, never to rise? Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, which is their idolatry (8:14). Those who say to Dan “thy god liveth.” Dan was the northernmost city, where Bethel’s twin gold calf was. A corrupt shrine was in Beersheba to the south, and so from Dan to Beersheba, from top to bottom, they were all going to fall. Note the sin that causes economic oppression, and mark it well.

Who is the Lord?
Remembering that Amos has marked this point at the center of this chiasm, we must remember the Lord God of hosts is the God of creation. He touches the ground and it swells like a flood (9: 5). He builds story after story into heaven (v. 6); heaven and earth are His skyscraper. He builds His foundational strata on the earth. He summons water out of the ocean, and pours it back out onto the earth (v. 6). The Lord is His name. He is therefore the Lord of nations and mass migrations (v. 7). How could this God not be Lord of the nations?

The Fallen Booth of David
Amos takes a dramatic turn in 9:11, and it is noteworthy that this prophecy is quoted by James at the Council of Jerusalem, and is applied to the creation of the Christian Church and the inclusion of the Gentiles as Gentiles. On the authority of the Lord’s brother, we know that this great prophecy is being fulfilled in us. But what is the tabernacle of David? Why that expression? The tabernacle of David was built on Mt. Zion before Solomon’s temple was built on Mt.Moriah. This tabernacle was not a sacrificial tent, but was rather a place for musical praise. After the temple was built, the music was moved to the temple and took the name “Zion” with it. The place of music in the worship of the Church is therefore significant. There are no more blood sacrifices—but we are to fill the earth with the sacrifices of praise.

Astounding Prosperity
When the fortunes of Israel have been restored, as they have been in the Church, what will be the result? As we look for the new covenant to be established in the earth, what should we look for? First, we should look for the inclusion of all the Gentiles (v. 12). This is how James applied it, quite rightly (Acts 15:16-17). Second, we should look for astounding prosperity. In the first place this would be the mirror image of the famine of the Word of God in 8:11-12. There would be an abundance of teaching and application out of the Scriptures—so much that we won’t know what to do with it all. But in the second place—because we are not spiritualizing gnostics—the time of the new covenant is a time of great material prosperity. The fields will be so fertile that the plowman almost runs down the harvester. The same thing will happen in vineyards. The mountains will drip with wine. The land that had been bulldozed under by the divine judgments is a land that will be settled again, and this time there will be no exile. In the time of the new covenant, the disasters in the first part of this book will never fully apply.