Lamentations (Part Two)
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Lamentations (Part Two)
charlescameron on Tue 14 Jul 2009, 12:23 am
How are we to live for
Christ in the twenty-first century? We must live with realism, and we
must live by faith. We need realism if we are to look honestly at our
present circumstances. Looking beyond those circumstances calls for faith ― faith in the God of great faithfulness. The Church’s present situation is aptly yet sadly described in the words ― ‘How the gold has grown dim’ (4:1). We can come to God only in confession of sin ― ‘O Lord ... see our disgrace’ (5:1). We look at our secularized society, and we acknowledge
that ‘our inheritance has been turned over to strangers’
(5:2). We look at the secularization of the Church, and we acknowledge
that ‘our homes (have been turned over) to aliens’ (5:2).
We look into our own hearts and lives, and we acknowledge that
‘the joy of our hearts has ceased; (and) our dancing has been
turned to mourning’ (5:15). In the world of today and the Church
of today, it is not easy to rejoice in our hearts. It is even more
difficult to be joyful in testifying for the Lord. We must seek a
positive answer to the question, ‘How shall we sing the
Lord’s song in a foreign land?’ (Psalm 137:4).
Israel’s difficulty in singing the Lord’s song is
emphasized by the sad fact that ‘Mount Zion ... lies desolate’ (5:8). This is the situation, which is described in Psalm 137:1 ― ‘By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion’. In this situation,
the ‘tormentors’ of God’s people mockingly say,
‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ (Psalm 137:3). When we
are faced with similar circumstances, we are forced to ask, ‘How
shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?’ How are
we to do this? Are we to hide our heads in the sand, run away from our
difficult circumstances and escape into pious emotion? This is what we
must not do. We must face our circumstances honestly. This is realism.
We dare not ignore the reality of our situation. There is, however,
another reality of which we must take account ― the reality of God, the God concerning whom we say, with faith,
‘Great is thy faithfulness’. By faith, we look beyond our
circumstances to our God: ‘But thou, O Lord, dost reign for ever;
thy throne endures to all generations’ (5:19). To believe in
God’s faithfulness is to believe that his ‘throne endures
to all generations’. God is still on the throne. There is no
question of ‘God used to be on the throne, but now he is no
longer on the throne’. We have heard what the so-called
‘Death of God’ theologians have had to say for themselves.
We have also heard what the book of Lamentations says for God:
‘Great is thy faithfulness’. Having heard the voice of God,
in the midst of the voices of unbelief, we affirm our faith in the
living God. God is still on the throne. For ever, he reigns. His throne
endures to all generations. This is the faith which inspired Israel in
their captivity. This is the faith with which we move forward in the twenty-first century. It is the faith which transforms our feelings. By faith,
we bring our feelings to God. Like Israel, we may feel forgotten and
forsaken (5:20). In God’s presence, we exchange our feelings ― forgotten and forsaken ― for his blessings ― restoration and renewal: ‘Restore us to thyself, O Lord ... Renew our days as of old!’ (5:21).
----
This is the second part of an article which was published in Evangel, 12.1 (1994): 2-4 (the twentieth century has been changed to the twenty-first century).
Christ in the twenty-first century? We must live with realism, and we
must live by faith. We need realism if we are to look honestly at our
present circumstances. Looking beyond those circumstances calls for faith ― faith in the God of great faithfulness. The Church’s present situation is aptly yet sadly described in the words ― ‘How the gold has grown dim’ (4:1). We can come to God only in confession of sin ― ‘O Lord ... see our disgrace’ (5:1). We look at our secularized society, and we acknowledge
that ‘our inheritance has been turned over to strangers’
(5:2). We look at the secularization of the Church, and we acknowledge
that ‘our homes (have been turned over) to aliens’ (5:2).
We look into our own hearts and lives, and we acknowledge that
‘the joy of our hearts has ceased; (and) our dancing has been
turned to mourning’ (5:15). In the world of today and the Church
of today, it is not easy to rejoice in our hearts. It is even more
difficult to be joyful in testifying for the Lord. We must seek a
positive answer to the question, ‘How shall we sing the
Lord’s song in a foreign land?’ (Psalm 137:4).
Israel’s difficulty in singing the Lord’s song is
emphasized by the sad fact that ‘Mount Zion ... lies desolate’ (5:8). This is the situation, which is described in Psalm 137:1 ― ‘By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion’. In this situation,
the ‘tormentors’ of God’s people mockingly say,
‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ (Psalm 137:3). When we
are faced with similar circumstances, we are forced to ask, ‘How
shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?’ How are
we to do this? Are we to hide our heads in the sand, run away from our
difficult circumstances and escape into pious emotion? This is what we
must not do. We must face our circumstances honestly. This is realism.
We dare not ignore the reality of our situation. There is, however,
another reality of which we must take account ― the reality of God, the God concerning whom we say, with faith,
‘Great is thy faithfulness’. By faith, we look beyond our
circumstances to our God: ‘But thou, O Lord, dost reign for ever;
thy throne endures to all generations’ (5:19). To believe in
God’s faithfulness is to believe that his ‘throne endures
to all generations’. God is still on the throne. There is no
question of ‘God used to be on the throne, but now he is no
longer on the throne’. We have heard what the so-called
‘Death of God’ theologians have had to say for themselves.
We have also heard what the book of Lamentations says for God:
‘Great is thy faithfulness’. Having heard the voice of God,
in the midst of the voices of unbelief, we affirm our faith in the
living God. God is still on the throne. For ever, he reigns. His throne
endures to all generations. This is the faith which inspired Israel in
their captivity. This is the faith with which we move forward in the twenty-first century. It is the faith which transforms our feelings. By faith,
we bring our feelings to God. Like Israel, we may feel forgotten and
forsaken (5:20). In God’s presence, we exchange our feelings ― forgotten and forsaken ― for his blessings ― restoration and renewal: ‘Restore us to thyself, O Lord ... Renew our days as of old!’ (5:21).
----
This is the second part of an article which was published in Evangel, 12.1 (1994): 2-4 (the twentieth century has been changed to the twenty-first century).
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