​Genesis 15:6 is perhaps one of the most important verses in the Old Testament. "And [Abraham] believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness." In other words, Abraham believed God, and God credited that faith to Abraham as righteousness.

A word on terms. Our modern English concept of the word righteousness is a bit limited. We would probably say that righteousness amounts to law keeping. That's not wrong. It's just not the fuller picture. In the Bible, the word righteousness is connected to two other concepts: covenant and relationship. A righteous person is a person who keeps the terms of a covenant (a pact or agreement or today we might say contract) made between two parties and as such enjoys all the benefits of a good relationship with the other party. Righteousness, then, is covenant keeping with the enjoyment of the positive relationships between parties that comes as a result.

What about that word "believed" in Genesis 15:6? In the context of Genesis 12–15, God had given Abraham a series of promises. They were clear and specific. Abraham would become a great nation, kings and queens would come from him, his name would be made great, he would be blessed and become a blessing to all the families of the earth, God would bless those who bless Abraham and curse those who curse him, God would give him and his descendants a land as an everlasting possession, and God would be Abraham's God and the God of his descendants and they would be his people. In a dramatic way, God affirmed the oath by walking through the middle of animals that had been cut in half, stating, in essence, "May I be like these animals if I don't fulfill my word." 

Abraham heard all that God had promised, and deep within him there welled up a resounding, "You, O God, are faithful and will fulfill your promises, even though I can't understand how, even if I don't see their fulfillment within my own lifetime!" That is belief. God makes a promise to someone, that person hears the promise, and he or she is so convinced that God is faithful to do what he's said that the person's life is forever changed as a result.

Apparently, the full import of Genesis 15:6 had failed to register with the Jewish people in the days of Jesus, even among those who accepted Jesus as the Messiah. It is for that reason that Paul wrote the book of Galatians. Even after Jesus's resurrection, some of his followers believed that in order to come to God, first a person had to become a Jew and submit him- or herself to the laws recorded in the Torah. They believed that in order to be considered righteous before God—that is, in order to be counted among those who had kept God's covenant and thus enjoyed a right relationship with him—a person had to adopt the Jewish law and customs. Paul emphatically argues that God sees a person's faith—not a person's Torah-keeping or his cultural practices—and counts that person's faith as righteousness.

You can see how interwoven racism and this whole business of justification by faith really are. Spiritual racism is the belief that I'm more worthy in God's sight because I fit more exactly into this particular cultural mold. That was the mindset of some Jews in the first century. We would do well not to fall into a 21-century version of the same trap. That is, we would do well not to think that in order for any man, woman, or child on the planet to be counted as righteous before God, first he or she must adopt our cultural norms, act like us, think like us, dress like us, talk like us, or fit into any other of our biased notions of correct and proper behavior. God will count a person righteous solely on the basis of whether or not that person has heard the promises that God has made in Christ and is convinced from the heart that God is faithful and will fulfill those promises, even without understanding how or when and even without seeing their fulfillment in his or her lifetime. 

People are not included or excluded from the kingdom of God based upon any other factor. Genuine faith constitutes the single criterion. When we invent other criteria and judge people's stance before God based upon those criteria, we are doing what the Jews in Galatians did, and we are guilty of spiritual racism and of believing another gospel, a gospel completely foreign to Paul and the other apostles.

The New Testament gospel requires that both Jews and Gentiles take a step beyond their cultural backgrounds and put their faith in a common Christ, the Christ who is a "stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles" (1 Corinthians 1:23). Absolutely no room for anything that even remotely smells like an attitude of "You must become like me and my culture to come to God." Coming will be by faith alone or it won't be at all.

Putting to death the deep-seated root of spiritual racism,

Eric

God's desire is to bless all nations. Ethnic pride and racism is deep in all of us. We try to limit the blessings of the gospel to people like us. Those sins might be easy to identify, but the truth of the matter is that big sins grow out of small attitudes of the heart.

Questions for personal reflection and/or group discussion

1. Why is the story of Abraham such a central idea to properly understanding the entire Bible and the gospel message? 
2. In what ways are racism and ethnic pride contrary to the very gospel message itself?
3. Can you identify any "small attitudes of the heart" that ultimately result in bigger, much more visible sins like racism and ethnic pride? 

Dear ICB family,

You've probably heard it said that some people are too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good. Is that actually possible? Well, that depends. What does being "heavenly minded" mean? 

Let's assume that "to be of any earthly good" means to live in such a way so as to be a benefit to others. If, then, to be "heavenly minded" means to live in a dream world that's comprised of ideas devoid of acts of loving kindness toward one's neighbor, then, yes, I would say it would be possible for a person to be so wrapped up in fanciful ideals that he or she ceases to benefit anyone else at all. A person who has developed a just-me-my-Bible-and-Jesus mentality about this life would fall into that category.

However, I personally wouldn’t describe such a person as "heavenly minded" at all. I'd call such a person disconnected, disinterested, and delusional.

I would define "heavenly minded" like this: "One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple" (Psalm 27:4, also a Psalm of David, quite reminiscent of the last line of Psalm 23: "and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever"). Really, David? You get to ask for anything and all you'd ask for is a spot around the throne of God just so that you can see him? That's what I'd call "heavenly minded."

It's precisely this kind of heavenly mindedness—the eyes of the heart fixed on one's ultimate enjoyment of the eternal presence of God—that allows a shepherd-king like David to confidently march down into the valley of the shadow of death. He knows who will walk with him—his Good Shepherd—and he knows what awaits him on the far side of the valley—the house of the LORD, where he'll live forever.

And it's precisely this kind of heavenly mindedness that allowed Jesus to walk up Calvary's hill and stretch out his hands so that a Roman soldier could drive the nails. Jesus "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus, like David, knew what awaited him on the far side of Golgotha: joy—the kind that is filled to the top and overflowing and that lasts forever in the presence of his Father (see Psalm 16:11).

In that sense, then, I'd say, no, it's not possible to reach the point at which you're too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good. In fact, if it's not the bottomless, eternal joy to be found in God's presence, what else is there strong enough to convince me to sacrifice my body—or worse, my pride—in order to love my neighbor well? What's going to motivate me to cast off quick-temperedness and put on patience so that I might be a better husband if it's not a heart riveted on the hope of dwelling in the house of the Lord forever? How will I ever give up my comfort and ease for the sake of another if I'm not so heavenly minded that I'm freed to do so, knowing that the recompense will be beyond anything I could ever imagine? 

In other words, if I'm not heavenly minded, how can I possibly hope to be of any earthly good to anyone at all? 

Praying for more heavenly mindedness,

Eric

​The Lord is risen!
​
In light of the fact that Psalm 22 was on Jesus's lips as he was dying on the cross, it is not hard to imagine that Psalm 23 was on his lips come resurrection morning.

With that in mind, Pastor Neil takes a look at Psalm 23 from the perspective of what the psalm meant some 3000 years ago when David wrote it, what it meant some 2000 years ago for Jesus, and what it means for us today. In each case, he notes how God, our Shepherd, provides everything his sheep need, protects his sheep and walks with them, even through the valley of the shadow of death, and prepares a table for them. 

Questions for personal reflection and/or group discussion

1. How have you experienced each of these aspects of God as your shepherd (his provision, his protection, and his preparation)?
2. Which of these aspects of God as our shepherd (his provision, his protection, or his preparation) is hardest for you to believe and experience and why?
3. How does the image of God as your shepherd help you better understand the relationship that we can have with him? What about the image of him as a host whose lavish meal you attend?

Did David really think that it was possible for the words of his mouth and the meditation of his heart to be acceptable in God's sight? We're talking about Yahweh here, the one and only almighty God who lives in the eternal present, the Holy One of Israel, who was so pure that before he could descend and dwell among his covenant people, he had to institute laws of sacrifice to deal with the people's impurity, and even then, his presence only resided behind a thick veil in the Holy of Holies.

Did David really think that things he said and thoughts he had could please God? What about Psalm 14:2–3? Had David forgotten his own words there: "The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one"?

Is David being inconsistent? Or worse, on the occasion of writing Psalm 19, had he become so swollen with pride that he actually thought there was something within him capable of pleasing God?

Understanding the answers to these questions is vital to properly understanding the gospel message, and to the extent that the way that Psalm 14:2–3 and Psalm 19:14 fit together remains obscure to the modern reader, so too do some of the most beautiful truths at the very center of the good news of Jesus Christ remain obscure. 

It can't be helped that the bad news comes first. We as a human race are in a bad way. The bad news is Psalm 14:2–3. When God looks down on every last man, woman, and child on planet earth "to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God," God's findings are always the same: There is no such person. "[A]ll have turned aside." All have raised their first in rebellion against the true King of creation. All have desired to depose him as their sovereign and take his seat on the throne of their lives. "They have all become corrupt." What else could one expect but corruption when one separates himself from the only source of good and life in existence? And in mankind's corruption, not even a single person actually does good.

So we're doomed to the frown of God for eternity, right? Yet David has the audacity to pray, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight." How can that be?

Now comes the good news. Hebrews 11:6 says it in its negative form: "And without faith it is impossible to please him." But don't you see what that implies? That implies that with faith it is possible to please him! There is something that we can offer up to God that, despite the muck on the face of the one making the offering, brings a great big beaming smile to the face of God, and that is our faith in him. 

When a person comes to God believing that he exists and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him, God is pleased with that person. When a person offers a word to God in faith, God finds that word not only acceptable but pleasing. When a person's thoughts have as their foundation a firm confidence that God is faithful to do exactly as he promised he would do—that is, reward those who seek him—those thoughts appear to him as very beautiful things, and he accepts them. He delights in them. He is pleased with people filled with such faith. And what is said of Abraham in Genesis 15:6 can be said of us: "And [Abraham] believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness," righteousness that is most certainly acceptable and pleasing to God.

So yes, no one is righteous. Not a single person. And at the very same time, without sacrificing an ounce of his righteous character, God is able to accept the faith-filled words and thoughts and actions of his faith-filled children with great joy. I don't think I could imagine anything greater than knowing that when God looks down at me, he smiles. My words, my thoughts, and the work of my hands—while nothing in and of themselves, as if God needed anything from me—nevertheless fill God with warm feelings. And that's possible only when all that I say, think, and do are rooted in faith in him and his steadfast promises.

So take heart. God accepts your faith-filled words! God is pleased by your faith-filled thoughts! He delights in the hands that work when those hands do so with confidence in his faithfulness.

Pleasing God by faith,

Eric

God reveals himself through nature and through his written word.

God's revelation in nature

1. God's revelation in nature is clear. You can't miss it.
2. God's revelation in nature is ongoing. He's speaking day and night.
3. God's revelation in nature is without words. God speaks not to our ears but to our eyes. 
4. God's revelation in nature is universal. All people on the earth have experienced it.
5. God's revelation is in nature majestic. When God reveals himself, he does so in a great and mighty way.

God's revelation in his written word

1. God's word is perfect. There is no error or mistake. It is inerrant, infallible, sufficient, and complete. God always fulfills his promises.
2. God's word is just and eternal. 
3. God's word is pure and holy.
4. God's word is better than wealth and food.
5. God's word reveals hidden things.
6. God's word reveals our pride.
7. God's word generates spiritual maturity.

Questions for personal reflection and/or group discussion

1. Which of these aspects of God's revelation most stands out to you and why?
2. Which of these aspects of God's revelation do you tend to notice and why? Which do you tend to miss and why?
3. How can you increase the ways in which you experience God's revelation to you, both through creation and through his word? 

Psalm 14:6 ESV​

​Pastor Neil said that the seemingly insignificant phrase "but the Lord" is one way to paraphrase the entire gospel message. That should not be a surprise if God really is as scripture says he is and if we really are how scripture says we are. 

Consider the inherent contrasts between a transcendent God and mortal man, a good Creator and his fallen creation, a holy Priest and his defiled parishioners, a faithful Lord and his unfaithful servant, a mighty King and his feeble subject, a just Advocate and his guilty client, an honorable Father and his rebellious children, and a devoted Husband and his promiscuous bride.

The contrasts could not be starker.

Because of those contrasts, then, we experience all sorts of other contrasts between how we wish life were and how life actually is, how things should be and how they are, what we long for and what we get.

How does God react in light of all the contrasts between God and his creation and between how life should be with how life is? That is precisely the heart of the gospel message.

Consider just a few examples from scripture of the phrase "but the Lord" and its sister phrase "but God":

"And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days. But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark" (Genesis 7:24–8:1).

"Then Israel said to Joseph, 'Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers'" (Genesis 48:21).

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today" (Genesis 50:20).

"Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now" (2 Kings 13:22–23).

"For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens" (1 Chronicles 16:26).

"The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished. But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice" (Psalm 9:6–7).

"You would shame the plans of the poor, but the Lord is his refuge" (Psalm 14:6).

"They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support" (Psalm 18:18).

"For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in" (Psalm 27:10).

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19).

"The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming" (Psalm 37:12–13).

"For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous" (Psalm 37:17).

"As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me" (Psalm 40:17).

"[Those who have foolish confidence] are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me" (Psalm 49:14–15).

"You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue. But God will break you down forever" (Psalm 52:4–5).

"Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death. But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways" (Psalm 68:20–21).

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psalm 73:26).

"[Wicked rulers] band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge" (Psalm 94:21–22).

"I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me" (Psalm 118:13).

"His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love" (Psalm 147:10–11).

"All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit" (Proverbs 16:2).

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps" (Proverbs 16:9).

"For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear" (Ecclesiastes 5:7).

"[T]he eyes of the haughty are brought low. But the Lord of hosts is exalted in justice" (Isaiah 5:15–16).

"Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread" (Isaiah 8:12–13).

"I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame" (Isaiah 50:6–7).

"For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you" (Isaiah 60:2).

"The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory" (Isaiah 60:19).

"Then I said, 'Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.' But the Lord said to me, 'Do not say, "I am only a youth"; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak'" (Jeremiah 1:6–7).

"[Idols] are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; they are all the work of skilled men. But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation" (Jeremiah 10:9–10).

"I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! 'Denounce him! Let us denounce him!' say all my close friends, watching for my fall. 'Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him.' But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me" (Jeremiah 20:10–11).

"[T]hey sacrifice meat and eat it, but the Lord does not accept them" (Hosea 8:13).

"The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel" (Joel 3:16).

"Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, 'I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, "Go, prophesy to my people Israel"'" (Amos 7:14).

"So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up" (Jonah 1:3–4).

"Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him" (Habakkuk 2:19–20).

"And [Martha] went up to [Jesus] and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister [Mary] has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.' But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her'" (Luke 10:41). 

"'And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you'" (Luke 12:19–20).

"You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts" (Luke 16:15).

"And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him" (Acts 7:9).

"And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven" (Acts 7:41–42).

"But Ananias answered, 'Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.' But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name'" (Acts 9:13–16).

"And [Peter] said to [Cornelius and the others], 'You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean'" (Acts 10:28).

"They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear" (Acts 10:39–40).

"For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:7–8).

"For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong" (1 Corinthians 1:26–27).

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" (1 Corinthians 3:6).

"For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus" (2 Corinthians 7:5–6).

"For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise" (Galatians 3:18).

"[You] were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ" (Ephesians 2:3–5).

"Pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one" (2 Thessalonians 3:1–3).

"[False teachers] are upsetting the faith of some. But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are his'" (2 Timothy 2:18–19).

"At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me" (2 Timothy 4:16–17).

It is impossible to overstate the contrasts between God and us, his creation, and it impossible to put into words the hurt we feel at the contrasts that exists between how things should be and how they are. But the Lord bridges the gap.

Evil and injustice may pile up to the very sky itself. But God is both just and the justifier of those who have faith in Jesus Christ.

​The world sits teetering on a precipice. But the Lord stands ready to save. This is the gospel we proclaim.

Be encouraged, dear flock. We're slow and wandering sheep. But God is the Good Shepherd.

Grace and peace,

Eric

Notice the development of some of the main ideas of Psalms 14 through 16:

Psalm 12: The psalmist cries, Help!
Psalm 13: The psalmist asks, How long, O Lord?
Psalm 14: The psalmist says in effect, it would be foolish to believe that God isn't there!
Psalm 15: The psalmist asks, How can I get to you, O Lord?
Psalm 16: The psalmist declares, You are already here with me.

Here we have a godly man preaching to himself when doubt seems to be creeping in. What causes people to doubt God?

1. Suffering. Times of hardship can make you ask the questions, Does God care? Does he even exist?
   
2. Science. You may have heard it said that science has disproved the existence of God, but that is not true. Science without a moral compass is lethal. Science can answer what happened and how it happened but not why it happened.
3. Separation. How can a God of love sentence people to a place of eternal death? Separation is a an essential part of both creation and judgment.
4. Sin. The dreadful things that the church has done in the name of God may make people doubt God. Because of such people and actions the name of God is blasphemed among the nations. Some want to cast off all restraint and live as if they didn't have to answer to anyone. If God is greater than we can possibly imagine, humans are much worse than we can possibly imagine. Do you think you're basically a good person? Don't believe your own propaganda. All of our best intentions are tainted by self-interest. 

"But the Lord" (Psalm 14:6) is one way to summarize the gospel. If you are struggling with doubt due to any of these four causes of doubt, let the reminder of Psalm 14:6 encourage you.

Questions for personal reflection and/or group discussion

1. Which of these four things (suffering, science, separation, sin) causes doubt to creep into your mind?
2. In the progression of some of the main themes of Psalms 12-16, where do you find yourself? For example, are you crying out to God for help? Asking how long this situation will last? In need of good reminders that God really is there? Asking yourself how you can get to God? Boldly declaring that God is already with you?
3. In which circumstances do you find yourself in which the words "but the Lord" are exactly what you need to hear?

​

Dear ICB family,
​
I've put all three of my brain cells to serious work trying to plumb the depths of this thing we call the fear of the LORD. What is it? How's it supposed to work? And what does it feel like?

It seems to me that at its base, fear is that emotion a human being feels when he is standing before something that is greater or stronger or more magnificent than he is. Fear is what you feel in the moment in which you realize you're small in the presence of something that you cannot control—something that could, very easily, control you or at least render your will useless. 

Fear morphs into terror in the cases of tigers, tornados, and tyrants. In these cases our natural fear is accompanied by a deep sense of insecurity. We're not sure whether these things (or people) will use their power over us to harm us or not. And the chance that they might do just that is terrifying.

But we don't only feel this way in the face of things that could cause our hurt. Consider the stars, the sea, or a sunset. There, too, we're in the presence of things that dwarf us, things that make us feel tiny and insignificant. There, too, we're faced with realities that are beyond our control. And in those cases, that feeling that wells up inside of us is also properly called fear. 

In Psalm 8 we're called to meditate on a God who looks down on the entire universe—all 93 billion lightyears of it—and considers it a fingerpainting. Is that not what verse 3 says? "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place…" (ESV). 

"Oh, this?" God says, glancing down at the universe stretched out on his coffee table. "Just a fingerpainting my Son and I were working on. Nothing too terribly important."

This kind of power makes atomic bombs seem like firecrackers. There is nothing in existence greater or more powerful or more magnificent than this Creator God, and as such, fear is exactly the right feeling to feel standing before him.

So what about terror? Would it ever be appropriate to fear God like we fear an escaped tiger or a tornado blowing right toward us or a tyrant threatening that our town is next?

Now that is a good question. And the answer is that it depends. Some should be terrified of God, just like those described in Revelation 6:15–17: "Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?'" For them, terror in the face of wrath is spot on.

Yet not all should be terrified at the thought of God. Consider the rest of the sentence that begins in Psalm 8:3 but that continues into verse 4: "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?"

Did you catch that? He's mindful of us. He cares for us. Omnipotent power in the tips of his fingers—yes. A mind full of thoughts and a heart full of care toward his beloved creation—that's also true of our Creator God. And in case there's any doubt as to what kind of thoughts God has toward his creation, King David says it this way in Psalm 139:17–18: "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you." God's thoughts are good and therefore precious. And they're more numerous than the grains of sand on all the beaches and in all the desert of the world.

Kind of takes your breath away.

So what makes the difference between those "kings" and "great ones" and "generals" and "the rich" and "the powerful" and "everyone, slave and free" who will hide themselves and wish for the swift death of a landslide on the day Jesus appears to judge the earth on the one hand and King David on the other hand? Why such different reactions—one terror, one holy fear—to the same God?

It's not that the first group were sinners and King David was sinless. It's that David knew something that the group in Revelation didn't know: "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity" (Psalm 32:1–2a, another Psalm of David). David writes, "I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin" (verse 5).

So yes, "Many are the sorrows of the wicked" (verse 10), meaning terror is exactly what the wicked should feel, but David, a sinful man himself, simply took his wickedness to God and asked for forgiveness because he knew that "steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD" (verse 10). Therefore David can "be glad in the LORD" and "rejoice" and "shout for joy" (verse 11) at the very same time that he continues to fear his Almighty Maker. 

Yes, God made the universe with his fingers, but his thoughts toward his forgiven son or daughter are many, and they are good.

May you know this kind of fear and this kind of love.

Eric