He Gives His Beloved Sleep

It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep Psalm 127:2 NKJV


Usually, those that rise early do not care for sitting up late, nor can those that sit up late easily persuade themselves to rise early; but there are some so hot upon the world that they will do both, will rob their sleep to pay their cares. And they have as little comfort in their meals as in their rest; they eat the bread of sorrows. It is part of our sentence that we eat our bread in the sweat of our face; but those go further: all their days they eat in darkness, Ecclesiastes 5:17. They are continually fell of care, which embitters their comforts, and makes their lives a burden to them. All this is to get money, and all in vain except God prosper them, for riches are not always to men of understanding, Ecclesiastes 9:11. Those that love God, and are beloved of him, have their minds easy and live very comfortably without this ado. Solomon was called Jedidiah—Beloved of the Lord (2 Samuel 12:25); to him the kingdom was promised, and then it was in vain for Absalom to rise up early, to wheedle the people, and for Adonijah to make such a stir, and to say, I will be king. Solomon sits still, and, being beloved of the Lord, to him he gives sleep and the kingdom too. Note, Inordinate excessive care about the things of this world is a vain a d fruitless thing. We weary ourselves for vanity if we have it, and often weary ourselves in vain for it, Hag. 1:6, 9.

Bodily sleep is God’s gift to his beloved. We owe it to his goodness that our sleep is safe (Psalm 4:8), that it is sweet, Jeremiah 31:25, 26. God gives us sleep as he gives it to his beloved when with it he gives us grace to lie down in his fear (our souls returning to him and reposing in him as our rest), and when we awake to be still with him and to use the refreshment we have by sleep in his service. He gives his beloved sleep, that is, quietness and contentment of mind, and comfortable enjoyment of what is present and a comfortable expectation of what is to come. Our care must be to keep ourselves in the love of God, and then we may be easy whether we have little or much of this world.

Psalm 24: Living in God’s World

In less than a month we will be hosting the world’s greatest golfers at Wentworth, for the HSBC World Match Play Championship. Those coming include Michael Campbell from New Zealand, 24th in the world ranking and winner last year; David Howell, from the UK, 10th in the world and currently number 1 on the European Tour; and of course, the world’s number one, named after our cat, Tiger Woods. His smile is infectious and his composure unrivalled.

Not surprisingly, a number of international corporations are keen to sponsor him. Probably the most visual, when you see Tiger in action is on his cap - the simple tick logo of Nike. It’s associated with the phrase… ‘Just do it.’ Now that may win marks for being memorable but its not exactly motivational or even original. ‘Just do it’ Just do what? I much prefer the original version found in our epistle this morning, “So … whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Now that’s what I call motivational, isn’t it? “So … whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

One of Tiger Wood’s other main sponsors is Accenture. You may know Tim and Michele Breene who are members of our extended church family now living in Boston. Tim is Accenture’s chief strategy officer and I happened to be visiting them in Boston a few years ago when the proofs came back for the first Accenture adverts featuring Tiger Wood. I am sure you have seen them in magazines or airport terminals. I am using them as my screen saver at the moment. They combine both subtle humour and simple wisdom.

They sound like ancient proverbs. Here’s a few. With a picture of Tiger obscured by a tree, “They’re only obstacles if you can’t see round them” … In another Tiger is reflected upside down in the water of a hazard “Extraordinary insights often come from uncommon perspectives” Another shows him trying to hit off a steep slope with the words “There’s no such thing as a level playing field.”

Another shows him bent over the ball frozen in total concentration. The slogan says, ‘Some watch, some wait, some pounce - go on be a Tiger” The purpose of these adverts, and of any good adverts, is to motivate us and bring business to the sponsors. Now we may never be as good as Tiger but we can be the best we can. We just need motivation. My favourite advert in this series shows him in ecstasy with both arms stretched toward the heavens and with a broad smile from cheek to cheek. The slogan reads “There’s a moment when perfect theory meets perfect execution.” We know why it is rare in golf, even for the professionals, but why should the perfect be so rare in our personal lives, in our marriages, our families and in our work? It doesn’t have to be.

We just need to look in the right place for wisdom, motivation and encouragement. Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Who in deed? Let’s find out. Please turn with me to Psalm 24 and let’s find some answers. Before David even asks this question, the Psalm begins with God. Begins with David’s presuppositions. His base line. His foundation.

“The earth is the LORD'S, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.” (Psalm 24:1)

Last week we considered Psalm 14. The first verse of that Psalm could not have been more different to this one. “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We saw last week that without that fear and respect, without that recognition of the presence of God, there is only fear and dread. Whether it be fear of global warming, fear of terrorism, fear of violent crime, fear of AIDS, fear of redundancy, fear of divorce, fear of being alone, fear of death, for in this world, without God there is only fear and read. That is why, if we are to find meaning and hope it begins by recognising, verse 1, that we inhabit a world created and sustained by Almighty God. He has created us with meaning and purpose, with dignity and value - in His image.

He is the Almighty (24:10)
He is the King of Glory (24:9)
He is strong and mighty (24:8)
He is the God of history (24:6)
He is the God our Saviour (24:5)
He is God the Lord (24:5)
He is the God who blesses (24:5)
He is God the Holy one, high and lifted up (24:3)
He is God the Creator (24:2)
He is God the Owner (24:1).

Notice how the attributes of Almighty God seep from virtually every verse of this short Psalm. Making sense of this world requires asking the right questions. Knowing we are in God’s presence, the right question is asked in verse 3.

1. The Question Asked
“Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?” (Psalm 24:3). Three observations implicit in this journey, this quest for meaning and purpose.

This is an Upward Path “Who may ascend the hill?”
This is an Inhabited Path “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?
This is a Sacred Path “Who may stand in his Holy place?”

The word that best describes this journey or quest is ‘transcendence’. R.C. Sproul tells us that transcendence means literally, "to climb across." It is defined as "exceeding the usual limits." When we speak of the transcendence of God we are talking about that sense in which God is above and beyond us. He is higher than the world. He has absolute power over the world. The world has no power over Him. Transcendence describes God in His consuming majesty, His exalted loftiness. He is an infinite cut above everything else. [The Holiness of God p. 55]. The question asked.

2. The Conditions Given
our things are needed to ascend the hill of the LORD “He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.” (Psalm 24:4)

There you have it. Four simple conditions: Clean hands. Pure heart.
Devoted soul. Honest motives. Clean hands and a pure heart.

The first two are intimately connected. The term “clean hands” is a neat illustration. At any given time your hands can have millions of bacteria crawling all over them. Right now you have more bacteria on your body than there are people in the world. Your hands are the hardest things to keep clean, because we use our hands to open doors and shake hands, to touch things we maybe shouldn’t and then we put them in our mouths. We use them to clean ourselves with and then we eat with them - so no wonder we get funny tummies sometimes. Yet our hands also affect our hearts as well as our stomachs. We use our hands to choose the TV channels. To open books and magazines. To pick up the phone. To touch. Our hands and hearts our intimately connected. They either help us ascend into God’s presence or they lead us downward, and astray.

So the Pharisees naturally thought, “if we wash our hands and can refrain from eating unclean foods, then our hearts will be clean.” Jesus said, “don’t be so naive!” “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make you ‘unclean.’ The hands are only motivated by what is within - from our heart. So we need clean hands AND a clean heart.

David gives the second part of his answer, “who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.” (Psalm 24:4)

Both of these sins have to do with God’s reputation. God is known as a “jealous” God - in the sense that he will not share his glory with any other false god. He demands our exclusive worship and devotion. He is the only true God and the only God of truth. Therefore, we need to be devoted to him only and ask him to help us only speak the truth. We cannot serve both God and materialism.

But if the Psalm finished there we would never be able to enter into God’s sanctuary. There is no way that alone, in our own efforts, we can stand in the presence of holiness. It is as if we are standing at the bottom Mount Snowdon with two broken legs, with two fifty pound weights strapped to our arms, and with dirty hands that can’t grip anything. Like Jack and Jill, we may try to get up the hill to fetch a crown of glory, but in our own strength, we will fall down and break our crowns. The hill is too steep. As David said, in Psalm 51
“I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:3-5) So we have the question asked and the conditions given. But notice thirdly,

The Benefits Bestowed
He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Saviour. (Psalm 24:6)
David realized that he didn’t have the hands or the heart to enter God’s presence. He needed someone with more wisdom and strength to climb the hill and enter God’s presence. He needed a Saviour! And so in His Psalm he continues,

Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty—he is the King of glory.” (Psalm 24:7-10)

Jerusalem is up on a hill. When you enter it from the south, east or west, there is a steep incline leading up to it. On the Eastern side, overlooking the Kidron Valley and the Mount of Olives is the Golden Gate. It is blocked now but tradition says that Jesus entered through them on Palm Sunday. Many people had entered Jerusalem through this way. But none of them had clean hands and a pure heart. When Jesus entered through these gates, the prayer of David was answered. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ‘The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

The gates lifted up their heads and welcomed Jesus. Why did they respond to Jesus this way? He had shown his power. He had shown his might. He had exorcised their demons. He had healed their diseases. He cared for them with clean hands and a pure heart, unlike their religious leaders. But Jesus was not done climbing the mountain. He was only at the foothills. He was just beginning the ascent. He still had to climb another - called Golgotha. This mountain would be muddy, grungy, filthy, disgusting, and steep. The only way that he could re- enter the Most Holy Place that he had come from - was if he - like the priests of the Old Testament - would offer a sacrifice - not for his sins - but for the sins of the world. It was on that cross that Jesus pure hands were nailed with impurity. His heart was stabbed by the spear of our sins and poisoned with our sinful blood. God would accept no other sacrifice - than that of a pure Lamb - to enter into that Holy Place. This was the battle that Jesus came to fight - the hill that he came to climb. Not to fight against the Romans. But to fight against sin. To conquer Satan, and suffer through hell itself in our place.

“Ride on, ride on, in majesty. In lowly pomp, ride on to die!” It sounds like a strange song. But at the bottom of a slippery hill, that’s the only way that we could get to be in God’s presence. When Jesus went to the cross, he took us with Him. He exchanged His holiness for our sinfulness. He gave us the pure heart and cleansed hands we need to enter God’s presence.

“Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God” (Psalm 24:6)When David looked at this world, he compared it to an uphill struggle. God never said life would be easy. But many times, it seems like we’re at the bottom of a mountain. We ask, how will I ever get through these health problems? How will I ever raise these kids in a right way? How will I ever stand before God’s judgment when I have so many evil thoughts and deeds? The mountain is high, and we don’t have the resources to climb with.
Who May Ascend the Hill of the LORD? The King of Glory has come and answered it - not just with words - but with actions.

Jesus rode into Jerusalem to die in your place. And so when David asks, “who may ascend the hill of the LORD?” you know the answer. You may. And you will - if you are in the hands of Christ. I’d like to close with a video clip…

The Bible says my King is a seven-way king....He's the King of the Jews; that's a racial king....He's the King of Israel; that's a national King....He's the King of Righteousness....He's the King of the Ages.....He's the King of Heaven....He's the King of Glory....He's the King of kings, and He's the Lord of lords. That's my King. Well....I wonder, do you know Him?.... David said, "The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork. My King is a sovereign King. No means of measure can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply. No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings. He's enduringly strong....He's entirely sincere....He's eternally steadfast....He's immortally graceful....He's imperially powerful....He's impartially merciful....... Do you know Him?
He's the greatest phenomenon that ever crossed the horizon of this world. He's God's Son....He's a sinner's Saviour....He's the centerpiece of civilization....He stands in the solitude of Himself....He's august....He's unique....He's unparalleled....He's unprecedented....He's the loftiest idea in literature....He's the highest personality in philosophy....He's the supreme problem in higher criticism....He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology....He's the cardinal necessity for spiritual religion....He's the miracle of the age.... He's the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him....He's the only one qualified to be an all sufficient Saviour...... I wonder if you know Him today?

He supplies strength for the weak....He's available for the tempted and the tried....He sympathizes and He saves....He strengthens and sustains....He guards and He guides....He heals the sick....He cleanses lepers....He forgives sinners....He discharges debtors....He delivers captives....He defends the feeble....He blesses the young....He serves the unfortunate....He regards the aged....He rewards the diligent....and He beautifies the meek....... I wonder if you know Him?

Well, my King....is the King....He's the key to knowledge....He's the wellspring to wisdom....He's the doorway of deliverance....He's the pathway of peace....He's the roadway of righteousness ....He's the highway of holiness....He's the gateway of glory....... Do you know Him?

Well....His office is manifold....His promise is sure....His light is matchless....His goodness is limitless....His mercy is everlasting....His love never changes....His word is enough....His grace is sufficient....His reign is righteous....and His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you, but He's indescribable....He's incomprehensible....He's invincible....He's irresistible.

Well, you can't get Him out of your mind....You can't get Him off of your hand....You can't out live Him, and you can't live without Him....The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him....Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him....The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree....Herod couldn't kill Him....Death couldn't handle Him, and the grave couldn't hold Him. Yea!!!, that's my King, that's my King.

Father..."Thine is the Kingdom....and the Power....and the Glory....Forever"....and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever. How long is that? And ever...and ever...and when you get through with all the forevers, then.... AMEN!....AMEN!

By Dr. S.M. Lockridge

With grateful thanks to John Pankow and Colon Coombs for some of the ideas used in this sermon, gratefully found at http://www.sermoncentral.com/

All Things Work For Good

Volume 44, No. 25
Genesis 50:15-21; Romans 8:28-39
Sermon prepared by Rev. Carel Geleynse, Flamborough, Ont.

Sermon
Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Rom. 8:28) Think for a moment about who wrote these words, inspired by the Holy Spirit, of course. These are words that came from the pen of the apostle Paul. This is the same man who wrote that "Five times I received from the Jews the 40 lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked (II Corinthians 11:24-27)." "In all things God works for the good of those who love him."

How can Paul say this? Does he really believe it? Some who hear this may be inclined to say, "come off it, this is merely some religious talk, one of those typical pious statements which may make us feel good but really does not mean very much." Let's face it, this is one of those texts of the Bible that we can find so irritating at times, particularly when people quote it to us in the face of some sort of disaster.

As we are struggling with cancer, or some other illness; as we are constantly having to live with the effects of depression or some other chronic ailment which affects us every minute of our lives; as we are struggling with abuse in our lives which we cannot seem to shake; as we live with poverty or are facing terrible drought conditions; or as we stand at the grave side of someone we deeply loved, some people will remind us of that text, "in all things God works for the good of those who love him."

Others will speak about tragedies as "blessings in disguise," and yet others will simply say, when something happens, that "it is God's will." These sorts of lines, while they may be easy to say, are sometimes very difficult to believe. At times they can be irritating and perhaps even for some infuriating. And often, if said at a funeral or in the face of some tragedy, they are of very little comfort to us at that moment.

In 1979 a tornado hit the town of Woodstock, Ontario. Included in the terrible destruction was the Maranatha CRC and the Woodstock Christian School. The church and the school were left in ruins. Thankfully no one was in the school or the church at the time. Little consolation could be given at that time with the lines, "It is God's will; "all things work for good for those who love the Lord," or "this is perhaps a blessing in disguise." At that time the people could only see destruction and years of work and energy destroyed in one fell swoop.

Think of Joseph, whom we read about earlier from the book of Genesis. The Bible tells us that "Israel (or Jacob) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons (he had 12 in all), because he had been born to him in his old age." (Genesis 37:3) This love led to Jacob adorning his son with the coat of many colors, as it has become known. It is recorded that "when his brothers saw that their father loved him (Joseph) more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him." (Genesis 37:4) Later on their hatred led them to want to kill their 17-year-old brother. But instead of being killed he was thrown into a pit and then sold as a slave to the Midianites. Jacob was told that his son had been killed by a wild animal.

Meanwhile Joseph was sold to the Egyptians where he spent a great deal of time in prison on false charges. While Joseph stayed true to the God of his fathers, I suspect it would have been of little comfort to the teenager if we would have told him at the time that he was being sold into slavery, "this is a blessing in disguise. This is God's will. Don't worry, Joseph, remember that all things work for the good of those who love the Lord." As he was being tied up and dragged away from his family and everything he knew, he could probably not see much good in it. As a matter of fact, he was probably terrified, as any person would be. He was being torn from his family, against his will, and led to an unknown future; as a matter of fact he probably figured he would end up dead somewhere and never see his father or family again.

That is usually the way it is when someone we love dies, or when a tornado strikes, or when an illness we dread hits someone: we tend to wonder about God's will. We tend to wonder about the good in it. And certainly the idea of it being a blessing in disguise is really not much comfort to us at that time.

And yet, it is often the case that when something happens people will, almost naturally, begin to search for the good in it. That search can sometimes become a frantic one in which a strenuous effort is made to at least find something "good" in a horrible situation. The need to find something "good" in a horrible situation is necessary; it seems to somehow make the situation more palatable. "There must be something good that comes out of everything that happens," we tell ourselves, "because if there is nothing good then things are, indeed, meaningless."

And sometimes there are some things that we point to and say, "If it would not have been for the illness, the person may have never come to know the Lord. If it were not for the death of a parent, the brothers and sisters may have never been reunited. If it were not for some natural disaster, people may never know what it means to share or to give of themselves."

Thinking back to Woodstock and the aftermath of the tornado, some would probably suggest that it was a blessing in disguise. Both of the buildings were restored. An old school was modernized and expanded. An old church was modernized and expanded. The Christian Reformed community was able to worship for quite some time in a Presbyterian Church in town and through it all became more a part of the community than ever before. There were probably other positive things that came out of the disaster of 1979.

Look at Joseph. The litany of woes he experienced in his life led him to Pharaoh's court to interpret a dream. That interpretation of the dream, given to Joseph by the Lord, led to Joseph being made second in command in Egypt, which led in turn to Jacob's family coming to Egypt in search of food during the 7-year famine. When Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to look for food little did they know that they stood in the presence of their own brother Joseph. But such was the case.

God had worked it so that the result was that Joseph ended up saving his father and his brothers and providing them a place in Egypt where they were watered and fed during thefamine. When the brothers finally discovered what had happened and that Joseph was now a powerful ruler, they fell on their knees and begged for mercy. But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." (Genesis 50:19-21) I'm sure you can add your own story of something good coming out of a bad situation.

Sometimes that "good" we are searching for is hard to find. We wonder if any "good" can be found among the murder victims of our land, or if any good can come out of the carnage on many a highway, as people's lives are suddenly brought to a screeching halt because of an accident. We wonder about the "good" in places where the atrocities seem to continue in spite of all sorts of peace initiatives.

Closer to home, we wonder what good can come out of the loss of a child, or the illness of a child. What good can come out of a lack of rain? What good can come out of an ongoing life of abuse? What good can come from broken relationships? And so on. The list is long and each of us can think of situations in which we wonder. In such situations, upon hearing the words of our text, we may be inclined to clench our teeth and say, "yeah, right, sure. God is working for my good in all of this misery?"

And yet, the Bible records the words of our text not merely as a theory of some sort that is usually or quite often correct, but it records the words of the text as a fact. It is simply a fact, whether we like it, or understand it, or experience it or not, that all things, note the words, all things, including those things we would consider as "bad", work for the good of those who love the Lord. The reason the Bible can make such a pronouncement is because it recognizes that the Lord God is the ruler or the governor of all things.

Romans 8:28 is a text that is found in a chapter dealing with the process of salvation, which, of course, will be climaxed with the return of the Lord Jesus upon the clouds of heaven. It is a process that will culminate in the presence of the new heaven and the new earth. It is on that new earth where those who love the Lord will dwell for all eternity.

This is, of course, ultimately what this text is talking about. God is working out his plan of salvation in the world and nothing can stop him, and everything that happens somehow finds its place in that plan. While we may not understand it from our perspective, yet it all fits together. It is like the example of the embroidery. On the underside of the embroidery there are strings going every which way, but on the top a beautiful picture is emerging. God sees the top, we see the bottom. But everything that happens flows through the hands of the Almighty and is woven into the tapestry of history. We don't always understand it.

Consider Joseph and his trials. The saving of Joseph ensured the continuation of the people of Israel, from whom the Messiah, the Lord Jesus was to come, and did come. We can be sure that Joseph did not understand what was happening to him when his brothers sold him into slavery, and he probably protested and sobbed endlessly as he was dragged away by the Midianites. It was only in retrospect that Joseph was able to explain what happened. But that is not always the case.

We don't always have an answer as to why bad things happen as they do. "And it is foolish to pretend to know when we don't," writes Dr. Neal Plantinga in his book A Sure Thing. "We sometimes think we can tell what good reason God might have for allowing evil, but often we can only guess.

"Maybe God allows people great freedom to do both evil and good because else they wouldn't be humans at all, but only robots. Maybe God doesn't turn all guns into salami and all bullets into bubbles because then the world wouldn't be real and couldn't be counted on. Maybe God allows diseases and tornadoes to make us depend on Him or to make us more courageous. Maybe God sometimes sends punishments on a whole nation. Or maybe there are times when a person's suffering — and the way he handles it — draws others closer to God.

"It is hard to say in a particular case. Often we do not know why God permits a certain evil. But we do know this: just as a doctor must sometimes hurt you in order to help you, so God is always working with us for good. Even when we can't see it or tell it. That is sometimes harder to accept. But no God, and no good, would be even harder to accept.

"We know one more thing. Our Lord Jesus himself, as he died inch by inch from his fatal wounds, shouted 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'

"Two days later he was alive again and speaking peace to his disciples. God does act against evil and for good. It is part of his providence." (Plantinga, A Sure Thing, pg. 45)

"In all things God works for the good of those who love Him." The reason why the Bible can make this statement is because it takes a very wide view of life and history. Our view is always very limited, and therefore we struggle.

Consider the bee. In its first stage of life or of development it is in a hexagonal cell wherein enough honey is stored for it to eat from until it reaches maturity. The honey and the bee are sealed with a capsule of wax. Once all the honey is gone, it is time for the bee to come out of the cell. The wrestling, the struggle, the strain the bee has to do to get out is apparently quite something. It has to remove the wax cap which is no easy task and then it has to climb out of the cell, which by now is a tight prison. We may be inclined to have pity on the struggling bee, and we may wonder why it has to have such a rough time. Yet in the agony of the exit the bee rubs off the membrane that hid its wings. Once out of the cell and rid of the membrane, the bee is able to fly! What good is there in the struggle? The bee will not see that until afterward. He may even question the necessity for the struggle and the agony. But ultimately it is for his good.

So it is also in human life. All sorts of painful things may happen to us. "Our hearts may be broken a thousand times in this world, and our bodies wracked with pain. But these things are part of the Refiner's fire, the crucible of the kingdom of God." (R.C. Sproul, The Invisible Hand, pg. 175)

That which we experience here on earth is part of that struggle of life in a sin-filled world. What good is there in the struggle? Now we may not see, but James does tell us that the testing of our faith produces perseverance and spiritual maturity. Ultimately, says the Bible, it is worked for our good by the One who has all of history in His hands.

The story is told that when St. Augustine was advanced in years, he saw the storm clouds rising of the imminent invasion of the Roman empire by the barbarians. He feared the marauding host would destroy the work he had labored to establish. He went to God in prayer and uttered a petition in three parts. He first asked that his people would be spared the devastation that could result from the barbarian invasion. Second, he asked that if that were not the will of God that he be given the grace to accept it. Finally, he prayed that in either case God would take him home soon. (Sproul, The Invisible Hand, pg. 175)

Augustine could say along with Martin Luther the words of Luther's well known hymn: "Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also." And they could say this because they believed and understood deep in their hearts that all of history, and all that happened to them found its place in the governing hands of the Lord of the universe, a Lord who continues to work out the plan of salvation.

One final note. The text talks about all of this in the context of "those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Rom. 8:28) God's people are being discussed here. Those who do not know the Lord and who remain unrepentant will ultimately not have everything work for the good. Rather such posture invokes the wrath of God. But those who love the Lord can live with the utter security and assurance that they belong to their faithful Savior Jesus Christ, in life and in death, and nothing is able to separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

While we may not in the midst of misery like to hear such statements as found in our text, yet it is true that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. Surely this is where our comfort lies.

Amen.