Peter Misselbrook's Blog

Nov 10 2019 - Psalm 127 – Unless the Lord builds the house

We have been reading about the attempts by the returning exiles to reconstruct the temple in Jerusalem. Against that background, what psalm could be more suitable for us this morning than Psalm 127 with its opening assertion:

Unless the LORD builds the house,
    the builders labour in vain. (Psalm 127:1)

The psalm is ascribed to Solomon and we can readily see how it might have been composed for the situation he found himself in as he succeeded his father David as king over Israel. There was so much to be done. There was the temple to be built, concerning which his father had left him instructions and had set aside building materials. There was the city of Jerusalem which David had captured from the Jebusites and made the capital city of the kingdom and, symbolically, the city where God dwelt in the midst of his people. How could this city be kept safe from capture by hostile nations? Then there was the matter of the succession. David had several wives and many children, but this had not always proved a blessing. Absalom had killed his half-brother Amnon for raping his sister Tamar. Later there had been arguments about which of David's sons would succeed him as king which led to Solomon ordering the death of his half-brother Adonijah. Royal children could prove a problem. How was Solomon going to cope with all these many responsibilities? They threatened to drive him to distraction and to get nothing accomplished. They threatened to rob him of sleep and fill his mind with worries.

The Lord appeared to the newly anointed king in a dream and said to Solomon, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you" (1 Kings 3:5). Is it any wonder that he responded:

Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours? (3:7-9)

Solomon knows that he cannot take on the work of being king over God's people in his own strength and by his own efforts. He needs help. He needs the Lord to help him, to guide him by his Spirit and to give him the wisdom he needs for doing the work to which God has called him.

This psalm expresses Solomon's testimony. The Lord's help is needed in building the house of the Lord and establishing his kingdom among his people. Without God's help nothing will be accomplished – the efforts of the workmen will be in vain. The city requires guards on the walls but again, this is not enough. The Lord must be their help, he must safeguard his city. Knowing that God is with you, enabling you to do what he has asked of you, means you can lay down at night and enjoy restful sleep in the knowledge that the God who neither slumbers nor sleeps loves you and watches over you. And, knowing that God is with you in the ordinary but delightful affairs of daily family life makes you aware that children are precious gifts from him, not problems to be managed. 

You may have sometimes heard a preacher say concerning the Christian life that one needs to "let go and let God". That was not the view of Solomon, nor should it be our view. God does not require us to switch our lives into remote control: he calls us to be responsible, passionate and energetic in the work to which he has called us, while always acknowledging our utter dependence upon him. Jesus also calls us to prayerful dependency knowing that without him we can do nothing but that we can do all things as he gives us wisdom and strength.

Lord, teach us the lessons of this psalm and give us the humble and prayerful spirit of the young Solomon. Keep us from the wilfulness, self-aggrandisement and idolatry that so marred his later life. May our labour, performed by the direction and power of your Spirit, never be in vain.

Nov 10 2020 - John 7:32-52 – Rivers of living water

The Feast of Tabernacles was designed to remind the Israelites of the way in which God had cared for them when they lived for 40 years in a dry and thirsty wilderness. God had kept them alive by providing them with food and with water. On two occasions God had miraculously provided them with water from a rock.

On the last day of the feast Jesus declared to the crowds, “If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink. Anyone who believes in me will have rivers of living water flowing out from his heart, just as the Scriptures said.” This is not the first time that Jesus has spoken of himself as the source of living water (cf. 4:10-14; 6:35), but here he speaks of this water flowing like a river from those who believe in him.

But the most puzzling element in Jesus’ words is his statement that this had been prophesied in Scripture. What Scripture is Jesus referring to? It may be that Jesus has no particular Scripture in mind but is speaking generally of the way in which his coming fulfils all that was written beforehand (cf. 5:39) – the way in which Israel was provided with water in the wilderness was just a foretaste of the provision of life-giving water in and through Jesus. Nevertheless, I like to think that one of the Scriptures that Jesus had in mind was the remarkable prophecy regarding God’s renewal of life to his covenant people that we find in the latter chapters of Ezekiel.

In particular, in Ezekiel 47:1-12 we have a striking picture of water flowing from the temple in Jerusalem. The remarkable thing about this water is that the water gets deeper as it flows further from its source, yet it has no other tributaries feeding it along the way! Streaming from the temple this river gives life to whatever it touches. There are trees flourishing on its banks bearing fruit for food and leaves for healing. The waters flow on to revive stagnant swamps and turn the salt sea fresh so that it teems with life, providing food to all who fish there. This stream of life flows from the temple, it proceeds from the presence of God with his people.

Jesus is the one in whom this Scripture finds its fulfilment – the one in whom God has returned to his temple and has come to dwell among us. The river of the water of life flows from him.

John tells us that Jesus was speaking of the Spirit which had not yet been poured out because Jesus had not yet been glorified. For John, Jesus’ glorification is tied up with the cross. In his death the age of death is brought to judgment – the wilderness is at an end. In his resurrection a new age has dawned, a new creation has sprung into life. With his ascension the Spirit is poured out bringing life to all who believe in him – the cross becomes the Tree of Life from which we may now take and eat and live for ever. But more than that, we too then become the source of life – rivers of living water flow from us into a dry and dusty world, bringing life and healing.

Shine, Jesus, shine
Fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth Your Word, Lord And let there be light

Lord Jesus, fill me with your living water, and may it then flow from me to bring your life and healing to those living in a dry and thirsty world. Help me to scour out of my life anything that would prevent the living water from flowing freely.

Peter Misselbrook