The Danger of "Going to Church"

"We have thought on Your steadfast love, O God,

in the midst of Your temple.

As Your name, O God,

so Your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.

Your right hand is filled with righteousness.

(Psalm 48:8-9)

This was a favorite verse of mine to meditate upon during my third year of seminary. In fact, in the extremely small print compact ESV Bible I used at that time, it was one of the few passages that got highlighted.

As I was meditating on this verse afresh today, the Lord brought something new to me. Something extremely simple, but to me, exceedingly profound.

There is a very real possibility of being "in the midst of [God's] temple" physically, and yet not think on God's great steadfast love. We can "be there" physically, and yet not "be there" in either Spirit or truth (cf. John 4:24). In fact, I would venture to say that if we were all honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that all to often, we have been guilty many of times of gathering for the purpose of 'worship', only to have had our minds and hearts and affections far away.

The Psalmist does merely come to the temple. He comes to the temple to meditate upon God's glorious steadfast love and beauty (cf. Psalm 27:4). This implies that it is not impossible to come to God's "house", and yet fail to meditate on Him, or worse, to meditate upon something else (I.e the sin of idolatry).
 

This is the very thing that Jesus rebuked the extremely religious Pharisees for doing: "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." (Mark 7:6-7, quoting Isa. 29:13)

The question we need to ask ourselves everytime we gather as Christ's bride on the Lord's Day is this: "have we 'done church', or have we truly "thought on [God's] steadfast love"?

The Hebrew word the ESV translates "steadfast love" (khesed) is perhaps one of my favorite words in all of the OT. Though it certainly carries the tones of "mercy" (KJV), it is much richer than that, as it mingles in the ideas also of "love" (NIV) and "grace". Most importantly, this rich word carries the idea of "covenant-love loyalty" (my translation; cf. ESV, NET, NLT).

The best picture of the idea of khesed is seen in the book of Hosea, where Yahweh, Isreal's God, at great pains to Himself redeems and restores His faithless bride (pictured by Hosea's wife Gomer).

The reason why God never lets go? Because God loves His people, and has made an everlasting covenant to be their God, He pursues her - even when she is running away from His love - and reclaims the nation to Himself.

Israel, in response to this "unfailing love" (NLT), in reponse to this "loyal love" (NET), in response to this "steadfast love", is to worship Yahweh. In fact, this is one of the most reoccuring refrains in all of the OT: "Give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever."

Dear Christian, when you come to church, think much, and reflect deeply, upon God's great steadfast love, shown most poignantly and powerfully in the cross of Jesus Christ.

How often we as Christ's redeemed bride gather together, but do anything but think upon God's great khesedi for us undeserving sinners. When we do so, the inevitable result of the Holy Spirit within us, whose great ministry is to magnify the Son, will verses 10-11:

As Your name, O God,

so Your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.

Your right hand is filled with rightoeusness.

Let Mount Zion be glad!

Let the daughters of Judah rejoice,

because of Your justice."



Being in "the south", I was able to talk with an elderly lady last night at the airport. Though she had been baptized and had some form of religion, she really and sadly had no concept of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I could only bemoan how many of our churches are filled with such people who come to church Sunday after Sunday, and yet never reflect upon the glorious gospel of God's khesed for us in Jesus Christ.

May we, according to verses 12-13 "inspect" this gospel. May we mediate upon it, memorize it, sing it, preach it, pray it, believe it, act on it.

 In Christ, and for His glory to the ends of the earth,

Pastor Ryan