Introduction
It reminds us of Joshua 4 when they set up a memorial at Gilgal, that's possible, but nonetheless it's before they cross over. The land has been conquered and before they cross over they set up this altar of impressive size, one that can be seen from afar. And so The children of Israel, the Western tribes, get wind of this. Notice verse 11.
Now the children of Israel heard someone say, Behold, the children of Gad, the children of Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the children of Israel's side. So they got wind of this, they got word of this, that the Eastern tribes had built this giant altar. Notice what their response is in verse 12. And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them.
Seems a little hasty, doesn't it? It's just an altar. As Davis says in his commentary, what can an altar alter? What does this mean?
What does this look like? Why are they crying out for war right away? Why are they grabbing their swords and their bows? That will be explained for us in a moment.
So they sound the battle cry in verse 12, and then in verses 13 through 15 they send delegates to deal with them. Then the children of Israel sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead. And with him ten rulers, One ruler each from the chief house of every tribe of Israel, and each one was the head of the house of his father among the divisions of Israel. And they came and they speak to their brothers on the eastern side.
Now, Phineas is a very interesting character. This is Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the grandson of Aaron. This isn't Phineas, the son of Eli, because he's not born yet, Phineas, the son of Eli, but nonetheless, it's Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the grandson of Aaron. In this instance, Joshua is not mentioned.
I think there's an important point for that, but we'll get to Phineas in a moment, because he pops up in history in some interesting times in the life of Israel. And so they gather these arms, they gather these delegates, they go and engage in diplomacy before they engage in warfare. And notice what they say in verse 16, we see the reason for why they grab their swords and bows.
Perception of Apostasy
Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, what treachery is this, that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord, and that you have built an altar for yourselves, that you might rebel this day against the Lord? They perceive this altar as a sign of apostasy. They perceive this altar as a rival to that of Shiloh. If you remember back to Deuteronomy chapter 12 on the plains of Moab, when Moses is describing the proper place of worship, God speaks of a place that he shall choose.
In verses 10 through 14. But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, then there will be the place where the Lord your God chooses to make his name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you, your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heaves of offerings of your hand, and all of your choice offerings which you vowed to the Lord. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, male servants, female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you.
And even further, in verse 13,
Regulative Principle in Joshua 22
In a lot of ways, they're crying out against what we call the regulative principle of worship in the Old Covenant. They see this altar as one that rivals that of Shiloh, so much so that they say they're breaking worship with the Lord. They're rebelling against the Lord God Almighty. And worship, brothers and sisters, is a central focus throughout all of Scripture.
Think about the fall of mankind. Man desired to worship himself instead of the true and the living God. All the Old Testament is laden with the idea of worship when we think of the Book of Kings. How does the writer describe the kings?
Whether they're either good or evil, and how does he qualify that? They either smashed the Ashtoreths and the Baals, or they did it. It all centers around the worship of the true and the living God. Worship is central to the Bible.
So they see this as a place which is a rival to that of Shiloh. Matthew Henry says, it was no strained innuendo from the building of an altar to infer intention to offer sacrifice upon it, and that might introduce idolatry and end in total apostasy from the faith and worship of the God of Israel. So great a matter might this fire kindle. God is jealous for his own institutions, and therefore we should be so too, and afraid of everything that looks like, or leads to, idolatry." It's a bit of a hasty accusation, but I think it's warranted based on Deuteronomy 12.
What is an altar meant to be? What does it signify? It's a place where the people of God were to offer their sacrifices. And so they see this altar as one that rivaled the rightful place of worship.
And what's interesting, too, is not only are they responding aright based on Deuteronomy 12, but notice they don't go right into battle guns-a-blazing. They don't go right into battle shooting all the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribes of Manasseh. They're not hasty in their assumption about what this altar meant, which is why they send Phineas and the delegates for diplomacy. And so we've seen an application of Deuteronomy 12, but I think we see an application of Deuteronomy chapter 13 as well.
If you remember Deuteronomy chapter 13, that's I guess the ascending or ascending order of apostasy. You know, if a prophet comes and he speaks falsehood, does not speak the truth, you must deal with him. Because there is the possibility that your loved ones might be taken astray. And that's the second person or people to deal with.
Perhaps your loved ones, your brother or your sister, is taken by what is said. Taken by false things. And then you have to deal with them. I don't know why I still remember that the application, you can't gut your wife during pillow talk from when Pastor Butler taught on that.
You know, you can't, it's not meant to be that type of thing. There's due diligence and due process. But nonetheless, if you don't deal with the prophet, you're going to have some family members perhaps being taken by the prophet. But if you don't deal with your family members, then whole cities will be taken to apostasy.
And this is the final straw, if you will, in chapter 13, verses 12 to the end of chapter 13. If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the Lord your God gives you to dwell, and saying, corrupt men have gone out from among you, and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, let us go and serve other gods, which you have not known. Notice verse 14. Then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently.
If it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination was committed among you, you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it, all that is in it, and its livestock, with the edge of the sword. So when cities arose in apostasy, they're meant to go and make sure that that was actually true. That's why it's called the perception of apostasy in a lot of ways. So it's an application of Deuteronomy 13.
It's an appropriate response to the perceived apostasy. Perhaps it's even the idea in that you can sense some of their concern in that we've just been given the land, are we turning away already? In verse 16. But what's interesting is that
Phinehas and the Baal of Peor
Phinehas and the delegates recall two episodes in Israel's history. One that includes the priest Phinehas, and this is found in Numbers chapter 25. Numbers chapter 25. The people are committing harlotry with the people of Moab.
And notice what happens in verse five, or verse six. And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. You see in verse three, it says, Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel. And then in verse six, one of the children of Israel brings this Midianite into the camp. and arouses anger, arouses the wrath of God.
And notice who comes on to the scene in verse 7. Now when Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand, and he went after the man of Israel into the tent. and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel, and those who died in the plague were 24,000." You see, apostasy is no laughing matter. Apostasy, idolatry, is a serious thing to think about.
And you can even see the severity in which God judged the people in verse 9. Those who died in the plague were among 24,000. If it weren't for Phinehas, there could have been more. Notice what God does for Phineas in verse 10 of Numbers 25.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with my zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in my zeal. Therefore say, behold, I give to him my covenant of peace. And it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the children of Israel. And the psalmist records him favorably in Psalm 106.
He recalls this episode as well at verse 28. They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices made to the dead. Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds, and the plague broke out among them. But then Phineas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped.
And that was accounted to him for righteousness to all generations forevermore. You see, brothers and sisters, Phineas is a type of Christ. You see, Christ is the one who makes atonement for his people. Christ is the one who has zeal for God's worship.
Christ is the one who makes an everlasting atonement for his people. He is that everlasting priest after the order of Melchizedek, the one who died on behalf of his people that we might have everlasting life, turning away the wrath of God from his people. And the thing with Phineas, the significance of Phineas, is whenever he pops up in Scripture, it is tied to the worship of God Almighty. In 25, they are worshiping idols.
Here in Joshua chapter 22, it is the perception that there is a rival place of worship, a rival place where idolatry could be engaged in. And who do you call? You call Phineas. In a lot of ways, he's the special forces, the one who pops up in these times of potential apostasy.
He has zeal for the worship of the Lord, he makes atonement for the people, and he is the one who is needed in this time. And so they grab Phineas, and they go and deal with them, and they even recall that iniquity that is still plaguing them, that is tied to Phineas. But not only do they refer to this episode of Baal of Peor,
Achan and Corporate Guilt
but they refer to Aachen. Joshua chapter 7. The very language, so in verse 20 he says, "...did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing? And wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel?
And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity?" Even in the language of verse 16, what treachery is this that you have committed? That's found in Joshua chapter 7 verse 1. The people have just conquered the first city of Jericho. And one brother couldn't keep his hands off the loot.
And notice what the author records for us in chapter 7 verse 1. But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed thing. For Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing. So the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel.
That word there, committed a trespass, is that same word. To act unfaithfully, to disobey the very words of God Almighty. And disobedience to God Almighty brings about His anger in both of these episodes. And so these guys, so they're coming to say, hey, because we're all part of Israel, because Israel is the one that God made His covenant with, when one sins, we all sin, and bring the wrath of God upon us.
This is not what they say in verse 18, but you must turn away this day from following the Lord. And it shall be if you rebel against the Lord that tomorrow he shall be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. Verse 20, and that man did not perish alone in his iniquity. serious things to deal with. In both instances, with Achan and the episode in Numbers 25, death was required.
And so, in a lot of ways, these brothers are trying to, in a lot of ways, atone to stamp out the apostasy in Israel. But notice what they propose in verse 19. If the land of your possession is unclean, then cross over to the land of the possession of the Lord, where the Lord's tabernacle stands, and take possession among us. But do not rebel against the Lord.
Do not rebel against us by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of the Lord your God. There's plenty of land. Come into the West that we might dwell together. That's the proposed solution.
So what we see here, I think, even in this perception of apostasy, is how we worship, the right manner of worship. In a lot of ways, the regulative principle is well and good in Joshua chapter 22, and they're seeking to preserve right worship of God. You see, don't we who hold to the regulative principle, that is, what's commanded in Scripture, What's set forth for us in Scripture by God Almighty is what we seek to do in church. What is the preacher, what is the teacher supposed to engage in?
What is the church's role? It all centers around the Word of God. That's why we sing the Word. That's why we preach the Word.
That's why we proclaim the Word. That's why we partake of the Word in the Lord's Supper. Those are the things God has set forth in how He wishes to be worshipped. It is His house.
It's not a place for us to have our own self-expression, our own place where we can shred on our guitars to show how good we are. It's the right place to come and worship God. The regulative principle still applies to us this day. It's not saying we can't engage in certain things outside of the Lord's day, but nonetheless on the Lord's day when we come, what are we supposed to be doing?
The word of God. That is the focus. So we see here even how we're supposed to worship according to what God commands in his word. So we've seen this perception of apostasy.
Perception of Disunity
Let us look secondly at the perception of disunity in verses 21 through 29. Thankfully, Phineas and the delegates engaged in diplomacy first because we see the response of the brothers, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad. Notice what they say. Verse 22, the Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, he knows, and let Israel itself know, if it is in rebellion or if in treachery against the Lord, Do not save us this day.
If we have built ourselves an altar to turn from following the Lord, or if to offer on it burnt offerings or grain offerings, or to offer peace offerings on it, let the Lord himself require an account. What they're saying is, we did not mean it to be that way. We did not want it to be that way. If that is the case, bring a curse upon us.
They're calling a curse upon themselves. Should they actually be engaged in apostasy, in idolatry, have the Lord deal with them. Take us out, if you will. Do not save us this day.
Because that's not what they wanted. It wasn't meant to be for sacrifices. And we see then the purpose of what it was, it's even this emphatic confession, the Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods. This is who we worship.
This is the one we want to have communion with. This is the one we want to be a part of. It is the God of heaven and earth. Not the gods of the Moabites or the Ammonites, but the Lord God of Israel, who has just conquered the enemies of his people in Joshua.
He is our portion. And so we see then the purpose of this altar in verse 24. But in fact we have done it for fear, for a reason, saying, In time to come your descendants may speak to our descendants, saying, What have you to do with the Lord God of Israel? For the Lord God has made the Jordan a border between us, you and us, you children of Reuben and children of Gad.
You have no part in the Lord. So your descendants would make our descendants cease fearing the Lord. Therefore, we said, let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but that may be a witness between you and us and our generations after us that we might perform the services to the Lord. They wanted it so that their descendants wouldn't stop fearing the Lord, that they would continue worshipping God.
Because the Jordan is such a massive barrier that it's easy for the Western tribes to say to the Eastern tribes, you have no portion. I think Davis is right. He says, for here is worthy worry and proper anxiety, to care about whether one's seed will be faithful to God, and to take all necessary measures to ensure that it might be so. You see, sometimes we're all very much now focused.
We sometimes don't always have a view of the future. One thing I really appreciated about Dr. Renahan when he gave his presentation on the seminary, on why they're starting this Reformed Baptist stand-alone seminary in Texas, is he asked the question, who will pastor your grandchildren? Isn't that why?
That's part of the reason they want this seminary to raise up men to preach to people in the future. It is a worthy worry and proper anxiety, hoping that our descendants might fear the Lord. And certainly one way to do that is that proper teaching might be available to them. Obviously, we don't know their heart.
The Lord is the one who works, but nonetheless, we do desire that proper teaching would be set up in place. So they have this worry worthy. They worry that they will not be part of the people of God. They'll be worried that they'll be excluded unjustly.
So they set up this replica of the altar. They say in verse 27, they don't want to be excluded from the service of the Lord. They want to be part of the offerings. They want to be part of the peace offerings, that the descendants might not say to our descendants in time to come, you have no part in the Lord.
Therefore, verse 28, we said that it will be when they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, we may say, here is the replica of the altar. of the Lord which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices, but that it might be a witness between us. They desired to be part of the children of God, and they set up this altar as a way, as a replica, as a witness, not as a place to worship upon, but as a sign that they were part of the worship of God. That they could go to the place God set forth, Shiloh, the place where they could come and offer their burnt offerings, that they were still part of that. And that Jordan made it difficult to do that.
This is why they set up this replica for that purpose, that they might be part of that. And then they say it again, almost for good measure. You can almost kind of sense the frustration. No, that's not what we wanted.
That's not what we meant. Someone comes to them, unjustly accuses them of something. That's not what we meant at all. You can see that in their mind, in their hearts, that they wanted to be part of the people of God.
And that's that emphatic end. They want to be part of worship to God. So when we looked at the perception of apostasy, we see how we worship. But here in the perception of disunity, we see who participates in worship.
It really is the people of God, and we're united together in the worship of our God.
Unity and Mutual Confrontation
The reality is, perhaps even here we see in Joshua 22 examples of Matthew 5 and 18. Don't we? We see brothers who perceive a sin, they go to their brothers, say, hey, are you sinning? It seems like you're sinning.
I'm dealing with that. They're dealing with it. And they say, that's not what we meant at all, that they might be reconciled together. Sometimes it's hard for us, even in the New Covenant, to engage in proper confrontation, to actually follow Matthew 5 and Matthew 18.
Unity is hard, brothers and sisters. That's why Paul talks about it in Ephesians 4, because it is difficult, because we are sinful. Even with respect to Matthew 5 and 18, we're supposed to go to someone if we've offended them. But don't we say instead, well, if they feel offended, they'll come to me.
Or perhaps if we've been offended by someone, we said, well, if they've offended me, they need to come and reconcile. In both Matthew 5 and 18, both parties are going to one another. It's kind of like in Joshua 22. But that doesn't change the fact that it is difficult.
That's why Paul has to say that in Ephesians 4, that we might be united together, dwelling with one another in unity, because it is difficult, because we are sinful. Sometimes we don't like other people. Sometimes people don't like us. That even happens with the people of God sometimes.
Sometimes the people of God just drive us nuts. Sometimes we drive the people of God nuts. And we let those petty things sometimes even get in the way. We have that rival altar, if you will, of ourself.
We have so much pride in ourselves that we cannot be lowly towards our brothers and sisters. We may have disagreements. We may not like one another sometimes. I hope we love one another for the most part.
We may not like one another, but we can still love one another. But nonetheless, we are united together in our worship. And
Ephesians 4 and the Call to Unity
look at what Paul says in chapter 4 of Ephesians. I therefore, prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you are called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. That's hard, isn't it? Lowliness and gentleness, longsuffering, bearing with one another in love.
Nonetheless, we are called to strive in unity, and we are united together overall in Christ. We are united together by the fact those who've been called out of darkness share the same faith in Jesus Christ. And that day when we are all raised from the dead, because of Christ's work, we will all together sing praises to God Almighty. We are united in our worship.
So we've seen the perception of apostasy. We've seen the perception of disunity.
Perception of God's Presence
Let us look thirdly and finally at the perception of God's presence in verses 30 through 34. It is a favorable response. Now when Phineas the priest and the rulers of the congregation, the heads of the divisions of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them. Then Phineas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh,
God Working in Ordinary Unity
This day we perceive that the Lord is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against the Lord. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of Israel. They believe what the Eastern tribes have said, and they trust what they say is true, and they see it as a favorable thing. They don't assume that they're wrong, they just say, hey, this is what they said, this is what it is.
But notice, especially 31, this day we perceive that the Lord is among us. You see, what's interesting throughout this text, Yahweh doesn't speak. Yahweh is mentioned with respect to His people, but nonetheless, we see even in the ordinary things, God is still working. And you can see these brothers are working together according to the Word of God, that they might dwell together in unity.
And God Almighty is among them in those ordinary things. So when we dwell together in unity, we may not have all the razzle-dazzle, but nonetheless, we are still united together, and that's a sign that God is working among us and with us. Sometimes it's not always the extraordinary things that show that God is with us, but the ordinary things in life. Like when brothers confess their sins to one another, and they ask for forgiveness and repent, and are united again when we're coming together in a time of unity and peace.
Praise God for that, for it is His work among us. It is not any work within us. I love one quote that I saw from Augustine. It was to the effect of, anything that is good within me, it is from you, O Lord.
All the rest is my fault. So even when we are united together, it is the Lord God Almighty, it has nothing to do with us. When we are worshipping a rite, it is the Lord God working in us, revealing to us His Word, convicting to us His Word, that we might actually adhere to His Word. That's God Almighty working.
For He is the true and the living God. He is the one who works. He is the one who works in the hearts of people. The Lord is among us.
And as Calvin says, this highlights God's great grace. For by the words we know, Jehovah is among us. They intimate that God was propitious to them and had taken care of their safety. It is the grace that these brothers are dwelling in unity.
And so they see that it is good. Phineas and the delegates return to the people of Israel. They see it is good as well. They praise God.
They spoke no more of going against them in battle to destroy the land where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. But then notice verse 34.
The Altar of Witness
They name the altar. They name it the altar of witness and they give the reason for it. For it is a witness between us that the Lord is God. This even explains to us how it's meant to be used, this altar.
It's not meant to be a place of superstition. Perhaps someone later on would walk along and say, here's an altar, maybe I can offer sacrifices. This name is meant to highlight that's a witness between the both sides of the Jordan, that they were part of the people of God. that they can share in that Old Testament confession. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
The Lord is God. And both the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribes of Manasseh can confess that with all the other tribes as well. That's why they set this up, that they might confess that the Lord is God Almighty. And do not we confess, brothers and sisters, that Christ is Lord?
Do we not confess that He is King and reigns supreme? Do we not confess that He is the one who is head of His church, who builds His church, that we might adhere to what He says concerning His church? When we come to worship, are we not confessing the Lord God of heaven and earth? Are we not confessing that He is the true and the living God?
He is our Redeemer. He is our object of worship. The Lord is among us. It is a witness between us that the Lord is God, uniting the people together because of God.
Now, this is a positive time in Israel's history. I think it contrasts well with a very negative time in Israel's history.
Contrast with Judges 20
I think Judges chapter 20 is that comparison. Phinehas is mentioned again here, but not for a good reason. If you remember Judges 20, it's after that heinous crime when that concubine is ravaged at Gibeah by the people of Israel. It shows that Israel had degraded so far that they look like Sodom and Gomorrah.
And there's this threat of civil war. There's this sniff of civil war. And Phineas is mentioned once again. The reason he is mentioned in Judges 20 is to show how far the people have degraded themselves.
Verse 27, so the children of Israel inquired of the Lord. Now the ark, this is even in brackets, the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days. And Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days. Don't we see how aggressive idolatry really is?
How quickly and how fast people can fall if we don't worship the true and the living God? If we don't have God Almighty working among us? If God did not hold us and strengthen us and guide us, how quickly we would fall into great sins. And I think the foil shows us that.
It's the positive aspect in Joshua 22, but quickly they degrade in false worship according to Judges 20. Phineas is mentioned there for that purpose, to show that the people fell very, very quickly. Because you see, retaining the land is all tied to the worship of God. And the people often committed adultery against their God, often worshipped gods who weren't their gods, often broke that covenant.
Which is why we need Christ, born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem those who are under the law. He is the one who worshipped faithfully his God. He is the one who offered himself up as a sacrifice to his God on our behalf. We need this Christ.
So we've seen how we're supposed to worship, we've seen who worships, but I think here we see the object of our worship, the one we are supposed to come and honor. Why do we come to church, brothers and sisters? It is to praise God Almighty. It is to hear about Him, concerning who He is, concerning His great grace, concerning His great works amongst His people.
Now there is certainly times of refreshment that we do have here. Certainly there are times where we have fellowship with one another, but what unites us ultimately together? It is God, the object of our worship, not ourselves. This is why we need the gospel of free and sovereign grace, because of perverted worship.
This is why we go out and preach the gospels, because people don't worship the true and the living God. They have this perverted idea of who God is, or what God is, in themselves and other things, and things that are made with hands. Things that you can smash and drop and smack and nothing happens. Things you can hold in your hands.
We need the gospel. We need Christ. He is the true object of our worship. We need God.
As Henry says, Christ is the altar who sanctifies and gives His Spirit, who bears witness that His people are the children of God. We worship Him as children of God, for He is the Creator. Even if He didn't save us, worship is due unto Him, for He is the true and living God. But He sustains us through difficult circumstances, trials.
He's with us. Should we not praise Him and give an honor for those things? In the ordinary things of life? Even so, He is the Redeemer as well.
We have so many things to worship God for, yet sometimes when we pray the prayer, hallowed be your name, sometimes, perhaps if you're like me, your mind can draw a blank a little bit. Sometimes we forget the greatness of our God. Sometimes we forget the things that He has done. But nonetheless, we must come to Him and worship Him through Jesus Christ because of Christ the King.
He is the right object of worship.
Application
So then in conclusion, brothers and sisters, we see here in Joshua 22, verses 10 through 34, that the Israelites in this moment do demonstrate unity in worship to their God as a response to His faithfulness. How are we supposed to respond to His faithfulness to us? It's through honoring and praising and glorifying the God of heaven and earth. For he is the one who deserves glory and honor.
To him and through him are all things. To him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. This is the true and the living God.
And so the overarching application, brothers and sisters, serve Yahweh, seek Him to do His commandments because He saved you. Seek to worship Him according to His word because He's called you out of darkness into light to believe on Christ. For those that do not know Christ, Look to Christ, look to Jesus Christ, look to the gospel, believe on the gospel, and you shall find everlasting life. For this God is the true and the living God, and in Him you shall find everlasting peace, that you might join with the saints of God, and join with this people of God in singing praises to Him.
Well, let us pray, brothers and sisters.
Closing Prayer
Lord God Almighty, We thank you that you are the true and the living God. We thank you that you are the one who creates all things. We thank you that you are the one who remembers your people, works with your people, even in the ordinary things of life. Father God, even amongst the unbelievers, you preserve them.
You give them good gifts. We know, God, that your day is coming. And we thank you, God, for those that you have caused to believe on Christ Jesus, that that day has been averted because of Christ. For those that do not know Christ, oh God, we pray that you would call them out of darkness, that they might believe on him and find everlasting hope.
We pray, O God, that we would give you the right honor and worship that is due unto you, for you are the God of heaven and earth. You are one who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. You are the one who deserves to be praised for your Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer. You are the one who is omnipotent, omniscient, the one who does not change, who is immutable, the one who is infinite.
O God, there are so many things that we could think of, but we always seem to forget. We thank you for your mercy. We thank you that you are patient with us. We thank that you are a loving God, that you are love.
We pray, O God, that we would worship you, we would respond rightly according to your great salvation, that we might utter those words, amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, that we might seek to live in a way that is honoring and pleasing to you. Help us by your spirit to do this. Help us by your spirit to sing your praises, O God, for you are the true and the living God. We pray that you would be glorified in all things, in the name of Christ, amen.
Well, we'll close the brief time of meditation and you're dismissed.