Marvin E. Tate: Confession of Faith in a Compassionate God

Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God; ruthless people are trying to kill me—they have no regard for You. But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Psalm 86:14-15

“A direct complaint is registered…the language is concrete and seems to be descriptive of an actual situation. However, as is usually the case in the psalms there is nothing to identify what is going on with any degree of specificity…Verse 15 is a form of the basic description of the nature of the Lord found in Exodus 34:6. Other forms of the affirmation are found in Numbers 14:18; Psalm 103:8; 145:8; Nehemiah 9:17; Jonah 4:2; Joel 2:13. The expressions in the differing contexts represent a liturgical usage of the confession of faith.”

Marvin E. Tate in Psalms 51-100 (Waco: Word, 1990) 382-383.

There are real problems in the world today. Some, like COVID, are affecting everyone. Other challenges are regional, local, and many are personal. What do we do when the crisis escalates to life-threatening levels?

The biblical answer is to confess faith in our compassionate God.

Numerous biblical texts in the Old Testament reveal that through the history of God’s people, this was the pattern. When in crisis, proclaim your trust in the Sovereign Lord.

Whether it’s related to COVID or other matters, let us together confess our faith. Let’s add fasting and prayer to this confession. Generosity today comes into view as a God who hears, cares, and acts for us.

God, thanks that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness. We proclaim our trust and dependence on you today. Come to our aid in crisis. Amen.

For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’ Deuteronomy 15:11

“Stewarding God’s creation and the resources entrusted to us means that we can generously share with others whatever blessings we receive. Generosity is an overflow of the steward’s grateful response to God, who freely showers us with daily abundance.

God bestows us with material things for our personal needs, and we can help those who have less in life. Biblical stewardship liberates the stewards and frees them toward generous living and not just generous giving.”

Zenet Maramara (Philippines) in “Biblical Stewardship: The Foundation of All Generosity” in Christ-Centered Generosity: Global Perspectives on the Biblical Call to a Generous Life (Colbert: GGN & KLP) 141.

I’m doing a global webinar with Zenet next week so I read her piece in this great book for inspiration. She also came to mind because of her passion for creation stewardship, and these are sad times in Colorado as wildfires are destroying vast stretches of God’s creation.

She makes an important connection. Don’t miss it. As stewards of God’s creation our job is to care for the earth and all who live in it. He supplies everything. This really does liberate us. It frees us to live and give generously. Our job is to enjoy and “help those who have less.”

And as today’s Scripture notes, this is not optional. It’s a command. When we live this way, He showers abundance. Speaking of showers. God, please send rain on Colorado to help the firefighters put out the fires and save those in harm’s way.

This is what the wicked are like—always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments. Psalm 73:12-14

“The poet’s envy is rooted in the observation of an easy, wealthy life. The life of the wicked seemed to be untroubled with the burdens that normal people experienced and, despite their obvious rejection of God and the oppression of the weak, the rich just seemed to get richer.

The essence of the matter from Asaph’s perspective seems to be that wealth, however it is gained, makes life easier—an attitude often echoed in our own day! Ultimately, Asaph comes to the realization that his conclusion was not true in his day, just as it remains untrue in ours.

As we shall see in a moment, Asaph’s envy was based on an illusion. Real life for those who reject God is never as attractive as their lifestyle may seem to indicate. This was Asaph’s eventual realization as his concept of wealth is transformed.

For the time being, however, the observation of an easy life, wealth, and power proved all too seductive for Asaph, thus causing him to experience the genuine crisis of faith he recounts in these verses of his complaint.”

Dennis Tucker Jr. and Jamie A. Grant in Psalms, Volume 2 (NIVAC; Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2018) 64-65.

It’s happening. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. It’s a crisis. If you are an observer in the middle, you have three choices.

One, you can be tempted to envy, like Asaph in this psalm. Don’t go there. Real life is not found in riches. Such people may look happy. But wealth, though it promises big things, never satisfies.

Two, you can continue amassing wealth. It is not the right way, so while it looks good, it is actually “wicked” to God. This may shake people and hopefully wake them. Amassing wealth reveals misplaced trust.

Three, you can be generous to enjoy and share all God supplies. This is what it means to keep your heart and hands pure. Not easy in the world in which we find ourselves.

God help us to avoid envy and amassing wealth but rather enjoy and share it richly. Amen.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:3-9

“God puts you in hard moments when you cry out for his comfort so that your heart becomes tender to those near you who need the same comfort. Sometimes we are quicker to judge than to comfort.

This hit me not too long ago on the streets of Philadelphia, where I live. I walked by a young homeless person who was begging on the street, and I immediately thought, “I wonder what you did to get yourself here.” Criticism came more quickly to me than compassion. Hard-heartedness is more natural for us than I think we like to admit.

We’re that way with our children when we yell at them as if we’re shocked that they’re struggling with the same things we struggled with when we were their ages. We’re that way when we look down on the parents who can’t seem to control their children in restaurants or on those who have trouble paying their bills.

It is a function of the self-righteousness that, in some ways, still lives inside all of us. When we have named ourselves as strong, wise, capable, mature, and righteous, we tend to look down on those who have not achieved what we think we have. So, God humbles us. He puts us in situations where our weakness, foolishness, and immaturity are exposed.”

Paul David Tripp in New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional (Wheaton: Crossway, 2014), 201.

As I explore compassion this year, I realize that it requires growth in humility, is coupled with suffering, and requires avoiding pitfalls. Think about it. Christ first humbled himself and suffered, which positions him to “the Father of compassion,” and steered clear of traps. We get to follow in His steps.

The key, as my friend John Cochran who sent me this piece reminded me, is to catch ourselves when our tendency is toward criticism. I am guilty of this. God help me. Perhaps you are too? It is easy to forget how long it took us to learn things. And so criticism, the enemy of compassion, prevails.

May it not be so with us today by God’s grace, by His Holy Spirit. Forgive us, Father, for the sin of criticism we ask in the name of Jesus, so that our dependency will be on your righteousness and not our own, and so our lives will lift others up rather than beat them down. Amen.

God presides in the great assembly; He renders judgment among the “gods”: “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. “I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’ But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.” Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance. Psalm 82

“The existence of the other gods in the psalm is puzzling to modern readers, but in our diverse world perhaps this psalm should give us pause and invite us to think of monotheism differently.

Others are not necessarily delusional in their belief in their gods, but are simply people from different places with different cultures. Maybe the ancients knew more than we do. We should not assume that others are evil or suspect simply because a group of people have a different god. This psalm leaves such issues of the gods with God.

Further, the psalm places us in the council reserved for gods. This is not our usual vision of what goes on in heaven, and in that it invites the readers to stretch their own ideas of what the world of the gods might be.

What is clear is that the values of the God of Israel’s kingdom have worldwide impact. The other gods are not condemned for deceiving the people or for not worshipping the Chief God, but according to vv. 3-4 for not caring for the ones with the least voice.

The values of Psalm 82 are clearly also the values in the heavenly realm. This psalm declares that the foundations of the earth are shaken, not by political or theological issues, but by the treatment of those who are homeless and hungry, alone and without justice.

We often think of judgment falling on those who do not believe as we do; this psalm declares that the gods judge just as humans, not by what we believe, but by what we choose to do or not do for the others that God created and loves.”

Beth Tanner The Book of Psalms (NICOT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014) 644.

Reading the Psalms lately has touched me deeply at the divine hours. I often have to juggle the times linked to work or meetings, but the practice of pausing is impacting my thinking and helping me stay centered.

In this psalm, God presides over the gods of the earth and will judge people for their deeds. Jesus echoes this. What will separate the sheep and the goats at the last judgment will be their treatment of the lowly.

We are living in a time when people are focused on political and theological issues. We must tune all that out! Instead, let us put our money where our faith is. Pour it into people and with those serving the needy, especially during the pandemic.

A significant global economic implication of the pandemic is that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. So, here is the test to prepare for the final judgment. Put to work what you have to serve others.

We must all remember that what we do with money God has entrusted us to steward will reflect what we really believed and thus, determine how it will go for us. How will it go for you? Only you can answer that.

If you store up treasures for yourself, it reveals your misplaced trust. You will have to explain to Jesus why you ignored his command. If you instead pour them out for the needy, He will look after you now and on the last day.

Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in His commands. Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever. Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous. Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever; their horn will be lifted high in honor. The wicked will see and be vexed, they will gnash their teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing. Psalm 112

“General conformity to the standards of the covenant and in particular generosity as the corollary of God’s gift of wealth. The God who gives expects the recipient to be godlike in his [or her] giving. As a consequence, he [or she] will know success in his [or her] life and command the respect of others. The picture of prosperity as the reward of virtue is enhanced by the final reference to the frustrated chagrin of the “wicked” who see none of their ambitions come true.”

Leslie C. Allen in Psalms 101-150 (WBC; Waco; Word, 1983) 97.

Would people say you are “godlike” in your giving following the pattern of God in this psalm?

The psalmist depicts those who use God’s material gifts rightly as gracious and compassionate. They are generous and lend freely and conduct their affairs with justice. The world has a different definition of justice and fairness than God does.

When it reads that “He scatters his gifts to the poor” (cf. 2 Corinthians 9:9), that term for poor used here does not mean “destitute” but the “working class.” This implies that those who work hard daily and make an income are part of the cycle of generosity.

They are blessed to be a blessing. For too many, the blessing stops with them.

What is God’s desire and design for ordinary people like you and me? Be gracious, generous, and compassionate. Make us into such people, Father, by your Holy Spirit, for your glory, so that we show your love and justice and kindness in a broken world. Amen.

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” Matthew 7:15-20

“Ever since the missionary era, Christianity has had a positive impact on the socio-cultural arena throughout Africa. In addition to involvement in evangelism and discipleship, a variety of Christian communities were behind the founding and growth of primary, secondary, and tertiary educational institutions, health facilities, poverty alleviation projects, children’s homes, and even civic initiatives. As a result, not only does Christianity continue to grow across much of the continent, but it has also achieved significant public acceptance as a force of social good.

Now, however, there is a worrying sense that certain practices are chipping away at its historic moral credibility and public strength. From an ecclesiological and theological perspective, the core of the problem lies with the rapid rise and media visibility of ‘dodgy’ (ie dubious) pastors, who are the false prophets of our day. Among the many self-proclaimed ‘men of God’ or ‘servants of God’, the values that have traditionally distinguished Christian ministry are increasingly absent: Values such as humility, compassion, selfless service, and servant leadership are now increasingly replaced by a preoccupation with image consciousness, self-aggrandizement, and enlargement of personal ministry influence at whatever cost.

Previously, values such as generosity and charity, accompanied by frugal lifestyle, were self-evident markers of good church leaders, pastors, clergy, and any kinds of church workers such as evangelists or catechists. In the face of difficulty, a poor Christian could expect to get temporal help even from a materially impoverished pastor who would share the little they have. These values of previous generations of Christian workers are increasingly replaced by what seems to be an indiscriminate emphasis on material blessedness as a marker of a genuine relationship with God.”

Moses Owojaiye in “The Problem of False Prophets in Africa: Strengthening the Church in the Face of a Troublesome Trend” in Lausanne Global Analysis: November 2019. Volume 8 / Issue 6.

False prophets infiltrated the church in the first century and have done so since then in every generation. Watch out.  When people inspect your fruit, do you appear “dodgy” or do you exhibit distinguished Christian values?

Some Christian workers in Africa and around the world today exhibit certain practice. They have abandoned humility for hubris, selfless service for self-aggrandizement, and compassionate generosity for material blessedness.

Let’s live simply and give charitably with a frugal lifestyle before an audience of one (God) and a watching world. What’s at stake? Our witness is in jeopardy along with our ability to be a force for gospel and social good.

Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead. Hebrews 11:19

“Abraham envinced a growing faith in God, which he himself cultivated, and now he came to learn in a new way the truth of God’s all-sufficiency. Hence His reply to Isaac’s question as to the animal for sacrifice. “The Lord will see to it that there is a lamb for the burnt offering.” Even if he had to plunge his knife into Isaac, Abraham believed that God was able to raise his son from the dead. His faith was willing to go to the limit for he knew that “The Lord will see to it.”

Herbert Lockyer in All the Divine Names and Titles in the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975) 22.

Are you willing to go to the limit with your giving?

Growing in generosity, being willing to sacrifice anything God asks of us, only comes from cultivating a deep faith in God. If we want to grow in the grace of giving, we must cultivate our relationship with God.

How are you cultivating your relationship with God during COVID?

By growing in our knowledge of God and living out of that knowledge, we learn by experience the all-sufficiency of God actually means all. God is able and can see to our needs just He did for Abraham.

But will we go to the limit like Abraham did?

As I lean into the “divine” aspects of generosity, I am realizing daily that it’s all about trust. Hard times reveal where we place our trust and they show the limits to which we are willing to go.

What are these times revealing to you about where you place your trust?

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

“My daughter, I assure you of a permanent income on which you will live. Your duty will be to trust completely in My goodness, and My duty will be to give you all you need. I am making Myself dependent upon your trust: if your trust is great, then My generosity will be without limit.”

Helena Kowalska, known widely as Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) and as the Apostle of Divine Mercy, in Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul (Stockbridge: Marian Press, 2005) 156.

I am continuing to look at books with “divine” in the title. This is another one. Long before Jesus Calling books became popular, we have the diary of St. Faustina. It’s a treasure recounting the life of an ordinary polish girl who simply desired only to be one with her Lord Jesus Christ.

In her first year at the convent, she was to determine if trusting God to care for her needs would be her way of life. She was praying about it, and today’s post recounts the words she heard from the Lord when pouring out her heart to him about her need for perpetual provision. What’s the lesson?

If we come to God in humility and trust Him for provision, His generosity will be without limit. His abundant grace and divine mercy will literally make it His duty to supply all we need. The challenge is that it requires us to have trust that is great.

When the idea of “permanent income” comes into view, most people think it is the human responsibility to sort this. In the world’s economy, that is true. But nothing could be further from the truth in God’s economy. Jesus teaches us to seek God first, and like Faustina, to trust Him to care for our needs.

If we want to live lives of rich generosity, then we must trust God for everything. When we do we experience more than permanent income. We get Him. He makes it His duty to care for those who place their trust in Him.

Sadly, most people are not willing to take this step. As G.K. Chesterton said in his classic work, What’s Wrong with the World, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”