A People Near to God

".... a people near unto Him."

~ Ps. 148:14

Think of this, we are near Him!

• We who were afar are now brought near.  Closer we cannot be: He in us and we in Him!
• We are near in relationship.  He is our Kinsman Redeemer.  He took our nature so that we might be made like Him.
•  We are near to Him in thought and affection.  We are His segulah, His treasured possession. The apple of His eye!
• We are near to Him in attention.  He doesn't just consider us from a distance like someone glancing out a window at pedestrians on the street below.  No, He considers us so as to direct all our ways.  He orders time and space, history and all physical laws to His glory and to the good of His children.

 No wonder the Psalmist says we should Praise the Lord!  Hallelujah! 

The Law Expressed in Love

The law expressed in love,
   My acts adduce delight;
Commands came from Above,
   Crowned in holy light.

It's not strange to see then
   Christ summarize His Rule:
Love God the most then all men—
   Prize this as a precious jewel.

To obey is better than sacrifice,
   My worship set with pious zeal
Sees Calv'ry as Redemption's price
   And obedience as its righteous seal.

He fashioned one from many,
   Gave gifts to build His Church;
Let not sin nor hate nor envy
   Divide, destroy or smirch.

I live in Christ and He in me,
   And with His strength I labor;
Looking then toward eternity,
   In love I help my neighbor.

- D. Benning

“We conclude, therefore, that a Christian lives not in himself, but in Christ and the neighbor,” said Luther. “He lives in Christ through faith, and in his neighbor through love”

(Freedom of a Christian, LW 31:371).




I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,  eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

Eph 4:1 - 3

To Know Christ

For if ye believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words?

John 5:46 - 47

Consider this: Jesus said that we must believe Moses' words (ie, the Law or the Old Testament) and if we believe not Moses' words, we cannot believe Christ's words.  To understand and know and believe Christ fully is to understand and know and believe the words written down in the Old Testament.  This should not surprise us for Christ Himself spoke to the disciples on the Road to Emmaus and "interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself, beginning from Moses and from all the prophets" (Luke 24:27).

Putting it another way, your theology will be weak and anemic at best if it neglects Scripture in the Old Testament.  But more seriously, your theology may miss the mark entirely if you do not believe the writings of Moses and the prophets—for "how shall you believe [Christ's] words?"

The Book of His Law

Josh. 1:8 "...do not let this Book depart from your mouth..."
Ps. 141:3 "...set a guard over my mouth..."

And what is the agency of this guard but God and His Word?

By ourselves, we cannot control our mouths:  Jms. 3: 5-6, 8;  Mt. 12:34.

What we put into our hearts will come out of our lips.  (Lk. 6:45)

That is why we are to let Christ's Word dwell in us richly!  Not just a little, but the whole.  In other words, do not let the Book depart from you..... neither from your heart nor from your mouth!