The theme of this convention is “Sing! The Songs of the Bible.” And the sentences on the web site that designate the place we’re going state,
Be a part of us to rediscover the ability and great thing about the songs of Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, we are going to discover how the phrase of God guides and invigorates our worship as people, households, and church buildings.
Taking all that collectively, the image I’ve in my thoughts of this convention is of a sword with a really sharp level. Behind that time is a titanium blade with a powerful golden hilt. The purpose of the blade is the songs of Scripture. And the unbreakable energy and great thing about the sword is the phrase of God in its totality. It’s the mighty sword of the Spirit. So, the goal of the convention is that this sword, with its targeted level on the songs of Scripture, would penetrate by means of each impediment, in order that the phrase of God, the Scriptures, would information and invigorate all our worship.
The way in which I wish to serve that goal on this message is by drawing out an vital implication of the phrase “invigorate.” The goal of the convention is that the phrase of God would information and invigorate our worship — not simply information it however invigorate it. And the implication I’m going to attract out is that this:
- Proper feelings towards God are the purpose of proper eager about God.
- Proper emotions towards God are the purpose of proper doctrines about God.
- Proper affections for God are the purpose of true statements about God.
This suggests that the impressed, infallible phrase of God exists for the sake of making, guiding, and invigorating proper feelings towards God. And due to this fact, the thoughts that grasps biblical fact exists to serve the guts. Proper eager about God exists for the sake of proper emotions for God. Biblical propositions concerning the glory of God exist to serve biblical passions for the glory of God.
Proper Considering Serves Proper Feeling
Even when I had been to attract consideration to the truth that generally proper emotions serve proper pondering, and improper emotions serve improper pondering, which they do — in case you actually love God, you’ll perceive your Bible higher; and in case you actually hate God, you’ll distort his phrase virtually in every single place — it will not change the truth that when your proper emotions aid you acquire a proper interpretation of the Bible, that proper interpretation is not an finish in itself. It’s designed by God to ship your affections additional up and additional in — to God.
So, I’m arguing that with regards to the chief finish of man — to glorify God, to enlarge the Son of God — there’s a actual ultimacy in Godward emotions, which Godward pondering doesn’t have. Each are indispensable in our relationship with God. We might not have a Bible in the event that they weren’t. However one in every of them is extra final because the purpose of the opposite. And one in every of them is much less final because the servant of the opposite. Considering is the servant; feeling is the purpose. Understanding fact is the servant; feeling love is the purpose. The lyrics of the Bible are the kindling; affections for God are the fireplace. Psalm 23 exists in order that you’ll have fearless affections for God within the valley of the shadow of dying.
One of many causes I’m stressing that is in order that, because the theme of the convention unfolds, and you’re exhorted repeatedly and rightly to construct Scripture into your worship, you’ll not see the singing of Scripture as an finish in itself, however as a way to Scripture-formed feelings towards God.
Illustrations of a Pervasive Sample
How does the Bible educate this? How does the Bible educate us that figuring out is the servant of feeling — that biblical doctrine, as we learn it or sing it, is designed by God to invigorate Godward feelings? The Bible teaches this by exhibiting this sample repeatedly.
Nice Fact Makes Nice Songs
For instance, Psalm 16:8–10 says,
I’ve set the Lord at all times earlier than me;
as a result of he’s at my proper hand, I shall not be shaken.
Subsequently my coronary heart is glad, and my entire being rejoices;
my flesh additionally dwells safe.
As a result of you’ll not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
Right here’s the sample. God has proven me a fact, an amazing actuality: he can be at my proper hand and maintain me from being shaken. Subsequently, constructed on that data, my coronary heart is glad; my entire being rejoices. As a result of — now he factors to a different basis for his gladness — you’ll not abandon my soul to Sheol. Godward fact serves Godward feelings. Understanding serves feeling. That’s the sample.
And you may’t flip it round. You may’t say, “As a result of my coronary heart is glad, due to this fact I can construct my doctrine on that.” Feelings don’t work that approach. That’s not how God designed it. They’re the purpose, not the servant — the top, not the means.
Psalm 47:1–2 says,
Clap your palms, all peoples!
Shout to God with loud songs of pleasure!
For the Lord, the Most Excessive, is to be feared,
an amazing king over all of the earth.
Right here is the revelation of an amazing fact, an amazing actuality — one thing for the thoughts to know: the Lord is a superb king over all of the earth. And what’s God’s goal in revealing this fact to our minds? Subsequently, “shout to God with loud songs of pleasure!” The doctrine serves the delight, not the opposite approach round. That’s the sample.
Psalm 95:2–3 says,
Allow us to come into his presence with thanksgiving;
allow us to make a joyful noise to him with songs of reward!
For the Lord is a superb God,
and an amazing King above all gods.
Why really feel thankfulness? Why make a joyful noise with songs of reward? As a result of “the Lord is a superb God, and an amazing King above all gods.” We really feel the reality as a result of we all know the reality. We don’t know the reality as a result of we really feel the reality. God designed the thoughts and the reality it is aware of to be the servant of the guts and the enjoyment it feels.
Stanzas of a Godward Coronary heart
There are 4 stanzas in Psalm 100. The primary and the third are feeling stanzas. The second and the fourth are figuring out stanzas. The primary and the third are stanzas of delight, and the second and the fourth are stanzas of doctrine.
1. Feeling stanza:
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all of the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing! (Psalm 100:1–2)
2. Understanding stanza:
Know that the Lord, he’s God!
It’s he who made us, and we’re his;
we’re his individuals, and the sheep of his pasture. (Psalm 100:3)
3. Feeling stanza:
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with reward!
Give due to him; bless his title! (Psalm 100:4)
4. Understanding stanza:
For the Lord is nice;
his steadfast love endures without end,
and his faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100:5)
Really feel as a result of you already know. Delight on the premise of doctrine. This isn’t an accident or a coincidence. That is God’s design, God’s plan. Fact serves emotion. Considering serves feeling. Doctrine serves delight. The thoughts serves the guts.
Reviled and Rejoicing
Turning to the New Testomony, let’s look first to Jesus.
Matthew 5:11–12 says,
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil towards you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is nice in heaven, for in order that they persecuted the prophets who had been earlier than you.
How can we rejoice and be glad when persecuted and slandered? As a result of we all know one thing. We all know that our reward is nice in heaven. Is that this not wonderful? Jesus truly believes that if we all know this fact as we must realize it, we are going to expertise radically counterintuitive feelings — specifically, pleasure within the face of slander. Understanding with our thoughts the reality of God’s promise produces feeling in our coronary heart at man’s persecution. Understanding serves feeling.
Luke 10:19–20 says,
Behold, I’ve given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the ability of the enemy, and nothing shall harm you. Nonetheless, don’t rejoice on this, that the spirits are topic to you, however rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
He’s saying, “Here’s a fact, a actuality, to your thoughts to understand and know, my pricey disciples: your names are written in heaven. Certainly, they had been written there earlier than the inspiration of the world, by no means to be erased. You might be everlasting residents of my heavenly kingdom.” Subsequently, my brothers, be invigorated in your coronary heart to rejoice on this. Let this excellent news make you glad. Let this doctrine offer you delight. Use your figuring out school to struggle for pleasure.
Ache in Life, Pleasure within the Coronary heart
Listed here are two extra biblical illustrations of this sample — one from Paul and one from James.
Romans 5:3–5 says,
We rejoice in our sufferings, figuring out that struggling produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope doesn’t put us to disgrace, as a result of God’s love has been poured into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Rejoice by figuring out. That’s, rejoice as a result of you already know. You already know that struggling produces endurance and character and hope and a shame-free eternity. You already know this, Christian. So, rejoice in your struggling. God’s goal is that the thoughts would embrace his promise in order that the guts would rejoice in ache. The thoughts serves the guts. The reality serves the enjoyment.
Lastly, James 1:2–3 says,
Rely all of it pleasure, my brothers, once you meet trials of varied varieties, for you know that the testing of your religion produces steadfastness.
You already know God’s goal within the testing of your religion. Subsequently, rejoice when your religion is examined. Your thoughts sees glory within the fact, in order that your coronary heart will savor it within the trial.
“God designed the thoughts and the reality it is aware of to be the servant of the guts and the enjoyment it feels.”
The goal of the convention is that the phrase of God would information and invigorate our worship. And the implication I’m drawing out is that this: Proper feelings towards God are the purpose of proper eager about God. There’s a actual ultimacy in Godward emotions, which Godward pondering doesn’t have. Each are indispensable. However one in every of them is extra final because the purpose of the opposite. And one in every of them is much less final because the servant of the opposite. Considering is the servant; feeling is the purpose. Doctrine is the servant; delight is the purpose. That’s what now we have seen within the sample of Scripture that runs from cowl to cowl.
Spontaneity of Pure Delight
My remaining query is that this: Why did God design issues this manner — in order that the thoughts serves the guts and Godward feeling is extra final than Godward pondering?
One strategy to transfer towards a solution to that query is to consider synthetic intelligence (AI). One definition of AI is “know-how that allows computer systems and machines to simulate human studying, comprehension, drawback fixing, determination making, creativity, and autonomy.” What’s strikingly lacking from that checklist is human feelings. Why is it that we hear nothing about Synthetic Emotion (AE)?
Right here’s my reply. Intelligence — the usage of the thoughts in pondering, reasoning, and figuring out — exists primarily as a way to an finish. Intelligence gathers knowledge from the 5 senses, analyzes it, organizes it, attracts conclusions from it, after which places it to some use. The use may be to say one thing or do some activity or, within the case of actual people, really feel one thing. Intelligence by itself is pragmatic. So, we don’t take offense when a machine does the kind of pondering that intelligence does. The machine bought the details, the logic, and the conclusion proper, and it’s helpful.
However as quickly as you set the phrase synthetic with emotion (AE), the whole lot in us recoils. We’ve expertise of synthetic emotion. And no one likes it. If a younger woman comes dwelling from her first date with a man and says to her roommate, “He has nice data of details. Impeccable logic. All the precise conclusions. However his feelings are all synthetic. All of it feels faux.” She’s superb together with his computer-like mind. That may be helpful. She’s not superb together with his computer-like coronary heart.
The distinction is that God has designed the human coronary heart and its emotional life to not be pragmatic. That’s, when our feelings come into being authentically, they’re not a way to an finish. What marks an emotion as synthetic is that it seems prefer it’s making an attempt to promote you one thing. Synthetic feelings are manipulative. They’re not spontaneously an finish in themselves. They need to get one thing or make one thing occur.
In case you get a present that you simply actually needed for years, thankfulness rises up spontaneously in your coronary heart. It would burst out in some phrases of gratitude or spill over in another approach. However there’s one factor it’s not. It’s not calculating. It’s not pragmatic. It’s not pondering, “Nicely, if I really feel this thankfulness robust sufficient, then they could give me some extra.” That’s not thankfulness. That’s faux. That’s AE. Everyone knows it’s faux as a result of real feelings usually are not pragmatic. They’re not manipulative. They’re not a way to an finish. They’re real ends.
Surprise Is Our Correct Tribute
Which means, in God’s design, human emotion is completely suited as the guts of why God created the universe — specifically, worship. As a result of worship will not be pragmatic. It’s not a way to an finish. It’s the level at which God is rightly proven to be the good, lovely, infinitely worthwhile God that he’s. And everyone knows intuitively that magnificence and greatness and value usually are not adequately glorified by being precisely described.
In case you stand earlier than Mount Elbert in Colorado, and your mind goes to work together with your pad of paper, and also you say, “14,439 ft tall, highest peak within the Rockies, snow-covered eight months of the 12 months,” and also you maintain up your pad and say, “My tribute,” you’re not a worshiper. You’re a pc. Solely when these “doctrines” written on that piece of paper produce the heartfelt delight of awe and marvel and amazement do you turn into a worshiper, and the mountain receives its correct tribute. Doctrine is the servant. Delight is the purpose.
The goal of the convention is that the sword of the Spirit, the phrase of God, would pierce by means of each impediment and turn into the invigorating energy of all our worship. No biblical fact, no biblical affections. No biblical propositions, no biblical passions. No biblical doctrine, no biblical delight. However the place the phrase of God is sung — filled with biblical fact, filled with biblical propositions, filled with biblical doctrine — the Son of God can be savored as an infinitely wonderful finish in himself.
