Trinity 1
Jesse Jacobsen
Printed
Time-stamp: <Sat May 28 21:35:45 2005>
Jeremiah 9:23--24
Thus says the LORD:
``Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and
righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,'' says the LORD.
Your glory is to know God aright
When I was in grade school, I liked the times when my teachers or family
members recognized that I had certain talents. On the other hand, there
were parts of it I didn't like. I didn't like the implication that I
wasn't talented the same as certain other people. I didn't like the
possibility that I might not be gifted in the areas I was interested in.
I especially didn't like the idea that somebody else had me
``pegged.'' I wanted to be my own person, not whatever someone else
thought I should be.
The same thing remains true our whole life long. We want to be the
masters of our own fate. We want to make our own mark in the world, not
be forced in another direction by necessity or by the opinion of someone
else. It's a matter of pride and self-respect.
It does get us into trouble, though, doesn't it? You might have wanted
to be an astronaut, and if circumstances force you to be something else
all your life, there's a danger you'll be disappointed, hate your job,
and maybe even yourself. So we all have a rebellious streak hidden
beneath the surface. We think we know what our pride and glory ought to
be. But sometimes God has made us into something else. ``The nerve of
that guy, I tell ya! Who's He to tell me that I have to be a mother, or
a father? That I have to do the chores every day? That I have to work
at such a place, or live at such a house?'' Well, you know the answer:
He's God.
Since God made us, He has the right to direct our lives --- even without
running it past us first. This would all be much easier for us if we
could only appreciate our true value before Him. You see, He's not
impressed with our jobs or possessions, or even our skills or interests.
When He made you, He wasn't making the collection of things we value
most; but a person. He was making you. God created us for
Himself, and our hearts will not rest until they rest in Him. Your
glory is to know God aright. That's our theme today. He is better than
our best. His best means our salvation.
He is better than our best
Our text begins by naming some pretty impressive things: wisdom,
strength, and riches. These are the things that are honored on earth.
But the Lord God says, ``Let not the wise man glory in his
wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man
glory in his riches.'' This is exactly the opposite of what usually
happens on earth.
Think of Jesus' story in our Gospel lesson. The rich man dressed in
purple, feasted daily, and had many guests. You know that he was feared
and socially powerful. He had everything he could wish for. He was
satisfied with his earthly blessings and their glory, and he didn't
want anything more.
There are other examples, even where the earthly blessings are not in
riches. The Bible scholars at Jesus' time had a special wisdom, but
many of them thought that their studies were more glorious than the
content of the Bible, which is Christ. The people of Jericho at
Joshua's time rested secure behind the awesome strength of their city
walls, while only one woman among them --- Rahab --- knew that even the
glory of Jericho would fall.
We still have walls today. There are still castles of a kind. There
are different kinds of wisdom, and highly-trained people in every art
imaginable. Even in the study of the Bible, there are hundreds of
specialties. Some people are still mighty warriors, possessing great
strength. And of course, there are still the riches of money. We are
each blessed in many ways. Some are wise. Some are strong. Some are
wealthy.
Is God telling us that it's wrong to be wise, strong, or wealthy? No.
Rather, He's telling us that such things should not be our glory. Even
though our neigbors might respect us for them, and even though our
fellow church members might be impressed, these are only gifts from God.
They don't impress Him. It may be hard to believe, but the Lord God can
give these things to one person and just as easily take them back for
another person. He set Joseph on the throne of Egypt, but that didn't
keep God, 400 years later, from destroying the Pharaoh and laying waste
to the land. God made Esther the queen of Persia, and Daniel the head
of the magi. Did their earthly glory impress Him? Of course not.
God is the source of glory. Things are glorious only as they touch upon
Him. If your riches are glorious, it's because He gave them to you for
His purposes. If your might is glorious, it's only because God made you
mighty. If your wisdom is glorious, that's only because it came from
above. Nothing we can find in ourselves or in our possession is able to
add to the glory that God already has.
The Lord God is truly better than our very best. More than riches, He
has righteousness. So glorious is his righteousness that even the
angels in heaven hide their feet in His presence, as they sing out to
one another, ``Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!''
More than might, the Lord has judgment. No evil will be unpunished. No
good will be unrewarded. The buck truly stops with Him, for He is the
ultimate authority. When He judges, His judgment is good. It cannot be
resisted or avoided. There may be powers on earth, but He is farther
beyond the greatest than the greatest on earth is beyond the least.
But the most important trait of God, greater than any earthly wisdom,
because it is the source of all earthly wisdom, is His merciful love.
The righteousness of God serves His lovingkindness, as Jesus shed His
holy blood, the atoning sacrifice for the whole world. The judgment of
God serves His lovingkindness, as Jesus suffered the agony of hell,
carrying our guilt to its judgment. Human wisdom can't begin to
comprehend the lovingkindness of God. It's so far beyond us that we
must either accept or reject it utterly. There is no middle ground.
God's lovingkindness is either blasphemous foolishness or it's our
salvation.
Your true glory is to know God aright. He is better than our best.
His best means our salvation
God said, `` `But let him who glories glory in this, That he
understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness,
judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,' says
the LORD.'' Your true glory is to know God aright. His best means our
salvation.
Most people on earth have some conception of God, even those who don't
believe in a god. Everyone admits that there is such a thing as good,
and its opposite: bad. There is such a thing as the beginning of the
world. If left to ourselves, we all would have some idea of God, but
our ideas would be faulty. We would think of a god who is smaller than
we are in strength and wisdom, a god we can comfortably imagine without
fear. But our Creator, the Lord God, is greater than that in every way.
A god of our own invention is nothing more than superstition, or the
transferral of human traits upon something else in the world. It's a
manageable kind of god. But the Lord God cannot be managed by human
beings. He's greater than imagination, to the point that anyone who
knows Him must fear Him. Yet knowing God aright is our true glory.
Paul introduced Him to the men of Athens this way:
``God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of
heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is
He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since
He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from
one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth,
and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of
their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that
they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from
each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as
also some of your own poets have said, `For we are also His
offspring.' Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought
not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone,
something shaped by art and man's devising. Truly, these times of
ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to
repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the
world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given
assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.''
Suppose that what Paul said there is true. He was describing a god much
greater than us, a single Creator, Provider, and Judge to whom we must
give an answer in the end. Paul was describing the judgment and
righteousness of God. This is the righteous judge before whom no mortal
man can stand, not even Moses. God told him, ``You cannot see
My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.'' Yet God says to us,
``But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and
knows Me.''
God is certainly glorious in His righteousness and judgment. But
knowing Him that way does not seem very advantageous. If on death row
you learn the name of your judge and executioner, it doesn't change the
fact that your day will come.
That's why the best attribute that God exercises, as far as we are
concerned, is His lovingkindness, His merciful love. The love of God in
Jesus Christ has provided mercy to those who dread God's judgment.
Jesus is the Word of God, setting that lovingkindness in motion. In the
fullness of time, He was conceived and born to a virgin mother, for God
the Son was entering His own creation. God the Son bore the weight of
our punishment. He was executed instead of us. Now, it is through His
name alone that we know the full measure of God's glory.
Only in the Gospel of Jesus is our text fulfilled: `` `But let
him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I
am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in
the earth. For in these I delight,' says the LORD.'' In every way,
God is better than our best. But His best is good news to us beyond all
reckoning: that ``God was in Christ reconciling the world to
Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them.'' This is God's best,
and it means our salvation.
So don't glory in any earthly gifts you may have. Rather, glory in the
fact that God has redeemed you in Christ Jesus. Let us say with Paul,
``Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be
found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law,
but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is
from God by faith.'' Find your life in Christ your Savior, and find
Christ your Savior in His Word and Sacraments. He is here for you
today, your eternal glory. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Listen online at www.grace-els.org.
This document was translated from LATEX by
HEVEA.