A Strangely Contemporary Comment

In Ps 74.9-11, this morning. We no longer see your miraculous signs, all our prophets are gone, and no one can tell us when it will end, writes the psalmist in vs. 9. How contemporary this reads. God has gone silent (we do not see, at least in America, his miraculous signs, we do not hear from his prophets, indeed, we believe that verbal revelation has ended). This period seems much like the 400 silent years between Malachi and John the Baptist. The enemies of God seem to have the upper hand, or at least God is not fighting them overtly, and while the gospel advances in some areas, our experience here is that it is stagnant or even decreasing. Which makes us agree when the psalmists says, Why do you hold back your strong right hand, unleash your powerful fist and destroy them! Why don't you win this war, Lord, win now? Or as Matt Chandler tweeted last week when he dealt with two people whose loved ones had passed away, "Come Lord, and stop this madness!"

The mystery of God's silence and apparent lack of motivation to finish history. God doesn't feel the need to give us too much of his plans, and certainly none of his timetable (which is just as well because we would probably immediately sin trying to take advantage of it). This is where patience and faith comes in. Patience as we wait for God to destroy his enemies and end history, and faith that our hope in Christ is sure and certain.

Prayer: Maranatha (Come!), Lord Jesus.