I lift up my eyes to the hills.
      From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
      Who made heaven and earth.
 
The believer ponders or perceives hills.  He is reliant upon God, perhaps in a mood of anxiety, insecurity, or pending trial of some sort.  Perhaps he is being confessional and encouraging of others.  But whatever he affirms is of enormous and lasting consolation to every child of God.  The hills may suggest the strength of God in his work of creation.  They are strong and elevated and may be symbolic of the power of God and the firmness of his promises.
 
It is likely that the author may be on the verge of a journey and has to traverse the hills and he is thinking of the dangers of robbers besetting him.
 
Whatever the thoughts that inspire him the poet is placing his confidence in the Lord who extends kindness and protection to his people and ably governs all that is in heaven and earth.  Nowhere is the petitioner beyond the divine Presence or aid.
 
He will not let your foot be moved;
      He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
      Will neither slumber or sleep.
 
In his providence and wise provision of continual welfare for his chosen ones the Lord is never off-duty.  He will keep his folk steady and on the right track.  They need not falter.  The Lord does not doze off or waver in attentiveness.  He keeps his people on the basis of twenty-four hour guard duty.  Nothing escapes or eludes his eye.  He is unresting, does not require refreshment, he traces every step of those he loves, and covers them with his close hand.
 
The Lord is your keeper;
       The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall, not strike you by day,
        Nor the moon by night.
 
A double assurance is pronounced by the psalmist.  Be certain.  Our God determines to keep us.  We are held by him and nothing can tear us away from him.  Every moment he is watchful.  Even his servant Mr Sun will not be permitted to scorch us.  Sun stroke is ruled out though the noontide rays are full strength and withering without cover.  God carefully, considerately, affords shade with his interposing hand as a barrier and his soft breath as a coolant.
 
Even the harmless beams of the moon will be softened into a gentle nocturnal kiss from gilded beams.  In ancient times it was thought by some cultures that the moon was a harbinger of malicious spirits and ill-fortune.  Such superstition is swept away by our faithful saint of old.  Day and night divine concern follows, accompanies, and precedes God’s people – the individual, or “corporate Israel”, the company of the redeemed.
 
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
     he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
     your going out and your coming in
     From time forth and forevermore.
 
Our going out (from birth) to our coming in (home-going to heaven), every minute of the life of the elect, is diligently observed, and our immortal soul preserved, whatever eventuates upon our earthly pilgrimage - all dismay discarded.
 
RJS

2 Kings 6

“There are more things in heaven and earth than this world dreams of.”
-Attributed to Alfred the Great
 
Scripture witnesses to unseen forces in conflict.  Our world is the arena of intense spiritual conflict, the focus of fiendish attack by malicious spirits – fallen angels and Satan’s minions.  Great powers clash and we are affected by the battle.  We see and feel evidence of supernatural warfare but the combatants are not discerned by the human eye.  Paul the apostle speaks of “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) and enlarges upon the devil’s schemes and works of evil:  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).
 
The foes of humanity, and especially the people of God, are formidable.  They are organized, relentless, of superior intelligence, and wreak enormous harm.  They oppress mankind with many ills and calamities and subject persons of faith to bitter struggle, as Paul notes for our attention.  Satan is the cruelest being in existence, utterly merciless, and keeps his servants on the prowl:  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (2 Peter 5:8).  He perpetrates acts of evil personally, commands rebellious spirits, and influences those available to his pressures and temptations:  The spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient (Ephesians 2:2).  Man’s inhumanity to man in every aspect of its vile treatment is prompted by the prince of darkness.  Given the cunning, wiles, lies, and strength of the evil one we ought not to be surprised at what he can persuade sinners to do and what torments he wishes to bring upon believers.  Speaking of the sovereignty and omnipotence of God, John Newton observes:  The powers of darkness are likewise under his subjection and control.  Though but little of them is said in Scripture, we read enough to assure us that their number must be immensely great, and that their strength, subtlety, and malice, are such as we may tremble to think of them as our enemies, and probably should, but for our strange insensibility to whatever does not fall under the cognizance of our outward senses.  But he holds them all in a chain, so that they can do or attempt nothing but by his permission; and whatever he permits them to do (though they mean nothing less,) has its appointed subserviency in accomplishing his designs.
 
But just as there are fiends busy around us, so too there are invisible friends.  The Lord summons them to the help and reassurance of his folk at will.  A reliable account comes from a medical missionary in Africa.  A horde of murderous rebels was bearing down upon her medical center which was defenseless.  Urgent prayer was offered to the Lord and the men of violence only perceived a fire enveloping the building and hastened noisily by.  The medical staff and doctor were left safe in their clinic that had not burned at all.  Not a spark was seen.  No heat was felt.
 
When the prophet Elisha was under threat from a hostile army his fearful servant enquired, “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?”:  ‘Don’t be afraid”, the prophet answered.  “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so that he may see.”  Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha (2 Kings 6:15-17).  The Lord Almighty always has the majority.  “The angel of the
Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them (Psalm 34:7).
 
RJS

ZECHARIAH 8

​The importance of Zechariah’s message cannot be overestimated.  When we contemplate the power of God and the extent of his capacities it is vital to keep the affirmations of the prophet firmly in mind.  There are times without number when we shall need to share in his stalwart convictions concerning the ability of God to maintain his purposes and bring them to successful conclusion.  Confidence in the Lord requires a sound foundation and Zechariah lays down that foundation in impressive and emphatic fashion.  Eighteen times within the span of chapter eight he enunciates the stupendous fact that the God he knows and serves is the Lord Almighty!
 
In a time when the fortunes of the people of God are at a low ebb Zechariah is commissioned to convey a rousing message of enormous future evidence of the great strength of God on behalf of his chosen folk.  They have been reduced to a remnant of returnees from exile in Babylon to the ravaged city of Jerusalem in need of major reconstruction.  Their situation is depressing and their future daunting.  The resolve to rebuild was weak and efforts were feeble, and it was hard to resist the hindrances and hateful attacks of foreign opposition.  Results were poor and expectations low.  The people of God were faced with the imposition of many impediments and the distressing reality of their own impotence.  It was virtually time to give up.
 
The antidote to Jewish lassitude and loss of hope came in Zechariah’s reassurance of the authority and irresistible force of the sovereignty of God to be exercised in all that he wishes to accomplish for the cause of his kingdom.  God is reliable.  God is strong.  He has complete power over all things.  Indeed, he is omnipotent.  The prophet steadfastly avers that his unchallengeable and due title is God Almighty.  We are apt to neglect the profound meaning of this familiar form of address to the Deity.  Its very utterance should cause us to tremble, and at the same time it should embolden the spirits of believers.  Nothing can restrict the power of God when it is exerted in ways consonant with the perfection of his nature and all of his divine qualities and attributes.  The strength of God is infinite and inexhaustible.  This is the God in whom we trust and to whom we render our prayers and pleas.  This the God who cares for us and who protects and provides for his people.
 
Current conditions cannot circumscribe his holy intentions.  Though not decided or specifically known by us there could be an enormous range of impossibilities that could possibly lie ahead to be wrought and fulfilled if in agreement with his will.  We cannot automatically discount extraordinary acts and interventions of the Lord when matters are dire or defeat appears inevitable.  He is the Master of all matters.  There are human unknowns known to the mind of the Lord.  There is always hope in prayer offered in the midst of uncertainties.  Whatever occurs was ordained in some inscrutable way.  Our reliance upon God is never mislaid as we humbly submit to his wisdom, even with our difficulties.
 
Zechariah’s message is addressed to the people of God, therefore it is timeless, finding its completion in the mission of the Messiah through its various installments.  The promises of God are manifested developmentally in history, first in Israel and then in the church, and his purposes are realized more broadly through divine governance in Providence.  Everything is ordered by divine power and at divine pace.  This is why Zechariah seeks to allay the fears of his nation.  Though we sense tremors in our lives they ought never to convert to terror. We need supernatural nous to recognize that all is well ultimately.
 
Zechariah encourages the remnant of God’s people with the pledge that they will eventually resettle satisfactorily in their homeland.  He adds the startling news of the ingathering of Gentiles to the knowledge of God and an enlarging of the borders of a spiritual Israel as is recorded in the New Testament.  What he describes as the benefits of the power and grace of God is the inheritance of all believers meant to undergird and guard our faith and our hope.
 
In the words of the prophet recorded in chapter eight Zechariah is ministering to us.  His eighteen uses of the term “Almighty” are a powerful testimony to us as to the ability of God to perform wonders – even to the end of time, unless he decides or declares otherwise.  The deepest assurance is afforded to us, for our confidence, in the frequency of the phrase “The Lord Almighty says”.  In the interests of his people God will work their welfare in all circumstances and all times.  Our sense of what is our welfare may well differ from his, but he will secure it infallibly nonetheless. 
 
It is the teaching of the word of God that the Lord is able to do the impossible.  His deeds stun the mind of man.  We have a natural tendency to severely limit the character and capabilities of the Lord.  This either leads us to folly or faltering faith.  The sinner counts on the supposed limits of God.  The believer cowers due to the failure to acknowledge the boundless ingeniousness, creativity, resourcefulness, and competence of the Lord.  Our God is always “too small” as alleged by Bible translator J.B. Phillips.
 
Verse six addresses our habitual underestimation of the greatness of God in his ability to bless those justified in Christ and blast those who remain guilty before him in their proud rejection of his salvation and forgiveness.  “This is what the Lord Almighty says:  ‘It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?’ declares the Lord Almighty.”  God’s most astounding works to us are simply standard operations and ordinary works in terms of his actual and potential strength which can never be tested and cannot be tired.  All his exertions are easy.  All power is his both in boundless reserve and its exercise in real action.
 
Who can forecast the possible designs and deeds of the Lord with regard to any state of affairs.  In Zechariah’s reckoning amazing events are likely “Because God is with you/us”, as witnesses may also observe (v23).  We are unable to conceive the course or conclude the end of any matter.  Our suppositions or speculations may be erroneous.  The future is dark to us and we walk confidentially in the safety of the companionship of the Lord Jesus Christ who could have anything surprising in store for us.  Charles Spurgeon exhorts us to look to Christ’s “suddenlies”.
 
The Bible urges us to observe its catalogue of impossibilities that came to pass or could do so if God determined.  Abraham and Sarah could bring convincing evidence:  Is anything too hard for the Lord?  (Genesis 18:14).  John the son of another Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth must have learned of the angelic word to his Aunt Mary, “For nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37) for he expressed the conviction, “For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham” (Luke3:8b).  Note the possibility of a dual meaning of the preposition “with” in the first Lucan quotation:  a) what God can accomplish, and  b) what can occur in association with him.  And observe the reference to Abraham (infertility) and the promise of his spiritual children through the gospel as alluded to in the second quote from Luke.  The Bible is emphatic:  the Lord is Almighty and nothing is impossible with God.  Perhaps we may remain in good heart – expectant!

RJS

COLLECT FOR THE EPIPHANY:
Lord God, you who by the leading of a star revealed your Son to the Gentiles:  mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith, may after this life behold your glory in the face of the same your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.
 
How beautifully this collect portrays our Lord Jesus:  First by a heavenly sign, a star, an emblem of striking and sovereign glory.  Jesus emits a bright radiance that is set before mankind in a lofty and distant star that draws nearer and nearer.  The false prophet Balaam, for all of his religious deviancy, was constrained to point to the coming Son of God as a star.  “I see him, but not now; I behold him but not near.  A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel” (Numbers 24:17).  This image of the shining Redeemer of men is used again in Holy Scripture (Revelation 22:16).  Balaam announces that at his point in time his vision is of a star that is not yet visible to the human eye.  The Person it represents is not near.  This unworthy Gentile who is at enmity with God and his people is nonetheless subject to the sovereignty of God and compelled to enunciate his truth.  All must and will acknowledge the supremacy of Jesus.  He is also the holder of the scepter of the Kingdom of God:  “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience the nations is his” (Genesis 49:10).
 
At the birth of the Savior of men the star becomes visible and draws near to a band of several Gentile scholars of ancient astronomy, stargazers from the East.  The foretold star draws the Magi closer to the One it prefigures until at last they meet him and pay their homage.  The event of the visit of the wise men speaks volumes of the wise government of God and the unspeakable glory of the Son.  The Lord rules the universe and may summon or create a star at will for his purpose.  Something of omnipotent might and energy is packed into heavenly bodies by their Maker to cause them to endure as luminaries to reflect his splendor for vast periods of time.  They move by the finger of God.  That such arrangement can be employed to indicate the advent of the Son is manifestation of his divine excellence and exalted mission on earth – the bringing of the kingdom that God himself establishes among men on a universal basis to comprise both Israel and the Gentile world.
 
A marvel is beginning to unfurl in the Epiphany.  The Royal Lion of Judah foreseen by Jacob (Genesis 49:8-12) will become the Ruler of all nations.  The whole earth will see his star and perceive it in the gospel.  Some hearers will be seekers, like the sages of the Orient, and some will be skeptics, but the name of Christ will be emblazoned among all peoples.  His status and sovereignty will be declared through a second medium, added to which will be the message of his Saviourhood.  The word of the Lord Jesus conveyed to us in the Scriptures will make him known to us through faith in their reliable and proven testimony.  This knowledge of the Lord Jesus is implied in the text of our seasonal collect:  “Mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith… ”  Christ is made manifest in the Testaments of prophetic and apostolic authorship.  The word is the telescope that enables us to view the heavenly grandeur of the Son and the celestial realities about which he informs us.  Scripture is indispensable and precious because God discloses himself and proffers his mercy through the entirety of his most holy book – the Bible, written by those who knew him and who were guided and inspired by him.  Men wrote or recited the words of Scripture in their own characteristic way.  The Spirit of God informed, illuminated, and infallibly influenced their minds as original and ultimate Author.
 
The consummate vision of God will occur at the conclusion of the journey of this life of faith.  As the collect confidently affirms, faith will pass away and a face will shine in all its beauty, glory, and grace before us – a face that will charm our hearts and win all our devotion so that we may “behold your glory in the face of the same your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
Shine upon us, “bright Morning Star” (Revelation 22:16).
 
RJS