Psalm 36 (Listen)

How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love

To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the LORD.

36:1   Transgression speaks to the wicked
    deep in his heart;¹
  there is no fear of God
    before his eyes.
2   For he flatters himself in his own eyes
    that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3   The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
    he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4   He plots trouble while on his bed;
    he sets himself in a way that is not good;
    he does not reject evil.
5   Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the clouds.
6   Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
    your judgments are like the great deep;
    man and beast you save, O LORD.
7   How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
    The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8   They feast on the abundance of your house,
    and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9   For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light do we see light.
10   Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
    and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
11   Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
    nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12   There the evildoers lie fallen;
    they are thrust down, unable to rise.

(ESV)

The command is clear: Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Testimony of praise is the proper response to being salvaged by the steadfast love of the Lord.

Despite popular preaching today, note carefully, in each case depicted in this song, what rendered the praise of the Most High? Rather than health, wealth or prosperity, what caused these men to cry out for God’s salvation was the humbling realization of their sincere need, the real impossibility of their situation, their powerlessness to do anything else in their peril. The struggle brought a clear recognition of their need for God’s gracious intervention for their redemption. “Only the sick need a doctor.”

Indeed, let the redeemed of the Lord say so!

Ephesians 5:22–6:9 (Listen)

Wives and Husbands

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.¹ 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Children and Parents

6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters

5 Bondservants,² obey your earthly masters³ with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master⁴ and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

(ESV)

In Christ there is redemption: love between spouses, honoring of parents, instruction for children, respect and service in the workplace. The mystery Paul sees in marriage is that, since God instituted the first one, it has been for the purpose of the Gospel: to provide humanity with a picture of covenant love. The roles of husband and wife are distinct. One displays the glory of God in leading, providing and protecting; the other by receiving, trusting and respecting (ie: submission). Christian marriage ought to provide a living example of the Gospel of God’s love for and with the Church, for all the world to see. Honor and obedience in the home place is the training ground for God’s children. As our heavenly One, fathers instruct rather than provoke. Likewise, with a sincere and humble heart, obey and serve your boss in the work place “as to the Lord,” as though it were the Lord you were working for.