the joy, peace, and safety found in and promised by JESUS
Let the light of your face shine on us, Yahweh. You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and new wine abound. I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, Yahweh, make me live in safety. (Psalm 4:6b-8)
This last Sunday I preached from Psalm 04 as part of our “Summer in the Psalms” sermon series at Grace Church. And since the Psalms are, in part, about Jesus (Luke 24:27; 44-45), near the end of the sermon I unpacked from the Scriptures how the words above — of joy, peace, and safety — apply not only to Yahweh, but also to the King he sent to save us. And as it was a Sunday for celebrating the meal Jesus gave us (Mark 14:22-26), we celebrated joy, peace, and safety incarnate, gathered around the table.
It is my prayer that in reading this reflection of the Scripture from my sermon (below), you will move one step closer to Jesus, bringing you increased joy, peace, and safety.
Oh yeah — you can listen to the whole sermon here.
(sermon excerpt)
This last week someone sent me a video clip entitled, “Why I can’t sleep.” It was pretty hilarious, actually, because it hits so close to home for many of us. This guy was reflecting on how his brain and his body and brain cannot agree on bedtime:
“I can be, like, barely-able-to-stand-up tired and so my body is like, ‘Hey brain, we should go to bed.’
And my brain’s like, “Totally. Let’s do it.”
And then, as soon as your head hits the pillow, brain is like, “Oh hey, real quick, here is everything that you are worried about. Here it is, riiiggght here.”
And you’re like, “C’mon brain, it’s 1 in the morning! We can’t do anything about all that right now!”
And brain is like, “Oh, I’m so sorry. That’s my mistake. You know what, instead, here’s some bad memories. Here you go. Also…a scene from the scariest movie you’ve ever seen. Also…you have to go potty again. Get up. Actually, you don’t have to really go potty, it just feels like you have to go potty.”
Can anyone relate? It’s so true, isn’t it!?
I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, Yahweh, make me live in safety. (Psalm 4:6b-8)
But David says there’s another way. You see, he had called on his enemies to trust in Yahweh, and now he’s showing us exactly what that looks like: it looks like resting in the presence of God that brings joy to the heart; it looks like laying all our burdens at his feet, and lying down and sleeping in peace, because we know that Yahweh alone will make us live in safety. It means that the things that might produce worry and anxiety, the bad memories, the scary situations, the slanderers seeking to tear us down, well, Yahweh’s got this. He can provide safety, he can get us out of the tight spot, he can broaden our way and help us breathe and rest easy again.
You see, Yahweh is our sure and certain hope of Joy, Peace, and safety. And when the world was seemingly at its darkest, when it seemed all was lost for his people, and they were oppressed under Rome’s boot, at just the right time, another King was sent and anointed to save and shepherd his people. Another King was sent to be the Messiah. God himself would dwell among us, fully God, and fully man. And do you know what was announced at this King’s coming?
Lk 2:10, 14 Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people…14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!
You see, the communion table is all about the fullness of blessings that God has promised through an anointed one. A King, from the line of David. A King, who like David, was slandered and mistreated, falsely accused and then tried and put to death on a cross, with a sign over his head that read, King of the Jews.
And do you know why King Jesus did that? To be our sure and certain hope of joy, peace, and safety. And the Scriptures are filled with evidence to support that statement:
Jesus said that his desire was that his joy would be in us, and that our joy would be full (Jn15:11).
Jesus said that our sorrows would one day all turn into joy (Jn 16:20)
Jesus said that there is a day coming when no one will take away our joy (Jn. 16:22).
Jesus told us to ask for anything from the Father — to call to him (Ps4:1), pray to him in Jesus’ name, to ask in this way — and we will receive what we ask for as his children, so that our joy will be full!
Jesus instructed his disciples that he would give them the gift of the Holy Spirit, and Paul wrote that in Jesus we would receive the kingdom of God, which is peace and joy in that same Holy Spirit; further, that the fruit of the Spirit is joy.
And Peter — dear Peter — has told us that though we have not seen Jesus, we love him; and though not seeing him now, we believe in him, and we rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy.
We have more joy in Jesus than any feast of food and wine could provide, though we use grain and juice as part of communion to remember it!
BUT — Jesus brings more than joy, Jesus brings peace.
Jesus promised peace to his disciples as he left this earth and ascended to the Father, telling us, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.”
Jesus knew we’d face trouble, just like David, which is why he said, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
Paul taught that Jesus IS our peace (Eph2:14), the one who tears down the wall of hostility between us and Yahweh; he taught that Jesus proclaims peace to those far off, and peace to those who are near, making us one with Yahweh!
Paul believed in the peace that Jesus brings so much that he included it at the beginning of all 13 of his letters to the churches (and to us) proclaiming it over us, reminding us.
And because we have been made right by our trust in Yahweh, we have peace with God through Jesus (Rom 5:1)
Because of our trust, the God of hope will fill us with all joy and peace (Rom15:13).
Are you worried about the great accuser, the great slanderer himself, the Satan? Well, we know that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under our feet! (Rom 16:20).
We have the promise that the God of love and peace will be with us (2Cor13:11).
We are instructed that the fruit of the Spirit is peace (Gal 5:22).
We should be filled with confidence knowing that the feet of every disciple of Jesus is sandaled with the Good News of peace, carrying it with us wherever we go, to those outside and inside the family (Eph6:15).
And, we can live boldly, trusting that the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Jesus (Phil 4:7), so that the peace of Messiah will rule our hearts (Col3:15).
And here’s the remarkable thing about peace, about the shalom of God that was present with him at the beginning of the world, and will be at the end of all things — peace includes safety from our foes, enemies, and harm.
You see, this was what that blessing given to Aaron by Yahweh himself had bound up within it — “…may Yahweh lift up his countenance upon you, and give you…shalom.” (Numbers 6:26)
John Goldingay: “Aaron’s blessing spoke of shalom, the well-being of the whole person, and a worshipper could use these words to express an expectation of experiencing shalom in the broadest possible sense….living in such safety was a frequent description of God’s ideal intention for his people.” And over and over Yahweh describes this in great detail — in Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Ezekiel, and Revelation. Our shalom delivered safety.
I think this is why Paul talks so much about peace/shalom — which brings safety and security — between the people of God. Because it is bound up in his character, and we are those who bear his image, we are meant to expand the peace and safety which are an expression of his kingdom come.
We are bringers of safety. We are to create a gentle environment of the Good News + Safety + Time. Safety — to be a place where no one has absolutely anything to fear, because we are a church that looks to our faithful shepherd Jesus to one day return, and ensure the security of his people in a place filled with joy and shalom.
This communion table represents his promise to do just that.
Will you trust him for it?
