Monday in the Twenty-Eighth Week of Ordinary Time

Revelation 19:1-5

Hallelujah!

It is intriguing, is it not?  The event over which sinful men express the greatest lamentation is the same event over which heaven expresses the greatest exultation!  I can think of no starker image to describe the difference between the views of each as illustrated here.  Men weep for money, sensuality, and immorality—indeed, cannot bear to live without them.  The angels and saints utterly despise such things and instead rejoice over their destruction.  They instead magnify the name of God—his salvation, glory, power, truth, and justice.  They have no greater occupation than to exult in God their Savior and to meditate upon Him and His attributes day and night forever and ever.  Worldly things disgust them as much as heavenly things disgust worldlings.  The saint remade after the image of Christ and the sinner all but bereft of the image of God are as different as night and day.  And this is why they cannot coexist.  Oh, for a time the wheat and tares grow together, but then must come the separation (Matthew 13:24-30).  And do not bother thinking that the tares will long for the barn.  They will hate the barn, only they will know that they shouldn’t, and deserve instead that place which they will hate the more.  And they shall hate God and His Christ that they hate the barn and the place they must go.  So they shall be forever stuck in that cycle of hate and unrepentant regret.  And that is why hell is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

But the angels in heaven and the saints on earth cry, “Hallelujah!”  And they praise him specifically for judging “the great prostitute” who enticed sinners to destruction.  In other words, they praise a God who judges men.  On first hearing this, we should stand in fear.  After all, we too are sinners.  And if we shall be saved, it is only by the blood of Christ; otherwise, we are no different than those who reside in Vanity Fair.  It is only by His grace that we stand at all and may look forward to a heavenly dwelling worshiping alongside angels, elders, and cherubim.  And we must never lose sight of this.  This is why a voice from the throne said, “Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him, small and great.”  We never lose our fear of Him—that holy regard for who He is and who we are.  It is that filial fear, the fear a son has of offending and disappointing his father, of falling out of favor due to sin. 

We may rightly rejoice over the fall of Babylon, but not in a self-righteous or arrogant way.  We stand by grace alone.  So let our hearts be filled with thanksgiving and our mouths with praise.  Hallelujah!

Author: The Reformed Baptist

My name is Stephen Taylor, ordained Baptist minister of eighteen years pastoral experience with a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Better than that, I am married to a godly woman, Karla, who has been very patient with me since 1989. I have two daughters, both of whom I homeschooled for extended periods of time, who became godly young women, and who ran off and married godly young men, all of which is very proper. The oldest daughter has even seen fit to bless me with a grandson and a granddaughter, and my youngest daughter with a grandson, all three of whom are bundles of exceeding joy. As you can see, I am quite blessed. This website is dedicated to helping people grow in the wisdom and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through the gift of writing that the Lord has given to me. It is specifically about helping His people grow in godliness, the theme you see repeated above. I write devotions with this aim and hope that they might be of some help to God’s people. Full disclosure: I am of a Reformed bent, meaning that my understanding of Scripture is primarily informed by the Reformers and their successors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, as a student of church history and theology, I strive to remain true to that teaching handed down once for all unto the saints through every age of the Church. I like to think of myself as a “catholic” Christian, as the Reformers thought of themselves. At any rate, feel free to read, pray, and contact me if you wish, or correct me if need be. As you can see, I tend to follow the church year. Of course, I make no special claims about these devotions. I know very well that others have written better and plumbed the depths of God’s word with greater insight. But if my musings help someone draw closer to the Lord, well then, I have my reward. Blessings to you and may the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ speak to you that word which He knows you especially need to hear. Grace & peace, Stephen Taylor

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