Who Can Stand

July 1

(Psalm 76:1-12 NIV) “In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel. {2} His tent is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. {3} There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war. {4} You are resplendent with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game. {5} Valiant men lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors can lift his hands. {6} At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still. {7} You alone are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry? {8} From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet-- {9} when you, O God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. {10} Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained. {11} Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared. {12} He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth.”

(Revelation 6:15-17 NIV) ““Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. {16} They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! {17} For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?””

God saves for two reasons. He saves to deliver the righteous and the afflicted. But He also saves to judge the wicked and to separate evil from good. There is a positive side and a negative side to salvation. God is holy and cannot live with sin. It is impossible because of His nature. The Lord is resplendent with light, so no darkness can enter heaven. This is why we must come through Christ and the cross to live with God eternally. We must be purified. Our sin must be confessed and expunged. We are foolish to believe we can stand up against the Holy One of Israel. He breaks the spirit of those who oppose Him. He destroys all our weapons of war. He pronounces judgment and there is no recourse. We have no voice to object in the presence of the Almighty. He speaks -- we are stilled. Make your vows to God now, and bring Him gifts. Bow down in worship of our King. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day