He gives voice to the dead... And so we sing.

Why do we love God?

(1 John 4:19, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, February 5, 2017)

We love because he first loved us.

Why do we love God?

God is worthy of our love. He has the most delightful combination of attributes and actions. So much so that we really must sing to Him about it. I was recently driving home when the sun was setting. A plane left a trail in the sky, and the visible orange and yellow rays of the sun which I could no longer exactly see brightened those two lines of smoke far above. I thought of the God who had the power and wisdom to make such a beautiful world and the people who live on it.

Strings of words come to mind, but our hearts have more than words. Nonetheless, some words:

Creation, Providence, Redemption have been wrought by the one and only God...

who is

Infinite, Eternal, and Unchangeable

in His...

Being, Wisdom, Power, Holiness, Justice, Goodness, and Truth.

It could drive a man to do something other than drink... SING. (See Ephesians 5:18-19)

“Do not get drunk… but be filled with the Spirit… addressing one another... singing...”

Tomorrow morning our small band of morning worshipers will do just that using Psalm 29:

O give to Jehovah, you sons of the Mighty,

Both glory and strength to Jehovah accord!

O give to the Lord His name's greatness of glory!

In splendor of holiness worship the Lord!

Then again I think of Doug Camp's sensitive and forthright words to a stranger—a man who was unknowingly disrupting our Presbytery meeting in Lewiston yesterday. That's why I love God.

Or what about this text from Craig Dubois that binged me about forgiveness and vengeance:

I came across something interesting. When Christ tells Peter to forgive a brother seventy times seven, His saying seems to contrast completely what Lamech says in Gen.4:24: "If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is seventy sevenfold." You probably already knew this but I had never seen it before. Forgiveness in one context, revenge in another. Interesting.

Another list of words come to mind:

Justification, Adoption, Sanctification, Glorification...

All part of the redemptive work of an amazing God.

And can it be that I should gain

an int'rest in the Savior's blood?

Died he for me, who caused his pain?

For me, who him to death pursued?

Amazing love! How can it be

that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Q: Can it be? How can we ever love God? A: He first loved us

This is another version of the “Why do we love God?” question. This one still focuses on God, but it is more particularly with reference to our own spiritual weakness. There is a problem when we refer to our spiritual weakness. It overestimates our ability. We were not weak. We were dead, but God made us alive.

Ephesians 2:1-10

[1] And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2] in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—[3] among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. [4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—[6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

It is obvious that we could not save ourselves in terms of our spiritual debt to God. The cross proves that. We did not die on the cross for our own sins. Only Jesus could do that.

But we could not even provide the faith by which we came to experience God's grace. Even the faith was a gift. That's how far we were from being able to save ourselves. He first loved us.

One more song that will no doubt make it into the hymnal in the next revision:

I will not boast in anything

No gifts, no power, no wisdom

But I will boast in Jesus Christ

His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?

I cannot give an answer

But this I know with all my heart

His wounds have paid my ransom

Christians are the special recipients of the Lord's electing love, not because we are inherently lovable, but because of the Lord's choice and covenant faithfulness. All human beings should be treated with dignity and cared for with generosity, since all are created in God's image. But we are God's chosen people. We love because He first loved us. Because of that powerful life-giving love, you have a great destiny. “He will exult over you with loud singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

Old Testament Reading—Zephaniah 3:14-20 – Rejoice and exult with all your heart

Gospel Reading—Matthew 5:42 – Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.