“Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth!”
Psalm 12:1 NLT
We move to the next Psalm, another written by David, and the title includes instructions about how it should be accompanied when sung. His perception was that “the Godly are fast disappearing” but was that real or imagined? As we read the Old Testament, however, we see that there is an ebb and flow in the number of God worshipers in Israel. For example, the book of Judges often laments those who have abandoned the Lord. Verses such as Judges 3:7 identify the problem, “The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. They forgot about the Lord their God, and they served the images of Baal and the Asherah poles”. We also read about Elijah’s sadness with the thought that he was the only God-fearing man left. Elijah had journeyed to Mount Sinai and we read, “There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”” (1 Kings 19:9). His response in the next verse was interesting, “Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”” God recommissioned Elijah there on the mountain, and reassured him, “Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!”” (1 Kings 19:18).
Often the perception of the numbers of believers in our country is fuelled by a press hostile to believers, but there are problems within some denominations. For example, here in the West of Fife, where I live in Scotland, there is a decline in the numbers of Churches of Scotland, with congregations dwindling and buildings being sold. This is a theme often emphasised in the media, always willing to promote a secular narrative. But John Stevens (National Director of FIEC) is credited with saying, “The decline of denominations like the Church of Scotland, which have largely abandoned the gospel, is not the full story of UK Christianity. Evangelical churches that faithfully preach Christ are consistently seeing slow and steady growth overall – both conversions and transfer growth through migration”. John continued, “The UK is not turning from Christianity but rejecting empty folk religion that was never true Christianity in the first place. The major decline is in allegiance to the Church of Scotland – and this is inevitable given that it is a liberal denomination that affirms same-sex marriage. Liberalism in the church proclaims its own irrelevance to the culture because it has nothing unique to offer that can’t be better delivered elsewhere.” So there we have it. A Church of Scotland member would, most likely, pray the prayer over their church straight from David’s Psalm 12 prayerbook, mourning his perception that the church is in decline, but without taking a step back and consulting God Himself.
Of course, Jesus had some words to say about His church. In Matthew 16:18 we read, “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it”. So, any perception that the church is in decline is in denial of the words of Jesus. And we can look back over two thousand years and see that Christianity has not declined. There have been times when the church has lost its way but God has always raised up men and women to bring things back on track. Today there is an estimate that one third of the world’s population practise some form of Christianity. That’s over 2.3 billion people.
So what did David mean when he said “the Godly are fast disappearing”? His snapshot of society in his day may have been skewed by his knowledge of his society and friends and family. But today, we pilgrims sense that there are exciting times ahead. One day the church of Jesus Christ will be joined with Him in marriage. Revelation 19:7, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honour to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself“. We don’t know how far away in time the wedding service will be. We don’t really know what it will look like. But we do know that it will come one day, probably sooner than we think. And Jesus will be there welcoming all those who make up His “bride”. Jesus’ bride won’t be an anaemic, powerless, lukewarm group of pew warmers in a dying denomination. It will be glorious and clothed in white. It will be populated by true Christians, sold out for God, filled with His Spirit and excited about the day yet to come. Are we counted in that number?
There is an old Gaither song to finish with today:
What a day that will be
When my Jesus I shall see
And I look upon his face
The one who saved me by his grace
When he takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land
What a day, glorious day, that will be.
Dear Lord Jesus. What a day that will be indeed. We echo the words that we find at the end of Your Book, Come Lord Jesus. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 