Deuteronomy 13–14; Psalms 99–101; Isaiah 41; Revelation 11
According to John Calvin, “every man labors under two diseases. In prosperity, he exalts himself extravagantly, and shakes off the restraint; of humility and moderation; but, in adversity, he either rages, or lies in a lifeless condition, and scarcely has the smallest perception of the goodness of God.”[1] I was thinking about this as I read Psalm 100 today. Consider how each of these “diseases” cause us to interpret the Scripture differently.
| Psalm 100 (ESV) | In Prosperity | In Adversity |
| 1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! | Declare your gratification and happiness for everyone to see. | Grumble to all the world, as loud as you can! |
| 2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! | Be happy with what you have done. Sing away, life is good! | Do your work, even in agony. Come into God’s presence with despondency |
| 3 Know that the Lord, is God! | Know that you have everything under control. | Where is God? |
| It is he who made us, and we are his; | We have evolved so wonderfully | If he didn’t want us to be this way, he shouldn’t have made us this way! |
| and the sheep of his pasture | We live in the land of plenty. Go get yours! | God doesn’t care! |
| Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise! | Look what you have done for yourself. Others should come to you for help! | Go to God complaining and blaming him for all your problems. |
| Give thanks to him; bless his name! | You should be thanked for all that you have done! | Curse God for all of your troubles! |
| For the Lord is good; | Man, you am good; | The Lord is tired of us all! |
| His steadfast love endures forever | for all the days of your life | His wrath is upon us. |
| and his faithfulness to all generations | Your kids and your kid’s kids will be set for life! | we are on our own. |
Father God, help us to see our attitudes as they really are and make us aware of the spiritual diseases in our hearts. Heal our hearts, Lord, with your Word and your Truth. Make them new.
[1]
Calvin, John (2011-11-15). Calvin’s Complete Bible Commentaries (With Active Table of Contents in Biblical Order) (Kindle Locations 173172-173175). . Kindle Edition.