Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary

Equipping preachers, pastors, & churchmen for Christ's Kingdom

The Dove Mourns: Lamenting Our Sin

By

The following piece is by Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr., President and Professor of Systematic & Homiletical Theology. For a printer-friendly version, click here.

We all have heard the plaintive cry of a dove. In fact, it is called the mourning dove because of its low, mournful cry. In the Bible, the metaphor of a dove is used in many ways. Most significantly, it represents the Holy Spirit. But in several places in Scripture the dove is a figure of mourning. Hezekiah moaned like a dove when he considered his premature death without having produced an heir to the Davidic throne (Isa. 38:14). Isaiah used the figure of a mourning dove as he grieved over both the sin of the people and approaching judgment (Isa. 59:11). Ezekiel used the dove to describe the remnant entering exile as mourning over their sins (Ezek. 7:16).

Over the last couple of weeks, I have produced brief essays as public reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant difficulties. As I have considered the work of God in the pandemic and our responses, I drew from Amos 3 in relating God to the roaring lion, and I offered some appropriate responses. Next, I cited Psalm 42 and focused on a renewed desire for public worship, describing the Christian as a deer panting. In this article, I want to focus on the dove mourning as a mirror of our sorrow for and confession of sin.

In these days of isolation, uncertainty, and physical deprivation, we are grieving over many things: loneliness, loss of work and income, suffering from the virus, and the death of loved ones. We, however, above all should grieve over our sins. Let the mourning dove call us to grieve for and repent of our sins.

To aid in this exercise, I direct your attention to the Westminster Larger Catechism question and answer 76:

“What is repentance unto life? Repentance unto life is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and word of God, whereby, out of the sight and sense, not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, and upon the apprehension of God’s mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, he so grieves for and hates his sins, as that he turns from them all to God, purposing and endeavouring constantly to walk with him in all the ways of new obedience.

True repentance grows in the soil of grief and hatred of sin. None of us grieves over sin as he ought or desires. We learn from the Larger Catechism (and the Scripture from which it is composed) that spiritual mourning is the product of God’s grace: “Repentance unto life is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and word of God.” Part of the Spirit’s work in sanctification is to increase our sorrow for sin. He will convict us of sin and create in us a godly sorrow. Aware of our cold hearts, we should plead with God by his Spirit to work this spiritual emotion in us. He will do so, because Christ has purchased the grace of godly sorrow for us.

The more sensitive we are to God’s holiness and our sin, the more we will mourn over sin.  The Savior taught in Matthew 5:4: “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” Luke records the Lord’s expansion of His teaching in Luke 6:21, 25, “Blessed are you who weep now: for you shall laugh…. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep”.  This mourning over sin is the beginning of repentance. The proud person glosses over sin; but the humble person mourns his sin.

The Savior uses hyperbole to highlight that the world seeks to alleviate its conscience through amusements and the pursuit of pleasure. He warns that if we seek to gloss over our sin or numb ourselves to its reality, we might laugh now, but we will mourn for eternity.  

On the other hand, if we own our sin and mourn over it, we will know God’s comfort now and for eternity. You will laugh as you revel in the reality of what God has done for us and in us.

The Spirit, however, does not work in a vacuum. Notice in the Catechism “and the word of God.” The Sprit uses Scripture to expose our sin: revealing “the sight and sense, not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sin.” God will expose our sins through the Word read and preached. Each day as you read Scripture – and weekly as you sit under preaching – ask the Spirit to search you (Ps. 139:23, 24). Use the law of God to examine yourself. The exposition of the law in the Westminster Larger Catechism 91-153 is very useful for this exercise. My wife and I currently are reading through this exposition together.

However, you must not let your self-examination degenerate into morbid introspection.  Your self-examination should draw you to Christ, “and upon the apprehension of God’s mercy in Christ to such as are penitent.” God manifests His glory in pardoning sinners (Exodus 34:6, 7).

As you learn on the one hand the heinous nature of your sin, and on the other the wonder of pardon, you will begin to mourn your sin, “he so grieves for and hates his sins.” Such mourning is the beginning of true repentance. Paul names it “godly sorrow” (2 Cor. 7:9-11).

Another instrument to develop true mourning over sin is to reflect on our grievous past sins. The Psalmist models the usefulness of such reflection (Ps. 25:7).  He had been forgiven, but he was mindful of the heinousness of “the sins of [his] youth” in the sight of God.  As we grow in grace, the Spirit will bring to mind not only our current sins, but also those from the past, not that we would stand accused before the divine tribunal of God’s justice, but rather that we might humble ourselves and cast ourselves on Christ.

Repentance that springs from the soil of godly sorrow produces confession of our sins and a wholehearted desire to turn from them in obedience, “he turns from them all to God, purposing and endeavouring constantly to walk with him in all the ways of new obedience.”

The Lion has roared. God clearly is manifesting his displeasure with our sins: personally, ecclesiastically, and culturally. Let us mourn our sins and seek His mercy and compassion (Lam. 3:22, 23).

Begin with yourself. As I wrote above, examine your life by the law of God. Ask the Spirit to reveal your sinful acts, as well as your thoughts and attitudes. As the Spirit shines his searchlight into your heart, He will cultivate sorrow that leads to repentance and confession.  

We should also mourn and confess the sins of the church: worldliness, unbelief, pride, violation of the Lord’s Day and God’s worship. Examine Christ’s message to the seven churches of Asia Minor (Rev. 2, 3) to discover some of the perennial sins of the church.

Mourn and confess the sins of the world. God is judging the nations for their idolatry and corruption. But let us come closer to home. Is not God judging the United States? In a previous post I have already mentioned particularly wicked sins prevalent in our land, but it is worth calling to mind once again. Approximately, 140,000 abortions have been performed in this calendar year alone (since January 1, 2020). We have perverted the holy relationship of marriage with sexual promiscuity, adultery, pornography, and sodomy. Amongst our many idols are sports and materialism.

One useful tool in our mourning and confession is fasting. When coupled with prayer, fasting is a divinely appointed means of grace. One of the primary purposes of fasting is to afflict our souls through our bodies so that we mourn over sin.

Fasting is a testimony of our self-abasement before God when we desire to confess guilt before him.  We discover a clear example of this in Joel 2:12-16:

“Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to Me with all your heart, all with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart but not your garments.  Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger abounding in lovingkindness, and relenting of evil.  Who knows whether He will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him, even a grain offering and a libation for the Lord your God?  Blow a trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and the nursing infants.”

Calvin commented on this passage,

“He cries out for them to hasten to sackcloth and ashes, to weeping and fasting, that is, to prostrate themselves before the Lord also with outward testimonies.  Indeed, sackcloth and ashes were perhaps more appropriate to those times; but there is no doubt that meeting and weeping and fasting, and like activities, apply equally to our age whenever the condition of our affairs so demands.  For since this is a holy exercise both for the humbling of men and of their confession of humility, why should we use it less than the ancients did in similar need? . . . No, it is an excellent aid for believers today (as it always was) and a profitable admonition to arouse them in order that they may not provoke God more and more by their excessive confidence and negligence . . .” (Calvin’s Institutes IV, Ch. 12, Sec 17). 

We see here that fasting, when united with prayer, is a means of humbling ourselves before God in order to express our true sorrow and repentance.

When we hear the dove’s plaintive cry, let our hearts echo that cry. May God give us grace to mourn, repent, and confess our sins. Remember God pardons all who seek Him in Christ Jesus and confess their sins (Lev. 26:40-45; 1 Jn. 1:9).

This essay is the third in a three-part series. For Part One: The Lion Roars, click here. For Part Two: The Deer Pants, click here.

Other useful articles on COVID-19 from GPTS-affiliated authors:

The Deer Pants: Longing for Public Worship

By

The following piece is by Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr., President and Professor of Systematic & Homiletical Theology. For a printer-friendly version, click here.

Last week I penned some thoughts on what I perceived God was doing in the present crisis and suggested some avenues of response. In this article, I am delving into one thing: challenges from the loss of corporate worship. As we respond to the roaring of the lion, we ought to imitate the panting deer.

The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 42:1-2, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?” What realities in the Psalmist’s life lay behind this analogy? David was in exile, hiding from Saul in the wilderness and cut off from public worship.

In his exile, David experienced many grievous afflictions: targeted to be killed; betrayed by those whom he helped; slandered and accused of being forsaken by God. In Psalm 42, he expresses his worst trial: he was deprived of public worship. 

He expressed his soul’s longing for worship by the analogy of a deer, chased by dogs, longing for water. In Psalm 63:1, he uses a similar analogy, “O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

David, in exile, was able to commune with God. He prayed, wrote poetry, sang. However, he was cut off from the public assembly, where God met with His people in a particular way. As a result of his separation from corporate worship, David’s soul thirsted. Much of what David possessed in public worship was only types and shadows. How much keener should be our sense of loss? As the New Covenant church, we worship in the full light of the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Perhaps, in the past, as you read Psalm 42, you thought David’s words overstated the case. However, now that you are deprived of the privilege of public worship, you may better identify with David’s longing. Is your soul thirsty? Do you feel spiritually malnourished? Do you feel somewhat disconnected from God and his people? Although we stream services and we read and pray with others in our homes, there remains a void in our lives.

Are you learning that corporate worship is the Christian’s greatest privilege and blessing? James Bannerman described the transaction that occurs when we gather together in God’s presence, “Public worship is no other than the manner and the way in which sinners, associated together in a church state, are permitted in their collective capacity to hold intercourse with God, to maintain in a right and befitting way their fellowship with him, and to approach him day by day in acceptable communion.”[1]

David Clarkson in his sermon, “Public Worship to be Preferred Before Private,”[2] presented twelve reasons to demonstrate that public worship is more important than private: 1. The Lord is more glorified by public worship than private. 2. There is more of the Lord’s presence in public worship than in private. 3. God manifests himself more clearly in public worship than in private. 4. There is more spiritual advantage in the use of public worship. 5. Public worship is more edifying than private. 6. Public worship is a better security against apostasy than private. 7. The Lord works his greatest works in public worship. 8. Public worship is the nearest resemblance of heaven. 9. The most renowned servants of God have preferred public worship before private. 10. Public worship is the best means for procuring the greatest mercies, and preventing and removing the greatest judgments. 11. The precious blood of Christ is most interested in public worship. 12. The promises of God are given more to public worship than to private.

Bannerman detailed these blessings:

All the elements of worship to which we have referred are part of a public ordinance, and not of a private one, they belong to the body of believers collectively, and not individually.  They are to be enjoyed as means of grace, not by Christians separately, but by Christians in their Church state, and in communion with one another. . . . and even where the individual use of these ordinances is not impossible or unlawful, but the reverse, they are not used to the same gracious effect, nor have they the same gracious influence as in the case of the social and joint employment of them. . . . In short, the blessing upon ordinances is but half a blessing when enjoyed alone, even in those cases when the ordinance may be used by the Christian apart from others. . . All the parts of Church worship belong in a peculiar and emphatic sense to the Church, and they are made effectual by the presence and Spirit of Christ, as His instruments for building up and strengthening the collective body of believers in a manner and to an extent unknown in the case of private and solitary worship.[3]

As David learned by experience the privilege and blessing of corporate worship, may we, as well. To help you evaluate your attitude and participation in public worship consider the following four challenges.

First, may the deprivation of public worship work in you a higher esteem for it. Cease taking it for granted. Exclaim with the Psalmist, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’” (Ps. 122:1). Or “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold (be a doorkeeper) of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Ps. 84:10).

Second, do you need to repent of having a cavalier approach to worship? Have you allowed people or things to keep you from gathering with God’s people to worship Him? Have you been worshiping formalistically rather than by faith from a prepared heart?

Third, church office-bearers need to examine their reasons for no longer having an evening service.[4] Why do you deprive God’s people of a double blessing? In public worship, Christ stands in our midst and speaks (Pss. 22:25; 40:9-10; Rev. 2:1). What a privilege it is to gather in His presence and to gaze on His loveliness!

Fourth, those of you who willfully neglect[5] the second service need to repent of your worldliness. How are you spending the Lord’s Day? What does it say about your spiritual health if your spiritual thirst is satisfied with one draught? Do you not want more of Christ and His benefits? During the self-isolation of the past few weeks, many have binged-watched movies; others have consumed replays of sporting events. How many of these same people in the best of times begrudged the Lord an hour one day a week?

God has removed the privilege of corporate worship for a season so that we may evaluate our attitude toward public worship. I pray that one of the benefits of the COVID-19 pandemic will be a renewed commitment to God’s glory and our good in His worship.

In the absence of public worship, may our souls pant for the worship of the living God, as the ravaged deer pants for the water brooks.

[1] James Bannerman, The Church of  Christ, 2 vols, Reprinted from the 1868 edition(Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1974), 1:341.

[2] David Clarkson, The Works of David Clarkson, 3 vols, Reprinted from the 1696 edition (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1988), 3:187ff.

[3] Ibid., 329, 330.

[4] There are many arguments for the second service. For just two biblical examples, the morning and evening offerings were doubled on the Sabbath; in Psalm 92, a Psalm that directs our Sabbath worship, the writer exclaimed, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingness in the morning and your faithfulness by night.” Moreover, it has been the practice of the Protestant churches from the Reformation until recent times.

[5] I recognize that some because of age, health, or distance may not be at the second service.

This essay is the second in a three-part series. For Part One: The Lion Roars, click here. For Part Three: The Dove Mourns, click here.

Other useful articles on COVID-19 from GPTS-affiliated authors:

The Lion Roars: Thoughts on COVID-19

By

The following piece is by Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr., President and Professor of Systematic & Homiletical Theology. For a printer-friendly version, click here.

I was asked by one of my students at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary to reflect on the current situation with COVID-19 (novel Coronavirus).

First, we assert with Scripture that all that is occurring with this virus around the world and in our own country is part of God’s sovereign good purpose. God has foreordained all that comes to pass, and He executes His decrees by His providence (Daniel 4:34-35; Psalm 135:6). By asserting God’s universal decree, we do not rule out second causes, but confess the first cause is God’s good pleasure. This work of God embraces every illness and death; also, all the disruptions in society and in the economy. Moreover, Christ as mediatorial king is directing all things for the sake of His church (Eph. 1:22,23). The reality of God’s sovereign control over the novel Coronavirus and its spread has direct bearing on our thought, speech, and behavior in response to it.

Second, because the pandemic is according to God’s holy will, we must ask ourselves, “What is He doing?” Amos demonstrates the relation of cause and effect by a series of rhetorical questions about cause and effect: “Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment? Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl from his den unless he has captured something? Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait in it? Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all? If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people tremble?” Then he applies the relationship to the works of God in 3:3-8: “If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it? Surely Adonai the LORD does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to his servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? Adonai the LORD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?”

God is roaring and He has revealed things in His word on which we should think and speak.

First, God is acting through this “natural calamity” with all its repercussions to proclaim His holy judgment. God, indeed, is longsuffering and slow to anger, but throughout history He acts periodically in temporal judgments. It is safe to say that nothing of such worldwide import has occurred since World War II. God is judging the nations for their idolatry and corruption. But let’s come closer to home. Is not God judging the United States? Approximately 140,000 abortions have been performed in this calendar year alone (since January 1, 2020). We have perverted the holy relationship of marriage with sexual promiscuity, adultery, pornography, and sodomy. Amongst our many idols are sports and materialism.

Is the Lion roaring? Most assuredly He is.

Second, God is chastening and training His people. Christians are not exempt from the sufferings of this virus. Peter teaches that judgment begins with the household of God (1 Peter 4:17). For us, however, it is not a judgment of punishment, but of chastening, “My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD or loathe His reproof, for whom the LORD loves HE reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights” (Prov. 3:11, 12). This chastening is both corporate and individual; it might be for specific sins or more generally correcting and refining. Individually, we are to examine our lives to ascertain if God is correcting us for particular sins. If we discern specific attitudes or actions that relate specifically the consequences of the virus, repent and seek God’s grace. If we discover no specific relationships, seek God’s sanctifying grace through the things we suffer.

Corporately, God is refining His church. As Christians, we have repeatedly and rebelliously profaned God’s Holy Day with work and recreation (which God connects with idolatry, Ezek. 20:13-16); because of the virus, many are prohibited from working or playing every day of the week.

Increasingly, the church has substituted entertainment for holy Worship.  God has closed the doors of our churches. God’s people have grown satisfied with having one service on His day; God has removed all services. We have taken lightly the privileges of corporate worship; we are unable to worship corporately.

What then is to be our response? I offer six suggestions below.

First, do not look self-righteously on those who suffer.  Begin with yourself; repent (Luke 13:1-5). Repent of your sins, the sins of the church, and the sins of our country.

Second, seek God’s sanctifying grace in your life. Don’t waste your affliction. Pray that God will work in your life through this trial. Remember, He has promised that all of this is working for your good (Rom. 8:28).

Third, plead with God that in wrath He would remember mercy. Pray that He would withdraw the hand of judgment and show grace. Pray that many would come to saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through this pandemic. Pray for opportunities to speak to your neighbors about the holiness and grace of God. Pray for the live-streaming of services.  Many people that would not go to church services are hearing the gospel.

Fourth, pray for those people throughout the world that are seriously ill. Pray that God would spare their lives. Pray for those who do not have basic necessities for daily life. Pray that there will not be a worldwide economic recession.

Fifth, do not be anxious. God will take care of you (Matt. 6:25-44; Phil. 4:4-7). Rest in the loving care of your sovereign savior. Thank God for all He is doing. As you pray, keep in mind the definition of prayer in Westminster Shorter Catechism 98: “What is prayer? Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.”

Sixth, through our time in self-isolation and quarantine, we can develop great empathy for our brothers and sisters around the world who have not been allowed to meet on the Lord’s Day for corporate worship because of persecution. What we have taken for granted, they have not enjoyed. Remember them and pray for them.

This essay is the first in a three-part series. For Part Two: The Deer Pants, click here. For Part Three: The Dove Mourns, click here.

Other useful articles on COVID-19 from GPTS-affiliated authors:

For more information, please contact us. Contact Us