Take Heed and Bless

The ark in the camp did not save Israel when Israel would not fear God. The vine, if fruitless, is not prized for its wood, but thrown into the fire. And the fathers who passed through the sea, ate holy food, and drank from the spiritual rock still fell in the wilderness. So the readings agree in one warning: holy things do not profit the disobedient. Nearness to sacred signs is not the same as faithfulness.

Paul speaks this plainly to the baptized and to those who come to the table: privileges received from God increase responsibility, not license. Therefore Chrysostom says, “Wherefore with respect to the one, Paul said, Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall: 1 Corinthians 10:12” We must not carry the things of God as charms while keeping our lusts, grumblings, idol-feasts, or stubbornness. Israel presumed on the ark; Corinth presumed on sacramental gifts; Jerusalem presumed on being the vine. In each case, God’s judgment answered vanity.

Yet the psalm does not leave us in dread only. In the night, the servants still stand in the house of the Lord and bless Him. We are called not to panic, but to reverent perseverance: prayer when others sleep, clean hands lifted without deceit, steadfast refusal of idols, patient endurance under temptation, flight from every fellowship with demons, and thankful contentment at the Lord’s table. As Cyprian says, “Lift up your hearts, that so upon the people's response, We lift them up unto the Lord, he may be reminded that he himself ought to think of nothing but the Lord.” Let us then bless the Maker of heaven and earth with lives that match our worship.