St. Matthew’s Ev. Lutheran Church + Benton Harbor, Michigan

The 3^rd Sunday of End Times—The Saints Triumphant

November 14, 1998

Text: Isaiah 26:1-4,8-9,12-13,19-21

“Sing of the City of God with the Saints of Old”

By Pastor Timothy H. Buelow

¹ In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts.

² Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith.

³ You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

⁴ Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.

⁸ Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.

⁹ My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.

¹² Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.

¹³ O Lord, our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor.

¹⁹ But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.

²⁰ Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by.

²¹ See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed upon her; she will conceal her slain no longer.

Before we begin today, it is essential that we have some terminology straight. When the Bible speaks of Judah, it’s talking about God’s people, those who believe in him, namely, us Christians. When Scripture speaks of the strong city of Judah, or Jerusalem, it is often speaking of our heavenly home, our capital city, our “headquarters”. When it speaks of saints or holy people, it is referring to those who’ve been cleansed by the blood of Jesus and forgiven all their sins.

There are only two kinds of saints; those above and those here below. We’re a part of the second group. “We feebly struggle” while “they in glory shine.” Those above have completed their struggle and received their reward. We want to follow the advice which was first delivered to them while they were on this earth: the admonitions and encouragements of Holy Scripture. We seek to emulate their example of faith. How many saints have done so since God first caused these words of our text to be written down by Isaiah the prophet 2,650 years ago?

Our text is a song, written in Hebrew poetic verse. It is a ballad which tells the story of people of faith, including us. It focuses our attention on the prize—the golden city, our heavenly home. Today we want to Sing of the City of God with the Saints of Old. 1. Sing of the City We Enter by Faith, and 2. Sing of the City We Enter through Tribulation.

1. Sing of the City We Enter by Faith

Who are the Saints we sing about on “All Saints” Sunday? We use that title for special people, like St. Matthew, one of Jesus’ twelve apostles, for whom our church is named. But by definition, the term “saint” applies to all those who have faith in Jesus.

We trust in God because he is worthy of our trust. He is the solid Rock who is always there for us and never changes. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal, says our text. Saints are those who know how steadfast God is. They recognize that from the beginning of the world, God promised to send his Son, explained how he would die for our sins, and then, in the “fullness of time” kept his promise. He keeps his promises to us every day, putting our hearts at peace. You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Saints are those who recognize by faith what a great, gracious, merciful and generous God we have—one who will richly shower on us His blessings both now and in eternity.

Who are the Saints? Our text also describes them as those who remain steadfast and faithful. Saints are those who follow the Lord’s precepts. Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you… Saints “walk in His laws.” That doesn’t mean saints are perfect, but they strive to be, they live for Him who lived and died for them and for their forgiveness. …Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. Saints make it their goal to bring glory to the Name of God in all they do. Saints remember that their lives are a reflection on their Savior. They remember that others judge Christ by what his followers do. Saints are those who give God all the credit and glory for salvation. Saints do not heap praise upon themselves as though they deserve any of God’s great blessings or have earned anything from God. Saints recognize in their hearts and proclaim with their lips that God is the one responsible for our conversion, for our forgiveness and even for whatever good works we are able to accomplish here in life. It is Jesus who made us saints by his sacrifice on the cross. Through faith in him, we are holy in the sight of God.

Saints are also those who long to be closer to God. My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. Saints long to be with the Lord forever in heaven. We know that when we die, our souls will at long last be with the Lord, and we know that from the time of the resurrection on the last day, our bodies too will live in heaven. But Saints also long to be in God’s house here in this life. Which is why we are here this morning. This is where we first became “saints” when our sins were washed away in baptism. This is where God continues to come to us and speak his words of forgiveness and comfort, of unconditional love and encouragement. It is here that God gives us a foretaste of the feast in heavenly Jerusalem, inviting us to sup with him in the sacrament. As long as we are on this earth, this is the place where we will always find our Lord and his strength. This is the rest stop on the journey, that ensures we will safely reach our promised home.

Join in the Song of Judah: Those who keep faith shall enter life triumphant. Those who remain steadfast shall enter the city of God. In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. Trust in God with all your heart, and with all your soul. Live for Him with all your strength. That is what the saints above have done; and now they’ve received their reward of grace. Let us follow their example in our own generation and teach it to the next. Sing of the City of God with the Saints of Old, the City We Enter by Faith.

2. Sing of the City We Enter through Tribulation

Yes, there are two kinds of saints—those above enjoying heavenly rest, and those below, ourselves, still fighting the good fight of faith. God has urged us though the prophet to “keep faith,” to trust unswervingly in the Rock of our Salvation, and to serve him tirelessly. These encouragements are very much in place, because there is much that would tempt us into discouragement in this world. There is death. There is trouble and scorn. And so, when we Sing of the City of God with the Saints of Old, we are also Singing of the City We Enter through Tribulation.

Unless Christ intervenes and comes back first, each of us must pass through death, to enter life in this city of God. Death, dust, ashes, mourning and burial—these are big and ugly things which loom over us, casting a giant, depressing shadow. Scripture speaks of “The sheet that has covered the whole earth.” just like in the morgue. Besides all the other emotions we feel at funerals, we feel a twinge of depression, knowing that one day it will be us lying there. Man was not made to die. Our bodies and minds know that, and rebel at the thought of dying. Having to deal with death is the most horrendous shock to the system we can know.

But this song was not written to dwell on death, but on death’s undoing by resurrection. Everything we hate about death gives way in our song and in our future to its polar opposite in the city of God. Life for death, health for disease, shouts of joy for wailing and mourning, utter peace, contentment and happiness, for sorrow and tears. And so the song continues: But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead. What an uplifting and needed message of hope to us who are dust and to dust shall return.

But death is only the most obvious and form of tribulation in he world. We all pass through plenty of other troubles on our way to triumph in the city of God. Our text says, Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. The history of the Church is not one of one visible earthly triumph after another. God’s true church has always been despised by the world. Didn’t Jesus warn: “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.”? (Lk. 6:26) Throughout history, times of persecution have flared up against the church. Christians in the former communist bloc have just lived through 75 years of persecution. And rather than learn a lesson, Russia’s government is now trying to force our missionaries to leave. The tenor of the times in our own country make us wonder when persecution may come here. In two generations? Or maybe only one? Christ assures us, that in the end times, wickedness will flare up and persecution will grow worse. In fact, if you are a faithful witness of Jesus, you’ve probably experienced plenty of subtle persecution already.

But don’t, good saints, adopt a ‘grass is greener on the other side’ mentality. The wicked will suffer too. Through wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and hurricanes God seeks to stem the increasing tide of wickedness. And in the end, he will spare none of those who rejected him and are not part of the company of his saints. See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed upon her; she will conceal her slain no longer. No one who has stood against or fought against the cross of Christ, and Christ’s people will be able to hide.

How many saints have been murdered by ruthlessness? Abel was the first, killed by his brother Cain out of envy. The apostles shed their blood and their congregations were hunted down and imprisoned. Will those who have carried out these crimes be spared? The answer is no, not unless they repent before it is too late.

Sing of the City of God with the Saints of Old. Sing of the City We Enter through Tribulation. God has made us his saints, by cleansing us with the blood of Christ. But that privileged position sets us up for hardship to come. We saints need courage and conviction. We need to arise again and stand for God’s revealed Truth. We need to be willing to endure whatever this world hurls our way, yet remain faithful. Then we as saints of God will enter the City of God with song. “Open the gates that the righteous may enter, the nation that keeps faith” we sing. Yes, Lord, keep us faithful, and open the gates that we may enter the City of God. Amen