What Is Your Glory?

Psalms 106:20 KJV
Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.

The Bible says "they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox." This is a reference to Aaron's creation of the golden calf. So their glory was the thing they worshiped.

That means before they changed their glory to the similitude of an ox, their glory was almighty God. The object of our worship is our glory.

For some people, the most glorious thing about them is their house
For some it is their car
For others it would be a boat

For some people, their glory is their job; all they want to speak about is the job they have. They feel they are important because of their work.

Another person's glory is their health.
Another person's is their hobby or some other skill.
One person's glory is their family.

For another, they glory in their life experiences; vacations, trips and etc.

Another's glory is their church. I heard a preacher yesterday say "some people worship, worship."

But to glory in any of these is to accept a dull and rusted glory in comparison to the glory that belongs to the one whose life is wrapped in the worship of the Lord. The Lord only is glorious. To trust in and worship Him is to partake in His glory.

Don't Forget His Benefits

Psalms 103:2 KJV
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

This is a powerful Psalm for the Thanksgiving season in that it provides a list of those "benefits" we can be thankful to God for. The list is larger that I intend to detail right now, but I do want to give some of them as examples;
God forgives all our iniquities
God crows us with lovingkindness and tender mercies
God satisfies our mouths with good things
God executes righteousness
God will not always chide His people
God has not dealt with us after our sins
God has removed our transgressions
God pities them that fear Him

And there are tons more benefits I did not list here.

But my thought today is this; we are so prone to forget those benefits. It is a wise man who recognizes this and works at a remedy. A wise man will rehearse the benefits of the Lord.

He will be sure to record them in some way when those benefits are obvious and
He will be sure to review that record on those days when he is struggling to remember them.

The Law In the Millenial Kingdom

Matthew 6:33 KJV
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
I remember being taught in Bible College that the primary application of the Sermon on the Mount is to the Jews and is an offer of the Kingdom. We of course employ many parts of that sermon to modern day Christianity;
The Beatitudes
The Lord's Model Prayer
Judge not that ye be not judged and
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
Are all favorites of most Christians and I am not today claiming that we should not see them as having application to Christianity today. Some Christians believe this sermon to be the key to being a Christian. Those Anabaptist forefathers which eventually became the Mennonites and Amish were willing to die rather than forsake a life lived according to the Sermon's model.

But an interesting thought came to my mind as I read through the Sermon in a devotional way; could this not be the "constitution" that will be used to govern the 1000 year reign of Christ? If so, we know that we will rule and reign with Christ and that He will rule with a rod of iron. It is likely that these are the laws we will enforce in the millennium.

Once again, I am sure that there is an application for today's Christians that can be found in the Sermon on the Mount. But fresh light has been shed for me as I have envisioned those souls in the millennial kingdom needing to be reminded to pray to the Lord who is visibly before them, needing to be urged to meekness or being persecuted and literally seeing their persecutors dealt with.

A God that Forgavest Them

Psalms 99:8 KJV
Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.
Two blessings and a warning are found in this verse:

Blessing Number OneGod answered them.
Speaking of Moses, Aaron and Samuel (and I think the range reaching from Moses to Samuel, implies more than just these men specifically, but the Israelites in general and, by application, to believers today as well). What a blessing to have the assurance that God answers us in our times of need and when we come to Him in prayer. Prayer is more than a religious exercise. It is communion with our Almighty God. Hallelujah it is a two way communion!

Blessing Number Two
God forgave them.
Moses Aaron and Samuel were all sinners. Good men as they were, and used of the Lord as they were, they were still sinners. But God forgave their sins. I think the context specifically means that God answered their prayers and forgave their sins.
1 John 1:9 KJV
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
A warning in the verse
God took vengeance of the inventions
Those inventions being their sins. The one that comes most strongly to my mind is Aaron's sin in making the golden calf. We also know of Moses sin in striking the rock. And we know of God's judgment of each of those. Though Samuel's sins are less momentous, and his judgments not so well documented, stil that demonstrates that even in those whose sins do not appear so grievous, God still takes vengeance upon them. This too is said, not of the lost, but of the believer; even of the best of the believers. The warning is clear. Though God will always forgive us when we ask, He will also still judge our sins.

So while the believer may always rejoice in forgiven sin, he must also not think he has a license to sin.

Surrounded by the Nations

Matthew 4:15 KJV
The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

This verses, a fulfillment of Isaiah 9:1, points out that not only in the Lord's earliest ministry but also in the eternal plan of God, the Gospel was not just for the Jews but also the Gentiles.

The Bible does ay of the Lord that
John 1:11 KJV
He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
His own were the Jews and He came to them first.
But He did not come to them only.

God's holy plan had Jesus Christ, from a very young age, dwelling in the midst of both Jews and Gentiles. While Nazareth may have been a strictly Jewish community, the northern regions of Israel were not. Each trip to Jerusalem would have involved some contact with the Gentile people who inhabited portions of that northern land (not to mention the Romans who had occupied Israel by that time).

And then came the early days of the Lord's ministry. Just after his temptation in the wilderness, and immediately after hearing of the imprisonment of John the Baptist, Christ moved from Nazareth to Capernaum in fulfillment of Isaiah 9:1. John Gill says of Capernaum that it,
".... was situated by the sea of Tiberias, beyond Jordan, and in, "Galilee of the nations"; the upper Galilee, which had in it people of other nations besides Jews."

So almost from the beginning of His ministry, while He came unto His own, He surrounded Himself with the Gentiles.

And the significance of that is just this; that the Gospel is for all people and always has been. God has never desired that His people seclude themselves into conclaves of their own faith but has designed that we live among the nations, witnessing and testifying that the same Christ which has given us faith can do the same for them.

Giving

Psalms 96:7-8 KJV
Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.

I find the word give three times in these two verses. The interesting thing is that it does not speak of what God gives to us but what we are to give to God. The God who owns everything expects that we, who have so little in comparison, would give to Him

Who is to give
"O ye kindreds of the people"

We are to be givers and specifically givers to the Lord. No doubt we have things backwards in our day. We call good evil and evil good. We believe God is supposed to give to us. The Bible, however, says we are to give to God.

What we are to give
"glory and strength"

Not money and offerings.
Not sacrifices and oblationsThose have their place and we are to give them as well. But what we are really to give (and we likely give it when we give those offerings, sacrifices and financial contributions) is glory and strength.

We give Him glory by proclaiming that He is glorious.
We give Him strength in the same way

But we can also give glory by behaving gloriously, by living holily and
We can give strength by giving the strength of our life in His service.

Why do we give
"due unto His name"

We give it because He is due it.
Not that He needs it. He would be glorious and powerful without us.
Nor that we can add any to what He has. We are so tiny in comparison to Him.
We give it simply because it is His due. He deserves it.

Content In This

Psalms 93:1 KJV
The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.

I think it was Thomas Watson who said, "Let the Christian be content in this, that God should rule the world."

There could be
Nothing more important
Nothing more powerful
Nothing more comforting
Than to have the firm conviction that "The LORD reigneth..."

This world likes to challenge that conviction.
The strife that is in the world
The current political circumstances
The mockery of the faith in the media
All call our conviction into question

Then there are those things that come up in our own minds to challenge our conviction:
Why don't more people believe?
Why doesn't the Lord answer (positively) every prayer?
Why do God's people suffer so in this world?
These and a hundred questions like them root down to the core of our convictions and test and prove them.

But when our conviction is solid, and we have this confidence, that regardless of how it appears with the human eye, "The LORD reigneth..." there is such power that flows in through and for that believer.

The Depths of His Thoughts

Psalms 92:5-6 KJV
O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.
A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.
I see three persons in these verses and with them, three different reactions to the wondrous things of God's Word.

The believer, as represented by the Psalmist himself. He views the things of God, His works and His thoughts and great and admires their depth.

The brutish man is like an animal. He only sees things as they relate to the natural. He has no spiritual discernment. He cannot know the depths of God's work and thought.

The fool is silly. Especially is this true of spiritual things. He may see them, he may know something about them, but they have no serious meaning to him.

One of the most amazing things about the Lord is the depths of His thought. That it is deep and that I must dive in in order to comprehend the tips of them only add majesty and glory to them.

Before His Face

Psalms 89:14 KJV
Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
Our God is an awesome mixture of justice and mercy; judgment and truth.

God dwells on a throne of justice and judgment. He can no more be unjust than He can be un-God. God can no more prevent judgment than He can refuse to be God. Key to His character as God is that He is both justice and judgment.

However, standing before Him in mercy is the Lord Jesus Christ. The person of Christ intermediates between God and man so that whenever God views man, He sees Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life.

How He Loves the Church

Psalms 87:2 KJV
The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

Barnes Notes has this to say,
"The particular allusion here seems to be to the thronging multitudes pressing into the city for public worship - the numbers that gathered together at the great feasts and festivals of the nation; and the meaning is, that he looked with more pleasure on such multitudes as they thronged the gates, pressing in that they might worship him, than on any other scene in the land....
Much as he might be pleased with their quiet abodes, with their peace, prosperity, and order, and with the fact that his worship was daily celebrated in those happy families, yet he had superior pleasure in the multitudes that crowded the ways to the place where they would publicly acknowledge him as their God."

This dispels to some degree those that like to call family times of worship or quiet times in the mountains the same thing as attending an organized church.

No doubt there is little as pleasant to our own senses as a peaceful time alone near a lake or in the forest.
No question it is a precious time when a family gathers around the family Bible and meet with the Lord together

But far superior to those, and requisite to their being what they are intended to be is the faithful and regular assembling of the people of God together in the House of the Lord.

The Lord Himself loves that!

Peace

Psalms 85:8 KJV
I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

Whenever the Lord speaks to His people it is a message of peace. Even if the words are of warning or judgment, the purpose God has in mind is peace. God's desire is to see His people know the peace of mind that comes from having things right in their lives and the peace with God that results from having a right relationship with the Lord.

This peace is only possible through the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Living Word of God. When God speaks peace, He speaks Jesus Christ, as the solution to all man's obstacles to peace.

Then, once we have this peace and our relationship with Christ is secured, God urges us not to return again to folly. Even the people of God are prone to the foolishness of this world. Like the woman taken in adultery, Christ forgives and says "go, and sin no more.."

Strength To Strength

Psalms 84:7 KJV
They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

No one has been able to invent the perpetual motion machine. Everything that that has life and energy finds that life and energy expends itself in the process of its life or energy. In other words, everything must be refueled.

We will eat a breakfast, but we do not expect that breakfast to sustain us indefinitely. We will need to eat again.
We slept a good night's sleep last night, but we will need to dothe same again tonight.
I received my paycheck, but I will need to receive another in order to continue to pay my bills.
I paid my bills, but I will have to pay them again.
Even inanimate objects expend energy and must have the energy restored.
I must fill my vehicles with fuel almost every week.
My propane furnace requires that its tank is refilled frequently (especially in the cold of winter)
My battery power razor must be recharged
All life and energy must be refilled, restored and revived. They must got from strength to strength

Why should we think it a strange thing that the same applies to that which is spiritual?
The soul that hears a sermon must hear another
The one who has been ministered to must be ministered to again
The believer that has been refreshed in the house of God must be refreshed yet again and again
And the same is true of the church itself. In order for the church to be revived, have fresh energy, experience the vigor of life, it must also be refilled.

That means the believers in the church help to maintain the life of their church by serving in ways that bring fresh visitors and new souls into the church.

Mortify That Flesh

Psalms 81:10-15 KJV
I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.

God's desire for Israel was good and only good, but Israel could not see it. Though God had done so much for them, ye they "would none of me."

God says that if they had hearkened to unto Him and walked in His ways He would have subdued their enemies and turned His hand against their adversaries and overcome the haters of the Lord.

But the lesson, I believe, is that, like Israel, even the redeemed today do not hearken to God or walk in His ways. Our sin nature is so overwhelming we are foolish to believe we can overcome it. The answer today is not to learn better how to overpower our flesh. The answer is to run to Christ again and again. We have gotten off track when we attempt to reform the flesh, even in those who have trusted Christ.

We do not need to reform the flesh, we need to mortify it.

For Thy Name

Psalms 79:9 KJV
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake.

There are three requests listed
Help us
Deliver us and
Purge away our sins

Nearly all (but not all) of the trials we find ourselves in are caused by our sins. Some of our trials are not because of our own sins, but because we live in a world of sin. We need deliverance.

But the key to this verse is in the foundation for the requests.
For the glory of thy name
For thy name's sake

The reason why God answers prayers is not for our own benefit, but for the glory of and the sake of His own name. That is what is meant by praying in Jesus' name; not just that we throw out His name in our prayer, but that we comprehend that the purpose for answered prayer is to glorify the name of Jesus and for the sake of Jesus Christ. Those prayers, offered for those reasons, are the prayers the Lord is bound to answer!

And, if we truly pray for those reasons, if God's answer is "no" we will be content because we know that is what brings glory to His name.

A Song In The Night

Psalms 77:2 KJV
In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.

It is a terrible place to be when our souls refuse to be comforted. Sometimes, regardless of the best efforts of friends, family and other sources of help, our troubles are so extensive that there just seems to be nothing that can help.

We hear the comforting words, but we are not comforted.
We appreciate the visits of the concerned, but we are not comforted.
We are exposed to the promises of God, but we are not comforted

The Psalmist goes so far as to say that his memories of God troubled him and that he complained (presumably to God).

He could not sleep
He could not speak
He was overwhelmed

So what helps in times like that? Well first of all, when we get like that we have a tough time accepting any help and especially help that requires personal motivation. But once we come to the place where we are ready to fight the depression this Psalm does come to our rescue.

First, the Psalmist considered the days of old
vs 5
Something about meditating upon what God has done leads to hope about what God will do.

Second, he remembered his song in the night.vs 6
He remembered those times when he had reason to sing. He spoke with his own heart about what God had done and he forced himself to make a diligent search of those past blessings. Sometimes, when we are most down, it is a huge struggle to remember times when we were not down. He made his spirit do the work of remembering

Third, he appealed to the Lordvs 7-9
Couldn't he experience God's mercies once again? Of course he could!

Fourth, he came out of the depthsvs 10-20
Though his infirmity was real once his eyes were upon the Lord things changed in his soul. The mood of these last ten verses is upbeat and hopeful.

All of us go through down times. Some of us stay in them much longer than we need.

This Psalm can be a huge help!

God IS Righteous

Revelation 16:5-7 KJV
And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

Here is a truth that must never be forgotten; God is righteous in all of His judgments.

That God is angry with the wicked every day is completely righteous
That God sends those who do not trust in Christ to hell is completely righteous
That God does extraordinary things to cause one to believe but seemingly does not do that in another is completely righteous
That God pours out wrath upon this world is completely righteous

God does not have to explain to me why some souls get saved and others do not. He does not need to satisfy me why He crated Lucifer knowing He would fall and tempt mankind to sin.
God is worthy
God is true and
God is righteous
Always and in all things.

Today and Tomorrow

Psalms 73:24 KJV
Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

What a wonderful comfort this verse is to the believer. We have here a promise both for today and tomorrow.

Today, God guides us with His counsel
The Word of God,
The conviction of the Holy Spirit, and
The ministry of the local churchAll serve together to give counsel and guide us in our daily walk. Life here can be challenging and difficult. Trials come that tax the faith of any believer; decisions must be made that can make or break a person's spiritual growth. But with the guidance of God's counsel the believer is able to navigate his challenging course.

Tomorrow, God receives us to glory
The hope and joy of every Christian is to enter into the glories of heaven. While we have a purpose and work that is necessary here; our goal is not to have the best of lives here, but to have the best of life in eternity.

Nothing better than guidance today and eternity tomorrow!

This Generation

Psalms 71:17-18 KJV
O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.

I have read that in the earliest centuries of Christianity a man was not considered mature enough to be much of a preacher until he had already finished a career; John Chrysostom (sometimes called John the golden tongued), for instance, did not start pastoring until he was in his 70's. In our current day it seems like churches are looking, not for maturity and a pastor with enough experience and study to be of sound doctrine, but a pastor with youth, physical vigor, and "vision." One church I know told me that they did not want a pastor who was over 50 years old. Another pastor, who was "older than that" had a difficult time finding a church interested in a man of his age.

Sounds like the Psalmist knew something of this same difficulty. Though the reasons for his lack of effectiveness was different, I can understand his heart's prayer. I do not want to lose my ability to be used of the Lord because the gray hairs have begun to outnumber the darker ones. I have a desire to be used to show the younger generation the strength, the power, and the truth of God and His Word.

O God, forsake me not. Use me to preach in the power of the Holy Spirit to the generation coming behind me!

Let all

Psalms 70:4 KJV
Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.

Within this prayer are three requests for the people of God:

Let all those that see thee rejoice and be glad in thee
A good description of a Christian is someone who seeks the Lord. The believer ought to be the kind of person who pursues a close and ever increasing relationship with the Lord. The idea of seeking implies that what we seek is always kept out of range. The Christian should never be content that he has attained the relationship he seeks in the Lord. We will not fully have that relationship until we reach heaven. But in the seeking, we may find true joy (though never absolute satisfaction). There is gladness in the pursuit after the Lord.

Let such as love thy salvation say continually
Here we find another good description of the Christian; he loves God's salvation. He is not interested in a man made type of salvation. He could care less for a salvation he has worked up for himself, but he loves the salvation that
God has devised
God has provided and
God offers to any who humbly come to Christ

Of those, the Psalmist prays that they will offer continually the third prayer of the passage

Let God be magnified
The Christian's most constant motivation is to see that God be magnified in this world. How we ought to pray first that more Christians call on men to magnify God and that more men come to know Christ and magnify Him.

Who Hates God?

Psalms 68:1-3 KJV
Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.

The thought occurred to me this morning, "Who are they that hate God?" I think we sometimes look at passages like this and dismiss them. We view them as Old Testament and having nothing to do with our present spiritual economy or else we view all people as righteous and thus, outside of these Scriptures. We may view these enemies (I think with some legitimacy) as being the world, the flesh and the devil. We can also apply them to those influences (rather than people) that draw us away from a close relationship with the Lord.

So what do we know from the Scripture as a description of those who are either God's enemies or those who hate God?

Matthew 6:24 KJV
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Romans 8:7 KJV
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

James 4:4 KJV
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Though there are differences and subtleties that would be good to explore in these verses the one common theme through them all is worldliness; a love for the things of this world. In other words, to love the things of this world is to hate God and be His enemy.

Now this gets to be a little more personal! Surely each of us can see ourselves in this definition.

Oh, Lord, deliver us from our affections for the things of earth. Grant us hearts that desire only heavenly things! Then may we say we truly love the Lord.

Chosen

Psalms 65:4 KJV
Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
The man God chooses is truly blessed because
He has true faith in Christ
He shall never perish
He has been effectually called
He is justified by the righteousness of Christ and
He shall be glorified in God's time

Gill says
The persons whom God has chosen for himself are, in their state of nature, at a distance from him by reason of sin; and through the blood and sacrifice of Christ, by which atonement is made, they are brought nigh to him; and in the faith of Christ the Mediator, their hearts are engaged to approach unto God, and come with boldness to his throne, and ask grace and mercy of him; and through the grace of Christ they have nearness to him, and communion with him.

Those God chooses He also causes to approach Him.

Better Than Life

Psalms 63:3 KJV
Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
This week I heard of the tragic death of a young man, just 28 years old, who lost his life in a car accident. This young man, the grandson of a dear friend, has a wife and two children and had just begun deputation to raise support to be a missionary to England.
His life was promising
He seems to have been an exemplary young Christian man

His death seems to have happened senselessly and untimely. But this truth concerning God remains constant, ""...thy lovingkindness is better than life..."

I grieve for his wife and kids.
I grieve for my friends, his grandparents
But I rejoice in the thought of the wonders this young man sees today. And I long for the day when I will see them with him.

He Only

Psalms 62:6 KJV
He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

The Psalmist repeats twice "He only is my rock....."

My thoughts focused on the world "only"

Strong's Concordance gives these three tenors to the definition of the word

A limitation "only"
May we have no other rock and no other hope for salvation and defense. May we see Christ alone and only as our rock.

An affirmation "surely"His hope is fixed in Christ. He does not question whether this rock is the right rock. He has no worries as to whether his choice is correct. He is sure.

"Certainly"
And this rock is a secure rock. What he trusts this rock to accomplish will most certainly be accomplished.

I have no hope other than the hope I place in Christ.

Slay Them Not

Psalms 59:11 KJV
Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield.

The superscript for this Psalm reads, "To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him."
So this Psalm is not David's prayer against Gentile nations. These are the men of Israel under the leadership of King Saul.

And yet David calls them
mine enemies
workers of iniquity
bloody men
heathen and
wicked transgressors
Even those who claim the same spiritual heritage as we do can become terrible enemies in our battle to wholly follow the Lord.

However, as terrible as these names are David assigned the servants of Saul, he also prayed "Slay them not...." Though they deserved it and though in his flesh David may have even entertained the notion; in his spirit David knew that the answer was not their destruction but their conversion.

I doubt there is anyone we should ask God to slay. But there are countless number we ought to be asking God to "bring down" in the flesh so that they might come to follow the Lord as they ought.

My Soul

Psalms 57:1 KJV
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.

The Psalmist makes this request for mercy
Not based upon his own goodness
Not based upon anything he had done
But based upon his trust in the Lord

He says that it is his "soul" that trusts in the Lord. It was not his mind, it was not his intellect. It was his soul; that vital part of himself that really animates everything else.

Sometimes a person may not act like they trust in the Lord
Sometimes a person may not mentally believe they trust in the Lord
Sometimes we might emotionally not feel like we trust in the Lord

The issue is what is happening in your soul? Is there a drawing to Christ that takes place in your soul? Is there something that can't turn from the Lord but must seek and appeal to Him? Does your soul trust in Him?

Then ask for His mercy and hide in the shadow of His wings. The calamities will overpass one day. We will be in His glorious presence and experience only God's greatest joys. Trust in Him and ask for His mercy.

Justification and Sanctification

Psalms 56:13 KJV
For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

I see in this passage the complimentary doctrines of justification and sanctification.

Justification is a one time and immediate act
"For thou hast delivered my soul from death..."

The body will still, in most cases, experience death. But the soul of the justified is irrevocably saved. The soul will live on with God eternally.

Sanctification is a process that will not be completed until we finally reach our eternal home
"...wilt not thou deliver my feet from fall, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?"
Sanctification is that cleansing and purifying process the child of God goes through in this life. As it is not completed in a one step and immediate act, there are times when the believer may question whether it is happening at all. But, as Gill says, this phrase "wilt thou not" is not intended to question God's ultimate grace, but "strongly affirms" that God will in fact deliver our feet from falling.

And that purpose for sanctification is at least two-fold;
First, "that I may walk before God" our fellowship with the Lord is built first upon our relationship with Christ and then upon our holiness and separation from sin.

Second, "in the light of the living," as we become less like this world and walk more with the Lord, other will see. Other believers will see and be encouraged as well as draw near to have fellowship one with another. Others who are lost will see and become convicted. Either they will become believers themselves or else they will be repelled by the holiness and exposed as the unbelievers they are. But either way, the light of God's glory shines.

God Looked Down

Psalms 53:2 KJV
God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

This Psalm bears an ominous message (one so important to hear that it is found twice here and Psalm 14, as well as being expanded upon in Romans 3). That God Himself could find "none that doeth good" or "that seek God" bodes poorly on the state of mankind.
We are not a generally good people with a few exceptions.
We are not even a generally bad people with a few exceptions.
We are a wholly wicked people with no exceptions
Oh how we need grace!

However, the thought that struck me this, that "God look[s] down from heaven upon the children of men."
That God cares
That God knows what we do
That God has any interest
That God condescends toward us
Is a matter of absolute amazement? Any man or woman would be wise to reflect upon this. God is so high above us; His interests are so vast and so beyond us that thought like these drove the Psalmist to say "what is man that thou art mindful of him?"
But He is mindful of us. And that ought to sound a signal in us to be alike mindful of Him.

Favor

Proverbs 8:35 KJV
For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.

The "me" of the passage is wisdom which can refer to
The wisdom of knowing and obeying the Bible
The wisdom of practicing the teachings of Proverbs or
The wisdom that is Jesus Christ

The promise is that when we find this wisdom we will
Find life and
Obtain favor of the Lord

The greatest need any man has is first find eternal life in salvation from our sins and then to obtain this favor of the Lord.

The favor is our first simply because we are "accepted in the beloved." God sees us in Christ and He favors Christ. But there is a favor that we also seek in our quest to know the Lord and to experience His presence, His person and His power.

I seek the favor of the Lord. I shall find it in Christ.

Confession

Psalms 51:3 KJV
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

1 John 1:9 KJV
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

As wonderful a promise as 1 John 1:9 is, it occured to me that Psalm 51 is a model for that confession. David was a believer, he did not need to seek a relationship with the Lord; he already had one. But this believer had fallen into the depths of terrible sin. It was time to confess and God's provision has seen to it that confession was preserved for our benefit today, not just so we know what David did, but se we may learn to do the same in our times of confession.


Confession involves
Confrontation
Nathan squarely confronted David's sin and brought him to repentance. No one genuinely confesses until they have genuinely repented.

Consideration
Vs 3
David saw his sin as ever before him and realized the sin was ultimately against God (not Uriah and Bathsheba or even the nation of Israel)

Cleansing
Vs 7-8
The wages of sin is death. David pled the blood of God's sacrifice as His only hope for cleansing.

Creation
Vs 9
He needed a clean heart and a right spirit. That is the work of the Lord in the believer.

Coming
Vs 11-12
Sin drives us from the presence of the Lord. We have to return.

Conversions
Vs 13
A man who walks with God witnesses to others.

The Difference

Psalms 49:12 KJV
Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
Man is created the highest of all of God's beings. Though there are many differences between man and the rest of the creation, this one thing stands as the greatest distinguisher; man was created in the image of God.

But that image was marred by the sin of our first parents so that the Bible says their son, Seth, was created, not in the image of God but after the likeness of Adam.

Through Christ, however, any who come to hide in Christ regain the image of God. It is not in our flesh of course, but in the fact that God sees Christ in us that restores to us that image.

But for the lost man, the man who honors self rather than humbles self and hides in Christ, the Bible says of that man that he is no different than the beasts of the field.

• They do not bear the image of God
• They do not walk in a living relationship with God and
• They will not go on to be forever with God in eternity

• Though those who come after them may acknowledge and approve of them
• Though they may have great wealth and comforts in life today (or not)
• Though they believe their house wil continue forever

The Bible says when they die they will carry nothing away[1] and thus "this their way is their folly."[2]

[1] Verse 17[2] Verse 13

Our God

Psalms 48:14 KJV
For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

What a good reminder this passage gives us.
To know that this God (of the Bible) is not just God but our God is comforting.
If God existed, but we had no relationship with Him, if we were not His and He ours, our thoughts of Him would be terrifying. But He is our God. He is our redeemer and our Heavenly Father.

To know that this God is our God for ever and ever is reassuring.
He is not our God so long as we are doing right; He is our God for ever and ever.

To know that this God is our God and guide so long as we must travel this path of life on earth is empowering.
Though most men will not walk the way God guides me, I do not walk this path alone. God is with me, each step I take is calculated by Him for my own benefit and for His own glory.

Come, Behold

Psalms 46:8 KJV
Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

This is the call all believers ought to make to all they have opportunity to come across. What God has done in this world
His creation
His Word
His direction with children of men
His defeat of the devil
His condemnation of sin and
His gift of Jesus Christ
Nothing is more impressive and nothing is as important as that a person beholds these works and finds through them the means to come to Jesus Christ and be born again.

It is Sunday. Let us come and behold the works of the Lord.

Search This Out

Psalms 44:17-21 KJV
All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;
Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.
If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
Verse 21 is the focus of my attention today, but it is important, I think, that we keep it in context of the verses preceding it. The Psalmist does say that if we have forgotten God, surely He will search it out. But he says more than that. He says he had not forgotten God. Through the sore troubles he and his people were facing,
They had not turned back into hardness of heart
They had not forgotten their relationship with God and
They had not dealt falsely with the covenant God had made with them
And as surely as God would search out the secrets of their hearts if they had forgotten God, He has done the same in their faithfulness.

And this is why he may boldly say
Psalms 44:26 KJV
Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.

Even though the trials fall and even though in the midst of them we have conflicts, when we have that confidence that God has kept His covenants with us through Christ, we also may have the confidence to ask His to arise for our help.

Speaking To My Own Soul

Psalms 42:5 KJV
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
This has been one of my favorite verses almost since I entered into the pastorate. God has used it to bring encouragement to me in one of the most desperate times in my life, and remembering back to that day has brought joy to my heart many times.

A year ago or so I heard a sermon preached from this passage that I found to be most helpful. The pastor used this verse, and the Psalm in its entirety to deal with the subject of depression. He suggested that this verse tells us the way out of depression is to speak the right things to our soul.

Believers can claim this verse as our own as we are in Christ.

In Christ there is struggle.
This world hated Christ. Is it any wonder it hates those that are in Christ? Even our Saviour cried out, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Not that Christ did not know why or that God had in fact forsaken Him, but in identification with the pain believers often feel.

I do notice though that the question is not meant to give us permission to complain, but is meant to point that we have no real reason to complain.

In Christ we have hope.
If there is nothing else for us, there is always hope in God.
His goodness
His power
His directing of the heavens and the earth
All offer hope to the believer.

In Christ we have a promise
History is replete with the stories of Christians who, having given all for Christ, finally saw their lives ended in horrible and painful ways. What good was heir faith in Christ to them? Much every way; they realized that, should this world work its worst upon their bodies, their ultimate reward would be to praise the Lord in His physical presence.

Regardless of the trials we might face upon the earth. Those who follow Christ have this absolute and unfailing promise, "I shall yet praise Him..."

Make No Tarrying....Please

Psalms 40:17 KJV
But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

This Psalm was written by David, most likely during one of those times in his life when he was afflicted. Though David was
Anointed of God
A man after God's own heart and
A generally righteous king in Israel
David's life is almost most easily outlined around the different struggles he faced. Christians struggle on this earth. The key is how we deal with those struggles.

Now to the verse: there are at least these three major divisions within it:

A humble declaration
"I am poor and needy"
A comforting consideration
"the Lord thinketh upon me; thou art my help and my deliverer"
An earnest appeal
"make no tarrying, O my God"
If David could feel like he was poor and needy then likely it is that every Christian will feel the same. It is best that we feel this way concerning our spiritual condition. We are helpless in that state without Christ. So we do not need to hide our helplessness and ignore its existence; we must instead seek the right place for comfort and for help. God's love for us is so well documented in the Word of God it is undeniable. The question is, do we lean on His care of us for both our help in times of trouble and especially for our deliverance, both from our sin and also from our oppressors?

The New Testament makes it clear that the mark of the follower of Christ is that he looks for the appearing of Jesus Christ. Every day a Christian can rightfully pray, "make no tarrying, O my God" and in some sense pine for that day when Christ comes.

Even so come, Lord Jesus!

We Can Do These

Psalms 37:34 KJV
Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
I find in the last segment of this Psalm three verses that begin with and action. There are some things we as Christian must simply leave to the Lord, but these verses give us three things a righteous man can do:

Depart from evil and do goodvs 27
Step one in building righteousness into our character is to first depart from the Lord and then do good. The Bible says when we do this we will "dwell for evermore." In its ultimate sense then this passage instructs us to depart from the world and place our faith in Christ (that is doing good).

Wait on the Lord and keep His wayvs 34
I have always loved the word wait. It means to be bound together. The Christian ought to bind himself to Christ. We ought to get so wrapped up in the Lord and the things of the Lord that He "drags us along" in His way. No options, no alternatives. We go where Christ goes.

Mark the perfect man and behold the upright
vs 37
The Christian who would have a consistent and growing testimony of righteousness marks out those who have that sort of testimony and they behold or watch them. They will build relationships with them and they will learn from them. Our friends play a huge role in determining who we will become. Good friends make for a better character in us. Poor friends make for the opposite.

Fight Against Them

Psalms 35:1 KJV
Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.

What a prayer issue this is!
Rather than fighting our own battles
Rather than gearing up and charging against the enemyIt is so much better to pray and seek the Lord's defense on our behalf.

Those who strive with the Christian are well known:
Of course Satan
His plan has forever been to foil the glory of God by spoiling His crowning creation.

The worldThe systems of this world, their philosophies, kingdoms and cultures are all designed to glorify man as his own god. The world can include family, friends, governments, movements, even spiritual methods; anything that finds a life surrendered only to Christ offensive.

But the worst of all is self
Of all the enemies a Christian may face, the most insidious and the one most often to launch and offensive against us will be our flesh and self will.

None of these may be defeated in the power of self and in fact the attempt to defeat them in the power of self is itself a form of attack against us by self.

O LORD, fight against them that fight against me.

Hoping in Mercy

Psalms 33:18-19 KJV
Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

Gill
"... His special mercy in Christ; which appears in the provision of him as a Saviour, in the mission of him into this world, and redemption by him; and is displayed in regeneration, the pardon of sin, and eternal life: and such that hope in it are they that see themselves miserable creatures, and in need of it; and who are encouraged to hope in it from the plenty and abundance of it in the heart of God..."

"....Not with dread of his wrath, or distrust of his grace, or for sinister ends and selfish views, but with a godly fear; by which men hate evil, depart from it, are careful not to offend God by it, but to serve and worship him; on such is not only his eye of Providence to protect from danger, to supply with the necessaries of life, but of love and grace"

The place every Christian ought to want to be is directly under the eye of the LORD. It is not, for the believer, a judgmental eye, looking to see what evil he may be up to, but a caring eye, enjoying the sight of those whom He loves so dearly.

And those He loves so dearly, hope in His mercy. They know they are not worthy. They are not attempting to cover up things before God and put on a show, they just believe that God is merciful and they seek that.

Oh Lord, be merciful! Deliver us and keep us.

The Iniquity of Son

Psalms 32:5 KJV
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

The three major terms for sin are all found in this one verse:
Transgressions means a revolt or rebellion
Iniquity means a perversity, a moral evil and the punishment of it
Sin means an offense

What I was interested in was the wording, "...Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin."

Barnes Notes says
“All the guilt,” or the “iniquity” of his sin, was at once forgiven..."

Gill says
"That is, either the guilt of his sin, which he took away from him; or the punishment of it, which he delivered him from..."

When the Psalmist acknowledged his sin to the Lord, the Lord then forgave (I believe we can say) both the guilt and the punishment of said sin.

Praise God! His grace lifts away the guilt of the sin so that we may have peace of soul and the punishment of sin so that we may have peace with God.

By Thy Favour

Psalms 30:7 KJV
LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.

It is both a comfort and a humbling thought that our successes, strengths and prosperities are not of our own making, but the result of the favor of the Lord.

It is comforting because we may rest in Him who is always good.
It is humbling because the sinful human nature longs o beg credit for its own "mountain."

Gill says
"....it was not owing to his own merit that he enjoyed the prosperity that he did, so neither was the continuance of it owing to his goodness, power, and strength, but to the free grace and favour of God...."

Praise God for His free grace and favor.

His Commandment

1 John 3:23 KJV
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

It is true that some things in the Bible require study and some considerable thought to get hold of, but it is also true that much of the Bible (and most it, the most important parts) is written so simply that even the smallest child can understand them.

In this case the Bible tells us that
First, because we keep His commandments we can have our requests answered and
Second, when we keep His commandments we dwell in Him

So far so good; but what are those commandments? Are they complicated and difficult to both understand and obey? Are they such strenuous commandments that most people could not hope to obey them? Not at all! The commandment is only this

Believe on the name of Jesus Christ and
Love one another
A child could so easily both understand and keep these commandments. It is no hard task physically or mentally. But it does take a meek and humble spirit; which is why so very few will walk this way.

1 John 2:6 (KJV) Even As He

1 John 2:6 KJV
He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

This passage is straightforward and to the point;

If you say you abide in Christ
You ought to so walk
Even as Christ walked
Nothing difficult to understand here. The Christian should live his life in a manner that imitates the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. That means we

First must know how Jesus walked.
We can't make this up and put our own opinions in here. The question isn't, "What Would Jesus Do?" The question is, "What did Jesus do?" Only when we are completely versed in the actions, attitudes and words of the Lord can we walk as He walked.

Secondly we must apply it to our own circumstances.Since we do not live in the same age and culture the Lord lived our circumstances are somewhat different than those we find in the New Testament. This doesn't give us leave to conjure up our own opinions of what Christ would have done, it just means we must understand our Bibles that much better. The Bible doesn't tell us just what we ought to have done if we lived 2000 years ago, the Bible is a living book with direction for life right now. We need only to study it to rightly divide it and apply it.

We that are Christians are to follow the life, not just of Paul and the other apostles or even of Christians who either live or have lived. We are "so to walk, even as He walked."

Walking in the Light

1 John 1:7 KJV
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

The best way to know that we are walking in the light is to realize that if we are in the light, our sins will be exposed. The more light, the more sin we will be able to see....

When we are in the light, we will not be deceived into thinking we have no sin
When we are in the light, we will be quick to confess our sins
When we are in the light we will know that not only are we sinners, but we have followed through with our nature and committed sins.

Darkness dims the truth about our sin nature. The light of the Lord Jesus, cleanses us from sin because it exposes the sin.

Stir Up

2 Peter 3:1-2 KJV
This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

Peter says that both the prophets and the apostles had this one goal in their preaching, to stir our minds that:

Scoffers will come, don't let them snow you.
They can mock and scoff and argue all they please. God knew it would happen and it doesn't change His plans.

The Lord is longsuffering, don't let that throw you.
We preach that the Lord is going to come at any moment, but he hasn't come in two thousand years now. But that should not bother us. One day is like a thousand years to the Lord. When He comes we will all know that it was soon.

So while we wait, make sure we know Him.
We would best use our days of waiting upon the Lord by growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour. These aren't wasted years so long as we apply ourselves to the right things.

I Know

Psalms 20:6 KJV
Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.

Nothing spectacular and new today. I just really like this thought, "Now I know that the Lord saveth...."

The assurance of knowing that our faith is not merely something we hopes is effective but that it is something God in fact does brings huge comfort.

Thy Sword

Psalms 17:13-14 KJV
Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
From men which are thy hand ....

The construction of the text is undeniable. God uses the wicked as his sword to chasten and refine His own. Job saw God use Satan as His sword. God often used the nations of the Philistines and Assyrians as chastening swords in Israel and Jerusalem finally saw God use Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar as a chastening sword in among them.

However, here, is what I was blessed by this morning; the Psalmist prays, and thus gives us precedent to pray in a similar fashion, that God would deliver us from His very own sword. True enough, God uses the wicked and men of the earth to chasten and refine His children, but we, who are His children, are free to ask the Lord to deliver us from them.

Father, we need chastening, we need the discipline that comes from judgment and we are happy to acknowledge Your rightful use of any creature on this planet to bring about that chastening sword. But this morning I beg that we be delivered from them. Father, have mercy upon us and cast down the enemy, though he be used as Your rod!

From the Lord, Through the Psalmist and To the Saints

Psalms 16:2-3 KJV
O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.

There is a direction indicated in the text this morning. The Psalmist says that the Lord is His Lord. He is under the submission of the Lord. He is the subordinate of the Lord. The Lord is his master and to his master he bows.

Having made such a declaration his next statement points; from the Lord, through the Psalmist and to the saints. The goodness that God had shown to him, he would now extend to others.

He would not keep it for himself
He would not hoard it and hide it
He would pass it along

To the saints and
To the excellent

I am reminded of
Romans 5:5 KJV
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

What God places in the heart of the saint may not stay there. If it is of God at all it must be shed abroad. It must spill out and onto others.

The Psalmists final statement in our text this morning is that these saints and excellent are his delight. Oh that we may also delight in the brethren!

According to God

1 Peter 4:6 KJV
For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
The passage does not mean that they were dead when the Gospel was preached to them but that many who have died have heard the Gospel.

Barnes Commentary says
In respect to that - to the flesh - they were put to death; in respect to their souls - their higher natures - they were made truly to live.

I want to address the difference of focus "according to men" and "according to God."

According to men, those believers who have gone to the grave are dead.
Their lives are over
Their consciousness is gone
They are but memories
According to men, they have been judged
They have gone the same was as the unbeliever
They were not bettered by their faith

But according to God this is not so.
According to God, they live. It is not that they will live one day, but that they are living right now. Though the flesh has failed, their spirit is as fresh as the new born.
According to God, they are quickened. They are animated. They are active and conscious and full of all that is life.

I am more interested in living according to God than I am according to men.

Loving Life

1 Peter 3:10-11 KJV
For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

There is something deeper here than I think comes to our minds at the very first. There is a life to love that is beyond the few years we have on earth and that life is the one to love.

Those believers of a few hundred years ago, who gave up their earthly lives (some of them being very young) for the sake of their faith in Christ, certainly loved life every bit as much as anyone could today. However they saw that this life was only the beginning, a precursor to another life that was of far greater importance than this.
They saw eternity with Christ
They saw the rewards of a faithful life
They saw the consequences of lack of faithfulnessIssues that so impacted what would be their final destiny that they were willing to pay any price, even suffering and death in this life, to secure a brighter life in eternity.

They loved life. And because they loved life they wanted their lives to blessed and abundant in eternity: even if it meant sacrificing now to receive that abundance then.

I Got What I Couldn't Have

1 Peter 2:10 KJV
Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

This is a wonderful passage;
One who has no mercy receives mercy
One who has no hope finds hope
One who is outside the promises finds himself inside those same promises

This is the greatest of all miracles and is the marvelous message of the Word..... We begin with no mercy, but we, who come to Christ find what we could never deserve.

Praise the Lord!

But Men

Psalms 9:20 KJV
Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
I am not one given to praying for bad things to happen to people, even when I believe they have done badly. But this Biblical prayer is one worthy of our bringing before the Lord regularly; not that we wish evil and bad things to happen to others, but that the nations of this world would see that they are but men.

Nations, and especially those leaders of them, can so easily take on a god complex. They begin to view themselves as larger than life and above not only the laws they themselves have created, but the law of God. They view themselves as
Wiser than those they lead
More power than those they lead and
Having more privilege than those they lead

And they forget that, though they may lead, they are ultimately still accountable to the Sovereign of all.

O Lord, cause our nations leaders to fear You for only in that fear can they have any real wisdom. Help them to see that they are but men. Lead them to lead only as they in turn follow You.

His Righteousness

Psalms 7:17 KJV
I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.

One of the grandest reasons to give praise to the Lord is according to or on account of His own righteousness. We know we are to give thanks in everything. But sometimes things are not so easy for us to praise and give thanks for.
Difficult circumstances in life
Challenges with health
Problems in relationships

We can praise the Lord at all times when we come to the place where we see that God is always righteous and always right. This world has some terrible things in it. But God has a plan and in that plan, those that trust in Him can never fear. God will make all things good.

Praise Him according to His righteousness.

As For Me

Psalms 5:7 KJV
But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

While God has placed us here as witnesses, it is important that we remember our first priority is not to witness but to worship.

Regardless of what others do
Regardless of what other issues come up

Our place is to come into the house of the Lord and worship.

We come in His fear and
We come trusting His mercy

But by all means we come.

First Pure

James 3:17 KJV
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

The wisdom from above can be defined as having two characteristics, purity and peaceable (each of the descriptors given after peaceable give more detail about being peaceable.)

But the passage says that the wisdom that is from above is first pure. In other words, if it is not pure, it is not from above even if it is peaceable. The qualifier for its being from above is that it is pure. Without this purity it is not from above regardless of whatever other good things it might be.

I am remind that the Bible says, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."[1] It is not always possible and the thing that makes it not possible is that we must first be pure, holy and separate from sinners.

The standard for whether something is from God or not is - is it pure. And the measuring rod for purity must not be our opinions but the Word of God. If anything is in conflict with the Word of God, no matter what other good things might be said about it, it is not from above, it is earthly, sensual and devilish. It may appear to have accomplished wonderful things, but if it is not pure according to the Word of God, it is not from above.

Purity, according to God's standard must be the qualifier. Otherwise it "descendeth not from above."
[1] Romans 12:18

Perfected Faith

James 2:22 KJV
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

Gill says this
"...the sense is, that hereby his faith was declared to be sincere, unfeigned, true, and genuine; just as love is said to be perfected."

Every Christian ought to seek a perfected faith.
Not that we can ever become sinlessly perfect, only Jesus is that
Nor that our faith will not experience ebbs and flows. Abraham, of whom our text refers, experienced such times, and if he, then certainly we.
But that, through the practice and exercising of our faith, we may have a faith that is
· Visible to others
· Sincere and
· Profitable

The Sum of the Book

Job 42:17 KJV
So Job died, being old and full of days.

I do not consider the book of Job one of the easier in the Bible to get hold of.
Job's friends appear to say very truthful things, but God says they do not speak truth
Job's testimony from God's own mouth is that he is a perfect and upright man, yet he seems to get a stern lecture by the Lord toward the end of the book
Job claims to trust God (and I believe he did) but he also complains that he wishes he had never been born.
But in the end the Bible says "So Job died being old and full of days."

Regardless of the confusing properties that exist in the contents of the book the final lesson and sum of its message is that Job did more than merely survive his trials. Job came through them into remarkable blessing.

I do not believe that each Christian should expect the exact same results as Job experienced, but I am confident that the primary lesson of the book is that the believer may expect that, as he trusts the Lord, he too will come through his trials having more than survived them but being blessed wonderfully despite them.

A Good Thing

Hebrews 13:9 KJV
Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

Albert Barnes Notes says
"The apostle does not exhort them to adhere to an opinion merely because they had before held it, or because it was an old opinion, nor does he forbid their following the leadings of truth though they might be required to abandon what they had before held; but he cautions them against that vacillating spirit, and that easy credulity, which would lead them to yield to any novelty, and to embrace an opinion because it was new or strange."

"A religious opinion, once embraced on what was regarded as good evidence, or in which we have been trained, should not be abandoned for slight causes. Truth indeed should always be followed, but it should be only after careful inquiry."

Because the book of Hebrews is originally written Jews who had come to Christ, and because of the reference to "meats" in the verse, this text is likely a reference to the doctrines of the Judaizers who attempted to meld their old Jewish practices with the teachings of Christ and, in consequence, derived new doctrines that were neither Jewish nor Christian. But the principles apply to any believer in any age who is faced with any "new" doctrine. We should not be quick to abandon what we have once embraced. Surely there are times when it becomes necessary. When we, having searched the Scriptures, find those doctrines we have leaned upon wanting for scriptural foundation, it is our duty to abandon them for the Word of God. There are many who are so stuck in their traditional denominations, for instance, that they refuse to come to Christ because it will, of necessity, mean they must leave their old friend. But I rather think in our day the problem is the other way around. People today are too quick to accept a doctrine as truth without giving it proper investigation. They will climb on board any new teaching so long as it is the one that promises them what they believe God should give them or the one that appears to be the most successful.

God help us to have the spirit of discernment to try the spirits whether they be of God and only approve that which is doctrinally excellent.

Lift Up Those Hands!

Hebrews 12:12-13 KJV
Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

We must carefully see that this exhortation is not so much that we as Christians lift up the hands of others who are faint, but that we lift up our own hands and strengthen our own feeble knees after having been chastened of the Lord.

Chastening is never joyous and we are not asked to act as if it is. However the benefits of the chastening of the Lord are so numerous and the implications attached to the fact that the Lord would chasten us are so encouraging that, while we do not rejoice in the chastening, we may certainly rejoice in its fruit.

So what is expected of us is clear; let not the believer linger in self pity and depression. Lift up our hands, straighten our knees, make our paths straight and move right on for the glory of God. If we continue in our lame spirit it will be to our undoing. God has equipped us with whatever we need to be healthy in the spirit. Accept that healing and go on in peace and holiness for Jesus Christ!

As you may have noticed, I have not posted in two weeks. My wife and I took a couple of weeks vacation. We did not go anywhere special this year, just a few day trips and some time with family. While I did visit with the Lord each day, I did not have access to the internet to post the results of those visits. So today I offer two weeks worth of devotional time.

Never Mind That

Hebrews 11:15 KJV
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

Gill's Commentary is sufficient for this passage
"...when men are called by grace, and converted, they come out of a country, this world, which is a land of sin and iniquity, of great folly and ignorance, of darkness, and of the shadow of death; a desert, a mere wilderness; a country where Satan reigns, full of wicked and ungodly men; and which is the land of their nativity, as to their first birth: and they may be said to come out of it, not in a natural and civil sense, but in a spiritual one; and it is the character of a converted man, or one that is come out of the world, and is separated from it, to be unmindful of it; not so as not to consider from whence he came out, as owing to rich grace; nor so as not to lament the iniquities of it; nor so as not to pray for the conversion of the inhabitants of it; but he is unmindful of it, so as to be desirous of the company of the men of it, or to have the affections set upon it, and the heart tickled with the pleasures of it, or so as to desire to return to it, for which there is a great deal of reason: for this country is not worth minding; and there is much in it to set a gracious mind against it; a good man has better things to mind; and it is below, and unworthy of a Christian, to mind the world; and besides, worldly mindedness is attended with bad consequences..."

God help us to not be mindful of this world.

The Ant and His Friends

Proverbs 6:6-8 KJV
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

This passage, though often quoted and frequently referred to, is seldom taken in its proper context. It ought to be taken into consideration with the subject of surety.

Do not be slothful about delivering yourself from your suretyship. You have yoked your name and possessions with the debt of another; be diligent in getting the situation paid for.
Provide for it
Plan for it
Pay for itHumble yourself and make sure your friend. See that the debt is paid in whatever means you must do so. Otherwise your own poverty will come.

The Bible teaches us to bear one another's burdens. Sometimes a brother can be in debt and in need of help in getting out of debt. The problem comes when we attach our own names to debts they accrue. Like a sinking ship, if we jump on board rather than saving them, we may go down with them.

So the point of the parable is not merely that we plan for our own "winter" but that, if we have placed our name with another in debt that we are not slothful about getting the debt resolved. Maybe not that we don't get in debt, but that we "gather food" for the "harvest" of paying the debt off.

Look For Him

Hebrews 9:28 KJV
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

The coming of the Lord is so much more important a doctrine than we often give it merit. This is no doctrine we ought to play with, proposing varying ideas concerning when and why and for whom. The Word of God says in this passage that salvation belongs to those who look for Him.

So at least one of the evidences of the true believer is that they look for the appearing of Jesus Christ.
They believe it to be fact
They expect it to be soon
They long for it to be now and
They live with it in mind

The Lord Pitched It

Hebrews 8:2 KJV
A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
Gill says this is a reference not to heaven but to the Church of Christ. The church is an institution of the Lord. It is His and He is the head of it. He gives to the church whom He chooses and He preserves it as He pleases. The Lord cherishes His church. He designs its testimony to be holy and without blemish.

May God grant us that we never forget what an awesome thing it is to belong to the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched.
May we support it
May we be faithful to it
May we never forsake it

Not Slothful

Hebrews 6:12 KJV
That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

God's saints are called to be diligent and not slothful. Usually I think of sloth as having to do with our work ethics.
Getting to work on time
Giving our employer an honest day
Doing our diligence to be educated concerned our work
But this text uses sloth in context to our Christian walk. God says we are to follow other believers and that we are not to be slothful about it.

God has called us to be followers
He likens us to sheep and we do well to view ourselves as God instructs and not as we would like to think of ourselves. We are creatures who need to be led. In fact I don't believe we are ever without leadership. We either follow purposefully or inadvertently, but we are following, so the real question becomes

Who are we following?
I suggest that those who through faith and patience inherit the promises are those whose lives on earth have been completed and have now inherited those promises. We can never know that the one who appears to have faith and patience in fact will inherit those promises. Too many have fallen short after years and years of supposedly walking with the Lord for me to trust anyone who has not finished his course. I choose to follow those whose race is run.

God Forbid

Job 27:5 KJV
God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

These are the words of Job and not of his friends. Much of what his friends say sounds pious and good, but we must be careful, remembering from whence those words come. Not so here. Job makes an affirmation that any believer would be wise to make.

He says he will not remove his integrity.
He knows what is right
He knows he has followed the Lord
He knows he has been upright and just
He knows he has feared God and eschewed evil

And though the tide of circumstances has gotten it so these others are in, on the human plane, in a position to deride and judge him, Job refuses to budge on right and wrong.

He will not buy into the charismatic mentality of Eliphaz
He will not degrade his faith to the Protestant mentality of Bildad
He will not conform his life to the dogmatic mentality of Zophar

His is, by the testimony of God, a pure walk. And Job wasn't budging!

God give us some believers like that today!

God Forbid

Job 27:5 KJV
God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

These are the words of Job and not of his friends. Much of what his friends say sounds pious and good, but we must be careful, remembering from whence those words come. Not so here. Job makes an affirmation that any believer would be wise to make.

He says he will not remove his integrity.
He knows what is right
He knows he has followed the Lord
He knows he has been upright and just
He knows he has feared God and eschewed evil

And though the tide of circumstances has gotten it so these others are in, on the human plane, in a position to deride and judge him, Job refuses to budge on right and wrong.

He will not buy into the charismatic mentality of Eliphaz
He will not degrade his faith to the Protestant mentality of Bildad
He will not conform his life to the dogmatic mentality of Zophar

His is, by the testimony of God, a pure walk. And Job wasn't budging!

God give us some believers like that today!

The Unprofitable Word

Hebrews 4:2 KJV
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
When all is said and done, the Word preached will either be profitable or unprofitable to the hearer because of faith.

The Word of God, mixed with faith, is profitable.
It saves
It comforts
It corrects
It instructs
It guides
It blesses

But the same Word of God, often preached at the same time, is also preached to some who do not mix it with faith. And it is to them, unprofitable.
They do not believe
They are not blessed
They will not obey and therefore
Nothing has changed.

This is a faith operation. And faith, though it may be passed from one to another, is always a gift of God and not a product of man's industry. Ultimately we come down to this.... whether the Word of God is profitable or not is a matter of what God has done in the heart of the hearer.

We lean upon the Lord.