MARCH 5, 2024

 “I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.” (Psalm 77:11-15)

Asaph, this Psalm’s writer, says he “will remember the works of the Lord.” (Vs. 11) When amidst turmoil, the Christian can never forget the works of God, for He is the same and is ready to defend His servants just as He did in the days of old. Whatever else may happen, the marvelous works and wonders of the Lord in time past must not be forgotten. The memory of what God has accomplished can aid faith.

We can enter into God’s grace and contemplate, absorbing every thought in the subject. Our mouths should overflow with praise of the sound matter which fills the heart. Meditation should lead to rich talking, and the genuinely meditative man should be a talker, speaking of the Lord and His actions. We do wrong when we leave our thoughts to ourselves. Holy talk spawning from meditation has power for us and those who listen to us.

We understand our God and rest assured that all His ways are just and proper. When we cannot wholly trace His way, we can still trust it, for it is in holiness. We must have fellowship with holiness if we would understand the ways of God to man. He who would be wise must worship.

Who is so great a God as our God? In Him, the good and the great are blended. He surpasses in both. None can, for a moment, be compared with the mighty One. Unlike how the false gods are surrounded with figurative wonders, our God works them. It is His prerogative to work marvels; it is no new or strange thing, but it is according to Him alone.

This reflection of the works of the Lord gives us a renewed sense of holy confidence. It would be incredibly small-minded of us not to trust the wonder-working God. He has declared His strength among the people. It was no secret in times of old, and even still is published abroad. God’s providence and grace are both full of displays of His power. Who will not be strong in faith when there is so strong an arm to lean on? Should we lose trust when our Lord’s power is so beyond question? Meditating on these things should banish our mistrust.

All of Israel was brought out of Egypt by a display of divine power ascribed not to the hand but to the arm of the Lord because it was the fulness of His might. Ancient believers were constantly referring to the wonders of the Red Sea, and we can unite with them.

The comfort from this meditation is evident and abundant, for He who brought up His people out of bondage will continue to redeem and deliver until we go into the promised rest.

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FEBRUARY 29, 2024

 “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” (Acts 2:23)

None has known the sufferings of His child, and the griefs accompanied with those sufferings more than the Lord of Glory Himself. These sufferings are the most intimate sufferings known between any two parties. The Eternal Son of God is the beloved Son of the Eternal Father! The love of one for another is a perfect, and eternal, love! In other words, this relationship found in the Godhead is the closest relationship known from all eternity. The sufferings of Christ were most intimately known by the Father and most certainly grieved Him. Yet, throughout all of the sufferings of His Son and the attending griefs, our Heavenly Father never compromised His word; not even an iota, not even a dot!

It is one thing to be faithful to God’s word when hard circumstances touch not our lives. By the grace of God, we have great strength in such times and stand boldly upon the unerring word of God. In our mountain-top experiences, we declare to the world that God’s ways are perfect and loving. In other words, we declare faithfully that God’s word can be trusted and MUST be trusted. But our faith is put to the test when hard circumstances touch our immediate lives; the closer the circumstance, the greater the difficulty. It is in those times where we are so often humbled by the Sovereign Hand of the Living God. We are humbled because it is in those times that we become more acquainted with our own unbelief; we become more acquainted with our sinful nature and our lack of ability to make things happen.

This drives us in one of two directions. We are, in one instance, driven to God’s word, in which we become more acquainted with the Lord and His ways. In doing so, we become more acquainted with grace because we behold the faithfulness of our God even in the valleys. We are delivered from our self-trust and more firmly established upon grace! This produces a greater boldness in the soul, and we declare with an even louder voice, that God’s ways are perfect and loving; we declare that you can, and MUST, trust God!

Or, we are driven to counsels outside of God’s word. Instead of being driven to the faith delivered to us once and for all, we turn to our own counsels or those of mankind. In doing so, we prove the kind of faith that we have, and we declare that we do not believe God’s ways are perfect and loving! We may keep our profession of faith, but we do nothing different than every other religion that professes to follow Christ while turning away from Him. We speak like the Jews in the apostle’s day, “Yes! They are saved by Christ, but they must also be circumcised to be saved!” A religion that drifts away from Christ, yet keeps its profession, always states that salvation is by Christ “and” (whatever they add to Christ). In other words, there is always an addition to Christ. In doing so, we say that Christ is not enough.

While the intimate circumstances test our faith and cause us to endure hard trials, we must look to our God and be comforted by Him. We must look to our God and be directed by Him. No one has known harder trials than our Lord and we see that He never compromised the word of God throughout all of those trials. Let us not turn to our own counsel when in the valleys, or to those of men, but rather, let us turn to Christ who sympathizes with our weaknesses. You must know that God is good and so are His commandments and statutes! The only One that you can trust is God! He is both the God of the hills and the valleys!

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FEBRUARY 27, 2024

 “…Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” (Luke 10:37)

Often in the Gospel of Luke, lawyers and other experts of the Law of Moses will come and oppose Jesus. In the case here, they play another round of their favorite game; a game in which they ask Jesus dumb and sometimes rhetorical questions in an attempt to trick Him. They weren’t asking because they were curious. They knew the text and were trying to get Jesus to make a mistake, which Jesus doesn’t do.

The discourse between the two results in the lawyer asking, “Who is my true neighbor?” For His answer, Jesus presents a parable, as He often does, to make clear His teachings. Many want to know who their neighbor is. “Who is it that we are obliged to love in accordance with the second great commandment?” which was another one of this lawyer’s queries. The corrupt notion of the Jewish teachers was, “Where Jesus says love your neighbor, He accepts all Gentiles because they’re not our neighbors; it only applies to those of the same nation or religion.” Jesus refutes this inhumane thought and shows them we should look at all in need with kindness. We can’t help but look at everyone as our neighbors and show them kindness accordingly, even if they’re not of our nation or religion.

The parable shows a poor Jew in distress who is passed over by his people but is relieved by a good Samaritan. The fallen Jew is relieved by this stranger of a nation the Jews most despised. This Samaritan was taught to honor all men and act with pity, just as he would want done to him if he were in the same situation. The compassion of the Samaritan was no idle compassion; he did not think it enough to say, “I hope someone helps you,” but he offered to help the poor, needy man himself.

He went above and beyond the call of duty to help this stranger as if they were his own family. He helped as much as one would expect of friend or brother, yet here it was done by a stranger and foreigner.

The intent to help is good, but acting on that intent is much better and more critical. The Samaritan’s intent is not what saved the wounded man, but his actions ultimately saved his life. He didn’t run away like the others but decided to do something. If this should happen today, the man’s picture would probably end up on social media, but very few would help. We should ask ourselves what we would do in that situation.

Jesus asks the lawyer, after delivering the parable, “Who was the true neighbor to the man that fell?” The lawyer correctly responds, “He who showed mercy,” to which Jesus commands, “Go, and do thou likewise.” We need to emulate the example of the Samaritan and always help those in need.

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FEBRUARY 22, 2024

 “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. But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.” (Psalm 70:4-5)

Today’s Psalm (another of David) corresponds heavily with Psalm 40. This one appears to be a copy of that with some variations; David appears to have written an entire Psalm and then taken this excerpt from it to suit the occasion. It is a fit aftertaste to Psalm 69 and a suitable intro for Psalm 71.

This is the poor man’s memorial. David pleads with God that he may not be forgotten, but David’s Lord may also be heard here. Even if the Lord seems to forget us, we must not forget him. This memorial Psalm acts as a connecting link between the two surrounding Psalms and forms a precious trio.

He seems to have intended this short prayer to be not for himself alone, but for all believers. Therefore, it should always be on our minds. In reading and singing, we may apply it to our particular troubles – whatever they may be.

Verse 4 opens by saying, “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee…” All true worshippers approach with humility and have the exact cause for joy. Even though the seeking happens in darkness, light will be brought with it. Those who love the salvation He provides can say continually, “Let God be magnified.” Those who have tasted divine grace will feel joy and constantly spread the word of their happiness.

“But I am poor and needy,” seems to be a favorite argument of the saints, as that’s the plea in the previous psalm. But our poverty is our wealth, just as our weakness is our strength. We need to hold onto this riddle, seeming contradiction and all. We can always turn to God and His provision when we are at our lowest. David then pleads with the Lord to “make haste unto me O, God.” He asks the Lord to rush to his aid and not delay in coming to his rescue. God is his help in trouble and his deliverer out of it.

I will close with words from a hymn called, “Make Haste:”

 “Make haste, O God, my soul to bless! My help and my deliverer thou; Make haste, for I am in deep distress, My case is urgent; help me now.

Make haste, O God! make haste to save! For time is short, and death is nigh; Make haste ere yet I am in my grave, And with the lost forever lie.

Make haste, for I am poor and low; And Satan mocks my prayers and tears; O God, in mercy be not slow, But snatch me from my horrid fears.

Make haste, O God, and hear my cries; Then with the souls who seek Thy face, And those who Thy salvation prize, I will magnify thy matchless grace.”

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