SEPTEMBER 5, 2024

 “Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.” (Psalm 150)

The exhortation in the Psalm is a call to all on Earth or in Heaven to declare the glory of Him who created and preserved us. God should be the one object of all our adoration. Refusing to render praise and honor to Him is heartless robbery. Hallelujahs should be continually presented in His church below and His courts above. God is to be greatly praised for the person and work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. All of His ways are right and good; we ought to honor Him with hearts and voices.

In Verse 2, the writer presents the reason for this praise. In these deeds of power, we see who He is. His works of creation, providence, and redemption all call for praise; they are His acts, and therefore, He needs to be praised for them. Such excellent deeds deserve excellent praise.

With the loudest, most apparent notes, we must tell everyone that we are not ashamed to worship our Lord. The sound of the trumpet is associated with the grandest and most solemn events, such as the coronation of kings and the raging of war. It is to be thought of about the coming of our Lord in his second advent and the raising of the dead. If we cannot voice this martial instrument, let our praise be as decided and bold as if we could blast with the horn. We should never sound a trumpet to show our honor; we should save all trumpeting for God’s glory – the One who deserves it.

As the Israelites after the parting of the Red Sea, let us worship with jubilance and exultance. The hands and the feet were both employed, and the entire body moved in sympathy with the members. Let the clash of the loudest music be the Lord’s: let the joyful clang of the loftiest notes be all for His praise. This is not a duty, but a joyous celebration of our faith.

“Let all breath praise him”: that is to say, all living beings. He gave us breath, so let us breathe His praise. His name in Hebrew is composed rather of breathings than of letters, to show that all breath comes from Him, and thus it should be used for Him. What a day it will be when all things in all places unite to glorify the only living and true God! This unity in praise will strengthen our bond with each other and with God, and it will be the final triumph of the church of God.

Thus, the Psalm is rounded with praise, and the Book of Psalms ends with a glowing word of adoration. Reader, will you pause a while and worship the Lord your God? He has earned it, and it is a joy and our solemn duty to shower our Father with adoration.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2024

 “They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.” (Isaiah 49:10)

It is most striking how the Apostle John, in the seventh chapter of the Revelation, as he is describing the heavenly scene and the blissful state of the glorified saints, borrows language from Isaiah, who is describing the high and holy privileges enjoyed by the Lord’s sheep here on earth, who come from the North and from the South at the call of the great Shepherd. In fact, John’s words are almost identical to the words of our text.(See Rev. 7:16, 17) The difference is that while Isaiah is speaking to the saints here on earth, John is seeing the saints in glory.

Jordan is a very narrow stream. It made a short boundary for Canaan, but it hardly sufficed to divide it from the rest of the world, since a part of the possessions of Israel was on the eastern side of it. Those who saw the Red Sea divide and all Israel marching through its depths, must have thought the dividing of Jordan (even in flood stage) allowing the people to pass through it into Canaan as a much smaller thing. The greatest barrier between believers and heaven has been safely passed. In the day when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, was passed through our Red Sea, and the Egyptian of our old sins were drowned. Great was the marvel of mercy! To enter fully into our eternal inheritance, we have only to cross the narrow stream of death; and scarcely that, for the Kingdom of Heaven lies on this side of the river as well as on the other.

We need to remind ourselves of this truth, lest we imagine that we are separated by a great gulf, and we must endure a life of separation until we, at last, break loose of this mortal coil and enter heaven. But it should not be so with us. “Our conversation is in heaven” now. (Phil. 3:20) Some versions have it“citizenship,” but the word means much more. We might say that our citizenship and everything we are about is in heaven. We no longer feel at home here. Heaven must be in us before we can be in heaven; and while we are yet in the wilderness, we may spy out the land, and eat of the clusters of Eschol. There would be much less of a distance between earth and heaven if we did not live so far below our privileges. We live on the ground while we might rise as on wings of eagles. We are all too conscious of the body. How wonderful it would be if our experience were such that we could say with Paul, though we are not caught up into Paradise, “Whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell!”

Let this be the aspiration for every child of God. This is the high privilege of every believer. To unbelievers, none of this can apply. They have no knowledge of such things; neither do they desire them; nor do they believe them. But to you who are “begotten again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” this is for you. Remember what you are by grace and know that what you will be in glory is already outlined and foreshadowed in your life in Christ. Being born from above, we are the same persons that we will be in heaven. We have in us even now the Divine life – the same life that will enjoy eternal immortality. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” The life which shall last on forever has begun.

At this moment we as believers are already, in many respects, the same as we ever will be. We are already in possession by earnest of the very delights that will make heaven, heaven. The inheritance that will be ours tomorrow is in very truth ours today; for in Christ, we have received the inheritance, and have the earnest of it in the present possession of the Holy Spirit, Who dwells in us. It has been well said that “all of the streets of the New Jerusalem begin here.”

“God grant that we, your children, be brought consciously nearer to the state of glory by more complete enjoyment of the privileges that our state of grace affords us. May we every day enjoy rich foretastes ofheaven on earth.”

AUGUST 29, 2024

 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:16-18)

In the previous passage, Paul spoke truth to the Galatian Christians. That truth applies to all Christians, even today. His plea is for believers not to waste their freedom in Christ on serving their own flesh and selfish desires. Instead, he has told those free in Christ to serve each other in love. He describes a life of self-sacrifice in response to God’s love for us.

Now, Paul begins to describe how to live in this way. After all, this kind of life does not come naturally. Not only do we resist giving up our way, we often do not know how to act. Without the rules of the law to guide our every decision, how will we use our freedom in Christ to love each other?

Paul points to the only source of power and wisdom beyond ourselves: the Holy Spirit of God. Earlier in this letter, he revealed that the Spirit comes to live in the hearts of God’s sons and daughters. Now, Paul tells us to use this freedom in Christ to access the power of God’s Spirit in our hearts and everyday lives. He tells us to walk and keep on walking by the Spirit’s power and guidance.

Again, Paul will paint the picture of setting aside our power and relying on God’s. In the same way, we could not fulfill the law by our efforts, and Paul tells us to quit trying to serve each other in love. The Spirit of God in us is available and willing to help. Yes, this is a mysterious idea, but it’s also how free people in Christ avoid giving in to the desires of our flesh. It’s how we overcome our strong appetites to do what feels good, even if that thing is sinful. In the Spirit’s power, we can say no to ourselves.

Our flesh wants one thing, and God’s Spirit wants something very different, and we are even willing to sin against each other and God to get them. The Spirit, on the other hand, wants to honor God and serve others. When the Spirit comes to live in our hearts, a battle sometimes rages. However, Paul shows that those in Christ can win that battle by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead them; that power will enable us to serve in ways we never would have under the law.

Through the power of the Spirit, we can win the conflict over our selfishness and sinful desires. It is possible to act in the Spirit’s power to love and serve others as Christ does us. When we serve others that way, we do not need the law. None of its rules or regulations matter; our words, actions, and thoughts will be born from our love for God and others. Free people in Christ can – and should – use their freedom this way.

If we care to act under the guidance and power of the blessed Spirit, though we may not be freed from the stirrings and oppositions of the corrupt nature remaining in us, it will not have dominion over us. Believers are engaged in a conflict where they earnestly desire that grace may obtain full and speedy victory. Those who want to give themselves up to be led by the Holy Spirit are not under the law as a covenant of works nor exposed to its awful curse. Their hatred of sin and desires after holiness show that they have a part in the salvation of the gospel. The works of the flesh are many and manifest. And these sins will shut men out of heaven. Yet what numbers, who call themselves Christians, foolishly live in these and say they hope for heaven.

We must do everything in our power to put away the deeds of the body and to walk in the newness of life. Not desiring vain things but seeking to abound in those good fruits which are, through Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of God.

AUGUST 27, 2024

 “When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him…and said…I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” (Luke 7:9)

It is hard for us to get our minds around a statement such as this with reference to Christ: “He marveled.” In our Lord Jesus “dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” He is “the express image of God’s person,” and John tells us that “He knew what was in man.” So how could anything surprise Him? Yet our text clearly states that when Jesus saw the faith of this Roman Centurion “He marveled.”

Mark tells us that He marveled at the unbelief of his disciples – at their “little faith.” (Mark 6:6) This is perhaps a bit more understandable, considering they had been in close company with Him, and been privileged to sit under His extraordinary teaching.

This man, though a Gentile, and having never before seen the Lord in person, was not ignorant of the Jews’ religion, and was apparently sympathetic with their cause. We are reminded of another Roman Centurion that the Apostle Peter met up with in Acts Chapter 10, who was devout, God-fearing, a giver of alms, and an observer of the appointed times of prayer. Just as Cornelius became a believer, so this man demonstrates character qualities that are consistent with a man of true faith.

How marvelous, a Roman officer (not generally known for tenderness) has sympathy and compassion for a suffering servant! How out of character for one so powerful as he to condescend to help a man of such low degree! These are characteristics that we ordinarily expect to admire in followers of Christ. But can we say that we have discovered the reason why our Lord admired his faith? What sort of faith is it that causes Him to marvel?

As we attempt to answer this question, let us say to begin with, that it would, at the very least, have to measure up to the biblical definition of faith. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews, which is known as the faith chapter, and contains many examples of great faith, begins with these words: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This man had substantial hope based solely upon what he believed concerning Christ. His confidence was founded on no visible evidence. Multitudes saw Christ’s miracles, and yet did not believe. In fact, many who witnessed the miracle of the loaves and fishes, and were fed that day, did not truly believe. (John 6:26; see also John 2:23, 24)

This man believed because of what he had heard. “And when he heard.” (Luke 7:3a) “…faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom. 10:17) Many are of the opinion that if they could see Christ or perhaps, witness a miracle, they would believe. However, Scripture says otherwise: “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”

Secondly, the faith that caused Christ to marvel was such as caused pride to be humbled. This was no ordinary man. He was a man of Authority. One reason that “not many mighty, not many noble are called” is that it is hard for men of power and authority to humble themselves. But this man, while others feared him for his office, he was condescending, and even self-abasing. He felt unworthy for the Lord to come under his roof. He acknowledged that his own authority was limited, while the Lord’s authority is sovereign and universal. We can be certain that any faith that does not humble human pride will never meet the approval of Christ.

Thirdly, the faith that caused Christ to marvel believed the impossible, based upon Christ’s Word alone.“…speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” (Matt. 8:8) “…say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.” (Luke 7:7)

This is the kind of faith that we need. Distance is no barrier. “Speak the word.” Deadly disease is no factor. “…grievously tormented, ready to die.” Is there a lost soul who will believe the impossible? There is no sinful condition so desperate that He cannot cure it by the power of His Word. What is the Gospel, but “the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”(Rom. 10:8, 9)