THE PERFECT SURETY

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MATTHEW 17:5 NKJV

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”

MARK 9:7

And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”

LUKE 9:35

And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"

Impeccable – Not liable to sin; not subject to sin; exempt from sinning.  No mere man is impeccable.  American Dictionary, Noah Webster, 1828

No Christian would ever be guilty of saying Jesus sinned.  But it is confessed by many that He could have sinned and that no temptation is real unless there is the possibility of falling to the tempter.

This makes any thought of Jesus and sin to center on the ability or non-ability to sin.  The ability of Jesus to sin would have to reside in His human nature.  It is unthinkable that God can sin.

There are three guarantees of Scripture that sin was an impossibility for Jesus.

1.   Luke 1:35  And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.  It is critical that the designation of Jesus as “that Holy thing”, be noted and understood.  Holiness is by design in Scripture separation from sin.  And when used describing God or in this instance the Son of God can mean nothing less than the absolute perfection that is God’s.  To say Jesus, the God-man, could have sinned is to say that this statement does not apply to Him as man.  This failure of perception is neither acceptable nor necessary.
2. John 14:30  I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.  Hebrews 7:26  For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;

1.       John 14:30 “For there is Him no cause of death”.  John Calvin.  This statement of Jesus is to assure of two cardinal truths, a)  There was in Christ, nothing that defiled, he, Satan had found he could not tempt Him.  Christ claims for Himself.  “Not liable to sin”.  He was in every sense “separate from sinners”.

2.      Col. 2:9  For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

The fullness of the Godhead is a fullness filled up by it—is that Godhead in all its native attributes and prerogatives.  And it is the whole fullness—not one cycle of Divine perfections—a single cluster of Divine properties—not a partial possession of isolated glories—nor a handful of meted and fractional resources, but the entire assemblage of all in existence and character that constitutes the divinity.  What He is, and as He is, in being, mode, and manifestation, dwells in Christ.  The John Eadie Greek Text Commentaries, Colossians page 137.   The Apostle informs the readers that all the life of Christ, with its purpose and activities is never separate from his deity.  Whatever is thought to be of His humanity must be understood in the light of fullness of the Godhead.  The radical implication of any possibility of Jesus of moral lapse is a possibility that God is also of this same nature.

3. Hebrews 1:12 Like a cloak You will fold them up,
   And they will be changed.
   But You are the same,
   And Your years will not fail.”

13:8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

It is evident to the candid student that the author of Hebrews is stating an unchanging character to Christ as the basis of faith and a resolution to fear.  The natural application is that all that Christ has ever done for His people is a guarantee of His continuing the same promised Savior to those who believe.

But this can only be true if He is unchangeable.  If it is true that He was subject to temptation in a real sense when He was on earth, then He is still the same person.  What is the result of this?

We must constantly fear that He will change toward us or sin and fall from His position of mediator as Adam fell and sunk his posterity in misery.  But being immutable in regards to sin we need not fear this from Jesus.

Hebrews 9:14  how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

BLESSED MEMORIES

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2 Samuel 6:12-14  NKJV

¹² Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. 

¹³ And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. 

¹⁴ Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod.

Last week I was driving to Houston alone.  I am very liable to go to sleep driving so I was singing to keep myself awake.  As many of you know my singing will keep anyone awake.  The songs I was able to remember were Jesus Loves Me, Come and Dine, and Beulah Land.

As I sang I remembered James Moore, who loved Jesus Loves Me, and Lester Roloff, who so often sang Come and Dine.  And the pages of my memory began to flap back in time to my first memories of Beulah Land.

It was in 1946, I was 10 years old and we were attending a small country Assembly of God Church.  My mother was a Christian and took us each Sunday morning and most Sunday nights.  We attended there for about two years and then returned to the nearby Southern Baptist Church at which she was a member.

This small Assemblies church was particularly blessed with musical talent, both vocal and instrumental.  There was always at least one guitar and a piano.  And it was not unusual for there to be as many as three guitars and a fiddle, along with the piano.  Often there was special music both instrumental and vocal or instrumental alone.

The man who played the fiddle was Jeff Green.  Jeff and his wife, Mrs. Green were, with their children, faithful members of this church.  They were also friends of our family who I remember with great affection.

Jeff and Mrs. Green were probably around fifty years old.  They seemed ancient to me.  Mrs. Green was a heavy woman and would not be considered attractive.  But she had a beautiful soul.  She was quiet, even shy.  She never spoke out in the church service and I never remember her singing special music.  Unless you knew her you would never notice that she was there.

Until Jeff played Beaulah Land.  In the two years we were there this happened no more than four times and maybe less than that.  It was not frequent.  Then when Jeff played Beulah Land, Mrs. Green danced.

I have seen organized “Spiritual Dance” in Sacramento, CA.  And in the same Assemblies church in 1982.  In neither instances were they vulgar or rowdy.  They really were nothing more than a Presbyterian Introit.  They are as easily forgotten as remembered.

But not Mrs.  Green’s exercise.  As I, a ten year old, observed it I knew that what I was seeing was not an attempt to gain attention or an emotional impulse.  The hair stood on the back of my neck and I knew what I was seeing was a woman at serious devotion.  There was nothing sensual or immodest, Jeff played, Mrs.  Green danced, and we sat in hushed awe.

As I recall we were as close as 20^th century people could be to David dancing before the Lord.  Now I recall with great joy as a Christian that I have this memory of this Saint, whose piety was never in question, rejoicing in God’s presence.

I can think only of three maybe four who were there with me.  To you I say sing with me –

I’m feasting on a mountain underneath a cloudless sky,

I am drinking at a fountain that never shall run dry,

I am feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply

For I am dwelling in Beulah Land.

What a joy to have known Jeff and Mrs. Green and to have seen her dance

 I’m living on the mountain, underneath a cloudless sky,
I’m drinking at the fountain that never shall run dry;
Oh, yes! I’m feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply,
For I am dwelling in Beulah Land.

Far below the storm of doubt upon the world is beating,
Sons of men in battle long the enemy withstand;
Safe am I within the castle of God’s Word retreating;
Nothing then can reach me—’tis Beulah Land.

Let the stormy breezes blow, their cry cannot alarm me;
I am safely sheltered here, protected by God’s hand;
Here the sun is always shining, here there’s naught can harm me;
I am safe forever in Beulah Land.

Viewing here the works of God, I sink in contemplation;
Hearing now His blessed voice, I see the way He planned;
Dwelling in the Spirit, here I learn of full salvation;
Gladly I will tarry in Beulah Land.

NATURAL CHARACTER

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Ephesians 2:1-3 NKJV

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 

² in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience

 ³ Among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

The second result of depravity is that which Paul describes in Ephesians 2:2-3 “Walking according to the course of the world, living in lust, indulging in evil desires, and being natural.”

This “nature” which is attributed to all the lost is the fountain of every manner of evil.  This is pointedly affirmed in I Cor. 2:14  It is worth noting what this “natural man” cannot do. 

A.    He does not accept the Spirit’s activity

B.     He cannot understand this work of the Spirit.

This brings us to this person’s activity.  It is described in Romans 1; I Cor. 5:10-11; I Cor 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21; and of course Mark 7:20-23.  The fruit of the bad tree or water from the bitter fountain will never be better than its source.

Observation of society can recognize that all are not equally evil.  There are kind and gentle people who are our friends and neighbors.  But it remains a certain fact that “all have sinned, and there is none good, no not one.”

Mankind’s deeds are the result of their nature.  This is illustrated in II Peter 2:22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”  Peter quoting from Proverbs 26:11 affirms the fact that as animals act according to their nature, the lost person will always do this also.

Depravity then has the Divine side, that is judgment.  And it has the human nature of a world of evil activity.

This is not a discussion of the origin and transmission of sin, the certain mark of its identification, or the final judgment.  But it is a declaration of its recognition by God and its results in every person’s activity.

Please read Romans 3:9-18 for the extent of sin in mankind.

DEPRAVITY

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Psalm 143:2 NKJV

Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no one living is righteous.

Romans 3:10-12 

¹⁰ As it is written:

“There is none righteous, no, not one;
¹¹ There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
¹² They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”

The fact of human depravity is the great fact of man’s existence.  He lives coming short of the glory of God.  There is a twofold consequence of man’s sinfulness.

First is that which the Psalmist identifies, “In your sight no living man is righteous”.  This is the fact that man is alienated from God and lies under His judgment.  These two matters are equally important; man is separated from God, and at God’s bar of judgment he is condemned as both criminal and corrupt.

When Isaiah in Isaiah 6 saw the Lord, he heard the witness of those creatures who know God best, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.  This testimony to the perfect holiness of God is also an absolute recognition of God’s separation of all that defiles.  The heavens are declared unclean in His sight.

But equally important is Isaiah’s response, Woe is me, for I am undone, I am a man of unclean lips.  Isaiah is admitting that he cannot say a word that is pure.  His speech is unclean because it derives from an unclean fountain.  When the Lord, in the gospels, speaks of every manner of sin in speech He gives as the cause that the mouth is the expression of the heart.

As sure as man is separated from God by his sin so is the certainty is that God is going to judge man.  This is never causal or uncertain.  This is central to man’s consideration of his plans for time and eternity.  Jesus puts this as the most important of man’s concerns.  Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Why is this fear emphasized?  It is because there is a liability which is universally worked for and the payment received.  The wages of sin is death.

An unfailing debt of unrighteousness at the bar of God’s justice is a fact the Scripture reveals without apology.  Facing this as certain truth and recognizing this universal fact, that, In your sight no living man is righteous.  Job asked the greatest question that can be asked in time, In truth I know that this is so, but how can a man be just before God? Job 9:2

And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 
Acts 16:30-31

To be continued…

THE TENTH COMMANDMENT

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EXODUS 20:17 NKJV

Westminster Larger Catechism

Q. 147. What are the duties required in the tenth commandment?
A. The duties required in the tenth commandment are, such a full contentment with our own condition, and such a charitable frame of the whole soul toward our neighbor, as that all our inward motions and affections touching him, tend unto, and further all that good which is his.

Q. 148. What are the sins forbidden in the tenth commandment?
A. The sins forbidden in the tenth commandment are, discontentment with our own estate; envying and grieving at the good of our neighbor, together with all inordinate motions and affections to anything that is his.

Covet – Hebrew “Chacan” To be conpact; by implication to hoard:  Layup

Covet – Greek “Epithumeo” To fix the desire upon whether things good or bad; hence to long for, lust after

This Greek word can also be translated “lust” and “desire”.  It is usually used in a bad sense though not always.

It is not unusual for the 10^th commandment to be understood as a summation of the other nine.  When any commandment is transgressed it would then be an act of covetousness.

This does not appear to be the intent as it is written and the Larger Catechism does not define it this way.  More nearly it is any legal way of exercising greed.  Even more it is the internal motivation to a greedy decision.

Commands one through nine are acts of hostility with their internal motives that terminate on another party.  This commandment more than any other is inwardly motivated, seldom if ever spontaneous, and usually requires planning to prosecute.

One may covet his neighbor’s house.  Though there is no way he can steal his house, he may be planning to take the house from his neighbor legally and even make it appear a charitable deed.  But the command is internal and his motive condemns him by the Great Judge of the heart.

Two men may each negotiate with his neighbor for his donkey.  They may equally enter into serious price exchange.  While one has no covetous motivation, the other is driven by a greedy desire for his neighbor’s property.  Their motivation is never recognized externally.  It is legal and thrift in purchase is commendable.  The heart attitude is the grounds of God’s discerning judgment.

Paul’s statement in I Timothy 6:10 describes this sin with great clarity.  I Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.  It is not money that begets evil.  It is the “love of money” that is condemned.  Note the result attributed to this “love”.  “Some have strayed from their faith in their greediness”.  Covetousness or lust is just this greediness.

Apply I Timothy 6:11 for the answer to this sin and any others.  But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

BORN AGAIN.  HOW?

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JOHN 1:13 NKJV

who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Gospel of John is a straightforward approach to the writer’s subject.  It has a captivating prologue and concludes with the purpose of the writer.  John 20:31  but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.  The subject, “Jesus is the Christ,” and the result of that faith is proclaimed, that “believing you may have life in His name.”

The prologue of the Gospel is of itself considered to be the cornerstone of Christology.  A careful reading of this statement should leave no doubt what the writer intends his readers to think about the one he names as the Word.

These verses are classic in literature.  They carry in them the divine power that persuades readers and hearers to an understanding of God’s revelation in Christ.

As the verses are read with this in mind there is the relationship of eternity and time.  He that is eternal and the author of all creation enters His creation.  History is pointed to this, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  This history is the reality of man named John and a particular people who were relatives of the one who came.  “He came to His own kinsman.”

The writer who always has his purpose in view, “believing in Him” takes this occasion to explain how this comes about.  John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 

The writer, aware of the need, explains what “receiving” or “believing on Him” requires.  John 1:13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  There is an experience needed that is radical that he will later explain it as being “born again”, a divine absolute, John 3:7  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.  The must in this verse is an indeclinable verb of absolute necessity.

John 1:13 states the requirement and then describes the author of this radical requirement.  He begins with the negative, “who were born, not”.  We are to be convinced that there are three means that are not to be considered.  It is not of human inheritance, not of the human will, ie. any works of the flesh, not of any sacramental activity such as circumcision, baptism, or any other sacerdotal activity.

Having ruled out every way this world has to offer; a man can’t inherit it, he can’t do it for himself, and no one can do it for him.  He names the single source that can do this, “but of God.”

This is the foundation of Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus in John 3.  Again in John 6:44.  Please read this with 6:29 and 6:35.  The writer has as his concern the Divine initiative.  A comparison of words will show that “receive”, “believe” and “come” all are the same act.  That is faith in the proffered object.

The gospel is the account of a sinner, who recognizes his condemnation, receiving Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection.  God forgives and receives this sinner on this condition alone.  Galatians 2:16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Who then believes?  The one whose parents are Christians; no that has been ruled out.  The one who exercises his free will; no it is not him that wills, nor him that runs, but of God who shows mercy.”  Romans 9:16.  Perhaps then it is baptism or the sacraments of the church?  Paul in Galatians 6:15 has come to his conclusion and by this institution of circumcision used as a synecdoche (a part for the whole) denies the use of any sacrament.  Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.

The preacher in Ecclesiastes sums this up for us very well,

“I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.

Ecclesiastes 3:14

HOW SOVEREIGN IS GOD?

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“The Lord Reigns”  Psalm 96:10  NKJV

MALAK – To ascend the throne; be king

MELEK – from the primary root MALAK – a  king

In Psalm 93-99 this is a frequent and an important word.  It is found in 93:1; 95:3b; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6b; 99:1, 4.  In these several instances the word MALAK  or MALEK is used.  Always the intent is sovereign rule.

In Mark 1:14-15 the kingdom of God might as well have been translated as the “reign of God.”  Calvin commenting on Mark 1:14 states, “He urges the Jews to conversion, for the Kingdom of God is at hand: that is, that God takes His people into His rule”.

Psalm 96:3 states plainly the responsibility and it is especially important to clearly understand to whom the message is to go, “among the nations,” the “goy”.  This is the Gentiles.

The message to the Gentiles is stated in vs. 10, “Say among the nations, The Lord reigns.”  The gospel, vs. 2b, “the good news,” is characterized as the Lord’s reign.  This theme is not unique in this Psalm but it is the message of Scripture.

Isaiah as he defines the gospel and those who preach identifies this same truth. As you read Isaiah 52:7-10 you find this as central in the gospel “Your God reigns”

⁷ How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
⁸ Your watchmen shall lift up their voices,
With their voices they shall sing together;
For they shall see eye to eye
When the Lord brings back Zion.
⁹ Break forth into joy, sing together,
You waste places of Jerusalem!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The Lord has made bare His holy arm
In the eyes of all the nations;
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The salvation of our God. 

Lest it be said that is the message designed for Israel the New Testament quote is the actual application for this.  When we read Romans 10:15 this message is nothing less than, “The gospel of peace.”

¹⁵ And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

We, a democratic society, have problems realizing what a King means.  We have a poor concept of sovereignty.  But when Christians of all persuasion talk intelligently about God they freely admit that He is sovereign.

The application of God’s sovereignty is where it gets sticky.  It is admitted He is sovereign in weather; in the promotion of rulers; He even controls health to the extent of death.  Who is not willing to say that God is the Sovereign creator and dispenser of all things.  There is providence which we know is His rule.

It is at this point that many begin to have reservations for the issue is now Man.  To what extent is God sovereign over man?  And particularly is He, either by design or weakness, confounded by the human will?  Does man have free will to the extent that it limits God?  Can he resist God successfully?

I have stated often that the Scriptures never attributes free-will to anyone but those who are considered to be believers.  This I have confirmed again today in a search to find freedom applied in the sense of a response to God’s call to anyone other than believers.  I could not find a single instance where this is so.  I say this not to enter into a philosophical debate but merely what the Scriptures state.  John 8:34; 3:20; Romans 6:17-20.

They state two truths very clearly.  One is that man is in bondage to sin.  Secondly it is God alone who can intervene and break the chains of bondage.

Some years ago I taught a Bible class on the Texas Death Row.  Those men knew, and it was proven true by an attempted jail-break, that their bondage was unbreakable.  They seemed to, with one voice, know Psalm 146:7c, “The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners”.

Let us go back to Nebuchadnezzar when he became acquainted with God, best hear his testimony.  Daniel 4:34-35 ³⁴ And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever:

For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom is from generation to generation.
³⁵ All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand
Or say to Him, “What have You done?”

My New King James Version was given to me by a friend because he perceived a failing eye-sight.  It is a giant print bible.  It has very few references, but at the end of Daniel 4:35 it has two, Job 34:29 and Romans 9:20.  Please read these.

SURELY GOD HEARS

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Psalm 99:8-9  NKJV

You answered them, O Lord our God;
You were to them God-Who-Forgives,
Though You took vengeance on their deeds.
⁹ Exalt the Lord our God,
And worship at His holy hill;
For the Lord our God is holy.

In the worship of God there are three considerations to be examined.  Primary is the one who is worshiped.  In this Psalm, which should be understood as definitive for worship, our God who is holy is the object.  Then there is the worship rendered.  Worship is to the sovereign.  It is a fearful or awesome experience.  The person worshiped deserves and receives the praise that is presented.  His character of justice establishes the nature of the worship He receives.  This equity, justice, and righteousness are praised as guarantees of omnipotent love.

The third consideration is the worshiper.  Worship has a history.  Great saints of old have been in this holy fellowship.  They experienced His faithfulness.  They called and out of His place of Holiness He answered.  It is well to remember I John 5:14-15 ¹⁴ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.  This is the confidence of those who come, they will be heard and He will answer.  Psalm 99:8 You answered them, O Lord our God.

At this point we find the essence of the relationship that is basic to the worshiper.  The “God-Who-Forgives is the One whom we are to meet.  The writer states “You were to them”.  The “I Am” answered their call.  At their best, these greats in faith were forgiven.  This too is “at His footstool”.

But this is no exemption from accountability.  “Deeds” encompass the whole of what we are before the “God-Who-Forgives”.  The Scriptures are replete with illustrations of this principle.  Surely the Psalmist is pointing us to Moses and Aaron and the sharp rod of reproof which they received.  But there is another, David who even more reminds of the vengeance of God on His own.

So it was with David (2Sa 12:10-14.): though he pardoned him as to the guilt of eternal death, saved his soul, and spared his life, which was forfeited to divine justice for the murder of Uriah; yet the prophet announced that sharp afflictions must come on him, the sword must never "depart front his house, "and the child begotten in adultery must die, and his wives must be given to his neighbours.  Treasury of David, Vol. IV, C.H. Spurgeon, pg. 395.

In true worship these, God who is worshiped, ‘comely Biblical Worship’, and the worshiped with the privilege of a full experience come together.  To this is added an unqualified exhortation.

Psalm 99:9

Exalt the Lord our God,            
And worship at His holy hill;
For the Lord our God is holy.

Finis.

SURELY GOD HEARS

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Psalm 99:6-7  NKJV

⁶ Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
And Samuel was among those who called upon His name;
They called upon the Lord, and He answered them.
⁷ He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar;
They kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them.

As sincerity is the lustre of every grace in a Christian, so is purity the splendour of every attribute in the Godhead.  His justice is a holy justice, his wisdom a holy wisdom, his arm of power a "holy arm," Psalm xcviii.1; his truth or promise a "holy promise," Psalm cv.42.  Holy and true go hand and hand, Rev. vi. 10.  "His name," which signifies all his attributes in conjunction, "is holy."  Stephen Charnock.  Treasury of David,Vol. IV, C.H. Spurgeon, pg. 392

The three men named in verse 6 are the subjects of the remainder of this Psalm.  They are, in the first instance, illustrations of faithful worshipers and supplicants before God’s throne, vss 6-7.  Secondly, they illustrate God’s holiness in unfailing judgment on sin, even that of His favorites, vss 8-9.

Our interest for the moment lies in the statement, “They called upon the Lord, and He answered them.” 

A distinguishing feature of all who know God is that they “call on the name of the Lord”.

This has the twofold effect of reminding us of our need and the requisite faith to call.  We have One who welcomes us when we call and has given us repeated assurances He will answer when we call.

There is a matter to understand in the statement “He answered them”.  In Psalm 65 it is stated in the form of address, “O You who hear prayer,” as if this is His name.  This then is a great encouragement to know one of God’s names is that He hears His own when they call upon Him.

Philippians 4:6-7 ⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Moses, Aaron, and Samuel are illustrations of intercession, they being among others who call.  But there are certain truths that have to be recognized.  First is that His response is always from His Holy Place.  The Cloudy Pillar rested over the Ark of the Covenant.  This is between the “cherubims” and “at His footstool”.  Secondly His testimonies, the Holy Law of God, were a life commitment for them.

These three named are given to us that we are to understand the relationship of the worshiper, Psalm 99:5  Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at His footstool—He is holy. It has an order that will not be transgressed, “They called, He answered” and, “He spoke”.

Psalm 97:12  Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. 

To be continued…

A FAIRNESS ISSUE

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 99:4  NKJV

⁴ The King’s strength also loves justice;
You have established equity;
You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.

Ezekiel 18:25

²⁵ “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?

“Equity – equal, even, level”

“1.  Justice, right.  In practice equity is the impartial distribution of justice, or the doing that to another which the laws of God and man, and of reason, give him a right to claim.

“2. Justice; impartiality”

“You have established equity.”

American Dictionary Of The English Language Noah Webster, 1828

It is not new that someone should accuse God of not being fair.  The people of Israel made this complaint to Ezekiel. Yet the house of Israel says, ‘the way of the Lord is not fair. Ezekiel 18:29.  But Ezekiel’s reply is the same today, “Hear now, O House of Israel, is it not my way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?”  Ezekiel 18:25.

If we change Psalm 99:4 in a permissible way and see it written, The strong King also loves justice, you have established that which is fair,  this equity or fairness which is the certain result of God’s justice must apply to our worship.

The “holiness Psalms” begin with 93 and continue through 99.  The reign of God, His justice, judgment, worship, and holiness are themes that continue through this section. 

The Lord is righteous because He is holy.  He is just because He is righteous.  His righteousness demands judgment and His judgment is everlastingly fair.  The Psalmist in 96:9 reminds us of His glory and the responsibility of worship.  It is at this point we again pointed to our attitude in worship.  It is to tremble before Him.

The Hebrew dictionary defines this, “to quiver, with any violent emotion especially anger or fear.”  We know this does not refer to anger so that leaves with us with the conclusion that this means fear or extreme awe.  Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
Tremble before Him, all the earth. Psalm 96:9

What does this have to do with fairness?  The questions I have heard about worship are directed toward any formality that lends itself to dignity.  “It is not fair,” they say, “to require us to sing Psalms and those old hymns that you old people like.  We want the current music and words.  We don’t want to see someone dressed formally or with some preaching robe.  We want someone with whom we can relate.”

The issue remains.  What most imposes on us, “the beauty of holiness”;  what is most likely to make the participant, “tremble”?

This is the certain truth we have in Scripture, the culture of the age does not impress God nor is He in any way constrained by it.

Psalm 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

To be continued…

How Great Is Our God

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 99:2  NKJV

“Zion….represents, by a figure called a synecdoche, the city of Jerusalem or the entire Hebrew nation.”  “Zion” Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, pg 564, Wick Broomal

God’s greatness was known and admired in Zion.  There His person, His acts, His attributes, and His promises were the source of the continual admiration of all believers.  Spurgeon could say, “the ignorant forget Him, the wicked despise Him, the atheistical oppose Him, but among His own chosen, He is great beyond comparison.”  Treasury of David Vol. IV, pg. 385.

When the statement is made by the Psalmist, it is the objective reality that is his intent.  His greatness is not an experience, but an objective fact.  As He is holy, He is great.  But the location of the revelation of that knowledge is particular.  It belongs to Zion to be realized in their worship. 

God is high by contrast.  The highest mountains have been climbed.  Birds nest in the highest trees.  The heights of heaven have been mastered.  Man has looked down from the moon which is on high to see the earth as but a speck.  Yet those heights have in no way measured God.  “He is high above all the people” and His greatness is known in Zion.  The writer of Hebrews in 12:22-23 informs us of our participation as citizens of the “heavenly Jerusalem”.  But what says this writer as he finishes this passage?  Look well at his finishing remarks. 

Hebrews 12:28-29

²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire.

To be continued…