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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

SURELY GOD HEARS

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…
Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 99:6-7  NKJV

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.
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 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 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…

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