Isaiah 64
Invitation to God to come down verse 1- 2
Oh that YOU would rend the heavens
that YOU would come down
that the mountains might flow down
at YOUR presence
As when the melting fire burn
the fire causes the waters to boil
to make YOUR name known
to YOUR adversaries
that the nations may tremble at YOUR presence
Remembering God coming down in past verse 3- 4
When YOU did terrible things
which we looked not for YOU came down
the mountains flowed down
at YOUR presence
For since the beginning of the world men have not heard
nor perceived by the ear – neither has the eye seen
O God – beside YOU
what HE has prepared for him that wait for HIM
Israel’s righteousness as filthy rags verse 5- 7
YOU meet him that rejoices and work righteousness
those that remember YOU in YOUR ways
BEHOLD – YOU are wroth
for we have sinned – in those is continuance
and we shall be saved
BUT we are all as an unclean thing
and all our righteousness are as filthy rags
and we all do fade as a leaf – and our iniquities
like the wind – have taken us away
And there is none that calls upon YOUR name
that stirs up himself to take hold of YOU
for YOU have hid YOUR face from us
and have consumed us
because of our iniquities
Prayer for forgiveness verse 8- 9
BUT now – O LORD – YOU are our Father – we are the clay
and YOU our potter – we are the work of YOUR hand
Be not wroth very sore – O LORD
neither remember iniquity for ever
BEHOLD – see – we beseech YOU
we are all YOUR people
Condition of Temple and Jerusalem stated verse 10- 11
YOUR holy cities are a wilderness – Zion is a wilderness
Jerusalem a desolation
Our holy and our beautiful house
where our fathers praised YOU
is burned up with fire
and all our pleasant things are laid waste
Final questions of Isaiah verse 12
Will YOU refrain YOURSELF for these things
O LORD?
Will YOU hold YOUR peace
and afflict us very sore?
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither have the eye seen, O God, beside YOU, what HE has prepared for him that waits for HIM. (2442 “waits” [chakah] means tarry, patient, lie in wait, or long for.)
DEVOTION: There is nothing new under the sun according to King Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. Isaiah is restating this fact here to convey the truth that throughout the history of mankind there have been a majority of people who are not hearing what God has to say. They don’t see HIM in creation. They don’t understand why knowing God in a real way is important.
In fact, they think that those who long for a close relationship with the LORD are foolish. The reality of this fact is that they are the foolish ones according to the Word of God.
God has a special place in HIS heart for those who are patiently enduring the trials of this life because they know that the LORD is going to bless them throughout eternity. HE has prepared not only an eternal home for HIS followers but has promised many other promises that HE keeps on a regular basis.
Are we individuals who are willing to be patient while the LORD works in our life? Too often we want things to happen yesterday. We would like the LORD to judge those who hurt us right away. We would like to see our life become one that is full of blessings with only a few trials.
However, the LORD doesn’t work that way. HE want HIS followers to wait until HE does act not determine when HE should act.
Training fellow believers to be patient is not an easy task. It is hard to train our children to be patient. It is hard to train ourselves to be patient. We know that this characteristic should be part of our life but it will only come with prayer and fasting.
CHALLENGE: Longing for the LORD to act in our life is a reality. Remind yourself that HIS timing is ALWAYS perfect.)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 7 And there is none that calls upon thy name, that stirs up himself to take hold of YOU: for YOU have hid YOUR face from us, and have consumed us, because of our iniquities. (5782 “stirreth up” [‘uwr] means act in an aroused manner, pull oneself up, opening the eyes, to wake, lift up, or to rouse oneself.)
DEVOTION: Isaiah is praying to the LORD for revival in the land. He wants the LORD to come down and save them from their present condition. He realizes that the reason for their present condition is sin. He tells the LORD that all their righteousness is as a filthy rag. He continues by saying this verse in his prayer.
There are none that are calling on the name of the LORD. There are none that want to be aroused from their sleep in relationship to the LORD. They are satisfied with their spiritual state. One commentary says that they are in the state of spiritual lethargy or inertia. Because of this, the LORD has hid HIS face from them. HE has dealt with them on the basis of their iniquities or sins.
We need to take a warning from this chapter. We can get into the state of spiritual lethargy. We cannot call on the name of the LORD in prayer. We can see the LORD hid HIS face from us. This is not a condition we want to be in.
We should want the blessings of the LORD on a daily basis. We should go into the presence of the LORD on a daily basis. Isaiah realized that the LORD is the potter and we are the clay. HE will mold us. HE will work with us.
Our relationship with the LORD is in our hands. We can be close to HIM or far from HIM. IF we choose to be far – HE will deal with us as HE dealt with Israel. HE will not leave us alone.
HE wants to see us close to HIMSELF. HE wanted Israel to be close to HIM, that is why HE sent HIS prophets. Today HE wants us close and uses the Holy Spirit and HIS servants to cause us to grow closer to HIM.
CHALLENGE: The national lesson is for repentance and seeking the face of the LORD. The personal lesson is that HE rewards those who seek HIS face.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 8 But now, O LORD, YOU are our Father; we are the clay, and YOU our potter; and all we are the work of YOUR hand. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
DEVOTION: A righteous remnant is confessing their trust in the Lord. Israel like obedient and submissive children are asking the Lord to remember how fragile and His created beings! How precious it is when we recognize that the Lord is in charge and we are but lumps of clay in His hands. As they proclaimed that He was in charge and solely responsible for their well-being, submission was evident.
The New Testament calls for us to remember and be submissive to the Lord as well. Romans 9 Paul refers to the potter and the authority he has over the vessels created. Actually Paul quotes Isaiah five times in this passage reminding the Romans of Israel’s place in God’s program. If Paul found it important to remind his readers of the potter’s authority we should also see his power over us!
CHALLENGE: As the reminder that we are the work of His hands is presented it would be fitting to stop and celebrate what God has created in us. All of us have a place and a special calling that He has created us for. Thank Him today for His creative work in us! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
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: 11 Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised YOU, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste. (1984 “praised” [halal] means glory, celebrate, to boast, to admire, eulogize, or to extol the greatness of a deity or the deity’s works as an act of worship)
DEVOTION: The children of Israel were to go into the Temple area to worship and praise the LORD on a regular basis. They had the Sabbath and holy days to gather together to praise and worship the LORD.
These events were to be special. Each Sabbath was to be a time of praise to the LORD. Each holy day was to be a time of praise and worship to the LORD.
The people were to gather together to remember all the blessings the LORD has given them in the past and the present.
Today we are to worship the LORD. We don’t do it into the Temple in Jerusalem, but we gather into places of worship to give praise to HIM for all the blessings we have received from HIM.
Christians are the new people of God since the coming of Christ to die on the cross for the sins of the world. Which includes every nation in our World! We are to encourage people around the world to gather to worship HIM in spirit and in truth.
There are many places that are called “churches” that don’t honor the LORD with the preaching of the Word of God. Some give book reports. Some gather to just enjoy the company of each other but not really worship the LORD.
We have a message to share with ALL THE PEOPLE of the world. It is a message of salvation to all those who will make a genuine commitment to the LORD and follow through with that commitment by actions and words.
Those who are believers are not “sinless” but we should make sure that we are trying to sin less. We are to confess our sins regularly to the LORD and HE will forgive us.
There are those who think that they are better than other people who claim Christ because they think they sin less then them but in reality, they are part of the group that we find in the Bible who are called Pharisees.
CHALLENGE: We can’t claim sinlessness but we can know that as we praise the LORD genuinely, HE will forgive our sins and help us live a life that is pleasing to HIM.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Isaiah confesses sin verse 5
Isaiah confesses all are unclean verse 6
Isaiah confesses all our righteousness
are filthy rags verse 6
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Isaiah’s prayer for help and healing verse 1- 12
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Our holy and our beautiful house verse 11
Our fathers praised YOU verse 11
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Rend the heavens verse 1
Presence of the LORD verse 1
THY name known to YOUR adversaries verse 2
Nations tremble at HIS presence verse 2
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 4
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 8, 9, 12
Father verse 8
Potter verse 8
Wroth verse 9
Wilt YOU refrain YOURSELF verse 12
Wilt YOU hold YOUR peace verse 12
Wilt YOU afflict us very sore verse 12
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Adversaries verse 2
Nations verse 2
Clay verse 8
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Not hearing God verse 4
Not seeing God verse 4
Sinned verse 5
Unclean verse 6
Righteousness’s are as filthy rags verse 6
Iniquities verse 6, 7, 9
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Waiting on the LORD verse 4
Rejoice verse 5
Works righteousness verse 5
Remember the LORD verse 5
Wroth of the LORD verse 5
Saved verse 5
Righteousness verse 6
Iniquities taken away verse 6
Call upon the LORD verse 7
We are the work of God’s hands verse 8
Not remember our iniquities verse 9
Praise verse 11
Afflict verse 12
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
We are clay verse 8
God’s people verse 9
Holy cities verse 10
Zion verse 10
Jerusalem verse 10
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Consumed because of our iniquities verse 7
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QUOTES regarding passage
Ver. 4. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, &c.] Not only the things unexpected, undesired, and undeserved, had been done for the Lord’s people of old; but there were other things, unheard-of and unseen, which God, in his secret counsels, had prepared for them; and for which reason his appearance in his providential dispensations was the more to be desired and entreated. The Apostle Paul has cited this passage in 1 Cor. 2:9 and applied it to Gospel times, and to evangelical truths, which are not discoverable by the light of nature; had there not been a revelation from God, the ears of men had never heard them, nor the eyes of men ever seen them: neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee; and though there is a revelation made, yet, unless God gives men eyes to see, and ears to hear, divine truths will remain unknown to them; and those who have knowledge of them, it is but imperfect; perfect knowledge of them is reserved to another state. These are mysteries, and, though revealed, remain so; the modes of them being unknown, or the manner how they are is inscrutable; such as the mode of each Person’s subsisting in the Trinity; and how the two natures, human and divine, are united in the person of Christ. Moreover, under the Old-Testament dispensation, these things were not so clearly revealed as now; they were the fellowship of the mystery hid in God, the treasure of Gospel truths hid in the field of the Scriptures; they were wrapped up in the dark figures and shadows of the ceremonial law, and expressed in obscure prophecies; they were kept secret since the beginning of the world, from ages and generations past, and not so made known, as now, to the holy apostles and prophets; a more full and clear knowledge of them was reserved to Gospel times. This may also include the blessings of grace, more peculiarly prepared and provided for the church of Christ under the Gospel dispensation, especially in the latter part of it, as the promise of the spirit; more spiritual light and knowledge; peace in abundance, and such as passeth all understanding; and particularly what will be enjoyed in the personal reign of Christ, described in so pompous a manner, Rev. 20 and 21 and it may be applied to the glories of the future state, which are such as the eye of man has never seen, nor his ear heard; and, as the apostle adds, have not entered into the heart of man to conceive of; and, as Jarchi paraphrases the words here, “the eye of any prophet hath not seen what God will do for him that waits for him, except thine eyes, thou, O God;” having cited a passage of their Rabbins out of the Talmud, which interprets the words of the world to come, “all the prophets say, they all of them prophesied only of the days of the Messiah; but as to the world to come, eye hath not seen,” &c. Some read the words, neither has the eye seen God besides thee, who will do for him that waiteth for him; that is, none besides thee, O Christ, who lay in the bosom of the Father, and was privy to all, John 1:18: what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him; the apostle quotes it, for them that love him; which describes the same persons; for those that wait for the Lord love him, and those that love him will wait for him; as Old-Testament saints did for the first coming of Christ, and as New-Testament saints now wait on him, in the ministry of his word and ordinances, for his spiritual presence, and also are waiting for his second coming, and for the ultimate glory; and for such persons unseen and unheard-of things are prepared in the counsels and purposes of God, and in the covenant of his grace; Christ, and all things with him; the Gospel, and the truths of it, ordained before the world was; and all the blessings of grace and glory. The Targum is, “and since the world was ear hath not heard the voice of mighty deeds, nor hearkened to the speech of trembling; nor hath eye seen, what thy people saw, the Shechinah of the glory of the Lord, for there is none besides thee, what thou wilt do to thy people, the righteous, who were of old, who wait for thy salvation.” (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, p. 376). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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Maybe it is too late to hope (64:4–5). The sad question with which this stanza ends faces the harshest reality. It is the stanza of the poem and raises the central issue. God indeed could deal with any problem with consummate ease (1–3), but why should such a God intervene for such as we? In the Hebrew ancient times (4) and continued (5) are the same word; God has continued for ever—but so has sin! The issue of this dilemma is no foregone conclusion. There are two conditions of blessing (4d, 5ab) but they have never been met. Neither the course of history (ancient times) nor shared information (ear … heard) nor perception (eye … seen) has brought another God into the picture. But the only God has his principles and procedures. First, he acts on behalf of those who wait. Wait (√ḥākâ) is synonymous with (√qāwâ) (3, cf. 40:31); both, at their purest, refer to patient, confident, expectant faith, a faith truly ‘simple’ in its unwavering trust in the divine promises. Secondly, there is the moral requirement of doing right (5ab). On the one side, the perfect tense, come, expresses a set characteristic; on the other side, the participles in gladly (lit. ‘rejoice and’) do right express an unchanging state covering both heart and life, emotional and practical obedience. The verbs sin and angry are perfect tenses—it was your fixed mind to be angry and ours to continue in sin. What a collision course! So is salvation possible? (Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 442). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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64:1–7 The longing for renewed blessing expressed in the closing verses of the previous chapter is now poured out in the passionate outburst of v.1. The Exodus had been followed by the great revelation at Sinai, when the mountain trembled at the presence of God (Exod 19:16–19). On that occasion God descended on the mount (Exod 19:18). Here the prophet graphically conceives of the very heavens being rent by Israel’s God in his eagerness to be once more in the midst of his people. The illustration of v.2 of course sets forth the judgment of God. Pharaoh and the Egyptians had learned the power of God’s name at the Exodus (Exod 13:3, 18). The Sinai revelation had made God’s people tremble; this new disclosure of him would terrify the nations of the world.
What was God like, this God of the Exodus and Sinai who revealed himself to his people? He was the God of the unexpected (v.3), for in so many of the plagues the ordinary course of nature was interrupted. He was a unique God, for all other so-called deities are impotent. Paul used the words of v.4 in 1 Corinthians 2:9, in the conviction that God still acts on behalf of those who wait on him. He was also a God of righteousness, caring about the obedience of his people to his laws. It is this ethical quality in him—and therefore an element of his nature as true to that early revelation as his saving grace manifested in the Exodus—that is revealed over against the sins of his people.
Verses 5–7 present a many-sided doctrine of sin, remarkably full for an OT passage. Sin is a continual practice; it is defiling, it is destructive, and it creates a barrier between God and man—both from man’s side, for we do not want to pray, and from God’s, because he will not hear us. It is God himself who has determined that it shall have these results (cf. v.7 with 63:17). No wonder the people cry out, “How then can we be saved?” (v.5). (Grogan, G. W. (1986). Isaiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 343). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House)
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64:1–7. The second plea of the remnant is recorded in these verses (the first is in 63:15–19). Realizing their uncleanness (64:5–7), they would ask God to smite their enemies (vv. 1–4). They would pray that the Lord would rend the heavens (the sky is pictured as a piece of cloth He would tear), come down (vv. 1–2; cf. “look down,” 63:15), and execute judgment on the nations. Fire and boiling water picture judgment (cf. Jer. 1:13–14; Mal. 4:1, 5). The awesome things (Isa. 64:3) probably refer to the phenomena of fire, darkness (Deut. 4:11–13), and earthquake (Ex. 19:16–19) when God gave the Mosaic Law. This revealing God- the only God (Isa. 64:4; cf. 1 Cor. 2:10)—acts on behalf of those who believe in Him and who therefore willingly do what is right. Recalling this, the remnant would ask that God work on their behalf. They would confess their sin (Isa. 64:5b), spiritual uncleanness (v. 6a), weakness (v. 6b, like a shriveled leaf), and lack of prayer (v. 7). However, they would not blame God for their dreadful condition; they would know that their wasting away was because of their sins. Therefore they would have to count on God’s faithfulness and promises. (Martin, J. A. (1985). Isaiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 1118–1119). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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He asks God to “look down” (63:15) and to “come down” (64:1). This is one of the greatest “revival prayers” found in Scripture. Just as God came down in fire at Sinai (Ex. 19:16–19), so let Him come down again and reveal His awesome power to the nations. They trust in dead idols, so let them see what the living God of Israel can do!
Why is God not working wonders? They have sinned (Isa. 64:5–6) and must confess their sins and turn from them. If our righteousness is filthy, what must our sins look like in His sight! According to verse 4, God has planned for His people wonderful things beyond their imagination; but their sins prevent Him from sharing His blessings. (See 1 Cor. 2:9 and Eph. 3:20–21.) Is there any hope? Yes, because God is a forgiving Father and a patient Potter (Jer. 18). He can cleanse us and make us anew if we will let Him have His way.
This prayer (and the believing remnant) ends with a question: Why is God silent? His temple has been destroyed, His glorious land has been ravaged, and His people are in exile. “After all this, O Lord, will You hold Yourself back? Will You keep silent and punish us beyond measure?” (Isa. 64:12, NIV) God’s reply is found in the next two chapters. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Comforted (p. 159). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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The Apostle Paul quoted these words from the Septuagint Version in the Epistle to the Corinthians, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard … the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9, 10). But he immediately adds, “But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit.” An added revelation has been given, of which Isaiah knew nothing, something that God had reserved for a future day. People often quote the words as if they stand today as in Isaiah’s time. They forget Paul immediately gives the added revelation, “But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit … But we have the mind of Christ” (verses 10, 16).
How fitting will be the cry for help on the lips and from the hearts of the exercised remnant of Israel in the last days. They call upon God to intervene, they see no help in man, as the nations are gathering together. God has said in the book of Zechariah, “I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle” (Zech. 14:2). The remnant see that ominous gathering and cry, “O God, wilt Thou not intervene? Wilt Thou not rend the heavens and come down? Wilt Thou not deal with these nations Thyself and give the deliverance for which our hearts crave?” (Ironside, H. A. (1952). Expository notes on the prophet Isaiah. (pp. 354–355). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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The expressions “to wait for the Lord” in Isa 8:17 and “to wait for him” in Isa 64:4 [H 3], connote an attitude of earnest expectation and confident hope. (Yamauchi, E. (1999). 645 חָכָה. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (282). Chicago: Moody Press.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, says LGBTQ ideology sometimes “conflicts” with feminist ideology.
Mohler was talking specifically about transgender athletes competing in sports. His comments come after gay athlete and former professional tennis player Martina Navratilova wrote in a column for The Sunday Times that it wasn’t fair for biological men to compete as women. Navratilova announced in 1981 that she was a lesbian.
“To put the argument at its most basic: a man can decide to be female, take hormones if required by whatever sporting organisation is concerned, win everything in sight and perhaps earn a small fortune, and then reverse his decision and go back to making babies if he so desires,” she wrote.
“It’s insane and it’s cheating. I am happy to address a transgender woman in whatever form she prefers, but I would not be happy to compete against her. It would not be fair.”
As part of his daily news and analysis segment, “The Briefing,” Mohler said that “Navratilova is saying that there are now hundreds of trans athletes who have won identified as women competing with women when they would not have won if they had been competing as men against men. They have gained an advantage by their trans identity and they have gained an unfair advantage by competing against women.”
Mohler says Navratilova has highlighted the “collision” between gay rights and feminist activists.
“It is the collision between not only traditional feminists and the transgender revolutionaries but traditional gay rights activists and the transgender revolutionaries because the entire edifice of gay rights based upon gays, that is gay men, and lesbians was that it makes all the difference in the world if one is a man or a woman.”
Late this week, Navratilova was removed from an advisory board of the Athlete Ally organization, a group for LGBTQ athletes. The organization released a statement, saying her comments were “transphobic.”
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Deuteronomy 28
The people receive the blessings of Mount Gerazim.
INSIGHT
A sword and a plowshare are laid on the valley floor between Ebal and Gerazim. Blessings are piled upon pile-until you wonder if the blessings can be contained. The Lord outdoes Himself, searching His omniscience to find ways of blessing Israel. Obviously, He takes great pleasure in doing good to them.
But in the shadow of the plowshare lies a sword. The 14 verses of blessings are followed by 54 verses of the most heart-rending curses imaginable.
How evil, how unspeakably terrible is sin. Thank God that He has delivered us from it. Thank God that, through Christ, we may taste of His blessings forever. (Quiet Walk)
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Learning about Pain from Luther, Bunyan & the Bible
by John Piper
From 1660 to 1672, John Bunyan, the English Baptist preacher, and author of Pilgrim’s Progress, was in the Bedford county jail. He could have been released if he had agreed not to preach. He did not know which was worse—the pain of the conditions, or the torment of freely choosing it in view of what it cost his wife and four children. His daughter, Mary, was blind. She was 10 when he was put in jail in 1660.
The parting with my Wife and poor children hath often been to me in this place as the pulling of the Flesh from my bones . . . not only because I am somewhat too fond of these great Mercies, but also because I . . . often brought to my mind the many hardships, miseries and wants that my poor Family was like to meet with should I be taken from them, especially my poor blind child, who lay nearer my heart than all I had besides; Oh the thoughts of the hardship I thought my Blind one might go under, would break my heart to pieces. (Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners [Evangelical Press, 1978], p. 123)
But this broken Bunyan was seeing treasures in the Word of God because of this suffering that he would probably not have seen any other way. He was discovering the meaning of Psalm 119:71, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.”
I never had in all my life so great an inlet into the Word of God as now [in prison]. The Scriptures that I saw nothing in before are made in this place to shine upon me. Jesus Christ also was never more real and apparent than now. Here I have seen him and felt him indeed. . . . I have seen [such things] here that I am persuaded I shall never while in this world be able to express. . . . Being very tender of me, [God] hath not suffered me to be molested, but would with one scripture and another strengthen me against all; insomuch that I have often said, were it lawful I could pray for greater trouble for the greater comfort’s sake. (Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, p. 123)
In other words, one of God’s gifts to us in suffering is that we are granted to see and experience depths of his Word that a life of ease would never yield.
Martin Luther had discovered the same “method” of seeing God in his Word. He said there are three rules for understanding Scripture: praying, meditating and suffering trials. The “trials,” he said, are supremely valuable: they “teach you not only to know and understand but also to experience how right, how true, how sweet, how lovely, how mighty, how comforting God’s word is: it is wisdom supreme.”
Therefore the devil himself becomes the unwitting teacher of God’s word: “the devil will afflict you [and] will make a real doctor of you, and will teach you by his temptations to seek and to love God’s Word. For I myself . . . owe my papists many thanks for so beating, pressing, and frightening me through the devil’s raging that they have turned me into a fairly good theologian, driving me to a goal I should never have reached” (What Luther Says, vol. 3 [Concordia Publishing House, 1959], p. 1360).
I testify from my small experience that this is true. Disappointment, loss, sickness, and fear send me deeper into God and his Word than ever. Clouds of trifling are blown away and the glory of unseen things shines in the heart’s eye. Let Bunyan and Luther encourage us to lean on God’s Word as never before in times of affliction.
I know that there are seasons when we cannot think or read, the pain is so great. But God grants spaces of some relief between these terrible times. Turn your gaze on the Word and prove the truth of Psalm 119:71, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.”
Trembling to learn of God with you,
Pastor John (By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: [email protected]. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.)
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The Magnified Word of God
“I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” (Psalm 138:2)
The Word of God is not greater than God, of course, but is greater than His name, and this is, itself, inestimably magnificent. The “name” of God represents all that He is and all that He does and is supremely deserving of the praise of all His creatures.
But we can only know His name—what He is and what He does—through His Word. The full exposition of His character of truth and His acts of love and mercy can be discerned only through His Word, which thus becomes greater than His name by manifesting and revealing His name.
“As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). We believe on His name, and thereby receive Him, by trusting His Word of truth and appropriating His forgiving mercy; we deny His name by doubting His Word and despising His proffered salvation.
The Word of God is “light” (Psalm 119:105), and “thy word is truth” (John 17:17). It is living and energizing (Hebrews 4:12). It is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, and righteous altogether (Psalm 19:7-9). “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable. . . . That the man of God may be perfect” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
May God enable us, in full sincerity of heart and mind, to “worship” (literally to “bow down” to His Word) in everything He says—believing and obeying His promises and His commandments.
There are many who charge Christians with placing too much emphasis on the written Word, but it is impossible to place too much emphasis on the Bible, for God Himself has magnified His Word even above His name! (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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ETERNAL LIFE
…that he should give eternal life…. John 17:2
Let us try to understand exactly what is true of this life. Let me give you some of the New Testament definitions of it. We are told that as a result of having this life we become sons of God or children of God: “For ye are all the children of God,” says the apostle Paul in Galatians 3:26. Another phrase, used by John in his first epistle, is that we are “born of God” (1 John 5:1); and in John 3:8 we read that we are “born of the Spirit.”
The apostle Peter describes it by saying that we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4)—an astounding statement. In another place he tells us that we are “begotten . . . again”(1 Peter 1:3)—we are regenerated.
Now all those terms, and others too, are used in the New Testament in order to give us some conception and understanding of the quality and nature of eternal life. And it was in order to give us this marvelous life that the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world. That is why He went to the cross, that is why He was buried and rose again—so that you and I might become sons of God, children of God, born of God, partakers of the divine nature, that we might be regenerated and made anew and receive a new life. But I must hasten to add, it is very important that we should not misconstrue any of these great, exalted terms.
Not one of them means that you and I become divine. We do not cease to be human. We are not turned into gods. We must never put such a meaning to those great terms. It does not mean that the divine essence, as it were, is infused into us. We are still human, though we are partakers of the divine nature.
A Thought to Ponder: Christ went to the cross that we might become children of God and receive a new life. (From Saved in Eternity, pp. 150-151, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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“Salvation is of the Lord.” —Jonah 2:9
Salvation is the work of God. It is he alone who quickens the soul “dead in trespasses and sins,” and it is he also who maintains the soul in its spiritual life. He is both “Alpha and Omega.” “Salvation is of the Lord.” If I am prayerful, God makes me prayerful; if I have graces, they are God’s gifts to me; if I hold on in a consistent life, it is because he upholds me with his hand. I do nothing whatever towards my own preservation, except what God himself first does in me. Whatever I have, all my goodness is of the Lord alone. Wherein I sin, that is my own; but wherein I act rightly, that is of God, wholly and completely. If I have repulsed a spiritual enemy, the Lord’s strength nerved my arm. Do I live before men a consecrated life? It is not I, but Christ who liveth in me. Am I sanctified? I did not cleanse myself: God’s Holy Spirit sanctifies me. Am I weaned from the world? I am weaned by God’s chastisements sanctified to my good. Do I grow in knowledge? The great Instructor teaches me. All my jewels were fashioned by heavenly art. I find in God all that I want; but I find in myself nothing but sin and misery. “He only is my rock and my salvation.” Do I feed on the Word? That Word would be no food for me unless the Lord made it food for my soul, and helped me to feed upon it. Do I live on the manna which comes down from heaven? What is that manna but Jesus Christ himself incarnate, whose body and whose blood I eat and drink? Am I continually receiving fresh increase of strength? Where do I gather my might? My help cometh from heaven’s hills: without Jesus I can do nothing. As a branch cannot bring forth fruit except it abide in the vine, no more can I, except I abide in him. What Jonah learned in the great deep, let me learn this morning in my closet: “Salvation is of the Lord.” (Spurgeon, C. H. (1896). Morning and evening: Daily readings. London: Passmore & Alabaster.)
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