PSALM 25
David asks LORD not to let him be ashamed verse 1- 3
Unto YOU – O LORD – do I lift up my soul
O my God – I trust in YOU – let me not be ashamed
let not mine enemies triumph over me
YEA – let none that wait on YOU be ashamed
let them be ashamed which transgress without cause
David wants the LORD to lead him verse 4- 5
Show me YOUR ways – O LORD
teach me YOUR paths
lead me in YOUR truth
and teach me
for YOU are the God of my salvation
on YOU do I wait all the day
David desires of the LORD to give him HIS love verse 6- 7
Remember – O LORD – YOUR tender mercies
and YOUR loving-kindnesses
for they have been ever of old
Remember NOT the sins of my youth – nor my transgressions
according to YOUR mercy remember YOU me
FOR YOUR goodness sake – O LORD
David knows the LORD directs the meek verse 8- 10
Good and upright is the LORD
THEREFORE will HE teach sinners in the way
the meek will HE guide in judgment
and the meek will HE teach HIS way
All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth
to such as keep HIS covenant and HIS testimonies
David wishes to keep his eyes on the LORD verse 11- 15
For YOUR name’s sake – O LORD
PARDON mine iniquity for it is GREAT
What man is he that fears the LORD?
him shall HE teach in the way that he shall choose
his soul shall dwell at ease
his seed shall inherit the earth
The secret of the LORD is with them that fear HIM
and HE will show them HIS covenant
Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD
for HE shall pluck my feet out of the net
David is waiting on the LORD for deliverance verse 16- 21
Turn YOU to me – and have mercy on me
for I am desolate and afflicted
the troubles of my heart are enlarged
O bring YOU me
out of my distresses
Look upon mine affliction and my pain
and forgive all my sins
Consider mine enemies – for they are many
and they hate me with cruel hatred
O keep my soul – and deliver me – let me not be ashamed
for I put my trust in YOU
let integrity and uprightness preserve me
for I wait on YOU
David’s final request: Redeem Israel verse 22
Redeem Israel – O God – out of all his troubles
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 O my God, I trust in YOU: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. (5970 “triumph” [‘alats] means exult, to prove superior, as in military conflict or some other kind of struggle, rejoice, be jubilant, or be in a state of joy, which may include verbal expressions of joy and praise.)
DEVOTION: There always seems to be at least one person that we know that has a good time thinking they are superior to you. They are in a group that call themselves “friends” but they are usually the ones who point out all the things that are wrong with everyone else that is around you and sometimes even include you.
These people might not think they are enemies but they seem to find pleasure in finding fault with whatever is suggested or done when you are together.
David had individuals who seems to act more like enemies rather than friends. This is a prayer that these types of individuals would not have the upper hand in any situation that he found himself in. He was willing to trust the LORD at all times but he sometimes made decisions that were not able to pass the test of being good decisions.
Our responsibility each moment of each day is to trust in the LORD to help us make good decisions. HE promises to never leave us or forsake us. HE will be the one who will give us victory in each situation where we are trusting HIM to help.
We all have enemies. That is normal while we are here on this earth. We have individuals who try to get us to do things wrong, so that, they can brag on how good they are in their decisions.
God wants us to turn our enemies over to HIM and let HIM deal with them. HE is able to deliver us from our enemies. We have to trust HIM to do it and wait on HIM to do it. David needed this to happen in his life and we need to let it happen in our lives if we are those who genuinely trust in the LORD for every decision in our life.
CHALLENGE: Trust in the LORD should start and end each day as we live for HIM. HE will deliver us from our enemies.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 7 “Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O LORD. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
Remember 2142 זָכַר, זָכַר, מַזְכִּיר [zakar /zaw·kar/] v. A primitive root;
TWOT 551; GK 2349 and 2350 and 4654; 233 occurrences; AV translates as “remember” 172 times, “mention” 21 times, “remembrance” 10 times, “recorder” nine times, “mindful” six times, “think” three times, “bring to remembrance” twice, “record” twice, and translated miscellaneously eight times. 1 to remember, recall, call to mind. 1A (Qal) to remember, recall. 1B (Niphal) to be brought to remembrance, be remembered, be thought of, be brought to mind. 1C (Hiphil). 1C1 to cause to remember, remind. 1C2 to cause to be remembered, keep in remembrance. 1C3 to mention. 1C4 to record. 1C5 to make a memorial, make remembrance. James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
DEVOTION: When I think back on the sins of my youth I am so glad that the Lord does not remember those things and bring them to my memory! I am very capable of bringing to memory things that I find embarrassing and guilt producing as well as things that could cause me to stumble in the ministry that I am entrusted with today! What a wonderful realization that the Lord remembers His tender mercies and lovingkindness which are extended toward me instead of the sins I committed. When the Lord received me as his son and extended his love to me he removed my sins, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Ps. 103:12)
CHALLENGE: Believers do not let the transgressions of your youth keep you from the joy of the Lord today! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
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: 14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. (5475 “secret” [cowd] means counsel, council, assembly, a sitting together, circle of confidants, fellowship or intimacy with God.)
DEVOTION: The LORD is in the teaching business. HE wants his servants to learn HIS ways. HE wants his servants to follow the right path which is straight and narrow. In the New Testament Jesus calls HIS disciples “friends.” It was a gathering of intimate associates. HE revealed mysteries to HIS disciples that the other people didn’t understand. HE spoke in parables because only the disciples could know the interpretations.
This psalm is an acrostic with one poetic line for each successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. David knows that he is a sinner. David asks the LORD to forgive his sins. David asks the LORD to redeem Israel from their enemies. He asks the LORD to deliver him from his enemies.
David knows that those who have an reverent awe for the LORD will understand HIS counsel. This type of individual will have intimacy with God. These individuals will realize that they are sinners and need the LORD to forgive them before HE will deliver them from their affliction. Those who just pretend to be close to God will be exposed by their lack of understanding and actions before HIM.
Those who understand will want HIS forgiveness on a regular basis. David understood that he could turn all his troubles and enemies over to the LORD and HE would help him through each battle. In the process of deliverance the LORD is going to teach, show, lead, and guide those who fear HIM.
An added bonus is that HE is going to NOT remember our sins because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. HE was our substitute. HE forgives all of our sins: past, present, and future because when the FATHER looks at us HE looks through the blood sacrifice of HIS Son. Praise HIS name.
Isn’t great to know that we have a deliverer? HIS deliverance is for those who know HIS presence!!! We need to check our intimacy with God on a daily basis.
If God is a teacher, and HE is, are we good listeners? What has HE taught you from this Psalm today? Are you sharing it with others? Our world is not heading to heaven.
CHALLENGE: We are here to knock holes in the darkness and blindness of this world on a regular basis with the Word of God.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring YOU me out of my
distresses. (4691 “distresses” [matsuwqah] means psychological suffering, affliction, anguish, stress, hardship, state of trouble, affliction, and suffering)
DEVOTION: Our lives are full of decision-making moments. Some of the decisions are big decisions and some are small. It is a problem that we need to make good decisions as to what decisions are big and which are small.
David had to ask the LORD to enlarge his heart to understand which decisions were big or small. He wrote this song to help others face these situations and make good decisions regarding what was happening in their lives.
No matter the time period we all have to make decisions each day of our lives. Sometimes we make bad decisions and sometimes we make good decisions. When we make bad decisions, we have to turn them over to the LORD and ask for forgiveness. HE will forgive us and help us to move on with our lives. HE loves HIS children and we are one if we have made a genuine decision to follow HIM no matter what.
Our prayer has to be the same as David as we need to get through times when we make bad decisions. We need to confess them to the LORD and ask for HIS guidance regarding how to make better decisions.
We are commanded to confess our sins and HE is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to CLEANSE US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS!
CHALLENGE: We need to realize that we will have trouble in this world. Some are our own fault and some are not but we need to turn both over the LORD and let HIM deliver us out of all of them.
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:21 “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on YOU.”
(Preserve, 5341 נָצַר [natsar], to guard, watch, watch over, keep; to
watch, guard, keep; to preserve, guard from dangers; to keep,
observe, guard with fidelity; to guard, keep secret; to be kept close, be
blockaded; watchman [participle]).
DEVOTION: One of the roles of God’s Word is to watch over us and keep us from sinning against God. This is why David prays and asks God to let integrity and uprightness watch over (or guard) him. He is more concerned at this point about his own individual witness than about the actions of his enemies. (In Psalm 119:9-11, David writes about the role of God’s Word in protecting us from sinning in our hearts when we hide His Word in our hearts.)
The picture this word brings to mind is a life preserver on a boat. Most of the time, it hangs there unused, yet it creates a visible image of safety in peoples’ minds as they realize that it could be used to save their life. But when a crisis occurs, the life preserver can mean the difference between life and death if it is used. God’s Word is given to us so that we might appropriate it in times of temptation and crisis, and use it as a guide to act with integrity and righteousness.
So this is a byproduct of waiting on God, which means spending time with Him, and learning about His character and the things that please Him. You and I are to study Him like a good waiter or waitress in a fine restaurant is supposed to get to know the desires of the patrons he or she serves.
CHALLENGE: Are you willing to spend time each day meditating on God and His Word? Decide now that you will spend time in His Word every morning and think about what He desires for your life. (Dr. Marc Wooten – board member)
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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)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
David’s prayer to forgive verse 1- 7, 11
Don’t let enemies triumph of him verse 2
Remember not MY sins or transgressions verse 7
David’s prayer for rescue verse 16- 21
David’s prayer for Israel verse 22
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Covenant verse 10, 14
Testimonies verse 10
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 4, 6- 8, 10-
12, 14, 15
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 2, 5, 22
Tender mercies verse 6
Lovingkindness verse 6
Mercy verse 7, 10
Goodness verse 7
Good and upright verse 8
Teach sinners in the way verse 8, 9, 12
Guide meek in judgment verse 9
Paths of the LORD verse 10
Truth verse 10
Secret of the LORD verse 14
Covenant verse 14
Pluck believers feet out of the net verse 15
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)
Enemies verse 2, 19
Meek verse 9
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Transgress verse 3, 7
Sins verse 7, 18
Sinners verse 8
Iniquity verse 11
Hate verse 19
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Lift up soul verse 1
Trust verse 2, 20
Not ashamed verse 2, 3
Wait verse 3, 5, 21
Shown way of the LORD verse 4
Teach the LORD’s path verse 4, 5, 8, 9, 12
Lead verse 5
Truth verse 5, 10
Salvation verse 5
Wait on the LORD verse 5
Tender mercies verse 6, 7, 10, 16
Loving-kindness verse 6
Goodness verse 7
Way of the LORD verse 8, 9, 12, 14
Meek verse 9
Guide verse 9
Keep covenant verse 10, 14
Keep HIS testimonies verse 10
Pardon verse 11
Fear of the LORD verse 12, 14
Ease verse 13
Inherit verse 13
Secret verse 14
Eyes toward the LORD verse 15
Deliverance verse 15, 17, 20
Desolate verse 16
Afflicted verse 16, 18
Troubled verse 17, 22
Forgiveness of sins verse 18
Integrity verse 21
Uprightness verse 21
Redeem verse 22
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
David verse 1- 22
Lifts up his soul to the LORD
Trusts in the LORD
Doesn’t want to be ashamed
Wants pardon from his great iniquity
Eyes ever toward the LORD
LORD plucks his feet out of net
Wants LORD to turn toward him
Wants mercy
He is desolate and afflicted
He has enlarged troubles of the heart
Wants to be brought out of his distresses
He is afflicted
Wants forgiveness of all his sins
Israel verse 22
Redeem out of all their troubles
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Seed shall inherit the earth verse 13
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QUOTES regarding passage
25:15–22. The psalm concludes with a prayer for the Lord’s gracious deliverance. Beginning with his own affirmation that he trusts the Lord for deliverance (v. 15), the psalmist called on God to forgive (v. 18; cf. vv. 6–7, 11) his afflicted soul and deliver him from the distress caused by his cruel enemies (v. 18). Again he asked that in being rescued he not be put to shame (cf. v. 20), and he affirmed his hope in God (v. 21; cf. vv. 3, 5; hope in the Lord is mentioned more than two dozen times in the Pss.). The last request was for deliverance of Israel … from her troubles (v. 22).
The psalm strongly links the prayer for deliverance and guidance to confession of sin. The way of the Lord requires this. (Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 813). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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Fear (vv. 19–20). We don’t know what the situation was, but whatever it was, David feared for his life. Even more, he feared that he would fail and bring disgrace to the name of the God he loved. His enemies were increasing and so was his fear, but he trusted the Lord to take care of both. (Wiersbe, W. W. (2004). Be worshipful (1st ed., pp. 104–105). Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries.)
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25:16–21 The mention of a net causes David to cut short his spiritual reveries and to utter a prayer about his present plight. He is lonely and afflicted. The troubles of his heart are compounded. So he implores God to turn to him in mercy, to relieve his overburdened heart, to deliver him from his distresses, to take inventory of his afflictions and to forgive all his sins. David also asks the Lord to protect him from his enemies and their vitriolic hatred, thereby vindicating him for having trusted in Jehovah. When he prays “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me” he is not referring to his own rectitude, but is instead asking God to show His righteousness by delivering the one who put his trust in Him. (MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 584). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)
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20. Oh keep my soul, and deliver me. Keep; the same word in Ps. 16:1, and elsewhere is rendered preserve. See also Ps. 17:8. Some use a military term, guard. Our life and all our interests, our souls and all their vast affairs can in no way be preserved, but by the exercise of God’s glorious perfections. Forsaken of him we shall be dismayed. So he prays: Let me not be ashamed. Ashamed, as in vv. 2, 3. In this life the righteous often blush for their sins and follies. But the issue will be well. Their shame will in eternity be all gone. Even here they may confidently plead to be saved from disaster and confusion, because God’s honor is involved: For I put my trust in thee. When one cannot save those, who confide in him, he cannot be a God. And were it credible that God cared not for his friends, all true religion would soon perish from the earth. (Plumer, W. S. (1872). Studies in the Book of Psalms: Being a Critical and Expository Commentary, with Doctrinal and Practical Remarks on the Entire Psalter (p. 337). Philadelphia; Edinburgh: J. B. Lippincott Company; A & C Black.)
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Ver. 20. O keep my soul, &c.] Or life, which was in danger, his enemies seeking for it; wherefore he applies to God that gave it, and who had hitherto held him in it, to preserve it. God is the keeper of his people in a spiritual sense; they cannot keep themselves from sin, Satan, and the world; but he is able to keep them from falling, and therefore they pray to him that he would keep them; and they have reason to believe they shall be kept by his power, through faith, unto salvation. And deliver me; as out of the hands of his present enemies, so from all evil, from the evils of the world, from the evil one, Satan, from the evil of sin, and out of all affliction and troubles. Let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee; see the note on ver. 2. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 637). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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20. “O keep my soul” out of evil, “and deliver me” when I fall into it. This is another version of the prayer, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
“Let me not be ashamed.” This is the one fear which like a ghost haunted the Psalmist’s mind. He trembled lest his faith should become the subject of ridicule through the extremity of his affliction. Noble hearts can brook anything but shame. David was of such a chivalrous spirit, that he could endure any torment rather than to be put to dishonour. “For I put my trust in thee.” And therefore the name of God would be compromised if his servants were deserted; this the believing heart can by no means endure. (Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 1-26 (Vol. 1, p. 397). London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers.)
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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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Khrushchev said “WE [Communism} will bury you! A quick read but a lasting thought. Pretty scary now.
Khrushchev’s Message 61 years ago: This was his entire quote: A sobering reminder. Almost exactly sixty years ago shine Russia’s Khrushchev delivered his Do you remember September 29, 1959? This was His entire Quote:
“Your children’s children will live under Communism, You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept communism outright; but we will keep feeding you small doses of socialism until you will finally wake up and find you already have Communism. WE will not have to fight you; We will so weaken your economy, until you will fall like overripe fruit into our hands.” “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who ae willing to work and give to those who would not” (Sad but it is coming true in our lifetime.) Thanks Larry Hultquist
Franklin Graham: The G20 Summit‘s big focus was on climate change. If we have an unusually warm summer, they say climate change is to blame. If we have a harsh winter, it’s due to climate change. If it’s wetter than normal, it’s climate change. If it’s dryer than normal, climate change. Climate change is nothing new—the Bible records it over 4,000 years ago. God brought His judgment on the wickedness and evil that had overtaken the world through a great flood. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights and springs burst forth with water, flooding the entire earth and destroying all mankind—except for one man, Noah, who the Lord found righteous, and his family. Another example of climate change was in Egypt after Joseph‘s dream, there were seven fat years of plenty and seven slim years of drought and famine, not just in Egypt but also in the known world around them. Another time, God shut up the heavens for 3 1/2 years in Elijah’s day and allowed no rain to fall. I don’t know what the G20 would have blamed that on, but God created the heavens and the earth. Boris Johnson said we are “one minute to midnight” as it relates to climate change. I believe we are one minute to midnight—not regarding climate change, but on God’s clock, when He will bring judgment on those who have rejected Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. I’m often asked if we are getting close to the return of Jesus Christ. No man knows the day or the hour, but I believe we are getting close. You’d better be ready.
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1 Thessalonians 4
Paul informs the Thessalonians regarding the Lord Jesus Christ’s second coming.
INSIGHT
Death is a mysterious, unavoidable experience. For the most part a fearful and foreboding process, death is a common factor in human experience: We live to die. Understandably, the most profound question human beings ask is: What happens when we die? Death is fully addressed in the Scriptures – and the answer is one of the most satisfying answers in the Bible: “The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (vv. 16-17).
(Quiet Walk)
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THE ULTIMATE TEST
Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. 1 John 4:2
The most important test is conformity to scriptural teaching. “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.” How do I know that this is a spiritual test? All I know about Him, I put up to the test of Scripture. Indeed, you get exactly the same thing in the sixth verse of 1 John 4 where John says, speaking of himself and the other apostles, “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” The first thing to ask about a man who claims to be filled with the Spirit and to be an unusual teacher is, does his teaching conform to Scripture? Is it in conformity with the apostolic message? Does he base it all upon this Word? Is he willing to submit to it? That is the great test.
Another test is the readiness to listen to scriptural teaching; to abide by it is always a characteristic of the true prophet. You will find that the other man rather tends to dismiss it. “Ah yes,” he says, “but you are legalistic, you are just a theologian. I have experience, I have felt, and I have produced this and that.” The tendency is not to abide by the teaching of Scripture but to be almost contemptuous of it; that has always been the characteristic of those who have tended to go astray. Read the history of the Quakers, and you will find that such an attitude became aprominent feature—the inner light rather than the objective teaching of Scripture itself.
A Thought to Ponder: The most important test is conformity to scriptural teaching.
(From The Love of God, pp. 23-24, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones )
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Stand Fast
“Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.” (Philippians 4:1)
Several adjectives precede the command contained in this text. Not only does Paul twice use “dearly beloved” to describe his relationship with the Philippians, but he also insists that he longs for them and anticipates joy at the recognition of the “crown” he will receive in heaven.
These are intense words. Agapetos is the descriptive Greek term translated “dearly beloved.” The heavenly Father uses agapetos to express His love for His “beloved Son” (Matthew 3:17). Most of the New Testament letters freely use agapetos to describe various personal relationships with their brothers and sisters in Christ. That unique and deeply spiritual love is what demonstrates our difference to the unsaved (John 13:34-35)
Since Paul is separated from the Philippian church (probably writing the letter from Rome), his love for them caused him to “long after [them] all in the bowels of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:8). That passionate ache is mitigated by the joy coming from the certain knowledge that his work will result in a “victor’s crown” (Greek stephanos, today’s verse) when God rewards our service. “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?” (1 Thessalonians 2:19).
So, “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). Stand fast in the liberty that salvation provides. Don’t become tangled up in the bondage of legalistic burdens (Galatians 5:1). “For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 3:8).
(HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Your New Position
“He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” (Ephesians 1:4)
The search for identity and meaning can drive one to great successes or tragic failures. However, for the Christian the question is answered through the Scriptures.
Chosen: You are selected as a favorite out of “many [who] are called” (Matthew 22:14) “out of the world” (John 15:19). What a privilege! You are God’s choice to bear His name, represent His cause, and share His glory throughout eternity. In fact, you are “predestinated [previous boundaries set] . . . unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself” (Ephesians 1:5). And “if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).
Accepted: Furthermore, you are “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). That word “accepted” is a specialized form of the word most often translated “grace.” You are “graced” by almighty God, who set absolute boundaries around your life and made you His child. You are purchased “through his blood” (Ephesians 1:7) “that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar [precious] people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).
Forgiven: Moreover, you are forgiven (Ephesians 1:7)! Your sins are covered (Psalm 32:1), cast behind God’s back (Isaiah 38:17), removed “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12), remembered no more (Jeremiah 31:34), as He has “cleanse[d] us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
If you are God’s child, you should have no identity crises. You are a chosen, predestined, accepted, redeemed, and forgiven holy one, predestined “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29). (HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
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God grants Solomon wisdom.
INSIGHT
Solomon’s heart is manifested by the purity of his prayer. He could have asked for a long life; he could have asked for riches and honor. But instead Solomon asks simply for wisdom. What an honest and unselfish prayer.
Being honest with God is not as easy as we might think. We all tend to live life with masks on-behind which the real “us” hides-to make a better impression on people.
How foolish! God sees behind the mask-as do most people. We can learn from Solomon. God is pleased with honest, transparent prayers. (Quiet Walk)
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REDISCOVERING THE CENTRAL TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure. 2 Timothy 2:19
Without a single exception it is the rediscovery of the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith that has led ultimately to revival. There is always a preliminary to revival. It appears to come suddenly, and in a sense it does. But if you look carefully into the history, you will always find that there was something going on quietly, there was a preliminary, a preparation unobserved by people. And the preparation, invariably, has been a rediscovery of these grand and glorious central truths.
Take, for instance, the history of the Protestant Reformation. It was only after Martin Luther had suddenly seen the grand truth of justification by faith alone that the Protestant revival came. It was getting back to that truth, in the epistles to the Galatians and the Romans, that prepared the way for the outpouring of the Spirit. It happened in this country and in every country where the Reformation spread.
That also happened in the eighteenth century. There you had that deadness. Bishop Butler wrote his book The Analogy of Religion, and the “Boyle lectures: were started in an attempt to counter this rationalism, but it availed nothing. Then suddenly the revival seemed to come. Whitefield, the Wesleys, and others like them appeared. Yes, but how did revival come through these men? Well, the story is well-known. What really made it possible for John Wesley to have the experience he had in Aldersgate Street, when his heart was “strangely warmed” by the Holy Spirit, was something that happened three months earlier. He had the experience in Aldersgate Street on May 24, 1738, but in March 1738 his eyes had been opened to the truth of justification by faith only. The famous conversation, on the journey between London and Oxford, between Peter Bülow and Wesley was all about justification by faith alone. It was only after he had seen that, and it had gripped him, that the Holy Spirit ca me upon him and began to use him.
A Thought to Ponder: There is always a preliminary to revival. (From Revival, pp. 35-36, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Open and Shut
If she is a wall, we will build on her a battlement of silver; but if she is a door, we will barricade her with planks of cedar. SONG OF SOLOMON 8:9
As parents, one of our responsibilities is to protect the sexual purity of our children. This verse from Song of Solomon provides an interesting insight when it equates sisters with “walls” or “doors.” Those who are “walls” remain pure—they are not open to peer pressure. Their sense of sexual morality is held firmly in place. But those who are “doors” are flirtatious, prone to get emotionally involved too quickly. They’re easily manipulated by someone of the opposite sex.
If you have a daughter who’s a wall, honor her purity. Give her the “silver” of your praise, as the verse above says. Don’t overlook her or take her integrity for granted. Instead, celebrate her steadfast morals. Cheer her on. But if she’s a door—one who seems more susceptible to being opened by the advances of young men—the Lord tells us to build a cedar barricade—hard, strong and durable—around her. Not a barricade of rules (although you’ll need some of those, too) but a barricade of love, of relationship. The kind that says, “I care about you and what you’re going to experience as a young lady someday in your marriage bed, so let’s chat about this regularly as you become a woman.”
Spend lots of time with her. Stay involved in her life. Get to know her friends. Ask questions about what’s going on. Ask God for wisdom in building the “barricade . . . with planks of cedar.” Your goal is to one day present your daughters to their husbands as young women unstained, untouched by evil. In giving them a healthy view of their own sexuality, you’re preparing them for the day when God says it’s time to awaken those desires. (Moments with You Couples Devotional by Dennis and Barbara Rainey)
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