Judges 8:4 And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.
LESSON: Much is said in the Scriptures about spiritual “fainting.” Gideon and his men had just won a great battle and were pursuing their enemies so that they could complete their defeat and ensure peace. They had not eaten the necessary food that they needed, but they knew they could not pause in the cause. Christ’s cause suffers today because there are so many who faint without putting out any effort, and who cease pursuing when the initial pressure is taken off. God can win with the faithful minority because they stay in service and continue to pursue as their Leader goes on. God’s army could really use some of these nameless heroes. How about you?
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Psalms 138:6 Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
LESSON: God is what He is by His very nature. He is higher than we are in every way. ( Isaiah 55:8-9) He is a moral being. He judges the sons of men. The one who holds a lowly position as regards the things of this world, but who has faith in God, is known by the Lord in a nearby fashion, while the person who is habitually proud is not someone whom the LORD wants to be near, or wants to be near Him. The proud and the sinful cannot abide in His presence: (Psalm 140:13) The lowly saint can rejoice knowing God is near. The proud will never know that the God of heaven wants nothing to do with him.
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1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
LESSON: To be ready always means to be ready beforehand. It means to anticipate giving a response. But of course, it also assumes that there will be something about us as Christians that others would see and be prompted to ask of us a reason for our hope. The answer is always to be a reason. Faith is reasonable. It is not a hope-so hope, but the hope that comes from living our lives in anticipation of that which we know to exist. In Romans 8:19 Paul calls it “earnest expectation.” Let it be evident in our lives that we are looking for something more than what the world has, for: 1 John 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. Be ready always.
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Psalms 26:2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
LESSON: How many of us could honestly ask the LORD to put the character of our innermost being on trial? Yet, how much greater is it to be able to make this type of an appeal to God in times when dishonesty is all about us? The words “examine” , “prove”, and “try” are all the words of a metallurgist. David had no fear that he had consented in any way to any of the evil deeds that were being done in his nation, though some might believe that. So many today are content to be able to put a face on the actions of their lives and to have others think that they have always acted in a right and honest way. David is asking God to judge the thoughts and intents of his heart. If we could keep these pure and honest there would be no need to fear any implications otherwise.
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Psalms 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
Some people have the mistaken perception that saved folks do not have problems in this world. They will not find that anywhere either in Scripture or in experience. David writes constantly about his sore and continuous trials and how the LORD faithfully delivers him and oversees them for his benefit. This is the same thought that Paul had in mind when he penned Romans 8:28. A righteous man’s trials may be many, but God works them all out for his good. Peter also says in 1 Peter 1:6-9 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations. The joy of deliverance confirms the Lord’s faithfulness. Rejoice.
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Luke 2:51-52 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
LESSON: Matthew 3:15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. Jesus fulfilled for us all the righteousness, even as a child. The verses quoted from Luke 2 are the fulfillment of the admonition and promise section of Proverbs 3:1-12. He met every requirement of a godly child. It is just as sure today that God wants His children through Christ in the Spirit to meet those requirements. Some today emphasize liberty to the sacrifice of righteousness. This is not God’s way, nor is it the pattern of Jesus’ life. Let us then be careful to fulfil those things which glorify and please our God and Savior.
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Psalms 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
LESSON: We are the only spiritual beings that have to count years. The angels are ageless, as is God Himself. It is wisdom to take account of the passing of our life and what we are doing with this most precious commodity. We have now come to the end of another year. Wherein have we gained, and wherein have we lost ground this year? Have we seen anyone saved this year? Have we grown, or have we drifted away. Are we spending our precious time on things that we will find of value in eternity, or on things that perish with the using? When the last second of 2011 ticks away will we be nearer home, or nearer hell? God gives us another opportunity to stop, and consider.
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John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
LESSON: If you have ever had trouble understanding something that someone was trying to explain and wished that you could have a picture or directions or something, you should be able to appreciate the message of this verse. Jesus was God in the flesh, that we may see exactly what He is like: John 14:9; Hebrews 1:3. He was one of us, being flesh. He was God, being God by nature and identity: John 1:1. He is our illustration, and our directions: John 14:5-6. He was made like unto us, for us, and unto us: Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
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Luke 2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
LESSON; Nothing is more wonderful than those times when faith becomes sight. God requires us to believe and wait upon Him, but in due time all the objects of faith appear to our eyes. The shepherds and the wise men were told they could go and see the One who was born King of the Jews, the hope of the ages. Beholding, they rejoiced. God’s people may have to wait long for some of His promises, but in the end they will have a rejoicing that nothing can quench or take away. (John 16:22) Looking upon the season we can do as the people who lived then did. We can believe without seeing and then rejoice in our seeing.
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Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
LESSON: Obscurity in the world is no hindrance to the God who can speak of all time as if it were just yesterday or tomorrow. The little town of Bethlehem would not have been the place of man’s choosing for the birth of Messiah, but, just as it had been the birthplace of David, it would be the birthplace of his great Descendant. Let us remember that we may not be great among the thousands, but God is not looking for that, nor is He impressed by the magnitude of the things of men. God is faithful in all He does, and He will keep His promises, even to the small and despised.
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Jeremiah 8:12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
LESSON: A people that can no longer be ashamed is a truly lost nation. Those things which God calls abomination are so self-evidently evil and degrading that one would think that any person would run from them immediately. The Israelites had come to commit those things openly and without shame. With all the other needs of the people and the country God and His prophet had to deal with this movement of anarchy and defiance. It is possible for whole nations to cross over the line and place themselves in the position where judgment is the only recourse. It is bad enough when they can no longer feel shame, but it is even worse when they no longer fear God.
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Psalms 89:2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.
LESSON: The mercy of God has no end. The first sentence declares that the mercy of God, which has begun, will continue to be built up. In this life we may continue to understand all the ways in which God has been, and is, merciful to us. In the world to come, we will spend the ages learning how all things that have happened to us in life have been manifestations of the mercy of our God. All things work together for our good (Romans 8:28), and in the ages to come He will reveal to us how it all came to pass (Ephesians 2:7) The saints have much cause to reflect upon the mercy, the unmerited favor of God, and to rejoice in the expectation of it.
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Hebrews 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
LESSON: The key to this thought is twofold. First, we must be able to place ourselves in the position of anyone who is in bondage. Second, for those suffering adversity, as being a part of the same body. In both we take upon ourselves the burden of the burdened. Though we may be perfectly free we ought to bear with the bondage of a brother or sister. If we are not suffering any adversity we must reach to the adversity being suffered by others in the body. In a body no part is unaffected by the suffering of one part, and all parts feel the need of each part. This is true Christian brotherhood, and it is in the image of Christ.
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Proverbs 29:1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
LESSON: In this life we are accountable for our opportunities. Those who have been often reproved place themselves in danger of sudden destruction when they fail to respond to that instruction. They are in danger because, not heeding reproof, they continue in the same path. They are in danger because of the passing of time. The longer one stands in the middle of a busy highway the greater the danger, indeed the probability, of being struck by a speeding vehicle, with no one to blame but themselves. When sudden destruction comes to such people, there will be no remedy. The sad thing is that the ones who have often issued the warning to not wish to see the inevitable happen
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1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
LESSON: Two things in this verse are found to be “foolishness” to the unconverted: preaching, and the cross. The preaching of the cross is the power of God to announce salvation to a dying world. The cross is the instrument by which it was purchased. The world finds these insulting because they make salvation only accessible through a humbling repentance. If salvation could come through humanly-devised means and could be approved by the world, most would still not access it because it would be too easy to seem important. As Bunyan said, only those who are in dead earnest will ever find the door to God’s salvation. They will hear a preacher, and will flee to the cross.
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Psalms 35:20 For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.
LESSON: David complains to the Lord concerning those whose only object is to stir up trouble against those who are troubling nobody. We live in a day when some seem to exist for this very thing. As believers, God tells us to “seek peace, and ensue it. (1 Peter 3:11) As citizens, we are to seek the welfare of others and the justice of our system of government, (Romans 13) It is a true and egregious evil when men speak only to raise conflict and act only to bring about the downfall of those who seek only to live quietly and rightly. Jesus was a peacemaker, and we are to be that in every way possible. (Romans 12:17-21)
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Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
LESSON: There is only one name given under heaven upon which men must call to be saved. Salvation is a personal thing, ministered by a person through a person. It is a person who loved us and became human for us, who lived for us and died for us, who abides in the heavens for us until He comes for us. He is not anonymous. We know His name, and when we come to regard Him as the only solution to our need we must call out that name. Now is the day and now is the time accepted. While the opportunity is before us, let us call upon that name.
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Acts 11:14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
Lesson: The word of salvation is passed from mouth to mouth, from ear to ear. God has been pleased to reveal His Son and His salvation through the Word, first written, then spoken. How shall they hear without a preacher, and how shall they preach except they be sent? (Romans 10:14-15) The man in question did not have the right to make up his own version of salvation. He would hear from a God-sent man God-spoken words. Through those words, the Spirit of God would work faith in him and in his entire household. They are the words that are old but ever new; the message of salvation.
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Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
Lesson: Sin is a thing which degrades any people, individually or collectively. Our American forefathers began this nation by stating that our collective behavior would either raise us up and maintain us in prosperity or bring us down into collective misery. Scripture, which is one hundred percent correct, says that this law applies to any nation, and any people. God has left it so that a nation can decide if it wants to be exalted in the world or whether it wants to bear the reproach of being a wicked people. This truth our nation was founded upon, and this truth our nation has forgotten, and we don’t even have sense enough to feel our reproach.
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Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Lesson: He is our peace. What wonderful news! The one who is the Prince of Peace is our peace. Our peace does not depend on our ability to be perfect in regard to God and His righteousness. It has been done for us. Through Him, we have peace with God. Not only so, through Him, we have peace in this world. This world is not at peace, but in Christ we have, at all times, peace: John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
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John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Lesson: A truth we should never forget about our Lord is that He knows each of us individually and personally. His hearers knew well the ways of an Eastern shepherd: that they knew each sheep both by sight and by voice. Each sheep knew its own shepherd from all the others, and would come to him at his call. If only people would realize that Jesus has brought us into this type of relationship with Himself and with His Father. To a sheep, it is assurance of the highest volume and of the deepest value. He knows His sheep, and they know Him. Christianity is Jesus and me. Everything else grows out from that.
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Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Lesson: God is always there, but there are times when the Lord is calling and His Spirit is moving in a special way. So many flatter themselves that they may come in their own chosen time, putting God off until they have done all the works they wish on this earth. But, there will come a day when men shall seek Him and He will not be found, they will call upon Him and He will not answer. Today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time. This will happen in God’s time, not in ours.
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Psalms 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.
Lesson: These are the words of a man who had been feeling discouraged because he looked around at the seeming prosperity and well being of wicked men. He questioned whether it had done him any good to serve God and to try to live right. Then he began to think about the end of such people. To realize that we are ultimately winning is one of the best antidotes to discouragement. We may then ask ourselves the very question that the writer asked himself, and find comfort and encouragement.
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Hebrews 13:14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
Lesson: Hebrews 13 is a code of conduct for believers in the continuation of this life. For here, we have here no continuing city. We cannot afford to invest our precious life for the sole purpose of obtaining things that cannot and will not continue. We cannot ever forget that the things of this earth are here for our use and that they will perish with the using. We seek one to come. While living here in these familiar settings, we must maintain an attitude of one who is seeking a homeland. If we can do that, we will be able to use this world without abusing it.
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Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Lesson: So many people seem to feel today that they have committed no sins that are worth any particular notice. In this verse we see that Christ our substitute bore the penalty of our sins at all levels. For those requiring wounds, He was wounded. For those demanding bruises, He was bruised. In those things wherein we should be chastised, he was the one who brought about our peace through His chastisement. The stripes that were laid on Him were the direct payment for our sins. If we have no sins, we have no part in Christ, and if we have no part in Christ, we have no place in heaven.
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Acts 8:2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
Lesson: It is a wonderful thing how Christ makes men brothers who otherwise would have no association. Even more, their devotion to one another extends to all things. To the world, the death of Stephen was a disgrace. To the devout, it changed nothing. They did nothing to hide their love for their Lord and for their fallen brother. Think of the joys they will share when the battle is won, the enemy vanquished, and the truth confirmed. Let us consider that the faithful who have already gone on have only reached their destination sooner, and let us keep in the race that we may finish with joy.
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Psalms 34:1 A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Lesson: David had just experienced a great deliverance from danger. He had mistakenly taken refuge among the enemies of his God and his people, and had very awkwardly feigned madness in his desperation. It is a wonderful thing when a believer learns to trust God with everything in his life, and to say so every day.
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1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
Lesson: Nobody likes to be called a liar, but if God calls us that, we had best pay it our best attention. This verse plainly says that our life must match our profession or we are not telling the truth. We continue to walk in darkness though we profess to have light. We must not only be able to give a verbal account of the truth, but we must do the truth to be counted a genuine child of God.
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Matthew 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Though we profess to have faith in God and in another world, we are amazingly attached to this world and the things in it. The disciples had just been through an extended course of instruction from Jesus about the things to come and they chose to boast to Him about the Temple with its huge, seemingly immovable stones. Nothing in this world is permanent in the eternal sense. Those of us who have lived some years in this world know how constantly things change and how continually people and things pass away. Let us put our faith in those things and places which never pass away.
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Hebrews 10:3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
Lesson: One of the great blessings of the New Testament is that our sins are put away and out of memory. Under the Old Covenant, glorious as it was, the exercises of the priests in doing the service of God only reminded the people that they had sinned before and would again. In Christ, sin is put away once and for all: Acts 13:39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. One sacrifice, one time, for all time.
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Titus 1:3 But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;
Lesson: God’s Word is spread through preaching. People do not always appreciate this, though it is an act of God’s mercy. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17. Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. The means of our obtaining salvation is through the preaching of the Word, and the means of that happening for us is a preacher.
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Leviticus 25:10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
Lesson: The liberty spoken here is the liberty of the fiftieth or jubilee year. In it, every debt was released, every bondage ended, every inequity of law restored. The liberty came from God, but it had to be implemented by each toward his neighbor. Nothing has changed. American liberty did not come from a document. That document only stated and protected the God-given liberty that was held to have already existed. The real thing can only be exercised and protected through the actions of each individual. If liberty is neglected, bondage will be assured.
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Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Lesson: They say a difference in opinion is what makes a horse race, but in spiritual things a difference of opinion can make for a disaster. Paul speaks of those who begin to think of themselves as being wiser than God. In consequence, while they profess themselves to be wise they are in reality going in the opposite direction, all the while getting further and further from the truth. There is no second truth about God, and forsaking the source will only lead to greater and greater degrees of delusion.
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Proverbs 30:11 There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
Lesson: It is a sure thing that God has tied our relationship with our parents to our well-being on this earth. The generation he speaks of in this verse is headed for utter destruction. To curse one’s father is to curse God Himself, and to not bless one’s mother is to be totally ungrateful. Unfortunately, that kind of thinking and behavior is all too common in our society. No wonder our social structure is falling apart. There is no more evil and insatiable master than self. With self as our master, we get what we deserve.
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John 21:17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Lesson: By the conditions set down here by Jesus in His discourse with Peter, it is impossible to love without considering the will of the one we love. We cannot love Him without loving the things, or persons, that He loves. If Peter’s love had been what it should have been, and what he alleged it to be, one request would have been enough. Instead, he was more concerned with what others might think than he was with doing what his Beloved asked of him. Let not our love for the Lord be a matter of form, but let it be a matter of action.
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Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Lesson: Most of us have had trouble sleeping in times of distress or danger. We now live in a time of both physical and spiritual distress and danger. It is time for those of us who know the Lord to come fully awake. To realize the existence of a danger is to prepare and to defend one’s self. Many have been lost by not being ready. Not only so, as he says, but the day of our salvation, our home going, is nearer than when we believed. Things never stand still. Dangers are overcome and new ones appear. We should be aware of this because we have been told. If we know, it is time to do.
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Deuteronomy 32:7 Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.
Lesson: The lore of a nation is a precious heritage. The stories of the previous generations hold us in place and cause us to frame an idea of who we are and where we want to go. Those older than us abound with the history of how our people have lived, and why they have done what they have done. We have largely lost that today in our politically correct history books. What a shame that we do not even bother to ask those who lived it what it was really like from their viewpoint. Instead, we take the word of those who have never lived at all.
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Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
Lesson: The difference between the blessing of the LORD and the guessing of men is profound. Mankind would rather steal
what they want than to accept a blessing at the hand of a kind and loving God. They take drugs to “be somebody.” They live together to “try it first.” Sorrow arrives as an armed pursuer and they cannot understand why. God adds no sorrow to His blessings. They usually take more work and more time, but they will grow life instead of destroying it.
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Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Lesson: Being able to look to our Savior is only one of the many benefits we experience as a result of His resurrection. Because He lives, we can continue to look to Him. Also, because He is the author of our faith we can trust Him to know what is His will for us and to sustain us in the right way. He is also the finisher of our faith. He that has begun a good work in us will also finish that work. In life, He failed in nothing. In His resurrection ministry He has all power. There is nowhere else we should look for all we need.
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Genesis 3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Lesson: Eve is the only woman who ever lived who could be called by this title. She was the mother of all who lived, then except her husband, and all who would ever live. God did not create new men directly, as with Adam, but He chose to bring all men into the world individually through the agency of a father and mother. It is amazing that we all came into being in this fashion. We are infinitely different, yet we are very similar. What a wonder is God's way of giving life.
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1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
Lesson: There are many things in this life that can only happen when, and if, we grow up. These things might include a successful marriage, a happy family, a good job. Youthful daydreams are found be nowhere near the reality we find when we get there. A like truth applies to our spiritual life. If we do not grow and grow up we will never know the blessings of spiritual adulthood. Spiritual maturity will put us in the Word, in the fellowship of the saints, and in the service of the Lord. Physical and emotional children do not see the necessity for duty. Neither do those who are spiritually immature, and nobody loses more than those who do not know what is to be had.
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Psalms 86:10 For thou are great, and doest wondrous things: thou are God alone.
Lesson: One of the many things for which we should praise God is that He is one of a kind. His greatness is measured by His wonderful works, not just by His reputation. As we view, and as we muse upon the works of God, we should begin to feel a wonder and a appreciation for Him for all He is. There is nothing to compare to Him. He is, He does, He can, He will. Let God open our eyes to see and our hearts to feel that we may know Him.
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John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Lesson: Everything we need to know about the question of the meaning of life, who we are and where we are going is set forth in this simple statement. If God was before everything then all things were created by Him. Nothing happened by accident, including us. Everything is part of a plan and the central figure in that play is and was the Word, Jesus Christ. The first Dr. Bob Jones once said “Give me Genesis 1:1 and I will not have any problems with anything in the Bible.” A self-existing pre-existing God is in complete control of everything and everything can be answered in reference to Him. All in all, God makes sense. The theories that have been advanced as alternatives do not. By faith, we understand.
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Matthew 27:14 And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marveled greatly.
Lesson: Pilate expected Jesus, who was being accused as a criminal, to beg and plead for His life as many had done before when brought before him. It is likely that he had never seen such a large and vehement crowd demanding the death of a prisoner. Instead, the Man that was standing in front of him not only showed no fear, but answered not a word in His own defense. Something more was on trial than the guilt or innocence of a common offender. In fact, Jesus had offended no one in nothing. Man himself was on trial that day, but did not even know it. Sin was being judged in those yet unborn, and they did not know it. The world was being judged without knowing. One bore the burden of all and was condemned without saying a word.
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Psalms 23: Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Lesson: David had known the high and the low of life. It seems like no man ever had more enemies than he, though he was a loving and gentle man who loved God. David did not measure his success by his present state, but in how God manifested Himself in his life. In the most perilous of situations he could safely partake of the blessings of God, in the very presence of his enemies. Instead of being at a loss in how to proceed, his head was verily anointed with the assurance of the Spirit. No person who did not know the Lord would ever be able to understand how our cup runs over when all our friends seem to have run out. All godly people have had that experience more than once. Psalm 23 is a reflection on the constant goodness of God, based on experience in all circumstances. If we would be happy in the Lord we must learn to find our joy in God, because we will not find it in the world.
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Malachi 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and aginst false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
Lesson: The land of Israel had become a land of oppression and it seemed that there was no one to help those who were perpetually victimized by the voracious leaders. They had however forgotten one thing: the Lord watches over these things and adjudicates them as He sees fit. There is always a day when He comes near to judgment. A land full of sexual immorality prides itself in its safety, but God’s judgment does not sleep. In a land where the strong rob the weak, they forget that the lowly have One who pleads for them. We certainly need to do our duty as citizens as we vote, but we must not ever forget who keeps the books and who issues the judgments. God always has judged such a nation as we have become, and we believe that He will again. Don’t be tempted to switch sides.
