Month: August 2017

81. Keep Alive

 Psalm 33:19

To deliver their soul from death,

and to keep them alive in famine.

 The promise of life and salvation from death is also given to those who fear him and hope in his love, in other words, to believers in Jesus Christ. The essence of the promise is life involving delivering from near death and keeping alive. The believers can be assured that when death threatens, probably from plague or pestilence, they will be delivered and saved from death; they can be assured that when famine strikes their home or their region they will not die of starvation. The Lord will keep the believer alive. This was quite a significant promise to make in a day when many people die prematurely from pestilence and starvation, disease and poverty.

When these physical dangers threaten and death looms the faithful God-fearer may hold up these promises before God for himself. However, the larger scope of the promise is for the spiritual life: spiritual death is a real threat to the spiritual life and health of believers. God promises deliverance from spiritual death (separation from God) and subsequent eternal death. The Lord also promises to keep the faithful believer alive in a season of spiritual famine when it seems like he not getting nourished and strengthened as he was once before. God promises that He will keep him spiritually alive and in close connection with God’s life, in other words, eternal life will not be able to be taken away from him. He will keep us alive forever.

 God delivers; God keeps alive; God keeps us close to Him. Even though it feels at certain times like we are dead, dry and empty it is not the truth, and He is keeping His promise to keep us alive spiritually. The Holy Spirit will revive our spirit.

80. Eye upon

 Psalm 33.18

Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy.

“The eye of the Lord upon” does not mean God is keeping track in His book of every sin, slipup, misdeed, lie and broken promise so that He may justly judge with punishment and condemnation. God is, by the way, doing that since He knows all and will judge justly on the Final Day, but that is not the “eye upon” He is talking about in this promise.

The promise of the eye of the Lord being upon us is comforting because it promises protection from harm and blessing for good. It is comforting to know that the Lord is paying attention to us, that He cares about what happens to us, and that He is interested in the affairs of our lives. Nothing, not even the loss of a hair, is too small for God to care about. What happens to us matters to God and He wants to know about it. Nothing can happen to us that is beyond His control or out of His reach. He knows all about it and He knows the solution to every problem. Sometimes He acts to deliver us from evil; sometimes He waits for us to ask for help because He wants us to know that He is involved.

He already knows what we need before we ask him since His eye is upon us; our awareness of His knowledge encourages us to ask him and gives us confidence that He cares and answers. If we never ask in prayer we might never know that it was God who helped us. God wants us to know how good He is and how much He loves us. God may help whether we ask or don’t ask, but when we talk to Him and He responds we love Him all the more and our faith relationship is strengthened.

The condition of this promise of the Lord’s watchful care is that we fear Him and hope in His mercy; this means those who believe in Jesus Christ. The promise of loving oversight may not be claimed by unbelievers, although God may still watch over them and help them in times of trouble from time to time. God may particularly respond to the prayers of friends or relatives for them.

Jesus watches; He knows; He cares; He loves.

79. Blessed

 Psalm 33:12

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord;

And the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

 The conditional promise of blessing comes upon the group of people who believe in the Lord; they make Him their God; He has chosen that group for His inheritance. A bond of faithfulness to each other ties each to the other. The Lord says often: “I will be your God and you shall be my people,” thus summarizing the covenant relationship. The Lord will do what Gods do and the people will worship Him alone. When this covenant order prevails blessedness engulfs the nation: there is peace in the land and in the homes; prosperity floats a functioning economy; joyfulness and general wellbeing permeates social interaction; love dominates relationships.

This Blessedness may sound idyllic and ideal, but this is the way life would really be when God and the people group are living in such mutual faithfulness. Utopia is unreachable and impossible in a fallen world where the people do not make the Lord their God. The Lord does His part for His chosen people, but His people do not respond with faithful trust and obedience. Therefore, “blessed is the nation” is not realized in full.

On a smaller scale, for one marriage or family, the same promise holds true: “Blessed is the family whose God is the Lord, the family he has chosen.” Blessings are promised to come in general alignment with the degree of faithful obedience of the people in that family obediently trusting in the Lord as God. Naturally, we all fail the “faithful obedience” test, but forgiveness is always available to restore the broken relationship because of the covenant established in the Blood of Jesus Christ.

Sin makes utopia impossible, but believing the “blessed” promises of God draws us closer to the utopia we dream of.

78. Mercy

 Psalm 32:10

Many sorrows shall be to the wicked:

But he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.

The conditional promise: if you trust in the Lord, then mercy will compass you about. There is a clear contrast given here between the wicked and those who trust in the Lord. Apparently, the wicked do not trust the Lord and believers are not among the wicked, although that is probably not strictly black and white. Nonetheless, the promise from God for each type of person is very different: sorrows vs. mercy. The truster in the Lord also experiences sorrow (for that is common to all human beings) but it is tempered with mercy all around. He can endure the sorrow for he is in the midst of mercy; mercy surrounds him as long as he is trusting in the Lord. The poor wicked unbeliever experiences only sorrows, with no alleviation of mercy, comfort or hope.

The condition of all men, whether believer or unbeliever, is alike, but the response to common human experience is different. The believer is able to respond to sorrow with prayer, thanks, trust, hope and joy while the unbeliever cannot. Mercy makes the difference. Just to know that God loves me no matter how I feel helps; knowing the forgiveness of sins matters; experiencing a comforting word of God mitigates the circumstances. Believing this promise of God’s mercy enables and encourages us to turn to the Lord in the midst of sorrow and trouble. We know He hears our prayer and in mercy and in power is ready to answer. I know mercy surrounds me and overpowers my sorrows. I trust the Lord and pray with confidence.

“The mercies of God” = the blood of Jesus Christ. We have seen the mercy at the cross and the tomb. Now it compasses me about.

77. Instruct, Teach, Guide

 Psalm 32:8

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:

I will guide thee with mine eye.

 God promises to instruct, teach, and guide us in the way we shall go. He is instructing and teaching so that we do, not just know but actually do the commands and walk in the right way. Guide is added to the instructing so that we stay on the narrow path, and we will always know and go the right way. Knowing the right way, going the right way and staying on the right way is extremely important for happiness and wellbeing. It is not easy to believe that God’s way is the only right way to go through life; it is harder to walk that way; it is even harder to remain on that way without wavering and wandering. For this reason we need this promise for our lives.

Therefore, we live meekly and walk humbly with our God so that we can receive His teaching and walk according to it. We open the Bible and pay attention to the preaching and teaching of the Word as the Holy Spirit applies the truth to our hearts and our wills. We are not so proud as to believe that we already know and live according to God’s commandments as guidelines for living. We hear God’s Word daily and weekly in order to listen and obey His teaching and leading.

It is also important that we believe this promise; we believe that the Holy Spirit will actually instruct, teach and guide us in holy living; He will not fail in providing what we need in the way of knowledge, desire and ability to walk the narrow way. It also helps to believe that blessings and good things come our way when we listen to His teaching and follow His guidance; good consequences will follow.

88. Redeems; not desolate

 Psalm 34:22

The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants:

And none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

 Believers know, by faith, that they are redeemed, and they can also take comfort in the promise that they shall never be left alone, desolate, isolated, abandoned, forsaken. Hebrews 13:5 promises: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” This is spoken in the context of avoiding the love of money and being content, meaning that if you know He will not leave you the riches of His glory will always be present to you.

Pictures of desolation are disturbing, like movies of a city after heavy bombing, and it leaves us troubled, hoping such desolation never comes to us. The Lord promises to redeem us from fears, one of the greatest of which is being left desolate, with no one to care about me, no one to share life with. That fear is removed for the redeemed since God promises that that will never happen. Even if I should be left on a desolated earth God Himself will be with me, and such knowledge is comfort and assurance.

This “not be desolate” promise also touches eternity, for separation from God and everyone else is what eternal death means: desolation is what hell is all about. The eternal promise of God is that, on account of Jesus Christ, he who believes in Him will not perish (be left desolated, alone, abandoned, eternally separated, left in total darkness forever), but have eternal life. Jesus Himself already experienced and suffered the pains of hell when He was separated and forsaken by God the Father when He was on the cross bearing the sins of the world on Himself. He suffered desolation so that we never will.

76. Hide, Preserve, Deliver

 Psalm 32:7

Thou art my hiding place,

Thou shalt preserve me from trouble;

Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

 God promises to hide, preserve, and deliver me any time, but I especially need this promise when I am worried, scared, or threatened.

The Lord Himself is my hiding place. I come into His arms and let His love engulf me so that sin, death and devil cannot find me even though these enemies know where I am. Children may try to find safety hiding under the covers or in the closet from real or imaginary enemies, but they are still scared because they know they could be found. Not so with the children of God: they can rest secure and unafraid in the Hiding Place that is the Presence of God. Sin cannot tempt; Death cannot harm, Satan cannot destroy. We just cannot be found.

The Lord will preserve me from trouble. We are always finding ourselves in trouble on account of sin, either our own sin or someone else’s. Sin surrounds us like poisonous snakes in the wilderness. This is trouble. God promises to preserve from trouble: this can mean either I won’t get into trouble or I will be kept from the pain and sting of the trouble I do get into. This is a truly wonderful promise if we can believe it. We don’t have to look for trouble; it will find us. We do have to look for the one who preserves us from trouble.

The Lord will surround me with songs of deliverance. Trouble may be coming at me from many sides at once, but we have the promise that deliverance is also all around me at the same time. Songs of deliverance and shouts of victory are all about us as our Lord and Shepherd is continually staving off trouble and driving it away. If I could actually see the ever-present salvation of God and what He is constantly doing to keep evil away from me I would be continually singing and praising the Lord. This promise is real and God is always delivering me; I know it is true because the Lord says so; even though I do not see the battle and the victories I believe they are going on, because this is what God says He will do for us.

God is keeping these promises to hide, preserve and deliver every day and night and He will continue to do the same as long we live on the earth surrounded by the Enemy and by God all the time.

75. Forgive sin

Psalm 32:5

I acknowledged my sin unto thee, And mine iniquity have I not hid.

I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord;

And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

 God promises forgiveness to those who acknowledge their sin, don’t hide their iniquity, and confess their transgressions. God would forgive everyone since Jesus died for all people, none excluded, and reconciled the world (all people), but He can only actually forgive the sins of those who will confess sins and receive that forgiveness by faith.

The condition (if I confess, then you forgave) is not the cause of God’s forgiveness toward us, but it is the means of receiving that forgiveness. My confession does not induce God to forgive; He is ready to forgive before I ask because of Christ who died for the sin. Confession is my receiving of His forgiveness; confession embraces two parts: sorrow for sin, or contrition, and faith that receives forgiveness of sin. Confession believes and receives.

“I will confess” is a statement of determination and faith. “Thou forgavest” is a statement of fact; the promise is true; the result is that my sins are forgiven. This is a big deal and a most wonderful promise: God forgives! He frees me from the penalty of sin, which is eternal death and grants eternal life in its place; He frees me from the guilt of sin, which wracks my soul and wrecks my body; He frees me from the bondage of sin, meaning I do not have to do what sin demands any longer; He lifts my burden and lightens my spirit; forgiveness sets me free. Take hold of the promise and enjoy the freedom.

74. Blessed forgiveness

 Psalm 32:1, 2

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no guile.

 Blessedness and blessings are promised to those who are forgiven. “Blessed” covers a wide range of life experiences: physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, relational, social, financial. When every sphere of life is blessed life is truly good. The blessedness is God’s blessing, that is, His choice and His decision about what is truly good and what is good for you in the special way that is you. Blessings do not usually come according to our desires and choices, and so we don’t always recognize our life as being blessed.

It is the forgiven who are blessed; not everyone is blessed, although everyone could be forgiven and consequently blessed. The unforgiven are not so blessed, partly because they are still suffering the pains and consequences of sin, pangs of conscience and guilt, the wages of sin (death), and the rottenness eating away at the health of the soul. The unforgiven are the unbelievers who have not believed in Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit accepted the offer of full forgiveness of sins. The offer is available to them, for Christ died for all, but they have not availed themselves of the offer; they reject Christ and resist the Gospel in unbelief. Therefore, the unbeliever is not blessed and does not know the joy of salvation. (The unforgiven unbeliever may be blessed of God, but the blessings are not promised for him.)

For those who believe in Jesus: their transgression is forgiven, their sin is covered, and their iniquity is not imputed to them. Forgiveness in itself is a great blessing; it includes eternal life and salvation, not to mention peace of mind and joy of heart. But furthermore, blessedness is promised for the one who is forgiven. Forgiveness is wonderful for it not only carries inherent blessings but also consequent and subsequent blessings. The specifics of the “blessed is he” is not here spelled out, but we can claim the “blessings” pronounced for various kinds of people throughout the Bible. Again, we may need to adjust our attitude to call blessing what God considers blessing, though it may not be what we wanted. For instance, God may consider it a blessing that we not have a million dollars in the bank, and so should we. I am blessed because God says I am, not because I am feeling good at a given moment; and I am blessed even if I am not presently feeling blessed, just like I am forgiven even if I don’t “feel” forgiveness.

Enjoy the forgiveness of sins and the blessings that result from it by faith.

73. Strengthen

 Psalm 31:24

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

 Many times God promises to strengthen the heart. Here he promises strengthening for those who hope in the Lord; that one can be of good courage because the Lord promises to strengthen him. Courage does not just come from “screwing it to the sticking post,” but it comes from trust in the Lord. When we look to Him and not to anyone or anything else we are strengthened in heart so that we can be of good courage. The key here is looking to, trusting in and hoping in the Lord.

Inner Strength does not come from inside, from ourselves, or from positive thinking, nor can it be borrowed from another strong person; it comes directly from the Lord to your heart. Ask the Lord for strength and He will give it; trust the Lord for strength to cope with the situation you are dealing with and He will grant it; hope in the Lord to be present and act on your behalf and fight for you; He will make you strong and strengthen you during the process. You will be surprised what you can endure and even overcome with the Lord by your side and on the inside. When the Lord strengthens your heart you will discover that you are a whole lot stronger than you ever thought possible. Let God be your adrenalin.