Month: October 2017

133. Strong Habitation

 Psalm 71:3

Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort:

Thou hast given commandment to save me;

For thou art my rock and my fortress.

 God is my rock and my fortress, the place where I may go and find safety and security and protection from my enemies. But He promises more than just salvation in time of battle and stress; He also promises to be for me a strong habitation, a safe place where I may habitually or continually come as often as I want. He is like a home base to which I may return at any time whether I am in danger or not.

Being in God’s Presence, going into the place where God resides, living with Him is like having a Castle-Fortress Home where one can feel safe and comfortable every time one goes there. This refuge is the presence of God with us; we resort to it in time of need or at all the regular routines of daily living. The presence of God is always near, but we resort to it when we hear the Gospel in Word and Sacraments. He promises us this resort and gives the commandment to save us. When we respond to the Gospel we are conscious of the saving and protecting Presence; whether we feel it our not we are assured by faith that He is there and we are in our strong habitation.

God’s habitation becomes a habit for the Christian who knows he has this promise.

132. Save and Build the Church

 Psalm 69:35, 36

For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah:

That they may dwell there, and have it in possession.

The seed also of his servants shall inherit it:

And they that love his name shall dwell therein.

 The Promise of God to save and build and to provide inheritance and a place to dwell is spiritualized to give the true meaning: he is referring to the Church of NT believers in Christ. The Church could not be explicitly prophesied before Christ for it could not be seen or foreseen clearly. The physical Zion, Jerusalem, Judah, land of Canaan, the Temple and the nation of Israel all becomes the Church after the Messiah comes.

The inauguration of this transformation, and the fulfillment of the promises, was announced by Jesus: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15). God will save the Church, God’s presence on the earth, and He will build it up with more and more people coming to believe in Christ. Succeeding generations of believers will inherit the Kingdom (Church) of God, and all those who love the name of Jesus will dwell in it. Dwell = live and walk by faith (spiritually) in the Kingdom of God’s rule in the hearts, while walking by sight (physically) as sojourners in a foreign land (the world).

As believers in the Promise we do actually live in two lands at the same time, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the World. One is eternal, the other temporal; one is physical, the other spiritual; one is real, the other lies; one is our home, the other is enemy territory; into one we are born, into the other we are born from above. The Gospel turns us from the power of Satan to God, and our eyes are opened to see. God is indeed, even as we speak, saving and building the Church, and He is giving the members a place to dwell on earth and an inheritance eternal in the heavens.

131. Hear and Not Despise

 Psalm 69:33

For the Lord heareth the poor,

And despiseth not his prisoners.

 If you are poor then the Lord hears; if you are a prisoner then the Lord does not despise you. Paraphrase: the Lord pays attention to the commonly ignored people. The poor and his prisoners = the needy, the down and out, the outcast, the handicapped, the sick, the chronically ill, the shameful and disgraced, in short, any person who is not readily noticed by society in general. There are various reasons that people ignore certain individuals that exist around them, and over the years many charitable groups rise up to raise awareness of certain groups of people that are often ignored by the mainstream.

Jesus eats with sinners and tax collectors; he pays attention to the sick, the invalid, the blind, the prostitutes, the poor, the demonized, the widows, the children, the lepers, the foreigners, the outcast, and even the crowds commonly ignored by those in power or seeking power. “The poor and…his prisoners” in this verse are summary terms designed to include all kinds of people who feel ignored, discarded, left out, on the fringes, excluded, unnoticed, rejected, insignificant and even useless. These are: “the least of these my brethren.” At various times and with various groups all of us have felt like one of these people. If fact, we better have felt that way, for Jesus came for just such ungodly sinners. I must count myself among the “sinners,” the kind of person that no one wants anything to do with.

The Lord “hears” them; He notices their cries and pleas; He listens to their complaints and problems; He cares about their predicament; He pays attention to them and makes them feel special. The Lord “does not despise” them: this is a euphemistic, understated way of saying He “likes” them. “Prisoners” are easy to forget about while they are locked out of sight, and prisoners usually feel forgotten. All of us prisoners of sin and death also desperately need to know that we are not forgotten and abandoned in our misery. Thus we have this promise. The first step in enjoying this promise is admitting that I am “poor and in prison.” The next step is knowing that Jesus pays attention to me, and He cares. Then enjoy that promise.

130. Heart Live

 Psalm 69:32

The humble shall see this, and be glad:

And your heart shall live that seek God.

 A conditional promise: if you seek God, then your heart shall live. Life is what we all want; life is what we need; the inner life lived in the heart is what every human desires; we all want, need and desire our inner life to be connected to a good, kind, and loving God. It is that connection that makes the heart live. Everyone, knowingly or unknowingly, consciously or unconsciously, is seeking something to fill that “God-shaped vacuum” within. When God fills that empty spot with His life the person is truly alive. That empty spot is the human spirit, which is born dead and stays dead until born from above by Baptism and faith. That spot is where the Holy Spirit of Jesus resides and influences the soul and the body with God’s life.

If a person is truly seeking God, the Lord will come to him and create new life in his spirit. That is the promise. In one sense, all humans seek God although they do not know whom they are seeking or what they are missing. But in another sense, no human truly seeks God because he or she cannot and does not want to: all persons are dead to God (can do nothing) and are enemies of God (do not like Him). If one is truly seeking the true God, the Holy Spirit through the Gospel is already moving him or her. From man’s point of view he is “seeking;” from God’s point of view he is “being drawn.”

Thus, if we seek to live, really live, we will seek God. God Himself plants that desire in our hearts; then God’s Love and Grace are drawing us. Those of us who have already been found and drawn to God through faith in Christ are still seeking God, that is, God is moving us to want to know Him better. This seeking leads to real heart living (“your heart shall live”).

“I seek God, then I live” is the same as “God draws me, then God lives in me.” God’s life lived in my heart: this is the promise. Jesus’s resurrection guarantees it.

129. Chesed and Mercies

 Psalm 69:16

Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good:

Turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.

 Chesed = translated “lovingkindness, steadfast love, faithful love, commitment,” means that God out of his central characteristic, love, made a covenant with his people and, out of love and commitment to his covenant, He guarantees he will keep his covenant promises.

Lovingkindness and tender mercies are not only attributes of God’s character, they are also promises of God; they are guarantees. Because of these promises of lovingkindness and mercy I can rest assured that the Lord will hear me and turn to me. I know without a doubt that God is hearing my prayers and responding to my life condition according to His love and His good and perfect will.

The essential Gospel Promise of Love and Grace (chesed and tender mercies) is vital to our soul’s life and wellbeing. Without this precious promise we could not live well; indeed, without the general grace promise of God for all living things no one would take another breath. But specifically, for you and me it is essential to our spiritual life to take this promise to heart: it matters to the good life that we know that God hears us and turns to us. God is good and kind; therefore life is good.

128. Strength and Power

 Psalm 68:35

O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places:

the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people.

 God is powerful and majestic; He is awesome and terrible when He shines forth from His Holy Presence. That God is Almighty in Power and Awesome in Majesty is not hard to believe about the Creator of the Universe. What is harder to believe is that God gives His very own creative strength and power to His people. That’s what this promise is all about.

If we could believe God and receive this terrible promise we would never fear, worry, doubt or be anxious for anything: when I am afraid I will trust in Him; when I am anxious I will pray with thanksgiving; when my faith doubts I will turn fully toward Him. (By the way, unbelief does not doubt, faith doubts. So if you have doubts it is because you have faith, not because you lack faith.)

Believing and receiving is the key. The promise is there; the promise is true; the promise is ours to live by: He will give me strength and power. Faith receives it. The good news is that God Himself, the Holy Spirit, gives me the faith that receives the promises of God, since I by myself cannot believe the Gospel or come to Christ. But the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel and enlightened me with His gifts. Now by the work of the Spirit through the Word I am receiving, enjoying and using the strength of God in my own weakened condition and life circumstances.

The practical way to take hold of this promise and make it effective in my present life situation is to repent: acknowledge my weakness and inability, my sinfulness and misery, my need and helplessness. “I will boast of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9). The weaker and humbler I am the stronger and more powerful Christ is. 2 Corinthians 12:10: “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” I make room for Christ’s strength by recognizing my weak and sinful nature: the less of me the more of Christ.

I cannot stop sinning; I cannot stop dying; I cannot resist the devil. I am too weak. But God gives me Christ’s strength and power to overcome and win the battle. And that’s a promise.

127. Bless

 Psalm 67:6-7

Then shall the earth yield her increase;

And God, even our own God, shall bless us.

God shall bless us;

And all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

 When God’s way and His saving health are known among all the nations and all the people are praising God then God will bless us. God promises to bless us for many reasons; in many cases He has already done so and in some cases His blessings will still be forthcoming. The blessings from God include many spheres of life and living on earth, but in Psalm 67 the particular blessing is the earth yielding her increase. There will be prosperity, fertility and abundance all over the earth while the earth produces more food and resources than minimally necessary. God promises to bless us through the earth.

“Then” implies a condition that must first be realized before the promise of blessing comes into effect. The prevailing condition is the time when all the earth is praising God and the nations of earth are submitting to the rule of God. This millennium-like condition generally prevails when the Gospel is carried to the ends of the earth and the church has grown and spread to such an extent that its influence is making a difference: God is praised; the nations are glad. We have no way of knowing when and if such a time is, or has been, or will ever be, reached, but the Lord knows the times and the numbers. Then the earth yields her increase and God Himself blesses.

One clue that we may be living in the times of the fulfillment of these promised blessings is the “increase” of earth’s yield. In the last number of years of earth’s history the farmers of earth have increased yields of 100 and even 1000 times what their forefather farmers could produce. One may call it a scientific marvel or a miracle of God depending on your point of view; but the fact hints at the promise that we are living in God-blessed times.

 When God’s church of true believers covers the earth God’s blessing does, too.

126. Judge and Govern

 Psalm 67:4

O let the nations be glad and sing for joy:

for thou shalt judge the people righteously,

and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.

 Judging and governing may not sound like a pleasant promise, but “good government” and “righteous judgments” are wonderful blessings for the enjoyment of life on earth. The nations and the peoples of the earth are glad and joyful when government protects and justice prevails. When this happens in a land it is by God’s blessing and benevolence and everyone benefits.

It is good when human institutions govern wisely and well, but it would be more awesome if God Himself were judging righteously and governing well. When the rulers of a nation and the people of that nation pray for good government and trust the Lord to be the Lord, then He is judging and governing through the rulers and all is well. “Humble selves, repent and pray” is the key for the kind of government that makes the people glad.

God’s promise that the Lord will judge the people and govern the nations comes true when the people let Him. When the nation and the people submit to God and let Him rule according to His will without resistance and rebellion. This, by definition, always is the case in the unseen Kingdom of God where God reigns in the hearts of His believers. When the nations “see” the Kingdom they are glad and sing for joy because God really is judging and governing. They look at the Church and see the “increase of his government and of peace.” (Isaiah 9:7).

This promise of governing can be personalized and individualized to apply to my own inner life being ruled by a loving God over His Kingdom, which is in me. I pray, “Thy kingdom come (to me), Thy will be done (in me).” I can trust God to answer this prayer in my heart and to know what He is doing in my life because He made this promise to me. Apply this prayer and promise to family, community, church, and government. Then be glad and sing for joy.

125. Answer

 Psalm 65:5

By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation;

Who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea.

 We are familiar with God’s many promises to answer prayer, as the God of our salvation and the confidence of the ends of the earth. But the way in which He answers is what is striking: He answers by terrible things (or, awesome deeds) in righteousness. The “terrible thing” is the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. No more awesome or terrible thing has ever been worked on the earth than the bodily resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection violently crushes and defeats sin and evil with righteousness in place of sin. The righteousness of God is His extreme, terrible, and unexpected answer to the pain and misery that sin, death, and the devil has wrought upon human beings. Though it was predicted no one saw it coming and nobody expected such a terrible event be the Answer.

God’s righteousness stands on top of and above sin, evil and everything bad in our world; God’s righteousness is given to us by grace as a gift; for us it covers and destroys everything that is opposed to God and His goodness, leaving us to enjoy God forever. God’s righteousness is terrible and awesome both in destructive power and in restorative power. In the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed; it is terrible for Satan, Sin and Death, for they are utterly destroyed by it; it is awesome in its unexpected power to forgive, renew, restore, save and give eternal life to those who receive the gospel by faith.

When God answers us, hears our prayers, and meets our needs He does so in the same kind of terrible, awesome and unexpected way as He saved us through His death and resurrection. One reason we do not always see God’s answers to our prayers is that they come in such wonderful and unexpected ways that we often miss it. Sometimes, we don’t see it because we were not looking for it. But whether we see it or not, the promise is still true; God answers.

124. Blessed and Satisfied

 Psalm 65:4

Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts:

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

 The promise of blessing comes in the form of satisfaction in the presence of God. God’s presence on earth (heaven on earth) is located in God’s house, his holy temple. Nothing and nowhere is more satisfying than being in the presence of God. The goodness of His presence satisfies. The goodness of God is so good that we shall not want or need anything more; we are satisfied, filled full, lacking nothing, sated and restful as after a banquet feast. Living in the goodness of God’s presence fills and satisfies us until we are contented and at peace. When we realize and begin to see that God really is as good as the Bible says we are happy and content. It is similar to the sense we have on Christmas morning after everyone has received everything they wanted.

The blessing comes to the person who is privileged to dwell in the courts of the Lord, for here the Lord’s presence is palpable and effective. The blessing is being brought into the presence of God, which is the same as the forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation.

The effective monergistic activity of God is evident in the words “You choose and cause to approach.” The salvation of God is begun and followed through and ended by God; He initiates and He finishes the work of conversion; Jesus provided access to God by His Death and the Holy Spirit ushers us into that access by creating faith through the hearing of the Gospel. This entire work is all God’s doing and not a shred or one thousandth of one percent due to my decision, prayer, action, or work. Therefore, since am one of those believers whom God chose and caused to approach I am wonderfully blessed, and satisfied. He forgives all my sins and causes me to be holy and righteous so that I am qualified to dwell in His presence where I enjoy total goodness.

I owe everything I am and all I have, or ever will have, entirely to God’s choosing and causing. And I have no explanation for why He chose me and caused me to approach other than God is love. This Loving God blesses and satisfies. Thank God!