Month: November 2017

155. Power exalted

 Psalm 89:17

For thou art the glory of their strength:

And in thy favor our horn shall be exalted.

 God will exalt our horn = He will give us more power; horn = power. This is really something to say, for every human being since Adam wants more power, authority and strength for the purpose of Control. Control is what we all are after: “to be like God, knowing good and evil.” The temptation to take control, to be in control, to have the ability to direct life to the way we want it to go, to bend the will of others (and of God) to our own will, to shape life around me so it is comfortable and convenient for me, to be able to just snap fingers and say something and it is done the way I want it done. “Ain’t gonna happen.”

So why would God grant more power to us sinful, selfish human beings when He had to take it away from us in the first place? We used the power God gave us for our own self instead of for the good of others; love turned inward back upon self. The answer is that God redeemed and changed His people with His love so that they would become givers instead of takers, producers instead of users, self-giving instead of self-centered.

God gave us more spiritual power to exercise God’s authority on his behalf against the Enemies (Sin, Death, Satan) and for the benefit and blessing of people. God loves his people so much He wants to use them as instruments to change the world and affect the universe. So He gives us the power of prayer with authority to change things and the power of the Gospel to change lives. Thus we may use that increased power to overcome the power of Sin, Death and the Devil in the lives of people through prayer and love and the preaching of the Gospel.

God is taking a risk, of course, because we still live in the Old Adam and can easily misuse, abuse or simply neglect an “exalted horn.” But God trusts His Gospel to daily change us from old Adam to new man, from death to life, from evil to good, from self focused to service oriented. So He promised to exalt our horn: to increase our power to do good works and affect lives for benefit and blessing.

154. Walk in light

 Psalm 89:15

Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound:

They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.

 Nothing could be more pleasant and happy than walking in the light of the smiling face of God; this is pure blessing for the people of God, who know the Lord and worship Him with shouts of joy. God’s chosen, saved and blessed people “walk in the light as he is in the light…and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (I John 1:7).

“The Light” is the light that shines from the countenance (the front of the face) of God. Countenance includes the outward expressions of all the emotions of the heart. Countenance = the expression of the face. Heavenly light emanates from the radiant and smiling face of God; when He looks upon us He delights in us and rejoices over us. When God looks upon Sin His face becomes dark and brooding and threatening, but when He look upon Jesus His expression changes to light and delight. When He looks upon us He sees Jesus: His countenance lifts into smiles, His expression changes to joy and delight, and radiant light emanates from his presence.

If we could see and feel all this going on in the spiritual world we could be nothing but continually joyful, smiling and happy. Since we don’t see this world the Bible must picture it for us so that we can see it by faith in His Word and Promise. The Promise is that we will walk, that is, live, in the radiant light of His smiling face while God is granting favor and blessing on the way. “Your word is a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105).

Walking by sight is looking at the world around you and seeing nothing but darkness, sadness and despair. Walking by faith is looking up to the light of God’s radiant presence and seeing nothing but light, joy and hope. This is the promise enjoyed by faith: you are walking in the light; you will walk in the light.