Month: May 2021

198. God makes my way Perfect

2 Samuel 22:33 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

God is my strength and my power; He is God; He is able; He can do whatever needs to done for me. How do I know? He made a promise to make my way perfect. I know He can do it, and I know He will do it, for He said so. 

Perfect means whole and complete as well as without flaws or mistakes. God has made me whole through the work of the Son and the Spirit. I am broken, fragmented, shattered, a mess, and a total wreck. But the Lord has picked up the pieces and put them together in the right way when He died and rose for me. He forgave my sins and gave me a new life. It is true that the cracks still show, but the Holy Spirit is working on me to patch up the cracks and smooth them out. The Spirit takes me to the school of experience and teaches me with His Word so effectively that I am in the process of becoming a whole person as God originally designed.

The Holy Spirit’s job is to make me holy and whole. First, He does this by declaring me to be wholly righteous through the blood of Christ. Second, He is continually in the process of making me closer and closer to the person He saved me to be. The Lord God is truly making my way perfect. Of course, it is true that I continually try to do it by myself by my own reason and strength, but all I do by “doing it myself” is impede the progress and growth of the Spirit on my soul.

What the Lord, the Spirit, is able to do without my help is make me a better person. What I am able to do by “helping” and doing it my way is slow down the progress of sanctification by the Spirit. It is hard to “let go and let God,” and “let God be God.” But thankfully, He does not give up on us. Even after many setbacks the Spirit relentlessly works on us to make our way perfect. He promises to finish the job, and He will. It is not our job to be creators, producers, makers, builders, changers, or gods. Our job is to be receivers, trusters, listeners, believers, and to be clay in the potter’s hands. Believe the promise: God will make your way perfect, but please be patient for, if you are still alive on earth, God is not finished with you yet.

197. God is a Buckler

2 Samuel 22:31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

God’s way is always right, indeed it is perfect. His way is whole, complete, and it considers all the contingencies. “His ways are higher than our ways.” Very often, it does not seem so right and good to us, but we submit to God’s ways and believe that God and His way is good, right, salutary, and perfect in every way. He knows the end from the beginning and guides every step on the way with supreme wisdom. We need a promise like this because we often seem to be stumbling around and wondering why things aren’t going so perfectly, but we are willing to leave it all in God’s hands trusting Him to work out everything for good. And He does!

The promise in this verse, however, is that He is a “buckler” to those who trust in Him. A buckler is a shield. A shield protects the body from the slings and arrows and flaming darts of the enemy. Faith is the shield that protects the soul from the arrows of the Evil One. And they are many, but we always have the shield for protection. We can’t prevent the Enemy from slinging his flaming darts, but we can stop them with faith, for the promise is for “them that trust in him.” The promise is given to strengthen our faith (our buckler) so that we may take refuge in Christ.

Faith and trust is a precious gift of God, but the devil, the world, and our own flesh is always struggling with us to take the shield away. But no! We hang on in faith and trust the buckler. For we have a promise. One reason we do not always turn to the Lord for help and protection in times of struggle is that we forget that the Enemy is always lurking about us, and so we do not see the troubles as arrows of Satan. If we could see we would hold up the shield. Instead, we believe, and we hold up that gift of faith in front of our minds and emotions to quench the flaming darts. When we recognize trials and temptations as spiritual warfare we are ready with spiritual armor, like faith as a shield, and we trust God. For God is not only good; He is perfect.

196. Lighten the Darkness

2 Samuel 22:29 For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness.

God promises to lighten our darkness. First, the Word reveals darkness to us; it shows us what kind of deep darkness we are in. Second, the Word reveals light to us; Jesus is the light of the world. By faith the light enters our dark hearts, forgives sin, and pushes away the darkness. Now we see; now we live in the light of God and the light of life; now we see God with all His abundant blessings; now we are filled with the light of joy and peace and love. The light of the Gospel shines upon Jesus: we see Him, we believe Him, and live in His light as He lives in us. And now we shine the gospel light of Christ to the world around us.

The promise of light guides our steps through the darkness onto the right path. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path [Psalm 119:105].” The Light (Jesus) in us shines on my feet and guides me on the path. Without the light all we can do is grope in the darkness of sin and we can do nothing but get lost. Jesus is the light who shines on our feet and our path so that we might know where we are and where we are going. Oh, how much we need such clear guidance! And we have this promise: the Lord will lighten my darkness. We note, first of all, that it is my darkness that is the problem. I am the problem. My sin, my world, and my flesh are the problem. The devil falsely promises all kinds of “lights,” but they all disappoint and lead me only into darkness, destruction and death.

Jesus puts me on the narrow path that leads to life and the blinding light of heaven. I can only see the distant light of God very faintly as my destination (as through a glass darkly), but Jesus is here with the Word shining on my feet so that I can always know the next step, even if I cannot see very far down the path. I trust this promise with the result that I follow Him, for He will always unerringly lead me to a good place.

I cannot see the end point of the path, but I see Jesus, and if I see Him clearly I can be sure that I am on the right path, the path of light and life. Jesus, the Spirit, and the Word lights the good and great way. Trusting in this promise we follow Jesus daily through repentance and faith in the Gospel.

195. God will save the Afflicted

2 Samuel 22:28 And afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.

The saying goes: “The Word of God afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted.” This is proclaiming the Law and the Gospel. The Law is preached to afflict the smug and comfortable, and those who think they are OK as they are, generally more good than bad. The smug need to hear the thunder of the Law to wake them out of slumber, be convicted of sin, and repent. The Gospel is preached to comfort those who have been thus afflicted by the Law. They have been humbled and made penitent and so are ready in their hearts to receive the love, forgiveness, comfort and hope of the Gospel.

The promise is that God will save the afflicted. The afflictions of life are designed, in God’s hands, to humble people enough to recognize their own sin and guilt, so that they will repent and believe the Gospel. When they hear the Gospel they are saved. Everyone is afflicted.. All one has to do is live life on earth. The difference is that they do not recognize their own sin as the cause of the affliction they are undergoing. These are the proud, the smug, and the self-righteous. This is the Pharisee in us. The haughtiness that is inherent in every sinner needs to be brought down and pride smashed. The Law of God’s Word will do that in the hands of the Holy Spirit

The Gospel then saves the prideful, haughty person that resides within each of us. The self-righteous need no repentance. It is the sinner, the one who believes he is sinner, and the “tax-collector” in us that repents, hears, believes, and is saved. His afflictions reveal his need. The comfort of the Gospel forgives the sin and saves the sinner who repents. 

For example, Covid-19 has worked countless afflictions on the human race. However, it doesn’t save or help us until we are convinced that it is my sin that caused this pandemic. It brings me to repent and believe the Gospel. The warning: God brings down the pride in us. The promise: God saves the afflicted sinner in us.

194. God Shows Mercy, Uprightness, Purity

2 Samuel 22:26, 27 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright. With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure.

The promise contained in this verse is conditional, but the condition has been met through the work of Jesus Christ, and He gives the Holy Spirit to apply the merits of Christ to our souls making us merciful, upright and pure. The mercy, righteousness and purity is the mercy, righteousness and purity of God. He comes to live in us when we repent and believe, and the Spirit helps us grow up into Him, that is, we become what we have already been declared to be, holy and pure, cleansed of all sin. Then the Lord will show Himself to be merciful, show Himself to be upright, and show Himself to be pure.

These are three characteristics of God that humans may share. Some attributes, like eternity (without beginning) and omnipotence (all power), belong to God alone and cannot be shared. But the sharable attributes, like mercy, uprightness, and purity, God does share with us. Because of Christ we are declared to be so, and the indwelling Spirit lives in our spirit to share and grow these attributes within us. In this way, and only in this way, do we sinners become more “like God.” The Temptation of the Serpent to Adam (and us) is to be “like God knowing good and evil,” which means, deciding for us by ourselves what is for our advantage or disadvantage. God did not create us just to know good and evil but also to do the good and avoid the evil, “like God.”

By faith in Christ the image of God is being restored, first instantly, and then gradually as the sanctifying work of the Spirit takes effect. We are saved by grace, through faith, in order that we may be his “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. [Ephesians 2:10].”

God’s mercy is the motive for us to be merciful. God’s gift of righteousness is the power for us to be upright. God’s purity is the incentive for us to be pure. For this reason we are still alive after being saved: to become what the Lord saved us to be, and to reflect God’s mercy, uprightness, and purity to others. God promises to make us be these things by grace and to mold us into reflecting mirrors by showing more mercy, uprightness and purity.

193. The Lord Delivers

2 Samuel 22:18, 19, 20 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they wee too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

“Deliver us from evil.” The Lord delivered David from his strong enemy. The Lord brought him into a large place and delivered him. God did it before and he will do it again. The Bible promises that He will deliver us from our spiritual enemies; He will bring us forth into a large place, that is, we don’t have to hide in caves and rocks. Our enemies will assail us, but we don’t have to hide from them, ignore them, or wish them away. 

We confront the enemy, name it, and face it boldly; then we resist and the devil flees. This is repentance and faith. Repentance confesses sin, believes the gospel, and receives forgiveness and cleansing. And we are delivered from the evil of the Evil One, from guilt and shame, temptation, and condemnation. The Enemy prevents (goes before, confronts) us with sin and fear, doubt and worry, tempting us to shame and unbelief, but the Lord is my stay and support. In Christ, I can stand up and confront Satan with the blood of Jesus, 

The Enemy whispers in our ear and plants thoughts in our mind, but we stand up against him clothed in the armor of God and wield the Word. Remember, we do not struggle against “flesh and blood” human beings, although it may seem that other people are the enemy. These people are of the world, or even the “world” in the church, and our enemies use the world, and the world connects with our sinful flesh, in which there is no good thing.

But the “good thing” in us, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, defeats the accusing thoughts and lies and drives him away. The “day of calamity” may be the day when we are feeling particularly down, frustrated, angry, distressed or disappointed. Then the Lord is with us to deliver. And the further promise is that He delivers me because He delights in me. There’s a thought we would do well to call to mind more often: ”He delights in me.” The Father delights in the Son; we identify with the Son by faith; God delights in us. Because He loves me, the Lord “defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil.”

192. Saved from enemies

2 Samuel 22:2, 3, 4 And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer. The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; thou savest me from violence. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

This Song of David near the end of his life is reprinted from Psalm 18. 2 Samuel and Psalm 18 are the same. David repeats themes from many of the Psalms as he here reflects on how the Lord was with him all through his life. Eight descriptive metaphors are used to describe God, who He is and what He does. All these nouns are preceded by the word “my,” showing David’s faith in the Lord and a personal relationship founded on God’s grace. His God is our God through faith in Christ. We have the same intimate relationship with our God because of what Christ has done. We confess and believe the same words.

God is for us a Rock: Jesus is the solid rock, the sure foundation, on which we build life eternal. God is a fortress: Jesus is a strong defensive castle, which we may run into, enter, and feel secure. God is a deliverer: Jesus delivered us from Sin, Evil, and all its deserved punishments. God is a shield: Jesus is our shield of faith, with which we quench the flaming darts of the Evil One. God is the horn of my salvation: a horn is a symbol of power, for Jesus has the power to save, bless us and defeat the Enemy. God is a high tower: Jesus is the strong place where I may be cared for and protected. God is a refuge: Jesus is the hiding place to whom I may go to be safe. God is a savior: Jesus saved me from sins, death, and the power of the devil with His blood shed for me.

We may think of Jesus, our Lord, in terms of any of these metaphors, whichever one makes the most sense to us at the time. All eight are synonyms with one grand meaning. Because our Lord is all of these things, He can make a promise and can be absolutely certain that God is able to keep His promise to save us from our enemies. The devil says, “Can God really?” We say yes! The devil says, “But will God really?” God can and He will. The proof is at the Cross and the Tomb. The power and the love of God combine in the God-man to save us.

We have enemies, and we are helpless against them. We need saving. Sin destroys; Death kills, Satan steals. These enemies are dead set on our eternal, and temporal, destruction. Jesus saved us from our Enemies; Jesus saved us for God and for good works. Sing the song of David’s promise.

191. You will not Die

2 Samuel 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

After David committed adultery and murder, he was convicted of sin and guilt and confessed with sincere repentance. The prophet responded with a word from the Lord: I have put away your sin; you will not die. The penalty of sin is death; God put away the penalty and the guilt of the David’s sins. However, he still had to suffer the consequences of his sins. The rest of the story of 2 Samuel relates the consequences for David with family troubles, rebellion, and unrest for Israel.

The promise is for David in this instance, but the promise of the Bible applies to us in the same way: We are forgiven and the punishment is put away, but we will suffer the consequences of our sins during our lifetime. The great promise for us is also contained in the words, “you will not die.” Jesus promises in John 11:26: “Everyone who believes in me shall never die.” The wages of sin is death, but if the sin is put away then death is put away. David deserved he death penalty, and so do we. But through repentance and faith in the Messiah we shall never die. Jesus died instead of us and by doing so He paid the penalty. Those who believe in Him will not die. We receive that promise of eternal life by repentance and faith in Christ.

David did die, of course, and so certainly shall we die physically. When the soul separates from the body the body dies. But the “not dying” promise Nathan gives to David and the “you will never die” promise Jesus gives to us deals with eternal separation from God. David and all people are conceived in sin and so are born dead (separated from God). Then we are born from above with a new life when we believe in Jesus. That life is eternal without being separated from God, ever. That is what Jesus did for us. Our certain death is an open door into heaven and eternal life with God in glory. This is God’s promise to David and Jesus’ promise to us. We do not want to die, but we are ready to die, for we have already passed from death to life. We have a promise. We are born from above with a life that never dies. We await the resurrection with hope and joy.

190. Bless the Kingdom forever

2 Samuel 7:29 Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

David reaffirms his faith in the promise of the Lord, while he gives thanks and praise to God for His blessed promises. He believes that the Lord promised a forever house and that He will bless it. We also receive this promise with prayer and thanksgiving, for this promise to David blesses us who believe in the Son of David.

“Bless the house” can have several different meanings and it becomes a good prayer.

We often pray for the blessing of God upon our household, family, relatives, and friends. We might even pray for God to bless the physical building in which we live as a part of “daily bread.” We do pray for the “house of God,” for the church we attend and for the growth and influence of the invisible Church on earth. We pray for God to bless the kingdom within that it may grow stronger in influence on our souls and on those around us. “Thy kingdom come.” We also pray for blessing on the temporary tent, the physical body that houses the Holy Spirit, that we might be healthy and healed. “Give us this day our daily bread.” 

The house of David is ultimately Jesus Christ, the king in David’s line, the Descendant of David’s promise, the king of the eternal kingdom of God, the king of righteousness, the king of Glory, the King of kings and Lord of lords. We pray for blessing on Him that His will shall be done and His purposes accomplished while He works out salvation in our lives. And we pray for blessing from Him while we live in His house, for daily bread, for forgiveness, for protection, safety, comfort and security. All the blessings that are promised from our Lord are legitimate prayer requests. In our life with God we bless God and He blesses us. While we live in our “houses” we become a blessing to other residents and humbly receive blessings from them. We receive forgiveness and we give forgiveness, and in this way God blesses the house. And this blessed life goes on forever. “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

189. The House of David

2 Samuel 7:25, 26, 27 And now, O Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it forever, and do as thou hast said. And let thy name be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house; therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.

David responds in prayer and thanksgiving to the promise of his gracious God and Lord, that the Lord will build the “house of David,” instead of David building a house for the Lord. God will build a dynasty of kings from the line of David, and He will establish this dynasty and kingdom to last forever. This prophetic promise turns out to be, according to the Bible story, a spiritual fulfillment when the Messiah, the Son of David, assumes the absolute rule over all believers in the kingdom of God. This spiritual truth did not dawn on anyone until the line of David had no more kings and the kingdom of Israel is gone. Then the people began to look for the Messianic “David” to come and take over as king.

Those who followed Jesus and believed in Him as the Messiah began to realize the true, invisible, spiritual and final fulfillment of the prophecy. Jesus is from the line of David and He will rule as spiritual king of the kingdom of God forever. David could not see the spiritual and eternal meaning fully, but He praised God for this wonderful promise.

He prayed, “Magnify Your Name forever.” We pray, “Hallowed be Thy name.” He prayed, “Your kingdom is established forever.” We pray, “Thy kingdom come.” He prayed, “You have revealed this to me.” We pray, “Thy will be done.”

Jesus promises us a kingdom; we live in it now as we have eternal life. He promise to be king of His kingdom in our hearts and rule for our good. He promises us His reign, His kingdom, His life, and His love forever. Sin, Satan, and Death had the sway and the rule over us. We have been redeemed. We are under new management. We are under the house of David forever. The promise is fulfilled for us, for our good, for our life, and for our eternity.