Category: Uncategorized

8. Salvation

Psalm3.8

Salvation belongeth unto the Lord:

Thy blessing is upon thy people.

The promise of blessing upon God’s people is salvation with the emphasis being upon the fact that salvation is all of God’s doing; He owns and controls and dispenses it how, when, where, and to whom He wills; salvation has nothing at all to do with what man can do. God chooses to give salvation to His people as His blessing. God chooses, God speaks, and God does; God blesses and God saves. There are no conditions attached to salvation. It is unconditional, unmerited, undeserved and unearned. God chooses to save because He has chosen to bless.

The only unanswered question left open is whether or not I am a part of His people. If I am His people I have His blessing; His blessing is salvation. The answer is: Yes! I am one of His people: He loved me thus and so; he was born for me; he died for me; he rose again for me; he blessed me in the heavenly places; he baptized me; he forgives my sins; he preaches the gospel to me; and so on. I have no doubt that I can claim this promise any time and all the time. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 1:3. What other help could I possibly need?

Salvation means so much more than just being rescued from something bad; it also means being placed into something really good. Salvation = health, wholeness, and wellbeing, everything needed physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, financially to live a full and richly experienced life. Salvation belongs to the Lord; health, wholeness and wellbeing belong to the Lord; I, myself, and everything I enjoy belongs to the Lord. Meaning: He could take it away any time He chooses; He could give, provide, restore, repair, heal, and make whole any time he wants. My life and salvation is completely in His hands, under His control; my times are in His hands. I can and will gladly release control of my life and entrust myself entirely into his power and will. I trust Him; He is my Salvation; I belong to Him.

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.” Revelation 19:1.

7. Glory and Lifter

Psalm 3.3

My glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

 Another part of the promise ascribed to God by David deals mostly with what we would call honor, reputation and self-esteem. The Lord will always be there to be glory for us and build up true God-esteem. When one cannot raise his own head because of sadness or shame, depression or despair the Lord is there to lift up his head, set him on his feet and keep him moving. “Glory” = extrinsic beauty of intrinsic excellence. I bring shame and disgrace upon myself, but the Lord is my glory. He lives in me; He has pardoned, accepted, and adopted me, made me his heir, and crowned me as king.

When taking hold of this promise is most needed it is just then that it is most difficult. But it is in the midst of such depths of dishonor and depression that we most need to believe this promise of God, allowing Him to restore our glory and self-image by giving us His. When we are most hangdog we must then look up to Christ, receive this promise, and let him gently put his hand under the chin and lift up our head.

First, Jesus lifts the spirit by the forgiveness of sins, accepting us as we are, and receiving us into his presence. Then he restores the soul, repairs the brokenness, and stirs up hope in the promises of God. The result of God’s Spirit acting on the spirit is that He affects the body and the head is lifted up, literally and figuratively. Joy is included in this freedom from shame. Luke 21:28: “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads: for your redemption draweth nigh.” With the promise comes strength and courage, for when God lifts the head, who can bow it down again? God lifts the head, that is, God promises to move His child from despair to hope. My Glorious One, my great King, my God is the one who defends my honor and gives me victory. Faith, which the believer already has, sees goodness and power in God to raise him out of the lowest condition. This God is “the lifter up of our head” by the gift of holy confidence and the hope of resurrection; since this hope is a sure thing so also is the promise of “lifting.”

6. Shield

Psalm 3.3 But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me;

 This is a promise ascribed to God by David, the Psalmist, but God promises Abraham that He will be a “shield” for him as well. We can confidently apply this promise to ourselves as an unconditional promise. The faith response on our part is to place ourselves behind the shield and let God protect our body and soul. A spiritual shield is a metaphor for faith, as in Ephesians 6:16: “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.” Faith stands behind the Lord, who is a shield for me. Without His protection I would be exposed to the “flaming darts” of Satan. These are like poisonous lies that if we begin to believe them and give them a hearing within the soul they will fester and expand and spread like cancer or gangrene. Faith in God’s Truth quenches poisonous lies, and God Himself becomes a shield for us standing in the middle between Satan and my soul. Trust this promise and let the Lord be your shield in all circumstances.

An alternate translation for “shield” is “suzerain,” depending on how you read the Hebrew word. Suzerain also makes sense in Genesis 15:1; “Fear not, Abraham, I am your Suzerain (shield); your reward shall be very great.” In a Lord and Vassal Treaty between the Strong Man and the subdued ruler the Suzerain promises protection for the vassal in return for tribute and taxes and loyalty. Suzerain is a possible translation for shield in Psalm 3:3, but if so, the meaning is the same = Protection. Protection is a guarantee from God, and we can absolutely count on that spiritual protection so that we can be sure that the enemy cannot “snatch us out of the Father’s hand.”

Of course, one may step out from behind the Shield and trust his own weak shield of “reason” or “tradition” to protect him. Or, in the alternate view, one may rebel against the rule of the suzerain and take himself out from under the protection of the Lord; he may go it alone in his own weakness.

Ask yourself: “Where is my gaze?” If you look too long at your problems they tend to get bigger and more insoluble, but when you gaze at God, who is a “shield round about,” you see protection on all sides. Despair would be the outcome of unbelief, but true courage is not disheartened when faith takes up the shield and hides in God. He hides us from evil, covers our heads, and brings us off as more than conquerors. “Lord, you are a shield about me” is a statement of trust, but it is not about my trust; it is a statement about the Lord. Better to say in prayer: ‘You are my shield” rather than, “I trust You as my shield.” The second prayer may be true, but we can be certain the first one is true.

When we are assured that our God is surrounding us as a shield we can sleep in peace and security, even in the midst of danger and fear.

5. Blessed

Psalm 2.12

Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

A conditional promise: If you put your trust in the Anointed King, Jesus Christ, then you shall be blessed. It is just the opposite for the unbeliever who will not serve the Lord or worship the Son: that one will perish, be destroyed, die. “Putting one’s trust in Christ” means taking refuge in Him, serving and worshiping, taking Him as one’s only Savior and God, and much more; but simply, “trust” means believing Jesus. Believing means taking Him at his word, receiving His grace and mercy unconditionally, relying on His promises that they will actually come true, and it also includes believing “in” Jesus, uniting with Him as a person, becoming one with Christ by faith, sharing His life, and letting Him be Lord and ruler of your life. Trust in this verse also has the meaning of “rest” in Him. Resting is ceasing to strive and try harder, stop struggling, laying down your burdens and cares, taking it easy securely in the arms of Jesus, letting Him carry you. Rest is a result of trust. Rest is enjoying the quiet streams and lush pastures.

All of that kind of trusting is already a blessing. Once again, the blessedness is not specific, but general, including all the special kinds of physical and spiritual, temporal and eternal blessings that one can imagine and dream about. Blessedness from God is both heaven later (a future hope enjoyed now) and heaven on earth now (a present hope enjoyed today); heaven on earth is where the living Lord of all makes his dwelling in your heart right here, right now, a present hope that enjoys the unseen but real presence of God. This presence and blessedness can be entered into any time, any place, in any circumstance, in every need by repentance and faith: just trust Him and you are there. You may feel God or  you may not, but it matters not because you are walking by faith and not by sight. Trust His Word and promise, not your feelings. If He says you’re blessed, you are.

Trust in Him and be blessed.

4. Secure Future

Psalm 1. 6

The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous.

Alternate translation: Yahweh shall safekeep the assembly of the just.

As a conditional promise: if you are righteous, then the Lord knows your way (or, He will safekeep you). This can also be received as an unconditional promise, because it is God the Lord Himself alone who has placed us in that assembly of the just by declaring us righteous on account of Christ. The “if” part is valid. By grace God has given us His Righteousness; therefore, we are just and so legally belong in that assembly. Jesus Christ met the condition in our place. The Holy Spirit seals in him the unconditional guarantee of safekeeping for the just one. His promise is to keep us in that condition while we live on earth amid the dangers and temptations from Sin and Satan. Of course, we are free to reject the Holy Spirit if we become so deceived, but His side of the “knowing and keeping” is an unconditional guarantee. The just ones bask in this blessed assurance every day of the new life in Christ. Just as God knows them in the closest of relationships, so the righteous ones know where they belong. They possess the land and wrest it from the Enemy.

God has a perfect understanding of the real character of his people; He knows them. He knows who has a heart for God. The “made-righteous” person has confidence that he will stand in the judgment; this judgment-day confidence strengthens him for his standing every day in the presence of God during this life. God is on the side of the righteous, “and if God be for us, who can be against us?”

What do I do? First, make certain that you are one of the righteous, be simply believing in Jesus Christ. Second, believe the promise guaranteed by the Father that He knows your way: he knows where you’ve been, what you have done, and how you have strayed from the way; He knows where you are right now, what you are thinking, why you are thinking it, and what you are feeling; He knows where you are going, He has a purpose in mind for you, and He knows the way to get you to your God-designed destiny. Trust Him to take control of your life, your way, your plans, your hopes and dreams. He may dash some of your dreams and fill you with others, but if you unreservedly give all of yourself to Him He knows what to do with you because He knows you. Jesus Christ is in your future; He is your future.

3. Prosperity

Psalm 1. 3

And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

A third conditional promise is based on the same conditions in vv. 1-2. If a person avoids sinners and delights in the Law he will prosper in whatever he does, whatever he (like a tree) produces is good, and he will be successful in all endeavors. Without trying to succeed this kind of person naturally prospers. This is quite a promise and it strains our imagination and challenges our belief. Can it really be true? Whatever he does? Does God really mean in all spheres of life, whatever activity or pursuit one is engaged in, that he will prosper, succeed and produce something good? We have to answer, Yes! It may depend on one’s definition of “prosper, succeed and produce,” but no one is permitted to make up exceptions to the promises of the Holy Spirit of God. Whatever means whatever. Any act that flows from the new Adam must prove successful; man is the instrument, God is the doer, and He will accomplish His purposes through the new man.

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:17, 18). Joshua 1:8: “This book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

The challenge is most likely to arise in the condition: do you actually like God’s rules and laws and commandments, his kind of integrity and uprightness, and God Himself above all things? Do you have a heart for God, like David? Do you love a broken spirit when you’ve offended your loving Lord with your sins? Do you hate sin? Sinner, do you love Jesus? Ask and answer these questions to see if you qualify. Then lay claim to the “prosper, succeed and produce” promise. This is not “name it and claim it” prosperity; it is “enjoy it (the Word) and enjoy the consequences” prosperity. Let God define the prosperity; you just trust and obey.

 

2. Fruitfulness

Psalm 1. 3

And he shall be like a tree planted (transplanted) by the rivers of water;

That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither.

Another promise based on the condition of verse 2 is that the Lord will transplant this man like a tree near streams of water, probably like an irrigation canal or a living stream that never dries up. These are the streams of Eden; He plucked him up and transplanted him into Paradise. God places this man where he can be nourished and fed on the Word to grow and enhance the good life He gives him. This is called being “rooted and grounded in love.” This kind of lifestyle naturally flourishes; effort, as such, is not involved. The Christian is free, spontaneous, and willing, and good works show up almost automatically. Jesus gives this living water that becomes a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

This saved and transplanted man who delights in the Law of Yahweh is fruitful, producing abundant fruit at all the right times. In addition, his leaves never wither, a symbol of immortality; the Torah Lover glimpses immortality regularly. This is unusual, that a tree should both produce fruit and keep its leaves all year, but this is the amazing promise of God for the verse 2 kind of person. Grace makes one a “planting of the Lord,” and taking root in a good place his life is well maintained.

The one who abides in Christ will bear much fruit, and it is for fruit bearing that man was created and redeemed. And this wonderful life comes to those who delight and meditate in the Law of the Lord. This is the promise based on delighting in the Word and abiding in Christ: a beautiful tree with fruit and leaves that simply grows and produces without trying or using effort. Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control appears in a beautiful life providing comfort and blessing to other people. “Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” (I Timothy 4:8).

According to Luther, leaves are words. The words of Christ are most wonderfully written in the Gospels and in the heart of the believer. The words that He speaks are life and spirit. The words (leaves) He speaks through him can be used to bless others and make people feel good. And this goes on all year long, day and night, wherever one goes and to whomever he speaks; and those words abide forever.

 

1. Blessedness

Psalm 1:1-2

Blessed is the man

That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the Law of Yahweh, And in His Law doth he meditate day and night.

A conditional promise: if you do not associate with bad people and if you are in the Word on a regular basis then you will be blessed.

Blessedness will mark and color the life of the person who loves God’s Word and spends much time studying and reflecting on the Bible. The believer has vast treasures of good things in possession and in prospect. Blessedness is a general promise covering every aspect of life with the good things that people need for all around happiness: physical health, financial stability, emotional well being, social amiability, family joy, and a generally happy life; in other words, life is good. Blessedness in every way that an individual defines it according to God’s good and gracious will is guaranteed for the one who meets the conditions. The outcome of a life spent in God’s Word and way and the avoidance of the world’s ways will most surely and definitely result in a good and happy life. Blessedness is a guarantee and such a person can hold the Lord accountable to His Promise. He will make it happen. There is no question. You can count on it and you can even tell the Lord so.

Ah yes, the conditions are stringent, but they are worth it. First, the negative condition: do not join in with the groups of worldly sinners who say and do things the way the world thinks and acts. The world is under the control of the prince of the power of the air and influenced by the Evil One; his temptations, when yielded to, will always have terrible and unblessed, though unintended, consequences. These temptations are more irresistible and powerful when presented within a peer group of sinful people, whatever the group may be. If the group is generally without God in their thought, speech, and behavior the devil will enter and direct the group’s thinking and activities. The words “council, assembly and session” sound almost like semi-official groups like gangs and clubs, but the words “enter, stand and sit” are the keys to avoidance, that is, do not join. One does not need to be told which groups are dangerous for he already knows if he is willing to listen to his own conscience. And he will also know what and whom to avoid if he is engaged in the second condition, being in the Word.

Second, the positive condition: enjoy the Word of God and reflect on the words of the Bible daily and nightly. Grace thrives on meditation. This does not mean just spending a certain daily time in the Bible and prayer as a duty to perform and get it over with, but it means spending lots of time in the “Law of the Lord.” “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.” You enjoy the Word and the activity brings joy and lifts the spirit; you delight in the Word. This person wants to learn as much about God’s law and the right ways of living simply because God is fun to be with, not to mention that good and blessed consequences will result; this kind of self-loving can mess up your motivation, for the true “delighter” focuses on God, not what he can get from him. The Word is a delight for two reasons: one, in God’s Word you will hear good news of love, forgiveness, and wonderful promises from God in Christ Jesus, which fills the soul with joy and peace; two, in the Law of the Lord you will learn practical ways of living and behaving that will always lead to good consequences, even if unintended. The implication of delighting and meditating on the Law is not just to know it well but to also want to keep it and actually follow it. Obeying is the delight. All the blessings of Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26 will be realized. The reason for spending time in the Word is to know it and love it and keep it. Then, “Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it.” (Jesus).

The guaranteed results of delighting and meditating in the Word is blessedness. In the Psalmist’s time the Law of the Yahweh is The Torah (the Pentateuch), the Law of Moses. Torah means Instruction. These five books are summarized in the Ten Commandments; this summary comes after the Gospel is proclaimed: “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” I did this all for you, now this is what you will do for me: Thou shalt…. When you do these things for Me you will have a good life and consequent blessings will be poured out upon you. This is the Covenant: I already saved you forever; now if you want to enjoy that new life I gave you, you will live like this in order to enjoy further blessings in this life on earth. There are wonderful consequences for believing and obeying. In the Torah, it is also written: “Yahweh is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression.” When man forgets to do, and he most certainly will, repentance and forgiveness is available from God’s faithful Love. This Gospel is also part of the Torah of Yahweh, which is a delight to meditate over. This is where the motivation and ability to live a better life comes from. Blessings follow delighting and reciting.

Hundreds of examples and specifics could be presented as convincing truths regarding the connections between knowing and loving and living God’s way and the blessed life that results from doing so. But the Lord has given us enough in this Psalm to occupy us for a lifetime of joy and blessing.

Promises in the Psalms

“And of his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” We have received everything that Christ has, and we are becoming everything that Christ is. We have a long way to go but we press forward. In the Book of Joshua the people of God had to do three things to possess the inheritance given by the Lord: 1) Enter the land, 2) Conquer the land, and 3) Possess the land. This story is a figure of our promised inheritance earned and given by Jesus Christ. Work and effort and battle is involved in entering into Rest. After entering we must conquer. The problem is that we do not conquer all the enemies and so we do not enjoy the entire inheritance. Much more is still available. One half of Joshua details possessing, but failure to possess all the Promised Land generates the problems outlined in the Book of Judges and onward. God had said, ‘Go in and possess the land that I have given you.” The fullness of Christ is given, but it must still be possessed. This daily blog is one small attempt to discover what it means to possess what has been given.

This attempt will be undertaken by examining all the promises in the Psalter. What can we do and how can we apply ourselves to the possession of the entire inheritance? This daunting task requires the teaching of the Holy Spirit for there are so many promises to claim.

The Promises of the Psalms are of three types: 1) Unconditional Promises, which are unconditionally guaranteed by God, which need to be received by faith alone; 2) Conditional Promises, which are “if…then” sentences which will be fulfilled for us when and if the conditions are met. 3) Not completely certain Promises, which are statements of faith by a Psalmist about God, not spoken by God, and we can’t be sure the promise applies to all people of all time. Another type of promise is the Beatitude, that is, “Blessed are” and “Blessings be on” are general and may be conditional or unconditional.

Conditional Promises are usually based on the Law of Moses, particularly keeping the Ten Commandments as a summary. Obedience to the Law is the condition, and if done, the promise is effectual. The conditional promises are not a matter of reward and punishment for obeying or disobeying, but it is matter of consequences. Every thought, word, action or choice has a natural consequence, a good or bad result based on the Law of Moses, which he received from the Lord. Keeping the Moral Law and doing good works will always cause a happy life as the natural effect. Sin against the Law always causes misery and unhappiness in life as the effect. We cannot normally see the relationship between cause and effect. If we could make the connection we would probably make better decisions, although man is so evil and depraved, stupid and ignorant, selfish and self centered that he would still mess up. And further, we cannot stop to ponder and weigh every little choice to determine God’s will in the matter; therefore, God just gives us the Moral Law to know and obey, and just following those principles (10 of them) yields a good life. Don’t ask; just do. It’s very simple; in fact, Adam only had one rule, but he couldn’t keep that. Death was the consequence, not actually a punishment, for Adam’s Fall.

Every good Jew knows the law of consequences and so loves the Torah, for in keeping them there is great reward. Good moral people can have happy lives without believing in God. Christians can create miserable lives for themselves by continuing in sin and disobedience while believing in God. Sadly, most Jews and Muslims, and too many Christians have misinterpreted and misapplied the Law of God and remade it into a reward for good outward behavior and a punishment for bad outward behavior, and then compounded that mistake into making that the criterion for entrance into heaven or hell in the afterlife.

The Moral Law of the Universe, given as a gift from the Creator, is designed to be a guide (which we can see) to consequences (which we can’t see); and it is meant to lead us on the path to a happy, not miserable, life on earth in the here and now. Life after death is based only on what God has done for us: He gave us Jesus and brought us to faith in him. A secondary result of believing that Good News is that He gives the believer the ability to actually live a better life according to the Law, and this truth brings about blessed consequences. The Law is the guide to the good life on earth, and the Gospel is the power to stay on that path. The primary result of faith in Jesus is that the believer has eternal life right now, and eternally after death.

Because of Christ God also forgives all sins and He forgives the sinner resulting in eternal life, now and forever. However, consequences of sin do remain even after forgiveness and restoration, although confessing and forsaking sins can mitigate the consequences somewhat. Most consequences are unseen and that is why the sinner is not motivated to change; motivation comes from the love of Jesus and He is where our vision needs to be focused if we want a better life. When change happens consequences improve and blessing comes.

Conditional promises are nothing more than believing the blessings and curses of being (or not being) careful to do all the commandments. Every person wants promises and blessings and the avoidance of threats and curses, but he isn’t able to be careful to do. These blessings and curses are spelled out as part of the Covenant God makes with His people in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. The covenant promise is sealed in the blood of Christ on the cross. Now He wants to bless us, even more than we want His Blessing; therefore, He sends His Spirit to live in our spirits and to rule our lives so that He can lead us to the pleasant pastures of good consequences based on good behavior.

All of these conditional and unconditional promises are meant for the believer in Jesus given by grace, but the Spirit must guide and lead the believer into the actual reception and experience of the fulfillment after the enemies of sin, death, and the devil have been conquered and driven out, or they will become “thorns in the side” that prevent the full enjoyment of the Land and the Rest.

What are these promises and how do we possess them, according to Psalms? Stay tuned.

After 150 Psalms of prayer, thanks and praise to the Lord the Psalter closes with pure praise, with everyone everywhere using all the gusto, noise and energy they can muster. We have a problem: How do we render to God adequate praise? All Creation, pulling out all the stops, could never in all eternity repay God with enough praise to make it even.

We can never do enough to ever feel like we have paid Him back or earned His mercy. We are forever obligated and in debt the Lord. He has really done it all. Therefore, all we can do is continually praise Him.

Praise makes God big; we can’t make God bigger and better than He already is, but praise can make Him appear bigger to us than we previously imagined. When I see God as bigger than my problems, more faithful than I thought, more merciful than I can believe, more ready to answer my prayer than I am even to ask it, then praise fulfills its purpose: it allows me to see what is already there, a big God. God fills up my space, time, thoughts and plans that there is no room for the enemy. So I praise the Lord!