"Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!" — Psalm 31:19
The Holy Spirit, through the the all availing word of God, has indicated the perspective which will keep us from despair in face of the uncertainties and apparent tragedies of this present evil world. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal [II Cor. 4:17-18, italics mine]." This matter of focus was brought home to me this week in a quote from a book just put into my hands: "We think we are in the land of the living going to the land of the dying when in reality we are in the land of the dying going to the land of the living." Our text for today is penned from the proper perspective, and should be the perspective of every believer, all the time.
Consider, if you will the prize set before us in the gospel of the grace of God. Here it is simply expressed, "Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up… " This "goodness" is not here spelled out, but it is alluded to in various ways in the New Testament. The apostle Paul, for example, reveals his own viewpoint when he declares, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus [Phil 3:13-14]." The context indicates that he connects this "prize," associated with the goodness of God, with the resurrection from the dead. He was, in the goodness of God, moving out of the land of the dying into the land of the living. Moreover, there was another prize "laid up" for him; he said, "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing [II Tim. 4 6-8]."
For fellow saints he prayed, "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ [II Thess. 1:11-12]." Before us lies "the goodness of God," and it is linked with His glory and ours. Peter sums it up, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time [I Pet. 1:3-5]." Resurrection from the dead, the gift of eternal life, a crown of righteousness and and indestructible inheritance (as "joint heirs" with Christ) are all incorporated in the goodness of God "laid up" for His children.
Little wonder, then, that the Savior counsels us, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also. The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is the darkness [Matt. 6:19-23]!"
The "double vision" that divides our minds and hearts between the 'here and now' and things eternal, accounts for the "darkness" that so oft beclouds our journey "from the land of the dying to the land of the living." May the Spirit of God correct our vision so that we may share the psalmist's joy in the goodness of God "laid up" for those who trust in Him!
For our present and eternal good,
"Pastor" Frasier
The Holy Spirit, through the the all availing word of God, has indicated the perspective which will keep us from despair in face of the uncertainties and apparent tragedies of this present evil world. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal [II Cor. 4:17-18, italics mine]." This matter of focus was brought home to me this week in a quote from a book just put into my hands: "We think we are in the land of the living going to the land of the dying when in reality we are in the land of the dying going to the land of the living." Our text for today is penned from the proper perspective, and should be the perspective of every believer, all the time.
Consider, if you will the prize set before us in the gospel of the grace of God. Here it is simply expressed, "Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up… " This "goodness" is not here spelled out, but it is alluded to in various ways in the New Testament. The apostle Paul, for example, reveals his own viewpoint when he declares, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus [Phil 3:13-14]." The context indicates that he connects this "prize," associated with the goodness of God, with the resurrection from the dead. He was, in the goodness of God, moving out of the land of the dying into the land of the living. Moreover, there was another prize "laid up" for him; he said, "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing [II Tim. 4 6-8]."
For fellow saints he prayed, "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ [II Thess. 1:11-12]." Before us lies "the goodness of God," and it is linked with His glory and ours. Peter sums it up, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time [I Pet. 1:3-5]." Resurrection from the dead, the gift of eternal life, a crown of righteousness and and indestructible inheritance (as "joint heirs" with Christ) are all incorporated in the goodness of God "laid up" for His children.
Little wonder, then, that the Savior counsels us, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also. The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is the darkness [Matt. 6:19-23]!"
The "double vision" that divides our minds and hearts between the 'here and now' and things eternal, accounts for the "darkness" that so oft beclouds our journey "from the land of the dying to the land of the living." May the Spirit of God correct our vision so that we may share the psalmist's joy in the goodness of God "laid up" for those who trust in Him!
(To be continued)
For our present and eternal good,
"Pastor" Frasier
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