Psalm 46 - 2008.05.31

"The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered His voice, the earth melted." — Psalm 46:6

Our text for today brings to mind another great reference to the "voice" of the Lord; "For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and [the earth] stood fast (Ps. 33:9)." Both speak of the power of God's voice, and/or His word, and together they form "bookends" for creation. The one relates to the origin of creation, the latter to its consummation. The Holy Spirit, through the apostle Peter, amplifies the thought here when He says,"… the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up [II Pet. 310]."

Between these two magnificent utterances lies "The History of the Human Race." Psalm 33 affirms the benevolence of God throughout history: "… the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord (v.5)." In our text for today the emphasis is on the malevolence of man that seems so to dominate history: "The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved… " This depressing note is prominent in scripture, and traced to Adam's foolish concession to the word of the adversary rather than to the Word of the Lord.

David asked, "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?", then observed "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us [Ps. 2:1-3]." This disposition is echoed by the church under oppression in Acts 4:25ff, and it is the perspective that tends to dominate our thinking and tempt us to depression if we are sensitive to the state of the world in our day. And we are assured that things are not likely to get much better in this dispensation. Paul writes to young pastor Timothy , "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived [II Tim. 3:13]." The Savior Himself anticipated, "And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold [Mat. 24:6-12]."

The prophet Isaiah said, long before, "…the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked [Isa. 57:20-21]." Given these prophetic statements, we have no reason to expect "peace on earth" in our generation, but we may be encouraged as the trend of history confirms the extraordinary insight of the scriptures. The heathen raged, rage still and will continue to rage until the end of the age. And we must understand that the "heathen" include not only the primitives who worship idols and wear no clothes, but the well dressed sophisticates who populate university classrooms, corporate board rooms and government offices, and have no regard for the God of creation, Lord of heaven and earth.

The refuge of the righteous is, as it has always been, God Himself: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear… (Ps. 46:1-2)." To maintain our equilibrium in the troubled sea of this present world, we must maintain communion with Him. And, we must maintain confidence in Him. Our text declares, in the past tense because it is as good as done, since He is as good as His word, "He uttered His voice, the earth melted." Indeed, the day of the Lord will come, in light of which we are admonished, "… let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober… [and]… comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do." (See I Thess. 5:1-11).

MARANATHA!!

For our encouragement,

"Pastor" Frasier

Psalm 45 - 2008.05.24

"Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him." — Psalm 45:10-11

That the King in this psalm refers ultimately to Christ is evident from revelation. Verses 6 and 7 are quoted as applying to Him in Hebrews 1:8-9. That the bride refers to the church is, of course, a matter of deduction. It is the church which constitutes the bride of Christ, and from that perspective one should study these references. And what may be appropriately said of the bride in general provides instruction for the individual believer.

"Hearken, O daughter… incline thine ear." That is, listen. The first calling of the bride is to listen to the bridegroom. The husband is the head of the wife. and it behooves the bride to give ear to her Head . The way this is done for the believer, of course, is through the word of God. You will recall that when the Lord Jesus was baptized "there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. [Luke 9:35]." And again, on the occasion of His transfiguration: "And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only [Mat. 17:3-8]." It is the will of God that the believer should be attentive to the voice of the heavenly Bridegroom, and that no voice should have priority over His word. Those who fail to do so are guilty of disobedience.

There is suggested here in addition, it seems to me, another thought. "Consider." There is a difference between those who merely hear and those who listen and learn. It is this latter that the Spirit has in mind in this text. In college there are often those who attend classes as "auditors." They hear all that is said, but are not obligated to take the exams and are not taking the course for credit. Many a believer is that kind of hearer; every church has its quota of them on any given Sunday. But, that is not what the Lord has in mind. He chided those who "hearing… hear not, neither do they understand [Mat. 13:13]." And through James we are exhorted to take the course for credit when he says, "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves [Jas 1:22]." The word of God is calculated to transform us, but it does so only when we "consider;" that is, when we learn and apply the truths therein.

Immediately there follow two primary principles that are pervasive in scripture. The first is that of separation from the world. "Forget also thine own people, and thy father's house." When God gave the original marriage command He said, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh [Gen. 2:24]." Here, as we consider the marriage of the church to Christ, the parties are reversed, but the principle is the same. Our new union mandates separation from all that bound us before. The believer who does not separate from the world will soon be swallowed up again by it, and be guilty of spiritual adultery.

The second principle is the key to fulfilling the first: love the lord: "For He is thy Lord; and worship thou Him." He will have no trouble leaving his old loves who is consumed by a new one. And in the end, it is only love than can effectively motivate us to leave the world behind. The fear of the Lord may be the beginning of wisdom, but love is its consummation. The bride will have no difficulty submitting to One she adores. And that is precisely the basis upon which He calls us to separation from the world and unto Him: "If ye love me, keep my commandments [John 14:15]."

O come, let us adore Him

For our eternal welfare,

"Pastor" Frasier

Psalm 44 - 2008.05.17

"If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart." — Psalm 44:20-21

"He knoweth the secrets of the heart." The doctrine underlying this text is that of Divine omniscience. That is a sixty-four dollar word that simply means, God knows everything. Hastily stated, it is not particularly striking, but upon careful reflection it is positively staggering. It is a declaration of infinite knowledge of everything in every place through all of time, past , present and future—one more evidence of our incredible God!

The patriarch Job had a sense of it when he said, "… He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold [Job 23:10]." Solomon understood it when he wrote, "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good [Prov. 15:3]." The Lord Jesus alluded to it when He said, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered [Mat. 10:29-30]." And the writer to the Hebrews is very explicit when he says, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do [Heb. 4:12-13]."

This doctrine is of great practical value. The first benefit is the reassurance it affords the believer in times of trouble. As with Job, so with the believer in our day; wherever you are, whatever your circumstances, and however you may be tempted to despair because your plight seems either unknown or overlooked by others, even in the family of God, it is reassuring to know that He knows and that He cares for you. Jesus afforded this comfort by way of a parallel doctrine, omnipresence, when He said, Lo, I am with you alway." When Abraham's concubine Hagar was driven by Sarah into the "waste howling wilderness" after the birth of Ishmael, the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain, or a well and communed with her and counseled her to return to her master. The place of that encounter was subsequently called, Beerlahai-roi, or translated, "The well of Him that liveth and seeth me." The eye of the all-seeing God knew where she was when no other eye beheld her. And so it is with you today; you are never "all alone."

There is another value in this doctrine. It may serve to afford the discerning believer restraint in time of temptation. The knowledge that God is everywhere present and fully cognizant of all things can be a great deterrent to sin in our lives, especially "secret sins," as it makes us aware that nothing is secret with Him. There are temptations in our lives that we would not concede to if we knew that others were watching. Those temptations are heightened if we think no one is watching. We can be much helped if we cultivate an awareness that the God that "lives and sees me" is watching, and we do not want to be ashamed before Him at His coming.

That there are no secret places with Him, is made wonderfully evident in David's words elsewhere:
"O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee [Ps. 139:1-2]."

In the end here is nowhere to hide from God, but to hide in Him. Is He Savior and Lord in your life?

For our temporal welfare and eternal good,

"Pastor" Frasier

Psalm 43 - 2008.05.10

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." — Psalm 43:5

It is of at least passing interest that our text for today repeats a theme twice recorded in Psalm 42 (v. 5, 11.) Some have argued, consequently, that the two may have originally constituted a single psalm. But, in fact, the multiple occurrence may be a reflection of the priority and frequency of the problem with which it is related. That problem, as I see it, is the problem of spiritual despair and the conflict it creates for the believer.

"Why art thou cast down… " the inspired writer asks, because the enlightened believer is first honest about his feelings, and at the same time mindful of the fact that despair, fear and defeat are inconsistent with a vibrant faith. The result is that when a true believer suffers from depression of spirit, he suffers to a far greater degree than the ungodly in similar circumstances. The unconverted has only to struggle with the issue at hand; the Christian struggles with the adversity and with a guilt-threatening awareness that his defeat is a betrayal of chinks in his spiritual armor, an indication of a flagging faith.

Such despair is not uncommon, even among the most valiant saints. Who among us is not aware of the struggles of Job who, as we noted not long ago, could not find God in his spiritual darkness? Yet he was commended of God as "a perfect and an upright man" who feared God and hated evil. David, in many of the psalms, reveals his struggles with great candor when confronted by his enemies, the misunderstanding of his friends, or crushed by his sins. The apostle Peter's failures and accompanying tears are well known to any familiar with the gospels. Even Paul, the spiritual giant, knew the pain generated by the pressures of this life and needed spiritual reinforcement. Writing to the Corinthians he says in part, "We are cast down, but not destroyed…" Like the psalmist, he struggled on occasion and was "cast down," but persevered by a tenacious faith. Referring to one such occasion he said, "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me and strengthened me… [II Tim. 4:17]."

The redeeming factor here is the believer's discernment, which is twofold; David recognizes the impropriety of his state, and he understands the direction of his deliverance. "Hope in God." His belief is not shaken by his burden. He knows where to go for help, and instructs his soul accordingly. Hope is a powerful component of faith, and can surmount the valley of despair. We are reminded, "we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope…but if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it [Rom. 8:24-25]." This is God's will, that when all else seems to fail, we cling to hope, "Which hope we have for an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made [our] high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec [Heb. 6:19-20]." In days so dark we can scarcely see, hope provides a window through which we can see our once suffering Savior seated in the position of victory, encouraging and interceding for us even as He said to Peter, "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not [Luke 22:32]."

Then, when hope revives the believer is moved to worship. David says, "I shall yet praise Him, Who is the health of my countenance, and my God." It is God Who, by His grace and sustaining power, can replace the frown of despair with the radiance of assurance that "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us [Rom. 8:18]," giving "health" to our countenance. And He is our God, in season and out of season. As the scriptures remind us, "… this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death. [Ps. 48:14]."

However dark today's skies, be assured that there is Son-light above it all. Hope in God can lift the flagging soul and give us confidence for tomorrow and "the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (cf. Isa. 61:3)."


For our good,

"Pastor" Frasier

Psalm 42 - 2008.05.03

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?" — Psalm 42:1-3

Circumstances not clearly specified have brought the Psalmist to a state not unlike that of Job when he said, "Oh that I knew where I might find him!…Behold, I go forward, but he is not there ; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him : he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him… [Job. 23:3,8-9]." Every believer has those times when God seems far away and one feels as though he is carrying the burden of life all alone.

The situation is only aggravated when others, friends or foes, are inclined to say, "Where is thy God?" Not only to himself, but to those around him, the believer seems to be god forsaken, deepening the frustration and sharpening the pain. Yet from this barrenness one has called "The homesickness of the soul," several things become evident.

First, to this man, God is real and personal. We do not suffer from the absence of one who is not real to us. When something enters into our experience that makes God seem far away, it is a reflection of those times when He seemed personally present, and His fellowship enjoyed.

Second, this man has a passion for God. The sense of abandonment brings not anger or resentment, but a great yearning: "My soul thirsteth for God… " Spurgeon said, "When it is as natural for us to long for God as for an animal to thirst, it is well with our souls, however painful our feelings."

Third, he has a persistent faith. He does not ask 'whether,' but 'when;' "When shall I come and appear before God?" He retains an undying confidence that God, however far away He may seem, has not, will not abandon him. So, with tears his quest continues for a restored sense of His presence.

The Savior said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled [Mat. 5:6]." David's yearning here is the equivalent of that in an Old Testament setting, and it is a yearning that every believer should have, but, sadly, seems wanting in the majority. David could not get along without God. Most of us can get along without Him quite nicely, except in times of crisis, and are disenchanted if He does not come immediately to our relief if and when we finally do call.

By God's grace, may our relationship with Him become such that any seeming disruption of our fellowship might generate tears and send us immediately on a similar quest for a restored sense of His presence. We are on good ground when our passion for "the living God" surpasses every other desire of the heart. It will provide restraint in times of temptation and revival of hope in times of distress.

*****

"What is thy Beloved more than another beloved?… My Beloved is… the chiefest among ten thousand… yea, He is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem." (Song of Solomon 5:9-16)

For a passionate faith,

"Pastor" Frasier