Psalm 87 - 2009.03.28

“…All my springs are in Thee.” —Psalm 87:7b

This tiny nugget has been etched upon my heart for a long time. Now I find that there is much debate among the scholars as to the precise meaning of the word “springs.” It satisfies both my heart and my mind to take it just as it stands in “plain English,” and indicates the worshipper has found in God the fountainhead of every blessing, the supply of every need, the ever flowing fulfillment of every legitimate longing of the heart.

In one of our pastorates the community boasted a wonderful spring flowing out of a hillside on an otherwise insignificant narrow road. That road hosted a steady stream of traffic as people from all over the neighborhood came to fill their vessels with water from the spring. There was tap water in abundance in every household, yet many preferred to make the journey to the spring where fresh, crystal clear water never ceased to flow.

Puddles dry up in the noonday sun. Lakes may over time disappear. Even rivers may run dry (see Rev. 116:12). But a springs is by definition, “A small stream of water flowing naturally from the earth,” and “A source, origin, or beginning,“ illustrative of a never ending supply lying not on the surface, but rising from the great deep and unaffected by the surface changes.

That analogy, limited though it may be, suggests the significance of the Psalmist’s affirmation, “All my springs are in thee.” It suggests God as the resource for his every need, and blessed indeed is the soul who finds it thus. “All my springs are in Thee;” not in the church, not even in “the book,” but in thee, the living God, the risen Lord, to Whom the church may be an avenue and the book a roadmap, but Himself the unfailing source of all I really need.

He is the source of salvation. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly [John 10:10].” Without Him we have but mortality, which ends in the mortuary and the grave. To the woman at the well Jesus said, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life [John 4:14].” Life in a never ending stream!

He is the source of sufficiency in this present world. Think long and hard on the all too familiar, but too little appreciated promise, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus [Phil. 4:19].” The Lord Jesus is “heir of all things,” owner of “the cattle on a thousand hills” and “the wealth of every mine.” His stock does not rise and fall with each new day, but is steady as a Rock, abundant as the spring. Those who find their springs in Him will never want for any good thing (cf. Psalm 34:10; 84:11).

He is the source of security. The Savior said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one [John 10:27-30].”

He is source of the only true and lasting satisfaction. It is written, “Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore [Psalm 16:11].” The “pleasures of sin” are but “for a season,” but the joy of the Lord is everlasting!

How well it has been said (and I paraphrase,) “He who has ‘everything,’ and has not Christ,” in reality “has nothing. But he who has Christ,” if nothing else, “has everything.” He is joint heir with Christ, Who is, as we noted above, is “heir of all things.” The apostle put it this way: “…all things are yours; Whether… the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's [I Cor. 3:21-23].”

Oh, my friends, may this little meditation find us not seeking fulfillment in the “puddles” of this world, but echoing the Psalmist’s declaration, “All my springs are in Thee!”

All my lifelong I had panted For a draught from some cool spring. That I hoped would quench the burning Of the thirst I felt within. Feeding on the husks around me Till my strength was almost gone, my soul for something better, Only still to hunger on.

Poor I was, and sought for riches, Something that would satisfy; But the dust I gathered round me Only mocked my soul’s sad cry. Well of water, ever springing, Bread of life, so rich and free, Untold wealth that never faith, My Redeemer is to me.

Hallelujah! I have found Him—Whom my soul so long has craved! Jesus satisfies my longings; Thro’ His blood I now am saved.

Clara Teare

For true satisfaction,

"Pastor" Frasier

Psalm 86 - 2009.03.21

“Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.” —Psalm 86:8-11

A young woman with whom I spoke recently said, “I’ll be all right. I believe in God, but I have my own ideas about Him.” Such a casual view of God may provide some comfort and assurance to those who hold it, but it will come short of reality and in the end will prove inadequate to face life’s greatest challenge, which is death and its aftermath.

There are, after all, only two approaches to knowing God: revelation or imagination. The scripture says, “For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him [I Cor. 8:5-6].” The “gods many and lords many,” however they may vary, are the product of man’s imagination (hence their many differences) and they all come under the same assessment given in v. 4 of the same chapter, “We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.”

The true God is discovered through His self disclosure to us in nature (“The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handywork.” - Ps. 19:1); innately (“…that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” - Rom. 1:19-20); and supremely in His word; first the written word, the Bible, and ultimately in the Living Word, our Lord Jesus Christ Who said, “search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me.” - John 5:39.

It was by revelation that David discovered and came to know God and reached the persuasion manifested in vss. 8-10 of our text for today. He is persuaded of the preeminence of God: “Among the gods there none like unto Thee, O Lord;” and the power of God: “Neither are there any works like unto Thy works;” and the sovereignty of God: “All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee…;” and the absolute supremacy of God: “Thou art God alone.”

That is the faith foundation upon which v. 11 rests, and this is the key verse for our meditation for today. It is his knowledge of God, His greatness and His glory, that stimulates in David’s heart a passion to know God’s way. The Proverb says, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death [Prov. 16:25].” The soul who knows the true God understands this, and yearns to walk in His way. We are taught that way through His word and by His Holy Spirit.

Secondly, his knowledge of God elicits from David a pledge that will be the heart attitude of every believer: “I will walk in Thy truth.” When that attitude prevails, it brings with it a desire to know the written Word of God, whose “word is truth,” and through it to come into personal fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ Who said, “I am…the Truth.” The beloved disciple said, “I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment of the Father [II John 4].” But I note, as we have pointed out on other occasions, that this involves an act of the will on the part of the believer. The passive Christian never gets to really know God and Christ in a vital way, and so cannot walk in His truth.

The third element in our text is David’s plea: “Unite my heart to fear Thy Name.” The apostle James said, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways [Jas. 1:8].” As we get to know God, we also come to know ourselves, and become aware of the duplicity of the human heart. Our prayers may be uttered in sincerity and our promises made in good faith, but we do not have in ourselves the power to follow through. Paul said, “To will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not [Rom. 7:18].” As another discerning preacher put it, “It takes God to be godly.”

Those who know God will nurture a passion to know His way, and purpose to walk in His truth. But they will walk with a constant awareness of the danger of double-mindedness, and a continual prayer, “Unite my heart to fear Thy name.” After all, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom [Ps. 111:10a].”

For a worthy walk,

"Pastor" Frasier

Psalm 85 - 2009.03.14

“I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people, and to His saints: but let them not turn again to folly.” —Psalm 85:8

In his book “Death of a Nation,” Ray Stedman wrote, “The reason a nation dies is that it forsakes its God, as evidenced by two things: First, the nation burns incense before other gods; that is, it exalts ideas and philosophies which represent the various controlling passions and imaginations of men. Second, its people worship the works of their own hands; they exalt man, pointing to man as the solution to his own problems--in other words, the rise of humanism. These are the signs of decay in a nation. This is what was happening in Israel.” And, it may be noted, that is what is happening in our nation today.

Psalm 85 was written with reference to a nation in crisis, and our text for today holds the key to deliverance from that crisis. Granted, by interpretation the psalm relates to Israel, but by application its principles may apply to any nation in crisis, and that makes it appropriate for our nation at this moment in history.

The first essential to restoration (revival) is to give attention to the word of the Lord. The Psalmist’s hope is there: “I will hear what God the Lord will speak.” The words of men are arbitrary and arguable. The word of God is authoritative and reliable. The problem is that though He has spoken, we as a society are not listening. This was the charge of the Savior in the day of His appearing:
“ Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them [Mt. 13:13-15].”

Long before, through the prophet Jeremiah, God charged certain, “I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice [Jer. 22:21].” And later in the same chapter He cries, “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.” (v.29) As a nation and as individuals our prosperity has deafened us to the directives and the warnings of God’s word, and now we begin to pay the price. If there is to be any hope for deliverance, there must be renewed attentiveness to the Word of God.

And if the present crisis should give rise to a renewed interest in what God has to say, it it will, in the end, do us good. From his attention to the Word of God the psalmist recognizes that God’s design is not destruction, but deliverance: “For He will speak peace to His people.” It is no accident that the Lord Jesus Christ is denominated “The Prince of Peace.” There will be no inner peace, nor international peace apart from Him. False prophets today cry, as they did in wayward Israel long ago, “peace, peace, when there is no peace.” In contrast, the Savior says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid [John 14:27].”

Essential to note, however, is the next clause. “He will speak peace to His people, and to His saints.” If men would enjoy God’s peace and deliverance, they must align themselves with Him, and that by way of the cross of Christ, where the Prince of Peace died “for the sins of the whole world.” Sin is the issue, and in Christ is the only solution. The next verse in the psalm says, “Surely His salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.” “Hearing” the word of God will avail us little if we are not aligned by faith with the Living Word. The apostle James appropriately declares, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” God’s people are those who “trust and obey.”

Finally, there is the admonition, “let them not turn again to folly.” Spurgeon comments, “Those who would enjoy communion with God must be jealous of themselves, and avoid all that would grieve the Holy Spirit; not only the grosser sins, but even the follies of life must be guarded against by those who are favoured with the delights of conscious fellowship.”

Observe in conclusion: the privilege of salvation and the resulting peace is offered to the nation, but it is appropriated one soul at a time. As another has said, “nations do not repent; only individuals do.” The nation may not experience revival, but you can. The question is, will you?

Counsel for life’s crises,

"Pastor" Frasier

Psalm 84 - 2009.03.07

“Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah” — Psalm 84:4

Dr. A.W. Tozer some years ago wrote a book entitled, “Man, the Dwelling Place of God.” Though I have not read it, it is easy to infer his premise, that God’s intention in the creation of man was to make Himself at home in our hearts. In fact initially that was precisely the case: “…The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul [Gen. 2:7].” It was this “breath of life” that distinguished man from all the other creatures God made, and that “breath” is His Holy Spirit. The Hebrew word for breath is just as legitimately translated “spirit,” and the apostle Paul, describing redemption, says, “The law of the Spirit of Life…has made me free from the law of sin and death [Rom. 8:2].” Thus when man was created he was, indeed, God-inhabited; the dwelling place of God. The Spirit of God in union with the spirit of man distinguished man from all other creatures and was, in fact, what made him man.

When Adam elected to believe the word of the serpent rather than the word of God, the Spirit of God vacated the spirit of man and man “died” that day (see Gen. 2:17); not physically, not soulishly, but spiritually, and the result is that no man living has ever seen man as God intended man to be, save in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why science cannot, and never will be able to analyze and understand man, because it operates from the false assumption that man as we see him is all that man is intended to be. It is as though you found an automobile in a junkyard without an engine, and assumed you had the whole thing. You never would, nor could, understand it, nor make do what it was designed for.

That, however, is a very hasty look at one end of the story. Our text sets before us the reciprocal. Not only did the original plan intend for man to be the dwelling place of God, but that God should be the dwelling place of man. When a sinner trusts the Savior, the divine arrangement is restored. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in the heart of the redeemed, and the man becomes a habitation of the Most High. That is the essence of salvation. The apostle makes that clear when he says, “Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of God, he is none of His [Rom. 8:9].” It is this, the restoration of the Spirit of God to the spirit of man, that constitutes the new birth, and makes man complete again. The ramifications are many, and the process will not be complete until we are glorified. Time and space prohibit a fuller development here, but suffice it to say that when through faith in Christ God takes up His residence in our hearts, it is His will and design that we should make Him our dwelling place as well, for, “Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house.”

Many, I dare say the majority of believers, know little of the blessing of the Lord because though He by grace has returned to them, they have not made Him their place of permanent residence. The Psalmist understood that when he said in Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” That was his assurance. But, he had an aspiration, recorded in Psalm 27:4, “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple.” (Italics mine.) That is in the present tense. Redeemed, we are not merely to look forward to a future relationship with the living God, but to make Him our present passion.

This is in perfect agreement with the counsel of the Lord Jesus, “Abide in Me, and I in you…” That is reciprocity. And again, “If ye abide in me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” That is the key to prosperity of soul, and they who enter into it are those who “behold the beauty of the Lord.” Subsequently He prayed, “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me…I in them and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one: and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me [John 17:21, 23].” The reciprocal relationship indicated here between the Father and the Son is reflective of what God intends for all who are made children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

And it is here that the evidence begins to mount that it is in abiding (dwelling) in Him (i.e., “in the house of the Lord”) that the blessing of the Lord is found. Those whose relationship with Him is casual know little of the blessing. Those who are abiding in Him experience more of the riches of His grace. David remarks here, “A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness (v.10).” And he expresses the confidence, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a Rock [ Ps. 27:5].”

And, it is from that vantage point that we are promoted to continually praising Him. May we aspire to be found as those in whom He dwells, and who are dwelling in Him—all the days of our life!

For His glory and our good,

"Pastor" Frasier