Psalm 129 - 2010.01.30

“Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.” - Psalm 129:2

Affliction—of one kind or another—threatens mankind from the cradle to the grave. Employing a synonym, Job said “Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward [Job 5:7].” Since Adam’s disobedience, we live in a troubled world and there are few who escape it. The Psalmist puts the words in the mouth of Israel and the affliction is the harassment of her ungodly neighbors. But the saints individually are harassed by a relentless enemy whose objective is, if possible, to destroy our faith and failing that, to corrupt our testimony. Blessed is the man who will be able to say at the end of his journey, “I have fought a good fight,I have kept the faith…”; the adversary “[has] not prevailed against me.”

What does it take to ride the boisterous waves of the storm tossed sea of life without sinking beneath them?

First, a certain conviction. David said in another place, “I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor [Ps. 140:12].” It was an assurance not only that God is, but what kind of God He is.

Second, I would suggest the assurance of God’s companionship. “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old [Isa. 63:9].” He is not a God “afar off,” but a God “at hand.” If God seems remote, our resources are going to be limited. Peter courageously walked on the water to meet the Savior, when the wind was boisterous, he feared and began to sink, but when Jesus took his hand he was delivered. It is not an abstract faithh, but the sense of our union with Christ that will sustain us when all else fails.

That sense of union, what on called “practicing the presence of Christ,” stems from cultivating communion with Christ. James counsels, “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms [James 5:13].” Those who neglect the scriptures and fail to engage a habitual prayer life will not be well equipped to sense God’s presence when trouble comes.

Fourthly, let me suggest that we need to develop confidence in the promises of God. We used to sing a little chorus. “Every promise in the Book is mine, Every chapter, every verse, every line; All the blessings of His love divine, Every promise in the book is mine!” That assurance does not always come automatically, but results from what I would call the determination of faith. We need to measure our trials against those promises and enjoy the victory that will result. The apostle put it this way, testifying to his own experience: “…we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 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. 4:16-18].”

David made this a matter of prayer when he said, “I am afflicted very much: quicken me according to Thy word [Ps. 119:107].” We will do well to do the same.

The end result will be not only survival, but spiritual progress in our trouble prone lives. The Egyptians harassed the Israelites during their bondage. “They…set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens…But the more they afflicted them, the more they grew [Ex. 1:11, 12].” So it will be with the man or woman of God who finds through Christ, in a real and practical way, grace to help in time of need. When the apostle Paul sought deliverance from a particular trial which he describes as “The messenger of satan to buffet me,” after thrice petitioning the Lord to remove it the response was, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” And the apostle’s reaction? “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong (See II Cor. 12:7-10).” Thus is inverted the entire outlook of the natural man, and this is what the Lord can do for us when/if we walk by faith and not by sight.

It is the perspective that foils the enemy’s strategy and allows the believer to say, “They have not prevailed against me.”

“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. 4:7-8

For victory in the battle,

"Pastor" Frasier

Psalm 128 - 2010.01.23

“Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.” —Psalm 128:1

A few years ago there was a flurry of interest in the “Prayer of Jabez.” That prayer, you may recall, is a plea for the Lord’s blessing, enlargement and protection from moral evil; a good prayer, indeed: "Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested." (I Chron. 4:10) The text before us, and the brief Psalm from which it is drawn, provide a divine revelation of how that prayer may be answered. There are but two principles involved, simply stated but profoundly significant. For the sake of alliteration let me call them Reverence—”the fear of the Lord,” and Regulation—”walk…in His ways.”

The text begins with a promise that is universal in its application to those who embrace these two principles; “Blessed is every one…” We are instructed in Proverbs 10:22, “The blessing of the Lord,it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.” How well might every intelligent human being desire it! The first key to its appropriation is Reverence. The assurance of God’s blessing is extended only to those who “fear the Lord.” This fear is first characterized by the conviction that God is. “…without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him [Heb. 11:6].” More than this, the fear of the Lord involves the conviction that God is right in all His judgments. It is one thing to believe in God and quite another to believe God. Abraham experienced the blessing of God in a very significant way because he “believed God.” Among others,James comments, “…Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God [James 2:23].”

This leads directly to the second principle: “…that walketh in His ways.” The faith that God is, and that His word is true leads to an inclination to obedience. Obedience, in my opinion, is too little stressed in many churches today. It is certainly true that we are not saved by our works, but scripture makes it unmistakably clear that the faith which alone saves us leads to a walk consistent with His will. It is sometimes overlooked that the familiar and precious passage in Ephesians (2:8-9) is immediately linked to v.10 which reads, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” The apostle Paul writes to Titus “…after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life [Titus 3:4-7],” thus making it clear that grace without works is the foundation of our justification; but the very next verse declares, “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.” And the Savior Himself said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments (cf. John 14:15,21, 15:10)

Here, then, is the key to temporal blessing; Fear the Lord and walk in His ways. In order to that, the believer must be informed by God’s word. The Psalmist says in another place, “”Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path [Psalm 119:105].” And again we read, “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and the reproofs of instruction are the way of life [Prov. 6:23].” The biblically illiterate cannot fulfill the divine requirement.

All of the above is reinforced from a negative perspective in the very first Psalm: “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 the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night [Ps. 1:1-2ff],” and again in Psalm 24—”The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation [Ps. 24:1-5, my italics].”

If your heart inclines to experience the blessing of the Lord, think on these things. There is more than a little wisdom in that old gospel hymn, “Trust (fear the Lord) and obey (walk in His ways.)”

For His glory and our good,

"Pastor" Frasier

Psalm 127 - 2010.01.16

“Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” —Psalm 127:1

It may be more than coincidence that brings this text into focus just as I have returned from my incredible journey to China. One cannot visit there without being overwhelmed by the building that is in progress, and the great cities in which it is taking place. And even a short stay must leave the Christian perplexed and dismayed by the spiritual poverty that accompanies this colossal enterprise. No text in the bible is more fitting to comment on man’s great, godless enterprise than this one, and I could not improve on Spurgeon’s comments on the text. I am going to let him be my “guest speaker” for this week’s VOW

Verse 1. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it. The word vain is the keynote here, and we hear it ring out clearly three times. Men desiring to build know that they must labour, and accordingly they put forth all their skill and strength; but let them remember that if Jehovah is not with them their designs will prove failures. So was it with the Babel builders; they said, "Go to, let us build us a city and a tower"; and the Lord returned their words into their own bosoms, saying, "Go to, let us go down and there confound their language." In vain they toiled, for the Lord's face was against them. When Solomon resolved to build a house for the Lord, matters were very different, for all things united under God to aid him in his great undertaking: even the heathen were at his beck and call that he might erect a temple for the Lord his God. In the same manner God blessed him in the erection of his own palace; for this verse evidently refers to all sorts of house building. Without God we are nothing. Great houses have been erected by ambitious men; but like the baseless fabric of a vision they have passed away, and scarce a stone remains to tell where once they stood. The wealthy builder of a Non such Palace, could he revisit the glimpses of the moon, would be perplexed to find a relic of his former pride: he laboured in vain, for the place of his travail knows not a trace of his handiwork. The like may be said of the builders of castles and abbeys: when the mode of life indicated by these piles ceased to be endurable by the Lord, the massive walls of ancient architects crumbled into ruins, and their toil melted like the froth of vanity. Not only do we now spend our strength for nought without Jehovah, but all who have ever laboured apart from him come under the same sentence. Trowel and hammer, saw and plane are instruments of vanity unless the Lord be the Master builder.

Except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. Around the wall the sentinels pace with constant step; but yet the city is betrayed unless the alert Watcher is with them. We are not safe because of watchmen if Jehovah refuses to watch over us. Even if the guards are wakeful, and do their duty, still the place may be surprised if God be not there. "I, the Lord, do keep it", is better than an army of sleepless guards. Note that the Psalmist does not bid the builder cease from labouring, nor suggest that watchmen should neglect their duty, nor that men should show their trust in God by doing nothing: nay, he supposes that they will do all that they can do, and then he forbids their fixing their trust in what they have done, and assures them that all creature effort will be in vain unless the Creator puts forth his power, to render second causes effectual. Holy Scripture endorses the order of Cromwell -- "Trust in God, and keep your powder dry": only here the sense is varied, and we are told that the dried powder will not win the victory unless we trust in God. Happy is the man who hits the golden mean by so working as to believe in God, and so believing in God as to work without fear.

In Scriptural phrase a dispensation or system is called a house. Moses was faithful as a servant over all his house; and as long as the Lord was with that house it stood and prospered; but when he left it, the builders of it became foolish and their labour was lost. They sought to maintain the walls of Judaism, but sought in vain: they watched around every ceremony and tradition, but their care was idle. Of every church, and every system of religious thought, this is equally true: unless the Lord is in it, and is honoured by it, the whole structure must sooner or later fall in hopeless ruin. Much can be done by man; he can both labour and watch; but without the Lord he has accomplished nothing, and his wakefulness has not warded off evil.

This meditation is also vain, unless we make a personal application. Who is building your house? who is watching your domain? The truth applies not only to great enterprise, but to individual endeavors as well. If God is not in charge, your “bottom line” will be a zero!

For eternal benefit,

"Pastor" Frasier

Psalm 126 - 2010.01.09

“When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.” - Psalm 126:1-3

This Psalm by interpretation applies to the nation of Israel. It refers to some experience of oppression, probably protracted, from which they had been delivered and therefore were filled with ecstasy; captives released from bondage and overwhelmed with gratitude to the God through Whom their release had come. In its historical context the passage has no specific relevance for the New Testament believer, but in spiritual application it may serve to edify us, and we will take the liberty of addressing it thus.

From a spiritual perspective all are, or have been, “captives” from birth. It is of interest to note that when the Lord Jesus Christ early in His public ministry “…came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He declared, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears [Luke 4:16-19, 21 my italics].” He came to “set the captives free.”

Paul wrote to Timothy that “…the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will [II Tim. 2:24-26].” As Israel was held captive by some unidentified oppressor, the world of the ungodly is held captive by the devil, and you and and I were among them. The glory of the gospel is that Christ, “When He ascended up on high…led captivity captive and gave gifts to men [Eph. 4:8].” He sets men free, one prisoner at a time as we put our trust in Him, and gives us the gift of eternal life (Rom. 6:23).

“The LORD hath done great things for us.” That was true for Israel temporally; it is true for the Christian, and for the true church, spiritually. Held under sin’s oppression and bondage, we were already “dead in trespasses and sins,” and powerless to accomplish our own deliverance. But, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” and accomplished for us all that was necessary to set us free. When the Philippian jailer facing the prospect of execution for losing his prisoners would have taken his own life, Paul intervened and the jailer cried, “What must I do to be saved?” The apostle’s response was, in glorious simplicity, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…” (See Acts 16:25-34) No “work” on our part is necessary to our deliverance. “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.” We need dig no tunnels, climb no walls, overpower no captors in order to obtain our freedom, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved [Rom. 10:13]!”

Our condition: captives of the devil, bound in the chains of sin. The conquest: “Christ the mighty maker died for man, the creature’s sin.” It is all of God and Christ. We have only to believe the gospel and receive Him by faith.

And the consequence? “Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing [and]…we are glad!” The children of God are those set free from sin and its awful consequences. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed [John 8:36].” There is no greater cause for joy and rejoicing than this. As Israel celebrated deliverance from their temporal bondage, so the children of God, whatever our lot on earth, ought to celebrate our redemption till we capture the attention of the unsaved around us, causing them to take note and say, “The LORD hath done great things for them.”

“These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”

For praise of the Savior and the prosperity of the saints,

"Pastor" Frasier

Psalm 125 - 2010.01.18

“They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.” —Psalm 125:1-2

If I were to give this Nugget a title, I think I should call it “Blessed Assurance,” for that is the essence of our text for today.

Let us consider first the engagement that affords this assurance. The key word is “trust.” Among a variety of dictionary definitions assigned to the term is this one which carries a legal connotation: “A confidence reposed in a person by making him nominal owner of property, which he is to hold, use, or dispose of for the benefit of another.” There is no real trust without commitment. I once heard it illustrated in terms of a chair: you do not trust a chair when standing beside it; you have only trusted it when you sit in it and trust it to support you.

Trust is not abstract. It requires an object, and is only as good as the object in which the trust is placed. The Object of that trust which gives the assurance afforded in our text is the Lord. It is not those who trust, but “They that trust in the LORD” who reap the promised benefit. He is the Person to Whom committing our trust will bring about the desired benefit. One may trust another who is not, in the end, trustworthy. Or, he may place his trust and make his commitment to one who is simply not capable of fulfilling the trust committed to him. In either case he loses. But when one trusts in the Lord he has committed himself to One who is perfectly trustworthy and who’s capability is that of “the maker of heaven and earth.” He is not only reliable, but infinitely capable.

Then there follows the enduement which results from trusting the LORD; in a word it is stability or security. “They…shall be as mount ZIon which cannot be removed.” The Psalmist remarks in another place, “Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip [Psalm 18:36].” Trusting in the Lord, he was on solid ground, stedfast and immovable. That is the blessing the Lord bestows on those who have committed themselves wholly to Him.

There is more, however, resulting from this trust. Employing the figure of the hills surrounding Jerusalem at various points of the compass, the inspired writer says, “so the Lord is round about His people.” Not only is there stable ground beneath their feet, there are citadels guarding on every side. No adversary can approach without the notice of our Heavenly Father and the assurance that He will protect us from the power of the enemy. Those who “trust in the LORD” are enveloped in His grace. The Savior said,”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 10:28-29].” We may come under attack, but never will we be overwhelmed.

And what remains to be seen as we reflect on this text, to which we have already alluded, is the endurance of this glorious benefit. The soul who ‘on Jesus leans for repose’ “abideth forever (v.1)” and is surrounded by His grace and power “from henceforth and forever (v.2).” Spurgeon said simply, “We trust in an eternal God, and our safety shall be eternal.” Trust in the Lord involves a commitment which secures our benefit “from here to eternity!”

The subject we have been considering is sometimes referred to by New Testament believers as ‘eternal security,’ though I personally do not prefer the term. In any case, let it be carefully noted that there is an indispensable link between the promise and its fulfillment. It is TRUST—in the LORD. The apostle put it this way: “…I am not ashamed: for I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day [II Tim. 1:12 my italics].” The question is, then, what have we committed to Him? Far too many have committed their destiny to Him who have never committed the journey, hence the ground is unstable beneath their feet and the journey is rough and uncertain.

Appropriate, then, in closing is this familiar but too lightly regarded text: “TRUST in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths [Prov. 3:5-6 again, my italics].”

Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
—Fanny Crosby

For a safe trip,

"Pastor" Frasier

Psalm 124 - 2010.01.02

“Our help is in the Name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” — Psalm 124:8

This text, in its immediate context, relates to Israel. In the larger context of scripture, however, applies to every believer and links him to the limitless power of the Creator. God is here defined as the One Who “made heaven and earth.” For a refresher on the significance of this, see the notes on Psalm 121 (12/12/09). It has, of course, no value whatsoever for those who do not believe in God.

This year, as you may know, has been celebrated as the 150th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, and there has been more than the usual emphasis on evolution as the explanation for our existence. The creator is ruled out and in His place two new gods have been affirmed as jointly accounting for the origin of everything: Time and Chance. All of this is part of an escalating attack on religion in general and Christianity in particular.

The real tragedy is not the secular anti-christian philosophy, but the fact that many professing Christians find it necessary to accommodate the philosophy of evolution. The simple fact is, you cannot have it both ways. If evolution is true, the Bible is false. The scriptures contain more than 70 references to God as the Creator of all that is. If God did not create heaven and earth, there are at least 70 lies in the bible from Genesis to Revelation.

The doctrine of evolution is a defiant denial of the integrity of the Word of God. Not only so, but it targets the integrity of the Lord Jesus Christ, for He specifically affirmed the divine creation in a way that cannot be equated with biological evolution. Speaking of judgment to come the Savior said, “For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be [Mark 13:19, my italics].” More than that, in remarking on the subject of divorce and remarriage Jesus said, “Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female…?” (See Mt. 19:4,5 and Mark 10:6) He not only affirms God as the Creator, but mankind as fully formed and sexually complete and functional from the beginning, diametrically opposed to the incremental change requiring billions of years proposed by evolution. What is important here, for the believer, is that evolution makes Christ either mentally incompetent or a deliberate liar.

Both evolution and revelation require an act of faith. Evolution proposes mindless chance working in an eternal pool of slime as the source of our intelligence. The bible declares an intelligent, personal and eternal God as the root of our being; “The Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” We leave it to the reader to decide which is the more reasonable.

Let it be understood, however, that to rule God out is to destroy all basis for meaning, purpose and hope. Adopt the evolutionary model and we came from nowhere, are devoid of meaning, headed for oblivion and accountable to no one; which is precisely what modern man prefers to believe. The moral philosophy for such a belief is, ”Let us eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” And not surprisingly, that is exactly the the lifestyle that is increasingly prevalent in our degenerating society. Granted, faith in God does not give us all the answers, but it does give us a point of reference, provides meaning for our existence and hope for eternity. The chaotic state of society is explained in terms of sin, an unpopular subject in this hedonistic culture. But, hope survives through “the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” which is what Christmas is all about.

Christians will not change the world by argument, nor save souls by debate, But we must decide whose side we are really on, and behave ourselves accordingly. Joshua laid out the issue for ambivalent Israel when he said, “…If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord [Josh. 24:15].”

Neither scripture nor reason give us the luxury of playing to both galleries.

For the true believer there is both hope and help in the God of the bible. “Our help is in the Name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” Have you trusted Him as your Savior—and LORD?

For His glory and our good,
"Pastor" Frasier