“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.”
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
No comments:
Post a Comment