Thursday, December
06, 2012, 5:49 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me to the song “Not Be Silent” playing in my mind.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 16 (NIV 1984):
Keep me safe, O God,
for in you I take refuge.
I said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
As for the saints who
are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all
my delight.
The sorrows of those
will increase
who run after other gods.
I will not pour out
their libations of blood
or take up their names on my lips.
Lord, you have
assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines
have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
I will praise the
Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord
always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is
glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not
abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
You have made known to
me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Apart From You
The psalmist acknowledged his absolute dependence upon God
for all things, as well as he testified to the goodness of God, and his
recognition that apart from God, he had no good thing. So, what is good?
The spiritual fruitage (outgrowth) produced by a life
committed to Jesus Christ is considered “good fruit,” the gospel of Jesus
Christ is called the “Good News,” we are instructed to let our lights shine
before men so that they can see our “good deeds” and praise God (give glory to
God); “the good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him,” the spiritual
seed of the word of God fell on “good soil” where it produced a spiritual
harvest many times over what was sown, and “good seed” is also a reference to “the
sons of the kingdom.” Also, Jesus said there is only One who is good, and that
is God, also referring to himself as God. So, what can we take away from these
few Biblical descriptions of the word “good”? If God is the only One who is
good, then all other goodness must be rooted in God. He is the source of all
that is truly good, so “good” is in reference to God or “of God.”
The Good Stuff
The psalmist then went on to describe some of the good
things he had received from God:
The saints
The psalmist said that the saints in the land are the
glorious ones in whom is all his delight. So, what is a saint? Some faiths may
describe a saint as a man or a woman who excelled in good deeds during his or
her lifetime and so after death he or she would be given the honor of
sainthood, yet that is not what the Bible teaches about saints.
Beginning with the book of Acts in the New Testament, true
followers of Jesus Christ were referred to as saints. They were the ones who
had heard the Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ, had responded to the
call of God to holy living, by believing in Jesus Christ as Lord (master) and
Savior (from sin) of their lives, who had turned from their lives of sin
(repented), and who had turned to follow Jesus Christ in faith, obedience and
surrender to his will for their lives (see Jn 9:23-25; Eph 4:17-24).
God has given us one another. He has given us brothers and
sisters in Jesus Christ who love the Lord and who desire nothing more than to
honor him and please him in all that they do, who have a passion for lost
souls, who hunger and thirst after righteousness, and who love others with
Christ’s love. They are a blessing to our lives because they help encourage us
in our walks with Jesus Christ, they lift us up when we have fallen, and they
spur us on toward continuing, persevering and remaining steadfast in our faith.
They are a blessing from God!
My portion and cup
The psalmist thanked God for assigning him his “portion and
cup,” for giving him spiritual security and for a delightful inheritance. The
New Testament uses the word “cup” in several different ways.
One reference described the cup as something that offered
refreshment (a cup of cold water) for the physically thirsty disciple of Christ.
In yet another reference, Jesus described the cup as symbolic of suffering and
death for the sake of Christ and his gospel or of the cost of taking up one’s
cross daily to follow Jesus Christ. Jesus asked God the Father, on the night Jesus
was betrayed, if it were possible, that God would allow this “cup” to be taken
from him, yet he prayed, “Yet not as I will, but as you will.” He was speaking,
not only of the physical suffering and death he would have to endure for our
sake, but of the sins of the entire world that would be placed upon him in his
death, and for which he would die so that we could go free! This was indeed his
“portion and cup” and it is ours to follow, as well, i.e. to follow him in
suffering for his sake and in taking up our cross daily and following him.
Through following Jesus Christ into death to sin and
resurrection to new (transformed) life in Jesus Christ we, too, have a
delightful inheritance of eternity with God in glory! Although the psalmist may
have been speaking in terms of physical land (the Promised Land), and so he was
speaking of physical boundaries, perhaps, there are “boundary lines,” spiritually
speaking for the true follower of Jesus Christ. True grace offers true freedom
from sin. It does not give license to immorality or willful continuing in a
sinful lifestyle. God sets boundaries for each one of us to follow, and they
are for our own protection. When we stay within the boundary lines he has
provided for us, there is much security, peace and joy! When we venture outside
those boundary lines, we only know guilt and lack of inward peace or else we
must sear our consciences to where we quench the Spirit of God in our lives.
The Counselor
The psalmist praised the Lord who counseled him. Even at
night the Lord instructed him in his heart, and because of that good counsel,
the psalmist set the Lord always before him, and his life was not shaken
(disturbed; tossed about by the wind) because the Lord was his constant source
of strength, power and wisdom for his daily life and decisions.
Right before Jesus Christ left this earth to go back to his
Father in heaven, he comforted his disciples by telling them that if they loved
him, they would obey what he commands, and he would ask the Father, and he
would give them another (other than Jesus in the flesh) Counselor to be with
them forever – the Spirit of truth. He told them that the Spirit presently
lived with them, but he would be in them one day (see Acts 1:8). The Counselor,
the Holy Spirit, would teach them all things and would remind them of
everything Jesus had said to them in person. He would guide them into all
truth, and would only speak what he heard from the Lord Jesus and God the
Father (see John 14-16).
When we choose to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
and to invite him into our lives by faith, he indwells us with his Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit draws us to Christ, he is the one who transforms our hearts
away from lives of sin and toward walking in obedience to Jesus Christ, and he
is the one who inspires, counsels, directs, guides, and leads us into all
righteousness and holy living. He convicts our hearts of sins and he nudges us
when we are going the wrong direction, and he empowers us and strengthens us to
do God’s will. He is the Spirit of God within us; the living water; the life of
Christ, and we are his body (temple). The Holy of Holies now dwells with the
hearts of true followers of Jesus Christ and we can come to the throne of grace
to find mercy and help in our time of need 24/7. Amen!
No grave for me
When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, not only does he
deliver us from slavery to sin (day-to-day), but he also delivers us from the
ultimate penalty of sin, which is eternal damnation. He delivers us from
spiritual death while we still live on the face of this earth, i.e. he gives us
new lives in Jesus Christ full of meaning and purpose and direction, filled
with his peace and joy and love, and commitment to obeying and serving him in
obedience and surrender to his will for our lives, and overflowing with praise,
thanksgiving and love for others. He delivers us from our empty lives, which
were centered on ourselves and self-pleasure, and he focuses us toward himself
and loving God and others. Christ’s followers may all die physical deaths, but
we will live forever with God in eternity in our heavenly bodies. Amen!
Because of all this “good stuff” that God/Jesus has done for
us, our hearts and tongues should be overflowing with praise and thanksgiving
to God. We should tell others of his wondrous works on our behalf - how God
loved us so much that he sent his one and only Son to die on the cross for our
sins, and of how we can come to faith in Jesus Christ through death to sin and
through being transformed in new birth to new lives in Christ Jesus via the working
and power of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives as we now yield to his
Lordship. We should sing of his praises, speak of his salvation, and not be
silent!
“You
are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do
people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand,
and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same
way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and
praise your Father in heaven.” ~ Matt.
5:14-16 (NIV 1984)
Not Be Silent /
An Original Work / December 3, 2012
Based off Psalm 30
O Lord my God,
I’ll exalt You.
I called for help,
And You healed me.
O Lord my God,
You brought me from
the grave.
You spared me from
hell.
Sing to the Lord,
You saints of His;
Praise His holy name
today.
Weeping may
Remain for a night;
Joy at break of day.
Our debt He did pay!
O Lord my God,
I said, “I will
Ne’er be shaken.”
Secure, I felt.
O Lord my God,
You forgave me.
Confident I stand in
You.
When I could not see
Your face I was
dismayed.
I called to You.
O Lord, You are my
help.
You were merciful to
me;
By Your grace set
free!
O Lord my God,
I’m so thankful for
Salvation through my
Jesus.
You turned wailing
Into dancing;
Clothed me with
Your joy today,
That my heart may sing
To You and not be
silent.
Praise Your name.
O Lord my God,
I will give you
thanks forevermore.
My Lord, I adore!
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