Monday, January 14,
2013, 6:30 a.m. – the Lord woke me with the song “He Keeps Me Singing” playing in my mind. When I sat down to have
my quiet time with the Lord, he put the song “Send a Revival” in my mind.
He Keeps Me Singing / Luther B. Bridgers
There's within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low:
Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be
still,
In all of life's ebb and flow.
All my life was wrecked by sin and
strife,
Discord filled my heart with pain;
Jesus swept across the broken strings,
Stirred the slumbering chords again.
Though sometimes he leads through
waters deep,
Trials fall across the way,
Though sometimes the path seems rough
and steep,
See his footprints all the way.
Soon he's coming back to welcome me
Far beyond the starry sky;
I shall wing my flight to worlds
unknown;
I shall reign with him on high.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Sweetest name I know,
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.
Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 130 (NIV 1984):
Out of the depths I
cry to you, O Lord;
O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be
attentive
to my cry for mercy.
If you, O Lord, kept a
record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is
forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.
I wait for the Lord,
my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the
Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
O Israel, put your
hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem
Israel
from all their sins.
Out of the Depths
The psalmist said that “out of the depths” he cried out to
the Lord. The “depths” he spoke of apparently were times of trouble and
hardship or deep affliction and distress, yet they could have been rooted in
some type of personal depth of sin, as well, especially in light of the
following verses, though it could be that it was because of others’ sins, i.e.
because of the sins of the people of God in general that Israel as a nation was
suffering.
In the song “He Keeps Me Singing,” we have both a picture of
God leading his children through trials and difficulties as part of his plan
for their lives to grow and mature them in Christ, and a picture of a life
wrecked by sin and strife for which Jesus “stirred the slumbering chords again.”
For the life wrecked by sin and strife Jesus provides forgiveness and
restoration to the repentant and humble heart who calls upon God. For the life
experiencing the trials and tribulations of this life as part of God’s plan to
make that life holy, pure and set apart for God, Jesus promises to be with us,
that we have nothing to fear, and he reminds us that he is in control in good
times (ebb) and bad (flow).
Whether the psalmist was crying out to God out of the depths
of his own personal sin, or out of the depths of affliction due to the sins of
others, or out of the depths of despair because of the trials and difficulties
in his life that God chose to lead him through, I do not know. What I do know
is that whether we are presently found in the depths of sin either as an
unbeliever or as a believer who has fallen back into sin, or we are going
through personal hardships and difficulties in our lives, God wants us to call
upon him. If we are in the depths of sin, he wants us to call upon him in
sorrow, humility and repentance. If we are in the depths of despair over
circumstances in our lives, he wants us to call upon him in faith and trust,
believing that he has allowed this in our lives for a purpose, not giving way
to fear, but believing that God will work all things out for our good if we
love (obey) him.
There is Forgiveness
When we are in the depths of sin, or we are in the depths of
despair due to circumstances out of our control, and perhaps we have given way
to fear, or we have turned to old sinful habits as a way of coping with our
difficult situations, if we would but humble ourselves and pray, seek God’s
face, and turn from our wicked ways, God will hear us from heaven, and he will
bring spiritual healing to our souls – he will “stir the slumbering chords
again.” I know this from personal experience as one who turned to my Lord Jesus
Christ to be my Savior and Lord, and as one who at a particular time in my life
turned back to sinful ways in order to cope with circumstances too painful for
me, rather than putting my hope and trust in God. Yet, God’s love was unfailing
and his forgiveness and restoration unending. He definitely stirred my “slumbering
chords.”
To slumber means to sleep, to be in a state of inactivity or
rest, or to be in a state of being dormant or quiet (see Encarta Dictionary). Dormant
means to be in an inactive state when growth and development slow or cease, in
order to survive adverse environmental conditions (Encarta). Wow! This is such
a picture of how Jesus described the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3. He
said they were neither hot nor cold, but they were lukewarm. I believe that is
a picture, overall, of the institutional church in America today. And, God is
going to have to wake us up, but when he does, we need to see his footprints
all the way.
Wait for the Lord
A watchman is someone who is employed to patrol or guard
buildings or an area (Encarta). The purpose of a watchman literally and
figuratively (spiritually) speaking in the Bible times was to keep guard, to
watch for enemies approaching, and to sound the trumpet as a warning. If the
person receiving the warning did not heed the warning, his blood was on his own
head, for if he had taken the warning seriously and had heeded it, he would
have saved his life (see Ezekiel 33). The spiritual watchman’s job was to warn
against continued sin against God and God’s judgments, and he was to call upon
the people to humble themselves in repentance and faith in God, and God would
forgive their sins and would restore them.
God has called spiritual watchmen (and women) to his service
today, as well, to warn God’s people against continued sin and rebellion, to
open the eyes of the spiritually blind, and to turn them from darkness to light
and from the power of Satan to God, so they may receive forgiveness of sins and
a place among those who are being sanctified and made holy by faith in Jesus
Christ (see Acts 26:16-18). He has called these watchmen and women of God also
to warn against false teaching and against putting our trust in men (and
princes) and armies of men which cannot save, and to call the people of God to
put their hope and trust in the Lord God alone (see Ps. 40:4; 146:3; Is. 31:1; Matt.
10:35-37; Acts 20:29-31).
The psalmist said he waited for the Lord like a watchman
waited for the morning when he would be off-duty. For the spiritual watchman “off-duty”
will only come when Jesus Christ returns for his bride, to judge and to set up
his kingdom reign on the earth. That will be the “morning” the watchman is
waiting for when our salvation is complete, Christ returns, and we are no
longer under the control or temptation of sin, but we will live in perfect
harmony with our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father God and Holy Spirit. Then,
there will be no more need for warnings or for calls to repentance, because
that time of warning will be past. The psalmist put his trust in the word of
the Lord, including in his promises of a future with God for eternity and an
eternal rest with God from trouble, hardship, sorrow and the pain of sin.
O Israel
Israel, i.e. the people of God, at the time this psalm was
written was the Jews, the nation of Israel, whose temple was in Jerusalem. Yet,
after Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, and he rose from the grave triumphant
over death, hell, Satan and sin, the people of God became all those who put
their faith and hope in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives, whether
Jew or Gentile believer. The Jews, thus, who chose to reject Jesus Christ as
their Messiah and Savior became just like the Gentiles, i.e. they are of the
slave woman instead of being of the free woman, and physical Jerusalem is of
the slave woman, and true Israel is comprised of those who are circumcised in
heart through faith in Jesus Christ, not those who have been just physically circumcised,
or who are physical descendants of Abraham only, or who were born Jews. True
Israel, i.e. the people of God today, is comprised of those who believe in
Jesus Christ, and who have turned from their sins, and who have turned to walk
in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ.
I believe this psalm is a picture of a child of God who is
crying out to God in his own despair, either due to his own sin or the sins of
his own people who, perhaps, are suffering God’s discipline, and he is praying
for God’s mercy. He believes in God’s forgiveness of sins and is so thankful
that God is so merciful and loving. He waits for the time of our Lord’s return
when our salvation will be complete and we will be with our Lord forever, and
in the meantime he puts his trust in the Lord and in his word.
And, he serves as a watchman for God calling all God’s
people to turn from their sins, to find forgiveness and restoration in our Lord
Jesus Christ, and to put their hope and trust in God, and not in men, for with
the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. Then, the Lord will
stir our slumbering chords again, and we, the people of God, will be revived! I
can hardly wait for the day when the church of today is revived of heart, turns
from sin, calls on God in faith and repentance, and turns to walk in faithful
obedience to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Oh, what a day that will be!!
Send a Revival / An Original
Work / June 25, 2011
Send a revival
to this nation, Lord, I pray.
Bring us to our
knees, Lord, humbly today.
Teach us to
daily walk in your footsteps.
Guide us in
your truth, and may we find rest.
Send a revival
to this nation, Lord, I pray.
Bring us to our
knees, Lord, humbly today.
Be our desire
and our hearts’ pure devotion, Lord.
Make us a
people who walk close to you.
Change our
hearts to conform to your likeness.
May we love
others who are in distress.
Be our desire
and our hearts’ pure devotion, Lord.
Make us a
people who walk close to you.
Teach us to be
an example of your love, Lord.
May we serve
others as though serving you.
Keep us in
fellowship with you, I pray.
May we obey you
in all things today.
Teach us to be
an example of your love, Lord.
May we serve
others as though serving you.
No comments:
Post a Comment