Your Word Exalted

Monday, November 7, 2016, 6:51 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Give God the Glory.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 138 (ESV).

With my Whole Heart (vv. 1-3)

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
    before the gods I sing your praise;
I bow down toward your holy temple
    and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
    for you have exalted above all things
    your name and your word.
On the day I called, you answered me;
    my strength of soul you increased.

The heart of a person is his (or her) soul, spirit, emotion, mind, will and/or core (center). It is who we are, what we think, what we feel, what we choose, and what we believe. In our hearts we feel compassion, sympathy, kindness, concern and affection for others. In our hearts we can also demonstrate courage, fortitude and resolution, or we may feel worrisome or fearful. We may, as well, be heartbroken. Or, we may have wicked hearts bent on destruction, murder, wickedness, adultery, deceit, and the like.

So, if we give thanks to God and worship him with our whole hearts, then that means we thank him, praise him, and we worship him with our entire being – with all our mind, emotion, passion, conviction, determination, steadfastness and courage, i.e. with NO half-hearted devotion.

“Before the gods” we sing his praise for all that he is and for all that he has done. So, what does that mean? Who are “the gods”? They can be people in high up positions like kings and rulers, or they can be false gods of the people. So, what is the purpose of this? I picture this a lot like Daniel who, after the law was made that the people could not pray to any other god other than the king, or be thrown into a lions’ den, went home, and with windows open, got down on his knees three times a day and prayed to the One True God. This has to do with unashamed devotion to God/Jesus Christ, to where we will stand strong in our faith and in our determination to speak the truth of God’s Holy Word, even in the face of all strong opposition. It is where we will honor God’s Word as holy, even in the face of those who dishonor it and/or who threaten to persecute us if we continue in his Word.

For example, there is a global scheme in play right now to discredit the gospel, as taught by Jesus and by his NT apostles. The New World Order “Beast” is making a case to prove that evangelical Christianity is “religious extremism,” to be equated with terrorism, i.e. with hate crimes against humanity. If we, for example, teach against sins which the Bible spells out as sin, but which the world has embraced as the new normal, then we are tagged as bigoted, intolerant and as hatemongers. If we teach that Jesus is the only way to God the Father, then we are bigoted, prideful, and intolerant of other religions. If we teach that we must repent of sins and obey Jesus Christ and his teachings, then we are disunifiers and narrow-minded bigots.

The plot is to bring the whole world under a one-world government (totalitarian) and a one-world (all-inclusive) religion. And, the plan is to shame (or force) the world into compromise, and into doing away with all which divides us as the people of the world, so that we can all join hands with one another in unity under the Beast. This one-world government is being formed before our very eyes under the guise of “climate change.” The agreement has been signed (ratified) in Paris, and from what I understand, their first meeting will be on the 15^th of this month, at which time they will determine their “rule book” for the nations to follow (Google CMA1 or Paris Agreement 2016, or in combination with New World Order).

So, if we sing praise to the Lord with our whole being before these kings and before (in the face of) their false religions and false (social) gospels, then we unashamedly exalt the name of Jesus, for who he truly is, and we exalt his Word as the supreme authority over all false teachings and over all laws of men, written to oppose God’s Word. And, we do so knowing that we could be falsely accused, falsely arrested, persecuted, abandoned, rejected and even killed for our testimonies for Jesus Christ and for his gospel, because we believe in the truths to which we hold fast, and because we have Jesus Christ living within us, and we love him, and we love His Word, and we know that we are standing on the truth in the face of Satan’s lies and deceptions.

The Words of Your Mouth (vv. 4-6)

All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
    for they have heard the words of your mouth,
and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
    for great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
    but the haughty he knows from afar.

This brings to mind at least two New Testament passages of scripture:

“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God’” (Ro. 14:10-11). And, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11).

It appears that it was the psalmist’s conviction that when all the kings of the earth heard the Words of the Lord, from his mouth, that they would praise him and would sing of the ways of the Lord. We don’t have any such promise in scripture, as a whole, that I am aware of, though, that states that all kings on the earth will praise the Lord and sing of his ways after hearing his Words. We know, in fact, that the nations will trample on Jesus and on his servants in these last days, and will persecute the saints of God with great vigor, and that many of the people and kings of this world will never believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives, and will, thus, go to hell.

Yet, I do believe a day is coming when every knee will bow and will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that will be on the day when God comes in judgment. Remember how James said that even the demons believe and they shudder. They know Jesus is the Son of God, and that he is God, and they shudder because they fear God, but not in the sense of reverential fear in which they have trusted in Jesus Christ and honor him as Lord. Well, I believe it is something like that. When God comes in judgment, even his enemies will be forced to bow the knee in submission to God, not in love, honor and respect for him as Lord of their lives, but in fearful acknowledgment that he is indeed the God he claimed to be, and that he did exactly what he said he would do. At least, this is my impression, based on my understanding of what scripture teaches.

Yet, I do believe, that through judgment on the earth, during the Tribulation, that many people will come to faith in Jesus Christ – even kings and rulers of the people, if that were possible. Prophecy of scripture teaches that people will be saved during this time. And, it could very well be that they end up believing in Jesus when they see the strength and courage of his servants, when they are faced with enormous opposition, and yet they stand firm in their faith, and in their testimonies for Jesus Christ, and they still give honor and praise to their Lord even in the face of death. When they hear the Word of God, not only taught, but lived out through His faithful servants, many will turn their hearts to Jesus Christ and make him Lord of their lives.

His Purpose for Me (vv. 7-8)

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
    and your right hand delivers me.
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
    your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Do not forsake the work of your hands.

We live in troubled times, when the gospel of Jesus Christ and its messengers are under severe attack from the enemy of our souls. Many are being severely persecuted and even put to death for their faith in Jesus Christ, and for their stand on his Word and on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Others are being persecuted in less obvious ways, or in less physical ways. They are being attacked verbally, and even from many church pulpits, because they dare to hold to the tenets of the Christian faith, and the purity of scripture, and the gospel as taught by Jesus and his NT apostles.

The gospel has slowly and subtly been pecked away at until it barely resembles the gospel taught by Jesus and his apostles. And, it continues to be diluted and altered on a daily basis to make it more palatable and acceptable to the world, as well as to people of all religions, many of whom are becoming “Jesus admirers,” but not Jesus followers. But, then the Jesus they are admiring is largely not the Jesus Christ of scripture, but one that is man-made to fit with the sinful lifestyles and multi-religious practices of the people of this world. They paint Jesus as a do-gooder who just went around smiling and making people happy all the time, but who never confronted people with their sins, or called for repentance and obedience, and who welcomed people of all faiths and lifestyles, and never spoke of hell.

Yet, even though we live in these difficult times, and we know that things are only going to get much worse, before they get better, i.e. when Jesus comes back, we can rest in our Lord, trust in his promises, take him at his Word, and be comforted by his love, care and watch over us. This does not mean he won’t allow us to suffer. He will! The Bible says we will be hated and persecuted, as was Jesus, that we will be disciplined of God, in order that we may share in his holiness, and that we are destined for trials and tribulations. So, we shouldn’t expect that life is going to be easy for us.

Yet, he will be with us, he will strengthen and keep us, he will teach us and lead us in the way we should go, and he will give us all we need to remain firm in our faith and to keep on sharing his gospel, in order that many will be saved. God has a purpose in it all, to make us holy and like Jesus Christ.

Give God the Glory / An Original Work

Based off Psalm 19 / March 10, 2014

All of creation now proclaims:

“Give God the glory; honor His name!”

Each day the stars in heav’n above

Show forth His wisdom; tell of His love.

They do not speak. They have no voice.

Yet, they declare we have a choice:

“Worship the God of heav’n above;

Believe in Jesus; trust in His love.”

God’s word is perfect, just and good,

Refreshing souls who trust in the Lord;

Makes wise the simple; radiant -

Lighting our lives with God’s righteousness.

Joy to the heart His words now speak;

Pure and enduring, now we seek.

They are more precious than our gold;

Sweeter than honey; never grow old.

Keeping the word brings great reward.

By the word Jesus speaks and He warns,

Convicting hearts of all their sin;

Forgiving all who call upon Him.

Praying You keep me, Lord, from sins.

May they not rule my life again.

Then will I walk in all Your ways,

Following Jesus all of my days.

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