Psalm 136:1-9 NASB
Give thanks to the
Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting.
Give thanks to the God
of gods,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting.
Give thanks to the
Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting.
To Him who alone does
great wonders,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting;
To Him who made the
heavens with skill,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting;
To Him who spread out
the earth above the waters,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting;
To Him who made the
great lights,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting:
The sun to rule by
day,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting,
The moon and stars to
rule by night,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting.
There are many gods in this world of ours, but there is only
ONE TRUE GOD – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – who is the creator of the world
and of living creatures and of human life. He alone is ruler over all that he
has made.
And, He is the only One, the only God worthy of our praise,
thanksgiving, honor and worship. So, to him alone should we give such reverence
and veneration. To him alone should we commit our lives and our service. And, to
him alone should we pledge (vow) our allegiance (fidelity) with hand over
heart. For He alone is worthy, and he alone is True and totally Righteous.
He alone is truly and wholly good, who always has our best
interest in mind. He alone knows us from the inside out, because he is the one
who made us; who formed us in the wombs of our mothers. So, he alone should be
the one to direct our lives and to lead us in the way that we should go.
Psalm 136:10-22 NASB
To Him who smote the
Egyptians in their firstborn,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting,
And brought Israel out
from their midst,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting,
With a strong hand and
an outstretched arm,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting.
To Him who divided the
Red Sea asunder,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting,
And made Israel pass
through the midst of it,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting;
But He overthrew
Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting.
To Him who led His
people through the wilderness,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting;
To Him who smote great
kings,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting,
And slew mighty kings,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting:
Sihon, king of the
Amorites,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting,
And Og, king of
Bashan,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting,
And gave their land as
a heritage,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting,
Even a heritage to
Israel His servant,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting.
The slavery in Egypt of God’s people of old, and their
deliverance, and their wilderness journey, and their entry into the Promised Land,
for those who made it there, are a prefiguring of what Jesus Christ did for us
in shedding his blood for us on a cross so that we, through faith in him, might
be delivered from our slavery to sin, and so that we might walk righteously
before him, and so that one day we will be with him forever in glory.
For, when we came into this world, we were born in sin,
separate from God, and not able to be for the praise of God. In our own flesh
there was nothing we could do to please God or to be acceptable to him, or to
earn or to deserve our own salvation from slavery to sin. Thus, we were under
judgment, bound for hell, except for the grace of God.
But, God, who is rich in mercy, sent His only begotten Son
into the world to give his life up for us on a cross so that we, by faith in
him, could be set free from our bondage to sin, and so that we could live to
his righteousness, and so that we could have the hope and the promise of
eternal life with God.
Yet, we are still on this earth, for a time, and we still
live in flesh bodies, and this world is still under the curse of sin and death.
So, while we still live on this earth, we will still be tempted to sin, and we
will have pain and sorrow and difficulties and trials and tribulations. Satan
will come against us in many ways, and his many hordes will also viciously
attack us and persecute us and do all manner of evil against us.
And, so we must walk by faith and not by sight. We must
depend on our Lord to help us through every situation which presents itself to
us. And, we must trust in what he did for us on that cross to keep us walking
in purity and to keep us from giving way to the flesh. For, the Christian life
is a life of putting to death the deeds of the flesh, by the Spirit, and
putting on Christ and his love, his purity, and his righteousness.
And, we must remain faithful to him, and we must endure with
him to the end if we want to receive eternal life and enter into our “Promised
Land.” For, many who God delivered out of slavery to Egypt did not enter into
the Promised Land because of disobedience. And, throughout the New Testament,
we are warned that if we follow their example that we, too, will not inherit
what has been promised to those who love God.
Basically, what the scriptures teach us is that if we walk
(in lifestyle; in conduct) according to our sinful flesh, that we will not have
eternal life with God. If we make sin our practice, we don’t have eternal life
but a fearful expectation of hell. If we don’t leave our lives of sin behind us
and take up our cross daily and follow Jesus, but we hold on to our old lives,
this will end in death, not in eternal life (Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:19-21; Lu.
9:23-25).
We need to take this seriously, for scripture also teaches
that we will reap what we sow. If we sow to please our sinful flesh, from the
flesh we will reap decay (destruction, death). But, if we sow to please the
Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8).
So, don’t think that some decision you made at some point in
your life to believe in Jesus guarantees you heaven as your eternal destiny.
Our belief in Jesus has to be present tense, and that belief has to entail
repentance and obedience to Christ and to his commands or we don’t have eternal
life with God. And, one day many will hear, “Depart from me. I never knew you.”
Psalm 136:23-26 NASB
Who remembered us in
our low estate,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting,
And has rescued us
from our adversaries,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting;
Who gives food to all
flesh,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting.
Give thanks to the God
of heaven,
For His lovingkindness
is everlasting.
Yet, we can’t be rescued if we don’t want to be rescued.
Although Jesus paid the penalty for our sin so that we would be free of that
penalty and free of bondage to sin, by God’s grace, through faith in him, that
grace presently only applies to those who are truly trusting in the Lord Jesus
with their lives.
God’s grace to us applies to those who have put their
absolute faith in him and who are walking in his holiness and righteousness and
who are no longer conducting their lives according to the flesh.
This is not to say that we will live in absolute perfection,
though (See: 1 Jn. 2:1-2). But, it is saying that sin should no longer be what
controls our lives. It should no longer be our master. We should no longer be
enslaved to sin, but we should be servants of righteousness. And, if we do sin,
we should confess it and repent of it and then keep on in walking in obedience
to our Lord.
For, God’s lovingkindness to us was not just so we could be
forgiven our sin, be free from punishment, and have the hope of heaven when we
die. His grace, which brings salvation, teaches us to say “NO!” to ungodliness
and fleshly lusts, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while
we await our Lord’s soon return (See: Tit. 2:11-14).
So, just know that if you profess Jesus Christ as Savior and
Lord of your life, and you, thus, claim to be in fellowship with him, but you
continue to conduct your life in the darkness (in sin) and not in the light
(righteousness), that the Bible says you are a liar who does not live by the
truth (See: 1 Jn. 1:5-9; cf. Eph. 4:17-24).
So, know the truth, believe the truth, live the truth, and
the truth will set you free, and you will be free indeed!
Jesus,
I am Resting, Resting
Hymn
lyrics by Jean Sophia Pigott, 1876
Music
by James Mountain, pub.1876
Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,
And Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy transforming power,
Thou hast made me whole.
O, how great Thy loving kindness,
Vaster, broader than the sea!
O, how marvelous Thy goodness,
Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Belovèd,
Know what wealth of grace is Thine,
Know Thy certainty of promise,
And have made it mine.
Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,
Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings,
Meets, supplies its every need,
Compasseth me round with blessings:
Thine is love indeed!
Ever lift Thy face upon me
As I work and wait for Thee;
Resting ‘neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,
Earth’s dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father’s glory,
Sunshine of my Father’s face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting,
Fill me with Thy grace.
*copyright
status is public domain
Thursday, November 29, 2018
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