Saved from My Enemies
Psalm 18:1-6 NASB
“I love You, O Lord,
my strength.”
The Lord is my rock
and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in
whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn
of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord,
who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my
enemies.
The cords of death
encompassed me,
And the torrents of
ungodliness terrified me.
The cords of Sheol surrounded
me;
The snares of death
confronted me.
In my distress I
called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God
for help;
He heard my voice out
of His temple,
And my cry for help
before Him came into His ears.
Who is our enemy? He is Satan, the devil. He is God’s and
our arch enemy, our principal (main) enemy, our primary nemesis (opponent,
adversary). He contends with, he opposes and he comes against God, against Jesus
Christ (God the Son), the gospel of our salvation, and the Lord’s servants and
messengers. But he has hordes who are joining in with him, too, in opposing God
and his righteousness and the truth of his gospel of salvation.
But, as followers of Jesus Christ, we do not need to fear
Satan or his hordes. They have no real power over us. Yes, they can fight
against us, and they can injure us or even kill us, but they can’t steal the
love of God from our hearts unless we let them.
But, who are these hordes? They are the same as the ones
Jesus faced. They are leaders within the church – pastors, elders, deacons, and
teachers of the Word. And, they are church denominational heads, and heads of
governments, too, i.e. they are those who have authority over God’s people.
And, they are those who follow after false teachers and who have bought into
their lies, too, and who are buying into the cheap grace gospel, and thus they
are opposing the true gospel and its messengers, too.
They are those whose minds are in the gutter, who are
thinking on worldly things, whose minds are consumed with the passions (lusts,
desires) of the flesh, and not of God. They are the proud, self-sufficient,
self-indulgent, immature, foolish, fruitless, adulterous and worldly, but who
call themselves followers of Jesus Christ. They have an outward appearance of
righteousness, but in secret, in the dark, they engage in all manner of evil when
they think no one is looking, and no one knows what they are doing.
So, their outward displays of righteousness are more like
stage props, used in order to give out a desired impression or to enhance their
performance. And they can be such things as taking pride in church attendance
or in giving, or in their outward displays of worship of God, putting on a show
to look good on the outside while inside their hearts and their minds are
filled with the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life.
So, this is an outcry against all this godlessness that is
going on within the church in the name of God and in the name of Christianity. This
is an outcry against this cheap grace gospel, too, which is giving free license
to continue in the lusts of the flesh, as a matter of life course, while
claiming heaven as one’s eternal destiny. For, many people are being led astray
by this half-truth lie of a gospel that is of man, not of God. And, it is
destroying their lives. So, this is a prayer for God to come to the rescue to
save his people.
Fire from His Mouth
Psalm 18:7-8 NASB
Then the earth shook
and quaked;
And the foundations of
the mountains were trembling
And were shaken,
because He was angry.
Smoke went up out of
His nostrils,
And fire from His
mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by
it.
This is about a judgment of God against this cheap grace
gospel which is flooding the church like a torrent. And, it is against those
who are spreading this cheap grace gospel, too.
For what they are teaching is a half-truth lie which is
leading people to believe that they can be “saved” from their sins, and have
heaven as their eternal destiny, but that they can continue living in sin,
captive to the lusts of their flesh. And many are now taking it to the point of
telling people they don’t have to repent of their sins or obey God or submit to
Christ as Lord but that heaven still awaits them when they die.
And, this judgment is coming from the MOUTH of God via His
Word and via his servants and messengers who are exposing Satan’s lies and who
are preaching the truth of the gospel as Jesus and his NT apostles taught it.
God is fighting fire with fire, i.e. he is fighting these
passions of the flesh with the Word of his truth, and he is showing the lies
for what they are, and he is expounding his truth through those who are his
willing servants in taking his truth to the world, and who are willing, too, to
expose the lies for what they are.
The lie is that we can live however we want, yet on a
profession of faith in Jesus Christ we can have heaven as our eternal destiny.
The truth is that true salvation from sin and eternal life with God are not
guaranteed on a profession of faith, but on faith as is evidenced in submission
to Christ, in obedience to his commands, and in leaving our sinful lifestyles
behind us to follow our Lord in obedience.
Not saying here that we have to live in sinless perfection,
but that our walks of faith determine whether or not our faith is genuine (Rom.
8:1-17).
This mindset that says that how we live doesn’t matter to
God, for his grace covers it all, is a lie from hell. And, it is sending many
people to hell while promising them freedom (like the Pharisees did).
For, it allows for its followers to be spiritually lazy and
apathetic, and to continue in wickedness and in all manner of evil and in
self-indulgence and foolishness. But, then it tells them that a mere profession
of faith is enough to get them into heaven, so it serves more like a stage
prop, but it is artificial and temporary.
But, when we call on God in truth, and we repent of our
sins, and we obey his commandments, and when we submit to Christ as Lord of our
lives, and we walk in holiness and godliness, empowered by the Spirit of God,
then we have heaven secured and we have the promise of eternal life with God.
Then we are rescued from the enemy of our souls and from
godlessness. Then, we are delivered from our slavery to sin and we are
empowered of the Spirit of God to walk righteously before our Lord the rest of
our days. Amen!
So, don’t buy into the lies which will send you to hell
while promising you heaven. Know the truth which will set you free. Jesus died
that we might die with him to sin and that we might live with him to his righteousness.
If, instead, we continue in sinful lifestyles (practices), then we don’t have
eternal life with God but a fearful expectation of the fires of hell.
[See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-21;
Gal. 6:7-8; Rom. 2:6-8; Eph. 4:17-24; Eph. 5:3-6; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1
Co. 6:20; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 1 Jn. 2:3-6]
Jesus, Lover of My
Soul
Lyrics by Charles
Wesley, pub. 1740
Music by Simeon B.
Marsh, 1834
Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
Oh, receive my soul at last.
Other refuge have I none,
Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed,
All my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of Thy wing.
Wilt Thou not regard my call?
Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?
Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall—
Lo! on Thee I cast my care.
Reach me out Thy gracious hand!
While I of Thy strength receive,
Hoping against hope I stand,
Dying, and behold, I live.
Thou, O Christ, art all I want,
More than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
Heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy Name,
Source of all true righteousness;
Thou art evermore the same,
Thou art full of truth and grace.
Plenteous grace with Thee is found,
Grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound;
Make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art,
Freely let me take of Thee;
Spring Thou up within my heart;
Rise to all eternity.
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