Psalm 31:1, 11-13
NASB
“In You, O Lord, I
have taken refuge;
Let me never be
ashamed;
In Your righteousness
deliver me…
Because of all my
adversaries, I have become a reproach,
Especially to my
neighbors,
And an object of dread
to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in
the street flee from me.
I am forgotten as a
dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken
vessel.
For I have heard the
slander of many,
Terror is on every
side;
While they took
counsel together against me,
They schemed to take
away my life.”
In today’s world, this describes the persecuted church. And,
she is being persecuted because of her faith in Jesus Christ, and because of
her stand on the truths of scripture, and because she is also proclaiming those
truths in opposition to the lies. And, so she is being strong-armed (pressured),
via various manipulative and cruel means, into changing her stance, and into recanting
her testimony, and into supporting the lies, instead.
But, it isn’t just the faithful of God who are being
persecuted. It is all who will not bow to the beast New World Order, and who
won’t be strong-armed into submission to the beast world system, whether it be
governments of various nations or corporations or whatever. For some are being
threatened with punitive measures if they will not conform to the New World
Order.
Many are having their livelihoods threatened. Many are being
smeared with lies and slandered for no fault of their own, but just because
they are standing for what is right and because they are saying “No” to the
beast world system, and its one world order, and its one world religion.
But, it isn’t just people or governments or corporations who
won’t bow to the beast who are being persecuted, but it is the gospel itself
which is under persecution, and which is being slandered, discarded, twisted, and
rejected. For, the gospel of Jesus Christ is being accused of being false
teaching and works-based salvation, and it is being accused of being
legalistic, judgmental, and intolerant. For, the truth is being promoted as
lies, and the lies are being promoted as truth.
So, for the persecuted follower of Christ, this is a prayer
for deliverance from an oppressive enemy force. This is a prayer seeking
deliverance from all adversaries. This is a prayer seeking the truth to be
revealed and for the lies to be exposed so that the follower of Christ can be
free from accusation and can be exonerated, and for their life on earth to be
saved out of the hands of their enemies.
But, we must know this. There are no guarantees in this life
that we will be delivered from persecution other than through death. I am not
saying it won’t happen, but that our Lord told us we would be hated and
persecuted as he was, and he was delivered over to death. Yet, sometimes the
Lord does bring us relief on this earth, and he does exonerate us in this life.
But, if he doesn’t, we still need to trust him.
But, he will deliver us from the persecution taking us out.
He will give us all the strength we need to endure, and the wisdom to know how
to respond to our persecutions and to our persecutors. And, he will give us
inward peace that surpasses all human understanding, and he will fill us with
his joy even when we are being severely persecuted for our faith. We just have
to keep trusting the Lord, and keeping standing on the truth no matter what.
Psalm 31:6, 13-18, NASB
“I hate those who
regard vain idols,
But I trust in the
Lord…
For I have heard the
slander of many,
Terror is on every
side;
While they took
counsel together against me,
They schemed to take
away my life.
But as for me, I trust
in You, O Lord,
I say, ‘You are my
God.’
My times are in Your
hand;
Deliver me from the
hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
Make Your face to
shine upon Your servant;
Save me in Your
lovingkindness.
Let me not be put to shame,
O Lord, for I call upon You;
Let the wicked be put
to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.
Let the lying lips be
mute,
Which speak arrogantly
against the righteous
With pride and
contempt.”
Well, I don’t believe we should hate anyone. We can hate
what they do. We can hate what they stand for. But, we must love and forgive
them. But, forgiveness does not turn a blind eye to nor does it tolerate sinful
rebellion, especially as it regards doing harm to others, especially to the
innocent. So, we can forgive our persecutors, but that doesn’t mean we make
allowances for them to continue in their sin, or that we approve their sin, or
that we make compromises with them in order to make peace with them.
Instead, if possible, we should lovingly confront them with
their sins, if we have knowledge of specific wrongdoing, and we should call
them to repentance and to obedience to Christ, and to being reconciled with
those whom they have injured and with God.
For many live as enemies of the cross, just doing what their
evil hearts desire. They are gluttonous, living in willful rebellion against
God, addicted to sin. They are sluggards who have no qualms against sinning
against others or against enticing others to sin with them. And, they have no
problems taking advantage of others without conscience, either.
And, the sad reality of this is that we are not just talking
about people out in the world. We are talking about people and pastors and
church leaders within the gatherings of the church who are living like this,
taking advantage of others for their own sinful pleasures, who are being
abusive, and who are covering up their sins with lies, even lies against those
they are sinning against.
Many of them are false teachers who are bringing the gospel
into disrepute, who are convincing people to reject the true gospel in favor of
a cheap grace gospel that makes no demands for repentance, submission or
obedience, and which gives free license to continue in sinful practices without
guilt. And, thus they are leading people straight to hell while promising them
heaven.
And, then there is the cheap grace gospel itself which is
luring people into sinful rebellion against God and into living immoral
lifestyles. It is very seductive and manipulative and deceptive in its claims
that you can be “saved” from your sins, be guaranteed eternal life with God,
but that you can continue living in sin without it impacting your eternal life
with God.
So, this again is a prayer for deliverance, not just from
persecution, but from deception, and from temptation to be lured into sinning
against God. For, the cheap grace gospel and its creators are very much
interested in destroying our lives so that we go to hell while being convinced
we are going to heaven. So, we as the people of this world need to have our
eyes opened to this deception so that we are not taken captive by charming
deceivers.
And, this is a prayer for the liars and their lies to be
exposed for what they are and for the truth to come out so that the veil of
deception is lifted from people’s eyes, so that they will believe and follow
the truth, and so that their lives will be saved for eternity. And, this is
also a prayer that the lies being spread about the Lord’s servants and
messengers also be exposed so that his servants and witnesses might be
exonerated.
Psalm 31:23-24 NASB
“O love the Lord, all
you His godly ones!
The Lord preserves the
faithful
And fully recompenses
the proud doer.
Be strong and let your
heart take courage,
All you who hope in
the Lord.”
So, the encouragement here is for all of us who profess
faith in Jesus Christ to truly love our Lord by walking in obedience to his
commands and by walking with him in holiness and righteousness. It is for us to
live godly and holy lives, pleasing to our Lord. And it is for us to be
faithful to our Lord in all our ways, too, and to not give the devil a foothold
in our lives in any way.
And, this is also a warning to all who are living in sinful
rebellion against God, who are continuing in sinful addiction, living to please
the flesh, who are being spiritually lazy, and who are inviting immorality into
their lives due to their own negligence and their own openness to temptation to
sin.
We are all going to reap what we sow. If we sow to please
the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction, but if we sow to please the
Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8; cf. Rom. 2:6-8;
Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 5:3-6; Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).
So, know the truth which will set you free. Reject the lies
of Satan, and believe the truth of the gospel which says we must die with
Christ to sin and live with Christ to righteousness if we want to have eternal
life with God.
The Ninety and Nine
Lyrics by Elizabeth C.
Clephane, 1868
Music by Ira D.
Sankey, 1874
There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold;
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare;
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.
“Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;
Are they not enough for Thee?”
But the Shepherd made answer: “This of Mine
Has wandered away from Me.
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep.”
But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed;
Nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through
Ere He found His sheep that was lost.
Out in the desert He heard its cry;
’Twas sick and helpless and ready to die.
“Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way,
That mark out the mountain’s track?”
“They were shed for one who had gone astray
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.”
“Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?”
“They’re pierced tonight by many a thorn.”
And all through the mountains, thunder-riv’n,
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of heav’n,
“Rejoice! I have found My sheep!”
And the angels echoed around the throne,
“Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!”
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