Before the gods I Sing

Psalm 138:4-6 ESV

“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.”

There was a time in America when many godly men served in our pulpits in the church and they taught the whole counsel of God. They sang of the ways of the Lord – of the ways of holiness, godliness, and righteousness. And, they taught repentance and obedience to Christ and to his commandments.

But then many of them retired or they died in their old age, and many of them, but not all, were replaced with men of the flesh, who taught a different gospel other than the one Jesus taught. And, these men of the flesh turned God’s church into a marketplace, and they unequally yoked the church together with the unbelieving and with the ungodly.

And, now the ways of the Lord, and the words of God’s mouth, were being replaced with the ways of men, and with the words of men. And, the truth of God’s word was replaced with a half-truth (lie) gospel of men in their deceitful scheming. And, they were now leading many people away from pure devotion to Jesus Christ to return to the ways of their sinful flesh.

But the Lord had other servants of his on reserve, who he had been preparing, and then he called them to do what these others were supposed to be doing, but who were unwilling to teach the truth of God’s word.

And, these he called were the lowly, the despised, the forgotten and the forsaken. And, among them were women, too, who were willing to sing of the ways of the Lord, even if it meant being harassed and despised, in return. And, the haughty, who refused to speak the truth, he rejected.

Psalm 138:7-8 ESV

“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.”

For those of us now who are singing of the ways of the Lord, and who are calling those intoxicated by the lusts of the flesh to repentance and to obedience to Christ, we are among the persecuted for our faith and for our testimonies for Jesus Christ.

We are the ones under attack by the enemy. The enemy has no reason to go after “Christians” who are useless and fruitless for God’s eternal kingdom, who are still living to please the flesh, and who are refusing to bow the knee to the Lord in submission to his will for their lives.

The enemy is going to attack those of us who are opposed to his kingdom, who are exposing it for what it is, and who are calling people to come out of the darkness into the light, because we are a threat to his kingdom. So, he is going to come after us with his vicious attacks and false accusations.

But Jesus didn’t promise us that we would not have to suffer for righteousness’ sake. He promised, in fact, that we would suffer like he did, and that we would be hated, persecuted, falsely accused, falsely arrested, and put to death for our testimonies for him and for his gospel.

Yet, though our Lord may or may not rescue us physically from our enemies, and he may allow us to go through much suffering, he will deliver us from the affects of that persecution on our minds and on our hearts, and he will fill us with his joy and with his peace even in the midst of suffering.

Psalm 138:1-3 ESV

“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.”

When the Lord calls us to his service, we must answer, and we must not fear what man may do to us. We must speak the truth in love boldly and in the power of the Holy Spirit with full conviction of the Holy Spirit of God. We must be passionate about getting out the truth of God’s word, and about exposing the lies of the enemy, too, so that many will hear the truth, and so that they will turn from their sins and now walk in obedience to their Lord.

And, when we speak out publicly, and we proclaim the truth and expose the lies, it is before the gods, before kings and rulers, and before false gods and false teachings, too, that we cry out and we call out for people to repent of their sins and turn to walks of obedience to Christ, knowing full well that we may lose our lives for the words that God has us speak without fear.

And, in our boldness, and in the power of God’s Holy Spirit, we must exalt the name of Jesus Christ above all other names, for the Lord will give us strength, and he will give us courage, and he will help us to say what needs to be said, and he will give us the words to speak. And, then we must commit our way to the Lord and trust him to work his will in it all.

And, yes, the more we speak out, and we expose the lies, and we tell the truth, the greater the risk of us losing our lives for the name of Jesus and for the sake of his gospel, but then we will be forever with our Lord. Amen!

There’s a Stirring

By Annie Herring

There's a stirring deep within me
Could it be my time has come
When I'll see my gracious savior face to face when all is done
Is that his voice I am hearing?
'Come away, my precious one'
Is he calling me?

I will rise up, rise up
And bow down
And lay my crown
At his wounded feet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yocTjkB6hV8

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