Be Glad in the Lord

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

    I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,

    which must be curbed with bit and bridle,

    or it will not stay near you.

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

    but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,

    and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (Psalms 32:8-11 ESV)

If we read this in its full context we realize that this was written by King David. And in this Psalm he spoke of how blessed we are whose sins have been forgiven by God, whose sins are not now held against us in whose spirit there is no deceit. And then he shared of a time in his life when he had sinned against the Lord, but he kept silent about his sin, and so the Lord’s hand was heavy upon him.

But then he acknowledged his sin to the Lord, and he did not cover up his iniquity as he had previously done, but he agreed with God and he aligned with God about his sin and he repented of his sins (he turned from his sins) and then the Lord forgave the iniquity of his sin. And so he then encouraged all the godly to offer prayers to God, and God would be their hiding place, and he would preserve from trouble those whose trust was in him.

And then he went from that to the quoted section of this Psalm above, which sounds as though it is God speaking, yet many believe it was David still speaking, that he was the one who was going to instruct the people in the ways of the Lord, in the ways that they should go, and that he would counsel them with a watchful eye over their lives to warn them to not be stubborn as a mule and to not resist the will of God and to go their own way, instead.

But whether it was God speaking directly or it was David speaking, God did speak through human beings, such as through David and through God’s prophets, and so he used human beings to speak his words to other human beings, just as he still does today. But we must be very discerning with regard from whom we receive instructions and counsel, for not everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ is following Jesus and teaching the truth.

So I counsel you to test everyone and everything you read or hear against the Scriptures in their full and appropriate context. For many lies are being spread from Scriptures taught outside of their context and twisted to say what they do not say if they are taught in context. And I counsel you not to be bullheaded and think that you can go your own way, and not God’s way, and that God is still going to let you into his heaven. He won’t!

For the Scriptures teach that we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands if we want to have eternal life with God. And if we choose, instead, to hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness and holiness, and not obedience to our Lord and to his commands, God’s word teaches that we will not inherit eternal life with God.

But many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are still walking in sin, still deliberately and habitually sinning against the Lord while claiming for themselves salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But that does not agree with Scripture, and for those who know better, they are miserable. For the only way to true peace with God, and true joy, is to walk in obedience to our Lord and to be the upright in heart, in practice, in the power of God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Video Talk

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I Sing of His Mercy  

An Original Work / April 10, 2014

Based off Psalm 32 

Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven

By the blood of Jesus Christ.

Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does

Not count against them; freedom found.

When, in silence, I did not confess 

My sin to You; had no strength.

Then I owned up to my sin and

You forgave and cleansed me within.

Therefore let the godly pray to You;

Draw near to You; grace they’ll find.

They will not be o’ertaken by afflictions,

But in Christ peace abounds.

Lord, You are my hiding place.

I find my refuge in You secure.

You protect me from all evil.

You give songs of vict’ry in You.

Lord, You teach me to walk in Your ways;

Counsel me in love, I know.

Help me to not be stubborn and

Unwilling to follow in Your truth.

Thank You for Your love and mercy.

I put my trust in You always.

I rejoice in my Lord and 

I sing of Him throughout all my days.

https://vimeo.com/91747192