The Verse the Culture Misquotes Most Regularly in an Effort to Quiet Christians

By J. Warner Wallace 9/9/2016

     As a Christian, I’m often at odds with the culture around me. As our society embraces a growing number of unbiblical behaviors and attitudes, I find myself becoming more and more vocal in my opposition. I’m not alone; many other conservative Christians are also taking a stand for what the Bible teaches, particularly when it comes to moral behavior. Maybe that’s why I seem to hear Matthew 7:1 tossed around so frequently by those who want Christians to quiet down:

     (Mt 7:1) “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. NRSV

     Whenever we, as Christians, speak out against something in the culture, one of two labels is immediately employed in an effort to silence us: we are either branded “intolerant” or “judgmental”. To make matters worse, the second label is often attached to the teaching of Jesus Himself. Are we Christians defying the words of our Master when we speak against the behaviors, attitudes or worldviews affirmed by others? Did Jesus command us to be silently non-judgmental?

     This selective use of scripture by the opposition is perhaps the finest example of what we at Stand to Reason are addressing when we caution people to “never read a Bible verse””in isolation. Matthew 7:1, when read in isolation from the larger context of the Sermon on the Mount, may seem to command a form of silent acceptance and tolerance advocated by the culture, but a closer examination of the verse reveals Jesus’ true intent. If Jesus was advocating some form of quiet tolerance, how do we explain the following statements?

     (Mt 7:6) “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you. NRSV

     (Mt 7:13–14) 13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. NRSV

     (Mt 7:21–23) 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’ NRSV

     Wow, Jesus seems vocally judgmental in these passages. Some people are dogs and swine, unworthy of our efforts. Some people are wrong about the path they choose. Some people are false prophets. Some people are true disciples and some are not. Jesus sure seems comfortable making judgmental statements about people in these passages. How could Jesus say such things when he began this part of the sermon by saying, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged”? Maybe we should revisit the first verses of Matthew 7:

     (Mt 7:1–5) 7 “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2 For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. NRSV

     It turns out that Jesus is not prohibiting vocal discernment in these passages, but is cautioning against a certain kind of unbecoming behavior: hypocritical judgmentalism. We are called to live differently so that we can effectively identify and address unbiblical behavior in our culture. I cannot be a practicing thief and effectively caution against thievery. I cannot be an active adulterer and effectively advocate monogamy. I’m going to have to “first” stop and assess my own behavior (take out my own “log”) before I can “then” caution others about their behavior (help them take the “speck” out of their eye). This is a “first / then” commandment. Both sides of the directive are important; Jesus is commanding two equally critical actions. First, we must change our behavior; become people of God who are above reproach. Second, we must actively engage others about their behavior. Some ideas are good and some are bad. Some prophets are true and some are false. Some people are right, some people are wrong. We are called to make statements about such things after we eliminate hypocrisy in these areas of our own lives. We, as Christians, are called to (1) live righteously, and (2) speak out about unrighteousness. We are less likely to do this, however, if we allow folks misquote Jesus in an effort to silence us.

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J. Warner Wallace is a Cold-Case Detective, a Christian Case Maker, and the author of:

• Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels

• God's Crime Scene: A Cold-Case Detective Examines the Evidence for a Divinely Created Universe

• Alive: A Cold-Case Approach to the Resurrection

• Cold-Case Christianity for Kids: Investigate Jesus with a Real Detective

• Keeping Your Kids on God's Side: 40 Conversations to Help Them Build a Lasting Faith

• Forensic Faith: A Homicide Detective Makes the Case for a More Reasonable, Evidential Christian Faith

Never Read a Bible Verse

By Greg Koukl 2/4/2013

     If there was one bit of wisdom, one rule of thumb, one single skill I could impart, one useful tip I could leave that would serve you well the rest of your life, what would it be? What is the single most important practical skill I've ever learned as a Christian?

     Here it is: Never read a Bible verse. That's right, never read a Bible verse. Instead, always read a paragraph at least.

     My Radio Trick | When I'm on the radio, I use this simple rule to help me answer the majority of Bible questions I'm asked, even when I'm totally unfamiliar with the verse. It's an amazingly effective technique you can use, too.

     I read the paragraph, not just the verse. I take stock of the relevant material above and below. Since the context frames the verse and gives it specific meaning, I let it tell me what's going on.

     This works because of a basic rule of all communication: Meaning always flows from the top down, from the larger units to the smaller units, not the other way around. The key to the meaning of any verse comes from the paragraph, not just from the individual words.

• 1     The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important that Happens in Between
• 2     Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions
• 3     Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air
• 4     Jesus, the Only Way: 100 Verses
• 5     Faith Is Not Wishing: 13 Essays for Christian Thinkers
• 6     "Misquoting" Jesus? Answering Bart Ehrman (Solid Ground)
• 7     Precious Unborn Human Persons

The Coming of the Kingdom part 5

By Dr. Andrew Woods 6/11/2012

Evangelical Confusion

Because today’s evangelical world largely believes that the church is presently experiencing the messianic kingdom, we began a study chronicling what the Bible teaches concerning this important issue of the kingdom. That there will be a future, messianic kingdom on earth has been revealed thus far through the divine intention to restore the office of Theocratic Administrator ( Gen. 1:26-28 ) that was lost in Eden ( Gen. 3 ). Likewise, the promise of a future, earthly, messianic reign was prophesied in the Abrahamic Covenant ( Gen. 15 ) and related sub-covenants. While these covenants guarantee that the kingdom will one day come to the earth through Israel, according to the Mosaic Covenant, the kingdom’s ultimate manifestation is conditioned upon the nation’s acceptance of Christ as her long-awaited king during the events of the future Tribulation period. Previous articles also explained how God restored the office of Theocratic Administrator that was lost in Eden, at least in a limited sense, at Sinai. This theocratic arrangement covered most of Old Testament history as God, even after the time of Moses, governed Israel indirectly through Joshua, various judges, and finally, Israel’s kings until the Babylonian Captivity ended the Theocracy. Such termination initiated a dark time in Jewish history known as the “Times of the Gentiles” ( Luke 21:24; Rev. 11:2 ) when the nation had no Davidic king reigning on David's Throne as Judah would be trampled down by various Gentile powers. Against the backdrop of such bondage entered Jesus Christ, the rightful heir to David’s Throne. The Gospel accounts identify Christ as the long-awaited regal heir prophesied in the Old Testament.

Kingdom Offer

As noted earlier, when the Abrahamic Covenant and related sub-covenants are considered in harmony with the Mosaic Covenant, Israel’s covenantal structure can best be described as an unconditional covenant with a conditional blessing. In other words, any Jewish generation must satisfy the conditional Mosaic Covenant before they can enter into the Abrahamic Covenant’s unconditional blessings. Such a condition can be satisfied if Israel enthrones the king of God’s own choosing ( Deut. 17:15 ). Thus, it was incumbent upon first-century Israel to enthrone Christ in order to enter into all of her covenantal blessings.

The opportunity for first-century Israel to enthrone Christ and consequently experience all these blessings is known as “the offer of the kingdom.” This idea is captured in the expression “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” as proclaimed to the nation by John the Baptist ( Matt. 3:1-2 ), Christ ( Matt. 4:17 ), the Twelve ( Matt. 10:5-7 ), and the Seventy ( Luke 10:1, 9 ). What this expression means is that the unchallenged rulership that God experiences in heaven had drawn near to the earth in the person of Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Davidic king. It is also called “the kingdom of heaven” since the kingdom will be inaugurated by the “God of heaven.” Notice how Daniel connects this “God of heaven” with His coming kingdom:

(ESV) Matthew 3:1–2 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying,  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 10:5–7 5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them,  “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6  but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7  And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Luke 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
Luke 10:9 (ESV) 9  Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

What this expression means is that the unchallenged rulership that God experiences in heaven had drawn near to the earth in the person of Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Davidic king. It is also called “the kingdom of heaven” since the kingdom will be inaugurated by the “God of heaven.” Notice how  Daniel connects this “God of heaven” with His coming kingdom: (ESV) Daniel 2:44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,

Because the king was present, the opportunity to enthrone Him was a reality for first-century Israel. However, the expression “at hand” does not mean that the kingdom had arrived. Rather, the kingdom was near or in a state of imminence or immediate expectation since the presence of the king allowed first-century Israel to make a bona fide choice to enthrone Christ and thus enter into her covenantal blessings.

Notice that the word “kingdom” in the expression “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” is left undefined by John the Baptist, Christ, the Twelve, and the Seventy. This lack of a New Testament definition shows that the notion of the kingdom was understood by how the concept had already been developed in the Old Testament. As we have learned, the Old Testament portrays a coming earthly, messianic kingdom. This kingdom is anticipated in the office of Theocratic Administrator that was lost in Eden, in the biblical covenants, in the earthly theocracy governing Israel from the time of Moses to Zedekiah, and in the predictions of the Old Testament prophets. Had first-century Israel enthroned Christ, this earthly kingdom would have become a reality not only for the nation but also for the entire world. Israel’s covenants would have been fulfilled, and the Times of the Gentiles would have terminated.

First Century Israel Rejects The Kingdom Offer

Despite the unprecedented opportunity for the establishment of the messianic kingdom due to the presence of the king among the first-century Jews, tragically, Israel rejected the kingdom offer. Why did the Israel of Christ’s day reject the opportunity to establish the kingdom? At least two reasons can be given. First, Christ emphasized in the Sermon on the Mount that the kingdom was not only physical and political but also moral and spiritual ( Matt. 5-7 ). Here, Christ reiterated what the Old Testament had already revealed that while the kingdom would certainly be earthly and terrestrial it would also be moral and ethical ( Ezek. 37:23-24 ). Thus, citizens of Christ’s kingdom had to exhibit certain moral qualities ( Matt. 5:3-12 ). Because Israel was far more interested in a physical and political kingdom that would overthrow an oppressive Rome than they were in a spiritual and moral kingdom ( John 6:15, 26 ), Christ’s emphasis upon the moral characteristics of His kingdom set the stage for Israel’s ultimate rejection of the kingdom offer.

Second, Israel pursued righteousness by way of self-effort rather than by accepting the imputed or transferred righteousness offered by Christ (Matt. 5:20 ). Israel’s works-oriented Pharisaical system (Mark 7:13 ) caused the nation to stumble over Christ’s simple message that righteousness can only be gained by faith alone (John 6:28-29 ). Romans 9:30-32 explains,

 "What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over THE STUMBLING STONE."

While a small Jewish remnant did accept Christ’s message, the crux of the nation as well as the nation’s leadership stumbled over it.

The Gospels carefully reveal Israel’s rejection of the kingdom offer. The turning point is found in  Matt. 12:24. When the Pharisees were unable to explain away one of Christ’s many miracles, they instead attributed the miracle’s performance to Satanic powers. At this point, the expression “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” virtually disappears from Matthew’s Gospel. The phrase does not resurface until the offer is re-extended to a distant generation of Jews during the future Tribulation period ( Matt. 24:14 ). Such an absence signifies that God took the kingdom offer off the table when the Pharisees demonstrated unbelief when confronted by Christ’s miracles. This rejection of the offer was ratified at Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem as well as by the nation’s decision to hand Christ over to the Romans for crucifixion ( Matt. 21–23; 26–27 ). Israel’s rejection of the kingdom offer is also represented in the following statement by the nation’s religious leaders to Pilate:

"Pilate said to them, 'Shall I crucify your King?' The chief priests answered, 'We have no king but Caesar'"  (John 19:15 ).

Thus, John well summarizes:

“He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him” ( John 1:11).

Because Israel rejected the offer of the kingdom, the messianic kingdom was not established at Christ’s First Advent. Instead of inheriting His rightful kingdom, Christ never became king over the nation and consequently was “cut off” and inherited “nothing” ( Dan. 9:26a ). While the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant prevents Israel from forfeiting ownership of the covenanted promises, first-century Israel’s lack of response to the offer of the kingdom prevented the nation from possessing these blessings. From the time of Christ up to the present hour Israel remains only the owner rather than the possessor of the covenanted promises. Although not cancelled, the messianic kingdom remains in a state of postponement. Just as past generations of Jews were disciplined for Mosaic Covenant violations ( 2 Kgs. 17; 25 ), Christ-rejecting first-century Israel also experienced divine discipline ( Deut. 28:49-50 ) by means of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple resulting in over a million Jewish deaths when Titus of Rome invaded Israel thirty-eight years after the time of Christ in the horrific events of A.D. 70 ( Dan. 9:26b; Matt. 24:1-2; Luke 19:41-44 ).

The Interim Age And The Kingdom's Postponent

Due to Israel’s rejection of the kingdom offer resulting in the messianic kingdom’s postponement, Christ began to explain the spiritual conditions that would prevail during the kingdom’s absence. This interim program includes His revelation of the kingdom mysteries ( Matt. 13 ) and the church ( Matt. 16:18 ). Before describing these spiritual realities, a few preliminary remarks must be made about this new interim age.

First, the fact that God knew that Israel would reject the kingdom offer ( Dan. 9:26a ) thereby ushering in His eternal purpose for the interim age in no way implies that the offer of the kingdom to national Israel was not a legitimate or bona fide offer. An all-powerful God can use the free will of His creatures in order to accomplish His eternal purposes. Chafer explains:

...God not only knows beforehand the choice His creatures will make, but is Himself able to work in them both to will and to do of His own good pleasure. The Scriptures present many incidents which disclose the fact that the will of God is executed by men even when they have no conscious intention to do the will of God...Was the death of Christ in danger of being abortive and all the types and prophecies respecting His death of being proved untrue until Pilate made his decision regarding that death? [1]

In other words, when Israel of its own free will rejected the kingdom offer, that decision was used by an all-powerful God to usher in the next major phase of His pre-ordained plan. This plan entailed Christ paying the sin debt of the world by dying on the cross and God’s present work in the interim age.

ENDNOTES

By John Walvoord

The Prophecy in  Haggai

     Little is known concerning  Haggai except that he was the first prophet to speak to the house of Israel in the postexilic period. His book, the second shortest book of the Old Testament — only  Obadiah is shorter — reported five messages relative to the rebuilding of the temple. Each message was dated in the year 520 BC, the second year of Darius I. Haggai was a contemporary of Zechariah, whose ministry followed his and that of Ezra, who recorded the first return to the land.  Haggai 1:1–11 should be compared with  Ezra 4:24–5:1; Haggai 1:12–15 should be compared with  Ezra 5:2 and  Zechariah 1:1–6; Haggai 2:10–23 should be compared with  Zechariah 1:7–6:15; also,  Ezra 5:3–17 and  6:1–13 should be compared with  Zechariah 7–8.

     The messages that Haggai recorded were given to Zerubbabel, who was governor of Judah, and to Joshua the high priest. The theme of the messages was stated in  Haggai 1–2, in which God rebuked the people for procrastinating on the rebuilding of the temple.

     The pilgrims had returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity in 538 BC and had attempted to build the temple, laying the foundation as recorded in  Ezra 3. Adversaries, however, accused them of rebuilding the city and succeeded in getting an order from King Artaxerxes (465–424 BC), who ordered them to stop building. When Haggai delivered his message, eighteen years had passed since the original start. King Artaxerxes had died, but no one apparently dared to proceed. The book of  Haggai recorded his rebuke of the people of Israel for not building the temple and the beginning of her undertaking to construct it.

Haggai’s Message of Rebuke

     Haggai 1:1–11. The prophet Haggai delivered the word of the Lord, which raised the question of why Israel was living comfortably in her own houses while the house of God was in ruin. Haggai reminded her that God had chastened her; her crops had not brought forth plentiful harvest because God was withholding His blessing.

Haggai’s Word of Encouragement

     Haggai 1:12–15. When the people responded to Haggai’s message and began rebuilding the temple, Haggai delivered the message of the Lord, encouraging them, “‘I am with you,’ declares the LORD” (v.  13 ). Under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest, work began on the temple.

Haggai’s Second Message of Encouragement

     Haggai 2:1–9. The few who had seen the original temple saw, obviously, that the house they were building was far less glorious than that of Solomon’s. But God, speaking through Haggai, exhorted them to be strong and continue building the temple (vv.  2–4 ). Haggai delivered the message of God: “‘Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear’” (vv.  4–5 ).

     In addition to encouraging the people of Israel, God reminded her of His ultimate purpose of bringing in the kingdom on earth when Christ returns in His second coming. Haggai reported the word from God: “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty” (vv.  6–7 ).

     God also promised, “‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty” (v.  9 ).

     In this prophecy God was predicting the distant future where, before the second coming of Christ, the earth will be judged and Christ will return to take possession of the redeemed earth for the millennial kingdom. In this connection He will not only bless the temple that Israel was then building but also the future temples — one to be built in the period preceding the second coming of Christ, and the great temple described in  Ezekiel 40–43 to be built after the second coming. God will glorify the millennial temple and will also glorify Himself in the temple that Israel was then building.

Haggai’s Second Message of Rebuke

     Haggai 2:10–19. God delivered through Haggai the message concerning that which is defiled and that which is pure. The pure contacting the impure does not make the impure pure. Accordingly, what Israel had been doing and offering to the Lord was considered defiled. The result was that God had limited her harvests and not blessed her in a material way. Now that she was beginning the building of the temple, God declared, “From this day on I will bless you” (v.  19 ). This was fulfilled in the building of the temple.

Haggai’s Final Message of Encouragement

     Haggai 2:20–23. The Lord instructed Haggai the prophet to deliver a message to Zerubbabel, stating, “Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother” (vv.  21–22 ). This referred to God’s sovereign judgment on the various governments and peoples throughout history and especially will be true of the final judgments preceding the second coming of Christ.

     The message continued, “‘On that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the LORD Almighty” (v.  23 ).

     The closing verse of  Haggai was another confirmation of the restoration of Israel with a background of judgment of Gentile power in the world. God promised to honor Zerubbabel and make him like a signet ring, a token of royal authority. This was not to be fulfilled in Zerubbabel’s lifetime but was symbolic of the coming of Messiah, at which time Zerubbabel will be raised from the dead and share delegated authority with David in the millennial kingdom. In this revelation God was reassuring His people of His ultimate blessing on her and the ultimate fulfillment of the promises to David concerning his kingdom and his people.

The Prophecy In Zechariah

     Zechariah, the prophet whose book bears his name, was an outstanding postexilic prophet. The son of Berakiah and the grandson of Iddo, a priest ( Zech. 1:1 ), Zechariah was born in Babylon during the time of the Babylonian captivity ( Ezra 12:4, 16 ). Both Ezra and Nehemiah described him as “a descendant of Iddo” ( Ezra 5:1; 6:14; cf.  Neh. 12:4, 16 ). He was both a prophet and a priest. His name, a common one shared with about thirty other individuals mentioned in the Old Testament, has the meaning, “The LORD remembers.” Zechariah had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon with the first expedition of about fifty thousand Jewish exiles. He was a contemporary of Haggai the prophet, Zerubbabel the governor, and Joshua the high priest ( Ezra 5:1–2; Zech. 3:1; 4:6; 6:11 ).

     After the return of the Jewish captives to Jerusalem, an altar had been built to renew the burnt sacrifices ( Ezra 3:1–6 ), and the second year after they returned, the foundation of the temple was laid ( Ezra 3:8–13; 5:16 ). Because of the opposition of people of the land, however, the building of the temple was halted until 520 BC, when the children of Israel responded to the preaching of Haggai the prophet and began rebuilding ( Ezra 5:1–2; Hag. 1:1 ). Haggai was not mentioned after the brief period in which he prophesied, but Zechariah picked up the prophetic ministry (v.  1; Zech. 1:1 ). Portions of Zechariah’s prophecy that were dated were related to the rebuilding of the temple, which was completed in 515 BC. Undated prophecies, such as those found in  Zechariah 9–14, may have been written later.

     The important events, from Haggai’s first sermon to the dedication of the temple, form a chronological background for Zechariah’s time and may be itemized as follows:

August 29, 520 BC.          First sermon of Haggai ( Hag. 1:1–11; Ezra 5:1 ).
September 21, 520 BC.          The rebuilding of the temple resumed ( Hag. 1:12–15; Ezra 5:2 ).
October 17, 520 BC.          Haggai’s second sermon of encouragement ( Hag. 2:1–9 ).
October–November 520 BC.          Ministry of Zechariah began ( Zech. 1:1–6 ).
December 18, 520 BC.          Haggai’s second message of rebuke and third message of encouragement ( Hag. 2:10–23 ).
February 15, 519 BC.          Zechariah’s eight visions ( Zech. 1:7–6:8 ).
December 7, 518 BC.          The delegation from Bethel with question about fasting ( Zech. 7 ).
March 12, 515 BC.          The temple dedicated ( Ezra 6:15–18 ).

     The book of  Zechariah as a whole constituted one of the most compact apocalyptic prophetic books of the Old Testament. The book of  Zechariah included not only the eight prophetic dreams, which were visions that occurred in one night ( Zech. 1:7–6:8 ), but also apocalyptic descriptions that constituted eschatological revelation. Chapters  9–15 concluded the book with two prophetic oracles relating to Israel’s future restoration. Though the apocalyptic sections are not easy to interpret, careful study will reveal the literal prophetic facts that are related to them.

The Warning to Repent

     Zechariah 1:1–6. God warned the children of the captives of Israel not to be like their forefathers: “‘Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.” But they would not listen or pay attention to me,’ declares the LORD” (v.  4 ). The children of Israel had repented, but it was too late. They were carried off into captivity.

The First Vision: The Rider on the Red Horse

     Zechariah 1:7–17. The date of the vision was declared to be the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebar in the second year of Darius. This was February 15, 519 BC. This prophecy in verse  1 uses a Gentile ruler to date the period, a reminder that the children of Israel were living in the times of the Gentiles and that Jerusalem would be under control of the Gentiles and Israel would be scattered.

     The man on the red horse (v.  8 ) was identified as the Angel of the Lord (v.  11 ), which was a theophany, or an appearance of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. The fact that the Angel of the Lord was the Lord Jesus Christ in the theophany was indicated in  Zechariah 3:1–2 as well as many other Scriptures. The horses that were described were declared to be messengers of God sent throughout the earth ( 1:10 ) to find out what state the world was in. They reported to the Angel of the Lord, “We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace” (v.  11 ).

     The fact that the nations were at peace when Israel was in captivity resulted in the revelation that God was angry with the nations (vv.  14–15 ). The promise of the Lord was given for the restoration of Israel, “Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the LORD Almighty” (v.  16 ). The prophecy concluded with the statement that prosperity would extend to the towns around Jerusalem and that God would comfort the people of Israel (v.  17 ). In general, the vision indicated that God would restore Israel in the immediate future. The rebuilding of the temple would be part of their present restoration after the Babylonian captivity.

The Second Vision: The Four Horns and the Four Craftsmen

     Zechariah 1:18–20. In the second vision Zechariah saw four horns, which were described as scattering Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem (vv.  18–19 ). The four craftsmen were God’s instrument in bringing judgment on the very nations that afflicted Israel; “the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people” (v.  21 ).

     The four craftsmen may be identified as four judgments from God: the sword, famine, wild beasts, and the plague (cf. Ezek. 14:21; Rev. 6:1–8). The revelation was to the point: The nations that afflicted Israel would themselves be afflicted, a fact that has been well illustrated in the history of the nations that afflicted Israel. Some have interpreted the four horns as relating to the four empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, but the scattering seems to refer to a period before Zechariah. In that case, the four empires might be Assyria, Egypt, Babylonia, and Medo-Persia. The principle was established, however, that God would ultimately judge those who judged Israel just as surely as He would restore Israel.

The Third Vision: The Man Who Will Measure Jerusalem

     Zechariah 2:1–13. Zechariah saw a man with a measuring line (v.  1 ). When asked where he was going, the man said, “To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is” (v.  2 ). Interpreters of this Scripture have made several suggestions concerning who this man with the measuring line was. Some interpret him as a person whose identity was not known. Others think of it as Zechariah himself or the Angel of the Lord, Christ Himself in His Old Testament theophany. Actually, the Scriptures do not make it clear. The important point is that the revelation indicated that Jerusalem was to be rebuilt (cf.  Ezek. 40:3–5 ). As such, the revelation would be an encouragement to those building the temple though the city itself was still in ruin.

     After the preliminary revelation, the angel to whom Zechariah was speaking left, and another angel told him to run after the young man and declare, “‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it. And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will be its glory within’” (vv.  4–5 ).

     This revelation, while related to the rebuilding of Jerusalem, obviously extended beyond the building of the city that followed the coming of Nehemiah. God’s ultimate purpose is to build Jerusalem in the millennial kingdom, where it will be a large city without walls as described here.

     In keeping with God’s plan to restore Jerusalem and the people of Israel to her land, God invited her to come back from her scattering all over the world to the holy land (v.  6 ). He declared, “‘Come, O Zion! Escape, you who live in the Daughter of Babylon!’ For this is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘After he has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you — for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye— I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me’” (vv.  7–9 ). The passage goes on to describe the blessings of Israel in the millennial kingdom, following the second advent of Christ (vv.  11–12 ).

The Fourth Vision: Joshua the High Priest

     Zechariah 3:1–10. This vision differed from the previous visions in that the actors were identifiable and the symbolic actions did not require the same extent of interpretation as provided by the angel in previous visions. The actors included Joshua the high priest (v.  1); the Angel of the Lord, a theophany of Christ (v.  1 ); and Satan the accuser standing to accuse Joshua (v.  1 ). In addition to Zechariah himself, who was part of the vision, there were apparently angels in attendance (v.  4 ).

     In the vision Joshua was pictured as standing before the Angel of the Lord (v.  3 ), implying that he was functioning as a priest ( Deut. 10:8; 2 Chron. 29:11 ). The fact that the Angel of the Lord was Christ in His revelation as an Old Testament theophany was brought out in  Zechariah 3:2, where He spoke to Satan, and in verse  4, where He spoke as the Angel. Also, in verse  2 the Lord was distinguished from the Angel of the Lord speaking to Satan.

     Because of Satan’s accusation, the scene became a judicial judgment on sin rather than a portrayal of the priestly work of Joshua. Joshua was pictured as “a burning stick snatched from the fire” (v.  2 ), indicating that he had been rescued in order to be one who serves the Lord. The reference to the Lord’s choosing Jerusalem (v.  2 ) indicated that Jerusalem had been chosen by the Lord for forgiveness and restoration.

     The spiritual situation of Israel, however, was portrayed by Joshua and his filthy clothes (v.  3 ). The Angel of the Lord commanded “those who were standing before him” to take off Joshua’s filthy clothes, representing the act of God in taking away the sin of Israel, and instead to clothe him in the righteousness of God (v.  4 ).

     Having been cleansed, Joshua then was exhorted by the Angel of the Lord to walk in the ways of the Lord and was promised that if he did, he “will govern my house” (v.  7 ), “have charge of my courts” (v.  7 ), and be given a place of one representing the people of Israel (v.  7 ). The vision, which represented Joshua being cleansed and recommissioned, was declared to be “symbolic of things to come” (v.  8 ).

     The ultimate cleansing and restoration of Israel will result from God’s servant, the branch, coming (v.  8 ): the second coming of Christ to bring in His future kingdom and restore the people of Israel. Referring to Christ as “the branch” (v.  8 ) indicated that He was a descendant of David and will sit on David’s throne ( 2 Sam. 7:8–16; Isa. 11:1 ). As the branch, Christ will exercise supreme authority as King of Kings as well as occupy the throne of David ( Isa. 4:2; Jer. 23:5; 33:15; Zech. 6:12–13 ). As the branch, He will also be the servant of the Lord and will do God’s will ( Isa. 42:1; 49:3–4; 50:10; 52:13; 53:11 ).

     As the stone ( Zech. 3:9; Ps. 118:22; Matt. 21:42; 1 Peter 2:6 ), He will bring purging judgment on the Gentiles ( Dan. 2:44–45 ), and to Israel He will be a stone of stumbling in their time of unbelief ( Rom. 9:31–33 ). Ultimately, however, in the time of Israel’s restoration He “will remove the sin of this land in a single day” ( Zech. 3:9 ). The result of the second coming of Christ — the establishment of His kingdom on earth and the restoration of Israel — will be peace on earth, fulfilling the promise that “‘in that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree,’ declares the LORD Almighty” (v.  10 ). The seven eyes (v.  9 ) indicated the all - seeing God who has complete knowledge of what is going on in the world and will judge in the light of that infinite knowledge ( Isa. 11:2–5 ). Taken as a whole, the vision reassured Joshua and the people of Israel that Israel should proceed in building the temple and promised the ultimate fulfillment of her restoration at the second coming of Christ.

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Every Prophecy of the Bible: Clear Explanations for Uncertain Times

How do Our Hearts Grow in Holiness?

By Chris Webb 8/18/2017

     Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologiae, discusses the root and origin of sin by comparing two verses, one from the New Testament and the other from the Deuterocanonical books. He notes first that Paul writes to Timothy: “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim 6:10). But alongside this he sets a line from the apocryphal book of Sirach which says (in the Latin Vulgate), “pride is the beginning of all sin” (Sir 10:15). Whether or not we want to accept, with Aquinas, the authority of the deuterocanonical text, the point he makes from these verses fits well with the tenor of Scripture as a whole. The first, he says, describes the way in which we allow our hearts to turn to an inappropriate degree towards the beauty and richness of creation. But the second cuts to the deeper and more serious issue of the way we allow our eyes to be turned away from God himself in the first place. As Paul puts it so directly, “they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Rom 1:25). Our hearts become increasingly holy as they are healed of these twin maladies; we begin though by focusing our attention on the latter, our prideful turning from God.

     The most odious corruption of love within our souls takes place when we allow love to become inwardly directed and self-absorbed. Christians insist on a simple truth which is strikingly counter-cultural in our contemporary society, obsessed as it is with self-realization and self-regard: we are not here to love ourselves.

     Now that needs some qualification, of course. It is not that we Christians are called to hate ourselves. The loathing which some people experience when they look in the mirror is neither natural nor healthy. But, contrary to the way many preachers and writers have come to interpret Christ’s teaching on the great commandments, the call to “love your neighbor as you love yourself ” (Mt 22:39) does not imply that our first task is to learn self-love. The twelfth century Cistercian writer Bernard of Clairvaux had a clearer picture. In his short but brilliant work “On Loving God,” he argued that love at its least perfected is inwardly focused, seeking only its own good. And this self-love is not true love at all, merely the power of love corrupted into pride and vanity. As grace begins to reorder our hearts, though, some of that love starts to turn outward, towards God (and our neighbor), drawing us beyond ourselves–even if initially only because of the selfish benefits we can derive from others. A yet more well-ordered heart is able to love God and others for their own sake. And finally, says Bernard, we then truly learn what it means to love ourselves: to be grateful for the gift of ourselves, the only thing we truly have to offer to God and those around us, to express love. Growth in holiness ends in a proper love of self by turning outward to others, not by turning inward on ourselves.

     The hallmark of the holiness of Jesus is this constant turning toward others seen in his constant acts of humility and service. Perhaps the most striking example occurs on the night of the last supper. The apostle John tells us that Jesus, fully aware of his divine origins and significance, was seeking a way to love his disciples “to the end” (Jn 13:1–an equally accurate translation of the Greek could be “to the utmost”). So he stripped off his outer garment and proceeded to perform the work of the lowest, most menial slave: washing the filthy, dirt-crusted feet of those around him. The disciples are shocked and appalled, so much so that Peter is embarrassed for Jesus and tries to refuse. But Jesus persists, teaching them what holiness towards others might mean—and calling them to love one another to exactly the same degree.

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Help from on High (Prayer)

By Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

     O THOU who art King of kings and Lord of lords, we worship Thee.

     "Before Jehovah's awful throne
     We bow with sacred joy."

     We can truly say that we delight in God. There was a time when we feared Thee, O God, with the fear of bondage. Now we reverence, but we love as much as we reverence. The thought of Thine Omnipresence was once horrible to us. We said : "Whither shall we flee from His presence ? " and it seemed to make hell itself more dreadful, because we heard a voice, "If I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there." But now, O Lord, we desire to find Thee. Our longing is to feel Thy presence, and it is the heaven of heavens that Thou art there. The sick bed is soft when Thou art there. The furnace of affliction grows cool when Thou art there, and the house of prayer when Thou art present is none other than the house of God, and it is the very gate of heaven.

     Come near, our Father, come very near to Thy children. Some of us are very weak in body and faint in heart. Soon, O God, lay Thy right hand upon us and say unto us, "Fear not." Peradventure, some of us are alike, and the world is attracting us. Come near to kill the influence of the world with Thy superior power.

     Even to worship may not seem easy to some. The dragon seems to pursue them, and floods out of his mouth wash away their devotion. Give to them great wings as of an eagle, that each one may fly away into the place prepared for him, and rest in the presence of God to-day. Our Father, come and rest Thy children now. Take the helmet from our brow, remove from us the weight of our heavy armour for awhile, and may we just have peace, perfect peace, and be at rest. Oh ! help us, we pray Thee, now. As Thou hast already washed Thy people in the fountain filled with blood and they are clean, now this morning wash us from defilement in the water. With the basin and with the ewer, O Master, wash our feet again. It will greatly refresh ; it will prepare us for innermost fellowship with Thyself. So did the priests wash ere they went into the holy place.

     Lord Jesus, take from us now everything that would hinder the closest communion with God. Any wish or desire that might hamper us in prayer remove, we pray Thee. Any memory of either sorrow or care that might hinder the fixing of our affection wholly on our God, take it away now. What have we to do with idols any more? Thou hast seen and observed us. Thou knowest where the difficulty lies. Help us against it, and may we now come boldly, not into the Holy place alone, but into the Holiest of all, where we should not dare to come if our great Lord had not rent the veil, sprinkled the mercy seat with His own blood, and bidden us enter.

     Now, we have come close up to Thyself, to the light that shineth between the wings of the Cherubim, and we speak with Thee now as a man speaketh with his friends. Our God, we are Thine. Thou art ours. We are now concerned in one business, we are leagued together for one battle. Thy battle is our battle, and our fight is Thine, Help us, we pray Thee. Thou who didst strengthen Michael and his angels to cast out the dragon and his angels, help poor flesh and blood that to us also the word may be fulfilled : "The Lord shall bruise Satan under your feet, shortly."

     Our Father, we are very weak. Worst of all we are very wicked if left to ourselves, and we soon fall a prey to the enemy. Therefore help us, We confess that sometimes in prayer when we are nearest to Thee at that very time some evil thought comes in, some wicked desire. Oh ! what poor simpletons we are. Lord help us. We feel as if we would now come closer to Thee still, and hide under the shadow of Thy wings. We wish to be lost in God. We pray that Thou mayest live in us, and not we live, but Christ live in us and show Himself in us and through us.

     Lord sanctify us. Oh! that Thy spirit might come and saturate every faculty, subdue every passion, and use every power of our nature for obedience to God.

     Come, Holy Spirit, we do know Thee ; Thou hast often overshadowed us. Come, more fully take possession of us. Standing now as we feel we are right up at the mercy seat our very highest prayer is for perfect holiness, complete consecration, entire cleansing from every evil. Take our heart, our head, our hands, our feet, and use us all for Thee. Lord take our substance, let us not hoard it for ourselves, nor spend it for ourselves. Take our talent, let us not try to educate ourselves that we may have the repute of being wise, but let every gain of mental attainment be still that we may serve Thee better.

     May every breath be for Thee ; may every minute be spent for Thee. Help us to live while we live and while we are busy in the world as we must be, for we are called to it, may we sanctify the world for Thy service. May we be lumps of salt in the midst of society. May our spirit and temper as well as our conversation be heavenly; may there be an influence about us that shall make the world the better before we leave it. Lord hear us in this thing.

     And now that we have Thine ear we would pray for this poor world in which we live. We are often horrified by it. O, Lord, we could wish that we did not know anything about it for our own comfort. We have said, " Oh ! for a lodge in some vast wilderness." We hear of oppression and robbery and murder, and men seem let loose against each other. Lord, have mercy upon this great and wicked city. What is to be done with these millions ? What can we do ? At least help every child of Thine to do his utmost. May none of us contribute to the evil directly or indirectly, but may we contribute to the good that is in it.

     We feel we may speak with Thee now about this, for when Thy servant Abraham stood before Thee and spake with such wonderful famiharity to Thee, he pleaded for Sodom ; and we plead for London (Jerusalem). We would follow the example of the Father of the Faithful and pray for all great cities, and indeed for all the nations. Lord let Thy kingdom come. Send forth Thy light and Thy truth. Chase the old dragon from his throne, with all his hellish crew. Oh ! that the day might come when even upon earth the Son of the woman, the Man-child, should rule the nations, not with a broken staff of wood, but with an enduring sceptre of iron, full of mercy, but full of power, full of grace, but yet irresistible. Oh! that that might soon come, the personal advent of our Lord ! We long for the millennial triumph of His Word.

     Until then, O Lord, gird us for the fight, and make us to be among those who overcome through the blood of the Lamb and through the word of our testimony, because we " love not our lives unto the death."

     We lift our voice to Thee in prayer ; also, for all our dear ones. Lord bless the sick and make them well as soon as it is right they should be. Sanctify to them all they have to bear. There are also dear friends who are very weak ; some that are very trembling. God bless them. While the tent is being taken down may the inhabitant within look on with calm joy, for we shall by-and-by "be clothed upon with our house that is from heaven." Lord help us to sit very loose by all these things here below. May we live here like strangers and make the world not a house but an inn, in which we sup and lodge, expecting to be on our journey tomorrow.

     Lord save the unconverted, and bring out, we pray Thee, from among them those who are converted, but who have not confessed Christ. May the Church be built up by many who, having believed, are baptised unto the sacred name. We pray Thee go on and multiply the faithful in the land. Oh! that Thou wouldst turn the hearts of men to the gospel once more. Thy servant is often very heavy in heart because of the departures from the faith. Oh! bring them back; let not Satan take away any more of the stars with his tail, but may the lamps of God shine bright. Oh! Thou that walkest amongst the seven golden candlesticks trim the flame, pour forth the oil, and let the light shine brightly and steadily. Now, Lord, we cannot pray any longer, though we have a thousand things to ask for. Thy servant cannot, so he begs to leave a broken prayer at the mercy seat with this at the foot of it : We ask in the name of Jesus Christ Thy Son. Amen.

God as the best explanation of the most important aspects of life: 10 facts

By Travis Dickinson ?

     I believe in God. Given this, I’m sometimes asked “Got any evidence?”

     Uh, yes. Yes I do. In fact, I think there is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the evidence for God.

     Now I’m never quite sure what people have in mind by the notion of “evidence” when this concerns God. It often seems to be the case they want material evidence, like fingerprints or DNA evidence or eye witness sightings. Or they may ask for scientific evidence for God.

     It is sometimes the case that what would count as evidence for God is so very restricted. The God of Christian theism is not material. We shouldn’t expect to see something like divine radioactivity, or some material fact like that, without which we will not believe in God. This is just not being intellectually honest.

     When we ask whether there’s evidence for something we need to be careful with what sort of evidence would we expect to find. It would be like saying I will not believe in an electron until I see one with my own eyes. Well the problem is that no one has seen an electron with their own eyes and no one ever will. An electron is not the sort of thing than can be seen with human eyes. It is designated as an unobservable entity and only postulated because it makes sense of certain collections of data.

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Welcome to The Benefit of the Doubt where I talk about the art of dialogue, the value of doubts, and the virtue of Christian faith.

     I LOVE to dialogue about big ideas, especially with those with whom I disagree. But the tone of most discussions are, let’s call it, unproductive. I’m really interested in helping people with the art of dialoguing well.

     No one likes to doubt deeply cherished beliefs. However, I want to suggest that there is great value in our doubts. When handled properly, they lead to truth and knowledge, and even deeper faith.

     I’m convinced that Christianity is true, good and beautiful. I’m convinced that Jesus is peerless. Though faith is often disparaged, caricatured and deeply misunderstood, I’m convinced that Christian faith is the primary way to flourish as a human being.

     I am the author of Everyday Apologetics and co-author of Stand Firm: Apologetics and the Brilliance of the Gospel (B&H, forthcoming). He blogs at www.travisdickinson.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.

Psalm 34 Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

By Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

EXPOSITION

     Verse 1. I will bless the Lord at all times. He is resolved and fixed, I will; he is personally and for himself determined, let others so as they may; he is intelligent in head and inflamed in heart—he knows to whom the praise is due, and what is due, and for what and when. To Jehovah, and not to second causes our gratitude is to be rendered. The Lord hath by right a monopoly in his creatures praise. Even when a mercy may remind us of our sin with regard to it, as in this case David's deliverance from the Philistine monarch was sure to do, we are not to rob God of his meed of honour because our conscience justly awards a censure to our share in the transaction. Though the hook was rusty, yet God sent the fish, and we thank him for it. At all times, in every situation, under every circumstance, before, in and after trials, in bright days of glee, and dark nights of fear. He would never have done praising, because never satisfied that he had done enough; always feeling that he fell short of the Lord's deservings. Happy is he whose fingers are wedded to his harp. He who praises God for mercies shall never want a mercy for which to praise. To bless the Lord is never unseasonable. His praise shall continually be in my mouth, not in my heart merely, but in my mouth too. Our thankfulness is not to be a dumb thing; it should be one of the daughters of music. Our tongue is our glory, and it ought to reveal the glory of God. What a blessed mouthful is God's praise! How sweet, how purifying, how perfuming! If men's mouths were always thus filled, there would be no repining against God, or slander of neighbours. If we continually rolled this dainty morsel under our tongue, the bitterness of daily affliction would be swallowed up in joy. God deserves blessing with the heart, and extolling with the mouth—good thoughts in the closet, and good words in the world.

     Verse 2. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. Boasting is a very natural propensity, and if it were used as in this case, the more it were indulged the better. The exultation of this verse is no mere tongue bragging, "the soul" is in it, the boasting is meant and felt before it is expressed. What scope there is for holy boasting in Jehovah! His person, attributes, covenant, promises, works, and a thousand things besides, are all incomparable, unparalleled, matchless; we may cry them up as we please, but we shall never be convicted of vain and empty speech in so doing. Truly he who writes these words of comment has nothing of his own to boast of, but much to lament over, and yet none shall stop him of his boast in God so long as he lives. The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. They are usually grieved to hear boastings; they turn aside from vauntings and lofty speeches, but boasting in the Lord is quite another matter; by this the most lowly are consoled and encouraged. The confident expressions of tried believers are a rich solace to their brethren of less experience. We ought to talk of the Lord's goodness on purpose that others may be confirmed in their trust in a faithful God.

     Verse 3. O magnify the Lord with me. Is this request addressed to the humble? If so it is most fitting. Who can make God great but those who feel themselves to be little? He bids them help him to make the Lord's fame greater among the sons of men. Jehovah is infinite, and therefore cannot really be made greater, but his name grows in manifested glory as he is made known to his creatures, and thus he is said to be magnified. It is well when the soul feels its own inability adequately to glorify the Lord, and therefore stirs up others to the gracious work; this is good both for the man himself and for his companions. No praise can excel that which lays us prostrate under a sense of our own nothingness, while divine grace like some topless Alp rises before our eyes and sinks us lower and lower in holy awe. Let us exalt his name together. Social, congregated worship is the outgrowth of one of the natural instincts of the new life. In heaven it is enjoyed to the full, and earth is like heaven where it abounds.

     Verse 4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me. It must have been in a very confused manner that David prayed, and there must have been much of self sufficiency in his prayer, or he would not have resorted to methods of such dubious morality as pretending to be mad and behaving as a lunatic; yet his poor limping prayer had an acceptance and brought him succour: the more reason for then celebrating the abounding mercy of the Lord. We may seek God even when we have sinned. If sin could blockade the mercyseat it would be all over with us, but the mercy is that there are gifts even for the rebellious, and an advocate for men who sin. And delivered me from all my fears. God makes a perfect work of it. He clears away both our fears and their causes, all of them without exception. Glory be to his name, prayer sweeps the field, slays all the enemies and even buries their bones. Note the egoism of this verse and of those preceding it; we need not blush to speak of ourselves when in so doing we honestly aim at glorifying God, and not at exalting ourselves. Some are foolishly squeamish upon this point, but they should remember that when modesty robs God it is most immodest.

     Verse 5. They looked unto him, and were lightened. The psalmist avows that his case was not at all peculiar, it was matched in the lives of all the faithful; they too, each one of them on looking to their Lord were brightened up, their faces began to shine, their spirits were uplifted. What a means of blessing one look at the Lord may be! There is life, light, liberty, love, everything in fact, in a look at the crucified One. Never did a sore heart look in vain to the good Physician; never a dying soul turned its darkening eye to the brazen serpent to find its virtue gone. And their faces were not ashamed. Their faces were covered with joy but not with blushes. He who trusts in God has no need to be ashamed of his confidence, time and eternity will both justify his reliance.

     Verse 6. This poor man cried. Here he returns to his own case. He was poor indeed, and so utterly friendless that his life was in great jeopardy; but he cried in his heart to the protector of his people and found relief. His prayer was a cry, for brevity and bitterness, for earnestness and simplicity, for artlessness and grief; it was a poor man's cry, but it was none the less powerful with heaven, for the Lord heard him, and to be heard of God is to be delivered; and so it is added that the Lord saved him out of all his troubles. At once and altogether David was clean rid of all his woes. The Lord sweeps our griefs away as men destroy a hive of hornets, or as the winds clear away the mists. Prayer can clear us of troubles as easily as the Lord made riddance of the frogs and flies of Egypt when Moses entreated him. This verse is the psalmist's own personal testimony: he being dead yet speaketh. Let the afflicted reader take heart and be of good courage.

     Verse 7. The angel of the Lord. The covenant angel, the Lord Jesus, at the head of all the bands of heaven, surrounds with his army the dwellings of the saints. Like hosts entrenched so are the ministering spirits encamped around the Lord's chosen, to serve and succour, to defend and console them. Encampeth round about them that fear him. On every side the watch is kept by warriors of sleepless eyes, and the Captain of the host is one whose prowess none can resist. And delivereth them. We little know how many providential deliverances we owe to those unseen hands which are charged to bear us up lest we dash our foot against a stone.

     Verse 8. O taste and see. Make a trial, an inward, experimental trial of the goodness of God. You cannot see except by tasting for yourself; but if you taste you shall see, for this, like Jonathan's honey, enlightens the eyes. That the Lord is good. You can only know this really and personally by experience. There is the banquet with its oxen and fatlings; its fat things full of marrow, and wine on the lees well refined; but their sweetness will be all unknown to you except you make the blessings of grace your own, by a living, inward, vital participation in them. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Faith is the soul's taste; they who test the Lord by their confidence always find him good, and they become themselves blessed. The second clause of the verse, is the argument in support of the exhortation contained in the first sentence.

     Verse 9. O fear the Lord, ye his saints. Pay to him humble childlike reverence, walk in his laws, have respect to his will, tremble to offend him, hasten to serve him. Fear not the wrath of men, neither be tempted to sin through the virulence of their threats; fear God and fear nothing else. For there is no want to them that fear him. Jehovah will not allow his faithful servants to starve. He may not give luxuries, but the promise binds him to supply necessaries, and he will not run back from his word. Many whims and wishes may remain unfulfilled, but real wants the Lord will supply. The fear of the Lord or true piety is not only the duty of those who avow themselves to be saints, that is, persons set apart and consecrated for holy duties, but it is also their path of safety and comfort. Godliness hath the promise of the life which now is. If we were to die like dogs, and there were no hereafter, yet were it well for our own happiness' sake to fear the Lord. Men seek a patron and hope to prosper; he prospers surely who hath the Lord of Hosts to be his friend and defender.

     Verse 10. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger. They are fierce, cunning, strong, in all the vigour of youth, and yet they sometimes howl in their ravenous hunger, and even so crafty, designing, and oppressing men, with all their sagacity and unscrupulousness, often come to want; yet simple minded believers, who dare not act as the greedy lions of earth, are fed with food convenient for them. To trust God is better policy than the craftiest politicians can teach or practice. But they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. No really good thing shall be denied to those whose first and main end in life is to seek the Lord. Men may call them fools, but the Lord will prove them wise. They shall win where the world's wiseacres lose their all, and God shall have the glory of it.

     Verse 11. Come, ye children. Though a warrior and a king, the psalmist was not ashamed to teach children. Teachers of youth belong to the true peerage; their work is honourable, and their reward shall be glorious. Perhaps the boys and girls of Gath had made sport of David in his seeming madness, and if so, he here aims by teaching the rising race to undo the mischief which he had done aforetime. Children are the most hopeful persons to teach—wise men who wish to propagate their principles take care to win the ear of the young. Hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. So far as they can be taught by word of mouth, or learned by the hearing of the ear, we are to communicate the faith and fear of God, inculcating upon the rising generation the principles and practices of piety. This verse may be the address of every Sabbath school teacher to his class, of every parent to his children. It is not without instruction in the art of teaching. We should be winning and attractive to the youngsters, bidding them "come, "and not repelling them with harsh terms. We must get them away, apart from toys and sports, and try to occupy their minds with better pursuits; for we cannot well teach them while their minds are full of other things. We must drive at the main point always, and keep the fear of the Lord ever uppermost in our teachings, and in so doing we may discreetly cast our own personality into the scale by narrating our own experiences and convictions.

     Verse 12. Life spent in happiness is the desire of all, and he who can give the young a receipt for leading a happy life deserves to be popular among them. Mere existence is not life; the art of living, truly, really, and joyfully living, it is not given to all men to know. To teach men how to live and how to die, is the aim of all useful religious instruction. The rewards of virtue are the baits with which the young are to be drawn to morality. While we teach piety to God we should also dwell much upon morality towards man.

     Verse 13. Keep thy tongue from evil. Guard with careful diligence that dangerous member, the tongue, lest it utter evil, for that evil will recoil upon thee, and mar the enjoyment of thy life. Men cannot spit forth poison without feeling some of the venom burning their own flesh. And thy lips from speaking guile. Deceit must be very earnestly avoided by the man who desires happiness. A crafty schemer lives like a spy in the enemy's camp, in constant fear of exposure and execution. Clean and honest conversation, by keeping the conscience at ease, promotes happiness, but lying and wicked talk stuffs our pillow with thorns, and makes life a constant whirl of fear and shame. David had tried the tortuous policy, but he here denounces it, and begs others as they would live long and well to avoid with care the doubtful devices of guile.

     Verse 14. Depart from evil. Go away from it. Not merely take your hands off, but yourself off. Live not near the pest house. Avoid the lion's lair, leave the viper's nest. Set a distance between yourself and temptation. And do good. Be practical, active, energetic, persevering in good. Positive virtue promotes negative virtue; he who does good is sure to avoid evil. Seek peace. Not merely prefer it, but with zeal and care endeavour to promote it. Peace with God, with thine own heart, with thy fellow man, search after this as the merchantman after a precious pearl. Nothing can more effectually promote our own happiness than peace; strife awakens passions which eat into the heart with corroding power. Anger is murder to one's own self, as well as to its objects. And pursue it. Hunt after it, chase it with eager desire. It may soon be lost, indeed, nothing is harder to retain, but do your best, and if enmity should arise let it be no fault of yours. Follow after peace when it shuns you; be resolved not to be of a contentious spirit. The peace which you thus promote will be returned into your own bosom, and be a perennial spring of comfort to you.

     Verse 15. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous. He observes them with approval and tender consideration; they are so dear to him that he cannot take his eyes off them; he watches each one of them as carefully and intently as if there were only that one creature in the universe. His ears are open unto their cry. His eyes and ears are thus both turned by the Lord towards his saints; his whole mind is occupied about them: if slighted by all others they are not neglected by him. Their cry he hears at once, even as a mother is sure to hear her sick babe; the cry may be broken, plaintive, unhappy, feeble, unbelieving, yet the Father's quick ear catches each note of lament or appeal, and he is not slow to answer his children's voice.

     Verse 16. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil. God is not indifferent to the deeds of sinners, but he sets his face against them, as we say, being determined that they shall have no countenance and support, but shall be thwarted and defeated. He is determinately resolved that the ungodly shall not prosper; he sets himself with all his might to overthrow them. To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. He will stamp out their fires, their honour shall be turned into shame, their names forgotten or accursed. Utter destruction shall be the lot of all the ungodly.

     Verse 17. The righteous cry. Like Israel in Egypt, they cry out under the heavy yoke of oppression, both of sin, temptation, care, and grief. And the Lord heareth; he is like the night watchman, who no sooner hears the alarm bell than he flies to relieve those who need him. And delivereth them out of all their troubles. No net of trouble can so hold us that the Lord cannot free us. Our afflictions may be numerous and complicated, but prayer can set us free from them all, for the Lord will show himself strong on our behalf.

     Verse 18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. Near in friendship to accept and console. Broken hearts think God far away, when he is really most near them; their eyes are holden so that they see not their best friend. Indeed, he is with them, and in them, but they know it not. They run hither and thither, seeking peace in their own works, or in experiences, or in proposals and resolutions, whereas the Lord is nigh them, and the simple act of faith will reveal him. And saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. What a blessed token for good is a repentant, mourning heart! Just when the sinner condemns himself, the Lord graciously absolves him. If we chasten our own spirits the Lord will spare us. He never breaks with the rod of judgment those who are already sore with the rod of conviction. Salvation is linked with contrition.

     Verse 19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous. Thus are they made like Jesus their covenant Head. Scripture does not flatter us like the story books with the idea that goodness will secure us from trouble; on the contrary, we are again and again warned to expect tribulation while we are in this body. Our afflictions come from all points of the compass, and are as many and as tormenting as the mosquitoes of the tropics. It is the earthly portion of the elect to find thorns and briars growing in their pathway, yea, to lie down among them, finding their rest broken and disturbed by sorrow. BUT, blessed but, how it takes the sting out of the previous sentence! But the Lord delivereth him out of them all. Through troops of ills Jehovah shall lead his redeemed scatheless and triumphant. There is an end to the believer's affliction, and a joyful end too. None of his trials can hurt so much as a hair of his head, neither can the furnace hold him for a moment after the Lord bids him come forth of it. Hard would be the lot of the righteous if this promise, like a bundle of camphire, were not bound up in it, but this sweetens all. The same Lord who sends the afflictions will also recall them when his design is accomplished, but he will never allow the fiercest of them to rend and devour his beloved.

     Verse 20. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. David had come off with kicks and cuffs, but no broken bones. No substantial injury occurs to the saints. Eternity will heal all their wounds. Their real self is safe; they may have flesh wounds, but no part of the essential fabric of their being shall be broken. This verse may refer to frequent providential protections vouchsafed to the saints; but as good men have had broken limbs as well as others, it cannot absolutely be applied to bodily preservations; but must, it seems to me, be spiritually applied to great injuries of soul, which are for ever prevented by divine love. Not a bone of the mystical body of Christ shall be broken, even as his corporeal frame was preserved intact. Divine love watches over every believer as it did over Jesus; no fatal injury shall happen to us, we shall neither be halt or maimed in the kingdom, but shall be presented after life's trials are over without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, being preserved in Christ Jesus, and kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

     Verse 21. Evil shall slay the wicked. Their adversaries shall be killing; they are not medicine, but poison. Ungodly men only need rope enough and they will hang themselves; their own iniquities shall be their punishment. Hell itself is but evil fully developed, torturing those in whom it dwells. Oh! happy they who have fled to Jesus to find refuge from their former sins, such, and such only will escape. And they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. They hated the best of company, and they shall have none; they shall be forsaken, despoiled, wretched, despairing. God makes the viper poison itself. What desolation of heart do the damned feel, and how richly have they deserved it!

     Verse 22. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants—with price and with power, with blood and with water. All providential helps are a part of the redemption by power, hence the Lord is said still to redeem. All thus ransomed belong to him who bought them—this is the law of justice and the verdict of gratitude. Joyfully will we serve him who so graciously purchases us with his blood, and delivers us by his power. And none of them that trust in him shall be desolate. Faith is the mark of the ransomed, and wherever it is seen, though in the least and meanest of the saints, it ensures eternal salvation. Believer, thou shalt never be deserted, forsaken, given up to ruin. God, even thy God, is thy guardian and friend, and bliss is thine.

The Treasury of David (3 Volumes Set)

Read The Psalms In "1" Year

Psalm 92

10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
you have poured over me fresh oil.
11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the LORD;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
15 to declare that the LORD is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Total Surrender

By Kevin Smith 2/1/2009

     Gary Thomas, in his book Seeking the Face of God: The Path To A More Intimate Relationship, makes this statement: “Christian health is not defined by how happy we are, how prosperous or healthy we are, or even by how many people we have led to the Lord in the past year. Christian health is ultimately defined by how sincerely we wave our flag of surrender.” What he is saying is this: a major way to measure our spiritual health is to determine how surrendered we are to God. I believe that many of our greatest struggles in living a healthy, productive Christian life come to us because of our unwillingness to surrender fully to God. Our churches are full of people who are not progressively growing in their surrender to Christ; therefore, many of our churches are spiritually unhealthy. Unhealthy churches are focused on self, more concerned with the size of our buildings and budgets than on the glory of Christ in the salvation and sanctification of His elect from all people groups.

     I am an American, actually an African American; I have difficulty with the concept of surrender. Americans don’t surrender. Surrender means weakness. It means defeat. It means I give up, doesn’t it? Surrendering to God is a challenge even for those who have come to know the Lord of glory, Jesus Christ.

     First, let’s examine the kind of surrender I believe the Lord calls for and then the path to it. The passage that has helped me reflect on this is Romans 12:1–2. God calls us to present our bodies as living sacrifices. By appealing to us to “present” our bodies to God, the apostle is saying that every Christian is a priest — a believer-priest. This is nothing new, for we see the people of the old covenant referred to as a “kingdom of priests” in Exodus 19:6. The new covenant writers pick this up, as in 1 Peter 2:9 where the church is a “royal priesthood.” As priests who stand before God, we must bring something to Him, not to make atonement but in response to the atonement. What do we offer? The only thing we have is ourselves. The surrender God wants is the surrender of our bodies to Him. Our lives and all that we have are to be at God’s disposal. Paul has spoken about the presenting of the members of our bodies to God as “instruments of righteousness” in Romans 6:12–19. No longer are we to give our legs, arms, ears, and minds to commit rebellion against God. Since we have been justified by Christ, we are to surrender the very members of our bodies to God to do what is good in His sight. Paul speaks collectively of this act in chapter 12, showing that it is a total surrender; nothing is left out. No aspect of our lives is to be outside of devotion to God through Jesus Christ.

     He calls for our offering to be living and holy. Notice, God doesn’t want a dead sacrifice; He wants a living one. He intends for His people to live in joyful surrender to Him, finding our pleasure in Him, instead of worldy pursuits. Naturally, since the Lord our God is holy, an offering presented to Him must also be holy — pure and given to His service alone. As God’s people humbly offer ourselves in holiness, Paul says our churches will increasingly experience “spiritual worship.” How we fight about elements of worship! Some dislike hymns. Some dislike contemporary praise songs. Some dislike instruments. All see their preference as more biblical than the others. But none of us truly worships God unless we are growing in joyful surrender to Christ. It is a perversion of worship to the living God that we offer Him dead sacrifices and everything but our holy bodies. We say we are His, but our lives are tainted with self-righteousness, greed, bitterness, racism, lust, and envy. How, then, can we experience the power of God in our lives and witness? The answer lies in daily surrendering our whole selves to God, singing “I Surrender All,” and trusting God to transform us by His power.

     The path to this surrender is also part of our problem. Our minds are full of the things of this world. We hunger for more and will not be satisfied with less, so we go into debt. Our marriages fail as we pursue the American Dream. Is it any wonder that our children who are catechized and sanitized go off to college and act like pagans? They have not experienced or even seen many examples of total surrender to Christ and the power of God at work in such a worshiping community.

     Why are we to surrender ourselves to God totally? Our heavenly Father has poured out His vast wealth of mercy upon us in Christ. Mercy is God’s compassion given to those who are pitiful. It is similar to grace in that it is underserved. Do we really understand what we are without Christ? God’s people must ask Him to reveal to us our total depravity so that we are enabled to mourn over our sin and our culture’s sin. This is the way to blessedness (Matt. 5:4). The mercies of God in justification, sanctification, election, and glorification through Christ are most clearly seen when we understand the distance between God’s holiness and our spiritual poverty. People and churches who are humbled by the great mercies of God are more likely to grow in the surrender of their lives to Christ day by day. Our worship will be God-centered and our minds renewed by the power of the riches of His love. And by God’s marvelous grace, such churches will be enabled to make disciples of the nations who dwell in their communities.

The Continual Burnt Offering (Acts 2:1)

By H.A. Ironside - 1941

August 26

17  “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
18  even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19  And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20  the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21  And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

“ ‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26  therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27  For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
28  You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
35  until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’

The Comforter, now present,
Assures us of Thy love;
He is the blessed earnest
Of glory there above:
The river of Thy pleasure
Is what sustains us now,
Till Thy new name’s imprinted
On ev’ry sinless brow.
--- Mary Bowley