Scripture Studies - Vol. IV; No. 10 - Dec. 1997/Jan. 1998 ========================================================= In this issue: Old Testament Study - Gen. 35-36 A Classic Study - Navigation Spiritualized, by John Flavel New Testament Study - Matthew 4:1-11 A Study for Young Christians - Labouring for Understanding, by Richard Baxter A Study in Psalms - Psalm 34 For Meditation - Three Christmas Poems Bibliography and Suggested Reading Postscript: Christmas Prayer Footnotes ---------------------------------------------------- "Scripture Studies" is edited by Scott Sperling and published ten times a year by Scripture Studies, Inc., a non-profit organization. It is distributed all over the world by postal mail and via the internet free of charge. If you would like to financially support the publication and distribution of "Scripture Studies", send contributions to: Scripture Studies Inc. 20 Pastora Foothill Ranch, CA 92610 USA Contributions are tax deductible in the United States. 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May God bless you as you study His Word. =========================================================== Old Testament Study - Genesis 35-36 =================================== Back to Bethel -------------- 35:1Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau." 2So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." 4So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no-one pursued them. 6Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed Himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 8Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth. 9After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So He named him Israel. 11And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. 12The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you." 13Then God went up from him at the place where He had talked with him. 14Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel. 16Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for you have another son." 18As she breathed her last--for she was dying--she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin. 19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel's tomb. 21Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 22While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. Jacob had twelve sons: 23The sons of Leah: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. 24The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25The sons of Rachel's maidservant Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali. 26The sons of Leah's maidservant Zilpah: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram. 27Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. 29Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. ---------- Jacob has just lived through the most lamentable episode of his life (up to that point). In the previous chapter, his daughter Dinah was seduced by the son of the king of Shechem. This son offered to do the honorable thing and marry Dinah. Dinah's brothers, however, chose to take revenge. They took revenge, not just on the son of the king, but on the whole town of Shechem, as they slaughtered all of the inhabitants and looted the town. We suggested in the previous issue that at the root of this episode was the fact that Jacob did not completely obey God as to where he should dwell. Before he left Paddan-Aram, God had commanded him: "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you." (Gen. 31:3). Jacob did return to the "land of [his] fathers", but he did not go back "to [his] relatives". Instead, "he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city" (33:18). By living "within sight of the city", Jacob was living on the border of the promised land. He was trying (as it were) to keep one foot in the promised land and one foot in the world. This led to his family coming under the evil influences of Shechem, which in turn led to the problems the family experienced in Shechem. As things stand here in Genesis 35, Jacob must move away from Shechem, but where to go? He can't go back to Paddan-Aram. He (effectively) vowed to Laban that he would not return. He has chosen to avoid Esau, so he can't go to Seir. Well, I guess Jacob has little choice but to, ahem, finally obey the Lord. God helps him with his decision: "Then God said to Jacob: 'Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau'" (vs. 1). Why do we only obey God as a last resort? Our lives would be much easier if we obeyed the Lord as the first choice. He knows what is best for us! Why do we make our lives difficult by ignoring Him? But God is gracious. Despite Jacob's disobedience, and despite the godless events of Genesis 34, God seeks Jacob out, and guides him where he should go, just at the time when Jacob most needed guidance. Jacob was ready now to listen to God, because Jacob was at the end of his rope. So many times, it takes severe affliction before we will listen to God. God allows such affliction so that we will return to Him. If we would listen to Him and stay close to Him in the first place, we could avoid much affliction. God is gracious to Jacob, not just in reappearing to Jacob, but also in modifying His original command to Jacob. As mentioned above, when Jacob was in Paddan-Aram, God commanded him: "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you" (Gen. 31:3). For some unexplained reason, Jacob did not want to live near his relatives. Jacob purposely chose to avoid living near Esau, and, up to this point, there is no recorded evidence that Jacob even visited his father Isaac since he returned from Paddan-Aram. So God this time, out of love for Jacob, does not force Jacob to go back "to [his] relatives", but commands him instead to "go up to Bethel and settle there." Jacob immediately demonstrates his willingness to obey God: "So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, 'Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.' So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem" (vs. 2-3). Jacob used this opportunity to turn his whole family and household back to God. Apparently, Jacob's household had slipped into idolatry. Recall that Rachel had stolen her father's household idols and brought them to Canaan (see Gen. 31:19). Though she originally hid these idols from Jacob (see Gen. 31:32), he undoubtedly found out about them later. Quite probably, Jacob's great love for Rachel led to tolerance of her idolatry. This tolerance for idolatry led to tolerance of the idolatry of others. Jacob was lazy. Jacob was spiritually apathetic. He let things slide, rather than taking charge. The idolatry spread throughout the household. Unfortunately, the falsehood of idols spreads much more quickly than the truth of God, and so, the godliness of Jacob was no match for the lure of idolatry. The idolatry in the family was certainly at the heart of the ungodly events in Genesis 34. All sin has dire consequences. We parents must be careful that we do not tolerate the sin in the lives of our beloved family members. Toleration of sin (without exception) leads to further toleration. We must have the courage to confront the sin in our household and, as Jacob finally did, "bur[y] them under the oak at Shechem." We must also, periodically, examine our lives and see if there's anything that we need to "bury under the oak of Shechem." Have you during your journey picked up any evil baggage that is polluting your life? Jacob buried the idols at Shechem (so as to leave them behind) as he followed the command of God to go to Bethel: "Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that noone pursued them" (vs. 5). Recall that, after the events in Shechem, Jacob was afraid that the people of the surrounding areas would seek revenge upon Jacob's family (see Gen. 34:30). God rewarded Jacob's obedience in setting out for Bethel by supernaturally putting fear in the hearts of the people of the surrounding areas so that the inhabitants would not pursue Jacob's household. The hearts of men are in the hands of God, "He who forms the hearts of all" (Ps. 33:15). "Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed Himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother" (vss. 6-7). God undoubtedly brought Jacob back to Bethel because "it was there that God revealed Himself to [Jacob]." Recall that in Bethel, Jacob had his dream that showed angels ascending and descending on a ladder to heaven (see Gen. 28:12). At the top of the ladder was the Lord, who gave Jacob the covenant promises. When Jacob woke up, he said: "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it" (Gen. 28:16). God brought Jacob back to Bethel to remind him of the closeness he felt to God at that time. It is good to remember a past time of closeness to God when making an attempt to return to God. In Bethel, God renewed His covenant with Jacob: "God said to him, 'Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.' So He named him Israel. And God said to him, 'I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.' Then God went up from him at the place where He had talked with him" (vs. 10-13). It was like God started all over with Jacob. First, He reminded Jacob that He had changed his name to Israel. Then He restated the covenant promises to Jacob, the same promises that God had given Jacob's father Isaac (see Gen. 26:2ff) and his grandfather Abraham (see Gen. 17:6). Despite Jacob's renewed relationship with God, his life was not a bed of roses. Jesus promised us: "In this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33). Jacob continued to have trouble. First, his mother Rebekah's nurse Deborah died (see vs. 8). This must have saddened Jacob because, given that culture, Deborah was most likely almost like a mother to Jacob. Second, and even more saddening to Jacob: "Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, 'Don't be afraid, for you have another son.' As she breathed her last--for she was dying--she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin" (vss. 16-18). Perhaps now we know why God did not give Rachel any more children. Recall that in Genesis 30, Rachel prayed and schemed to get more children, but God did not give her any except one son Joseph. She named her first son Joseph (which means "may he add"), because she wanted God to give her more sons (see Gen. 30:24). God had not consented to that request until many years later, here in Genesis 35. This delay on God's part quite possibly allowed Rachel to live many more years. If she had had another son earlier, she may have died in childbirth earlier in her life. When God does not seem to answer a prayer of ours, we get so frustrated and angry with God. "Why doesn't He just do it?!" We must realize that God loves us, and works out everything according to His will, and also works out everything "for the good of those who love Him" (Rom. 8:28). In her sorrow, Rachel named her new son "Ben-Oni" (which means "son of sorrow"). Jacob wisely changed the name, so as not to dwell on the death of Rachel. Jacob gave his new son the name "Benjamin", which means "son of my right hand." Then he buried Rachel near what was later known as Bethlehem (vs. 19). The third sad event in Jacob's life after he had turned back to God was Reuben's sin of incest: "While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it" (vs. 22). In this passage, we are not told what Jacob's reaction to this was. He might well have done nothing, just as he did nothing when he heard about the seduction of Dinah (see Gen. 34:5). Unfortunately, this seems to have been Jacob's parenting style. His sons seemed to be pretty much "out of control". Later, however, we do learn that Reuben lost his birthright because of this sin of incest (see Gen. 49:4). In fact, in Genesis 49, where Jacob gives all of his sons their blessing, the first three sons (Reuben, Simeon and Levi) do not receive good blessings, but rather curses. As stated, Reuben does not receive a blessing because of his sin of incest. Simeon and Levi do not receive blessings (see Gen. 49:5-7) because of their violence as demonstrated by their murder of the townspeople of Shechem in Genesis 34. This leaves Judah as first in line for the birthright, which is significant because Jesus Christ was a descendant of Judah. The chapter ends with Jacob finally returning to live with his father. This is what, many years earlier, God commanded Jacob to do (see Gen. 31:3). We are also at this time told about Isaac's death: "Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him" (vss. 28-29). Esau and Jacob are reunited for the burial of Isaac. All of their animosity toward each other by this time seems to be buried also. The blessings of God throughout their lives, together with their own rich and varied experiences of life, seem to have caused them to forget all of their past quarrels. Esau's Family ------------- 36:1This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom). 2Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite-- 3also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. 4Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 5and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in Canaan. 6Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. 7Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock. 8So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir. 9This is the account of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. 10These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau's wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau's wife Basemath. 11The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz. 12Esau's son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Adah. 13The sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath. 14The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon, whom she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jalam and Korah. 15These were the chiefs among Esau's descendants: The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16Korah, Gatam and Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in Edom; they were grandsons of Adah. 17The sons of Esau's son Reuel: Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in Edom; they were grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath. 18The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah: Chiefs Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah. 19These were the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these were their chiefs. 20These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the region: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs. 22The sons of Lotan: Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan's sister. 23The sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam. 24The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon. 25The children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah. 26The sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran. 27The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan. 28The sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29These were the Horite chiefs: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These were the Horite chiefs, according to their divisions, in the land of Seir. 31These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned: 32Bela son of Beor became king of Edom. His city was named Dinhabah. 33When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king. 34When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king. 35When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith. 36When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king. 37When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king. 38When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Acbor succeeded him as king. 39When Baal-Hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad succeeded him as king. His city was named Pau, and his wife's name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab. 40These were the chiefs descended from Esau, by name, according to their clans and regions: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they occupied. This was Esau the father of the Edomites. ---------- We see here, Esau's family becomes (as prophesied in Gen. 27:39-40) the violent nation of Edom. Before we depart Esau for good, Moses gives us a listing of many of his descendants. This is often done in the Bible. The story of the Old Testament primarily concentrates on the family line of our Savior Jesus Christ. As the various authors of the Bible prune the family tree of Israel (so to speak) so as to focus on the royal line, we are often given a genealogy of the branch of the family that we are leaving. This was done for Ishmael (see Gen. 25:12ff), Japheth and Ham (see Gen. 10:1ff), and Cain (Gen. 4:18). =========================================================== A Classic Study - Navigation Spiritualized ========================================== A Classic Study by John Flavel (1628-1691) [Here, we begin a reprint of excerpts from John Flavel's book Navigation Spiritualized. John Flavel was a 17th Century minister in the seaside town of Dartmouth, England. A good many of his parishioners made their living on the sea, and so Mr. Flavel wrote Navigation Spiritualized, a book which draws parallels between things of the sea and spiritual things. This book is a masterpiece in the way it communicates spiritual truths in the language of its target audience, the seamen of Dartmouth. In fact, it was written specifically for the seamen to take on voyages and read, so that (for example), while they sail the boundless seas, they may read of God's boundless mercies; or, while they adjust their sails for shifting winds, they may read how to prepare their souls for the shifting winds of life; etc. We begin the reprint with the Dedicatory Epistle that prefaces the book.]--Ed. The Epistle Dedicatory ---------------------- To all Masters, Mariners, and Seamen; especially such as belong to the Borough of Clifton, Dartmouth, and Hardness, in the county of Devon. Sirs, I find it storied of Anacharsis, that when one asked him whether the living or the dead were more? He returned this answer, "You must first tell me (saith he) in which number I must place seamen": Intimating thereby, that seamen are, as it were, a third sort of persons, to be numbered neither with the living nor the dead; their lives hanging continually in suspense before them. And it was anciently accounted the most desperate employment, and they little better than lost men that used the seas. "Through all my life", saith Aristotle, "three things do especially repent me: 1. That ever I revealed a secret to a woman. 2. That ever I remained one day without a will. 3. That ever I went to any place by sea, whither I might have gone by land." "Nothing," saith another, "is more miserable than to see a virtuous and worthy person upon the sea." And although custom, and the great improvement of the art of navigation, have made it less formidable now, yet are you no further from death than you are from the waters, which is but a remove of two or three inches. Now you that border so nigh upon the confines of death and eternity every moment, may be well supposed to be men of singular piety and seriousness: For nothing more composes the heart to such a frame, than the lively apprehensions of eternity do; and none have greater external advantages for that, than you have. But, alas! for the generality, what sort of men are more ungodly, and stupidly insensible of eternal concernments, living, for the most part, as if they had made a covenant with death, and with hell were at agreement? It was an ancient saying, "He that knows not how to pray, let him go to sea." But we may say now, (alas! that we may say so in times of greater light), he that would learn to be profane, to drink and swear, and dishonour God, let him go to sea. As for prayer, it is a rare thing among seamen, they count that a needless business: they see the profane and vile delevered as well as others; and therefore what profit is there if they pray unto him? (cf. Mal. 3:4). As I remember, I have read of a profane soldier, who was heard swearing, though he stood in a place of great danger; and when one that stood by him warned him, saying, "Fellow-soldier, do not swear, the bullets fly," he answered, "They that swear come off as well as they that pray." Soon after a shot hit him, and down he fell. Plato diligently admonished all men to avoid the sea: "For", saith he, "it is the schoolmaster of all vice and dishonesty." Sirs! it is a very sad consideration to me, that you who float upon the great deeps, in whose bottom so many thousand poor miserable creatures lie, whose sins have sunk them down, not only into the bottom of the sea, but of hell also, whither divine vengeance hath pursued them: That you, I say, who daily float, and hover over them, and have the roaring waves and billows that swallowed them up, gaping for you as the next prey, should be no more affected with these things. Oh what a terrible voice doth God utter in the storms! "It breaks the cedars, shakes the wilderness, makes the hinds to calve" (Ps. 29:5). And can it not shake your hearts? This voice of the Lord is full of majesty, but His voice in the word is more efficacious and powerful (see Heb. 4:12) to convince and rip up the heart. This word is exalted above all His name (Ps. 138:3), and if it cannot awaken you, it is no wonder you remain secure and dead, when the Lord utters His voice in the most dreadful storms and tempests. but if neither the voice of God uttered in His dreadful works, or in His glorious gospel, can effectually awaken and rouse, there is an Euroclydon, a fearful storm coming, which will so awaken your souls, as that they shall never sleep any more: "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: This is the portion of their cup" (Ps. 11:6). You that have been at sea in the most violent storms, never felt such a storm as this, and the Lord grant that you never may; no calm shall follow this storm. There are some among you, that, I am persuaded, do truly fear that God in whose hand their life and breath is; men that fear an oath, and are an honour to their profession; who drive a trade for heaven, and are diligent to secure the happiness of their immortal souls, in the insurance-office above; but for the generality, alas! they mind none of these things. How many of you are coasting to and fro, from one country to another? But never think of the heavenly country above, nor how you may get the merchandise thereof, which is better than the gold of Ophir. How oft do you tremble to see the foaming waves dance about you, and wash over you? Yet consider not how terrible it will be to have all the waves and billows of God's wrath to go over your souls, and that forever. How glad are you after you have been long tossed upon the ocean, to descry land? And how yare and eagerly do you look out for it, who yet never had your hearts warmed with the consideration of that joy which shall be among the saints, when they arrive at the heavenly strand, and set foot upon the shore of glory. O Sirs! I beg of you, if you have any regard to those precious, immortal souls of yours, which are also imbarked for eternity, whither all winds blow them, and will quickly be at their port of heaven or hell, that you will seriously mind these things, and learn to steer your course to heaven, and improve all winds (I mean opportunities and means) to waft you thither. Here you venture life and liberty, run through many difficulties and dangers, and all to compass a perishing treasure; yet how often do you return disappointed in your design? Or if not, yet it is but a fading short-lived inheritance, which like the flowing tide, for a while, covers the shore, and then returns, and leaves it naked and dry again: and are not everlasting treasures worth venturing for? Good souls be wise for eternity: I here present you with the fruit of a few spare hours, redeemed for your sakes, from my other studies and employments, which I have put into a new dress and mode. I have endeavoured to clothe spiritual matters in your own dialect and phrases, pious poems, with which the several chapters are concluded, trying by all means to assault your several affections, and as the apostle speaks, "to catch you with guile" (II Cor. 12:16). I can say nothing of it; I know it cannot be without its manifold imperfections, since I am conscious of so many in myself; only this I will adventure to say of it, that how defective or empty soever it be in other respects, yet it is stuffed and filled with much true love to, and earnest desires after the salvation and prosperity of your souls. And for the other defects that attend it, I have only two things to offer, in way of excuse; it is the first essay that I ever made in this kind, wherein I find no precedent: and it was hastened for your sakes, too soon out of my hands, that it might be ready to wait upon you, when you undertake your next voyage: so that I could not revise and polish it. Nor indeed was I solicitous about the style; I consider, I write not for critical and learned persons; my design is not to please your fancies any further, than I might thereby get advantage to profit your souls. I will not once question your welcome reception of it: if God shall bless these meditations to the conversion of any among you, you will be the gainers, and my heart shall rejoice, even mine. How comfortably should we shake hands with you, when you go abroad, were we persuaded your souls were interested in Christ, and secured from perishing, in the new covenant? What life would it put into our prayers for you, when you are abroad, to consider that Jesus Christ is interceding for you in heaven, whilst we are your remembrancers here on earth? How quiet would our hearts be, when you are abroad in storms, did we know you had a special interest in Him whom winds and seas obey? To conclude, what joy would it be to your godly relations, to see you return new creatures? Doubtless more than if you came home laden with the riches of both Indies. Come Sirs! set the heavenly Jerusalem upon the point of your new compass; make all the sail you can for it; and the Lord give you a prosperous gale, and a safe arrival in that land of rest. =========================================================== New Testament Study - Matthew 4:1-11 ==================================== Christ Tempted in the Desert ---------------------------- 1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting for forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. 3The tempter came to Him and said, "If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 5Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If You are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: 'He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" 7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 8Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give You," he said, "if You will bow down and worship me." 10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'" 11Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him. ---------- Jesus had just experienced a great spiritual triumph. As He emerged from the waters of baptism, "He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased'" (Matt. 3:16-17). In this chapter, right after His great spiritual triumph, Jesus faces a great spiritual challenge. This seems to be a general rule. It happens to all of us. "[S]o it often is, that after sweet communion with God in His ordinances, after large discoveries of His love and interest in Him, follow sore temptations, trials, and exercises."[1] This teaches us that, following spiritual triumphs, we must be especially on our guard against the tempter. It is at those times that the devil wants most to cut us down, so as to negate any edification we received from our spiritual triumph. In Jesus' case, the devil (firstly) wanted to shake Jesus' confidence that He was truly the Son of God after the Father had declared it to be so. And so, the devil begins his temptings with the phrase: "If You are the Son of God. . ." Then also, as we shall see, the devil wanted to cause Jesus to use improperly His office as the Son of God, thereby causing the Father to no longer be "well pleased" with Him. Surprisingly, "Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted in the desert" (vs. 1). This same Holy Spirit who just descended upon Jesus after the waters of baptism, now leads Jesus into the desert "to be tempted". Why would the Holy Spirit do this? "Sharp temptations, as they often follow seasons of high communion, so are they often preparatives for the highest work."[2] The motive of the Spirit was constructive: to prepare Jesus for His coming arduous ministry. Jesus was to spend the next three years "on the road", so to speak. His ministry would be very demanding physically. What better preparation for this than forty days of fasting in the desert. Moreover, the ultimate goal of Jesus' ministry was His sacrifice on the cross. This was the main reason He came to earth. Throughout His life, He would be tempted to forego His sacrifice (most notably, see Matt. 16:22-23; Matt. 27:40). Here in this episode, Jesus is tempted in this same way in the third temptation as preparation for the future temptations. His resistance of this temptation will strengthen Him for the resistance He will need throughout His life on earth. There is yet another constructive reason that the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted. This is, as the writer of Hebrews explains it, so that Jesus "might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service of God" (Heb. 2:17). Jesus, by becoming a man and (so to speak) walking in the shoes of a man, now has sympathy for the struggles that we face day to day. "Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted" (Heb. 2:18). We can be comforted by this fact, as we are tempted, and we can be emboldened in prayer by the fact that Jesus knows what it is like to be tempted: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Heb. 4:15-16). And so we see, there were many constructive reasons that the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted. The motive of the devil in tempting Jesus was, on the contrary, destructive. Whereas the Holy Spirit desired to strengthen Jesus through the temptings, the devil desired to destroy Jesus and His ministry. Thus, we are hereby taught that there are two types of temptings or testings. There are constructive temptings, those that have the purpose of strengthening the one being tempted. And then there are destructive temptings, those that have the purpose of destroying the one being tempted. Throughout the Bible, we have many examples of constructive temptings sent by God. Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac to strengthen his trust in God; the Israelites were tested in the desert to strengthen them as a nation; Job was sorely tested by trials to strengthen his faith; etc. Many times, the devil is present at these constructive temptings with the motive of destroying the one being tempted. Though combined with the constructive temptings of God, such temptings by the devil are evil. It is the intent of the temptings that determine the goodness or evil of them. So two principles are at work. God at times leads us into situations in which we will be tempted. The devil actively seeks to tempt us. The conclusion we can draw from this is that, yes, we will face much temptation in this life. We should not be surprised, dismayed or discouraged by this. "Deep is the disquietude which many Christians suffer from finding themselves subject to internal temptations to sin, both continuous and vehement. It staggers them to find that, without any external solictations, they are tempted so frequently, and at times so violently, that as by a tempest they are ready to be carried away, and in a moment make shipwreck of faith and of a good conscience. Surely, they think, this can only be accounted for but by some depth and virulence of corruption never reached by the grace of God, and inconsistent with that delight in the law of God after the inward man which is characteristic of His children. But here we see, the holy One of God, an example of solicitations to sin purely internal, for aught that we can perceive, continued throughout the long period of forty days."[3] To experience temptations is not evil. Even our sinless Lord faced temptations. "After fasting for forty days and forty nights, [Jesus] was hungry. The tempter came to Him and said, 'If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread'" (vss. 2-3). In preparation for His ministry, Jesus spent "forty days and forty nights" in prayer and fasting. Fasting is a good accompaniment to serious prayer and meditation. It focuses our minds on the providence of God. Through fasting, we realize just how much God has given to us. Jesus' fast was a total food fast (Luke tells us that Jesus "ate nothing"), and not just a day fast (Matthew explicitly tells us that the fast was "forty days and forty nights"). I have heard that after the first few days of fasting, it becomes easier to fast for awhile. Then, right around forty days, the hunger becomes unbearable. It is this hunger that, I believe, Matthew is referring to when he says, "[Jesus] was hungry". It was at this time that "the tempter" came to tempt Jesus. "The tempter" was none other than Satan himself (see vs. 10). Make no mistake. Satan is a real being. He is an evil being. I do not think we should jest about the devil; he's too dark a being. We should not dress up like him at costume parties. He should not be a lovable comic character in our movies. We should not use him as a mascot at our high schools. The devil is a sly being. He waited until Jesus was at His weakest before he confronted Jesus with the full force of his temptations. He was sly also in that his temptation of Jesus was subtle: "If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." On the face of it, what would be wrong with Jesus turning the stones into bread? There is nothing in the law of God that forbids the turning of stones into bread, is there? However, for Jesus, to turn the stones into bread would be to forego His mission of living as a man on earth. We men cannot turn stones into bread when we are hungry. We must depend upon the providence of God for our bread. So also Jesus, in order to live as a man, must also depend on the Father for providence, just as men do; and so He must not use His power as the Son of God for His own comfort. To do so would have threatened the validity of His mission on earth. He came to earth to live as a man to be an example of how men should live. If He used His power for His own comfort, He would not be living as a man, and so we would not be able to use His life as an example for us. So, the essence of this first temptation is that the devil was trying to get Jesus to use improper means, means contrary to the will of God, to get His sustenance. And though we are not tempted by the devil to turn stones into bread, are not we also tempted many times in a similar way? "The prime temptation of millions, though they often realize it not, is to use improper means of making their bread."[4] Jesus was not to use His special gifts to satisfy the desires of His flesh. So also we should be careful to use our God-given gifts to primarily serve the Lord, not ourselves. Jesus answers the devil by quoting the Word of God: "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'" (vs. 4). The thrust of Jesus' answer is that, yes, our daily bread is important, but obedience to God, obedience even to "every word that comes from the mouth of God", is most important. As stated above, for Jesus to turn stones into bread would have been against the will of God, because Jesus was sent to live as a man on earth. Jesus in answering the devil was quoting from the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 8:3. Moses in that passage was encouraging the Israelites to obey the Word of God, teaching them that to do so was more important than seeking sustenance for themselves because it is from God's hand that sustenance comes. Moses told them: "Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (Deut. 8:2-3). As we shall see, to withstand the temptations of the devil, Jesus each time quotes from the Word of God. This is a great testimony to the divine authority of the Bible. Notice that throughout His life on earth, Jesus treated the Old Testament as truth, as the holy Word of God. In this passage, we learn that the chief weapon that we can use to resist the devil is the Word of God. The Word of God is the "sword of the Spirit" (Eph. 6:17). But to use the Word of God, we must read and know the Word of God. Also, each time Jesus quotes from the Word of God to resist these temptations, He quotes from the book of Deuteronomy. More specifically, He cites commandments that were given to Israel while they were in the wilderness for forty years. This suggests that the forty years in the desert for the Israelites were typical of the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert. Both the Israelites and Jesus came through the waters into a new life (Israel through the Red Sea; Jesus through the waters of baptism), and then were led by the Spirit of God to be tested in the desert. Israel, of course, failed their testings over and over. By contrast, Jesus resisted the temptations and passed the test. "Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. 'If You are the Son of God,' he said, 'throw Yourself down. For it is written: "He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone"'" (vss. 5-6). In the first temptation, the devil was trying to get Jesus to improperly use His own powers to turn stones into bread, rather than waiting upon the providence of God. Here, the devil is trying to get Jesus to improperly use the providence of God. To reenforce his temptation, the devil even quotes the Word of God from Psalm 91:11-12. In that Psalm, the Psalmist is teaching us of the protection that God provides those who "make the Most High [their] dwelling" (Ps. 91:9). The devil leaves out a portion of the verses that he is quoting. The passage reads: "For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone" (Ps. 91:11-12). The devil omits the phrase "to guard you in all your ways". This phrase suggests that the protection of God is upon those who happen into danger in the normal course of "[their] ways" as they dwell in the Most High. This passage in no way suggests that we should go out of our way to put ourselves in danger so as to require the protection of God. To resist the devil's temptation, and to refute his use of the Word of God, Jesus again quotes from Deuteronomy: "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test'" (vs. 7). Jesus uses a clear command of God to refute a suspect application of a promise of God. This command is clear. We are not to put ourselves in a situation that forces God's supernatural hand of protection. This is to test the Lord. The original command was made to the Israelites concerning their "testing" of God at Massah: "Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah" (Deut. 6:16). At Massah, a thirsty mob of Israelites demanded that God supernaturally supply water for them as proof that He was still with them (see Ex. 17:1-7). For Jesus to hurl Himself off the pinnacle of the temple would be a blatant "testing" of God, forcing a supernatural deliverance of His Son. The seduction of this temptation lies in the fact that the spectacle of the angels supernaturally saving Jesus as He hurled Himself off the pinnacle would draw attention to all the onlookers that Jesus was specially sent from God. Would not this be an effective way to get the people's attention? Would not the people be more apt to listen to the teachings of Jesus if they saw the angels supernaturally protecting Him? Maybe. But Jesus did not want His ministry to be based upon spectacle, but rather He wanted His ministry to be based on the teaching of the Word of God. Jesus wanted substance not spectacle. Many ministers of the Word of God today would do well to follow this example: more substance, less spectacle. Here, the devil tempted Jesus to test God by doing the spectacular. The devil also uses the same temptation upon us, but in a more "ordinary" way. He does not take us to the pinnacle of the temple, but he tempts us to demand God's supernatural protection. For example, Christian Scientists who refuse to take their children to the doctor for treatment are improperly putting God to the test. It is to improperly put God to the test if we expect the supernatural work of God when ordinary means are available to achieve the same ends. It is pride that leads us into this temptation. We don't want to say, "Well, I took my son to the doctor. He was given medicine and the Lord worked through the medicine to heal him." No, we would (in our own pride) rather say, "Oh, I laid my hands on my son and prayed over him and God supernaturally healed him." We, in our pride, desire to display our own "spirituality" by bragging about how God supernaturally intervenes for us. "Preservation in danger is divinely pledged: shall I then create danger, either to put the promised security sceptically to the proof, or wantonly to demand a display of it?"[5] Another thing that this passage teaches is that the Word of God can very easily be improperly used. "One of the subtlest and sometimes mightiest forms of temptation to a devout mind is the misapplication of Scripture, so as to give apparent warrant for doing what we incline to. We need not only to know the language of Scripture, but to understand the real meaning and legitimate application. A great aid in this is to compare other passages, as our Lord here does."[6] Be careful! Even the devil quotes Scripture! "But what is this I see? Satan himself with a Bible under his arm and a text in his mouth!"[7] To discern true application of the Word of God, we must compare Scripture with Scripture. And to compare Scripture with Scripture, we must study so that we know the whole counsel of God. "Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 'All this I will give You,' he said, 'if You will bow down and worship me'" (vss. 8-9). First, this temptation begs the question: How can Satan offer the kingdoms of the world to Jesus? Are they his to offer? Later, Jesus calls Satan the "prince of this world" (see John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), and Paul calls him the "god of this age" (see II Cor. 4:4). Mankind through sin has, for the most part, pledged its allegiance to Satan. And so, when Satan took Jesus "to a very high mountain" and supernaturally[8] showed Jesus "all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor", these kingdoms were truly Satan's to offer. The condition for giving Jesus all the kingdoms of the world was physically very easy to do: just "bow down and worship" Satan. However, the consequences would have been very farreaching, for to worship Satan is to ally oneself with the enemy of God. One might ask, "Why would Jesus even consider worshipping Satan? Why was this a temptation to Him?" The reason that this was a temptation at that time was that the path that God had laid out for Jesus was a difficult one. In order for the Father to set His Son at His right hand, Jesus would have to endure the cross. Satan was offering Jesus a shortcut. Satan was offering Jesus the reign of the earth for just the cost of bowing down to him. Jesus could have the allegiance of the world, without having to endure the suffering of the cross. Yes, Satan's way is easier, but the consequences of it are dire. For Jesus to have taken Satan's way would have meant death for all men. It would have also meant that Jesus would have been forever separated from His Father. This would have been unbearable for Jesus. Recall Jesus' cry of anguish when He was separated from the Father for just moments: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46). And it is always the case that Satan's way is easier for the present, but the consequences are dire. To choose Satan's way is to live a life for oneself, thinking only of satisfying one's own desires. To choose Satan's way is to live without any concern for the commandments of God. To choose Satan's way is to be free from service and obedience to God. But of course, the consequence of choosing Satan's way is death: eternal separation from God. It is to cry forever: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" Jesus could very easily have chosen the quick, easy way to gather a following. To bow down to Satan would have meant instant adoration of the masses. A whole world of people would have been His followers. Many ministers of the Word of God are tempted in this today. They think they must use worldly means and tactics to gather a following. They rationalize their worldly methods by saying, "Well, to help people, I need a large following." But the consequence of using these worldly means in the ministry is a dead, compromised ministry, a ministry that leads people, not to the truth of God, but to the ways of the world. It is our salvation that Satan is attacking here. If Jesus had bowed down and worshipped Satan and was thereby given reign of the world, He could have founded the largest, most successful religion the world has ever known. However, our salvation would have been lost. If Jesus had never endured the cross, we could never be reconciled to God. Again, it is our salvation that Satan is attacking here. And he has continued to attack our salvation throughout history by setting up false religions. Satan continues to set up religions that bypass the cross. The Mormons, the Muslims, the Hindus, the Buddhists offer the world, but ignore the true salvation that is only found through Jesus Christ's work on the cross. Jesus once again uses the Word of God to resist the temptation: "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only'" (vs. 10). The result of Jesus' resistance to temptation was that "the devil left Him" (vs. 11). This is always the result of resistance to temptation, as James taught: "Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). Satan and his allies are not omnipresent. If you resist him, he will flee from you and go to more fertile ground for his temptations. The easiest way to be rid of your temptations is to resist them. One other result of Jesus' resistance and victory in the desert was that "angels came and attended Him" (vs. 11). May the Lord be praised that we have the gift of these unseen beings, the angels, who are "ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation" (Heb. 1:14). =========================================================== A Study for Young Christians ============================ [With this study, we continue our reprint of Chapter 2 from Richard Baxter's classic tome A Christian Directory[9]. This chapter consists of twenty directions to (as Mr. Baxter says) "young Christians or beginners in religion, for their establishment and safe proceeding." Though these studies were written specifically for "young" Christians, I think that you will find (as I did), there is much in here worthy of meditation also for those who have been walking with God for many years.]--Ed. Direction III - Labouring for Understanding ------------------------------------------- Labour to understand the true method of divinity, and see truths in their several degrees and order; that you take not the last for the first, nor the lesser for the greater. Therefore see that you be well grounded in the catechism[10]; and refuse not to learn some catechism that is sound and full, and keep it in memory while you live. Method, or right order, exceedingly helpeth understanding, memory, and practice. Truths have a dependence on each other; the lesser branches spring out of the greater, and those out of the stock and root. Some duties are but means to other duties, or subservient to them, and to be measured accordingly; and if it be not understood which is the chief, the other cannot be referred to it. When two things materially good come together, and both cannot be done, the greater must take place, and the lesser is no duty at that time, but a sin, as preferred before the greater. Therefore it is one of the commonest difficulties among cases of conscience, to know which duty is the greater, and to be preferred. Upon this ground, Christ healed on the sabbath day, and pleaded for His disciples rubbing the ears of corn, and for David's eating the shew-bread, and telleth them, that "the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath" (Mark 2:27) and that God "will have mercy, and not sacrifice" (Matt. 12:7). Divinity is a curious, well-composed frame. As it is not enough that you have all the parts of your watch or clock, but you must see that every part be in its proper place, or else it will not go, or answer its end; so it is not enough that you know the several parts of divinity or duty, unless you know them in their true order and place. You may be confounded before you are aware, and led into many dangerous errors, by mistaking the order of several truths; and you may be misguided into heinous sins, by mistaking the degrees and order of duties; as, when duties of piety and charity seem to be competitors; and when you think that the commands of men contradict the commands of God; and when the substance and the circumstances or modes of duty are in question before you as inconsistent; or when the means seemeth to cease to be a means, by crossing of the end; and in abundance of such cases, you cannot easily conceive what a snare it may prove to you, to be ignorant of the methods and ranks of duty. Objection. If that be so, what man can choose but be confounded in his religion; when there be so few that observe any method at all, and few that agree in method, and none that hath published a scheme or method so exact and clear, as to be commonly approved by divines themselves? What then can ignorant Christians do? Answer. Divinity is like a tree that hath one trunk, and thence a few greater arms or boughs, and thence a thousand smaller branches; or like the veins, or nerves, or arteries in the body, that have first one or few trunks divided into more, and those into a few more, and those into more, till they multiply at last into more than can easily be seen or numbered. Now it is easy for any man to begin at the chief trunk, and to discern the first divisions, and the next, though not to comprehend the number and order of all the extreme and smaller branches. So is it in divinity: it is not very hard to begin at the unity of the eternal God-head, and see there a Trinity of Persons, and of primary attributes, and of relations; and to arise to the principal attributes and works of God as in these relations, and to the relations of man to God, and to the great duties of these relations, to discern God's covenants and chiefest laws, and the duty of man in obedience thereto, and the judgment of God in the execution of His sanctions; though yet many particular truths be not understood. And He that beginneth, and proceedeth as he ought, doth know methodically so much as he knoweth; and he is in the right way to the knowledge of more: and the great mercy of God hath laid so great a necessity on us to know these few points that are easily known, and so much less need of knowing the many small particulars, that a young Christian may live uprightly, and holily, and comfortably, that well understandeth his catechism, or the creed, Lord's prayer, and Ten Commandments; and may find daily work and consolation in the use of these. A sound and well composed catechism studied well and kept in memory, would be a good measure of knowledge, to ordinary Christians, and make them solid and orderly in their understanding, and in their proceeding to the smaller points, and would prevent a great deal of error and miscarriage, that many by ill teaching are cast upon, to their own and the church's grief! Yea, it were to be wished, that some teachers of late had learnt so much and orderly themselves. =========================================================== A Study in Psalms - Psalm 34 ============================ Psalm 34 -------- Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left. 1I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. 2My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3Glorify the Lord with me: let us exalt His name together. 4I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. 5Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. 6This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles. 7The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them. 8Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. 9Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. 10The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 11Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, 13keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. 14Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 15The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry; 16the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. 18The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 19A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; 20He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. 21Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. 22The Lord redeems His servants; no-one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him. ---------- According to the inscription, David wrote this psalm to commemorate "when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left." This event occurred right after David first fled from Saul, who was trying to murder him. David fled to Gath, where he was recognized as he went before the king Achish.[11] David sensed (probably by the Spirit of God) that recognition of him could bring danger, so, as a ploy, he acted insane in front of Achish. Achish was revolted, and sent David away. (See I Sam. 21:10-15 for the narrative concerning this episode). So this psalm was written in praise of the Lord's deliverance of David in that situation. David first praises the Lord (vs. 1), then encourages all to praise the Lord (vss. 2-3). David then relates (from his own experience) why he is praising the Lord (vss. 4-6). David then extrapolates from his experience a general doctrine concerning the righteous, thereby giving them reasons why they should praise the Lord (vss. 7-10). The rest of the psalm is a sermon (of sorts) directed specifically to the youth, teaching them how to have a good life (vss. 11-22). By the way, in the original language, this psalm was written in the form of an acrostic, with each verse beginning with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. I have come across the first part of a translation of this psalm that attempts to duplicate the acrostic in English. It begins: At all times bless Jehovah's name will I; His praise shall in my mouth be constantly; Boast in Jehovah shall my soul henceforth; Hear it, ye meek ones, and exult with mirthŠ[12] Praise, and Exhortation to Praise --------------------------------- 1I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. 2My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3Glorify the Lord with me: let us exalt His name together. ---------- It is good, nay essential, to commemorate special blessings of God with praise. And so, David begins his commemoration of God's deliverance of him from a dangerous situation with exuberant praise: "I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips" (vs. 1). Note first that for David, the blessings of God in the past are worthy of a lifetime of praise. David is not conditioning his praise upon future events by saying, "Well, if the Lord blesses me in the future I will praise Him." No, David unconditionally states: "I will extol the Lord at all times." I dare say, God has blessed each and every one of us enough already to deserve a lifetime of praise. Note also, that David is not limiting his praise to one day of the week (such as, say, Sunday morning), but rather, David resolves to praise the Lord "at all times", and he resolves that the praise will "always be on [his] lips". We cannot praise the Lord enough. Praise of the Lord is never completed. Indeed, it is a blessing that the Lord of the Universe even accepts our meager attempts at praise. David sensed that his praise fell far short of what God deserved, and so David exhorts us all to join in: "My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me: let us exalt His name together" (vss. 2-3). It is a good thing, not only to praise, but to encourage others to praise the Lord. All would do well to praise the Lord. Fathers, teach your children to praise the Lord, and lead your families in praise to the Lord. Mothers, show your children how to lift high voices to the Lord. Yes, all would do well to praise the Lord. David even encourages those who are facing trials to praise the Lord: "Let the afflicted hear and rejoice" (vs. 2). In order to encourage others to praise, David "boasts" in the Lord. To boast in oneself is wrong, but to boast in the Lord is a noble work. Yes indeed, there is a wrong and right way to boast. The Lord (through Jeremiah) teaches: "'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,' declares the Lord" (Jer. 9:23-24). Reasons to Praise the Lord -------------------------- 4I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. 5Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. 6This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles. 7The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them. 8Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. 9Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. 10The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. ---------- David has just said that he will praise the Lord, now he relates one of the reasons that he is praising the Lord: "I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears" (vss. 4-6). David here recalls the event that this psalm is commemorating, as specified in the inscription: "When [David] pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left." When David went before Achish (the king referred to as "Abimelech" here), he "was very much afraid" (see I Sam. 21:12). The fear must have come on suddenly. David presented himself voluntarily to Achish (see I Sam. 21:10), presumably to seek protection from Saul. But when David heard the servants of Achish telling the king about David's military exploits (see I Sam. 21:11), David must have realized that they would take him hostage or (worse) even kill him in revenge. It was at this point that, I believe, David "sought the Lord" (vs. 4). So you see, David did not have much time to seek the Lord in this situation. He must have under his breath prayed a prayer of deliverance when he recognized the danger he was in. David speaks of God's response to his prayer: "He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears" (vs. 4). God is gracious: He hears and answers even our "spur-of-the-moment" prayers. I have often prayed a "spur-of-the-moment" prayer when I have unexpectedly found myself in a sticky situation. It is comforting that we have examples in the Bible of God answering such prayers. There is an example of another such prayer in the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah, a cupbearer for the king while he was in exile in Babylon, had been praying that he would be able to return to Israel (see Neh. 1:5ff). One day, he went before the king who noticed his dejection (see Neh. 2:1-3). Nehemiah tells of the episode: "The king said to me, 'What is it you want?' Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, 'If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it'" (Neh. 2:4-5). Notice that Nehemiah's "spur-of-the-moment" prayer was sandwiched between the king's question and his own answer: very extemporaneous! God answered Nehemiah's prayer, and the king allowed him to return to Israel (see Neh. 2:6). Praise God that He answers these "spur-of-the-moment" prayers! Praise Him that we don't have to be in a church to pray, or be in a certain bodily position to pray, or be at the Western Wall to pray. Praise Him that anywhere, anyway, our prayers are heard and answered. David continues: "Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame" (vs. 5). This is interesting because many people think that the episode that David was commemorating was shameful. They think it was shameful for David to act as an insane person in order to escape Achish. Apparently, David didn't feel shamed. Though his behavior may have seemed shameful, David maintains that "those who look to [the Lord] are radiant; their faces never covered with shame." David's standing comes from the fact that he "looks to [the Lord]". Fortunately for us, God does not look at our standing in man's eyes to determine whether to answer our prayers. David points this out: "This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles" (vs. 6). Now, we usually do not think of David as a "poor man", but for much of his life, he was not very well off. He spent his youth as a lowly shepherd. At the time of this episode, David's standing (from man's point of view) was not all that good. Though anointed to be the future king of Israel by Samuel (see I Sam. 9), David was fleeing the current king Saul, who was trying to kill him. Usually, when a king wants someone dead, he ends up dead. Surely, in this respect, David was a "poor man". But the Lord hears him anyway. God "does not show favoritism" based on human standing (see Acts 10:34-35). The homeless person living on the street has as much an opportunity for God to hear his prayer as the president of the country. Praise the Lord for this! Having spoken of one reason that he is praising the Lord, David next extrapolates his own experiences to all the faithful, and gives us reasons that we all should praise the Lord. First, we should praise Him because of His protection and deliverance: "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them" (vs. 7). Deliverance comes not only to David, but to all "who fear Him". Many commentators (including myself) believe that the designation "the angel of the Lord" refers in the Old Testament to Jesus Christ. This is supported here by the fact that David says that the "angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them." The pronouns "Him" and "He" refer back to "the angel of the Lord". These pronouns seem to refer to God Himself, not to a "regular" angel. In other appearances, the "angel of the Lord" accepts the praise and worship of people, and acts with Godly authority and power.[13] These appearances support the contention that "the angel of the Lord" is none other than Jesus Christ. David continues with another reason for us all to praise the Lord is because of His goodness and the blessings He showers upon us: "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him" (vs. 8). Also, in this verse, David implicitly refers to the Lord's accessibility to all. He encourages us all to "taste and see that the Lord is good." God is not hidden away on some holy mountain. He is very near us. We all have access to Him and His goodness. All we need do is "taste and see that the Lord is good." This seems so easy. Just give the Lord a try. So many do not know the goodness of the Lord because they won't give Him a try. They brood over theoretical objections: "Why is there so much evil in the world? How could a loving God allow suffering? What about those who have never heard of Jesus, are they condemned to hell?, etc." They brood and brood, and refuse to "taste and see that the Lord is good." Many even go to church, but still do not taste. Hearing a sermon is not tasting. One must seek a relationship with God and walk with Him in order to "taste". Once one does this, they see the goodness of God, they experience it for themselves, and through understanding given by the Holy Spirit, all their objections are answered. "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Yet another reason for us all to praise the Lord is because of the satisfaction that we find in Him: "Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing" (vss. 9-10). Isn't this what we want in life: to "lack no good thing"? David, of course, is not promising luxuries; rather, he is promising satisfaction, even fulfillment, in life. When you walk with the Lord, your life has purpose, direction, meaning. No, you may not be rich in a worldly sense, but you will "lack no good thing". This is set in contrast to "the lions", who "may grow weak and hungry". For some reason, we envy the strong predator, without realizing that preying upon others is a miserable, unloved existence. A Sermon for the Children ------------------------- 11Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, 13keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. 14Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 15The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry; 16the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. 18The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 19A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; 20He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. 21Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. 22The Lord redeems His servants; no-one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him. ---------- David uses the rest of the psalm for teaching: "Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord" (vs. 11). David chooses as his students for this lesson "my children". This is a sermon for the youth. The importance of teaching children about the things of the Lord cannot be stressed enough. The ministry of teaching Sunday school to children is very important. Here David takes that chore on, so it must be a job fit for a king! Far too many churches relegate the job of teaching Sunday school to anyone who will volunteer. Emphasis is put on supervisory skills rather than the ability to communicate God's truth. The Sunday school teacher should love children, love the Lord, know the Bible, and have a great desire to teach God's truths lovingly and accurately to children. David here speaks to the children concerning "the fear of the Lord". This is a very important subject to teach children. For the most part, a whole generation of children have been brought up not to fear the Lord. Look where it leads: crime, corruption, lack of respect for anything. People say, "Well, I want to teach the children to love the Lord, not to fear the Lord." I say, "Teach both! They should learn to love and fear the Lord." The two are not mutually exclusive. Children naturally learn to love and fear their own parents. Love comes from the caregiving of the parents; fear comes from the discipline of the parents. Children fear doing wrong in front of their parents because of the punishment they will receive. This fear does not prevent them from loving their parents. So also, the fear of the Lord does not stop people from loving the Lord. Being taught to love the Lord without being taught to fear the Lord leads to a wrong understanding of God. It leads to seeing God as the cheerful, loving "man upstairs", who never gets mad at anything. This is a wrong concept of God. God does get mad! God gets mad because God is holy. He hates sin, and will not tolerate sin. Fear of the Lord comes from the realization that God is holy, as well as the realization that God is powerful. God hates sin and has the power to punish sin. Thus, we should fear the Lord, have reverence for His holiness, because we know He has the power to discipline us if we disobey Him. Fear of the Lord, then, naturally manifests itself in obedience to the commands of the Lord. Make no mistake, fear of the Lord is a necessary trait of all believers. Solomon teaches: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10). Again, it is the "beginning of wisdom". This means that no one can truly understand the things of God unless they first have "fear of the Lord". As stated, the fear of the Lord manifests itself in obedience to God's commands. David goes on to teach that such obedience is necessary to living a good, long life: "Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it" (vss. 12-14). Isn't this what we all want: a long, good life? Don't we all "love life" and "desire to see many good days"? Here is the secret of such a life then: "Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." This is a beautifully simple message that even a child can understand, and yet, it is the secret of long, good life. Countless volumes written by the philosophers of the world can be thrown away and replaced with these three verses from the Bible. The thrust of David's advice is to "turn from evil" (i.e., repent) "and do good". In support of this, David gives two exhortations that, if followed, will greatly send one on the way to "doing good". David says, "Seek peace and pursue it." To be at peace with God and at peace with man requires turning from evil and doing good. You cannot be at peace and live a sinful life. Peace with God and peace with man is at the heart of the Ten Commandments: the first five commandments concern peace with God, the last five commandments concern peace with man. It sounds easy: "Seek peace", but for sinful man such peace is difficult. David realized this, so he adds "and pursue it". Peace seems to get away so easily! We must keep chasing it! The other exhortation that David gives in support of "doing good" is: "Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies." David knew that it is our tongues that get us in the most trouble. The tongue is a weapon of sin that we always have with us. As James taught: "No man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison" (James 3:10). If we made a sincere effort to tame our tongues, we would go a long way in "turning from evil and doing good". Unfortunately, there are many ways to sin with the tongue. William Plumer lists more than forty: "Speaking becomes sinful when it is hasty, rash, continual, unseasonable, excessive, clamorous, senseless, unchaste, indelicate, impure, filthy, prevaricating, quibbling, deceitful, lying, slanderous, tattling, babbling, backbiting, detractive, reproachful, opprobrious, flatteringly seductive, betraying confidence, revealing secrets, awakening groundless suspicions, talebearing, news-carrying, railing, reviling, boastful, scornful, desperate, murmuring, foolish, egotistical, vain, proud, malignant, bitter, resentful, cursing, profane, or blasphemous."[14] Mr. Plumer also eloquently states the consequences of not taming our tongue: "Sins of the tongue lead to horrors of conscience, loss of peace of mind and loss of appetite; to broils, quarrels and bitter contentions; to fightings stabbings shootings and murders."[15] Though it is noble for a society to allow "free speech", each Christian must do his best not to allow himself "free speech". "Free speech" can get you into a lot of trouble! David concludes the psalm by contrasting in a number of ways the benefits of living a life in the "fear of the Lord", versus living an ungodly life. First, "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the Lord is against those who do evil" (vss. 15-16). Just as earthly parents are attentive particularly to the cries of their children, so also is God particularly attentive to the cries of His children. Implicit here is how the godly and the ungodly view the presence of God. The presence of God is a great blessing to us, but is a bane to the evildoer. "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken" (vs. 17-20). The Bible is frank and truthful. Even the children of God will have "troubles". The difference between our troubles and the troubles of the ungodly is that God will deliver us from our troubles. Yes, we may be brought to a place of "broken-heartedness"; yes, we may be allowed to be "crushed in spirit", but these things are for our good. As Jesus taught: "Blessed is the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). Believe it or not, to be "broken-hearted" before God, to be "crushed in spirit" before God, is the best place to be. It is the beginning of a new life. It is the realization that we need God: we can't make it on our own. This will lead to dependence on God, to clinging to God, and ultimately to the salvation of God: "Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems His servants; no-one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him" (vss. 21-22). Oh, Father, we praise You for the redemption that You have provided for us. We were lost; our souls were bankrupt; our lives meant nothing; but You redeemed us and gave our lives meaning that will last throughout eternity. We praise You for bringing us to a place of broken-heartedness so that we would know that we need You and the salvation that only You provide. We praise You for sending Your Son, who made our complete redemption possible. It is in His name that we pray these things, Amen. =========================================================== For Meditation - Three Christmas Poems ====================================== A Christmas Hymn ---------------- A stable-lamp is lighted Whose glow shall wake the sky; The stars shall bend their voices, And every stone shall cry. And every stone shall cry, And straw like gold shall shine; A barn shall harbor heaven, A stall become a shrine. This child through David's city Shall ride in triumph by; The palm shall strew its branches, And every stone shall cry. And every stone shall cry, Though heavy, dull, and dumb, And lie within the roadway To pave His kingdom come. Yet He shall be forsaken, And yielded up to die; The sky shall groan and darken, And every stone shall cry. And every stone shall cry For stony hearts of men: God's blood upon the spearhead, God's love refused again. But now, as at the ending, The low is lifted high; The stars shall bend their voices, And every stone shall cry. And every stone shall cry In praises of the child By whose descent among us The worlds are reconciled. -- Richard Wilbur As with Gladness Men of Old --------------------------- As with gladness men of old Did the guiding star behold; As with joy they hailed its light, Leading onward, beaming bright; So, most gracious Lord, may we Evermore be led to Thee. As with joyful steps they sped To that lowly manger-bed, There to bend the knee before Him whom heaven and earth adore; So may we with willing feet Ever seek Thy mercy seat. As they offered gifts most rare, At that manger rude and bare, So may we with holy joy, Pure and free from sin's allow, All our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to Thee, our heavenly King. Holy Jesus, every day Keep us in the narrow way; And, when earthly things are past, Bring our ransomed souls at last Where they need no star to guide, Where no clouds Thy glory hide. -- William Chatterton Dix (1837-1898) The Nativity of Christ ---------------------- Behold the father is daughter's son, The bird that built the nest is hatched therein, The old of years an hour hath not outrun, Eternal life to live doth now begin, The Word is dumb, the mirth of heaven doth weep, Might feeble is, and force doth faintly creep. O dying souls, behold your living spring; O dazzled eyes, behold your sun of grace; Dull ears, attend what word this Word doth bring; Up, heavy hearts, with joy your joy embrace. From death, from dark, from deafness, from despairs, This life, this light, this Word, this joy repairs. Gift better than Himself God doth not know; Gift better than His God no man can see. This gift doth here the giver given bestow; Gift to this gift, Himself He freely gave me; God's gift am I, and none but God shall have me. Man altered was by sin from man to beast; Beast's food is hay, hay is all mortal flesh. Now God is flesh and lies in manger pressed As hay, the brutest sinner to refresh. O happy field wherein this fodder grew, Whose taste doth us from beasts to men renew. -- Robert Southwell (1561-1595) =========================================================== Bibliography and Suggested Reading ================================== Alexander, Joseph A. Commentary on the Psalms. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1991. (Originally published in 1864). Baxter, Richard. A Christian Directory. Edmonton, Canada: Still Waters Revival Books. (Originally published in 1673). Broadus, John. Commentary on Matthew. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1990. (Originally published in 1886). Calvin, John. A Commentary on Genesis. 2 Vols. in 1. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1965. (Originally published in 1554). Candlish, Robert S. Studies in Genesis. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1979. (Originally published in 1868). Carson, D. A. "Matthew" from The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. VIII, ed. by Frank Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984. Dickson, David. A Commentary on the Psalms. Reprint Edition. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1959. (Originally published in 1653). Flavel, John. Navigation Spiritualized from The Works of John Flavel, Vol. V, pg. 206ff. Reprint Edition. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1968. (Originally published ca. 1670). Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David. A Commentary: Critical, Experimental, and Practical on the Old and New Testaments. 3 Vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdman's, 1993. (Originally published in 1866). Keil, Carl & Delitzsch, Franz. Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. Reprint Edition. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971. (Originally published ca. 1880). Morgan, G. Campbell. The Gospel According to Matthew. Reprint Edition. Grand Rapids: Revell, 1992. Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to Matthew. Grand Rapids: Eerdman's, 1992. Pink, Arthur W. Gleanings in Genesis. Chicago: Moody, 1981. Plumer, William S. Studies in the Book of Psalms. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1990. (Originally published in 1867). Ryle, J. C. Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew. Reprint Edition. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1986. Smith, Chuck. Audio Tapes on Genesis. Costa Mesa, CA: Word for Today, 1985. Smith, Chuck. Audio Tapes on Psalms. Costa Mesa, CA: Word for Today, 1988. Spurgeon, Charles. The Gospel of Matthew. Reprint Edition. Grand Rapids: Revell, 1987. Spurgeon, Charles. The Treasury of David. 6 Volumes bound in 3. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson. (Originally published ca. 1880). Thomas, W. H. Griffith. Genesis: A Devotional Commentary. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1988. =========================================================== Postscript: Christmas Prayer ============================= Let not our hearts be busy inns, That have no room for Thee, But cradles for the living Christ And His nativity. Still driven by a thousand cares The pilgrims come and go; The hurried caravans press on; The inns are crowded so! Here are the rich and busy ones, With things that must be sold, No room for simple things within This hostelry of gold. Yet hunger dwells within these walls, These shining walls and bright, And blindness groping here and there Without a ray of light. Oh, lest we starve, and lest we die, In our stupidity, Come, Holy Child, within and share Our hospitality. Let not our hearts be busy inns, That have no room for Thee, But cradles for the living Christ And His nativity. -- Ralph S. Cushman =========================================================== Footnotes ========= 1. Gill, cited in Broadus, Commentary on Matthew, pg. 69. 2. Jamieson, Fausset, Brown [JFB], A Commentary, Vol. V, pg. 18. 3. JFB, op. cit., pg. 19. 4. Morison, cited in Broadus, op. cit., pg. 69. 5. JFB, op. cit., pg. 17. 6. Broadus, op. cit., pg. 70. 7. Bishop Hall, cited in JFB, op. cit., pg. 17. 8. Luke tells us that the devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world ³in an instant², see Luke 4:5. 9. All Scripture citations in this study are taken from the King James Version. 10. Richard Baxter wrote for the reformed church in 17th century England, which made heavy use of catechisms (mainly those found in the Westminster Confession of Faith). A ³catechism² is a series of questions and answers concerning church doctrine. Churches that use catechisms encourage that they be committed to memory; thus, catechisms are tools for teaching the doctrines of the Christian church. For those of you who attend churches that do not use catechisms, treat Mr. Baxter¹s exhortations to be ³well-grounded in the catechism² as encouragements to study and learn the doctrines of the Christian faith through systematic, diligent study of the Bible. 11. Achish is called ³Abimelech² in this psalm because ³Abimelech² is a general name for a ruler of that time, much like Pharoah and Caesar were general names for rulers. 12. Hapstone, cited in Spurgeon, A Treasury of David, Vol. II, pg. 128. 13. For other appearances of the ³angel of the Lord² in the Old Testament, see Gen. 16:7; Gen. 22:11; Ex. 3:2; Num. 22:22; Jud. 2:4; Jud. 6:11; I Kings 19:7; II Kings 19:35; I Chr. 21:18. 14. William Plumer, Studies in the Book of Psalms, pg. 421. 15. Ibid.