From ccrlist at tulip.org Thu Jan 5 18:58:26 2006
From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org)
Date: Thu Jan 5 18:58:39 2006
Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly 01 January 06
Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20060105185235.02d536d0@mail.loganrec.com>
Good Evening,
We will be jumping from Psalm 36 to 34 for a few weeks.
God bless,
Max A Forsythe
Psalm 36
To the Choirmaster
Of David - The Servant of the Lord
01 [Out of the depths of] his heart;
perversity speaks to the wicked.
There is no dread of God
before his eyes.
02 [Too highly] he sees and flatters himself,
[thus] his iniquity is neither discovered nor hated.
03 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely
and to do good
04 He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he abhors not evil.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
The Way of the Wicked
For the Lord?s Day: the 1st of January 2006
Introduction: This psalm is somewhat unique in its composition as it ?does
not conform to any one type?, as my Translator?s Handbook notes. It
contains three divisions. In the first four verses, the wicked nature of
man is noted. Then, there are five verses in praise of God?s
goodness. Finally, the psalm closes with a prayer for God to make a
distinction between the ungodly and the elect. Commentators note that the
general purpose of this psalm is make a vivid comparison between the
perversity of mankind and the goodness of God.
The opening of this psalm is difficult to grasp in any translation to the
English. Commentators are torn as to just how to set up the opening
verses. Delitzsch translates the first line in this way: ?A divine word
concerning the evil-doing of the ungodly is in the inward parts of my
heart.? This is a permissible translation; however I take the observation
of Jeremiah 17: 9 as a beginning place to frame the text before us. In
that passage, Jeremiah notes: ?The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick; who can understand it?? In addition, we have the
witness of Christ Himself in Matthew 24: 25-26: ?Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate,
but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind
Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the
outside also may be clean.?
Given that scriptural background, I believe that the translation of verse
one may convey the sense of the whole scriptures.
?[Out of the depths of] his heart; perversity speaks to the
wicked.?
This is in line with the fatal fall passed along to the whole seed of
Adam. Total depravity, as we understand the doctrine, is all too
true. Left to himself, man can achieve nothing worthwhile and given enough
time and experience, the perverted race all too quickly supposes that we
are as gods and goddesses in and of ourselves. There is none other, as the
reasoning goes, to limit what man wants to become. The psalmist phrases
the thoroughly modern mantra in these words:
?There is no dread of God before his eyes.?
Development: We all know people that may allow the probable existence of a
God, but in their hearts they really aren?t going to worry too much about
Him and any demands that might be placed upon them. Calvin frames the
content of verse one in this way: ?The malice of the wicked, though
seemingly hidden and unknown, speaks aloud in my heart, and I am a sure
witness of what it says or suggests.? Like Paul, David realizes the
presence of the ?old man? even in the midst of our new hearts in Christ Jesus.
The wicked that remain lost simply haven?t a clue to any spiritual
reality. They are blinded in the extreme to every spiritual truth. Listen
to the heartfelt perception of David the poet in this regard:
?[Too highly] he sees and flatters himself, [thus] his iniquity is neither
discovered nor hated.?
We have only to consider the worst of our society today, where any and
every perverse behavior is widely considered as a variant behavior instead
of a deviant behavior! More and more I cringe when I look at the offerings
of my satellite television system. Were it not for a handful of channels
that convey a little more honest reality ? I would probably give up the
whole sordid mess. As far as movies go, in the last ten years, I have only
enjoyed a half dozen or so ? and the reality shows, do they not demonstrate
the true hateful condition of the human race? Sadly, we even had a man in
the White House who once took it upon himself to instruct the leaders of
his denomination what sin entailed. Self-esteem, the educators call it, a
wild unrestrained focus upon any and every thing that temporarily gratifies
the heart of those who know not the bounds of the Holy Spirit.
How much has the American landscape shifted in the last fifty years, as the
restraints of the Pilgrim foundations have been cut loose and even decried
boldly if any one speaks with the wisdom and revelation of God. Recently,
we had a murder in Logan County, of course the media is upset that the
miscreant, a boy of sixteen had not been properly supervised and kept under
lock and key. Never mind his sordid past in the last three years, rape ?
burglary and now murder. At least he will now be tried as an adult, but a
proper death penalty is beyond any legal satisfaction for the area
residents. Again, we have a growing number of adults of all ages who have
been identified as sexual predators ? a complete sub-class living on the
edges of society like the lepers of antiquity. Their crimes, once punished
by death - are now held forfeit for as long as they live. More and more
moderation by a Nanny State is in the offering. And as the state fails to
keep tabs and controls in place, it is never the fault of the perverted
criminals, but society that has failed.
It would seem that the whole society has gone on and taken the position of
the sinner being described here by David. The world is now reluctant to
confront the sinner and say that this particular crime deserves a really
serious and final punishment!
Application: The wicked among us do very much have a voice in our time and
place. In fact the media gives a complete outline of every possible
crime. Forgive me if I have shifted from the personal to the general
application of these verses, but it certainly seems to me that until
society once again knows what constitutes sin and is willing to punish it,
there will be a lot more of it. In David?s poem, the sinner speaks for
himself; he only afflicts those near and around him. He has lost the
ability to reason and act with any good purpose.
?The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely
and to do good?
And yet, in our day, the malady has gone beyond David?s poetry and infected
an entire culture. Notice that I use the word culture here. I can still
remember in the sixties, when the local schools were consolidated. Prior
to that state mandated action, most of the small community schools still
taught a watered down concept of civilization. By that I mean ? we still
actually believed that the countries of the west actually did things
better. Immediately after the schools were consolidated, Western
Civilization was thrown out and World Cultures were established to
demonstrate the affinity of any and every tribe and nation for a watered
down respectability.
Further, as we see in our last verse for today, conspiracies are much in
order for the wicked and perverse to multiply their mischief.
?He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not
good; he abhors not evil.?
Again, I have presumed to describe the whole of our culture rather then the
mindless actions of individuals. Media moguls in this country out do
themselves to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory in the
Mid-East. The same liberal establishment seems intent on undoing any
collective moral pressure on those who would celebrate deviancy every day
of the week. They, along with the individuals who commit every kind of
atrocity are always up to no good because they have no sense that evil is
wrong and against the laws of God. In our county, once upon a time in the
early sixties ? with a population 75% of the present, we had a two cell
jail, a Sheriff and a Deputy or two. It had been seventy-five years since
the last rape and almost as long since a murder had been committed. At the
end of that era, religion, prayer and the fear of God was banned from any
and all public instruction and fifty some years later, we have two jail
complexes, over a hundred law enforcement personnel and the major problem
before the county is how many of the Sheriff?s employees are up for endictment!
Well has David described a culture without any knowledge of the holy. At
least in his day, he was free as God?s regent to act against the public
display of sin and atrocity. Like the proverbial lawman in the westerns of
another day, he was able to confront wickedness and by using the power and
laws of his kingdom, to contain the worst offenses. C.S. Lewis once
commented on the fifties, that we had yet to see what society would look
like without the moral restraints of the old order. Sadly, we are learning
all too well what he knew must come to pass.
And yet, I do not mean to leave you on a sour note. Despite the perceived
lawlessness of the human heart, David will quickly turn his attention to
the lawfulness of our God in heaven. An on that note, we have much to
anticipate in another week, when we peruse the glories of our God and King
in the midst of adversity. May we glory in the Lord and be glad that He is
ours and we are His, in this life and the next. Amen.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
PREACHING RESOURCES
Calvin, John: Commentary on Book of Psalms.
Delitzsch, F: Commentary on the Old Testament ? Psalms.
Spurgeon, C.H: Treasury of David.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice.
http://www.tulip.org/selah/sel036a.htm
To Subscribe or Unsubscribe go
to:
http://www.four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/ccrlist/
-------------- next part --------------
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.10/218 - Release Date: 1/2/2006
From ccrlist at tulip.org Mon Jan 16 14:50:46 2006
From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org)
Date: Mon Jan 16 14:50:49 2006
Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly for 08 Jan 06
Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20060116144859.02d59eb0@mail.loganrec.com>
Good Afternoon,
Please be in prayer for a close relative in the hospital. We are driving a
1,000 miles a week, the last two weeks to keep close contact. Improvement
is slow and we hope for a quick return to home.
God bless,
Max
Is This the Messiah?
For the Lord?s Day: the1st of January 2006
John 7: 25-36
Introduction: In our Psalm study this morning we focused upon the natural
state of fallen men: men and women who can only devise perversity from
their hearts. The rest of Psalm Thirty Six will go on to demonstrate the
faith and hope given by the Father to whose whom He loves.
King David could only look forward to the coming of His own greater Son
Jesus Christ, yet King David did have the salvation that would come in
Christ's name. Of course we today are in a much better situation to
understand all of these things that David could only hope for.
And yet, the process must remain constantly focused upon the continual work
of our very own God and in His only Son Jesus Christ.
But the world constantly wonders who is this Jesus Christ. And if we would
admit it, I am sure that every once in a while, we too may lose our own
confidence in this Jesus Christ and wonder if we have followed an idea into
a dead end.
Sometimes we may wonder what we know for certain, what we know for a fact
and even how may we know who Jesus Christ really is. This Jesus
anticipates the question of the world and He even knows of our own
temporary doubts in the faith.
The claims of Jesus in the New Testament are to the thinking of the world
absolutely incredible. Anyone who comes to the Gospels especially is faced
with choosing between two probabilities, either Jesus Christ is exactly who
and what He says He is, or Jesus Christ is completely insane.
By your presence here today you give evidence that you have chosen to
believe the first probability. And my calling is to encourage you to hold
fast to that calling which you have from the Holy Spirit. My text today
comes from the words of Jesus recorded by John.
Development: Earlier in this chapter, the Apostle John declared: John 7:
17. "If anyone?s will is to do God?s will, he will he will know whether
the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority."
John Calvin comments upon this verse in these words: "that right judgment
flows from the fear and reverence of God; so that if our minds are disposed
to the fear of God they will easily see whether what He preaches is true or
not."
Yet, the worldly are perishing because they cannot receive these and other
words from Jesus Christ. The worldly cannot accept the true religion of
God's grace or the finality of God's Word.
It is when we are finally ready to follow the will of God and leave our own
point of view behind that we begin to make progress in this wonderful faith
freely given to us in Jesus Christ. But the world makes our progress in
faith difficult.
I am reminded of an advertisement for one brand of beauty cream on the
television. There the models asserted her determination that she is not
going to be a push over for old age.
She vowed to fight old age every step of the way. In the same way the world
and the temptations contained in their hearts, are hostile to the Lord of
Creation and our progress is fought every step of the way.
Jesus too was faced with opposition, even unto death. In our seventh
chapter of John we can see this opposition. We can also hear His teaching
and we can find in the sacred record some certain assurance that Jesus is
indeed the Christ.
In the first thirteen verses of our chapter, John reported that Jesus
stayed for a while in Galilee because it was unsafe in Judea. There is
evidence that this stay is somewhat lengthy, because the Harvest
Thanksgiving feast is now at hand.
Jesus' relatives have urged Him to go up again to Jerusalem because His
miracles in Galilee will not convince the rich and powerful.
Jesus, if you are the Christ convince the people in the Capital City. Yet
this unsolicited advice is not given in the right spirit. Those who give
it are still unbelievers. To these family and friends Jesus states that
the right time has not yet come. This reference here does not respond to
His coming death.
Whenever Jesus talks about that He uses the word hour. Here He is simply
stating that while they are free to go, because the worldly Capital is
friendly to them, His time to appear must be more circumspect.
The time in Jerusalem described here is very similar to the time of the
Reformation in France. Very many young pastors came to Geneva to be
trained as Reformed ministers. However, once they were well schooled,
there was a problem for them to return to France.
The government and Church of France were very unfriendly to their
teaching. These men traveled by night, lived in attics, barns and
sheds. Even their congregations had to meet in secret; all because the
Gospel of Jesus Christ was hated in France during the Reformation
years. In the same way, Jesus must travel quietly to Jerusalem.
When the feast had begun, the crowds began to discuss Jesus. There was
spirited argument both for and against Him and His teachings. But these
arguments were quietly held for fear of the Jews.
This situation was very much like the Russian society during the Stalin
years. Until he died people had to be very careful of what they
said. Even to tell a joke about Comrade Stalin could get one twenty-five
years in prison.
Certainly, it was not so bad in Jerusalem, nor is it so bad in America.
Yet, for one's financial and social standing, one must be careful! Finally
Jesus appears and His timing is found to be most appropriate.
By mid-week everyone was wondering if He would appear and perhaps the
authorities had relaxed their guard somewhat. Immediately Jesus is
questioned by the Urban intellectuals.
Since it was the custom of the age for all teachers to quote from their own
masters, the Jews wonder from whom His knowledge comes. Even more amazing
to that age Jesus taught on His own authority.
The worldly Jews could not accept this. They were not ready to admit that
Jesus had any academic standing. After all, the Jews wondered, where was
Jesus schooled? But this matter is not really earth shaking.
Jesus began with a discussion about keeping the law of Moses. This
referred back to the problem in an earlier chapter where He had healed the
cripple on a Sabbath.
In verse nineteen Jesus asked why the Jews sought to kill Him? This
question the crowd considered incredulous! What on earth are you talking
about Jesus, why would anyone want to kill you they asked. Jesus must be
imagining things!
The worldly cannot accept the possibility of death for ideas that they do
not accept. Why just a few years ago, General Juraliski of Poland proposed
this same preposterous question: "Who would ever consider having to die
for an idea in our modern era."
Within weeks of that declaration, his own secret police rubbed out a
Catholic Priest who was working in opposition to the Polish Communist
Party. The only surprise in Poland was that a culprit was actually put on
trial!
In the same way, the crowd in Jerusalem thought they were too civilized to
murder someone for their teachings. But, Jesus reminded the people of the
healing at Bethesda and He explained that this was the reason His life is
at risk.
In His defense, Jesus points out that in need, the rulers of Judaism would
also violate the Sabbath to perform a ritual circumcision whenever the
eighth day fell on a Sabbath. Why he asked was there a selective
judgment? If the Jews were going to judge, he asked them to judge fairly.
As we see in our text for today, part of the crowd assented to the
probability but there were other problems with this Jesus. They knew where
He came from! Some in the crowd found further reasons not to believe in
Him, yet there were some who believed that He was the Messiah.
This fact disturbed the Pharisees! Officers were sent to make an
arrest. Jesus confronted them with a statement that they would not be able
to find Him when they eventually choose to discover Him.
Of course these Jewish officers became completely confused. They do not
understand what Jesus was teaching at all. We have also seen here that the
Pharisees could not comprehend God's truth when it disagreed with their own
opinions.
They were blind. So may we be blind if we choose to ignore Jesus Christ
and His teachings. Like these crowds in Jerusalem we are challenged to put
our faith in Jesus Christ.
Application: But, just as Jesus describes the spiritual reality that men
may not come to Him and find Him on their own recourse, so must we admit
the frailty of the fallen human condition.
In order to appreciate the context of our passage, we must look forward to
the next paragraph. In verse thirty-nine, we read John?s report that Jesus
spoke ?about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive.?
Further, John tells us that until Jesus was to be glorified, the Spirit
would not be sent.
Do we understand that the passage before us today, is locked into the
context of those paragraphs that precede and follow these verses? Years
ago, I wrote a weekly column for a local paper.
The editor complained that my writing was beyond editing. Usually, he said
? any article could be shortened without damaging the argument. But, mine
? he complained were too tightly organized for shortening.
Let me go from there to make our final point for this morning. One sermon,
one verse or one chapter is not sufficient to explain the whole of the
gospel message.
True, one of those may spark our interest and lead us on to consider much
more of the gospel ? but there is a life time of experience to be had
reading and testing the words of scripture within the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit.
Recently, I explained to my driving classes that if was forty years on the
road before I realized that a Semi-tractor rig would have to drive through
the middle of an arched underpass.
Never before had I run into such a situation, and so I warn them, and show
them a place where that fact can all too easily be demonstrated. And so it
is with our understanding of the Gospel of Glory, day by day and year by
year we grow in grace and knowledge as the Spirit teaches us all things
useful for our salvation.
May we, unlike the authorities in Jerusalem go on to find not only that
Jesus was the promised Messiah, but also that one day we may go to be with
Him in heaven. Amen.
Rushsylvania United Presbyterian Church 3 Feb 74 ? Logan County Mission
(PCA) 17 Feb 85
Christ Covenant Reformed (PCA) 12 Feb 89
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
PREACHING RESOURCES
Calvin, John: Commentary on the Gospel of John.
Dods, Marcus. St John.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice.
http://www.tulip.org/trf/Jhn/Jhn06g.htm
To Subscribe or Unsubscribe go to:
http://www.four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/ccrlist/
-------------- next part --------------
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.17/227 - Release Date: 1/11/2006
From ccrlist at tulip.org Thu Jan 19 20:40:31 2006
From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org)
Date: Thu Jan 19 20:40:54 2006
Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly for 15 Jan 06
Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20060119203513.02d59eb0@mail.loganrec.com>
Good Evening,
A quiet day as a substitute allowed me to finish one meditation and start
another.
God bless,
Max A Forsythe
Selah: Sacred Songs of the Psalter
Max A Forsythe ? Anno Domini 2006
======================================================
Psalm 34
Of David
When he changed his behavior before Abimelech,
So that he drove him out, and he went away.
01 I will extol the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
02 My soul will boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and rejoice.
03 Magnify the Lord with me,
let us exalt His name together!
====================================================================================
Magnify the Name of the Lord
For the Lord?s Day: the 8th of January 2006
Introduction: In an early novel on life in the American wilderness, one
author created a mad cap psalm singer, who by the very nature of his
actions and demeanor was able to wander amongst the native population with
relative ease; all because the natives believed him to be certifiably crazy
even in their primitive understanding of such things. Thereby his life and
person were respected even as they pitied the poor creature who muttered
the psalms of David according to an assortment of tunes that were unknown
to them! In and out of the carefully crafted story, did the singer wander,
helping the scout hero whenever and wherever he was able. Sadly, when
Hollywood got hold of the story to produce an epic film, the psalm singing
character was left out.
We may certainly understand, even as the hero and heroine in the story
appreciated, the psalm singer was not really mad at all, there was a
purpose to his wanderings and his mad cap role was carefully cultivated to
protect his scalp and person from dangers all to well known on the
frontier. I mention this phenomenon of fiction, because I believe there is
a shred of truth here that those who appear crazy are seen as no threat to
any established order. The Roman Emperor Claudius survived the
extermination of all his relatives precisely because he appeared mentally
addled ? so too may we presume that David was able to play his part well in
the story reported in 1 Samuel 21: 10-15. Briefly, we understand that
under dire straits of being run down by the supporters of Saul, he had on
one or more occasions slipped into the camp of Israel?s bitterest enemies:
the Philistines.
Realizing the extreme danger into which he had placed his person and
future, his only means of escape was to feign madness. And that the
scriptures report, he was well able to do. In memory of that escapade,
David dedicates this psalm. Now commentators find fault with the
connection here, since there is no direct evidence in the contents to
justify the dedication. However, we must appreciate that the Davidic
authorship here should be respected, and even if the reports in Samuel
allow a certain craftiness on the part of David, the psalmist himself will
take no credit. Calvin reports that: ?although he escaped by this subtle
device, he doubts not that he was delivered by the hand of God; nor does he
ascribe the praise of his safety to the pretense of madness, but rather
acknowledges that the cruelty of his enemy had been softened by the secret
influence of God.?
So let us turn to the text of Psalm Thirty-Four and appreciate the
teachings here arranged in an alphabetical order. Delitzsch notes that
this psalm ?is not arranged for music; for although it begins after the
manner of a song of praise, it soon passes into the didactic tone.? One
letter is of course missing, which is not unusual in this type of
arrangement. Now, many times we may wander why an alphabetic arrangement
in a handful of psalms? Sometimes, it may be a simple memory device and
other times it may be a complex outline ordering a large body of material,
as in the One Hundred and Nineteenth Psalm. Years ago, when students
complained about having to memorize the Preamble to the United States
Constitution, I would have them memorize the opening line and the closing
line. Usually that process was simple enough. The third step was to have
them memorize six letters of the alphabet in this
order: ?i-e-i-p-p-s.? Unless they were very dull indeed ? they quickly
realized those letters indicated the six principles that outlined the
purpose of the whole constitution. Fifteen to twenty minutes usually
produced an accurate memory of that important foundational preamble. Thus,
they would have something to carry in their hearts for many years afterwards.
Sometimes, I wonder if scholars pay enough attention to these
alphabetically arranged psalms? In looking over the longest of these, the
119th ? I can almost sense a treatise on systematic
theology. Unfortunately I do not have a comprehensive enough grasp of the
Hebrew to spend years sorting that thought out to any logical
conclusion. But, I digress, we have spent enough time considering the
place and purpose of this lovely little psalm. It is time to analyze it
verse by verse.
Development: Our first three verses have a common thread, espoused in
verse one and then elaborated in the two that follow. In verse one we read
the active verb ?extol? and in the second we understand that this includes
boasting in what the Lord has done. And finally, in the third, all Israel
is invited to magnify the awesome name of the Lord with many voices united
in exaltation.
In this calling, I am reminded of soldiers who cheered their best generals
in the field. When the Army of the Potomac, turned south after Grant?s
first battle, in which he was bested by Marse Robert ? the troopers cheered
even though it meant months of hard fighting and dying ahead. For the
first time, their army would not retreat to lick its wounds for months on
end, but instead would continue to take the battle to the enemy. Other
examples of such extolling include the rebels love and affection for Robert
E Lee. Again, when Napoleon reviewed his troops before the Battle of
Waterloo, a tremendous demonstration of affection and fierce resolve filled
the valley before the Anglo-allied Armies of Wellington.
This is the type of exaltation to be found in the hearts of God?s people
when they consider the ongoing leadership of Christ our king. ?I will
extol the Lord at all times,? David declares in the opening of this
precious psalm. In this he must demonstrate his affection, regard and
loyalty to the God of heaven and earth. The focus here of course, is not
upon the choice words and emotions of the psalmist. No indeed ? the praise
of David is focused upon the person and cause of his own God and Lord, who
reigns over and above all creation.
?His praise shall continually be in my mouth.? David further
declares. Day by day, year into year ? he will never cease to praise his
Lord. Praise, both public and private, are always the duty of God?s
people. The personal, private remembrance demonstrates again and again our
continued loyalty. And every public demonstration allows the worldly
around us to know where in our allegiance and thankfulness is centered.
In verse two, David plumbs the depths of his allegiance: ?My soul will
boast in the Lord.? Here, we should understand that it is not the
independent will of his own mind that prompts his affection and
trust. Indeed ? the source in his soul, is the real seat that is
compounded by the new heart engaged by the power of the Spirit as we would
understand it according to the New Testament economy. Now, we should not
be surprised to recognize the work of the Spirit, even though He was not
revealed until Christ ascended into heaven.
Think of it like this: a few months ago, in defense of his ongoing work as
Commander-in-chief, the president vaguely alluded to numerous foreign plots
that were nipped in the bud, before our people were endangered. Sadly, the
pathetic opposition leaders are making such methodology public. Now, we
have a valuable hint as to how our protection was accomplished, but so will
the enemy know those secrets displayed on the pages of our negligent news
media. I know, that is a poor example, but it is no sin to read the Old
Covenant informed from the testimony of the New Covenant.
Application: Even the humble people of the land could hear the cause of
David?s boasting. And then they too could rejoice in the Lord, David?s God
and King. How would they have heard unless David preached and testified
according to his experience?
In our last verse, David invites all who can hear the still small voice of
the Holy Spirit to affirm the greatness of the Lord. ?Magnify the Lord
with me, let us exalt His name together.?
Early on, I had used a military example of cheering to demonstrate the
public exaltation encouraged. The nearest modern example is the work of
sports cheer leaders who spend their energy working up a crowd in support
of their chosen team. Our response is much more restrained within Christ?s
Church today. But still, we encourage every voice to be raised in joyful
song ? time and again in our public singing we have here sung: ?O for a
hundred voices ? to sing the praises of our Lord and Savior. So let all of
those who sense their spiritual calling, raise up with common voice to
magnify, praise and exalt the King of Kings.
David?s greater Son would encourage us in the same manner. After all, this
is the ongoing work of the Church: to be a living testimony for all that
God is and has done. ?O praise Him,? the psalmist cries in another
psalm. So let our public praises be as well. Amen.
======================================================
PREACHING RESOURCES
Calvin, John: Commentary on Book of Psalms.
Delitzsch, F: Commentary on the Old Testament ? Psalms.
Spurgeon, C.H: Treasury of David.
============================================================================
Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice.
http://www.tulip.org/selah/sel034a.htm
To Subscribe or Unsubscribe go
to:
http://www.four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/ccrlist/
-------------- next part --------------
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.20/234 - Release Date: 1/18/2006
From ccrlist at tulip.org Mon Jan 23 21:38:29 2006
From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org)
Date: Mon Jan 23 21:38:31 2006
Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly for 22 January 2006
Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20060123213549.02d73840@mail.loganrec.com>
Good Evening,
Eventually, the date of the meditation and the date sent will agree?
God bless,
Max A Forsythe
Selah: Sacred Songs of the Psalter
Max A Forsythe ? Anno Domini 2006
======================================================
Psalm 34
04 I sought the Lord, He answered me
He delivered me from all my fears.
05 hose who look to Him are radiant,
their faces shall never be ashamed.
06 This poor man cried, the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
07 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and rescues them.
====================================================================================
Seeking the Lord
For the Lord?s Day: the 15th of January 2006
Introduction: One thing that we forgot to do last week was to outline the
two general divisions of this Psalm into the six preaching portions. So
therefore we would follow Spurgeon?s analysis of two great divisions, with
the first ten verses constituting a hymn and the last twelve a sermon. A
further subdivision gives us this outline for our six meditations over the
coming weeks:
1. Verses 1 to 3 David invites the godly to magnify the Name of the Lord
2. Verses 4 to 7 David encourages the godly to seek the Lord
3. Verses 8 to 10 David encourages the godly to fear the Lord.
4. Verses 11-14 David invites the godly to listen
5. Verses 15-18 David assures the godly that they will be heard
6. Verses 19-22 David assures the godly that they will be redeemed
This week we will explore the testimonial report in verses four to
seven. In last week?s introduction, we saw the detailed affirmation of
God?s working in our hearts by the sovereign power of the Holy
Spirit. This week we move on to learn from David?s own experiential
understanding of living before the face of God. In the Hebrew version,
this whole Psalm is composed of mainly two line strophes, which arrangement
we will honor, however there is a lot of information packed into this
arrangement. The primary verbs multiply the impact of the simple poetic
structure.
In verse four, David states as forthrightly as he did in the first
verse. ?I sought the Lord.? This statement of purpose highlights the
meditation before us in this section. Here we realize the fact of an
ongoing relationship between God and men. Because the Lord has known him,
David may seek His counsel and protection. God?s answer was experienced in
two ways throughout his life:
?He answered me
?
?He delivered me
?
We all know the frustrations of unanswered phone calls, call forwarding and
mechanical sorting of our quests for knowledge and seeking of help. Just
imagine a prayer process with options?
a. dial 1 for specific requests
b. dial 2 if you are thankful
c. dial 3 if you are sick or distressed
d. dial 4 if you came here by mistake
Development: Of course, given the practical infinity of human needs ? the
option list could go on and on and on! How much more pleasant is the
realization of God?s total sovereignty, he knows our every need even before
we ask. Verse seven of course informs our understanding of deliverance
from any fears and troubles. But, let me highlight one sense of this fear
that has concerned me lately. Are we afraid of sin and living to
independently? Even as we realize too many scandals within as well as
without Christ?s Church, do we petition the Lord to fence us in? Or are we
more apt to think like the perverted cowboys in a sordid contemporary
film: ?Don?t fence me in.? Would we prefer to wander and lust like so
much livestock, domestic and wild?
The contrast here between the fourth and the seventh verse is simple. The
emphasis in the last two verses is protection from outside the circle of
the sacred city. But, verse four is a petition that the Lord limit and
define our own boundaries. Thus far, and no further, we almost hear David
pray as he better understands the responsible fears of all God?s
people! If the Lord will contain us and our worldly desires, we can almost
anticipate the godly presence poured out upon Moses. Remember how the
people turned away in fright until he took to wearing a temporary veil?
?Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces shall never be ashamed.?
Here is the answer to David?s petition in verse four. Those whom the Lord
loves are restrained in their behavior, and why? In order that the broken
image of the fall, may still reflect the greater glory of our God and
King. And because of having known the very person of God ? they need not
worry of being finally and totally ashamed. Certainly, we understand that
everyone, like David has base moments, but given the reminder of God?s
word, love and mercy: repentance is possible, even though people may have
to live with the consequences of sinful lusts and behavior.
In the sixth verse David remembers the ordinary spiritual poverty of being
human. ?This poor man cried, the Lord heard him and saved him out of all
his troubles.? Here David reminds us that that we all have the capacity to
worm our way into a troubled hole and then find it impossible to get back
out. In Germany, the tiny Dachshund dog was specifically bred to crawl
into holes to get at burrowing animals that might endanger the farm?s
larger livestock. Once the small hound had grabbed the varmint in his
teeth, his owner would grab him by his tale and pull them both out, the
hound and his prey. The hunting premise of course was that the badger or
rabbit hole would not be too long or too deep! Of course, we all know that
sin is a different sort of danger ? some of course we can be pulled back
from, if we jump the fences of morality and God?s limitations. Here David
is saying simply that he was able to be rescued. And of course, we know
from the scriptural record, that David sometimes romped very far from the
limits of the divine ordinances.
At least, by God?s grace David remembered and cried out for divine
help. According to the scenario hinted at in his notation of this Psalm?s
purpose, David had slipped over into enemy territory to hide from the
pursuit of old King Saul. As soon as he arrived, he realized that he was
in grave danger, so he apparently went over the edge of sanity, or at least
appeared to do so in order to escape the extremity of his danger. So, the
Lord heard him, rescued him and brought him back into a place where his
life was in less danger.
Application: He realized the stupidity of his action; he had forgotten
that he should commit his cause, person and salvation to the gracious hands
of the Lord God of heaven and earth! And so, we may presume that this
sinful predilection to find human solutions to human mistakes and problems
caused him all manner of worry and loss of sleep. But, finally after many
close calls and adventures he should have avoided, David remembers the
truth of God?s kind and gracious prayer. ?The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and rescues them.? What a wonderful
understanding of the gospel filled David?s heart so many centuries before
the whole was accomplished and made known. And what a great comfort we can
take from David?s experience as we realize that our times are in God?s
hands and that no matter how dangerous our own adventures may be ? still we
are in His hands. Therefore, we should be all the bolder in our own
testimony and witness before a watching world, knowing that Christ is ours
and we are His in this life and the next. May we learn and know David?s
confidence. Amen.
======================================================
PREACHING RESOURCES
Calvin, John: Commentary on Book of Psalms.
Delitzsch, F: Commentary on the Old Testament ? Psalms.
Spurgeon, C.H: Treasury of David.
============================================================================
Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice.
http://www.tulip.org/selah/sel034b.htm
To Subscribe or Unsubscribe go
to:
http://www.four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/ccrlist/
-------------- next part --------------
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.20/234 - Release Date: 1/18/2006