From ccrlist at tulip.org Wed Mar 8 15:55:04 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Wed Mar 8 15:55:51 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly for 05 March 06 Message-ID: Good Afternoon, This meditation is a rougher draft than most, hopefully my schedule slows down some next week. God bless, Max A Forsythe Psalm 35 07 For no valid cause they hid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my life. 08 Let destruction come upon him by surprise, let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it ? with confusion. 09 Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD. exulting in His salvation. 10 With all my heart I will say to the LORD, ?Who is like You?? You protect the weak from [being terrorized,] the poor and needy from exploitation? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Who is Like the Lord? For the Lord?s Day: the 5th of March 2006 Introduction: As we continue, this possible battle prayer by David the king we sense the multi-faceted nature of his poetry, which covers not only military possibilities, but also the political power struggles within not only a grand geo-political sense, but also within the very precincts of Jerusalem and the family palace all they way through history to the temple in the time of Christ Himself. Again, we note the repetitive cycle of accusation against his enemies in verse seven, a renewed plea for vindication in verse eight. And we dote on David?s generous praise of the Lord God in verses nine and ten. This may seem strange, but I am reminded of a school recess or lunch break many years ago at my elementary school. At least for the first few years, we had two half hour breaks and a whole hour lunch period to do almost anything we wanted with our time and energy. A teacher or two would be on duty to make sure no one was bullied or hurt. Mild wrestling was sometimes allowed and even over looked, unless punches were thrown or serious altercations ensued. The school was small enough that everyone knew who was bossy and ornery enough to have their backside dusted now and then. Any revenge or viciousness was promptly dealt with and as students began to reach adult size and temperament; some of the less restrained were put out of school for everyone else?s benefit. My essential point is this: the school was a micro-view of the civilized culture which once reigned over our fair land. Most lawlessness was dealt with at the local level. Theft of any kind could be punished with three days in the local cage and the sheriff had only to monitor and supervise the village or township constables, many of whom were not even armed. The Sheriff of course, knew all of the felons in the county, and whenever any significant crime was committed, he would m?ake the rounds to see who might be nervous at his arrival. Two-thirds of the crimes were solved by confession. After one break-in the Sheriff had only to follow the paper trail of candy wrappers to the culprit?s residence. I remember reading of a notorious escape from the County Jail which was accomplished when a temporary inmate offered to sweep the sidewalk. He he kindly left the broom around the comer of the block so he couldn?t be charged with any theft. Yes indeed, Mayberry was multiplied several times over in the greater majority of counties across the fruited plain. There was once established a system of civility that in David?s time, could only be dreamed of. Murder and rape were only distant memories some decades removed. David, of course struggled his whole life r his whole life to clean up Jerusalem and the surrounding tribal areas where pagan customs and vicious mischief were more common than civility and quiet peaceful lives lived before the face of God. Just as the school children of my time may have approached the recess duty teacher about any serious thuggery ? so too David is bold to approach the throne concerning the life-threatened mechanizations of the chaotic pagan cultures scattered around Palestine. These, of course, were a more serious threat than those once known during the Mayberry period in American history. Development: The very same pagans who threatened David and his subjects lived a cultural life apart from the emerging Judean civilization. ?For no valid cause they hid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my life,? David complains concerning the enemies who would trip up David and his kind. A group of students that I monitored this week, were required to take a safety test on the subject of cargo netting ? as you might see it used at a construction site or in the loading of an old fashioned ship. Not one of them passed it, so I suggested that they needed a net full of bricks to be lifted above their heads in order to stimulate an interest in personal safety. Those who would net and trap King David are also foolish in a similar way, simply because they wished to destroy David to get him out of the way so that they could go about raiding, slaughtering and creating general mayhem for profit. Their chosen victims would have been the people of Israel were it not for the protective actions of their warrior king. So, David prays that these enemies of a godly restrained life might fall victim to their own devices; and thereby and through their own lifestyle and chosen sins, they are confused and led away to destruction. The way of the wicked all too easily falls upon their own kind ? especially whenever the peaceful productive people are protected by a kind and conscientious ruler. Throughout time, there have always been cities and areas that would tolerate more sinful behavior than is commonly put up with. In those days, any who preferred licentiousness and a paganized culture simply moved into those suburbs of hell where they devoured one another. David?s problem as a king was to restrain the ungodly and to protect all of those who would live less on the wild side. David?s wars, we may surmise were bent on pushing back the frontiers of violence so that prosperity and peace might flourish within his kingdom. So, whenever the foul foe tripped all over themselves for being hell-bent on destruction, David rejoices in the Lord. Application: David well understands in this battle prayer that any minimal victory even this side of heaven must come through the providence of God, even if his own courts or military are fully engaged. There is one further point which we will consider in the next section of this psalm, the sad fact that not all the enemies of God are outside the gates of the City of God! But for now, even as we rejoice in David?s affirmation in God?s kind and providential care ? we sense the awesome reality of David?s question: ?Who is like You?? He notes well that not only are the weak protected from being terrorized but also from being exploited. From the play ground, to the battle field and even into the precincts of the temple itself, the God of heaven and earth Himself will confront all the adversaries of His Kingdom. Jesus did indeed throw out the cheating merchants in His day, and He even challenged the corrupt Priests who were so enraged that they killed the very Son of God. David?s greater Son was terrorized and exploited by wicked men in His day and age, all that the saints of every day might find rest and peace and most importantly of all: salvation. So may we realize that the suffering of David the king was of a similar kind and for a similar reason as that of the Lord of glory! And may we count upon Him to be with us and for us through every kind of trial, be it playground, workplace or even on the battle field. Amen. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PREACHING RESOURCES Calvin, John: Commentary on Book of Psalms. Doltish, 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/sel035b.htm To Subscribe or Unsubscribe go to: http://www.four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/ccrlist/ From ccrlist at tulip.org Wed Mar 15 12:39:04 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Wed Mar 15 12:39:12 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly for 12 March 06 Message-ID: <747378d24efa4dc28797a7d86846145b.m4sythe@loganrec.com> Good Afternoon, Please be in prayer for my mother-in-law, now under hospice care. God bless, Max A Forsythe Psalm 36 05 Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds. 06 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains; Your judgments are like the great deep. Man and beast You save, O LORD, 07 how excellent is Your steadfast love, O God! Therefore, children of men place their trust under the shadow of Your wings. 08 They feast on the abundance of Your house, You give them drink from the river of Your delights. 09 For with You is the fountain of life; by Your light we see light. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Fountain of Life For the Lord?s Day: the 12th of March 2006 Introduction: In this section, my Translator?s Handbook, outlines a ?hymn of praise to God?s goodness? which contains four basic characteristics. These include: 1. steadfast love: His love, devotion and faithfulness to a promise or a covenant 2. faithfulness: His keeping of promises to His people 3. righteousness: His character is one of absolute and eternal holiness 4. judgments: His total conformity to all the rules, customs, and commands given by revelation ?All of these qualities are manifested in the relation between Yahweh and Israel, as set forth in the covenant that he made with them.? Now, the totality of these individual characteristics, as arranged in the sublime poetry of David ? reminds me of a similar passage in Psalm 139: 7-10, where the Psalmist has learned that it is impossible to flee the spiritual presence of our Father in heaven. ?Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there, Your hand shall lead me, Your right hand shall hold me.? A Catholic theologian once labeled that passage as descriptive of a hound of heaven scenario, whereby the elect are never lost, so long as the Holy Spirit remains in pursuit. The Old Covenant even raises a question about King Saul?s status when the chronicler (1 Samuel 19: 24) asks: ?Is Saul also among the prophets?? I once used that text for a World War II veteran?s funeral. Before the war, he had been a solid citizen and church member. Afterwards, the battle fatigue suffered in ferocious tank battles in Normandy, the West Wall and in the Bulge ? appear to have worked him over and left him faithless? But, who am I to judge, the God and Father of us all is the final judge! Of course, I cannot agree with a popular T-shirt mantra among Viet Nam veterans that declares their assurance of heaven for having already spent enough time in a hellish place. Development: But, enough of any readily apparent and ongoing life-time perceptions, David here gets the redemptive scenario correct: ?Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.? It is because of the character of God that we are safe in the knowledge of His grace and mercy. This love of God extends to the heavens, David declares. May we take from this phrasing the promise of glory? The Puritan hope was and is based on an expectant continuation of the love of God for us, not only in this life but also into eternity. It is His ?steadfast love? and ?faithfulness? that makes such a hope possible and accountable to those who know and love Him. And why is it that David and all the elect appreciate this? Simply because, the absolute ?righteousness? of God is piled up one bit of evidence and revelation at a time ? piled up as high as the mighty mountains. And as David continues in line two of verse six, His love plumbs the depths of Sheol to lift the elect up from their sorry ordinary human estate into the heavenly bound family of God. The last line of verse six seems to read better with the first line of verse seven: ?Man and beast You save, O LORD, how excellent is Your steadfast love, O God!? Of course, we understand that the salvation implied here is vastly different between animals and humans. Especially if we look at the ordinary tooth and claw experience of the wild species and compare them with the domesticated livestock. In the wild, those animals which live a full life are few indeed! Within the managed species, life is a little better ? an untimely death is more unlikely, but still a predictable event within the agricultural goals of any society. For domestic rams, one in forty is fortunate to be chosen for breeding stock. And within a breeding flock of chickens, one and ten roosters may life a fuller life than an ordinary fryer of roaster. At sea, where management techniques are yet to be developed, the consumable allowance of smaller species is measured in whole schools given to consumption. Were not the remaining fishes so utterly productive, the sea would have became empty many hundreds of years ago. How much greater is the hope of mankind. The scriptures seem to hint that somewhere between a fourth and a third of humanity are to be brought into a saving knowledge? Do we, or can we appreciate the greater glory of the biblical promises for humanity? "I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people;' And each one will say, 'The LORD is my God.'" (Zechariah 13.9) And of course, we must also realize the wisdom of the divine economy explained in what I have always called the ?ugly duckling? passage in Romans 9: 22-24: ?What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory ? even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?? The absolutely great news in this regard is what David knew about the security of our common calling: ?How excellent is Your steadfast love, O God!? Application: It is the joys of this knowledge that David celebrates in the remainder of our text for this morning. First of all he tells us where to find a certain refuge: ?under the shadow of Your wings.? The image here is almost angelic in a certain guardian angel sense according to the folklore of Judeo-Christian traditions. But, in addition (at a more earthly level) the image reminds me of a mother hen?s love and concern for her baby chicks. Yet, neither idea is grand enough to remind us of the everlasting covenant love of our Father God. For a thousand generations, we are promised the undying love of God for those upon whom His graces and mercies are poured out through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. All of time, providence and history have pointed to the redempting work of our Lord, and it is only by His blood we are covered and counted righteous for salvation. Second, David tells us that the elect of every nation may feast on the abundance of the Lord?s house. This is almost paradisiacal in its ultimate implications. All of earth?s abundance and heaven as well. ?Come to me? is the great invitation, ?all who hunger and thirst.? Feast on the body of Christ and drink from the river of life that flows from Immanuel?s veins. Yes, we have used a lot of catch phrases and hymn themes to engage the spiritual realities in the wonderful promises of this prayer ? no wonder the church has survived and even flourished at times. It is the house and larder of the Lord God of heaven and earth to which we have been called. Our final promise in this Psalm points to the gracious host of heaven and church: It is the very Lord of life Himself: ?For with You is the fountain of life;? He it is who is the fountain of life and if He knows us ? we are in the light and perceive it in Him. I do indeed pray that my phrasing here is adequate to the glories conveyed in the text and in the fond hopes, doctrines and principles of the Reformers down through the years: ?by Your light we see light.? This is the glorious conclusion of this passage and what a wealth of wisdom there is here for the church and every person who knows that they belong to Jesus Christ! May we glory in that knowledge and look forward to an eternity in the knowledge of that incredible blessing. 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/sel036b.htm To Subscribe or Unsubscribe go to: http://www.four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/ccrlist/ From ccrlist at tulip.org Tue Mar 21 11:48:54 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Tue Mar 21 11:49:19 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly 19 March 06 Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20060321113845.01d4a1f0@mail.loganrec.com> Good Morning, Hey, I'm a week ahead now on this series - a day off from earning a living is always helpful. Please continue to pray for my extended family as we bid our last our good byes to a loved one in these next couple weeks. Next week's psalm portion will provide an important counter-point to the themes of this week's meditation. By the way, because of the perverse ongoing work of the spamo-terrorists, we have had to close down any and all public email addresses @tulip.org I'm not sure if a reply to this address will come through, we are reworking the web site to gain increased security. God bless, Max A Forsythe Selah: Sacred Songs of the Psalter Max A Forsythe ? Anno Domini 2006 ====================================================== Psalm 35 11 Ruthless witnesses step forward; accusing me of things of which I know nothing. 12 They repay me evil for good; my soul is desolate. 13 Yet, when they were sick - I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; [When my prayers returned unanswered,] 14 I behaved as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; As one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning. 15 But in my adversity, they assembled with glee; they gathered together against me. Wretches whom I did not know, slandered me without ceasing; 16 Like profane mockers at a feast, they gnash at me with their teeth. ==================================================================================== The Economy of the Wicked For the Lord?s Day: the 19th of March 2006 Introduction: Today, we begin the second division of this prayer in the midst of an extreme emotional conflict within David?s heart Even as the first part of this psalm may more properly be styled a ?battle-prayer,? this portion is more focused on political conflicts within David?s own kingdom and court. Even as our own Media and liberals have taken up the cause of the Islamo-fascists, it is increasingly difficult for the administration to demonstrate any ability to see the conflict through to a meaningful victory. So too is David apparently beleaguered both within and without Jerusalem, during some crisis in the course of his career. In these verses, David must address the insidious evil within the royal household of the King?s family and faithful friends. This section may be further subdivided over this week and next in this manner: ? verses 11 to 16 ?opens with a description of the psalmist?s enemies and a declaration of his own innocence.? ? verses 17 and 18: ?the psalmist cries for help and promises to praise the Lord.? Development: Always and ever, even as Jesus and Paul predicted, there appear false sons and daughters within the pale: the very heart of the church. The most dangerous kinds are those wolves who wrap themselves in sheepish wool and pretend to be something they are not. This kind, I knew in my youth when liberal churchmen of all stripes managed to infiltrate and take control of my Father?s denomination and presbytery. While they used the biblical language, they gave a whole new meaning to the words, even bragging about their accomplishments in Seminary classes. A second kind, are those whose pet theological hobbies become the all consuming definition of orthodoxy and authority. They reject the wisdom and knowledge of any who disagree with their conclusions, supposing that everyone who teaches and leads must come to agree with their micro-theological opinions. A third kind, are those who being infatuated with some worldly yearnings, desires or perversions, do give up their faith for a mess of worldly pottage. All three types here are dangerous to the life of any church or institution. Even politically and socially, they have their impious influence at all levels of human endeavor. Within the three spiritual types outlined above, we may outline the three classes that afflict any society in this way: 1. any feudalists who claim to be loyal to any respectable kingdom or republic 2. any members of the lunatic fringe on both the right and left sides of any political spectrum 3. any perverted individuals who seek legalization for their favorite sins Verses eleven and twelve are indicative of the diverse cast above as a whole. ? ?Ruthless witnesses step forward; accusing me of things of which I know nothing. They repay me evil for good; my soul is desolate.? I am reminded of several churches where inquisitive minds delved deep into obscure theologies and practices. Thereby they accomplished inestimable harm to their pastors and brethren who shared neither their passion nor interest. These same politicos in David?s court have no greater interests than those which appeal to their own appetites. Even if war afflicts the nation, their own interests are more important, in fact ? if the king be defeated, thereby he may be replaced by someone more pliable to their wants and desires. Their fellow pilgrims are dismayed at the subtle changes in attitude that eventually break the fellowship of congregation or court into clicks that no longer mesh in accomplishing the greater good. While these groups disrupt the unity of their organizations, generally they do remain within the political or spiritual boundaries of their respective membership. Not so, the first or third groups which we are considering. While the peace of any political or spiritual kingdom is only disturbed with disagreements of the second kind. However, in the first and third case, the purity of the whole religious or social group is damaged, when doctrines and constitutional concepts are twisted beyond recognition; or acceptable behavior is stretched beyond the generous limits established by our God and King. In either case, the integrity of church and state is harmed and sometimes even extinguished. Certainly, we may understand that worldly pressures and pleasures are related to wicked and perverse attitudes and actions of those who would keep their unwholesome cake and eat it too! However, I have ranged far ahead of David?s time and like David, we all must learn to give even our enemies a cold cup of water in the Lord?s precious Name. Note, that this is exactly what David has done in verses thirteen and fourteen. We too, are commanded to pray for all men, but we should not be dismayed when some portion of humanity benefits not from our prayers. Line four of verse thirteen is incredibly obscure, but the seeming sense of it is this: ?[When my prayers returned unanswered,]? Still David remained steadfast in following the Lord?s command to pray without ceasing, and leaving the outcome of his requests humbly in His hands, as He sees fit to order the lives and fortunes of every being. Application: This Psalm portion closes with a realistic assessment of the way things are in a fallen world. In spite of David?s prayers for every adversary, military, spiritual and political ? they would turn on the servants of the Creator God with great joy and fortitude. Verse sixteen summarizes the scenario in these sad words: ?Like profane mockers at a feast, they gnash at me with their teeth.? My Translator?s Handbook complains that the text here is ?completely unintelligible; literally it seems to say ?like the profanest mockers of a cake?.? I am almost inclined to transcribe those thoughts in this manner: [like cannibals, they could have eaten me alive]. While that phrasing could almost tell us what was on the mind of David?s adversaries, there is no justification to include the thought in any paraphrase or translation. However, let us attempt to contemplate the ongoing common graces in this world as a feast laid out before all of mankind by the Creator God. And even in the midst of the God given bounty, the worldly wicked do not mind their manners, or even consider the source of the many blessings. Instead of enjoying the manna from heaven, they would complain of the sparseness of the King?s simple table of bread and wine and then go on to attack the stewards of the feast for poisoning their perversity with the very body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think of it this way, in Reformed congregations ? we fence the table from any who have not publicly acknowledged the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In addition, we forbid any who are under discipline from partaking any of the holy elements, because ? thereby they drink destruction upon themselves. Sadly, any concept of church discipline is unknown in the majority of churches, and if one congregation imposes sanctions ? those sanctioned usually simple go on to another congregation and life their life as if nothing every transpired. Do we have in the obscure hints of this passage a condemnation of those who would eat the ?sweetest of bread dough? and thereby profane the very supper to which they were invited and even prayed for by those who know the Lord of life? May your knowledge of the Holy One of Israel lead you to consider your personal standing, whenever you approach the Table of our Lord? After all, the Apostle commends the examination of ourselves regularly whenever the season of communion is announced and offered. May the Lord bless you, and keep you today and always. 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/sel035c.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: 268.2.5/284 - Release Date: 3/17/2006 From ccrlist at tulip.org Thu Mar 30 08:05:10 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Thu Mar 30 08:05:15 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly for 26 March 06 Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20060330080028.01cfc6c0@mail.loganrec.com> Good Morning, It's beginning to look and feel like spring here in Ohio. God bless, Max A Forsythe Psalm 35 17 How long, O Lord, will You look on? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from these lions! 18 I will thank You in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise You. ==================================================================================== Expectant Thanks For the Lord?s Day: the 26th of March 2006 Introduction: This second division of Psalm Thirty-five ends with David?s renewed plea for providential intervention, but affirms as well the thankful attitude of the king in the midst of all eventualities. Delitzsch tells us, that ?just as the first part of the Psalm closed with wishes, and thanksgiving for their fulfillment, so the second part also closes with prayer and thanksgiving.? In the previous portion of this ongoing battle prayer, David had carefully set up the economy of the wicked and contrasted it with the ongoing work of the godly to pray for all men. By the simple fact that we have this prayer ? we may understand that David survived the conflicts that informed the powerful observations of this excellent psalm. Now, I don?t have any immediate statistics on the burn out rate for pastors, but I know that few of my close friends in Seminary are still following the calling. And, I will have to admit that this calling is indeed a challenging career. Thankfully, I came into this calling informed by a realistic military experience and a lifelong fascination with the history of warfare. Thus, the reality of an ongoing spiritual warfare was of no real surprise to me. Therefore, the thematic battle prayers of David in this epic psalm ring all to true in my ears. Development: My immediate reaction to the first line in verse seventeen is to compare David?s lament with the cry of the saints in the book of Revelation 6:10: ?O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, How long ?? Certainly, we are promised that the Lord is coming, and again that He assists the saints whenever they are in trouble. And as one hymn writer transcribed a Civil War incident: ?Hold the fort, for I am coming.? - we must all hang on to the blessed hope and struggle forward day by day to do the will of Him who has called us to do the work of His spiritual kingdom here on earth. However, in all honesty, we like David may have moments of doubt: ?How long, O Lord, will You look on?? He is not content with the knowledge that the great God of battles knows our every struggle, David knows the odds against us and even understands how our day by day experiences must fit into the scheme of God?s eternal plan for history. It is all too easy for us to look back on David?s situation and measure the his career from its relationship to the final cause of his greatest son: Jesus Christ. Yes, David?s own son Solomon was prosperous and the impact of his rule and wisdom was known far and wide. But, we must also realize that those early glories of Solomon must pale in comparison with the eternal glories of the promised Messiah. All to often, like David, we may focus our heart aches on the immediate generation and its ongoing problems. Look carefully at the second line in verse seventeen: ?Rescue me from their destruction.? Like the kamikaze pilots of World War Two, the servants of Satan would take us out with them, if they could. Now, for those whose sense of history is vague, in the closing month?s of that global war, thousands of military martyrs volunteered to pilot speedboats and plains to immolate themselves against targeted American ships gathering for a final invasion of the Japanese home islands. Thousands of American sailors perished with the end of the war almost in sight! For Satan?s minions ? our destruction is not so simple. David reminds us of that fact in the sincerity of his petition: ?Rescue me from their destruction.? I am taking this plea in a secondary possibility of the text, knowing that ?their destruction? must be complete and awful. As it has often been noted, those twice born die once, while those who know not the Savior are born once to die twice. This fact should embolden us even as David was encouraged to fight the good fight ? knowing that his salvation was certain. However, even as Daniel had to face the lion?s den, old Satan lurks around the edges of civilization and even breaks in now and then to tear away one of his own servants to carry off to destruction. There is an important question that we need to address in this context. Is David worried about his immediate life before the Lord God or has he fathomed an understanding of the assurance of salvation or finally, is he only ignorant of the doctrines of grace as we know it? I do not have a final answer to that, but I would remind us all, that even while the salvation of the ancient elect was just as certain as is our own, - still they knew not the day and the hour of Christ, but only knew from revelation that He must come. By comparison, our further knowledge in this regard, makes the great love of the Father all the more apparent! So why is it that we still worry? Because we are human and by the time we gain a measure of wisdom, we have almost worried ourselves to distraction! David has been there and done that time after time throughout his life. Does this mean he was more fragile spiritually or did he have a better grasp of reality than the majority of us today? Application: We can sense the answer to that question in the content and context of verse eighteen! ?I will thank You in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise You.? David?s lapse of trust, if we may even call it that, is but of a moment. Hardly a breath has escaped between the verse of our portion today and immediately all doubts and fears are gone. Surely, we must realize the immediate context of the battle prayer ? that David is praying to return from this campaign and then give thanks once again in the Tabernacle of the Lord. But, always and forever, the sublime poetry of David rises above his own day to inform us all of the last best hope of mankind: grace realized in having been known by our God and King! So ? to this Lord?s Day, week by week we gather in the midst of the visible church to give thanks for our salvation as well as having been bourn ?safely through another week?, as the old hymn admonishes us. Even more, the second phrase must lift us higher to the to the heavenly choir, which shall only be fully assembled on the last Great Day, when all heaven breaks loose at the end of the age. Perhaps, this psalm portion is only David?s way of saying, ?Come quickly, Lord Jesus, come quickly.? May this be our prayer and our daily attitude in the midst of our own spiritual battles. 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/sel036d.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: 268.3.2/294 - Release Date: 3/27/2006