From ccrlist at tulip.org Tue May 9 07:36:19 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Tue May 9 07:36:25 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly 30 April 06 Message-ID: <7c6e7a7296e54ad893d1fbcd161801f5.m4sythe@loganrec.com> Good Morning, Sorry to be running late again - a lot going on. God bless, Max A Forsythe Selah: Sacred Songs of the Psalter Max A Forsythe ? Anno Domini 2006 ====================================================== Psalm 37 05 Commit your whole life to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: 06 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, your integrity as bright as the noonday sun. 07 Be still before the LORD wait patiently for Him [to accomplish all things]; Fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way over the man who carries out evil devices! ================================================================================ Be Still Before the Lord For the Lord?s Day: the 30th of April 2006 Introduction: We come to the second section of David?s proverbial psalm of collected wisdom regarding any and every life lived before His face day to day. Certainly, we are to understand that for the most part, the Lord rules lightly over the provocative daily escapades of a sinful race. However, His patience is not open ended. One thing that David senses from the Spirit of the Lord is the fact that the elect should realize that one day, everything will be brought to justice. Therefore, we are admonished all the more to: ?Commit your whole life to the LORD.? And yes, the Hebrew text does allow us to make that bold of a statement. My Translator?s Handbook encourages the thought in so many words: ?The advice ?Commit your way to the Lord,? translates the verb ?to roll?; it means to turn over to the Lord your whole life ? all your desires, problems, anxieties. Let the Lord determine what your life is to be.? The Apostle Paul takes up the same idea centuries later when he admonishes us to ?make every thought captive to the word of Christ.? (2 Corinthians 10:5) Or as Tabletalk magazine frames it: ?Coreum Deo,? live before the face of God every day. Development: This living before the face of God is challenging at any time. And in order to so arrange our lives, David encourages us ?trust in Him and He will do? two things. Before we get to those details, we ought to be reminded by our text that it is precisely in trusting in Him that the Lord through His Holy Spirit sanctifies and encourages us day by day. This should be a humbling experience for us ? knowing that our progress in the faith has a solid foundation apart from our daily foils and fumbles. ?Trust in Him and He will do? through us what we are unable and unwilling to do ourselves. Some of the more technological companies are issuing phones and vehicles with geo-positioning sensors, so that they can monitor the communications and where-a-bouts of their employees. Some people object, but the God Lord has been tracking us all along since the beginning of time. Our technology is only catching up with spiritual realities. And whereas a solid employee has nothing to worry about, and whereas a careful honest driver has nothing to fear from surveillance, neither do the elect of all the earth have reason to fear if they accept David?s proposition to ?trust in Him.? If we would only do so, He will accomplish magnificent things in and through our lives. The first thing that David promises us is the bringing forth of our righteousness. This in and of itself is quite an accomplishment from such flawed DNA, personalities and character. One part of the first line in verse six that is indicative are the three little words ?as the light.? Remember back at the dawn of creation, God had said: ?Let there be light!? Light is something unique in all creation. Darkness, by definition is only the absence of light. No one in their right mind would ever think of going to a light switch and presuming that they were turning on the darkness! Then why is mankind so surprised by the biblical doctrine of a new birth? This is nothing more than the action of the Holy Spirit accomplishing what David is describing here: ?He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, your integrity as bright as the noonday sun.? Some times, it takes a while for some specialty lights to warm up. Many of the labs in the school where I substitute have special lights that can take up to five full minutes to be fully active. So, as we review our lives within the light of God, we should remember how long it has taken for any meaningful knowledge of the spiritual presence within us to be realized? Even ordinary light bulbs, as a source of artificial light, must have filaments to glow. And they only heat up because of resistance to the flow of electrons. Sadly ? resistance on our part to the work of the Sprit only causes heat and censure. Only as we learn to submerge our will and purpose to the greater goals of God in Christ, does our integrity reach the brightness of the noon day sun. We realize of course that within the Christian Church, there are all manner of lights. Little birthday candles, the bonfires of the martyrs and everything from 25 watt bulbs to the most powerful search lights probing the spiritual darkness of this old world. Not all of us are called to be Corrie Ten Booms or Billy Grahams, but each little light that shines (as the old children?s song goes) has a place and a purpose in God overarching plan. Application: Therefore David tells us to: ?Be still before the LORD wait patiently for Him [to accomplish all things].? Over the years, I have watched ministers move through a series of ministries ? some only last three to four years at a church, others seven to ten, and only a few make it twenty to forty years. In our modern age, my father once observed that in the country churches the ministers changed, while in the city parishes, the people moved on to other places; all of this, within the will and purpose of the Almighty. In church planting, one school of thought believes that it takes three pastors to found a new congregation of a period of time. I say these things so that we may all be encouraged to realize that in His accomplishment of all things ? we are but chess pieces in the grand scheme of things. And as we contemplate our calling, we must remain flexible to His will and in order to do that we should be still and wait for Him to adjust our lives and work to His greater purpose. Yet, given the many frustrations of our lives in Christ before an ungodly world ? we are not to presume that the worldly have it better. Yes, they are in charge of their lives, they have freedoms we have not. But it is not their will in this world which will be finally accomplished! Look carefully at David?s final admonition in this selection of verses: ?Fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way over the man who carries out evil devices!? Immediate worldly prosperity is a will-o-the-wisp, and whenever man accomplishes his own devices and prospers before the pagan crowd ? there he has his final reward; and it is truly final, all because he did not ?wait for the Lord,? in any context whatsoever. So let us learn carefully from David here today. Let us learn to be still before the Lord and trust Him to accomplish all things. If we will do that, we will be blessed indeed. 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/sel037b.htm To Subscribe or Unsubscribe go to: http://www.four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/ccrlist/ From ccrlist at tulip.org Thu May 18 08:50:24 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Thu May 18 08:50:41 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR "Weaklyl" 14 May 06 Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20060518084710.02d23450@mail.loganrec.com> Good Morning, My apologies for running late, I have had precious little desk time the last two weeks. Here is the sermon I preached last Lord's Day. The Psalm for the week before is handwritten and needs to be typed, so will get it out as soon as possible. God bless, Max A Forsythe Light of the World For the Lord?s Day: the 14th of May 2006 John 8: 12-18 Introduction: Years ago one of my Elementary teachers shared the story of Helen Keller, who was blind from birth. As I remember, there were other issues as well, but the main problem faced by her tutor was to penetrate the darkness of Helen?s mind, which did not grasp the totality of her handicapped situation! That is all I had better say about my leading thought, since it has been so long, I will not dwell on any other pertinent details. I begin with this well known American Story to demonstrate the true spiritual condition of every son and daughter of Adam and Eve: that of being totally spiritually blind. Calvin speaks of the absolute nature of this condition: ?since we are all blind by nature, a remedy is offered, by which we may be freed and rescued from the darkness and made partakers of the true light.? Further, he outlines ?this universal statement (as being) intended to remove the distinction, not only between Jews and Gentiles, but between the learned and ignorant, between persons of distinction and the common people.? In other words, any human born into this old world may come to know the light, the truth and the way in and through the person of Jesus Christ. But, as a matter of course, in the process of being saved, all of those being called into the kingdom must first realize their natural condition! Development: With that being said, let us be careful to place the teachings here in the context of the Gospel of John. The flow of the Gospel history was briefly set aside to allow a dramatic presentation of the law and forgiveness concerning the woman taken and charged with adultery. Now, I am not saying that those events could not have happened in the immediate context, after all, problems crop up all the time even in the midst of joyous events. But, once those problems have been dealt with, life may proceed and in taking up the history of the life of Christ again, we may connect these verses on the ?Light of Christ? with the festival of Tabernacles, which was the setting before the last dozen verses. R.V.G. Tasker notes that the text here is most in keeping with the symbolism of the festival. ?The Israelites had been guided during their journey across the wilderness by a pillar of light in the sky; and this phenomenon was recalled to the minds of worshippers at Tabernacles by the ceremony of lighting the golden candelabra. Jesus, the Word of God, whose life, as the Prologue has stated, is ?the light of men?, gives illumination to all who follow Him. The nature of this illumination becomes more explicit in the controversy that follows the gift of sight to a man blind from birth recorded in chapter nine.? And so we see, that the gospel of grace has many similitudes like a German chocolate multi-layered cake. Do we and can we learn to appreciate the varied and pertinent threads of symbolism that run through the whole of the gospel of grace as it was revealed over several millennia? Will we appreciate that the Old Covenant laws, ceremonies and even the holidays all have something meaningful to impart to the greater story of God in Christ? At the opening of our text for today, Jesus simply announces: ?I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.? There is one thing that we should realize from the implications of this text: and that is very simply that Jesus is the person of God and not a concept that only informs our human intellect. One of the first people that I realized had grown under my teaching failed to get to the point that I am illustrating. Like many of the Jews of Jesus and Paul?s time, they loved the stories of their faith, they loved the system of doctrines and they loved the beauty of the Temple and the worship given there to the Creator God of heaven and earth. And yet, they did not make the connection that Paul advertises at one point when he pointedly announced that Judaism delivered him to Christ and Him crucified! How many people are there who love the hymns, the beautiful architecture, the fellowship of the saints, or like one man I met, who loved to participate in choral singing. All of these things are neat, sometimes awe inspiring ? but unless the Great God of heaven and earth confronts us with the reality of our fallen nature and then goes on to show us the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ?s death and resurrection for us, we have nothing of final value. Now, I need to be somewhat vague with the following illustration, so bear with me. In the last five years, given my intimate knowledge of more than a few congregations in our denomination ? I am worried by several instances where people complained about having to put up with stale doctrines instead of great music and uplifting encouragement. While I realize that it is impossible for pastor?s to impart a vital and vibrant faith ? still, if they are preaching the truth that needs to be heard, I wonder if some would prefer to have their ears tickled and their fancies framed in place of the gospel of grace? Again, I sometimes wonder if more than one pastor ought to preach to several congregations so that no one church or pastor falls into a regular routine so that the work of the Spirit is given over for the comfort of regularity? Remember, we worship a person and that person is the only Son of the Living God: Jesus Christ. And in this twelfth verse I admonishes us that we have life only in His light. We must leave the darkness of doubt and ignorance behind and count solely upon the reconciliation of His sacrifice and resurrection. Like many today, the Pharisees raised questions to evade the obvious need for devotion to His person and place in the grand scheme of things. ?You are bearing witness about yourself; you testimony is not true.? Who are you?, they are really asking, and because their spirituality is not only dull but dead ? they cannot fathom from whence He has come! Jesus? answer does not make sense to them because their ears are not attuned to hear and comprehend the leading of the Holy Spirit sprung from the Father and Son. It is sort of like having a discussion about the energy crisis with a member of Congress, the priests of Jesus time have misunderstood their role and the purpose of their ministry, so Jesus does not fit into the central part of their conceptualization of the faith. And just as Congress is unwilling and unable to admit that it is precisely their legislation or lack of it that has created our energy problem, so too do the Priests and Sadducees of Jesus? time fail to comprehend the nature of revealed reality. Jesus quickly gets to the essential point that if they truly understood spiritual realities, they would have the testimony of the Holy Spirit in their hearts and thereby know beyond a shadow of a doubt, who Jesus really was. Application: Jesus simply announces what the elect know by faith: ?I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.? I sometimes wonder how many teachers of religion there are in this country who make a living telling people about the Christian faith, who remain totally clueless as to what they are talking about. Some years ago I applied for a position in teaching religion at a college where the religious department was any thing but astute in spiritual matters. After having gone through the process I realized that I had applied for the wrong position. I should have applied to teach Darwinism or Psychology, neither of which I believe in, give the variety of beliefs in the religious department I would have been a shoo in. Somehow, I have a feeling that biology and psychology teachers have to be believers in their myths. But somehow or another anyone who takes the revealed faith seriously cannot be allowed to teach that kind of certainty. This is where the religious leaders of the Old Covenant Church were in the time of Christ. They had no concept of what the real faith should mean or look like! Jesus simply did not fit their model, so therefore He had to be a heretic of some form or another. Why is it that we can read the text and understand it where learned men of every age fall so far short? Isn?t it in the beauty of the grace and mercy given to us by the Father, that His grace and mercy are enough, we don?t have to be great scholars to understand it, we don?t have to be born from Pilgrim blood, ancient or modern to know it, we don?t have to wrestle with class warfare or be concerned what side of the tracks we were born on. God the Father in Christ through the Holy Spirit makes Himself known to us. Jesus calls this the ?new birth? early on in John?s Gospel of Glory. And whenever a person first believes and understands what God has done ? there is the providential work of the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for having made Himself known to us. And may we gather together for the rest of our lives to give Him the thanks, glory and honor for the great thing He has done for us. ?Once I was blind, but now I can see!? Hallelujah and Amen. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PREACHING RESOURCES Calvin, John: Commentary on the Gospel of John. Tasker, R.V.G. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: The Gospel According to St John. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice. http://www.tulip.org/trf/Jhn/Jhn 08b.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: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.0/341 - Release Date: 5/16/2006 From ccrlist at tulip.org Thu May 18 20:51:42 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Thu May 18 20:52:38 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR "Weakly" for 7 May 06 Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20060518203940.02d25460@mail.loganrec.com> Good Evening, My email program warns that my language may be too explicit for some people? I have reviewed the words and hope that I have spoken carefully and correctly about difficult issues in our day and time. I still have two meditations on Psalm 37 started in hand written form, but my Saturday just filled up, so I will send along another sermon from the Gospel of John for your consideration. Yes, the passage in question is difficult, but I have done my best to recognize its rightful place in the canon and apply it to the history of the church and our present day. In addition, because of serious problems with spammers, I have left you without any means to contact me for the last year or so. I guess, I will just have to realize that I need to change my personal email once a year. So, I now have two emails. I will give you the oldest, which is already attracting some spam, but most of your personal comments and questions ought to get through my filters: m4sythe@loganrec.com We had to disable the @tulip.org addresses suddenly and quickly because of wickedness in the internet community. May the Lord bless you all, Max A Forsythe Mercy & Justice For the Lord?s Day: the 23rd of April 2006 John 7:53 ? 8:11 Introduction: Today, we have a difficult passage to consider. Almost every commentator will agree, that these verses have been amended late to the Gospel of John. Very many liberals would encourage us to dispense with this passage and relegate it to advisory notes alone. However, most conservatives would agree that since this is how we have received the text, we are obliged to consider the teachings and admonitions contained therein seriously. Interestingly enough, the liberality of thought, which could discourage any societal application of this text, would have a profound impact upon how church and society has dealt with the problem of adultery over the centuries in the Christian era. Any conservatives who might argue for a proper application of every Old Covenant Law would thereby be relieved from the biblical restraint gained from reading this text. As we ordinarily understand this text, the death penalty for the all too common crime of adultery has been set aside. God will reserve final punishment of this sin to Himself. Now, we are not saying that adultery should remain unpunished, even though our media, courts and social conscience would ignore the sinful aspects of breaking the marriage covenant in our day and time. Calvin argues against ?the Popish theology, that in this passage Christ has brought to us the Law of grace, by which adulterers are freed from punishment.? All I am saying is that, the crime is understood to no longer require a sentence of death in those areas of the world where English Common Law holds sway. I would certainly agree that the death penalty is appropriate for heinous crimes of rape, especially of children and those young enough to have their innocence destroyed. I have counseled several women, whose whole life was affected by a gross lustful imposition upon their bodies, minds and emotions. Part of their ongoing pain, I believe - is a general failure of society to properly punish and contain this damnable eroticism run amok in the last few decades. Time was, in my home county ? when it had been seventy-five years since a reported rape. Since then, as everywhere ? we have a growing problem of sexual offenders, who years ago would have been executed, thereby eliminating multiple offenses and restraining others who might want to escape loosing their life over any wanton desires of a moment. Development: So much for generalities, there are several more lessons to be drawn out of the text in front of us. R.V.G. Tasker gives us a telling point on this passage. And given our starting point, it would be good to counter the liberality of our understanding with the certainty that the crime was not forgiven. The end of verse eleven reads tersely: ?Go, and from now on sin no more.? 2. Tasker observes that one reason the story may have been long in finding a settle place in the record is the ?fear lest it should be misunderstood.? Certainly Calvin spills more than a little venom against the ?Papists? with ?their unbridled lusts,? in his day and age. This leads us to our second and absolutely vital point ? just because the Lord God of heaven and earth has chosen to punish this crime in His own way and time, does not excuse society from considering escapades of eroticism as America?s favorite indoor sport. Desperate Housewives and all it?s tabloid kin are an affront to any culture that expects better behavior from naturally randy humans. One of the classic liberal objections to the waging of war in the Middle East is that the very fact of American presence multiplies mad bombers and enrages the general population. If they were to play the blame game fairly, then they would have to consider the content of the wanton media escapades packaged as entertainment and exported around the globe as a window upon the very soul of America. I hate to say it, but every solid conservative and responsible citizen could agree with the Muslim clerics who rail against the depredations of our own media. All we have to realize in this regard is the high regard which absolute trash is praised and awarded in Hollywood. So much social headway has been made to legitimize every perversion that weaker brothers and sisters even within the church have become enamored and led away from their first loves into perverse lusts and relationships. ?Go, and from now on sin no more.? Jesus advises the woman who was caught in the act of adultery and almost stoned for the crime. The Church must stand fast for family values to use a contemporary phrase. In more old fashioned terms, we must remember what sin is, call it such and suspend those from communion who would wallow in the worldly excesses. 3. At the same time, like Jesus treated the woman of Samaria ? we must remember that the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ is in the business of forgiveness when sinners realize their shame and turn away from the wanton lusts of the flesh. And to that end we must always be holding up the worldly in prayer, that they may realize their sin and like the prodigal return to their father?s house. So this is our third point for today, we are never to presume the staid and stolid holiness of the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus? time. Like the crowd of clerics who brought the woman to Jesus ? we must always be reminded, that there but for the grace and protection of God goes every person who might make the most of any opportunity. To work and circulate in public is to drive and walk where temptations of every kind abound. Whether it be the crude eroticism of advertisement, the accidental perversion of the internet ? or even the approaches of a growing band of worldly persons who would lead us all away if they could: these and other opportunities too numerous to mention ? do indeed assault the senses which inform our minds and bodies. ?Once I was lost, now I am found,? goes the old hymn. Thankfully, the God of grace and mercy found us and by the power of His spirit restrains our thoughts and desires. Holding us back from being all that we might want to be ? He keeps us safe from our worst selves. Application: With all of those essential points made, we can read the passage to realize the immediate context in the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 4. Our last point to be drawn out from this passage is simply the political intrigue involved in a sad attempt to trap the Lord of all the earth between the essential truths of heaven and the worldly laws that regulate every society. My commentators are careful to explain that the Jewish leaders really have no care at all for the case in question. Instead, like those who sought to impose abortion on demand, any old Jane Roe will do, and as we know better today ? the facts of the original case were so badly twisted that the person behind the facts barely understood what was happening at the time. Tasker outlines for us the sordid details. a. ?The scribes and Pharisees who report the case to Jesus seem roused to righteous indignation at the sin that had been committed; but it is clear from the evangelist?s comments in verse six that the question they put to Jesus was prompted not by religious but by political motives.? b. ?They hoped, as in the case of the tribute-money, to put Jesus in a dilemma; and by making Him uphold the validity of the Jewish law about stoning to cause Him to challenge the Ropman authority which had reserved for itself the sole right to inflict a capital sentence.? c. ?Ready at all times to class as sinners all who cannot or will not keep the law, they fail to see that their own self-righteousness is sin.? Yes, there is more than mere politics involved here, certainly Jesus was astute enough to see through their nefarious plans. But, He also knows the hearts of men, especially those who were crowded around him. If the first century Jewish Church was anything like the Catholic Church of Luther?s time ? there would have been a multitude of sin for self-conviction. However, I am thinking that since they want Him to challenge the authority of Rome, He is simply returning the political favor. If they truly desire a confrontation with the Roman authorities ? let them be the first to break the Roman law. And if their political intrigue is just, then let them risk death and destruction for their faith and country? It was all very simple after all, if their case was solid, and it certainly appears to be so, then let them follow the letter of the law and take their chances with the Legionnaires of Rome on the field of battle. Realities make cowards of us all, Shakespeare hints in Hamlet?s argument for revolution against a thousand wrongs. And so, they choose not to execute the poor sinful woman who came under their limited jurisdiction and power! They all walk away and the woman is free to go her way. Finally, let me carefully note, that every criminal case is more complex than first knowledge may indicate, and much time and treasure must be expended to get at the truth before applying any just and fair punishment. Given the human propensity to sin, Jesus is simply telling us that there are some issues of justice that must be left in the hands of the Almighty Father in heaven. While Capital punishment is fair and just even in our day, any executions must be made upon at least the testimony of two witnesses in any court. And given the emotional weight and baggage when it comes to adultery ? we understand that this is not to any longer be a capital case when other less permanent corrections can be made and enforced. May the Lord give us, our legislators and judges sufficient wisdom in every regard when it comes to crime and punishment in our day and time. Amen. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PREACHING RESOURCES Barrett, C.K. The Gospel According to St John. Brown, Raymond E. The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John. Calvin, John: Commentary on the Gospel of John. Tasker, R.V.G. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: The Gospel According to St John. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice. http://www.tulip.org/trf/Jhn/Jhn08a.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: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.0/341 - Release Date: 5/16/2006 From ccrlist at tulip.org Tue May 23 11:32:51 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Tue May 23 11:32:51 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly for 21 May 06 Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20060523112523.02d26d90@mail.loganrec.com> Good Morning, Now that substitute teaching is done for the year, I have more time to get caught up with things! God bless, Max A Forsythe Selah: Sacred Songs of the Psalter Max A Forsythe Anno Domini 2006 ====================================================== Psalm 37 08 Refrain from anger, and turn from wrath! Fret not yourself; it only causes trouble. 09 For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord, they shall inherit the promised land. 10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at their place, they will not be there. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant peace. ==================================================================================== Contain Yourself For the Lord?s Day: the 21st of May 2006 Introduction: The Apostle Paul pointedly advises us: ?if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.? (Romans 12: 18) Implicit in that admonition, as well as more fully explained elsewhere is the injunction to obey all lawful rulers. Of course, we are always left to consider the legality of some dictators in every time and place. In the 1930?s the German General Staff, composed of not a few evangelicals, wrestled mightily with giving any obedience to Herr Hitler. We now know that a revolution of sorts smoldered at the highest levels of command all through the war; and several means of assassination were even attempted. All through the war, the conspirators were divided and torn by their conscience, and the moral clarity of their situation still remains clouded to our day. David too, lived in difficult times. He was known to be the heir to Saul?s position some years before he attained it, but he did manage to acquit himself with dignity, kindness and patience while the good Lord worked all things out according to the higher purpose. Now, in this psalm portion, we read some advice that David evidentially laid to heart during those years he was heir apparent, but also running and hiding from Saul. Development: The theme of David?s understanding in this section is sounded wisely in the first line of verse eight: ?Refrain from anger, and turn from wrath!? I am reminded of so many years being at the mercy of incompetent, stupid and even wicked individuals. As we know all too well the courts, legislation and public service in general is populated by scheming politicos whose only interest is their own power, position and prosperity. On one occasion, a particularly inept public servant was tottering atop his wall ? so to speak. More than a few people were plotting to push ?Humpty Dumpty? over the edge. I refused to be drawn into the intrigue. This proved to be a wise decision because more that a couple people lost their livelihood in the process of cleansing the institution, only to see a worse successor come into power. But, I get ahead of myself ? David?s advice is at a deeper level. ?Refrain from anger,? he admonishes us. Stress in this life should be avoided by containing any smoldering anger. And the reason is that it affects not only our health, but also our personality. Well does Christ Himself warn of lust and anger being equal to adultery and murder. Thankfully, this is where the majority of the elect stop short, leaving the wrath of God to His own time and place of choosing. Our second line in verse eight advises us to ?Fret not? because ?it only causes trouble.? We can take this admonition in two ways. First, a constant fretfulness can disorder our lives, and leave us sleepless and frustrated. Second, enough meditation on getting even or doing something immediately about a situation beyond our control, can lead to political, emotional and judicial problems as well as affecting relationships in community, family and workplace. There have been times that I really wanted to write a testy letter to the editor of our local newspaper, but I refrain because the editors have a way of twisting words and making even sound advice appear to be just the ravings of a mad man. I don?t know how many Western movies I?ve seen over the years, where lawless and even law abiding men took the law into their own hands. The resultant plot was usually resolved within the hour. Every happy ending was always the work of the author, rather than society at large. How much we could truly wish every societal, political and judicial problem could so easily be well scripted and accomplished. Like David, we must remember that the Bible as a whole tells us that the Kingdom of this world will continue its decline until the last days. And except for brief moments of inspired civilization the two Augustinian described kingdoms must clash and contend for the hearts of men. Would or could we turn goodness into wickedness? The Muslim cult, with a minimum of honest puritanical concerns, has certainly gotten the accomplishment of any religious agenda all wrong in our day. We are not to be like them, even when we share some of the same concerns about secular society. And yet, we are not to leave any victims of humanistic predators to their own devices. Hands off, or hands on ? we too live in the context of a less regulated society than earlier generations. As a result, we like David must continually be town with our responsibility to confront the popular culture of death, even as David must have engaged many enemies of our God and King. At the very least, we should have some hope for God?s good and gracious will being worked out in our time. Verses nine and ten should inform us of God?s intentions regarding the citizens of the Kingdom of this old world: 09 For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord, they shall inherit the promised land. 10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at their place, they will not be there. In these few words, there is a strongly implied threat against the wicked. There is also a hint of promise that the elect shall inherit a promised land. Of course, we realize better than David and the Old Covenant saints that the Kingdom of the Spirit is not of this world. Application: The Kingdom of Heaven is not of this world even as Jesus Christ testified before Pilate. But still, the promise and reality of verse eleven shall one day come to pass. Whenever the great and glorious day at the end of the age arrives, after the Great Assize is accomplished, the wicked shall be cut off: ?though you look carefully at their place, they will not be there.? Sometimes we count too much on this world and only hope in heaven when it is convenient. I am reminded of a lady who lives in another state. At one time, she was devout and attended church regularly, but as the children got older, the Lord?s Day in her mind became family day instead. And it was there that she invested her time and treasure. She was very surprised when one child disappeared into a wanton life, plagued by drugs, rock and roll and a laziness of interest that could not see beyond the temporary fix of the day. So shall any final interests in this old world turn out. Our hope is in heaven, and while we should help to make this life better; still the final measure of all things is heavenly and there should be our best and last hope, knowing full well the prophetic view of David demonstrated in the blessed lines of verse eleven: ?But the meek shall inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant peace.? To this heavenly promise, we like David must measure all things, living day to day as best we are able within the Kingdom of the Spirit as well as in the midst of the Kingdom of this world. Only at the last day, will all our common stresses and tensions be suspended. ?Come quickly Lord Jesus, come quickly.? 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/sel037c.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: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.7.0/345 - Release Date: 5/22/2006