PSALMS 119 H'et

PSALMS 119
H’et

February 16, 2006

(Psa 119:57 KJV) Thou art my portion, O LORD: I have said that I would keep thy words.

As the victorious soldier who returns with the loot rejoicing; as the conquering emperor who meditates on the vast prospects his conquests bring to his Kingdom; so will I rejoice at the gain of your name, of your love, of your Spirit.  

What in this world is more lasting, more true, more real and more sound to body and soul than the Lord, His Spirit and His Words.  The Levites did not receive a land inheritance (Jos 14:4) in Canaan.  They were to be satisfied with their portion being the Lord, His Words and His service (Num 8:11).  The merchantman gave all that he had to purchase the precious pearl of God’s Spirit (Mat 14:36).  The seeker of treasure yielded all his possessions to buy the land of God’s treasure (Mat 133:44).  These truly believed that God was their portion, His inheritance their wealth, His Spirit their strength.  

Let them that perish fight over the perishable loot.  Let them that die fight over corruptible treasures. Let them of this world rejoice at the temporal dainties offered by its prince.  Let foolish men fight for the lands and countries of this world. My kingdom is an everlasting and eternal one built by the Great King Creator of the universe Himself.

I will rejoice and find my pleasure, my inheritance, and my portion in His Name, and in His Name only.  My country is New Jerusalem; my people are bound together in the shed bloodline of the Son of God.  We, as the Levites of old, have renounced possession of a temporal perishable kingdom in this world, only to gain a better eternal incorruptible resurrection in the Kingdom of God.

Phi 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,  



February 17, 2006

(Psa 119:58 KJV)  I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.

God’s children of the past looked forward to the coming of the Messiah. God’s children of today look back at the saving blood of the Lamb.  But the common element to both is that one cannot desire salvation unless he has discovered he is a sinner.  One cannot entreat God’s mercy (undeserved forgiveness) unless he is aware of his inherent doomed state.

But how much is our ”whole heart”?  How much “mercy” do we need?

He already knows what’s in there.  But, as the “gentleman” that He is, he will not intrude, He will not impose Himself into your life without your permission.  He will only look in the chambers that you open to Him; he will only get involved where you give Him permission; He will not go, nor interfere in the issues where He is not wanted.

May we “intreat” the LORD fully.  May we call upon Him without reservation. Let’s open our bedroom doors and windows; give Him access to the closets, the kitchen, the cellar, and the attic.  Let’s allow Him to open every drawer, pull every curtain of our life in yieldedness of soul, and in confidence that he will treat us mercifully according to His Word:

Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.



February 18, 2006

(Psa 119:59 KJV)  I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.

When a goldsmith puts gold into the crucible and the fire begins to work on the dross, it begins to wriggle and wriggle, and as the dross is burned out it gets quieter, until at last the surface is so calm that the refiner sees his own face reflected and puts out the fire.

When you reflect upon the Word of God, does it make you squirm with discomfort?  Does it make your soul meditate upon its ways and desire a change of heart?  Does it provoke a sense of repentance, a need to turn back from your old ways and towards the news ways that the Lord has for you?

When our heart makes contact with God’s Word, It should cause it to ponder, to think on its ways, to “wriggle”.  My friend, when that happens, fear not.  These are the LORD’s chidings upon your soul, His gentle training, His remodeling of the chambers of your heart.  He will patiently plead with you every change until the tabernacle of your heart is conformed to His Tabernacle, so he can make His home in it.

Let Him change you, let Him remodel you, let Him make you in His image so He can see Himself in you;  He will be more through than you could ever be without Him.

Heb 3:7-8 KJV  Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith,) To day if ye will hear his voice,  (8)  Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:




February 19, 2006

Psa 119:60 KJV  I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.

“Sin in haste, repent at leisure” is so true of human nature.  We are so hasty in our sinful disobedience that it could often be avoided if we’d just slow down in order to ponder on what we are doing.  By contrast, we seem to drag our feet when it comes time to doing right and godly things.  
     
Here are good examples of this.  I often have to raise donations for the ministry I am devoted to.  Since I understand that people have a responsibility to God for the money He has given them, I patiently subject myself to answering a myriad of questions, all for the purpose of proving my good faith.  My question is, do those same people practice the same slow scrupulous sort of financial responsibility for everything they spend? or only for the donated dollar, while they easily, quickly and carelessly spend their money when it comes to their pleasure?  Another one is that we quickly endorse the judgment of a doctor or psychologist with no questions asked, but we feel that we have to go slow and check the motives before endorsing the godly counsel of a pastor who may convict our souls.   Oh, of what a wicked nature we are, applying different standards in every situation as it suits us!  

Delayed obedience will become total disobedience. Once we have been told in the Word what to do, let us joyfully haste in owning the privilege of having received His commandment.  Let us not be quick and thoughtless in sinning, while slow and doubtful in obeying the commandment of the Lord.  

1Sa 21:8 KJV  … because the king's business required haste.


February 20, 2006

Psa 119:61 KJV  The bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have not forgotten thy law.

For decades now, attacks of the evil one on the Christian in the western world have been very subtle and mostly confined to the realm of the spirit. But in countries of the Eastern world, such as China and Sudan, the persecution of Christians has been so intense that it renders it difficult to believe that Christians could be spared the Great Tribulation.
     
For millenniums, world domination came from the East, slowly shifting West, where it has remained since the Greek Emperor, Alexander the Great, conquered the Medo-Persian Empire (Iran).  In our twenty-first century, and from within the very heart of our Western metropolis, the dogmas of Christian civilization are challenged by an Eastern concept. What both camps seem to forget is that the next global government will come neither from the East nor from the West but from above, from Jesus-Christ the Son of God who will appear and humble all of man-kind’s arrogance by ruling the world the way it should have been ruled, and that with a rod of iron (Rev 19:11; 19:15; 20:4; 20:6).    

But before that happens, the Church of God (the people of God) will be tested and the forces of evil will be allowed to “rob” the righteous, doing “him” many injuries.  During those days, the Salvation of the righteous will rest in the keeping of the Word as his testimony (Rev 3:21; 12:11) and weapon against the forces of evil that will be determined to eliminate him. At that time it will be important to not allow the “bands of the wicked” to distract and intimidate us from following after the Spirit of our LORD and Savior with their scare tactics.

But friend; today, as you the see the world around you get darker and darker; as the “bands of the wicked” attempt to “rob” you of your moral standards; as they try to steal your obedience to God’s Words; as their evil forces push to gain ground on your children through ungodly media; as your thoughts are bombarded with concepts contrary to the teaching of Jesus; this is the time to brandish the shield of faith and lift up the sword of His Word. It is at such times that we need to remember His Word; it is at such a time that we need not to forget His Law.  
At such times, remember how He Himself was surrounded by evil hordes in the desert of temptation and in the garden of Gethsemane (Mat 4; Mat 26), and learn from His example of fighting the prince of darkness and his bands with the power of God’s Word of Light.

Rev 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.



February 21, 2006

Psa 119:62 KJV  At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.

Midnight, the hour of extreme darkness; the time when robbers go about their lewd business; the season when the prince of darkness lurks about so his deed be not manifest that they are evil.  This was the hour of the fall of Sardis, the city that was conquered due to the lack of vigilance of its soldiers (Rev 3:3). One rises to check his house; to verify that the bolts are fastened, the windows securely closed, the fire put out.  Yes the house is secured and the master of the realm soundly goes back to sleep.  But even then, when the body is asleep, when we give up control, the prince of darkness lurks about to disturb our slumber, to depress our spirit and worry our thoughts with evil dreams.  Let us at these times not just yield our trust in the apothecary’s pill to give us our sleep back.  Let us rise and remember to give thanks to Him to whom we ought every peaceful blessing.  

At the time of our “midnight”, Jesus is there to rescue us through our praises, for He dwells in them. He is the Bridegroom who comes at midnight (Mat 25:6) to rescue the Bride from the clutches of the evil one, to rapture her into His kingdom where she will fear no more, neither hunger nor thirst, and where the sun or the moon will not hurt her anymore.  

On that midnight season, the bride will surely and fully give thanks to Him who came to save her from her enemies through His righteous judgments. But today, at the time of your “midnights” rise and praise Him in a thrilling and joyful expectation of the day when “midnights” will be no more.    

Mat 25:6 KJV  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.



February 22, 2006

(Psa 119:63 KJV)  I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.

There is no doubt about God’s relationship with us.

It is mentioned in the book of Revelations that God created us for His pleasure (Rev 4:11).  
God enjoys our fellowship.  
He is pleased in our company.  
He wants to be with us like a best friend or companion, enjoying life together.  
He wants it so much that he sent His own Son to give His life so to restore our Fellowship with Him.  
He is like the “man” who takes the blame for the divisive offense in order to preserve the relationship.  

But is there a doubt about our relationship with Him?

Do you look forward to the pleasure of being with Him with the same intensity of desire, even at the cost of sacrifice, as He has shown towards being with you?  
Do you have your “fun” or pleasure with those who “fear” (Fear: have respect towards, revere) Him, or do you have your fun with the “worldlings”?  
Do you look forward to your time with Him with the excitement of a child whose Dad promised to take to the circus or the park, or do you consider the “waiting” part before going to have fun your time with Him?  
Do you look at your time with Him something that you have to do and get over with so you can go have fun, or is He your “fun”, or pleasure, like you are His pleasure?  

To be honest, looking at the life of many of His creatures, one could easily deduct that time with the Creator through His Word or fellowship with those who “fear” (Fear: have respect towards, revere) Him is something that has its own time and place, scheduled like a chore or a necessary duty.  In any case, it is far from being looked upon as an enjoyment and fun, something we take pleasure in, as He has with us in our presence.  Pleasure and enjoyment on the contrary would seem to be everything that has to do with the ungodly world.

This I pray today, that before it is harder for His children to take part of the elements of the world because of persecution, we can learn to draw our main pleasure from spiritual fellowship with God through time spent in His Word and in fellowship with those that “fear” (Fear: have respect towards, revere) Him.

Mat 22:35-37 KJV  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,  (36)  Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37)  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.



February 23, 2006

Psa 119:64 KJV The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy statutes.

Anyone who would say that the world is “full” of the mercy of God is in denial of reality. Since its very beginnings, murders, divisions, wars, theft and oppression has marked its societies.  Men, women and children have had to fend for themselves in order to escape the cruelty of man’s inhumanity to man, as well as the ravages of poverty and diseases.  To this very day, at all levels of society, in every country and in every religion, man has not yet learned to govern itself in a society without crime, fear and oppression.  

Where is God’s mercy in all this?

If we look for God’s mercy in the works and societies of man we will not find it.  But the realm of the creation of God is full of examples of His abundant mercies.  Many of the street people I minister to have dogs. I sometimes see these dogs yelled at and even hit by their drunken angry masters.  In spite of so much mistreatment, the dog stays ever so faithful to its master, to provide him with the love and companionship he so badly needs.  This is such an example of God’s mercy to man, creating for him an animal who is the epitome of loyalty.  I have traveled so many countries, and I have seen both the godly and the ungodly farmer benefit of the fruits of the earth, the warmth of the sun, and the blessing of the rain.  I see everyday the businessman in cities getting paid in order to feed his family even though he may even consider himself an atheist.  An atheist might be excused for not thanking God for His wonderful blessings; but what is worse, is when God’s children benefit of their benevolent Father’s blessings, and yet they do not even thank Him because they accredit them to their own efforts.  

Let us pray today to be able to see God’s mercy around us and learn to find it in the simple fact that He does not deal with us according to our sins, but according to His abundant mercies.

MERCY:  Undeserved forgiveness.

Psa 103:8-12 KJV  The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.  (9)  He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.  (10)  He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.  (11)  For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.  (12)  As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.