2002-11-13
Good Morning Treasured Readers,
The Lord leads me to continue sharing citations that reveal His interaction and intervention in the affairs of His children while they are fighting the fierce spiritual battle with Satan. Those of you who have been reading my messages for quite awhile know that I wrote a series on PS 119. This longest of all the Psalms is based on the twenty-six letters of the Hebrew alphabet, each letter having its own section, revealing some aspect of the Lord’s teaching. I am led this morning to return to PS 119: 121-128, which represent the sixteenth letter, ayin [pronounced “eye-n”], and deals with obedience to the law of the Lord. The eye represents insight, which suggests enhanced understanding. Now, let’s look at the text. “I have done what is right and good; do not abandon me to my enemies! Promise that You will help Your servant; do not let arrogant men oppress me! My eyes are tired from watching for Your saving help, for the deliverance You promised. Treat me according to Your constant love, and teach me Your commands. I am Your servant; give me understanding, so that I may know Your teachings. Lord, it is time for You to act, because people are disobeying Your law. I love Your commandments more than gold, more than the finest gold. And so I follow all Your instructions; I hate all wrongs.”
If one looks at the time in Israel’s history when this was written, she was becoming more and more disobedient on the way to what would reach a crescendo with the nation eventually dividing and then the first dyaspora [temporary scattering and loss of nationhood] for 160 years in the north and 70 years in the south. Yet herein, we have a Psalmist who is completely dedicated to wanting to remain obedient and who acknowledges he can’t do this without God’s help. We often ask ourselves: Why does it take so long for God to answer our prayers? The answer is seated in the fact that God alone knows the perfect time and way to take action. The Psalmist begs God not to abandon him to his enemies. That’s how great his pain at Satan’s hand is. The words of 2 COR 3: 8-10 give us insight on what God had implied during the Psalmist’s time. “We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; there are many enemies, but we are never without a Friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed. At all times we carry in our mortal bodies the death of Jesus, so that His life also may be seen in our bodies.” His righteous life was the fruit of his salvation and therefore a proper basis to ask the Lord not to abandon him to his oppressors. The Palmist, whose pain from Satan’s attacks was causing him to temporarily forget the promise made long before in the Protevangelium, GN 3: 15. Remember that mankind’s heel would be bitten causing pain, but the serpent’s head would be crushed causing his agonizing demise.
In spite of sounding like he is making a plea for justice, the Psalmist is actually casting himself at God’s feet, begging for His mercy. One form of God’s mercy is His teaching in the Scriptures. When we read the Scriptures, we allow God to reveal Himself to us. The more a servant knows about his Master, the more effective he can be in waging spiritual warfare. This servant (the Psalmist) is a man who knows His Creator well. That is seen in how he treasures God’s word, “I love Your commands more than gold, more than the finest gold,” he writes. We have the advantage of Timothy’s insight on God’s word from 2 TIM 3: 16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.” The degree to which we are willing to obey God’s commands from the Scriptures is a window into how much we love God’s word and God Himself [JN 14: 21]. Our Lord is merciful and wise. He knows we are experiencing pain and gives us His word to offer comfort and encouragement, to help us not lose sight of the big picture of His plan of salvation for us. Not only is this true, but God also gives us a direct, open channel to converse with Him and to receive direction-prayer.
Very recently, I met a new and very faithful friend. She loves the Lord every bit as much as I do. She is younger than I am, but she realizes we are amidst the fierce battle, as all believers are. Satan may be creative in coming up with ways to bring us misery, pain, sorrow, and loss, but God’s ways are more powerful. I brought her attention to EPH 1: 18-20, so she could know that God’s power is greater to Satan and that He gives us the same power He used to raise Christ from death to life to use against the adversary and his followers. That power keeps coming, as long as we trust and obey the Great Commander’s instructions. It’s like having our own private line directly to the General and can speak with Him right from our fox holes. As for protection, we need never worry that God will abandon us, leave us unequipped, or refuse us His help. PS 46: 1, “God is our Refuge and our Strength, a present Help in time of trouble.” PS 27: 1, “The Lord is my Light and my Salvation; I will fear no one. The Lord protects me from all danger; I will never be afraid.”
PRAYER: O Lord, You have directed us to spend this time looking at a passage that reveals more ways that You interact and intervene to protect us amidst our fierce battles with Satan. All around us Satan is shooting off his fiery darts, trying to cause us to doubt You and our faith in You. We must not be deceived by this. PS 31: 3-5 expresses the attitude of our hearts today. “You are my Refuge and Defense; guide me and lead me as You have promised. Keep me safe from the snare that has been set for me; shelter me from danger. I place myself in Your care. You will save me, Lord; You are a faithful God.” We join David in acknowledging Your power to keep all Your promises. PS 37: 39, “The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their Refuge in the time of trouble.” Through daily study of Your word and an active prayer life, we keep the channel open for You to give us Your commands. You direct and correct us as we are reminded in PS 32: 8, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with Mine eye.” Your insight is so much greater than ours, and we accept the offer You have made for us to join You in Your work, receive Your blessings, and have our lives hidden with Christ as we are told in COL 3: 3-4. We acknowledge Your mighty sovereign supremacy over all other entities. You are our One and Only God, as You told us in DT 6: 4-5 [known in Hebrew as the Shema]. Our of profound respect for You, we repeat it here. “Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” Because believing Gentiles have been grafted in to the Jewish root stock [RO 11: 16-24], this declaration is said by all believers. We come before You, O Lord, to humbly confess our sin and to offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, honor, glory, trust, obedience, thanks, and utmost praise. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
There is a good reason for spending so many messages on God’s intervention and interaction with us during battles with Satan. It is a blessing of our salvation. Not only that, there is much more of His help going on than many of us realize. Therefore, I am led to continue on this vital subject in tomorrow’s message. Each day we look into His word, He reveals more of Himself and what He can do to help to us. As many years as we have studied the Scriptures, I can assure you that He has much more to teach us. David understood this well in PS 34: 8-9, “See for yourself the way His mercies shower down on all who trust in Him. If you belong to the Lord, have reverence for Him; for everyone who does this has everything he needs.” That includes His protection, direction, encouragement, and care during the pain and suffering of our battles with Satan. PS 3: 5, “I sleep and wake up refreshed, because You, Lord, protect me.” Our salvation was an act of grace extended to us when we didn’t deserve it. God’s continuing presence in our lives is the keeping of His promises to bless and protect those who are His children and love Him. We need never feel we will go a day without the Love of the best Friend we have ever had. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn