Friday, November 14, 2014

David, the Psalmist, Comforts Himself and Others in God

"But the Lord shall endure forever..."

Today, I read Psalm 9: 7-10 and received such a blessing from it -- so much so that I would like to share it with my blog readers.

But the Lord shall endure forever; he hath prepared his throne for judgment.  And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.  The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.  And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee; for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

When I consider all the things that are going on in the world -- out of control government, corrupt officials, tragedies in our schools, the workplace, our homes, and the world at large, threats to our personal liberties, and the list goes on and on and on-- it is wonderful to have God's Word to bring such comfort to my soul.

I cannot begin to explain this Scripture reading anything close to how Matthew Henry explains it; so since he is my "go-to" Bible commentator, I will share his take on these verses -- Psalm 9:7-10: (Note: I modernized a few of his old English words)  I hope you read this and receive the same blessing as I did.

(Matthew Henry) "He (David) comforts himself and others in God, and pleases himself with the thoughts of him.
  1. With the thoughts of his eternity.  On this earth we see nothing durable, even strong cities are buried in rubbish and forgotten; but the Lord shall endure forever.  There is no change of his being; his love, power, and perfection, are out of the reach of all the combined forces of hell and earth; they may put an end to our liberties, our privileges, our lives, but our God is still the same, and sits even upon the floods, unshaken, undisturbed.
  2.  With the thoughts of his sovereignty both in government and judgment:  He has prepared his throne, has fixed it by his infinite wisdom, has fixed it by his immutable counsel.  It is the great support and comfort of good people, when the power of the church's enemies is threatening and the posture of its affairs melancholy and perplexed, that God now rules the world and will shortly judge the world.
  3.  With the thoughts of his justice and righteousness in all the administrations of his goverment.  He does all every day, he will do all at the last day, according to the eternal unalterable rules of equity: He shall judge the world, all persons and all controversis, shall minister judgment to the people (shall determine their lot both in this and in the future state) in righteousness and in uprightness, so that there shall not be the least colour of exception against it.
  4.  With the thoughts of that peculiar favour which God bears to his own people and the special protection which he takes them under. The Lord, who endures forever, is their everlasting strength and protection; he that judges the world will be sure to judge for them, when at any time they are injured or distressed:  He will be a refuge for the oppressed, a high place, a strong place, for the oppressed, in times of trouble.  It is the lot of God's people to be oppressed in this world and to have troublous times appointed to them. Perhaps God may not immediately appear for them as their deliverer and avenger; but, in the midst of their distresses, they may in faith flee to him as their refuge and may depend upon his power and promise for their safety, so that no real hurt shall be done to them.
  5.  With the thoughts of that sweet satisfaction and repose of mind which those have that make God their refuge:  "Those that know thy name will put their trust in thee, as I have done: (for the grace of God is the same in all the saints), "and then they will find, as I have found, that thou dost not forsake those that seek thee;" for the favour of God is the same towards all the saints.  Note,        (1.) The better God is known the more he is trusted.  Those who know him to be a God of infinite wisdom will trust him further than they can see him; those who know him to be a God of almighty power will trust him when creature-confidences fail and they have nothing else to trust to; and those who know him to be a God of infinite grace and goodness will trust him though he slay them, Job 8:15.  Those who know him to be a God of inviolable truth and faithfulness will rejoice in his word of promise, and rest upon that, though the performance be deferred and intermediate providences seem to contradict it. Those who know him to be the Father of spirits, and an everlasting Father, will trust him with their souls as their main care and trust in him at all times, even to the end.  (2.) the more God is trusted the more he is sought unto.  If we trust God we shall seek him by faithful and fervent prayer, and by a constant care to approve ourselves to him in the whole course of our conversations.  (3.) God never did, nor ever will, disown or desert any that duly seek to him and trust in him.  Though he afflict them, he will not leave them comfortless; though he seem to forsake them for a while, yet he will gather them with everlasting mercies."

Now will you do me a favor?  If you read this entire piece and received a blessing from it, will you email me at missycrissy2@gmail.com and let me know.  If you have a Gmail account, you can also comment in the space below this post. It sure encourages me to think that what I share of God's Word blesses others, too.  Thanks.  Cris

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