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Fall 2018, 40 Days of Prayer, Day 10

“The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:7-14

The Bible Teaches Us about the Character of God
Psalm 19 can easily be broken into two major sections. The first six verses declare the revelation of God’s glory as seen in the creation of the sun, moon and stars. God speaks to us through His creation. God also speaks to us through His Word. Psalm 19:7 shifts our attention from the glory of God in creation to the glory of God as discovered in His Word. Notice the pattern found in verses 7-12. Here are the terms the psalmist used to describe the Bible: “The Law of the LORD…the testimony of the LORD…the precepts of the LORD…the commandment of the LORD…the judgments of the LORD…” With each successive title the author provides a descriptor: The Bible is “perfect…sure…right…pure…true.” When we see the beauty of the Scriptures, then we are inclined to pursue the Word of God. When we truly see that the Bible is perfect, sure, right, pure and true, then we long for it. The beauty of the scripture reflects the beauty of the author. God is perfect, sure, right, pure and true. Naturally, the Bible will be consistent with the attributes of the author of the Bible. By extension, a pursuit of God’s Word becomes a pursuit of God Himself. By extension, seeing the beauty of God proceeds from seeing the beauty of His Word.

The psalmist moves beyond the beauty of the Word of God to the specific benefits of the Bible in the life of hearer. What happens when we hear the Word of God? What happens when we apply it to our lives? The impact of submitting to the Bible is given in each successive statement: The Word of God “restores the soul…makes wise the simple…enlightens the eyes…” The Bible transforms. It transforms our lives by giving warnings to the followers of God and by exposing our hidden sins. It breaks the power of abiding sin and brings purity to what we think – “the meditation of my heart…” and what we say- “the words of my mouth…” Considering these lofty affirmations about the Bible and considering the multitude of benefits, we should desire the Bible in a manner consist with these affirmations. In this case, the psalmist says that we should desire the bible more than a banker wants “gold” and a sweet toothed child wants “honey.”

The conclusion of this chapter is quite striking. Given the declaration of the glory of God from His creation in verses 1-6 and the declaration of the beauty and the massive benefits to the glorious word of God in verses 7-12, the psalmist concludes with this prayer: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” When all of these beautiful truths are considered, the title the psalmist chose for God as He addresses Him in prayer is “O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” We can trust Him to help us and save us. Just look at what He has already done in His creation and in His Word! He is our Rock and our Redeemer.

Prayer Focus
O God, like the psalmist I pray that You would make the meditations of my heart and the words of my mouth acceptable to You. Thank You for Your word.

From Sermon on Justification by Faith by John Wesley
"To him that does not work, but believes on him that justified the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness." Romans 4:5.
Does then the good Shepherd seek and save only those that are found already? No: He seeks and saves that which is lost. He pardons those who need his pardoning mercy. He saves from the guilt of sin, (and, at the same time, from the power) sinners of every kind, of every degree: people who, till then, were altogether ungodly; in whom the love of the Father was not; and, consequently, in whom dwelt no good thing, no good or truly Christian character, --but all such as were evil and abominable, --pride, anger, love of the world, --the genuine fruits of that "carnal mind" which is "enmity against God." These who are sick, the burden of whose sins is intolerable, are they that need a Physician; these who are guilty, who groan under the wrath of God, are the ones that need a pardon. These who are "condemned already," not only by God, but also by their own conscience, as by a thousand witnesses, of all their ungodliness, both in thought, and word, and work, cry aloud for Him that "justifies the ungodly," through the redemption that is in Jesus; --the ungodly, and "him that does not work;" that does not work, before he is justified, anything that is good, that is truly virtuous or holy, but only evil continually. For his heart is necessarily, essentially evil, till the love of God is shed abroad therein.

Fall 2018, 40 Days of Prayer, Day 9

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth and their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, and its circuit to the other end of them; and there is nothing hidden from its heat.” Psalm 19:1-6

The Heavens Tell Us about the Glory of God

The heavens are continually telling their story.  They “live” to tell it.  Their story is simple, “God is glorious.”  In some ways, the stars function the way a masterpiece functions. When you go to a famous art gallery and look at the paintings of the great artists in history – Monet, Rembrandt, Peter Rubens – you can see the intricate details of the painting, details like the color selection, the depth, the passion of the topic communicated through each brush stroke.  The great works make us think of the greatness of the artist.  Rembrandt was simply brilliant as an artist.  Some of his works recount significant moments in history with such vibrancy that they bring the observer into direct contact with the subject matter, like the artist is still sitting in the room recounting the events as they paint.  The gifting of the artist allows us to travel back in time in order to see and feel the passion of the event that as it has been captured on canvas.  All human artists, all creative painters, reflect a mere shadow of the substance that comes from God Himself.  Rembrandt is like a mist compared to the torrent that comes from the ultimate master artist, God Himself.  His canvas is the heavens.  His paint is the stars.  The beauty of the stars captures the passion and significance of a distant moment in the past and brings that moment into the present as if we are watching over the shoulder of God as He says, “Let there be light.”  Like the great masterpieces, the heavens communicate more about the artist than the art itself.  The beauty of the stars in and of themselves would be sufficient for a lifetime of study.  However, this is not the primary purpose for the stars.  Instead, the stars drive us back in time and space to the original and greatest Artist.  His canvas is the heavens and His paint is the beauty pouring forth from His creative words.  He speaks and the universe dances to His will.  He speaks and galaxies form, powerfully declaring “look to our master artist and see how great He is.”  God is glorious.  He is also gracious to allow us to see a glimpse of His beauty through what He has made.

Prayer Focus

Thank You God for Your creation.  Thank You for making Your glory known to us.  Thank You for the continual artwork hung in such a way as to allow us to see the greatness of Your power.  Help me today to function like the stars in the heavens.  Help me to declare Your glory both day and night.  In the name of the Creator and Master Artist I pray, Amen.

From Sermon on Justification by Faith by John Wesley

"To him that does not work, but believes on him that justified the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness." Romans 4:5.

Who are they that are justified? And the Apostle tells us expressly, the ungodly: "He (that is, God) justifies the ungodly;" the ungodly of every kind and degree; and none but the ungodly. As "they that are righteous need no repentance," so they need no forgiveness. It is only sinners that have any occasion for pardon: It is sin alone which admits of being forgiven. Forgiveness, therefore, has an immediate reference to sin, and, in this respect, to nothing else. It is our "unrighteousness" to which the pardoning God is "merciful:" It is our "iniquity" which he "remembers no more." God justifies not the godly, but the ungodly; not those that are holy already, but the unholy. Upon what condition he does this, will be considered quickly: but whatever it is, it cannot be holiness. To assert this, is to say the Lamb of God takes away only those sins which were taken away before.

Fall 2018, 40 Days of Prayer, Day 8

“O LORD, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
4 What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth!” Psalm 8:1-9

In Psalm 8, Verses 5 – 8 allow us to see that even with the fall of humanity that God still allows us to have dominion over aspects of the earth. He grants us that honor to care for and watch over His creation. Yet, we see in verse 5 the verbiage “son of man” which hints at a special focus on the Messiah as the truest representation of mankind. How even though man failed, through Christ, we are redeemed. Verses 6 – 8 really reflect the intention of man in Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’” We have dominion over the created order because; we are made in God’s likeness. As God has dominion over the whole creation, we have dominion over the created order on earth. We are at the top of the created order because we are made in His likeness. He cares and loves us more than any other aspect of the creation. We, as created beings, have God’s affection but also His wrath at the same time. Yet, it is only through His son that we can be redeemed. As humans we hunger and thirst for power, power over things and even each other. When in reality what we should hunger for is ultimate submission. Rather than power, we should crave submission to the One who created all things.

Verse 9 provides a great conclusion to this Psalm. It reiterates the majesty and power of God. We should stand in awe of Him and we submit to His ultimate authority. As Creator He has ultimate power and ultimate love for His creation. His love for us is beyond comprehension. This Psalm allows us to see the majesty of God and it should make us humble before an all mighty Creator. Submission to Him is not an act of weakness but an act of love toward the One that first loved us.
Prayer Focus

Oh God of all creation, You have granted us sovereignty over the earth as Your image bearers. May we find ultimate satisfaction of our soul in our submission to You and not in our dominion over our surroundings. Help me to find joy in my submission to Your sovereignty over my life, Amen.

From Sermon on Justification by Faith by John Wesley
"To him that does not work, but believes on him that justified the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness." Romans 4:5.
The plain scriptural notion of justification is pardon, the forgiveness of sins. It is that act of God the Father for the sake of the propitiation made by the blood of his Son, he "shows forth his righteousness (or mercy) by the remission of the sins that are past." This is the easy, natural account of it given by St. Paul, throughout this whole epistle. So he explains it himself, more particularly in this and in the following chapter. Thus, in the next verses but one to the text, "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered: Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." To him that is justified or forgiven, God "will not impute sin" to his condemnation. He will not condemn him on that account, either in this world or in that which is to come. His sins, all his past sins, in thought, word, and deed, are covered, are blotted out, shall not be remembered or mentioned against him, any more than if they had not been. God will not inflict on that sinner what he deserved to suffer, because the Son of his love hath suffered for him. And from the time we are "accepted through the Beloved," "reconciled to God through his blood," he loves, and blesses, and watches over us for good, even as if we had never sinned.