Fall 2018, 40 Days of Prayer, Day 15
Psalm 37:37-40 37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. 38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off. 39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. 40 The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
Salvation is From the LORD:
Psalm 37:37-40. The final stanza of Psalm 37:37-40 is a reminder that the LORD will uphold the righteous, defeat His enemies, destroy the wicked, and deliver those who are His. In verse 37, the final imperative of the psalm is given, to “Mark the blameless and behold the upright,” a calling to the righteous in the LORD to observe who else is righteous in the LORD and a reminder that “there is a future for the man of peace.” In contrast, verse 38 states that the wicked will perish and that their future “shall be cut off.” This should be a severe reminder to those of us in Christ, that there is a dire and grim future for those not in Christ. This should serve as both a warning of the power of God and that what He says will happen, and it should serve as an exhortation for us to spread the gospel, for we once were lost, “alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,” (Colossians 1:21) but have been “reconciled in His [Jesus] body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him…” (Colossians 1:22). Verses 37-38 continue the stanza of this psalm, with another imperative to “mark the blameless and behold the upright,” following with another promise that they have a future (the “upright”) and the wicked do not, “the future of the wicked will be cut off.” Verses 39-40 complete Psalm 37 with a reminder that the LORD delivers the righteous and saves them in times of trouble. It is a beautiful reminder that the LORD is just and will deliver the righteous from the wicked. The “because” in verse 40 should remind us as believers that we are not saved on the basis of what we have done, our power or ability to flee the wicked, but rather on the basis of the LORD. The righteous take refuge in Him. He is like a shelter in storm. Believers know that it is not our own doing that saves us from the oncoming calamity, but rather the shelter of the LORD himself upholds and protects us. How silly would it be for us to take credit because we are saved from wickedness, when he is sovereign over all. It is all because of Him, because He is our refuge or shelter. Notice how the salvation is FROM the LORD and that He delivers the righteous. Let us reflect upon the glory of God today and be reminded of the His saving redemptive hand. Let us be reminded that the LORD will deliver us from wickedness and the wicked, and that ultimately God wins. We can rest assured that He will be our stronghold in times of trouble. What a comfort to know the God of this universe through His Son Jesus Christ!
Prayer Focus:
LORD, today, may I be reminded of Your salvation through Your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you, truly thank you so much for Your salvation and Your kindness. God, You will uphold me in my time of stress and trouble. God, You are faithful in everything You do. Deliver me from my struggles, from my sins, from everything that distracts me from You, LORD. Clean me, cleanse me of all filth that I may be tempted with and come across my mind. Help me to put my eyes and to focus on You. LORD, deliver those around the world being persecuted for Your Name. LORD, deliver the orphans and widows, and those who need Your Presence today! Father, thank You for Your salvation that You have given in Christ Jesus, Your Son. It is by His death and resurrection, that I have access to knowing You LORD. May Your Name be glorified. 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.
It is not becoming for poor, guilty, sinful worms, who receive whatsoever blessings they enjoy, (from the least drop of water that cools our tongue, to the immense riches of glory in eternity,) of grace, of mere favor, and not of debt, to ask of God the reasons of his conduct. It is not reasonable for us to call Him in question "who gives account to none of his ways;" to demand, "Why did you make faith the condition, the only condition, of justification? Wherefore did you decree, "He that believes," and he only, "shall be saved?" This is the very point on which St. Paul so strongly insists in the ninth chapter of this Epistle, that the terms of pardon and acceptance must depend, not on us, but "on him that calls us;" that there is no "unrighteousness with God," in fixing his own terms, not according to ours, but his own good pleasure; who may justly say, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy;" namely, on him who believes in Jesus. "So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs," to choose the condition on which he shall find acceptance; "but of God that shows mercy;" that accepts none at all, but of his own free love, his unmerited goodness. "Therefore he has mercy on whom he will have mercy," on those who believe on the Son of his love; "and whom he wills," that is, those who believe not, "he hardens," leaves at last to the hardness of their hearts.