Leviticus studies part 1

I've been studying Leviticus for a while now and have prepared some studies/sermons but as yet have not had the chance to deliver them.

That being the case I have shared the notes with a few people, but have realised this much neglected blog would be a good format for communicating some of my thoughts.

So here you are:

Leviticus 1 – The Burnt Offering

In Exodus 40 the Lord descends on the Tabernacle and in Leviticus 1: 1 we see Moses being spoken to ‘out of the Tabernacle’ – Moses was unable to enter because of God’s Glory filling the Tabernacle (Ex 40: 35).

1.   The  male without blemish here is completely consumed (v.1-3, 6-7). God’s wrath on sin is complete and unflinching – and deserved. Not one part of the sacrifice is spared. This mirrors the Lord Jesus at Calvary - His body and soul torn from God the Father's presence. A foreshadowing is clear - Christ Jesus bears this sinful wrath as the lamb. A lamb without blemish, capable of fulfilling the law (and thereby being a worthy sacrifice, once and for all Hebrew 10: 11 – 14)

2.       God’s hand/sinner’s hand on the offering. In the sinners repentant act of placing his hand on the sacrificial animal God imputes sin to the sacrifice. The transaction also sees the sinner put right, or made righteous – acceptable to God. Christ’s substitutionary work does the same for us. God’s hand places His divine, just wrath (which we deserve) on Christ’s head and imputes Jesus’ righteousness to us. Our only action can be repentance ALL the rest is performed by God/Jesus, just as all the offerer here in Leviticus can do is bring a sacrifice and repent, relying on the priest’s mediatorial work, the sacrifice and God’s mercy and Grace.

3.       The saving blood – death is required. Death is the curse on man’s sin. Blood = life. The lamb is offered in place of the sinner. Jesus instead of us.  The sacrifice of Jesus for the believer makes propitiation (appeases God's wrath), and allows expiation (the wiping away or covering of sin), which makes atonement (satisfaction, our account being settled).

Propitiation + expiation = atonement. 

The blood signifies salvation for the repentant sinner. It is through this shed blood God’s wrath can be diverted and we can enter His presence as righteous.

So....

God’s wrath MUST come on sin sometime. Either on us, or on Jesus.
 
ALL we can do is repent. Works of salvation belong to God/Jesus.

Jesus’ blood offering appeases God and save the repentant sinner.

Blogging = narcissism?

Considering the tendancy for blogging to become a narcissitic and ego inflating tool, posts from hereon will (hopefully) focus the spotlight on Jesus Christ and not the writer.

This is difficult to do with a blog, so rather that the previously penned musings and in-car thoughts and ideas of the writer, this blog will instead be transcriptions of bible studies/sermons, essay style pieces, quotes and links to relevant sources for learning more about Jesus. There may be occasional references to self in text but these will be limited to anecdotal illustrations.

Useful online tools:

Strong's Concordance by numbers - Strong's by number.

Hebrew Interlinear text - Old Testament Hebrew.

Greek Interlinear text - New Testament Greek.

Recent bible studies:

The Righteousness of Christ - Psalm 145: 17

The Lord Our Righteousness (Jehovah Tsidkenu) Jeremiah 23: 5, 6

The Life of Mary  Luke 1: 26 - 56

 

Psalm 40: 3 and 4 - part 3

Here's the final installment on the study on verses 3 and 4 of Psalm 40.

All other parts of this and the first and second study can be found here.

Read Psalm 40 here.

The trust


“Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies”

So we can see what or even who the ‘new song’ is and also how this new song changes us and the importance of how we tell people about it.

The second half of this verse actually reflects what we’ve just looked at. ‘Nor such as turn aside to lies’ indicates the error and the sorrow that lies in straying from the narrow path and being seduced and distracted by idols and hankering after our personal ‘Egypt’.

When we focus on the cross and mortify the flesh we can remain undistracted by man ‘the proud’. Those who seek to undermine Holy scripture with their vain glorious ideas which promote themselves and science as the new gods.

It is so easy to get drawn so into apologetics and defence of the bible against the foreign gods of this day and age we forget to go on the offence with the gospel. Instead of trying to fend off such criticisms and attacks shouldn’t we unashamedly profess the gospel instead.

It is a weak church that apologises for Jesus Christ and the God of creation. There is nothing to apologise for.

We should instead take our new song, and profess it to all. The apologising should come from the repenting sinner. Romans 1: 16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”


But it is the first half of this verse which sums up this study.

“Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust...”

Happy is the man who trusts. Blessed means ‘happy’. Utter trust in the Lord produces happiness. Afflictions, persecution and trials are all part of God’s purposes – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

There are many references to the ‘blessed’ in the psalms. David was a man seeking happiness in the things of the Lord, as was Asaph. The formula can seem complicated. But it is simple, oh so simple.

Trust in the Lord.

We make it so hard for ourselves don’t we? When the answer is so straightforward.

Do you ever kick yourself spiritually for not trusting the Lord? Do you ever get frustrated by your doubts? Do you ever say “...I believe, help thou my unbelief”

He is the creator God. He is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (in all things). His promises are perfect. He is perfect. He is salvation. He is love. His word became flesh and saved us from an eternity of punishment.

Do you feel stupid for not trusting Him!? I know I do!!! We trust other people, we trust science, we trust in ‘fate’. We even trust ourselves more than the God who created us!

It is simple, don’t make it more complicated than it is. Trust in the Lord, sing the new song, mortify the flesh, repent, be saved and be truly, wonderfully saved and eternally happy.

In John Henry Sammis’ words “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”
Amen

Psalm 40: 3 and 4 - part 2

Previous posts on Psalm 40 can be found here.

Psalm 40 can be read here, I'd again suggest reading the first 8 verses at least.

The witness


“many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.”

When we are saved, when we have truly repented of our sins and turned our lives to the cross then things change. This cannot be denied. We’ve seen already what Paul said to the Galatians. If you hear anyone’s testimony one thing is certain. There has been a change.

The change of regeneration. We are reborn. We die to the world and live in Christ. Sometimes, as we have seen in verse 2, we can err. We can turn briefly back to Egypt and our sins. But the change is eternal and irreversible.

Many see this change. Those who knew us in our unsaved condition see us in our new light. They detect the change of heart, the change of manner and attitude. We talk differently, we behave differently.

Some don’t like it, some do. But the change is stark and clear. My own testimony is just that. Shortly after conversion I stuck 1 Timothy 1: 13 “Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.”

I knew and recognised a change in myself. Consequently things looked different. I had different motivations, some temptations and distractions remained awaiting mortification, but they didn’t hold the thrall they did before. And you too I am sure can see this in your own life. We have a duty do we not to strive to strain the black soot of sin out of our lives, to kill, to mortify those sins of the flesh.

Romans 8: 13 “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”

Colossians 3: 5 “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:”

The Lord also directs us in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. – 1 Corinthians 9 : 25 – 27 “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

This ‘striving for mastery’ in temperance, this ongoing mortification of sins and separation from ungodly things is what people will see, what they will recognise. It is not only instruction for us in our sanctification. It is a witness, a testimony to the Lord in our lives. So we should be conscious of our tongues, our conversation, our manner, our jokes, our habits. They reflect our love of, or even ignorance of the Christ like values we should seek to project.

There is a peace which others should see, love or loathe it. Whether they detest you for it or are drawn to it. The work of Christ Jesus’ saving grace in our lives is visible.

When I was still training in martial arts the gym owner and I had a conversation during which he asked about my beliefs. In reply to my basic testimony he said "you're a born again Christian?" my reply was obviously 'yes', he then commented "That makes sense now...". 'Why?' I asked. "Because you seem so at peace."

This was a great encouragement to me as clearly my manner, my speech, or something else had testified to my God given sense of peace and assurance. It was I might add not always a conscious witness on my part, the wonder working power of Jesus Christ takes all the glory here!

Errors we make are errors we correct – we aren’t sin free. So we should be conscious to correct ourselves publically. This requires great humility.

As an example of this I'll refer again to my own life - I often in work find myself talking to two of the guys I manage quite openly and can be over crticial of work colleagues and irritable and most un-Christian in my speech and manner. Often I will return to their room later that same day, or the next morning convicted that I have said things I really shouldn't have - I then apologise for what I'd said "I shouldn't have said X, Y and Z, so sorry, it was wrong of me." Suffice to say they really don't get my motivations and give me the strangest of looks waving me away and suggesting I'm being over critical. But it is important to sustain an objective eye on not just the content of what comes out of your mouth but the tone and motivation for saying it. It reflects what is in your heart after all!
Such things increase humility, which is no bad thing. Christ Jesus calling us to be ‘last’ and to serve with humility. “But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.” Matthew 20: 16

We should not be naive as to how much this calling to be an example is important. It can be the thing that turns people away from the doors of a church, just as a self righteousness or religious piety in ourselves. Humility and grace are qualities which even if they irritate the unbeliever cannot be denied as being positive traits.

All these things testify – the Holy Spirit can use such things to prick hearts. To draw people. We are called to spread the gospel, to testify to the Lord Jesus Christ. This needn’t be from a pulpit or a soap box. All the things listed thus far are as important, if not more so than a bible punching sermon.

The heart must be right or the words and actions are empty. If we are truly doing as we are instructed with love being our primary motivation, then that is what reaches a man. If we give the Lord pre-eminence in our lives and do these things then ‘many will see it and fear and trust in the Lord.’

Next post: 'The Trust'

Psalm 40: 3 and 4 - Part 1

Ok here is the first part of the third study in Psalm 40, concentrating on verses 3 and 4. The other studies can be found here.

Again I'd recommend reading the first 8 verses at least. You can do so here.

Psalm 40: 3 – 4


“And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.”

Context

• Recalling the first verse David had cried out to the Lord in his distress, we saw that this reflected the prayers too of the Lord Jesus at Gethsemane and our own yearning for God’s ear. We also saw the certainty of God’s inclination to us.

• The second verse gave a context to the sinners cry and Jesus’ calling and lifting us from the pit, establishing a safe and solid footing on Him, the rock, and our direction after we have been cleansed of the sticky, cloying mud of sin.

• We then saw how in our pilgrimage to that city on the hill we sometimes stray from the solid path and get ourselves dirtied again. But faithfully we are picked up, replaced on the path of faith and washed in the blood of the lamb anew.

• So we arrive here at verse 3 with a picture of repentance, salvation and the first steps of our sanctifying journey to Zion. We cried from the pit, Jesus picks us up pulls from the mire. He establishes our direction and we set off up that hill to the heavenly mansion Jesus has gone to prepare for us.

In the following verses then we will look at:

1. The song.

2. The witness

3. The trust

__________________________________________________________________________________

The New Song

“And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD."

So what is the new song? The new song is seen and heard throughout scripture. It is the song the saved soul cannot help but sing, that he cannot forget and every time he hears it, it brings such peace and joy. The song is salvation. It is trust and strength in the Lord. It is faith and love and hope in Jesus’ saving grace.

It is Moses’ song of salvation we see in Exodus 15 after the Lord delivered Israel from the Egyptians and from Egypt itself. This is s perfect foreshadowing of the individual salvation Jesus Christ has afforded each believer.

Exodus 15: 1 - 2 “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.”

This song is indelible. It becomes a part of us; it is impressed deeply into our souls and reflects our creative purpose – to worship. God’s Genesis design was for Man to have fellowship with and praise and worship Him. When we are saved, when we come to knowledge of His saving grace we cannot but thanks, praise and worship Him in fellowship with Him.

Paul puts is very simply in Galatians 2: 20 (possibly my favourite verse). ”I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Christ indeed is the new song on our lips. We no longer sing the funeral dirge of the condemned sinner, stuck in the pit. Instead we have a hymn, a psalm which lifts and encourages. A song of hope and praise. A song which will be repeated in Glory:

Revelation 15: 3 “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”

It is a song the prophets sang also.

Isaiah 12: 2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.”

Habakkuk 3: 18, 19 “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.”

It is undeniable. The song we should sing, the song we will sing is one of the Lord as our strength and our salvation. When we are weak, then we are strong... but only through Him. Through Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour. The Word is in our hearts and that is the driving force behind the song, the new song.

So in our salvation our hearts are filled with this new song. The new song is Jesus. He is our strength. He is our salvation. As in Moses’ song we will ‘prepare Him an habitation’. His dwelling place is our penitent, sinner’s heart. Where Jesus moves in and washes the dross away. Making a clean habitation, a place fit for King Jesus to live and reign in.

So let Jesus reign, let His song fill your heart and emanate from your mouth, your manner, your actions, your very being.

Remember it is Christ who liveth in you!

You can listen to a recording of the whole of the study on Psalm 40: 3 - 4 presented by yours truly here.

Psalm 40: 2 - part 3

Here's the third and final part to the study on Psalm 40: 2. Next part covers verses 3 and 4.

Read Psalm 40: 1 - 8 first. The other posts on verse 2 (and prior to that verse 1) can be found here.

3. Firm Footing


You may have guessed the 3rd and final point I want to make, especially following the illustrations I’ve given already about Christ the rock and the solid narrow path to Zion.

Indeed its clear to see that following the first and second points that the firm footing can be found at the end of the verse – “...and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings.” Or as the ESV tells us, “...and set my feet upon a rock making my steps secure.”

Here is why I have used the 2 versions. You may have noticed I have referenced both versions – the ‘pit of destruction/despair’ in the ESV, the ‘clay’ of the AV and the ‘bog’ of the ESV and here the ‘established goings’ and the ‘secure steps’.

When our feet are set on the rock of the Lord Jesus they are utterly secure. There is no firmer foothold or ground on which we can stand. He is utterly faithful, immovable and steadfast.

The ESV conveys this in saying that David’s/our steps become secure. Each and every step on that path is grounded in God’s faithfulness and steadfastness. The grip is perfect, there are no obstacles, and the path will never become slippery or unstable as long as we don’t stray from it.

The AV words it differently and in my opinion it reflects the lasting purposes of being set on that rock. Our ‘goings are established’ – in other words our feet are set in the right direction, we are set on the path to Zion and Jesus points the way. We aren’t just placed in safety; we are pointed and guided each step of the way in our sanctifying journey to heaven. The Lord not only saves us, cleanses us and makes us secure, He also establishes our right direction, he corrects our errors, redirects us when we wander and shows us His ways.

Proverbs 4: 11 - 15 tells us “I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.”

Vs 18 and 19 continue “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.”



Jesus said “...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14: 6

And this is never truer in establishing our goings. Jesus is the only way to heaven. He is the only way out of that pit; he is the only way to be cleansed of sin.

No works, no traditions, no acts or words or any other path can offer the truth, the life or access to God.

‘But by me’ – Jesus’ actions at Calvary have made it possible for sinners like you and me to escape that pit of destruction. Make no mistake, without him, without Jesus we cannot, YOU cannot be saved.

Romans 10: 9 says “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

If you are saved, if you have confessed and believe that Jesus is Lord and that He was raised from the dead then understand your ways have been established and in this God’s own word he is directing you and guiding you to his heavenly mansion. Use it, be guided. Do not stray or be distracted and drawn from the path by idols and things or the world and the flesh. Stay the course and walk on solid ground, don’t be the house built on sand which will crumble and fall in the storm.


Without Jesus you stand in the pit wallowing and blind in your sin headed only for destruction and eternal despair. Your idols cannot save you, like Jeremiah you cannot climb out unaided. You are utterly condemned and it is due only to your personal sin, your very state and being.

If you can sense that blackness, if you can feel that heavy burden leaning on you, if you can hear the voice of Jesus calling you, don’t delay, don’t stare into the black well of your own soul for salvation.

Hear him and turn, take the hand that is offered and believe that He alone, Jesus, is the way out, THE WAY. He is the truth; there are no lies in Him. He is life eternal.

Don’t live and die in the pit. Be like David – see your sins for what they are, see your circumstances for what they are and see Jesus for the Saviour He is.

So whatever your condition - Be lifted and rescued and be given life by the Lord Jesus Christ the living Son of the Living God and confess Him now as your Saviour.

Deuteronomy 30: 19 says “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life,”


Amen.

Psalm 40: 2 - part 2

Here is part 2 from the study on Psalm 40. You can read the first part here.

Part 2. Muddy feet.


David is conscious of the stickiness of sin (see vs 2 ‘the clay’). He is aware that sin can stick to you and cling. For example he had to live his life with the stains left by the incident with Bathsheba . If you play in the mud you’ll get dirty and there’s no washing powder strong enough to shift some stains. Sure Jesus will wash us fully clean one day, but for now we need to be careful how our sin can colour our lives, how it can muddy our souls and stain our spiritual clothing.

David’s sins had at times nearly suffocated him. They had squeezed the breath of God from him to the point where he cried out, as in verse 1. Verse 2 is, again, a reflection of David’s sense of being bogged down by his sins. We have all felt, haven’t we, those times when we can sense the muddy waters of sin seeping into our lives and the cloying mud that slows our footsteps sucking at our feet. If you picture wet clay and its slippery qualities one can also imagine how hard it would be to maintain your footing on such a surface. In some respects this clay (sin) is sticky, yet slippery.


But David trusts in the Lord in his anxiety. He cries out as the stench of the bog burns his nostrils and as he lifts his arms in expectation the Lord once again pulls him from the mire.

We can see in Psalm 51: 2 David’s consciousness of his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and he asks the Lord to wash him and cleanse him from his sins once again. “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”

We in our lives must do this too of course. Sometimes we stray from the solid rock onto the bog’s edge. Flirting with sin and muddying our feet. The further we stray the dirtier we get and that clay clings tightly to us again and begins sucking at our feet trying to slow our progress, trying to pull us back to the pit.

The only cleaning agent of course is the living Word. The Lord Jesus and the gospel. It cleans, it freshens and it restores our soul. Some sinful stains need more washing than others; however nothing can resist the cleansing power of the Lord. 1 John 1: 7b “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

David’s psalms often reflect this flirting with sin, subsequent guilt and repentance and a deep desire for cleansing. Then when the Lord obliges David sings praises for his unworthy sanctification and the power of God’s saving, faithful, immutable faith and grace.

We can see this in Psalm 69: 2 and 14, 15 where again David references the mire, the pit and the sense of being overwhelmed by his sins. But as in many of his psalms he reflects too on the Lord’s faithfulness and salvation, setting him “up on high” (v29).

We are clean if we believe; the Lord has promised us just this John 15: 3 tells us of that cleansing power of the Word. “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”

The path is narrow on that journey to Zion. And we need only stray one step for our spiritual clothing to be muddied and stained once again. There are many attractive idols waiting on that path to lure us once again into sin. We cannot walk on the path and off it. We are at any given time on the path or wandering. It may be seconds; it may be minutes, hours, days or even years. But we cannot attend an idol and the Lord at the same time. 1 Corinthians 10: 21 “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.”

Stay on the path, focus on the cross, focus on Zion in the distance, don’t be lured by idols and keep yourself clean of that sticky, muddy sin that surrounds the narrow path.

Next post: Firm Footing

Psalm 40: 2 - Part 1

OK, the study on Psalm 40 verse one now complete - here is the first of 3 parts on verse 2.

Read the verse from both the Authorised Version (KJV) and the English Standard Version as both are referred to and slightly different in wording. I'd recommend following each of the given links and checking the references... after all it was meant to be a bible study!!!!

“He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings.” (KJV)



“He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog and set my feet upon a rock making my steps secure.” (ESV)

Context:

There are 2 states of man. Saved and unsaved. Those in a covenant relationship with God and those outside of this relationship, alien to the Lord.

Consequently the can only be 2 destinies for a man.

Salvation or destruction.

Out of the pit or in it.

Heavenly glory or eternal damnation.

Where are you? In the pit or out? Destined for heaven or destined for damnation?

David has in verse 1 outlined his standing before the Lord. One of patience and subjugation. He has cried out to the Lord in his spiritual and physical distress and discomfort. He is stood arms aloft waiting for the Lord to ‘incline’ to him and answer his prayer.

David has subjected himself to God’s will, this itself a foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus at Gethsemane. He has offered a prayer, cried out; he has subjected himself to the Lord’s will and has done so for God’s glory.

David has demonstrated in one verse how he stands before the Lord. Now here in verse 2 he demonstrates his understanding of what the Lord has done for him in salvation. He is reflecting on where he has been picked up from and where the Almighty is placing him spiritually. From a pit of despair to a solid ground of safety. From destruction to being set on the narrow path.

The picture I want you to keep in mind throughout this is one of the whole verse reflecting salvation. We are in the pit of sin and despair; we hear the call of the gospel of Jesus Christ and repent, turning to him. He lifts us up out of that slippery, dangerous, filthy pit of despair and sets us on the rock. The rock is Jesus and on him we can stand safe and secure and from such a vantage point we can see 2 things. The pit from where we were pulled and the black pitch of sin we have been washed of and also a narrow, yet solid, clear path that winds its way up the Holy hill mount Zion, at the top of which is Glory. Jesus calls us, we repent/turn, he lifts us up, plants our feet in safety and points us in the direction of paradise with the guide book that is the bible in our hands.

So with that image in mind we’ll look at the following points:

1. Dangerous footing

2. Muddy feet

3. Firm Footing
1. Dangerous footing

To be in the pit is to be in despair, to be headed face first into hell and eternal separation from God, eternal damnation waits. And it is to do so utterly blind to your end. Those in the pit are full of cursing and bitterness, they’re on a path of ruin, destruction and misery (Romans 3: 14 - 16).

These lost souls do not have the vantage point of the saved; those sinners won who can look back at the pit and know from whence they came. They cannot see the destruction that awaits them.

These souls who are lost ignore the helping hand that reaches down to them and the imploring sound of the gospel that asks them, pleads with them to grasp that hand of Jesus and be lifted to safety and salvation.

Jeremiah 38: 6 – Jeremiah was thrown into a ‘cistern’ (ESV) or a ‘dungeon’ (KJV) which supplied water. There was a small opening at the top and they were hollowed out to be larger under the hole. Such a pit would’ve been inescapable without help. In this pit there was no water, just a mire, or thick mud, in which it was hoped Jeremiah would starve or sink and suffocate.

This is a reflection perhaps of the wonderful picture of redemption from the pit David describes in verse 2. We have seen how in verse 1 he has waited faithfully on His loving Saviour. He describes how he cried out to the Lord awaiting his reply with confidence and patience. But here in verse 2 he turns his reflections to God’s grace to him in lifting him up in salvation first, but also continued rescuing in times where David has slipped and slid into a despairing state of sin and wandering from God. As with Jeremiah, the only way out was with assistance, not by his own means.

He explains fully the experience of every saved soul, not just in an eternal context in a one off saving act of grace, but also in a sense of our backslidings. Those times when we have erred and fallen, when sin’s blackness has clouded our sight of Him. And He once again comes to our aid.

The image of Christian salvation is though so very clear here.

We see the unsaved sinner bumping around in the dark. He hears the gospel call and for the first time sees the nail pierced hands of the Lord Jesus Christ reaching down. John 12: 46 tells us “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness” The sinner hears, repents and believes and is taken in the warm, firm grasp of the lord Jesus and the sinner is lifted from the pit into the light.

As he is lifted the sticky bog, the cloying mud of iniquity sucks at the sinner’s feet trying hard to claim its victim back. But Jesus lifts the sinner high and for the first time in the sinner’s life his feet are placed on solid ground. The feel is unfamiliar, not the shaky, slippery pit’s bottom but rock solid, safe, and unshakable. The rock is Jesus himself, the firmest of footholds. 1 Corinthians 10:4b “... and that rock was Christ.”

Psalm 18: 2 tells us “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower”

It is only the Lord Jesus who can pull us from the pit of destruction. Only Jesus who can save. We can’t climb out. We can’t pull others out ourselves. Christ alone is the Saviour.

In hindsight the Christian can see from where he came, like David. We can see the pit that unbelievers live in. But this should not be a position of piety (as many Christians are accused of). But rather one of deep sorrow.

We should be imploring these lost souls to look for the hand of Jesus, telling them how we escaped the pit. Do we not love them enough to say so?! Do we not care that these people are going to hell?! If they slap that hand of Jesus away we should point them there again and again. It’s done in love of course, not piety or self satisfaction at ‘serving’, but out of love and genuine concern that so many we know are otherwise damned.

Amen.

As a footnote - It has thrilled me that this blog has been viewed from countries where the Church has such a battle and Christians are in danger due to their faith - Iran, Russia, China and curiously enough (more recently) Brazil! In the past there have also been hits from Turkey, Nigeria and Pakistan too.Many may have resulted from search engines referencing the blog due to one or two words - but as I said before, if only one hit helps then Glory to God!

I admit to being ignorant of the lives of those in the body of Christ in those countries, but I'm positive they don't enjoy the freedom of worship and abundance of literature we have in the UK.

So please pray for those brothers and sisters in Christ who are using this blog and other such websites as a way of feeding their faith, and too that the content of my posts is accessible and accurate (as not to mislead).

Next post: 'Muddy feet'.

Psalm 40 - part 3

I'll post the 3rd and last part of the bible study on Psalm 40 verse 1 below. Three more parts for 3 more studies to come, all on Psalm 40. The second is on verse 2, the third on verses 3 and 4 and the final one is on verses 6 to 8. Once again comments are welcomed!

You can read part 1 here and part 2 here.

Psalm 40 can be found here.

3. God will come.


So we wait and God inclines himself to us. He leans closely and assures us of His presence and good will, which David craved so greatly. He manoeuvres the chess pieces of our lives and we see His work in action. We cry out and he draws close ensuring that we know He has heard our cry. We can do so with full confidence.

David encourages us in Psalm 27: 14 to “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”



As a child when you ran and fell on a gravel path skinning your knees and palms – the pain was pretty much secondary. Yes it stung and shocked and initially that was the painful thing. MUM! DAD! You’d cry out to them in distress.

Now Mum and/or Dad may have shouted from a distance “you ok?”, maybe they could have stood at the window and not said a word. Mum may have silently raised a marigold and gestured ‘ok?’ with a quizzical look. Both show concern and that you’ve been heard. Occasionally this is needed – a detachment of sorts so we learn to not be over dramatic in small things. It helped us grow and mature and develop our character.

But... but when they detected that you were really hurt. Really in distress. Really in need of that parental hug, that warm embrace. Then they ran. They ran to us and picked us up and held us tight saying ‘there there, Daddy’s here’, ‘don’t worry Mum’s got you’.

The worry eased, the tears were wiped away. The pain subsided and became bearable.

Isn’t that David here? He’s cried out, his arms are raised awaiting the Lord to draw near and embrace him. He knows God will come. He waits as a child waits for their parent.

Our hearts can indeed be strengthened and we can be of good courage with such as parent. We can rely on Him in everything and wait in full assured confidence of His coming. That childlike faith shines through here doesn’t it? Unblinking, (if teary eyed) confidence that he’ll come for me.

When we pray – He will answer.

The pain can be in the wait. But utter joy lies in the comfort and the boundless love that comes when the Lord Jesus draws near to us, holds us to Him and assures us that we are indeed Christ’s alone and in his justifying, atoning blood sacrifice we are lifted from the miry clay and our feet set upon the rock of the Lord Jesus enabling us to see from our new vantage point the blackness of the bog we have left behind and the heavenly glow atop Mount Zion which we will one glorious day ascend to.

There is no firmer foothold. There is no other way out of the boggy clay. Cry out to Jesus, He will hear you. Of that the Christian can be no more certain.

Amen

Next post - Psalm 40: 2

Psalm 40 - part 2

As I was sat sipping my coffee I browsed through the 'audience' statistics, which never cease to surprise me. My blog doesn't get read by that many people. I've yet to beak a 1000 views total. However I'm not bothered about that - those who read it read it and I hope they are are blessed or encouraged somehow. What thrills me is seeing where the hits have come from - worldwide! Just this morning I noticed 3 hits from Iran, a country where I cannot imagine the gospel is readily accepted. If one post was read there then all the unread posts were worth it!

So here's part 2 of the first study in Psalm 40. Read the first part here.


David’s prayer.


So why was David writing such a psalm? He was in trouble (again).

The miry clay of verse 2 is an indication that he had been thrown into a spiritual, or even physical ‘pit’. Matthew Henry, on this psalm says this:

“We have reason to think it was some inward disquiet and perplexity of spirit that was now his greatest grievance. Despondency of spirit under the sense of God’s withdrawal and prevailing doubts and fears about the eternal state are indeed a horrible pit and a miry clay, and have been so for many a child of God.”

While this explains the reason for David’s sense of waiting and his reason for crying out – his faith in God’s longsuffering and faithfulness to him doesn’t dwindle. Neither did the Lord Jesus waiver one iota in the garden of Gethsemane or on the cross itself. He was burdened and tested and hurting, but his faith remained in God’s perfect will.

So as Jesus was bogged down by our sins in that garden his prayers reflected that he indeed waited on the Lord as he subjected himself utterly and fully to the Father’s will to pour that cup of wrath fully on Him.

Jesus prayed because he was anxious.

Jesus asked for the burden to be lifted.

Jesus subjected himself to God’s will.

David’s psalm 41 reflects many aspects of his own and also Jesus’ Gethsemane prayers.

a) Both present their worries. Their anxieties and spiritual concerns are presented openly and unreservedly. In our private prayers we should be unabashed in our repentance, praise and supplications.

Hebrews 5: 7 tells us “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;”

Phil. 4: 6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

b) They pray for the burden to be lifted/eased. Provided we pray with contrite hearts we can ask God for anything. We should pray expectantly, anticipating God’s intercession in our problematic lives. The prayers won’t always be answered how we would like them to be, but they will be answered according to His will.

Mark 14: 36 “And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”

c) David and Jesus subject themselves utterly to God’s will. They accept that God’s perfect will is what matters and that their feelings, emotions and discomforts are not what matters most. They know that God will be glorified in their subjection to His Sovereign will.

John 17: 1 “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee”

Subjecting ourselves to God’s will may not be pleasant an experience bodily, but from it comes great spiritual growth and maturity. God proves His faithfulness daily and our unbelief is of us, never as a consequence of His failing us.


Next: God will come. Read it here.

Psalm 40 - part 1

I have once again been neglecting my blog - apologies for to the 3 people who read them regularly (i.e my Mum... three times).

I prepared and delivered 4 bible studies in March, so while I consider 'blogging' properly during May, I'll post notes for each of the bible studies here - they read like essays so they should make sense!? While I'm doing so hopefully I'll get back in the groove of posting regularly.

So here's Part 1:

First off read Psalm 40

Psalm 40: 1


“I waited patiently on the Lord and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.”

Context:

This is the penultimate psalm in the first of the 5 books of psalms. It bears many similarities with the next, psalm 41. The theme of the first book is introductory in some sense and they are in main prayers that have stemmed from situations of distress punctuated with statements of confidence in God’s singular ability to save.

Psalm 40 and 41 are pretty much an exclamation mark on this collection of prayers and songs. There are too reflections on ethics and worship in the previous 39.

Here David writes the first 10 verses as a reflection on past mercies to be thankful for and in verses 6 to 8 he reminds the Old Testament reader (and us) that the sacrificial system was worthless if separated from faith, repentance and obedience. Religiosity is being guarded against and reminds us that we must be cautious in our obedience not to be trying to placate God.

We are going to look at 3 things contained in verse 1.

1. David’s wait.

2. David’s prayer.

3. God will come.

__________________________________________________________________________________

1. David’s wait.

What does it mean to ‘wait’ on someone? Or rather to ‘wait patiently’? One hardly gets the impression here that David is tapping his foot with his arms folded, hence the ‘patiently’, but it neither gives the impression that David is casual in his waiting either. He is though waiting with a degree of confidence. He can be patient as he knows the Lord will arrive.

We in this modern age are impatient. At traffic lights, in queues we tap our toes or the steering wheel and we tut and harrumph. With each other we are emotionally impatient and easily frustrated by others actions, manner, behaviour, traits and individualisms. It has been said that now the average time we will wait for the PC egg timer is a mere 15 seconds. After this we start tapping and re-tapping buttons, shortly after this we consider shutting the computer down. Utter madness. Sit in someone’s company for 1 minute and say nothing and do nothing. Many cannot.

But here David takes the pace out of his expectations; he waits on an eternal God, to whom time does not apply. Time is our measurement of events in an order we can understand and relate other events to. God has no need for this as all events and all time is his to do with as he pleases. He controls nature – the Red Sea parting. He controls the sun – when it paused in the sky for Joshua (Joshua 10), He controls nature and animals – the ark, Elijah’s ravens, the plagues on Egypt.

He IS the creator God – Colossians 1: 16 tells us –

“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”

So David explains to us what we know, but we often fail to recognise fully. We can be patient and confident in our Lord. He is longsuffering, utterly Holy... He is the God of glory, love, grace, goodness wrath and mercy. He is immutable/unchanging. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and Sovereign over all.

When we have a God who is all these things, why should we concern ourselves with if, when and how he will answer our prayers... He surely knows better than us?!

David’s experiences of God here have always been that in every instance God’s will is carried out and prayers are answered. His patience in waiting on the Lord is borne of faith, despite the fact that as David writes this it shows us that he has been sat on this concern for sometime and it was wearing on him greatly. David knows well that He will incline to us and hear our cries – we can know this ourselves when we read 1 John 5: 13 – 15

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

This inclination of God “unto me” suggests also a personal relationship that God takes seriously. On David’s part it demonstrates a deep reverence and an almost astonishment that the Almighty creator God would stoop to hear his petitions. Yet it also lends itself to David’s understanding that God WILL do so when he cries out to Him. David realises that God’s inclining to him is utterly unmerited and gracious, but also that He is not a fickle God and will faithfully lean close to him when David waits on Him.

We can see this reverence of and trust in the Lord in Psalm 17: 6, 7 where David had previously called upon the God who hears and inclines to us.

The patience stems not from an assumption that David is in a queue, but rather that as a Sovereign God He will incline himself to answer David’s prayer when the Lord wills it to be right, not at David’s convenience. We can, can we not, be so petulant and spoiled in our petitions? This reverential deference to God’s good will is an example to us all that our prayers are not a list of demands; they are not negotiations with the Almighty. David here understands that he is subject to God and His will and cannot demand that the Lord should respond.

He is rather saying ‘I’m crying out Lord. I’m putting my trust in you in these things, I know you will listen and answer and that your Sovereign will be done’.



Next post: David's Prayer. Read it here.

Children's talk 2 - Justification

Well its been quite some time since I last posted, despite my suggestion that I’d be posting ‘4 new entries in the next few days’... good intentions eh? Well since then I’ve allowed my attention to be distracted and my ‘timetable’ for study, prayer and writing has faltered. Now I’m not autistic but it does seem that I don’t cope well with change!



I had intended to use my week off last week to get ‘plenty done’. As well as having the week off work I had an operation on the 17th so had little to do but recover. My idea was to use the week constructively and do lots of reading and writing... I failed to account for the side effects of the anaesthetic and 5 practically sleepless nights. You should then be thankful that I didn’t try and post anything; it’d have read something like “Hurdy gurdy pillows... thirsty throat jam, two on Tuesdays... I like those, but anyway where’s my slippers?” My Mum came to look after me, which was no great job, though it was hardly a break from helping to look after my nieces and nephew who are all under 5. She stopped short of putting reigns on me in public.


So anyway – here is a summarised version of the 2nd kid’s talk I did.


Justification


First off a reading from one of the children - Romans 5:1 - 2

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

Following a recap on last week’s repentance talk I explained briefly what is meant by justification, using examples that I’ve heard the Pastor use in the past. He has used the example before of clothing, us in our filthy rags seeking to see the King, the King won’t see us as we are. So Jesus covers us up in his spotless clean robe. That way the King will find us acceptable.


I then used an altered version of a story from a book I used to read as a boy. My parents had bought a short series of books about a little boy called Gus who gets in all sorts of situations which translate to the Christian experience. I couldn’t remember the story completely so I used poetic licence in filling in the gaps to make it fit. (Excuse the bullet pointing but it makes it easier than paragraph after paragraph of my attempted story telling).


Gus’ story


• Gus and his parents are going to a party. Dad dresses him in a bright, new clean shirt. While they’re waiting to leave Gus asks to go out to play – Dad warns him “Be careful, don’t do anything to get dirty!!!”


• Gus is careful, he sees the tree swing. Decides no I could fall and get dirty. He sees his friends playing football, but stays away even when they call him trying to persuade him to join in. He keeps trying to avoid anything that might get him dirty. This is because he knows his Dad will be really upset if he gets dirty.


• Then he sees some big fat juicy blackberries and thinks ‘No harm in having just one’. So he has one and it tastes so, so good... then he has another, then another. When he is finished gorging on these berries he looks down and sees a big dirty sticky blackberry stain on his chest!


• Gus feels panic, worry, he feels sick. He doesn’t want to go home to Dad now - Dad’ll see the stain and be so disappointed, even angry! Gus was told to very specifically to stay clean and he didn’t.


• Slowly he walks home, thinking up excuses – other people did it, they threw things at him, he slipped... he tries to think of reasons why it wasn’t his fault. If he can blame someone else then Dad won’t blame him and everything is ok. He even tries to cover it hoping Dad won’t see, holding his hand over the stain.


• Gus eventually gets home and thinks ‘Dad’ll know if I lie’.


• So he tells Dad what happened – tempted by one berry, then another and he forgot about his shirt and he got all mucky. “I’m so sorry Dad I didn’t do what you said!”


• Gus sits waiting for Dad to get angry, but instead Dad says “Thank you for being honest, thank you for telling me, you’re my son and I love you, so don’t worry! I forgive you.”


• Then Dad produces a brand new shirt – crisp and clean, fresh out of the wrapper. Gus puts it on and it is flawlessly clean, no stains, no marks, no dirt at all.


• They head off to the party –Gus went to Dad told the truth and said sorry (repented). Dad forgave Gus, Gus has new clean clothes from Dad, and the dirty old shirt covered in the filth of sin is discarded or covered (justified).


So there is justification. I did the 3rd talk on temptation but was a little dis-satisfied with it and it wasn’t sound enough to be repeated so I’ll miss that out and my next post will be the 4th – ‘The Golden Thread’.

Children's talks - don't make a mistake!!!

Repentance


Over the last 4 weeks I’ve been giving the children’s talk at Church in the mornings. Seeing as I’ve been slack on posting recently I thought I’d change them into a blog post, so with luck I’ll be posting 4 new entries in the next few days.

The first talk I did was on repentance. Now having considered the subject it dawned on me what an awesome responsibility it is speaking to children, and I say that as a teacher. When teaching/preaching to adults ‘gaps’ can be left to a degree as they can be filled in by a logical, adult mind. My point is that small slips and stumbles in speech can be forgiven, providing the overarching doctrine/theology is correct.

But with children... no such assumptions can be made. These are people who have imaginary friends, can really believe that their uncle is tickle monster and that they are indeed a superhero because they have a tea towel wrapped around their neck. If you talk about a lamb or a lion they have an image of just that – imagery and figurative speech can be dicey. All this combined with a wide age range, comprehension age and varying intelligence. I’m sure some are reading this and nodding and others are starting to worry about the talk they did last Sunday.

So anyway – repentance. I wanted to provide the children with an image of Jesus waiting for us arms outstretched waiting for a repentant sinner to turn away from their sins and to run to him when He calls their name. So I asked:

What does repentance mean?

The answer I got “saying you’re sorry”. Brilliant. I went on to describe it as the pastor has done many times as ‘an about face’, or turning completely from your sins. I also explained that sometimes those sins can be something other than an action or a ‘thing’.

• “Sometimes we aren’t sure exactly what the sin we are turning from is. It may not be a ‘thing’.”

• “For me it was a horrible feeling that there were things that upset and scared me in my life, caused by sin.”

I then told them a story and asked them to see if they could spot the repentance in the story. Growing up in South Wales we used to get told this story near Mothering Sunday as a reminder of Mothers’ love. It suited the image I wanted to portray.

One day a little boy went walking and he wandered onto the coal field. Now apparently they often used dynamite to blast large chunks of surface material away, and the boy had sauntered into an area that had been set with explosive. The miners saw him and shouted at him to move and that he was in danger. Some even tried to get to him, but the louder they shouted and the closer they got the further he moved into the danger area. The boy couldn’t see the dangers or was at least unaware of them. He was more scared by the miners shouting than anything else. (Dangers of overly aggressive evangelism?... there’s another blog!)


Eventually the boy’s Mum was called. Her solution was simple. She was terrified for him, so scared he’d get killed. But she didn’t want to scare him. So she knelt down flung wide her arms and called the boy’s name.


In response the boy heard his name, saw his Mum open armed and the concern on her face and ran to her. So the boy was safe with Mum, the dangers left behind.

Where was the repentance? Thankfully they got the answer right as you can see in the picture.

I used the story to make the following points:

• When we repent we may be able to see our sins clearly, at other times, like me, we may just get a sense that there is sin/danger in our lives.

• When you hear Jesus call your name, don’t hesitate! Don’t wait!

• Run to Him and He will give you the best hug ever and make you safe forever.

Talks to come – justification, temptation and tomorrow’s ‘The Golden Thread’.

Be careful what you pray for...

An off the cuff thought here... from last week.

I was reading Genesis 18: 20 and following through chapter 19 - Lot being brought out of Sodom before its destruction and Abraham's intercession for the Godly men therein. Abraham 'talked' God out of destroying every single person... I choose my words carefully here as I'm not trying to pass any sort of comment on being able to influence a Sovereign creator God with emotional pressure.

My point is this - Abraham interceded for the righteous men of Sodom and his prayer was answered, Lot and his extended family were saved as was the outlying city of Zoar.

Abraham's heartfelt prayer for his fellow men of God and his family was heard and answered.

As I read this I considered Israel's demands for Samuel to intercede and insist that God installed a King (1 Samuel 8). Against God's will. Consequently God gave Israel over to their desires in a King... subsequently apostasy, pain, tyranny and all round unpleasantness followed from King after king, with the odd good sort here and there.

The Lord's message was that 'you reject my messenger, you reject me'.

Now I realise that 1 Samuel 8 isn't necessarily about prayer, but it did make me think that the motivation of your heart is oh so very important and is also so easily forgotten.

Abraham interceded in prayer out of Godly love and concern for his brethren. Israel made a petulant, selfish demand.

What was the state of your heart when you prayed today?

What motivated the prayer?

How will it be answered?... Like Abraham's? Or like Israel's?

Like I say, we should be careful what we pray for.