Through Thy Name

“And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.” (Luke 10:17, KJV 1900)

Reading in Luke 10 this morning, where the 70 are sent out and come back and proclaim that (unexpectedly) "even the devils are subject unto us through thy name" (KJV).  The 70 fully understood that they had no intrinsic power over devils (notice the obvious presence of the spirit world, clear to them; we moderns are blind to it).  Power over devils came through the name of Christ.

Which brought to mind this excellent song by Phil Wickham.

May we shout the name of Yahweh; may we proclaim the name of Christ.

Saints Speak Savoring the Saviour's Splendor

Thinking about Ps. 145:10-12.  "All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord, and the saints shall bless thee."

The speaking of the saints is for the express purpose of proclaiming the splendor and majesty of the Lord—"They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom and talk of thy power."

So one of our expressed purposes is to praise the Lord by speaking of his glory and power and majesty.  This is why we need new praise and worship songs for each generation.  Not that we reject the old songs, we should sing those as well, but writing new songs is our generation's way of praising the glory of God's kingdom; his mighty power and majesty. 

You that write praise and worship songs for the church, keep writing, you are doing a good work, a God-blessed work.  May we, the church, keep on singing these songs of praise until Jesus returns.

Vindication: Impossible

I'm thinking about Ps. 143.2, this morning.  David writes:  "And enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified" (KJV). 

David had a deep grasp both of man's nature, and of God's mercy and grace. 

So much of the interpretation of this verse hinges upon the meaning of the word "justified."  It is taken from a Hebrew word which means "to be in the right" or "to have a just case" or "to carry one's point, be vindicated."  Could a man ever carry his point or be in the right in comparison to God?  Absolutely not, David concludes, and rightly so.

What can we do?  Throw ourselves upon God's mercy, as David does in the first line of this verse.  "Enter not into judgment with thy servant."  Notice that David makes the [correct] assumption that it is right for God to enter into judgment against him.  Then he pleads with God not to do so.

Is vindication possible?  Absolutely not from the framework of man.  We are sinners.  We are condemned...and justly so.  Vindication is possible.  It has to be a work of God, however, man cannot accomplish it.

I cannot justify myself before God.  However, God can justify me before him.  This is accomplished in the person and work of Christ.

Grace has a Throne?

The biblical writers were quite adept at thinking of new ways to describe biblical concepts (presumably it helps that what they were writing was God-breathed—2Tim 2:15).  The writer of Hebrews tells his readers to "Come boldly before the throne of grace" in Heb 4.16. 

In the ancient world where kings were common, a throne was thought of as a seat of power, not of grace.  The one who reigned had absolute power over his territory—as God certainly does.  In Hebrews though, the writer describes a throne that is much different from the world's image of a throne.  Here it is a throne of grace.  Louw-Nida lexicon says that the word "grace" here means "good will" or "favor." 

God's throne, then is a place of favor and good will, where God's people come for mercy and grace to help us when we are in need of it—and oh how we do need it. 

The question then is not whether a citizen of God's territory can find grace at the throne, for it is certainly available.  The question is: Are you, O Christian citizen of heaven, going to go to the throne for grace and every present help? 

Take With You Words

I'm pondering the words of Hos 14.2 this morning: "Take with you words, and turn to the Lord, say unto him, 'Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously, so will we render the calves of our lips."

There is a lot here.

First, to turn back to the Lord (whether Israel or us) takes words of repentance.  A sacrifice without repentance is no repentance at all. 

Second, mercy awaits us when we turn to the Lord.  Israel had strayed far from the Lord, and yet Hosea gives firm promise that if she turns back to the Lord, he will receive them graciously.  He will receive us no less graciously when we repent.

Third, there is the assumption that the Lord can and will take away iniquity when Israel repents.  Again, he will do no less with us.

From Profitable to Unprofitable to Profitable

I'm reading in the short epistle of Philemon this morning where Paul makes a plea for the runaway slave, Onesimus.
 

“I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:” (Philemon 10–11, KJV 1900)

It pays to look up the meaning of names because Onesimus has special meaning here.  The word Onesimus means "profitable."  Since he was the slave of Philemon, it is quite likely that Philemon himself named the slave, perhaps in hope that he would be profitable. Onesimus runs away from Philemon and ends up in Rome and somehow comes into contact with Paul who promptly leads him to faith in Christ.  Onesimus—the profitable one, is now unprofitable to Philemon. 

All of this gives depth of meaning to Paul's statement that Onesimus "was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me."  The profitable one had once again become profitable, not as a slave any longer, but as a brother in Christ.  How radically the gospel changes social relationships.

How might it change your social relationships?

Not Saved by Works of Righteousness/Maintain Good Works

Paul has an interesting and helpful juxtaposition in Titus 3:5,8.  First he rips off one of his grand statements about our salvation.  We are not saved "by works of righteousness," he writes, "but according to his mercy he saved us."  Lest we then assume that works are over and done with,  he quickly follows up in verse  8 with "I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works (KJV)."

Works are evidence that we are followers of Christ; they come from a heart that has been changed and wants to serve Christ by serving others.  We are not saved by works of righteousness; we are saved by God's mercy.  Good works, then, flows from the mercy that God has lavished upon us.

Silly as a Dove

Hosea 7:11
11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

Hosea uses an interesting metaphor to describe Ephraim/Israel. He says that they are like a silly dove. We get a lot of dove at our backyard feeders and we call them the Dodo birds of our yard, kind of oblivious to what is around them, they just look and act stupid.

For Israel to call on Egypt and Assyria for help was stupid, just like a dove who doesn't know any better. Israel should have called on God, instead they relied on what appeared to be mighty enough to help them.

God's people are to rely on God and on his commands and on his help, my help comes from the Lord says the psalmist. Just so. Don't be silly like a dove...or like Israel. God is your help, Oh Christian!