Choose Wisely

“Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonor that seek my hurt.” (Psalm 71:13)

It has been said that Satan has no happy old people. They have come to the twilight years having ignored the redemptive message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They have often belittled, scorned and rebuked those who walk with God. These aged Christ-ignorers now see the joy in the lives of their Christian acquaintances. Those unhappy old folks now envision a Christ-less eternity that matches their Christ-less existence on earth. They come to the end with fear.

The old psalmist is not calling down heaven’s fury on them. He is simply saying, “Let it happen as they have chosen.” I think of Joshua’s message in his farewell address: “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)

While Satan has no happy old people, God has no unhappy old people who have chosen wisely as Joshua did and as our psalmist did.

God is on Time, All the Time

“Oh God, be not far from me: Oh my God, make haste for my help.” (Psalm 71:12)

I am reminded when worshiping with my black Christian friends as they sing one of their songs, that, “…God is an on time God. He’s never too early and He’s never too late: He’s always right on time.”  God always shows up right on time.

That’s a good thing to know and a good thing to remember. One old hymn says, “…when the hosts of hell assail and my strength begins to fail, thou who never lost a battle, stand by me.”

The fourth verse of the Twenty-Third Psalm says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me…”

Go in the strength of the Lord with assurance of His presence.

Unseen but Real

“For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him.” (Psalm 71:10-11)

A story from II Kings 6:8-23 illustrates the point the aged psalmist is making for all of his readers, including you and me.

Syria was engaged in battle against Israel. Benhadad, the king of Syria told his servants that in a certain place would be his camp. Elisha, the prophet of God, sent word to the king of Israel warning him not to go near that site. The king of Syria accused some of his servants of being traitors and of warning the king of Israel not to go near that place. A servant of the king of Syria said, “Your problem is not with us but with Elisha the prophet of God. The prophet knows what you say even in your bed room.”

When a detachment from Syria was sent by night to apprehend Elisha, Elisha’s servant saw them early the next morning and said, “Alas master, what shall we do?” Elisha answered the servant and said, “Fear not: for they that are with us are more than they that are with them.” Elisha asked God to open the eyes of the servant. When he opened his eyes he could see that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha.

In this seventy-first psalm the enemies of the old psalmist fail to see the protecting hand of God about His children, the young as well as the old. Sometimes we fail to see His protection in times of trouble. However, His promise still stands true: “I will never you, nor forsake you.”

Jesus is Alive and Well

“Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.”
(Psalm 71:9)

Friends and family may forsake us when we get old. As a matter of fact, as I observe the obituaries in the daily paper I notice the names of friends and acquaintances who through no fault of theirs have gone on and I feel somewhat forsaken because of their departure.

But my Savior is alive and well. His name will never appear in the obituary column. His promise to never leave me nor forsake me will always stand.

It was to folks of all ages in the church of Ephesus that Paul gave his instruction, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might…” The psalmist did not say, “Forsake me not “IF” my strength fails.” He said, “Forsake me not “WHEN” my strength fails.”  It is a given that as we get older our strength will fail. Regardless of our age we will always need the strength of the Lord to live the Christian life. Just trust Him to be with you, giving you the strength needed for every situation.

Without Jesus We Are Nothing

“I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge. Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honor all the day.” (Psalm 71:7-8)

Others looked at this old saint with great admiration. Perhaps they admired his moral stance. Maybe it was his benevolence toward the less fortunate that caused them to wonder with awe. It could have been his honesty and his determination to always keep his word.

But, this psalmist knew he was nothing without the Lord. The child of God knows that one’s strength to live honestly and to be a person of impeccable character come from the Lord.

The psalmist sets the pattern for us to give all the praise for our goodness to the Lord. Without Him we are nothing. Let us give all praise to Him.

The Good Influence of Godly Parents on their Children

“For thou art my hope, Oh Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth. By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art He that took me out of my mother’s womb: my praise shall be continually of thee.” (Psalm 71:5-6)

This aged psalmist is a living testimony to the benefits of teaching children the things of God. Apparently his parents had followed the command of Moses to teach the word of the Lord to the children, to post the word in prominent places so it could be seen by everyone in the house, especially the children. He had been taught from childhood.

Paul was commending his young Christian friend, Timothy, for his faith and then called to remembrance the “…unfeigned faith that dwelt first in Timothy’s grandmother, Lois, and in his mother, Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.” (II Timothy 1:5) The Bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

The greatest neglect in our nation today, as in the rest of the world, is the neglect of Biblical, spiritual teaching and training of the children and young people by their parents. Who the president is for any four year period is of little consequence compared to Godly, Biblical training, or the lack of it, in the homes.

Our God is Able to Deliver Us

“Deliver me, Oh my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.” (Psalm 71:4)

The true followers of Jehovah God have always had their opposition. Jesus tells us in John’s Gospel that the time would come that whoever kills the Lord’s followers would think he is doing God a service or a favor. Paul tells us that whoever lives Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

There have been wicked and unrighteous men whom the Lord changed as in the case of Saul of Tarsus, persecutor of Christians. On the Road to Damascus he was on a mission to persecute Christians. The Lord saved him and changed him. The Bible says, “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified…” (Acts 9:31) God delivered the saints out of the hand of that wicked persecutor and He has done it at other times. He delivered Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego from Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace and Daniel from the Lions.

Are you facing opposition because of your walk with the Lord and your Biblical stance? Don’t give up. Pray the prayer of the psalmist in our text and trust the Lord.

Safe in the Arms of Jesus

“Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.” (Psalm 71:3)

Old people need to feel they are safe and secure. The resources of health, wealth, friends and often family are gone. The aged feel vulnerable. They are in the hands of people they may or may not know.

The psalmist is making a worthy plea asking God to be his place of refuge. The commandment to save this aged psalmist had been made by God Himself. His confession is that God is his rock and fortress.

I think of the old hymn which says, “Rock of Ages, cleft for me; let me hide myself in thee.” There is no better place to hide from the storms of life regardless of one’s age than in, “the cleft of the rock.”

Talk to God Today

“Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.” (Psalm 71:2)

One of the greatest blessings of knowing God, being a Christian and exercising faith in Him is the privilege of prayer. He encourages us to pray, even commands us to pray because we are always welcome in His presence. His dependability and trustworthiness make the Christian life sweeter each day.

Our God is alive. Jesus, our Savior declared not only that God is alive but that He is the God of the living and not of the dead. To be able to come to Him in prayer and to know that He will hear us when we pray is assurance beyond compare.

Talk to Him today. He will hear the weakest prayer from the weakest saint when we pray in faith. You can be assured that He does indeed incline His ear to you.

Trusting the Lord in Old Age

“In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. (Psalm 71:1)

We do not know who wrote this psalm. Perhaps it was David, as many believe. David is the recognized penman of the previous psalm. Some say Jeremiah the prophet wrote it. Obviously, whoever was its author he was a person of considerable age and faith.

If you will allow this personal reference, I was twenty-two years old when I answered God’s call to preach. When I turned fifty years, whether or not anyone else recognized it, I had more to offer a church as its minister than I had twenty eight years earlier.

Caleb, of Joshua and Caleb fame, one of the twelve spies who searched out the Promised Land, recognized that he was as ready to conquer the land at age eighty-five as he had been forty-five years earlier at age forty. “Give me this mountain,” he said.

Toward one’s twilight years a child of God has learned through many trials to trust the Lord more and more. That’s where this psalmist was. That’s where all older Christians should be.

In the Time of Old Age

“Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.”
(Psalm 71:9)

If I could gather all elderly Christians together as a group and were given the opportunity to preach to these old saints, I would preach from this seventy-first Psalm.

When we are experiencing the problems associated with old age it is wonderful to know that God will not cast us off as useless and of no value to Him. Recall as far back as your memory will allow you to travel and you will not be able to think of a single time He has forsaken you.

It is not our physical or mental strength that sustains us in old age. It is the strength of the Lord. As verse sixteen says, “I will go in the strength of the LORD God.” The same God who sustained us in youth will sustain us in old age. Only now we recognize His strength.

Comparing Ourselves to Others is Foolish

“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” (II Corinthians 10:12)

When God judges He does not grade on the curve. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking God accepts us just because we do not do some of the sinful deeds that others do.

A gossip is someone who points out the flaws in someone else in order to make himself feel better because he doesn’t have those same flaws. When we start bragging on ourselves because we don’t do certain evil things and we do some good things, the Holy Spirit will direct our attention to the perfect law of God and to the perfect Son of God. God’s standard is not like horseshoes: close doesn’t count.

When a sinner sees the law of God and the Son of God, he should acknowledge that all - including you, me and he - have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Only when one comes to such a realization will he turn to Christ in repentance and faith. It is then that the Savior’s righteousness is imputed to his account and then he is accepted of God.

Deliverance from Afflictions

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19)

The most righteous, sinless and only perfect Man who ever lived on this earth suffered affliction. Wicked and cruel men, religious men, nailed Him to the cross outside the city of Jerusalem where He died.

Three days after His death and burial God raised Him from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is in the place of honor and power at the right-hand side of God.

Jesus said that in the world His followers would have tribulation but to be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. The very best thing a person can do is to become one of His by faith in Him. It’s later than you think: do it now.

A Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit

“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

David knew what it was to have a broken heart. He had experienced God’s presence during such times, knowing that king Saul would kill him if an opportunity presented itself.

Our Savior, the Son of David, had been brokenhearted at the tomb of His friend, Lazarus. He had wept over Jerusalem when His own people had turned their backs on God.

David knew contrition. He would come to express it even more as he would weep out his confession regarding his sin with Bathsheba, another man’s wife.

The person is hard indeed if he cannot weep tears of contrition over his sins. I think of Simon Peter, who after denying three times that he knew the Lord, when confronted by the sound of the rooster crowing and the look of the Savior, went out and wept bitterly. The Lord forgave Peter and will forgive you if you come to Him with a broken and contrite heart.

Love One Another

“…see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.” (I Peter 1:22)

As Peter wrote to the scattered Christians who were facing opposition from Satan and unbelievers, he was encouraging the Christian community to love one another. It continues to be a message to today’s Christians.

John has a similar word to his readers when he writes, “For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” (I John 3:11)

It was Jesus who said, “…as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35)

On this Valentine’s Day, cards that say, “I love you,” are delivered, along with flowers and gifts. When Jesus went to the cross and died in behalf of mankind, God was showing and proving His great love to us. It was more than a message written with black ink on red or white paper.

Love one another as God loved and continues to love us.

Reporting for Duty

“…Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6)

Only those who are concerned with the “Lordship” of Jesus Christ will ask the above question. To be honest, most people are not at all interested in what God thinks or desires.

Look at the drug culture with younger and younger children becoming hooked on drugs. Alcohol consumption is a disgrace to a so-called civilized society. With the exception of some “mega-churches” church attendance is declining or has plateaued.

The guiding philosophy of professing Christians should be, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” That should by no means be a rhetorical question. It should be, “God, I want to please you and I want to know what you want so that with your help I can be about doing it.”

Whoever Finds a Wife…

“Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the LORD.” (Proverbs 18:22)

The late John Philips pointed out that it is one thing to find a woman; it is quite another to find a wife. Solomon had plenty of women.

In my last writing I mentioned my Aunt Cassie’s death. Some of the scenes of her life, sickness, death and funeral are etched indelibly in the mind of that seven year old boy of over seventy years ago.

Out at the barn yard gate the day after her death, Uncle Hade spoke with my father and said with trembling lips and a quivering voice, “William, what am I going to do? I’m lost without her.” When Hade Bell found Cassie Long and she became his wife he knew he had found a good thing. When she died he knew he had lost a good thing.

Other men have found good wives. There was Eve, given to Adam by the hand of God. There was Abraham and his wife Sarah, Boaz and Ruth, Isaac and Rebekah and many others, many of them not in the Bible.

Let the home be what God intended, with husbands loving their wives as Christ loved the church. Let the husbands and wives be pictures of Christ and the church and let them bring up the children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Better homes will produce a better country.

Share the Message of Jesus

“…for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.” (Luke 1:22)

The context of this verse is in Luke’s account of the angel’s visit to Zacharias concerning the birth of a son to be born to him and his elderly wife, Elizabeth.

I had a distant cousin, who could neither hear nor speak, whom I remember from about seventy years ago. When my great aunt, Cassie, died she was brought back to her house and was lying in state in the front room until the funeral, which was a custom in those days.

While the women were in the house visiting and preparing food, the men were out in the front yard. My cousin stood among the men and as he began to make sounds from his throat, he pointed toward the house where Aunt Cassie was, then up toward the sky. Then he held out his hands and formed the shape of a cross. Then He pointed with one hand into the palm of the other as though he was driving nails in his hands. He then pointed toward his heart with both hands and back again toward the house and again pointed to the sky. He repeated this several times.

The men all watched and listened to this deaf, unspeaking man preach a sermon that even a seven year old child could understand clearly. Aunt Cassie had gone to heaven to be with Jesus who died on the cross for her.

Christ Did Not Die in Vain

“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Galatians 2:21)

Did the Son of God, Christ Jesus our Lord die on a cross outside the city of Jerusalem for no reason? Was His death a vain thing? Did God act foolishly when He gave His Son to die for the sins of mankind?

When we follow the world’s religions, some of them claiming to be Christian, who teach that man is saved and prepared for heaven through a system of law deeds, we frustrate, violate or nullify the grace of God which brings salvation. When we work out a system of good deeds, claiming that system as our ticket to heaven, then we are saying, “Christ died in vain.”

Twist it, add to it, take from it, explain it away or refuse to believe it because it is too simple: when all is said and done it is still, “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)  Salvation is a matter of faith in the finished work of Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection.

He’s Still Working on Me

“The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth forever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.” (Psalm 138:8)

One thing I know for sure is that I am not perfect. But, another thing I know for sure is that God, who is still working in my life, will not cast me aside. He will continue working on me until He has made me perfect.

When will that happen? If I read my Bible correctly, His finished work of perfection will be complete when I stand in His presence, absent from the body and present with the Lord.

The psalmist appealed to God that He would not forsake the work of His hands. Whether or not we make the same appeal, He will not quit working on His children until he has finished what He started. We can be confident with Paul the Apostle, “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Dwelling Together in Unity

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
(Psalm 133:1)

There is nothing on earth better among Christians than unity, accord and peace. And there is nothing worse on earth than brethren, Christians, who cannot get along with one another. In fact, it is a contradiction in terms to speak of “bickering” “Christians.”

The word, “Christian” means, “Christ like.” To bicker, quarrel, fuss and act hateful to others in the fellowship is not at all Christ-like.

To be in unity and in one accord is like clocks on display, striking the same hour at the exact time. That’s much more pleasing than for one clock to start chiming, and ten seconds later another one chimes, and a little later another one and finally one refuses to chime at all.

Christians, members of a local church, can make for harmony and peace or they can create confusion, discord and chaos. You and I can determine whether or not there will be unity and accord or disunity and confusion. It is a sad fact that bickering, disunity, fussing, gossip and the like among believers will drive more people away from your church than good, sound, evangelistic visitation can bring in.

Worshipping, Doubting and Making Disciples

“Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him: but some doubted.” (Matthew 28:16-17)

Judas Iscariot, one of the original twelve, had betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. After a short while he was so filled with guilt and remorse that he committed suicide. Now there were eleven.

These eleven were imperfect believers. They worshipped, but some doubted. It was to this mixed group that our Lord gave the original “Great Commission” to go into all the world and make and baptize disciples.

When your church meets the next time, not everyone in the assembly will be perfect. In fact, you and I are imperfect. It seems that our Lord can “draw a straight line with a crooked stick.” That’s what He has been doing from that day to this.

Did you notice that even though there were doubters among them, they worshipped the Lord Jesus Christ? If you wait for your church to be perfect to worship or make disciples, your church will do neither.

When We See Jesus

“I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.” (Job 42:5)

We can only imagine what it will be like to see Jesus for the very first time. We, like Job, have heard about Him. In addition we have heard about His nail pierced hands, His spear pierced side and the scars of the thorns in His brow, all His payment for our sins.

I think of the song, “When We All Get to Heaven,” and the phrase which says, “When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory.”

Fanny Crosby, the blind hymn writer who wrote more than six thousand hymns wrote, “I shall know Him by the print of the nails in His hands.” She once said, “I have the advantage over sighted people because the first thing I will see will be my Savior.”

I have heard of Him. I trust Him. I tell others about Him. I talk to Him in prayer. I have never seen Him but one day I will. What a day of rejoicing that will be for all saved people.

Sins of Presumption

 “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins…” (Psalm 19:13)

The Bible teaches from Genesis to Revelation that the servant of the Lord is to be honest, truthful, morally upright, sober, just and generous. Since all Christians are classed as servants, this verse is not just for preachers, it is for all the servants of God.

It is easy to fall into one of the devil’s traps which says, “You are saved by the grace of God so it doesn’t matter if you ‘shade’ your behavior just a little. God will forgive you. And besides, no one knows about it but you and no one will be hurt by it.” To follow such reasoning is presumption.

David’s prayer should be our prayer; “keep me from presumptuous sins.” Our desire should be to please God with our lives at all times.

Request for Cleansing

“…cleanse thou me from secret faults.” (Psalm 19:12)

At a funeral for a well respected, elderly Christian man I heard his pastor say, “I’m sure he had some sins because we are all sinners, but I never saw them or knew anything about them.” These secret sins are the sins that David is asking God to cleanse him from in our text.

These sins are the sins we commit in the unguarded moment, the ones no one else knows about, the ones that when we realize we have committed drive us to our knees in contrition and confession.

It is not the huge, glaring sin everyone knows about in our lives of which David was speaking, but the one tucked away deep down inside that can fester and smolder robbing us of joy, peace and victory and that can erupt as a volcano.

In requesting to be cleansed from secret faults (sins) we must allow the Holy Spirit to use the Word of God to remind us of our wrongs and to bring conviction. As we confess our sins we are cleansed by the Word of God and by the blood of Jesus.

Are You Having Problems?

“Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.” (Psalm 37:1-2)

I think of the Gospel song, “Farther Along:”

                                    Tempted and tried we’re oft made to wonder,
                                          Why it should be thus all the day long;
                                    While there are others living about us,
                                          Never molested though in the wrong.

Many non-believers have it better in this world than do the followers of Christ, the true Christians. But, this world is not our home. Do not fret or be agitated over their seeming success and lack of suffering while you have difficulties in abundance.

Like grass that is cut down by the blazing heat of the summer sun and the accompanying drought, and like the withering green herb pulled up by the roots and cast aside, those without Christ will be cut off.

The only heaven the Godless Christ rejecters will ever have is here on this earth in this short span of life. And, the only hell the God fearing followers of Christ will ever know is on this earth during our brief stay here.

The next verse starts by saying, “Trust in the Lord and do good…

Taste and See for Yourself

“Oh taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.”
 (Psalm 34:8)

There is a warehouse type store in our town that has employees assigned to give small samples of food to customers in the store. The aim is to get customers to taste a small bite, get their taste buds excited and buy a box or bag of several helpings of that product.  They cannot tell someone what that food tastes like but they can let folks sample it.

The psalmist was just as helpless to describe the goodness of God to someone, so he said, “taste God for yourself.”  You cannot describe the taste of an orange or a “red delicious” apple to someone. One must experience the food to know its taste.

We must “taste” the Lord by faith. One taste and we learn to trust Him. The psalmist said that the one who trusts the LORD will be blessed. Don’t go by what I say. Trust Him for yourself.

Superman?

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

You and I cannot, “leap tall buildings in a single bound, see through solid brick walls, become stronger than a locomotive, and without an airplane, fly faster than a speeding bullet,” all traits attributed to “Superman” of comic book fame. Our text, taken out of context, would seem to say that.

In its context the verse is saying that through the power of Jesus Christ we can live the Christian life and that through Him we can do all He calls on us to do.

Jesus said in our text from yesterday, “Without me, ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

Jesus Christ makes the difference in whether we can or cannot live the Christian life in this increasingly sinful world. If you are still trying to live without Christ I strongly encourage you to repent of your sin and receive Him by faith.