Amazing Counsel

Commentary on Psalm 144:12

Ver. 12. (first clause). To Young Men. Consider,

1. What is desired on your behalf: "Sons may be as plants", etc.

a) That you may be respected and valued. b) That you may have settled principles and virtues. Plants are not blown hither and thither. c) That you may be vigorous and strong in moral power.

2. What is requisite on your part to the accomplishment of this desire.

a) A good rooting in Christ. b) Constant nourishment from the word of God. c) The dews of divine grace obtained by prayer. d) A resolute tendency within to answer the God appointed purpose of your existence. --J.F.

  Ver. 12. (second clause). To Young Women. Consider,

1. The important position you may occupy in the social fabric: "As cornerstones."

a) The moral and religious tone of society is determined more by your character and influence than by those of men. b) The complexion of home life will be a reflex of your conduct and character, either as daughters, sisters, or wives. c) The moulding of the character of the next generation, remember, begins with the mother's influence. d) Let these facts weigh with you as a motive in seeking the grace of God, without which you can never fulfil your mission worthily.

2. The beauty which ought to belong to you in your position. "Polished after", etc. The beauty of,

a) Heart purity: "The King's daughter is all glorious within." b) A noble and modest conduct: "wrought gold", no imitation; real gold. c) Gracious and gentle demeanour.

3. How both the right position and right beauty are obtained. a) By yielding yourselves to God. b) By Christ dwelling in your heart. b) By becoming living stones and polished stones under the workmanship of the Holy Spirit. --J.F.

Don't Leave off the End!

I have been dying to post on here for a while and yet I struggle to find the time and the connection to post. But right now I am managing with one bar of wireless, Lord willing I will be able to finish and it will last.

We had an evangelist last night at church and though he didn't have long to speak what he said was an encouragement and a reminder. Many time when we read Scripture or memorize Scripture we sometimes forget "parts".

• Turn to Psalms 40:1-2


• You probably have this memorized but maybe you were like me and forgot the end of verse 2.

Praise the Lord He hears us when we call. When we are out of fellowship with the Lord it's like that horrible pit - dark, cold, alone, and you can't see the way out. It's also like the mirey clay- you may be able to see things but you cannot do anything to get anywhere, your stuck right where you are.

When we realize our broken fellowship and call on Him, He hears us and brings us out and sets us on that rock- sure, sound, secure. But the verse doesn't end there! He sets us on the rock long enough to establish where we are to be going. And he only wants us there long enough to give us our orders and send us off.

We have this common misconception that we need to wait on God to make the decision of what He wants us to do. Wrong! He already has our future all planned out and we only need to seek His face to get our orders.

I thought it was really interesting and it makes me wonder How many other verses are like that? What other verses do I only look at the beginning and forget the end? Maybe that will spark your interest too!

I have missed posting and hopefully I will have time to post something every now and then about what God has been teaching me. Until then... Keep Following Him.

Such Great Compassion

I was reading in my devotions part of Psalm 78 this morning and I was struck by verses 35-39. The children of Israel are known for their murmuring and complaining, that's a given. But in verse 35 they knew the Lord was their rock, their redeemer. He took care of them, provided, protected, and promised them a great inheritance. They knew all the things the Lord said, the things He did for them, they grew up hearing all about it and seeing it. Then in the very next verse it says that they were hypocritical. They said one thing and did another, not just to people, but to GOD! And they knew He knew all. It was downright rebellion.
Verse 37 tells us why. It was simple, they weren't right with Him. They let sins get inbetween them and God, eventually they were bold enough to be hypocritical with God. What a scary thought! I pray that I never get to that point.
Yet in all this, outright hypocracy, lying, and forsaking what they knew, verse 38 begins with the word "But". What a great word! Despite their gross, outright sins, it says that He had compassion on them. He forgave all their sins. AND He didn't kill them! What compassion! What Love!
Then the Lord went on to explain in His blessed book why. "For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again." verse 39. That verse thrills my soul! He forgives us over and over because:

• He knows we're human
• We are only here for a little while
• We aren't ever coming back once we've gone. (I guess that proves reincarnation is false!)

Now that doesn't give us the right to sin, since He forgives us every time. But it does give us assurance that He forgives us, and when He does we know He forgives and forgets. And his compassion never ends,
"...His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." (Lam 3:22-23)
What loving compassion the Father has for us sinners! Praise Him!

Cast Down

I was reading in my book the other day, A Shepherd's Looks at Psalm 23, and was reading a chapter on He Restoreth my soul. In this chapter it refers to the verse later in the psalms about David saying, " why art thou cast down?" And I knew that sheep when they lay down sometimes they fall over and when their feet aren't touching the ground. When this happens the sheep are frightened and begin to kick, which only turns them completely over. If a shepherd doesn't pay attention to his sheep, a sheep can die like this. Their insides begin to swell and they die. But the interesting thing is that the healthy fat sheep are more likely to have this happen to them.
The Lord is our Shepherd, the best there is and he never gets distracted and forgets to watch His sheep(us). But many time those who are doing well, growing in their Christian walk are the ones that become cast down. God knows what we can handle and how it will strengthen us and He will not let us there to die. Isn't He wonderful?! Anyway, this was just something short that I thought was really neat.

Obedience to the Father

The other day I was reading in my devotions and came across something interesting in Psalm 119. Verses 17-24 were where I was reading. Psalm 119 is full of references to the law, statutes, and the word, and all these can represent the Lord and His commands. We must obey His word. There are many examples and lessons in verses 17-24.
Verse 17 ~ The Lord saves us so we live for Him and obey His commands.
Verse 18 ~ Everyday was must ask the Lord to show us His way and obey it.
Verse 19 ~ We really are only strangers in this world and we need a guide.
Verse 20 ~ Does your soul really long to know God and follow Him?
Verse 21 ~ There are consequences to not obeying the Lord's commands.
Verse 22 ~ People will falsely accuse you and make fun of you, just continue to obey, God will bless for it.
Verse 23 ~ Don't just learn it, think and apply it!
Verse 24 ~ Let God's Word be the guiding force in all you do and rejoice that He is leading you.

Some Thoughts from the Psalms

I was looking through my Bible and I love the way the Psalms looks. I have a Life Application Study Bible that I use for my devotions and I just recently started writing my own notes in the sides of the margin. I really don't care for study Bibles that much because to me they are all man's ideas and I don't like to rely on that. So I like to just study myself and use my Strong's Concordance(which I think is the best study tool there is).
So back to what I was saying before I put that little thought in there, I was looking over some of the notes that I put in Psalms as I go through it and I wanted to post some of the things I learned.

Ps.77:1,3,6,11
In verse one it tells us that the writer calls out to the Lord and He heard Him. Isn't it a blessing that we have the same God? We have the promise that He hears us. But in each one of the other verses I mentioned there is some form of the word remember. I was thinking to myself, when we are going through a rough time in our lives and we feel the Lord isn't hearing us or answering us we better sit down somewhere alone and remember the things that He HAS done for us. Think of who He really is and how He has changed your life.

Ps.79:5a
"How long, Lord?"
Wow! I think this comes from everyone of our hearts at some time or another. We become impatient with the Lord because our flesh wants something Now! We need to get it through our heads that it doesn't matter how much we want something now in our timing, God isn't going to let it happen until it is His timing. We must learn to wait.

Ps.63:1
"Oh God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water it."
David learned something that we need to learn too! He know that there was nothing in this world that could satisfy his soul like time with God. Why not do it in the morning? If you wake up in the morning most people want a drink and if you don't drink during the day you will become dehydrated and feel terrible. So it is with our time with Him. If we wait till later to spend time with Him we become spiritually dehydrated and feel like something is wrong. I know I have had times at school where things got all a wreck and my alarm didn't go off so my schedule(I really like those!) was messed up and I didn't have time to spend with the Lord like I normally do. And because I am used to reading His Word and spending time with Him early in the morning I couldn't figure out why I had this void and this strange feeling, like something wasn't quite right. Then in the afternoon I would remember that I hadn't finished my devotions so I would do them and the Lord would show me things in great abundance from His Word. Don't neglect your time with Him and do it early before you become spiritually "dehydrated".