Sunday Sermonette

January 29, 2017 Lovingkindness and Tender Mercy “Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.” (Psalm 25:6)   These beautiful words, “tender mercies” and “lovingkindness,” may sound somewhat old-fashioned in today’s sophisticated jargon, but the divine attributes they represent have been “ever of old” and will continue to characterize our tender and merciful, kind and loving God of all grace forever. Dropping them from our conversation (even in most newer translations of the Bible) is a sad loss that, to some degree, has impoverished our speech and, perhaps, our souls.   Note some of the rich scriptural testimonies associated with them: “[The LORD] redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (Psalm 103:4). “Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me” (Psalm 40:11). “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions” (Psalm 51:1). “Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good; turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies” (Psalm 69:16).   Other than Proverbs 12:10 (“the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel”), all the occurrences of these two terms, either alone or together, are applied by the translators only to the Lord, never to men (the Hebrew words are rendered by other words in the King James when applied to people). This is beautifully appropriate, for our gracious God is uniquely the God of love and mercy. In spite of the fact that none of us deserve His lovingkindness or tender mercy, “the LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works” (Psalm 145:8-9). HMM h/t:  HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday Sermonette

January 22, 2017 The Psalm of Life “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” (Psalm 91:2)   This marvelous psalm of life and security follows a psalm of frailty and death (Psalm 90) written by Moses, who may have been the author of this psalm as well. For our devotional study today, attention is called to the change of personal pronoun throughout, implying a dialogue between three speakers.   The psalm begins as a godly teacher, or prophet, or perhaps an angel bestows a benediction upon the believer: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1), ascribing the security of the believer to the character of God.   The believer responds to this blessing by avowing his trust in God and in His character (v. 2).   To the testimony of the believer, the first speaker replies, expounding on the former blessing, detailing the protection provided by God (vv. 3-8) and the blessings of that care. Note, “because thou [the believer] hast made the LORD [Jehovah], which is my [the speaker’s] refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone” (vv. 9-12).   At the end, Jehovah Himself responds, confirming all that the speaker has said: “Because he [the believer] hath set his love upon me [Jehovah], therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation” (vv. 14-16). JDM h/t: JD MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday Sermonette

January 15, 2017 Abraham's Separation Test “Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.” (Genesis 21:10-11)   After Isaac had been weaned, Sarah noticed Ishmael mocking her and Isaac (Genesis 21:9). During the years since Hagar had given birth to Ishmael (at the insistence of Sarah), Abraham had grown to love Ishmael and had no doubt treated him and Hagar with respect. Now this sudden banishment was demanded under terms that were both harsh and apparently arbitrary.   Nonetheless, God approved because Hagar and Ishmael had become the specific illustration of a distinction between the “flesh” and the “heir” (Genesis 21:12). Although God would take care of Ishmael for Abraham’s sake, Abraham must separate himself and his family from that which would never become part of the Messianic line (Galatians 4:23-31).   The contrast of the two sons is a major teaching in Scripture. Galatians 3:16-29 provides most of the main biblical information. The promise was made to “the seed” (as singular), and the focus is on Christ, not Isaac. All people are under sin and are given the promise by faith. When we believe, we become children of God, in vivid contrast to the “son of the bondwoman.”   That faith is outside of physical relationships, and we become heirs according to the promise. That sacred relationship has been verified by God Himself (Hebrews 6:17-20), making us nothing less than joint-heirs with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17-21). Thus, all who are heirs can never be connected to the “bondwoman” (Galatians 4:30-31). HMM III h/t: HENRY M MORRIS III, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday Sermonette

January 8, 2017
Fountain of Life
“The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” (Proverbs 14:27)

 

This beautiful phrase, “fountain of life,” is used several times in the Old Testament, serving as a metaphor to illuminate a number of important aspects of spiritual faith and experience. Our text stresses “the fear of the LORD” as providing deliverance from death to life, picturing this new life as flowing from a heavenly spring.

 

A very similar verse is Proverbs 13:14: “The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” Thus, the fear of the Lord is somehow tantamount to “the law of the wise.” Those who are wise will fear the Lord and thus receive living water from “the fountain of life.”

 

King David penned the wonderful truth of Psalm 36:9: “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” “God is light” (1 John 1:5), so “the fountain of life” becomes the source also of all true light, whether physical or spiritual. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4).

 

The same word is rendered as “well” in Proverbs 10:11: “The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.” When a believer has received life from the divine fountain, his testimony becomes a fountain of life.

 

The Lord Himself is the fountain of life in Jeremiah’s prophecy, but the supposed people of God have refused to drink. “For my people . . . have forsaken me the fountain of living waters” (Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13).

 

Nevertheless, this fountain is still there for all who will come. The Bible’s last promise has to do with this great fountain, which yields “a pure river of water of life, . . . proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. . . . And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:1, 17). HMM

h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Happy New Years, Sunday Sermonette

January 1, 2017 A New Song for a New Year “Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.” (Psalm 33:3)   This is the first of nine references in the Bible to a “new song.” Appropriately, the song of Psalm 33 deals with the primeval event of creation, and it is the first psalm that does so (note also Psalm 104, etc.).   The new song is to be sung with instrumental accompaniment. However, the Hebrew word translated “loud noise” is so translated nowhere else; it is translated many different ways, but perhaps the familiar rendering “joyful sound” (Psalm 89:15) is the most appropriate here. In any case, this new song is of great importance and so should be performed well and joyfully, for it deals with the grandest of themes.   First of all is the great assertion that “the word of the LORD” is always right and the “works” of the Lord are always of truth (33:4). His righteousness and goodness are evident everywhere to those with eyes to see and hearts to believe (v. 5).   Then there is the vital revelation that God’s creation of all things was simply by His mighty word, “the breath of his mouth,” accomplished instantly, and not dragged out over long ages of evolutionary trial and error. “He spake, and it was done” (vv. 6, 9).   Furthermore, it is a comfort to know that God does not change, though new years come and go. “The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever” (v. 11). “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (v. 12).   There are many other great themes in this new song, and it would indeed be well to read and rehearse them all as the new year begins, committing ourselves once again to the faithful teaching of His inerrant Word, His magnificent creation, and His great salvation. HMM h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Merry Christmas Sunday Sermonette

December 25, 2016 The Gifts of the Wise Men “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11)   These wise men (or Magi) were of great eminence in the Parthian Empire at that time, and it is unlikely that the caravan from the East consisted of only three men. They more likely had a large entourage as they came searching for the future King of Israel, so it was small wonder that “all Jerusalem” was “troubled,” along with King Herod (Matthew 2:3). The Parthians (i.e., Persians) had never been conquered by the Romans and at that very time were posing a significant threat along the eastern boundary of the extended Roman Empire.   When they found the young child and His mother in Bethlehem, the Magi “fell down, and worshipped him” (Matthew 2:11). But why did they offer Him just three gifts—and why these three gifts? Somehow they seemed to have sensed, possibly from meditating deeply on the ancient prophecies of Balaam (Numbers 24:17), Daniel (in Daniel 9:24-26), and David concerning the priesthood order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4), that this young child whose birth had been announced by a star was destined not only to be the King but would also become the Messianic Sacrifice to “make reconciliation for iniquity” (see Daniel 9:24, 26) and then eventually become our eternal High Priest who “ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). Thus, the gold would acknowledge His right to reign, the frankincense would speak of the incense to be offered in the heavenly tabernacle, and the myrrh (John 19:39) would testify that His crucified body would be so anointed as it entered the tomb for a very temporary burial. HMM h/t:  HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday Sermonette

December 18, 2016 The Beginning of Wisdom “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” (Psalm 111:10)   This age has rightly been called the “age of information.” With multitudes of books and periodicals in every field of study and practice, with billions of dollars devoted to all kinds of research, and now even the “information superhighway” of the Internet. It seems everyone and every organization is posting information of some sort on its own website and email. The world is almost drowning in information.   “But where shall wisdom be found and where is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:12). Job’s urgent question can never be answered online, but only in an ancient book. “Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28).   This spiritual truism is found often in that Book. King Solomon, to whom God had granted special wisdom (1 Kings 3:11-12), penned divinely inspired words when he wrote: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,” and then “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding” (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10).   If anything is missing in our information age, it is surely the fear of God, at least among most people—even most religious people. But, as our text says: “A good understanding have all they that do his commandments.”   From our New Testament perspective, we now know that “in [Christ] are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). “And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment” (1 John 3:23). Herein is true knowledge and understanding and wisdom. HMM h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH