Psalm Chapter 43
I don't know when this was written or whether it was written by David; but if it was David I would guess it would have been the time that King Saul went against him. Then again it could have been the time when David's own son rose up against him and tried to steal his kingdom by using flattery among the people. This should make us very cautious against a leader who uses too much flattery to get favor with the people. Avoid those who say just what we want to hear and will not speak the truth. Many of us today could be praying this same prayer. Here we see someone writing and pleading with God because of being amidst an ungodly nation. Two traits of ungodliness here are given as deceitful and unjust people. What would be examples of these? Perhaps being unjust would be having judges who showed favoritism in his decisions and were not fair to the rich and poor alike. He could be judging according to his own opinions instead of the law. He could be bribed, or under a threat of being exposed for something in his or her past. He also could be partisan in his politics and side with those of his or her party. Deceit could be flattery. Saying one thing to the face and doing opposite behind someone's back. It could be out and out pretense and never telling the truth. Truth should always be a virtue that we should cherish and desire. Nothing is profitable when we have to lie and deceive to achieve anything. In the long run we will reap what we sow and someone will cheat and deceive us. We see deception going on in our own nations today. We are deceiving the public and even those who live in sexual permissiveness without restraint. By not telling them the truth, we allow them to go on living how they desire and in return reaping an early death by disease and being lost forever if they do not come to Jesus Christ. If we really loved people who live dangerously by leaving the bounds God set within marriage, we would see less confusion, disease and even violence. God set in order the institution of holy matrimony. One man, one woman (not plural marriages), that was man's idea. Not two of the same gender or with animals. Without God's commandments and leadership, we will eventually destroy ourselves. Its happened many times before in history. To really care and love people is to warn them that what they do is killing them at an earlier age than if they did not do those things. By not telling them that there is a way out, we are not being honest with them. We are so afraid of offending and being called bigots and hate-mongers that we refuse to tell them the truth. There is a way out. The power of Jesus Christ is available to deliver them out of any lifestyle that God does not ordain and into a holy sanctified live through the power of God. I believe this with all my heart. The only way to receive this power over this sin or any sin is first to acknowledge or confess that sin. The first step to victory over sin is to admit that we are sinners in need of a savior. If we do not do this it blocks God's salvation and we continue in our sin and are lost. When death comes to the body, our sins are still within our souls and our souls are lost forever in Hell. Jesus came to save the soul from sin. He paid the price for sin at His death on the cross. When we confess our sins, He will forgive and not only that, He will give us power over that sin or any sin. God will not force anything upon us though. We have to desire to be free. This salvation is for everyone who believes. Even those who existed before Christ could be saved because they had the opportunity to repent of sins and make sacrifices which pointed to the perfect sacrifice that was to coming in the future. They had the ability to seek God and ask forgiveness looking forward to the time when the Messiah was to come. When Jesus died His soul was still alive and went to bring all those in what was called at that time, Abraham's bosom, and took them to Heaven to await the time when the rest of us are resurrected. Now when we die and are believers in Jesus, we go directly to Heaven and do not go into any compartment of Hell. Here are scriptures to bring this out.
So when someone asks about those who died before Christ came. There is the answer. Our wonderful God not only provided salvation for those after the cross who would believe but also those who died before the cross. What a wonderful God He is. How much more severe will our judgment be if we neglect Jesus Christ and the suffering He went through to provide for our salvation. There are so many that need to hear this today. There are souls dying right now without the message of the gospel. The churches throughout the ages have neglected the preaching of the gospel and spent wasted time in wars, fighting and disputes when souls are being lost. Satan probably sits and laughs at every church split and fight. Don't get me wrong here. We can't just go along with everything and forsake sound doctrine. Correction for the believers and sound doctrine cannot be done away with just so we can get along. The bible says that without holiness no person shall even see God so sound doctrine has to be taught. When it is wrong though is when wars and fighting are over things that are either not in the scriptures or else someone takes a verse out of its original setting and uses it to teach a doctrine that is not reasonable. We must disagree without getting a hateful spirit toward those that we disagree with. This doesn't mean we forsake sound doctrine but we must maintain a spirit of love, kindness and patience, being an example of holiness and not forsaking truth. People in the past have gotten so carried away with hate that they have even put to death people that they claimed were heretics. Greater is He that is in a true believer than he that is in the world. Heretics should not be a threat to anyone that is walking in the Spirit. Trust in the power of prayer rather than the power of hate. This is not always easy but necessary to keep the enemy from destroying the church.
When we are oppressed by those that sin, it sometimes can get heavy. This is where the power of the word and the Holy Spirit come into play. Be filled with the Spirit, walk in the spirit and you shall not be overcome by the enemy.
Perfect love that casts out all fear, perfect love by way of the Holy Spirit, and perfect love for the well being of our own fellow believers or even those that do not believe, will cause us to be truthful yet with kindness, not harshness. We will not desire to hear gossip about anyone but will genuinely grieve if one falls into sin.
Send out thy light and thy truth. Wow. This is the word of God. Truth and light is a good description of the word of God. God truly answered the prayer of this Psalmist. He sent us light and truth. Jesus is the word made flesh and the bible is the written word given by God to those who were anointed by the Holy Spirit to write these things to us. Praise the Lord for His gifts to us which are many. The word of God, Jesus Christ brings us to God's holy hill and into His tabernacles. God answered this prayer and is still answering it every time someone comes to Jesus Christ for salvation.
If you ever go into a church service and see people praising God, this is why. When we receive Jesus Christ, our sins are gone. We receive a new life and become a new creature in Jesus. The Holy Spirit then comes to dwell with each and every believer. The Holy Spirit brings joy into our innermost being. Some sing, some praise, some praying in tongues, but all rejoice in God for His salvation. Never make fun of people who openly or quietly worship God. God seeks those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Some may be loud and some may do so quietly but God sees their hearts and He loves sincere worship that brings thanksgiving to Him. This also may cause trouble if we try to force our own brand of worship on everyone else. I've seen many make the mistake of accusing people who shout and praise God out loud as being unruly or a circus. The whole book of Psalms speaks of praising God loudly in music and in praise. Nothing is wrong with that. Bring on the drums, guitars, piano, and tambourines. Glory to His name. I will add here to those who are fervent, vocal and excited in worship, as wonderful as your praise and worship may be, you must not ever judge the quiet ones in your service. Some worship God quietly and never move a muscle. This does not mean that they are not as spiritual as the other ones. You can be greatly fooled if you only look at outward performance. I've seen quiet people do works of compassion. Judge for yourselves. Look at who mows the church lawn, cleans the church, fixes things that get broken, does the bookkeeping and secretarial work and you will see the quiet ones worship God by their service to His work. I'm not implying that those that do these things never worship God publicly or that the public worshippers never do any work but just making the point that we must not be critical of either method of worship because the bible does not say that the way one worships is the way of salvation. Faith in Jesus Christ is what brings salvation. Being spiritual is not just outward but inward holiness and love for God and for people. One should not judge each other in these matters.
When we feel cast down, praise the Lord and trust in Him for deliverance. It will come but we must sometimes wait with patience and expectation. God answers some prayers quickly and others take time. Our part is to wait and trust but I realize that sometimes this is not easy. God never rejects someone who faithfully trusts in Him and has repented of sin.
Sin in our heart hinders our prayers. This is why repentance is an important part of our lives both at our conversion to Jesus Christ and afterward as we live for God and walk with Him. Repentance is being sorry for and being willing to turn from sin. We can't do this alone. That is why Jesus came to give us power over sin. DC
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