Prayer; Dear God in Christ Jesus we praise thee. Glory to god always. Bless us today Lord with Your Grace. We Love You lord ad thank You Lord for all that You have done in Christ Jesus. We pray for all people.Glory to God in the highest. in Jesus name we pray...
Today's Lesson: Upheld by God (Acts 28:16-25, 28-31)
(Note: The italicized words in this lesson may be used as discussion questions.)
Several years ago, I traveled to Mexico on a short-term mission trip. I had no idea what to expect when I got there. I found myself living in a foreign country where I was unable to read or speak the language, or understand the culture, but I knew I would be there for about a week to construct a home for a needy family. This experience, and several others, taught me the importance of relying upon God in unknown situations.
(Have you ever visited a foreign land? If so, where did you go? What was your experience like? What were some of the cultural differences?)
In today’s text, Paul preaches in Rome. Imagine what it must have been like to live in Rome during the first century. Imagine the crowds, spectacles, and events Paul may have witnessed or heard about. Consider how Paul, a man from a foreign land with different beliefs, endured in the midst of this city. In what ways did God uphold Paul? In what ways does God uphold us? God upholds us . . . .
Wherever We Go (Acts 28:16-20)
Notice verse 16, “When we got to Rome.” Paul traveled from somewhere. Paul had a starting point on his way to Rome. Later in verse 17, Paul says, “I was arrested in Jerusalem.” Paul’s journey to Rome originated in Jerusalem. From Jerusalem to Rome, God upheld Paul to proclaim the message about Jesus.
People today can travel across countries in only a few hours. If we board a plane in New York City in the morning, we can arrive in Los Angeles by lunchtime. And we can carry “the hope” of Jesus Christ wherever we go. Think about the last place you carried the message of Jesus. Did you take that message home, to work, to the neighbor down the street, or even to a different culture?
(Where can you proclaim the message of Jesus? Do we need to travel to some land far away? Why or why not?)
Whenever We Speak (Acts 28:21-25)
Upon arriving in Rome, Paul sent word that he wanted to meet and speak with the leaders of the Jews. A date was set, and a few days later, Paul proclaimed the message of Jesus from morning till evening. The Greek words used for “from morning till evening” in this text are proi heos hespera, which mean from “the fourth watch of the night, from 3 o’clock in the morning until 6 o’clock approximately” to “evening or eventide.” Paul spoke, taught, and explained things for a very long time.
Perhaps we should be ready to proclaim the message whenever we may need too. If it requires us to get up early and meet someone for breakfast instead of rushing off to work, then we should set aside the time to do so. If it requires us to stay awake a little longer, we should make that small sacrifice and be willing to talk to that person about Jesus. When was the last time you set aside time to speak with someone about Jesus?
(Do you like to get up early? Do you like to stay up late? Why should we set aside time to speak to someone about Jesus?)
Whomever We Speak To (Acts 28:28-31)
After speaking to the Jews, Paul declared, “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” (v. 28). Paul realized the message of Jesus wasn’t just for the Jews, but for everyone. Paul knew that all people, including whoever we speak to, needed to hear this message.
(Why is the message of Jesus not limited to people who look like us, speak like us, and think like we think? What kinds of people are so “different” that you would have trouble sharing Jesus with them?
Perhaps, we should pray that we will teach about Jesus boldly and without hindrance. Will you talk about Jesus wherever you go, whenever you speak, and to whomever you speak with?
(Why would you pray to teach about Jesus boldly and without hindrance?)
________
*All Scripture references are from the New International Version, unless otherwise indicated.
HOME DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Aug. 23: Acts 9:23-30
Aug. 24: Psalm 46
Aug. 25: Psalm 121
Aug. 26: Psalm 119:114-117
Aug. 27: Acts 28:1-15
Aug. 28: Philippians 4:15-20
Aug. 29: Acts 28:16-25a, 28-31
Give and share The Joy of Jesus Today... Gob Bless You.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Bible Study: Walk in Love with The Joy of Jesus
Prayer: Dear God Father of The Lord Jesus Christ we Praise Your Holy Name. A-men...
Bible Study: Walk in Love
Bible study on love.
The phrase "walk in love" expresses our entire relationship with God and mankind (Matt. 22:37-40).
Paul says: "Therefore be followers of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma" (Eph. 5:1-2).
Those who love God are followers (imitators) of God as His dear (beloved, dearly loved) children. The phrase as beloved children denotes that we are following God because of His love for us. And because God loved us, we love Him (1 Jn. 4:19). Therefore we imitate Him as dear children.
Now take a moment and think about God. Think about His goodness and mercy toward mankind. Think about His kindness, love, and grace. Think about His love to give Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins. And think about Jesus' love for us to die on the cross. To imitate God is to be like God thus to love (Matt. 5:43f) - God is love (1 Jn. 4:16). Jesus left an example for us (1 Pet. 2:2) and Paul commands us to imitate him as he imitates Christ (1 Cor. 11:1) whereby we imitate God.
And note that we are to love as children. Think about the trusting love a young child has for his parents. John says that we are either children of God or children of the devil (1 Jn. 3:10). Those who are children of the devil are children of wrath (Eph. 2:3) but the children of God are children of light (Eph. 5:8) being the ones saved by grace through faith and created in Christ (Eph. 2:8-10).
Jesus is our example of walking in love. He emptied Himself to come to earth in the form of a servant and in the likeness of man was obedient even to the point of death on the cross (Phil. 2:5f). Love is giving one's self as a servant in obedience to God which is an offering and sacrifice to Him. We must be a living sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1) as we serve Him by faith (Heb. 11:4) in offering the sacrifice of praise to Him, giving thanks to His name, and sharing (Heb. 13:15-16). Therefore the church offers up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus (1 Pet. 2:5).
The result of a sacrificial walk in love is a sweet-smelling aroma to God. But note that what is sweet-smelling to God is not necessarily sweet-smelling to the world. As burning flesh of Old Testament sacrifices were horrible-smelling to men it was sweet-smelling to God when performed by faith. Therefore, we cannot rely on the judgments of men as to what is sweet-smelling and thus pleasing to God. We cannot allow ourselves to be deceived by those teaching human doctrines (Eph. 5:6-7; Col. 2) nor may we be partakers with them in evil deeds.
We have a grave responsibility to walk in love. A walk in love is not dictated by the doctrines and emotions of men but by God thus imitating Him.
Are you walking in love as a beloved child of God?
Note: Give and Share The Joy of Jesus today. Leave a comment to express your love and joy to the world...
Bible Study: Walk in Love
Bible study on love.
The phrase "walk in love" expresses our entire relationship with God and mankind (Matt. 22:37-40).
Paul says: "Therefore be followers of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma" (Eph. 5:1-2).
Those who love God are followers (imitators) of God as His dear (beloved, dearly loved) children. The phrase as beloved children denotes that we are following God because of His love for us. And because God loved us, we love Him (1 Jn. 4:19). Therefore we imitate Him as dear children.
Now take a moment and think about God. Think about His goodness and mercy toward mankind. Think about His kindness, love, and grace. Think about His love to give Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins. And think about Jesus' love for us to die on the cross. To imitate God is to be like God thus to love (Matt. 5:43f) - God is love (1 Jn. 4:16). Jesus left an example for us (1 Pet. 2:2) and Paul commands us to imitate him as he imitates Christ (1 Cor. 11:1) whereby we imitate God.
And note that we are to love as children. Think about the trusting love a young child has for his parents. John says that we are either children of God or children of the devil (1 Jn. 3:10). Those who are children of the devil are children of wrath (Eph. 2:3) but the children of God are children of light (Eph. 5:8) being the ones saved by grace through faith and created in Christ (Eph. 2:8-10).
Jesus is our example of walking in love. He emptied Himself to come to earth in the form of a servant and in the likeness of man was obedient even to the point of death on the cross (Phil. 2:5f). Love is giving one's self as a servant in obedience to God which is an offering and sacrifice to Him. We must be a living sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1) as we serve Him by faith (Heb. 11:4) in offering the sacrifice of praise to Him, giving thanks to His name, and sharing (Heb. 13:15-16). Therefore the church offers up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus (1 Pet. 2:5).
The result of a sacrificial walk in love is a sweet-smelling aroma to God. But note that what is sweet-smelling to God is not necessarily sweet-smelling to the world. As burning flesh of Old Testament sacrifices were horrible-smelling to men it was sweet-smelling to God when performed by faith. Therefore, we cannot rely on the judgments of men as to what is sweet-smelling and thus pleasing to God. We cannot allow ourselves to be deceived by those teaching human doctrines (Eph. 5:6-7; Col. 2) nor may we be partakers with them in evil deeds.
We have a grave responsibility to walk in love. A walk in love is not dictated by the doctrines and emotions of men but by God thus imitating Him.
Are you walking in love as a beloved child of God?
Note: Give and Share The Joy of Jesus today. Leave a comment to express your love and joy to the world...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Joy of Jesus is The Answer
Prayer: Dear God in Heaven,
We pray for all people in need today.
Bless us Lord with Thy Love and Peace.
In Jesus Name we pray.
Scripture for Life: The Psalms
40
Praise for Deliverance
Ps. 70.1-5
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit,
out of the miry clay,
and set my feet upon a rock,
and established my goings.
3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth,
even praise unto our God:
many shall see it, and fear,
and shall trust in the LORD.
4 Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust,
and respecteth not the proud,
nor such as turn aside to lies.
5 Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done,
and thy thoughts which are to us-ward:
they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee:
if I would declare and speak of them,
they are more than can be numbered.
6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire;
mine ears hast thou opened:
burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come:
in the volume of the book it is written of me,
8 I delight to do thy will, O my God:
yea, thy law is within my heart. Heb. 10.5-7
9 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation:
lo, I have not refrained my lips,
O LORD, thou knowest.
10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart;
I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation:
I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth
from the great congregation.
11 Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD:
let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about:
mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up;
they are more than the hairs of mine head:
therefore my heart faileth me.
13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me:
O LORD, make haste to help me.
14 Let them be ashamed and confounded together
that seek after my soul to destroy it;
let them be driven backward and put to shame
that wish me evil.
15 Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame
that say unto me, Aha, aha.
16 Let all those that seek thee
rejoice and be glad in thee:
let such as love thy salvation
say continually, The LORD be magnified.
17 But I am poor and needy;
yet the Lord thinketh upon me:
thou art my help and my deliverer;
make no tarrying, O my God.
Published by The American Bible Society
We pray for all people in need today.
Bless us Lord with Thy Love and Peace.
In Jesus Name we pray.
Scripture for Life: The Psalms
40
Praise for Deliverance
Ps. 70.1-5
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit,
out of the miry clay,
and set my feet upon a rock,
and established my goings.
3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth,
even praise unto our God:
many shall see it, and fear,
and shall trust in the LORD.
4 Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust,
and respecteth not the proud,
nor such as turn aside to lies.
5 Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done,
and thy thoughts which are to us-ward:
they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee:
if I would declare and speak of them,
they are more than can be numbered.
6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire;
mine ears hast thou opened:
burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come:
in the volume of the book it is written of me,
8 I delight to do thy will, O my God:
yea, thy law is within my heart. Heb. 10.5-7
9 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation:
lo, I have not refrained my lips,
O LORD, thou knowest.
10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart;
I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation:
I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth
from the great congregation.
11 Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD:
let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about:
mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up;
they are more than the hairs of mine head:
therefore my heart faileth me.
13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me:
O LORD, make haste to help me.
14 Let them be ashamed and confounded together
that seek after my soul to destroy it;
let them be driven backward and put to shame
that wish me evil.
15 Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame
that say unto me, Aha, aha.
16 Let all those that seek thee
rejoice and be glad in thee:
let such as love thy salvation
say continually, The LORD be magnified.
17 But I am poor and needy;
yet the Lord thinketh upon me:
thou art my help and my deliverer;
make no tarrying, O my God.
Published by The American Bible Society
Monday, August 23, 2010
Psalm 34
Taste and See That the LORD Is Good
[a] Of David, when he(A) changed his behavior before(B) Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
1I will bless the LORD(C) at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2My soul(D) makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and(E) be glad.
3Oh,(F) magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
4I(G) sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5Those who look to him are(H) radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6(I) This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and(J) saved him out of all his troubles.
7(K) The angel of the LORD(L) encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8Oh,(M) taste and see that(N) the LORD is good!
(O) Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10(P) The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who(Q) seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11(R) Come, O children, listen to me;
(S) I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12(T) What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may(U) see good?
13(V) Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from(W) speaking deceit.
14(X) Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and(Y) pursue it.
15(Z) The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
(AA) and his ears toward their cry.
16(AB) The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to(AC) cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17(AD) When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18The LORD is near to(AE) the brokenhearted
and saves(AF) the crushed in spirit.
19(AG) Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
(AH) but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20He keeps all his bones;
(AI) not one of them is broken.
21(AJ) Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22The LORD(AK) redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be(AL) condemned.
Footnotes:
1. Psalm 34:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
Cross references:
1. Psalm 34:1 : 1 Sam 21:13
2. Psalm 34:1 : 1 Sam 21:10, 11, 12, 14
3. Psalm 34:1 : Eph 5:20; 1 Thess 5:18
4. Psalm 34:2 : Psalm 44:8; 1 Sam 2:1; Jer 9:24
5. Psalm 34:2 : Psalm 119:74
6. Psalm 34:3 : Psalm 35:27; 40:16; 69:30; 70:4; Luke 1:46
7. Psalm 34:4 : 2 Chr 15:2; Matt 7:7
8. Psalm 34:5 : Isa 60:5; Psalm 4:6
9. Psalm 34:6 : Psalms 42:15, 17
10. Psalm 34:6 : Psalms 42:17, 19; 2 Sam 22:1
11. Psalm 34:7 : Dan 6:22; Heb 1:14
12. Psalm 34:7 : Gen 32:1, 2; 2 Kgs 6:17
13. Psalm 34:8 : Heb 6:5; 1 Pet 2:3
14. Psalm 34:8 : Psalm 100:5
15. Psalm 34:8 : Psalm 2:12
16. Psalm 34:10 : Job 4:10, 11
17. Psalm 34:10 : Psalm 84:11
18. Psalm 34:11 : Psalm 66:16
19. Psalm 34:11 : Psalm 32:8
20. Psalm 34:12 : Cited 1 Pet 3:10-12
21. Psalm 34:12 : Eccles 3:13; 6:6
22. Psalm 34:13 : Psalm 15:3; 39:1; 141:3; Prov 13:3; 21:23; James 1:26; 3:2; 1 Pet 2:1, 22
23. Psalm 34:13 : John 1:47; Rev 14:5
24. Psalm 34:14 : Psalm 37:27; Isa 1:16, 17; Job 28:28
25. Psalm 34:14 : Rom 14:19; Heb 12:14; Rom 12:18
26. Psalm 34:15 : Psalm 33:18
27. Psalm 34:15 : Psalms 42:6, 8; Psalm 145:18; John 9:31
28. Psalm 34:16 : Jer 44:11; Amos 9:4
29. Psalm 34:16 : Psalm 21:10
30. Psalm 34:17 : Psalms 42:15
31. Psalm 34:18 : Psalm 51:17; 147:3; Isa 61:1
32. Psalm 34:18 : Isa 57:15; 66:2; Luke 15:17-24
33. Psalm 34:19 : 2 Tim 3:11, 12
34. Psalm 34:19 : Psalms 42:6, 17, 22; Acts 12:11
35. Psalm 34:20 : John 19:36
36. Psalm 34:21 : Psalm 94:23; Prov 24:16; Psalm 7:15, 16
37. Psalm 34:22 : Psalm 25:22
38. Psalm 34:22 : Rom 8:33,
Prayer: God Bless You Always in Christ Jesus and The Holy Spirit of God. We pray that love will move your heart to give in love all that the Lord has blessed you with in life. In Jesus name we pray. A-men.
Taste and See That the LORD Is Good
[a] Of David, when he(A) changed his behavior before(B) Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
1I will bless the LORD(C) at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2My soul(D) makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and(E) be glad.
3Oh,(F) magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
4I(G) sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5Those who look to him are(H) radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6(I) This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and(J) saved him out of all his troubles.
7(K) The angel of the LORD(L) encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8Oh,(M) taste and see that(N) the LORD is good!
(O) Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10(P) The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who(Q) seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11(R) Come, O children, listen to me;
(S) I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12(T) What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may(U) see good?
13(V) Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from(W) speaking deceit.
14(X) Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and(Y) pursue it.
15(Z) The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
(AA) and his ears toward their cry.
16(AB) The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to(AC) cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17(AD) When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18The LORD is near to(AE) the brokenhearted
and saves(AF) the crushed in spirit.
19(AG) Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
(AH) but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20He keeps all his bones;
(AI) not one of them is broken.
21(AJ) Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22The LORD(AK) redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be(AL) condemned.
Footnotes:
1. Psalm 34:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
Cross references:
1. Psalm 34:1 : 1 Sam 21:13
2. Psalm 34:1 : 1 Sam 21:10, 11, 12, 14
3. Psalm 34:1 : Eph 5:20; 1 Thess 5:18
4. Psalm 34:2 : Psalm 44:8; 1 Sam 2:1; Jer 9:24
5. Psalm 34:2 : Psalm 119:74
6. Psalm 34:3 : Psalm 35:27; 40:16; 69:30; 70:4; Luke 1:46
7. Psalm 34:4 : 2 Chr 15:2; Matt 7:7
8. Psalm 34:5 : Isa 60:5; Psalm 4:6
9. Psalm 34:6 : Psalms 42:15, 17
10. Psalm 34:6 : Psalms 42:17, 19; 2 Sam 22:1
11. Psalm 34:7 : Dan 6:22; Heb 1:14
12. Psalm 34:7 : Gen 32:1, 2; 2 Kgs 6:17
13. Psalm 34:8 : Heb 6:5; 1 Pet 2:3
14. Psalm 34:8 : Psalm 100:5
15. Psalm 34:8 : Psalm 2:12
16. Psalm 34:10 : Job 4:10, 11
17. Psalm 34:10 : Psalm 84:11
18. Psalm 34:11 : Psalm 66:16
19. Psalm 34:11 : Psalm 32:8
20. Psalm 34:12 : Cited 1 Pet 3:10-12
21. Psalm 34:12 : Eccles 3:13; 6:6
22. Psalm 34:13 : Psalm 15:3; 39:1; 141:3; Prov 13:3; 21:23; James 1:26; 3:2; 1 Pet 2:1, 22
23. Psalm 34:13 : John 1:47; Rev 14:5
24. Psalm 34:14 : Psalm 37:27; Isa 1:16, 17; Job 28:28
25. Psalm 34:14 : Rom 14:19; Heb 12:14; Rom 12:18
26. Psalm 34:15 : Psalm 33:18
27. Psalm 34:15 : Psalms 42:6, 8; Psalm 145:18; John 9:31
28. Psalm 34:16 : Jer 44:11; Amos 9:4
29. Psalm 34:16 : Psalm 21:10
30. Psalm 34:17 : Psalms 42:15
31. Psalm 34:18 : Psalm 51:17; 147:3; Isa 61:1
32. Psalm 34:18 : Isa 57:15; 66:2; Luke 15:17-24
33. Psalm 34:19 : 2 Tim 3:11, 12
34. Psalm 34:19 : Psalms 42:6, 17, 22; Acts 12:11
35. Psalm 34:20 : John 19:36
36. Psalm 34:21 : Psalm 94:23; Prov 24:16; Psalm 7:15, 16
37. Psalm 34:22 : Psalm 25:22
38. Psalm 34:22 : Rom 8:33,
Prayer: God Bless You Always in Christ Jesus and The Holy Spirit of God. We pray that love will move your heart to give in love all that the Lord has blessed you with in life. In Jesus name we pray. A-men.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Glory to God and The Joy of Jesus
Psalm 100
A Psalm of Thanksgiving.
1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
3 Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;[a]
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
Prayer: We Glorify God in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, and The Holy Spirit of God. Praise God all day to The Joy of Jesus. A-men
A Psalm of Thanksgiving.
1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
3 Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;[a]
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
Prayer: We Glorify God in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, and The Holy Spirit of God. Praise God all day to The Joy of Jesus. A-men
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Blessed is The Name of The Joy of Jesus
Bible/Scripture Today:
Psalm 118:
Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: {n} we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
(n) Who are the priests, and have the charge of it, as in Nu 6:23.
Wesley's Notes
118:26 Blessed - We pray that God would bless his person and government. Cometh - To the throne; or from his Father into the world: who is known by the name of him that cometh or was to come, and of whom this very word is used, Gen 49:10 Isa 35:4. Name - By commission from him. We - We who are the Lord's ministers attending upon him in his house, and appointed to bless in his name, Numb 6:23 Deut 10:8. So these are the words of the priests.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26. he that cometh . Lord-As above intimated, this may be applied to the visible head of the Jewish Church entering the sanctuary, as leading the procession; typically it belongs to Him of whom the phrase became an epithet (Mal 3:1; Mt 21:9).
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
118:22,23, may refer to David's preferment; but principally to Christ. 1. His humiliation; he is the Stone which the builders refused: they would go on in their building without him. This proved the ruin of those who thus made light of him. Rejecters of Christ are rejected of God. 2. His exaltation; he is the chief Cornerstone in the foundation. He is the chief Top-stone, in whom the building is completed, who must, in all things, have the pre-eminence. Christ's name is Wonderful; and the redemption he wrought out is the most amazing of all God's wondrous works. We will rejoice and be glad in the Lord's day; not only that such a day is appointed, but in the occasion of it, Christ's becoming the Head. Sabbath days ought to be rejoicing days, then they are to us as the days of heaven. Let this Saviour be my Saviour, my Ruler. Let my soul prosper and be in health, in that peace and righteousness which his government brings. Let me have victory over the lusts that war against my soul; and let Divine grace subdue my heart. The duty which the Lord has made, brings light with it, true light. The duty this privilege calls for, is here set forth; the sacrifices we are to offer to God in gratitude for redeeming love, are ourselves; not to be slain upon the altar, but living sacrifices, to be bound to the altar; spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, in which our hearts must be engaged. The psalmist praises God, and calls upon all about him to give thanks to God for the glad tidings of great joy to all people, that there is a Redeemer, even Christ the Lord. In him the covenant of grace is made sure and everlasting.
Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 19-29
We have here an illustrious prophecy of the humiliation and exaltation of our Lord Jesus, his sufferings, and the glory that should follow. Peter thus applies it directly to the chief priests and scribes, and none of them could charge him with misapplying it, Acts 4:11. Now observe here,
I. The preface with which this precious prophecy is introduced, v. 19-21. 1. The psalmist desires admission into the sanctuary of God, there to celebrate the glory of him that cometh in the name of the Lord: Open to me the gates of righteousness. So the temple-gates are called, because they were shut against the uncircumcised, and forbade the stranger to come nigh, as the sacrifices there offered are called sacrifices of righteousness. Those that would enter into communion with God in holy ordinances must become humble suitors to God for admission. And when the gates of righteousness are opened to us we must go into them, must enter into the holiest, as far as we have leave, and praise the Lord. Our business within God's gates is to praise God; therefore we should long till the gates of heaven be opened to us, that we may go into them to dwell in God's house above, where we shall be still praising him. 2. He sees admission granted him (v. 20): This is the gate of the Lord, the gate of his appointing, into which the righteous shall enter; as if he had said, "The gate you knocked at is opened, and you are welcome. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Some by this gate understand Christ, by whom we are taken into fellowship with God and our praises are accepted; he is the way; there is no coming to the Father but by him (Jn. 14:6), he is the door of the sheep (Jn. 10:9); he is the gate of the temple, by whom, and by whom only, the righteous, and they only, shall enter, and come into God's righteousness, as the expression is, Ps. 69:27. The psalmist triumphs in the discovery that the gate of righteousness, which had been so long shut, and so long knocked at, was now at length opened. 3. He promises to give thanks to God for this favour (v. 21): I will praise thee. Those that saw Christ's day at so great a distance saw cause to praise God for the prospect; for in him they saw that God had heard them, had heard the prayers of the Old-Testament saints for the coming of the Messiah, and would be their salvation.
II. The prophecy itself, v. 22, 23. This may have some reference to David's preferment; he was the stone which Saul and his courtiers rejected, but was by the wonderful providence of God advanced to be the headstone of the building. But its principal reference is to Christ; and here we have, 1. His humiliation. He is the stone which the builders refused; he is the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, Dan. 2:34. He is a stone, not only for strength, and firmness, and duration, but for life, in the building of the spiritual temple; and yet a precious stone (1 Pt. 2:6), for the foundation of the gospel-church must be sapphires, Isa. 54:11. This stone was rejected by the builders, by the rulers and people of the Jews (Acts 4:8, 10, 11); they refused to own him as the stone, the Messiah promised; they would not build their faith upon him nor join themselves to him; they would make no use of him, but go on in their building without him; they denied him in the presence of Pilate (Acts 3:13) when they said, We have no king but Caesar. They trampled upon this stone, threw it among the rubbish out of the city; nay, they stumbled at it. This was a disgrace to Christ, but it proved the ruin of those that thus made light of him. Rejecters of Christ are rejected of God. 2. His exaltation. He has become the headstone of the corner; he is advanced to the highest degree both of honour and usefulness, to be above all, and all in all. He is the chief corner-stone in the foundation, in whom Jew and Gentile are united, that they may be built up one holy house. He is the chief top-stone in the corner, in whom the building is completed, and who must in all things have the pre-eminence, as the author and finisher of our faith. Thus highly has God exalted him, because he humbled himself; and we, in compliance with God's design, must make him the foundation of our hope, the centre of our unity, and the end of our living. To me to live is Christ. 3. The hand of God in all this: This is the Lord's doing; it is from the Lord; it is with the Lord; it is the product of his counsel; it is his contrivance. Both the humiliation and the exaltation of the Lord Jesus were his work, Acts 2:23; 4:27, 28. He sent him, sealed him; his hand went with him throughout his whole undertaking, and from first to last he did his Father's will; and this ought to be marvellous in our eyes. Christ's name is Wonderful; and the redemption he wrought out is the most amazing of all God's works of wonder; it is what the angels desire to look into, and will be admiring to eternity; much more ought we to admire it, who owe our all to it. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.
III. The joy wherewith it is entertained and the acclamations which attend this prediction.
1. Let the day be solemnized to the honour of God with great joy (v. 24): This is the day the Lord has made. The whole time of the gospel-dispensation, that accepted time, that day of salvation, is what the Lord has made so; it is a continual feast, which ought to be kept with joy. Or it may very fitly be understood of the Christian sabbath, which we sanctify in remembrance of Christ's resurrection, when the rejected stone began to be exalted; and so, (1.) Here is the doctrine of the Christian sabbath: It is the day which the Lord has made, has made remarkable, made holy, has distinguished from other days; he has made it for man: it is therefore called the Lord's day, for it bears his image and superscription. (2.) The duty of the sabbath, the work of the day that is to be done in his day: We will rejoice and be glad in it, not only in the institution of the day, that there is such a day appointed, but in the occasion of it, Christ's becoming the head of the corner. This we ought to rejoice in both as his honour and our advantage. Sabbath days must be rejoicing days, and then they are to us as the days of heaven. See what a good Master we serve, who, having instituted a day for his service, appoints it to be spent in holy joy.
2. Let the exalted Redeemer be met, and attended, with joyful hosannas, v. 25, 26.
(1.) Let him have the acclamations of the people, as is usual at the inauguration of a prince. Let every one of his loyal subjects shout for joy, Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord! This is like Vivat rex-Long live the king, and expresses a hearty joy for his accession to the crown, an entire satisfaction in his government, and a zealous affection to the interests and honour of it. Hosanna signifies, Save now, I beseech thee. [1.] "Lord, save me, I beseech thee; let this Saviour be my Saviour, and, in order to that, my ruler; let me be taken under his protection and owned as one of his willing subjects. His enemies are my enemies; Lord, I beseech thee, save me from them. Send me an interest in that prosperity which his kingdom brings with it to all those that entertain it. Let my soul prosper and be in health, in that peace and righteousness which his government brings, Ps. 72:3. Let me have victory over those lusts that war against my soul, and let divine grace go on in my heart conquering and to conquer." [2.] "Lord, preserve him, I beseech thee, even the Saviour himself, and send him prosperity in all his undertakings; give success to his gospel, and let it be mighty, through God, to the pulling down of strong-holds and reducing souls to their allegiance to him. Let his name be sanctified, his kingdom come, his will be done." Thus let prayer be made for him continually, Ps. 72:15. On the Lord's day, when we rejoice and are glad in his kingdom, we must pray for the advancement of it more and more, and its establishment upon the ruins of the devil's kingdom. When Christ made his public entry into Jerusalem he was thus met by his well-wishers (Mt. 21:9): Hosanna to the Son of David; long live King Jesus; let him reign for ever.
(2.) Let the priests, the Lord's ministers, do their part in this great solemnity, v. 26. [1.] Let them bless the prince with their praises: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Jesus Christ is he that cometh-ho erchomenos, he that was to come and is yet to come again, Rev. 1:8. He comes in the name of the Lord, with a commission from him, to act for him, to do his will and to seek his glory; and therefore we must say, Blessed be he that cometh; we must rejoice that he has come; we must speak well of him, admire him, and esteem him highly, as one we are eternally obliged to, call him blessed Jesus, blessed for ever, Ps. 45:2. We must bid him welcome into our hearts, saying, "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; come in by thy grace and Spirit, and take possession of me for thy own." We must bless his faithful ministers that come in his name, and receive them for his sake, Isa. 52:7; Jn. 13:20. We must pray for the enlargement and edification of his church, for the ripening of things for his second coming, and then that he who has said, Surely I come quickly, would even so come. [2.] Let them bless the people with their prayers: We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. Christ's ministers are not only warranted, but appointed to pronounce a blessing, in his name, upon all his loyal subjects that love him and his government in sincerity, Eph. 6:24. We assure you that in and through Jesus Christ you are blessed; for he came to bless you. "You are blessed out of the house of the Lord, that is, with spiritual blessings in heavenly places (Eph. 1:3), and therefore have reason to bless him who has thus blessed you."
3. Let sacrifices of thanksgiving be offered to his honour who offered for us the great atoning sacrifice, v. 27. Here is, (1.) The privilege we enjoy by Jesus Christ: God is the Lord who has shown us light. God is Jehovah, is known by that name, a God performing what he has promised and perfecting what he has begun, Ex. 6:3. He has shown us light, that is, he has given us the knowledge of himself and his will. He has shined upon us (so some); he has favoured us, and lifted up upon us the light of his countenance; he has given us occasion for joy and rejoicing, which is light to the soul, by giving us a prospect of everlasting light in heaven. The day which the Lord has made brings light with it, true light. (2.) The duty which this privilege calls for: Bind the sacrifice with cords, that, being killed, the blood of it may be sprinkled upon the horns of the altar, according to the law; or perhaps it was the custom (though we read not of it elsewhere) to bind the sacrifice to the horns of the altar while things were getting ready for the slaying of it. Or this may have a peculiar significancy here; the sacrifice we are to offer to God, in gratitude for redeeming love, is ourselves, not to be slain upon the altar, but living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1), to be bound to the altar, spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, in which our hearts must be fixed and engaged, as the sacrifice was bound with cords to the horns of the altar, not to start back.
4. The psalmist concludes with his own thankful acknowledgments of divine grace, in which he calls upon others to join with him, v. 28, 29. (1.) He will praise God himself, and endeavour to exalt him in his own heart and in the hearts of others, and this because of his covenant-relation to him and interest in him: "Thou art my God, on whom I depend, and to whom I am devoted, who ownest me and art owned by me; and therefore I will praise thee." (2.) He will have all about him to give thanks to God for these glad tidings of great joy to all people, that there is a Redeemer, even Christ the Lord. In him it is that God is good to man and that his mercy endures for ever; in him the covenant of grace is made, and in him it is made sure, made good, and made an everlasting covenant. He concludes this psalm as he began it (v. 1), for God's glory must be the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, of all our addresses to him. Hallowed by thy name, and thine is the glory. And this fitly closes a prophecy of Christ. The angels give thanks for man's redemption. Glory to God in the highest (Lu. 2:14), for there is on earth peace, to which we must echo with our hosannas, as they did, Lu. 19:38. Peace in heaven to us through Christ, and therefore glory in the highest.
Bible Commenter
Psalm 118:
Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: {n} we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
(n) Who are the priests, and have the charge of it, as in Nu 6:23.
Wesley's Notes
118:26 Blessed - We pray that God would bless his person and government. Cometh - To the throne; or from his Father into the world: who is known by the name of him that cometh or was to come, and of whom this very word is used, Gen 49:10 Isa 35:4. Name - By commission from him. We - We who are the Lord's ministers attending upon him in his house, and appointed to bless in his name, Numb 6:23 Deut 10:8. So these are the words of the priests.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26. he that cometh . Lord-As above intimated, this may be applied to the visible head of the Jewish Church entering the sanctuary, as leading the procession; typically it belongs to Him of whom the phrase became an epithet (Mal 3:1; Mt 21:9).
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
118:22,23, may refer to David's preferment; but principally to Christ. 1. His humiliation; he is the Stone which the builders refused: they would go on in their building without him. This proved the ruin of those who thus made light of him. Rejecters of Christ are rejected of God. 2. His exaltation; he is the chief Cornerstone in the foundation. He is the chief Top-stone, in whom the building is completed, who must, in all things, have the pre-eminence. Christ's name is Wonderful; and the redemption he wrought out is the most amazing of all God's wondrous works. We will rejoice and be glad in the Lord's day; not only that such a day is appointed, but in the occasion of it, Christ's becoming the Head. Sabbath days ought to be rejoicing days, then they are to us as the days of heaven. Let this Saviour be my Saviour, my Ruler. Let my soul prosper and be in health, in that peace and righteousness which his government brings. Let me have victory over the lusts that war against my soul; and let Divine grace subdue my heart. The duty which the Lord has made, brings light with it, true light. The duty this privilege calls for, is here set forth; the sacrifices we are to offer to God in gratitude for redeeming love, are ourselves; not to be slain upon the altar, but living sacrifices, to be bound to the altar; spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, in which our hearts must be engaged. The psalmist praises God, and calls upon all about him to give thanks to God for the glad tidings of great joy to all people, that there is a Redeemer, even Christ the Lord. In him the covenant of grace is made sure and everlasting.
Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 19-29
We have here an illustrious prophecy of the humiliation and exaltation of our Lord Jesus, his sufferings, and the glory that should follow. Peter thus applies it directly to the chief priests and scribes, and none of them could charge him with misapplying it, Acts 4:11. Now observe here,
I. The preface with which this precious prophecy is introduced, v. 19-21. 1. The psalmist desires admission into the sanctuary of God, there to celebrate the glory of him that cometh in the name of the Lord: Open to me the gates of righteousness. So the temple-gates are called, because they were shut against the uncircumcised, and forbade the stranger to come nigh, as the sacrifices there offered are called sacrifices of righteousness. Those that would enter into communion with God in holy ordinances must become humble suitors to God for admission. And when the gates of righteousness are opened to us we must go into them, must enter into the holiest, as far as we have leave, and praise the Lord. Our business within God's gates is to praise God; therefore we should long till the gates of heaven be opened to us, that we may go into them to dwell in God's house above, where we shall be still praising him. 2. He sees admission granted him (v. 20): This is the gate of the Lord, the gate of his appointing, into which the righteous shall enter; as if he had said, "The gate you knocked at is opened, and you are welcome. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Some by this gate understand Christ, by whom we are taken into fellowship with God and our praises are accepted; he is the way; there is no coming to the Father but by him (Jn. 14:6), he is the door of the sheep (Jn. 10:9); he is the gate of the temple, by whom, and by whom only, the righteous, and they only, shall enter, and come into God's righteousness, as the expression is, Ps. 69:27. The psalmist triumphs in the discovery that the gate of righteousness, which had been so long shut, and so long knocked at, was now at length opened. 3. He promises to give thanks to God for this favour (v. 21): I will praise thee. Those that saw Christ's day at so great a distance saw cause to praise God for the prospect; for in him they saw that God had heard them, had heard the prayers of the Old-Testament saints for the coming of the Messiah, and would be their salvation.
II. The prophecy itself, v. 22, 23. This may have some reference to David's preferment; he was the stone which Saul and his courtiers rejected, but was by the wonderful providence of God advanced to be the headstone of the building. But its principal reference is to Christ; and here we have, 1. His humiliation. He is the stone which the builders refused; he is the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, Dan. 2:34. He is a stone, not only for strength, and firmness, and duration, but for life, in the building of the spiritual temple; and yet a precious stone (1 Pt. 2:6), for the foundation of the gospel-church must be sapphires, Isa. 54:11. This stone was rejected by the builders, by the rulers and people of the Jews (Acts 4:8, 10, 11); they refused to own him as the stone, the Messiah promised; they would not build their faith upon him nor join themselves to him; they would make no use of him, but go on in their building without him; they denied him in the presence of Pilate (Acts 3:13) when they said, We have no king but Caesar. They trampled upon this stone, threw it among the rubbish out of the city; nay, they stumbled at it. This was a disgrace to Christ, but it proved the ruin of those that thus made light of him. Rejecters of Christ are rejected of God. 2. His exaltation. He has become the headstone of the corner; he is advanced to the highest degree both of honour and usefulness, to be above all, and all in all. He is the chief corner-stone in the foundation, in whom Jew and Gentile are united, that they may be built up one holy house. He is the chief top-stone in the corner, in whom the building is completed, and who must in all things have the pre-eminence, as the author and finisher of our faith. Thus highly has God exalted him, because he humbled himself; and we, in compliance with God's design, must make him the foundation of our hope, the centre of our unity, and the end of our living. To me to live is Christ. 3. The hand of God in all this: This is the Lord's doing; it is from the Lord; it is with the Lord; it is the product of his counsel; it is his contrivance. Both the humiliation and the exaltation of the Lord Jesus were his work, Acts 2:23; 4:27, 28. He sent him, sealed him; his hand went with him throughout his whole undertaking, and from first to last he did his Father's will; and this ought to be marvellous in our eyes. Christ's name is Wonderful; and the redemption he wrought out is the most amazing of all God's works of wonder; it is what the angels desire to look into, and will be admiring to eternity; much more ought we to admire it, who owe our all to it. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.
III. The joy wherewith it is entertained and the acclamations which attend this prediction.
1. Let the day be solemnized to the honour of God with great joy (v. 24): This is the day the Lord has made. The whole time of the gospel-dispensation, that accepted time, that day of salvation, is what the Lord has made so; it is a continual feast, which ought to be kept with joy. Or it may very fitly be understood of the Christian sabbath, which we sanctify in remembrance of Christ's resurrection, when the rejected stone began to be exalted; and so, (1.) Here is the doctrine of the Christian sabbath: It is the day which the Lord has made, has made remarkable, made holy, has distinguished from other days; he has made it for man: it is therefore called the Lord's day, for it bears his image and superscription. (2.) The duty of the sabbath, the work of the day that is to be done in his day: We will rejoice and be glad in it, not only in the institution of the day, that there is such a day appointed, but in the occasion of it, Christ's becoming the head of the corner. This we ought to rejoice in both as his honour and our advantage. Sabbath days must be rejoicing days, and then they are to us as the days of heaven. See what a good Master we serve, who, having instituted a day for his service, appoints it to be spent in holy joy.
2. Let the exalted Redeemer be met, and attended, with joyful hosannas, v. 25, 26.
(1.) Let him have the acclamations of the people, as is usual at the inauguration of a prince. Let every one of his loyal subjects shout for joy, Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord! This is like Vivat rex-Long live the king, and expresses a hearty joy for his accession to the crown, an entire satisfaction in his government, and a zealous affection to the interests and honour of it. Hosanna signifies, Save now, I beseech thee. [1.] "Lord, save me, I beseech thee; let this Saviour be my Saviour, and, in order to that, my ruler; let me be taken under his protection and owned as one of his willing subjects. His enemies are my enemies; Lord, I beseech thee, save me from them. Send me an interest in that prosperity which his kingdom brings with it to all those that entertain it. Let my soul prosper and be in health, in that peace and righteousness which his government brings, Ps. 72:3. Let me have victory over those lusts that war against my soul, and let divine grace go on in my heart conquering and to conquer." [2.] "Lord, preserve him, I beseech thee, even the Saviour himself, and send him prosperity in all his undertakings; give success to his gospel, and let it be mighty, through God, to the pulling down of strong-holds and reducing souls to their allegiance to him. Let his name be sanctified, his kingdom come, his will be done." Thus let prayer be made for him continually, Ps. 72:15. On the Lord's day, when we rejoice and are glad in his kingdom, we must pray for the advancement of it more and more, and its establishment upon the ruins of the devil's kingdom. When Christ made his public entry into Jerusalem he was thus met by his well-wishers (Mt. 21:9): Hosanna to the Son of David; long live King Jesus; let him reign for ever.
(2.) Let the priests, the Lord's ministers, do their part in this great solemnity, v. 26. [1.] Let them bless the prince with their praises: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Jesus Christ is he that cometh-ho erchomenos, he that was to come and is yet to come again, Rev. 1:8. He comes in the name of the Lord, with a commission from him, to act for him, to do his will and to seek his glory; and therefore we must say, Blessed be he that cometh; we must rejoice that he has come; we must speak well of him, admire him, and esteem him highly, as one we are eternally obliged to, call him blessed Jesus, blessed for ever, Ps. 45:2. We must bid him welcome into our hearts, saying, "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; come in by thy grace and Spirit, and take possession of me for thy own." We must bless his faithful ministers that come in his name, and receive them for his sake, Isa. 52:7; Jn. 13:20. We must pray for the enlargement and edification of his church, for the ripening of things for his second coming, and then that he who has said, Surely I come quickly, would even so come. [2.] Let them bless the people with their prayers: We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. Christ's ministers are not only warranted, but appointed to pronounce a blessing, in his name, upon all his loyal subjects that love him and his government in sincerity, Eph. 6:24. We assure you that in and through Jesus Christ you are blessed; for he came to bless you. "You are blessed out of the house of the Lord, that is, with spiritual blessings in heavenly places (Eph. 1:3), and therefore have reason to bless him who has thus blessed you."
3. Let sacrifices of thanksgiving be offered to his honour who offered for us the great atoning sacrifice, v. 27. Here is, (1.) The privilege we enjoy by Jesus Christ: God is the Lord who has shown us light. God is Jehovah, is known by that name, a God performing what he has promised and perfecting what he has begun, Ex. 6:3. He has shown us light, that is, he has given us the knowledge of himself and his will. He has shined upon us (so some); he has favoured us, and lifted up upon us the light of his countenance; he has given us occasion for joy and rejoicing, which is light to the soul, by giving us a prospect of everlasting light in heaven. The day which the Lord has made brings light with it, true light. (2.) The duty which this privilege calls for: Bind the sacrifice with cords, that, being killed, the blood of it may be sprinkled upon the horns of the altar, according to the law; or perhaps it was the custom (though we read not of it elsewhere) to bind the sacrifice to the horns of the altar while things were getting ready for the slaying of it. Or this may have a peculiar significancy here; the sacrifice we are to offer to God, in gratitude for redeeming love, is ourselves, not to be slain upon the altar, but living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1), to be bound to the altar, spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, in which our hearts must be fixed and engaged, as the sacrifice was bound with cords to the horns of the altar, not to start back.
4. The psalmist concludes with his own thankful acknowledgments of divine grace, in which he calls upon others to join with him, v. 28, 29. (1.) He will praise God himself, and endeavour to exalt him in his own heart and in the hearts of others, and this because of his covenant-relation to him and interest in him: "Thou art my God, on whom I depend, and to whom I am devoted, who ownest me and art owned by me; and therefore I will praise thee." (2.) He will have all about him to give thanks to God for these glad tidings of great joy to all people, that there is a Redeemer, even Christ the Lord. In him it is that God is good to man and that his mercy endures for ever; in him the covenant of grace is made, and in him it is made sure, made good, and made an everlasting covenant. He concludes this psalm as he began it (v. 1), for God's glory must be the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, of all our addresses to him. Hallowed by thy name, and thine is the glory. And this fitly closes a prophecy of Christ. The angels give thanks for man's redemption. Glory to God in the highest (Lu. 2:14), for there is on earth peace, to which we must echo with our hosannas, as they did, Lu. 19:38. Peace in heaven to us through Christ, and therefore glory in the highest.
Bible Commenter
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Bible Study: God is Love from The Joy of Jesus
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God Is Love
By Richard L. Strauss
Created 05/18/2004 - 00:00
God Is Love
One of our greatest needs as human beings is to be loved. We all need love. We need to know that we are important to somebody, that somebody truly cares about us, wants us, and accepts us unconditionally. When we doubt that we are loved, we may develop unacceptable behavior patterns to compensate for it.
For example, we may act irresponsibly in a desperate attempt to get attention. Attention is a poor substitute for love but it seems better than nothing at all. We may develop physical symptoms that bring us sympathy and concern. The symptoms cause us genuine pain, but the pain of sickness is more bearable than the pain of admitting that nobody cares. We may angrily lash out at those whom we think should care or we may try to run away from them and hide, but in either case, we are trying to protect ourselves from the hurt they are causing us by their lack of concern. We all need to know that somebody loves us.
The good news from God’s Word is that somebody does. To know Him is to find release from the crippling effects of feeling unloved. Twice the Apostle John categorically stated that God is love (1 John 4:8,16). Love is one of the warmest words in the English language, and that God is love is one of the most sublime, uplifting, and reassuring truths known to mankind. Love is His nature. It is not merely a friendly attitude He projects. It is the essence of His being. He is always going to act toward us in love because He cannot do otherwise. Love is the way He is.
No one attribute of God is any more important than any other, and all His attributes are expressed in conjunction with each other. Yet some believe that love may be the most powerful motivating force in all of God’s being. It deeply affects everything else God is and all that He does. Knowing God’s love could well be the believer’s key to a well-balanced, satisfying life of peace, productivity, and power. It would be rather presumptuous to assume that we can exhaust the subject of God’s love in one brief chapter, but let us try to scratch the surface and begin to explore this fathomless truth. Here are eight characteristics of God’s love.
God’s Love Is Self-Giving
Love involves action. It is expressed in the giving of oneself for the good of another, so it always demands an object. Whenever we talk about love we are suggesting that there is more than one person involved. There must be at least two—the one who loves and the one who is loved. If God has always been love and love demands an object, we may wonder how God demonstrated His love before He created angels or men. Jesus answered that question. He revealed that there was a love relationship between the persons of the triune Godhead from eternity past, when He said to His Father, “Thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). We have seen that God is complete and sufficient in and of Himself. He has no needs which must be met by others outside Himself. He did not need to create other beings in order to express His love. It was perfectly expressed between the persons of the Trinity from all eternity.
Yet He did create. Why? He wanted so much to manifest His love that He first created the angelic hosts and later the human race so that he might communicate Himself to them, give of Himself for them, and bestow His very best on them for their benefit and blessing. Our love is often selfish and demanding. God’s love is pure. Because He is love, He loves to give. Jesus said He gives good things to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:11). James went so far as to say that every good gift finds its source in Him (James 1:17). Since God is love, we can expect Him to give of Himself.
Knowing the God of love can help to make us more loving and giving persons. Not only will getting to know Him more intimately cause us to become more like Him, but resting secure in the assurance that He loves us will keep us from making demands of others and free us to reach out unselfishly and minister to them for their benefit alone. It is vitally important that we understand how much God loves us.
God’s Love Is Sacrificial
Not only does God’s love motivate Him to give, but it motivates Him to give when it costs Him dearly. That too is different from our love. We hesitate to do anything for others that will cost us too much or inconvenience us too greatly. But God’s love cost Him the very best that He had—His only Son. That is the message of the greatest love text in the Bible: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God’s giving His Son involved more than merely allowing Him to leave Heaven’s glory and enter earth’s history. It meant allowing Him to die in our place and pay the awful debt of our sins. God proved His love conclusively and irrefutably by sending His Son to the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10). That is sacrificial love.
It was no less of a sacrifice for God the Son than it was for God the Father. His willingness to offer Himself was the summit of sacrificial love. Paul called Him “the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). When the same apostle outlined God’s principles for harmonious marital relationships, he said, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Jesus Christ made the supreme sacrifice for us when He died in our place. He was falsely accused, beaten, spit on, crowned with thorns, nailed to a cross, and left to die the most excruciating death known to man. The infinite curse of sin’s penalty, the Father’s just punishment for the whole world’s guilt, was laid on Him as He hung on that cross. He possessed the power to walk away from it unscathed, yet He voluntarily stayed there and bore that suffering for us. There simply is no greater love (John 15:13).
Whenever we are tempted to think that nobody loves us, we need to think of the cross. Jesus bore that shame and suffering because He loves us. He values us so highly that He was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to secure for us eternal joy. That is the epitome of love. Knowing Him intimately will motivate us to make some sacrifices for the good of others—for our spouses, our children, and other members of the body of Christ. It will help us give up what we want in order to minister to their needs.
God’s Love Is Unconditional
One of the most amazing things about God’s love is that it is extended to us when we do not deserve it and continues steadfast and strong even when we do not respond to it. In other words, His love is unconditional. That certainly is different from our love. We have a tendency to show more love to the people who obviously love us and less love to the ones who do not. We express our love to our spouses and our children when they perform to our expectations and we withhold it from them when they displease us. We shower affection on the lovable children and avoid the belligerent little rascals who look as if they might want to kick us in the shins. I find it easy to express my love to my wife when she tells me what a wonderful husband I am, but not quite so easy when she scolds me for not taking out the trash. I find it easier to be loving toward my children when they are obeying me willingly, but not quite so easy when they are resisting me.
God is not like that. The best-loved verse in the Bible says, “For God so loved the world,” that is, the whole world. That does not refer to the materials out of which our planet is constructed, but to the world of people. It does not mean the whole mass of humanity generally; it refers to each individual sinful person. The Bible categorizes all of them as God’s enemies, people who have willfully set themselves against Him (cf. Romans 5:10; Colossians 1:21). God even loves His enemies—all of them.
There is not one good thing in any of us that merits God’s love. He does not love us because we are so lovable or because we can somehow make ourselves worthy of His love. We are totally unworthy, yet He prizes us highly and showers His very best on us. It is His love for us that gives us our worth. God finds great delight and receives great glory when we respond to His love, enter His fellowship, and do His will. In fact, He made us for that purpose. But whether or not we ever return His love, He keeps on extending it to us. There is nothing we can do to make Him love us any more, and nothing we ever do will cause Him to love us any less. He loves us perfectly and completely regardless of how we perform. His love is unconditional.
So many of us are performance oriented. We have felt approved and accepted when we have performed to someone else’s satisfaction, and disapproved and rejected when we have failed to live up to their standards. Consequently, we treat others the same way. If they please us, we treat them kindly and considerately. If they displease us, we feel justified in treating them unkindly and unlovingly. Knowing God intimately will help us express love to others when they do not perform to our expectations.
There is a great Biblical illustration of God’s unconditional love in His relationship with the nation Israel. “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). Can we see what He is implying? There is no human reason for His love for Israel. They were a rebellious, stiff-necked people. But He loved them simply because He loved them.
That is how it is with you and me. He loves us just because He loves us. Nothing we ever did made Him love us, so nothing we ever do will make Him stop loving us. He loves us when we’re grouchy just as much as when we’re glad. He loves us when we sin just as much as when we don’t. He loves us when we open our mouths and say things we know we shouldn’t have said. He loves us when our wives or husbands or parents or children are not treating us as though they love us. He loves us when we’re feeling as though nobody in the whole world loves us. He loves us even when we don’t like ourselves. He never stops loving us.
God’s Love Is Eternal
This message also was given originally to the nation Israel, but its application is for every true child of God.
The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying,
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness (Jeremiah 31:3).
That everlasting love reaches into eternity past. He knew us and loved us before He made us, when we were but a thought in His mind. And He will love us for eternity to come, for, as Paul assured us, nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:39). The love of an eternal God must be an eternal love.
If anybody ever deserved to forfeit the love of Christ it was His earthly disciples. They were men of inestimable spiritual privileges, yet they displayed an amazingly small degree of spiritual insight. Witness their behavior on the evening of the last Passover. The impending ordeal of bearing the world’s sins was weighing heavily on the Lord’s heart and He longed for their prayerful support. But Luke informs us that they were more interested in arguing about which one of them was the greatest (Luke 22:24).
None of them even extended the common social courtesy of the day by washing the others’ feet when they entered the room for dinner. They probably were too busy competing for the seats of honor near the Lord. Later three of them fell asleep when they were supposed to be praying, all of them deserted the Lord when He was taken captive, one of them denied Him, and another one later doubted Him. Notice how this upper room episode began: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1). To the end of what? Who can really say? He will love us to the end of our waywardness and wanderings. He will love us to the end of our deepest need. He will love us to the end of our lives, to the end of time, to the farthest extremity of eternity. He will love us forever. His love is eternal.
How can we ever exhaust the love of God! The love of an infinite God must be infinite love. Paul called it a love that “surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19), far greater than our finite minds can grasp. He also called it a “great love” (Ephesians 2:4). He referred to its breadth, its length, its depth, and its height (Ephesians 3:18), but it is obvious that he was speaking of dimensions that defy measurement: breadth and length which encompass the whole world, a depth which reaches to the lowest sinner, a height which exalts us to the loftiest Heaven. God’s love has no limit. It is described in F. M. Lehman’s gospel song:
Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above, Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Tho’ stretched from sky to sky.
I read somewhere that those words were penciled on the wall of a narrow room in an asylum by a man who supposedly was demented, and they were discovered after his death. He was not demented at all. He had learned one of the most precious truths of all time, that God’s love is infinite. We can no more exhaust it than we can empty the ocean with a bucket. And we are invited to keep drawing from His inexhaustible supply. To do so will enable us to keep extending love to those around us even when our love is not returned.
God’s Love Is Holy
When some people hear that God’s love is self-giving, sacrificial, unconditional, eternal, and infinite, they get the idea that it is merely soft, sloppy sentimentality, that God is an indulgent Father who gives us everything we want and conveniently turns His head the other way when we sin. But that is not the case. Everything God does is done in the totality of His being, so His love must always be consistent with His other attributes. Since God is holy, then His love must be a holy love that encourages holiness in those loved. The evidence is overwhelming! For example, in the same context in which Paul explains that we in love were predestined unto the adoption of sons, he states God’s purpose for choosing us. It is “that we should be holy and without blame before Him” (Ephesians 1:4). Love and obedience consistently go together in Scripture: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3; cf. also John 14:15; 15:10).
God will use every loving means at His disposal to encourage our obedience. He does that because He loves us. We discussed discipline when we studied God’s holiness, but we cannot overlook it here. The writer to the Hebrews encouraged us not to regard God’s discipline lightly. It is the evidence of His love for us (Hebrews 12:5-6). He knows that obedience to His Word will be for our greatest happiness, so He takes steps to help us want to obey Him. If He did not love us, He would not care about our happiness.
What kind of loving parents would we be if we let our children do anything they pleased, such as put their hands in the fire, ride their tricycles on the freeway, or play superman on the roof of the house? The authorities would probably declare us to be unfit parents. Our love constrains us to discipline in order to insure the kind of behavior that will bring our children future happiness. And that is exactly what our loving heavenly Father does.
He does not enjoy inflicting pain any more than we do. Before my father spanked me as a child, he used to say, “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.” That was difficult for me to believe at the time, and I never understood it until I became a parent myself. Then it became all too clear. It wasn’t my hand that hurt; it was my heart. God says the same thing. Concerning His people Israel we read, “In all their affliction He was afflicted” (Isaiah 63:9). He feels our pain because He loves us. Don’t chafe under His disciplinary hand. He knows best what we need, and He always administers it in love for our best interests. We can respond to His holy love by bringing our lives into conformity to His Word.
God’s Love Is Comforting
Some children would give everything they have for someone who loves them and cares enough for them to set limits on their behavior and administer loving discipline when they violate those limits. That would mean more to them than all the material things in the world because it is the evidence of true love, and true love brings security and comfort. They know that someone who loves them enough to endure the unpleasantness of administering discipline will do everything in his power to take care of them, and that brings them genuine consolation. When we grasp the reality of God’s love, we will no longer seek our security in jobs, bank accounts, investments, houses, husbands, wives, friends, or health. We will rest in the Lord, free from all fear, secure in the assurance that He is going to provide all that we need and protect us from everything that will not be for our good.
Listen to the Apostle John again: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love” (1 John 4:18). God never punishes His children. He laid all the punishment for our sins on His Son. He disciplines us in love for our benefit, but even that is nothing to be afraid of. Understanding God’s love eliminates all fear—fear of God’s discipline, fear of what tomorrow holds, fear of losing a loved one, fear of losing a job, fear of natural catastrophies, fear of global war, fear of suffering, fear of death, fear of being alone, fear of rejection. God loves us! There is nothing to fear. His love is comforting.
God’s Love is Life-Changing
Most of us long to be loving people, able to give love to our spouses, our children, our fellow believers, our unsaved acquaintances, and, most of all, to the Lord Himself. But we find it so difficult. It is nearly impossible for us to love others unless we are genuinely convinced that we ourselves are loved. Some of us are hard, callused, insensitive, and unloving people because we are not convinced we are really loved. We are saying unconsciously, “Why should I be loving to others when nobody shows me any love?” God’s love can change that. We can find all the acceptance and affection we crave in Him; then with the confidence that we ourselves are loved, we can extend love to others. “We love,” said the Apostle John, “because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
It really is true—God loves us. Jesus said it plainly: “For the Father Himself loves you” (John 16:27). It is to our advantage to know and believe the love that He has for us (1 John 4:16). We may never be able to grasp it fully with our human understanding alone, but God is ready to make it real to us if our hearts are open and receptive to His Word. Then, secure in His love, we shall be able to reach out in love to others, unselfishly, sacrificially, unconditionally, and inexhaustibly. It will profoundly influence our relationships with those around us.
A world-renowned theologian was asked by a student what he considered to be the most significant theological truth he ever learned. His answer was, “Jesus loves me. This I know; for the Bible tells me so.” Believe it, Christian. God loves you!
Action To Take
Look for evidences of God’s love for you all throughout the day, and remind yourself often that you are the object of His endless love.
Tell several others during the day that God loves them.
Source URL: http://bible.org/seriespage/god-love
God Is Love
By Richard L. Strauss
Created 05/18/2004 - 00:00
God Is Love
One of our greatest needs as human beings is to be loved. We all need love. We need to know that we are important to somebody, that somebody truly cares about us, wants us, and accepts us unconditionally. When we doubt that we are loved, we may develop unacceptable behavior patterns to compensate for it.
For example, we may act irresponsibly in a desperate attempt to get attention. Attention is a poor substitute for love but it seems better than nothing at all. We may develop physical symptoms that bring us sympathy and concern. The symptoms cause us genuine pain, but the pain of sickness is more bearable than the pain of admitting that nobody cares. We may angrily lash out at those whom we think should care or we may try to run away from them and hide, but in either case, we are trying to protect ourselves from the hurt they are causing us by their lack of concern. We all need to know that somebody loves us.
The good news from God’s Word is that somebody does. To know Him is to find release from the crippling effects of feeling unloved. Twice the Apostle John categorically stated that God is love (1 John 4:8,16). Love is one of the warmest words in the English language, and that God is love is one of the most sublime, uplifting, and reassuring truths known to mankind. Love is His nature. It is not merely a friendly attitude He projects. It is the essence of His being. He is always going to act toward us in love because He cannot do otherwise. Love is the way He is.
No one attribute of God is any more important than any other, and all His attributes are expressed in conjunction with each other. Yet some believe that love may be the most powerful motivating force in all of God’s being. It deeply affects everything else God is and all that He does. Knowing God’s love could well be the believer’s key to a well-balanced, satisfying life of peace, productivity, and power. It would be rather presumptuous to assume that we can exhaust the subject of God’s love in one brief chapter, but let us try to scratch the surface and begin to explore this fathomless truth. Here are eight characteristics of God’s love.
God’s Love Is Self-Giving
Love involves action. It is expressed in the giving of oneself for the good of another, so it always demands an object. Whenever we talk about love we are suggesting that there is more than one person involved. There must be at least two—the one who loves and the one who is loved. If God has always been love and love demands an object, we may wonder how God demonstrated His love before He created angels or men. Jesus answered that question. He revealed that there was a love relationship between the persons of the triune Godhead from eternity past, when He said to His Father, “Thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). We have seen that God is complete and sufficient in and of Himself. He has no needs which must be met by others outside Himself. He did not need to create other beings in order to express His love. It was perfectly expressed between the persons of the Trinity from all eternity.
Yet He did create. Why? He wanted so much to manifest His love that He first created the angelic hosts and later the human race so that he might communicate Himself to them, give of Himself for them, and bestow His very best on them for their benefit and blessing. Our love is often selfish and demanding. God’s love is pure. Because He is love, He loves to give. Jesus said He gives good things to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:11). James went so far as to say that every good gift finds its source in Him (James 1:17). Since God is love, we can expect Him to give of Himself.
Knowing the God of love can help to make us more loving and giving persons. Not only will getting to know Him more intimately cause us to become more like Him, but resting secure in the assurance that He loves us will keep us from making demands of others and free us to reach out unselfishly and minister to them for their benefit alone. It is vitally important that we understand how much God loves us.
God’s Love Is Sacrificial
Not only does God’s love motivate Him to give, but it motivates Him to give when it costs Him dearly. That too is different from our love. We hesitate to do anything for others that will cost us too much or inconvenience us too greatly. But God’s love cost Him the very best that He had—His only Son. That is the message of the greatest love text in the Bible: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God’s giving His Son involved more than merely allowing Him to leave Heaven’s glory and enter earth’s history. It meant allowing Him to die in our place and pay the awful debt of our sins. God proved His love conclusively and irrefutably by sending His Son to the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10). That is sacrificial love.
It was no less of a sacrifice for God the Son than it was for God the Father. His willingness to offer Himself was the summit of sacrificial love. Paul called Him “the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). When the same apostle outlined God’s principles for harmonious marital relationships, he said, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Jesus Christ made the supreme sacrifice for us when He died in our place. He was falsely accused, beaten, spit on, crowned with thorns, nailed to a cross, and left to die the most excruciating death known to man. The infinite curse of sin’s penalty, the Father’s just punishment for the whole world’s guilt, was laid on Him as He hung on that cross. He possessed the power to walk away from it unscathed, yet He voluntarily stayed there and bore that suffering for us. There simply is no greater love (John 15:13).
Whenever we are tempted to think that nobody loves us, we need to think of the cross. Jesus bore that shame and suffering because He loves us. He values us so highly that He was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to secure for us eternal joy. That is the epitome of love. Knowing Him intimately will motivate us to make some sacrifices for the good of others—for our spouses, our children, and other members of the body of Christ. It will help us give up what we want in order to minister to their needs.
God’s Love Is Unconditional
One of the most amazing things about God’s love is that it is extended to us when we do not deserve it and continues steadfast and strong even when we do not respond to it. In other words, His love is unconditional. That certainly is different from our love. We have a tendency to show more love to the people who obviously love us and less love to the ones who do not. We express our love to our spouses and our children when they perform to our expectations and we withhold it from them when they displease us. We shower affection on the lovable children and avoid the belligerent little rascals who look as if they might want to kick us in the shins. I find it easy to express my love to my wife when she tells me what a wonderful husband I am, but not quite so easy when she scolds me for not taking out the trash. I find it easier to be loving toward my children when they are obeying me willingly, but not quite so easy when they are resisting me.
God is not like that. The best-loved verse in the Bible says, “For God so loved the world,” that is, the whole world. That does not refer to the materials out of which our planet is constructed, but to the world of people. It does not mean the whole mass of humanity generally; it refers to each individual sinful person. The Bible categorizes all of them as God’s enemies, people who have willfully set themselves against Him (cf. Romans 5:10; Colossians 1:21). God even loves His enemies—all of them.
There is not one good thing in any of us that merits God’s love. He does not love us because we are so lovable or because we can somehow make ourselves worthy of His love. We are totally unworthy, yet He prizes us highly and showers His very best on us. It is His love for us that gives us our worth. God finds great delight and receives great glory when we respond to His love, enter His fellowship, and do His will. In fact, He made us for that purpose. But whether or not we ever return His love, He keeps on extending it to us. There is nothing we can do to make Him love us any more, and nothing we ever do will cause Him to love us any less. He loves us perfectly and completely regardless of how we perform. His love is unconditional.
So many of us are performance oriented. We have felt approved and accepted when we have performed to someone else’s satisfaction, and disapproved and rejected when we have failed to live up to their standards. Consequently, we treat others the same way. If they please us, we treat them kindly and considerately. If they displease us, we feel justified in treating them unkindly and unlovingly. Knowing God intimately will help us express love to others when they do not perform to our expectations.
There is a great Biblical illustration of God’s unconditional love in His relationship with the nation Israel. “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). Can we see what He is implying? There is no human reason for His love for Israel. They were a rebellious, stiff-necked people. But He loved them simply because He loved them.
That is how it is with you and me. He loves us just because He loves us. Nothing we ever did made Him love us, so nothing we ever do will make Him stop loving us. He loves us when we’re grouchy just as much as when we’re glad. He loves us when we sin just as much as when we don’t. He loves us when we open our mouths and say things we know we shouldn’t have said. He loves us when our wives or husbands or parents or children are not treating us as though they love us. He loves us when we’re feeling as though nobody in the whole world loves us. He loves us even when we don’t like ourselves. He never stops loving us.
God’s Love Is Eternal
This message also was given originally to the nation Israel, but its application is for every true child of God.
The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying,
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness (Jeremiah 31:3).
That everlasting love reaches into eternity past. He knew us and loved us before He made us, when we were but a thought in His mind. And He will love us for eternity to come, for, as Paul assured us, nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:39). The love of an eternal God must be an eternal love.
If anybody ever deserved to forfeit the love of Christ it was His earthly disciples. They were men of inestimable spiritual privileges, yet they displayed an amazingly small degree of spiritual insight. Witness their behavior on the evening of the last Passover. The impending ordeal of bearing the world’s sins was weighing heavily on the Lord’s heart and He longed for their prayerful support. But Luke informs us that they were more interested in arguing about which one of them was the greatest (Luke 22:24).
None of them even extended the common social courtesy of the day by washing the others’ feet when they entered the room for dinner. They probably were too busy competing for the seats of honor near the Lord. Later three of them fell asleep when they were supposed to be praying, all of them deserted the Lord when He was taken captive, one of them denied Him, and another one later doubted Him. Notice how this upper room episode began: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1). To the end of what? Who can really say? He will love us to the end of our waywardness and wanderings. He will love us to the end of our deepest need. He will love us to the end of our lives, to the end of time, to the farthest extremity of eternity. He will love us forever. His love is eternal.
How can we ever exhaust the love of God! The love of an infinite God must be infinite love. Paul called it a love that “surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19), far greater than our finite minds can grasp. He also called it a “great love” (Ephesians 2:4). He referred to its breadth, its length, its depth, and its height (Ephesians 3:18), but it is obvious that he was speaking of dimensions that defy measurement: breadth and length which encompass the whole world, a depth which reaches to the lowest sinner, a height which exalts us to the loftiest Heaven. God’s love has no limit. It is described in F. M. Lehman’s gospel song:
Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above, Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Tho’ stretched from sky to sky.
I read somewhere that those words were penciled on the wall of a narrow room in an asylum by a man who supposedly was demented, and they were discovered after his death. He was not demented at all. He had learned one of the most precious truths of all time, that God’s love is infinite. We can no more exhaust it than we can empty the ocean with a bucket. And we are invited to keep drawing from His inexhaustible supply. To do so will enable us to keep extending love to those around us even when our love is not returned.
God’s Love Is Holy
When some people hear that God’s love is self-giving, sacrificial, unconditional, eternal, and infinite, they get the idea that it is merely soft, sloppy sentimentality, that God is an indulgent Father who gives us everything we want and conveniently turns His head the other way when we sin. But that is not the case. Everything God does is done in the totality of His being, so His love must always be consistent with His other attributes. Since God is holy, then His love must be a holy love that encourages holiness in those loved. The evidence is overwhelming! For example, in the same context in which Paul explains that we in love were predestined unto the adoption of sons, he states God’s purpose for choosing us. It is “that we should be holy and without blame before Him” (Ephesians 1:4). Love and obedience consistently go together in Scripture: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3; cf. also John 14:15; 15:10).
God will use every loving means at His disposal to encourage our obedience. He does that because He loves us. We discussed discipline when we studied God’s holiness, but we cannot overlook it here. The writer to the Hebrews encouraged us not to regard God’s discipline lightly. It is the evidence of His love for us (Hebrews 12:5-6). He knows that obedience to His Word will be for our greatest happiness, so He takes steps to help us want to obey Him. If He did not love us, He would not care about our happiness.
What kind of loving parents would we be if we let our children do anything they pleased, such as put their hands in the fire, ride their tricycles on the freeway, or play superman on the roof of the house? The authorities would probably declare us to be unfit parents. Our love constrains us to discipline in order to insure the kind of behavior that will bring our children future happiness. And that is exactly what our loving heavenly Father does.
He does not enjoy inflicting pain any more than we do. Before my father spanked me as a child, he used to say, “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.” That was difficult for me to believe at the time, and I never understood it until I became a parent myself. Then it became all too clear. It wasn’t my hand that hurt; it was my heart. God says the same thing. Concerning His people Israel we read, “In all their affliction He was afflicted” (Isaiah 63:9). He feels our pain because He loves us. Don’t chafe under His disciplinary hand. He knows best what we need, and He always administers it in love for our best interests. We can respond to His holy love by bringing our lives into conformity to His Word.
God’s Love Is Comforting
Some children would give everything they have for someone who loves them and cares enough for them to set limits on their behavior and administer loving discipline when they violate those limits. That would mean more to them than all the material things in the world because it is the evidence of true love, and true love brings security and comfort. They know that someone who loves them enough to endure the unpleasantness of administering discipline will do everything in his power to take care of them, and that brings them genuine consolation. When we grasp the reality of God’s love, we will no longer seek our security in jobs, bank accounts, investments, houses, husbands, wives, friends, or health. We will rest in the Lord, free from all fear, secure in the assurance that He is going to provide all that we need and protect us from everything that will not be for our good.
Listen to the Apostle John again: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love” (1 John 4:18). God never punishes His children. He laid all the punishment for our sins on His Son. He disciplines us in love for our benefit, but even that is nothing to be afraid of. Understanding God’s love eliminates all fear—fear of God’s discipline, fear of what tomorrow holds, fear of losing a loved one, fear of losing a job, fear of natural catastrophies, fear of global war, fear of suffering, fear of death, fear of being alone, fear of rejection. God loves us! There is nothing to fear. His love is comforting.
God’s Love is Life-Changing
Most of us long to be loving people, able to give love to our spouses, our children, our fellow believers, our unsaved acquaintances, and, most of all, to the Lord Himself. But we find it so difficult. It is nearly impossible for us to love others unless we are genuinely convinced that we ourselves are loved. Some of us are hard, callused, insensitive, and unloving people because we are not convinced we are really loved. We are saying unconsciously, “Why should I be loving to others when nobody shows me any love?” God’s love can change that. We can find all the acceptance and affection we crave in Him; then with the confidence that we ourselves are loved, we can extend love to others. “We love,” said the Apostle John, “because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
It really is true—God loves us. Jesus said it plainly: “For the Father Himself loves you” (John 16:27). It is to our advantage to know and believe the love that He has for us (1 John 4:16). We may never be able to grasp it fully with our human understanding alone, but God is ready to make it real to us if our hearts are open and receptive to His Word. Then, secure in His love, we shall be able to reach out in love to others, unselfishly, sacrificially, unconditionally, and inexhaustibly. It will profoundly influence our relationships with those around us.
A world-renowned theologian was asked by a student what he considered to be the most significant theological truth he ever learned. His answer was, “Jesus loves me. This I know; for the Bible tells me so.” Believe it, Christian. God loves you!
Action To Take
Look for evidences of God’s love for you all throughout the day, and remind yourself often that you are the object of His endless love.
Tell several others during the day that God loves them.
Source URL: http://bible.org/seriespage/god-love
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