Enjoying Life Under the Son

O GOD WHOSE WILL CONQUERS ALL, There is no comfort in anything apart  from enjoying you and being engaged in your service; You are All in all, and all my enjoyments are what to me you make them, and no more. I am well pleased with your will, whatever it is, or should be in all respects, And if you bid me decide for myself in any affair, I would choose to refer all to you, for you are infinitely wise and cannot do amiss, as I am in danger of doing. I rejoice to think that all things are at your disposal, and it delights me to leave them there. Then prayer turns wholly into praise, and all I can do is to adore and bless you. What shall I give you for all your benefits? I am in a strait between two, knowing not what to do; I long to make some return, but have nothing to offer; and can only rejoice that you do all, that none in heaven or on earth shares your honor. I can of myself do nothing to glorify your blessed name, but I can through grace cheerfully surrender soul and body to you...

THREE IN ONE, ONE IN THREE, GOD OF MY SALVATION, Heavenly Father, blessed Son, eternal Spirit, I adore you as one Being, one Essence,  one God in three distinct Persons, for bringing sinners to your knowledge and to your kingdom. O Father, you have loved me and sent Jesus to redeem me; O Jesus, you have loved me and assumed my nature, shed your own blood to wash away my sins, wrought righteousness to cover my unworthiness; O Holy Spirit, you have loved me and entered my heart, implanted there eternal life, revealed to me the glories of Jesus. Three Persons and one God, I bless and praise you, for love so unmerited, so unspeakable, so wondrous, so mighty to save the lost and raise them to glory. O Father, I thank you that in fullness of grace you have given me to Jesus, to be his sheep,  jewel, portion; O Jesus, I thank you that in fullness of grace you have accepted espoused, bound me; O Holy Spirit, I thank you that in fullness of grace you have exhibited Jesus as my salvatio...

Q. What is required in the third commandment?  We are not to blaspheme or to abuse the Name of God by cursing, Leviticus 24:10-16  Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp.  And the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed; and so they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)  Then they put him in custody, that the mind of the LORD might be shown to them.  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,  “Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.  “Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.  ‘And whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregatio...

When President Trump took his oath of office, he failed to put his hand on the Bible.   Whether that failure was intentional or not, God in His providence allowed it to happen.   Looking at today's disastrous state of affairs, one cannot help wonder if God was sending us a message -  Trump's failure to put his hand on the Bible could be a sign that God Himself had removed His hand of blessing over our country.   And that God in His providence and power ordered this very public "mistake" to happen to both protect and promote the glory of His name. Why does God do the things that He does?  What motivates God to action?  One thing, and one thing alone - the glory of His Name! When God created the world,  He did so in order that man might glorify His Name for creation’s majesty and beauty.  And so man does.  O LORD our LORD how excellent is Your Name in all the earth  (Psalm 8:1).  The heavens declare the glory of God, an...

Q. But may images not be tolerated in the churches as “books for the unlearned"?  No, for we should not be wiser than God.  He wants His people to be taught NOT by means of dumb images... Jeremiah 10:8  But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.  Habakkuk 2:18-20  What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it, the molded image, a teacher of lies, that the maker of its mold should trust in it, to make mute idols?  Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’ Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet in it there is no breath at all.  But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him. ...but by the living preaching of His Word. Romans 10:14-15  How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how...

2. You shall not make for yourself a graven image,  or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath,  or that is in the water under the earth;  you shall not bow down to them or serve them... Basic to this second commandment is the temptation for man to make for himself some kind of representation of God.  Man desires to see with his eyes what he worships with his heart.  Yet God says, “You shall not make any kind of image of Me.” Why not? There are at least three reasons:  In the first place, God cannot be visibly portrayed.  God is spirit (cf. John 4:24).  It is impossible to make a physical representation of a spiritual being.  In the second place, any representation we might make of God would be a creaturely representation.  Man is not able to conceive of anything except what he has seen in creation.  It is impossible for man to think of something which he has not seen on earth.  Whateve...

Q. What is the second law of the LORD?   You shall not make for yourself a graven image,   or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above,   or that is in the earth beneath,   or that is in the water under the earth;   you shall not bow down to them or serve them;  ...for I the LORD your God am a jealous God,  visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me,  but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments. Reading the first and the second commandments, you might ask what difference exists between them, for they appear to deal with the same thing.  The first commandment reads, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”  The second reads, “You shall not make a graven image of any likeness...”  Even though they appear to be the same, they deal with two different subjects.  The first commandment deals...

The first commandment says that we are to trust wholly in God and in no other.  We must depend completely and only upon Him.  We must expect all good from Him alone. There are a number of things which we must know before we can really trust God.  1. God’s omnipotence.  Unless we believe that God has complete power, we cannot have complete trust in him.  We must believe that He is able to do anything that He wants to do.  We must believe that nothing is impossible with Him.  2. God’s love.  If we have any doubts about God’s love for us, we will not fully trust Him.  For we do not trust one who hates us.  We do not trust our enemies.  We trust our friends who love us.  Now God has revealed His great love for us in His Son. Surely if God has given us such a great gift as His only begotten and well-beloved Son,  He will surely give us all that we need (Romans 8:32). 3. God’s faithfulness.  There are times when we must exp...

1. You shall have no other gods before Me. Q. What does the LORD require in the first commandment?  That I rightly come to know the only true God,  John 17:3  And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.  trust in Him alone,  Jeremiah 17:5  Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD.”  Jeremiah 17:7  Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD.  submit to Him with all humility  1 Peter 5:5-6  Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”  Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,  and patience,  Romans 5:3-4  And not only that, but we also glory in ...

Q. What is the law of the LORD?  God spoke all these words, saying: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  1. You shall have no other gods before Me. Q. What does the LORD require in the first commandment?  That for the sake of my very salvation I avoid and flee all idolatry,  1 Corinthians 6:9-10  Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,  nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  1 Corinthians 10:5-14  But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.  Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.  And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is writt...

Q. But what are good works?  Only those which are done out of true faith,   in accordance with the law of God,   and to His glory,  and not those based on our own opinion or on precepts of men.  For the Bible Tells Me So... John 15:5  I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  Romans 14:23  But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  Leviticus 18:4  ‘You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the LORD your God.  1 Samuel 15:22  Then Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behol...

What is the coming to life of the new nature?  It is a heartfelt joy in God through Christ,  and a love and delight to live according to the will of God in all good works. For the Bible Tells Me So... Psalm 51:8  Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice.  Psalm 51:12  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.  Isaiah 57:15  For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.  Romans 5:1  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  Romans 14:17  for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  Romans 6:10-11  For the death that He died, He died to ...

Q. What is the dying of the old nature?  It is to grieve with heartfelt sorrow that we have offended God by our sin,  and more and more to hate it and flee from it. For the Bible Tells Me So... Psalm 51:3-4  For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.  Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight; That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.  Psalm 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart; These, O God, You will not despise.  Joel 2:12-13  “Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”  So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.  Romans 8:12-13  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors; not to the flesh, to live according to t...

What is the true repentance or conversion of man?  It is the dying of the old nature  and the coming to life of the new. For the Bible Tells Me So... Romans 6:1-11  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?  Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,  knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  For he who has died has been freed from sin.  Now if we died with Christ, we believe th...

Can those be saved who do not turn to God from their ungrateful and impenitent walk of life?  By no means.  Scripture says that no unchaste person, idolater, adulterer,  thief, greedy person, drunkard, slanderer, robber,  or the like shall inherit the kingdom of God. For the Bible Tells Me So... 1 Corinthians 6:9-10  Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,  nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  Galatians 5:19-21  Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,  idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,  envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you i...