Text: “Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant; save
me for Thy mercies sake. Let me not be
ashamed, O Lord; for I have called upon Thee; let the wicked be ashamed, and
let them be silent in the grave.”
Psalm 31:16-17.
Good morning, glowing
Christian! Placed in the midst of a
crowd of unbelievers, pagan-minded people, you shine. In a world of Spiritual darkness, which in
this 21st Century seems to be getting more murky and Spiritually
dark every day, you shine. Amidst
increasing moral corruption and selfish sin, you are a refreshing light
indeed. You shine because of the Light
of the world Christ Jesus - Who lives within every Spiritually regenerate Christian believer -
it is His Spiritual light that shines from within these ‘earthen vessels’ of
humanity. Praise and all glory to His
Holy Name! Amen.
“Ye are the light of the
world. A city that is set on an hill
cannot be hid. Neither do men light a
candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light
unto all that are in the house. Let your
light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your
Father which is in Heaven.” (Matthew
5:14-16)
Verse 16. “Make Thy face to shine upon Thy
servant. The Lord God has
made His face to shine upon ‘…a peculiar people…’ whom He has chosen to save in
Eternity, before time on earth began.
When His face shines upon His elect people, we are drawn out of
Spiritual darkness into His light, and the light of His life, Christ Jesus,
comes to dwell within us. Into God’s
chosen earthen vessels is poured the treasure of Heaven, Jesus, the risen
Christ. Glory and praise to His Holy
Name!
“For God, Who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7)
In pre-Christian times, the
wonder of Christ living within His people was a great ‘mystery’, a truth to
that time yet unrevealed and hidden.
However, after four hundred years of Spiritual darkness (the time
between the Old Testament conclusion, and the commencement of the New
Testament), the angels appeared to mere shepherds in the fields, declaring
God’s special time of Spiritual enlightenment: “And lo, the angel of the Lord
came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were
sore afraid. And the angel said unto
them, Fear not; for, behold (look) I bring you good tidings of great joy, which
shall be to all people (a message for all nations)…Glory to God in the Highest,
and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
(Luke 2:9-14)
Not only had Christ Jesus come
to bring Eternal Salvation to ‘His people’, but to live within us and grant us
the light of His Spiritual glow.
Hallelujah! Thank you, Lord.
“To whom God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this great mystery (progressively
revealed truth) among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the
hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all
wisdom; that we may present every man perfect (mature) in Christ Jesus.” (Colossians 1:27-28)
Verse 16. “Make Thy face to shine upon Thy
servant. Give me the
sunshine of Heaven in my soul, and I will defy the tempests of earth. Permit me to enjoy a sense of Thy favour, O
Lord, and a consciousness that Thou art pleased with my manner of life, and all
men may frown and slander as they will.”
(C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 152)
Verse 17. “Let me not be
ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon Thee. Shame comes to us naturally, and
Supernaturally, when we lower our Christian standards of Holiness and integrity
and wilfully sin in disobedience to our Lord God. The Psalmist here is crying out to be filled
with God the Spirit, and thereby enabled to live to a high standard of
godliness and purity. When we sin as
Christians, we call upon the Lord to forgive us and cleanse us from all
iniquity; we confess and forsake our sin (1 John 1:).
Verse 17. “Let the wicked be ashamed, and let then be
silent in the grave. Both saint and
sinner, believer and non-believer, sin.
However, the believer is granted faith to call upon the Lord to receive
His gracious Salvation and progressive sanctification - whereas the
non-believer is already condemned in his/her unbelief. How sad.
Sin (falling short of Christ
Jesus’ perfect standard of absolute Holiness) compels our Holy Lord God to turn
His face away from both saved and unsaved souls. But God’s Sovereign grace leads the
regenerate out of sin’s mire and back to God’s throne of grace to find
forgiveness, sanctification, and full restoration. Once cleansed from all sin, we shine once
more for Christ; Christ causes His Light to shine through us again to His
glory.
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is
not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear dull that it cannot
hear. BUT your iniquities (saved and
unsaved) have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His
face from you, that He will not hear.”
(Isaiah 59:1-2)
Thought: If we would glow in the service of Christ -
we must keep our souls from sin. As the
Puritans said: ’Keep short accounts of sin with the Lord God.’ ’Satan trembles when he sees, the weakest
saint upon his/her knees.’ Hallelujah!
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