17. A Testimony of Christian Victory! Psalm 31:21-24

Text:  “And they overcame him (Satan) by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the Word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”         

                                                                                                             Revelation 12:11.   

Good morning, testifying Christian!  You have been granted, by God’s free and Sovereign grace, a testimony of His Divine ability and willingness to save your never-dying soul from sin - and, praise God, you are faithfully using that testimony to tell other souls that there is Eternal Salvation to be found in the Cross of Christ Jesus.  You do well, beloved friend; you do very well.  Keep it up!  Never let anyone deter you from telling all who will listen to the story of how you were redeemed by the Blood of a living and risen Christ Jesus.  Praise and all glory to His Holy and Victorious Name!  Amen.

But, WHY are you a ‘testifying Christian'?  What is the Divinely inspired reason for such a ministry for Christ?  What is God’s Eternal purpose for such ‘testifying Christians'?  When we ask the vital questions, we will receive the vital answers.

Read/hear well God’s purpose for ‘testifying Christians’ - straight from His own inspired Word found in Romans chapter 10: - read slowly, and fully understand the importance of these next quoted verses of Holy Scripture.

“For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.  How then shall they call on Him in Whom they have not believed?  And how shall they believe on Him of Whom they have not heard?  And how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach , except they be sent?  As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace and bring glad tidings (good news) of good things!…So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”     (Romans 10:13-17)

The whole purpose of a ‘testifying Christian’ is to make people hear the good news of Eternal Salvation from sin; found only through the finished Sacrifice of Christ Jesus on Calvary’s Cross, where He made the full Atonement Sacrifice for all the sins of ‘His people’, the true church international.

God’s elect souls will hear with their hearts, repent from their sins; and be Eternally saved and secured by Christ.  All others, ‘the reprobate’, will also hear, but only with their carnal ears, and continue on in their sins and rejection of Christ, until that terrible day of God’s Judgement when they will receive Eternal damnation.  That’s the Gospel!

“And ye shall know the TRUTH and the truth shall make you free.”  (John 8:32)

“Jesus saith unto him (Thomas), I am the way, THE TRUTH, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”  (John 14:6)

Verses twenty-one to twenty-four of Psalm 31 are a testimony of Christian Victory; given through faith in the Messiah Jesus Who would come and be revealed to ‘His people’, hundreds of years later in history.  David, inspired by God the Holy Spirit, was looking forward with God-given faith to the Ultimate Victory every true believer has in Christ Jesus.  In Christ Jesus, we are more than conquerors over every fear and foe.

“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him (Christ Jesus) that loved us.  For I am persuaded (fully assured), that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth nor any other creature (including ourselves!), shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 8:37-39)

Verse 21.  “Blessed be the Lord. When the Lord blesses us, we cannot but do less than bless Him in return.

Verse 22. “I said in my haste, I am cut off from before Thine eyes.  We generally speak amiss when we are in a hurry.  Hasty words are but for a moment on the tongue, but they often lie for years on the conscience.  Oh!  What love is due from us to Christ, that has pleaded for us when we ourselves had nothing to say!  That has brought us out of a den of lions, and from the jaws of the roaring lion!”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 153)

“The goodness of God is unsearchable; how great is the excellency of His majesty, that yet He would look upon such a one as I; that He has given me peace that was full of terror, and walked continually as amidst fire and brimstone.”      (Timothy Rogers 1660-1729)

Verse 23.  “And plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.  The next query is how God rewardeth the proud doer.  By way of retaliation - for Adonibezek that would be cutting off thumbs, had his thumbs cut off (Judges 1:7).  So the poor Jews that cried so loud, ‘Crucify Him, crucify Him,’ were so many of them crucified, that if you believe Josephus, there was not wood enough to make crosses nor in the usual place room enough to set up crosses when they were made.  Snares are made and pits are digged by the proud for themselves commonly, to which the Scriptures throughout gives abundant testimony.”  (Hugh Peters 1645)

Thought:  Verse 24.  “Be of good courage.  Christian courage may thus be described. It is the undaunted audacity of a sanctified heart in adventuring upon difficulties and undergoing hardships for a good cause upon the call of God.”  (Simeon Ash 1642)  Go forth and testify - your message is one of Christian Victory in Christ.  Hallelujah!

16. A Divine Turning Point Psalm 31:19-20

Text:  “Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!

                                                                                                                Psalm 31:19.

Good morning, Divinely turned Christian!  Often, in the midst of terrible times and circumstances throughout our lives, just when we think our faith is about to be totally overwhelmed by grief, tragedies, loss of comforts; financial and emotional distress - the Lord grants us a new perspective on all things, He grants us a Divine turning point.  Hallelujah!  Praise His most gracious and Holy Name!  Our God loves us!

“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.  Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel; thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.”  (Jeremiah 31:3-4)

From the commencement of Psalm 31: until this nineteenth verse, the Psalmist has been crying out to the Lord for His Divine help, reassurance, and deliverance from his foes.  Now, in verse nineteen, we see a startling change as he is blessed with what I have titled ‘A Divine Turning Point’.  Praise God for such Divinely granted turning points in our lives of Spiritual warfare!  Without such we would surely be overwhelmed by our constant and often ruthless and fierce Spiritual and physical oppositions.

Listen to the tenor of the Psalmist’s cries changing as the reader reaches this turning point in the Psalm.  His change of outward expression is brought about by the inner remembrance  of the Lord God’s goodness within his heart; the Spirit of God instructs his soul that the mercies of God endure forever; that God’s gift of Salvation is not a gift from a giver who suddenly takes the graciously given gift back.  Immediately the entire tone of the Psalm changes from one of distress and fear of being overwhelmed, to one of glorious and faith-filled victory!  Hallelujah!  What a Saviour!

Verse 19. “Oh how great is Thy goodness.  He does not tell us how great was God’s goodness, for he could not; there are no measures which can set forth the immeasurable goodness of Jehovah, Who is goodness itself.  Holy amazement uses interjections where adjectives utterly fail.  Notes of exclamation suit us when words of explanation are of no avail.  If we cannot measure, we can marvel.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 152-153)

From verse nine to verse eighteen, David has been bemoaning his abject fear, dread, trouble, grief, slander and oppositions.  Now, the Lord grants him ’A Divine Turning Point’; a point arrived at where one suddenly remembers God’s inspired Word to us, ’His people’; a reassurance from God the Spirit, that we are NEVER left alone without Divine help and sure deliverance.  How desperately we need such Divine Turning Points!

Brother Job knew such times of dread and oppression: “They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me.  Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud.  And now my soul is poured out upon me: the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.  My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest…”  (Job 30:14-17)

But the Lord gave Job ‘A Divine Turning Point’, and after his time of suffering had ended, Job once more basked in the glow of God’s goodness and faithfulness to him.

“And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before…So the Lord blessed the end of Job more than his beginnings…”  (Job 42:10;12)

Remembrance of God’s infinite goodness towards ’His people’, His born again and redeemed souls - grants us such Divine Turning Points in life.

“I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”  (Psalm 27:13)

The pride of man was one of the main causes of the Psalmist’s oppressions, but the Lord God knows how to remedy such worldly oppositions against ‘His people’, the true Church.

Verse 20.  “Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy Presence from the pride of man.  Dwellers at the foot of the Cross of Christ grow callous to the sneers of the haughty.  The wounds of Jesus distil a balsam which heals all the scars which the jagged weapons of contempt can inflict upon us; in fact, when armed with the same mind which was in Christ Jesus, the heart is invulnerable to all the darts of pride.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 153)

Shall we be immune from hurt; from illnesses; from poverty; from heartache and grief? No.  These things are promised to all those that would live godly, in Christ Jesus.

However, we can rest assured that the Lord God Who loves us and gave Himself for us at Calvary’s Cross - will never leave us nor forsake us, EVER.  He will always give us a Divine Turning Point, to sustain us in all our daily trails, and bring us safely through.

Thought: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee…the Lord is my Helper.”

New: Vital Christian Doctrines Button On Blog!

Dear International Bible Class,

In a day of increased apostasy, 'easy-believism'; and lack of Spiritual maturity and knowledge of what every true, 'born again', Bible-believing Christian should know about his/her Christian faith - Ulster/American Christian Fellowship Ministry has placed thirteen vital Christian doctrines on a new Button here on our Blog/Website.

Please visit the Ulster Christians site at www.ulsterchristians.org, click on the new Basic Christian Doctrines section, to find these great Christian doctrines I have prepared for all genuine Christian believers whom, in obedience to God's Word would "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman/woman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth."  (2 Timothy 2:15)

Please also pass on this vital Christian knowledge to other believers - the 21st Century church of the Lord Jesus Christ must know what we believe, try to practice what we believe; and stand firm on the truths God wants us to share with 'His people'.  (Matthew 1:21)  Thank you.

Every blessing in Christ Jesus,

Dr Cornelius K. McClinton

Ulster Christians

watchman696@tutanota.com

www.ulsterchristians.org

15. The Doom of Slanderers! Psalm 31:18

Text:  “Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.”

                                                                                                             Psalm 31:18.

Good morning, slandered Christian!  No one knows better than you the hurt felt when slandered by anti-Christian enemies.  You and I seek to, at all times, live our lives in a manner that would please our Lord God Who has redeemed our souls from sin by the shedding of His precious and sinless Blood at Calvary’s Cross. 

Yet, it often seems like the more we are successful in living Christ-like lives - the more we come under verbal attack from this world’s slanderers.   Christian light and carnal darkness just will not mix.  To be the friend of Christ is to be immediately and relentlessly the enemy of the world, the flesh, and the Devil.  As it has always been, always it shall be.  Light and darkness just will not mingle.

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with (partnered up with) unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?  And what communion hath light with darkness?  And what concord (agreement) hath Christ with Belial?  Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?…Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord.”    
(2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

You and I should not be surprised, therefore, when those who do not, those who will not,  those whom, in fact, cannot believe God’s truth, attack us with slanderous lies and gossip.  They are merely fulfilling their master’s instructions, and Satan hates all things Christian.  Slander from the Devil’s children should become, for the true Christian, a source of great rejoicing!  If we have any doubt that we are, in fact, God’s adopted children in Christ - the world will soon assure us of our position in Christ by the level of slander and persecution they level at us!  Slanderers do not attack false professors, for they are their own kith and kin under Satan‘s fatherhood.  (John 8:44)

“If ye be reproached for the Name of Christ happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified…Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him/her not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.  For the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God?  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
(1 Peter 4:14;16-18) 

Verse 18.  “Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things, proudly and contemptuously  against the righteous.  Proud thoughts of self are generally attended by debasing estimates of others.  The more room we take upon ourselves, the less we can afford our neighbours.  What wickedness it is that unworthy characters should always be the loudest in railing at good men!  They have no power to appreciate moral worth of which they are utterly destitute, and yet they have the effrontery to mount the judgement-seat and judge the men compared with whom they are as so much draff (worthless dregs).”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 152)

Verse 18.  “…Put to silence.  Speech is a very real blessing from the Lord God Who Created Adam with the gift of verbal conversation.  Our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ who have not the blessing of verbal speech would, no doubt, be the first of agree that the use of one’s tongue and the gift of verbal language is a wondrous joy to have. 

However, God’s Word clearly teaches us that ’lying lips’, slanderers of those made righteous in Christ Jesus, will on day be ’put to silence’ - the gift of verbal communication so misused by them in the slander of God’s people will be taken from them as a consequence of their sin.  Utter silence, and living in a state of utter silence - would be a type of Hell indeed for those given to slanderously wagging their tongue.

Malicious gossips, poison-pen journalists, and anti-Christian media script-writers BEWARE!  You will be ’…put to silence’, by the hand of a Lord God Who loves ’His people’, and defends us.  Your lies and mischief are noted by God.

“The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both.” (John Calvin  1509-1564)

“I hate and abhor lying: but Thy law do I love.”  (Psalm 119:163)  God hates all lying.

Verse 18.  “…Which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.  Note two things: 1. Regenerate, Spirit-quickened and saved, Christians are righteous in the sense that we have the full righteousness of Christ imputed (put to our account) unto us.  This is what qualifies us as ‘righteous’.  2.  The grievous things spoken against us - sadly, by friend and foe alike - are motivated by self-pride and contempt within our detractors.  These worldly traits are usual possessions of unsaved souls, however, other professing Christians should not harbour such practices within hearts professed to be filled with God’s Spirit.  Christian, beware of self-pride and contempt for other fellow-believers!  God is not mocked!  (Galatians 6:7-9)

Dictionary Definition: Grievous - (adjective) causing grief or distress; burdensome; painful; severe; hurtful.  (The Chambers Dictionary, page 706)

Thought:  Blood is thicker than water - Christ’s Blood should bond true believers as One in Him; we cannot unite with the world in oppression to God‘s chosen.

14. The Glow of God's Favour Psalm 31:16-17

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 21^st 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!