Lonely Christian Soldiers! Psalm 88:8-18

Text: “Thou has put away mine acquaintance far from me; Thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.”                                                                                                               Psalm 88:8.

          “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 6:17-18.

 Good morning, often lonely, separated Christian! Once in your life and in mine, we had the crowds of the world as close friends and confidants; always an inner circle of worldly friends and acquaintances who would support us and sympathise with us no matter what  came about. 

Having one father, Satan himself, being amalgamated with others who were on their way to Hell seemed not such a bad experience of life – until the Living Lord God called us to become a part of His Holy Family – the church – and we were commanded to come apart from all our closest worldly friends and acquaintances, in order to be received as sons and daughters of the Living Lord God.  (John 8:44)

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?   And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord 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 Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

There is, therefore, no doubt that the dedicated Christian life can be quite a lonely experience, and all who seek to live it can agree that the Psalmist’s experience is a very real one.

Verse 8: “Thou has put away mine acquaintance far from me. There are times when an unspeakable sadness steals upon me, an immense loneliness takes possession of my soul, a longing perchance for some vanished hand and voice to comfort me as of old, a desolation without form and void, that wraps me in its folds and darkens my inmost being.  It was not thus in the first days of my illness…My God, my God, to whom can I turn for comfort but unto Thee, Thou Who didst drink the bitter cup of human loneliness to the dregs that Thou mightest make Thyself a brother to the lonely, a merciful and faithful High Priest to the desolate soul; Thou Who alone canst pass within, the doors being shut to all human aid, into that secret place of thunder, where the tempest-tossed soul suffers and struggles alone; Thou Who alone canst command the winds and tempests, and say unto the sea, ‘Be still!’ and unto the wind ‘Blow not!’ and there shall be a great calm.” (From ‘Christ, the Consoler, A Book of Comfort for the Sick’ (Anon)

Spiritual depression is something that pulls the very soul down into a pit that can never be escaped – but for the help of a Sovereign Lord God of all grace and mercy.  Praise His Name!

Verse 8. “Thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.”  The speed at which old worldly friends and confidants turn on one when one is called into Christ’s Salvation, is a constant source of amazement to me. It is as though such ‘friends’ know they are on their way to Hell, but it doesn’t seem as bad to them just as long as one of their friends does not jump off the damnation train they are on!  New converts to Christ Jesus know this as a fact of their experience of being graciously saved. 

Verse 8. “Thou hast made me an abomination unto them. The mass of men who gather around a man and flatter him are like tame leopards; when they lick his hand, it is well for him to remember that with equal gusto they would drink his blood.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 369)

It is a well-known statistic that young, newly professing Christians can be lost back into the world so quickly by experiencing the loneliness I have just identified in Psalm 88.  It does not take much coaxing, for some new believers, to be wooed back into the drinking dens they once haunted, or into old worldly habits which used to be their ‘normal’ mode of life.  It takes strong determination, much prayer, and drawing close to the Lord God to stop many from returning like the dog to its vomit, or the pig to its wallowing in the mire.  Fact. If the Lord has called them, nothing will deter them. But false professors are easily wooed back into the world.

“For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:20-22)

At times of such testing, it can seem as if the Lord has hidden His face from the believer.  And the loss of God’s perceived countenance is a grievous depth of loneliness.

Verse 14. “Lord, why castest Thou off my soul? Why hidest Thou Thy face from me? He cannot act towards us in other than a right and gracious manner, therefore, for every stroke of His rod there is a sufficient reason in the judgement of His loving heart; let us try to learn that reason and profit by it.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 369)

A father only chastens his own much-loved children. When we are chastened of the Lord God, it is a proof-positive that we are indeed, His children, and shall benefit from the chastening.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

“And she (Mary) shall bring forth a son, and thou (Joseph) shall call His Name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)

Because of such deep loneliness endured by Bible-believing Christians, we must always seek to have a group of other sound Christians with whom to fellowship, pray with and for, in order to remain separate from the world and refuse to be conformed to its ways.

“And be ye not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”  (Romans 12:2)

“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For it they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up…It one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord in not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

Thought: We shall never find Christian support in the Devil’s halls of worldly sin!

Blessings ‘N’ Blastings! Psalm 88:2-7

Text: “Let my prayer come before Thee: incline Thine ear unto my cry; for my soul is full of troubles: and my life is draweth nigh unto the grave."                                                                                                           Psalm 88:2-3.

Good morning, embattled Christian! At the commencement of Psalm 88 we have observed how the Psalmist, Heman the Ezrahite, finds himself in the most profound depths of sorrow, depression of spirit, and apparent isolation even from the Lord Himself.  Yet, by drawing close to his Rock of Refuge – though constant prayer in Christ Jesus – he is in fact, fighting as a soldier in Christ against the powers of evil and darkness that are threatening to engulf and overwhelm his very sou! (2 Timothy 2:3-4)

The Psalmist is not seeking to use any physical force, or mental strength, or self-will to combat the forces of spiritual and temporal evil that he is fighting. No! He knows that, in the words of the old hymn: “…The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own…”; and is using the Spiritual weapons of persistent prayer to call down the forces of Heaven to his aid.  (See hymn: Stand up! Stand up! For Jesus, by George Duffield ,1818-1888)

Praise God for praying saints!  He is praying though the ‘blasting’ in order to reach the ‘blessing’ of the Living Lord God, His Saviour and his friend.  Glory to the Lamb!

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

Verse 2. “Let my prayer come before Thee: incline Thine ear unto my cry. We cannot take earnest, soul-crying prayers unto our Holy Lord God without FIRST seeking to be sanctified afresh from all our daily, continual, sin. Fact!

Our Holy Lord God will NOT HEAR the prayers of a man/woman who has not first sought sanctification from sin, for He cannot abide to even look upon sin without punishing it.

“Behold (look, and fully understand!), the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: BUT your iniquities (sins) separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2)

“Thou art of purer eyes that to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity…”  (Habakkuk 1:13)

Our prayers go up before the throne of God’s grace, once we repent of our daily sins committed as genuine regenerate Christians, confess them to the Lord alone, and seek to forsake besetting sins. Then the way is open for us to petition, worship, and praise our Holy Lord God without any hindrance from ourselves.  What a gracious Lord God!

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (as Christians!), and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-10)

Verse 3. “For my soul is full of troubles. I am satiated and nauseated with them.  Like a vessel full to the brim with vinegar, my heart is filled up with adversity till it can hold no more. He had his house full and his hands full of sorrow; but, worse than that, he had his heart full of it.  Trouble in the soul is the soul of trouble.  A little soul trouble is painful; what must it be to be sated with it?  And how much worse still to have your prayers return empty when your soul remains full o grief.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 367)

Blessings & Blastings: So often I have sought to teach the concept of ‘Blessings and Blastings’.  We are blessed of the Lord in some area of our daily lives, but often, soon after the blessing of God, comes the blasting of Satanic evil from the world, the flesh, and the Devil.  After we pray our way though the severe blastings of evil, opposition, and soul sorrows – we receive another, far surmounting, blessing from our faithful Lord God’s hand and heart. Blessings and Blastings.

God allows us to receive a ‘blasting’ from Satan, and the world, in order to keep us humble and ensure that we are depending on Christ and not on our own attributes or personal strengths.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in our brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, Who hath called us unto His Eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect (mature), stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:8-11)

Verse 4. “I am as a man that hath no strength. I have but the name to live; my constitution is broken up; I can scarce crawl about my sickroom, my mind is even weaker than my body, and my faith weakest of all. The sons and daughters of sorrow will need but little explanation of these sentences; they are to such tried ones as household words.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 367)

We ‘born again’, Bible-believing Christians, who have experienced, and do experience, such depths of soul-sorrow, depressions; and grief can immediately relate to the Psalmist’s cries. Yet, the fact that we have and do suffer such soul-afflictions, to me is proof-positive that we actually are the children of the Living Lord God, through faith in Christ Crucified for us. 

Hallelujah! No pain, no gain! If such soul-sorrows drive us into the bosom of our Lord God, then the blastings become blessings to us, for His Presence is full of much needed joy!

“Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy Presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”  (Psalm `6:11) The risen Jesus sits at the Father’s right hand.  Praise and all glory to His Holy Name! (John 15:10-11)

Verse 6. “Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. The flesh can bear only a certain number of wounds and no more, but the soul can bleed in ten thousand ways, and die over and over again each hour.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 368)

Verse 7. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me. Dreadful plight this, the worst in which a man can be found. Wrath is heavy in itself; God’s wrath is crushing beyond conception, and when that presses hard, the soul is oppressed indeed. The wrath of God is the very Hell of Hell, and when it weighs upon the conscience, a man feels a torment such as only damned spirits can exceed.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 368)

Thought: Embattled Christians, KNOW they are in a terrible Spiritual Battle in Christ’s army of redeemed souls.  Yet, we sally forth into that horror and strife, knowing, also, that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, has wrought the Eternal Victory at Calvary’s Cross. Glory to His Name!  “It is finished!” Jesus is Lord!

Psalm 88: A Psalm of Profound Christian Sorrow. Prayers Seemingly Unanswered! Psalm 88:1

Text: “O Lord God of my Salvation, I have cried day and night before Thee: Let my prayer come before Thee: incline Thine ear unto my cry; for my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh to the grave.”

Psalm 88:1

Good morning, sound Christian in deep grief!  You are going through a time of heartbreak and trouble; grief of heart and grief of your very soul.  You have continually cried out in prayer to the Living Lord God Who has saved you through the Cross of Christ – yet you receive no answer from God, and it seems as though the Heavens are made of brass unto you; and you feel tangibly isolated, depressed in spirit, and totally ALONE.

If this describes your state this morning, beloved brother/sister in Christ, my heart goes out to you – for I have been where you are in that terrible place, and would not wish what you are experiencing on any other soul.  Yet, if we are to survive in faith while this period of testing/trial continues, we must always bring to our remembrance the full Sovereignty of our Holy and Almighty Lord God, and the Word of His promise revealed in our Bible.

“…I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5) Read on, dear troubled soul.

Much of what we have revealed to us in the Book of Psalms is written to prepare us for such times of profound soul grief and troubles.  It assures us that, although the Lord, in His Divine wisdom and foreknowledge of all things, seems to leave us destitute for a season of sore testing – in the end we shall once more rejoice in His Salvation promises, and come through victorious in Christ’s complete Victory at Calvary’s Cross.  Only believe, grieving Christian.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, 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 our often-foolish selves!), shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39) Hallelujah!

“Title: “A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah.”  This sad complaint reads very little like a song, nor can we conceive how it could be called by a name which denotes a song of praise or triumph; yet perhaps it was intentionally so called to show how faith ‘glories in tribulations also’. Assuredly, if ever there was a song of sorrow and a Psalm of sadness, this is the one.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 367)

Note: Heman the Ezrahite is the named author of Psalm 88 in the Old Testament. The title to this psalm notes, “A song. A psalm for the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth. A maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.

A Maschil: A Hebrew word of uncertain significance that appears in the headings of some thirteen psalms, (Ps 32, Ps 42, Ps 44, Ps 45, Ps 52, Ps 53, Ps 54, Ps 55, Ps 74, Ps 78, Ps 88, Ps 89, and Ps 142). Some current versions of the Bible leave the word untranslated, while others, in accordance with its apparent root meaning of “understand” or “ponder,” translate it as “instruction” or the like. Scholars have suggested that maschil is possibly a technical term relating to the manner of a psalm’s performance or a class of composition. The latter hypothesis is supported by the Psalter’s use of other apparent class names in parallel fashion as well as by the appearance of the word in (Amos 5:23), where it may designate such a class. (HarperCollins Dictionary online)

The Book of Psalms is clearly not a mere book of Hebrew songs and poems, but inspired by the Lord God, and written by His selected people with a view to instruct us, ‘His people’ in Spiritual wisdom and to share with us the Spiritual experiences of many other servants of God, in order to prepare us to deal with life lived as the servants of God, in Christ Jesus.

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples (examples): and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”  (1 Corinthians 10:11)

By reading, and meditating on the grief of soul, and troubles of other servants of God in Psalm 88, and other Maschils contained in canonical Scripture, you and I are instructed and encouraged that our present sorrows, afflictions, and grief are not uncommon, and shall be overcome by the ‘…faith once delivered unto the saints…’ (Jude 3)

Verse 1. O Lord God of my Salvation. While a man can see God as his Saviour, it is not altogether midnight with him. While the living God can be spoken of as the life of our Salvation, our hope will not quite expire.  It is one of the characteristics of true faith that she turns to Jehovah, the saving God, when all other confidences have proved liars unto her.” (C.H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, page 367)

Genuine Christian souls going through such a ‘midnight’ of painful oppositions are drawn like magnets to metal in continual prayer to the Lord God they love and seek to serve.

Verse 1. “…I have cried day and night before Thee. Day and night are both suitable to prayer; it is no work of darkness, therefore, let us go with Daniel and pray when men can see us; yet, since supplication needs no light, let us accompany Jacob and wrestle at Jabbok till the day breaketh.  Evil is transformed to good when it drives us to prayer.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 367)

When Satanic, or worldly powers surround us with woes, and depression of spirit; and dark frustrations of mind – let us retire to the place of personal prayer to the Living Lord God, for it is there, in His Presence, we shall find peace, and strength renewed, to continue on in Christ’s service.  Hell trembles with fear when the weakest Christian cries out to his/her Heavenly Father for help.

“Satan trembles when he sees, the weakest saint upon his knees.” (William Cowper, 1731-1800)

“It was the hymnist William Cowper who wrote – “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.” No doubt Satan trembles because he knows that there is nothing you and I can do that is more powerful or effective than to pray. Yet so often we do not pray. Why are we so negligent in this important matter? Perhaps it is because Satan is constantly doing all that he can to keep us from it.”  (Seeds of Faith, online)

Serving Christians, active in the work of the Living Lord God, shall always be a target for Satan’s oppositions; his servants’ hindrances; and even the faltering weaknesses of our own Adamic flesh, the old nature.  We are engaged in a ruthless Spiritual war as the soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Our weapons are not carnal, physical, of this world – but Spiritual, mighty to the pulling down of strongholds, and one of our mightiest weapons is the power of fervent prayer to God. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

Thought: Sound Christians in deepest grief – are drawn closer to our Rock of Refuge.

Psalm 87: The Church has One Foundation! Psalm 87:1-7

Text: “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 3:10-11.

Good morning, wise faith-building Christian! The Lord God in His Sovereign grace to your soul and to mine has ‘quickened’ us, made us Spiritually alive who were Spiritually dead; breathed Spiritual life into our dead spirits, by His Holy Spirit; granted us faith to believe; and repentance from all our sins; and recreated us ‘…new creatures in Christ…’.

“And He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, Thou knowest.  Again He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord. Thus sayeth the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.”  (Read Ezekiel 37:1-10)

“And you hath He quickened (made alive), who were dead in trespasses and sins…Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).” (Ephesians 2:1;5)

The Foundation of our Salvation was, is, and shall always remain: Christ, and Him Crucified for our sins.  We have no Saviour but the Lord Jesus Christ.  We have no Eternal security outside of His full Atonement Sacrifice at Calvary’s Cross.  We are nothing without Christ in our lives, and we can never be redeemed from sin by anything other than His precious and sinless Blood, shed to cover us from all our vile sins and trespasses against our Holy Father God. 

Jesus Christ, God the Son, is the only Foundation for Eternal Salvation. Fact.

“Neither is there Salvation in any other: for there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

“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)

Verse 1. “His foundation is in the holy mountains.  Not on the sand of carnal policy, nor in the morass of human kingdoms, has the Lord founded His church, but on His own power and Godhead, which are pledged for the establishment of His beloved church, which is to Him the chief of all His works.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, page 366)

“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”             (1 Corinthians 3:11)

The sure Foundation of all we born again, Bible-believing, Christians are and can ever be is based on the solid Rock of God the Son, the risen Lord Jesus Christ.  All else outside Him is mere ‘churchianity’ and dead religion. 

Our faith is built on nothing less, than Christ and His full righteousness; His full Atonement (at-one-ment) Sacrifice on that cruel Cross; and upon His fully proven bodily resurrection from the dead.  Up from the grave He arose! Hallelujah! Victory in Christ Jesus, our sure Foundation Rock!

Jesus said: “Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth My sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: he is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.”  (Luke 6:47-48)

"The Church's One Foundation" is a Christian hymn written in 1866 by Samuel John Stone. This hymn describes the church's relationship to its "foundation" being Jesus Christ. The church is represented as the collective Christian fellowship of the earth as it is wholly united by its saviour, the son of God.”  (Godtube online) 

1 The church's one Foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord;
she is His new creation,
by water and the Word;
from heav'n He came and sought her
to be His holy bride;
with His own blood He bought her,
and for her life He died.

2 Elect from ev'ry nation,
yet one o'er all the earth,
her charter of salvation,
one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy Name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with ev'ry grace endued.

3 Tho' with a scornful wonder,
men see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder,
by heresies distressed,
yet saints their watch are keeping,
their cry goes up, "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song… (More verses)

Do our Spiritually regenerate hearts (entire essence) not melt with love for Christ when we sing such a clear and doctrinally sound hymn? Praise God for our ONE FOUNDATION!

“God, Who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son…Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His Person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power, when He (Jesus Christ) had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:1-3)  Lord Jesus, we worship Thee alone!

Thought: True Christian faith is built on one Foundation – Jesus the risen Christ!

4. The Persistence of David’s Prayers Psalm 86:14-17

Text: “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice. He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me. God shall hear, and afflict them, even He tha abideth of old. Selah (now think on this). Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.”

Psalm 55:17-19.

Good morning, persevering Christian!  Because you and I seek to persevere in the faith ‘…once delivered unto the saints…’, as instructed by the Lord in our KJV Bibles – we incur the persistent wrath of God’s enemies – the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Therefore, we learn to be most persistent in earnest prayer to the Living Lord God – for we desperately need His help, protection, and strength to contend for our faith day by dangerous day.

Needs must! Because our enemies are never idle in their schemes against us, and against the Almighty Lord God Who has chosen us to be ‘soldiers’ in His ‘exceedingly great army’ of redeemed souls – our need of His help, guidance, strength, and direction is continual and ongoing day by day. If our needs are continual, then our prayers to God are a persistent must.

A prayerless Christian is no Christian at all!  Persecution and hindrance and opposition to genuine Christian practice and faith is promised to all who would dare to stand for the risen Christ Jesus. Fact! This is full on Spiritual war. Come right now and help in the daily Battle!

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.” (2 Timothy 3:12-14)

Let us look now at some of David’s enemies are what they were up to at that particular time of his life – for these enemies of David’s soul, continue to plague true Christians today.

Verse 14. “O God, the proud are risen against me.  Pride in the heart of natural, unregenerate men and women, fosters immediate opposition to our Holy Lord God of wrath against all disobedience and sin. Pride and unbelief sent Christ to the Cross to die.

Plain Bible Teaching, Online, Comments:

“We Have No King But Caesar”: Pilate knew that the trial of Jesus was unique. Jesus explained to him that His kingdom was “not of this world” (John 18:36). Pilate then recognized that Jesus claimed to be a king (John 18:37), even though the Jews rejected Him as their king (John 18:33-35). But the Jews’ rejection of Jesus was more than just a refusal to support Him as a king; they wanted to kill Him (John 18:31) even though Pilate was able to find “no guilt in Him” (John 18:38; 19:4-6).

“Then Pilate became “even more afraid” when the Jews told him that Jesus “made Himself out to be the Son of God” (John 19:7-8). How much of this Pilate believed is immaterial. The fact is that the events transpiring with the claims and charges being made were producing a volatile situation. So, Pilate “made efforts to release Him” (John 19:12), but the Jews would not let him do it. Pilate then made one final effort to defuse the situation and allow the innocent Jesus to be released.

“Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth house. And he said to the Jews, ‘Behold, your King!’ So, they cried out, ‘Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar.’ So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified” (John 19:14-16).

“This case was not about some random insurrectionist. There was much more to this than Pilate could have imagined at the start. But in the end, the Jews – influenced by their leaders (Matthew 27:20) – very clearly and boldly repudiated Jesus and demanded His crucifixion. Why was this so significant? It has to do with what they rejected, and what they chose to focus on instead.

“What Did They Reject? First and foremost, the Jews rejected Jesus. This point may seem too obvious to be worth mentioning, but it is important. They rejected Jesus even though Pilate found Him to be innocent (John 18:38; 19:4, 6). Peter wrote that Jesus “committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). They accused Him of blasphemy because “He made Himself out to be the Son of God” (John 19:7). This was in spite of the fact that Jesus performed undeniable miracles. A blind man who was healed by Jesus even pointed out this fact: “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him” (John 9:31). He then correctly said, “If this man were not of God, He could do nothing” (John 9:33). Jesus was unquestionably the sinless Son of God. Yet the Jews rejected Him and called for His crucifixion.

“In addition to rejecting the Son, the Jews also rejected God the Father. If Jesus were a blasphemer and a wicked man, they could have rejected Him and called on Pilate to punish Him. But they did not just do this. They went a step further. They said, “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15). Their forefathers were guilty of rejecting God when they called for a human king to rule over them (1 Samuel 8:6-7). “God was [their] king” (1 Samuel 12:12), but they wanted to be “like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:20) instead of being God’s chosen people (Deuteronomy 7:6). However, by this time, the Jews were to recognize the authority of the Roman rulers. Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”; but they were to also render “to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). Allegiance to human rulers was fine to a point (Acts 5:29). But Jesus said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). By saying they had no king but Caesar, they were rejecting God who was over the civil authorities (John 19:11).

“Finally, the Jews rejected the word of God. They claimed to be “disciples of Moses” (John 9:28). Yet Jesus said, “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me” (John 5:46). Paul would later describe the Law of Moses as a “tutor to lead us to Christ” (Galatians 3:24). Yet they rejected this testimony, choosing rather to hold onto their own false beliefs.” (Plain Bible Teaching, Online)

It therefore follows that such ungodly oppositions are also levelled at those of us that have received God’s Sovereign grace in Salvation, and you and I need to pray persistently for the Lord God’s help to overcome such proud, antichristian rebels daily. Let us now pray.

Thought: Verse 17. “Show me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because Thou, Lord, hast holpen (helped) me, and comforted me.”

3. The Praise in David’s Prayers Psalm 86:9-13

Text: “All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord; and shall glorify Thy Name. For Thou art great, and doest wondrous things: Thou art God alone.”

Psalm 86:9.

Good morning, thankful Christian!  When another mere mortal is asked by you to do some task, and they do it – it is customary and reasonably good manners for you and I to thank that person for their service to us.

Praying to the Living Lord God Almighty, the Creator of Heaven and earth and all things, and receiving our petitions from His Omnipotent and Holy hand really should be inspiration to give Him all the praise, and all the thanksgiving we can possibly give.  This is what makes us truly ‘thankful Christians’.  Praise be to the Lord!

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name. Bless the Lord, O may soul, and forget not all (or any) of His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles.”  (Psalm 103:1-5)

Verse 9. “All nations…shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord; and glorify Thy Name. When nations worship and obey the great and only Lord God, Jehovah: all is well with that nation.  When nations decline from Christian faith, and not only allow dust to gather on its Bibles, but actively seek to pervert and disobey the Law of the Lord God – they cannot be blessed by that same Lord God Almighty. Observable fact!

The Western nations have abandoned the Commandments of the Lord God Jehovah – and are, therefore, under His fiery judgement.  A Holy Lord God cannot bless sin!

Verse 10. “Thou art God alone. Alone wast Thou God before Thy creatures were; alone in Godhead still art Thou now that Thou hast given life to throngs of beings; alone forever shalt Thou be, for none can ever rival Thee.  True religion makes no compromises; it does not admit Baal or Dagon to be a god; it is exclusive and monopolizing, claiming for Jehovah nothing less than all. The vaunted liberality of certain professors of modern thought is not to be cultivated by believers in truth.  “Philosophic breadth” aims at building a Pantheon and piles a Pandemonium; it is not for us to be helpers in such an evil work.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 364)

The First Commandment is: “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3)

“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)

Truly thankful Christians seek at all times to worship the Lord God in the revealed truth of His own God-breathed Word.  There is no such liberty given of God to worship Him in any other manner. God’s truth is a pure joy to all those whom the Spirit of God has quickened to know Christ in a ‘born again’ Spiritual experience.  Taking God at His own Word is a number one necessity for all who are elect of the Father, given to the Son; and quickened by God the Holy Ghost. Faith, God’s gift to His elect souls, enables true believers to receive the purity of God’s truth, and to be at all times truly thankful to Him for such an Eternal blessing.

“Sanctify them (the elect, genuine Christians) through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth.”     (John 17:17)

“The entrance of Thy Words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” (Psalm 119:130)

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” (Psalm 19:7-8)

There is nothing as satisfying to the Spiritually regenerated heart than seeking to teach others the Bible truths which God the Spirit teaches us.  If there exists no real soul’s desire to read and study and hear God’s truths revealed in our written KJV Bibles – it is wise to doubt one’s very Salvation. God’s Word brings Spiritual life to us, as we lie in Spiritual death, like the ‘valley of dried bones’ in Ezekiel’s vision. (Ezekiel 37:1-10)

“So I prophesied (spoke God’s Word) as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone…”(Ezekiel 37:7)

You and I receive faith to believe, God’s gift to ‘His people’, when we hear/read the inspired Word of the Lord God Jehovah.  We cannot ever be saved without hearing the Gospel of Christ, and Him Crucified for our sins.

We can never be Eternally found, if we never realise that we are, in fact, Eternally lost in sin and guilt before our Holy Lord God.

“So then faith cometh by hearing (reading), and hearing by the Word of God.”          (Romans 10:17)

After being so graciously delivered from the guilt, shame, and Eternal punishment for our vile sins against the Lord God – should it be any wonder that our profoundly thankful hearts continue to love God’s Word, and study to show ourselves approved in its teachings?

Verse 11. “Teach me Thy way, O Lord; I will walk in Thy truth. If the Lord God has saved us by Spiritual regeneration (born again); we shall always thereafter seek to know how He would have us live our lives for Christ Jesus – we are thankful to be taught how to walk in God’s truth. When we seek to walk in His truth, we are assured of God’s constant Presence, and "…in His Presence is fulness of joy, at His right hand there are pleasures for ever more." (Psalm 16:11)

Verse 12. “I will praise Thee, O Lord my God, with ALL my heart.  When my heart is one, I will give Thee all of it.  Praise should never be rendered with less than all our heart, and soul, and strength, or it will be both unreal and unacceptable.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 364)

Verse 13. “And Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest Hell.  There are some alive now who can use this language unfeignedly, and he who pens these lines most humbly confesses that he is one.  Left to myself to indulge my passions, to rush onward with my natural vehemence, and defy the Lord with recklessness of levity, what a candidate for the lowest abyss should I have made myself by this time.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 365.)

Thought: The author of this Bible Lesson was saved in cell nine, H Block 6, of the maximum-security Maze Prison, Northern Ireland, in 1979 – believe me, I am a most grateful and thankful Christian.  “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound…”

2. The Faith of David’s Prayers Psalm 86:6-8

Text: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he/she that cometh to God must believe that He is (actually exists), and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”

Hebrews 11:6.

Good morning, faith-filled Christian!  By God’s Sovereign grace alone, He has saved us.  He has, by His grace and love for us, ‘His people’, granted us His Divine gift of real faith: the ability given to naturally sinful mankind with which we might believe (trust) God’s Word, come in faith to Christ, the Living Word; and be forgiven of all sin; washed in Christ’s precious Blood, and be partakers of Eternal life in Him. 

This is saving faith, the gift of God to us.  Without God’s Divine gift of this saving faith – not one soul could ever be saved.  We have God’s own Word on this Spiritual and Scriptural fact.

“For by grace are ye saved through FAITH; and that (faith) not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works (anything you or I could ever do), lest any man should boast.  For we are His workmanship, CREATED in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained (predestinated) that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

The lie often told from pulpits today is that God has CREATED you and me. Nonsense! You and I are NOT Created beings!  The Lord God Created the earth; the angels; and Adam. He Created all the original animals, and Adam alone was Created “…in His own image, in the image of God, Created He him.” – a three-part creature, consisting of body, soul, and spirit, just as God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  He Created Eve from the rib of Adam.

“And God said, Let US (three-Personed God) make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26) The Lord God Created Adam, and then Eve from Adam. Biblical fact.

Adam/Eve fell from grace through disobedience in Eden’s Garden – they sinned against the command of God NOT to eat of the tree of good and evil, and as a result, died Spiritually speaking, and according to the warning of the Lord God that they would immediately die (Spiritually). 

“And the Lord God commanded the man (Adam), saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely DIE.”  (Genesis 2:16-17)

All humankind BORN after that fall from God’s grace, are BORN (as opposed to Created) in the fallen image of Adam/Eve and with a totally DEAD SPIRIT, unable to even understand the things of God. Check this out now for yourselves, beloved readers.

“And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son IN HIS OWN LIKENESS (fallen, dead in trespasses and sin), AFTER HIS IMAGE; and called his name Seth.” (Genesis 5:3)

“But the natural man (BORN in Adam’s image) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him/her: neither can he/she know them, because they are Spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”  (1 Corinthians 2:5)

Dear Reader: IF you believe what you have just read without doubting its truth: YOU are a ‘faith-filled Christian’. The Lord is encouraging you that, what you truly believe is from Him, and not from some stranger with a keyboard and a computer.  You are filled with God’s gift of faith, that you might indeed believe (trust) and receive God’s truth, from His Word.  Hallelujah!  Thank you, dear Lord God, for genuine Christian faith. David prayed in faith.

Verse 6. “Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. Here are repetitions, but not vain repetitions. When a child cries, it repeats the same note, but it is equally in earnest every time, and so was it with the suppliant here.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 364)

David had the Divine gift of faith from God, exercised it in fervent prayer, and therefore pleased God, as our Bible text for today teaches us: “…Without faith it is impossible to please Him…” (Hebrews 11:6) God rewards us when we pray to Him in true believing faith.

“Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

Verse 7. “In the day of my trouble I will call upon Thee: for Thou will answer. There can be no reason for praying if there be no expectation of the Lord’s answering. Who would make a conscience of pleading with the winds or find a solace in supplicating the waves? The mercy seat is a mockery if there be no hearing nor answering. David, as the following verses show, believed the Lord to be a living and potent God, and indeed to be “God Alone”, and it was on that account that he resolved in every hour of trouble to call upon Him” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 364)

Today, in this increasingly antichristian world, you and I shall have trouble after trouble – as the would hurtles towards Hell, and wallows in Sodomy and vile sin. Calling upon the Living Lord God for His help, guidance, direction and protection, is as necessary today as breathing to all who would unashamedly and publicly serve the risen Christ Jesus. Fact.

It is vain to call in prayer or worship to ‘good luck charms’, dead man-made ‘saints’; Mary, so-called ‘queen of heaven’ – or any would be Protestant prelate or Pope. A useless practice.

Verse 8. “Among the gods (small g) there is none like unto Thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto Thy works. What have the false gods ever made or unmade? What miracles have they wrought? When did they divide a sea or march through a wilderness scattering bread from the skies? O Jehovah, in Thy Person and in Thy works, Thou art as far above all gods as the Heavens are above the nethermost abyss.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 364)

“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness o any thing that is in Heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.”         (Exodus 20:3-6)

‘Faith-filled Christians’, by God’s Sovereign grace alone, are filled with faith to both believe and receive God’s instructions; God’s love and grace; God’s every-day blessings – and to raise up our highest thanksgiving and praise to Him for such merciful care and love from Him.

Thought: “Among the gods there is none like unto Thee, O Lord.” Glory! Glory!