4. God Blesses His Nations Psalm 33:12

Text:  “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord (Jehovah); and the people whom He hath chosen for His Own inheritance.”

                                                                                                                   Psalm 33:12.

Good morning, God-blessed Christian!  One theme runs constant throughout Holy Scripture - God blesses those to whom He has chosen to reveal Himself; He promises a sure blessing to all among whom He chooses to dwell. 

Show me the nation - even in this increasingly apostate 21^st Century - who were established by Godly principles from the Holy Bible yet are devoid of blessing? 

Christian nations, in spite of our current disobedience to God’s Word, are the most blessed nations throughout the world.  When such nations, founded upon the Word of God, repent and turn again to the Lord in sincere sorrow for our sins, He will begin to prosper us afresh and lead us in new National righteousness in Christ Jesus. 

I pray that the great Christian nations such as Britain and America will soon return to the paths of righteousness, and receive God’s full blessings of peace and Salvation.  We have God’s own Word on this serious matter.   We must take heed to it NOW!

“If My people, which are called by My Name (Christian), shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”  (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The Lord God cannot bless disobedience, apostasy, and sin; nor can He fail to punish it.  It’s not that He will not bless disobedience - it is a fact that He can’t! 

Therefore, while it is still the day of His Sovereign grace, our once strong Christian nations must return to the old paths of Biblical righteousness; make laws based on Holy Writ; and cease from wallowing in the sins of the flesh and embracing the errors of false religions, and open Sodomy!  We must promptly turn from this path of Spiritual suicide!

“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…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 forth generation to them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.”  (Exodus 20:3-6)

Definition of Sin:  An offence against God’s Holiness.  Falling short of the glory of God; God’s Holy expectations of life and behaviour; any word, thought, or deed that is less than Christ’s perfection, morality, purity, and Holiness.  UnChristlikeness!

Today, there is a wicked indifference to sin,  no guilt for committing it; and a total neglect of the consequences that must be faced on God’s Judgement Day. 

Every man/woman is doing what seems right in their own eyes, and running sin-blind into a Christ-rejecter’s Hell.  Much of what is termed ‘the church’ worldwide seem to be fast asleep, completely unaware that countless souls are teetering on the edge of Hell’s chasm.  Any church that fails to address and contend with SIN, falls short of the Bible’s standard for Christianity.  Christ only came to save sinners from sin!

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  (Luke 19:10)

“Christianity addresses itself only to sinners. Its Founder himself declared that he did not come to call the righteous but sinners; and its chief expounder (Paul) declared with energetic emphasis that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.  The open secret of the indifference of men of all classes in all ages to Christianity, so far as that indifference has existed, lies in the indifference of men to sin, and their consequent indifference to salvation from sin. Christianity makes no appeal to men who do not feel the burden of sin.”   (Dr B.B. Warfield ‘Christianity and Our Times’ 1851-1921)

Sin separates individuals and entire nations from a thrice Holy Lord God.

“…Your iniquities (sin) have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.  For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.  None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth; they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.”  (Isaiah 59:2-4)

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”  (Psalm 66:18)

But the Lord God thoroughly blesses the individual and nation that sincerely owns Him as Saviour and Lord.  God blesses those whom He Himself has chosen to save!

“Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you…” (John 15:16)

An unfit man/woman seeks to revisit the gym; seeks to begin to take care of his/her body again with stringent exercise and diet.  The unfit ‘church’ must repent from our sin; seek a new filling of God the Spirit; begin to preach/teach and live God’s Word.

Thought:  Christian!  Admit that ‘the National church’ is broken - and get God to fix it NOW!  Repent!  The Lord Jesus Christ returns real soon!

3. Our Wise, Sure & Steadfast, Lord God Psalm 33:9-11

Text:  “Now unto the King Eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory forever and ever.  Amen.”

                                                                                                              1 Timothy 1:17.

Good morning, Sure and steadfast Christian!  In the depths of your soul and mine, even in the face of grave and sore troubles and bitter struggles - against the world, our own weak flesh, and the Devil - down deep within our souls, we are sure and steadfast, yes, Eternally sure and steadfast, in Christ Jesus and His full Victory at Calvary’s Cross!  Hallelujah!  We are secured Eternally, by our wise, sure and steadfast Lord God.  Give praise to His Holy and Almighty Name!  Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord God!

Verse 9.  “For He spake, and it was done.  “And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.”  (Genesis 1:3)  No waiting time with our Lord God, no ifs or buts, or maybes.  He speaks, and all His Creation obeys.  Our God is an Almighty Lord God.

“In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth.”  (Genesis 1:1)

“In the beginning was the Word (Christ Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.  In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.”  (John 1:1-4)

Our Lord God has no beginning or end - He is all-sufficient and Eternal Lord God.  He is all wise; ever sure; and completely Rock steadfast.  Truly awesome!

Verse 9.  “He commanded, and it stood fast.  Happy is the man who has learned to lean his all upon the sure Word of Him Who built the skies!”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 163)

So many nations and peoples today, in this increasingly apostate 21^st Century, put their trust in armaments; in economic advantages; in the strength of the Pound or the Dollar; and in the ‘counsel’ and understanding of science and mere sinful men.  That is why our world is currently plagued by wars, and terrorist activities, men doing what is right in their own eyes; as the most powerful and greedy grab all that they can from each other.  Oh that nations would turn to the Living Lord God for His wisdom and counsel.

Verse 10.  “The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to naught.  The more the Pharisees of old and their successors, the prelates of later years, opposed the truth, the more it prevailed.  The Reformation in Germany was much furthered by the Papist’s opposition; yea, when two kings (amongst many others), wrote against Luther, namely Henry V111 of England and Ludovicus of Hungary, this kingly title being entered into the controversy (making men more curious to examine the matter), stirred up a general inclination towards Luther’s opinions.”  (Richard Younge’s Christian Library 1655)

Verse 10. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought. “While his own will is done, he takes care to anticipate the wilfulness of his enemies. Before they come to action he vanquishes them in the council chamber; and when, well armed with craft, they march to the assault, he frustrates their knaveries, and makes their promising plots to end in nothing. Not only the folly of the heathen, but their wisdom too, shall yield to the power of the cross of Jesus: what a comfort is this to those who have to labour where sophistry, and philosophy, falsely so called, are set in opposition to the truth as it is in Jesus.”  (C.H. Spurgeon 1834-1892)

Verse 10.  “He maketh the devices of the people of none effect.  Their persecutions, slanders, falsehoods, are like puff-balls flung against a granite wall - they produce no result at all; for the Lord overrules the evil, and brings good out of it.  The cause of God is never in danger: infernal craft is outwitted by Infinite wisdom, and Satanic malice held in check by boundless power.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 163)

Because the Lord intervenes in this manner in all situations, ‘His people’; all of us who are born again of Him, are constantly protected against evil oppositions - temporal and spiritual enemies!  The Lord makes ‘…ALL things to work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”  (Romans 8:28) (Matthew 1:21)  Hallelujah!  Now, this is something to get excited about, brethren!

Graven on the palms of Christ’s hands, He can never forget us; and at all times, our defence walls are upheld by Him.  We who are truly saved, are truly and Eternally secure in Christ Jesus.

“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?  Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.  Behold (look!), I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands (nail-prints); thy walls (defences) are continually before Me.”  (Isaiah 49:15-16)

Verse 11.  “The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations.  The wheels of a watch or a clock move contrary one to another, some one way, some another, yet all serve the intent of the workman, to show the time, or to make the clock strike.  So in the world, the providence of God may seem to run cross to His promises; one man takes this way, another runs that way; good men go one way, wicked men another, yet all in conclusion accomplish the will, and centre in the purpose of God, the Great Creator of all things.”  (Richard Sibbes  1577-1635)

Thought:  Let us listen constantly to God’s wise counsel; open our Bibles daily to discover His will for each day of our lives.  This is true Christian fellowship with God:  We speak to Him in prayer, He speaks to us through His Word.

2. The Believer's Lord God Psalm 33:5-8

Text:  “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”

Isaiah 45:22.

Good morning, God-honouring Christian!  You know in Whom you have believed, and are not afraid nor ashamed to declare His Holy Name to all the nations.  Jehovah Lord God - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of the inspired Psalmist, David; the Lord God of His apostle Paul - He is your Lord God and mine; and woe betide us if we fail to openly and honestly declare His Holy Name to the heathen!  Hallelujah!  Our God reigns Sovereign and totally Supreme!   Praise and all glory to His Name!

“I have sworn by My Myself, the Word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.  Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength; even to Him shall men come; and all that are incensed against Him shall be ashamed.  In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.”  (Isaiah 45:23-25)

Verse 5.  The Lord is righteous and good:  The prophet Isaiah, when he saw the Lord God in a vision, cried, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.”  (Isaiah 6:1-3)  The Lord our God is Holy and righteous; therefore, He loves and demands holiness and righteousness from all whom He has redeemed from sin.

“But as He which hath called you is Holy, so be ye Holy in all manner of conversation (entire lifestyle and action); because it is written, Be ye Holy; for I am Holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16)

Verse 5.  “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.  Come hither, astronomers, geologists, naturalists, botanists, chemists, miners, yea, all of you who study the works of God, for all your truthful stories confirm this declaration.  From the midge in the sunbeam to leviathan in the ocean, all creatures own the bounty of the Creator.  Even the pathless desert blazes with some undiscovered mercy, and the caverns of oceans conceal the treasures of love.  Earth might have been as full of terror as of grace, but instead thereof it teems and overflows with kindness.  He who cannot see it and yet lives in it as the fish lives in the water deserves to die.  If earth be full of mercy, what must Heaven be where goodness concentrates its beams?”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 162) 

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from Above, and comes down from the Father of light, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.  Of His own will begat He us with the Word of truth, there we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.”  (James 1:17-18)

The Lord of the true, Spiritually regenerate, Bible-believing Christian is a Lord God of infinite goodness and love for His creation.  So much so that, even when the created Adam and Eve disobeyed Him and Spiritually crippled us all by their Fall into sin - the Lord God made a way of righteous redemption for us, in the sinless and precious Blood of His own dear Son, Jesus Christ.  What a gracious Lord God we love and serve!

“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”  (Genesis 3:21)

This ’clothing’ of Adam/Eve entailed the slaying of innocent animals in Eden’s Garden - the first instance of death in God’s Creation.  It is a perfect type (picture, illustration) of God’s way of Salvation in Christ Jesus which was yet to come, the innocent dying as a substitute for the guilty; sinless blood being shed as a sacrifice to redeem the sinful. 

Verse 21 of Genesis chapter 3 also records the first shedding of innocent blood, the first mention of death, the consequences of mankind’s sin against his Creator Lord God.

The true believer’s Lord God is a God of Sovereign and ever-given grace.

“For by grace (unmerited favour) are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works (’good deeds‘), lest any man should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created (born again, Spiritually regenerated to life) in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained (before the foundation of the world)  that we should walk in them.”  (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Verse 6.  “…By the breath of His mouth.  The word ‘breath’ is the same as is elsewhere rendered ‘Spirit’.  Thus the three Persons of the Godhead united in creating all things.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 162)

In the Creation story in Genesis we learn that, ’…the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed (inspired Spirit) into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”  (Genesis 2:7) 

When Adam/Eve sinned by disobedience to God, his/her Spiritual fellowship with God, that unique part of mankind that could communicate with God, died immediately under God’s curse.  That is why innocent blood had to be shed to clothe (redeem) Adam/Eve from their sin.  That is why you and I born in Adam’s sinful, fallen state, MUST be born again, Spiritually regenerated from Spiritual death to Spiritual life Eternal in Christ Jesus and by His sinless Blood.  Hallelujah!

Thought:  Verse 8. “Let all the earth fear the Lord.  Let them not fear another instead of Him.  Doth a wild beast rage? Fear God.  Doth a serpent lie in wait? Fear God.  Doth man hate thee? Fear God. Doth the Devil fight against thee? Fear God.  For the whole Creation is under Him Whom thou art commanded to fear.”  Augustine (354-430 AD)  This is the Holy Lord God of all true believers, there is no other Lord God but Him.  Glory to His Name!