Text: “For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou hadst a favour unto them.”
Psalm 44:3.
“Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: Thou hast the dew of Thy youth.”
Psalm 110:3.
Good morning, Christian made willing by
grace! The power of the Lord God, the
Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Holy Divine Godhead, not only called you
and I effectually unto Eternal Salvation by grace, but empowered
us by His gift of faith to believe (trust) in Christ and by His full Atonement
Sacrifice at Golgotha’s Cross, be Eternally saved and secured. Wow!
What a Lord God of Sovereign grace and mercy we serve, in Christ Jesus!
“Not by works of righteousness which we
have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified (just-as-if-I’d-never
sinned) by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of Eternal
life.” (Titus 3:5-7)
Fallen
human will is made alive by God’s grace to, from thence, work together with
Divine grace and power to fulfil the Divine and Sovereign Eternal purpose of
the Lord God.
“Psalm 44, Title: “To the Chief
Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil.”
The title is similar to the Forty-Second Psalm, and although this is no
proof that it is by the same author, it makes it highly probable. No other writer should be sought for to
father any of the Psalms when David will suffice, and therefore we are loath to
ascribe this sacred song to any but the great Psalmist, yet as we hardly know
any period of his life which it would fairly describe, we feel compelled to look
elsewhere. The last verses remind us of
Milton’s famous lines on the massacre of the Protestants among the mountains of
Piedmont.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of
David, page 210)
“On the Late Massacre in Piedmont
On the Late Massacre in Piedmont is a sonnet by the
English poet John Milton inspired by the massacre of Waldensians in Piedmont by
the troops of Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy in April 1655. In 1487,
shortly after the Crusades in Southern France, Pope Innocent VIII turned his
focus to the Waldensians in Northern Italy. The group was excommunicated from
the church after refusing to conform to Catholicism. A series of attacks were
made on the group before Charles I, Duke of Savoy intervened to bring peace to
his lands.” (Wikipedia online)
“S. Ambrose observes that in former Psalms we have
seen a prophecy of Christ’s passion, resurrection, and ascension, and of the
coming of the Holy Ghost, and that here we are taught that we ourselves must be
ready to struggle and suffer in order that these things may profit us. Human will must work together with Divine
grace.” (Christopher Wordsworth
1848-1938)
“Thy people shall be willing in the day
of Thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: Thou
hast the dew of Thy youth.” (Psalm 110:3)
Verse 1. “We have heard with our ears, O
God. To hear with the ears affects us more sensitively
than to read with the eyes; we ought to note this and seize every possible
opportunity of telling abroad the Gospel of our Lord Jesus viva voce (by word of mouth), since
this is the most telling mode of communication.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 210)
Verse 1. “...Our fathers have told us. When
fathers are tongue-tied religiously with their offspring, need they wonder if
their children’s hearts remain sin-tied?
Religious conversation need not be dull, and indeed it could not be if,
as in this case, it dealt more with facts and less with opinions.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 210)
Verse 1.
“...What works Thou didst. Why only work in the singular, when such innumerable
deliverances had been wrought by Him, from the passage of the red Sea to the
destruction of the hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the
Assyrians? Because all these were but types
of that one great work, that one stretching forth of Lord’s hand, when
Satan was vanquished, death destroyed, and the Kingdom of Heaven opened to all
believers.” (Ambrose 340-397)
“Known unto God are all His works from
the beginning of the world.” (Acts 15:18)
“While the songs of other nations sing of
the heroism of their ancestors, the songs of Israel celebrate the works of
God.” (Augustus F. Tholuck 1799-1877)
If you and I have been gloriously and most graciously
redeemed by the sinless and precious Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ – how can
we not shout about it from the very roof-tops?
Verse 2.
“How Thou didst afflict the people and cast them out. How
fair is Mercy when she stands by the side of Justice! Bright beams the star of grace amidst the night
of wrath! It is a solemn thought that
the greatness of Divine love has its counterpart in the greatness of His
indignation.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury
of David, page 210)
The Lord God is a Holy Lord God of
absolute wrath against all sin. Praise
His Name, He is also a Lord God of infinite mercy, love, and grace towards ‘His
people’, and saves us from our sin.
The Lord God, by His Sovereign will, and
according to His Divine Election in Eternity, chooses whom to save, writes our
names in ‘the Lamb’s Book of life’, gives us to His Son, Jesus, and the Lord
Jesus redeems us from our sins by His own sinless Blood, shed for us at
Calvary’s Cross.
“All that the Father giveth Me shall come
to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37)
“Nevertheless the foundation of God
standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His (because He
elected us to be His!), And let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart
from iniquity.” (2 Timothy 2:19)
Verse 3.
“For they got not the land in possession by their own sword. The
passage may be viewed as a beautiful parable of the work of Salvation; men are
not saved without prayer, repentance, etc., but none of these save a man;
Salvation is altogether of the Lord. Canaan
was not conquered by them; the Lord was the conqueror, and the people were but
instruments in His hands.” (C.H.
Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 210)
Thought:
Mankind’s human will, after the fall of Adam from God’s grace, can do
nothing but sin against His Holy Lord God.
God alone can ‘quicken’ our hearts, regenerate our spirits, and save us
by His own pre-ordained Sacrifice. God’s
will is always done.